RE:think

Jesus Camp

I hadn't the pleasure of seeing this documentary until just now. I am watching it on A&E. I really really shouldn't watch this stuff. But it's like a train wreck and once I looked, I couldn't stop.

I know these people. So many like them live around me and they truly make Christianity and Jesus things they are not. It's maddening. No wonder so many people out there think that Evangelicals are coo-coo.

I can not understand why Evangelicals are so militant against the idea of global warming and conservation. This attitude of "it's all here for us to use up cause Jesus is coming back anyway" is asinine. This home school mom just made a whole lesson with her son about why global warming is not real and those who believe it are evolution advocates.

And when will we get it through our heads that tracts are not the best way in today's world to introduce people to Jesus.

And all of these poor kids who are turned into these weird robotic entities who sound about as authentic as my little son telling me he'd rather have broccoli than chocolate.

Oh, and seriously, the pledge to the Christian flag needs to go the way of the dodo. The pledge to the Bible needs to go as well.

And so far the show hasn't moved to the camp!!! This is all in suburban Kansas at this point.

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OK, we are in South Dakota at the "Kids on Fire" camp. Interesting it's run by a female pastor. I am surprised evangelical families send their kids to such a place.

I will stop for now so this doesn't turn into a huge rant. But will post some thoughts about the camp if I find anything worth saying about it.

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For me the point is that we have such a distorted view of things in evangelicalism. I still have some of that in my own system. I mostly wish that we wouldn't oppose good causes simply because our "enemies" are on that side of things. You may disagree with "liberals" on lots of things, and that is fine. But nothing or no one says we have to oppose them on everything. It's no wonder they return the favor.

Oh my, they are rocking Carmen.

Technorati Tags: Jesus Camp

What I Learned From... Non-Denominational Types

Early in our marriage, Evette and I didn't go to church at all. We'd both had it with church and didn't know if We would ever go back.  Well, we did. When you have young kids and grew up in the church yourself, you get to a point where you want them to experience life with other believers, warts and all.

It ended up being a non-denominational charismatic type church. It was racially diverse and that was very attractive to us. The people there were wonderful and we had many good friends. This church was where I got my start playing guitar in a worship band. It was a great situation for a couple of years until some leadership and doctrinal problems started cropping up. We stayed as long as we could and finally had to move on. But this post is about positive things.

What did we take away? The thoughts I have on community began forming there. We were a tight group of about 40 people and until that point and we'd never been a part of a stronger community of believers. This was a group of people that genuinely liked each other and wanted to spend time together. We helped one another and saw some folks through some tough times.

We had a meal together pretty much every Sunday whether it was at the church, at someone's home, or out at a restaurant. We did things together during the week and had a strong prayer group. I look back fondly on those times together. When I see someone from that church (it no longer exists) it's a time of smiles, laughs, and hugs.

So at a time when we were fed up with people in church, God provided some people that changed our thinking showed us there was was indeed another way. Even though it fell apart, it was an important time for us and big reason we are where we are in Church life now. Never discount the good in something ends ugly.

We learned that the body of Christ has the potential to be a strong and complete unit. We found that folks can love one another with the love of Christ. We found... hope.

Church Economy

Sounds like an oxymoron huh? You may be wondering why I even brought this up. Well, I have recently had more than a few conversations with young adult non-Christians about what bothers them most about the “Church” and Christianity. I was trying to find out what their turn offs were and what keeps them from making Christianity a part of their search for things spiritual. What was one of the big reasons that each had on their list? Money. (Remember that I am in the USA, these folks are, and their experiences are with Christianity in America. I know that it’s not like this everywhere in the world.)

They tell me they can’t trust an organization that takes in so much money and does, in their opinion, very little with it. I realize that they may not be totally fair when passing this judgment, but there is some merit to it.

They tell me that the way the Church and its people handle money is no different to them than the way anyone else handles money. They see the Church as offering goods and services in exchange for money. And while they know that churches are nonprofit organizations, they see big fancy buildings, preachers in thousand dollar suits driving cars that cost more than $50,000 dollars, and youth groups making money for what amounts to fun trips to the beach. Hard to argue with these observations.

