"Jennifer Knapp Comes Out"

I had wondered what happened to Jennifer Knapp, the hotshot Christian folk artist who hit the music scene 13 years ago when I was still a college lad. The songs off her debut album "Kansas" struck a chord with Christians across the country because the acoustic-driven, brutally honest and theologically rich tunes stood out from the mainstream of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM).

Well, she disappeared, indeed, around 2002. Gave up music, turned into a wanderer, moved to Australia, and battled a number of inner demons. She's back stateside now with a new album and a new identity. Music fans will hardly recognize her now and she just may have to build a brand new audience. Here's an interview conducted by Christianity Today a few weeks ago. The preamble sets the stage:

Seven years ago, while at the top of her game, Jennifer Knapp announced what seemed to many a sudden decision: She was stepping away from Christian music, taking an indefinite hiatus. Rumors began to swirl—she was burned out, she needed a rest, she was upset about something, she was gay. Turns out that all the rumors were true, as Knapp reveals in this rambling, exclusive interview with Christianity Today.

Jennifer Knapp Comes Out | Music | Christianity Today

Knapp says she is at her most joyous place in her life now, though she appears to be battling her faith and the community of faith at large. She says she is "in love" with her partner and is angry at the way the evangelical church has hated her kind. I don't like the judgmental church, either, but I also don't like her choice to pursue homosexuality and be OK with it.

On a side note: I do wish believers would show more love and grace to those in open sin instead of judgment. We don't have to condone their sin, just keep the door open for repentance and restoration. How does that old saying go, "Love the sinner, hate the sin"? It's a tough two-step to dance, but if we bathe their lives with our prayers, maybe the Holy Spirit's ministry will result in repentance and restoration. Always remember that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. That's His job. Our mission is not to go to every public sinner and point fingers and cast stones. What did Jesus say, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone"?


Yet still, I'm quite shocked at Jennifer Knapp's revelation to the world. After reading the interview, it is obvious that she has lost her grounding in the absolute truth of God's word. She says she has found comfort in His word but that same word seems to be less of an anchor and more of a crab pot. She has been swallowed up in the popular sea of relativity, where everyone must find their own faith, stick to it, and expect others to accept it. You know, it's that dreadful philosophy, "Your way is good for you, my way is good for me, let's just leave each others faith alone, okay?" But what if there is really only one Faith in one God?

I believe Jennifer to be saved. But her path of life is wayward. Please pray for her. Love her. And show her grace. For her sake. And for the sake of the kingdom.


Be God's.


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More From the 'Ark'

Here is video of the exploration team posted on YouTube. They have found something remarkable, it appears. But can it be Noah's Ark?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGIUfWXvwJI&feature=player_embedded

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The Lord Told Noah To Build Him an Arky, Arky...

My dad showed me something most remarkable yesterday. A group of Christian explorers and scientists claim to have found a wooden structure that they believe to be Noah's Ark buried in a glacier on Mount Ararat. Noah's Ark? The group of Turkish and Chinese Christians (no Americans involved) say that they have found a multi-room wooden structure preserved in the ice. Carbon dating says the wood is 4,800 years old, according to the group, which equates to 2,800 B.C. According to a literal dating of Genesis, the flood would have happened between 3,000 and 2,500 B.C.

Here's an excerpt from a Fox News article posted yesterday:

Representatives of Noah's Ark Ministries said the structure contained several compartments, some with wooden beams, that they believe were used to house animals.The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds none have ever been found above 11,000 feet in the vicinity, Yeung said.

During the press conference, team member Panda Lee described visiting the site. “In October 2008, I climbed the mountain with the Turkish team. At an elevation of more than 4,000 meters, I saw a structure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about 8 inches wide. I could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails."

As you might expect, the news has been met with a mix of excitement and skepticism. I have both. It's exciting if the find is real and there is no fraud involved. Whether or not this is Noah's Ark or just an old mountain cabin will probably be debated for eons to come, much like the Shroud of Turin. The bottom line is that faith must be present before proof becomes proof.

