I hope these words are a wrecking ball

My thoughts and opinions about music, people, politics, and the joys and annoyances life sends my way.

Christian Media

I read a post on a blog I follow about Christian Media.  Often... well very often... okay, so most of the time Christian attempts at media are lame, low budget, and third rate (which is probably too good a term to describe most of it).  What few high budget attempts have been made have often been too concerned with getting a message across to actually contain any elements of a story.  This is sad, and non-christians see right through it.  Anyone, whether they've spent time in a church or not, can spot a sermon a mile away no matter how you dress it up.  

I suggest this; there should be no such thing as christian media and there IS no such thing as secular media.  That's because there's no such things as a secular world.  There is only the world, the one, the way God created it, and all beings on earth are God's creation the same as christians.  So if God as created all, then all that is created by God's creation is worship unto him.  Using the gifts God gives you glorifies Him whether it says Jesus and quotes scripture or not.  
Now I am certainly not suggesting that pornography or gangster rap or whatever is worship and God is pleased with it.  There is evil in the world that has been created by man.  So maybe my word choice was wrong but it made my point.  Simply using God's gifts is pleasing to God.  
I once heard Bob Kilpatrick,  author of the classic worship song Lord Be Glorified, ("in my life Lord, be glorified, be glorified") say something in a music class in college that changed my view of Christian media forever. He said,  "Don't let the Christianity of your music [or any media] be that it says 'Jesus.' Let the Christianity of your [media] be that you do whatever you do from the perspective of a christian, which, if you are a Christian, should be natural." So if you write love songs, write about love from a Godly perspective. If you write sad songs, write great sad songs like those in Lamentations and Psalms. If you write fiction novels, write great fiction.  If you make movies, make great movies (and forget about the MPAA ratings. Some of the greatest movies with the most solid values and messages have been R rated). Whatever you do well, do it to the best of your ability as unto God and not man.

12:51 PM | | 0 Comments  

Intolerance is not a virtue

So this morning I sat for a hour and listened to a man try to tell me that intolerance is a virtue... and Jesus was narrow minded.  

Now I'm not going to talk about what he said... because what he meant was valid.  What he was trying to communicate was that tolerance is wrong  when it asks us to accept things that go against our moral or religious convictions.  This is true.  I should not be expected to accept the religious beliefs of people that are contrary to mine because they live next door.  I should be expected not to persecute or slander them for their beliefs.  He also was trying to communicate that Jesus did not accept certain ideas or practices.  That is true... but it does not make Jesus narrow-minded.  A narrow-minded person is not open to suggestion nor are they willing to listen to a person's differing viewpoint.   Because of this, it is impossible to be compassionate without being open-minded (if you disagree, consider the difference between compassion and pity) and I don't think anyone would tell me Jesus is not compassionate.  Also, being narrow-minded would make it impossible for Jesus (God) to be omniscient, which he certainly is.
What I do want to address is the way in which we communicate our thoughts and ideas.  If you want someone else to hear and comprehend what you are trying to communicate then you must consider their understanding of the language you are using.  Often, it doesn't matter what a word or phrase is defined as if it has a more frequently used meaning.  Intolerance, in our society, does not mean clinging to convictions or morals.  It is radical opposition to those who are different than you.  What I believe happened this morning, is that this gentleman was personally offended by being called intolerant by those who did not agree with his religious views and of being expected to change his convictions in the name of tolerance.  So his own issue began with someone's misunderstanding of intolerance.  Anyway, instead of realizing this, he went on a ti-raid and converted that into a sermon he thought we would care about.  In the end, the listeners are angry and he looks like a fool.  
Let THAT be a lesson to you.

1:05 PM | | 0 Comments  

Out of Order

I was listening to some Fiction Family the other day and I came to a realization; my life is pretty good.  I don't mean that in the typical people-in-some-countries-have-it-worse-than-me-so-I-shouldn't-complain sort of way, but rather that I actually have been enjoying my life.  It's a strange thing.  I think the majority of my life has been rather enjoyable, but for the first time I recognize that fact.  I'm getting ready to graduate college, get married, and start a completely new life, which for some is stressful, but I'm relishing the opportunity to start new.  I'm loving getting ready to set out into the unknown like an ancient explorer; no map, no compass, just faith and a desire to move on.  

