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To all who forwarded me the email about Obama being sworn in with the Koran …May you be forced to carry a bigger Bible than Lincoln’s every week to church.

January 24, 2009 by 1 Comment

To all who forwarded me the email about Obama being sworn in with the Koran …May you be forced to carry a bigger Bible than Lincoln’s every week to church.

 

Hey, this post is about calling us as followers of Christ to be centered on love.  To some that sentence sounds diluted and compromised.  So in plain words this is what I am saying:  We do not demonstrate our love for Christ by hating others.  This includes those who appear to be disobedient to our Savior’s teachings.  But let us be humble, for many times, it is us who are disobedient as well.

 

In less than a week since President Obama was sworn in office, I received several emails and comments of what he had already overturned.  None were true.  First, let us remember that many of us are Christians, first, all else, second.  Further, for those of us who claim to be truthful, let us be be more diligent about pursuing the truth before pressing “Forward” or speaking out loud. 

 

Lastly, though it may surprise some, I did not vote for President Obama (so this should not be interpretted as rubbing it in), but I respect him for many reasons.  I am inspired that an African American is the President.  It not only means so much to all minorities, but it means so much to non-minorities as well.  I appreciate many of his positions and disagree with a few and am skeptical about some others, however, this always been true of everyone I’ve seen occupy such a seat.  Regardless, I am, as I always have been, proud to be an American.  May God give us all wisdom, courage and grace.  The Lord is my judge, yours too, may He continue to give us mercy.

Filed Under: Reflective

Reflecting on Rick Warren’s Invocation

January 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Here’s what I know:  Although I’m working on it, I’m too snobby to appreciate a guy like Rick Warren.  Anytime, you sell so many books and appeal to so many people, and you’re not the humility of Billy Graham or the self-sacrifice of Mother Theresa, I usually only see you as a fear-mongerer like some or a car salesman like others (see how I am exercising wisdom by not mentioning names in negative light?). 

Warren does not inspire me with his prophetic wisdom like a McLaren, nor dazzle me with his intelligence like a Scot McKnight.  I am not mesmerized by his speaking ability like Tim Keel nor envious of his creativity like a Rob Bell.  I could go on and on but you probably get it.

So why do I like Rick Warren?  First, the Purpose Driven Life was a good book. Though I could have gone without the 40 Days of hype that surrounded it, at least it was a worthy book for thousands of churches to read together (yes, in addition to the constant reading of the Scriptures).  Though I’d like to say Jesus Creed or Secret Message of Jesus or New Christians, in the last 10 years, I cannot think of another book that so many millions can read together.  It is my opinion that we could have gone without the various accompanying journals, workbooks, and boxer shorts, I appreciate that Warren isn’t churning out multiple books a year.  Third, for a guy who makes a lot of money, he doesn’t look or act like it.  I only wish to say this is refreshing and will bite my tongue on any comparisons. 

The next set of reasons has to do with his influence.  I know many pastors that are very influenced by Warren and Saddleback and he uses his credibility well.  His concern for many world-crises like poverty and  AIDS has changed the minds of so many from disregarding such things “social gospel” to carrying the gospel torch and calling such things part of the work of the church.

Lastly, the fact that a conservative pastor like Warren has such a relationship with President Obama is amazing!  (Yes more amazing than Falwell and Flynt which I wish people would remember.  The only thing that can top this is if Dobson and Pagit become friends).   At risk of sounding naïve, the inaugural invocation is not as spectacular to me as it may be for other people.   I’m just inspired that Obama wanted him.

As far as the actual prayer, I thought it was as good as it’s going to be.  I liked that he used his everyday, common guy personality, that he didn’t come out in a Hawaiian shirt (that he hasn’t worn in 3 years because doesn’t want that to be his signature), and that he didn’t come out pretending to be Billy Graham.  He prayed as a man asking for God’s blessing on the President, the people that follow him, and the world at large.  This is a good thing and I hold a great deal of respect for this man.

Filed Under: Reflective Tagged With: ,

Monday Morning Brief though it's Tuesday – 1.20.09 –

January 20, 2009 by Leave a Comment

It’s Tuesday but it feels like Monday.