The skeptic in me says that this is too good to be true and makes me hold off belief until I see another set of scientific analysis. Does this structure really exist? Don't forget that we live in the age of Photoshop and Twitter, where fakes can be manufactured and distributed quickly. And... I wonder why this would come to light now, at this time? I briefly saw an article in which even an old ark hunter is skeptical about this new find. Then there are those linguists who claim Genesis 8:4 refers to the mountain range of Ararat and not the mountain itself.

Anyway, here was the Fox News article from yesterday. It's fascinating and I hope it's true. But I can't get super-excited yet.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/27/noahs-ark-found-turkey-ararat/

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A Song About Adventure

I wrote this one a few years back as a lullaby for a young boy. In some ways it sheds light on my yearning for adventure.

— John

Sweet Dreams

Standing on the beach I watch the tide roll out

Sending the boats out to sea

And I wonder, young man, how you’re doing right now

Chasing your heart’s deepest dream

Cause right here on the shore, it is such a bore

I’d rather be out on the sea

Sailing away to some far away land

There’s adventure just waiting for me!

So drift off away to a far away land

Of paupers and prophets and kings

May God ever hold you in the palm of His hand

And fill your young mind with sweet dreams

In every boy’s mind there’s a treasure to find

Of stories too good to believe

Of heroes and giants, villains and kings

Who play out a breathtaking scene

Maybe there are pirates! Maybe a storm!

Maybe a princess in need!

I’m never gonna know if I never go

To follow my heart’s deepest dream!

And I pray that you know what it means to find love

And love what it means to be free…

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An Adventure Awaits!

I'm thinking about going on an adventure this summer. A real journey of epic proportions. Or so I've imagined it.

Maybe I'll go volcano hunting in New Mexico, where hundreds of extinct volcanoes dot the landscape. I just read the other day that one of them is not yet considered extinct because it still shows signs of volcanic activity. I've always been attracted to volcanoes. They're just kinda really... cool.

Maybe I'll go on a mountain expedition to Colorado, hiking up 14,000-foot peaks and descending into 2,000-foot canyons. I haven't been to Colorado in nine years; not on my own since the mid 1990's.There's a lot of history there, too. Maybe I'll find me some gold...

Maybe I'll seek out some sun and sand by the sea. I have a desktop background that always seems to beckon me to come to the Caribbean (or the South Pacific) and relax by its scenic waters. I can see it now... sitting in a hammock stretched between palm trees, my hat pulled over my eyes, an ice cold lemonade in my hand, listening to the sound of the surf...

Maybe I'll do something with deeper meaning, and go serve on the mission field this summer in some far-off place. I think I can work with my hands, even though I make my living in front of a computer.


Wherever I go, there's adventure waiting for me! I just know it! And my camera crew will be coming with me....


I have discovered during the journey of my life that I have a spirit of adventure infused into my soul. Like a tapestry, it is woven into the fibers of my being. You cannot take the desire for adventure away from me without destroying me in the process. I long to explore new places, meet new faces, and do new things (non-crazy things, that is). I'm rarely content with where I am in my life if there is a lack of adventure, challenge or growth. I cannot accept the status quot if it isn't taking me or those I love somewhere better than this.

I have recently concluded that sitting in a desk chair all day is the antithesis of adventure. But since it is my job at present, I need to stretch my explorer side this summer. Where I go is what I have to determine.

There are some challenges to going on adventures. Take being single, for example. Without a traveling buddy, anywhere I go for extended periods of time will have to be done alone. And as I discovered last summer during my vacation to California, being alone in strange places can be tough. I did a LOT of talking to myself. And to my camera crew (a Panasonic, a JVC, and a Canon).

Finances are another challenge to adventure. Right now I'm struggling to get my financial head above water, so wherever I go needs to be cheap AND satisfying. I have been blessed with a newer car that gets great gas mileage, so I'll probably drive wherever I go this summer. That limits my range of adventure, unfortunately, and I wish it wasn't that way. But every adventure needs to be balanced by some (if little) reality.

