Public Christianity

Today we celebrate Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, but the official celebration of America’s work force. Originally, Labor Day was celebrated to honor workers’ unions through speeches and parades. Today, the typical Labor Day celebration consists of sleeping in, barbecues, and ironically work. In fact, as soon as I finish posting this, I’m going to tackle a couple of outdoor projects I’ve been putting off.

Despite how widely celebrated this holiday is (even I have it off, and that says something) God’s labor day is more widely, or at least frequently observed. I’m talking of course, about the Sabbath. Even though different Christian churches have various doctrines surrounding the Sabbath (Seventh Day Adventists for example) and debate whether we’re still compelled to observe the Sabbath Laws under the New Covenant, there’s still a perfectly good reason God instituted this day.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God… For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Ex 20:8-11)

I’m not going to debate creation in six literal days here, but rather stress that even God took a break and there’s no reason we shouldn’t too. For this reason, we have in America the traditional 40 hour work-week (but who really works only 40 hours?) with “weekends” off. Even the term weekend is to intentionally set aside Saturday and Sunday on the calendar to respect the Judeo-Christian roots of this country.

I heard during a sermon, that even though we may not be commanded to observe the Sabbath under the New Covenant, if we don’t take the Sabbath off, the Sabbath will take us. Each one of the Ten Commandments, besides honoring God, protects us. Like most laws, the intent isn’t just that of justice, but also to protect the general welfare of the populace. The Sabbath is no different. Think about your last big project at work, or finals week in college, or hell week in high school football, or the last week of planning and organizing before your wedding. Anytime you’ve dedicated yourself to something so thoroughly, there’s usually a “let-down” once you’re done. Why? You didn’t take a break as the Lord commanded. Just recently I returning from helping my mom move. What happened a few days after I got back? I got sick.

Unfortunately, we don’t observe the Sabbath the way God intends. We fool ourselves into thinking we’re honoring God by filling the day with church-related activities- morning worship, afternoon meetings, evening Bible study, you know the drill. I asked one of my co-workers if he had any big plans and he replied, “well the first two days are already shot.” His wife was hosting a bridal shower at their house on Saturday and Sunday was church. So on the usual Monday he, myself, and many other co-workers are more tired than we were on Friday. Why? Because we never really rested as God intended.

So here I am today, with a long list of “honey do’s”. Why such the long list? Because I didn’t do a dog-gone thing yesterday. And I feel great.

There’s a fascinating article at Slate about popular megachurches/televangelists opening “branch” churches and instead of being ministered to personally, parishioners instead are preached to by a “hologram” or video of the televangelist from his home congregation. One pastor is even quoted as comparing it to franchising a fast food chain. His quote is especially telling, “I believe in my product and what they are trying to sell.” But I have to ask, is the product that particular preacher, the brand-name of the ministry, the best-selling book series? Or is the product Jesus? If the latter, then it doesn’t really matter who is delivering the message (“unschooled, ordinary men” Acts 4:13). If any of the former, then they fall under the criticism of Paul when he wrote to the Corinthian church, “One of you says ‘I follow Paul,’ another, ‘I follow Apollos’… ” (1 Cor 1:12) And considering the cult of personality this creates, the article compares this to church planting by noting, “church-planting, as it’s known, can be arduous and time-consuming, and there’s no guarantee it will reproduce the home church’s success, especially without the same charismatic leader at the top.” (emphasis added)

What’s even scarier is what the article calls these “churches”: gigachurches.

Now I understand what they’re trying to do here. It’s a natural extension of the televangelist reaching out via the airwaves. So it begs the question, when you’re watching a church service on TV, are you at church? To answer that question, we need to define what “church” is. I’m not going to get deep into polity or bring up the importance of participating in the sacraments, but I fail to see how you can have a church without ministry. And you can’t have ministry without someone ministering. And you can’t have someone ministering through a television set. Just what am I supposed to do if I’m having trouble with my marriage, my purity, an addiction? Email a pastor a thousand miles away?

And you have the same problem with the numbers game. How can a megachurch, or gigachurch for that matter, meet a particular individual’s spiritual needs? The “small group” has been revolutionary on this front and there have been many books written on what makes a successful small group/house church/etc. But really, if you’re in a crowd of thousands when you hear the Gospel, how well can your spiritual needs be met?

I bring this up as last weekend was the annual Harvest Crusade in Anaheim. Name recognition is a big draw here. Not just Pastor Greg Laurie through his radio program, but also the set list of supporting bands such as POD, Kutless, Michael W Smith, and Randy Travis. Personally, if I was invited I’d be just as interested in the entertainment as the Gospel. Again, “you say you follow Apollos…” I wonder how many in attendance were in the same boat. So what does it take to draw someone to the Gospel, a strong headlining act? A stadium-filling, multi-day, multi-media event?