 

Highlights of the Week:  Having just returned from our senior high winter retreat, I’m tired and blessed.  All in all, another solid retreat.  Though there is no such thing as having arrived, I can tell that we have a better spirit or culture in our ministry.   As mentioned in the previous post, our theme centered around the movie “Crash” and our themes were “Justice, Racism, Providence and Redemption”.  They loved the movie, we looked at a lot of Scripture and we had great discussions.  Some leaders said that it was probably our best large group discussion we’ve had.  I tend to feel differently about retreats and trips as time passes. I need the time to rest and process but I really do feel good about it.

At the moment:  1. I’m procrastinating on writing  my sermon for class today.  I think it will go ok, it just feels mediocre and I’m tired from the retreat. 2. Also I’ve been really thankful for our youth leaders.  They give so much and they allow the Lord to work through them.  Very grateful.  

 

Looking Forward to: 1. Being with my family again.  Susan and Nathan flew to FL to visit the in-laws and they picked a great week to go since it’s freezing out here and 70 degrees in FL.  They get back Thursday.  2. Seeing history made today at Obama’s inauguration.  Friends, regardless of our respective views in politics, this is an incredible day in American history. 3.  Getting back to some kind of routine.  4. Super Bowl with Steelers vs. the … uhhh, the Cardinals???  Surely the Cards can’t win this one.  5. LOST!

Filed Under: Reflective

Watching "Crash" on our SH Winter Retreat

January 18, 2009 by 2 Comments

This MLK weekend is our Senior Winter Retreat at Camp of the Woods (COTW), in Speculator NY.  If you have never been to COTW, it’s quite the place – half camp – half resort.  It’s sorta like a mega-church for church camps.

This trip to this venue was foreordained  by decades of  life-long devotees.  We have several members of our congregation that have homes here and  many more that plan on retiring here and then there is the countless population that vacation here.  Add to it that many of our youth group students work here for the summer, and you have legend almost as big as Narnia.  I like to joke that for all their vision, imagination, fundraising, and preaching, it is unbearable to live with its completely unoriginal name – “Camp of the Woods”??  Was “Camp by the Lake” already taken?  Aside from that, it’s a nice place, with a great staff, and though a tad pricey, it’s been the venue of some of our better memories.

Each year, we put on our own winter retreat program.  We use our own worship band, I speak, etc.  Sound boring?  Shut up, that’s what we do Wednesday nights too.  In order for it not to look like Wednesday nights, we go skiing, have a talent show, play games, bring the Xbox and embarrass ourselves to Rock Band and overall, we do our best to create the fun.  It helps that we have a solid core group that get into whatever we’re doing.  Regarding the lesson theme, we’ve used movies. It’s been tough brainstorming movies that will work for an entire weekend.

My first year at this church we did a safe movie – a little, independent feature, called “The Matrix”.   Yeah, it was the “Garden State of ’99″.   It was easy,  the points connected well, we got a solid response, and for some, it was the first thing I did right.  Last year, we weren’t safe and we did the satire, “Saved!” and we themed it around hypocrisy and unconditional love.  The discussion groups were excellent.  The movie offends, at least mildly, to most people, (as is the point of good satire) but I was impressed that no one thought we should not have shown it.  For this and other reasons, last year was probably the best retreat that I had been a part of. 

So, as we were leaving for this retreat, I welcomed them to the second-best retreat ever (since we didn’t want to put any undue pressure on ourselves).  We’ve changed a few things, trying a different ski resort, implementing some new rules to balance sociability and technology (I don’t ban ipods, but free reign has kept a small minority disengaged), and showing another great movie.

We’re showing “Crash”.  It’s an edited version (some parts maybe a bit too much but I suppose the envelope should only be pushed so far) from one of those companies that stay in business for a few months and get shut down.  

Our themes will be Justice, Racism, Providence and Redemption and I am excited for this discussion this MLK Weekend.  I am using more Scripture than I normally do and am hoping that I am using the language of movies to connect with them, that the language of Scripture will translate too.  We’ll see what happens.

