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23.1.06
Cost of Housing in Dublin
As Kristy and I prayerfully seek out the financial means to return to Europe and begin serving in Ireland, one of the things that we have to consider is the cost of housing in the Dublin area. To give you an idea of what we're up against, check this out.
22.1.06
BIG DAY FOR SEABIRDS FANS
It's a big day for Seabirds fans. I'm really hoping for a Seattle/Denver Superbowl. It was just a few years ago when the Hawks and the Broncos were AFC West rivals. And now, to be living in Colorado when a Seahawks/Broncos Superbowl could be just around the corner . . . too good to be true? We shall see . . . .
20.1.06
BIG Gap Between American Pastors' Perceptions & Reality
Earlier this month, the Barna Group released scathing results of a study conducted to get some insight on whether or not American pastors are in tune with the spiritual health of their congregations. I'm always a little wary of Barna's research because of how easy it is to get the answers they want/expect, but I think these particular findings have potential to do a lot to help American pastors re-think how they evaluate their ministries.
The report states that "pastors contend that 70% of the adults in their church consider their personal faith in God to transcend all other priorities." At one point in the report, it's unclear as to whether or not the 1002 adults who were polled were church-goers, or just average American people on the street. That said, the poll did isolate those who attend Protestant churches and reported that "23% named their faith in God as their top priority in life." (51% of those who identified themselves with the term "evangelical" said that their faith in God was their highest priority.)
I've never been real crazy about how Barna throws around labels (like Protestant, Evangelical, conservative, liberal, "born again," etc.) and it seems like there are a lot of presuppositions that go into much of the research. However, in this particular poll, I have to wonder if Barna is on to something critically important, especially in summarizing the conclusions of the survey.
Ooop. There it is. Welcome to 21st Century Christendom. A lot of concern for numbers (financial, attendance, or otherwise.) A lot of concern for surface level involvement. A lot of concern for external indicators of success. Not much concern for making disciples of Jesus who are increasingly committed to walking in the way of Jesus. Not much concern for being a catalyst of change in society. Not much concern for announcing and demonstrating the Kingdom of God on the Earth. (Heck, even Barna ostensibly suggests that the objective of pastors should be to meet the needs of their people to have a deeper relationship with God, which is good, but still falls far short of Ephesians 4.11-12, not to mention the ministry objectives of Jesus.)
I don't say these things to be overly critical or cynical. I say these things because I love the church and I believe that it is the church that God Himself has commissioned to be the primary tool for accomplishing His purposes on the earth. But when I look around at the church in Western society today, I see a lot of acquiescence to modern day business standards, enlightenment philosophy, and other standards of success that fall so short of the vision that Jesus had when he launched the church in his 3+ years of ministry on the earth.
How do we change? I don't know. Thus far, it seems that I myself have this uncanny ability to know exactly what's wrong with the Western church, equaled only by an uncanny inability to articulate those things well and suggest necessary steps for change. But there are a lot of other people out there asking similar questions and raising similar issues. And there are even people out there trying to do something about it. Best of all (and I have to remind myself of this constantly), the One who created all things, including the Church, is the One who said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
The report states that "pastors contend that 70% of the adults in their church consider their personal faith in God to transcend all other priorities." At one point in the report, it's unclear as to whether or not the 1002 adults who were polled were church-goers, or just average American people on the street. That said, the poll did isolate those who attend Protestant churches and reported that "23% named their faith in God as their top priority in life." (51% of those who identified themselves with the term "evangelical" said that their faith in God was their highest priority.)
I've never been real crazy about how Barna throws around labels (like Protestant, Evangelical, conservative, liberal, "born again," etc.) and it seems like there are a lot of presuppositions that go into much of the research. However, in this particular poll, I have to wonder if Barna is on to something critically important, especially in summarizing the conclusions of the survey.
". . . the typical pastor measures the spiritual health of congregants by considering one or two numbers (e.g. church and Sunday school attendance) and a handful of vague impressions (what did exit comments suggest about people’s reaction to the sermon, how widespread was people’s participation in the singing, were there enough people who were sufficiently trained to enable the services and programs to operate smoothly)."Later, George himself goes on to say, "“The only way to explain the enormous gap between the perceptions of pastors and the reality of people’s lives is to understand that pastors evaluate spiritual health from an institutional perspective – that is, are people involved in keeping the system going – while people are aware of their unmet need to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God.” (emphasis mine)
Ooop. There it is. Welcome to 21st Century Christendom. A lot of concern for numbers (financial, attendance, or otherwise.) A lot of concern for surface level involvement. A lot of concern for external indicators of success. Not much concern for making disciples of Jesus who are increasingly committed to walking in the way of Jesus. Not much concern for being a catalyst of change in society. Not much concern for announcing and demonstrating the Kingdom of God on the Earth. (Heck, even Barna ostensibly suggests that the objective of pastors should be to meet the needs of their people to have a deeper relationship with God, which is good, but still falls far short of Ephesians 4.11-12, not to mention the ministry objectives of Jesus.)
I don't say these things to be overly critical or cynical. I say these things because I love the church and I believe that it is the church that God Himself has commissioned to be the primary tool for accomplishing His purposes on the earth. But when I look around at the church in Western society today, I see a lot of acquiescence to modern day business standards, enlightenment philosophy, and other standards of success that fall so short of the vision that Jesus had when he launched the church in his 3+ years of ministry on the earth.
How do we change? I don't know. Thus far, it seems that I myself have this uncanny ability to know exactly what's wrong with the Western church, equaled only by an uncanny inability to articulate those things well and suggest necessary steps for change. But there are a lot of other people out there asking similar questions and raising similar issues. And there are even people out there trying to do something about it. Best of all (and I have to remind myself of this constantly), the One who created all things, including the Church, is the One who said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
19.1.06
Avoiding the Statically Fossilised & Other Such Intimidating Jargon
Some really good thoughts over at Generous Orthodoxy Think Tank today re: the necessity of humility in theological discussion. It's brief and a bit wordy, but I'm hoping that this kind of attitude really takes hold in the evangelical church, especially with those who are opposed to all things "emerging."
18.1.06
Safe Landing in Sunny Colorado
Kristy and I landed safely (albeit a bit sleep deprived) in Colorado yesterday. It's good to see the sun again after, 22 days straight of rain in the Pac NW. After some lunch with the in-laws in Denver, we cruised on down to The Springs and walked into a house in desperate need of re-organizing and cleaning. It was good to see my luggage that United lost on our way home from the honeymoon. Fortunately, the only casualty was the wet swim trunks that were stuffed in a plastic shopping bag and still smell moldy after one round through the wash. Still not sure if I'm gonna be keeping those or not. (And yes, the bottle of rum survived.)
On Saturday, the wedding reception went great. Kristy and I shook a lot of hands and smiled for three hours straight. Numerous people from my parents’ church helped with the food and decorations and made the afternoon come off brilliantly. We were even able to get regular updates on the football game from my uncle who was back at the house with a group of other relatives, calling my dad’s cell phone whenever the Seabirds scored. (Gonna be a tough game against the Panthers this Sunday afternoon.)
We drove down to my home church (Grace & Glory) in Vancouver the next morning and took the whole service to introduce Kristy and explain what God has called us to in Ireland. After the service, it was a privilege to be able to sit through a brief annual business meeting and then chat with people over a meal. It was so much fun to see how God has blessed Grace & Glory and caused it to grow.