They tell me that the “ministries” they see on TV ask for a lot of money, live the high life, and make no noticeable difference in the world. They see elaborate sets and again, expensive clothes and wonder if that’s what it’s all about. They see these folks as taking advantage of othes for the sake of the almighty dollar. I can't disagree here either.

So here is my take. I understand that any organization that takes in money, will inevitably end up with an “economy”. And while I enjoy and agree with capitalism in our secular realms, the description in Acts sounds a little more, gasp, socialist, to me. See Acts 3:44-45. That verse doesn’t sound like capitalism to me. Am I going to go sell all my stuff? No. But I think totally ignoring this has lead to the government taking over the role of the Church through social programs. Now we are in a mess. Why has the Church in America dropped the ball on this?

Do you think the overall way money gets handled in churches and the Church might be problematic? If so how? Do these folks outside the Church have a point? Is even something we are obligated to address with them? How would you respond to their concerns?

Challenges to the Church II: Breaking Fellowship

One of the biggest challenges to the body of Christ, at least here in the Southern US, is the breaking of community and fellowship between Christians. I will discuss the three main ways I see it happening . To me, this is the most heartbreaking of internal challenges.

Groups in local church bodies get mad at or disagree with another group in the body. Everyone else takes sides... and boom! The church splits. It's nearly always related to differences such as worship style, ministry style, and personal conflict. Now we have two separate entities that were once a community who will likely never deal with one another again. There will be hard feelings on both sides and the cause of Christ takes a hit, even if temporary. It is the saddest, most disgusting thing I have witnesses in the Church. And here in East TN, it's a way of life. We joke that there is no need around here to plant new churches. Just wait, because soon enough 4 or 5 will get made at each and just split.

Another way I have observed the breaking of fellowship is when folks leave a church by ones and twos because they are not getting what they "need". This goes back to my previous post and is many times the end result of our consumer mind set. You'll hear things like. "I wasn't being fed". "I couldn't connect with anyone there". "The pastor's style isn't what I need". These are all "I" issues and I'd love, just once, to see folks stick it out, for better or worse at their churches. If churches here in Kingsport stuck together and started from the point of "Love God and Love Others" we'd really change this place. Instead, we hop from place to place getting mad, insulted and hurt. Over the past 5 years our little church has nearly been devastated by this form of broken fellowship. Praise God that is faithful and we've weathered it.

Here in our town I didn't realize just how separated believers in various denominations are until I attended a meeting of about 20 people who represented 5 different denominations and are working to help the poor in their immediate community. It was beautiful and I was unfortunately reminded that this is not the norm. Most folks talk about "Those ____s". Even I do it. In this respect we aren't even starting fellowship, much less breaking it. We need to realize we can have our denominational distinctions and still be Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

The breaking of fellowship between believers is a huge challenge because we are all affected and usually involved in some way. It's easy to to look out for ourselves at the expense of the Body. This one internal challenge to Christianity and the Church is exponentially bigger than any of the external ones.

What are your experiences? What have you seen and how would you change things? How do we help churches that want to split? How do handle folks that want to leave?

Challenges to the Church I:Conforming to Culture

I'll go ahead and take on the first thing on my list of challenges to the Church. Lots of people have talked about this and plenty of them are smarter than me. So I hope you are able to glean something from here even if it's only a reminder.

Growing up I heard a lot about the evils of our culture. I was basically told I should  walk around in a bubble lest I be lured into "acting like the world". I have watched and listened for years as conservative evangelicals have fought the so called culture war. They war against the movie industry, music, politics, liberal agendas, etc. But even though they try so hard to be in the world and not of it, they've slipped up and let the world not only into their lives, but their churches.

I now realize that many of them have just traded one version of conforming for another.

The United States, is without a doubt, the largest consumer culture in the history of the world. Whether it is what we eat, drive, live in, or buy to make our lives better, we spend lots of money and take it to extremes. Recently I was at a buffet with my brother and they had so many things to eat and choose from that he made the comment that this place was" pure decedance". And isn't that the kind of society we live in? We are constantly lavishing ourselves with stuff to make us feel good.