Filed Under: Reflective, Student Ministry

Reflecting on Evan's Tweet: What do you find to be the best way to engage someone who speaks negatively about the emerging church …

January 15, 2009 by 1 Comment

Earlier today, Evan (author of “Why I’m Not Emergent”) tweeted “What do you find to be the best way to engage someone who speaks negatively about the emerging church and assumes you agree?”  The last part of it is funny to me because it has happened a bunch of times but I want to discuss the first part. 

Here’s what I found.  Some people think the emergent church is:

  •  the work of the devil.
  •  equated with relativism.
  •  “liberalism repackaged”.
  •  a fancy way of saying that you’re “open minded” and welcome you to their world.
  •  dangerous or misplaced but still they are interested and curious and somewhat cautious about it.

To those that subscribe to the first 3, it depends how I am feeling that day.  For me, I do not need to convert anyone to emergent-type thinking.  I don’t think there is much to gain.  When some say that they find it to be “unbiblical”, I’ll generally enter into conversation and ask: What have you heard, what have you read, why do you say this …  I may or may not continue depending on that answer.

But let’s assume that you are in a great conversation with a wonderful Christ-follower.  Their knowledge of emerging church is what they heard from someone who read DA Carson’s book three years ago, a critique or two from their Bible-believing pulpit, and the attacks on Brian McLaren and Tony Jones they Googled eight months ago.  But they really are interested because they loved the title of Doug Pagit’s book A Christianity Worth Believing. 

Generally, I begin by explaining that according to the EV website and the many lectures I’ve heard, that is usually described as a “friendship” or a “conversation”.  Friendships don’t have doctrinal statements and healthy ones don’t have agendas.  They can have passion, debate, even good German beer, but they also have love.  

If we’re still friends, I offer to  forward them Scot McKnight’s 5 Streams of the Emerging Church.  In the good old days before 2008, I had recommended Generous Orthodoxy but now I recommend New Christians and if they’re rich (aka Presbyterian), then I tell them to buy both.  (Still need to read A Christianity Worth Believing but like, everyone I love the title).  After that, the most helpful book I read was Leslie Newbigin’s Proper Confidence.  Thank you John Franke and yes, the second most helpful was the Character of Theology … after it was explained in class … by Jay, Evan, Jon, Wendy …  Don’t mnd me, it’s a blog, I’m just having fun here.)

In the actual conversation I try to make these distinctions:

Postmodernism cannot be simply equated to relativism (although it contains it).  Postmodernism is better understood as an age as opposed to merely a philosophy.  Further, it is a response to modernism that seeks to combine the best of the pre-modern world (also known as the ancient world) and the modern world (as much good came out of it but it became incomplete when it lost its imagination and appreciation of mystery).

Regarding the “liberalism repackaged” line, among the many reasons (which some of them do not help) here is another.  It’s been my experience that when a couple of “conservatives” discover that they are seated at a table with those they perceive to be “liberals”,  their almost immediate response is to get up and leave the table.  If their attempts at “real conversion” are unsuccessful, the eventual response is to abandon the conversation with the satisfaction of having known a seed of truth was planted in the jungle of “heresy” (which is a word that should be held with the same reverence as the F-bomb).  I find myself not being socially liberal enough for some, and not conservative enough for others, but I’ve been very welcomed in this friendship.

That said, it’s ok to disagree in peace and love.  One may have a hermeneutic they prefer or at a different part of the journey (or even on a completely different journey).  The emergent thing does not really need an apologetic but it’s difficult for me to appreciate the “unbiblical” line.  For me, I have a higher and I’d like to argue healthier view of the Bible.  Thus, I do not appreciate the charge of being “unbiblical”.

For those of you further into the conversation, feel free to add/edit the list.

For those new, interested, curious, welcome, pull up a digital chair.

For those critical, have a nice day, Jesus loves me too (and so do we).

Filed Under: Christianity, emergent, Reflective Tagged With: ,

You Saw It Here … Second Last

January 13, 2009 by 1 Comment

Some posts and articles for your enjoyment:

Evan’s post on Why I”m Not Emergent

Missional People Watching on Everyday Liturgy.

