Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Tupac, the Pope and the Story you GOTTA Read!!

I guess I really started to ‘get it’, when I was talking to one of my friends awhile ago about servinemup.com..

Mane D!! Yo sh’t be OFF DA CHAIN!! You be having me laughing so hard at work sometimes, I have to cover my mouth so that folks won’t be looking at me crazy! You a funny n’ga mane!!

Well..if you gotta act all like that..maybe you shouldn’t be reading servinemup when you’re at work?

Aww, that ain’t nuthin! Besides, they’ve already blocked all the porno and gambling sites at work. Whenever I’m bored or ain’t got nothing else to do, I’ll take my time and read through all your past stuff..you break down some fresh sh’t mane..and you know I don’t normally even read like that.

Well I appreciate that kinfolk..I’m just trying to get down for mine.

Down for your what?

For my purpose in life..what God put me here to do.

What’s that?

The same thing He put you and everybody else here to do..praise His name.

Yeah..well..like I said..I like your writing..but I don’t agree with EVRA thang you be talking about. I mean..why would God put us here only to praise Him?? That seems like we might as well been robots trained like brainless eunuchs bowing to an Almighty God.

Naww..humans are the only animals in the kingdom that have a soul and Free Will. We are made of the likeness of God.

Yeah..but why would God make us but not want us to have no fun?? Just sitting around in church all day praying, when all the time we could be out somewhere enjoying the LIFE that He gave us!!

God never meant for anybody to be in church ALL day everyday..He wants you to do what you do for 6 days and put one aside to honour Him.

That’s a 6:1 ratio..6 for you and 1 for Him and you’re tripping about THAT??

I dunno..I guess I just aint’ that kinda n’ga that likes to go to church.

Me either!!

What?? But you the one all talking about Jesus and stuff!!

I know! But once I got IN to the Word, that’s when it started working in me..and some of the things that I didn’t like doing before, like going to church, God has changed my whole spirit and attitude to the point where I feel bad if I DON’T go to church at least once a week.

But I thought you was talking about God calling you to be a preacher or something??

Yeah..but you just assumed I meant like the kinda preacher that’s addresses a church congregation and gives sermons illuminating the Word.

Well..what kind are you talking about then?

I’m talking about the same kind of preaching that the very first preacher of the gospel the Risen Christ did.

The first preacher of the Risen Christ?? Who was that??

You don’t know that story?

What story?

That story where the victory was won on Calvary?

Uhhh…I’m not sure which one that is…

You saw the Passion of the Christ right?

Yeah! That’s that movie that Mel Gibson did when they crucified Jesus right?

Right! Now..how did that story end?

They put Him up on that cross and He died.

It’s true that He hung His head and then He died….but that’s not how the story ends.

It doesn’t??

Naww homeboy. Cuz after Jesus gave up the ghost, and they put Him in the tomb, He rose again ..showed Himself to some people for about 40 days, then He went back on up to Heaven with the Father, but He sent the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit to watch out for us until we’re all united again.

Yeah..it’s some good people in the world..take like the pope, he’s a good guy right? Doesn’t he have special standing with God?

Yeah, the pope has the blessing of being placed in a position of leadership in the church, but it’s not like everyone can’t have their own close relationship with the Lord. You don’t have to go to the pope to be blessed by God. Back in the early Jewish temple days..

Jewish temple?? What does that have to do with the pope?? He’s not Jewish!!

He’s from Poland, but the fact is that Christianity was born of Judaism, the God of Abraham, the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament..Daniel, Isaiah, Moses..all those old school dudes in the Bible that were part of the family of faith of the one supreme God, the Almighty Jehovah.

Jehovah?? So now you’re saying that the pope is a Jehovah Witness??

Naww, the pope is Catholic..that’s different from Jehovah Witness.

What’s Catholic mean then?

Well..you probably need to ask a devout Catholic if you really want to know, but from the things I’ve read, the Catholics trace their church back to the time of Christ. Peter, the disciple that Jesus told, ‘On this rock I will build my church’ is who many Catholics consider as the first pope. St. Peter’s Church where all of the services are being performed is supposed to mark the place where Peter was crucified upside down (at his request), because he didn’t feel he was worthy enough to be crucified like Jesus.

Do you believe that?

Do I believe what?

That Peter was the first pope?

