God

Weddings

Christian "Wedding Crashers"

(I use the term “Christian Wedding Crashers” as a tongue and cheek way of referring to those people who are not typical church member seeking marriage. Please do not be offended. This is a light hearted term that some Christians have used for this situation. I do not believe these people are really crashing a wedding. Please keep reading. )

“What an awesome wedding! You did a great job. You opened new doors for us into Christianity.” – is the comment that I heard from a wedding I once officiated. Over the years, I have been conflicted by couples who come into my office asking me to officiate their wedding. Normally, I have no problem doing a wedding for a church member or Christians who do not have a church home. What has been a growing trend for a number of pastors, including myself, is what to do with non-Christian weddings?

Many Christians have been troubled with what to do with Christian “wedding crashers”, which are those people (who some Christians deem to be conflictual) who do not meet the “typical Christian” engagement period. The typical Christian premarital situation looks like this:

christians

NYT: "Bad Boys" Who Are Good

Normally, you do not see the words “Christian” and “bad boy” in the same sentence, but the The New York Times did just that when the newspaper wrote an article about Brian Deegan. Deegan is a freestyle motocross rider, and he and his friends were involved in a group called the Metal Mulisha. Deegan and his crew covered themselves in tattoos and their lifestyle labeled them as trouble makers and bad boys. After years of drugs and destructive lifestyle choices, Deegan had a conversion:

After a near-fatal crash in 2005 while attempting a back flip during filming for a television show, he lost a kidney and four pints of blood, and found religion. When a surgeon told him he might not survive, Deegan, 34, who has won more freestyle motocross medals at the X Games than any other rider, made a pact with God. If he lived, he would mend his ways. When he finally pulled through, he sought a pastor, began reading the Bible and “gave his life to Christ,” he said.

This article underlines an on going misconception about Christianity, which is that you cannot do anything cool, rebellious, or extreme when you become a Christian. By rebellious I mean anything that breaks the stereotype and not anything illegal. Christianity is often branded by television and movies as being out of touch or old fashioned.

The NYT article goes on to list other Christian extreme sports athletes:

Wedding

Is This A Holy Wedding?

Watch this wedding processional… it received over 1 million hits on youtube when I watched it on Friday. Now, it has received over 8 million hits. It is most likely something you have never seen at a wedding.

This video is also here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=player_embedded

Most people would watch this video and point out that this is a creative and joyful way to have a wedding processional. The Washington Post has written an article discussing this video. Some Christians might believe that this wedding processional is a mockery of the wedding ceremony. In an age where marriage is being redefined by culture, this video does not seem outrageous. I am conflicted about this wedding video. Let me explain.

Dance has been a universal act of joy in almost every culture through the ages. King David danced before God with all his might in joyful celebration when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the assembly of Israel in 2 Samuel. Obviously, David did not dance with sunglasses on. Thus, these two dances are different. The dancing done in the video was well planned. This wedding party was expressing their joy of two people in marriage.

God

God's Will: Learning by Building

I used to go on a lot of Habitat for Humanity trips, especially during college, and I frequently ended up on job sites where we had to build a house from the ground up. We framed walls, put trusses up, put the roof decking up, and shingled the roof. Over the years, I would learn a little more about building a house. Building a house is really tricky. If you are a half inch off on a line it could wreck the whole job. For a guy like me, a half inch does not seem like a whole lot, but in the building trade it can equate to disaster. I remember on one trip, we were following the directions of a volunteer on how to build the framing for the house and the gentlemen supervising the job did not really know what he was doing. We put in a half day of work on it and the real site supervisor came on the scene and told us to rip everything out! We were off two inches! Ahhhh! Needless to say, that guy was not directing anymore work for the rest of the week.

David, in 2 Samuel 7:1-14, thought he knew what he was doing when he tried to build a house for God. God had been “dwelling” in a tent while the Israelites were in the wilderness. This was a great set up for God’s people because where ever they went they had a portable church that they could set up. After David builds a great house for himself, he thinks that God requires a better house than a tent! David might have been feeling guilty about how he was in a palace and God was in a ratty old tent. David tells Nathan that God deserves a house (temple) and David was going to build it. Great idea, huh? Wrong. God tells Nathan that if God wanted a house he would build one. Nathan passes this message along to David with additional information: David’s descendants (Solomon) would build God’s temple, not David.

Harry Potter

What Happened to the Christian Objection to Harry Potter?

When the Harry Potter books and movies came out a few years ago, you might remember the outcry from fundamental Christians, who claimed that reading the Harry Potter books was akin to sinful witchcraft. There many articles and websites devoted to steering Christians away from the dangers of the fantasy world invoking wizards, creatures, magic, and spells. Why is it that other fiction stories like Cinderella, Aladdin, Pokemon, etc… do not invoke such a response? Nobody seemed to cry out against Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings… oh yeah, those books were written by Christian authors, so that makes it okay. Even though, those books contain the same fantasy elements as Harry Potter. Now, where are all the Christian nay-sayers?

