The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Christ & Culture (Page 43 of 45)

Pastor or Cheerleader?

May 14, 2008 / / 0 Comments

A couple of lines in a quick little interview with Eugene Peterson in World Magazine this month, brought to me last week by David Watson (thank you, brother), really have me thinking. Peterson’s not serving as the pastor of that big Presbyterian church in Baltimore anymore. He’s retired, sort of, living with his wife in a cabin on a mountain lake in Montana.

These two paragraphs right in the middle of the article intrigue me, especially as they relate to the current church culture in most metropolitan areas of the Bible belt, specifically in Dallas-Fort Worth, particularly here at Legacy.

“At his suburban church in Maryland, Peterson pastored people who ‘were rootless,’ lacking ‘generational continuity where they lived.’ So he spent a lot of time ‘thinking about, praying about how to make this a place where people feel relationally connected.’ Instead of offering non-stop activities, Peterson’s church had a ‘quiet order of worship’ that sought to draw people into the gospel story. When newcomers asked what activities his church offered, he’d speak of worship on Sunday, and ‘if you’d let me be your pastor I’d help you learn not to want so much activity.’

Peterson sympathizes with pastors who complain about the demands people make: ‘In this American culture they feel very competitive. Pastors feel that people want action.’ He challenges them: ‘Do you want to be their pastor or their cheerleader? It’s a desecration of the pastoral vocation to commodify it, to turn the church into a consumer place.'”

You already know, I cringe when I hear my own brothers and sisters judge our church family or judge other churches based on what new exciting program is offered, what new exciting technology is being used, and / or what new exciting worship element is being experienced. It’s even worse, much worse, when ministers and elders use that criteria to inform their pastoring and decision-making. In some cases, the spirituality of a body of believers is judged based on these programs, technologies, and worship practices.

More, more, more. Turn it up. Louder. Faster. Brighter. Bigger. Flashier. Fancier. What am I going to get out of this? Are my kids going to love it? Why should I come to your church? Why should I stay at your church? More. More. More.

We’ve just started again our quarterly “Legacy 101” class on Sunday mornings, a three-week course designed to introduce new members and visitors to our church family. This past Sunday I spent the entire 30-minutes talking about ministries at Legacy—not programs and classes to minister to them, but opportunities for them to serve and minister to others.

We held another training session last night for new Small Groups Co-Leaders and it gave us another chance to tell our leader-couples, “It’s not about you.” For our leaders, Small Groups is never about what they’re going to get out of it, what benefits they’re going to receive. It’s always about the ways they can serve and minister to the other half of our congregation who are not involved, not connected, not feeling like family here. We multiply to include more people. We multiply to serve and minister to more people.

And, for the most part, we all understand that. The new members of our church in that Legacy 101 session Sunday spoke much more about using their gifts and abilities to serve others than about what we can do for them. The new leaders of the multiplied groups talked much more last night about reaching out to their brothers and sisters in this church and to the lost of the community than they did about personal comfort levels and their own needs.

Peterson doesn’t cry out against activity. He cries out against activity for activity’s sake. Busyness. Entertainment. Diversion. He laments the kinds of things I hear increasingly more, not just from our church members but, from ministers and elders: we have to add this so more people will come, we have to add that so people won’t leave, we have to start doing this or begin offering that to keep everybody happy.

We have tons of activities at this place, something here almost every day and night. And I’d like to see us doing even more, but only when those activities are designed to equip and empower our people to serve and minister to others; when the focus is outward, not inward; when the emphasis is on you, not me.

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Jim Edgmon sent this to me. Enjoy.

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Peace,

Allan

You Knew This Was Coming

January 29, 2008 / / 11 Comments

Super Bowl parties at church. Church-sponsored Super Bowl parties. You knew this was coming. Let’s go ahead and throw it all out there.

Let’s not avoid this. Let’s actually embrace this discussion and see where it leads us.

The larger issue I see is with a Christian church celebrating and glorifying the sex, violence, and greed symbolized by this American free-enterprise entertainment extravaganza in the same room where we glorify and worship our God and on the same screen where we post the holy words of Scripture and sacred songs of praise. I see a tremendous disconnect and mixed-message. If you watch NFL football — and I do — you know a lot of what those broadcasts stand for, including but not limited to the PG-13 pregame, postgame, and halftime shows, directly opposes our Christian message. It contradicts the very things for which the Church of God stands. At the very least I believe it’s questionable to invite our family and friends and little kids to the church building and project those images on a huge screen in our worship center.

I don’t see a difference between doing that and holding American Idol or Dancing With The Stars or Survivor parties at church. Fans of those TV shows are just as passionate and follow it just as closely as fans of the football TV shows.

I know the building is just a building. I’m fully aware that the church is the people, not the space. But what the church does together as a collected community of God’s people in the space that community has designated for Christian activities such as worshiping our Father and encouraging each other is important. It does matter. At the very least, it demands careful thought.

