Unka Glen

thecleric asked: Glen, thank you, you are a blessing to me and you do great work. Question: my dad was murdered when I was 7. Coming from a non-Christian home this made me have no desire for God until I met my wife who introduced me to Jesus. I’ve forgiven the murderer (who is in jail) and have been thinking: should I reach out to this man and if so how? I worry that he doesn’t want my forgiveness or that I’m only doing it for myself (to perhaps get some closure). As someone in prison ministry what do you think?

Unka Glen answered: I think beware of ideas that sound “Christian”. More often than not, they’re designed to make us feel Christian. You have no need for that. You are a Christian my brother, and a plenty strong one at that, judging by what you’ve overcome, and I’m just flippin’ proud at know ya.

Could this be a sort of back-handed selfish thing? Well, just about anything can be said to be self-serving in some way, but the key question to ask yourself is: would I still do this, if nobody ever knew about it? Do you need the closure? If you’ve forgiven this brother (and I know that’s a multi-layered process), then it’s closed. 

Speaking as a prison ministry professional, I can tell you that it would almost certainly mean a great deal to that inmate. There’s an image of inmates as bring either cold people or hustlers, but I can tell you I’ve met far more cold and hustling individuals in three piece suits, than I have wearing prison uniforms. 

It would mean a great deal to this man, and benefit him on some level almost certainly, and if you want to do that, I’ve got your back all the way. But do I think you’ll get anything out of it? Nope. Not likely. If it’s about ministering to him, then that doesn’t matter. If it’s about you, write him a letter, leave off the return address, and say your peace.

But let’s land on this: how amazing is the love of Christ? Look at the extremes it takes us to! Think of how transforming and transcending it is. You’ve forgiven the unforgivable in others, because you were forgiven a debt you could never pay. Look at the extremes that the enemy went to, just in order to keep you from finding this love, but you found your true self, you found your Heavenly Father, and nothing will ever be the same again!  

rashep2 asked: Obviously, all sin should be avoided, but are some sins worse than others? I ask because even though I’ve only heard “God sees all sin the same” in my life, I’ve encountered people that will tell “white lies” left and right, but God forbid someone has sex. Then they’re treated like they have a ticket to Hell. That’s just one example. It’s like people react to certain sins more strongly than others. Is that a human thing or a God thing?

Unka Glen answered: Ironically, it’s kind of a sin thing. The Bible only really lists out two types of sinner: sinners who are saved, and sinners the Lord wants to be saved. The Bible doesn’t have a list that ranks sins from worst to most acceptable. 

Christian culture has a list, but Christian culture isn’t really based all that much on the teachings of Christ. Christian culture not only radically over-exaggerates certain sins in a way that isn’t biblically sustainable, but it also frequently trivializes Christianity itself as it reduces it down to cute t-shirt sayings and bumper sticker messages.

If we really wanted to draw up a list of the worst sins, I suppose we should start with the sins that Jesus rebuked the most often, and that list of sins would look something like:

1. Religious people who make a show of being more righteous than what they really are
2. Religious people who are greedy (and fail to care for the poor)
3. Religious people who judge and condemn others for violating the list of sins those religious people made up

So on that note, let me quit making this list of sins right there. But in parting, we might note that these are the sins the church is most often tempted to commit, and thus they are the sins the church is most frequently guilty of. So nobody is particularly interested in what Jesus has to say on the subject of sin.

Jesus in many ways shattered the way people thought of sin. Jesus completely did away with the idea that sin was a list of naughty things you shouldn’t do. Jesus made it clear, following Him, (and by extension, the Holy Spirit) is righteousness, everything else is a sin.

If Jesus comes to your little tax collector booth and says “follow me”, righteousness is getting your narrow butt up offa that stool and going with Him. Sin is everything else. If you decide to stay in your little booth, you can go and pray, and read scripture, and give money to the temple, and do all sorts of things on your list of good things, but you’re still in sin.

Not because you’re collecting taxes, but because you’re following your own idea of right and wrong.

But by following Jesus, you’re already not collecting taxes, so you’ve discovered that by going in the right direction, little by little, doing the wrong thing becomes harder and harder to sustain. As you follow Jesus down the path He’s leading you on, your sins begin to weigh you down, and they eventually become a useless bag of rocks you just don’t need to be carrying anymore. 

If you’re working on following Jesus, and if you’ve let Him lead you through some tricky twists and turns in life, you see sin in this way, just the useless stuff that doesn’t make sense anymore. Sin becomes the heavy junk that you have to drop and leave behind in order to fit through the narrow gate to a world of much better things. 