Bono as guest Op-Ed Columnist in the NY Times with an article entitled, “Notes from the Chairman”  (It’s sort of a post-New Year’s Eve reflection inspired by Sinatra, Miles, and wine.)

Filed Under: Reflective

Reflecting on Driscoll's NY Times piece, Who Would Jesus Smack Down?

January 12, 2009 by 2 Comments

I read through the NY Times article “Who Would Jesus Smack Down?” about Mark Driscoll.  For those who don’t know, Mark is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, he’s authored several books, speaks nationally, blogs, among other things.  For those who do know, I encourage you to read it anyway.  ;-)

There’s a lot about Driscoll that I agree with.  There’s even a lot I like.  I appreciate his passion, the desire to invest in others, and his love for the Scriptures.  Undoubtedly, he has done some good things for the Kingdom.  But in heaven, we will both sit embarrassed of our theology and this will be true of all of us.  But I have some glitches too.  One is that he’s overly critical of the emergent church conversation. Not to imply that he needs to become a poster child for it, nor am I asserting the only way to be a faithful Christ-follower today is to be a part of emergent, but I wish he had continued with the conversation instead of abandoning and criticizing it.  I also wish he was more gracious with who/what he disagreed with.  My hope is that he does not age into the common perception of a Pat Robertson.  He’s not that now, because he’s young and accepted as “cool”.

Perhaps my greatest issue with Mark is how he speaks about women.  I find it embarrassing.  As one who grew up with the teaching and example of a strong complementarian model, I find him to be “off the mark”.  Perhaps you may know more about this subject than I, are there varying degrees to this?   To me, his views sound like a delicate balance between chauvinism and slavery.  His is not the complementation position.  My favorite example is his message from July 11, 2005 on Genesis 39, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (available on itunes podcasts and probably through the Mars Hill website).

Here’s another thing that always annoys me.  While I can nod my head in agreement that Jesus wasn’t only always snuggling with children and cuddling with lambs, he wasn’t Braveheart 24-7 either.  (By the way, Mel was balanced, fluent in French and gifted in brutally dismembering people).  I submit that Jesus is even more well-rounded.  But not only is Jesus perceived differently to many people but he was different to different people.  He’s a warrior and a poet.  He fought the Pharisees and cried with the mourners.  He blessed the meek but passionately overturned the corrupt money-changers.  We know all this, right? Agreed, Jesus wasn’t the “limp-wristed, wussy” that some have allegedly created but stressing the tattooed, demon bounty-hunting, “Roadhouse”  Jesus does not seem to be an accurate picture either. He’s not Fabio and not Stone Cold Steve Austin.

We are all different relative to our context.  We behave as fools in front of infants, saints in our churches, cheering fools at our ball games, and hope to be courageous in the face of danger.  Do not dismiss this as hypocrisy, but this is appropriate for humans for we are not one dimensional.  Can I assume that Driscoll makes an attempt to not use profanity in front of his children?

Concerning the article, it’s well written and am grateful it’s in the Times.  If this were my first time hearing of Driscoll, I’d be interested in learning more about him.  Some things are a little over-stated though.  It creates (unintentionally, I presume) this paradigm between seeker sensitive churches and churches like Mars Hill.  Sentences like these “They are not ‘the next big thing’ but a protest movement, defying an evangelical mainstream that, they believe, has gone soft on sin and has watered down the Gospel into a glorified self-help program.” imply that it’s one or the other.  Was this written by a modernist?  Is this meant to say if you are not part of Driscoll’s protest movement, you are soft on sin?  Again, probably not intentional but that’s what I am reading.

