christianity

NFL

Who does God want to win the Super Bowl?

I remember watching the pregame coverage of Super Bowl XXXII in 1998 and being shocked when a reporter asked Green Bay Packers’ defensive end and ordained minister Reggie White if he thought God wanted him to win the Super Bowl. White shot back, “Well, I’m praying to win.” The reporter replied, “Do you think the Broncos are praying to win too?” “I’m sure they are,” White said. Then the reporter asked this bombshell: “If you are praying that Green Bay wins, and the Broncos are praying to win, then who does God want to win?”

With this year’s big game set for Sunday, it seems that God and football have been the hot topic lately. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has been criticized for appearing in an ad to be aired during the game paid for by Focus on the Family that promotes the Christian organization’s pro-life stance. Tebow is also known for biblical references to “John 3:16″ and “Phil 4:13″ on the eye black strips he uses to cut glare.” Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl champion coach and author of The New York Times best-seller, “Uncommon,” has attributed his success to Jesus Christ.

According to the NFL, 87 percent of its players come from some sort of “Protestant background.” Every team in the league offers its members Bible study groups, chapel or worship services. Athletes in Action, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ, provides chaplains for numerous NFL teams. Tom Krattenmaker, in his book “Onward Christian Athletes: Turning Ballparks into Pulpits and Players into Preachers,” makes the case that public displays of faith are not spontaneous, but rather part of a large Christian presence in the professional ranks.

Obama, prayer

At prayer breakfast, Obama is theologian-in-chief

At the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning, President Obama got theological in front of 3,000 attendees. Obama pulled passages from the Bible to encourage governmental policies to help the poor and provide more opportunities for the disadvantaged. Drawing from Jesus’ words, the president encourage higher taxes on wealthier Americans.

Drawing upon faith tenants from almost every world religion, Obama said,

“For me, as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required… I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God’s command to ‘love thy neighbor as thyself. I know the version of that Golden Rule is found in every major religion and every set of beliefs -– from Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato.”

Last year, the president used the opportunity to proclaim his personal relationship with Jesus Christ at a time when 1 in 4 believed he was a Muslim. This year he shared how he begins every morning with prayer and a scripture devotional. In addition, he shared his experience and prayer time with Billy Graham, perhaps the most impactful preacher/pastor in the 20th century. Obama gave an insight into his personal prayer life since meeting Graham:

Book Review, Book Reviews, introverts in the church

Introverts in the Church

Giveaway: Win a copy of “Introverts in the Church” by subscribing to alanrudnick.org, follow @alanrud on Twitter, comment on this post, or “Like” the Facebook page. The winner will be selected @ 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

In college, I was able to spend time with two international public speakers, pastors, and authors. These two people were electric in front of people. Able to be funny, compelling, and keep a crowd’s attention. As I spent one-on-one time with these speakers, I realized that they were withdrawn and seemingly non-social. Was there something wrong with me?

If you are public speaker or a church person it must mean you are an extrovert! Singing, talking, eating, serving and doing all those “churchy” things in public. Enter, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh.

McHugh dispels the myth that only extroverts can thrive and lead in the church. He traces the Great Awakening as an important moment for extroverts coming to the forefront of church lift. Outdoor preachers like George Whitfield set the standard for grandstanding preaching. Since half the American population is an introvert it would only seem logical that there would be many books on introverted people in the church, but there are not.

There is a great deal of psychology in the book. McHugh doesn’t shoot from his hip (that wouldn’t be very introverted, would it). He supplies a ton of data and cultural studies on American’s habits and church culture. The author is quick to present a more complex nature to introverts than just shyness:

Mitt Romney

Romney: I’m not concerned about the very poor

As the president race unfolds, we received a message from Mitt Romney that will certainly be replayed and analyzed:

I’m not concerned about the very poor…

No matter what he said after that, this is a certain blunder. Romney put the rest of the sentence into context by saying, “…there’s a safety net there, and if it needs repair I’ll fix it.” Watch the video:

One of the richest presidential candidates proclaiming his concern is not for he poor? This will send a shock through the political and religious establishment. Of course, Romeny has to be concerned about the poor. It’s required of his Mormon faith. If you don’t think this quote is damaging, then just read about how the Associated Press changed their article head line of the comment.

