The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

Back in the Fall I attended the National Youth Worker’s Convention hosted by Youth Specialties in San Diego.  Great event as always with multitudes of worship, resources, and speakers.  Every year before I leave I buy 5 or 6 cds from sessions that I did not have the chance to attend for one reason or another.  Guided by the recommendation of a friend, I grabbed a presentation by Shane Hipps on the power of electronic culture.  I was leery at first (because haven’t we heard the anti-media message from Christians before), but eventually submitted to peer pressure and proceeded towards the checkout.

I listened to it on the short 2 and half hour drive home from San Diego and then again the following week in the office.  I was ecstatic to find a different message relating to media that made incredible sense. 

After another 3 or 4 months, I broke down and bought the book.  17 days later, the book was finished.   Now 2 months upon completion, I am finally writing a review.  Proceed if you dare.

Shane Hipps is a pastor in Phoenix.  He looks like a pastor, entitles books like a pastor, and probably even smells like a pastor (I have no evidence or source for the last statement).  The only problem here is that he doesn’t write or speak like a pastor.  He sounds like an expert on media theory and doesn’t build his premises with theology as the sole foundation.  This all makes sense when you learn that before communicating the gospel his main goal in life was communicating the awesomeness of Porsche’s cars as strategic planner for an advertising firm.

In his attempt to explain the powers that media possesses, he has a few simple statements that seem to guide us through this maze of information.  Concepts like “the message is the medium” and “instead of asking ‘what does this do?’ we would be better served to ask ‘what does this mean?’” are revisited often.  He also frequently references Marshall McLuhan and relies heavily upon his set of questions dubbed the Laws of Media:

• What does the medium extend?
• What does the medium make obsolete?
• What does the medium reverse into?
• What does the medium retrieve?

He does a terrific job explaining the complexities of media and communication theories.  One section I found particularly interesting was his comparing and contrasting of the communication forms of the printed word and images and their connection to shift from post-modernity into this realm in which we are going.  I really appreciated the time he took to explain the impact of different media types on culture and the church.  For me, it really helps me gain a better understanding of the big picture.  (I can’t stand it when authors assert a point and give no reason assuming you know it…if I knew it, I would NOT be reading what you wrote!)

Another area that piqued my interest is where he writes about not being mastered by mediums of media.  In our media saturated lives sometimes we lose perspective of what we are actually doing and become enslaved to various mediums in our behaviors without giving much thought as to what simple task is being accomplished by the said medium.  Hipps suggests that our understanding of the impacts of the media we use is vital to our relationship with Christ as our focus remains fixed on the cross and not on specific mediums (ie. projection screen, sound systems, videos, bulletins, etc.)

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding the impacts of media both subconsciously and the greater cultural climate.  It’s well-written and relatively easy to follow considering the content.  For me this book really helped me to identify the implications of different media forms that are present in my life.  Good read.  Definitely worth 17 days of your reading time.

E-Dibs

If stubbornness was a spiritual gift, you could consider me Moses.  Ask anyone that has spent more than a few days around me and this trait becomes glaringly obvious.  As habit would have it, my stubbornness bordering on pride was manifested once again a few months ago when one of my pastors introduced E-Dibs video Bible study to the congregation.  I subscribed and deleted the emails for the first 4 months (that’s embarrassing to write).

Come this morning, I opened the email for the first time and clicked on the link for the video.  Each day there is a video devotion that lasts for 8-10 minutes.  It is led by Pastor Paul, an LCMS ordained pastor in southwest Missouri.  I really enjoyed the my first use of the service and will hopefully start to form a new habit over the next 28 days.  As far as Christian resources go, this one is a trifecta: excellent doctrine, gets people in the word, and aesthetically appealing.  Could this be the beginning of a revolution in LCMS resources?  I’m for it!

TMZ Churchworkers

Working in the church adds new oddities to your life.

Today the church is blessed with an abundance of written and electonic communication (some of which is quite useful).  There are books widely available to the public on every conceivable topic.  Websites and blogs dedicated to the betterment of the Body of Christ.  And of course, conferences for everything!  Personally, I can’t keep up with everything and don’t have the time or desire to dedicate.

Have you ever been at a ministry conference and been talking to a colleague that can’t answer simple questions about their own ministry beyond their running numbers, but can tell you everything about Saddleback, Willow Creek, Northpointe, Lakewood, Mars Hill, (insert mega-church of choice here), etc?  How often does your discussion center around what other churches are doing and becoming without taking a serious and honest look at your our church?  Both of these situations have happened to me and both lead me to cringe.

