Josh – I’m posting this to you with love bro. Leaving text on a blog can be so impersonal and it fails to capture any true emotions. Please don’t read any mean-heartedness into this. I pray that you receive it as a loving challenge nothing more nothing less. My desire is not to shame you in any way brother but to sharpen iron.

Do you smell it? I smell it too from time to time – even in the church. Not any specific church but within Christendom I get whiffs of hypocrisy too. However, most of the time I smell it and I begin to look around at others. But more times that not, I find out it’s myself who smells of hypocrisy. What about you?

Josh – I agree there is hypocrisy in the church bro. Good call! Do you ever confront this awful sin when you see it in a brother or sister in Christ? If we don’t, we are just as guilty. But again, do you ever look in the mirror as I do and see that you too wear the mask?

Another good point you bring up is the sin of idolatry. We are prone to it for sure! I give you permission – if you ever see it or hypocrisy in my life, confront me, show me where I’m in sin and call me to repentance. That is if I ever get to meet you.

Josh, it’s right on that you call sin – SIN! Idolatry needs to be dealt with. If you see it, call it what it is and help your brother and sister out of it. Pray for them. Did you follow Matthew 18 and call, “everyone from friends to respected pastors” to repentance? I hope you did.

I see your point bro. We can, and maybe some do, worship our favorite Bible teachers/pastors and it’s sin. But you know what? John Piper called everyone on it in the conference right up front. Specifically, he spoke at length about the depravity of man. Expounding on Romans one, he said that the essence of my depravity is my preferring created things over the Creator. This is so true! I have a tendency to prefer John Piper’s words over and above God’s WORD.

BUT GOD is gracious and will not allow His children to live a life of idolatry (1 John 3:9). In fact, it was God who provided the good Bible teachers to equip the saints right (Ephesians 4:11-13)? If “the irony is painful” for you Josh, approach your brother or sister or pastor in love and point out their sin (it’s Biblical). If they are in sin, they will thank God for you calling them out of sin.

Josh – I also have a hard time with Christians (like myself) who attend conferences like this and hear the Word of God taught so powerfully and completely disobey it. (James 4:17 & 1:23-25). I get bent and impatient at the church too from time to time. But I’d be willing to bet that Pastor Tim would probably say the same thing with his teaching us week in and week out. Do you think he gets tired of praying and teaching us week after week, while you and I sit back and we don’t seem to change at all?

I am reminded that Ephesians 2:10 says that, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” This issue showing you the truly changed lives as a result of the conference is an issue you should take up with the One who’s work this is – God’s. Bro – you and I can’t change ourselves let alone those around us. All we can do is cry out to God for more grace and shine light in the lives of those around us and help them as best we can and again, lean heavy on God through it all.

Ok bro…you said, “I just can’t help it when the contradictions are so glaring.” I see one myself. In fact, I smell that funny smell again and for once, it’s not me. Is their some hypocrisy in Josh this time? Do you apply your “rule of thumb” to yourself of just others?

Your rule: “if the person teaching the conference/writing the book/speaking the sermon/leading the worship is being held in higher regard than the content he or she is presenting, it’s time to question priorities.”

Your rule applied to yourself might look like this: “if the musical band/artist performing/singing the concert/song is being held in higher regard than the content, it’s time to question priorities.”

The Thursday, April 10, 2008 post you shared that you didn’t get Radiohead tickets. Do you hold Radiohead in higher regard than the content Josh? Where is your priorities Josh? Both these questions can be answered by your blog thread and your response posted on buzzgrinder below:

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Wednesday, April 9th
Radiohead’s Ticket Store Sucks

Dear Radiohead,

When I heard about your concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl, I was very excited. Despite being my favorite band for many years, I’ve never had the opportunity to see you live. It also looked like a good way to have one final outing with my sister before she moves to Thailand.

I heard the best tickets would go on sale early this morning on your online store. Knowing I’d be out of town on Saturday when the crappy tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster, I made plans to stay up all night. I refreshed the store page late into the night while chatting with other big fans of yours about how dedicated we were.

Finally, around 6:15 am, the sale began! I was clicks away from tickets I’ve only dreamed about. “Santa Barbara Bowl: Buy tickets now.” YES! Click! Waiting… and a blank page. Reload. “Connection has timed out.” Reload. Wait forever. “Your reserved items have been released because you took more than 5 minutes on a page.” Others experienced the same problem. I was freaking out as quietly as I could without waking my roommates. After an hour of this, someone lucky enough to have made it through announced that Santa Barbara was sold out.

Now, Radiohead, let’s be clear: I love you. Without a doubt. But when you know full well what kind of traffic your site is going to get, and you have the money to prevent it, there is no reason for things like this to happen. All you do is disappoint your biggest fans. The ones that stayed up all night, skipped class, held in their poop or, in my case, got 30 minutes of sleep between consecutive 12-hour work days, just for the chance to see you in concert.

Maybe you don’t really care about us. But if you’re paving the way for the future of the music industry, you might want to learn how to better treat the people who will sign your paychecks.

Love and tears,
Josh Mock

P.S. If you need a new web developer to help you build a site that actually works, let me know. Seriously. It’s what I do for a living.

Written by Josh Mock

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Like many of the people expressing their excitement about “the Piper conference,” you too expressed your excitement about Radiohead. In fact, you seem to be DEVOTED to “…my favorite band for many years.” Further you expressed how, “I’ve never had the opportunity to see you live.” You seem to hold this band in “high regard” Josh. Is this idolatry? Well by your standard it seems it is.

What other expressions did you use? You said, “I made plans to stay up all night…Finally, around 6:15 am, the sale began! I was clicks away from tickets I’ve only dreamed about.” You are sure DEDICATED aren’t you? There are some things I would loose sleep over too. Like the John Piper conference, my wife and I got up early in the morning to be sure we were early to the conference – we didn’t want to miss any of the Bible teaching.

What about this statement you made Josh, “Now, Radiohead, let’s be clear: I love you. Without a doubt.” Let’s apply the Bible verse you applied to your church, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Does it apply to you Josh or just the church?

When I read your expressions of devotion, dedication, and love for this band and then your expressions of anger because you didn’t get the tickets, you acted like it was “a once in a lifetime chance” or something. “A once in a lifetime chance for what? To spend your hard-earned money” listening to a band in concert who you listen to everyday? Did you “waste” your time brother? Even if you would have obtained the tickets you so diligently sought after, would it have been wasted?

Josh – my wife, son and myself all attended the John Piper conference and God used it to change us bro. I hope it makes you feel a little better. I need your help Josh. If you are my brother in Christ, please don’t just post your gripes on a blog. If you see sin in the lives of your brothers and sisters, take them to God’s Word and show them. I know I need it! Please bro…

And lets not be presumptuous, believe it or not, not everyone uses a computer or has access to the Internet to download messages from Piper.

I say this to you in love Josh…

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Luke 6:41-42

allen peek
apeek33@yahoo.com