To be fair, the whole comment is as follows from CNN:

religion, war on religion

Three reasons why there is no ‘war on religion’

Something is heating up GOP presidential primaries after Mitt Romeny’s win in the Florida primary and it’s not the humidity. GOP leaders are declaring that a war on religion is here. First, it was Rick Perry with his “strong” video that proclaimed a war on religion exists. Now, it’s Newt Gingrich who tried to harmonize Perry’s message by accusing both Mitt Romney and President Obama: “I think Gov. Romney is extraordinarily insensitive to religious freedom in America and the Obama administration is clearly engaged in a war on religion.”

Religious persecution or a war commanded by Romney or Obama is just not there. Such claims are aimed at charging a base of the electorate to vote in favor of a particular candidate. Why should we believe there isn’t a war on religion? There are three reasons:

end of the world, Rapture

The End is Here (again)

We remember the hype and hysteria around Harold Camping and his end of the world prediction that came and went. I first blogged on the topic back in March 2011when no one was really worrying about it. Well, he’s back! Now, the end of the world will be this Friday – October 21! According to the Family Radio Worldwide teacher radio nut, Camping believes that the end started in May and will conclude this month.

Though a “spiritual rapture” occurred at the apparent the end of the world back in May, this time Camping is for real. The end will not go out with a bang, but with a whimper. Camping said:

“We’re getting very near the very end. Next Friday looks like, at this point … it will be the final end of everything.”

“There won’t be earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters.

“The end is going to come very, very quietly.”

I think we’ll see Camping “flabbergasted” again with another apocalypse fall out. If you are depressed about the end of the world, read my ‘End of the World Guide: 37 Things You Should Before the End‘ to cheer you up.

You have to hand it to Camping, he learned his lesson about being definitive about the end. He added “probably” to his prediction. Last time, he explained what happened:

“What really happened this past May 21st? What really happened is that God accomplished exactly what He wanted to happen. That was to warn the whole world that on May 21 God’s salvation program would be finished on that day. For the next five months, except for the elect (the true believers), the whole world is under God’s final judgment.”

At 90, Camping is still causing an international news story. Pretty good! When I’m 90, I just hope I can get to the bathroom in time.

Culture, steve jobs

Steve Jobs, the Modern Prophet?

This past Sunday a private memorial service was held at Stanford University’s chapel for Steve Jobs, the juggernaut of the personal computing world. Jobs’ passing has many of us reflecting on the work of one man’s life. His leadership provided for many visionary changes that have affected the world. Like the prophets from old, one man, albeit with blue jeans and a turtleneck, could prophesy the future. Unlike a prophet foretelling of doom, Jobs showed the world that the future was encased in a neat, clean, and powerful package.

He gave people something to hope for… even if it was just a product.

Connecting Steve Jobs to the concept of a “prophet” may cause some consternation in the Evangelical Christian community, but it is there. Much like prophetic leadership guiding people to an unknown place and time, Jobs was able to motivate people into action and embrace the future. The iPhone, iPad, and other “i” products enabled people to take their relationships with them and put their interests, music, pictures, and friends in their pockets and backpacks.

Like a Moses or Joshua, Jobs was able to lead people to a promised hope. Steve Jobs had the ability to encourage people to change, and that’s a hard thing to do. People followed Apple and Jobs into a new era of computing and personal electronics. That’s great and all, but what makes Jobs so prophetic?

His speech in 2005 to graduates at Stanford illustrates his prophetic ability:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but some day not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

What profound cryptic philosophical and religious language. Death the single best invention of life? Jobs is preaching a gospel that so many know, but few want to admit. American Christianity has a lot to learn from Job’s words. We Christians believe in a faith of death and resurrection, but we cannot let churches die. In biology, the death of one organism means life for another. We are afraid to close churches for fear people will lose their faith. Yet, letting one church die can mean life for a new church. Resources, ideas, and property can be given for a new faith community to form.

