If you know anything about automobiles, you know that is a term referring to the timing of a motor vehicle's engine. This term, Top Dead Center, refers to the crankshaft rotational position where the piston is furthest from the crankshafts center line. "But Carey, what can this possibly mean to me? I didn't come here for Shop 101." Good question. I shall expound the relationship I am cataloging for you.

Your automobile has to be "timed" a certain way, in order for it to run properly. The timing of a car refers to explicitly defining the points at which the spark plugs will fire, causing the pistons to move up and down, thus providing the necessary momentum for your car. Without proper timing, your pistons would go up and down at haphazard intervals, causing all amount of havoc in your vehicle's engine. So, we see that timing is important for the vehicle, correct? Correct. So where does Top Dead Center come into play? When adjusting the timing of your vehicle, that's when. Without the correct Top Dead Center reading for your vehicle's engine, you cannot possibly hope to properly adjust the timing for your vehicle.

What inspires me to talk about vehicular terminology is an excellent discussion a friend and I had last night referring to religion (now you knew this was about God, didn't you? Oh come one, you did so!). He and I were discussing why he had left Christianity as a whole source of religion for himself, and looked elsewhere. He implied that part of the issue he had taken with Christianity was the corruption of the Church Itself. I, of course, had to know what branch of our Modern Church he was referring to. His reply was that it was the Catholic Church, to which I could only exclaim "Mein Gott!" as I have heard this same response so unfathomably many times. Where, oh where, is Martin Luther now? Our current Papacy is tenfold more corrupt that it was in his day. This time, however, no one seems to be standing up to challenge It.

To bring this whole discussion full circle, I have to realize that for me, my Christianity hinges on Jesus the Christ Himself being Top Dead Center. To look as a whole on the Church will surely discourage even the most devout Christian. So the point must be driven home that if one is to follow Christ in any particularly solid way, one must view Christ as the setting by which all Church actions are timed and regulated against. Yet, how often is this done? I can only sadly reply to my own question that it is rarely done today. It has never been meticulously done, yet today, I fear, is worse than ever.

Christ saw this coming. Christ saw everything coming, but He didn't speak out on everything. On this subject He did. Some things Christ spoke out for or against using allegorical stories - or "parables", as they're called - but in this instance, He came right out and said what He meant: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.[1]" I don't think Christ could have been any clearer than this. It is pure vanity to pretend to worship Christ, if He is not Top Dead Center in our doctrine, when we set up our own rules as His.

This is the only way in which I keep myself centered in my relationship with God. Certainly anyone who has eyes to see can witness the complete corruption and hypocrisy of our Modern Church. To deny this is completely asinine, but to fall victim to it is not necessary. Christ was not corrupt. My friend even stated that it was Christ's teaching that he chose to carry with him from the Doors of The Church. Christ in no way contradicted Himself, mistreated His Children, prayed on Sunday and went haywire on Monday or did the things we are so apt to do as congregates within the walls of our antiquated Rule Museums known commonly as Churches. Christ simply was All He Claimed. God incarnate, man completely throughout, lacking fully in any sin. And He simply sought to teach us how to achieve that as well.

There was a woman in the New Testament who was what we'd call in modern terms quite promiscuous. She'd been condemned by the RuleMakers to be stoned to death for her immorality. Jesus showed up on the scene in His usual calm and placid manner. He told the men that the one who had no sin in his life should cast the first stone to kill this condemned woman. The eldest of these RuleMakers were the first to drop their stones and walk away, realizing they didn't have a hope of vindication once tossing the pious rock each held. Soon, all the men were gone, leaving Jesus and the woman to talk about the incident. Jesus asked her where were her condemners, were there any left? She replied: "No man, Lord.[2]" Jesus perfectly surmised the woman's predicament, and rather than railroad her, He told her this: "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.[3]" Can you get more powerful than that? Here, Christ had given her the Divinely Appointed Wisdom of "Go, and sin no more." Not, "go, and look to your Church Head for holiness." Not "go, and bury yourself completely in the doctrine of your Church" But He simply gave her a model by telling her to sin no more. This, I believe, is what Christ was after. The knowledge that He was the only True Way to God and for us to choose Himself as a model as to how to live our lives. In essence, for Him to be Top Dead Center in our lives, our church and our relationships.