Family Sunday - Every Sunday

I'm on a few christian-based email lists. Along with some useful stuff, you get a few ads. This one's for a particular bible "curriculum" (could we make it sound any more like school?)


Isn't it a cracker? Who wouldn't want to buy a copy? Kids abandoning their ipods and x-boxes, to be absorbed by every word dad says about 2nd Thessalonians. So realistic and so completely believable. ;)

But enough about advertising. If you've read my thoughts on mother's day, or black box theory, then you might see where i'm headed here....

The thing is the slogan - and that churches do just that. Which is great if you're a family - and you're all Christians. But what if you're not?

What if you're the only Christian in your family? What if you're situation is not a stereotypical family one - you're separated or divorced, your spouse has passed away, you're a couple without children, you're a single person living with flatmates or by yourself, or your children have grown up and left home?

For the statistically-inclined, in my local area 54% of people over 19 are single. If you add in people who are divorced, separated or widowed, that number increases to 67%. And that doesn't even count childless couples, 'empty nesters', or people whose faith isn't shared by their family!

While sickly sweet photostock might tempt us into making "every sunday family sunday", I reckon we'd do better to reflect Jesus by bringing the gospel message to all people, regardless of whether they match the black box.

The End of UnChristian?

Having covered 6 negative perceptions of Christianity, the last section of unChristian essentially pointed out that perception is reality. That it's not an image problem, its a subtance problem.

To shift our reputation from unChristian to Christian, it is suggested that "Christ followers must learn to respond to people in the way Jesus did". It sounds obvious, but if people can't see Jesus in our lives, we have a "hidden Jesus" problem.

When Jesus was on earth, people were changed by his example. Today it's our interactions with people that create people's image of Jesus. People "need to see Christianity rejecting self-preservation and insularity, and embracing true concern and compassion for others".

The chapter ends by noting:

the barriers to seeing Jesus are getting wider and higher. What image of Jesus do people get from your life? The unChristian faith is here in force. We have a choice of whether it is here to stay.

And the 'afterword' was interesting. The author, after being initially shocked and overwhelmed by the negative impression of Christians, was filled with hope for the future. What? Yes, he feels that it's a nothing-to-lose situation. That the only way to go from here is up. That the current generation has an opportunity to live lives that redefine 'Christian' as being someone that bears some resemblance to Christ.

Messages From Mars

Ordinarily, a church updating it's website wouldn't be major news. But when Mars Hill does it - it's not to look cool, or get more clicks.

While a few thousand people walk through the doors of Mars Hill ... over 50,000 arrive at our homepage every week ... online ministry is a huge part of what we do.

As explained on their blog post, only 8% of website visitors are from the church's home town of Seattle, and only a quarter from the USA.

Their motivation is to help more people hear about Jesus - and they've been creative in "finding new ways to get the Gospel to you through the internet". It's encouraging to see a church that is fully embracing the 21st century - but also going to great lengths to share the gospel (sermon transcripts are even translated into Spanish).

It kind of shows up the churches who treat the gospel like a ransom hostage - that can only be obtained at the time and place specified by the kidnapper. Instead, Mars Hill wants us to obtain "content about Jesus as quickly and easily as possible". Which approach sounds more biblical?

Here's some help - Jesus's words about hiding a light, and the parable of the talents.

unChristian - Judgemental

Chapter 8 of unChristian is about being judgemental.

Respondents to our surveys believe Christians are trying, consciously or not, to justify feelings of moral and spiritual superiority.

Our motives can be brought into question when we are more interested in condemning people, than in helping people become more like Jesus. As much as we talk about love, often we could show a bit more of it.

The author raises the question of whether we are "trying to please God, or polishing our holy credentials in front of fellow insiders?", whether "the reason Christians have lost their appeal to outsiders is they have lost passion for people outside the church?". With some shocking examples, he suggests that instead of seeing people's potential to follow Christ, we act as their spiritual judge and jury.

Tips for moving from rejection to respect included
- talk less, listen better
- don't label people
- don't pretend to be smart
- put yourself in the other person's place
- be genuine
- be a friend with no other motives

Another interesting quote came from Philip Yancey - "the opposite of sin is not virtue; it is grace".