I dunno about all that..cuz I know that the Catholics have other books that they follow and submit to that are not a part of the 66 canonized books of the Bible that I read. That’s why I’m what you consider a Protestant..like Martin Luther.

Martin Luther King??

Well..no and yeah, I’m talking about the man that Martin Luther King, Jr was really named for, Martin Luther, the German who appeared before his ecclesiastical accusers at the Diet of Worms in April of 1521. They had given him the ultimatum to repudiate his unwavering faith in the sufficiency and perspicuity of the Scriptures. Luther is said to have responded, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other- my conscience is captive to the Word of God..God help me! Here I stand.”

That sounds pretty deep.

I know..I just copied that verbatim from MacArthur’s Stuby Bible intro on How We Got The Bible. It’s a lot deeper than you think..cuz just like right now, they’re some Catholics reading this with a raised eyebrow cuz it will make people less inclined to join the group and it might even make some Catholics consider leaving, so I guess you can say, it ain’t the kinda stuff you can say out loud for too long before you get shot. Protestants and Catholics have been fighting many wars over many years over this same topic of discussion right here.

So I guess now really isn’t a good time to be saying that stuff now huh? Considering the pope being dead and all?

I have respect for anybody that has bowed down and submitted to the will of a higher authority. That shows a discipline and selflessness that most people don’t have. But as much as I respect and love all people, especially those who believe in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..I would be wrong to have you believe that I’m tripping over the pope being dead. He’s another man that God placed in a position and now it’s time for him to move on and they’ll elect another one.

Whoaaa!! You go REALLY be in trouble if you start talking about Catholics AND all white folks!!

I don’t mean it like that..I’m just saying that I have a problem with people going to a pope..or even a priest for that matter, and asking some man..a man that’s another mortal, just like they are, for forgiveness. That’s just the Protestant in me. So like I was saying..back in the days of the Jewish Temple, they had this one room in the innermost part of the temple that was called the Holy of Holies. It’s the spot where they kept the Ark of the Covenant, and it’s also the spot where the High Priest would go into once a year to give an atonement for the entire nation, because behind the veil, in this Holy of Holies is where the Spirit of the Lord dwelled.

Ark of the Covenant?? Like the thing they were looking for in Raiders of the Lost Ark??

Exactly. So they used to tie a rope around the high priest and put a bell on him and send him into the Holy of Holies once a year.

Why’d they put the rope around him??

Because if he had one evil or sinful thought while he was in there, he was liable to be struck down dead immediately by the Lord. And since nobody else could go in, they’d have to drag him out with the rope.

Are you making this stuff up?

Naww mane, I’m telling you about how it was going down in that temple back then..only ONE person had that direct contact with God and that was the most ‘holy’ person, which was the high priest. But right after Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross, the veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies was split and torn in two (Matt 27:51;Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).

What is that supposed to mean??

It means that we ALL have access to the Lord, through the Mediator Jesus Christ..you don’t have to go through some mortal man, not the mortal virgin Mary, not through a priest, not through a preacher, cardinal, bishop, pastor or pope..the veil is torn mane..we ALL have access to God.

So you’re saying the pope is a fraud??

Of course not!! The pope is a man that has been put into a very blessed position, so you know that the blessing of the Lord is upon him. Even for him to live as long as he did is a blessing..I’m not saying that he’s a fraud, I’m just saying that too many people assume Catholicism and Christianity is the same thing, and it’s not.

(laughing) That’s wild! You’ve got people getting on you for saying Jesus is Lord, you got people getting on you for using too many curse words and now you’re about to have Catholics putting you on their ‘Banned’ list of authors!!