The connectivity and networking available to us today has some great benefits and allows us endless amounts of information and data at our disposal.  That is geat!  But it also gives us access to information that breeds envy, slander, jealousy, and contempt.  Who of us hasn’t been jealous that someone else’s group is growing while our group holds in stagnation?  Who hasn’t frequented the website of another youth ministry just to see what they are doing?  Have you ever been pissed off at God because the place you’re at and the people that surround you aren’t focused on Christ as you desire?  Or designated some churches as the best places to be while ignoring the call God has given you to serve at the place you are right now?  What about envying a younger worker because they get to work with staff that you like better than the one you work with everyday?  Ever been more interested in another church’s ministries than your own?

I know I could answer “yes” to every one of those question at some point in my ministry career.  It pathetically sinful and embarassing.  I have to continually remind myself that God has called me here to preach his “good news” to these people at this place at this time.

I’m reminded of this when I look at the epistles that Paul wrote to the different churches.  Each of the letters while proclaiming the basic truths of scripture and Christ, also speaks to the issues of each congregation.  It reminds me of how there is a struggle with sin everywhere.  It reminds me that we are all united in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It also brings my focus back to Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s work in the people surrounding me right now and reminds me that my focus needs to be in line with my location.

It’s so easy to be more interested in the ministries of other churchworkers.  I think this is true because it allows me the ability to avoid shining the light on myself and exposing the brokenness that is in my midst and my own ministry.  It encourages me to be lazy and ignore the call to serve.

In Colossians, Paul instructs the people to set their eyes on higher things.  To be united in the power of the gospel and focused on the unique call we have received to serve.  May we continue to have more fervor for our calling to ministry rather than the ministry of others as sin continues to manifest itself in all our advances in communications and technologies.

 

Senior Anointing

This year, we have 6 seniors graduating that I know personally (along with another half-dozen on the list that I’ve never met).  Every May, we have a time of prayer know as Senior Anointing.  This is one of my favorite events of the year because it brings parents, siblings, and students together in prayer.  It’s indescribable to hear the prayers of a parents intermittent with tears bestowed upon a child who is no longer a child.

My initial count of 4 seniors in attendance quickly dwindled in half hours before as 2 students couldn’t “work it in” to their schedule.  My anxiety grew as failure seemed imminent.  The only place 2 for 6 seems to be worthy is a baseball diamond.  But finally the time came.  The 2 seniors showed up promptly and were ready for this event they had heard me rave about for weeks.

After a few minutes of conversation and many quick glances toward the doors in hope of more people, they opened.  One of the adult Bible studies that met on Sunday evening decided to bring their group.  After a few more moments, the narthex was filled with 20 adults and 2 graduating seniors.  At 7 minutes past 7:00, it was time to get started.

Everyone filed through the doors and sat in the front rows of our darkened sancutary lit only be the rays of the remnant sun pertruding the stained glass (yes, 2 very un-Lutheran things at once).  After a few minutes of welcoming everyone and explaining exactly what we were doing, we began with some slides with various passages paired to ambient music (see Explosions In The Sky).

Next came the prayer.  This is the part of this event that I have no control over (something I prefer to avoid).  When it comes to prayer, all the power comes from the Holy Spirit giving people the words to speak.  We started with our first senior and surrounded her placing our hands on her.  Twenty-five minutes later, “Amen” was proclaimed.  We rose and moved over to our next senior and placed our hands on him and began with “Father…”.  Another thirty minutes went by before we rose.  Then as a group, we circled up and began to pray for all of the seniors who were not present.  Twenty minutes passed before hands released and eyes opened.

This was an unforgettable evening for everyone.  The seniors were overwhelmed with the love, care, and support that this group of redeemed sinners had for them.  The group, which was comprised of parents, teachers, and many people who had no relationship to the graduating seniors other than they love Jesus, was also overcome with the power of the Holy Spirit to bind people together in the name of Jesus Christ.  Besides the prayers that lasted for over an hour, there was a community formed and revived between the people present.  Tears, memories, and emotions filled the words of all who spoke and it was good.  God was there (and we knew it). 

Can You Do Nothing for 3 Minutes?

“Originals” Prevail

This past week I spent some time in Las Vegas with my wife and her parents.  We had a tremendous time walking the strip, seeing award winning shows, and eating divine culinary delights.  As the weekend drew to a close, we had one final meal to partake in and I knew just the place.  When we visited Las Vegas a few years ago, we learned that at the Red Rock Resort and Casino there was a location of one of my favorite restaurants of all time, The Salt Lick.

