April 2012
254 posts
The Case of Mistaken Identity
Since Sunday, I texted Yehezkiel, one of my high school guys in my youth group, checking up on him and seeing how he was doing. “Hey, this is Gio. How was your week?” I asked. And he texted back and we had a great conversation about cameras. We bonded over photography. But between all the texts, I found it quite peculiar the amount of emoticons he used. Knowing that the guy isn’t the type to use emoticons, this was something definitely out of character. One Wednesday afternoon, he called me up, something else that was out of character.
Answering his call, I was surprised to hear the voice of a girl.
Re: Fraternity and Christian?
Exactly!
I don’t know what the anon is dealing with, but I hope he or she is okay. It sounded like the anon had a bad experience with fraternities.
Hip Hop and the Art of Pastoral Care →
fulleryouthinstitute.org
I like seeing how the Bible can be applied in today’s culture. It shows that the Bible isn’t something archaic, but rather living and active (Hebrews 4:12).
Writer Kimberly Williams writes how a DJ and a pastor might have some things in common:
If it hadn’t been for one of my Old Testament courses in seminary, hip hop and I might never have met. I admit it was a strange place to discover one another. My Old Testament professor, Dr. John Goldingay, gave us the assignment to connect the Biblical text with the “texts” of today: music, movies, or novels. Having no idea where to begin I enlisted some of my urban friends to help. I asked them to read from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to tell me if it reminded them of any rap songs they knew. After some fascinating conversations, like how Lupe Fiasco’s “The Cool” relates to Proverbs, and whether Kanye West and the author of Ecclesiastes would be friends, I was interested in getting to know the music more.
I started asking my friends to introduce me to new music and tried to figure out what genres of music influenced one another. As I timidly entered into the music world, I wondered if what I was feeling was similar to how my urban youth feel when I invite them to enter into my theology world. I started making all sorts of connections between music and the Bible, and particularly between the role of the youth pastor and the role of the hip hop DJ. I started to think about how the DJ and the pastor both study material and then form it into a message for a specific audience. Both are looking to move their listeners to respond. Both share with others out of a love and a passion for their subject matter. This line of thinking led me to the Los Angeles Scratch Academy, a school for aspiring DJs.
I'm assuming you were in a fraternity. But how the heck could you and your brother call yourself "Christians" and join something detestable as a fraternity? Fraternities are stupid and are only for people who can't make friends, which I bet you are horrible at, which is why you joined one in the first place.
Troll much? Lol.
First of all, joining a fraternity (or a sorority) isn’t for everyone. So I’m not saying you should join one at all. I’m just speaking from experience that fraternity life was one of the best parts of my undergraduate experience.
Secondly, there are a variety of reasons why people join a fraternity. Sure, people join fraternities to make friends, but that doesn’t mean people join because they can’t make friends. But that’s beside the point. Making friends is, after all, one of the purpose of a fraternity because a fraternity is a social organization.
In my opinion, there are 6 main reasons people join a fraternity.
- Looking for acceptance: Who isn’t?
- Resume builder: Many Fortune 500 CEOS, members of Congress, and presidents were part of a fraternity.
- Leadership experience: You get the opportunity to lead a bunch of men, holding influence on their lives. That’s a huge responsibility.
- Friends are joining, don’t want to be left behind: It may be peer pressure or fear of rection or fear of change, but if your friends are joining one, you’re more than likely to join one yourself. That’s fine—you get to spend more time with your friends and bond with them more.
- To meet girls: Enough said.
- Parties: Yup. Lots of them.
When it comes to being a Christian in a fraternity, sure it is difficult, but it isn’t impossible. There is a lot of temptation out there, so if you can’t stand the temptation, don’t join. But if you do join, you can share the love of Christ. You can set an example.
I got a lot of flack for being Christian (John 15:19), but that was because a lot of other fraternity guys judged me and have been also been judged by other Christians. Skype me, and I’ll share my testimony because I didn’t set a good example. I ended up failing and compromised.
Why do you abhor fraternities so much?
Why are you always shirtless when you skype or webcam with your friends?
Does semi-nudity bother you?
Whenever I Skype with people, it’s usually at night. This means, I am usually getting ready for bed. I sleep shirtless; it’s comfortable that way.
Running
Amp Movement
Amp Movement - Running
“God you called out to me, so now I’m calling out to
You took my fetters that chained me to this world and broke them
Too many days I end up falling on my face…
Lord, give me your strength, for I will run this race”I havent heard this for a long time!
I needed to hear this.
Current Bruins are talking about Shabazz.
I thought it was a typo for Shazam; you know, the word Billy Batson utters in order to transform into Captain Marvel.
In actuality, current Bruins are talking about Shabazz Muhammad.
(Image via Montreal Fail)
