Category: Christ & Culture (Page 44 of 45)

Consider It Pure Joy…

August 31, 2007 / Allan / 6 Comments

Going back briefly to our conversation about the sacred and the profane from last week, allow me another observation. Have you seen Jerry Wayne’s latest Papa John’s Pizza commercial?

I was so shocked and appalled that I replayed it two times last night to make sure I was really seeing what I was seeing: the owner of the Dallas Cowboys in outrageously exaggerated Cowboys pajamas and slippers, cuddling and carressing the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy and, in his sleep, comparing the greatness of winning an NFL Championship with eating a Papa John’s pizza. Here’s the commercial if you haven’t seen it yet.

You would not use a communion tray as a spitoon, a baptistry for a hot tub party, or the worship center to screen a rated-R mobster flick. And you certainly would never use the Super Bowl trophy to sell pizza in your pajamas! The man has no shame. No dignity. It’s embarrassing. I’m convinced there’s nothing — NOTHING — he won’t do for money.

You just thought Ameriquest Field was a horrible name for the Ballpark in Arlington. Brace yourself.

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According to the Religious Liberty Commission 200-million Christians today live with serious persecution: threatened with prison and violence for their faith. An additional 400-million face “non-trivial restrictions to their freedom and the loss of many basic human rights, simply because they choose to love and follow Jesus.”

Nina Shea, the director of the Freedom House Program on Religion, claims “Christians are in fact the most persecuted religious group in the world today, with the greatest numbers of victims.”

More than a few sources confirm there were more Christians killed — martyred — for their faith in the 20th century than in the first 19 centuries combined.

I’m not sure how we relate to this. Our own persecutions, if we have any at all, don’t even register a blip compared to this. I’m humbled and hurt by the realization that our brothers and sisters with whom we unite in our worship to God and in our communion around his table are being persecuted in ways we can never imagine. Millions and millions of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted.

Why aren’t we?

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12 that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.

Why aren’t we?

Is it because we live in the United States? Is it because we’re lucky?

As we get into 1 Thessalonians 3 this Sunday at Legacy we’ll notice that first century Christians were persecuted because they lived in a way that threatened the culture. The values of the believers starkly contrasted the values of their neighbors.

They lived in an intolerant pagan empire. We live in a tolerant pagan empire.

The god of the Roman Empire was the emperor. And if you didn’t burn incense to the emperor, you were arrested. One of the gods of our empire is nationalism. And I wonder why we take our hats off for the National Anthem at a football game but we cringe when somebody wants to say a prayer before dinner at Chili’s. Our other god in the U.S. is consumerism. And I wonder why so many of us spend 10 or 20 times more on gadgets and technology and entertainment than we give to the church. First century Christians were persecuted because they stopped attending the civic feasts. But if our kids have a ball game or we have another type of civic event to attend, we’ll skip our own church assembly to be there and not even blink. Actors who became Christians quit the theater because the plays all presupposed the existance and activity of pagan gods. And I wonder about the movies we watch and the music we listen to that glamourize our nation’s gods of sex and violence and greed.

I’m not trying to beat us up. I just want us to think.

Michael W. Holmes says, “Christians in the United States are in greater danger of being seduced by non-Christian cultural values than of being persecuted by them.” It’s a very subtle thing. And we need to be aware of the devil’s schemes.

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We’re heading out to Liberty City in East Texas this afternoon to spend the evening and most of the day tomorrow at my parents’ house with Geoff and Rhonda and their three kids from Edmond and Keith and Amanda and their three kids from Searcy. Brent and Sharon and their two kids are busy with school stuff and a 25th wedding anniversary party, so we won’t see them much. But I do love having the whole family together like this. I’m very much looking forward to it. It seems that everytime we’re together — and it’s not nearly as often as it should be — we laugh and laugh and laugh until it hurts.

Growing up, we all lived in the same part of East Dallas. We went to church together and had meals together all the time with our grandmother and all the uncles and aunts and cousins. Most of our stories and laughter today stem from those days of all being together as a family when we were kids. And today we’re so spread out, separated in three different states, 5-7 hours away from everybody. Our children can’t wait for weekends like this to be with their cousins because they only happen two or three times a year. I regret it. And I don’t know what to do about it. It seems all our families are like this now.