On Monday, Kristy and I decided to go up and see my younger brother, Jason, in Seattle. He's renting a house on the West side with a gorgeous view of the Seattle skyline across the harbor. At least, on a clear day it's a gorgeous view. When we squinted, we could at least see the silhouettes of skyscrapers through the fog and mist. After some lunch in a cool little seafood restaurant, we went over to downtown and helped Jason pick up a new bed with my dad's truck. Later in the evening, we saw "Munich," which was not what I expected it to be. (I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not.)
It was a lot of fun to hang out with my little bro and hear about how his job is going. Jason works for a big PR firm and mainly works with Microsoft, his firm's biggest client. He was in Vegas a few weeks back for the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show. His parents and brothers are all praying that he doesn't kill himself working 12 hour days and beating back blood-thirsty media while trying to explain why Microsoft decided to pull their media player support from Mac's OS. (Why do Mac users need Windows Media Player when they've got I-Tunes and the I-Pod anyway??) We also got a little spiritual conversation in, mostly regarding the book he’s reading (Velvet Elvis). Our youngest brother got it for him for Christmas. (Sounds like it was a good choice, Ty!) It’s encouraging to see my little bro (both of them, actually!) wrestling with issues of faith and seeking God in it all. And yes, I’ve forgiven them for the embarrassing toast they gave at my wedding reception.
On Saturday, the wedding reception went great. Kristy and I shook a lot of hands and smiled for three hours straight. Numerous people from my parents’ church helped with the food and decorations and made the afternoon come off brilliantly. We were even able to get regular updates on the football game from my uncle who was back at the house with a group of other relatives, calling my dad’s cell phone whenever the Seabirds scored. (Gonna be a tough game against the Panthers this Sunday afternoon.)
We drove down to my home church (Grace & Glory) in Vancouver the next morning and took the whole service to introduce Kristy and explain what God has called us to in Ireland. After the service, it was a privilege to be able to sit through a brief annual business meeting and then chat with people over a meal. It was so much fun to see how God has blessed Grace & Glory and caused it to grow.
On Monday, Kristy and I decided to go up and see my younger brother, Jason, in Seattle. He's renting a house on the West side with a gorgeous view of the Seattle skyline across the harbor. At least, on a clear day it's a gorgeous view. When we squinted, we could at least see the silhouettes of skyscrapers through the fog and mist. After some lunch in a cool little seafood restaurant, we went over to downtown and helped Jason pick up a new bed with my dad's truck. Later in the evening, we saw "Munich," which was not what I expected it to be. (I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not.)
It was a lot of fun to hang out with my little bro and hear about how his job is going. Jason works for a big PR firm and mainly works with Microsoft, his firm's biggest client. He was in Vegas a few weeks back for the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show. His parents and brothers are all praying that he doesn't kill himself working 12 hour days and beating back blood-thirsty media while trying to explain why Microsoft decided to pull their media player support from Mac's OS. (Why do Mac users need Windows Media Player when they've got I-Tunes and the I-Pod anyway??) We also got a little spiritual conversation in, mostly regarding the book he’s reading (Velvet Elvis). Our youngest brother got it for him for Christmas. (Sounds like it was a good choice, Ty!) It’s encouraging to see my little bro (both of them, actually!) wrestling with issues of faith and seeking God in it all. And yes, I’ve forgiven them for the embarrassing toast they gave at my wedding reception.
12.1.06
Dinner with the Bilbys
Kristy and I had a great time at the Bilby's for dinner last night. Dave Bilby is the Missions Committee chairman at Cascade Park Baptist Church in Vancouver (WA). He's recently begun working on staff over at ACMC (Advancing Churches in Missions Commitment) and is doing a lot to help them re-strategize in getting North American churches involved in passionate cross-cultural mission support. Before joining the staff at ACMC, Dave was running his own web hosting company and played a big part in helping me get a web site up and running.
11.1.06
Cross-cultural Thinking (or, Confusing Faith with Culture)
One of the things I am most excited about in current day missiological discussion and interaction is the way it is helping various forms of cultural Christianity (i.e., American, British, etc.) to think cross-culturally in their own cultural. Christ-followers are being challenged to see the cultural idiosyncrasies that inform their faith more than scripture and the Holy Spirit. They are being confronted with the fact that much of how they see their faith isn’t as biblical as they would like to think, but rather cultural.
Yesterday, Jonny Baker touched on this as well. As I mention in the comments of his post, I really believe that the global conversation that has grown in the last several years due to blogs and healthy networking has done much to inform and fuel that cross-cultural thinking. I so enjoy being an American, living and serving in Europe because it forces me into such a steep learning curve in the process of educating myself about British or Irish or whatever culture. It forces me to ask questions that European Christians should also be asking themselves. In that way, we can link arms and learn from each other and alongside each other. Then, when I interact with my fellow American Christ-followers, I can take what I’ve learned from my European friends and essentially say, “I think maybe this or that part of our faith is actually more American culture than it is purely biblical Christianity.”
Take James Dobson and Focus on the Family for example. (I hate to belabour The Dob on this issue, but he makes a great case study due to the pervasiveness of his ministry amongst so many Christians in the U.S.) An obvious objective of Focus is to legislate biblical morality through government lobbying and pressure. Many American Christians would say that this is excusable and even necessary because God Himself has seen fit to show extra favour to America and make it a great nation, and therefore, we should do as much as we can to make our country a place where children can be shielded from immorality and evil. In this way, what Dobson does in his political involvement is the “biblical, Christian thing to do.”
The problem is that it’s not the biblical thing to do. It’s the “American Christendom” thing to do. Nowhere in scripture are we asked to force governments or whole nations to embrace Christianity through the political system. We don’t see Jesus or the Apostle Paul trying to legislate Christian morality through the Roman Empire’s political channels. We see Paul preaching the gospel to Roman government officials, but that is much different than the defensive posture of Focus on the Family and other American Christendom groups preoccupied with preserving Christianity as a powerful special-interest group.
Another example is the way the Gospel is presented in American Christianity (not to mention much of evangelical European Christianity). Most often, it is presented as “what God can do for you, the individual.” Recently, I came across an article simply entitled, “What is the Gospel?” In it, author and professor Scott McKnight argues that the Gospel embraces much more than that, calling this version of the Gospel “hyper-individualism.”
In “The Continuing Conversion of the Church,” Darrell Guder calls this hyper-individualism “Gospel reductionism,” and further defines what he means here:
From the perspective of a typical American hyper-individualism view of salvation, it may appear that Guder is arguing for universalism (all people will be saved) when in fact he has done a brilliant job of highlighting the fact that my salvation is meant not only for my own future entrance into heaven, but to be a blessing and a service to humanity now. One only needs to recall the book of James to recognize this truth. There’s a difference between saying that the Gospel should affect all the world and that it should save all the world (in terms of regeneration and entrance into heaven.)
Evangelical churches in both the U.S. and England have pointed a lot of criticism at parts of the Anglican church for their own “reductions” of the Gospel into a “social gospel.” However, in my own observations of the Church of England while I lived in Britain, much of the Anglican church avoided either reductions and maintained both the personal, individual nature of the Gospel as well as the useful, practical nature that releases the church to be an agent of healing to the world.
