I've been moved

This morning started like many others. But as I turned on the news, I was reminded that today marks the 40th anniversary of the Death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Normally, celebrations of death are quite somber and not something we remember or celebrate as a society. This death in particular is not one to celebrate, but rather, the life and death of this man has led us to think.

One quick thought i had this morning was how much his death woke up many people who would have otherwise not cared about the Civil Rights movement. Often times, we can see that someone's death has done as much as the purpose of his life- see Jesus Christ.

But what got me thinking is that this morning, as I was driving to work, reflecting on the work of this man's life, I turned my ipod to U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)". and I was moved. extremely moved. I ran across this thought- of all the Christians who have served in such a popular role in society, Martin Luther King Jr. may have embodied the Gospel most- at least, in our time. This is not to discount the many men and women who have made significant contributions to the Christian faith, but something about his focus on not only equality in races, but also to social justice proves that he was not only focussed with spiritual, but also with some often missed, but extremely important parts of the gospel.

I want to encourage others to think about our calling to be reconcilers, advocates for the poor and marginalized, and ultimately, the first to call for justice. Martin Luther King Jr. saw something in society that did not line up with common decency, let alone the Gospel calling- and he chose to do something about it. Can we possibly be moved by someone who's purpose was not overtly 'spiritual', but was nonetheless one of the calling of believers in Christ.

been thinking about- non-profits

Recently, I tivo'd an occurrence of "Good Morning America." I usually do not watch this show, especially on a Sunday morning as it was. However, I had turned the television on while eating breakfast and saw that one of the stories they were going to cover that morning was regarding televangelists, non-profit organizations and the way they spend their money.

In short, this segment explained that apparently the government and governmental officials have been concerned about the way that non-profit organizations- particularly the multi-million dollar ones- many wrapped around televangelists- are spending the tax-free dollars they rake in. They showed, to hit one particular, a televangelist who petitioned the watchers of his program to donate 20 million dollars to buy a private jet for (essentially) him to use. He pledged that it was only going to be used for the glory of Jesus Christ. Shortly after buying the jet, it was used to fly him to a conference he was speaking at in Australia. On the way there- multi-day layover in Maui.

Boy, it sure stinks to suffer for Jesus.

They all claim, however, that they operate within the legal tax limits and laws.

So, as I watched this, I thought- shame on them. I'd welcome any comments on this, please- but I can't help but think how the Bible calls us as Christians to live lives that are above reproach. How much more so for leaders of such large ministries should they be above that. If the government is going to be launching inquiries or auditing these companies because of supposed illegalities, it does not matter any more if what they have done is legal! The standard set by the government of legal or not is considerably less than what most Christians would consider to be right or moral. So, if the government is concerned that their rules are not being met, how much more should heads be hung, apologies be offered and confession and repentance be made.

a question for those who look for something specific to which to respond- Just because the law allows it, does that mean that the non-profit money these organizations take in is being spent in beneficial ways for the Kingdom?

Serving God

This thought has been swirling around my head for a few days as I ponder things that I hear in Christian circles. Often, we sing songs and pray prayers and talk about how we want to serve God. I wonder, in light of passages like Matthew 25:31-46, do we realize this plain and simple fact: Serving God means serving others.

and not just Christian others. serving other people. Often times, we spiritualize passages like Matthew 25, or Isaiah 61. but, as much as we can find spiritual comparisons to the types of people listed, but they are quite possibly talking more about the literally poor, oppressed, needy, sick, imprisoned. after all, Jesus himself served people with literal physical afflictions as well as spiritual.

i would welcome any thoughts on this subject- should any of my readers feel the desire to, or should you desire to direct others here, as well.

finding a new church home

first, as a supplement to my previous blog and to this one, I offer this link. Please use it to check out the book- view the free preview of "look inside"- then maybe even head down to your local Chrisitian bookstore (you might even find it at Barnes and Noble or Borders) and pick it up. it's a smaller book, and it's thin. But it's so worth reading.

Quick refresher- Rachel and I are looking for a new church. this is the first time that we have looked together for a church in a non-ministerial capacity. So this is not so much a "here's how everyone should find a church." this is the path we're taking and i'm opent to comments or suggestions.

We have visited 2 churches that are relatively close to us. they are both Brethren in Christ denomination- the denomination Rachel grew up in and I'm fairly familiar with due to their connection to Messiah. so as for doctrine, I know that I agree. That's important to know- if the doctrine of the church is not something you agree with or can support, then you don't belong there! Often times, we won't know what that doctrine is, which is why it's important to try and talk to the pastor or one of the pastors, if it's a bigger church. It would not work very well for Rachel and I to be a part of a charismatic church because our faith would not be identified by the charismatic doctrines. (look it up on wikipedia if you don't know charismatic)

We also have decided that it is very difficult to make any decisions on a church based on visiting a single service. we plan to attend each of the churches we've visited at least one more time. There are things that can be out of place during the first visit- case in point- we went to a church on July 8th because the senior pastor is a former assistant of my first senior pastor (who is still a close friend). However, the pastor was out of town on vacation with his family that weekend, so what we got in the service was not a good taste. Some of it may have been normal, but obviously, the preaching was not normal.

Preaching is obviously important. A senior pastor is primarily a teacher, and teaches through the pulpit. We have been at churches in the past where the senior pastor did not challenge us. We would go for weeks without getting any kind of spiritual food in the services because he either a: dumbed it down because he thought the mental capacity of the church was not very high (a likely option, as the teens in the church would often tell us that he talked to them like they were 4 years old); or b: would preach irrelevant things from the pulpit. perhaps he felt it was challenging- which sometimes he would say he was challenged by preparing. but we were not challenged. And this led to us not paying attention during the preaching- because the one purpose of that section of the service- to be challenged, to meet with God and to grow- was not being accomplished. so the preaching, and the preacher- are important.

Now I'm also wrestling with what my place would be in a church. I have served for 3 years as youth pastor, and as worship pastor (and for a while as young adult pastor, too). i've got musical gifts, leadership gifts, a love and knack for teaching, an ability to connect with young people, and a knowledge of current ministry trends, etc. But where do I belong. it would be a shame to not use my musical talents in a church because they already have enough talented musicians- espcially with the churches that are out there that are lacking in that area. But is that where God is calling me to use my gifts right now? perhaps one of these things has been a source of pride for me and i need to sit on the sidelines for a little while until some humility can work its way in.