If someone treats sin like it’s something they can use to make themselves seem superior to others, well, that’s someone that hasn’t really started following Jesus.

ohbaooo asked: I’ve been thinking about spiritual highs (the ones you get from a conference or praise concert etc.) lately. On one hand, for some reason, some people regard it as something negative, but I feel that it’s a good thing to go through, because it leads a person closer to God, and also to get a better understanding of who He is. What are your thoughts on spiritual highs?

Unka Glen answered: Well, let’s get one thing straight off the top: wherever there’s something popular in Christian culture, there’s someone, somewhere attacking it with all they’ve got. And that’s of course more about jealousy than actual analysis. On the other hand, I think it’s sad that praise concerts and conferences are where most people think to go, to experience a spiritual high, but more on that in a bit.

The real question here is whether the “high” you’re experiencing is an emotional high or a spiritual high. Both are good to have, I suppose. You paid good money for that praise concert, it should be uplifting. So there’s that. But emotional highs tend to be very short lived. Nice as they surely are, emotional highs simply aren’t solid enough to build a walk on. 

I imagine that these concerts and conferences do, for most people, involve a certain amount of spiritual growth, and that there is a certain giddy spiritual joy associated with being set free from the fear and pain that often grip us. There’s nothing like that feeling of casting off the sin that entangles you and running that race for real.

I would beware of any situation where your emotions are being manipulated, even in a positive way, and if someone wants to get in your wallet at that same moment, then it’s time to head for the exit. 

But all of this is different from a so called “mountaintop moment” that people often have on retreats. That’s where a certain amount of teaching and getting away from the everyday routine allows you to be ALONE with God, and be open to Him in a way you ordinarily wouldn’t. And maybe you receive an insight and a breakthrough you never had before. 

Those mountaintop moments are, I find, much more important, and can be even more joyful and satisfying over the long-term than sort-term emotional highs. 

But all of this is about the internal, where I’m the center of attention. If you want a lasting spiritual high, you point that focus outward. To illustrate that point, let me use my brother and fellow blogger Joon Park. 

Joon came to Chicago to hang with our ministry, and on two hours notice we asked him to preach in front of a room of ex-cons, gang members, and addicts. This is our weekly worship service called THE BRIDGE. Trust me when I say, this is one of the most demanding rooms you’ll ever preach in. 

When it comes to preaching at THE BRIDGE, it had better be good. They’re hurting, and they’re doing everything they can to follow the Lord, and they need all the help they can get. If you say something to help them, they will literally tell you so right on the spot, if you don’t, it gets really quiet in that room. And if you, God forbid, say something to make things worse, well, you might want to go ahead and make your way to you car. And do so at least at a slow trot.

Joon got up there, and as we all knew he would, he got after it, digging deep for nuggets of truth, exposing the lies that were holding everyone back, and insisting that they see that they are not alone in their struggles. Amens and applause greeted nearly every point he made.

Talk about a spiritual high! This brother’s feet didn’t touch the ground for the next hour! The first thing he said to me was, “my fingers are tingling, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to sleep tonight.” I know just how he feels. I get to experience that high every week, and plenty of times in between.

Whether it’s through your tumblr, or something you do with your church, or some project you come up with on your own, serving the Lord and making a difference in people’s lives is the ultimate high. When you know you’re a part, no matter how small, of the work of the Kingdom, well, there’s nothing like it. 

asideofthings asked: Thank you for all the wonderful guidance you’re giving to young people like me! These advices are nuggets of gold. I have a dilemma that I’m struggling with. When I see someone abuse a bible principle/verse, I’m unsure whether or not I should step in and voice out. Often it happens on twitter, with prideful people who can’t accept that they’re wrong.

Unka Glen answered: Proverbs 25:4-5 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, and he will be wise in his own eyes.” Or you can follow the modern day equivalent of that verse: don’t feed the trolls. 

The enemy often uses the internet to set a trap for Christians. Imagine if you will, one demon reporting to another demon (in the style of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters) on how this trap is set up. 

“You’ll be pleased at the brilliant trap I’ve devised! No Christian will be able to resist falling for it! The bait for this trap is simply a debate that the Christian knows he or she can win. Their vanity won’t allow them to consider anything but rushing in to achieve victory! They know the right answer, and they can express it in 140 characters or less. And of course they must defend the Bible, so they will take the bait without thinking.

