Christian Atheism

This past Sunday I was in Books a Million in Pigeon Forge and noticed a book titled Christian Atheism. The title really interested me. So when I got home the next day I searched the internet wondering what this book could be about. It is such an interesting concept. Reading Wikipedia's article I was confused as to what it means: Christian Atheism- is a belief system in which the God of Christianity is rejected, but the moral teachings of Jesus are followed. I was confused in reading this and wondering why this book titled Christian Atheism was in the Christianity section of Books a Million.

So two days later I went to another Books a Million location and decided to take a gander what was inside the book. The author, Craig Groeschel, writes a letter to his readers. Knowing I don't have enough time to read the entire book in one sitting and not wanting to pay for the book, I decided just to read the letter to the readers. In the letter Groeschel states that he likes to strike up conversations on airplanes with the people sitting near him. One particular flight he struck up a conversation with a college girl who was a "baptist." However her lifestyle didn't always represent that she was a "baptist." Groeschel calls this girl a Christian Atheist, because she understands and somewhat follows Christ's teachings, but didn't live as if God were in existence.

Groeschel then called himself a Christian Atheist. Of course he isn't purposely a Christian Atheist, it's just he will put stuff before God, but will still keep the Christian look on the outside. After reading this I got to thinking how big of a Christian Atheist I am. Of course just like Groeschel, I'm not purposely practicing Christian Atheism. It's just that often times (I use often loosely, I should use always), I put something before spending time with God. I will watch TV, Volquest, go to sleep, go to a friend's house, read Harry Potter, eat an apple, or whatever else there could be. Of course I do all this, while still acting and doing morally right. Sure I will mess up on the morals part, but I'll immediately get back on the right path.

So what can I do to not be a Christian Atheist? I guess it will have to do what Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach strived to do in Practicing His Presence and what Paul instructed us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "pray without ceasing," and in Ephesians 6:18 "pray continually.

And I'll probably fail at all times in doing this.

The wrong kind of elder brother

Prodigal
1. Recklessly extravagant
2. Having spent everything

Having just finished Timothy Keller's The Prodigal God, I can't help but realize no matter how hard I try, I always catch myself acting like the elder brother. Keller breaks down the most famous parables Christ told, The Prodigal Son. He breaks the parable into to different acts. Act 1 titled The Lost Younger Brother and Act 2 titled The Lost Elder Brother.

Keller goes on to explain the younger brother appears to be more lost than the elder brother because of his immoral lifestyle. However the elder brother is just as lost if not even more so. He hates the fact that his younger brother had wasted all of the inheritance and now his father is going to throw the biggest feast the town has ever seen, using his share of the inheritance.

The younger brother is not afraid to hide his sins, he wears them on his sleeves. He does not care what others think of him. The elder brother loves to do everything right and hates to be frowned upon. He often hides his sins so it looks as if he does not do wrong.

The elder brother is not truly a brother to his younger brother. Had he been, he would have gone out and looked for his younger brother. He would have done everything he could have to make sure his younger returned home. He would have been thrilled to see his younger brother return. He would have ran with his father to greet him.

Between these two, I would label myself the elder brother. I often look to do everything right and nothing wrong in the eyes of society. I often look down upon those who openly "sin." I do all of this while trying to hide the fact that I sin just as much as they do and possibly more. I hate that I do all of this. It really sucks. It's funny cause the more and more I think I am becoming less and less like the elder brother, I look at my life and realize that I am just as much like the elder brother as I had been before.

One thing I would really really really really like to think I'm different from the elder brother is that I would truly be an elder brother in the sense of having a younger sibling that I care for and would go to the ends of the world to find and bring back home.

Short Lived

On May 14 a guy I graduated high school with died in a car wreck. From the day we graduated to early March I hardly communicated with him at all. Then one day in March we started talking to each other through Facebook. We had four years of catching up to do. We also had another mutual interest, fitness. We talked constantly through Facebook from then on about different fitness ideas, diets, workouts, etc. We even talked about doing this competition called Tough Mudders together down in Atlanta. It's funny because, I really did not want to do it, but since his death it's all I can think of doing to honor him.

There is more to this though. Chad leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter to be born later this summer. It sucks to hear about someone so young who leaves this earth. It sucks even more to hear who he has left behind. Why does God choose someone so young, with such responsibility? I heard my step-father say when we die, we have completed God's specific purpose for us. But what about those who do not know Him, what is they're purpose? Or do they even have a purpose?