I think a lot of hyped died down because there is a sense within fundamental Christianity that is reactionary. They typically give a knee-jerk reaction to anything remotely questionable. These Christians really operate in fear of things that apparently threaten their faith. Also, the hype died down because Harry Potter became very mainstream and proved to be harmless. Once Christians saw that Harry Potter was really just a story and not an evil left-wing plan to subvert Christianity, I think most hard core conservative Christians said, “Oh, its okay now because my minister said it was not evil.” Author and Minister, John Killinger wrote in defense of Harry Potter that you should take a look at. As with most Christian reactionary movements, the people of the movements usually do not spend time reading, studying, or watching the material they object to.

The Christian reversal of Harry Potter was in part due to the very nature of power of the series. When I say “power”, I mean the ability for the story of Harry Potter to transcend age, race, class, economic status, and gender. The Hardy Boys series was interesting for a lot of boys growing up, but girls had Nancy Drew. The Potter story involves so much more then the typical children’s gender targeted books because both girls and boys enjoy them. In addition, Harry Potter’s story has become a cultural staple of children’s literature.

Here are the top 3 enduring powerful qualities of Harry Potter that over shadow the magical wizardly elements and led to Christian acceptance:

theology

The Buddy Christ

For years, Christians have innocently reduced Jesus Christ to a personal pal or best friend. This theology is sometimes called the “Me and My Jesus” mentality. It is comforting to know that Christians believe in a personal God, but how far can we take that image? A good example of this was in the movie Dogma. In the movie, the Catholic Church roles out a new image of “The Buddy Christ”. In some ways irreverent, but yet funny, the scene from Dogma calls out to us Christians, who can talk about Christ as if we go out to Starbucks with him everyday.

True, scripture points to an individual believer’s confession as Jesus as Lord as the normal mode of salvation, but do we also forget that Revelation presents Jesus as the eternal Judge? Do we forget that God is eternal, divine, Master, Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the God of all things seen and unseen? Do we dare approach God with concept of reducing The Almighty to our friend?

John Suk, a professor of homiletics at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines gives a great non-western perspective on the “Me and My Jesus” mentality. In 2005, Suk wrote an essay entitled, “A Personal Relationship with Jesus?” in Perspectives (A journal from the Reformed perspective). Suk gives some great thoughts about how to approach the personal relationship with God issue. Here are a few highlights:

twitter

I’m Not Sold on Twitter in worship

A variety of news outlets have commented on the growing trend in churches: Twitter Worship. Time, New York Times, and Switched have covered the movement. If you do not know about this trend, I’ll try to explain it in two sentences. Using the social networking site, Twitter, worship attendees interact with the sermon, worship, and music.

Some churches even display “tweets” on their projection screens and the pastor interacts with the micro comments during the sermon. The UMC Board of Discipleship has a good overview of the pros and cons of using twitter and other technology in worship. Even Josh Harris questions the use of Twitter during worship. Despite the popularity of Twittering, many have asked the question, “Is Twittering during worship really worshipful?” I am a pretty technology dependent person, but I’m not sold on Twitter worship.

This is a difficult question to answer because there are some things to consider:

Twittering in worship attracts younger worshippers. A segment of the population that is greatly prized by churches.
A Twitter worship service can attract the unchurched or non-Christians.
Using Twitter creates more of an interactive worship experience, which is something that people want need.
People are quickly becoming more connected through technology, thus connecting through technology can be a way to reach people for Christ
Twittering during worship is encouraging people to be reflective about God.

theology

A Theology Of Failure

Have you ever gone back to your home town after being away for years? Did things change? Did they remain the same? I remember going back to my home church to be ordained in 2006. I was excited. I just finished seminary, got my first job as a pastor, and all my family came into town to attend my ordination. A lot of the people from my home church who guided me through my spiritual life were there: Sunday school teachers, youth workers, pastors, family, and friends. The ordination service was beautiful and touching for everyone. It was the culmination of years of preparation for ministry.

As the excitement continued on into the reception afterward, one of my Sunday school teachers came up to me and said: “Boy, what a day! I remember when you used to be in my Sunday School class. You were such a little trouble maker!” Wow. I hope that Sunday school teacher remembers my ordination day more than the day I poured glue on someone.

blog, Culture

Why I am Going to Watch Jon and Kate Plus 8

UPDATE: Jon and Kate filled for divorce. I wonder if they tried counseling. From the looks of the editing in the episode, Jon and Kate cannot come to an agreement. It seems that ” trying to do the best thing for their kids” does not include trying to save their marriage.

I have resisted blogging about “Jon and Kate Plus 8“, which is the show about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their 8 children, because it has been the “hot” celebrity news item. I try not to give any attention to “celebrity news” because it is not real news. The Jon and Kate story is news worthy on this blog because they are professed Christians and their situation is putting Christianity to the test in the eyes of secular viewers. Part of the show contains scenes of the family going to church, memorizing scripture, and reading Bible stories. Recently, the couple has gone through a dark time in their relationship, which has made news in just about every news outlet. Allegations of infidelity have plagued the show since the start of season 5. Questions have been raised regarding the couple staying together.