There's something spiritual in adventure, too. My heart is restless and I can tell you with confidence that this is not a thing of the flesh but of the spirit. I am not at home in this world and my heart knows it. I am different than the world and I see it everyday by observing people around me. Oh, I look like them, for sure, but the eyes of my heart have been opened and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, while those who do not know Him are still asleep. One of my favorite movie lines comes from an adventure movie, "Joe Versus the Volcano." The female lead says this to an adventure-seeking Joe, "My father says almost the whole world's asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake.  And they live in a state of constant total amazement."

My restless heart comes from a yearning for freedom, freedom of the mind, freedom of the heart, and freedom of the body. I want to be free! I also want to find a place of rest for my weary heart and mushy head. I've been taxing my body in that desk chair and straining my eyes and my mind for way too long. I owe them a break. I need a place of rest.

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 55. In that song, David is stressed out by the revelation that his enemies are slandering him and his best friend has betrayed him. His heart and his soul are weary. So he says,

"Oh, that I had wings like a dove! 

I would fly away and be at rest. 

Behold, I would wander far away, 

I would lodge in the wilderness. 

I would hasten to my place of refuge 

From the stormy wind and tempest.”

This is the relief for which my heart longs. An adventure that brings rest. Is there one waiting for me?  I hope so!  I just know I have to get away to find it. No metaphorical "adventures in life" for me — I need real, physical adventures.

So I plan and dream until I find one.

— John

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We Be Mass Communicatin!

 A very young me on local TV. Note the sports tie. 

I've collected a few dozen of those! See those peeling letters on the backdrop? 

I cut those out of copy paper and taped them to the backdrop my senior year, 

hoping to "up" the quality of our broadcast!

When I first stepped into the TV studio at John Brown University's broadcasting department 15 years ago, I was awestruck. The room was absolutely huge! Twenty-foot ceilings with hanging studio lights, a sit-com set in one corner and a news set in another. A big green screen on the wall and really big cameras on wheels. It was a freshman geek's heaven!

When I first visited JBU the spring before, I fell in love with the idea of broadcasting. After talking to one of the television profs, I made up my mind that I wanted to learn as much about radio and television as possible during my four years there and that fall I set about obtaining my lofty ambition. The first semester, I took "beginning radio" and learned about putting together radio newscasts, advertisements, and doing dramatic readings. I wasn't on the air yet, but I knew that if I was good enough, I'd be on the air in just a few months.

The next semester I was on-air to Northwest Arkansas via music station KLRC-FM and starting my courses in TV production and mass communications. By my third semester I was calling basketball games and anchoring sportscasts on television, working on-air at the campus radio station and has started to write news articles for the campus paper. Add to that a budding (and bumbling) baseball career, and I was in heaven.

Mass communication was so fun! Students were reading my written words, common folks were hearing my voice in their cars and at work, and I was sending basketball broadcasts through the telephone from far off gymnasiums. I was learning the importance of sending and receiving messages and how the manner of our delivery often shapes the message we deliver.



The Newest Oldest Technology

As I recall the "good old days" of the late 1990s, I have on my mind how much mass communication has changed in just a few years. There are still messages to deliver and the method still matters, but there are so many more methods now than there were 10 or 15 years ago. Just look at the development of the Internet, for example. It existed when I went off to college but its potential to be a source of news gathering and relay had yet to be tapped. Journalism entities were slow to jump on the e-bandwagon, perhaps for fear of the unknown. If you wanted to dig up a story, you used the telephone. If you wanted to videotape an interview, you sent a camera crew. If you wanted to broadcast the footage, you edited it from tape-to-tape and stuck the edited tape in a tape deck, ready for TV or cable broadcast.

Audio recording was done on 8-track-like "carts" that varied in length and could be recorded on only once before needing to be magnetically erased. Later, radio stations used either mini-discs or CD recorders for recording audio. Editing took place with multiple cart/disc decks and the skillful timing of a producer.

