Chinese Proverb & Jewish Prophet

Go to the people, Live among them, Learn from them, Love them, Start with what they know, Build on what they have: But of the best leaders, When their task is done, The people will remark “We have done it ourselves.” -Chinese Proverb

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. - Isaiah 58:6-12

image via kevindooley

Easter ‘08

Lent, the 40-day period of preparation for Easter concludes. Henri Nowen once described Lent as the season during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance. Others refer to this season as a time of “Bright Sadness”. Lent is a time of fasting and mourning, of repentance and renewal, of identifying with Jesus in his suffering so that we can identify more fully with his resurrection at Easter.

Lent reaches its climax during Holy Week, itself a journey within a journey. Easter is the season of hope and for the disciples it was a forty-day long experience.

Romans 6:4-9, 11 says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism in to death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in a death like this, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slave to sin - because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Yes, resurrection is for you personally. And we need personal resurrection because we have grown all too comfortable being captive. We celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead and that we too can be raised from the dead.

But our personal resurrection is good news for the world. We must practice resurrection. The world is broken and desperately in need of repair. All that is so dead and wrong will be made right and alive.

Revelation 21:1-7 says this - Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

This is what we long for. This is what we hope for. This is what we ache for. We are giving our lives to leading, loving and living out that future reality now. And for these early Christians, this future reality had nothing to do with leaving this world.

God Makes All Things New! And the first picture we have of this future reality is found in the empty tomb. Sin has lost its power. Death has lost its sting. From the grave you’ve risen, VICTORIOUSLY!

Matthew 28:1-20 says, “After the Sabbath, at dawn of the first day of the week (Sunday), Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

White is the color of Easter and of the resurrection, for it is the color of new, clean, and set apart.

And with that, we come full circle in this journey of lent. Psalms 51 says, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Read Psalm 51 from Message.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid…

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”

1 John 4:17-18 in the message reads, “God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day-our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life-fear of death, fear of judgment-is one not yet fully formed in love. 19We, though, are going to love-love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.”

…for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Jesus can be trusted. Can the church be trusted? I have a dream that people will say of the church, “You’re still here”.

Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed to the mountain Jesus has set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshipped him. Some, though, held back, doubted, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission (Co-Mission: We are not doing anything for God - We are doing it with God) you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded (John 13:34: a new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.) You. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

We have people telling people to tell some people to tell somebody until we ourselves are here being told. So go tell someone about the resurrection, about new life.

Nobody is doing any proving here, only telling. We can’t prove it but we can point to it, by telling the resurrection story and living into its reality and power.

Some things you can’t argue with because they are so flesh and blood they just are. While watching Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Harley asked, “Does everybody die?” And in that moment I talked to my five year old little girl about our bodies dying but that what’s on the inside lives forever. I became a resurrection believer in that moment all over again. Because there is nothing right about dads and daughters being separated by death.

To all of them, even the ones full of doubt, go witness to it.

We believe because we see and experience resurrection. We see people leaving Friday for Sunday, death for a life transformation.

So we spread resurrection and hope and life. Resurrection is a reality that a community puts on display for a world that needs it. This early community referred to themselves as the Body of Christ. They believed that through them Jesus was still present.

The Church is a living breathing display of a whole new world God is bringing about right here and now. That’s what the Kingdom is all about, the way things really are and the way things should really be.

The Good news is that God hasn’t given upon on the world. A resurrection rescue is underway. Yes, Jesus is saving us from our personal sin. It starts deep within us and God shows us what it looks like to put flesh and blood on and live the resurrection out.

Who will we bring resurrection to?

image via midiman

Tech blogs we like

In a recent article I spoke about technology and the church.  Where do they intersect, what are we supposed to use and not use.  The conclusion I came up with was that technology was to assist us in reaching people for Christ.  It should be reletavely transparent and should never be something that is used to “compete” with the church down the road.  Technology you use should make you more productive, not less by being more of a distraction!

Churches are to be wise and accountable with their finances.  I’m sad to say though that a lot of money has been spent in the name of Jesus for something the church leadership just didn’t want to pay for out of their own pocket.  I’m sure we can all relate to a little “gear lust” now and then (new iPhone anyone).

If we are to be wise and also use technology to help us free up time to be with real people in real life, we’ve got to leave it to the pros to do the reviews and pass on the tips.  Here is a list of tech sites that we frequently visit to help us with our productivity and gadget discression.

