Revolution Church

Today’s talk is a real good one. A bit off the beaten path, maybe—but it’s a discussion worth having. Today Jay really focuses in on statistics. Statistics vs. The Individual. We know maybe “statistics” isn’t the right word, but it’s the best fitting one we could think of. Jay discusses how society, as a whole, seems to want us boiled down to being a number, a statistic. They don’t see anything past that. They want to group us by gender or non-gender, by race, by religion. But we need to go deeper than that. We need to be more than numbers. We need to be diverse in all ways. More nuanced ways. Not just boiled down to some category made so everyone fits into the same molds. The reality that we’re living in is tough, but that’s where the diversity of thought can help. We all don’t have to agree, we all don’t have to see eye to eye. We just need to get to a place where we know that just because someone disagrees with us, they don’t need to be our enemy. Revolution loves nuance and wants to help give everyone, including ourselves, the tools needed to think and to change and to grow. Revolution is compelled by grace—despite success or failure. Let’s go deeper and find what helps us not feel like a statistic! Let’s go deeper!This talk was given on September 3, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here at Revolution we are always trying to do our best to live life on life’s terms, but sometimes it’s just tough. We’re feeling weary these days. But we’re honest about our struggles and how it gets hard to keep the faith, how it gets harder to love our neighbors. We still press on, though. And we hope us sharing our struggles might help others to know they aren’t alone. That, together, we can encourage each other to love one another. Even though it seems bleak, and it seems like we’re all getting crushed by impossible standards, and a broken system, we try to keep our focus on seeing everyone as human. To live together as human beings! Isn’t that the simplest form of Christianity? To see each other has human and to care about each other?This talk was given on August 27, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s another week where we just jump right into it! Today Jay’s talk is inspired by two memes he saw on Instagram. When you’ve gotten to a place where memes inspire your talks, is that a good thing or a bad thing? We’re not sure but we went for it anyway! The memes referenced the ideas of love and legalism in Christianity. The two things that cause most of the problems, if not all of them. Have we gotten to a place where politicians effect our theology more than theologians and scholarship? Have we veered too far off course as the Church—Capital C Church. Is reformation possible? Can we stop the us/them mentality and scapegoating? We think a modern day reformation is possible—a way to live in the friction. It won’t be easy and it’s a lot of hard work and tough conversations and setting boundaries…but boundaries with doors built into them. A way to disengage but keep the channels open. We need to embrace critical thinking! It’s easier to throw someone away, but we don’t want that. We want love and we want grace. We want to focus on scholarship. Good scholarship is transformative. It's time to destroy our idols and get back to a place of love and acceptance! This talk was given on August 13, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorry for the delay with this week’s episode, I [Josh] had some pressing family matters that needed to be attended to, and that slowed down me getting this out to everyone, but here we are! And it’s a good one, worth the wait for sure! This week Jay gets right into it! And this week he’s talking about Hegel! Hegel thought that Christianity offered a philosophical insight that other religions did not—mostly due to the idea of a Divine Humiliation. What is Divine Humiliation? What is the difference between humility and humiliation? Can humiliation do anything for us? Help us in anyway? These are some of the issues Jay discusses this week. He also dives into the different ideas of Christian focus, weighing the idea of the Crucified Christ vs the idea of the Risen Christ. This opens up some very interesting avenues of thought—Does only focusing on the Risen Christ take away some of the essence of Christianity? What is the importance of Jesus’ scars? What does it mean for the infinite to show itself to be finite? How can God’s loss on the cross, God’s willing to be divided and humiliated, and the idea of Jesus feeling forsaken help us in our lives and struggles and our will to keep driving forward? Does it help us relate to Jesus more? Jay and Hegel don’t have all the answers—they might not even have most—but together they pose questions that really give us food for thought. Full serving, hefty portions of food for thought. Of course there is always some discomfort in these questions and ideas, but that is okay. It’s okay to feel uncertain, or uncomfortable. That is all part of the journey. Let’s try not to pull back from it, but dive into it and see what helps us. Find what gives us hope and strength in our lives. We can’t get to that point if we’re too scared to venture out of our comfort zone. This talk shows us it’s okay to have questions and a desire to learn more. It’s a good one! This talk was given on August 6, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hard times recently. Hard times. Each talk for the last few weeks, shortly before the talk is given, something big happens that derails it and leaves us bewildered and confused and tired. We had the passing of Steve, and the anniversary of Tammy Faye’s passing. We have the death of Sinead O’Connor, followed up by the death of Paul Rubens. All of these people have had a huge huge role in both Jay’s life and work. And the merging of the two. It’s no wonder that the first words Jay wrote for this talk were ‘Burnt Out.’ Because that is how it feels. Rough week after rough week. That feeling of ‘it’s just one of those weeks,’ but…forever. It’s hard to power through sometimes. But the slight sliver of a silver lining in all of this chaos and tragedy is that it forces us to reflect on the time we have left and how to use it wisely. To look at our behavior and the behavior of those around us and question what fruit it bears. To question if the rat race is worth it. To take the time and figure out our passions and our callings and find what brings us life! Finding our purpose. Grace isn’t an easy thing and just because we try and practice it, doesn’t mean it will be shown to us. But let’s do everything we can to not let that lead us into biting and devouring each other. Of biting back twice as hard as we got bit. Because we ALL fall short. ALL OF US. It’s equal footing—they’re bad, you’re bad, and we’re bad. So let’s try to be humble, let’s try to unlearn and relearn. And let’s try to live and behave with a purpose. A purpose that bears fruit. Fruits of grace and love. If we all fall short, that means we’re all in this together. Let’s keep helping each other. This talk was given on July 31, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s talk wasn’t really planned, but that’s how things go sometimes. With the loss of Steve and the world getting worse and driving all of us a little insane, if not more than a little, Jay got to thinking about his mom and about her favorite verses. Then add on the 16th anniversary of her passing and there was no way Jay could focus on anything else but her, and boy was it needed. It’s great to see some of the innerworkings of the verses and attitude and mindset that drove her to become who she was, and how that made her legacy still continue on to this day. And in revisiting some old notes left by Tammy Faye, we get to see her still encouraging Jay (and all of us) all these years later. Because we could all use a little Tammy in our lives now. Remember, it’s no small thing to be staying afloat in these times, as the world just seems to keep crumbling and getting worse. And everyone is so angry and mean. We need love and grace, and a kind voice to remind us of these things. Jay reads some of Tammy’s favorite verses from some of Paul’s letters and also reminds us that it’s okay to rest in the beauty of the simplicity of these things. We don’t always need to be deconstructing or knocking down everything all the time. Somethings are beautiful and some things are simple. And some things are just beautifully simple. And it’s okay to just rest in that from time to time. This talk was given on July 23, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We lost a good man. Last week we got the news that our dear friend Steve Pieters passed away. Jay wasn’t able to speak that week, so this week he comes with the talk about the life and legacy of Steve. He talks about who Steve was as a person. Who he was as a pastor. Who he was for his community. And who Steve was as a friend. Jay takes us on a bit of a journey through time and we learn about some of the way Jay never felt normal and never felt like himself. How he had struggles embracing his differences, and how in the midst of all this his mom had an interview with a man back in 1985 when Jay was only 9 years old and not only did that interview change Jay’s life but in many many ways it changed the world. That is the way that Steve Pieters ends up in Jay’s life, where he would remain for close to 40 years. A man that was a friend, a parent, a grandparent and a teacher. A man that showed that there exists a love that is beyond fear. There is so much to say about Steve and about this talk, but instead of rambling on and on, let’s let the talk do all of the talking this time. Thank you for everything Steve. You are beyond loved and beyond missed. This talk was given on July 16, 2023 from Seattle, Washington.