I was first exposed to computer editing at JBU but it was viewed as experimental technology. Now, there are no more tape-to-tape editing decks (or very few) and carts, mini-discs and CD recorders have followed suit. Everything is computer-based and digital.

My, how mass communication has changed!


When I was in broadcasting and journalism school, mass communication was through radio, television, newspapers and film. Now newspapers are dying, radio is quick to follow, television news has become entertainment and films... well, films are still films. It's sad to see my industries fade away. The very equipment I was trained on is no longer used in the communications professions. Most of what I've learned about shooting, editing and distributing media has come post-college. And college was only 11 years ago.

Information is communicated almost instantaneously these days thanks to the development of cell phones, social media websites, and computer media software. A person can shoot, edit and post anything within five minutes, sometimes quicker. They can video a fiery car crash with their iPhone and e-mail it to the local news station before the drivers even get out of their mangled vehicles.

On last week's Deadliest Catch TV show, I was blown away by something I saw. After a small fishing vessel capsized off the Aleutian Islands coast, a nearby ship rushed to the coordinates to assist the boat's four-man crew. The following rescue was captured on video, not by a documentary film crew, but by a camera phone. The whole five-minute sequence, with clear audio, was shot by one of the rescuing crew and the quality was amazing. I have an old Panasonic digital camcorder that couldn't capture better video. The Discovery Channel obtained the video from the fisherman and included it in their show. It was powerful.

During the recent earthquakes, camera phones captured both rubble and rescue and video from the impact zones was on the Internet within a half hour of the quakes. Texting has also revolutionized communication. Within minutes of each earthquake, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites were flooded with on-the-scene reports. Before a single journalist had landed on the ground — before a single helicopter had taken off to survey the scene, the whole world knew what had happened and how bad it was.

ABC News surprised the media world last month by announcing a new approach to the way its journalism is done. The major media entity will rely more on regular folks with cell phone cameras and other handheld devices to collect news stories, interviews and opinions than its paid news staff. As a result, a lot of producers, reporters, cameramen and behind-the-scenes folks will be out of work soon, as the network trims its budget and tries to streamline its news operation. CNN already uses "iReporters" to gather news and create online media content. These iReporters may be paid a few bucks, but I gather that most are just citizens with cameras and a healthy dose of curiosity.

Mass communication has been turned on its head in some ways. Ten to 15 years ago, mass communication was sent from selected entities to the masses. Now, it's sent from the masses to selected entities. The messages are the same: hard news, soft news, entertainment. The methods are changing, however. Those who hold broadcast-journalism degrees and have multi-point resumes like myself are wary of the way things are going, not because the people have been empowered but because anything and everything can be reported as news. No filters. In the old days, the professionals were the editors, weeding out fact from fiction. Now, each person is his or her own filter, and there are some awfully porous filters out there!

As I seek to use mass communication in the context of church ministry, I am wondering how the new age of communication is going to affect my efforts. Is simple video good enough anymore? Can I put ink to paper and have it be effective communication, or do I need to text message my words? How can I make sure a message I deliver is the message received?

It is a different age, though I hardly feel 11 years older than when I graduated. Time is a funny thing, you know.

Oh, and the fact that I am blogging is, in itself, evidence of the new communication age. Didn't have THAT when I was in school, either!



A few more pics for your amusement...

I actually won some awards for column writing during my junior and senior years of college from the Arkansas Collegiate Media Association. Here I am posing with a first place award at my Siloam Springs townhouse.

I cut my broadcasting teeth on college basketball, calling four years of JBU Golden Eagle hoops on both TV and radio (taped simulcast at home, live radio on the road). I also announced local high school hoops, including a state championship run for the Siloam Springs gals, and football. I loved doing on-camera work. Getting paid for it was a big bonus!