Gizmodo: The irreverent kid on the block.  Posting can move into PG-13 territory quickly.  Great product reviews and first looks at the gear and software.

LifeHacker: A favorite of mine because of the productivity tips, not all of them are tech related, but great nonetheless.

Engadget: The granddaddy of the tech blogging world.  Tons of tips and just cool tech stuff.  A little more respected as a “real tech news” type site.

43 Folders: Not a tech blog exactly, but it is a productivity blog.  Technology is supposed to make us more productive, right?  Take a look here on how to get your email inbox back under control.

ZDNet: More of a “real news” type site.  More on the useful side of tech for sure.  Where Gizmodo might talk about some crazy invention, ZDNet will talk about how to prevent the virus from eating your PC.

Slashdot: Very geeky!  The cool thing there is to click in the sections area.  You can quickly see all posts for a specific topic.  This site is not just limited to tech either, if a nerd would like it you’ll find it there.

Image via iLoveButter

Recurring themes in life

Have you ever noticed that themes seem to appear in your day, your week or your years? Sometimes we refer to the theme negatively, “what a horrible day I had” for example. Other times we come to the end of the year and it has “been a great year”. Oddly enough, I think these are themes we are to pay attention to and learn from during the seasons of our lives.

I bring this topic up because the idea of “church marketing” has been the theme of the week for me. I have some interesting (to me) thoughts bouncing around in my head and some great links you need to read.

When people start to speak to me about how they “market” their church I get a little repulsed. The idea isn’t foreign to me, at one time I thought that a clever image and a pithy comment would bring the people through the doors. I realize now that thinking in that manner is just a form of consumerism. Our Christian leaders are trying to fit into a market that is booming, the entertainment business. Our investment into this field has been huge, cameras, software, stage set-ups, and it all points back to our need to feel relevant, needed and even loved.

At first glance this method seems to be working, mega churches are booming and growth equals success! Right? The stats are now rolling in to see if the gamble we took, which was to be more like our culture, worked. Sadly, it cost our faith dearly.

* First, it cost us our spouses, the divorce rate in our churches is just as high and in some cases higher than the unchurched. By allowing the culture to influence us instead of the other way around we ended up picking up habits of the people we followed.
* Second, it cost us our identity as the place to go when life gets rough. This is shown in the data I posted yesterday indicating that people are faith hopping, not church hopping, but faith hopping! Just trying to see if the next big idea can help them. Stability seems to be gone, people are looking everywhere for solutions to their problems and American Christianity, sadly, hasn’t been their answer.
* Third, it cost us our influence, by becoming the like the culture we find ourselves following instead of leading.
* Fourth, it cost us our children as the now famous SBC research showed us that 88% of our kids are leaving the faith shortly after their high school graduation.

How do we solve this? We must realize that marketing isn’t some slick way to trick people to get into church pews, or plush seats (warning sad story attached), as it were.. We don’t need to give away cash, iPods or flat screen TVs. It isn’t a contest to see who can get the largest number of people in our facility on an Easter Sunday. What we need to do is focus on serving and loving our community year round and being a part of great stories of transformation. Spend the money reaching people, giving back and teaching people to live Christlike lives. Helping people is the best marketing we can do. As Brad Abare says in a Daily Oklahoman interview:

“If churches were doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they wouldn’t need advertising,”

Here are a few more quotes that really got me thinking. I hope this post and these quotes get you thinking too!

The Daily Oklahoman

James Twitchell, professor at the University of Florida and author of “Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From in Your Heart to in Your Face,” says that churches’ adoption of marketing fads will hurt in the long run. He calls megachurches the “triumph of the generic” and says that by copying that approach, mainline Protestant churches are speeding their numerical decline.

“One of the reasons we’re having an ‘awakening’ is because megachurches have found an innovation in marketing, but they can go up in smoke in a minute,” he said. “It’s not that these churches are offering a different product, it’s that they’re offering a different sensation through gross consumption.”

FloatingAxhead.com

First we’re giving away iPods, but now we’re going with straight cash. Why bother to run to Target to purchase the iPod when you can take cash right out of the offering? That’s just being efficient. (editor’s note, read with extreme sarcasm)

I need to thank a few people for getting this post going, catalyst’s interview with Seth Godin, floating axhead, churchmarketingsucks.com and The Daily Oklahoman.
image by aussiegal

Palm Sunday

Going to post the notes and thoughts from the Palm Sunday talk. These notes may not be exhaustive of all that was said or all that well put together on paper. I’m sure I added and I’m sure I left things out. To give a little credit where a lot of credit is due - I leaned on Rob Bell, Brian McLaren & Ray Vander Laan for help on the subject matter.

