As I begin to see the next leg of my journey unfold, I am thankful for what I’ve learned along the way. The last five years has been spent rediscovering my true identity: Not who I thought my parents wanted me to be, not what I thought it meant to be a “good Christian,” in short, no longer living to please other people. Now I want only to please a God who transformed my life from a selfish, self absorbed pig of a human into a person who desires only to reflect His love.

That’s what God is to me.

Love.

God is love.

Why do we forget that? Why has organized, institutional religion departed from the simplicity of Christ’s message into a convoluted hodge podge of theology and tradition?

You see, when we view God as love, the presentation of Christ becomes so simple. The life of Jesus serves as an icon of that love (John 1:1) The cross has long represented exactly how much we are called to sacrifice so others might experience true love. Is the cross offensive to you? Forget about the cross, there have been countless symbols that embody His love. Choose a memorial to one you are most comfortable with. Jesus never asked the cross to be His official icon. He asked that HE be that icon.

When faith is viewed in this light, there really are no atheists, for what the atheist is saying is they reject the way God is presented to them, not what God represents. After all, who is truly saying, “I don’t want to give and receive love?” The life of Christ settles the definition of love, as that definition is this, “Greater love hath no man than he should lay down his life for his friends.”

As I laid out this presentation of Christianity to my non-Christian friend, he reflected on this for a moment and said, “I’m OK with the idea of someone laying down their life for me. I just don’t want to lay down my life for them.”

Wow. Honesty. How refreshing.

So I take back what I just said. There ARE those who simply don’t want to give their lives for others. There are many who, like me, wanted to receive a “whole lotta love” without giving one drop in return.

This brings me to a central question: How can we lay down our lives for our friends if aren’t fully committed to understanding their struggles, their fears, their gifts and their dreams? How can we be willing to give our lives for another if we don’t know what exactly it is about them that is worth dying for?

How can we die for someone if we aren’t first willing to walk a mile in their shoes?

I’m not saying that to understand a drug addict we have to become addicted to drugs, I’m merely saying we need to actually listen to their life story enough to understand WHY they became drug addicts.

Interesting how people can pass judgement on others so quickly without taking the time to walk a mile in their shoes. Consistently I’ve observed these same people retreat from their platitudes and dogma when they come face to face with the targets of their criticism and are forced to look them squarely in the eyes.

Funny how our worldview changes when we take time to live in another person’s world.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

I’m not waxing nostalgic for my childhood. Rather, I’m reflecting on the simplicity of childhood relationships. There was no mystery about how friendships were formed. You asked someone to play with you. Unless they has some compelling excuse, like it was dinner time, or they had chores to finish, they would almost always say yes.

The problem with adulthood is that the chores are apparently never finished and no one has time to play.

This makes me sad

The older I have become, the more I realize what I need in life. I have discovered it really hasn’t changed that much since I was 5 years old.

I need friends I can play with.

I recognize this need in me may be more than the average person requires.

As I became a teen, the involvements of playtime became more complex – especially after puberty. I didn’t just want to play ball, I wanted to bond with my friends at a deeply intimate level. I sought out those who experienced music the way I did and who shared a similar aesthetic in almost every other area. I had to know what my pal’s worldview was. Whether or not we could play together depended on whether their worldview lined up with mine.

Now I think of this as “tribe formation.”

In socially diverse American culture, the bonds common to ethnic identification have been fractured, leaving the individual to fend for themselves. I believe the teen years are spent trying to figure out which tribe we belong to. Thankfully, the new tribal definitions no longer rely on the color of one’s skin or ancestral origin. I believe they have more to do with socio-economic class, geographical origin and, as I’ve said, one’s worldview.

Unfortunately, living in a culture that is hyper-focused on individual freedom – coupled with a preoccupation with material success – little time is left growing one’s tribe.

I’m not talking about family – though family is central to tribal formation. No, I’m talking about the deep brotherhood that exists between people who have found one another, who recognize the richness of their commonality and the creative power that exists in their unity.

