A Church Says Thank-you

We recently wrote an ad in the MountainX called a church says thank-you, this helps explain that a little further.

For many years I grew up in a culture of church that really only expressed it’s self through limited avenues. We sang, we talked, and we listened. It almost became this thing we did out of habit, kind of mass production of expression. After moving to Asheville I’ve become keenly aware of something, the creativity in the church sucks.

It really makes no sense to me. Shouldn’t the people who claim the Creator of the universe as their God be able to come up with something more creative? If the Spirit of God lives in people, as the church proclaims, then shouldn’t we be more expressive? I mean God was so creative, He didn’t just create a beautiful red sunset, he created the actual color red. I mean everything we see was created from nothing, a blank canvass.

As I listen to the local bands play, see the local artists paint and walk through the local galleries, I’m inspired. I’m inspired to actually somehow create, and express as they do. Shouldn’t that inspiration been just as vivid in the church? It’s so frequently lacking and it’s our own fault.

We’ve proclaimed some many things to be “evil” and haven’t aloud for the freedom of expression because we’re so scared it’s not “of God.” We’ve shut our hearts to the creativity God instilled within humanity and have missed out on the beauty of the arts.

Well the artists are still creating and I’m convinced that God finds great pleasure in what He sees. We look into the creation and see things still doing what they were created to do; a song bird singing, a flower blooming and we call it worship. When I see final product of an artists mind come to pass I can’t help but think, “I wish I could worship like that.”

To all of the artists we’d like to say, Thank-you.

A Church Apologizes

We, The Underground Church, recently put an ad in the Mountain-X entitled “A Church Apologizes.” We’d like to take a minute to expand on this thought.

We wrote it because we feel there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what Jesus said, then, and what many Christians say, now. A lot of people have an experience with the latter under the guise of coming from the former and in most situations the two couldn’t be further apart.

Jesus spoke of going on journey that would allow one, if they so chose, to get closer to God and some how have knowledge of this Creator. He spoke of an individual’s willingness to grab hold of this opportunity laid before them and together with God figure things out. Jesus spoke of love, forgiveness, peace with each other and peace with the Divine. He spoke of a wonderful world that was here and now and could some how be experienced through the lives of others.

Unfortunately the message that comes across now is anything but these things. The message turned into the following of “man made traditions,” and a blind unquestioning acceptance of doctrines that produce legalism and empty worship; the very things that Jesus condemned in the Bible.

We’re a bunch of people who are sick of superficial churches, empty worship and people who proclaim unconditional love but fail to give it. We’re sorry if you’ve had a similar experience. If your sick of church but still love God know that you are not alone, and God is still reaching out just as much as He ever has.

If you’ve had a bad experience and want to leave a comment please do and we’ll give you and apology personally.

Lockstep

I’ve been struggling with something for a while now. I call it the “lockstep requirement.” Lockstep was the type of march required by the Germans, Chinese and numerous other military forces. The “Lockstep Requirement” is the thought, that there’s a long list of viewpoints and procedures one is obligated to follow before the stamp of Christian is permitted to be applied. What really is a Christian? Most, if not all, of the people who know me, would classify me as a Christian. I profess to be a follower of the life and teachings of Christ, I read the Bible and believe in its teachings (as I understand them), I pray and express my love to God. Is this the criteria required to be considered a Christian? Is the definition we’re looking for?

If much time is spent inspecting my life or listening to my beliefs one would also conclude I don’t march the same as many of my fellow “comrades.” This leads me down this path of questioning. If we follow the same commander and yet march differently how do I identify with others? I’ve begun to rethink how to define this thing called followers of Christ. I’m not sure I have definitive, nor am I sure I ever will but I’ve given myself the freedom to at least to rethink. Isn’t that what grace is about? Isn’t that why God gave me the ability to reason? Perhaps it’s those of us who don’t “lockstep” that are the real followers.

Comparatively Speaking

Have you ever heard good news from someone you know? Not necessarily a best friend or family member (although perhaps both could be included in this thought) just someone you “know.” They tell you about the raise they received at work, the vacation they’re taking or the lottery they just won. Your outward reaction is one of smiles and glee for the great bounty that life has poured out upon them; inwardly you seethe and think of all the reasons they don’t deserve it. Have you ever felt that way? I have.

I’m not sure why it is. I’m not sure why my inward reaction is one of jealousy, envy and greed. It’s not as though I deserve any grand fortune any more then the next guy. It’s not as though I’m any less fortunate in my own particular situation. They happen to be up and I happen to be the same. No evil has come my way, no harm has fallen on my life, and yet somehow I feel as though I’ve been gypped out of something. Somehow I’ve been robbed of this particular pleasure that was never mine to begin with.

I just heard from a semi close acquaintance of mine who is also a pastor. We started churches relatively at the same time. My church is fabulous; the people, the vibe, the groups…everything great. His church seems to be moving forward at a quicker rate (how I judge this I’m not sure, it just is) and things seem to be “better” for him. Now why on earth would I inwardly whish the downfall of this person. Why would I want him to fail? It wouldn’t affect my position either way; in fact, it may even hurt us if another professing follower of Christ is dragged through the mud. So why the feeling?

As I begin to contemplate this yucky feeling surging through my mind and emotions I begin to understand something. We (I?) live in a comparative world; a world where I constantly judge myself, my possessions, my success/failures through the lives of others. What a sick trap to fall into. It’s sick simply because I can never win. There will always be someone else, a litter faster, with little bit more money, with just a little bit “better” church then me. I find myself on this little unsatisfied ride and all it does is swing in circles and stop at people who are seemingly a little further ahead in life.