Traditionally called Palm Sunday also known as Triumphal Entry Sunday. A week before his crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem, the focus of the Jewish people. Millions of Christians for thousands of years have reflected and studied and asked questions about his entry.

Matthew 27:1

Chief Priests - ruling minority elite and it their job to help the Jewish people obey God, and show the world what God was like. These people decide they must kill Jesus. They bound him led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

Why would you want to kill someone like Jesus? What was his message? Why does the ruling establishment decide this man must die?

They turn him over to Pilate the governor. Why didn’t they kill him? Who is Pilate? What historically is going on? Who is Pilate and why is he a roman governor in Jerusalem?

The Jewish people had been under foreign occupation and oppression for centuries. Since 586 BC, a succession of empires - the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans. They wanted to be free to live in their own land without outside interference, occupation and domination.

Zealots - Herodians - Essenes (Sadducees) - Pharisees

The Roman Empire ruled the world. Julius Caesar tried to consolidate everything. His adopted son Octavian who later changed his name to Caesar Augustus became the first Caesar, who ruled the world from England to India.

A global superpower with one leader at the top overseeing the whole thing. Caesar Augustus believed he had come from heaven to earth to bring about universal reign, that he was the son of god incarnate on the earth. He used a propaganda phrase “Caesar is lord”, and “There is no other name under heaven by which people can be saved than that of Caesar.” He instituted a 12 day celebration of his birth called “Advent of The Caesar. You could offer sacrifices to him to forgive your sins. These foreign oppressors began to divinize the political leaders.

When you conquer the whole world, how do you rule countries from distances that might take you three weeks to travel to by horse? How do you rule and maintain order?

Caesar Augustus died which led to Caesar Tiberius. At the time of Jesus Tiberius was ruling.

In the ancient world you would spread the word of your reign through coins. The coin of Tiberius had the image and inscription of Tiberius. When you conquer a land you would demand a tax or tribute to raise money to conquer more lands. If you were a Jew in Israel and Rome had conquered you do you pay the tax the tribute? Caesar says he’s god and if I pay the tax am I acknowledging that Caesar is God? But if don’t pay the tax then we will be in danger of rebelling against the empire and Caesar kills those who rebel.

Some religious leaders want to trap Jesus so they bring him this current debate. Should we pay tribute to Caesar (the worshipped son of a worshipped god)? Jesus said, “You give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s”. What does that say? Caesar is not god! The first commandment is thou shalt have no other gods and the second is thou shalt not make any graven images or idols. So if you are a Jew trying to obey the Ten Commandments this is a real issue. So when Jesus is asked should we pay, Jesus says show me a coin, which means he doesn’t have a coin and the leaders pull out a coin which means they do have it thus saying, “Caesar is the son of god”.

Now, Tiberius has an issue because he can’t be everywhere at once. In the region of Judea, Caesar appointed a roman to go to Jerusalem to rule in his place. The man he chose to rule on behalf of the empire was Pilate, governor of the land. Pilate was a historical ruler and governed this region. His job entailed living in Israel ruling trying to maintain order. If you are Pilate, you do not want these people to raise a ruckus. Your job was to maintain order.

Pilate did not live in Jerusalem, he lived in Caesarea. But he has a problem.

Luke 22:1 says, “Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover was near. The Chief Priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death…”

What was Passover all about?

Exodus 3:7 - Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.”

The Jewish people are living in the land of Egypt enslaved by the pharaoh and God sends a messenger to them. God is the God who hears the cries of the oppressed. God rescues these helpless slaves out from under the hand of a foreign oppressor and once a year they would gather at a time called Passover to celebrate their god of the oppressed. They had been under the bondage of a foreign oppressor. God hears the cry of his people when they are in trouble and they would gather to celebrate when god rescued them.

200,000 Jews would gather to celebrate at the temple that God brought them out of slavery. If you are Pilate, you’re not very excited about this Passover. Your job is to maintain order and here they are celebrating. What if they all gather and start talking about an overthrow of sorts. You do not want them to celebrate to loudly or too long. Your job as Pilate is to keep these people well behaved and if you know 200,000 are coming to Jerusalem how do you send a message “don’t even think about it”?