The bottom line with service is that TRUE service does not say "i'll do A, B or C. But do not ask me to do D, E or F- because i won't." if we are not gifted in an area, we need to trust the church to evaluate it and not ask us to work with kids if we get very frustrated with kids (or something like that). Service is not selective- it is offering our whole selves to Christ and saying "whatever you need- use me." Steven Curtis Chapman wrote an excellent song called "Whatever".

Everyone makes such a huge deal about music these days. But honestly, music may not be the real issue. We're not looking for the most recent music, or the best. One church we visited was quite large, and the music was very good from a quality standpoint. And i'm sure there were a bunch of people there that connected with it. But, i wasn't feeling it as much. maybe the new environment, coupled with the newfound freedome to actually sing harmonies again... Mix that together and make me feeling a little abnormal anyway (again, a good reason to visit a couple times). What music boils down to is that it's the most common way the Church in America does "worship". what is more important that music or styles is the heart behind it- the worship of our lives and of the lives of those around us. that's what's important about music. at least, for us it is.

Community. The early Church was all about this- not simply having "faith", but sharing that faith together and living that faith together. Rachel and I discussed this with some friends of ours a few weeks ago. The guy was saing that church is supposed to be about meeting with God and too many churches only go to meet with one another. I got the impression he'd rather go, worship, hear a message and leave. Those are two extremes- either there for God or for ourselves. The truth is a middle ground- our faith is about God and our worship gatherings should be about Him, but we are not alone! the people that we see, the people we attend church with, the people in our Bible study, the prayer meeting at school- whatever. that's our community. And to try and "do" faith or life without these people is simply ludicrous.

I had a community of friends even before i realized to call it community. Friends at school- we prayed together every morning before school. friends in youth group- we met weekly, but hung out together, shared our faith with friends together and were quite close. I went to a men's prayer group- these men became more than just other Christians- they became mentors to me. Men whom i felt were living examples of Christ to me, but also men whose lives i could model mine after because their faith was an important part of their lives. God's plan for us is not going solo- it's to live our faith in community with others. This is a VERY important part of what we feel God has laid on our hearts for finding a new church home.

and drawing a blank on another thing to put here that we are wrestling with, i will add this little tidbit. We are praying about going on the mission field. Right now, just praying about it- i don't want it to be simply reactionary to being fed up with church ministry in the US now becasue of having been burned by my last two churches. But God has given us both hearts for wholistic missions that are beneficial to the people we're trying to serve and go against some of the traditional, but outdated ideas of missions. However, we're praying about what direction that will mean for us. And that's huge in finding a new church, too- if we're going to prepare to be on the mission field, we want to find a home church that will be able to support us in that. We will plug into the church while we are there and hope for them to invest in us when our time there is up and we go on the field.

anyway- not sure how to end this, so i'll just say... you've just read the articulated version of just a fraction of what we are going through in trying to discern God's will for our church home for this next step in our lives.

What Bothers Me About the Church in America

For the last two Sunday mornings, and for who knows how many Sundays in the future, Rachel and I will be spending time in different churches looking for a church home. I hate this. For a couple reasons. First- it gives us this impression that finding a church is like finding the right pair of shoes. Or the right computer. There are so many options out there, all we need to find is the one that fits us. Consumerism America tells us that if we’re not happy with something, go find something else.

One of the unfortunate side effects of this process by which people find a church after re-locating is the changing of churches without re-locating due to unhappiness of some kind. I am not going to hold this discussion today of what are the good and bad reasons for leaving a church, and when is too much too much.

I’m going to have two main topics to this rambling rant, I believe. The first is the current church hopping/shopping state that we find so prevalent. Joshua Harris wrote a book called “Stop Dating the Church”, a book that I bought and found to be worthwhile reading for any Christian. It is worth reading because too many Christians are not plugged into a home church. They drift around, going from one to another. The youth ministry I worked with while in college would see kids in and out- later to find out that our youth pastors talked with other youth pastors and found the teens drifting from youth ministry to youth ministry.

God’s plan for reaching the world is the Church. Not as an institutional structure, but as a living body focused on reaching the world and discipling the believer. And ultimately, it is for the good of our own souls, argues Harris (and convincingly) that we dedicate ourselves to a single local church. I know it’s hard for so many people because instead of seeing the positive of the potential of a church, we only see the negative. It is important that we move beyond that.

I think the problem comes in looking for a church based on what it offers us. While it is important to plug into a place that you can call home, basing a church decision simply on what we can get is selfishness. Instead of what it offers us, perhaps we should look on what we can offer a church. Our talents, gifts, ideas- even our age or connections with non-believers could be a huge benefit to a church!! Not that we should feel we are saving a church of that it could not survive without us, but the call of the Gospel on our lives should be service!!

Case in point- Rachel and I visited a large church this morning. I have been in both large and small churches and know there are positives and negatives of each. But what I have found myself wondering today as we consider this church is what we may be able to offer to the church.

But ultimately, beyond what we can get or even what we can give- is God’s calling to a church! I know, though- I can hear it now- ‘how do I know if God’s calling me here?’ or even worse, someone using ‘God led me to a different church’ as a excuse when leaving a church for a less than Biblical reason. And of course, no one can argue with it because then we’re not saying that the person is wrong, we’re saying that God is wrong. So, the way we hear God is through this process of evaluating some of these more natural things we can see around us as well as discerning the Holy Spirit speaking to us.

Sometimes, we can misinterpret. Sometimes we can interpret or understand differently than others do. Rachel and I just experienced that with the church in Shippensburg where we felt led, didn’t feel a variation in the calling, yet the board felt it was not destined to be for us to be there. So, we must pull all of these things together and ultimately take a leap of faith. And when we take that leap, when we break our comfort zone, we must be willing to give it time. Just like a marriage must survive fights, disagreements and more, plugging into a church must survive doubts, unhappiness and disputes. If God has led us there, then either He must have changed His mind or led us differently if we are to leave.

