Christian George

Below is the Moody Broadcasting Interview I did on Open Line with Chris Fabry. Chris interviewed me last year about my previous book, Sacred Travels, and it was good to touch base with him again. He lives in Colorado and has nine children. Not a fan of sushi, unfortunately, but time will tell. Half way through the interview, my end of the phone went dead for some reason and I couldn’t hear Gary, the first caller. But I guess the trick is to keep improvising, right? Like good jazz-keep the rhythm flowing. Hope you enjoy!

OpenLine.mp3

Here is my recent interview with Rick and Bubba. For years I’ve listened to their show, and it was such a privilege to meet with these guys and talk about our faith. The rumors are true, I suppose–they are the two sexiest fat men alive. I brought some sushi with me and every time I looked over at Bubba, his cheeks were stuffed with Nigiri. Rick laid off the sashimi for the most part, but did enjoy a California Roll. These guys are on fire for Christ and God is truly blessing their ministry.

This Wednesday I am going to be on the Rick and Bubba Show at 8:06 am central time. In Birmingham, it’s aired on FM 104.7 WZZK, but you can find where they are syndicated to on their website: www.rickandbubba.com

Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm central time I will be on Moody’s Open Line with Chris Fabry. In Birmingham it can be heard on FM 88.5.

Not long ago I was sitting in Saint Patrick’s Church listening to John Michael Talbot sing in concert and I was struck by his gentleness. Now, he’s a pretty big dude, but he bleeds kindness. John Michael is a spiritual father at the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a monastic community in Arkansas. He has no possessions, being a monk, and after listening to him play for an hour I could tell he had been with Jesus. Some people you just meet and see God in their eyes. Well, you can hear it in his voice. His music is heavenly, and his soul earthy. He is jazz incarnate and the presence of God bloated that building.

There’s something about the jazz in New Orleans. It’s not the typical elevator music jazz you hear; it’s altogether jagged and risky. It makes me want to pick up the kazoo and just go to town on it. The freedom of the notes, the gorgeous transitions from chord to chord–it’s just too much for me to take.

Life is a lot like jazz. It’s unpredictable, fluid, and disconnected in places. I’m living in New Orleans this week, working on my new book and preparing several talks I am going to give next week at Delta State College in Mississippi. Each week is a different adventure and I hardly know where I’ll end up at the end of a month. Here is a radio interview I did with Josh on LifeSongs in New Orleans. Hope you enjoy!

Christian_and_Josh_Interview.mp3

I had an interesting question thrown at me the other day on a radio interview-WCBQ. It caught me off guard, and so I thought it blogworthy.

The host, Alvin, asked me if Christian George was my real name. I guess he assumed it might be a pen name. Now I have to say that being named Christian and being a Christian is a bit ironic, perhaps. It’s certainly a hard name to live up to. But I have found that in every conversation, I am constantly reminded of my calling. “Hey Christian, what’s up?” I guess it’s God’s way of keeping my mind tuned to his frequency. Sometimes when I’m sitting in church, the pastor will generally say, “Christian . . .” and my head will bob up.

In the Old Testament, names were important things. Take Jacob, for instance. His name meant “Deceiver,” but after he encountered God his name was changed to Israel, meaning “one who wrestled with God.” When Simon met Jesus, his name was also changed to Peter. We identify ourselves by our names, but in a strange way, our names also identify us. They point to the future and the past. God knew our names before the stars were swirling in the galaxy and he wrote them in his lambs book of life. I suppose we have to live up to our names.

What’s your name?

Christian_George.mp3

I just returned from speaking at Bryan College and I must say, the Lord is brewing a revival at that school. I talked to so many students who were on fire for God and the diesel was flowing. Someone once said that revival is not when the roof blows off, but when the bottom falls out. And the bottom is falling out beneath that campus.

I challanged the students to avoid the temptation to make Jesus sexy. Our churches are looking like the world in order to draw the world into the church. We have rockin’ awesome gyms, house pumpin’ rock concerts, and in the process the Christian church gets confused about its identity. But we don’t have to make Jesus sexy to bring people to church. The most seeker-sensitive strategy a church can implement is the exaltation and elevation of Jesus Christ. Christ says, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.”

I sense such a hunger in my generation for authentic spirituality. You and I both know we can see right through facades. God is calling us to cultivate a raw and relevant faith that risks everything for the sake of the Gospel. Only that kind of faith can combat our cravings for sin and God is calling each and every one of us to live as though we will live again.

Below is an interview I did on WTRM on this subject. I really liked Rich, the host. He’s the kind of guy I would love to have sushi with! Hope you enjoy.

Christian_George_Interview.mp3

When we were babies, our knees were close to the ground. We crawled on them and played on them. But when we got older, we learned to walk and eventually run. Yet the older I get, the more I am aware that we as adults need to return to our two knees.

I was having a conversation several years ago with a group of writers who were talking about their books. The guy next to me was like, “Yeah, my book just made it to the New York Times Bestseller List.” Another gal across the table (who was helping herself to a mighty good looking ribeye, by the way) said, “It’s so hard to take compliments, especially when they’re so dang true!” This went on for a while until the table was bloated with super-sized egos. I got kind of perturbed and when they expected me to say something about my book, it came out like this: “Can I ask you guys a question?” They nodded. “When did you start believing all the good things people say about you?” The table got corpse quiet and killed the rest of the evening.