Once a year Pilate leaves Caesarea and marches into Jerusalem sending a message that says do not mess with Rome. It would begin with the roman eagle saying the Roman Empire is coming. Behind the eagle would be the roman soldiers sending a message that resistance is futile submit or die. They had the cross as a punishment. Everything is about power and strength and domination. The roman army on the march evoked fear and terror. They march through your village to let you know who rules the world.

At this time, 80-90% of people in Israel are peasants and simple farmers, the working class, very poor simple good people living off the land. The Roman army is marching through your village saying don’t you even think about it. Pilate would ride on horse a sign of power strength and military success. All this to remind these Jewish pilgrims to not even think about rebelling. Pilate enters Jerusalem from the west.

This same week something else happens.

Luke 19:28.

Soon after Pilate enters from the west, Jesus directs them to get a donkey.

Luke 19:35
Luke 19:37

Blessed is the KING. What word is not the word to be using and shouting about now? KING. A large crowd of people shouting about another king is not a good thing. Pilate just entered from the west.

Luke 19:39

Some of the religious leaders (Pharisees) rebuke them telling them to keep quiet. But Jesus says if they stay quiet the stones will cry out. The crowds thought they were welcoming a king who would overthrow the Roman Empire. But they would soon be disappointed.

Luke 19:41

He wept over the city.

Matthew 21:1-11

He doesn’t walk. He does something else. Let’s explore how he enters the city. It is loaded with significance. Your king comes to you gently riding on a donkey. Jesus rides in to say I am the one who is coming.

Remez - They would quote the first part of the verse (remez) knowing you would know the rest of it. The second part is when things get a little edgy. They would have continued the quote from Zachariah 9. A chariot is a symbol of war. Ephraim was a symbol of the Jews. He takes away the weapons of war from the Jews and declares peace to the nations.

Jesus enters from the east and he doesn’t enter on a horse or on foot but on a donkey because Zachariah said some things about a future king. He will come on a donkey because he is opposed to war. He will take away the weapons of war and will extend peace.

Pilate enters from the west garbed and armed in all of the trappings of war. Jesus enters from the east but does Jesus choose a donkey randomly or for a purpose. The purpose is to say, “My kingdom is totally at odd with that kingdom”. Jesus stages an intentionally visual reality (kingdom - how things really are and how things should really be) of a totally different kind.

He is weeping and children are rejoicing. Why is Jesus weeping? In the year 70 the Jews went to war against Rome and they were absolutely destroyed. In the city of Rome there is the Titus (roman general) arch to commemorate the roman army destroying Jerusalem. Jesus weeps because they don’t follow the better way.

There are two ways to enter a city from the east and from the west and the writers of these gospels are confronting us with the way of Pilate and the way of Jesus. Which way? There are two ways to enter into a conversation, treat employees, deal with conflict in marriage, deal with pain, run your house, and treat people. We are confronted with two ways and Jesus pushes us which way? My way or the way you’ve seen. Horses or donkeys? My way or the way of Rome and the world? Two ways to enter the city, from the east or from the west?

Many who cried “Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9), were soon to join in the shout “Let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:23).

Why did he die? This nice Jewish rabbi? Why was he killed?

In the upper city the chief priests and elders of the city, the powerful wealthy elite lived. While 80-90% were barely making ends meet but in the upper city are a group of Jews who are in partnership with Pilate, they are getting rich off the people giving money to god. They are living in absolute luxury among the religious rulers who were supposed to be leading the people into obedience to god. The people are experiencing poverty and the elite are growing wealthy

John 12:19

The Pharisees said to one another “look how the whole world has gone after him. There are two ways to enter a city. This is true for people churches groups of people nations.

The temple of god has become corrupt; the elite group of leaders is exploiting people for their own power. Jesus says this is not right that it grieves the heart of god and god is the god who hears the cries of the oppressed. He is willing to die for the everyday normal people who are being trampled. He goes to the cross for a better way.
Matthew 26:36 - 27:54 (Passion Account)

Henri Nouwen - “In the world sadness if you’re sad, you cannot be glad. If you’re glad, you cannot be sad - be happy and forget your troubles. In the spiritual life it’s precisely the opposite. You embrace your sadness and trust that, right there, you will find gladness. That’s what the cross is all about. I look at the cross, a sign of execution, of pain, of torture, and see it as my hope.”

