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Monday, July 06, 2009

Wanted: one punk and two stolen guitars

As the host of the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68, I have an opportunity to reach a large audience on the air and on the web. On last night's radio show, I did something most preachers never do: I put out a $500 bounty on the thief who stole my guitars last week (see picture on the left).

The Gibson Les Paul and Heritage 535 were expensive guitars. They had sentimental value that is worth much more than dollars and cents. But the real reason I put out the bounty is that I can't sit back and do nothing. I can't put all the onus on the police to solve society's problems single-handedly. The Winnipeg Police Service is handling the forensic side of things. I'm focusing my efforts on reinforcing good citizenship and bringing perps and punks to justice. THAT'S what my bounty is really all about.

Some people think I've got it all wrong. They think I should be more forgiving and less materialistic. They think I should focus less on putting criminals behind bars and more on doing something about the social problems that lead to crime. They think I should do what Jesus would do.

For the record: Jesus wasn't a limp noodle or a wet blanket. He called it as he saw it. He offered truth to the deluded. He offered grace to the downhearted. I offer the same.

And I'm offering $500 to the person who turns the thief into the police and helps me get my guitars back in safe condition. I promise: I'll visit him in jail.

If you have any information leading to the solution of this crime, please contact Constable Machado at 986-8111 or dmachado@winnipeg.ca.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Press? Release? Both?

I sent the following press release to media today. Tell me what you think.

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CJOB 68’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PREACHER PUTS OUT $500 BOUNTY TO HUNT DOWN LOCAL THIEF.

Rev. Greg Glatz, otherwise known as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Preacher on CJOB’s GodTalk, is chasing down the thief that stole his guitars.

This week, two guitars – a Gibson Les Paul and Heritage 535 – were stolen from Glatz’s studio. Glatz has decided to fight back by putting out a $500 bounty for information that leads to the thief’s arrest and the safe return of his guitars. The guitar-playing preacher is the host of the GodTalk Radio Show on CJOB 68 (Sunday nights 9-11) as well the lead pastor of Central Baptist Church and the lead guitar player for two local bands.

“I'm tired of lying down and rolling over when it comes to crime in this city. The police are doing everything they can for me. Now, I’m doing my part. On Sunday night’s radio show (July 5), I’m offering $500 cash to the person who turns in the thief and gets my guitars back. This guy picked the wrong preacher to mess with. I’m turning the tables on him. Putting him on the run. I want to make him think twice before he steals again.”

Rev. Greg Glatz can be reached at 204-771-8290 or gregglatz@godtalkradioshow.com

Friday, July 03, 2009

Ideology and idiocy ...

Self respect. Pride. Discernment. Common sense. I think these qualities are lost on most Canadians. It seems like uncritical social liberalism in this country has robbed us of the ability to discern what best serves the interest of Canadians. Ideology usually leads to idiocy … and Thursday’s decision by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board is one of the most idiotic stories of bureaucratic bumbling ever.

Today, convicted sex offender Farid Noedost is virtually walking free on the streets of Winnipeg instead of being deported to his native Iran. Noedost was released on parole on Thursday after the Immigration and Refugee Board determined his fears of being killed in Iran are valid.

Noedost was arrested in 2006 after two girls, aged 16 and 15, said they were abused by the man on three occasions after passing out from drugs and alcohol. Noedost was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2007 for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and given a three-year suspended sentence and probation for a sexual assault conviction in April 2008.

Noedost was slated for mandatory deportation because his sentence was a federal term of more than two years.

But Thursday's hearing was held after concerns arose for Noedost's safety in Iran. He has a warrant for his arrest after escaping from Iran years ago. He has also become a Christian since incarcerated. He claims he will be killed for his newfound faith if he returns to Iran. Noedest played the religious persecution card with Canadian bureaucracy and won. And we lost. Big time.

Michael McPhelan of the Immigration and Refugee Board said he wasn't convinced Noedost will not reoffend. "I have concerns that you are dangerous to the public in Canada," McPhelan said via video conference from Vancouver to a Winnipeg courtroom.

"The way you have conducted yourself in Canada is despicable. You are a danger to girls under 18."

But McPhelan added, "The need to protect the Canadian public is outweighed by the risk you face in your country of origin."

What?!?! For the record: NOTHING outweighs the need to protect the Canadian public. McPhelan should be reprimanded, if not fired, for his statement. And he should be replaced with someone who puts the people he serves first.

With contributions from Kevin Rollason's article in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Tragically not hip ...