Steve Jobs may have not been a believer or even religious, but he sure acted like a prophet. What more can we glean from such secular individuals in order to better Christianity?

One definition of a “prophet” in Christianity is someone who speaks the truth about God. Steve Jobs spoke the truth about death and its ability to change, but can we embrace this message?

Rob Bell

3 ways Rob Bell will affect everyone

Rob Bell, the controversial mega church pastor and author of “Love Wins”, recently announced that he was leaving the Grand Rapids church (Mars Hill) that he founded. There was so much interest in the announcement that Mars Hill’s website crashed. To most, Bell’s departure does not really cause the world any concern. Usually when a pastor leaves a church it has a great impact on a small group of people, both in positive and negative ways. However, Rob Bell’s departure affects just about everyone in the country.

How can one pastor’s departure affect a whole country?

1. Robb Bell is working on a major TV project with Carlton Cuse, the executive producer and screenwriter for LOST. The New York Magazine reports that the two are working on a show that would be loosely based on Bell’s life. The show is rumored to be called “Stronger”:

Stronger is similarly expected to explore spiritual themes but without being as on-the-nose as other recent series that have tackled these issues, such as 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel. There’s also expected to be a narrative twist to the project that will make it a bit unconventional, but for now, that detail is being kept secret (this show is from a Lost-ie, after all).

Bell and Cuse met at TIME’s 100 most influential person dinner. With the power of a big time TV producer, especially one from LOST, millions of people will be exposed to Bell’s brand of Christianity. Clearly, Bell’s move to Los Angeles will position himself to rub shoulders with celebrities, politicians, and other influential people.

2. Bell’s teaching and writing are changing the way Christians and non-Christians think about God. Through his book, “Love Wins” Bell explained that we should think more about God’s care for people rather than God’s plan for damnation. The reaction caught the attention of CNN, ABC News, Newsweek, and other major media outlets. The topic of “who goes to heaven” is an extremely sensitive subject. You do not think he is making that big of a splash in the world? Well, his story and his book were the subject of a TIME magazine cover story that questioned, “Is Hell dead?” Bell reengaged the debate of annihilationism, universalism, and salvation on a secular level. What pastor can do that? With about 78% of the country claiming some sort of Christian identity, Bell’s teaching will continue to make waves within a large majority of America.

3. By leaving local church ministry, Bell will reach an audience that few have been successful with. Rob Bell has big plans. He has accomplished what few pastors can do: grow a church from nothing, write books, star in his own DVD series, and speak all around the world. Bell is no Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell, or Jim Baker. His “hipster” image is putting certain Christian stereotypes to rest. He is perhaps in the best position for a mega church pastor to become mainstream. When we say mainstream, we mean not just with all Christians, but with the secular world. To some, that is a very encouraging thing but to other it is frightening. Perhaps, Rob Bell could tap into that demographic that is quickly disappearing from church life: the Millennials.

Stay tuned. Rob Bell just may begin to change the face of Christianity.

blog

VIDEO: I'm on a Bema!

Okay, so I’ve explained the usage regarding a “bema” and how it has been used through the centuries. Jews use the term “bema” regularly in their worship, but this snappy boytshik knows how to inform people about being ON A BEMA! Oy!

If you didn’t know, this is a parody of “I’m on a Boat”. If you don’t know what that is, well… a joke isn’t funny when you have to explain it.

On the Bema

jerks

How Not to be an Internet Jerk

I’m sure you have found yourself on the other end of an internet conversation with a fanatical Christian… debating abortion, government intervention, homosexuality, and other hot topics. Or, you have tried to convince your friends of their woeful ways over Facebook. Either way, the results are not pretty.

Anyone can fall into the trap of being a jerk on the internet: forcibly offending others, name calling, passive aggressiveness, espousing incorrect statistics from questionable secondary sources, using ALL CAPS, posting embarrassing high school pictures, and just bad behavior. It seems Christians can, at times, be the worst offenders. At some point in our online experience everyone has been a jerk in one way or another.