A coworker was proud to comment that 2800 people accepted Christ on the first night. That’s great, I guess. But how sincere can that really be when every other person around you is crying their eyes out and everyone else is encouraging you to make an Altar Call? Yet, when Peter preached the first sermon at Pentecost, those in attendance were obviously moved emotionally (“cut to the heart” Acts 2:37), but do we question their sincerity? Of course not. So I’m left to wonder, is this the best way to market the Gospel?

Personally, on this subject I hold to these scriptural truths and trust God to deal with the rest. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (John 8:31) “You are the light of the world…” (Matthew 5:14) “As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18) “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit… There is one Lord, one faith…” (Ephesians 4:3-6) “The important thing is that in every way… Christ is preached” (Philippians 1:18) “Live such good lives among the pagans…” (1 Peter 1:12) bookended by, “whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did for me” (Matthew 25:40) and “therefore, go an make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20)

I wrestle every day in prayer with what this is meant to look like in my life. And that’s where the name of this blog comes in, “Public Christianity”. I can’t tell you how to do it, I don’t even know myself. But I know that we have to be public in our faith. Bold in our convictions. And above all, we cannot allow the world define our faith for us. If it takes a crusade or a bring your neighbor day, a small group or Bible talk, a video evangelist or an in the flesh minister to bring the Gospel to the public, to God be the glory!

(no, not the pro wrestler)

So over the weekend Sen John Edwards admitted to having an affair and has been beaten to a pulp by the media. I know, I know, I’m trying to post less about politics, I really am. But the media coverage this story has received makes me wonder what it is that we want from our political leaders? This article from Slate, questions why Americans expect their political leaders to be so virtuous. At the same time I find it amusing to read criticisms on message boards of the current administration that call the president a “crack head” or “alcoholic” but would be quick to defend the president before him despite his adultery and previous marijuana use. So is there a difference between lying to the public (“I did not inhale”) and admitting to past wrongs (“I do not have a perfect record as a youth”)?

And why do we expect our political leaders to be paragons of virtue anyway? Isn’t David, “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) and considered to be Israel’s greatest king a really bad example of how to run a country (and family)? So don’t we set our standards a little high? And does it really matter how “Christian” a candidate is when God is sovereign and establishes all authorities (Romans 13:1)? After all, it wasn’t an Israelite king who allowed Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem while Kings and Chronicles are not shy in describing just how bad the kings of Judah and Israel were. So God is certainly capable of using whoever is in a position of authority, no matter his or her beliefs.

At the same time, we should have some expectation of values. This is why I find the moniker “value voter” funny. We all vote our values. We should. If you value personal freedom above all else you’d vote differently than one who values security and safety more. In America, we live in a representative democracy. What that means is that our political leaders represent the people that voted for them. So it shouldn’t surprise us that leaders have faults, because we do ourselves. The struggle is over what values represent the majority of the people. Once upon a time those values were clearly Judeo-Christian. That is becoming less and less so. Some christians (intentional little c) fight this trend by focusing all their attention and effort on supporting christian candidates or christian platforms. I argue that instead we need to fight this trend by focusing our attention and effort on those whom our leaders represent. Not by telling them who to vote for, but instead encouraging them to truly live the Gospel, to be Public Christians. A lot of our social ills can more effectively be addressed by the lives we live than by the laws our leaders pass. If the 85% of us who claim to be Christian are truly living Christ-like lives, then it doesn’t really matter who sits in the Oval Office or which party controls Congress.

So our response to political scandal should be to question our expectations, trust God, be humble and forgive. But if we did that, this election cycle would be pretty boring wouldn’t it?

Last weekend I was browsing headlines the lazy way, by seeing what comes up on the default AOL homepage, and one caught my eye, “Flood victims turn to prayer”. And I thought to myself, have we become such a secular society that when victims of a natural disaster pray, it makes national headlines? It sounds obvious to me, not at all newsworthy. I didn’t click on the headline, so I don’t know the context, but when I looked for it again today it took forever to find this story from the NY Daily News. Not a lot of surprises in the story, it mostly describes people’s reactions, weather service reports, and impacts on communities. What is interesting though, is that despite the headline, only the first two paragraphs in a two-page article mentions anything at all about prayer. Ok, maybe we’re not so secular that prayer makes headlines, but maybe we’re so polarized by religion that adding “prayer” to a link generates hits?

Then there’s the case of the teen who lost an arm to an alligator in Florida. I saw the first headline and ignored it, thinking it was too bad, but equating it with the all-too-common headlines of someone losing an arm or leg to a shark while surfing. I didn’t give the story a second thought until I saw the headline “Teen: God was with me when gator bit” and I checked it out. I was expecting a self-righteous “God saved me” but what I found instead was a humble acknowledgement that he couldn’t have survived if something divine didn’t intervene. But just like the NY Daily News article, only one paragraph out of 24 said anything related to the headline.