As I aged I grew out of touch with how importance these tribal relationships were. Moreover, I was ignorant of how rare tribal formation is.

Even in the midst of a spiritual quest, we are tempted to be inclusive of all who profess that same desire for truth. I have come to the conclusion that one’s tribe is not based solely on a spiritual journey, but also recognition of other intangibles that make us attracted to one another.

One of the things I have identified in my own life – and apparently this is not a need everyone has – is the need to share as much of my life with others as possible. How rare it has been to find someone as interested in sharing their life with me.

This seems to be the underlying force that motivates my creativity; the desire to experience the intimacy of knowing others as they are known by me.

I understand there are boundaries that must exist. I understand the need for personal space and solitude. What I don’t understand is a society that describes a standard of living defined by almost every ideal except this one: true intimacy.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

Don’t get me wrong, I want to be on the winning team. Most do. Recalling the famous quote popularized by Jack Kennedy, “Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan” – few want to be orphaned by failure or siding with the losing team.

When this attitude infects our faith the results are costly.

Read the teachings of Christ. The breadth of his entire communication was devoid of the hubris associated with a conquering king. On the contrary, he had a difficult time persuading his disciples that following Him would be, in the short term, a losing proposition.

By “short term” I mean the time between when He was crucified and when He promises to return. By “losing” I mean that following Him will require the willingness to lose so much on so many levels – loss of personal comfort, loss of financial security, loss of friends and family – oh yea, and perhaps the loss of your life. If you lived during the few centuries after the death of Christ, often it meant the loss of your life and the lives of everyone you knew who admitted to being a follower of Jesus Christ.

What a disappointment then, that institutional Christianity has become preoccupied with winning.  Not that the New Testament doesn’t discuss victory. Jesus talks about our victory over the desires of this world (For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.)

Paul talks about our victory in Christ. However, this victory refers to our victory over death (O death, where is thy sting, oh grave, where is thy victory.”)

Nowhere do the Gospels refer to victory within any given culture, whether defeating Rome, unseating Herod, or even dismantling Pharisaic Judaism. God alone dealt with these empires according to His sense of Justice and in His good time – often diametrically opposed to what His followers wanted to see happen.

Fast forward to the United States in the late 1980’s; I too cheered our team onward. I too had been intoxicated with the lust for victory over everyone and everything that contradicted my narrow view of how I believed God would work in the affairs of man. I buoyed myself with the thought of “winning a nation for Christ.”

After all, we were like a football team deep in our own territory with our backs against our own goal. To please God, we needed to fight for our faith. We needed to transition from a slow lumbering ground game to a dramatic passing offense and “go deep” for Jesus.

We used a short list of issues that defined the battle lines. We became determined to elect candidates who ran on “family values” themes. The thought was that if we could just elect enough “Christian” politicians, hire enough “Christian” teachers, listen to enough “Christian” music – we could somehow usher in Christ’s return, providing Him a ready-made platform where all the heavy lifting of His second coming had already been done.

Again in a demonstration of our devotion to God, we segregated ourselves from the rest of the world, thinking our faith demanded we be removed from anyone who did not share our viewpoint.

I had a good friend who returned to the United States after living abroad for 20 years. His English wife observed this about America, “ We have too much “god” and not enough love.”

An “us” versus “them” attitude results in those who belong to the “them” category having no difficulty discerning what the agenda of the “us” is. This segregation goes further to even make distinctions within the community of Christ. The need to be described as “evangelical” presumes that Christians who don’t share our worldview are not “evangelical,” neglecting the fact that the very essence of being a Christian includes a desire to persuade all to embrace Christ’s love. In the eyes of the Evangelical Christian – other Christian sects don’t cut the mustard.

The consequence of a theology hyper-focused on speedy conversion is rooted in dispensational theology that emerged in the late 19^th century through leaders like John Nelson Darby. Darby, as did many who followed, espoused the belief the “end times” were eminent and therefore the focus of the church should be to convert as many people as possible before the world ends.