We can tie up thousands, maybe millions of Christians this way, working tirelessly to convince people that not only won’t be convinced, but would never even consider being convinced, lest they lose the attention they so desperately crave. These Christians will think themselves brave heroes and defenders of the faith, meanwhile they’ll step over someone wide open to hearing the Gospel in order to type out their latest reply.

The best part is the bitterness, the meanness, and the personal conflicts that these conversations always descend into. They’ll think that this is what outreach is! Conflict and drama and ugliness! Oh my! The very best part of this is, the people we will tempt into posting all these easily provable wrong things will be people who are hurting, and the Christians will never think to stop and bring healing, they’ll eagerly do more damage!

In conclusion, I think we were all pretty pleased with the amount of porn we’ve got onto the internet, and how easily people are tempted over to it, but in the end, I believe my plan will: A) distract them for longer, B) corrupt their minds, C) pervert their goals, and D) keep them from doing the kind of good we worry about them doing in the world. By comparison, porn is just a guilt machine. Best wishes, and as always, Hail Satan.”

If you’ve fallen for this trap, raise your hand. Okay, I see basically everyone’s hand is up, so let’s all commit to doing better, shall we?

With that, is there anything you can do? I think there is. Think of the people that respect what you have to say. That might be people who follow your Tumblr, or people in your church, or Twitter followers. Tell them, “I’ve seen some things floating around on the internet, and in case you’ve seen the same thing, here are a few Bible verses to look at.” 

In that way, rather than engaging the fool on his folly, you’re engaging with your people and helping them to learn the truth. 

mustardseedguy asked: I was talking to this guy at my job. He said every time I say “Jesus” I make a white man smile. He told me that Jesus wasn’t His real name, but it was Hey-sus. He hands me a book titled “a Chronology of the Bible” I skimmed through It. It’s basically about how “the white man” took who Jesus really was, and used It to their advantage or something, and how It was really written by African Americans. I was too angry to keep paying attention. He also said I have blinders on. Help. I’m just so angry right now.

Unka Glen answered: The book you mentioned was written by a guy named Yosef ben-Jochannan. He advocates a theory of Afrocentrism, saying that most of the world religions, including Judaism (and by extension Christianity) come from Africa, and that much of Western Philosophy and thought comes from Africa as well.

Speaking as a man with a degree in History, all this would be fascinating, if it was true. Alas, it isn’t. Ben-Jochannan claims, for example, that Aristotle visited the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, and he stole his ideas from there. The only problem with that theory is that the Library of Alexandria didn’t exist in Aristotle’s lifetime. Such are the perils of wanting something to be true, and trying to make history fit.

But here are the things we know for sure:

— Racism, as we know it today, can’t be shown to exist in the ancient Biblical and Mediterranean world. Almost no indication of negative stereotypes connected to skin color have been found in ancient literature, the closest I’ve ever heard of was a Roman account of Ethiopians apparently having superpowers because they had touched the sun, and been turned black, but still lived. Futhermore: “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

— This author, ben-Jochannan, donated his works to the Nation of Islam, which you will recall, has some rather extreme ideas about race, that even most orthodox Muslims would not agree with at all. 

— If you meet someone wound up on this guy’s writing, ask them to read a book called “Not Out Of Africa” by Mary Lefkowitz, who breaks down some of these historical inaccuracies. 

— Jesus was not called “Hey-sus”, that’s the Spanish translation of His original name, just like Jesus is the English translation of His name. His mother called Him Yeshua. 

— The Gospels tell us that Jesus traveled with His family to hide in Egypt, and He grew up there. He knew it as home, and managed to successfully blend in with the local population. As Egypt is on the continent of Africa, there’s already a strong enough connection between Jesus and Africa.

— The Gospel spread throughout Africa, by divine intervention, even before the book of Acts was written. You’ll recall the interaction between Phillip and a member of the royal Ethiopian court (Acts 8:26-40). By contrast, it took somewhere between 300 and 400 years for Christianity to make its way as far as the then-primative tribes of England. 

— In every respect, people of African and Middle Eastern heritage have more of a historical claim to Christianity than any Westerners do. By very early accounts, we even have the Apostle Thomas planting churches in India. White Man’s God, my @$$.

As for the way to respond to this guy, I think I might say something like this:

“You were mistaken when you said I called Jesus by the wrong name. I call Him ‘Lord’ because that’s who He is to me, my Lord, the one who leads me. He’s not your Lord, and I can tell, because nobody would be led by God to act as insultingly or as dismissively as you’ve acted towards me.