Tonight’s episode is billed as TLC’s most shocking show announcement, which many think will include the couple divorcing or ending the show. Many of my friends who are Christians have found themselves in conversation about Jon and Kate and wondering, “What would I do if I were in the situation.” News outlets have also been talking about how America is watching this train wreck but cannot look away. There have been reports that Jon has been looking for an apartment in NYC. This show has gone from entertainment to the guilty pleasure of watching a family being torn away from each other. This family does not need to go through anymore drama, but that is what you sign up for when you do a reality show in your kitchen. Their children will no doubt watch the show when they are older and be changed for it.

Pentecost 3b

Caught in a Storm

Meteorology has always been a fascination of mine. I would watch the TV and check out the internet websites that forecasted major weather events like hurricanes and snowstorms. Weather storms are an interesting meteorological event. Storms can be predicted but never do they present themselves as the weather forecasters predict. Every summer and fall, hurricane predictors try to figure out how many major storms will hit land. As we have seen from hurricane Katrina, storms can catch us off guard and teach us that we must be careful how we prepare for storms.

I think I loved weather events as a kid because that meant that there would be no school. I guess I still have a little of that still in me, except I do not go to school anymore. I remember one storm that hit the Mid-Atlantic with so much ice they closed school for days. The storm iced everything with a half inch of slippery,cold ice. All of the kids in the neighborhood broke out their ice skates and we skated all over the roadway! The only way you could get anywhere was on ice skates. We loved it because everything was shut down and we were stuck, which meant the school buses could not pick anyone up.

In this week’s readings, we read about two storms: one on land and one on the sea. In the first storm, we read about David, the young anointed one in 1 Samuel 17. David comes to the front line of the battle to face the giant Goliath. This little shepherd boy is mixed up in this battle just as the armies meet. Nobody thinks that David can beat Goliath, who represents the strength of the Philistines. David is caught in a political storm as these two nations meet.

Churches

Young People Don't Go To Church, or Do They?

There is a common misconception that young people are fleeing churches. So many churches ask, “Where are all the young people?” My friend Rev. Elizabeth Hagen on her blog discussed a similar topic a few weeks ago and gave some great thoughts on understanding young adults. Christianity Today published an article discussing the ministry of Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City. Most of the article is geared toward Keller’s ministry and his bio. The whole article is great, but the article begins with:

His church, Redeemer Presbyterian, has five crowded Sunday services in three rented locations—Keller dashes between them—with an average total attendance of 5,000. The service at Hunter is the largest, the “tourist service.” (For many years, Redeemer deliberately avoided publicity, but word has spread lately, and Keller estimates that hundreds of out-of-towners show up each Sunday.) Well over 2,000 people—mainly young whites and Asians you would expect to be sleeping off a late Saturday night—have come to this morning’s service.

Wow, “young people” in church… on Sunday morning no less. What is due to this great success? It has got to be a young hip preacher and cool band leading worship. Nope.

Redeemer’s worship is seemly traditional. Instead of using video monitors, casually dressed worshipers follow a 20-page bulletin that includes hymns, prayers, and Bible texts. Organ and a brass quartet lead the music. For evening services, jazz musicians play contemporary Christian songs.

Standing 6’4″, with a bald head, glasses, and a coat and tie, Keller, 58, does not look hip. Nor is his sermon funny, charming, or daring. He preaches from the first chapter of Genesis, on the doctrine of Creation. Keller speaks like a college professor, absorbed in his content, of which there is a lot

God

Is God Moody?

Time recently published an article by Robert Wright, which tries to sort out how “the God” of the three Abrahamic religions could start off as violent and then moved to be more graceful. Wright gives the impression that God is somehow moody. Wright also attempts to bring together the Christian Old Testament, the Hebrew Torah, and Islam’s Koran. I found this article to be inaccurate and misleading because the author tries to make sense of God from a logical stand point and not a theological stand point. Below are five statements from the article and my five reactions.

“The Bible isn’t the only Scripture with such vacillations between belligerence and tolerance. Muslims, who like Christians and Jews worship the God who revealed himself to Abraham, are counseled in one part of the Koran to “kill the polytheists wherever you find them.” But another part prescribes a different stance toward unbelievers, “To you be your religion; to me my religion.”

My Beef: If you want to understand God, you must understand God theologically. To understand God and compare the God of Christianity to another religion is like trying to compare apples and oranges. These three religions say three very different things about God. Most religion professors would tell you that.

“But the fluctuations aren’t really random. If you juxtapose the Abrahamic Scriptures with what scholars have learned about the circumstances surrounding their creation, a pattern appears. Certain kinds of situations inspired tolerance, and other kinds inspired the opposite. You might even say this pattern is a kind of code, a code that is hidden in the Scriptures and that, once revealed, unlocks the secret of God’s changing moods.”

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