I suppose this has become very long. So the second part of what I was going to talk about I will post tomorrow. But to give everyone a preview, it will deal with, for the most part, the practical things of finding a church- and the experience Rachel and I are going through in the middle of this now. Consider this the ideological or the “theological” and tomorrow I will be posting the “practical”. Stay tuned.

a few refelctions on being "home"

I am now in the state that I called home for more than 6 years of my life. 4 years at college and another 2 not more than an hour from college when I was at my first ministerial position. There have been a lot of things going through my head as these past few days have progressed- particularly as we joined New Hope Christian Fellowship Wednesday night- and I’m going to process them here. Some thoughts are more refined than others- and most have been bounced back and forth between Rachel and myself.

We walked into church for the holy week service, we were warmly greeted by almost everyone in the room- some of them surprised- but all of them seemed glad to have us there. A little reflection left me thinking- this is the first time in a year and a half that I’ve come to church and felt that people actually cared that I was there. And not only that, but feeling that the people who are there actually care about Rachel and I. In other words, it was the first time we had felt at home in a church in that time.

That’s kind of sad. I know that some of the people cared that we were at Grace and cared for us there. But there were not many, and most of them were teenagers, who, as much as I love them, are not very good at showing gratitude. Not our group specifically, but teenagers in general. They do not show appreciation much, so as much as I knew the cared that we were there, they did not often express that.

We also listened to some good preaching. We listened to sermons from Doug at New Hope as we drove across the country, and it was nice to hear him share a little at the service. It was not laden with nonsensical references or with a “hook” that often had little to do with the message. He was not even “preaching” per se, but he shared with us a good word regarding footwashing in particular. I noted the following to remember. Hearing Doug preach, I feel confident in my faith and, for lack of a better word, “proud” of being a Christian. Hearing my last senior pastor preach almost always made me feel ashamed of being a Christian. I felt completely edified by Doug and the way he lifts up the Body, even when chastising them, using words to encourage them and spur them on to do better. my last church, I felt belittled, berated and torn down- almost trying to tell us how terrible we are in order for us to do better. similar to the way a coach will tell his athletes they are nothing to try and get more from them... except that doesn't work all that often.

Another random reflection- for as spiritually dry as I have been for this time since going to Oregon, I realized that I can fake pretty well. There will always be tell-tale symptoms, and of course, I never fooled myself or God, but after a certain point of pouring out, I had nothing left in the tank and was not being fed replenishment. I went from ministering out of overflow to ministering out of habit. And my faith and life became very dry and cracked. And yet, I kept the face up and did not let us because I was a pastor, and I already had felt as though my senior pastor, instead of encouraging me, would belittle me.

Good Friday songs for reflection

I was listening to these songs thursday night while falling asleep and found them to convey the reflections I like to make as I think upon the death and resurrection of my Savior. I wanted to share them with you and invite you to reflect on these lyrics as well.

and i know it's not Good Friday anymore- but I wasn't home to post these yesterday.

How Deep the Father's Love
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That he would give his only Son
To make a wretch his treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns his face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon his shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from his reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This corner stone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, and strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save

Till on that cross, as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
for every sin on him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

Here in the ground, his body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again

And as he stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am his and he is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from his hand
Till he returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

pray-er types

I decided last week as I was praying with many different people that I wanted to do a blog about different praying styles. I think my interest in such a touchy subject began in high school when a friend of mine somehow picked up a small quirk in the language in her prayers. It mildly amused me, then i quickly chastised myself for ever having been so irreverent as to laugh at the way someone prays.

However, as reverently as possible, I wanted to share with you, how, over the years, I've found many different quirky ways people pray. Anyone who wants to tell me that I'm just being sacrilegious and i need to focus on God- try to grow a funny bone or something. This is just for fun and I actually hope someone will laugh with me on this as the may actually realize they know someone who prays like that... or because i've gone ludicrously over the edge.

1. The "Father God" pray-er- we all have probably at one point in time or another seen one of these. They are the person who every other word of the prayer comes out as "Father God" so a small tidbit of the prayer may look like- "we just ask, Father God, that you, Father God, would put your hand, Father God, on this worship time, Father God,..." actually funny stuff when you retrospect it, but I don't encourage anyone to laugh during prayer time! (Also, closely associated with the "Father God" pray-er is the "Lord God" pray-er- simply replacing Father with Lord, but to the same result)
2. The low pray-er- you probably know this person, too. The person who kinda 'gets in the zone' when praying and their voice just changes. It becomes REALLY soft, often times at a higher pitch. something about his/her prayer just seems so fervent when the pitch raises and the decibel level decreases. I find myself in this trap sometimes, and then laugh at myself when i'm out of it. (consequently, thanks to Seinfeld for the name of this- just like the "low talker" no one could hear)
3. the "best-friend" pray-er- this guy prays like he's just talking to his best friend. He says "uhhh..." about a million times in a 2 minute prayer. And they say stuff that makes some more "religious" people kinda cringe. But it's actually really cool because these people don't have a clue what they're 'supposed' to do- they just pray what's on their hearts. But kinda funny when they pray stuff like "Uhh.... God, give me the... uh.... strength to... uh... love You more... and, uh... stuff"
4. the "all-powerful" pray-er- this girl still reads only the King James version of the Bible that was written in 1612 and therefore, finds it completely irreverent to address God in ways other than "Thee" or "Thou". The prayers are very magnificent with lots of grandeur in the delivery. They fill the room with the person's volume and fervency. There are small hesitations in the prayer that are not looking for words, but simply to add to the effect of the prayer. Unfortunately, funny as some may find this later, this type of pray-er is dying out slowly as the church becomes more 'irreverent'.
5. The "written" pray-er- while at college, I found myself experiencing written prayers during chapel. I heard much criticism of this, and to the opposite- almost no one actively supporting it (although there may have been many who did so, but did not voice their support). It's mildly amusing to think of some people who write their prayers out before praying them- which actually makes it praying twice. I think i'd laugh really hard to know someone sat down and tweaked the prayer to make sure the right words were said- this almost implies more thought into the way an audience or group of people hears the prayer because the scriptures are clear that God knows our hearts and thoughts and the words we use are not as important as the time we set aside. But, to the credit of this, i know that chapel at Messiah was always a very crowded time- trying to facilitate a real experience in only 45 minutes that included a chapel speaker on almost any given tuesday or thursday. Having been the organizer for an elective chapel, i know how hard it was to try and do so many different things in that time.
   