Look at our bodies. Estimates from many sources say that over 60% of Americans meet the criteria for being overweight or obese. I would fall into the overweight category myself as I am probably about 15 pounds too heavy.

Look at what we drive. Who really needs an SUV the size of a tank that gets 8 miles to the gallon?

Look at many of our houses. I wonder who these people are that can afford these HUGE houses with 5 bedrooms or more and more bathrooms than some elementary schools.

And while I am a proponent of finding good entertainment for yourself and your family, I know too many folks that go overboard with their TV's, game systems, computers, electronic gadgets, home decor, and on and on. And they do a lot of it on credit.

Oh, did I mention that I am not talking about our culture right now, but our churches? Yep, the church has conformed to world when it comes to consumption. And there are some very damaging effects.

First, too many churches now are like shopping malls where we go to find the goods and services we like and want. Things that are compatible with (don't get in the way of) our secular lives, and make us feel good. We go to church to consume instead of giving ourselves away to the mission of God. And when we aren't able to "buy" the things we want anymore, we just head on down to the next mall, er, church. We never hang around to get to know and love folks. We are always running to this event or that, or we are leaving to go somewhere better. What a shame.

Not only do the churches become like shopping malls, but in order to do so, and draw their customers, they spend %80-%90 of their money on salaries and physical plant. And they do this while there are people nearby who have some real needs they could meet if only "they had more money"

Next, to have all of this cool stuff in our personal lives, we have to work hard to make the money to afford them. I know a lot of people who can't enjoy a good family life because they have work 60+ hours a week to keep up the house, the cars, and the toys. I have no problem with folks working hard to survive, but there could be a problem if you are forsaking relationships to keep up an affluent lifestyle. It can only hurt the church for it's members to be in this position.

And lastly, we aren't differentiating ourselves from the world as much as we think as long we are consumer driven. Damaging effect? Bad witness. You can listen to Contemporary Christian music all day long, but when it's both a copy of what's already been done and the marketing is no different, you look like everyone else. Your music is just sanitized. Their is a cottage industry of Christian T-Shirts. I see them all the time. You are no less a consumer of junk simply because you have changed a slogan on a Tee. You're just wasting money on different supplier (and I have nothing against cool T-shirts, I am quite the fan, but come on, how goofy is it to take a Nike or Coke slogan and make it Christian. it trivializes things IMHO.)

Books could and have been written on this subject but I am keeping this post brief. What do we do about this? How do we shift our mind set from being takers to being givers? Is it hopeless as long we live in such a prosperous nation?

Earlier in this post I said that we like to lavish ourselves with stuff to make us feel better. And why do we do it? Because since Adam and Eve disobeyed and fellowship was broken with God, we've had an empty space that we don't know how to fill ourselves.

And that is the ultimate answer. We need to be thinking less of ourselves and look to God to fill that hole.

Talk to me.

Christianity, Culture, and What is REALLY Important

Secularism
Atheism
Gay Marriage
Prayer in School and at School Events
Removal of the Ten Commandments from public places
The Da Vinci Code, The Gospel of Judas, etc.
Wicca
Alcohol
Muslim Extremism
Liberal Politicians
Disney Movies

These are all things from the last 15 years or so (some longer) that have been touted by American Evangelicals as what we Christians need to worry about most. These are the issues we have identified as threats to our way of life and challenges both now and in the future. These things are mostly external. And while I understand where folks are coming from, I just can't get as up in arms about this list as they do. And here is why.

I believe there are some real threats to Christianity. I believe there are some big time challenges that we need to face head on with much prayer and time in the Word. Things we need to deal with as the Body of Christ in loving community with one another.

Conforming to Culture through Consumerism
Breaking fellowship with one another
Gossip
Envy
Stubbornness in holding on to what we "like"
Turning in as opposed to out
Blindly following political leaders
Enjoying too much comfort
Pleasing each other before first pleasing God

I am going to take a few posts to address two or three of these at a time. And I'll do it in my customary "ordinary dood" style. I guess I better since I don't know how to be anything else. :)

I hope that some of you will jump in and discuss. I hope some of you disagree and tell us why. I hope that some will add to the list. I also hope that some of you who are much smarter than I am will help flesh it out. So be on the look out. This blog is about to get really busy.