So what's the opposite to Christians are prideful and quick to find faults in others. How about Christians show grace by finding the good in others and seeing their potential to be Christ followers.

Need To Know That God Is Real

Duncan at Postkiwi describes "I need to know that God is real" as a 'protest song' against bogus religion. I'm not concerned about genre, but i know i like it. Here are some of the lyrics.

Don’t sate my soul with common sense
Distilled from ages past
Inept for those who fear the world’s
about to breathe its last.

Don’t set the cross before my eyes
unless you tell the truth
of how the Lord, who finds the lost,
was often found uncouth.

So let the Gospel come alive
in actions plain to see
in imitation of the one
whose love extends to me.

unChristian - Too Political

Chapter 7 of unChristian (remember this book comes from America) is about being too political.

First up, the author makes it clear from the start that he is definitely not suggesting that Christians should withdraw from politics. It is an important arena to express a Christian worldview. It's more about being representatives of Jesus - reflecting him in our views, our conversations, our actions and our attitudes - otherwise we prevent people from seeing Christ.

..this message (the gospel) seems to have been lost in exchange for an aggressive political strategy that demonises segments of society.

..anyone who did not fit the (political) mould was judged not a good a Christian as everyone else.

I had been carefully nurturing a relationship of trust with my neighbour, and much of it was undone because of careless and offensive words (by other Christians) to his young daughter about an election

Christians don't even follow what the Bible says; why do they try to tell everyone else how to live morally?

They do not seem to prioritise the poor and needy in their political agenda, as Jesus commands

Some comments may be right, perhaps some not. But it's the author's opinion that if they are incorrect, it is because we don't provide sufficient evidence to the contrary.

Advice includes respecting our 'enemies', praying for our leaders, being vigilant against our own capacity for hypocrisy, and not placing too much emphasis on politics. After all, nothing is gained by winning an election but forfeiting our soul.

So what's the alternative to "Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics". The author suggests a better world would be where Christians are characterised by respecting people, thinking biblically, and finding solutions to complex issues.

Coming Soon...

Enjoyed this hilarious movie-style trailer about sundays:

unChristian - Sheltered

As i mentioned before, i'm currently reading unChristian. Chapter 6 is about being sheltered.

Christians enjoy being in their own community. The more they seclude themselves, the less they can function in the real world. So many Christians are caught in the Christian bubble.

It's a common perception, that Christians are out of touch, lacking spiritual vitality, insulated from thinking, and living in another world. But scarier still is that it's not just a perception. This from a 28 year old Christian...

So many Christians are caught up in the Christian sub-culture and are completely closed off from the world. We go to church on Wednesdays, Sundays and sometimes on Saturdays. We attend small group on Tuesday night and serve on the Sunday school advisory board, the financial committee, and the welcoming committee. We go to barbeques with our Christian friends and plan group outings. We are closed off from the world. Even if we wanted to reach out to nonChristians, we don't have the time and we don't know how. The only way we know to reach out is to invite people to join our Christian social circle

The bulk of the chapter is not about the why people are turned off a faith that seems sheltered. It's about why a faith that shelters itself falls so much short of what it is called to be. Why hiding out in a Christian bubble is the exact opposite of being the salt and light of the world.

By contrast, the author also gives some examples of some young Christians who are actively engaged outside the Christian sub-culture. "The motivation of these young leaders is to redeem rather than condemn" - is just one of many pieces of helpful guidance offered for those who wish to break the stereotype and fulfil our calling.

So what's the positive alternative to being sheltered? How about Christians are engaged, informed and offer sophisticated responses to the issues people face.

Mothers' Day

You know what's great about mothers' day? Avoiding church.

It's a double blessing. Apart from the enjoyable time spent with my mum, there's the added joy of not sitting through another hallmark-flavoured excuse for a church service. The one where the bible is replaced with a greeting card.