So the song was "Out of Order," which I love and usually feel so connected to, but I don't think it's me anymore.   I'm feeling good and I'm trusting God to direct me in whatever the future will bring.

10:37 PM | | 0 Comments  

The concept of a counter-culture

I regularly read the blog of one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller.  Today I found he had posted some interesting thoughts on Advertising, specifically the advertising used by Apple, and the intrinsic values which we unknowingly accept in admitting the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.   You might be thinking, "I don't go around talking to my friends about advertising and I've never thought about the effectiveness of advertising, never-mind admitted it,"  but the truth is you have and you do every time an advertisement leads you to buy or even just find out more about a product.  

Anyway, nestled within Don's examination of the truth in our response to advertising I found an interesting nugget of over-looked, or misunderstood, truth worth thinking about (at least I think so).  He takes a paragraph to discuss the truth about a counter-culture.  Here's what he wrote:
     "If you think about it, the most confident of counter-culture heros aren’t talking on i-phones, wearing designer jeans or jumping in the air in their facebook photos (why are all the hipsters suddenly jumping in their facebook photos? Why didn’t anybody call me to say we were doing that?) but instead are the people most of us might not notice. The reason we don’t notice these people is because they offer us no beneficial association. They buy products because the products work, they buy jeans because they cover their asses, and coats because a certain coat will keep them warm. A true counter culture is not manipulated by the whims of fashion and therefore is not made up of fashionable people."
A counter-culture is a subculture whose values and norms of behavior run counter to the mainstream of the day.  Some typical ideas of counter-cultures usually include the punk scene, goths, mods, hippies, new agers, and the like. However, this is no-longer the case.  While each of these subcultures was, at one time, a counter-culture, each has been assimilated into the mainstream as evident by the newest term for the people who used to be punks, mods, hippies, goths, and new agers; hipster.  This is an all-encompassing term that seems to include aspects of each of these former subcultures.  The skinny jeans and flannel from the punks, tattoos and piercings from the goths, skinny ties and big sunglasses from the mods, sundresses, clogs, and hemp jewelry from the hippies and more...  This is all evidence of the fact that Don wrote about.  None of these were true counter-cultures because they all share the same values and behavior; a constant search and desire for social acceptance.  
I'll be the first to admit that I have often tried to subscribe to or associate myself with a counter-culture and now I find that I definitely  fit into the hipster mold.  I'm not trying to offend or discredit others who have done the same.  I'm simply analyzing the idea and thinking about what a true counter-culture would be like.  So to myself and all of my friends who subscribe the the views and fashions of a "counter-culture" I leave this quote that I found on my friend, Joel's, blog:
"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. "

12:40 PM | | 0 Comments  

Two posts in one day!

     I know it must seem  crazy to post twice in one day but I need to put something out there to be heard.  I was searching the internet for some information on Rob Bell's newest book and I cam across several forums and blogs that contained posts of people who had serious issues with Rob Bell's theology and teachings.  First, if you are one of those people, don't write your issues here.  I know what people have issues with. I've read about them, considered them, and I've come to this conclusion.  I don't care.  I don't agree with everything he has to say but I believe he is reaching a great number of people with the Gospel and he is sparking an interest in theology in young people.  These are both good things.  Christians are called to study for themselves when they are taught something and as long as we all continue to do so any discrepancies in his teaching (minor thought they are) will be resolved.  

     My big issue with what I read is that so many Christians are completely consumed with analyzing and condemning the theology of others.  We need to stop bickering amongst ourselves if we are ever going to reach the world.  Remember the words of John 3:17; "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn it, but that through Him it might be saved."  If God found a purpose to life more important than judging and condemning men, shouldn't we also?

2:03 PM | | 0 Comments  

Helping with the diary aisle...

         A friend recently shared with me a story of something that happened to him at work.  In his story I feel he unknowingly stumbled upon the revelation of what evangelism should actually look like.  I'd like to share a summary of the story here.