If your family is still all together in the same area, count your blessings. Don’t take that for granted. It’s becoming increasingly rare.

I’m blessed to be in such a loving and caring family, united by our common love for each other and our common faith in God through Jesus. And I can’t wait to see everybody tonight.

Peace,

Allan

COWABUNGA!

July 27, 2007 / Allan / 3 Comments

<<<This Friday post contains information regarding this coming Sunday’s sermon; updates on the Medina Children’s Home fundraiser, Legacy worship center construction, and the Four Horsemen; two of the greatest running backs in the history of football; and an homage to The Simpsons>>>

“The Simpsons is one of the most subtle pieces of propaganda around in the cause of sense, humility, and virtue.” ~ Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican church

“The Simpsons is a situation comedy about modern life that includes a significant spiritual dimension; because of that, it more accurately reflects the faith lives of Americans than any other show in the medium.” ~Mark I. Pinsky, Christianity Today

“It is not the be-all and end-all of theology on TV, but the most consistent and intelligent treatment of religion on TV is on The Simpsons.” ~David Landry, New Testament professor, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN

“There is more spiritual wisdom in one episode of The Simpsons than there is in an entire season of Touched By An Angel.” ~ The Door

“70-percent of The Simpsons episodes contain at least one religious reference. Ten percent of the show’s plots are constructed entirely around religious themes.” ~ John Heeren, California State University

“As satires go, The Simpsons is not overly harsh; indeed, most Christians would find much truth in it. If this is a show with attractive Christian characters, where good always triumphs and evil always fails, where the family virtues are always affirmed in the end, why are Christians put off by it? If you’re a mature Christian and you get all the jokes, you should watch it.” ~ Gerry Bowler, professor of philosophy, Canadian Nazarene College, Calgary

“The Simpsons proves it is possible to produce a profitable, respected program that credits religion as a part of the American lived experience. In an industry where spirituality is either absent or merely glossed over for a cheap, dispensable laugh, this cartoon proves religion can be featured as a theme without isolating the audience.” ~ Jim Trammell, professor of journalism, University of Georgia

“It doesn’t compare just with other television programs, but with the very best of American humor. Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and The Simpsons can happily occupy the same stratosphere of respect in the annals of American humor.” ~ Robert Thompson, founding director of Center for Study of Popular Television, Syracuse University

“The Simpsons is smarter, sharper, and more allusive than any other show on television.” ~ Kurt Anderson, New Yorker Magazine

“One shouldn’t think The Simpsons is a sociological tome on the best in American religious life. But, on the other hand, it does provide a pretty good picture of our religious thinking and behavior without the sometimes heavy jargon of social scientists.” ~ Tony Campolo, professor of sociology, Eastern College, St. David’s, PA

“I see in The Simpsons goodness galore — intelligence, hilarious writing, insight, telling social criticism and commentary, and plenty of helpful hints for spiritually challenged people like me.” ~ Robert L. Short, author of The Gospel According to Peanuts

“Bristling with humor and laced with keen observations, The Simpsons explores, seemingly with every episode, our fabric of faith and spirituality.” ~ William Romanowski, author of Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture

“No home should be Simpsons-less.” ~ Dr. Keith Stanglin, professor of Bible, Harding University

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When the church leaders in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to investigate the Greeks there who were “turning to the Lord,” Acts 11:23 tells us that, when Barnabas arrived, he “saw the evidence of the grace of God.” What in the world did he see? What was the visible proof that God was working in and among those Gentiles in Antioch?

That’s what we’re going to consider together at Legacy Sunday morning. The Scriptures are clear, I think, about what Barnabas saw. And those lessons and examples are valuable to us in the church today. But there’s another rabbit trail tangeant in there I want to explore in this space today.