Categories: culture, mission, church, God
Yesterday, Jonny Baker touched on this as well. As I mention in the comments of his post, I really believe that the global conversation that has grown in the last several years due to blogs and healthy networking has done much to inform and fuel that cross-cultural thinking. I so enjoy being an American, living and serving in Europe because it forces me into such a steep learning curve in the process of educating myself about British or Irish or whatever culture. It forces me to ask questions that European Christians should also be asking themselves. In that way, we can link arms and learn from each other and alongside each other. Then, when I interact with my fellow American Christ-followers, I can take what I’ve learned from my European friends and essentially say, “I think maybe this or that part of our faith is actually more American culture than it is purely biblical Christianity.”
Take James Dobson and Focus on the Family for example. (I hate to belabour The Dob on this issue, but he makes a great case study due to the pervasiveness of his ministry amongst so many Christians in the U.S.) An obvious objective of Focus is to legislate biblical morality through government lobbying and pressure. Many American Christians would say that this is excusable and even necessary because God Himself has seen fit to show extra favour to America and make it a great nation, and therefore, we should do as much as we can to make our country a place where children can be shielded from immorality and evil. In this way, what Dobson does in his political involvement is the “biblical, Christian thing to do.”
The problem is that it’s not the biblical thing to do. It’s the “American Christendom” thing to do. Nowhere in scripture are we asked to force governments or whole nations to embrace Christianity through the political system. We don’t see Jesus or the Apostle Paul trying to legislate Christian morality through the Roman Empire’s political channels. We see Paul preaching the gospel to Roman government officials, but that is much different than the defensive posture of Focus on the Family and other American Christendom groups preoccupied with preserving Christianity as a powerful special-interest group.
Another example is the way the Gospel is presented in American Christianity (not to mention much of evangelical European Christianity). Most often, it is presented as “what God can do for you, the individual.” Recently, I came across an article simply entitled, “What is the Gospel?” In it, author and professor Scott McKnight argues that the Gospel embraces much more than that, calling this version of the Gospel “hyper-individualism.”
Hyper-individualism is the most selfish thing we can do with the gospel. To turn what God is doing in this world exclusively into what he is doing for me is to turn God upside down and stand ourselves up in God’s place. The gospel is not about me, but about what God is doing — and the “me” comes in as part of what God is doing. This difference is not a little matter. . . . The question the gospel of embracing grace asks is not “what can I do to get in?” but “will I be a part of God’s work?” Once this is understood, and that the gospel is designed to regenerate our hearts to love God and to love others, then what we are asked to do is as simple as that: we are asked to love God and to love others.
In “The Continuing Conversion of the Church,” Darrell Guder calls this hyper-individualism “Gospel reductionism,” and further defines what he means here:
This salvation was, quite rightly, understood as a fundamental change in the relationship between the person and God, and the assurance of life after death in heaven. Reductionism does not mean that what remains is wrong: it means that what remains is too little. The church, as it institutionalized, did not set aside the gospel; it reduced it and made it manageable. For the gospel of Jesus Christ, the king and the Lord to whom all authority has been given on heaven and on earth, is a message about God’s healing and saving purposes which affect all the world, not merely each individuals’ eternal fate. (p. 189)
From the perspective of a typical American hyper-individualism view of salvation, it may appear that Guder is arguing for universalism (all people will be saved) when in fact he has done a brilliant job of highlighting the fact that my salvation is meant not only for my own future entrance into heaven, but to be a blessing and a service to humanity now. One only needs to recall the book of James to recognize this truth. There’s a difference between saying that the Gospel should affect all the world and that it should save all the world (in terms of regeneration and entrance into heaven.)
Evangelical churches in both the U.S. and England have pointed a lot of criticism at parts of the Anglican church for their own “reductions” of the Gospel into a “social gospel.” However, in my own observations of the Church of England while I lived in Britain, much of the Anglican church avoided either reductions and maintained both the personal, individual nature of the Gospel as well as the useful, practical nature that releases the church to be an agent of healing to the world.
Categories: culture, mission, church, God
9.1.06
Is God Dead in Europe?
Interesteing article, worth a read. The conclusion of the reporter regarding the connections between the fertility rate and the spiritual/religious climate in Europe is an interesting theory. "Demographic suicide" due to fall of European Christendom, eh? Hmmmm . . . not sure I'm convinced.
Misc. Stuff Coming into 2006
Now that we're well into 2006, here are a few miscellaneous things on my heart and mind.
1. The Seattle Seahawks
The Hawks have a seriously good chance of making it all the way to the Super Bowl this year! Shaun Alexander is coming into the post-season with a phenomenal record-breaking season and will be well rested against the 'Skins after a first round bye. Matt Hastlebeck has improved year after year at quarterback and is leading the team like he's hungry for a ring. Coach Holmgren is also looking like he's found a good balance of roles and involvement on the team as well.
I'm looking forward to this Saturday when the Hawks face off against the Skins for a shot at the NFC Championship game. My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sue got tickets to the game this Saturday, so they'll have to miss our wedding reception down here in Longview. (Frankly, I'd be offended if they passed up the game to come down to Longview!) Other relatives from both sides of the family are coming down to my parents' place early to catch the game on TV before heading over to the reception. Should be a lot of fun to have a house full of people watching the game!
2. Good Music
Over the last few months, I've discovered some great music, some of which has been around longer than other stuff. After listening to My Morning Jacket a few times, they seem to have a sound that's almost a cross between Radiohead and Lynard Skynard. It's growing on me.
The Magic Numbers and The New Pornographers (really unfortunate name, which doesn't even seem to reflect anything about the band) are in a similar style category as The Shins - quirky, but catchy pop songs that you probably won't hear on Top 40 radio (thankfully). Some incredible song writing in all 3 of those bands.
Sufjan Stevens also keeps showing up in my inquiries into new music. I've only heard a few songs off of his latest Illinois (which I've really liked), but from what I've read and heard, his music just keeps getting better and better after each album. Stevens has declared his intent to write an album in honor of each State in the U.S. Be interesting to watch where that goes.
Other groups that I've been enjoying recently:
Gorillaz
Wilco
Sigur Ros
Franz Ferdinand
Big shout out to Paste Magazine and Pitch Fork for keeping the world up-to-date with all the latest on good music.
Also, check out Relevant's latest The Year in Music Reviewed.
Categories: music, culture, life
1. The Seattle Seahawks
The Hawks have a seriously good chance of making it all the way to the Super Bowl this year! Shaun Alexander is coming into the post-season with a phenomenal record-breaking season and will be well rested against the 'Skins after a first round bye. Matt Hastlebeck has improved year after year at quarterback and is leading the team like he's hungry for a ring. Coach Holmgren is also looking like he's found a good balance of roles and involvement on the team as well.
I'm looking forward to this Saturday when the Hawks face off against the Skins for a shot at the NFC Championship game. My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sue got tickets to the game this Saturday, so they'll have to miss our wedding reception down here in Longview. (Frankly, I'd be offended if they passed up the game to come down to Longview!) Other relatives from both sides of the family are coming down to my parents' place early to catch the game on TV before heading over to the reception. Should be a lot of fun to have a house full of people watching the game!
2. Good Music
Over the last few months, I've discovered some great music, some of which has been around longer than other stuff. After listening to My Morning Jacket a few times, they seem to have a sound that's almost a cross between Radiohead and Lynard Skynard. It's growing on me.