Random Thoughts from Center Field

Scattershooting while deeply hoping the sinus and throat stuff I'm fighting isn't anything more than simple allergies.

I'm thinking that....

• The grace of God is a marvelous mystery that must be embraced to live the Christian life to its fullest. Why would God accept me — fallen and broken with two left feet and stubbed toes — as His child? Why would He not only save me but also justify me for life? I SO don't deserve it but I must embrace it. Knowing that He set me free from guilt and shame allows me to move on with my life and be devoted to His service.
• I'm very thankful for the sound of raindrops on my front lawn. yesterday I opened my windows, turned off my electronic distractions, and just listened to the sound of rain falling on the ground outside. The air was a little cool but I didn't care. The pitter-patters, plops, drops, and splashes were incredibly relaxing and just made me plain happy. It's funny how we tend to collect a lot of "stuff" in this world with the goal of being happy yet often find our truest happiness in the sound of simple raindrops.
• That it's hard to ask people to give money to different causes every Sunday morning, yet even harder to choose one to ignore for the sake of others. Like many churches, my fellowship is in a budget shortfall and the deficit is growing each week. Our general giving is down but it's difficult to ask people to give more when many are holding on for dear life out in this world. Everyone needs funds to operate in this world (which is something I really don't like about this place but it's a reality I'm forced to embrace). Missionaries need money, the poor need money, student ministries need money, our lawn and custodial people need money, our staff needs to be paid, etc. Folks are stretched thin, financially, and I think a lot of churches are re-evaluating how they do ministry right now as a result. For instance, my church is increasing its reliance on volunteer labor and cutting programs out of the budget. As the church publisher, I've reduced paper consumption and am trying to minimize machine wear. 
• That scratchy throats and runny nasal passages make typing the only bearable activity for my body on a Sunday afternoon. But, alas, I am out of random thoughts.

Be God's!

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Strange in Time and Space

Tis a strange time we live in. Or so I have concluded. Earthquakes every week, a pesky volcano in Iceland, calm weather on the Bering Sea... just plain weird.

Some would point to the end times and say what we're experiencing is the like the "lead-in" or warm-up act. The only thing we're missing is a major war, which it seems this world is missing right now. Knock on wood. Call me a pessimist, but I tend to think the lead-in has been happening for nearly 2,000 years. Is this the precursor to the rapture or tribulation? No one knows. People in Saint Peter's day thought the end was near (or had somehow passed, 2 Peter 3). When the end comes is God the Father's responsibility to decide. And I'm pretty sure we're not going to know before Jesus, the Son, knows (Matt 24:36, Acts 1:7).

I just find this time in life to be strange yet fascinating. Deadly times for those in Haiti, Chile, Sumatra, Mexico or China. Frustrating times for those waiting for a flight to or from northern Europe. Scientists are saying that the number of earthquakes we're experiencing is nothing unusual compared to modern history. They just happen to be hitting close to heavily-populated areas and are being reported instantaneously through media like Twitter, Facebook, and camera-loaded cell phones. This shift in mass media communication is fascinating in itself and I may blog on it later.

Adding to the strangeness of this age we find ourselves in is the quirky movement of time. Maybe it's just a part of getting older, but I'm finding that time is passing really, really fast. Goodness, it's April 17th for crying out loud! What happened to March? It just whizzed by. I'd like to personally blame those earthquakes. After all, scientists say the 8.8-magnitude Chilean quake sped up the earth's rotation 1.26 microseconds, which means each earth day is now that much shorter. I thought so! I guess the earth's axis got shifted or something. Seems like scientists are saying a lot these days. About everything.

Strange times, I say. For both time and space. Strange.

I'm thankful that God is not like the earth (or, is not the earth). Otherwise, that earthquake may have just well knocked him off his throne! But there is no shifting with God, no turning out of character or place (James 1:17). He is the only steady thing, the only trustworthy being and even in these shorter days I find it very important to look towards Him and find my constant.

Be God's.