I wasn't surprised. In fact, I pretty much expected it. Actually, I would have been disappointed if it hadn't happened. It was Tuesday morning and there in my inbox was a note from my co-host, Marlo Boux. She was at it again. Mixing it up in online discussion groups. Sniffing out stories. Looking for angles. (Looking for trouble.) She'd come across a stream of judgmental, self-righteous rants from believers taking cheap shots at atheists and agnostics (or even other believers who didn't buy into their particular brand of right-wing conservativism). And she was taking them on.

They never saw it coming. They never knew what hit them. Armed with her Amplified Bible, the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, Marlo pushed them hard, arguing for compassion, understanding, and respect for others. She served it with a smile (and probably a muffin), but she kept coming back at them every time they tried to shut her down (or shut her up). Marlo's intervention may or may not have been changed people's minds. What it did for certain was introduce a conscience into the conversation. Why do we think we can diss others with impunity?

The church has a problem. It has a nostalgia-driven notion that the U.S. and Canada used to be "Christian" countries. According to this hyperreal version of history, the good old days were heaven on earth: everyone feared God, everyone believed in the Bible, the courts and schools upheld Scripture and prayer, and everyone prospered. All what we need now is a return to the good old days: more God in the court house, more God in the school house, and more God in the White House (or 24 Sussex Drive).

I'm not going to bother to dredge up all the state-sponsored and church-sanctioned atrocities of the so-called good old days. I just want to say I'm tired of looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. I don't expect to find him in the court house or the school house. I'm happy if he shows up in the church house. When Jesus walked the face of the earth you'd find him outside the court house and the school house (and the church house for that matter). If you want to find him today, hang out with the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, and the prisoners (Matthew 25.35-40). I keep bumping into him on Wednesday nights, handing out sandwiches and drink boxes down on Princess Street.

Why do "believers" spend so much time lamenting the state of society, yet buying into at the same time? According to Andy Crouch, author Culture Making, the church (especially its conservative varieties) has a love/hate relationship with culture. It either condemns and critiques it or copies and consumes it. What the church rarely does these days is cultivate and create culture. That's shocking when you think about it. Shouldn't creationists be creative? Shouldn't people who think they're made in the image of creative God be creating a vivid/vibrant culture instead of complaining there isn't enough God in the existing culture? (Or worse: baptizing existing culture with Christianeese and passing it off as "Christian".)

I think it's time we stopped looking for Jesus in the surrounding culture and started looking like Jesus. That's creative. That's redemptive. That's inspiring.

I'm taking my cue from the apostles, who admittedly started off looking for Jesus instead of looking like him. I attribute the false start to separation anxiety -- one minute Jesus was there, the next minute he was gone. Literally. Here's how Jesus peace'd out:

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1.8-11)

The apostles eventually got their act together. They stopped looking for Jesus and started looking like Jesus (they became his witnesses as he said they would). They turned the world upside down (Acts 17.6). The Spirit of Jesus exploded their doubts and insecurities like metaphysical dynamite. They became "empowered" in the most profound sense of the word. There was no God in the court house, no God in the school house, and the church house (synagogue) wasn't that friendly either, but none of that held the apostles back.

In true apostolic fashion, I think it's time for the church to get hip. HIP was always supposed to be the game plan. Check out the Apostle Paul:

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1.17-19)

It's time for so-called believers to live like they have Hope, an Inheritance, and Power ... instead of living like the best days are behind us, we've got nothing to draw from, and we can't really do anything about what's happening around us.

It's the 21st century. We live in an age of unprecedented freedom. With that freedom comes the real possibility of making mistakes, doing more harm than good, and leaving a legacy of chaos and consumption. But with that freedom also comes a real longing within people to find what's hip. People are looking for hope. People are looking for an inheritance to draw from. People are looking for power.

The world wants hip. The world needs hip. I think it would be tragic if the people who name the name of Jesus were the only people not hip.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Throwing out the Bible ...

Don’t get me wrong. I love people that go to church.

But I’m finding some of the most spiritually astute people I know outside its walls.

Take J, for example. J was brought up in the Episcopal church in the southern United States. For years, J's mother was actively involved in diocesan leadership and very active in the church as a lay minister. Unfortunately, church politics and back-stabbing within the church community took its toll … not on her, but on J who left the church years ago and went through life in a state of spiritual semi-ambivalence. J is done with church, but still looking for God. J writes,

“I have been turned off of the church. I hate that it's come to that. I still believe there is an almighty power somewhere around us and hope one day I will be able to give testimony to it.”

J is one of a fast-growing number of people who've been forced to make the ironic decision to walk away from the church in order to cling to a sense of the divine. J is done forever with “Christen-dumb”. But J isn't done with God.

And I don’t think God is done with J.

In fact, I think God is just getting started. As we round off the first decade of the 21st century, it's becoming apparent that God is about to revolutionize the church within by using the people without.

And this won't be the first time.