So, there they are. What I was able to think of off the top of my head. Did i miss any? or did you resonate with some of these? Do you know some of these? am i just being sacrilegious?

Purpose of Youth Ministry

Firstly, this blog was written by request for the friend of a friend. I worked a little at a time on it over the past couple months, but I was very close to NOT finishing it as my friend Luke wrote something I felt was similar. But I had a few minutes in the early morning while I was at a conference and so here it is.

Youth ministry (as in ministry to teenagers) began in the 1960s. Para church groups actually made the original strides in youth ministry. The church had been doing Sunday School for some time and had become effective at reaching children with the Gospel. However, they were not able to keep the children after they had grown into teenagers. There were a lot of things vying for time and attention and the Church was not, by-and-large, keeping teenagers after they were out of Sunday School/Children’s ministry.

With that background said, I’m going to share a little bit now of what I view as NOT a good reason or primary purpose of youth ministry.

- a positive alternative for youth that offers a safe environment for kids and doesn’t have the negative effects that the world does.

We hear this so much. We want to offer a “fun” alternative to the world for youth. Many youth ministries can be seen doing this when it seems that all they offer is fun and there is no real Gospel teaching or discipleship. There’s a national Christian radios station with a broadcast tower in our area whose slogan is “Positive Alternative”. Even Christian music- while alternative may not be a bad thing, it should not be the main thing. Youth ministry should be more than just “an alternative”.

The purpose of youth programming in the church should be primarily this:

Providing a venue within the Church for evangelism to and intentional discipleship of teenagers and working toward their incorporation into the Church.

I like this working definition because it outlines a few key things. It provides that we are not just serving our own, but there needs to be a reaching out. Just as churches should grow through conversions, youth ministries want to see that positive growth. Reaching lost people with the gospel is important. Hand in hand with that, it also outlines that youth ministry should be used as a process to be discipling teenagers. It doesn’t take someone who’s cool or someone who knows it all- it just takes being real with them. As our primary focus should be the kingdom of God, however, and seeing as Jesus commanded his disciples to “make disciples of all nations”, it makes sense that discipleship should be a major concern. And as my Evangelism and Discipleship professor in college used to state, Evangelism and Discipleship are like “fruit and fiber”- why have one without the other?

Also we hear a lot of talk about how the youth are the church of tomorrow. But the truth is, just because they are young does not disqualify them from participation in the Church today. They are the Church of today AND tomorrow. The Church has not simply stayed the same for the past 1900 years and in the past 50-100 people have decided to change it. Christ’s body has been like the organism it is- shifting and changing since its inception. It does not mean that to shift the “look” of Church (without compromise of the message of Christ) is to betray our heritage.

Finally, I’d like to make the point that youth ministry, just as adult ministry, should rarely be about the “Get as many people as we can here and preach the evangelistic message to the so that hopefully a few will respond”. I do not mean anything against large evangelistic meetings, but to do so has met with such poor follow-up results. If we are about making disciples as much as we’re about simply evangelizing, then we MUST recognize the small value of getting someone to say a prayer at an event and then not ever think about that again. In youth ministry especially, teens want people to be real, and they themselves aren’t going to make a commitment lightly at an event if they don’t think they’ll do anything about it after the event.

There, I think I’ve hit my creative quota for the day. Does anyone who reads this have any other ideas? Or thoughts? Or, most especially, any dangers of youth ministry? I haven’t listed any of those- maybe I’ll blog those another time. But I welcome the thoughts for such a topic.

yes, yes, i know

So, i know numbers are not everything. and as a matter of fact, they are often barely times anything at all. but we had our youth ministry Christmas party on Friday, Dec. 15 and had an all time high of 17!! it's been exciting to have been here for a year and all, but this was by far the most exciting number. it's the largest anything youth group thing i've done as a youth pastor (since i've basically tried to build two youth ministries out of nothing) and i'm stoked...

i know we're affecting our kids out here and all- and i know that we're making a difference. and that's good. i guess i just need a reminder sometimes. we don't have too many more now than we did when we arrived, but at the same time, i can think of at least 5 of our regular/semi regulars who were NOT attending when we started here. and I can think of at least 3 or 4 who are no longer going to our church so not attending, either. so we've kinda lost some and replaced them- but from the "numbers" view, it's stayed the same.

the big thing is that we have been able to not lose most of the kids who were here when we started. that was a BIG concern- that most of them were too far gone for us to keep them. and i'd say we lost one becasue she was ready to head out, but the others were family reasons that they stopped attending our church. And the rest that were around, we have done what we can and gotten them in- even the one that i was SURE i was going to lose from the moment i came out here. not that we don't connect, just that he was already kinda doing another thing for church... but... yeah. so now, we've got some kids that have been very inconsistent since we came here that we're trying to get more involved... and of course, i've been trying to get in the schools to make my face more known to the friends the kids in the youth group will invite.

anyway- i'm just pretty excited after having a big number tonight. hopefully our friday nights will continue to produce some growth (since that's what they were designed for). ok- i'm exhausted from not having a minute of rest since early this morning... i'm about to pass out...

CNN article on Christianity

I found this as I was scanning the headlines today. I was very impressed that this comes from the son of Jim & Tammy Faye- considering how super-conservative they are. I think the article speaks for itself, but goes along well with some of what i've been more recently feeling from a political standpoint as a Christian.

i'd love to entertain any thoughts...

Christian Pop-culture

Rachel called me this morning. in a Christian bookstore catalogue, she notice this. Wow. that's all i can say. apparently the caption in the catalogue says "now your kids can dance for the Lord".