It doesn’t matter if I know the name His mother called Him, it matters that HE knows MY name (John 10:3). I’m not wrong to call Him: 

• Jesus 
• Lord
• My Savior
• Messiah
• Emmanuel
• Lamb of God
• Alpha and Omega
• Prince of Peace
• Counselor
• Deliverer
• Image of God
• Light of the World
• Son of the Most High God, or
• The only One in the world with the power to save YOUR crusty butt

You know ABOUT Jesus, but you don’t know Him. I know Him, and though I’m not worthy of Him, He has claimed me as His own. I am His. He and I are, step by step, figuring out what that’s going to be. You are not invited to be a part of that process, you have no vote, no power, no input, no influence. Jesus and I are working all that out just fine without you. 

If you want me to school you on how to hook that up for yourself, so you aren’t caught captive by every “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Colossians 2:8) that comes along, I’d be happy to help. Otherwise, if you want to talk out of turn, and repeat more of that poorly researched mess to me, you can kick rocks.”

kraka-chan asked: Hello, Unka Glen. I’ve read your blog and I found the things you say not only true, but really funny. Anyway, I’m wondering if it’s possible for people with Special Needs (autism, Aspergers, etc) to take up their cross and follow the Lord? I, myself, am diagnosed with Aspergers and, while I do have some problems comprehending some of the Lord’s parables, I do feel that I have a good relationship with Him. Thanks, and peace be with you. :D

Unka Glen answered: Sometimes people on the autism spectrum will find it hard to project themselves and imagine themselves in another person’s emotional landscape, so yes, some of those parables may be tough to get ahold of (don’t trouble yourself, there’s plenty in the Bible I’m still trying to get ahold of). But none of that need limit you at all in participating in the supreme joy of serving the Lord. 

And that brings us to an old fashioned word: “helps”. If you’re looking to serve the Lord, you’ll either be doing evangelism (working with people to make a salvation decision), or discipleship (working with people to make a series of decisions that will help them move forward in their walk), or this third category I want to talk about called: helps.

Helps is simply doing something, anything really, that helps people who are doing evangelism or discipleship. And I think it’s time we celebrated helps for the awesome calling it can be. Make no mistake, helps is as important as any other calling.

Think of it this way, tonight I’m going to a service for ex-cons, gang members, and addicts. In order to pull off this worship service, we need to move a ton of sound equipment, food, and children’s ministry supplies. If I have volunteers that can unload that equipment, I can take a few minutes to talk one-on-one with a guy who just got out jail, and help him get squared away. Without those volunteers, that ministry isn’t going to happen, because that equipment isn’t going to unload itself.

Helps creates ministry where previously there was no way for it to get done, helps opens doors, helps can assist in earning the right to be heard in a community, and everyone who does direct ministry, like myself, knows that we wouldn’t be who we are, without people doing their part to help.

So let’s look at just a few of the many different types of helps callings:

— Transportation. I’ll bet every Sunday there are people who want to go to church, but can’t get a ride. If you drive them, ministry will happen. Simple.

— Church maintenance. Ask your pastor what kind of unskilled work he does that you could take over. Maybe that’s cutting the grass at church, maybe it’s running errands, maybe it’s stuffing envelopes, but if you free the pastor up to work with people, you’re creating ministry.

— Fundraising for your favorite ministry. Most missions organizations will tell you the only thing really holding them back is finances. You bring in the finances, and ministry will happen. Also, think of the witness you’ll be creating. Isn’t it time that Christians were known for doing some good in the world?

— Songwriting. I’ll bet there’s a children’s ministry out there that could use a song that would help teach them some important Bible truths.

— If all else fails, find a local mercy ministry operation, this could be a homeless shelter, a soup kitchen, a crisis pregnancy center, you name it, and simply ask them what they need. That might be moving boxes around, or picking up food donations, or even babysitting during meetings. But if you free up the staff to do their direct ministry, then you are making something out of nothing. And beloved, that’s pure magic.

Anonymous asked: Hey Unka Glen, I’ve having trouble with my relationships with people lately. I get into conflict with them inevitably because of [their] sin. This time it was difficult because it was a situation where I found out about something accidentally, and told the other person upfront what I did not like and why. I’m not so sure if I handled the situation in a godly manner, I was a bit anxious, worried, and frustrated. What should I do?

Unka Glen answered: So what you’re telling me, is that you have problems in your relationships because you go around pointing out people’s sins, and they don’t like that? Hmm. I’d say it’s actually you that needs to repent and turn from your sin (ouch, right?), because this kind of behavior is rude, unbiblical, and lacks the nurturing quality that God calls forth in us. Deep down you already knew this, that’s why you were anxious and worried.

