Friday, November 13, 2009

Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life

No better way to say this that just to say it. I've been let go. Discharged. Nixed. Axed. Shown the Door. Got my pink slip.

Yes, I've joined the ranks of the millions of unemployed Americans in the Obama-nation.

Before I go any further, I have no ill feelings for the Credit Union. Honestly, they did me a favor. After the most trying time in my 16 year tenure, I just lost the will to grow in my job. I'm not blaming anyone, but I was just got tired and I could not fight anymore.

You know you're done when you work for just a paycheck and health insurance. My joy has always been in coming home, playing with the kid and performing on the weekends.

Now I get to turn my life into a cliche and start a new chapter in my life. I've can live comfortably for a few months and decide exactly what God wants me to do next.

Well, anyways, the first stage of grief is denial. I'm pretty sure this is where I'm at now. I feel like I'm on vacation. I switch between the feelings that I don't have to go to work on Monday and oh, crap, I don't have a job.

Now's my chance to start a new adventure. Time to start something new. Can I find a 9-to-5 in this economy? Can I find a job that I can be happy with?

So what's the first thing I did when I got home? I bought an exercise bike. I was going to do this anyways with the money I made taking photographs on the cruise. No real reason to not do this. I really need to increase my cardio and reduce my gut.

Friday, November 06, 2009

Religious Abuse and Other Factors Leading the Irrelevancy of the Church

Before I begin, I feel I need to make some unnecessary disclaimers. I, Alan Ng, am a conservative born again, evangelical Christian with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After you read this and the other blog entries, you can call me whatever name you want, it will just fall off my back.

I became a Christian in the 1980's just before graduating from high school. I was swept up and took part in the popularity of evangelicalism. I loved my Christian t-shirts and listened to only Christian music. I drank milk from Christian Cows (Steve Taylor Reference). I listened to Focus on the Family, Chuck Swindoll and Chuck Smith. I protested abortion (as I still do today) and The Last Temptation of Christ. And like all good evangelicals, I'm a Republican.

These last few years though have been trying times, not for my faith but for my faith in the church. My faith that the church can remain relevant and paint an accurate picture of Christ.
Much of my attention today has moved away from church and church involvement to the ministering to the needs of those abused and discarded by the church. The song They Will Know We Are Christian By Our Love comes to mind. What does the world see, when they see Christians.

What I see today from Christians has little to do with showing Christ's love to a fallen world, but more about maintaining a pure and godly lifestyle and forcing others to live that way too.

When I talk to people who have turned away from Christianity, I hear stories of the Church letting them down and the Church constantly judging them. The reason rarely have to do with Jesus Christ himself.

In future blogs, I hope to get into detail with this topic, but before then I would direct you to my writings about Homosexuality and Christianity. All of the criticism that I've received never once treats a gay person as a person in need of Christ, but as a person whos lifestyle will prevent them from ever become a Christian and now their sole goal is to destroy the family. This is a huge leap to take.

As an evangelical my life's goal is not to protect America's legal definition of a family. My goal is to be salt and light in this world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

More on this later.