How big is too big?

I recently read this blog about FBC Dallas' new $130 million building project.

Nobody should fault FBC Dallas or anybody else for building a building. But this isn’t a building. This, and a bunch of other stuff, i[t]s Bible Belt Disneyland. This is evangelicalism with more cowbell. This is Field of Dreams attractional church. And it stinks to high heaven...

...Not go and tell. Come and see is the “mission” of megachurchianity.

After a little research, I found they are running ~3 services with about 11 thousand people. I can't help but think to my church, Windsor Crossing and wonder if there is really much that separates us in terms of size (we run close to 10 thousand on Easter & Christmas, but that's spread over ~7-10 services and have close to 5 thousand every weekend at 2 sites now, with 5 services at one site and 2 at the other). On the flip side, Francis Chan has a radically different approach:

Convicted by the verse to "love your neighbor as yourself," Chan showed up at the next board meeting with an agenda. In the early years, Cornerstone gave away 4 percent of its budget. Chan asked them to give away 50 percent. Cuts in staff salaries and serious sacrifices in programs would have to be made, but it only took a half hour for the board to agree.

Chan's church now meets in an amphitheater in the park to accommodate their growing size (They are in SoCal, so the weather is on their side most of the time I'd guess). And they are now giving away 55% of their budget to various ministries.

If it rained, they'd get wet knowing their money was feeding the hungry.

So what do you think? I think these are vitally important questions to be discerning considering the brink of change we are on here in St. Louis and the ministry of Windsor Crossing. Would you be willing to have church in the park? Maybe not in St. Louis. :) What are your thoughts on what the modern church should look like? Should we go for a huge complex to fully meet the needs of the community? Should we get rid of as much as possible and live radically different lives culturally? Should we balance the two (which is what I think the Crossing does currently)?

How do we make sure we are in a "go and tell" mentality rather than a "come and see"?

May we not focus on our own will, works and power; but rather on the will of God, the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. May our church buildings be nothing more than a "place to hang our hat" so to speak, and that a large majority of what constitutes our "church" exists entirely outside its walls.

The new and improved(?) Sesame Street

This article talks about the changes that have been made to Sesame Street over the years since its 1969 debut. This is making news because of a disclaimer that now comes on the 40th anniversary DVD box set:

"These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child."

Yikes!

However, I think some of the changes were probably for the best... Some of you might remember the Cookie Monster diet change that happened a few years ago:

Today, Cookie Monster's diet is much more balanced, as he has adopted the philosophy that cookies are a "sometimes food." Cookie coincidentally changed his tune in 2006 amidst reports that childhood obesity had reached epidemic proportions.

Cookie Monster was awesome, but this is actually a good step in my opinion to lead by example.

As the article states:

Early "Sesame Street" had some other elements that would not pass muster today. Oscar the Grouch is just plain nasty, children are seen riding their bikes without helmets, and there's even a sketch where the human character of Gordon can be seen approaching a little girl on the street. He takes her by the hand and brings her into his house for milk and cookies (again with the cookies!). Clearly, that could be misinterpreted by today's standards.

All in all, Sesame Street as unassuming and beneficial as it is, still has to evolve and change in a changing world.

This was a similar conversation to one I was having with a friend a week or two ago about the changing of the times. We were talking about what we got away with when we were kids... I'd take my bike in the summer and be gone all day. I'd come back for lunch, then back out until dinner. Mom didn't mind and she just stood and yelled for me when it was time to come home. I'd have to think that those days are long gone now.

I don't think that the world is any more dangerous now than it was 20 years ago, but it seems our sensitivity and awareness of the danger has increased. I just wonder if that is a good thing.

What do you think about all of this?

I like the Navy

The Great Adventure -- Part 2

So... I sold my house. Its a really weird feeling. I was only on the market for a little over three months, but it really was one of those things I didn't think would actually happen. This whole experience has given me confidence in prayer and has further solidified my alignment with God on the path my life is taking.

Here are some highlights:

The goal of selling the house was to free up my financial situation so that I could concentrate more on school instead of the corporate world. From an investment standpoint this was a horrible idea because of the market, and the fact that I had only lived in the house for a little over a year.