And then of course, who can forget the catchy headline, “God Busted for Selling Drugs Near Church“? Nothing religious at all in this article, but I still clicked.

But seriously, our God doesn’t need headlines. Our lives should be all the publicity he needs. What kind of press are you giving God? At work we have what we call “the 60 Minutes Rule”, meaning we should always ask ourselves if we would want what we’re doing to be reported on 60 Minutes. The hyper-religious might have a similar “700 Club Rule” or “World Net Daily Rule” but you get the picture. If you were interviewed on camera would the world know you’re a Christian? If you loudly proclaim it for the world to see, would those that know you best agree? Think about it, you never know when a headline might find you.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. It’s been hard keeping up while chasing around my three year old or holding my eight month old. Even harder with a single computer that has to be shared. So not only haven’t I been able to post, but I haven’t been able to keep up with related news either. So it’s easy to go another week without finding the time to read up on all the blogs, Christian news, “main stream media,” and so on to come up with something to write about.

I haven’t been motivated spiritually either, but I’ll get into that in a second. I don’t go into too much personal here, because that’s not the point of this blog. But I can relate my personal struggles to the headlines of the day. So I want to flash back a few weeks to the headline that Sen. Barak Obama finally severed ties to his church of 20-ish years. I defended Rev. Wright here and here although I don’t necessarily agree with, yet understand, the reverse-segregation of that church. I also don’t really buy into Obama’s politically expedient religiosity, or his stated motivation for leaving his church. So I wasn’t surprised by the news. I was disappointed though, that it took so much grandstanding and media-whoring, from a guest preacher no less, to expose that church for what it is.

I feel for Barak. Despite my doubts as to the sincerity of his faith, his church was still a community he was a part of for a long time. I sure he has many deep relationships in that church. He’s probably shared as many victories as defeats while, “rejoic[ing] with those who rejoice, and mourn[ing] with those who mourn.” (Rom 12:15) And as he would frequently state in his defenses of Rev Wright, that here was the man who married him, counseled him, and baptized his children. But he had to say, “Enough.” He had to turn his back on so many memories, so many friends. All for the sake of politics. Is it worth it? I don’t know, but I understand why he fought so hard to postpone the inevitable.

I relate to some degree because right now I’m wrestling with my own congregation. I look at all the relationships, the victories, the defeats, the spiritual growth, and spiritual setbacks. And I ask, was it worth it? I ask, because I look around my congregation and I see a group of people who don’t seem to get it, who appear to be going to church for the sake of going to church. And I can tell by the focus of the recent sermons that I’m not the only one who sees it. It wasn’t always this way, and in talking with other brothers, no one can really put their finger on what’s going on. There are the easy buzzwords of “discipleship” and “evangelism” followed by the usual pep-rally preaching to try and stir up some “spiritual fervor” (Rom 12:11). But our history has shown that in the long run that doesn’t work. And that’s probably why it’s not working now.

It would be easy (not emotionally, granted) to walk away. From the outside looking in, one could understand, even sympathize. I could justify the decision as being expedient. And I could look at the example of Sen. Obama of doing what has to be done. But I won’t, I can’t. Unlike Obama, I won’t make the easy decision. I can’t do what would be expected, what would be understood. No, I’m going to stay and fight. Make the hard decision, do the unexpected, be misunderstood. Why? Because that’s the right thing to do.

Sen. Barak Obama speaks eloquently of change, inspires those around him, and offers hope to so many looking for a better country. But how can I trust the rhetoric when he won’t stand up and fight for his faith, his community? How can I trust his faith when it is so easily cast aside for the sake of politics?

I have news for Sen. Obama, the most crucial battle he’ll have to fight in his bid for the White House isn’t foreign diplomacy or a struggling economy. No, the most crucial battle will be for his very soul. And it will be the hardest fought and can’t be won with rhetoric or with a smile and a handshake. It can only be won with sincerity and deep conviction. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Is 7:9) “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22)

There are some crazy Christians in the Antelope Valley. First, the Antelope Valley Press (link will expire in a week) reported on a woman whose home was vandalized after she spoke out against the Lancaster (CA) City Council displaying the slogan “In God We Trust”. She wants it treated as a hate crime, which I’m inclined to favor. Nothing like showing the love of Jesus by spray-painting “In God We Trust” on someone’s house.

The same day, Kieffe and Sons Ford in Mojave apologized for using a well-worn spam email in an ad campaign telling non-believers to “sit down and shut up” because they’re in the minority. After first being blogged about here, the story was eventually picked up overseas. I never did hear the ad before it was pulled. I guess I missed out.