Gear review: Line 6 DL4

There are two kinds of guitar players in the world.  The first is the tone freak.  He’s the guy that typically runs his guitar straight into his amp.  No effects, pure finger on rosewood bliss.  The other guy is the one who has all the toys.  He has every color of little box that has ever come out.  Ebay is his friend because in his quest for cool sounds he’s bought and sold nearly every pedal he’s owned!  I am the latter rather than the former guy and I’m okay with that.

The quest for fun sounds has led me to many a pedal but just a few remain on the board long term.  This long term pedal has been the Line 6 DL4.  I have had it for years and its value hasn’t dropped one cent.  If you were to have bought this new a few years ago you would have paid $249.99.  The price today is exactly the same.  It is a long lasting well built tank.

What does the DL4 do?  Let me have Line 6 tell you a little about that:
The DL4 gives you a dream collection of classic delay stompboxes and effects units. It is packed with classics like a tube echo based on the Maestro EP-1, a tape echo modeled after the Maestro EP-3, a model of the multi-head Roland RE-101 Space Echo, an analog echo based on the Boss DM-2 plus one with modulation based on the Deluxe Memoryman. Other effects include a dynamic delay effect made popular by TC Electronic’s 2290, an auto-volume effect, a sweep echo (a Line 6 original), a Lo Res delay based on the 8-bit resolution delays of the early ’80s, rhythmic delays, real time reverse echo, and stereo delays. In addition, there’s a 14 second loop sampler with its own built-in 800 ms independent digital delay.

The delay programs provide up to 2.5 seconds of delay time. In normal delay operation, the 4 footswitches are used for tap tempo and switching between the 3 user programmable presets. When you’re in Loop Sampler mode, they control record and loop-play functions of overdub, play/stop, play once, 1/2 speed playback and reverse playback. But it is the models themselves that make the DL-4 such a treat. In a word, it’s loaded.

One other feature of this delay unit is the ability to do loops.  This comes in handy when practicing, you can record layers of some rhythm guitar then switch the recording off while the loop continues.  Then practice your riffs and scales.  Another great use is if you are to play while the pastor closes out the service or during an offering time.  We all know how tiring that can be, but just click the record button lay down your chords with a couple of riffs then turn your back and people will still think you are playing.  Rest those fingers and jump in whenever you’d like.  It is that easy!

If you are looking for a well built, great sounding, multi-use delay then this is the unit for you.  Classic delays and some really out there stuff too.  I use it every time I play wether it be acoustic or electric.

Links about the Line 6 DL4:
Buy the DL4 at Amazon.com
Read review at Harmony Central
Read review at Musicians Friend
See the product page at Line 6

Christians aren’t cool

Why is it that we try to turn the gospel message into something cool?  Why do our leaders look for new great ways to be uber trendy?  Oh believe me, I understand the draw and the feelings to indulge in this but “I have been delivered” (spoken in my best Jonas Nightengale voice).

Here we go… My rant begins. Christians, I know you want nothing more than to be the champions of the world.  Hence our undying support for the republican party, any sports team that mentions God, actors or actresses who wear crosses and anybody with a religious tattoo.

It is why we set our sanctuaries up like nightclubs and our foyers like the coolest mall in town (wow look we have plasma TVs!).  Let us face it….  Trying to be cool did not work!  More people are not Christ followers because of the dough we plopped down on looking as good as the Starbucks down the road.

We like to put the trendy Christian people in front of the world and say, “see, we are cool just like you unbelievers!”.  One minor (read major) problem is that we are not just like the world, nor should we try to be.

“See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Col 2:8

Now, I’m about to get into a “heart issue” thing here.  I’m going to ask God to not judge me too harshly for what I’m about to say because I’m not against cool pastors at all, if their hearts are right!  I was walking through a Macy’s store the other day with my wife and laughed when I hit a specific section.  It was what I call the “I want to be your really cool pastor” section.  You know the striped dark shirts that have the nice shiny cuff links then on the back there is some kind of really groovy ginormous patch.  Then, of course, you wear the awesome jeans with stains and tears all over them.  Partner all of that with some $500 leather shoes and you’ve got yourself a modern, trendy and great pastor!  One that really knows how to connect with “the cool”, so again, the plebes will attend.