Recently, Jon Acuff, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, wrote an article for RELEVANT magazine (apparently deemed a “hipster-Christian” publication) about his experiences with jerkiness:

When RELEVANT asked me to write this article, I originally wanted to title it, “How to Be a Jerk on the Internet.” I felt like that article would be easier for me to write because I’ve got much more experience at being a jerk than I have at not being one—ask people who went to college with me. They’ll tell you. I was a jerk online before online even existed. (That last sentence was like Inception; I was a jerk within a jerk within a jerk.)

Acuff goes on to name five ways people (Christians) can be a jerk on Twitter and pretending . Perhaps my fav is the “Jesus juke”:

Debbie Downer

A Jesus Juke is an idea I came up with to describe the moment when you’re having a normal conversation and someone jukes in some Jesus out of nowhere. For example, I once tweeted that I was at the Conan O’Brien live tour and it was sold out. Someone responded, “If we held a concert for Jesus and gave away free tickets, no one would come.” Sad trumpet, whaaa, waaaa. A Jesus Juke is the Christian version of the Debbie Downer moment.

I’m not sure if the “Jesus juke” qualifies as jerk behavior. That’s called being lame.

Anyway, jerks and Christians jerks take note.

Full article

blog

What the heck is a 'bema' anyway?

This blog has existed for over two years and often people ask, “What’s a bema?”

In worship, I often use the word “bema” to describe the elevated area of the sanctuary were the Word is read, preaching occurs, the choir sings, and other religious function occur. “Bema” is a foreign term to most low church goers and Baptists, but the concept is older than Christianity.

Baptists usually refer someone “preaching on the pulpit”. This terminology is incorrect. The pulpit is a piece of furniture where one holds notes, sermon text, Bible, etc… You preach from a pulpit. Therefore, you cannot “stand” on the pulpit. There is more to the space around the place where the Word is shared. The “bema” helps us understand that there is more room than just the place where a preacher preaches.

For thousands of years the “bema” or raised part of a church or synagogue, has been the place where religious ideas were shared. Throughout Christianity, the bema area was /is used as the place where the word and sacrament come together.

In the same light, On The Bema makes room and is the intersection for the sharing of ideas, trends, and culture that flow through Christianity.

On the Bema is refocusing into shorter ideas, stories, and trends that involve faith and culture. Yes, I’ll keep blogging, but you’ll also see polls, statistics, trends, pictures, and video.

Be on the look out for new post and don’t forget to subscribe via e-mail to keep up with all the latest posts – look to the right panel to subscribe.

front, new, sub1, Unvirtuous Abbey

A Bunch of (un)virtuous Monks

Church and religion doesn’t have to be stuffy and boring. Several monks prove that. Enter the Unvirtuous Abbey. A bunch of monks give us everything regrettable about Christianity, culture, people, and Facebook but make us laugh at it… in a good way. The Unvirtuous Abbey ministers to people from their Facebook and Twitter page with funny and some serious tweets and updates. Some proclaim them virtuous and others unvirtuous. I took some time to sit down with these humorous monks to see what makes them tick. You be the judge:

You monks have some very funny and very serious prayers on Twitter and Facebook. Where do you receive inspiration?

What’s become evident is how many people have been hurt by religion/church. We wondered, “What if there were unapologetic monks who actually stood up to religious bullies? And what if we threw in a bit of ‘snark’ just to make it fun and interesting?”

Humour has incredible power. Religion has the capacity to be hurtful, and many people have used it was a weapon. It’s fun mashing up cultural references with Jesus. Of course Jesus didn’t have a magic sword, but it’s interesting to put him in that scenario:

Jesus held aloft his magic sword and said, “By the power of Grayskull!” And they spake unto one another, saying, “He has the power.”

The truth is, he does.

Your prayers mention WiFi, beer, fanny packs, Harry Potter, tattoos, and Joel Osteen. Is this what makes the monks “unvirtuous”?
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