It really was a confirmation to me because the other day, i wrote down a question that I really wanted to get some discussion on. It was spurred on because I was reminded of this Christian comedian. After watching some of his stuff, I found him to be funny. But the people who told me about this guy, Brad Stine, are kinda sheltered kids. It made me really want to start a discussion about something that is becoming so huge now. A popular, christian sub-culture.

We've already got (and had for some years) Christian music. I remember that when I was in high school, I would only listen to Christian music. And while I firmly believed it was a matter of my own personal convictions, I would secretly wonder about how serious people were about their faith who listened to "the radio" or CDs from non-Christian artists. Obviously, this was wrong thinking on my part. While there are obviously some bands that promote sin or even simple immorality, there are many non-Christian groups that don't have anything specifically wrong with their music.

There have also been books for some time now, too- including popluar Christian novels. But even now, there are books that have reached "craze" status, regardless of if it's Christian or not.

Anyway, back to the point- it used to be just Christian music. But recently, there have been videos and movies (look at all the apocalypse movies), comedians, video games- seemingly everything. And it makes me wonder WHY. Can Veggie Tales DDR seriously be to help someone's spirituality?

I want to ask the question- does it make us more or less spiritual if we choose (or choose not) to engage ourselves in this sub-culture simply because it's Christian? should we not be disappointed at the poor quality some Christian bands display, but they get a contract because they're "Christian". should we not want good music, funny comedians and well written books?

I am reminded of the band Tree63 telling about being in South Africa (where there music is top-40 type stuff) and there's no Christian or non-Christian music. if a Christian band wants to get recorded, then they have to be GOOD- good enough to compete with non-Christian music.
so I ask the question that I have been wondering for a few days...

Does the popular Christian sub-culture of today reflect:

a)A positive alternative to the negative influences found in normal popular culture?

b)A way for Christian parents to shelter their children and teenagers (or for Christian teens and adults to shelter themselves) from the bad aspects of popular culture?

c)the honest desire of the hearts of Christians to use their gifts in ways to share the Gospel, or at least be a positive influence?

d)desire on the part of media corporations to make money off the segment of the population who designate themselves as Christians?

e)A true desire to be a people who are "set apart"?

f)some combination or these or something else entirely?

I would LOVE to entertain some thoughts.

rememberance and pride

I have been a fan of David Crowder Band since I first heard them. David Crowder has written a good book that I read. But... I just got the album "A Collision" by the band. And while it sounds pretty decent all-around, there's a song on it that bothers me. The song also made its way onto the latest Passion CD- "Everything Glorious". Maybe it just reminds me too much of another song that really kills me because of it's content... it's called "We Win" which seems close to the same theme as the song "I Win".

I have a friend- James- who told me that they were singing this song "I win" one day in chapel at his college... He got frustrated, went up on stage and said "Don't you get it- WE DON'T WIN- GOD DOES!" I was very happy for that because i'm a huge fan of thinking through the theology of songs before introducing them into useage for congregational singing. the lines of this song are "no matter what the weapon is, I want you to know that I win (echo- I win)" and the chorus is just a repeating "I win, I win, I win, I win..."

I like Crowder's song slightly more because it is WE win, not I win. there's a HUGE theological difference with using one word or the other, and even in corporate worship, singing all songs with I in there tend to get the focus on "I'm worshipping" not "we're worship together" and ultimately, focus away from who we are worshipping. getting back on topic, however, the lyrics of Crowder's song are along the lines of "Cause we've already won and you don't have a chance, yeah we've already won and you don't have a chance" however, offeste by... "This is for His Glory, His glory- we have already won".

to those looking for a short read, i apologize- those paragraphs prior to this were only the introduction. This newer song and the other one that sends shivers down my spine have gotten me thinking about the nature of a few things. First, Crowder talks about shouting, shouting until the walls come down. It got me thinking about ancient Israel. They certainly had their share of victories, sadness and they are interesting to study. There are stories that we're all relatively familiar with like the battle of Jericho where they go, march around the wall and on the last day, they all yell (that would work GREAT- if the walls were made of Jell-o. ooh- then we could just eat 'em) and the walls come down. this is the story that got me thinking.

Then there's the story of Gideon, who weeded out almost 32,000 to get the 300 guys voted "most unlikely to fight and win a battle" in high school. He took those 300 because God asked him to trim the army down and those 300 went into battle and without even raising a sword, they routed the enemy.

Both of these stories are not to be studied by generals or military geniuses. The strategy will not win the battle in the natural. But when God told them to, He took care of it. It makes me wonder, however, what did people think after the battle. They seem to have forgotten what God did for them so many times (the book of Judges- they got oppressed again) the people seem to have forgotten. But they didn't forget what was done- it's hard to forget that the reason we are not oppressed is because the enemy was defeated. So perhaps pride is the reason. God did things HIS way to ensure that no one could take glory for them, but as the participants fade away and pass away, perhaps the descendents have forgotten what was done for the people who came before.

And so perhaps we have people bragging about "I win" because they have forgotten that we didn't even fight the battle. We may struggle, but the REAL battle that has already been won was won by Jesus Christ on the cross. it's not the struggle that we have today against sin and perhaps evil powers, but Christ's victory over sin that matters most to us today. And we would do best not to forget it.

do you sing?

I just took a call at the church from a woman asking about the time of our 2nd service on sunday mornings and after confirming that it was at 11am, she proceeded to ask if we sing hymns. I stated that we sing hymns during the 1st service, but our 2nd service does not typically have hymns. She asked me again the same question with the emphasis on hymns- "I asked, do you sing HYMNS??" So I responded again, with a sure tone, that our 1st service is a traditional service in which we sing hymns, however, our 2nd service (which she's inquired about) is our contemporary service and we do not sing hymns often. She responded with a quick thank you and then hung up.