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that the Gospels all tell the same story as each other, and they aren’t 4 parts of a bigger story? Maybe you did, but a lot of people don’t know that. And that’s what gave Josh the idea for today’s talk of going over the basics of the Bible. It occurred to him just how much he took for granted is common knowledge and what isn’t when it comes to the Bible. So this morning we take some time to really dive in. How many books are there in the Bible, how are they broken down, how are they read, what are all these numbers, what are the different categories of writing. What is the Bible? Is it closer to Game of Thrones than it is to being a book of laws and judgement? What does any of this have to do with 30 Rock and the Rocky movies? This talk might be rudimentary to some but hopefully it’s intriguing and interesting to all. That’s the hope at least. The talk is a little on the longer side today as we spend a few minutes before service starts to talk about the passing of our dear dear dear dear friend Steven Pieters. It was a rough way to wake up to news of that. He was great beyond words and his legacy will far outlive us all. A great man who did great things and helped so many people. To say he’ll be missed is such a tremendous understatement. All of our love to his family and each other. So heartbreaking. It was comforting to be able to talk a bit about him and his impact on our lives and community. Let’s never stop talking about that. Thank you always, Steve. This talk was given on July 9, 2023 from Long Island, New York.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apologies for the delay everyone! Holidays get like that sometimes. But here it is, and it’s a good one! Some people might claim we are overstating this, but sincerely this talk feels like it can be Revolutionary. Or at least close to it. Maybe even the start of something. This talk might make some people uncomfortable, but that is not the intention. If it makes you feel uneasy, please just sit with it a bit. Think on it. And if you still are uncomfortable, please please dive into some scholarship and some studies, and please let us know where we might have missed the mark or help us understand something we might have overlooked or misunderstood. Please try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because Revolution Gathering wants to be a place for different ideas, different studies. It’s why we don’t call ourselves a church anymore, or Jay a pastor—because often times, especially recently it seems, Christians have been acting like a bunch of jerks. Judgmental and scapegoating. We don’t want to be a part of that. Today Jay discusses the book of Revelation. Oh man that’s a rough book, but Jay was up to the challenge. Jay is wondering if maybe the expectations the people had at the time of the coming Messiah were not met. They wanted a more physical, conquering king. A zealot that would overthrow the government and help rise up against their oppressors…but instead they get a man telling them to love and forgive. To treat enemies like friends. Who wants to hear that? I know that sounds like a joke, but seriously, when you’re being crushed by an oppressor who wants to hear that? Especially when you’ve been waiting for a Deliverer. So Jay is looking at the Book of Revelation and trying to find how it lines up with the Christ of the New Testament. It certainly feels like the Old Testament God full of fire and wrath comes back at the end of the New Testament, but is this the case? Is this book a prophecy? Is it a revenge fantasy? Is it a misunderstanding of who God is? Is it wishful writing of how the people of the time wished the Messiah would had acted? What is real? Does the book of Revelation make it harder to love each other? Does it give more fear than love? It’s a struggle, and maybe we’ll never know. But let’s remember to be patient and kind. Let’s remember that some of the more legalistic aspects people hold so tight are things they’ve been taught their whole lives, and that isn’t the easiest to unlearn. It takes time. And it is scary. Remember there is a lot of humanity in our faith! We can’t lose sight of that. Let’s remember what Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “People are not our enemy. Misinformation is our enemy.”This talk was given on July 3, 2023 from Seattle, WA.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we just kick right into the talk, no real monologue or catch-up. Jay picks up where the last talk ended…sort of. An unofficial continuation. Today Jay uses the idea from last week of Kierkegaard’s philosophy of the individual and how if we judge people only on the fraction of their lives and personalities that we see then we are in dangerous territory. Judging brings about more judgement. Judging others opens us up for people to judge us based on the fractions of our personalities. Jay then dives into Jesus’s discussion on specks and logs. How we often focus on the splinter in someone else’s eye and ignore the big plank sticking out of our own. We ignore the fraction in our own eye. Love covers a multitude of sins, but does it cover a multitude of specks? A multitude of fractions? Is that what grace really is? Hate is easy. Judging is easy. This is the hard work. This is the going against the grain. To look past these specks in their eye and see the person in front of us, the human being in front of us. It’s very punk rock to love everyone and to show everyone grace. And if you know anything about Revolution you know we love punk rock, so let’s do the hard work.This talk was given on June 25, 2023 from Seattle, WA.www.facebook.com/revolutionchurchmnwww.revolutionchurch.com/donatewww.youtube.com/revolutionbroadcasting@jaybakker@revolution1994@revolution94 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.