Seeing someone so young die proves we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Ampitheater

Last Wednesday I was walking on the Pedestrian Walkway and the Humanities Ampitheater was full of people, more so than normal. Of course, Easter was near and it was time for the two older gentlemen to come to campus and "evangelize." I use the term evangelize loosely. From where I was standing they seemed to be condemning everyone who was near. I'm not going to say if that's what they were actually doing because I was at the top of the ampitheater, but I did talk to several of my friends who had been listening and their thoughts on them were not pleasant. It is no wonder people are turned off of Christianity. I really feel sorry for the people who think that is what Christianity is. And I hope that is not their only face-to-face encounter with Christianity.

After death.

Being around death for the past few days has got me thinking of life after death and how important eternal salvation is. I do not live my life with a sense of urgency as I should. I do not live it as Christ is coming today as I should. There are many things I do not do, that I most definitely should.

This past Sunday was the funeral for my "step"-grandmother, Mrs. Edith. I put step in " " because she treated me as if I were her grandchild. She loved me as much in the seven years I knew her as anyone else had done in that same amount of time. Her death was much expected, and I was surprised she had stayed alive this long. But as David, my "step"-dad said this morning, there was purpose to her life every bit these past few weeks as there was 10 years ago. There is no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Edith is in Heaven.

Which that brings me to the subject of this entry: Heaven and Hell, but probably more so Hell. Hollywood gives Hell the look of flaming, hot, burning, fires, etc. I'm not quite sure that is what Hell looks like or feels like. If I had to guess what Hell looked and felt like, it would look alot like the world today, just take the joy out of it. For example, ten days ago I was on Bourbon Street and while at the time it seemed like alot of fun, but looking back it was full of sin. Sin that now repulses me.

I don't think life changes too much for the individuals who live life like this. Observing these individuals, it seems they lived a life without Christ, or perhaps and hopefully it was just at that specific time. The only difference to the life they live now and Hell is hope.

As quoted from Darrell Jones, "i mean its a place completely devoid of the holy spirit, which by definition is supposed to be a comfort. so a place without hope or comfort. or bojangles, but it will have jonas brothers albums and homework. pretty much it will be kwinns basement. complete with twilight posters"

I would try to give my thoughts on Heaven, but I can't even possiblly imagine what it will look like. All I can say is it will be a freakin party. And I would assume it would be at least 10 times better than Rorex's Love on the Jersey Shore dance party, had the party been upstairs.

A Living Will

If I were to die soon I would like this blog entry to hold in a court of law (even though it has not been notarized) as my living will of all my possessions of value.

Tan recliner: I would like for Ms. Marianne Borden to have this. We both have had wonderful and comfortable memories with it and I think she would take full advantage of it.

Car: I would like for Mr. Jon "Tuna" McGill to have my car. It doesn't break down, and his car does. However, if the back windshield still has Dale Earhardt written in cursive, then that part of the car shall go to Mr. Ryan Berner

Chick-fil-a Coupons: This one is tough, I would like to bless so many people with my 49 #1 combo coupons. It's hard to pick one person for these, since so many are deserving. But I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have them. She loves Chick-fil-a and she loves sweet tea.

Gymnastics rings: This one was easy. Mr. Darrell Jones would use these with great honor and passion in training for the up coming Crossfit Games

Computer: Who ever wants it can have it. It is 4 years out dated, but it gets the job done. The only requirement is you have to keep the same desktop picture that is currently on it.

Dale Earnhardt Posters: I can't think of anyone other than Mr. Nathan Brodale, complete with any other #3 gear that I might have.


Television: This one too was tough, there are alot of deserving people out there, but if I had to choose one person it would be Mr. and Mr. David Netherton. The original purchasers of this wonderful gift.

Playstation 2: Mr. Michael Dees would play NCAA Football 08 with great passion and competitiveness.

8th Grade Scrapbook: I would like for Ms. Marisa Ward to have this to remember me. This scrapbook is a reflection of my life from birth to age 14.


Posters: I have 4 posters in my room: Andres Galarraga, Justin Timberlake from the N'SYNC days, Muhammad Ali, and Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. I would like for Mr. Ryan Berner to own these. He truly appreciates all 5 of these individuals.


iPod with Music: I would like for Mr. Justin Steele to have my iPod. His iPod broke. Also he likes terrible music, so I would really like to enlighten him.