I know that the Church in the United States has been through the "worship wars" and many churches are still in the midst of it. but i post this here now because i wanted to get a little discussion going- regarding this question. Is this a question that should be asked when looking for a church? what other questions should someone ask when they are looking for a church home? what should the primary determining factor be? And how do you get past the ambiguous questions/feelings like "I think God wants us here" for which there may be no proof except for our own feelings?

discuss.

politically charged

i've been feeling a bit charged over the past few days... there is nothing in particular that is causing me to wrestle with some of these issues- at least, not some kind of current event. I have been reading a few things recently that have been giving me the desire to read more about them and wrestle with them.

what i'm dealing with right now is politics. A few weeks ago, i was looking through Keith Drury's website and came across THIS article of his regarding Can Christians vote for democrats. 5 or 6 years ago before moving away from northern Maine, going to college and experiencing a more diverse cross-section of the Christian faith, I would have argued against that possibility. As a matter of fact, I seem to remember going to the Rec Center in Presque Isle and voting Republican right down the line. What a responsible thing for me to do- not concern myself with any issues or a person's stance.

Back to the subject at hand, however, I also read an article a few weeks ago passed along to me by a friend. It was in the NY times and is in yesterday's blog about my new reading list- or at least, a link to it is there. And i recieved the two books listed there, as well, from Amazon and began reading eagerly.

Let me just be blunt- i'm getting quite tired of watching other Christians around me blindly following a leader, a political agenda or a political party. I was talking with another Christian a few months ago- a very politically conservative- about politics one time. I got to mentioning how I find myself in line with the Repulican party on what many consider to be "moral" issues- particularly, abortion and homosexuality. But the last time I voted in Maine, I voted for the democratic candidate for governor. Because I thought he had a better platform on issues regarding education and the environment- and beyond that, he is a devout Catholic, so unless he divided himself from the Catholic Church, I knew where he stood on abortion and homosexuality. Beyond that, the republican candidate was NOT a Christian, might as well have been an atheist for as much as he referenced any kind of deity.

The person I was speaking with and told these things to said it seemed like it should have been better to vote for the democrat, except that supporting that candidate would help to push forward the democrat's platform that included keeping abortion legal and marriages for homosexuals. I would presume that means this person just votes republican because he supports that party.

This has bothered me. I guess if that person wholeheartedly agrees with the republican stance on their issues, then he should feel free to support them. But I'm not sure that I do. And I'm not sure that the Bible does, either. However- we find ourselves at this place where the Chruch in north America seems to be in support of the Republican party. I've heard it preached from the pulpit, i've read "voter's guides" which go just short of saying "vote for the republican".

Conservative Christians seem to believe that getting republicans elected will somehow help the Church out. It will give us a more "moral" person or at least a better platoform toward Christianity. But what we fail to realize is that the republican party only cares about Christians because it wants their votes!!! It caters to conservative Christians on the "big" issues for votes!!!

There are more issues that Christians need to think about the Biblical standard for when thinking about politics. They should consider the environment, the Biblical stance on war and peace, the death penalty, caring for the poor, and education- just to name a few things off the top of my head.

It seems to me that somewhere along the way, Christians were convinced, whether due to a VERY convincing argument or because they lacked the initiative to chase down answers for themselves, that the Republican party is the Christian party. And I know what it is like to be one of those. The problem is that instead of the Church being a voice of conscience against any and all things that need to be changed, it has become a pawn of the Republican party. it is NOT the Christian party- even though most evangelical Christians support this party, to have a political party that is religiously defined is detrimental. And there are many who are republicans who are NOT Christians. Just as there are Christian democrats. To line up Christian faith with one political party or the other would be to uphold certain parts of the Bible (our source for belief) and deny other parts.

I honestly do not think that the Church is place to support politics, make pleas for "moral" politicians or anything like that. If the Church too closely allies itslef with one party or another, it begins to lose its integrity, and thus, our witness. Church needs to be the place that teaches the Bible and disciples are grown. And when growing mature disciples, those people will be capable to make their own decisions of what they believe and how they vote regarding ALL issues and not simply two or three that seem to be the major issues.

My Next Great Idea

Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

I have been kicking this around for a day. I think that I want to put this verse as an invitation to all Gen-Xers and Millenials (aka, like 35 and under). It is my invitation to you. It is the way we can come to the Gospel. Maybe even should come to it this way.

I put this as in opposition to a modern approach to the gospel. Quick review- Modernism heralds reason and science as the ultimate. So modern approaches to the gospel include an argument to the faith. Lee Strobel wrote a series of books known as "The Case For" series, including The Case for Christ, the Case for Faith and the Case for Easter. These books logically go down a list and take each argument against each subject and put it to the light, ending with the basic understanding that no thinking person can disagree with it.

Christian "tracts" that present the gospel are modern in nature- walking the logical steps from we are all sinners to the place that the only alternative is to accept Christ.

These things are not bad. I am not bashing them. However, these things do not really entice me to believe. Strobel might even agree with me today, as he wrote a book called "Reaching Unchurched Harry and Mary" and it seems to have little in there about logical arguments to the faith. A millenial can agree with everything you've said in your argument to the faith and then say, "that doesn't mean i'm going to become a Christian", basically saying, that's great that you can defend it, but i'm looking for more.

Taste and see- this is an invitation to me, to you- to all. Experience that Christ is good! Experience that Christ has more for you than the world. Taste and see. Test the water and find that abundant life from Christ is truly fulfilling! Find that he does forgive sins, experience that He died for you and what it means. Experience the life of faith.

Encounter Christ. Pharisees were not easily argued to faith- they knew the scriptures, many of them practiced the scriptures. what it took for men like Nicodemus was experiencing Christ's power first hand. He could not just hear of it, he had to encounter Christ. I feel invited by a verse that says "Taste and see that the Lord is good"

It is a call to people that just because we can prove our faith is right, you still must experience it in order to fully grasp. It is not a faith completely made up of logic and reason, thus logic and reason cannot be our sole basis for faith!

35 and unders- we are about the experience. I will not say you are right becase I haven't expereinced it. In fact, until I do, I will tell you that your faith is right for you, but not for me. Until I experience that Christ died for all, not just for those who currently are Christians, I will believe it is only for those people and other faiths are for others.

Taste and see- encounter, experience... God is good- our faith is the real deal!

i've been wondering

I've been pondering something the past few days. And I want to put it on paper, or in writing at least, so that I can organize it just a little.