Earlier in that same chapter of Acts, the church leaders in Jerusalem got in Peter’s face and criticized him for eating with Gentiles. Now these leaders hear that Greeks are claiming Jesus as Lord and worshiping God in the third largest city in the Roman Empire. And they send Barnabas to check it out. What was the attitude of the church leaders? Were they excited about the new converts in Antioch or where they suspicious? Were they glad about the news that Greeks were repenting and becoming disciples or were they skeptical? What were they looking for? What did they expect Barnabas to find? It’s all speculation, of course. But based on the background, it’s obvious their feelings were at least mixed.

When Barnabas arrived in Antioch I’m certain he found them worshiping differently than what he was used to in Jerusalem. I’m sure they acted differently, dressed differently, maybe kneeling for prayers instead of standing, probably singing songs Barnabas had never heard. He must have seen many weaknesses and excesses of religious enthusiasm that would have shocked most of the church leaders in Jerusalem.

But Barnabas just looks and listens. He sees and hears. And he experiences the grace of God among these Greeks. And that has everything to do with Barnabas’ spiritual mindset and godly vision. It’s his attitude that allows him to be glad and encouraged by the new Church in Antioch.

Two Christians can look at the exact same thing and come up with two very different conclusions based solely on their own bias and prejudice. The very news that fills a generous spirit with joy fills a sectarian with jealousy. Gentiles are receiving the Word of God! Fantastic! How could anyone think otherwise? But to the sectarian, any change is appalling if it threatens to break down the fences of the sect and force him to widen the extent of his fellowship.

This Acts 11 incident was a watershed moment, a crossroads in history, especially for us Gentile Christians. The report and advice from Barnabas was going to be taken very seriously by the church in Jerusalem. Praise God that Barnabas was a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.”

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There are 34 more days left until football season begins. And today’s #34 in the countdown is Walter Payton. Out of little bitty Jackson State, “Sweetness” finished 4th in the Heisman voting in 1974 after a college career that saw him gain over 3,500 yards and score 66 touchdowns. He spent 13 seasons in Chicago after the Bears made him their number one pick and retired following the 1987 season as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. Payton was named the NFL’s Player of the Year twice, he went to nine Pro Bowls, and ran for over a hundred yards 77 times. He rushed for 275 yards in a single game against the Vikings in 1977. He was a more exciting runner and had more moves than Barry Sanders. And he was as tough as a Larry Csonka. Even with his “Roos” headband and shoes, Payton was certainly the essence of class and cool in the ’70s and ’80s. Herschel Walker gets an honorable mention for what he did at Georgia. But Payton is hands-down without debate the best to ever wear #34.

Tomorrow’s #33 is another great running back, one I’d put in the top ten all-time in both college and the pros. Tony Dorsett won the Heisman Trophy at Pittsburgh while helping the Panthers win the National Championship in 1976. He racked up 202 yards rushing, a Sugar Bowl record, against Georgia in the title game. And when he left school, he was college football’s all-time leading rusher. Dorsett was a four-time All-America and the first ever player to rush for a thousand yards in all four seasons.

The Dallas Cowboys stole Dorsett from the expansion Seattle Seahawks in exchange for three early picks in 1977. And in his 11 years in Dallas, the Cowboys rode him to five NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls. He was the NFL Rookie of the Year in ’77 and he’s still the NFL’s fifth all-time leading rusher with 12,739 yards. And his 99-yard run against the Vikings on a Monday night in 1983 is a record that can only be tied.

Someday when I have more time and space I’ll rehash my chasing Dorsett down in a Sears parking lot for his autograph. I was ten. He refused. I cried. He signed.

And when I had him as a guest on my talk show in the end zone at St. Edward’s University in 1994 following the news conference announcing his induction into the Cowboys Ring of Honor I retold the story. He claimed, nearly 20 years and a Hall of Fame career later, to remember it.

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I just found out this week that the big dinner at the Fairmont in Dallas last month with Avery Johnson raised $368,000 for Medina Children’s Home! Thank you so much to everyone who attended, everyone who bought something at the auction, and everyone who’s given of their time and money to support that wonderful work. Jeff Powers, a dear friend in Mesquite, was the evening’s official photographer and his pics are posted on this site. The pictures of me praying are on pages 2 & 3. Yes, my eyes are closed.

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There are tons of stakes now out on the west lawn at the Legacy Church campus. They must be getting close. Hurry.