Well I for one am done with this ride and I want to get off. I’ve begun to discover this is tricky. As much as I hate the ride I continually get back on. I used to find freedom in the demise of others. This I realized was no way off; it was the same ride only in reverse. No, the only relief I find is being thankful and content with what I have. So I will be climbing of this ride now. I’ll focus on the goodness, the beauty and the wonder that is called the life of Kevin Hayes. I’ll turn my eyes to heavens above and simply say thank-you.

Perhaps then I’ll find joy in the lives of others, and maybe just maybe that was the purpose for us all along.

Blogger Eh?

It’s a funny thing about blogs; if you plan to write them, but never do, really their not much good. As you can tell I’ve not spent much time writing on mine. I’m not much for New Years resolutions so I won’t make one now, but I will put forward a better effort to write on my blog this year. (For those millions and millions of adorning fans J)

As for this blog entry I wanted to spill my thoughts about Asheville. When I first moved here I wrote a letter describing my feelings, it was published in the Mountain X, http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2006/0712letters.php, it was entitled “Something Different this way comes.” In that letter I tell of my love and hope for this great city. The longer I live here the more this hope grows to be true.

I’m not writing this blog to simply repeat my thoughts but to dive deeper into the reason we came here. My wife and I came here with the thought that we could start a church. At first this made no sense, the “bible belt” needs no more churches. After being here it’s become clearer; the “bible belt” needs no more of the same churches.

I recently watched a local preacher on T.V that declared his church would never change. That statement made me so very sad. This was the type of church that condemned all and accepted only those people who “looked” and “acted” like themselves. The fact that they weren’t ready to change affirmed our reason for coming.

We didn’t come here to set up yet another “bible belt” church. We came here to introduce the loving, caring, accepting, understanding God these church’s claim to worship. We came here with hope, love and peace and willingness to become part of this great community. We came here because we love God but hated church; we’ve found so many people who fall into this same category.

We want to thank-you Asheville for allowing us to be a part of you. For allowing us to learn, grow and develop into a place where people can find this message of love.

Blithering Idiot

I just finished listening to one of my new favorite bands, Stephanie’s ID. They recently produced a song called Hey Hey Hey Go… it’s a song about a feeling we get; a feeling like you hit a wall and just can’t get up anymore. She sings of the people who come along and help you up, they brush you off and tell you it’s going to be o.k.

The song really resonated with me. My mind was flooded with all the times people had been there for me. At just the right moment and with just the right words they bandaged the wound. They didn’t always verbally say it, but some how when they spoke I just knew I’d be fine.

You know those moments when you just want somebody, anybody, to fix the problem you face. Then out of the blue, someone asks “how are you doing?” Not the “how are you doing” that we all typically give and receive, the “how are you doing” that comes from true concern and empathy. You end up pouring your heart out to them and mid way through you realize you sound like a blithering idiot (we’ve all been there). There’s that quiet moment when everything becomes still and you just sit for a moment and reflect. Then that person looks at you and you can tell they’ve truly listened. They don’t go on and on with some magical answer. They don’t attempt to solve your problem there on the spot (as if they could). They simply look into your eyes and tell you it’s going to be o.k.

I can’t help but think, more times then not, these are the very words of God. He looks upon all that He’s created and all that He loves and simply asks the question “how are you doing?” Somehow we translate this simple caring statement into an accusation, and we try to cover up. We never get to the “blithering idiot” phase, and because of that we never get to the end of the conversation. The part where it gets all quiet and we discover that God himself has actually been listening. Because we never get to that stage we never get to hear the Divine himself whisper gently, it’s going to be o.k.

The next time you feel like you hit that wall, may you find the very ear of God, may you know that he listens and cares and may you hear the words of the almighty saying “it’s going to be O.k.”

Moment

How many of us really appreciate a moment in time? You know what I mean by moment, don’t you? A moment is the span of a couple of seconds or minutes where something very significant happens. We can all appreciate the obvious moments: our first kiss, the moment you looked into your partner’s eyes and said, “I do,” the birth of a child, and many other significant occasions But how many of us really appreciate the little moments that make up life?

These moments happen all the time, all around us. You may decide to go to the store and buy yourself a nice, refreshing ice cold coke. You look under the cap and discover you have instantly won a free 20 oz coke. Man, what a moment. Or what about the times you’re walking through your favorite amusement park. It’s hotter than hell, and as you round the corner you discover right there in front of you is a “misting tent.” Another great moment.

I think if we learn to appreciate these small moments we can grasp a problem that seems to plague everybody. More and more I hear of how hard it is to pray, how hard it is to hear from God, how little time anybody has for connecting with the Creator of the universe. I think the people who complain of such things also miss the “moments” in life.

My son was playing one day. He was running around screaming like a crazed lunatic, and all of a sudden he just stopped and looked at me. I was working on the computer not really involved in anything at all. He came over and gave me a huge hug and said, “Dad, I love you,” then went back to his boyhood games. I took the time to appreciate that moment. I in turn closed my eyes and said the same thing to God, and I think He took time to appreciate that moment.

God isn’t about long prayers that sound good, nor is He into extravagant theological prayers that flow as well as the Mississippi in spring. He’s interested in the “moments” that make up life. Maybe we should try to appreciate more of them.