See..you laughing, cuz you think it’s funny. But once you get on that battlefield and start serving Him yourself, you’re going to see how real this really is. It’s not helping my potential book sales for me to disagree with Catholicism. If you really wanna blow up in the world, the trick is to offend as few people as possible. Go with the flow. Be universal. Politically correct and all that junk. I’ve been guilty of falling into that safe trap and only talking about things that wouldn’t rustle too many feathers. But now that our church is off our 40 day fast while reading a chapter from Rick Warren’s, A Purpose Driven Life everyday, I feel like a pit bull that’s been in training, or ‘the keep’ as they say, that they just let down on the ground and I’m ready to bite another dog!! I’ve been watching how all these people are crying and tripping over the pope dying and it made me start really thinking how wild the world really is. On one hand you’ve got a gang load of n’gaz ready to jump on the bandwagon and spread the lie of Tupac being alive (even though they never saw him), but yet when it’s time for these same people to have a chance to tell somebody about how good Jesus is, the first thang out their mouth is, “I dunno if Jesus rose up or not, I wasn’t there..how am I supposed to believe something just cuz some white man wrote it down in a book.” Ya see what I’m talking about?? People are WILD. But the even wilder part is, once you start telling somebody about Jesus, the first thing they’re going to do is step back and look at you and how you’re living your life. How this n’ga go come at me about Jesus and he got more bad habits than me??? Once you get into that Word, it will start getting into you and that’s when that growth starts happening. Ya’ll know about them growing pains right? Just like a parent chastens their child and redirects their life on the path that they SHOULD have been on in the first place, there are often bruises and wounds inflicted by this chastisement..some folks end up in car wrecks and stuff like that. My father was telling me about my great- grandfather one day. He had been called by God to preach the Word as a grown man, but he ran from his calling and didn’t submit. But one day there was a big explosion at the saw mill where he was working and it knocked him unconscious. When he came to and was revived, he woke up preaching the Word of God and didn’t stop until the day he died. You know what it means to run from your calling right? It can be something as simple as just getting up and taking your kids to church or it could mean giving your testimony about Christ to someone who is struggling and needs a Rock to hold on to. Whatever it is that God puts on your heart to do, you’re supposed to DO it. If you’re unsure about if it’s God talking to you, or some evil or random ‘spirit’, then the first thing you need to do is refer to the Scripture. Does it contradict Scripture? Cuz God can’t come at you from that wrong side of the fence…He ain’t even like that. When the Lord comes to you, it’s going to be in such a way that you KNOW that you’re advancing toward the Light if you heed His beckoning.

"She was so fine and so good to me whenever we hooked up…she was even telling me I need to start going to church. I can’t see how I could let this go..it’s like the Lord sent her to me. "

Yeah..but she’s married and you’re married..the Lord ain’t go come at you through an adulterous affair..that ain’t Him. No, when you get that call from the Lord, you’re going to know what’s up..you might not be ready to face it, but you’re gonna know. Because after awhile, if you continue to ignore and put off your calling from the Lord, He’s gonna make you feel it. Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice ya’ll. I heard my uncle say in a sermon one day that Grace is when God blesses us with things that we don’t even deserve. And Mercy is when God shields us from the pain and struggles that we do deserve. But once you make that decision to live in His house and under His rules, then there’s a cost to be paid for living under the protection of the Lord and it’s a costly grace that Dietrich Bonhoeffer outlines in his book, The Cost of Discipleship:

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves…the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” – The Cost of Discipleship

Holeup D! Holeup Mane! Holeup! Holeup! HOLEUP!!!

What? What’s wrong??

See, you done took it to a whole different level now..I ain’t even trying to get into all that deep theological discussion like that..I was just asking you what you thought about the pope.

Oh..well..my bad, I just get caught up sometimes, thanks for bringing me back. I guess you can say that I think the pope is like Tupac is right about now..dead.

But why is everybody acting all like it’s the end of the world and stuff? What made this pope so special?

Well..first of all he was the first pope in over 400 years that wasn’t Italian. But although you see all the people saying he was the best pope ever because he reached out and traveled the world more than any other pope in history, there is also a large segment of folks who don’t think this pope did enough with the power he had.

Really? Yeah..some folks were mad that the pope didn’t do more sooner when all these priest child molestation cases started popping up, some folks are mad that this pope didn’t do more to allow priests and bishops to marry and some folks are mad because this pope didn’t make any decrees or allotments for women to become ordained into the ministry.

Women? Catholics don’t let women become part of the church??

Catholics are like most other Abrahamic religions, the religious structure is such a way that women have a limit to the duties to which they can perform in the church and being an ordained minister is not one of them that Roman Catholics (or a lot of Baptist churches too for that matter), allow to happen.

What about you? Do you think women should be allowed to preach?

I dunno if I’m the right person to be asking..cuz you know I’m kinda different..because actually, I believe that the FIRST preacher was a woman.

Huh??