And it’s not easy. I do struggle with my thoughts and my feelings and my convictions on this. (Please see the three-day blog from August: The Question of Sacred Space, Sacred Space Part Two, and Sacred Space Last Part.) Again, God is no more present with me in a beautiful cathedral with a thousand other disciples than he is with me alone in my closet. I get that. And I believe that.

Also, I don’t think it’s hypocritical to object to the idea that if watching the Super Bowl at home in my living room is OK, then it’s OK to watch the Super Bowl in the worship center at church. I would answer that we would probably all agree that there’s nothing wrong or sinful with you drinking a glass of wine  in your kitchen. But we wouldn’t want to wheel in a dozen barrels of it for a Fifth Sunday Fellowship at the building. For many reasons.

I understand a lot of this makes me look and sound like a prude. And I generally try to avoid that as much as possible.

I’m curious as to your reflections and thoughts on this matter.

Peace,

Allan

P.S. Please don’t cancel your Small Groups Church meetings this Sunday. Schedule your dinner and times of worship and application of the Word around the TV show if you must. Watch the TV show together. Bond around the TV show. But please don’t cancel.

The Medium and the Message, Part Two

November 29, 2007 / / 12 Comments

If all of the world were to fall down today and worship our Father and submit their lives to him, it would not add one bit to his holiness and glory. And if all the world were to reject our Father and deny him today, it would not subtract one iota from his sovereignty and reign.  In the same way, the Gospel itself — the Good News of salvation from God through faith in the Christ — is not strengthened or weakened by our attempts to proclaim it. The perfect Gospel of Jesus cannot gain power or lose effectiveness.

But just as Paul told the Corinthians that “it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,” even though they were eating and drinking and praying as a body of believers just like everybody else, the Gospel isn’t really the Gospel if it’s proclaimed in a way that contradicts the message.

And sometimes the package can contradict the message so that it’s not the Gospel at all. It’s something else.

If the National Enquirer’s headline was “Tony Romo Dating Jenna Bush,” you wouldn’t believe it for a second. But if that same headline appears in the Dallas Morning News, you don’t doubt it at all. You never question it. The reputation of the package and the public perception of the package definitely impacts the message. Give Away Day and Trunk Or Treat are effective ways to preach the Word. But if we used Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in the church parking lot or off-color innuendo on our flashing sign out front to attract people to Give Away Day or Trunk Or Treat, that’s a problem.

What if I used four-letter curse words while I preached? What if I preached while holding a gun and shooting anybody who refused to be baptized? I know those are extreme, hyperbolic illustrations but they make the point. The packaging definitely impacts the message. And we’re setting ourselves up and jeopardizing the Kingdom if we ignore that.

My point is this: we are the ones who control the medium. We control the packaging and the way things are presented. It only changes if we decide to change it. We make those decisions. No one else is making those decisions for us. But for some reason we in the Church just assume that since everything around us in our culture is changing, the Church must change also. For some reason our attitude in the Church seems to be “We must be like the culture” instead of “We must change the culture.”

Why is our culture and “the way things are” seen by us as a reality to which we must adapt instead of a point of view with which we should argue?

Peace,

Allan

The Medium and the Message

November 28, 2007 / / 5 Comments

Can the message be impacted by the medium used to deliver it? Does a particular medium lend more or less credibility to the message, or does it matter at all?

In the current issue of Community Spirit magazine, in an article titled “Church Technology That Works!” YouTube.com is touted as the “best ministry tool for our generation.” Brant Fricker of Rollins Communications is quoted as saying that YouTube is the “potentially greatest way to reach the masses with the message of Christ.” The article goes on to point out that many churches are now using video clips and movie clips in their assemblies to introduce a theme or to illustrate a sermon.

And then this:

“A church in Eugene, Oregon has gotten so excited about the technology, they have changed the name of their church in honor of it. Formerly known as Bethel Church of the Nazarene, the church name is now YouTube Community Church. They have dropped preaching altogether in favor of video clips.”

The writer acknowledges that this is an extreme example and maybe even considered “highly objectionable” by some (thank you). But since all churches are struggling to reach the 18-35 year olds, and since that’s YouTube’s target audience, why not?

Does the medium matter?

Are you impacted differently by a news headline you see on the front of the National Enquirer and by that same headline on page one of the New York Times? Does it matter if it’s Tom Brokaw bringing you the news or Jack Black?

Does the saving news of the Gospel of Jesus gain credibility or lose it when it’s packaged in a video next to clips of dancing bears, cooking shows, and sports bloopers? Or, better worded maybe, on YouTube, is it presented as counter to the culture and out to change the culture or as conforming to the culture and trying to be like the culture?

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HalfPintToday is Colonial Fair day at Green Valley Elementary. And our own little Vallie is making some kind of presentation to all the visiting parents and classes. Carrie-Anne made the dress and bonnet. And they worked hard together last night making a huge batch of homemade pumpkin bread.

