as a preface to the second part of my ‘growing up christian’ post i’d like to make it clear that i am in no way attempting to be negative or overly critical. i am simply interested in digging up my past in a way that will move me forward to being more Christ-like. if it ever comes of like i’m preaching, it’s because i’m pleading with myself to keep going. i got way off track in my first post and didn’t bother to edit it, so i will try to be more focused in this one. preface done. so much of what we learn as evangelicals is that there are a specific set of core beliefs that one must affirm in order to be considered “in the fold,” so to speak. this list includes the following doctrinal affirmations: God created the world in six days (literal or figurative), we are… [Read More]
Posts Tagged ‘sin’
growing up christian (part dos)
August 5th, 2011 
dave 
Posted in American Christianity 
Tags: angel, bullhorn, Christ, Christian, cross, Dave Capozzi, death, disciples, eternal, faith, faithful, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, love, religion, resurrection, scripture, sin, sinner, sins, struggle, turn or burn, war 
No Comments »growing up christian
July 18th, 2011 dave wow, it’s been a while. i miss the blogosphere community that once was, and hope that it hasn’t forgotten about me! lately i have been thinking a lot about my life and the events/systems of thinking that have shaped the way i interact with God, people and nature. this current stream of thoughts has led me to remember the stumbling blocks that once stood in the way of embracing the Father of my Rabbi. i remembered the first of many questions that would jump start my inevitable crisis of faith, and recalled my inability to embrace the teaching that Jesus lived and died to forgive me of my sins and that his death opened up the pathway to go to heaven. this came during a time that i remember hearing the notion that if i were the only person on earth, Jesus would still have died for my sins. i… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity Tags: bible, Christ, Christian, Community, faith, God, grace, Jesus, kingdom, kingdom of God, pray, sermon on the mount, sin No Comments »
Under His wings
July 16th, 2011 Dana Fisher He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; ~ Psalm 91:4 Women have a great intuition on protecting, men not so much. So it’s no surprise I’ve struggled in this area, trying to understand the line between protection and free will. How far do we go with someone before we let them go to their own devises? Last week during Sunday service our pastor said something we struck me, “we are idol factories in our hearts”. I thought back to the factories I’ve seen, pumping out large quantities of what ever it is they were making. There seemed to be disregard for demand, they were simply making as much as they could because they had the capacity. That’s what hit me, as sinful people we just keep pumping out idol after idol because that’s all we know, constantly trying to fill that void… [Read More]
Posted in Radical Christianity Tags: Christ, Jesus, kingdom, love, Matthew, Psalm, psalm 91, relationship, sin, war No Comments »Love lacks a deadline
July 4th, 2011 Dana Fisher When I was a young teenager my uncle came out and told us he was gay. I remember some shock from family, but I don’t remember too much overall. There were no mass hysterics(at least not visibly amongst us kids) and he certainly wasn’t ostracized. In essence, nothing really changed inside the family dynamic. The foundation of love still existed. Years later at 19 years old I took a job as an intern at Bayer Diagnostics working with my dad. Not long before that my uncle had been diagnosed with lung cancer after smoking most of his life. He lived fairly close, and having worked there himself at one point, would come down often to visit former friends and co-workers. I spent quite a few lunch breaks walking to the local pizza shop with him and my dad, hanging out and just chatting. That summer means a lot to me. … [Read More]
What Jesus may have said
June 29th, 2011 Dana Fisher I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. – John 13:17 There are many things I will take away from my time at the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina this past weekend of which I plan to write in depth on after a little(and much needed) digestion. One question raised in passing during one conversation was the wish that we had more, if not all, of what Jesus said. It is true that we have just a small portion of his 33 years of life wrapped up in the pages of our Bibles but I had never heard this sort of disappointment almost at the fact we did not have more. Mainly for my own benefit I wanted to hash that out in words. In order… [Read More]
Jubilee
June 18th, 2011 Dana Fisher Creation sees you and starts composing -Michael Gungor As I relaxed on the second floor porch letting the warm breeze rush across my face I watched dark thunderstorms roll over the rockies. Chris was out there with me casually smoking a cigarette, as we somehow began reminiscing about when we were younger. “Remember when we used to catch frogs?” he said after a few back and forth memories going through the years in chronological order. I hadn’t thought about it in so long as a rush of memories came flooding back into the plains of my mind. Bogs and woods, staying out past dark building forts in the most dangerous of trees. I’ll never figure out how one of us or our friends weren’t horribly hurt falling 30 feet out of some tree fort built with old scraps of wood we found behind houses. Not far from our childhood house… [Read More]
Posted in Justice, Politics Tags: America, change, creation, cross, God, heart, homelessness, life, lion, Michael Gungor, sin, war No Comments »Awake from your Slumber
May 24th, 2011 Dana Fisher pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks ~1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 My prayer life has sucked lately. It’s one of those things you don’t dare say as a Christian but if we are honest with each other I think we can all admit we have times where we just struggle with some particular part of our walk, whether it be prayer or reading or being kind or patient. For whatever reason though it’s okay to admit we are struggling with patience but prayer and staying in the Word seem uncouth as if we lose part of our Christianity if we dare admit it. I’m unclear why I felt dried up in this area. In reflection there are things on the horizon for me which will require deeper strength and diligence and wisdom. Perhaps like a tree without water I needed to be thirsty in order to grow roots much deeper into… [Read More]
Posted in Radical Christianity Tags: Christ, Christian, Christianity, Community, fervent prayer, God, patience, prayer, romans, sin, Spirit, Thessalonians, trust, weakness No Comments »Why you should buy a Qur’an
April 4th, 2011 Dana Fisher Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul – Matthew 10:28 When you read this word: Muslim, what comes to mind? Hate? 9/11? Terrorists? Does your spin tingle a little and do you feel a little uncomfortable? Do you feel like they need to be “eradicated”? If this is you, if this feels familiar, you aren’t alone. I’d argue most feel like this but it’s important to understand that us trying to kill them is no better than them trying to kill us. Killing “in the name of God” is still killing and is explicitly forbidden by Jesus in Matthew 26:52 and the 10 commandments. Adding God to it is just defaming His name. I sat in church several weeks ago listing to a missionary who has been in Africa for 15 years(and is still there) with his family. He has set up… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Missions Tags: believer, Christ, Christian, church, denomination, God, islam, Jesus, life, love, Matthew, missionary, muslim, muslin, pray, qur'an, radical, radical christian, radical christianity, sin, sinner, violence, witness No Comments »Hey Rob, I gave Love Wins away
March 29th, 2011 Dana Fisher I gave your book away. With all the controversy surrounding Love Wins, rather than take someones word for it I wanted to read it for myself. So when it was finally released, I ordered myself a copy and had it shipped out. It arrived just in time for a plane ride to Boston and I read half of it on the way there Friday night. Early Tuesday morning I boarded my plane back to Denver. Exhausted from a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends, family, and a missions trip presentation, I plopped into my window seat ready for a 4hr nap. But sometimes that isn’t what the Lord has for us. About a half hour into the flight they moved a lady into the empty seat next to me because her tv didn’t work. With my eyes closed and head resting against the wall of the plane I ignored it and… [Read More]
Become a movement
March 25th, 2011 Dana Fisher If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. ~Philippians 2:1-4(The Message) Imagine losing everything. Imagine uprooting your entire family. Your house is gone. Your clothes. Your children’s toy and books, your photographs and memories crushed. Imagine your job is gone and the only option you have left is to leave your country. Imagine. What kind of panic would settle in your mind? What kind… [Read More]
