I wish I was preaching this in a church where there was a children's moment, before they get dismissed to junior church. That way I could ask them if they knew what a hacker was. I'd probably start by asking them if they knew what a computer was, and if they had a computer. And then we go on to the hacker business. I'd probably get some odd answers, and when you're dealing with kids you have to be ready for odd answers, but somebody would probably say that a hacker is a bad person. This is a teaching moment. A hacker is not necessarily a bad person. A hacker is somebody who knows about, and is excited about, and is possibly somewhat consumed with, some form of technology. Hackers love their technology, and can make a computer, or some other technical device, do all kinds of things that other people can't make them do. Hackers are intrigued with the technology, to the exclusion of other factors, like social graces, sometimes hygiene, and sometimes ethical standards.
I could, of course, ask you. I am not so much a preacher as a teacher. I am used to asking questions in class, and getting people to respond. However, that's not usual in church. It's a lot harder to get people to respond in church. Or even to react to things that I say. As a teacher I'm very used to getting questions and people reacting to things that I say, and having all of you sit there and not saying anything is sometimes a bit unnerving.
So, why am I talking about hackers in church? Well, they say when you speak, speak about what you know. And I know about information security. So, I'm talking about what I know. They also say when you do a sermon you need three points and an illustration. So, yes, I have three points. And to make them easier for you to spot they all start with an e. And the illustration is "Be Ye Hackers."
Okay, you're still fixated on the idea that hackers are bad people, so why am I telling you to be hackers? Well, let me tell you a little bit more about hackers. These are my three points and, as promised, they all start with the letter "e."
So the first point is, hackers are Evangelical. If you know somebody who is into technology you know that they are excited about it. (Sorry that's another e. It's hard to avoid them in the English language.) Anyways, hackers are excited about their technology and they like it, and they want other people to like it, and so, they are evangelical. They are always trying to get you to use the computer. They are always explaining to you how the computer can do fantastic things. They are always trying to evangelize you into the computer camp.
It's annoying, right? They are always saying how great computers are. They are always talking about computers. They are always saying how computers could make your life better.
Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like something that we, as Christians, should be doing? Are we, in fact, excited about God? About Jesus? About the Christian Life? About church? Is it exciting to us? It should be. And we should be evangelizing about it. We should be evangelists. We should be telling the good news. We should be telling people how God, and Jesus, and Christianity, and the church can make their life better. That, after all, is what an evangelist is. Someone who is telling the good news.
OK, think of it this way. You meet a new friend. This person is really interesting. Not only that, but this person finds *you* interesting! Interesting enough that they want to spend time with you. You feel good about this, right? And, when you've spent some time with this new friend, what's the first thing you do? You tell *your* friends. "Hey, I've met this really great guy (or gal). He (or she) is really interesting, and is a really caring and helpful person! You should meet him (or her)!"
Right? Well, you've got this amazing friend. This friend who is so amazing, he made the whole universe (and any other universes that might exist, if you are into that sort of thing)! And this friend is so interested in you that He wants to be your best buddy! Wouldn't you tell your friends, and anyone else, about this friend? Wouldn't you boast about this friend, every chance you got? All the time?
When you go to introduce a new friend to your friends, you do it right away, don't you? You don't wait for your new friend to be "ready." Because, you assume, you don't have to wait for them to recharge, or to have the right resources: you are introducing an essential "themness." You are introducing the core of this person, something that doesn't change or need to be prepared.
That is the great thing about God: He is always the same. He always loves us, and wants the best for us. And He loves *everyone*: all His creatures and creations, and always wants the best for them.
Okay, when we do that, when we keep trying to introduce our friends, and relations, and colleagues, and even total strangers, to God, we might be annoying. But if we really do have good news, we shouldn't be keeping it to ourselves. We should be evangelizing. And if we don't have good news to tell, if Christianity is not making our life better, then maybe we should be looking at our own Christian Life. Maybe *we* need good news.
Besides, we are commanded to. This is the great commission. Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Is this not, aside from "love God," and "love your neighbor," the single new commandment we are given in the New Testament?
So that's the first reason to be hackers. A second reason to be hackers is that hackers are exploratory. Hackers are experimental. (Sorry, I know, that's another e.) Anyways, hackers explore their computers. They explore the capabilities of the computer. They explore what the computer can do for them. They explore what the computer can do to make their lives better. And more exciting. And to give them abilities, and capabilities, that they didn't have before, and didn't know they could have. They explore the computers. They explore the technology. They push its limits.
Which we should be doing. We should be exploring. Not necessarily computers, but God. What is God? What can he do for us? What *will* God do for us? What will Christianity do for us? We should explore. We should test the limits. When was the last time you explored God, Jesus, Christianity, the church, what the church is, what the church can be?
We think we know. But do we really? Have we just accepted something that we were taught in Sunday school when we were four years old, and that's good enough? What does God mean in today's world? What does the church mean in today's world? Is the church the same today as it was when you were four years old?
When was the last time you examined these issues? When was the last time you explored these issues? Are we really Christians, if we simply accept something without trying it out? Can we say that we believe in God if we don't know who and what God is? Can we say we follow Christ if we have never tried to figure out what that actually means?
We are supposed to check it out. Psalm 34:8 - Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
There's a third point about hackers, at least in the time we're going to cover here. Hackers are enthusiastic. That kind of gets back to the annoying bit. Hackers are excited about their technology. They are enthusiastic about their computers. They bubble over with excitement.
Do you know where the word enthusiastic comes from? It's a word that means God within. Originally, it meant a kind of a trance, or excited state, that meant that you were possessed by a god or a demon. It was, in origin, a religious observation. Here was someone who had been filled by a god. Who had been taken over by a god. The god had changed this person's behavior, and in a way that everybody could visibly see it.
How would you feel about that? How would you feel about having a change in your behavior? How would you feel about having people see that you were different: different than you had been before, and different from other people? But isn't that what we should be?
Gloria was a singer. A soloist. But there was one minister, in one church that we knew, who would almost never let her sing in his church. He even explained why. He said that Gloria lifted people up with her song, and how was he supposed to get them "down off the ceiling" after she sang.
Excuse me? Why would you *want* to get them down? Shouldn't we be excited and enthusiastic?
Shouldn't we be filled with God? Isn't that what the Christian Life is all about? Having Jesus take up residence in us? Having God make a change in our lives. A change visible enough that other people notice that we are different than we were before. That we are different from other people. Isn't that what Christianity is supposed to be? Isn't that what we should be? Shouldn't we be enthusiastic?
When was the last time you were enthusiastic about Christianity? When was the last time you were enthusiastic about church?
When I looked up a Biblical reference for this one, there was Acts 4:31. It starts out, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken." Have I shaken you? Is this a little bit too much? Because it goes on, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
Alright, have I delivered on my promise? I have given you an illustration, and I have given you three points. Have my made my case? Do you agree that we should be hackers of Christianity? Of Jesus? Of God?
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