Christian Challenge at MSC

(This is a guest article contributed by Remy Currier, a student with us at ChallengeMSC, that was originally published on theooze.com.  Please, check out the original article HERE, and take a look at some of the comments left by readers there.)

Last year, my college had a big end-of-the-year party with a hypnotist, vendors, bands, food, and games. One of the vendors was a Christian clothing company, and their booth was set up right next to my Campus Crusade group’s table, so, at some point during the day, a friend and I wandered over to their table. The guy who owned the company was a young, seemingly cool guy with tattoos and a backwards hat – the kind of guy who looks just alt rock enough to be “Seeker friendly.”

So my friend and I started talking to the guy while we looked at some of the tee shirts he was selling. We had been visiting with him for a few minutes when my friend picked up one of the shirts, a black tee with a screen print of a gas mask on the front and a logo on the back, and asked the guy what the gas mask symbolized.

“I kind of had the idea of how, like, Jesus is like a gas mask that we put on to filter out all of the crap that’s in the world,” he explained.

Personally, I was shocked. Not because Gas Mask guy is anyone special, and certainly not because his view is unique or different. I was shocked only because of the absolutely ordinary opinion he held. It's an opinion of Jesus that we all run into, and some of us hold, for better or for worse.

I kind of feel sorry for the Gas Mask guy. For me, it seems as if his Jesus is awfully small. It seems to me that if all Jesus is good for is just to be our gas mask, then Jesus isn’t really worth very much.

And yet Gas Mask guy can probably back up his position with verses. And let’s face it, Gas Mask guy isn’t all wrong, he’s just missing huge chunks of the story. And, really, it seems to me like he’s really missing out on what makes Jesus so great – The fact that, in encountering the risen Christ, we begin a journey on a path of becoming one with Jesus. It seems to me like he’s too busy worrying about heaven and hell and the evil in the world to see the underlying beauty of the whole thing – the fact that it’s really not about heaven or hell at all; instead it’s about God coming into the world to reunite us to Him.

I guess I really feel sorry for Gas Mask guy because it seems to me like he’s just trying to escape the world. Like Jesus is just there to protect him from the world while he’s here and to be his ticket into heaven when he needs to get there.

For me, when Jesus says in John’s gospel that he is the Way, he doesn’t mean that he’s our ticket into heaven. For me, he’s saying that he is so much more than just a gas mask to put on. He’s so much more than just a bridge to walk over on my way to heaven. He’s so much more than just a means to health and wealth. Jesus is the Way. His teachings and his life create a Way, a path in which to walk, and a guiding companion for that path. But even more than that, Jesus is God. Jesus is the God who was willing to come down into a broken mess in order to restore that mess back to the way God intended.

And so I think that’s really the problem with Gas Mask guy’s idea of Jesus. He’s got Jesus, but it’s Jesus by the numbers. And that’s one thing that God always has tried to keep us away from. I feel like God’s real message for us, the message of the Gospel, is that religious pills don’t work. That God wants something other than right theology or religious practices or sacrifices or being moral. God wants to love us, and for us to love him back. God wants to reunite creation with Himself, and, ultimately, I think that’s what Gas Mask Guy is really missing out on – God’s mission of reunifying everything to Him.

The last day at Glorieta is always a sad one.  People start petering out early and heading home, and Glorieta just feels smaller.  I'll have my last coke tonight, the last one for fifty-one weeks until I return.  We go back to life and work and preparation and meetings and bills and mortgages and leases and everything, and we hope that we can bring some of what we experienced here back with us.

That's one of the reasons I took so many pictures (you can see them here, hopefully), with many more to come as I collect from everyone. These are memory triggers for those that attend, which helps us to remember.

Bobcat Bite's is amazing.  The green chili cheeseburger is like nothing else I've ever eaten.  It's as close to magic as I've ever encountered, but like the amazing Coca-cola here, it too must wait another 51 or so weeks before I can enjoy it again. 