The funny thing is, if we really believe, “In God We Trust” then does it really matter if others disagree? I don’t mean that in an inflammatory way, but rather if we really believe that then why retaliate against someone who believes differently, or tell them they need to shut up?

The irony? While my wife and I were discussing this over lunch, we were enjoying our In -N-Out burgers with “John 3:16” printed on the bottom of our sodas. Isn’t Free Speech a wonderful thing?

A pretty unsettling title for a Christian blog, don’t you think? But the truth is, I’m a total geek for the TV show Lost. Last night was the big finale, and I haven’t watched it yet SO DON’T SPOIL IT. But I usually read up on the “Doc Jensen” preview put up at Entertainment Weekly and it inspired me to post. (I admit to falling way behind and lacking motivation, so at least this gets me logged on.)

Religious themes are stashed all over in the show as there is an ongoing tension between the theological and philosophical, the empirical and the spiritual. There are mysteries throughout, and one of the funnest parts of being a “Lostie” is trying to keep up with other fans’ theories as to what in the world is really going on.

Early on, the main theory was that the island was Purgatory, but the writers/producers have said that’s not true. And there’s been too much science since the first season for that to be the case. There’s always something mystical going on, but usually later explained by science. But we still have unexplained healings, apparent moral judgements by “smokey”, and ghosts, a lot of ghosts.

My theory, once Purgatory was shot down, was that the island is Eden and all that we’ve seen since season two have been the results of people trying to exploit Eden for science. I’ve expanded to think that the purpose of the Dharma Initiative was in fact to scientifically either create or prove/disprove God. I’m still sticking with that theory in some form, but the show is good at proving most fans wrong.

I hope the show doesn’t take a strong anti-religion theme, which has become too common of late. But Doc Jensen sees the signs. I’ll post his observations and let you figure the rest out. Namaste!

”GOLDEN JESUS” AND OTHER SUBVERSIVE SYMBOLS

I know some of you don’t buy my theory that the smack-stuffed Virgin Mary idols were an encoded reference to Karl Marx’s critique of religion as the opiate of the masses. But what do you make of the golden Jesus statue belonging to Hurley’s mom — the one he almost employed as a club in last week’s episode? According to a simple Google search, ”Golden Jesus” happens to be street slang for heroin. Explain THAT one, non-believers!

Okay, fine: coincidence. But what about ”Oceanic 815”? Ever do research into that? ”Oceanic Feeling” was Sigmund Freud’s famous term to describe the (misunderstood) yearning for/belief in God. But almost as a parry to Freud’s thrust, there’s ”8:15,” which correlates to the Bible’s most famous oceanic survival tale, the story of Noah’s Ark, in which God destroys the world, then rebuilds it through a ”chosen one” and his family. The verse, Genesis 8:15, is famously one of the shortest in the Bible: ”And God said to Noah:”

And then there’s ”Bearing 305,” which is the directional heading the freighter needs to take to the Island, lest it get lost in the time-storm anomaly. This surely links to John 3:05, which was also one of the Biblical citations on Mr. Eko’s stick. It reads: ”Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and spirit.’ This verse is part of a larger passage that serves as the foundation of ”born again” Christian theology. However, it should be noted that the story of this verse involves a discussion between Jesus and a learned man named Nicodemus, who walks away from his initial encounter with Christ deeply confused.

Taken together with ”Christian Shephard” (Jesus) + ”Empty Coffin” (Empty Tomb) – ”Christian Shephard was a boozy, emotionally abusive, untrustworthy, adulterous jerk of a man,” and the sum total is a show that is supporting its ongoing thematic debate between science and faith with cleverly constructed symbols and allusions that mirror that discussion — and specifically grapple with the most critical, non-negotiable elements of the Christian faith: the claim that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead.

Am I wrong?

It was reported yesterday that the youngest daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman was killed in an accident at their home. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. It is tempting to take Satan’s approach to Job that it’s easy to glorify God when everything is going well. But one’s faith is truly tested when the inexplicable happens. Steven Curtis Chapman has certainly glorified God through his music, but also through his family and the adoption non-profit he founded. For tragedy to strike his family directly like this must be gut-wrenching as he is likely wrestling with the question of “why?”

To relate to this songwriter, I turn to another- Horatio Spafford. If the name isn’t familiar, he’s the writer of It is Well With My Soul, one of my favorite hymns. This is the story “behind the music” (courtesy of Wikipedia):

This hymn was writ­ten af­ter several trau­matic events in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chi­ca­go Fire which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville Du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While cross­ing the At­lan­tic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with an­o­ther ship, and all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died. His wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterwards, as Spaf­ford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daugh­ters had died…

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.