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The Four Horsemen ride again this afternoon. Every fourth Friday. My time with Jason, Kevin, and Dan always leaves me uplifted, recharged, and amazed at how our God is so active in our lives. They encourage me so much. And I’m thankful to our Lord for putting them in my path.

Have a great weekend,

Allan

The Dual Message of the Double Drought

July 20, 2007 / Allan / 0 Comments

When Ahab married Jezebel he forged a political alliance with Sidon and the other wealthy Phoenician city-states that made all of Israel dependent on the fertility god Ba’al. I don’t know how good looking she was or if she could cook. But Ahab married her in part to guarantee or secure the wealth and peace of the Northern Kingdom.

Materialism. Nationalism. Consumerism.

What’s best for their portfolios and what’s best for their country and their country’s economic systems and peace is rationalized and justified in unimaginable ways. The desire for wealth and peace displaces their allegiance to God. Faithlessness to the covenant in pursuit of politically expedient ends leads Israel (us) into a deceptive downward spiral to eventual extinction.

And Yahweh, the Lord, the one who controls the rain, not Ba’al the god of the storm, shuts off the sky. And he takes his prophet out of the kingdom. He removes the blessings of rain that were forever tied to the covenant and he removes his Word.

It’s a double drought.

The message is that our God is committed to battling the forces of sin and evil. He works to destroy sin — even, or especially, among his own called out people.

But notice how he takes care of Elijah. He hides him. He provides food and water for him. He sustains Elijah in the middle of the desert in the middle of a drought. This other message is that our God is faithful to his children. He takes great care of those who are committed to him and his purposes.

This is essentially what I’m preaching Sunday, to tie in with our “Elijah: On Fire For The Lord” theme for VBS. Sunday should be a terrific day. Gordon and Bette Lowrey’s granddaughter is being baptized. We’re bringing the Royal Family Kid’s Camp workers up so we can pray over them and ask God’s blessings for them as they begin their week with those abused and neglected children. I think all of Elijah’s ravens are going to be making appearances in the kids’ Bible classes. And then we’re kicking off VBS Sunday at 5:30 with the Elijah musical and a big church-wide fellowship dinner. Love VBS.

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J. B. West, son of our own wonderful John & Suzanne, is playing Obadiah during the four nights of the musical. But he suffered a pretty bad concussion Thursday last week while wrestling with someone at camp. He was in the hospital this past Wednesday, two days ago, being treated for this post-concussion syndrome. And it looked like for all the world that I would have to step in to play Obadiah. Obadiah’s a cool character. He’s in Ahab’s court but he’s secretly hiding God’s prophets out in caves in the desert to protect them from Jezebel. And he’s in a group that gets to sing a parody of Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time.” (It hasn’t rained here for the longest time!”) The lyrics are great. I love that song. And I’ve been over the script twice.

But J. B.’s better now.

And he’s determined to do it. The show must go on.

Part of me is much relieved. I hate doing anything like that in a public way without a lot of notice and prep time. But part of me wishes J. B. were still in bed, in severe pain, and throwing up. (Just kidding, J. B. You know I love you.) I am a little bit of a ham. And I would have really enjoyed being in the play. I’ve already told Kipi I want a big role in next year’s musical.

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41 more days until football season begins. And #41 is, indeed, Dallas Cowboys safety Charlie Waters. The Cowboys traded Jerry Rhome to the Oilers in 1970 for the #3 pick in the draft that year which they used to select Waters out of Clemson. And he played safety for the Cowboys from 1970-81, missing only the 1979 season, Staubach’s last year, with a knee injury. It was during Staubach’s last regular season game, with Waters doing the radio analysis with Brad Sham, when the Cowboys made up TWO 17-point deficits to beat the Redskins 35-34 on a last second pass to Tony Hill, that Charlie kept saying over and over “Ya gotta believe!”

It was Waters’ finest radio hour. His color this past season with Sham hasn’t been nearly as good as his pre- and post-game chatter with Wally over the years.

