THINK DIFFERENTLY

Have You Quit the Church?

BustedHalo.com has an extremely interesting look at why people, specifically younger people, are quitting the church: “‘The Christian world puts everyone in a little box and has no time for people who step outside it,’ she quotes one friend as saying to her over lunch. In general, people report that their spiritual needs are not being met at church. One problem is the marginalization of an increasingly educated laity by pastors who feel threatened by intelligent feedback.” There is a solution, according to the author of the article. What is it? “Get congregants more involved in church leadership.” De-centralization of church leadership anyone?

Technorati Tags: Church, Church Leadership, Decentralization, Generation We, Millenials

AC/DC = God’s Messenger?

A friend of mine just popped by my office and told me that AC/DC’s new album, “Black Ice” is #1 on the charts in 29 different countries.

AC/DC. Number one. In 2008.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love crankin’ up “Back In Black” when I’m taking a jog just as much as the next guy, but #1? Really.

But then he dropped another bomb on me, “it’s all because of Guitar Hero.” Guitar Hero. A video game. A video game where you get to pretend you’re, well, a “guitar hero,” playing along to songs as the notes come on the screen. (If you have no idea what Guitar Hero is, get an update here.)

My friend is a youth pastor and interacts with little boogers everyday. He says that on the “likes/dislikes” sheet the students fill out at the beginning of the year, bands like AC/DC, Journey, and Foghat are showing up in the “Favorite Band” category. The link? All of the aforementioned bands show up in, you guessed it, Guitar Hero.

13-year-olds groovin’ on “Smoke On the Water.” In 2008. Something’s up. And that “something” is “Guitar Hero”, or more broadly, video games and the “digital migration” in general.

Technology (text messaging, social media sites, the internet and yes, Guitar Hero) has a profound effect on the lives of the youth. I heard on the radio that males 18-25 are the hardest age group for advertisers to reach. (I would also tack on “and the church” at the end of advertisers, as, speaking from my own experience, young men in this age range are few and far between.) Ad execs (and pastors) are largely left scratching their heads when looking at this age group saying, “What the heck do these guys want anyway?”

Enter video games. Ask the execs at Nintendo if they’re having trouble reaching men 18-25. I think you’d find that your answer would be a resounding, “Nope, no problem here!” Same with XBox. Same with PlayStation.

Politicians are picking up on this phenomenon, so much so that Barack Obama is buying advertising in video games.

Karl Barth insisted that theology had to be done with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Translation: As a Christian, you need to be aware of what’s going on in the world around you. As people in ministry (and if you’re a follower of Jesus, that’s you!), what can we learn from this? How do we “play ball” in a field that is becoming increasingly digital? How does the Church engage the culture at this level?

I’m certainly not suggesting churches buy a virtual ad in “Madden ‘09″, but what does a digitally fluent Church look like?

Technorati Tags: AC/DC, Barack Obama, Black Ice, Christ and Culture, Church, Guitar Hero, Madden 09, Millenials

I Think I Should Stop Thinking For You.

Rhett Smith absolutely knocks it out of the park on this one. Peep this:

“I wonder if we as preachers have helped condition people to often not think for themselves. They are so used to coming to church and hearing advice on how to do something, that anytime we leave the how to steps out they are paralyzed. I wonder if we have gotten away from the mystery and some of the parable style teaching of Jesus that often makes you scratch your head and say, “What?” Giving how to advice and laid out steps does not lead to transformation of people’s lives in my experience, at least not internally. But rather, engaging them in God’s Word and allowing them to wrestle with the meaning and action for their own lives is powerful.”

Amen! I had a woman call me today telling me how her daughter has gotten into the wrong crowd. “We just need to get her into church, that’ll fix the problem,” is what she said to me. Wrong!

Going to church is not the fix-all.
Putting your child in Sunday School will not automatically “fix” them.
Your pastor cannot and should not take your place as parent.

I said it once and I’ll say it again, pastors over-function for their people. Can I get an “amen”?

Technorati Tags: Christians, Church, Church Leadership, God

Can You Vote for Obama?

Can you vote for Obama? Brett McCracken can’t. He cites a Princeton professor in part of his explanation why, “Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress…” What about you? Is this issue a deal-breaker for you? A deal-maker?

Technorati Tags: 2008 Election, Abortion, Barack Obama, Church, ConversantLife.com, Pro-Life

A Question For You…

Well? Let me know.

I’ll start. I feel like I can’t say that sometimes I don’t have an answer when people come to me with problems.

How about you ?

HT: Anne Jackson

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Church

REVEAL anyone?

“A church is not an organization that surveys its demographic to find out what the market is demanding at this particular moment and then adjusts its strategy to meet that consumer need.” Rob Bell.

Technorati Tags: Church, Quotes

A Disagreement with Craig Groeschel.

Usually I’m pretty lock, stock, and barrel with Craig Groeschel. I think his ministry and church are breaking ground in so many areas, helping to transition the Church from modern to postmodern (and post-Christian.)

However, I read some words on his blog today that are just flat out wrong.

Craig writes, “My mom used to tell me, ‘Craig, God made you special. You can do anything you set your mind to do.’ Her words made an impact on me. As a child, I honestly believed what she said was true.” I understand what he is trying to convey here: Have dreams and aspirations for your life. But the notion of “I can do anything if I set my mind to it” is a dangerous epidemic in our culture.

The problem comes when someone - anyone - comes up against a limit in their life. They encounter a task or sport or class or job that is simply beyond them to accomplish. For instance, I am fully aware of the fact that I will never be a Greek scholar. Or a pro football player. Or a chemical engineer. And you know what? I’m okay with that. Peter Scazzero calls it the “gift of limits.” I’m learning to embrace mine.

What Craig is suggesting here (all with good intentions, I’m sure) is something I call it the “Mr. Rogers Syndrome.” Mr Rogers Syndrome occurs when young men and women believe they can do anything if they just try hard enough. Optimism is good. Unbridled optimism is not. When they try and try and try and still fail, an overwhelming sense of doubt, fear, depression, and failure creep in and can cause serious derailment in a person’s life. Why? Because, “if you just try hard enough, you can accomplish anything.”

They tried.
And tried.
They failed.

Am I suggesting, like Dante, “Abandon ye hope, all who enter here”? No. Dreams and aspirations are good and even necessary for a human being to live a fulfilling life. But optimism tempered with a sense of reality is to be desired more than pie-in-the-sky daydreaming.

The reality is I have dreams at this moment that will never be fulfilled. I have plenty that will. You, at this moment, have dreams that will never be fulfilled. You have plenty that will. We cannot be naive enough to think that “whatever we set our minds to” will come to pass. That’s not reality. And I pray everyday that God would teach me about the reality he has created.

I’m not mad at Craig. I just wish he’d be more careful with his words and influence. Aspire to inspire, yes, but also aspire (even more so, in my opinion) to teach people to embrace the limits that God has placed in their lives.

What are some of the limits you’ve encountered in your life? Personality? Geography? Education?

Technorati Tags: Church, Craig Groeschel, God, Peter Scazzero