Faith

Who Do You Work For?

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo-15I get asked one question almost everyday:

“Excuse me sir. Do you work here?”

Who me? The guy with the headset and walkie talkie on, the guy with the nametag and lanyard with the store name on it, the guy who’s putting all the shoes back on the shelf? Why yes, in fact I do work here!

I just don’t get it. To me, it should be obvious to customers that I’m an employee. I can’t quite figure out how some people can’t quite figure it out.

Apparently though, there’s something more I should be doing. My labor is not bearing fruit in their eyes.

Maybe there are other things I should be focusing on. I’m sure I could be talking to customers more, engaging with them instead of doing all the daily tasks of the shoe department. Maybe then people would recognize who I work for.

The whole thing makes me think of that age-old guilt producing Sunday School question: “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?” Continue reading →

Why I Don’t Like The Taste Of Communion

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment
Wikipedia

Wikipedia

I was always nervous about Communion Sunday growing up. 

When I was young I wasn’t sure if I should take a cracker from the plate or keep passing it down the aisle. Sure, I was hungry, but was I really allowed to “come to the table” as the pastor would say?

Then, once I did feel comfortable participating, I became nervous about spilling the juice. What if I soiled the carpet in God’s living room with Jesus’s blood?

Communion never meant much more than anxiety to me growing up. I never really got the relationship between a flavorless cracker, a baby shot glass of grape juice, and the immense sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I thought to myself, “If the life Jesus offers is so full and abundant, why is this remembrance and celebration so stale and bland?” Continue reading →

Peyton Manning’s Advice On Faith

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

0827101521aLet me tell you about the time I had dinner with Peyton Manning.

Ok. Well, the time I had dinner at the same table as Peyton Manning.

All right. The time I had dinner in the same restaurant as Peyton Manning.

My parents, graduates of The University of Tennessee, raised me as a big Volunteer fan. Growing up we would travel back to Knoxville about once a year for a home football game, especially in the years when Peyton Manning quarterbacked the team.

After the game we would sometimes go out to eat to one of our favorite restaurants: the legendary Ye Olde Steak House.

It was at Ye Olde Steak House, after a great Tennessee game, that my family noticed Peyton enjoying a post-game meal with his father Archie. Continue reading →

Add More Weight

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

photo-13Life is full of routines.

You have your morning routine, your evening routine. You’ve got your school or work routine, and your afternoon-when-you-get-home-from-school-or-work routine.

You have relationship routines, family routines, holiday routines. You have your church routine, your faith routine.

With all the routines in life, it’s easy to feel stuck. Oftentimes it can feel like you’re not growing as a person or as a Christian.

Sometimes you need to do something different. Sometimes you need to break from the routine. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself.

Sometimes you need to Add More Weight.  Continue reading →

When Is It Ok To Compromise Your Beliefs?

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo-11The greatest compromise a man and woman will ever face is on Movie Night.

Men and women are genetically predisposed to enjoy different movies. It’s a scientific fact. Or something like that.

Women wonder why “How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days” didn’t win an Oscar. Men question why every movie isn’t produced by Marvel.

My fiance and I have worked out a pretty common compromise to avoid Movie Night fights. We usually take turns picking out the movies we watch together.

Of course this means she often has to slug through quirky indie movies the critics love but are really just plain weird. And I fall asleep through cheap horror movies that belong on SyFy. But, you know, love and all that.

I believe a movie should be more than cheap thrills and entertainment. I want movies to transcend entertainment and move me emotionally and other nonsense.

Sometimes our movie choices flop. When she picks a bad movie I get a little angry that I wasted a couple hours of my life to watch a crappy film. I feel like I compromised my beliefs. Continue reading →

What To Remember When It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

What is Christmas supposed to feel like?

Living in Georgia the past 20-some-odd years, I’m beginning to wonder.

Growing up I’ve always thought Christmas was supposed to be feel like winter, interchangeable with snowflakes and hot chocolate and wool sweaters.

So how come it’s December 9 and still 75 degrees outside? Continue reading →

The One Phrase The Church Needs To Retire This Christmas

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

394824_10152361249895427_1009312309_nIf a bell rings and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?

If a Salvation Army bell ringer stands outside a department store all day and not a single cent drops into the bucket, was it really worth the ringer’s time and effort?

If a church holds a rally and not a single soul gets saved, was it worth the church’s time and effort?

Many of us have been to a church-sponsored camp, revival or other event where we heard a speaker attempt to rouse a reluctant crowd, saying, “If only one person chooses to follow Christ tonight, then all of our work here will have been worth it.”

But what if no one came forward that night? What if no one chose to give their life to Jesus at that rally? Was the work still worth it? Continue reading →

The Conspiracy Of Hope

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

denver.post.kennedy.assassination.croppedI fell down the rabbit hole. Like many others this week, I became fascinated by the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

The JFK killing appears to be a once in a lifetime time type event – one that only could have happened at a certain point in history where there was not enough media saturation to find out the truth but just enough media saturation to create the controversy and conspiracies which continue on some 50 years and counting down the road.

One podcast I listened to featured one of my favorite authors Chuck Klosterman giving his analysis on the conspiracy theories. Klosterman made an interesting point on conspiracies in general.

Klosterman hypothesized that conspiracies are often more comforting to believe than the more probable truth. He said believing that a few people somehow orchestrated a catastrophic event is more comforting than believing all things happen by chance. If we simply believe all the events of life are random and by chance, that can be even scarier than thinking a secret society or some evil mastermind acted outside of normalcy.

I think Klosterman is spot on. In fact, I’ll take his theory one step further. I think conspiracies can be more comforting than believing God is actually in control.  Continue reading →

How To Beat Writer’s Block With Organic Tea

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

I could not write yesterday.

I woke up early with the intent of using the extra hour of from Daylight Savings to pump out a world-changing, life-affirming blog post for today.

When I sat down to type nothing came out.

Gibberish. Half-sentences. Cliches. Garbage.

I stood up. Ate some yogurt. Read the Bible. Walked the dog. Took a shower. All in the hope that words would come to me.

Still nothing.

I left for church disappointed and defeated by my sole morning task.

Then, as I sat in the service, I saw it. Continue reading →

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 9 – Enrique Romero

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Welcome to Episode 9 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.

This week’s guest is Enrique Romero. Enrique is the owner and creator of The Brown Bag Food Truck and Cafe. Enrique stepped out in faith 2 years ago by buying his first food truck and the journey has completely changed his life. We talk about how the food truck came to be, the transition into The Brown Bag Cafe, and the struggles and victories along the way. Plus Enrique shares the story behind The Brown Bag’s logo, gives some great relationship advice, and talks about the joy of serving God by serving others. Enjoy this look inside the life of a man truly seeking God in the present tense.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

I’m so excited to open up POP GOD and share more stories of people seeking God in the present tense. I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the POPcast.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

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