04.30.08Suppose There Is A God…
A great video featuring words from the brilliant theologian, Dr. R.C. Sproul.
A great video featuring words from the brilliant theologian, Dr. R.C. Sproul.
I read a story titled, “Jesus Made Me Puke” on RollingStone.com that disturbs me on so many levels.
The premise of the story is the reporter, Matt Taibbi, wanted to get an inside look at the “Christian right.” Rather than going to a mainline church, he decides to go to the fringe by attending a hyper-charismatic “weekend encounter” in Texas. This retreat was designed to “set people free” in some sort of tongues-a-thon where supposedly demons are cast out and people are healed from whatever is ailing them. The reporter masquerades as Matt Collins, a guy who’s dad was a drunken, abusive circus clown (chuckle) and plays the role all weekend. He then recounted his adventure in this Rolling Stone piece.
I will say that this “weekend encounter” sounds like a bunch of malarkey and it does not represent the majority of Christians. But to pass it off as representative is just cheap reporting. I’ve been known to poke fun at the yo-yo’s on TBN who slap foreheads, sit on thrones, and constantly ask for money. But Taiabbi clearly has an agenda and he found the right target to support it.
The story is not surprising. It is, however, embarrassing and reinforces the perceptions many people have about Christians. That we’re politically-driven, anti-everything, unintelligent nut jobs that barely resemble Christ. Regardless of whether it’s true for you and I- it’s a real perception that we need to acknowledge.
If we are truly following Jesus, then we should be known for love. And there are many great Christ Followers who bring a little bit of heaven on earth that never get reported in Rolling Stone. Which is too bad because that would be a great story and would, if nothing else, represent who we’re trying to be like- Jesus.
In the midst of this slanted piece, there was some humorous, outrageous, and some sad-but-true observations.
Here are a handful:
“The more you shout out praising the Lord, singing along to those awful acoustic tunes, telling people how blessed you feel and so on, the more a sort of mechanical Christian skin starts to grow all over your real self.”
“When most Americans think of the Christian right, they think of scenes from television — great halls full of perfectly groomed people in pale suits and light-colored dresses, smiling and happy and full of the Holy Spirit, robotically singing hymns at the behest of some squeaky-clean pastor with a baritone voice and impossible hair.”
“Fortenberry [the preacher] then started in on a rant against science and against scientific explanations for cycles of sin. ‘Take homosexuals,’ he said. ‘Every single homosexual is a sexual-abuse victim. They are not born. They are created — by pedophiles.’ The crowd swallowed that one whole. One thing about this world: Once a preacher says it, it’s true.”
“I told my nephew to look around the house,” Fortenberry continued. “I said, ‘Do you have a copy of Harry Potter?’ And he said yes. And I said, ‘That’s your problem.’ So I told him to go get that copy of that book, tear it in half and throw it out the window. So he does it, and guess what? Both of those kids stood up completely recovered, just like that.”
“In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I cast out the demon of the intellect!” Fortenberry continued. “In the name of Jesus, I cast out the demon of anal fissures!”
“The whole thing — the demonic expulsions, the trading of miraculous wives’ tales, the crazy End Times theology based on dire predictions that come and go uneventfully once a year or so — it’s all a con that is done with the consent of the conned. Which is what gives it strength. If everybody agrees to believe, it is real.”
Read the story and let me know what you think.
I also recommend the book “unChristian” which deals with these perceptions and how we can go about changing them.
Every once in a while I like to look at what keywords people are typing in Google, Yahoo!, etc. that land on my blog. These are interesting things people have recently typed to reach Thinking in Progress. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some are just plain odd.
Planting a church is like a yo-yo. In the same day I can be greatly encouraged and terribly discouraged. In the same day I’m told, “You can” and later told by someone else, “You can’t.” Ups and downs abound.
But I’ll tell you what drives me: The call.
I don’t know why God called me to this. There are many people who are far more impressive than I am. But the call is what drives me. This is why we’re planting a church. Not because I woke up on morning with a great idea- but because God said so. And I know this- I can’t do this alone. It’s going to take people who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
If you pray, please pray for Project Church to become what God wants us to be. If you don’t pray, now is a good time to begin.
We’ve only just begun…
Some buddies and I have an annual tradition of watching the NFL draft together, eating a bunch of junk food, and competing to see who most accurately predicts round one of the draft.
I never win- but thought I’d post my predictions here for all to see. This year I shall rule supreme.
Download: NFL Draft (.doc)
“I never smile if I can help it. Showing your teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life.”
- Dwight K. Schrute
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It’s been one crazy life so far.Did I forget something?
“We have to reattach the hands and feet to the body of Christ and start being the church. For too long, we’ve just been a big mouth.”
- Rick Warren
[HT: Jay Hardwick]