In reflection, this year was odd.  All of the wives stayed at home (at least from our group).  Bobby Pruett wasn't there to make everyone smile.  Joe Ricks wasn't there.  Neither was Max Barnett, due to his recovery from surgery.  And again, it rained in Glorieta on Cerena Melazzo's birthday - thanks Cerena. 

I hope I can bring back what I've learned and apply it to the new events that we're starting up this semester.  I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I received and need to use.   God willing, I can at least put a portion of it to use, and I hope that the students that attended this year can do the same.  If we do even just a small bit of what we learned, there is no way that Mesa State College, or Grand Junction, or even the World as we know it could be the same.  I hope and pray that we can start to make more of an impact, that we can increase our volume and velocity enough that we can see the wheels of change turn in our community.  I hope....

David Platt - Day 6 - The Four Facets of Jesus' Unique Compassion (that we should learn) 

1. See their sighs

1. The crowds and multitudes were harassed and helpless
2. Many of them rejected Him

Today was a good day.  Michael Kelley spoke on Jesus and Lazarus.  We lost in the 3-on-3 basketball tourniment, but not due to the lack of trying of any of our players.  We tried to make a trip to Bobcat Bite's, but it was incredibly busy, so we had to reschedule until tomorrow.

I attended a seminar on Social Justice in the church... I learned a lot of good stuff, but I have to hold off until I can post it all at the right time. 

David Platt - How will we respond when disaster strikes? - Luke 13

1. Natural disasters remind us death is unpredictable

1. Death will probably be sudden
2. Death is surprising
3. Death is sure

1. Life is fleeting, and people are perishing. - Romans 5
   

Day 4 was a trip into Santa Fe - we ate at La Fonda's all you can eat Mexican buffet, then went wandering town.  We took a great look around the Five and Dime, as well as the famous Chuck Jones Museum, which were both great.  There are photos on my facebook page. 

 Next we went to the St. Francis Bascilica, one of the largest catholic church cathedrals in the southwest USA.  St. Francis of Assisi was a pretty cool guy.  Aside from being a great monk, he wrote a lot of things, one of which is one of my favorite quotes: "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."  A pretty great guy, and a really cool church.

That evening, we attended David Platt's Secret Church.  There we had a long, intense time of teaching, much the way that the underground church in China has to train it's pastors, secretly, in hiding.  Check out www.SecretChurch.org for more information, along with a ton of downloadable stuff, including all of the teachings in mp3 format.

Day 0 

I really don't like being a passenger.  It's hard for me to let someone else drive the car, especially over winding, dangerous mountain passes.  Lucky for me, Katie Cupp was an awesome driver.  We made it quickly and safely, with a minor adventure (we watched a hit and run driver get caught by the police.)  We arrived early and easily, and promptly found that no one else was there, so we went to the chuck wagon for some amazing Glorieta coke.  Then dinner, then we had the first evening meeting, where we first saw the awesome band Pearl Merchant and heard Michael Kelley.

Michael is a great speaker, and really challenged us with a great opening night talk, all of which I can't remember right now, but I will update when I can borrow someone's notes to copy down.

Day 1

I cooked some amazing pancakes for breakfast, then we were all off to hear Pearl Merchant again and listen to Michael speak.  (Notes coming forthwith)

I had the opportunity to visit a seminar entitled "Soul Work and Sabbath Rhythms" that was all about how important it is to take a day to not work.  The Sabbath isn't about us being bored all day, or about going to church and not watching football, it's about God giving us a gift that we can use to recharge.  It was good, and I will upload some scans of the notes soon.

David Platt - Four Pictures of Jesus (Luke 9:51-62)

1. Jesus is the Savior of our souls.  (Luke 9:51)

1. Jesus sets off toward Jerusalem to die for our sins.

1. Jesus is the goal, not everything else
2. Do you want Christ?

1. Not stuff from Christ!
2. "All stuff is rubbish."  ~Paul (my  translation)

1. Christianity is a radical transfer of loyalty

1. Your plans are nothing, compared to proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
2. When you are changed by Jesus, you no longer get to choose your path in life.

1. It is He that we desire and love more than any others.