I hate this mentality, I despise this way of thinking and want to flush it out of our Americanized christianity (with a small “c”) minds.  We are aliens like the genius Mr. Paravane calls us.  Not the UFO kind of aliens, but the people that aren’t supposed to be here kind.  The people that aren’t living in the land of their own people.  The ones who are pushed to the fringes that no one wants to write laws to protect and are often despised.  In the Bible, we are compared to people whom we call “those people”, aliens, not of this world, not of this society.

What is it saying about us when we are the ones trying to mimic what is trendy?  When we are trying to take what is holy and make it some new designer fashion.  We aren’t called to fit in and I’m okay with that!  We are called to stand out, to live as people serving a different King from a different Kingdom.  To march to the beat of a different drummer as the cliched like to say!

My question to all of us is this…  Are we living our lives according to the ways of this world or the ways of His Kingdom?  We are not called to be cool, we are called to stand up for the oppressed, love the unloved and be an agent of change to a hurting world.  It is not a popular stance.  Our churches won’t be filled with people firmly entrenched in consumerism when preaching a sermon talking about getting dirty.  What are you doing to practically show real love?  What is holding you back?  It is time to work, to sow, to love and to grow!

Finally, to you pastors, make the difficult and often uncool choice… Either be the game show host, the concert promoter or the servant the people need, but not all three, it’s not working.

Image via Okko Pyykkö

Starbucks tries to heal itself

I’m going to talk about something that is near and dear to many of our hearts, Starbucks.  Back in the mid 90s I loved the place.  I lived in Dallas and they were beginning to pop up on the “nice side” of town.  There were none near me, you can read into that sentence how you’d like.  This was really my first introduction to chain coffee places.  Being in college, it is apparently a requirement to have a special affinity for overpriced water seeped in grounds, topped with milk and whipped cream.

I’m older now and realize that the coffee shop I loved in the 90s is a mere shadow of itself.  I noticed that everything became more diluted and of course the prices continued to climb.  My discerning taste buds weren’t the only ones that sought coffee from other vendors either.  Duncan Donuts and McDonalds are leaching coffee drinkers and Starbucks made revisions in their profit projections subtly showing this truth.  Leaked memos indicate that there has been a fair bit of tension between executives as stock prices continue to drop.

A little background here, Howard Shultz joined Starbucks in 1982 after noticing a tiny store a few guys started.  Their original intent was to sell beans and coffee merchandise.  Howard was an entrepreneur and wanted to take the store into the drink brewing and selling business.  The guys bucked the idea thinking that people should make drinks at home.  Ole Howie decides that he’ll serve drinks anyway so opens up a little coffee bar doing just that.  A few years later Shultz’s place buys Starbucks and rebrands his store’s names to Starbucks.  The rest is history, to speak in cliches.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of Apple Computer, how does this fit into this post?  Howard Shultz is trying to be the Steve Jobs of the coffee world.  Apple Computers tanked when Jobs wasn’t at the helm and when “his holiness” came back Apple became the iPod/iPhone touting monster they are today.

The question is… Can Howard Shultz, who resigned in 2000 as CEO, turn around the stock tumbling, half their value losing, Starbucks like Steve Jobs did with Apple?  At a recent shareholders meeting Shultz outlined the steps they would be taking to make themselves relevant.

They will first “go back to the basics”, this means grinding the beans in the store so the store smells like a coffee shop, no more giant silver airtight bags.  What a clever idea !  Coffee will be brewed in smaller batches and held for no more than 30 minutes.  My local 7-11 manages to do that one and I’m shocked it took the stocks plunging to think of this one.

A social website is now live called www.MyStarbucksIdea.com, a place where Starbucks can “help make your idea happen”.  What?!  Are there not enough sites like this already?

They purchased a company that specializes in coffee equipment that makes single cups of brewed coffee.

I don’t want to over simplify what they are doing, there are a lot of changes behind the scenes too.  Will all of this be enough as our economy continues to slump? I think $4.00 cups of steaming joe become more of a weekly luxury than a daily fix.

Let’s be honest here too, while Starbucks has focused on bigger profit margins and growth the competitors have focused on the quality of the drink.  All of this works out in favor for the coffee drinker, so how about we raise a mug and toast each other for price drops and free squirts of artificial flavored syrup!

Image Via Refracted Moments™

Poverty and Justice Bible

Ps. 99:4
The King in his might loves justice.
You have established equity;
you have executed justice…

Ps. 100:3
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

I saw these verses today in the Book of Common Prayer (hereon to be known as BoCP),  and contemplated how much God really did and does love us.  He is looking to bring justice onto this earth, “thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  Esther shared a thought similar to this on Sunday at Kamps (she hijacked the mic when Ben left the room!)