Any UT stuff: Mr. Josh Reese takes the candle on this.

Journal: Mr. Jake Luna, he's a deep thinker and an English major, so I'll let him take credit for those Pulitzer Prize writings

What I would give for one more day in Destin

After New Orleans, we decided to hit to one of the premium spring break spots, Destin. You know, that place with the beach white sand, where we were dancing. Destin was an interesting place. I was real excited about going. I had not been in the ocean in quite some time and was really looking forward to putting my toes in the water and my (gl)ass in the sand.

Was Destin as cracked up as I had always heard? I don't know, but I do know I really enjoyed what it had to offer.

1. Meet up with some peeps from Knox. They looked at us weird, like we were crazy for going to Destin after a Chick-fil-a Grand Opening

2. Go to Destin Chick-fil-a, receive standing ovation and meet possibly the nicest person on the face the earth. Her name escapes me at the moment, but it was her birthday and we sang her happy birthday.

3. Go to the beach. Live the beach. Dominate the beach. The beach offered everything I could imagine except for sun.

4. Body surfed like a champ with Brodale

5. Got in an "argument" with someone from Memphis about Jimmie Johnson, "argument" ended immediately when he said he liked Jeff Gordon and not Jimmie Johnson

6. Went to Chick-fil-a again. Not quite the same response as the first time, or so I was told

7. Sat in a parking lot waiting for Overboard to open

8. Decided not to attend the "fun" to be had at Overboard. Ate Taco Bell and washed sand off of legs in hotel sink.

9. Legs were stiff so I walked up to Overboard, saw Lexie and apologized for said "argument."

10. It's 12:30 am and we decide to hightail it back to the 'boro

11. Justin drives first shift. I think Tom Tom sucks, yet is very valuable or we would never had made it anywhere on this trip. We are driving through neighborhoods and what look like gravel/dirt roads.

12. My turn to drive. I drive until we are an hour outside of Birmingham. Then I stop at Best Western to sleep in the parking lot.

13. Nathan cleans the car as he drives through a thunderstorm and we are on the north side of Brimingham.

14. Justin finshes us off as make back to Jake's house.

15. Back in Cookeville Ryan and I watch American Idol. We are surprised Katie and Paige both did not get voted off. They are terrible

16. I drop Ryan off to meet his mom. I eat BBQ nachos then nap during the UT basketball game from 4-8:30. My nap was longer than all the other time I slept in the past 2 days combined.

First 100

After leaving Bourbon Street, we drove around the outskirts of New Orleans for couple of hours waiting for the Grand Opening to start. The Grand Opening began at 6:00 am. Here are some observations:

1. While in line one guy calls everyone in front of him dicks. Not sure why. He would have been around number 50, and 50 is before 100 so he would have still gotten 52 combos.

2. The lady who calls for line checks has a loud, obnoxious, annoying voice. I wished she didn't yell. I felt like I woke up on the wrong side of the concrete.

3. My little blowup mattress is infinitely more comfortable than the concrete, well that's what my back told me.

4. For breakfast we got a Chick-fil-a biscuit. It was good.

5. For lunch we got a #1 combo. I asked the lady for Honey Roasted BBQ sauce. She said it was not in reaching distance. I don't know why she couldn't either a) ask the guy beside her to reach it or b) take two steps to the right to grab it. I just tell her Chick-fil-a sauce will do.

6. They give me one Chick-fil-a sauce, so I kindly ask for two more. While giving me only one, she tells me there is mayonnaise in the bag. I think to myself I hate mayonnaise and I definitely hate manyonnaise on such a sandwhich as a #1. She then brushes me off as if they are real busy. News flash: it isn't open yet, and I was the last person in line for that specific group.

7. We meet Zack (it could be Zac). He is 21 and coaches lacrosse at a Catholic school, he's a server at a seafood restaurant on Bourbon Street. He tells us where all the locals go and about New Orleans in general. He's originally from Atlanta, but went to University of Texas for a bit and moved to New Orleans because it is somewhat cheap unless it is hurricane season. He was a nice guy. He didn't know you had to spend the night and all he had brought was a yoga mat and a crazy creek chair. He had his mom bring him an air mattress and his girlfriend later brought a tent.

8. It looked like it was about to rain to the high heavens, so we moved our tents to higher ground. Zack helped move them. It didn't really matter. Both tents got wet on the inside.