During his eleven year career Waters and the Cowboys played in nine NFC Championship Games, five Super Bowls, and won two rings. His 41 career interceptions rank #3 all time for Dallas, his 584 return yards are second most in Cowboys history, and his nine playoff picks are tops in the Cowboys’ books.

When I first started playing organized football at the beginning of my 7th grade year I requested the #41 for my Dallas Christian Junior High Colts jersey. Charlie Waters was my favorite Cowboy and I was playing safety. It only made sense. They didn’t have a 41. I had to take #42. Randy Hughes. Great player. Had a monster Super Bowl XII. But I wanted Waters’ 41.

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Tomorrow’s #40 is Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers. As an All-America back out of Kansas, Sayers scored a rookie record 22 touchdowns for the Bears in 1965. He won the NFL rushing titles in ’66 and ’69. And he was named the MVP of three of the five Pro Bowls he made during his short seven year career. Sayers was a great breakaway runner with terrific lateral moves and a powerful burst. Once he made it past the defensive line he was usually gone. He racked up 9,435 total yards as a runner / receiver. But most people forget he was also a highly talented return man. He’s still the NFL’s all-time leading kickoff returner.

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Somebody said yesterday we should wait until we take the Lord’s Supper Sunday and have fingerprint crews from the police department dusting each tray as it comes down the aisle.

I’ve thought several times over the past 24 hours about Bill Cosby’s routine on his metal shop teacher in high school. He always used psychology to get the kids to confess. When somebody threw a bullet in the furnace and it exploded, the teacher asked the class who did it and nobody would say anything. So the teacher went to work to get the guilty dog to bark. “Boy it takes a pretty rotten guy to put a bullet in the furnace. Yeah, a guy’s gotta be pretty sorry to do something like that. A guy’s mother must be pretty low down and rotten to do something like that.”

And then a kid in the back would stand up and say, “I didn’t do it! And stop talking about my mother!”

I don’t think that’ll work here in our burglary case. And, contrary to what a few people were thinking yesterday with all the police activity around here, I don’t think network TV is ready to start filming “CSI: Legacy.”

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Carrie-Anne and Carley and I are leaving now to go pick up Whitney and Valerie at Three Mountain Retreat where they’ve been at church camp all week. We’ve missed them. Carley’s really missed them. I’m really looking forward to hearing all their stories and seeing how each of them has grown over the past week, socially and spiritually. I’m excited to hear about new friends and new experiences. I know Valerie was pumped about getting to ride horses. I can’t wait to listen to them talk. It’ll be good to have the whole family back together again. We’ll probably get back this evening just in time to take in Vic and Shanna and Kevin and the rest of Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Cotton Belt. Good barbecue, music, friends, and fun.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Allan

Who's in Charge?

July 12, 2007 / Allan / 1 Comment

What a culturally stupid question that must have been to ask in the first century Roman Empire. Can you imagine? Who’s in charge? What do you mean who’s in charge?

Put yourself in Ephesus or Pergamum or Smyrna or any of the seven churches to whom John addressed the Revelation. As disciples of Christ, you meet in each other’s homes, huddled up in the back somewhere, whispering your songs, if you sing any at all, and speaking in hushed tones the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Outide the front door you can clearly hear the footsteps of the Roman soldiers marching down the paved street. Maybe even the sound of chariots as they roll by, pulled by the Emperor’s horses. And you hold your breath until they pass.

On the island of Patmos John watches every single day as the Empire’s trade ships pass by right in front of him, loaded with what the rulers of the world buy and sell—“cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.”

Who’s in charge? Caesar or Christ? Is it the Emperor or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

What a stupid question. The Roman Empire’s in charge! The Emperor holds the ultimate power. The Empire is all powerful and almighty. It’s everywhere. It controls every facet of everyday life. It cannot be escaped. The Empire owns and runs everything!

That’s the human perspective. And it’s easy to understand why and how that thought would prevail under those conditions at that time. And it’s just as easy, I think, to have that same view today living in America. We’re surrounded by American culture. Who’s in charge? Technology and democracy and entertainment and consumerism and nationalism and marketing and big business; divorce and abuse and murder and rape and burglary and road rage and terrorism and cancer and death; poverty and homosexuality and violence and racism and lying and cheating and selfishness. Who’s in charge? Our culture, which is inescapable? Taking us over? Or our Christ, who sometimes seems oblivious or powerless against the evil in our world, or sometimes even absent?