The Magic Numbers and The New Pornographers (really unfortunate name, which doesn't even seem to reflect anything about the band) are in a similar style category as The Shins - quirky, but catchy pop songs that you probably won't hear on Top 40 radio (thankfully). Some incredible song writing in all 3 of those bands.
Sufjan Stevens also keeps showing up in my inquiries into new music. I've only heard a few songs off of his latest Illinois (which I've really liked), but from what I've read and heard, his music just keeps getting better and better after each album. Stevens has declared his intent to write an album in honor of each State in the U.S. Be interesting to watch where that goes.
Other groups that I've been enjoying recently:
Gorillaz
Wilco
Sigur Ros
Franz Ferdinand
Big shout out to Paste Magazine and Pitch Fork for keeping the world up-to-date with all the latest on good music.
Also, check out Relevant's latest The Year in Music Reviewed.
Categories: music, culture, life
A Day at Auburn Grace Community (50th Anniversary of the Deaths of Jim Elliot and His Missionary Colleagues)
Over the weekend, Kristy and I had a tremendously encouraging time up in the Seattle area with folks from Grace Community Church in Auburn. I was asked to lead worship at all 4 services (2 morning and 2 evening) and give a brief report on where Kristy and I are headed in the coming months. It was a lot of fun to introduce Kristy as Mrs. Wellcome and get an applause from the congregation.
It was a perfect Sunday to be there, since it was the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Jim Elliot and his missionary colleagues in Ecuador. In honor of the men who were killed, the church showed a 40 minute, edited documentary regarding their story and the repercussions on the lives of the tribesmen who murdered the missionaries. After the film, Pastor Ben called up Steve and Matthew McCully, sons of Ed McCully, one of the murdered missionaries. Steve and Matthew have been attending Grace Community for several years. Their testimony of how their father’s death had impacted their lives was incredibly moving. Further, the stories that they had to share of the thousands of changed lives that were a result of that tragic story were nothing less than awe-inspiring.
One of the men who was involved in the murders later became a follower of Jesus and has come to the United States (and visited Grace Community) several times to share his story. At one missions conference, people were asked to stand if they had been inspired to become missionaries as a result of the story of Elliot and his comrades. Hundreds rose to their feet.
One interesting fact that I had not known was that the missionaries actually had firearms with them when they were murdered. However, they committed to not using them on the tribal people since they were not yet ready for heaven!
At one point during the interview, Matthew mentioned that the impact of those men began with the prayerful financial support of individuals and churches across North America and that people should remember that when writing out checks for Brandon and Kristy! I appreciated the plug for Kristy and I, but I was most excited about the clear explanation of how everyday Christians at “home” could have a part in impacting people’s lives across the world through their financial and prayer support.
Further reading about these men and their story.
“End of the Spear” promotional site and an interactive timeline (under the heading "Path of the Spear.")
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)
It was a perfect Sunday to be there, since it was the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Jim Elliot and his missionary colleagues in Ecuador. In honor of the men who were killed, the church showed a 40 minute, edited documentary regarding their story and the repercussions on the lives of the tribesmen who murdered the missionaries. After the film, Pastor Ben called up Steve and Matthew McCully, sons of Ed McCully, one of the murdered missionaries. Steve and Matthew have been attending Grace Community for several years. Their testimony of how their father’s death had impacted their lives was incredibly moving. Further, the stories that they had to share of the thousands of changed lives that were a result of that tragic story were nothing less than awe-inspiring.
One of the men who was involved in the murders later became a follower of Jesus and has come to the United States (and visited Grace Community) several times to share his story. At one missions conference, people were asked to stand if they had been inspired to become missionaries as a result of the story of Elliot and his comrades. Hundreds rose to their feet.
One interesting fact that I had not known was that the missionaries actually had firearms with them when they were murdered. However, they committed to not using them on the tribal people since they were not yet ready for heaven!
At one point during the interview, Matthew mentioned that the impact of those men began with the prayerful financial support of individuals and churches across North America and that people should remember that when writing out checks for Brandon and Kristy! I appreciated the plug for Kristy and I, but I was most excited about the clear explanation of how everyday Christians at “home” could have a part in impacting people’s lives across the world through their financial and prayer support.
Further reading about these men and their story.
“End of the Spear” promotional site and an interactive timeline (under the heading "Path of the Spear.")
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)
6.1.06
Missional Church & Disciple Making
One of these days, I’m going to actually finish this book that I’ve been trying to get through since September (The Continuing Conversion of the Church). It’s done so much to assist me in re-thinking my theology of church. Now that I’m at the end of the book, Guder has gotten real practical in discussing some implications of missional church. This quote in particular seemed to really tie some things together well:
“If a mission community saw itself primarily as the Spirit’s steward of the calling and gifts of its members, its internal activities would, in one sense, diminish. It would spend much less time on providing activities that take its members out of the world. It would devote more of its times of gathering for the equipping, support, and accountability of its member-missionaries. The ancient sense of the conclusion of public worship as the sending out of God’s people (ita, missa est = go, you are sent) would be translated into the concrete forms of congregational life.” (p. 179)
In one sense, what Guder says here is right in line with the disciple-making focus of the Sonlife ministry training, which essentially reflects the missional priorities of Christ’s ministry. However, it seems to take things to an even deeper level. Often it has felt like this disciple-making philosophy of ministry can merely be a “plug-in” to the modern day church structures, but true missional church philosophy challenges even the most basic structures of the church that don’t actually serve the world.
In the Sonlife disciple-making philosophy, you have “building believers, equipping them for ministry, and winning unbelievers.” Presented this way, it can come across as three disjointed purposes of the church or three disconnected components of the disciple-making process. What’s missing is the thread of purpose that brings them all together, namely, God’s mission in the world of establishing His Kingdom on the earth. Whereas the making of disciples is a key part of the purpose of the church, I’m beginning to think that it is not actually the sum total of the church’s purpose. Rather, it could be said that it is one non-negotiable priority in the mission, which is to announce and demonstrate the Kingdom of God – precisely what Jesus did when he was on the earth. The making of disciples was a key component of Jesus’ ministry (and an indispensable one at that), but there were other things that Jesus did that didn’t necessarily directly contribute to his disciple-making.
For example, Jesus was very active in serving and healing the poor and sick. It can be said that Jesus brought in a disciple-making component in teaching his disciple to care for the marginalized members of society, but I have a hard time seeing that as a primarily disciple-making activity. Here, there are huge implications for the church. Caring for the sick and the poor and the marginalized is not merely an optional activity for the church if there’s room in the calendar and the budget! (Nor can it be asserted that social justice is the gospel itself.) It’s part of the very fabric of the church’s mission in demonstrating and announcing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Furthermore, Guder’s quote above suggests that even the most basic spiritual growth level (or "building") activity of the church should serve the missional purpose of the church in preparing God’s people to be a healing agent in the world. In other words, my spiritual growth is not just for my own sake. My own spiritual growth is meant to be of practical use in my witness to a lost world.
Plenty more thoughts on this, but I think I’ll stop for now.