9. For dinner we got a 3 piece strip meal. We got to eat inside to test the workers skill on the registers. It was cool. We get to meet Zack's girlfriend. She is a high school teacher.

10. It starts to rain again. Then there is lightning folled by thunder and we go inside. Soon enough there is an ice cream party. Dan Cathy talks about Chick-fil-a and what they stand for. He also tells the Gospel, which is really cool. There is a cake because an old married couple had been to 50 Grand Openings, that is 2600 meals appiece and 5200 together.

11. I go to the tent to go to sleep. My sleeping bag is damp. Brodale then lets me share his sleeping bag and pillow. I'm not sure if I wish there was a picture of this, or if I'm glad there wasn't a picture.

12. I wake up and go put my contacts in. Berner is being interviewed, he is on the news.

13. We sing Rocky Top and some lady tells us to be quiet.

14. The store opens and Tennessee Riverdance our way inside as Dan Cathy plays something on the trumpet.

15. The top 5 people in line had been to a combined 201 Grand Openings. That is 10,452 meals.

I have been to 5 Chick-fil-a Grand Openings and this one was by far the best one I have been to even with the thunderstorms and wet sleeping bag. Other than two instances, everyone from Chick-fil-a I encountered was geniuinely nice.

Here are some videos from our Grand Opening:
http://www.wdsu.com/video/22808413/index.html

http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/f549151c-1632-4c00-b7f3-05c2db22268e/News/The-Grand-Opening-of-the-Chick-fil-A-in-Metairie-with-Chriss-Knight-Part-1-Good-Morning-New-Orleans-03-11-10

http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/73244651-ff39-4427-a002-6910b09bae87/News/The-Grand-Opening-of-the-Chick-fil-A-in-Metairie-with-Chriss-Knight-Part-2-Good-Morning-New-Orleans-03-11-10

http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/62169ba7-1e52-4a42-aa4d-bb34bce64881/News/The-Grand-Opening-of-the-Chick-fil-A-in-Metairie-with-Chriss-Knight-Part-3-Good-Morning-New-Orleans-03-11-10

http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/03be1deb-8c99-4ff1-82f0-0f61ec493676/News/The-Grand-Opening-of-the-Chick-fil-A-in-Metairie-with-Chriss-Knight-Part-4-Good-Morning-New-Orleans-03-11-10

New Orleans

Tuesday afternoon, a few friends and I headed to the Big Easy for a Chick-fil-a Grand Opening. Chick-fil-a Grand Openings are very interesting and I will go into more detail on them at a later date in time. The focus of this post is strictly our experiences in New Orleans with a strong emphasis on Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street is a place I had always heard of, never really giving much of a thought of going unless I was in the area. As it turns out, we were in the area, so we decided to go.

1. If you were to ask me to describe Bourbon Street, this would be my response, "Bourbon Street, the filthiest, nastiest, dirtiest, awesomest (I am aware awesomest is not a word) place."

2. There were people everywhere, I would hate to see the crowd for Mardi Gras.

3. In the 3 blocks we walked of it, there were at least 6 strip clubs.

4. Girls and guys visiting appear to have no shame when looking to take someone home.

5. I thought Knoxville was somewhat lenient with open container policies on Saturdays in the fall. They cannot even compare to the leniency of New Orleans open container laws.

6. There is a two floored Krystal

7. The hand grenade, some type of alcoholic beverage. Didn't have one, but apparently they're world famous and only in the French Quarter.

8. Hardly any natives on Bourbon Street. Not sure I met one person there who was from the area. Then found out it's a tourist area and that locals go to a different street near Bourbon.

9. Jake Luna likes to dance, and does it well

10. Lots of homeless people, not necessarily on Bourbon Street, but on the streets near it. Even spoke about the Gospel with a homeless man named Pete.

11. Some locals are very hard to understand.

12. Who Dat! I loved yelling Who Dat and getting instantaneous responses. These people love the Saints almost as Tennesseans love the Vols.

13. I want you to imagine more snacks than you can imagine- Nathan Brodale

Lukewarm

As mentioned in my previous post, I am currently reading and discussing Crazy Love by Francis Chan. At first I was skeptical in reading a book instead of just the Bible for small group. Then I started reading the book. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The first 3 chapters have been interesting and have put old ideas in a new perspective. Then I started reading the fourth chapter, titled Profile of the Lukewarm. I knew all about "lukewarm" Christians, or I thought I did. This chapter hit me in the face like a sock full of nickels, a sock full of nickels that would simultaneously turn my stomach inside out and make me want throw up food I haven't even thought about eating.

