First and Foremost

so I decided to start a real blog, not one just to uncover the deceit of roadside attractions (www.thethingsucks.blogspot.com).  I wanted to start with something that has been at the forefront of my thoughts for the past few months.

If you don't know about me or what I have been doing for the past three years, I am currently the executive director of an all-ages concert venue/art gallery in Tucson, AZ called The Living Room.  This is a volunteer position; all the money we make goes to paying bills and general upkeep for the building and equipment.  We generally host 2-4 shows a week mostly comprised of music of the youth culture (lots of punk rock, metal, harccore, etc.) because that is the music I understand.  We try to have a positive impact on the community of Tucson by providing people with a safe, drug/alcohol/violence-free place to spend there time.  The idea of community is what we focus on most.  We want to be able to look each other in the eye, be able to offer help to each other, without the fear of judgment or exclusion.  Personally, I do this because I whole-heartedly believe that a small group of people who want to change a society can easily turn into a big group of people who want to change a society with a few key ingredients; love, respect, self-love, and self-respect.

That being said, I am also a Christian.  the thing I have been wrestling with is whether I should run the Living Room as an expressly Christian organization or not.  I have been leaning towards "no".  I have often been asked by other Christians why I don't host evangelical events or "revivals" at the Living Room.  I can think of a few reasons.  

First, I don't think those things are the best way to preach the name of Christ to another person anymore, if they ever were.  When I spend time at the Living Room, people there know who I am and what it is that I believe and the majority do not hold the same beliefs.  But we are still able to show love and respect for each other because both parties have put effort in to fostering a friendship.  Through that, people are able to see and comfortably ask about what it is that I believe.

Second, I think contemporary Christianity has diluted the followers of Christ with a misinterpretation of the idea of spiritual gifts.  Those who have spent time in the modern church have been fed the idea that some people are meant for preaching, others are meant for overseas missions work, others are meant for being the church secretary, etc.  I honestly hate this idea.  I do not want the purpose of the Living Room to be "evangelical" because I don't want someone cleaning the toilets, mopping the floors, or washing windows and calling it evangelism.  When i am at the Living Room, or anywhere else for that matter, the responsibility to further the kingdom of God falls on me, as a follower of Christ.  I do not want to try to dodge this responsibility by getting involved in a church or organization that I believe is doing this for me.  

I want people to be in Heaven because I love them and, for me, it is difficult to love someone if I don't really know who they are.