My affinity for this Texas barbeque destination began in my childhood as my family traveled throughout central Texas and more often than not ended up at this smokehouse with picnic tables and a BYOB policy in Driftwood, Texas.  Every time I find myself in central Texas, I make sure that I allocate enough time for an excursion to this small, sleepy town where the entering and leaving lines stand within sight of each other.  The brisket and sausage are legendary in central Texas and the place is packed every weekend with people from all walks of life who come together in the name of good food and triple the population of Driftwood.

In the past years, they have extended their reign by opening a few additional locations in Austin (all of which I have made a point of checking out).  More recently they opened up the location in Las Vegas, which gave me great joy to know that they brisket and sausage that I held so dear was only 4 and half hours away.

So as we sat down to our lunch on Saturday afternoon with great anticipation of what I have come to know as some of the finest smoked meat on the planet, I realized we were set up for failure.  The restaurant was entirely too clean and lacked the smokey smell that infiltrates the other locations.  When our food arrived, the salivation quickened until I took my first bite and realized this was simply good, not great.

As I realized my memories didn’t coincide with my current experience, I couldn’t help but think how much better the original smokehouse in Driftwood was in comparison with a neon city that never sleeps.  This isn’t the first time this has happened to me.  Other entities that find themselves in this categorization are music I listened to as a young teen that isn’t nearly as good now (think U2, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains), my youth sports prowess (I remember every big play I’ve ever made, even if it was only the 2nd inning), and the 1994 and 1995 Rockets NBA Champions teams (they are the best).  As I get older, I think my music, youth sports experiences, and championship teams of my childhood are far greater than any of their modern contemporaries.  None of it is as good as the “original”.

Originality and our first experiences are paramount in any avenue of our life.  Our parents’ marriage largely deems our own marital outlook.  Michael Jordan showed us what it means to be the best athlete on the planet.  And when it comes to varieties of staple foods such as pizza and hot dogs, our preference is often rooted in our original childhood experiences. 

Even our Christian faith and spirituality are impacted by the phenomenon of origin.  My Lutheran church experiences have molded my worship style to be more contemplative and intellectual and less energetic and interactive.  What about the Bible passages we have memorized?  Why does everyone seem to know John 3:16 and perhaps the more pertinent question is how does that shape and construct our theology?  Because of Ephesians 2:8-9 I know I am saved by grace through faith given, not earned by the Holy Spirit.

Our origin in our faith is actually something that Paul seemed to comprehend as he penned Colossians 2:6-7 exhorting his readers to often and consistently go back to the where their faith started.  Remember the passages you first learned that taught you the basic teachings of Jesus Christ.  And even though he encouraged his readers to continue to grow in depth unceasingly, he was quick to remind them that such digging was only worthwhile if it started at the same location.

So what are those points of origin you keep coming back to?  For me I go to Psalm 143 on bad days.  I look at Job 38 to be reminded of my feeble humanity in light of God.  Romans 7 reminds me that God can use my sinful soul despite wicked desires.  Acts 17 encourages me to be diligent in my study of the Bible.  Luke 11 exposes the Pharisee within.  2 Corinthians 5 is there when I need to hear forgiveness and more focused on reconciling relationships and that there’s more important things in this life than being right.  Romans 12:1-2 makes me aware of what I’m putting in my system and challenges my choices of consumption.  And on the worst of days I get about 5 words into Matthew 26:38 and following before I remember Jesus blazed the trail I walk.

Many honors and glories will be lauded upon the newest, latest, and greatest.  They will provide hours of entertainment and intrigue, but they will never fill the spots in my life and soul formed by my “originals”.

Short Standard for Christian Authors

A few days ago a friend (who will remain nameless) confided they had been given a copy of a book by a Christian author in return for a favorable blog post.  Sounds like a deal, right?  Only problem is that my friend didn’t find the book all that fascinating, yet felt compelled to post a review without any biting criticisms.

I read more than many of my colleagues and probably most of America.  In a given year, I generally top out at around 25 books (almost one every two weeks).  With the publishing conglomerates, especially the Christian genre, putting out more and more titles every year it becomes more and more difficult to sift through the insipid crap that is most new writing in search of something genuinely educational, thought-provoking, encouraging, and/or pertinent.  With only 25 opportunities to strike gold each year, I need to do better than 50%.

