Upcoming Opportunity

Sorry its been more than a week since my last/first/only blog (great first impression Boyd!). I’m trying to think of this blog as a sort of “public journal” and I want to “reflect out loud” (or sometimes barf, or rage, or whatever) and record something on almost a daily basis (I said “almost.”) But I can’t promise –especially right now. My life of late has been pretty crazy. In fact, the last two months or so have been the craziest of my entire life — which is saying a lot, since for several years I worked three part time jobs (=50+ hours a week) while being married with two small children while working full time on a Ph.D. at Princeton Seminary.

What happened two months ago, as some of you may know, is that the New York Times did a story on me, my church (Woodland Hills Church) and my new book Myth of a Christian Nation. It was a front page story! (It’s a rather sad commentary on the state of the church vis-a-vis politics in our country when saying that “the Kingdom looks like Jesus, hence not a political party or a nation” is so news worthy it makes the front page of the Times!). Well, I’ve learned that getting on the front page of the New York times gets you a lot of attention. So its been a wild and wonderful but extremely-busy-and-occasionally -stressful -but -always -exciting couple of months.

It’s just starting to simmer down a bit — but I think its likely going to return to the frenzy really soon. The reason is that I’ve been invited to do the “Free Speech” segment on the CBS Evening News. What a cool opportunity. CBS is giving me the biggest megaphone you can give someone (viz. TV) for 90 seconds and saying, “Any thoughts?” I love you CBS! I love you Katie (the anchor — and I apologize to you Katie if I mispelled your name)!

This probably isn’t going to make my life any calmer. So, please don’t get hostile toward me if my blogging is a wee bit erratic for the next couple months… but I WILL try. (It’s actually feeling kinda therapeutic for me. Odd. Maybe I’ll be better at this than I first thought).

Anyway, I’ve thought and prayed a lot about how I should use this precious 90 seconds and I got a very clear revelation from God: “Hi Greg. Explain to America how ‘will’ and ‘will not’ are not ‘logical contradictories’ but are, instead, ‘logical contraries,’ which of course means they don’t exhaust the alternatives of future tensed propositions. Explain to them how “will” and “will not” cannot be simultaneously true, but they can both be simultaneously false — just in case “might” (the real contradictory of “will not”) and “might not”(the real contradictory of “will”) are both simultaneously true.” I said, “Lord, are you sure? I’m thinking this could take a little more than 90 seconds.” And God, being a good Open Theist, said: ‘Okay, I change my mind (see Ex.32: 10-14). Why don’t you just show them my beauty and tell people to steop dragging me into their ugly secular politics.” I said, “THAT sounds a bit more feasible. Thanks Lord.”

Okay, the above discussion with God never happened. But — I do feel God would want me to talk about the beauty of Jesus in contrast to the ugliness of politics — and how we really should keep the two separated — for Christ’s sake.

I, my wife, and a couple friends are flying to New York this Tuesday to tape the show, but I don’t know when they’re going to air it. It might be that night. But it may not be for a week. I’ll let you know soon as I find out.

Anyway…like I said, this will probably throw my life back into a vortex of business, but I’m not complaining. It’s all about the kingdom, and the kingdom is the most beautiful and adventurous thing to be about. So I thank God for the opportunity.

And I’d appreciate your prayers… I’m not naïve. This is spiritual warfare, and there’s a cosmic force (aka:Satan) out there that loves when Jesus and the Church are made to look ugly by being fused with politics, and hates it when his beauty is allowed to shine. So keep me and my family covered, okay?

And start watching CBS!!!

And be understanding when I miss a couple days blogging.

Peace out