A culturally stupid question.

The wonderful book of Revelation, the Apocolypse of our Lord Jesus Christ, gives first century Christians living under the tyranny of the Roman Empire and 21st century Christians living under the oppression of American culture the divine perspective on reality. Our human and worldly perspective is blown away by God’s perspective. Revelation gives us an encouraging, faith-building glimpse of the way God sees things, the way they really are. That the Lamb, Jesus the Christ, the Resurrected One rules!

Gary Pence is doing a marvelous job teaching the Revelation in our Wednesday night Bible class. Somehow he manages to teach the entire book every week, and still progress chapter by chapter. And I’m struck every week by the unmistakable message that Jesus is Lord. None of the powers or authorities of this world matter in the big picture. The truth is that the Christ destroys all of it.

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God,
     and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
     who accuses them before our God day and night,
     has been hurled down.
They overcame him
     by the blood of the Lamb
     and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
     as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice you heavens
     and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
     because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
     because he knows that his time is short.”    Revelation 12:10-12

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The sleepy little towns of Johnson City / Stonewall, just 14 miles south of Marble Falls, will be busy for the rest of the week and weekend honoring a Texas legend. Lady Bird Johnson was a Texas icon, the first lady who changed the image of the first lady. She loved her native Texas and gave her life to preserving its natural beauty. Full of grace and kindness, she exemplified everything we want our politicians’ wives to be. It’s difficult, especially if you’ve lived anywhere in Central Texas for any period of time, to look at a beautiful field of Bluebonnets and not think of Lady Bird. There’s a great Dallas Morning News story on her life and legacy right here.

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There are only 49 more days until football season. And #49 in the countdown is another Texas icon. The great Tom Landry. Landry wore #33 as the Texas Longhorns team captain in 1947 -48. But he was #49 with the New York Giants as a defensive back / punter during his short NFL playing career from 1949-55. When he retired, Landry became the Giants’ defensive coordinator, serving alongside offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi. No wonder nobody can remember that Jim Lee Howell was the head coach during those days. Can you imagine playing for both Landry and Lombardi on the same team? And neither one was the head coach?

It was in New York where Landry invented the Flex Defense, which he took to Dallas when he became the head coach of the expansion Cowboys in 1960. 29 years later “the man in the funny hat,” as Roger Staubach called him, had led Dallas to five Super Bowls, two World Championships, two more NFL championship games, ten NFC championship games, 20-consecutive winning seasons (still an NFL record), and 18 playoff appearances. He’s the third winningest coach in NFL history. And every single coach that’s followed him at Valley Ranch, the six different men Jerry Wayne’s shuffled in and out of there in just 19 years, has paled in comparison to Landry’s success and character.

Landry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 1990. Carrie-Anne and I had been married for less than a year when we loaded up the ice chest with ham sandwiches and drove the pickup to Canton, Ohio to see the ceremony. We were dirt poor and only ate out one time during that five day trip. It was months before either one of us could eat another ham sandwich. Since we had eloped in Las Vegas and I had to be at work in Pampa the next day, I always tell C-A, jokingly, that the trip to the Hall of Fame eight months later was our honeymoon.

Landry flew 30 missions with the Air Force during World War II. The high school football field in Mission, Texas is named after him. And if Jerry Wayne doesn’t name the new stadium in Arlington after him (he won’t), he’s a fool.

Tom Landry, for a thousand reasons, is the best to ever wear #49.

Peace,

Allan

Curious On The 4th

July 4, 2007 / Allan / 0 Comments

Just wondering.

What would happen if, one Sunday morning, I walked down the center aisle at the beginning of a worship service at Legacy carrying a large wooden cross? Would the congregation automatically stand in reverence or in a show of respect? What would happen if I asked the church to place their hands over their hearts and pledge allegiance to the cross and everything it stands for—not just our salvation, but the lifestyle it represents, one of service and sacrifice and death to ourselves and our own desires and impulses? What if I asked all of us to, together, recite a pledge of loyalty to Christ and his church? Would you begin to question my methods?