The long term consequence of this perspective results in a community of Christians acting as if their spiritual training comes from the business world, where success is measured in numbers. Sales need to be made and they need to be made quickly. The success of all spiritual endeavors is measured in the numbers attached to their “soul winning.”

The problem with this strategy is that it relies on the most superficial methods of social engagement to accomplish short term goals based on an eschatology that was a radical departure from the Christianity that existed the previous 1800 years.

I believe it was no accident this brand of Christianity emerged alongside the industrial revolution. In nations like England and the United States, the demands of production became so inculcated in our culture that even the church became conformed to an assembly line approach to growth.

How very different is faith expressed among non-industrialized nations, where the seasons of life are not measured between 9am and 5pm nor the business quarter, but by a much slower more patient calendar.

This was the landscape in which Christ emerged; one where he could spend days, weeks, even years dining with, sleeping with and working with a few men he would transform into His likeness.

There is no shortcut to the deep intimacy required to produce relationships where one is willing to die for another, let alone the willingness to die for those who oppose us. Yet this is exactly the path demonstrated by Christ – and utterly rejected by conservative evangelical Christians.

What proof do I have of this sweeping accusation that conservative evangelicals are unwilling to die for their faith?

Look no further than their opposition to key social issues. Instead of a strategy that welcomes the sacrifice of our own lives as a commitment to demonstrating our love for those who disagree with us, they are convinced that a strategy that protects them from all perceived dangers will win the day.

Consider today’s social hot-button: Gay Marriage.

The argument is basically this: No society that endorses homosexuality survives for long. Allowing gay marriage will end the institution of marriage as we know it. The end of marriage as we know it will lead to a breakdown of society. A breakdown of society will inevitably lead to the end of civilization as we know it.

Hmm. This sounds familiar. Where has the end of a civilization occurred before?

The year is 312 A.D. Emperor Constantine inherited an empire that, throughout the last several hundred years, attempted to eradicate Christianity through unmatched brutality and murder.

Amazingly, the new Emperor who began his reign with a similar agenda has a miraculous spiritual encounter that leads him to not only tolerate Christians, but prefer Christianity above all other competing religions. Christians soon found seats within the halls of power and participated in Roman governance. After Constantine, all the Roman Emperors to follow were Christian.

The amazing spiritual transformation of Roman culture from polytheism to Christianity was truly miraculous. Surely such an embrace of the faith would seal their favor with God as a nation and an empire.

Unfortunately, within the same century, the Roman Empire that lasted half a millennium came to a catastrophic end as the nation disintegrated under the onslaught of marauding Vandals, Visigoths and Huns – all of which were non-Christian.

Yet the Christian faith not only survived – it thrived.

What I have been telling my evangelical friends lately is this:

Let’s suppose what you say is true. Let’s imagine that your worse fears about the “homosexual agenda” become a reality.

Let’s say that your rights as a Christian are not merely limited, but terminated altogether.

…and let’s go even further…let’s say they bust down your front door and lay waste to you and your family.

Sound like a horrific future?

Welcome to the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries A.D, because this was exactly what life was like for most Christians in the Roman Empire.

What did these Christians do? They did exactly what Christ did. They rejoiced that they could demonstrate the same sacrifice made by the founders of our faith – the same sacrifice made by their savior.  They influenced a culture because of their selfless sacrifice for their cause. Instead using their physical might to persuade, their persuasion came solely by their willingness to sacrifice themselves wholly at the whims of others. This proved too impressive to resist.

Where do we as Christians get off thinking we have somehow been relieved of this mandate? How exactly is it we think we will influence anybody when we have so retreated from any notion of self-sacrifice that our last refuge is using our government as a proxy for a job only an intimate enclave of Christians can accomplish?

If the government has become an arbiter of morality – my God – talk about lowering your standards:

You can get drunk – so long as you don’t drive.

Overeat until you can’t walk.

Gamble to your heart’s content.

Lie at will, just not in a court of law or to a law enforcement official.

Cheat on your spouse.