“If a mission community saw itself primarily as the Spirit’s steward of the calling and gifts of its members, its internal activities would, in one sense, diminish. It would spend much less time on providing activities that take its members out of the world. It would devote more of its times of gathering for the equipping, support, and accountability of its member-missionaries. The ancient sense of the conclusion of public worship as the sending out of God’s people (ita, missa est = go, you are sent) would be translated into the concrete forms of congregational life.” (p. 179)
In one sense, what Guder says here is right in line with the disciple-making focus of the Sonlife ministry training, which essentially reflects the missional priorities of Christ’s ministry. However, it seems to take things to an even deeper level. Often it has felt like this disciple-making philosophy of ministry can merely be a “plug-in” to the modern day church structures, but true missional church philosophy challenges even the most basic structures of the church that don’t actually serve the world.
In the Sonlife disciple-making philosophy, you have “building believers, equipping them for ministry, and winning unbelievers.” Presented this way, it can come across as three disjointed purposes of the church or three disconnected components of the disciple-making process. What’s missing is the thread of purpose that brings them all together, namely, God’s mission in the world of establishing His Kingdom on the earth. Whereas the making of disciples is a key part of the purpose of the church, I’m beginning to think that it is not actually the sum total of the church’s purpose. Rather, it could be said that it is one non-negotiable priority in the mission, which is to announce and demonstrate the Kingdom of God – precisely what Jesus did when he was on the earth. The making of disciples was a key component of Jesus’ ministry (and an indispensable one at that), but there were other things that Jesus did that didn’t necessarily directly contribute to his disciple-making.
For example, Jesus was very active in serving and healing the poor and sick. It can be said that Jesus brought in a disciple-making component in teaching his disciple to care for the marginalized members of society, but I have a hard time seeing that as a primarily disciple-making activity. Here, there are huge implications for the church. Caring for the sick and the poor and the marginalized is not merely an optional activity for the church if there’s room in the calendar and the budget! (Nor can it be asserted that social justice is the gospel itself.) It’s part of the very fabric of the church’s mission in demonstrating and announcing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Furthermore, Guder’s quote above suggests that even the most basic spiritual growth level (or "building") activity of the church should serve the missional purpose of the church in preparing God’s people to be a healing agent in the world. In other words, my spiritual growth is not just for my own sake. My own spiritual growth is meant to be of practical use in my witness to a lost world.
Plenty more thoughts on this, but I think I’ll stop for now.
Encouraging Meetings Over Food & Coffee
Kristy and I are enjoying a light series of meetings this week and next. Thus far, we’ve mainly been trying to catch up with a few financial partners and friends of mine that needed to be introduced to Kristy. Since December was so crazy, it didn’t leave a lot of room to set up meetings in advance for our time here in the Pacific Northwest, so we’re just seeing what last minute meetings can come together while we’re here.
On Wednesday, I had a chance to catch up with Gil Steensen, an old friend and former youth worker. I was really encouraged to hear about how much ministry ownership Gil is taking in the church he’s a part of. He’s a great example of an everyday believer with a missional mindset in his work as a meat cutter, as well as in his church commitment.
Yesterday, I introduced Kristy to Dave Childers, the missions pastor up at Grace Community Church in Auburn. He’s one of the biggest reasons I’m serving in Europe now. While he was with Reign Ministries, he set up the two trips to Ireland and Great Britain that I went on years ago that led to my heart being so burdened for that part of the world. Dave continues to open up the minds and hearts of American Christians by taking them on short-term trips all over the world. I’m always blown away by Dave’s travel schedule – this week in Africa to encourage and train pastors, the next week in Asia, via Europe to see this or that youth pastor, etc., etc.
After lunch with Dave, we connected up with Gene Poppino, the Student Ministries Pastor at Grace. Gene is a veteran youth pastor in the northwest whom many other youth pastors in the region and around the world look to for wisdom and advice. I always feel encouraged after getting some time to catch up with him and I’m always amazed at how easily he’s willing to make room in his schedule for me. He’s a great example of the “people are never an interruption” principle – even on a Thursday when he has to prepare to teach three times the following weekend. Gene is also involved in training, shepherding, and encouraging youth pastors around the world, from Europe to Asia to South America.
Today, I’m hoping to catch up with a friend back in England (via Skype) for some ministry consultation and fellowship. Tonight, Kristy and I have been invited to dinner with a family from my parents’ church here in Longview. Over the weekend, it’s back up to Auburn to lead worship singing at four Grace Community services and introduce the congregation to my beautiful wife!
On Wednesday, I had a chance to catch up with Gil Steensen, an old friend and former youth worker. I was really encouraged to hear about how much ministry ownership Gil is taking in the church he’s a part of. He’s a great example of an everyday believer with a missional mindset in his work as a meat cutter, as well as in his church commitment.
Yesterday, I introduced Kristy to Dave Childers, the missions pastor up at Grace Community Church in Auburn. He’s one of the biggest reasons I’m serving in Europe now. While he was with Reign Ministries, he set up the two trips to Ireland and Great Britain that I went on years ago that led to my heart being so burdened for that part of the world. Dave continues to open up the minds and hearts of American Christians by taking them on short-term trips all over the world. I’m always blown away by Dave’s travel schedule – this week in Africa to encourage and train pastors, the next week in Asia, via Europe to see this or that youth pastor, etc., etc.
After lunch with Dave, we connected up with Gene Poppino, the Student Ministries Pastor at Grace. Gene is a veteran youth pastor in the northwest whom many other youth pastors in the region and around the world look to for wisdom and advice. I always feel encouraged after getting some time to catch up with him and I’m always amazed at how easily he’s willing to make room in his schedule for me. He’s a great example of the “people are never an interruption” principle – even on a Thursday when he has to prepare to teach three times the following weekend. Gene is also involved in training, shepherding, and encouraging youth pastors around the world, from Europe to Asia to South America.
Today, I’m hoping to catch up with a friend back in England (via Skype) for some ministry consultation and fellowship. Tonight, Kristy and I have been invited to dinner with a family from my parents’ church here in Longview. Over the weekend, it’s back up to Auburn to lead worship singing at four Grace Community services and introduce the congregation to my beautiful wife!
29.12.05
Wedding Pics Online & Luggage Update
Had a chance to post up some wedding pictures last night, so head over to my picture gallery for those. Beth Bennett did a great job and we're expecting to get some more from her when we return to Colorado Springs next month.
This morning, Kristy and I awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing at about 7am. (Not a very reasonable hour, given the previously late night of dominoes and cards with my parents.) Our grumpiness from being rudely awaken was turned to relief when Kristy was informed that my suitcase was finally located in Chicago! United is going to Fed Ex the luggage to Kristy's parents' place in Denver so it'll be waiting for us when we arrive back on the 17th of January. I'm really hoping that the bottle of St. Lucian rum is still intact. Not only because I was looking forward to some rum 'n Coke, but also because I know Kristy's parents aren't big fans of alcohol and probably don't want their house smelling like rum.
This Sunday, Kristy and I will be giving a report to my parents' church here in Longview (Grace Bible Fellowship) and, on the 8th of January, I'll lead worship at Grace Community Church in Auburn and give a report. Then, on the 14th, my parents will be putting on a wedding reception here in Longview for all my friends and family who couldn't make it down to Denver for the wedding. I'm really looking forward to that. I think my mom mentioned that we had about 90 RSVP's, which is actually more than we had at the wedding. My in-laws will also be flying up from Denver to attend the reception, which will be cool. (Maybe they can bring me my rum.) Finally, on the 15th, Kristy and I will give a report to my home church, Grace & Glory Community Church down in Vancouver.
