The 116 Clique is a group of hip hop artists who will positively blow you away. On their albums, the production values, the beats, and the musical quality are all absolutely one hundred percent every bit as good as anything you will hear in mainstream music.

But they are also on fire passionate about who Jesus really is.

A lot of people who read this blog (ha ha, as if this blog were really read by a lot of people) have probably seen me posting some of their videos on Facebook. These guys are fierce and militant in their dedication to Jesus, and they have a strain of righteous anger against a culture today that tells women they are only worth as much skin as they are willing to show, and tells men they are only worth how many dollars they can clock. I have a lot of admiration for all of them.

Now they have a new project. They call it Man Up. First it was a musical tour this year about what biblical manhood truly means, and how to seek it in this culture we live in. Now, they’re turning Man Up into a conference for like minded men. It seems kind of impossible to me right now, but if I can work it out I would really like to go. Here’s the video:

for Dave Gallik

I know nothing of his personal financial situation, but if he can afford to lose a $50+ thousand dollar a year job and not miss it, he must be well off indeed. I doubt he is that well off, so I imagine resigning hurts.

I hope Jesus will walk with him and comfort him and provide everything that’s needed.

I’ve lost a job in politics before. I’ve had my name dragged through the media in politics before. I know the shame that goes with it, the fear of having to look your friends in the eye.

I hope Jesus will remind Dave Gallik that he is loved.

I read in some of his comments that he felt like Republicans were to blame. I know, because I’ve felt the same thing in my own heart about his side, that no words will ever convince him of the surprise that rippled through our people when we learned this was coming. The truth is, the nature of the first couple reactions I encountered was to suspect a plot against us.

All the time, politicians get humiliated and forced out. It’s one of the hardest parts of the business I work in. It’s not every job where your defeats are a story for other people to cluck over with their morning paper.

Even people involved in the business seem to lose sight of the fact that there’s a human being on the other side of the headline. Just a man, with his own struggles and foibles and pain. Dave Gallik, Brad Johnson, and many more. Just ordinary guys doing a job that, when you lose, requires you to be humiliated in public.

Every day, I wish I could leave politics for a less stressful job. The opportunity hasn’t been there. And I think the reason is, Jesus needs people here very much. This business needs real love like no other.

In all likelihood, Dave Gallik will not happily receive any kindness or hopes for a brighter tomorrow from me. But it doesn’t need to come from me. I have a friend who can take care of that for me, and I pray that he will.

The media image of Christians who work in politics is, “We believe all gay people are bad, we must not allow any advancement of anything they as a group seek in politics.”

That is largely a straw man. It is untrue about almost anyone I’ve ever met in Montana politics, with a few exceptions that I don’t feel obligated to name. And it causes me to struggle with anger. There is such a thing as righteous anger, and part of me feels this is one of those occasions. My brothers and sisters in Christ are being visciously slandered. But on the other hand, Acts 5:41 is highly relevant to exactly this situation:

they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

It’s a favorite verse of mine, and very close to one of my all-time favorite verses. When someone who follows Jesus does something they felt led to by Jesus, and is persecuted for it, that is cause for rejoicing. I know that some of my friends will have a better heaven because of the lies told about them on earth, for how they sought to follow Jesus. So anger doesn’t seem like the right response. But it’s hard.

If I said to you, “I heard Straight Outta Compton 20 years ago, so I’m going to tell you what black people are like,” a person would rightly consider me a bigot. If I said, “I watched a production of The Merchant of Venice, so let me tell you all about Jews,” that person would probably consider me equally bigoted, and would be correct.

So what are we to say of those who purport to describe Jesus’ friends based on what they saw on CNN?