What if I took that cross, that symbol that represents everything we say we stand for and live for, everything we claim that defines us as a people, and everything we say we would die for, and displayed it all over the worship center, up front, around the walls, and in the foyer, and asked people to show it the respect it deserves? Would you begin to question my motives?

Why do some people complain that the song leader has us stand sometimes for two or three songs in a row in praise to our Heavenly Father and yet those same people will stand at attention for ten minutes or more voluntarily—without even being asked— to honor a flag or a group of veterans or to sing patriotic songs?

Why doesn’t anybody ever spontaneously stand up out of respect for the reading of our God’s Holy Scriptures during a Christian assembly? Why doesn’t the re-telling of the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry and teachings and sacrifice and service and death and burial and resurrection and eternal reign to redeem us and reconcile us to God reduce people to tears like the Star Spangled Banner does?

Why are we more comfortable and accomodating when people around us cry or clap or shout or jump up and down in response to a patriotic image or song than we are when our brothers and sisters in Christ respond similarly to our God’s matchless grace and unfathomable forgiveness in their lives?

What really touches your heart? Where, really, is your loyalty? To what or to whom do you pledge allegiance?

If America and all of its symbols and systems and everything they stand for were actually opposed to Christ and Christianity and deep down worked subtlely but fiercely to undermine Christ and his church and were responsible for driving more Christians away from Christ instead of to him………

Just wondering.

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There are 57 days left until football season and my all-time #57 is NOT a Pittsburgh Steeler! It’s the man Bear Bryant called “the greatest center I ever coached,” longtime Dolphins offensive lineman Dwight Stephenson. Stephenson was Miami’s #2 pick out of Alabama in 1980 and was the Dolphins team captain on two Super Bowl teams with Dan Marino. He played in three AFC title games and five Pro Bowls. But here’s the most amazing stat, especially considering that Marino wasn’t the fastest quarterback in history: every year that Stephenson played, the Dolphins offensive line allowed the fewest sacks in the league. His career was cut short by a blown out knee in ’87. And he ended up coaching the Miami offensive line under Don Shula. Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson receives honorable mention. But Stephenson’s the best to ever wear #57.

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“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
     for I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by myself,
The Word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness
     and will not turn back.
That to me every knee will bow, every tongue swear allegiance.”
                                                                                        ~Isaiah 45:22-23

Peace,

Allan

More on Christ & Culture

July 3, 2007 / Allan / 1 Comment

The professors at Austin Grad like to tell the story of one of the old Bible teachers / deans at Austin Presbyterian Seminary. As the story goes—this was several years ago, maybe during the late ’60s-early ’70s—the daily chapel service one morning featured interpretive dance as worship. The entire service was several students and even a teacher or two dancing on the stage to sacred music in a way that was questionable at best, obscene at worst. Immediately following the service, nearly a hundred students gathered in this professor’s classroom for Old Testament study. He just stood at his podium, speechless. And then he bowed his head and uttered this simple prayer: “Lord, forgive us. We don’t know what we’re doing.”

I’ve prayed that during a worship service before. There have been several times in my life when, in the middle of a worship service, I’ve wanted to stand up and scream. “This is shallow! This is banal! This is wrong!”

“This has nothing to do with our Lord or his church! Why are we doing this or saying that or watching this or hearing that? This has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification or love or grace! This is the kind of thing we see or do at Chuck E. Cheese or Wal-Mart!”

“Everybody, quickly, as fast as you can, turn to #770! Let’s sing!”

“Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways.

Reclothe us in our rightful minds, in purer lives thy service find.

In deeper reverence, praise.”

You know what I mean?

My great friend Jim Gardner has been reading John MacArthur’s latest, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception. Jim had this to say on his blog a couple of days ago about that book and its message to our Lord’s church:

Despite the demands of camp, I’ve been able to get through a couple of books I’ve been chomping at the bit to read.

One is The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur. In the book, MacArthur takes to task the postmodern inclination sweeping Christianity that undermines the existence of absolute truth.