In between all of that, I'm hoping to get some reading and blogging done, but we'll see. I'm also going to be trying to connect with as many financial partners as I can to set up some face-to-face time with Kristy and I. We're really hoping to come across some new financial support while we're here. Pray that the needed financial resources will come in so that we can get back to Europe!
This morning, Kristy and I awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing at about 7am. (Not a very reasonable hour, given the previously late night of dominoes and cards with my parents.) Our grumpiness from being rudely awaken was turned to relief when Kristy was informed that my suitcase was finally located in Chicago! United is going to Fed Ex the luggage to Kristy's parents' place in Denver so it'll be waiting for us when we arrive back on the 17th of January. I'm really hoping that the bottle of St. Lucian rum is still intact. Not only because I was looking forward to some rum 'n Coke, but also because I know Kristy's parents aren't big fans of alcohol and probably don't want their house smelling like rum.
This Sunday, Kristy and I will be giving a report to my parents' church here in Longview (Grace Bible Fellowship) and, on the 8th of January, I'll lead worship at Grace Community Church in Auburn and give a report. Then, on the 14th, my parents will be putting on a wedding reception here in Longview for all my friends and family who couldn't make it down to Denver for the wedding. I'm really looking forward to that. I think my mom mentioned that we had about 90 RSVP's, which is actually more than we had at the wedding. My in-laws will also be flying up from Denver to attend the reception, which will be cool. (Maybe they can bring me my rum.) Finally, on the 15th, Kristy and I will give a report to my home church, Grace & Glory Community Church down in Vancouver.
In between all of that, I'm hoping to get some reading and blogging done, but we'll see. I'm also going to be trying to connect with as many financial partners as I can to set up some face-to-face time with Kristy and I. We're really hoping to come across some new financial support while we're here. Pray that the needed financial resources will come in so that we can get back to Europe!
23.12.05
Christian Faith or American Christendom?
Interesting article over at The Economist this week. (LINK) The question is, does the article describe the Body of Christ or an American Christendom version of Christianity, as seen in the American phenomenon of the mega-church?
Categories: church, culture
Categories: church, culture
Marital Bliss (or, Back in the Blogosphere After the Marriage Break or, What Have I Done?!)
As you know, the month of December has been quite the connubial experience for me, to say the least. I married my best friend on the 9th and the whole week leading up to it was full of good times and memories with friends and family. The snow made things a little tough to get around, but fortunately was not enough to bring things to a halt completely.
My younger brothers arranged for the bachelor party to happen up in Denver with all of the groomsmen in attendance. At the hotel, they made me wear a long silvery dress/skirt, a black afro wig, and some sort of colourful scarf. The highlight of the evening for everyone was meeting a drunken computer tech entrepreneur in an Irish pub just outside the walls of Coors Field and chatting with him about life, spirituality, philosophy, and Cuban cigars. He even invited us upstairs to his luxury apartment for some billiards and further fellowship.
The wedding itself was brilliant. Kristy and I were both blessed to have so many friends and family working so hard to make it all come together as well as it did. My good friend and pastor, Marc Johnson, did a great job officiating and another good friend and mentor, Jim Adkins, did a fine job sharing a few thoughts from Ephesians. Jim’s daughter also performed the special music beautifully.
One of the only blips on the radar was a flu bug that my mom picked up the night before and had a hard time shaking off. Fortunately, she was able to drag herself to the ceremony with the help of my faithful and dependable father. My sister-in-law, the beautiful and amiable Iris Wellcome, stepped in to fill in for my mom in lighting the family candles with Kristy’s mom.
On the way to the reception in Kristy’s dad’s 1971 Buick GS (not the one in the link picture), we were stopped at a traffic light after getting off the freeway when people behind us from the wedding party began honking and making a bunch of celebratory racket. All of a sudden, we began to hear the low droning of some sort of horn, like the kind made out of ivory that you hear in tribal contexts. Sure enough, we looked over a few lanes and this car full of men were blowing on these large horns out the windows and yelling “Blessings in the name of the Lord!” Kristy asked what they were and they answered back that they were shofars and that they were meant to be blown as a blessing. It was the most random, unexpected, skin-tingling blessing I’ve ever experienced!
The reception was a lot of fun and people seemed to enjoy the chocolate fountain. My two brothers (the best men) took their toasting/speech responsibility and turned it into an embarrassing, albeit creative and unique, account of our hiking trip this last summer in Yosemite. (I ended up in the emergency room due to dehydration.) Their warning to Kristy: Keep this boy hydrated! After this brief conclusion, they handed me a Camel Back that they’d purchased together.
The honeymoon was also brilliant. The most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had. Swimming, snorkelling, skiing, hiking, etc. We even took a day to get away from the resort and tour the island of St. Lucia. The trip back, however, is another story.
It consisted of island hopping on a plane with Liat and, after arriving in Antigua, our flight to Puerto Rico was delayed for about 2½ hours. We finally arrived in San Juan and missed our connecting United flight to Philadelphia by about 15 minutes. The lady behind the desk booked us new flights to Philly, via Charlotte. We arrived in Philadelphia close to midnight, as opposed to the original 6.30pm arrival time. Kristy and I added some things up in the midst of the waiting, the impatience and the anxiety: Six airports in eighteen hours straight of travel. Flights to Europe suddenly didn’t seem so bad. I was happy to have my new wife with me. And James Joyce.
While waiting for our luggage in Philly and looking forward to what few hours of sleep we had ahead of us, Kristy got a phone call from someone named Lorrain in Connecticut to explain to us that she had our luggage in Hartford and that hers had gotten switched with ours. After going back and forth at the US Airways baggage centre and over the phone, it was explained to us that our luggage would get sent to Chicago and on to Denver to meet us there.
After three hours of sleep in the hotel, our flight for Denver, via Chicago, left at 6am from Philadelphia. (In the same clothes we’d worn all day previously. Gotta love that.) Upon arriving in Denver, we anxiously waited for our luggage. Kristy’s suitcase finally came through, but there was no sign of my own. After waiting to see if it would come up from another flight from Denver, we again reported to the baggage claim centre and hoped for the best. We left the airport without my luggage and today, 3 days later, I am without 75% of my summer clothes, both casual and formal, the digital camera with all of our honeymoon pictures, a travel case of CD’s, a bottle of premium St. Lucian rum, and a brand new Samsonite suitcase that Kristy and I received in a 3-piece set from my parents as a wedding gift. As each day passes, hope fades for having these things returned.
So, for the last three days, my moods have randomly toggled from enraged, frustrated, and perplexed over my lost luggage to content, happy, and expectant as I’ve enjoyed the freshness and newness of marriage and companionship. Once in a while, I’ll be reminded of a favourite shirt or CD or a cell phone charger that was in my lost luggage and I’ll again do battle with frustration and anger. All the while, I know deep inside that God wants to speak to me and remind of me of what clothes and CD’s are actually worth in the Kingdom economy that I belong to more than I belong to this world. I know this cognitively, but I’m convinced that it’s only through life experiences such as these that I really come to take the most profound ownership of that truth.
The good news? On December 9th, 2005, I married my best friend. And I now have a companion to do this adventure of life with, arm in arm. Dang it. I just remembered that my Coldplay “X&Y” CD was in my luggage. Pray for me.