Background- first, it seems to many (especially churches trying to reach millenials and x-ers) that sunday school is dead. The whole idea of sunday school classes, and then worship and sermon just doesn't fly with a lot of people. and in some ways, I feel a bit of agreement. Sunday School was started as an outreach tool for the church- to reach people who may not want to be in church. It was also a primary teaching tool for Christian instruction, teaching the faith, living our faith, teaching the gospel and more. But more and more people are believing it to be outdated.

with that said, our church has seen significant growth since before I got here. Some of that is older people, but in general, our pastor believes Sunday School is a big part of it. there was none and since it was started again, we've seen growth. Now, we don't know if growth has happened because of that or simply along side of that. Regardless, this has got me pondering something. As a person, and a pastor, and as a border line gen-x/millenial.

What if we do this, instead. Have Sunday school on sunday morning- multiple classes for ages, primarily. Basically, have Sunday school- maybe a little modified for each congregation. And then, after sunday school (or before- or both if you do 2 services), gather together for worship. Included are music, offering, scripture reading, prayer time- whatever else is incorportated in a worship service. And then, dismiss.

One of the reasons many people give for giving up on sunday school is that it gives people too try and grasp on a sunday morning. So if we can get the to grasp one thing well, that is better than not grasping 2 or more things. This gives us that one thing. It also gives small groups, close connection, meeting together, Biblical teaching/instruction and preserves corporate worship. It preserves the body because we're not completely individualized groups that meet away from church and barely see each other. The pastor therefore is responsible for not only teaching a class, but also instructing the other teachers so that the teaching is solid, bilical and doctrinally sound.

Would this work for a church? Does size matter in this potential model? What do you think of it? Responses welcome, by any and all who may read this.

so frustrated

This morning, our church had a service performed by our 2006 Guatemala team. I have observations that I want to make known, and yet just about everyone in my congregation will not agree with me.

In a nutshell, it was, to me, the pinnacle of American ethno-centrism masked by good intentions. I'm not trying to bash anyone's thoughts, his/her feelings from going, or his/her intentions. But I am trying to say this- short term mission trips are beginning to really annoy me. Comments I heard that annoyed me: "Everyone needs to go," "They need us there," "I didn't want to go back home," "I think we got more from being there than they did"... I've heard that last one too many times. While it may be true, I'm not sure I like it.

First (comment), everyone does not NEED to go. Everyone needs to serve, needs to be involved in helping others and in showing God's love and justice. That does NOT require going to another country, or even another town. Everyone should be involved in God's work, but going to another country isn't the only way to do so. And as a matter of fact, it is the most expensive way to do so! If you're really all about serving, then it shouldn't matter whether it's Guatemala, Cambodia or your neighbor's backyard.

Second (comment)- They do NOT need us there. As a matter of fact, us going as short termers often times makes things more messy than before. They got along without us before we went, they can do so after. Our team built two houses- Guatemalans have built houses before and did not need us to do so. We put shoes on kids who needed them- we could have sent the shoes and national ministers and full-time missionaries could put them on. And they sent the Jesus film- which we could have sent and not just taken. While it's good service, and the projects were very other people centered, they did not NEED our people there to do it. Our people were simply helpers. To say that another country needs us is the most ethno-centric comment one could make. It somehow implies that God is not going to get the word out without you, and it implies that we have the answer they are incapable of finding unless we go. We have abilities they do not have. This is not true. There are lots of people who have the answer (Jesus) who can share it who live there and don't have to spend thousands of dollars each to be there. Beyond that, there is a little boy who is now being supported by one of our couples who went. Now, it may well be expected that people from every missions group will "adopt" through support children there. Dependency is created because we think they need us.

Third (comment)- You must come home. Even if you don't want to. And being in that state of mind will make you hate home. But beyond that, you have only had a one week glorified version of missions. If you were to be there for a month or more and without a full team of friends around you, you would get a better view of what full-time missionaries and missions work is all about. If they all left and you stayed to continue to love the people there, it would be hard. A friend of mine on my second Ukraine trip (she'd been on the first one, too) stayed a few extra days after the trip to visit and hang out with the people in the town that we'd been to on our first trip. She said that after we left, it was tough and it wasn't what she thought it was. One week trips do not give a good view of missions. I have friends on the field who felt called through short term trips and then realized it was not what they expected when they got there full-time. Beyond that, this desire not to leave leads to promises of returning. That's the worst thing you could do because even if you do return, you can't get them that attached to you. it leads to dependency. Do not promise to return, or write, or e-mail or call...

Fourth (comment)- while it may be true that you got a lot, that's not the most important thing. And it's not the most important thing to take away. The motivation needs to be serving and giving, not receiving. After you return, if you're only focused on what you've received, it makes you want to go again and soon because you want the experience again. If you only focus on how you felt for it, you may have that as a motivation from then on. And it leads to people saying stuff like "Everyone needs to go"- because I had such a great experience, others would get that experience too. But when push comes to shove, next year when the trip comes up, people who have gone will not willingly give up their spot so someone else can go, even if they said that everyone should go. just doesn't happen.

other thoughts from the service... Not trying to say it was a waste of money, but if $26,000 was raised for the trip, could it have not been spent better if $26,000 were sent to national ministers and missionaries to spend- paying for workers on the houses and people to do what our team had done? They likely could have built more than 2 houses and done a LOT more. Especially because they can live on less there. But the travel costs would not have to be paid. And God's work still would have gotten done.

more other thoughts- Some parents are talking about their 9-year-old or younger children going next year. I think that they don't have a good understanding of the right motivation. I have seen it before and it has never worked out well to have young children on mission trips. The child is not as able to help with the physical work and the VBS stuff, they are ministered to, not ministers. The parent is also made almost useless because he/she is always concerned about and watching after the child(ren). If you really see missions as about serving the people you're going to, then leave the children home. If you want your children to go, you can't honestly think they have the ability to make the cost of getting them there worth having them there. It's gotta be about my child having the experience. If it costs 1000 for travel for each person, then it's a waste of not only $1,000, but actually $2,000 because the parent's impact is lessened. Also, one woman in our church is going to Africa with a big team for the ONLY purpose of taking video equipment to that country! Why do they need a team? I don't know- but most people won't actually be doing anything while there. And If I were asked to go, I would ask why do I need to go?

another thought: We're going back next year. To the same country. While I know there is a lot of work to be done there, there are other countries. And I also agree that it is good to make a difference in one place because it can feel like too little if going to many places. But I don' t think that's the thought behind it. And I don't think that's a good enough reason to get everyone to think about only one other country. It's great to get others thinking outside of their own country, but it needs to be world minded, not just America and Guatemala minded. I saw the same thing at New Hope with Bolivia. There are other countries, and God is at work in all of them. It would not be bad to go to another country, or better yet, do lots of service projects around here instead.