The Church I Know

I've recently had to face some of the ugliness I've been running from the last few years. That is where this post is coming from.

A few years back Collective Soul did a song that I love to this day. It stirs something deep within. The chorus goes like this...

So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below.
And I laugh at myself
As the years roll down.
cause its the world I know.
Its the world I know.

I could so easily replace "world" with "Church". The last few years I have walked up and stepped on the edge. What I have seen, in many cases, has sickened me. I've looked out at my hometown and the hundreds of churches here and been disgusted.

I've watched as one pastor tears down another from his pulpit.

I've watched as church after church has split because the folks basically didn't like each and could not agree.

I've watched as friends and family have had enough of the madness and just left the church altogether.

I've watched as Christians have done more harm to one another than any non-Christian could.

I've watched as folks have been outraged by the state of our culture while not loving one another as Christ loved us.

I've watched, and I've grieved. I've gone from sadness to anger and back again. I've been drawn into the destructive behavior myself and been ashamed.

And now I fear I am moving back into the numbness I had before stepping to the edge. Maybe it would be easier to step away, stop looking, and join them. Or better yet, just leave altogether. I'm weary I guess. I gotta find a way to press on.

Sometimes I don't know if I can deal with it anymore. I'm tired of hearing about homosexual agendas, the Ten Commandments, and prayer in school while Christians will not even love one another.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he gave two. Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. We (Christians) have helped create the world we live in by not following these instructions. In the process we have created the Church we now live with.

So this is the Church I know. For better or worse, this is what I have grown up with and this is what we have to deal with in our local community. At the end of the day, I love the Church and my hometown enough to fight. If I don't, then all that is left is despair. And like most, I don't do despair very well. There is some good here and we need to find a way to spread it.

In my next post, I will lay out a few of the issues I'd love to see the Church confront. Nothing will change if a few of us don't try to stir the pot a little. It's important enough for me to stick my neck out.

Off to the chopping block...

The Burning Hell

This video seems way over the top. Folks, I grew up around and even in churches just like this. It would be  a little humorous if not for the fact that there are still churches around here just like this...

Falwell Discovers the 'Emerging Church'

Jerry Falwell has finally spoken out about the Emerging Church. It's more of the same from the heavy hitters of evangelicalism. He paints with broad strokes and didn't bother to take the time to separate "emerging church" from the "Emergent Village" brand. Says Falwell:

However, the website of The Leadership Network, the headquarters of the Emerging (or sometimes Emergent) Church movement, states that their outlook on "truth" offers a "flexible approach to theology whereby individual differences in belief and morality are accepted within reason."

Were his criticism only only in their direction, I'd be ok. I have the same problems. But again, here is yet another theological elite not doing his homework and writing something that amounts to very little in the end.

Another way he hasn't done his homework is that Emergent Village hasn't been known as "The Leadership Network" for some time as far as I know. And they are definitely NOT the "headquarters" of the global emerging church movement. How old are his facts and who gathered them for him?

It's this kind of article that shows he has an agenda that doesn't need to be backed by truth. It's maddening really. For someone who is so fired up for "truth" he has no problems bending his words for his agenda.

The whole article is so empty and incomplete that anyone who didn't know a thing about the global emerging church would be extremely mislead. And that is flat out wrong.

This fired me up enough that I sent him an email. I'm sure he'll never read it and I probably will get a canned response, but I've had about enough.

Link: WorldNetDaily: The 'Emerging Church': Straying from the Gospel.

Update: I found his sermon online from this Sunday concerning the Emerging Church.

Emergent (Village) is not a Conversation

(clarification... I am speaking more of the Emergent Village brand here as opposed to the wider, broader emerging church. thanks to jamie for caring enough to have me be more clear.)

I've said it over and over that this whole "open conversation" thing is just not true. It's only open if you agree with them. That's really no different than another group of people. They bemoan the "us and them" language of evangelicals and then set up their own version of it.

Read the below reaction to Mark Driscoll's chapter in "Listening to the Beliefs of the Emerging Churches". It's proof positive that this is no "conversation".

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Mark Driscoll | pomomusings | progressive theology & design.