Get a divorce

What queer lines Christians choose to draw regarding legislating their world view. Why such abhorrence of one issue whilst countless other immoral endorsements are so completely overlooked.

Personally, I believe if there is one issue that IS abhorrent to God, it’s a nation whose Christians have become so enmeshed in their culture of entitlement that they would prefer another die for their cause than they should die for their own.

Shortly after 9/11, during our invasion of Afghanistan I heard General Patten’s quote bandied about with glee – even within the church – that says essentially the same thing, “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

This bravado is antithetical to the teachings of Christ.

Could God’s warning against idolatry be in full force when we allow our personal insecurity and fears to direct our theology?

Contrary to our worst fears, we may discover that it is us, not those we point the long craggy finger of judgment towards who are closer to provoking “the Wrath of God.”

I believe God’s “win” column has little to do with “cultural transformation” and everything to do with eternal transformation – to elevate the individual from being earthly focused to becoming heavenly focused.

When others view the sacrifice of Christ – not in the symbolic or abstract – but in full force among His followers, I believe there will indeed be a cultural shift: One where there is less “god” and a whole lot more Love.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

My hiatus can be explained in large part due to accepting a new job that required my full attention – at least until I could be reasonably assured my employer was pleased with their decision to hire me and I was pleased to be in their employ.

That being said, I’m happy to report that once again, I’ve been fortunate to have been offered position that is a great match for my abilities and interests. What a true blessing it is to work doing what I love – finding a job that compliments all of the interests I have in both media production and communications.

Another factor in my silence has been my desire to get help for an ongoing health issue that was interfering at a foundational level with my ability to balance my various involvements.

Over these past months, I have given much thought to my relationship to God and the church as we know it. I have been sorely challenged to live out some of the conclusions I came to in past posts – and feel liberated in speaking frankly about the difficulties I have with institutional spirituality.

My posts that follow will be both an exploration of these challenges and updates in my continued desire to build a safe environment for artists to explore their challenges as well. I confess that to date, that conversation has been entirely one side. I concluded a lack of comments at this blog equaled a lack of interest. However, reviewing the viewership statistics, I was pleasantly surprised that such was not the case.

Nevertheless, if I am to continue, I cannot imagine being motivated by one sided communication. I have neither the vanity nor illusion to presume my thoughts are entirely my own or worthy of much interest a part from a conversation – hopefully – a conversation between friends.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

This is a unique event scheduled for Friday, November 19^th. The idea is that people can write their “big dream” on large post it notes and stick them on a wall in the Levin Building.

The “Big Dream” event has helped selected projects become funded by major corporations, or at the very least, allowed dreamers to connect and encourage one another.

We will be in attendance.  Our “big dream” is to produce quality television programs and films right here in Iowa – using local acting talent and production crews – all for the purpose of sharing the Love of Christ with those involved in the productions.

Thanks to your contributions, we have purchased basic production equipment to accomplish this ambitious goal…but we need $6000 more to complete our modest studio.

Since leaving our jobs as pastors, people from all walks of life have taught us how to better reveal our faith – by representing a church that is outward focused.  Jesus never hid behind church walls. Our “big dream” includes a missionary vision that delights in engaging people wherever we find them, instead of expecting them to find us.

Because of your support, NorthStar Network:

- Makes connections with the Cedar Rapids Community School district to connect with students interested in pursuing careers in the performing arts.

- Produces a short documentary for Spanda, a medical mission that brings eye and dental care to Kenya and the underprivileged of Cedar Rapids.

- Seeks sponsors for the production of the “Awkward Stage” written and produced by Pastor Zach Blickens at River of Life Ministries.

- Continues our involvement in the documentary film “The Entertainers” a feature film about a quirky little piano contest in Peoria, Illinois.

Because you chose to partner with NorthStar Network. With your support and God’s favor, a heavenly vision can become reality.  We need financial partners to provide $6000 to complete our production studio. Thanks to you, over $12,000 has been raised thus far. We will use this facility to mentor aspiring visual artists and students while also sharing Christ.