Categories: life
My younger brothers arranged for the bachelor party to happen up in Denver with all of the groomsmen in attendance. At the hotel, they made me wear a long silvery dress/skirt, a black afro wig, and some sort of colourful scarf. The highlight of the evening for everyone was meeting a drunken computer tech entrepreneur in an Irish pub just outside the walls of Coors Field and chatting with him about life, spirituality, philosophy, and Cuban cigars. He even invited us upstairs to his luxury apartment for some billiards and further fellowship.
The wedding itself was brilliant. Kristy and I were both blessed to have so many friends and family working so hard to make it all come together as well as it did. My good friend and pastor, Marc Johnson, did a great job officiating and another good friend and mentor, Jim Adkins, did a fine job sharing a few thoughts from Ephesians. Jim’s daughter also performed the special music beautifully.
One of the only blips on the radar was a flu bug that my mom picked up the night before and had a hard time shaking off. Fortunately, she was able to drag herself to the ceremony with the help of my faithful and dependable father. My sister-in-law, the beautiful and amiable Iris Wellcome, stepped in to fill in for my mom in lighting the family candles with Kristy’s mom.
On the way to the reception in Kristy’s dad’s 1971 Buick GS (not the one in the link picture), we were stopped at a traffic light after getting off the freeway when people behind us from the wedding party began honking and making a bunch of celebratory racket. All of a sudden, we began to hear the low droning of some sort of horn, like the kind made out of ivory that you hear in tribal contexts. Sure enough, we looked over a few lanes and this car full of men were blowing on these large horns out the windows and yelling “Blessings in the name of the Lord!” Kristy asked what they were and they answered back that they were shofars and that they were meant to be blown as a blessing. It was the most random, unexpected, skin-tingling blessing I’ve ever experienced!
The reception was a lot of fun and people seemed to enjoy the chocolate fountain. My two brothers (the best men) took their toasting/speech responsibility and turned it into an embarrassing, albeit creative and unique, account of our hiking trip this last summer in Yosemite. (I ended up in the emergency room due to dehydration.) Their warning to Kristy: Keep this boy hydrated! After this brief conclusion, they handed me a Camel Back that they’d purchased together.
The honeymoon was also brilliant. The most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had. Swimming, snorkelling, skiing, hiking, etc. We even took a day to get away from the resort and tour the island of St. Lucia. The trip back, however, is another story.
It consisted of island hopping on a plane with Liat and, after arriving in Antigua, our flight to Puerto Rico was delayed for about 2½ hours. We finally arrived in San Juan and missed our connecting United flight to Philadelphia by about 15 minutes. The lady behind the desk booked us new flights to Philly, via Charlotte. We arrived in Philadelphia close to midnight, as opposed to the original 6.30pm arrival time. Kristy and I added some things up in the midst of the waiting, the impatience and the anxiety: Six airports in eighteen hours straight of travel. Flights to Europe suddenly didn’t seem so bad. I was happy to have my new wife with me. And James Joyce.
While waiting for our luggage in Philly and looking forward to what few hours of sleep we had ahead of us, Kristy got a phone call from someone named Lorrain in Connecticut to explain to us that she had our luggage in Hartford and that hers had gotten switched with ours. After going back and forth at the US Airways baggage centre and over the phone, it was explained to us that our luggage would get sent to Chicago and on to Denver to meet us there.
After three hours of sleep in the hotel, our flight for Denver, via Chicago, left at 6am from Philadelphia. (In the same clothes we’d worn all day previously. Gotta love that.) Upon arriving in Denver, we anxiously waited for our luggage. Kristy’s suitcase finally came through, but there was no sign of my own. After waiting to see if it would come up from another flight from Denver, we again reported to the baggage claim centre and hoped for the best. We left the airport without my luggage and today, 3 days later, I am without 75% of my summer clothes, both casual and formal, the digital camera with all of our honeymoon pictures, a travel case of CD’s, a bottle of premium St. Lucian rum, and a brand new Samsonite suitcase that Kristy and I received in a 3-piece set from my parents as a wedding gift. As each day passes, hope fades for having these things returned.
So, for the last three days, my moods have randomly toggled from enraged, frustrated, and perplexed over my lost luggage to content, happy, and expectant as I’ve enjoyed the freshness and newness of marriage and companionship. Once in a while, I’ll be reminded of a favourite shirt or CD or a cell phone charger that was in my lost luggage and I’ll again do battle with frustration and anger. All the while, I know deep inside that God wants to speak to me and remind of me of what clothes and CD’s are actually worth in the Kingdom economy that I belong to more than I belong to this world. I know this cognitively, but I’m convinced that it’s only through life experiences such as these that I really come to take the most profound ownership of that truth.
The good news? On December 9th, 2005, I married my best friend. And I now have a companion to do this adventure of life with, arm in arm. Dang it. I just remembered that my Coldplay “X&Y” CD was in my luggage. Pray for me.
Categories: life
1.12.05
Relevant Podcast & The Supposed "War on Christmas"
For the last several years, Relevant Magazine has been a regular visit for me and this week they have some really interesting discussion on their podcast. In particular, the Relevant crew brings up the issue of Christians freaking out about retail stores taking Jesus out of Christmas, replacing "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays." This season it seems to be everywhere. Okay, so maybe it's just everywhere over at Fox News.
In the Christian community, quotes like this are commonplace:
“My personal solution to this attack on my inherent constitutional rights, is to boycott all businesses that refuse to acknowledge that Christmas is a ‘national’ holiday. Those unbelievably huge retailers who refuse to reference the Christmas season need to feel the impact of the Christian community. Money talks!” — Rich (Harrisburg, PA)
This kind of attitude and tone is encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ who are promoting a "culture war" (e.g., The Dob and Jer Bear.) Very problematic. I'm sorry, but most Americans do not have a faith in the Jesus of the Christian Christmas. Therefore, it seems pretty natural for department stores to say "Happy Holidays" so as to include as many people of different faiths (or of no faith) as they can without alienating their customers. Afterall, the purpose of Target and Wal Mart is NOT to promote Christianity. It's to make money! Yet the first reaction of “American Christendom” is to lash out as though retail stores are going to single-handedly take down the God of creation Himself.
I appreciate Cameron Strang’s sensitivity on the Relevant podcast when he points out that, if he were to have a Jewish friend, he wouldn’t mind saying “Happy Holidays” to include his friend, thus preserving the friendship with potentially redemptive results in the future.
Christians have been called to be agents of change in enemy territory, not to protest the enemy. The problem is that sometimes Christ-followers mistakenly identify the enemy (i.e., retail stores), expecting the darkness to be less dark. Worse yet, American Christians too often use their supposed “constitutional rights” (see above quote) to force their faith on those who don’t have Jesus, but desperately need to see examples of Christ-like character so absent in the defensive culture-war movement.
Granted, there are those who want to wage some kind of all-out war on Christianity and even take Santa out of the picture (which would be fine for the promoters and gatekeepers of American Christendom) as a result of a ridiculous obsession with political correctness. However, these voices have a stronger bark than they do bite. And even if they did begin to move the zeitgeist, God would not go away and the real enemy would still have only defeat to look forward to in the future.
One more quote from the Fox News article that I think is on the more profound side of the issue:
“War on Christmas? Are you kidding me? There are more pressing issues in the world that need to brought up. If someone is in need of a ‘war,’ why not hunger, crime, social injustice, or racism?" — Sophia
Big shout out to Sophia.
(And by the way, Xmas is NOT an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.)