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Of Dual Citizenship & Kingly Lessons

A tricky scholar came up to Jesus one day in an attempt to trick the wise teacher. Knowing that tension with the federal government was at an all-time high, the scholar asked, "Is it spiritually and religiously all right to pay taxes to our overreaching, repressive government?" Jesus saw right through the question. The scholar wanted the teacher to say, "Heck, no!" and then report his answer to the governing authorities. Twas a twicky pwoposition. Jesus asked a question in reply, which he always seemed to do. "Does anyone have a quarter?" the teacher asked. I imagine a couple of bystanders snickered at his reply. Jesus wants a quarter? What, is he going to pay his taxes or something? Hmm... can I deduct that quarter if I give him one, you know, as a gift to charity?

After a few awkward moments, a bystander reached out with a silver coin but Jesus didn't reach out to grab it. Instead he reached out to point at it. "Whose image and name is on the quarter?" he asked the scholar. "Ceasar," the scholar answered, thinking, "No duh!" since everyone around knew who was on the common coin. The teacher shook his head in agreement. "Then give what belongs to Caesar to Caesar and what belongs to God to God." The scholar was speechless. The crowd just nodded and slowly shrunk away. Twas a good answer! But what did it mean?

A few days later, Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, paraded as the king of Israel. The same king who told his subjects to pay taxes to Caesar, whom they loathed. Last time they had a tea party, Caesar's governor sent soldiers in to kill and disperse the crowd. And they were to fund his reckless governmental operation with their tax money? Seems wrong. But the king said they were supposed to do it. And give their allegiance to God at the same time. Strange answer!

We who belong to the king, who are called by His name, are all dual citizens. We belong to the kingdom of heaven on one hand and yet we live in a kingdom on earth (or for most, a country). We are asked by our earthly government to do things for the benefit of that government and for its citizens. We are also asked by our heavenly King and His Father to do things for the benefit of the heavenly kingdom and its citizens. Loving our brother, for instance, and giving to the poor among us.

We are dual citizens and, thus, have to live a balance of responsibility. Yet these two institutions are not completely separate. The heavenly has established the earthly. When the King of heaven was standing before a governor of earth in John 19, He said, "You would have no authority if it wasn't granted to you from above." Such a gutsy statement considering that the King of heaven was bound and bleeding, one small proclamation away from His own death.

Heaven establishes earth. And while we live on this earth, we need to recognize this fact.

I think Romans 13 is the preeminent passage on the relationship of God and government in the New Testament. The apostle Paul writes, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." Just like Jesus, he was instructing people in subjection to an oppressive government who were wondering what their attitude should reflect. Were they to resist, hide, or run away? None of the above, Paul said, they were to obey. For God establishes governments, even when they fail to recognize His existence or mandate laws to repress His people. Part of obeying the government, he would later write, involves paying taxes and not speeding (umm... or the 1st Century equivalent). Honor those in charge, Paul writes, fear them and follow their lead. Tough to swallow for independent folks, but in doing so we actually honor the God who establishes governors and governments.

There are some caveats to this obedience, as spelled out in Acts 5, when Peter and John appeared before the Sanhedrin ruling counsel. They were commanded to refrain from proselytizing in the Temple courts but did it anyway. Their response: "We must obey God rather than men." Their point is that when God gives a command, we must follow, regardless of what the secular or religious authorities say. This is the "out" from obeying earthly authorities. But it is a narrow "out." God has spoken through His Word and given His commands. One such command is to pay taxes. And so, on April 15th, we pay them.

Heaven establishes earth but it never takes a back seat.

In Philippians 3, Paul writes that men of this earth (non-believers) are focused on things of this earth but Christians need to devote themselves to a different focus, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." We are never to forget that we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, ruled by a just King, and worthy of our first attention and first devotion. You can wave your flags all you want but if you're not going to church, your priorities are out of whack. If you aren't praying to the Father, serving the poor and needy, carrying your brother or sister, and living a life reflecting grace, your life will be out of balance.