I think we have to realize that if God is going to bring justice to this earth, we have to figure out that He is going to use us to bring it.  That is a daunting task because I’d honestly prefer to eat donuts and watch TV than to think about my role in bringing the Kingdom into places it currently “ain’t” (okie word watch).

This leads me to the bulk of this post…  A new Bible has recently been released, it is called the Poverty and Justice Bible.  Let me post what the vendors of this Bible have to say about it.

The Bible that reveals God’s passion

Almost every page of the Bible speaks of God’s heart for the poor. His concern for the marginalized. His compassion for the oppressed. His call for justice.

The Poverty and Justice Bible megaphones his voice as never before.

It was US pastor and writer Rick Warren who laid the foundations for The Poverty and Justice Bible.  He’d discovered that there were 2,000 verses on poverty - and couldn’t believe he’d never noticed before.

U2 frontman Bono, in his talk to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC in November 2006, pointed out that the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.  He also referred to the 2,000+ mentions of poverty in the Bible, saying ‚’that’s a lot of airtime!’

We want the world to see that the Bible is relevant to life and not full of rules, finger-wagging and old-fashioned ideas,’ says Bible Society Chief Executive James Catford.

So now you have an idea of what this Bible is striving to do.  You can imagine my surprise when in several places throughout the blogosphere I noticed fundies railing on this simple printing of the Bible that only HIGHLIGHTS text pertaining to God’s love for justice!

The TOP TEN main negative points and comments are (in no particular order):

1.  Don’t we have enough Bibles?
2.  Why would anyone want to focus on just one set of issues?
3.  Can you imagine how much money these guys must be making?
4.  Will they give their profits to the poor?
5.  Does that mean God doesn’t care for the middle class or the wealthy?
6.  This is some kind of leftist anti-republican propaganda.
7.  The Bible isn’t about poverty and injustice.
8.  Why did they waste time printing and editing this when they could have been out there feeding the poor?
9.  This is some kind of marketing scheme to get people to buy it!
10.  Rock star Christians endorse this thing.

What do you guys think?  Is this Bible a waste of time?

My quick 2¢
I think that God is pumped that we are finally getting out of our selfish “FILL ME”, “all personal growth all the time” mentality and starting to care about those around us.  I suspect that He is happy when we read the scriptures and see that He is emphasizing our GOING OUT and SERVING others.

Justice will be brought and I’m glad that God is using this generation to be agents of change.  I also think that this movement back to social justice issues will bring many people into a conversation with Christ (translation for my fundie audience: salvation).  Not just the ones we serve but the ones that are looking for venues to serve and love.  It is sad that this modern movement didn’t start in the Church!  Welcome to the party churches, you are only a few years late!

The cynicism in me says that the fundie leadership will figure out how to parlay this message into the typical “here is how to grow a church” model.  Oh well…

Image via Todd Huffman

Modern day slavery (part three)

This is the final post in a three part series on slavery.  The first post focused on the alarming statistics of slavery in the world we live in today.  The second post focused on the outstanding ministry of International Justice Mission and our attitude of indifference.  Today we will focus on educational resources, practical ways to save lives and we will work to get off of our butts and live!

Resources (pulled from Relevant, Red Letters and IJM):
www.EmancipationNetwork.org
Helps survivors of human trafficking and high risk individuals.

www.ccatcoalition.org
Campus Coalition Against Trafficking uses grassroots community mobilization to engage college campuses and students into efforts at home and abroad.

www.ijm.org
“International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems.”

Tom Davis, the author of Red Letters, has five simple things you can begin to do today that can help the 50 million people in the world suffering from HIV/AIDS.  Many of the people in slavery are at high risk for disease.  Tom Davis is passionate about eliminating this dreadful disease.  He specifically is focused on HIV/AIDS but I would like for us to add slavery to our prayers and support, using this as a guide for real action.
Please make this pledge with me!

1. Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those in slavery and those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
2. Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering.
3. Give 5 dollars a month to the 5 For 50 fund.
4. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
5. Give 5 people an opportunity to join your on your journey.

Let’s start planning a trip now.  Who’s ready to REALLY do this thing?  I’m serious!
COMMENTS?  THOUGHTS?

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