I encourage you to read the piece; I found this paragraph to be interesting is this paragraph.  Try to read through, the last line is brilliant:

“Mars Hill — with its conservative social teachings embedded in guitar solos and drum riffs, its megachurch presence in the heart of bohemian skepticism — thrives on paradox. Critics on the left and right alike predict that this delicate balance of opposites cannot last. Some are skeptical of a church so bent on staying perpetually “hip”: members have only recently begun to marry and have children, but surely those children will grow up, grow too cool for their cool church and rebel. Others say that Driscoll’s ego and taste for controversy will be Mars Hill’s Achilles’ heel. Lately he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language, and he insists that he has delegated much authority, but the heart of his message has not changed. Driscoll is still the one who gazes down upon Mars Hill’s seven congregations most Sundays, his sermons broadcast from the main campus to jumbo-size projection screens around the city. At one suburban campus that I visited, a huge yellow cross dominated center stage — until the projection screen unfurled and Driscoll’s face blocked the cross from view. Driscoll’s New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.”

While, I know I need to be careful of that too, the line made me laugh.

Filed Under: Christianity, emergent Tagged With:

Gran Torino May Be the Best Christian Movie You Will See All Year

January 9, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Like many, I also hate spoilers, and I cannot wait to post something about this movie.  In the meantime, I encourage you to go see it.  Eastwood is great, the supporting cast is terrific, and there’s a lot of wisdom contained in these 2 hours. I loved this movie because it was genuine, honest, represented the characters well, and celebrated themes and values I cherish.    For those it matters to, it’s rated R for violence, offensive language (not just profanity), and Eastwood gets naked in it. 

 

Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: ,

Less Violent Imagery … in Our Youth Ministry Please

January 9, 2009 by 1 Comment

I’ve been following the Youthbytes conversation first posted on pomomusings and now on the YS blog here and  wanted to avoid a long comment so I’m creating my own post.  Having only seen this clip, this post is not to trying to be critical of the organization or of Chad Daniel.  In fact, I appreciate people from the organization like the executive producer, Berin, who gave an apology for anyone who may have been offended and made the point that 39 out of their 40 videos might be better.  

I’m pretty pragmatic on certain things, if you make video that I will draw my audience closer to Christ, then I’ll probably buy/show it even if Hugh Heffner made it.  (What else can a  Christian believe in a world when every Zondervan Bible makes Rubert Murdoch richer, right?).

My comment was getting pretty long so I just decided to make my own post.  For those who skim, point 3 is the thesis, and points 4 and 6 are my stronger points.

1. Seriously, as a youth pastor, I am thankful for organizations like Youthbytes.  For a variety of reasons,  I am also thankful for men like Chad.  We have our different gifts, personalities, etc. our ministries will reach different people, yada yada.  You know where I am going with this diversity in the Body sermon right?

2. I am thankful for the exercise of this conversation.  In no way, am I trying to criticize a person/people/ministry etc. But it is important that we rethink ideas, strategies, methodologies and it’s ok if we do it as a community.

3.  That said, my personal contention is that the spiritual warfare/culture war/Onward Christian Soldier/etc. is overdone.  This is probably my biggest problem I have in this conversation.  We tend to talk about war, violence and beating the devil type of thing a little too much.

4.  Though I admit that I am rather desensitized to violence (probably from watching Tom & Jerry as a kid), I’ve had to reexamine this aspect of my life.  I remember saying to someone, “Yeah it’s a Rated R movie.  There’s a sex scene and profanity…”  My friend replied, “Was there any violence?  Violence really bothers me.”.  I admit, I was caught a little off guard and am a bit ashamed to admit that.  I can watch a head being decapitated but I cringe (a little) when I hear the F-bomb? That’s not right.

5.  Our context doesn’t help either.  Globally we are seen as the most violent of the civilized.  While there are many pacifists, many Christians are seen as war-hungry. 

6.  Now I know this video is not demonstrating a context of blood or war but that enters our mind because of the gun.  But for me, it’s a stretch to see the spiritual analogy.  I really see it as a video to build credibility with impressionable teen-agers.  Cool gun, blowing stuff  up, I’ll listen for a few moments.  If you don’t believe me, ask yourself why a bow and arrow wasn’t used.   Indeed there is a violent imagery in Scripture.  Paul uses these analogies as well.  Jesus even says that he comes with a sword (Matthew 10).  But again, it seems a little overdone.   There’s also a lot of sex in Scripture.  My sarcastic suggestion is to shoot a video with the bikini-clad Hooters girls encouraging their audience to make a pledge to read the Bible everyday this year.  There would be a lot of pledge cards and that video would sell. 