Continue to pray for us and let us know how we can pray for you. Share our dream with someone you know…and be faithful to the “Big Dream” God has for you!

Brent and Jackie Watkins
NorthStar Network
www.northstar-net.org

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

I’ll never forget the fortune cookie prophesy a friend of mine once taped to the side of his camera, “Talent does what it can. Genius does what it must.” This speaks to the degree of obsession required to channel creativity at an almost alien level. Talent tends to emulate what has gone before – genius shatters previous preconceptions about a medium and opens new vistas of understanding.

This distinction became personal to me when I realized that, though a professional musician, I could not “make music.” I could regurgitate music on the printed page – after considerable effort. I could even add my own “voice” to that music. I could not, however, take my instrument and create my own music. I have many musician friends who amaze me with their ability to do so.

In my experience, the consummate artist becomes slightly annoyed with those who sing their praises. They are energized by interactions with peers they respect – seeking a community that both encourages and provides constructive criticism.

Even in this environment discouragement takes hold. There is always a higher peak to climb, always another whose work evinces some deficiency in their own – always a critic whose indictment of their work cannot be dismissed as ignorance or misunderstanding.

“I’m not good enough.”

The inner voice that speaks like the toll of the bell as the coffin of your career is laid to rest. The last rejection letter, placed on a pile of rejection letters.

Be of good cheer. I come to proclaim:

You are ABSOLUTELY NOT good enough.

Never were – never will be.

Once you realize that, you can be unshackled to create at a whole new level – the level where you are not preoccupied with what others think – the level where you no longer serve yourself, but the One who sent you. The great lie in worldly wisdom is, “No one knows you like you do.” “Follow your heart.”
“To thine own self be true.” I believe this to be utter nonsense. In my experience, I know myself least of all. I certainly have very little capacity to see myself as others see me. Furthermore, the Creator – the architect of my soul is much more intimately knowledgeable regarding my inner workings than I could ever hope to be. So though I may not be good enough – the One who created me is.

When you seek His direction – your ability to produce reflects His plan instead of yours – a plan not dependent on ability but availability. Career breaks often come when you are at peace with abject failure. Contentment comes with His success through you – when you forsake the need to be known by others for the need to be known by Him.

We are all faulty vessels. Avoid the pretension, “It wasn’t me, it was the Lord.”

A true friend once noted, “Oh really? I didn’t think it was that good.”

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

I would mislead you if I did not balance what would appear as a highly individualistic approach to spirituality with the exhortation that the practice of hearing and obeying MUST occur within a spiritual community.

I join the growing number of Christian leaders who share the vision for a church lauded not for how big it is, rather, how intimate its participants are with God and one another. How can we espouse personal intimacy with God and NOT model that intimacy with one another?

I have served with leaders who were deeply wounded as a consequence of risking true personal intimacy. I believe these wounds are the result of allowing spiritual fruit found in others to rot on the vine. The most basic carnal desire is to keep those we have come to love close to us. Unfortunately, this directly contradicts the example we have in Christ. His great commission was for us to “Go into the World” not to “Stay here with me.” When we neglect this command, the pain that results from people under compulsion to stay is far greater than the sadness that occurs seeing them go.

When we master true intimacy with one another and are equally facile at recognizing the time when that intimacy must end – we (the church) will again become a potent force for world change.

My vision for church:

-          Begins with foundational discipleship (knowing who we are in Christ and what we believe as Christians)

-          Builds an overarching trust in God’s ability to personally direct each of us as the consequence of deep and substantive intimacy with one another

-          Is mission focused to support – not resist – identifying and compelling one another to obey His individual call to be sent forth as ambassadors, replicating this process wherever He leads.

-          Recognizes those who are spiritually mature without embracing a hierarchy that equates maturity with superiority, giving both the mature and novice equal freedom to fail without judgment.

“Deep and substantive intimacy with one another” cannot be obtained in large groups. I cannot participate in an institutional model that has grown beyond the means to support and sustain a true knowledge of the life, character and sensibilities of its participants.