I met with some trusted friends and mentors in my life to talk about this idea and felt affirmed to proceed. Also, through prayer and petition to God, I had a peace about what I was doing.

I actually get a buyer to make an offer after like 40 house showings with no bites. This guy low-balls me by like $10,000 -- sort of a deal breaker for me if he doesn't get his act together. I'm not holding my breath.

I counter his offer, and he counters just a tiny bit lower than mine... he had come up ~$8000!!! Now why would this have been? Well, my realtor let the buyer know that we had several showings and an open house scheduled soon and chances are there would be a lot of interest for a house this price... all of which was true. I sort of think God played a bit of a role in this as well. Its funny how some people think if man is responsible for something that somehow precludes God from being active in the situation... not so in my opinion. God's providence is a very interesting thing.

Parallel to all this, I wrecked my car during the torrential downpour that was October in Saint Louis. The insurance company called it a total loss, so I was going to get a check. However, the mechanical work (to get the car road-ready) was about half the check, so I just repaired the car and basically made money! I've just got a big 'ol scrape on the side and a missing hub cap, but that's ok by me. And, yes I'm fine. :)

So we come to an agreement on price, and then starts the inspections (for those who don't know, after you have an accepted offer on the house, you have 15 days to get a home inspector in the house to look at it from top to bottom. He then writes a report based on his findings that details problem areas that a normal Joe-schmo wouldn't see. This starts another negotiation process where you come to an agreement on compensation/repairs for those things.)

The buyer wanted me to replace all the electrical circuits in the house, a new roof, and various other things. Just as a side note, replacing all the electrical would include ripping out walls and other nasty things that wouldn't be a very good idea. I was a little distraught. So close yet so far away.

We counter with what we are willing to do, and the timeframe expires... but they want an extension. Great, just prolong my nail biting.

Finally, they come back and ask for a bit more cash than I offered, and we have a deal.

So, I'm now technically house-less and I have to move out before November 16th!

That was step 1.

Now its on to finding another place to live, which I thought I had lined up... not so much. Still working on that. However, step 1 has given me enough of a peace about this crazy tumultuous time in my life to know that I'm not the only one working in this situation. First, I have some amazing friends and family that are walking through this with me every step of the way. They are supportive, loving, and giving and I really appreciate that. But also, I have confidence in the God of the universe that He is for me in this situation. Romans 8:28 tells us that "God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." I believe that means that as long as our lives are centered on His desires, His will, His glory things will work for good. Not necessarily what we expect to be "good," but good from the perspective of God, who in essence, knows much better than I what good actually is.

Is God needed?

I just read this article on how a dozen New York City subway stations will be adorned with ads asking the question: "A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?" on October 26th. The event is being called "a coordinated multi-organizational advertising campaign designed to raise awareness about people who don't believe in a god", and is being organized by the Big Apple Coalition of Reason.

Michael De Dora Jr., executive director of the New York Center for Inquiry, another of the associated atheist groups had this to say on the objectives of the event:

First, the coalition hopes the promotion will enhance awareness of New York City's secular community. He explained that the coalition also hopes to encourage "talking and thinking about religion and morality," as well as support involvement in groups that encourage a sense of a social community for non-believing New Yorkers.

I'd like to reply to these in turn --

1. The coalition hopes the promotion will enhance awareness of New York City's secular community.

Basically, to me, this means that atheists want to find and hang out with other atheists. I got no problem with that. We all search for community and acceptance among those who think similarly.

2. The coalition also hopes to encourage "talking and thinking about religion and morality."

I guess mission accomplished, since this is exactly what I'm doing through this blog post...

So lets talk a little about religion and morality... "A million New Yorkers are [morally] good without God," I would agree in one sense but push back a bit in another sense. De Dora mentions later in the article that people "don't need religion to be good people and productive members of society." I'd agree with that... mankind on the whole has an ethical moral system integrated into their being... some call it the moral law. You don't need religion or belief in God to make use of that. We can follow civil code just fine without even bringing God into the mix. However, religion -- true religion is not moralism. It was never intended to be. God does not exist to tell us right from wrong. Now, don't get me wrong, He did tell us what was right and wrong... but that's not His whole purpose nor His main purpose. So to state that religion isn't needed based on moral goodness existing apart from belief in God is reductionist and honestly, a straw man argument.