         This friend works at a 24 hour grocery store stocking shelves and wrangling runaway carts from the parking lot.  One day recently, after he had finished his own work, he found himself in conversation with a co-worker.  After some time they came upon the topic of my friend's faith in which he professed his Christianity but, for whatever reason, went no further than to explain his own beliefs.  The co-worker picked up on this and expressed his surprise that my friend had not gone on to try to convert him.  My friend replied, "I could do that, but for now I'll just help you with the dairy aisle."
          This simple exchange is the heart of evangelism.  Had my friend chosen to attempt to convert his co-worker, he would have failed.  His co-worker had already expected that and made a decision that he would reject that sort of behavior.  Instead my friend chose to help him with an immediate need and in doing so my friend avoided the common secular perception of evangelical christians who are too busy trying to convert "sinners" to actually help people.  These people are selfish and shallow in their deeds.  In the Gospels,  Jesus referred to people like this as "white-washed tombs."  Instead, my friend evangelized like Jesus did; first meeting needs, and then sharing the gospel.   I hold that this method is not only more biblical, but more effective.  Go ahead and try to prove me wrong, but I'd bet that people will be much more receptive if you just help them with the dairy aisle.

12:36 PM | | 0 Comments  

On the topic of censorship

I attend a certain christian college in eastern Pennsylvania which has a... high moral standard.  That is to say that, while many of the faculty are intellectually open, understanding, and tolerant of differing beliefs, the general atmosphere of the campus and the policies implemented there are rigidly conservative, religiously fundamental (and close-minded), and politically Republican. That's not to say that there aren't those who are open-minded, religiously tolerant, or democratic (I do attend this college, after all) but, my description fits the general populace.  Simply put... our campus bleeds red.  

So imagine my surprise and excitement when the day's topic of discussion in my Mass Media and Cultural Communications class was whether or not books should be banned and, if so, who should do the banning?  Admittedly, I was both excited by the forthcoming possibilities to defend free thought amongst christians, and filled with hope that some of my classmates might share my passions and my conviction that people might need to learn to make choices for themselves and take responsibility for the results of those choices.  Then imagine my disappointment when the discussion turned into another fundamentalist corporate masturbation session; everyone getting all fire-up and preaching their opinions to each other as if someone had actually shared a differing opinion (which no one had).  The story I'd like to tell is the one where I valiantly stood and defended free speech and independent thought, demanding that people take responsibility for themselves and make decisions on their own rather than depending on the "moral majority"  to do so for them.  However, actual events were far less dramatic and I was no hero.  Fearing the lynch mob that might follow me out of the doors at the end of class, I simply sat, absorbed, and silently filled with disappointment. Then I set to my computer to blog my thoughts and opinions in safety and anonymity.  
Honestly, I've seen and heard a lot of things while at this college that have left me wondering if christianity has been lost to the ignorant masses, but today my heart was broken.  I sat and listened while my peers; the future leaders of churches and schools, the parents of the coming generation, chose to give up both their right and their children's rights to free thought so that life could be easier.  WELL OF COURSE IT WOULD BE EASIER.... but when has the easy choice ever been the right one.  Someone in class actually suggested that parents should be able to choose to ban books because they wouldn't want to have to explain to their child why a character in a book had two mommies.  How lazy can you possibly be?  I suggest this; if you don't want to deal with parenting a child... DON'T HAVE CHILDREN!  Or you can choose to have children and allow the public school system to parent them for you, but if you choose to do so you give up your right to decide what they are taught and what they are exposed to.  You cannot have it both ways.  
Anger and frustration aside, here is the truth of what banning books achieves.  None of the original intentions.   In class we looked at a list of the top twenty banned books of 2007.  On that list were four books that have recently been made into top grossing children's movies ( three Harry Potter's and The Golden Compass) and at least three classics, including Huckleberry Finn, which have all been and continue to be required reading in public school english classes.  It seems to me that the only achievement those who ban books can boast of is increasing the popularity, and subsequently the sales and audience, of the literature they attempted to black list.  Sounds satisfying.  
Amazingly, and this must be a complete coincidence and not a historical pattern because if it was a historical pattern we would never ever repeat the same mistakes, Prohibition, banning of abortion, and many similar attempts at controlling the morality of the masses, have ended with similar results.   So I suggest this; as Christians we should stop crusading for moral legislation and content controls, which only ever end unsuccessfully, and try planting a seed of morality in the people we are trying to control.  That is to say that rather than trying to control people, teach them morals through example and through the love of Christ.  We learned morality from Christ, not law, so why do we try to do things differently?

12:41 PM | | 0 Comments  

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