Take this story this first-century story, for example:

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" (Acts 10.44-47)

The seismic spiritual shift created by this event is easily overlooked, because we live on the finished side of change. But if you read closely, the signals are still there: the Jewish believers in Jesus were astounded that God was unmistakably present and visible in the lives of people who weren't Jews.

Which should have been impossible.

How could the Spirit of God be working in people who lived outside the covenant of Abraham and the law of Moses?

Today's typical warmed-over 20th century evangelical mindset would have attributed this Gentile tongues experience to demonic spirits mimicking the work of the Holy Spirit. If people don't line up theologically, then obviously God's Spirit cannot be working in their lives. If evangelicals had been heading up the apostolic church, they couldn't have got their heads out of their religious rear ends long enough to recognize that a revolution was taking place before their eyes.

The apostles, however, opened their hearts and minds to the seemingly impossible. God had poured out his favor on the unfavorable: uncircumcised, unclean, unbiblical unbelievers. Peter baptized the Gentiles -- the ultimate signal of inclusion -- and acknowledged them as more than equals in the fullness of God's grace.

And that was just for starters. Over the next few weeks, a backlash arose in the church: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" became the rallying cry of the "true believers" (Acts 15.1,5). Scripturally speaking, they had a point. There is no abrogation of circumcision in the Hebrew Bible.

But Peter, and Paul and Barnabas, refused to deny the obvious. The Spirit of God was clearly present and visible in the lives of those who did not accept the biblical injunction to be circumcised.

So the Apostles tossed out the Bible. Peter went first:

And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. (Acts 15.8-11)

Paul and Barnabas echoed Peter's words. Then, James put it out there:

I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. (Acts 15.19,20)

The language and conditions might sound strange to our ears, but the message couldn't be clearer: "We're throwing out the Bible. All 613 commandments - gone. The endless, extensive interpretations of those commandments - gone. We're done with all the rules and regulations. We're starting over. We're saved by the grace of Jesus. End of story."

All this leaves me wondering about the political and theological agendas the church has sponsored for the past 25 years. Equating those agendas with godliness. Demonizing those who didn't sponsor those agendas. We're in the 21st century, but it seems like we're right back where we started: a legalistic, conditional, exclusionist religion.

At least one scholar agrees. At a recent conference of journalists organized by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Robert Putnam outlined the conclusions of his upcoming book, American Grace. To the dismay of hard-core secularists, Putnam argues that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones. The data also reveals that religious people are "nicer": they carry packages for people, don't mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers.

But there's a downside. According to Putnam, young Americans are "vastly more secular" than their older counterparts. "That is a stunning development," Putnam asserts. "The youth are the future. Some of them are going to get religious over time, but most of them are not."

Religion -- particularly evangelicalism -- bounced back in the 1970's and the 1980's, but began to drop off again in the 1990's after the political ascendance of the religious right, Putnam notes.

"That so-called politicization of religion triggered great hostility toward religion," leading to a "dramatic growth in secularism and none's" (sociologists' term for people who claim no religious affiliation).

As many as a quarter of young people would be in church -- many say they still believe in God -- but they're turned off by how political American religion has become.

Which brings me back to J. Which brings us back to the first century. Which brings us back to the radical belief that "we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15.11). Why, a decade into the 21st century, is the church still "troubling the Gentiles" with political and theological agendas? When, in the true Spirit of the apostolic church, will we be ready to throw out the Bible and recognize that the uncircumcised, unclean, unbiblical unbelievers have been welcomed into the fullness of God's grace?

We know who they are. They know we know. God knows we know.

I don't know what's next. But I'm watching J. To quote Rick McKinley, I'm looking for Jesus in the margins and finding God in the places we ignore.

I'm preaching this essay on Sunday, May 17, at Central Baptist Church. (I'll let you know if I'm invited back to preach on the 24th.)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Fighting my fears ...

Maybe you feel it too. A looming sense of judgment. A foreboding sense of doom. Nothing generates this more than religion. Nothing could be farther from the heart of God towards us.

Fear mongers have been using the furor of God to control the thoughts and feelings of the faithful since the beginning of time. It produces conformity. It generates revenue. It creates an insatiable need for assurance, so people keep coming back for more. And keep leaving with less.

What if God actually loves us?

What if God’s love, not his anger, judgment, and condemnation are the bottom line?

What if, at the end of the day, after we strip away all the other attributes of God, all that's left is God’s love for us?

That changes everything for me.

I used to think the antidote for fear was courage, but I’ve realized that courage only fights against my fears. It doesn't take them away. Only love take fear out of the picture.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. (1 John 4.18)

When I start living in the fearless flow of God's love, I start to breathe. Instead of shutting things down for fear of pissing God off, I start to see the possibilities. I stop thinking about the impossibilities. The road ahead becomes clearer, wider, more open. Life moves forward. Momentum builds. Things start happening. Clarity. Change. Freedom.

The Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts. (Hebrews 12.6)

I don't always get it right. I often get it wrong. Clearly there are times when I need to make changes in my life. The love of God should make it easier for me to accept these changes. If I know God loves me, the battle between maintaining my sense of self respect vs. appeasing an angry deity should be over.

But it's not that simple. When God begins stripping away the detritus in my life, it causes disorientation. It's unsettling. It's uncomfortable. People don't understand. It looks messy, wrong, ungodly, even unbiblical. And here's where the ultimate battle between fear and love is played out. When God takes away the things I no longer need, will I start thinking God no longer loves me? When things in my life begin to disappear, will I start wondering if God has turned against me? Will I go forward into the unknown, or go back to the old and familiar to avoid the inner turmoil?

Jesus said that God removes every branch that bears no fruit, and in the same breath said every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit (John 15.2). What makes this tricky is that both the fruitless and fruitful branches experience a cutting away. When God cuts away what is no longer needed in our lives we may wonder at the moment he cuts if he is discarding us -- throwing us out because we're no longer useful. Has he condemned us? Has he held our sins against us?

Even in this act of divine love, the fear creeps in.

I overthink everything. Music helps me get out of my head and get into the groove. I'll always be grateful for a South Dakota college DJ who handed me a tape during my second year of grad studies and told me to check it out. It was one of the toughest years of my life, but that recording helped me see that year as a step forward instead of a step back. Everything I needed to know in seminary, I learned from Rick Elias and the Confessions. For what it's worth (and for everything it's worth) ...

• The Word Is Love
• Stripped
• Stones

Saturday, May 02, 2009

The long way home ...

Got dropped off at my old "office" today – the Starbucks on Academy & Lanark. This winter, I moved to a new Starbucks in Tuxedo Village. Coming back to the Academy & Lanark store brought back waves of memories: writing sermons and essays; editing books; trading stocks; coding software; and, of course, drinking coffee (lots of it). One of my favorite memories is a meeting with Dave Balzer that led to a first appearance on the GodTalk radio show.

My afternoon at the Academy Starbucks was preceded by an unpleasant but not unnecessary reality check: a long conversation that was tremendously difficult, but incredibly powerful in its clarity. I don’t have these conversations often. I’m “too busy”. But I realized today that I’m too busy in large part because I lack the clarity and focus these conversations create. For the first time in a long time, the things that matter most appeared front and center in my mind ... and a lot of other things immediately fell off the wish list.

If I had the things that matter most, I wouldn’t want the other things.

“Good enough” is never good. And it's never enough. Ultimately “good enough” is not enough good ... and not enough God. “Good enough” can never get me to good. Trying harder won’t change "good enough" into good. Praying harder won’t do it. This is particularly true in relationships: if people in my life are happy with “good enough”, they’ll never want good (and I can’t make them want it).

I feel the church is guilty of something between gross negligence and grievous sin in its sanctification of "good enough". As a young follower of Jesus, I was presented with cavalier notions of life, love, and God. I was told that life was a mostly forgettable preparation for Eternity, that love was a superficial experience, and that conformity to a casual (careless) understanding of Scripture was a sign of God's will. I paid a huge price for these idiotic ideas: I threw away my 20's, I turned my back on true love, and I used the “will of God” as a sophisticated denial mechanism to cover up the loss.

In more recent years, I’ve discovered that life is a sacred trust (Matthew 25.14-30), that nothing is greater than love (1 Cor. 13.13), and that nothing less than "good and acceptable and perfect" can be called the will of God (Romans 12.2). When I embrace these notions of life, love, and God, I become aware of the incredible opportunities inherent in each moment. And I pray that I’ll never settle for good enough again.

Good things are happening in my life. New opportunities, new people, new possibilities. I can't enjoy them fully and completely if I make room for good enough.

When I walked home from Starbucks today, I came to an impasse: a low-lying footbridge submerged by the flooding of Omand’s Creek. I was forced to take the long way home, which brought to mind the 1979 Supertramp hit, Take the Long Way Home:

So when the day comes to settle down,
who’s to blame if you’re not around?
You took the long way home.


The song is a testament to a life of lost moments and missed opportunities. A life of trying to play the hero and winding up with zero. A life of giving oneself to causes, groups, and people that are happy with good enough. A life devoid of good. Autobiographical in more ways than I care to admit.

Today, I took the long way home from Starbucks and it cost me an extra 10 minutes. “Good enough” is long way home that will cost me a lifetime if I don't set my sights on good.

I'm grateful for all the good. I don't want to settle for "good enough".

He is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3.20).

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