Some Christians have a way of not being able to live with sin, so they hide it, deny it, and act perfect to other people who act perfect back at them. Once an undeniable sin enters the picture, the only thing to do is to shame people into hiding it away like the rest of us. This is not Biblical Christianity. Not by a long shot.

Let’s start with some basic Biblical realities. The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin. That means that deep down sinners know they’re sinning. They may not admit it, they may not be able to acknowledge it, they may deny it, but they feel it. Acting on the blind and frankly ridiculous assumption that sinners sin because nobody is telling them it’s a sin, you (bless your heart) come along and put your finger on that raw nerve, and you’re confused as to why that ends poorly.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict everyone of all their sin all the time, or we’d all be overwhelmed. So He convicts us of the sin that is most important for us to get rid of. This means that if you convict someone of a different sin, and thus distract them away, then you’re actually working AGAINST the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

So here are a few important questions to ask yourself:

1. Have I prayed about whether now is the right time to point out this person’s sin?
2. Is this the kind of thing a jerk would say?
3. Does this person see me as a pastor, mentor, or elder sibling in the faith?
4. Have I earned the right to be heard?

That last one is a critical hurdle for you to get over before speaking up. If I’ve earned your respect as a man of God, if you believe that I love you and have only your best interests at heart, if you believe that I do not judge you but have listened to the Lord regarding this sin… then you’re likely to receive a word from me on this sin.

If you haven’t earned the right to be heard, and you aren’t sure if this is exactly what the Lord wants pointed out, then wait, and keep silent while you do.

Keep silent you say? How can I? Isn’t it our sacred and solemn duty to point out sin!? Nope. It isn’t. You’re meant to preach the Good News, to love, forgive, and have patience in equal measure to that which you’ve received, and to proclaim freedom to those in bondage to sin.

Jesus hung out with drunkards so often He was actually accused of being a drunkard. He was close with prostitutes and tax collectors. But when it came to rebuking sin, Jesus constantly points to the kind of wrong attitude that you (and all too many of the rest of us) are guilty of showing: ”Woe to you, experts in the law, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (Luke 11:46)

It turns out that weighing people down with the need to stop sinning is not Biblically praiseworthy behavior. When Jesus says “woe to you” it’s time to pull up and quit what you’re doing.

I know you’ve seen plenty of Christians act this way, getting into the public eye and condemning sinners for sinning, and all the other Christians seem to agree with this, but it’s not the path that Christ taught us to walk, and what’s more, it’s not even the path that you want to walk. This isn’t the kind of Christian you want to be, it’s the kind of Christian that other Christians have wrongly suggested that you should be.

The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins, you’re there to be the other half of the conversation: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors… they all loved Jesus for the message He preached. If the “sinners” in your life don’t like the message you’re preaching, then I think it’s time to point that finger of conviction back at yourself.

Everyone’s life preaches a sermon. What will yours be? Will your message to the world be: here are some sins that I don’t do, but other people do, and I think they’re really bad sins.”? Or will it be: “God loves his lost sheep, and he leaves the ninety-nine that are found, to seek after His one beloved lost wayward sheep”?

Make no mistake, God will hold you accountable for what you communicate as much as what you say. If you quote scripture, but do it in such a way that communicates judgment, hatred, or bondage… trust me, that’s not a loophole or get-out-of-jail-free card. 

What you say counts, and how you say it counts just as much. To the extent it depends on us, we will be held responsible for communicating love, and setting the captives free, not condemning them for being in their bondage. 

Luke 11:46 “Jesus said, ‘And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.’”

Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

As Jesus points out, to quote scripture and weigh people down with the burden of following it is not enough. We need to be able to help people live it out. Jesus goes on to make it clear, some of these things in scripture are primary, ultra-important, and absolutely vital for us to focus on, and other verses are for basic, everyday living. 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23

Scripture has a number of these moments, where it sums up those elements that are most important, those spiritual principles from which all righteous actions flow.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Bottom line: the Bible says, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). If the people don’t feel set free from their bondage, you ain’t sayin’ it right.

And if it means anything to you, I’ve ministered to inmates for nearly a quarter century now. I’ve met people who have committed crimes beyond your wildest imagination. And I’ve seen more positive spiritual change in those jail cells (and on the streets afterwards) than I’ve ever seen in any church.

It never occurred to me to call them sinners, or condemn their sins. I just loved them, without judgment, and preached the Good News. They liked hearing it, I liked telling it, and change took place. Simple.