Given this context, the exhortation to “hear and obey” God’s voice is not an invitation to an individualistic spiritual pursuit, rather, a reminder that this should be the goal of deep relationship within a spiritual community – a community passionate about multiplication not retention.

In conclusion you may wonder, “Why has he not quoted God’s Word to support his assertions?” I have many good friends and spiritual mentors highly adept at placing God’s word in proper context and using it judiciously to support their points. My aim, however, is to practically demonstrate how serious I am about turning you back to God’s Word and your relational sphere for true understanding. The selective quotation of scripture can be, in the hands of those less scrupulous, a manipulation designed to reinforce spiritual dependence on a personality. If you are intimately acquainted with God’s word your understanding will either affirm or refute my assertions. If you are not intimately familiar with His word and in deep relationship with a spiritual community, what business do you have spending your time reading what I am writing? First pursue God’s voice through meaningful relationship with others, not an author you have no personal relationship with. Devote yourself to exploring God’s word for yourself, not trusting another’s interpretation.  God’s voice will manifest as a product of intimacy with Him and be affirmed by intimacy with one another.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

A distinctive of post-reformation Christianity is the belief in a personal relationship with God. To many, the belief one can understand the intimate thoughts of God is presumptuous at best, at worst – heretical insanity.

Make no mistake, mental illness can manifest as delusional voices often ascribed to the voice of God. For this reason, spiritual leaders are understandably reticent about pushing people towards the logical conclusion of their initial invitation – that is – a truly intimate connection to the Most High.

I must ask why the church has been so reluctant to embrace this key component of discipleship. Could avoiding the simplicity of hearing and obeying God’s voice stem from our innate fear of what the consequence might be?

I would submit we can scarcely do worse than the spiritual abuse already ascribed to “God’s Will.” Letting go of hierarchical leadership models in favor of spiritual self discovery will no doubt yield unpredictable results. My faith is in God’s sovereign ability to reveal himself to affect His will and resist ours.

Once the foundations of faith are established in the lives of Christians, our goal should be to push believers towards their individual calling imparted directly by God, not bind them to ourselves.

Since the time of Martin Luther’s reformation movement, religious institutions have organized, divided, and re-organized along the same hierarchical structure. The 20^th century brought the advent of mass communication and a new form of uniquely American Christianity distinguished by brokering spiritual insight as an economic endeavor with strong nationalistic identification. This nationalism views our “superpower” status as a tacit endorsement by God. The result is a religion that is passionate about identification with Christ but dismisses the need to partake in His sufferings. This monetized spiritual model succeeds only by leveraging a cultural fixation on charismatic personalities (the spiritual celebrity) to attract followers.

American Evangelical Christianity depends on making followers dependent on charismatic personalities to sustain the inward flow of resources required to build self-sustaining spiritual activities. The irony is that instead of conducting effective evangelism by launching legions of impassioned Disciples of Christ into the spiritual marketplace – they instead retain individuals to serve the needs of the institution. For this reason there is cyclical division as individuals emerge with spiritual passion and are then constrained to serve the institution rather than their call. Evangelistic efforts are muted and suffer regular setbacks when charismatic personalities fail. This cycle of expansion and division has led to society’s marginalization of organized religion due to its failed attempts at self-preservation. Future posts to this blog will focus on the creative freedom we have when unshackled from what I call “celebrity Christianity.”  While there is no doubt Christ was a celebrity when He walked the earth, He consistently pushed people towards the Father. His actions consistently resisted attracting followers.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

Part I

In 20 years of ministry the question I most often encounter among those beginning their spiritual exploration is, “How can I know the voice of God?”

The promise of a personal relationship with God was our original motivation to lead people to Christ, so quite naturally some are curious about what that relationship involves.

There is no formula for recognizing God’s voice in your life. His ability to form relationship with you is unique. It would be foolish of me to presume He will work the same with you as He has with me.

