I ramble on...

My random ramblings are as follows:

-I love love LOVE making CD compilations for people. And this weekend I was definitely productive in my CD mixing. I made a new "catchy songs" mix of all the songs currently stuck in my head for myself, a Father's day mix for my dad, and a summer rock mix for bro to send to him in Santa Cruz. I've said this before, but if there was a full-time job making specialized musical mixes for people, I would be in heaven. I'd like to think of it as my artistic contribution to the world---so please don't hesistate to ask for me to create a playlist for you!

-This weekend was another wedding, Mindy and Cory's. It was fun and ADX dominated the dance floor (see picture above for example). Another one bites the dust, folks.

-So in our bible study, we're going through the book of Mark. We only go through about one chapter each time we meet, so that there's enough time to discuss the meaty questions. Well this week, we read the passage of Mark 26:36-74 and then split up into two group to discuss. Our group ended up being all the girls in our study, and two guys: Bill, the international ministries director at our church, and Frank, the post-doc from China who just became a Christian last fall. Frank immediately wanted to talk about the part of the chapter where Peter disowns Jesus three times.
You see, Frank is going to go back to his job in China soon. His job working for the government---the Communist government that isn't so keen on Christians. Frank wanted to know what he should tell his boss and his co-workers when they asked him if he became a Christian during his visit to America. It's a tricky thing, because if Frank answers 'yes' to this question, he has the strong potential of losing his job. And by losing his job, he wouldn't be able to be an example of Christ's love to his co-workers. And it's not an issue of Frank being ashamed of being a Christian because he is so desperate to share Jesus with his peers in China. But he was just openly asking if it would be the equivalent of disowning Jesus if he didn't give his co-workers a direct 'yes' when they asked if he was a Christian.
Bill had an interesting view on the whole scenario. He asked Frank what the members of the Chinese Communist party think of when they hear the word "Christian". Frank, in his broken English, said that Christians are viewed as a large organization. Bill asked if this 'organization' was seen as a threat to the government. Frank replied that the government thinks it could be a threat and that Christians want to overthrow the Communist party. Bill then asked if Frank wanted to overthrow the government and the answer was a definite no. So Bill then concluded that it wouldn't be wrong for Frank to say he wasn't a Christian, because the concept of a Christian in China isn't what Frank resembles. Rather, Frank is a Jesus follower--no religions or organizations involved.
This conversation prompted me to think of how in similar, yet different way, the term "Christian" in America has so many organizations, people, and doctrines associated with it that it has become a distorted term to label people who actually just want to follow Jesus. Plain and simple. I wonder how someone's reaction would be different if they asked you if you were a Christian and you answered, "Actually no, I'm a Jesus follower." Even though this would be redundant, since the term Christian translates into 'disciple of Christ', I think people would react differently. It would maybe clarify things ("Oh, so you want to try and love people like Jesus did?") instead of distorting them with an inaccurate term ("So since you're a Christian, that means you hate gay people and always vote Republican, right?")
But despite whatever we say we are, it will all mean nothing if we don't follow through with our actions. So I guess the best thing I can hope for is that people know I'm a Christian, or a Jesus follower, or whatever you want term you want to use, by how I act and not by what I call myself.

And thus completes my random ramblings. Peace.