Our King wants us to obey our government and pay our taxes. Even if we don't like that government. It part of being a dual citizen of heaven and earth. But always remember that your allegiance lies with your King first, from whom all authority is given and taken. (Matt 6:33)

And that's my tax day lesson!

Be God's!


P.S. — People sometimes ask me if I'm a Democrat or Republican and I usually respond, "I'm a Biblicist." Upon seeing confused faces, I explain, "When God speaks in His word about a subject, I follow His lead. When He is silent or the issue is gray, I use my best discretion. I don't follow political parties or political ideology. I seek to follow my King." I believe (and have come to find out personally) that there are sincere believers all over the political landscape who are seeking God and doing what they believe is wise. This is a lesson I learned in college. And I don't "demonize" them based on their party or how they vote on a bill. To be honest, I'm more interested in serving my church and my brother than worrying about the upcoming midterm elections.


UPDATE: Add to the list of government mandates the 2010 census. Have you mailed in yours yet? It's fitting that the census forms and tax deadline fall in the same period of time. I guess  God and government has been on my mind a lot lately.

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Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies

Here's a really neat video posted on The Rabbit Room's blog by songwriter Randall Goodgame that accompanies his song "God Made Me." It's really cute. The song is, too. It seems more and more artists are making kids albums this year and Randall and his pal Andrew Peterson released one a few years back called "Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies." I hear it's really awesome. Enjoy the video!


Slugs & Bugs - God Made Me from Scott Brignac on Vimeo.

Empty Saturday

Easter Week blog #2


I've always been fascinated by Empty Saturday. Sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Empty Saturday is the day when the body of Jesus lay in the tomb, stone rolled over the entrance, dead as a dead body can be. There was no messiah walking the earth. No Son of God in heaven. No spirit of the Son dwelling on earth. Just a drab, dreary, dull, disturbing, empty day. For those living in the then and there, it must have been the worst day ever.

Can you imagine what it must have been like? The birds stopped singing. The flowers refused to unfurl. The wildlife stowed away in their secret houses. The wind calm as a sleeping baby.

Can you imagine it? Hard to, isn't it?

Scripture tells us of only one event happening on Empty Saturday. It can be found at the end of Matthew 27.

"Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I [am to] rise again.’ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it [as] secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone."

 That's it. On Empty Saturday, the only action came from those who put Jesus in that grave, the troubled Pharisees and an obviously annoyed Pilate. It's funny the reactions of the two main parties in the life of Jesus. The Pharisees were worried about the disciples stealing the body. Meanwhile, the disciples had given up hope and were mourning in the Upper Room. The meek who became mighty in the presence of majesty became meek once again. They weren't even entertaining the thought of stealing the body. They were just trying to get their wits in order!

On the spiritual side, there was more going on that Saturday. Exactly what happened to Jesus' spirit is the subject of great and wide debate among theologians because Scripture does not make it clear. The 2nd Century Apostles Creed says that he descended into "hell." That's one view. Some say he preached to the fallen angels, proclaiming his victory. Some say he opened the gates of Hades, the place of the dead, to release the spirits of the righteous ones, sending them to heaven. Truth is... nobody knows for sure but all have their bible verses to support their views. I'm staying away from this argument. I'll just conclude that Jesus' spirit was not with his body in the tomb that Saturday. His body was dead.

What a bummer! Empty Saturday is a strange, forgotten day in the Church calendar, too. We celebrate Good Friday with a solemn service, then make plans for Easter Sunday. There's not usually anything liturgical going on Saturday. It's a preparation day, of sorts. In fact, I'll be heading to my church, myself, in a few minutes to prepare for tomorrow morning.

Maybe Empty Saturday and Good Friday serve as emotional foundation stones for Easter Sunday. We know their spiritual value, but maybe their solemn tones help us celebrate on Sunday morning. Kind of like riding a roller coaster. After all, without the valleys there are no heights.

May you have a blessed Empty Saturday and a marvelous Easter Sunday!

-- John