There is a tendency, especially in America, to embrace a consumeristic, success-oriented mindset. That’s what the “America Dream” is all about. But John the Baptist once said, “I must decrease; Christ must increase.” This should be the cry of pastors, writers, singers, musicians, and other Christians who minister to large numbers of people in the public arena. Humility and lowliness should be our mission, our passion. I fingered this verse on my bathroom mirror this week because it reminds me to keep my knees acquainted with the ground. It reminds me to sink my teeth into spiritual meat, not milk.

Paul says it best: “What do you have that you did not receive and if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not” (I Corinthians 4:7)?

Thank you for your prayers this week.

Feb 12-Sirius Satellite Radio Interview, Gus Lloyd Show, 8:30 am (central)
Feb 12-Books a Million book signing at The Brookwood Village in Birmingham, 7:00 pm
Feb 13-Preaching in Bryan College Chapel, 11:00 am
Feb 13-Teach Abnormal Psychology class at 1:00 pm
Feb 14-Teach Counseling Theory Class at 11:00 am
Feb 14-LifeWay book signing in Dayton, TN
Feb 14-Teach Worldview and Life Class at 1:00 pm
Feb 15-WCBQ radio interview at 8:30 am
Feb 16-Barnes and Noble book signing at the Summit in Birmingham at 11:00 am
Feb 16-Amen Corner Book signing in Birmingham at 1:30 pm
Feb 17-Books a Million signing at Fultondale, AL at 2:00 pm
Feb 18-Books a Million signing on HWY 280, Birmingham at 7:00 pm

You’re not going to believe this. I’m helping myself to a rather delicious serving of Japanese food at a Habachi Grill this afternoon and the chef starts throwing food at people. Some catch the pieces of steak, chicken, and shrimp in their mouths, others miscalculate the throw and it bounces off their faces. A piece of chicken almost went down the shirt of a girl sitting at our table, which was totally awkward.

But then the chef gets this crazy look in his eye and he throws me a piece of shrimp. It was like a matrix moment. Everything was slow-motion. Now let me preface this next part. I’ve never done anything like this before and will probably never do it again. As the piece of shrimp flew over the table, I grabbed my chopsticks, reached up and then snatched it out of the air, making a loud “Hi Ya!” The timing was perfect, the table got death quiet, and then everyone erupted. I don’t know who was more shocked–me or them!

(I have a witness for all the skeptics out there). So that’s my Mr. Miyagi story and I’ve been watching the Matrix and doing kung fu moves all day.

So let me just throw this out there: God doesn’t need Viagra to satisfy his bride. The Omnipotent isn’t impotent! Sometimes when I listen to sermons, both podcasts and live, I want to take out my pen and prescribe some medication to help God get it going. For example, not long ago I heard a speaker say, “God needs your help to advance his kingdom.”

This has been brewing in my brain for about a month. God doesn’t need anyone to help him accomplish his will any more than a velociraptor needs a fork and knife to cut its meat. God’s a big boy.

But the beauty of the Bible is that it tells us God does indeed use us for his kingdom–not out of necessity, but pleasure. God enjoys the intimate community shared between Creator and creation. That’s what gets him going. Before we were ever created, God was completely complete within himself–a holy society, as Jonathan Edwards would say. But in his grace, and for his glory, the One who sprinkled solar systems through the galaxy bent down to our earth and Walmarted himself for each one of us. The poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich have access into the holy of holies.

So next time you hear someone de-elevating God, just scratch God a little prescription of Viagra to get him through the evening.

So it’s Mardi Gras down here in New Orleans and I’m loving every minute of it. I don’t know–maybe it’s the beads, the parades, the jazz that bleeds into the bloodstream. But I had something of an interesting experience a few days ago . . .

I was watching a parade go by, dancing to the music, and catching as many beads as would fit around my neck. It was a timeless moment–you know, when you forget the ticking of your watch and just savor the nearby sounds. In Greek there are two words for time. There’s chronos, which is linear time. Then there’s chiaros, which is momentary time. I was loving the momentary time, just dancing and celebrating to my soul’s content.

The next morning I woke up for church, put on my clothes, and sat in the pew with a half excited look on my face. Granted, the hymns were poppy, kind of like a little rock concert, all contemporary and drummy. I told my feet to do a little dance like last night, but they didn’t listen. I told my hands to do a little clapping, but they were glued to my pockets. I tried to move around a little bit, for the Psalmist does say “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of Joy” (Psalm 47:1), but all I wanted to do was blend in with the atmosphere and keep my boredom to myself.

If you are anything like me, you’ll shout your head off at a game and sing with a whisper in a service. This world is full of us–sedated saints who forget the real reason for celebration. I think of Jesus, strolling through the cobbled streets of Jerusalem on a donkey, being lauded by Jews on either side. And one day there will be a bigger parade–a paradise parade–where every person will shout and sing for joy as Christ the King marches down streets of gold.