Categories: culture, God, church
In the Christian community, quotes like this are commonplace:
“My personal solution to this attack on my inherent constitutional rights, is to boycott all businesses that refuse to acknowledge that Christmas is a ‘national’ holiday. Those unbelievably huge retailers who refuse to reference the Christmas season need to feel the impact of the Christian community. Money talks!” — Rich (Harrisburg, PA)
This kind of attitude and tone is encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ who are promoting a "culture war" (e.g., The Dob and Jer Bear.) Very problematic. I'm sorry, but most Americans do not have a faith in the Jesus of the Christian Christmas. Therefore, it seems pretty natural for department stores to say "Happy Holidays" so as to include as many people of different faiths (or of no faith) as they can without alienating their customers. Afterall, the purpose of Target and Wal Mart is NOT to promote Christianity. It's to make money! Yet the first reaction of “American Christendom” is to lash out as though retail stores are going to single-handedly take down the God of creation Himself.
I appreciate Cameron Strang’s sensitivity on the Relevant podcast when he points out that, if he were to have a Jewish friend, he wouldn’t mind saying “Happy Holidays” to include his friend, thus preserving the friendship with potentially redemptive results in the future.
Christians have been called to be agents of change in enemy territory, not to protest the enemy. The problem is that sometimes Christ-followers mistakenly identify the enemy (i.e., retail stores), expecting the darkness to be less dark. Worse yet, American Christians too often use their supposed “constitutional rights” (see above quote) to force their faith on those who don’t have Jesus, but desperately need to see examples of Christ-like character so absent in the defensive culture-war movement.
Granted, there are those who want to wage some kind of all-out war on Christianity and even take Santa out of the picture (which would be fine for the promoters and gatekeepers of American Christendom) as a result of a ridiculous obsession with political correctness. However, these voices have a stronger bark than they do bite. And even if they did begin to move the zeitgeist, God would not go away and the real enemy would still have only defeat to look forward to in the future.
One more quote from the Fox News article that I think is on the more profound side of the issue:
“War on Christmas? Are you kidding me? There are more pressing issues in the world that need to brought up. If someone is in need of a ‘war,’ why not hunger, crime, social injustice, or racism?" — Sophia
Big shout out to Sophia.
(And by the way, Xmas is NOT an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.)
Categories: culture, God, church
That *expletive* Discussion
Phil Kingsley sent me an e-mail about some dialogue resulting from a poem read at a Scum of the Earth gathering in Denver. I began responding to his message with an e-mail, but then decided that it might make a better blog post.
I think this is a great discussion. It seems to me that the brand of Christianity that many take on is not so much biblical faith as it is a "culturally respectable" christianity. In "respectable Christianity," somehow profanity (as defined by culture) finds itself amongst the worst of sins, while things like selfish ambition, pride/arrogance, gossip, and the subtleties of excusable and acceptable racism get swept aside as soft sins, worthy of neglect and even dismissal. Maybe our understanding of things like holiness, purity and sin just need to be re-hashed.
Soooooooo, are swear words sin? Well, unfortunately God hasn't made it real easy for us by designating certain English slang words as such (obviously). So maybe Christians should look to the necessary cultural institutions that both reflect and influence culturally determined values, such as profanity. (The only thing that comes to mind in the U.S. at the moment is the MPAA and the BBC and BBFC in the UK.) I have to be careful back here in the U.S. where words like "hell" and "damn" draw raised brows from Christians, whereas it's not as much the case in Britain. I personally believe that soft, or moderate, profanity such as these can be helpful in expressing opinions and ideas, but can also be quite abused and used unintelligently (as in the case of many Hollywood films these days), often so as to disrespect or de-humanize other people.
I also think there are bigger and broader issues that this particular topic points to that need to be discussed. For example, is a Christ-follower guilty of sin for watching a movie with a heavy dose of profanity? Does it nullify any other redemptive components of the film? How much is too much? Can we really speak for God in determining how much profanity should be allowed in a film before we walk out of the cinema or push "stop" on the DVD remote?
Should Christians really be as offended at something as biblically ambiguous as "cuss words"? Do scripture passages that mention such things as "filthy language" refer primarily to culturally informed profanity more than words of resentment, gossip, contempt, malice, rage, etc.? What about Paul's use of "scubalon" in his letter to the Philippians (a Greek word which directly translates into English as - well, a word I would probably get complaints about if I used here - let's just say it rhymes with "spit")? And by the way, the word I refer to is actually translated "rubbish" in the NIV. How respectable.
There are also broader concepts such as what it means for Christ-followers to be in the world, not of the world, sent to the world. Should we as God's children be shocked and offended when non-followers act as if they're, well . . . not followers of Jesus, lost in the darkness of their sin nature? (Much to the gobsmacking disgust of members of the "culture war" movement?)
Like I said, it's a good item of discussion and one that has far-reaching implications in regards to what it means for followers of The Way to be aliens and strangers, with a divine calling to be catalysts of redemption and change.
I think this is a great discussion. It seems to me that the brand of Christianity that many take on is not so much biblical faith as it is a "culturally respectable" christianity. In "respectable Christianity," somehow profanity (as defined by culture) finds itself amongst the worst of sins, while things like selfish ambition, pride/arrogance, gossip, and the subtleties of excusable and acceptable racism get swept aside as soft sins, worthy of neglect and even dismissal. Maybe our understanding of things like holiness, purity and sin just need to be re-hashed.
Soooooooo, are swear words sin? Well, unfortunately God hasn't made it real easy for us by designating certain English slang words as such (obviously). So maybe Christians should look to the necessary cultural institutions that both reflect and influence culturally determined values, such as profanity. (The only thing that comes to mind in the U.S. at the moment is the MPAA and the BBC and BBFC in the UK.) I have to be careful back here in the U.S. where words like "hell" and "damn" draw raised brows from Christians, whereas it's not as much the case in Britain. I personally believe that soft, or moderate, profanity such as these can be helpful in expressing opinions and ideas, but can also be quite abused and used unintelligently (as in the case of many Hollywood films these days), often so as to disrespect or de-humanize other people.
I also think there are bigger and broader issues that this particular topic points to that need to be discussed. For example, is a Christ-follower guilty of sin for watching a movie with a heavy dose of profanity? Does it nullify any other redemptive components of the film? How much is too much? Can we really speak for God in determining how much profanity should be allowed in a film before we walk out of the cinema or push "stop" on the DVD remote?
Should Christians really be as offended at something as biblically ambiguous as "cuss words"? Do scripture passages that mention such things as "filthy language" refer primarily to culturally informed profanity more than words of resentment, gossip, contempt, malice, rage, etc.? What about Paul's use of "scubalon" in his letter to the Philippians (a Greek word which directly translates into English as - well, a word I would probably get complaints about if I used here - let's just say it rhymes with "spit")? And by the way, the word I refer to is actually translated "rubbish" in the NIV. How respectable.
There are also broader concepts such as what it means for Christ-followers to be in the world, not of the world, sent to the world. Should we as God's children be shocked and offended when non-followers act as if they're, well . . . not followers of Jesus, lost in the darkness of their sin nature? (Much to the gobsmacking disgust of members of the "culture war" movement?)
Like I said, it's a good item of discussion and one that has far-reaching implications in regards to what it means for followers of The Way to be aliens and strangers, with a divine calling to be catalysts of redemption and change.
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