On balance, MacArthur’s book is a must-read, especially for anyone who has found the Emerging Church movement to be the end-all, be-all of the contemporary church.

“A secular writer doing an article on the Emerging Church movement and postmodern Christianity summed up the character of the movement this way: ‘What makes a postmodern ministry so easy to embrace is that it doesn’t demonize youth culture — Marilyn Manson, South Park, or gangsta rap, for example — like traditional fundamentalists. Postmodern congregants aren’t challenged to reject the outside world.’

I’ve noticed the same thing. Whole churches have deliberately immersed themselves in ‘the culture’ — by which they actually mean ‘whatever the world loves at the moment.’ Thus we now have a new breed of trendy churches whose preachers can rattle off references to every popular icon, every trifling meme, every tasteless fashion, and every vapid trend that captures the fickle fancy of the postmodern, secular mind. Worldly preachers seem to go out of their way to put their carnal expertise on display — even in their sermons. In the name of ‘connecting with the culture’ they boast of having seen all the latest programs on MTV; memorized every episode of South Park; learned the lyrics to countless tracks of gangsta rap and heavy metal music; or watched who-knows-how-many R-rated movies. They seem to know every fad from top to bottom, back to front, inside out. They’ve adopted the style and the language of the world — including lavish use of language that used to be deemed inappropriate in polite society, much less in the pulpit. They want to fit right in with the world and they seem to be making themselves quite comfortable there” (140).

Has there been a lot of compromise in the name of “all things to all people”? Certainly and perhaps the gravest consequence is the emergence of the culture’s conversion of the church when it should be reversed. What MacArthur aims to inject into the discussion is a resolve to stand for truth, as revealed in the Word of God, even in the face of a culture that rejects the existence of such truth.

Frankly, I appreciated this book as much as any I’ve read in some time. Based on the little letter of Jude, MacArthur holds nothing back in showing how the fight for truth is as old as the first century. He articulates a return to the reality that absolute truth is revealed in the Word of God and underscores the danger of minimizing or rejecting the truth God has revealed.

“The idea that the Christian message should be kept pliable and ambiguous seems especially attractive to young people who are in tune with the culture and in love with the spirit of the age and can’t stand to have authoritative biblical truth applied with precision as a corrective to worldly lifestyles, unholy minds, and ungodly behavior.

But that is not authentic Christianity. Not knowing what you believe (especially on a matter as essential to Christianity as the gospel) is by definition a kind of unbelief. Refusing to acknowledge and defend the revealed truth of God is a particularly stubborn and pernicious kind of unbelief. Advocating ambiguity, exalting uncertainty, or otherwise deliberately clouding the truth is a sinful way of nurturing unbelief” (xi).

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58 more days until football season. And #58 in the countdown is “Count Dracula in Cleats,” another sorry Steeler who tortured the Cowboys during the ’70s. Middle linebacker Jack Lambert. I know, two Steelers on consecutive days—it stinks. But you can’t argue with Lambert. 6’4″, 220 pounds, strong, fast, and very intimidating. He was a vicious tackler. He punished opponents. And he was great against the pass. During his eleven year career in Pittsburgh he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice, he made nine Pro Bowls, went to six AFC Championship Games, and won Four Super Bowls. The Jack Lambert image I can never get out of my mind is from Super Bowl X. The Cowboys were leading 10-7 almost halfway through the third quarter when Steelers kicker Roy Gerela missed a game-tying field goal from 33 yards out. Cowboys safety Cliff Harris, who had been talking smack all week about Lynn Swann, gleefully patted Gerela on the helmet after the miss. And Lambert went nuts. He body slammed Harris to the ground in a rage and stood over him, sneering with that toothless grin. That’s when the game turned. The Steelers emotional leader had stood up to the Cowboys fiery “Captain Crash” and it was over. Swann made the catches that got him into the Hall of Fame, Lambert made the highlight reel tackles on Robert Newhouse and Roger Staubach that make me queasy, and Pittsburgh scored the next 14 straight points to put the game away.

Tomorrow’s #57 is NOT a Steeler.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Christ & Culture (Page 44 of 45)

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