I offer the following as guidelines based on my experience with hearing God’s voice:

• The ability to hear God’s voice often occurs after dismissing your own desires and being devoted entirely to worshiping Him for an indeterminate amount of time. Meditation purposed to quiet your own thoughts after a period of worship often ushers in His presence.

• God speaks using a familiar voice, normally your own.
• Although He may use your own voice, the content of the instructions frequently contradict your presumptions and desires. He will consistently challenge you to do what you fear the most. He consistently invites you to an activity that may make you feel uncomfortable or fear what others might think. His plans typically involve risk, challenge your sense of security and desire for self-preservation.
• His voice focuses on your needs, not the needs of others.
• His voice provides loving affirmation, where your voice speaks condemnation.
• His spoken word is always harmonious with His written word.
• Others will affirm that what He tells you is consistent with His nature.

Finally, I am persuaded humility dictates I never claim “God says” but rather, “I perceive God says…”

The act of obedience is simply doing what God’s voice says to do, as He is faithful to impart detailed knowledge beyond our limited understanding. God rewards obedience to His Word by offering even more detailed instructions about your life.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media

The same may be said for our news intake. Granted, some wisely avoid news and current events. I recently fasted from all news media for 40 days. I found my stress level was reduced and I think I was generally a happier person. When the 40 days were up, I quickly returned to my news junkie ways. Curiosity got the better of me. I have an innate need to know what’s going on – to be “in the loop.”

One of the lessons learned from journalism school is the importance of factoring sources into the information equation. Consider the food parallel further: The more “processed” the product, the more likely it will contain ingredients that don’t have any nutritional value, but merely make the product taste good and have an appealing appearance.

So it is with news information – the lines between entertainment and an objective presentation of the facts have become so blurred, it is hard to find any original information that hasn’t already been spun, skewed, and processed so the facts lend themselves to what we like to consume.

Unfortunately, this bodes poorly for the truth.

No matter what your political persuasion, you owe yourself a balanced diet. Ask yourself, “Do I only listen to news outlets that reinforce what I already believe?” If so – kiss the truth goodbye. Left or right, you have closed the door to understanding original information when consumed from only one source. It is no surprise both extremes of the political spectrum have an innate mistrust of the media – and instruct their followers to exercise that mistrust by listening only to what their “approved” outlets offer as “information.” This tactic is the oldest trick in the propagandist’s playbook. By getting everyone on board with the presumption what everyone else says is wrong, you can begin to spin the most fabulous lies that will be understood as gospel.

How much time do you spend listening to (and by listening I mean actually trying to understand) a perspective that differs from your own? By modifying your news diet to include some “roughage” – points of view you may not like but that provide balance to what you’ve been hearing – you can actually form your own opinion. Make no mistake – nothing is more dangerous to power brokers than people who actually think for themselves. Nothing is more vital to a democracy than a well informed citizenry. The choices we make about our information diet determine whether our mind, like our food, contain all the necessary nutrients for proper function.

No surprise our society has become so dysfunctional. The information diet reflects the natural diet – highly processed junk news that titillates our senses and is designed only for taste not nutrition. Using predetermined conclusions, thought is not necessary. Our opinions have been provided for us.

Do you consider yourself a truth seeker?  Someone who resists being spoon fed? Get a balanced diet of information and make your own conclusions. The consequence of a good news diet is the failure to fit neatly into a label.  Shock your friends. Become both liberal AND conservative – or neither liberal nor conservative, whichever you prefer. The time has come to elevate the conversation beyond labels and begin actually listening to one another. A balanced diet of information does much to build bridges of mutual respect. The way we treat each other when we disagree reveals the strength or weakness of our relationships.

I confess to the guilty pleasure of tweaking people’s preconceptions about conventional wisdom, no matter whose conventions I may be upsetting. To liberals, I enjoy being a conservative – to conservatives, I become a liberal. I am entertained by challenging the presumptions of others. My children do an amazing job of confronting the presumptions I make about them.

Debate is our family love language. We prefer thoughtful disagreement to blind obedience.

Think of it as intellectual roughage.

The Compass - Observations on Culture, Life, Faith & Media