With so many of the titles I pick up pertaining to the church, youth ministry, and the like I have become fairly familiar with many of the authors.  In fact, I have become so familiar that at times I find myself reading with such great anticipation borderlining on rooting for the author because of prior works or talks.  Put simply, I become a fan(atic) rather than peruser of information.  Metaphorically speaking, in Christian publishing we give everyone a trophy because that’s the nice, kind and supposedly considerate thing to do.  After all, as a generation that was given trophies and ribbons for participation, what more can we really expect?

Perhaps this might just be a generational thing.  If so, the older staunch generations have much on us younger folk in that they are actually willing to call something crap if the believe it to be.  There’s an older gentlemen I know who most would describe as quite grouchy and gruff (and I can’t really argue against such a description).  He thinks everything’s crap that wasn’t produced before the advent of plastics.  While he is often overkill, certainly no one could argue that his opinions are resemblent of a neutered cat like so many Christian media critics.

I can’t remember the last time that I read a review of a book or resource in Christian publication that gave a negative review of something written or produced by a Christian.  When was the last time you saw a Christian pastor get hammered in a Christian publication (minus the ultra-conservative bunch) over their crappy writing and advice for other Christians?  Even though there are some good critics out there, the majority are too often help captive by affiliations and partnerships with other organizations.

It is this happening that has caused me to limit my circle of influence when it comes to reading recommendations.  I have a few friends who are critical readers and not just trying to impress all the bookstore hipsters with their newly embraced lifelong love for the written word.  I wish the Christian magazines, websites, and periodicals had more people like my friends who don’t mind saying something “sucks” even if it is written by a Christian.

What bothers me the most about this is that it seems to be such a mainstay in Christian media where everything is great because it’s “Christian”.  For example, the movie End of the Spear.  Great story!  Terrible movie!  Yet received endless praise from Christianity Today and it’s contemporaries.

As Christians, we be more concerned with putting out good material that enriches people’s lives rather than patting fellow Christians on the back because it’s nice.  Beyond the lack of objectivity, it’s polarizing.  Faith has nothing to do with good and bad writing.

When to Quit

Like many people out there who read blogs, I utilize Google Reader to help organize and simplify my reading.  At any given time I have anywhere from 6 to 20 blogs of which I subscribe for daily scoops and insights.  With topics that range from theology to business to interesting maps and a list that is constantly changing I have developed an unofficial system for determining if a blog stays or goes.  If I can go more than 4 posts without reading past the first paragraph, it’s got to go.  Of course, I don’t recommend this strategy with my blog.

One blog that I consistently read and rarely skim belongs to one Seth Godin.  It is a business blog that is very practical and can be applied to many fields that might fall under a description other than business.  Which leads to this comment he made recently…

For a long time, we’ve created a myth in our culture that it’s worth any price to reach your goal, especially if your ego tells you that you’re the best solution. We’ve created legends of people and organizations that pursued transformative long shots to achieve great results.

I need to be really clear: pushing through the Dip and becoming the best in the world at what you do is in fact the key to success. But (and it’s a big but), if you’re required to become someone you’re not, or required to mutate your brand into one that’s ultimately a failure in order to do so, you’re way better off quitting instead.

As I read this, I couldn’t help but think how the our churches often ignore this concept.  In a place where our reasoning often includes the words “tradition” and “it’s how we’ve always done it”, perhaps there is no organization in America that needs to hear it’s time to quit.

With perseverance being one of the great teachings of Christianity, we often struggle with the idea of change and hold on tightly to the success stories of others who persevered, while neglecting some of the obvious indicators around us.  I’ve been in this uncomfortable place with youth ministry.  A few years ago, I was really excited about starting a youth worship service.  After a year of pushing it, it was all too obvious that the leaders were not in place on the student end and although a good program this was not the time.  As I planned the following year during the summer, I decided to kill the program.  I learned another humbling lesson that my own desire and perseverance will not drive a program on its own.

I think Seth’s second paragraph has even greater significance for the church.  The “professional church” world is so overflowing with paradigms and models.  Right now, there are literally hundreds of books titled “The _______ Church”.  Many of these books are good.  In fact, many of them are great books. (Even though most aren’t)  The problem with so many models is that we focus more on becoming the church in the book, down the street, or the one that doesn’t exist instead of Jesus Christ.

So many mainline Protestant church bodies are compromising their doctrine and identity in the Jesus Christ of the Bible.  If there is any truth to the statements Seth is writing here, we the church will be best served to confirm our identity in Jesus as He is the one who saved us and one we proclaim.  If our programming, attitudes, and visions are not built upon such a solid foundation, perhaps we should just quit.

