"Velvet Elvis"-DAY FOUR

Today, we conclude Chapter 1.

After spending some time talking about how living the Christian life should be like jumping on a trampoline (with the springs representing doctrines and beliefs that shape a belief system), Bell then moves on to those people who practice what he calls "Brickianity". This is where someone stacks their beliefs and core doctrines like bricks to create a wall. There's no room for discussion on what bricks (or doctrines) are placed on the wall, because if one brick gets pulled out of the wall...the whole thing crumbles.

Bell uses an example of a videotape he watched where a man who gives lectures on the creation of the world told the audience that if they denied that the world was created in 6 twenty-four hour periods, then they were denying that Jesus died on the cross!!

This is the major problem with "Brickianity". Anyone who practices this is telling people that if they want to follow Christ, it has to be done THEIR way instead of God's way. There's a whole bunch of rules and regulations that go along with it...there's no freedom!!

I’m convinced that ministers who waste their time and energy bashing other ministers are believers in “Brickianity”. They believe that ALL Christians should live according to how THEY think things should be done. They’re creating God in their own image when they should be spending more time asking God to mold them in HIS image!!

What about John 8:36??-"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." This isn't talking about living recklessly or sinfully. This is talking about salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Because of what He did, we are free from the legalistic traditions that some Christians use to try and suck the life out of us.

I remember when I attended Granger Community Church. Senior Pastor Mark Beeson used to always say that the definition of Religion was "DO" (you have to do certain things to be right with God). The definition of Relationship was "DONE" (Jesus did it all by his death and resurrection so we could receive His salvation and have a meaningful relationship with him). I don't know about you, but I prefer a relationship with Jesus where I don't have to worry about being struck by lightning or being greeted with a condescending pointed finger everytime I screw up (which is often).

Consider what Bell says: "The first Christians announced this way of Jesus as 'the good news'. That tells me the invitation is for everybody. The problem with 'Brickianity' is that walls inevitably keep people out. Often it appears as though you have to agree with all of the bricks exactly as they are or you can't join. Maybe you have been outside the wall before. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Christianity is not some exclusive club where you have to meet certain requirements to join. All Jesus asks for is for you to receive his gift of salvation, tell others about Him, and do the best you can to be a Christ-like example. We're not going to get it right all of the time, and throughout the Christian walk, we are going to have questions about why things happen the way they do...which leads us to the next part of Chapter 1.

Bell continues on by saying that questions are an important part of the Christian life. We can't be scared of them and run away from them. It is NOT wrong to question why we believe what we believe. Jesus never told us to check our brains at the door. Asking questions shows that we're willing to admit we don't have all the answers, and we're not afraid to let God be God.

In the footnotes of "Velvet Elvis", Bell says this: "David Rylaarsdam from Calvin Theological Seminary makes a great point about questioning God: In Job 42:7, God indicates that He is angry with the questions of Job's three friends, which is paralleled in the gospels when the religious leaders try to trap Jesus with their questions. But Job's friends and the Pharisees had a smug sense of arrival about their theology. The psalmists, by contrast, demonstrate humility about their understanding of God, and their questions arise out of the context of faith (even if it is weak faith mixed with much doubt). So the psalmists are able to ask even tougher questions of God than the Pharisees: "My God, My God, you said you would not forget your children, and now you're hiding your face from me. I don't get it! Where are you? I'm getting hammered here. Why?"

Bell uses Genesis 18:16-33 to illustrate how believers in God have been asking questions forever. "God tells Abraham what he is going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah...Abraham thinks God is in the wrong and the proposed action is not in line with who God is, and Abraham questions him about it. Actually, they get into a sort of bargaining discussion in which Abraham doesn't let up. He keeps questioning God. And God not only doesn't get angry, but he seems to engage with Abraham all the more. Maybe that is who God is looking for-people who don't just sit there and mindlessly accept whatever comes their way."

"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning God. Not belligerent, arrogant questions that have no respect for our maker, but naked, honest, vulnerable, raw questions, arising out of the awe that comes from engaging the living God."

A Christian life is supposed to bring joy and freedom. Things won't be easy...God never promised that life was going to be a cakewalk. However, He promised us the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

I want a RELATIONSHIP...not religion!!!