Here are a few of the examples Francis Chan gives backed with scripture:

Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don't really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful life.

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We died to sin, how can we live in it any
longer?" (Romans 6:1-2)

I know I struggle with if I take God's grace for granted, knowing that he can and will forgive me of all sins. However, does that mean I can still knowingly sin?


Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for "extreme" Christians, and not average ones. Lukewarm people call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His followers.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22)

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4:17)

I often sit back, knowing what to do for Him, yet I don't do anything, thinking somebody else will do it.


Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33)

This one nags at me more than most of them. Countless times I come in contact with people I believe to be lost. Whether it's in class or other places on campus, restaurants, old friends or even knew ones, I rarely ask about their faith and beliefs. For what reason? I'm not real sure. I guess I don't want them to be uncomfortable around me or treat me different because I'm a Christian. Which those two reasons are upsetting because eternal salvation is much more important than being uncomfortable or being thought of differently.


Lukewarm people love God, but do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn't really possible for the average person; it's only for pastors and missionaries and radicals.

"Jesus replied: ' Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38)

I too try to love God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind, yet I fail... miserably... everyday. I constantly put other things before God, making my day not fulfilling. Where as all I had to do was put God before everything and I would have felt fulfilled.


Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today's to do list, this this week's schedule, and next month's vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come.

"Set your minds on things above, not earthly things" (Colossians 3:2)

Just an example: for the past few weeks all I could think about my trip on spring break. I couldn't wait for this trip. I wish all I could think about was life after death. How awesome would that be.


These lukewarm identities have caused conviction in my heart. Which has definitely been needed for quite some time. They have caused an urgency inside me that has been discussed not only with my small group, but also with my young life team. I'm anxious to see what else Francis Chan has in store for me and my heart.

Vegas to AJs

For the past 3 and a half years I have been meeting once a week with a small group. The small group first started through QuEST during my freshman year of college. Over the span of the 3 and a half years we have added new faces while some guys and have dropped for various reasons. The faces have changed so much in fact that I am the only original member, having lost the other original member back in December when he got married and moved to Stillwater, OK.

In Year 1 we read the Gospel Mark and built community. Personally, the most important part was building community. I had come to college with several 8 of my good friends from high school. However, none were really pursuing a relationship with Christ. I needed a group of guys to hang out with who were living the life I was wanting to live. We named ourselves "Vegas" (What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas).

In Year 2 the community was already built so we focussed on The Word. Vegas was huge for me sophomore year of college. I was going through a transition of looking for "better" people to associate with and I found my two best friends.

Year 3 we hit a stalemate. We didn't seem to be focussed on the end result. Some guys didn't seem to take the small group seriously for whatever reason.

Now in Year 4, we are going better than we ever have. We are now meeting every Tuesday morning at 6:15 a.m. With all the attrition and new faces we took on a new name, AJs (just ask me if you want to know what it stands for.) First semester we went through various parts of the Bible talking on fellowship, love, and prayer. Currently we are reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

There will be more about my thoughts on Crazy Love in my next post.

What is in a nickname?

For the past 14 years of my life I have been carrying the same nickname, Mikey B (besides a brief stint from 6th-8th grade where it was real "cool" to call people by their last name). Do I like this name? Well of course I do, or else I would have made sure nobody would still call me Mikey B.

Through the long tenure of this nickname, I'm not sure I can think of someone I am not related to that doesn't call me Mikey. I really enjoy having a unique nickname, it gives me a feeling of love. If I had to guess though, most people who call me Mikey B have no idea what my real name is. They could probably guess it is Michael, but I would be willing to guess they do not know my last name.

Recently some of my friends have started calling me Mike or Mike B. I used to hate being called Mike, but now I kind of like it. Why the change? I do not know. Maybe I'm just maturing and Mike sounds more mature.

Only thing I know for sure is nothing sounds better than Michael.

Stuck Between Then and Now

I long for a day of solitude
A day I can just sit in silence and listen
Set apart from the technology that surrounds me
With nothing but Your beauty and creation
But I don't even attempt this
Trapped and alone inside the age of connectivity
Wanting nothing more than separation from the world