Killing Grace…

Don’t be alarmed by the headline if you are Concordia grad…our dear friend Grace is well and in good health…at least the last time I talked to her.  Speaking of which…this should be investigated by anyone in the know.

Last weekend while our Jr. High group was a the Dare2Share Conference we had the opportunity to take in the experience with a few other groups and stay at Christ Church Lutheran Phoenix (it’s an offbeat name).  After a few memorable evenings of games, fellowship, and evangelism (sorry for the Christianese), we had the opportunity to attend the morning worship service.

This is one of the hidden joys of traveling with youth and staying at another church.  I always enjoy the opportunity to hear a message shared by a pastor that I don’t see on a daily basis.  It’s refreshing to hear someone that I’m not as familiar with share the gospel.  As we were sitting in our pew, I looked to both sides to see all but maybe one of my youth sleeping and had to smile as I settled in to focus on the message.  The pastor was sharing about leaving the past behind and living in the grace that God has apportioned to us today when he proclaimed a great truth that I too often forget

     “Don’t let guilt dash the reality of today’s grace.”

Guilt is not from God, but too often I find myself overcome with it when I reflect upon my life.  Not devoting my attention to the person I’m in conversation with, spending an evening with the television or computer instead of my wife, and not taking time to grow personally in the God’s presence are all shortcomings that come to mind.  It’s so easy to dwell on my sins rather than seek forgiveness and move on.  I’m a chronic sufferer of the “fix it” syndrome.  When something isn’t right, I want to overcompensate, make up, and pay back.  And quite honestly, I often do these these things to make myself feel better rather than heal the sin that abounds.

This is a dangerous place for Christians to occupy.  More importantly than the fact that my self-medicating healing is only momentary, I find myself in a place where I reject the grace that was given to me as Christ poured out his blood on the cross.  As Romans 3:23 so simply puts it, we all fall short because of our sin.

As I sat there in the pew contemplating the power of this simple statement uttered by the man in the pulpit I was overflowing with joy in the truth proclaimed.  There are countless times that I have allowed guilt to cover the reality of grace.  While I should feel contrition for my sins, it is more important that I recognize the grace of God in my life.  In spite of all that I have done wrong, I have an awesome reality.  I’m married to a woman who compliments me perfectly.  I have a calling to be a minister of the gospel to students.  I am honored with teaching truth, love, and hope to youth that I love deeply.  I have a great life and God’s grace is evident in tremendous ways.

Many years ago, a song began with “the greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out and deny them with their life”.  I’m convinced that the root of denying Christ with our life is rooted guilt which kills our awareness of grace and leaves us feeling hopeless and longing for heaven and waiting.  I need to remember Jesus didn’t just die so that I could go to heaven.  He hasn’t called me home yet, which means that for now he has called me to live everyday rejoicing in his grace and sharing the gospel to all people.

Weekend Contemplation

This past weekend Meredith and I journeyed with the a group of junior highers to the Dare2Share Conference in Phoenix.  It was as challenging weekend for all who went including myself.  One particular point that stuck out to me was encouraging Christians to start acting like we are called and stop making excuses.

I coach boys and girls soccer at the Lutheran school that is a part of our church (speaking of Lutheran schools, did you know it’s National Lutheran School’s Week and they finally changed the theme after 4 years…true story).  I love being a coach because it allows you to push people in directions that aren’t always comfortable, but always beneficial.  I love seeing the hard work pay off.

From time to time…say about every other day, there is a player that will continually make a simple mistake over and over again.  Often times this is partnered with the player getting upset and incessively saying “Sorry!”.  My response consistently goes along the lines of “Don’t keep telling me sorry…just do it correctly”.

It is in those moments that I can most relate to the frustration that God must experience with people like me who are too often quick to say “sorry” and slow to change.  If I’m really honest about it, I’m the guy who seems to have an exhaustive list of excuses as to why I failed, sinned, underperformed, and let others down.  I’m the master of “I didn’t mean to…”.  I even get sick of my own pride and stubbornness as the situation dissipates and I’m left alone to ponder where I derailed.

This would be an ideal spot to mention God’s grace and the forgiveness offered in Christ’s death and resurrection.  But I’m not sure what exactly that would accomplish other than making me feel momentarily okay because I’m forgiven.  The truth is that it would leave me unrepentant and relying on “cheap grace” as Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently put it.  I think it’s time that I start putting a more focused effort on living the life that Christ has bestowed upon me.  As Paul says in Romans 6, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound?  Certainly not!”