Well when you consider what ‘preaching’ really means, it means to spread the good news that Christ has risen. He conquered death. There were 3 people to be raised from the dead in the gospels, Lazarus (John 11:17-44), Jairus’ daughter (Matt. 9:18-26) and the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-17), but all of them were understood to die again. Christ wasn’t just raised from the dead, He was resurrected, never to have to taste death again. Ain’t nobody else got it like that. So when you consider the gospel account in John, when Mary Magdalene was at the tomb and the risen Christ appeared to her (John 20:11-18)..when she went away to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord…when she went away to tell the disciples that SHE had seen the Lord…when SHE went away to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord..that’s when she became the first person to preach the gospel of the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ. So in that sense, I guess you can say that I believe that women are called to preach the gospel of Christ just like men.

What other sense is there??

Well..that’s the real sense..but you also have the structural sense of the church when it comes to places of position and some folks are hard line like the apostle Paul, but that’s a whole different level of the game that will piss a whole lot of different feminist-type folks off..we’ll have to save that one for another day. People are tired, have been reading for over 3200 words and they’re ready to go back to doing something fun!!

Aww D! I was really starting to get into it. Reading your website is the closest I’ve gotten to reading the Bible or going to church all year!!

See, that’s a problem right there. If you’ve read more Scripture on servinemup.com than you’ve actually read for yourself in your own Bible? Then you need to tighten up yo game mane…you’re gonna be left behind if you don’t study to show yourself approved unto God.

Well..doesn’t the stuff I learn about the Bible from servinemup count??

It’s a start. But you should NEVER base everything you know about what the Bible says on what some other person is telling you it says. Because people are prone to errors, mistakes, lies, ignorance, bad understanding..it can be a lot of different things that can distort the truth of the gospel of Christ. That’s why it’s CRUCIAL for you to study the Bible for yourself.

What about those other books and stuff that you say the Catholics have in their Bible that isn’t in the Bible that you read?

I’m not sure exactly how that fits in to the mix, just like I don’t know how the Book of the Mormon fits in or even the Qu’ran. But what I DO know is that the 66 books of the Bible contain the complete account of eternity past and eternity future. God said what He had to say..it ain’t nothing else anyone else can add or take away from His Word. "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. " Revelations 22:18,19

That sounds pretty spooky right there.

Hmph! Spooky ain’t even the word!! You betta find you a Rock to build your house on and get ready for that storm n’ga. Cuz now you can’t say that ain’t nobody ever told you about that gameplan that is written in the Word of God. To whom much is given, much is required. Getcho game tight and go tell somebody about Jesus. Even if you yell it out at the top of your lungs on a street corner everyday for the rest of your life and nobody seems to be listening to what you’re saying. Even if you’re only able to reel in ONE soul into the family of Christ..that means you’ve did ‘that there.’ The Lord will smile down on you and say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’. Whatever it is you do, talk, sing, write, teach, pray, witness..whatever you can do to help out on the battlefield, the Lord can use ya. God doesn’t want you to change who you are, He wants you to change who you serve. He wants your testimony mane. He wants you to tell somebody how good He has been to you in your life, because you never know when your testimony will strengthen another believer when they’re in a down and depressed state, what us native Southsiders call ‘going through’. Some people don’t want to believe in Jesus cuz they’ve never seen Him with their own eyes. But yet they’re ready to start throwing parties and telling everybody “I TOLD YA’LL’ as soon as they hear some wild lie about Tupac being alive. Hopefully the Catholics out there aren’t offended by my words, because I strongly believe that all who are in the family of Christ can come together at the cross in love and respect. When I was preparing this post, or should I say, ‘wrestling’ with this post, my podna that I grew up with on the Southside that also happens to be the Distribution Manager for Servinemup Ink, started laughing at me, because he was the one that first warned me that once I picked up my pen to serve the Lord, that’s when I was going to be put in that pit with all the wild animals and evil spirits intent on distorting the message or destroying the messenger.


“You gotta be dead game when you spreading that Word D. That full armor of God ain’t a joke..you go NEED it mane!! “ – Tommy Curvey, Distribution Manager, Servinemup Ink.

I started feeling the assault awhile ago, but I noticed that once I posted a Statement of Faith on the website for all to see, things started to chill out for a bit, cuz they couldn’t find a reason to hate on where I’ve laid my faith. Hate it or love it, I’m not tripping, cuz I know that He came up out that grave..and I ain’t talking about Tupac either! All ya’ll haters betta get on yo job mane. Servinemup Ink is rolling through….”Ya’ll ain’t NEVA seen no pen do THIS befo!!”