3. The coalition finally wants to support involvement in groups that encourage a sense of a social community for non-believing New Yorkers

Again, not much of a problem here. If you seriously have convictions about something, you should live it out. Atheists have as much a right to promote their worldview as Christians do (and I'm not really a fan of the billboards).

A few other thoughts...

I am pretty OK with this demonstration. I think for too long we Christians have lived inside an ivory tower of protection with our Christian music and Christian authors and Christian camps ad nauseaum. What I'd really like to see is more interaction between faiths (including those who claim none). I'd like to see real Christianity emerge to the forefront of what people see and know it to be rather than the caricatures that plague the airwaves now. The mission of God is too important to be degraded and defamed by His own so-called "followers."

If you are a Christian...

Please do not make the same mistakes as some of our predecessors. Hold on to what is good and reject what is evil. Help restore Christianity to its true biblical nature. Be a good steward of the faith you have been given. It is a tall charge, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, honesty about our own faults and humility towards others we can succeed.

If you are not a Christian...

Speaking on behalf of collective Christianity -- I am sorry for our mistakes. We owed you better than how we treated you. I am sorry for my faults and for how I've hurt you personally. I am sorry that for you Christianity has been reduced to a list of do's and don'ts that seem superfluous in today's culture. I am sorry that horrible horrible things done in Jesus' name have blemished your thoughts of who He truly is. Please don't let the mistakes of mere humans posturing themselves with the almighty name of God get in the way of God Himself. He does exist and He seeks to know you and you Him.

The truth is that the biblical story is about a good God who created all that you see in perfect beauty and harmony. Humanity, in the first act of pride wanted more... essentially to be God. This plunged mankind into an enslavement and a separation from their Creator. However, from the beginning God planned a way to fix it all. He sent His Son to us to teach us more about Who God is and ultimately die in our place. This act of sacrifice paid the price of our enslavement, effectively freeing those who would believe He came for them. Not only did Jesus die to free us from bondage, but He was raised from the dead so that no man that believes in Him would ever die again. Instead, this secured for us eternal community with the Creator God of the universe. The story of the bible is one of redemption. It's all about huge screw-ups and how God repairs and restores and even improves upon our failures. Ultimately so that we can enjoy life together with Him.

The Reboot of Reboot!

Ok, so I'm a nerd, we all know that. However, I just heard today that the old TV series Reboot is getting a reboot onto the big screen -- actually it's slated to be a trilogy!!! This excites me to no end! If you don't know what Reboot is, well let me tell you. It is a 1/2 hour tv show set inside a computer (a la Tron), and follows the story of the computer's citizens in the town of Mainframe. "The User" plays games that take over a part of the city, and the Guardian (Bob) has to play the game and defeat "The User" to save Mainframe. All the while, the virus Megabyte is looking to take over Mainframe, and must be stopped as well. It was good stuff for a kid like me growing up.

This was the first full-length, completely computer-animated TV series.

What I didn't realize at the time was the AMAZING amounts of pop-culture and movie references in this show. It's writing was pretty splendidly done and still sort-of-suitable for the age group it was intended for.

I am further excited by the fact that I just found A TON of Reboot episodes on YouTube!!!

Here are a couple of clips from Reboot:

Opening Sequence


X-files


Evil Dead


Guitar Hero (wayyyyyy before Guitar Hero... notice that Megabyte turns it up to 11!!!)

The scariest thing I've heard in a while

Over the summer, I had the privilege to attend commencement ceremonies at Covenant Theological Seminary, where I am a student. A good friend was graduating, and I wanted to support him, but also get a feel for what I would be going through in a few years. At the baccalaureate services, Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Seminary preached a profound message to the graduates. This message scared the pants off of me because of the implications of what he spoke. The extreme amount of responsibility that is placed on the preacher is such a humbling ordeal, that the only relief is in the fact that you have Divine Guidance in preparing and speaking the Word. I remember thinking at the time, and still wonder if I will be up to the task of preaching the Word. Here is an expanded version of the same message given at The Gospel Coalition conference this past April. The source text is 2 Timothy 3:10 - 4:5.

Set aside an hour or so and reflect on the power of the words he is speaking to you here.