Another thought (not missions related): the music was sub-par. The guitar/leader was very folky sounding. And they practiced last week for a sound check, then changed the whole thing. Added two more singers and sang with mics in stands instead of holding them (which meant the voices didn't get picked up because the singers were so far away). As the sound guy, it was not a good way to start for me. And the music hurt me... It was... hurtful to me. I couldn't really handle it... If I came for this service, I wouldn't have been back. I'm not trying to say I'm all that, because I'm not, but I think that the music I do is more reaching of younger people.

Another thought: I feel like we've got our people bringing American Christianity instead of the seed of the gospel there. Kind of a side effect I'm sure of our pastor seeming to try and bring "Alabaman" Christianity to Oregon. The team did a "Spanish" worship song this morning that was nothing more than an American worship song (now relegated to a kid's song, to boot) that has Spanish words instead of English (and only 3 words that needed translation at that). yet they believed it was a Spanish worship song. *Buzzer* Wrong! It's American worship songs converted. Songs that they wrote and they sing are Spanish worship songs. Not ours converted...

Both Rachel and I had a hard time with the service. We actually have wondered if we're really supposed to be here because of this and some other things (particularly how the church is more elderly people than we thought and while the pastor loves young couples and families, I don't see him actually drawing them in- his preaching style is very mellow and almost emotionless sometimes- hand motions that distract and don't add anything, and mostly, modern preaching that often times is not challenging). All things equal, this service did not help us feel more like we belong. It gave me another "we disagree with this pastor on yet another issue." (do not take this the wrong way- I still feel like we're ok here. I'm not considering moving, and I'm not considering another church. I'm not thinking I don't belong. I'm just venting... It's frustrating to feel like opposite sides on a lot of issues with the senior pastor. We're ok, though. For now- but pray for us)

Final thoughts- I don't feel I can support the trip next year. In fact, I'm not sure I'll go on another mission trip again. If I feel like doing something internationally, I will send my money where they can use it all, not only part of it because I had to spend money to go. If a person cannot do service locally, they do not need to go. The Great Commission is to make disciples, not to go on short term mission trips. And making disciples can be done more cost-efficiently and often times effectively (because nationals understand the culture better) without short term trips. I think people need to think of others, but the glamour of going outside the country can be... enticing and give wrong ideas.

I don't really know how to end this, but.. I'll just call it quits.

Musical Theology

I was listening to a person the other day talking about something- and it really made me wonder something. Do we honestly get our theology from popular Christian music? and if so, WHY???

Christian music is somewhat of an anomaly. Many churches require their pastors to have some kind of degree and background/training in the Bible of theology. At the very least, a church will require a person to have felt some kind of "call" into ministry and evidence that God is at work in them and revealing the truth of His Word. Christian Colleges and seminaries require that you have an education.

Christian music, in like fashion, requires you to have a discernable amount of MUSICAL talent! The "anomaly", however, is that despite other "christian" occupations or passtimes, there is no required calling, training, or even background in theology or Christianity. All it requires is talent and putting together a few things for lyrics that make Christians feel good. I'm not saying that most bands just put words together, but there is no "theology" checker on music- someone could have bad doctrine in their music and no one wonders.

Case in point- Michael W. Smith had a song a few years ago- I used to own the CD, but gave it to a friend(actually, more that she borrowed it to do a mime to and never gave it back), so i had to look up the song on the "I'll Lead You Home" CD- it's called "Angels Unaware". He mentioned something in there about being "caught in a mental purgatory". the first time i heard it, i thought he said middle purgatory, and regardless of that- i wanted to know if he had some catholic doctrine or influence in his life.

Back in the days of AOL (the 10 hours/month for $10 and then $2/hour after that days- and before there was anything faster than 14.4k modem speeds), i logged onto a guest appearance with Michael W. Smith. People went into the "auditorium" and got seated in "rows" and you could talk as much as you wanted with people in your row. You could even create your row. You could ask Michael any question you wanted through a mediator- you just had to type it in the mediator box. I asked about this 3 or 4 times. They also, at the end of the time, picked one person to "come on stage" and ask any question they wanted to. I so despearately wanted to get up there to ask- most of the questions i saw were along the lines of what is your favorite way of wearing your facial hair, or what's your favorite hairstyle. The person who got to go on stage asked the following question- "do you like ketchup on your eggs?"

i guess there's not much of a market or desire out there for right theology in music. But I want to encourage you to think about this- look into it. Don't just take some band's music as right belief! It goes back to questioning and not simply accepting! And it's worse when some band tries to pass a song off as worship and it's got bad theology! It's bad enough trying to pass some song off as worship, but it's not REALLY worship (like the songs "Who am I" by Casting Crowns, or "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe- they aren't worshipping God! ask me about them if you wish). But worse when we've got bad theology in it!

think about it... process it. later.

Paradigm shift

I don't know about anyone else, but i'm kinda getting tired of hearing buzz words. At least, buzz words that don't mean anything they way they're used. Case-in-point- i heard a radio broadcast from Andy Stanley this morning and he was talking about a paradigm shift. I'm sorry but that made me think less of him actually, because he couldn't think of a better way to say what he was saying. What he was talking about doesn't really constitute a paradigm shift- it was more of a revelation moment. Where God revealed something to him that he's always thought otherwise...

does anyone actually know what a paradigm shift is? so many people use the word- heck, even i did- it got me an A on some papers if i used it correctly, but sometimes, I'd get comments back about how it's a buzz word and make sure i'm qualifying what i'm saying is a paradigm shift...

so let's hear it for the end of buzz words and have people just say what they mean...