War, Christianity, and Rage Against the Machine

The ways in which humans have fought has "evolved" (for lack of a better word) over the millenia. Even as recently as two hundred years ago the British considered the American colonists cowards for actually taking cover from incoming fire. Since September 11, 2001 our lexicon has changed to include words like "insurgency" and "guerrilla." Why don't these Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters just fight pitched battles? Guerrilla fighting as a form of warfare can be much more effective than "conventional" war.

Through the use of guerrilla tactics, fighters have been much more effective at harassing and defeating their enemies than if they massed all their troops and fought "The Battle of Baghdad" or the "The Battle of Kabul." Limited troops and limited resources meant they had to change the way the war was waged to have any hope of success.

For thousands of years Christians have struggled with the most effective and appropriate methods to follow Jesus' command: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). We have waged a war of sorts, sometimes figurative, sometimes literal. We have not always gotten it right. Atrocities are committed in wars, by people who lose their way. Is all of America represented by the slaughter of innocents at My Lai? Are all Christians represented by the horrors committed during the Crusades? Are all Muslims represented by those 19 hijackers on September 11?

And yet as flawed humans, we do judge large groups by the actions of a select few. We see evidence of that in our racial profiling, our prejudice, our language of hatred and bigotry. All Christians are not represented by the anti-abortion advocate who murdered an abortion-performing doctor at the doctor's church earlier this year. All non-Christians are not represented by the Minnesotan who shot to death the anti-abortion protester on a street corner in front of a high school less than two weeks ago.

How can we, as Christians, wage the battles that we should? Now more than ever - there is a world to save. There is a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness and we are His ambassadors to the world. We need to start getting His message right. Its been distorted, manipulated, lied about, and abused long enough.

Again, how do we wage the battles that need to be fought? The Word of God is not a club that we should use to beat the world into submission. That is not the will of God. In our minds, we must start to assume the mentality of the guerrilla fighter. Yes, we've got the power of God in us - filled with the Holy Ghost and His authority and I believe there is a time and place for that in the battle. But we need not always fight the pitched battle, rather we change our tactics to make our fighting that much more effective.

My mission objective is not to get people to come to my church. Not to get them to put on a suit or stop cutting their hair. My mission objective is to love the world as Jesus did - unconditional love for every person there ever was or will be. Loving the world is not an abstract idea - the world is the janitor who empties my trash twice a day who I treat as a human being and I speak to with just as much respect as I do my pastor. Telling my office-mate, "hey, we prayed for your mother-in-law last night at church. let me know if I can help you or your family."

I need to bring energy, confidence, and boldness with my love for the world. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). So, here's where I digress...

On the album "The Battle of Los Angeles" the band Rage Against the Machine has a song called "Guerrilla Radio." Do not go looking for it - it is rife with profanity. The content is extremely leftist, anti-establishment, and militant. But, they make some valid points - I am inspired, for whatever reason, by this song. What they do is Guerrilla Music - Guerrilla Radio. What I do is Guerrilla Ministry, Guerrilla Love.

I'm not going to holler at the drug addict about how he's going to burn if he doesn't stop. I'm going to speak to him with love and tell him how much I'm going to love him whether he stops or not. How we are in the same boat - I sin every single day and his sin is no greater than mine. Our only difference is that I am written in the Lamb's Book of Life - that I have been baptized in the most precious name ever spoken and I have been filled with His Spirit. And when I say that, it's not with a boasting or place of pride - it comes from a place of compassion and longing.

Guerrilla ministry is about changing our tactics, breaking the mold, and being both vintage - following the examples of Jesus and His apostles, the guys that got to hang out with Jesus daily - and yet still be relevant to this lost and misdirected world. My mission is not to tell people they're going to hell - I'm not that presumptuous or prideful. My mission is to love that hell - those earthly, worldly influences right out of them.

Rage says it about 3/4 of the way through the song, "It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now?" They got it right. Stop making excuses - go out into the world with the love of God, His Spirit overflowing your heart, spread His message of love, joy, compassion, healing, and peace. That is my daily mission. My wife told me a few weeks ago as I was out the door to work, "Go and be a blessing to someone today." I want to come home to her and say, "Mission Accomplished."

Last note - Rage finishes "Guerrilla Radio" with six words repeated a dozen or so times, "All hell can't stop us now." Well, Zach de la Rocha really just kinda screams them into the mic. He's right though, you know. Not just the content of the words, but the energy as well. And I'm ready - at least I like to think I am. Ship me off, I want to be at the front lines. Give me some platoon-mates who fight with me, who watch my back and I theirs, and are willing to go walking right out into the world, screaming at the tops of their lungs...

ALL HELL CAN'T STOP US NOW!