Peace,

Allan

A Clear Religious Identity

October 31, 2007 / / 1 Comment

William Willimon, the bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, and an outstanding author and theologian, posted on his blog yesterday a call for churches to establish “a clear religious identity.” And I thought it fit in very well with my meager thoughts yesterday on “religious consumers.”

In discussing why churches grow or shrink in size, Willimon quotes from C. Kirk Hadaway and David A. Roozen’s book Rerouting the Protestant Mainstream: Sources of growth and Opportunities for Change. “The key issue for churches seems to be a compelling religious character, not whether the content of that character is liberal or conservative.”

First and foremost, a Christian church must be about God in Christ. Before it’s about anything else, it must be about Jesus. The salvation acts of the Father through the Son are the foundation for everything else a church does, not a tagline at the end or an add-on to the side.

Willimon says, “When churches become distracted, seeing themselves as just another volunteer service organization, or one more friendly social club, they decline. The business of church is God.”

He calls for churches to develop a “clear religious identity and a compelling vision” with God in Christ at the center.

To me, that’s always meant slogans that are God-based, not people based. Mission statements that focus on Jesus, not our programs. More Bible reading in the assemblies and times for confession and prayer, not less. High expectations of church members to live Christ-centered lives in a community of faith. Not content with members meeting bare minimum expectations in virtual isolation from the community. The image of the cross ever before us, not the American flag or the local football teams’ logos.

Give Willimon’s post a read. And let me know what you think. You can get to it by clicking here.

Peace,

Allan

Religious Consumers

October 30, 2007 / / 4 Comments

Jeffrey MacDonald wrote an article in USA Today a couple of weeks ago regarding church websites and their use in attracting people to different faith communities. He pointed out all the numbers that show more and more churches are using websites — 20-percent of one California-based provider’s clients today are churches as compared to just five percent five years ago — and relayed mostly anecdotal evidence to say more people use websites to go “church shopping.”

The article quotes a webmaster at an Arizona church who says their website helps people feel a connection to the church. “Just like people do a lot of car shopping and major purchase shopping online, they see what they can find out about the church online before their decision to come.”

He also quotes a religious sociologist, Scott Thumma, who says websites are the number one tool today for churches. “Having a website allows the religious consumer to be a much more informed consumer. If people can find a congregation that fits their needs and their interests, they’re more likely to make a commitment.”

When did we begin referring to church and religion and Christianity in the same ways we refer to buying a TV or making a decision to join a health club? Why isn’t that notion challenged? And isn’t it that notion that’s killing us?

John West has done a tremendous job of remodeling and updating our church website at Legacy. If you haven’t been there in a while, please, take a couple of minutes and tool around http://www.legacychurchofchrist.org/.  If you’re a ministry leader or teacher at Legacy, or if you just have some great pictures, I encourage you to please contact John or Suzanne here at the office and let them tell you how to be involved in updating your specific area of the website. Our church website is, indeed, a valuable tool. It keeps us informed as a local body of believers. It aids us in connecting to each other as a church family. It provides that basic information visitors need. And it sends a powerful message about the Christ and his church to a desperate and dying world. I love our website, especially now. I urge you to visit it. Get involved with it. They’re updating it every day. Use it.

We’re hoping to, very soon, put audio sermons on the site. Maybe even someday stream live video of our Sunday assemblies. The sky’s the limit.

But may we never view the website or our programs — even Small Groups Church — or our ministries or our assemblies or our fellowship dinners as something to be bargained or negotiated when choosing a church. Or when choosing Jesus. Finding a congregation that meets my needs and serves my interests is not Christianity. It’s something else. It’s how we choose a restaurant or a movie theater, not a church. God’s church, the one he purchased with the blood of his Son, is a community. It’s a group of people united by the blood of the King helping and encouraging each other in our walks with Jesus. Christianity, discipleship to our Savior, is about submission — submission to God and to each other. Religion is an act of courage. It’s surrendering and being vulnerable to others and to Christ. It’s difficult. And it’s messy. And it’s uncomfortable.

If it’s entirely pleasing and simple and satisfying and comfortable, I’m afraid it’s not real.

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PayRodChartYou have to read Mike Lupica’s column today to get a real feel for what the people in New York really think about A-Fraud. You can read it by clicking here. And if you click on that chart to the left, you can read more numbers and quotes that further illustrate the ideas in the column. He points out Pay-Rod’s postseason numbers — 4-15 with one RBI this season, 1-14 last year, 2-15 in ’05. But he also speaks to Rodriguez’ demeanor and personality in the clubhouse that alienate him from his teammates, his coaches, the media, and pretty much all of baseball. Kinda like Barry Bonds, but in a different, maybe more subtle, way. I’m convinced there’s absolutely no way Hicks brings this clown back to Arlington. No way. He couldn’t give this guy even more money and then sell it to Rangers fans. The A-Fraud experience here was that horrible. We don’t have to worry about it happening again. But Lupica’s column is pretty good.

Peace,

Allan

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