7. From the little I know of Youthbytes, they are trying to sell Biblically grounded videos that teens will enjoy watching.  And they can probably make more money selling other things and they want to fulfill the calling God has placed on their lives.  I don’t think the creation, purchase, and showing of this video is going to ruin our students but here is something else for your consideration.  But still, It’s worth remembering that Jesus didn’t use a weapon to kill the devil when he was being tempted.  Why do I mention that?  I literally think that if the literal devil literally appeared to us that we would literally physically try to attack him.  Literally.  And we may think that because we have a lot of violence in our world and a lot in our churches.   I think a more powerful video would be how to fight evil without being violent like the turning the other cheek idea, or the entering of Jerusalem on a donkey or commanding Peter to put away his sword.   These videos may not be as appealing or as easy to make but man, they would be great for the Kingdom.

For the sake of fairness, I’ll check out Youthbytes videos.  Their reputation is on the line in the minds of a few here.  I wish them the best.  For what it’s worth, violence is overplayed in our youth ministries and while the idea is not to never use a violent metaphor but in using also the many other metaphors contained in Scriptures.

Filed Under: Student Ministry Tagged With: ,

Predictions for 2009

January 5, 2009 by 4 Comments

I may skip today’s Monday Morning Brief, I had more fun creating predictions.  Tried not to get too carried away but I couldn’t help myself.

Better Church Attendance – As fear of recession grows and Americans have less disposable income, church attendance, participation, giving (among other things) will rise. Partially will be because many will have fewer distractions that they can afford and partially also because many will need the church community and their belief in God to move forward.

McCain will produce, write and star in a documentary called, “Inopportune Actuality:  I told you so about nuclear Iran” and will achieve a Gore-like status.  He will back on The Daily Show where we will hear Jon kidding with John about what happened in 2008.  (Stewart has already joked about how much cooler McCain is after the election.  Just like that?  Wow.)

U2 will release another incredible album.  It won’t earn the same number of Grammy’s as HTDAB because it’s being released too early in the year.  It’s ok – it will still be great.

Jessica Simpson will attempt her own Brittany-style comeback but won’t succeed. 

Lost will be spectacular.

24 won’t.

Movie theaters will actually lower ticket prices to gain back their departing audience.  I will have only seen blockbusters like Wolverine, Transformers 2 and whatever 2009’s version of There Will Be Blood and other fantastic character performances. 

It won’t matter because everyone will be at home listening to U2. 

Shane Claiborne will give away more, inspire more, and … cut his hair and donate it to “Locks of Love”.

Joel Osteen will make more, “inspire” more and … dye his hair blonde, grow it out and release a Best Life Now calendar, Strength of Samson edition.  In a desperate attempt to stay on television, this will force Dr. Phil to get a toupee.  

Max Lucado will release 3 new books by the time you finish reading this.

Tim LaHaye will begin a writing project focused on a creation called Right Before.  It will be a seven book collection, one for each day and the seventh will be called Rest and the pages will literally be blank.  

The Titans will beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.  But take heart, the half-time show with Springsteen will be memorable. 

Hockey will gain 3 more fans this year.  I just found out that Eric Lindross is no longer a Flyer.  Well, as long as Gretzky and Lemieux are still playing …  Seriously, until this sport gets back on television, they will gain so few fans a year and non-hockey, but general sports fans will continue to have a limited knowledge of this sport.   Everyone, including myself, says that hockey is great live but does not translate on television.  While that is true of the game play, the storylines must be carried on television too.  And it can’t all be that Sidney Cosby kid (I know, I know).  Credit ESPN for always trying to help this dying sport but they need to get back on real television (by real, I don’t mean the “Versus” channel, KJ).   I actually used to watch hockey before they cancelled the season.  It was on ESPN then. 

The Yankees will win the World Series. We’ve been saying that we needed pitching …  

Filed Under: Reflective