Essentially there's two parts to this:

Firsty, it's another example of black box theory. Here in church-land, everyone belongs to a standard 2-parent family with 2-3 kids. So that's who church is designed for. We've heard about this place called "real world" and its growing number of marriage breakups and estranged families, but we ignore it.

Sure there's real-world people - made to feel isolated, inadequate and annoyed by the manufactured hype of the day. And we could inspire these people with the hope of Jesus, but instead we rub salt in the wounds. We even have special prayer - thanking God for blessing us with our wonderful mothers. It's our way of saying "If you don't fit the mould - get out!"

The second part is the banality of it all. No need to speculate what piece of godly wisdom the preacher has in store for us today. No need to wonder what the Holy Spirit has prompted this weekend. Surprise, surprise - it's about mothers. The greeting card people and the Holy Spirit are so on the same page. ;)

Is the bible so thin on material that we have to scrape around for stuff to fill our worship services? Or did we just ditch the God-focussed worship service in favour of dancing to the tune played by the retail sector?

unChristian - Antihomosexual

As i mentioned before, i'm currently reading unChristian. Chapter 5 is about the tendency to be antihomosexual:

Even though the author is of the view that homosexuality is a sin, he finds the hostility to be very unChristian.

1. It's out of step with Jesus
Christians are statistically more likely to disapprove of homosexuality than of divorce (for example) despite the latter being specifically condemned by Jesus in Matthew 5:32

2. It belittles the effect of Jesus
No one goes to hell for what they do or don't do. Every human sins, but Jesus freely offers everyone his grace.

3. It prevents Jesus' greatest commandment
Of 600 people who said the homosexual lifestyle is a problem, only 1 offered "love" as a potential solution. Whatever happened to "love you neighbour"?

Probably the best summary comes in this quote from the book. Speaking about young adults:

..they are very attuned to people's hearts and motivations. If they sense that Christians are being inconsistent, unwilling to learn, or uncaring, they are quick to conclude that Christians are just plain wrong. Christians who show no compassion, kindness or grace make them feel at odds with who they want to be as people. Because it feels so condemning of gays, the unChristian faith does not offer significance and relevance to them. If Christianity is not the mixture of grace and truth that Jesus represents, they find it hard to reconcile

So how about replacing condemnation with a new paradigm - Christians show compassion and love to all people, regardless of their lifestyle.

Texas Give-away

If you think giving chocolate eggs confuses the message of Easter, how about this:

Bay Area Fellowship is giving away flat-screen televisions, skateboards, Fender guitars, furniture and 15 cars — yes, cars — at its Easter services. As consolation prizes, 15,000 giftbags each contain $300 of free goods and services. (Note: 300 x 15,000 = 4.5 million)

In this interview pastor Bil Cornelius said

We’re going to give some stuff away and say, ‘Imagine how great heaven is going to be if you feel that excited about a car, ... It’s completely free — all you have to do is receive him.

He hopes the prizes will help Bay Area lure some people who don’t normally go to church or those who have lapsed in their faith. “We know it’s unconventional,” he said. “We know some people of faith aren’t going to agree with it.”

Among the 15 cars — all used but with low mileage — are an Audi A4, Jeep, Chevy Aveo, Mazda RX8, Volkswagen Jetta, two BMWs, Chevy Avalanche, Jaguar and two Mitsubishi Eclipses. The A4 is an ’04. It’s turbocharged.

So what do you think?
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ps. the people at CMS have taken their own poll on this idea

Pulpit Clangers - 1

In front of a group of predominantly single people, reference was made to a series of christian camps that have been held over a number of years...

...where lots of young people have found Jesus, found a marriage partner and really got established in life.

Classic black box theory. In this case the black box is married couples, who are portrayed as fine upstanding christians, while single adults are painted as the immature god-less heathens. Presenting marriage as almost a pre-requisite to a meaningful life .... i really shouldn't need to point out how non-biblical this is.

It most likely wasn't intended to be offensive (and perhaps this is why some preachers never ad-lib in the pulpit). But to put marriage on par with encountering Jesus in just plain unscriptural, and to do so to a group of single adults ..... well, i think the phrase is "temporary insanity".