godthoughts.net

Some interesting thoughts I’ve been reading lately…..

Ariah Fine on the false charity of clothing drives.  Read it and then look at your closet…ouch!

Erika Haub shares quite openly on how she tries to be a living alternative to the culture, instead of compromising with cultural values, in this case money and possessions.  What choices would you make?

JD Walt shares a disturbing, yet humorous (sort of) video.  How do you interact with people who ask about Jesus?

Julia has a delightfully funny post on v-neck shirts on guys.

Matt’s thoughts on the Core of Christian belief.

Go here and make your own t-shirt, and you can sell it too!

Enjoy!

In the spirit of AJ Jacobs’ Year of Living Biblically (I think), a friend of mine (who is a pastor but is not pastoring a church right now) is chronicling his journey of not attending a brick and mortar church but trying to live faithfully to Christ as guided by the Spirit.

Check out his site.

Thanks!

What would happen, I wonder, if the economic stimulus money that is coming from the guv’ment was given to churches for specific ministry?  What would happen if it was given to organizations that helped people in need (insert your favorite here)?

Would there be a difference as to what happened with that money?

In which place would it go further?

I wonder….

I wish I had written on this first, but Douglas Haub, a friend out at Fuller Seminary hijacks his wife’s blog and posted on changing the grammar of our worship and what effect that has.

For instance, if we’re used to chairs being a certain way and music a certain way and we changed that for a worship service, would it be so off the norm that people wouldn’t know how to worship because the aspects of what they are used had changed?  In other words, how big a part does the “structure” of a worship service/experience help or enable us to worship because we’re not wondering about what’s coming up next?  So, would a highly liturgical service, that is well known by those coming, actually help them encounter God more or better because they can focus on God and not on what is going to happen next in the program?

Check his post and discussion and let me know what you think.

Here’s a Friday roundup…..

Josh Brown has a great idea on helping some folks in India.  By the way, if need some web designing, or other graphic art work, he’s someone you should contact.

Julia weighs in on some pretty hilarious dating and relationship cards to send electronically.

Ariah Fine with some thoughts on the Christian life.

JD Walt with some thoughts and interesting discussion on narcissistic worship.

Alex McManus talks about the kind of people the 21st century needs in the context of 4 Turnings that occur.  Here he speaks to the turning to Scripture.

Vote for the Worst tries to mess up American Idol.

Free TV shows and movies at Hulu.

Enjoy!

In part two of this posting series on Jack Bauer…

Jack Bauer is America’s newest hero.  Played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer works for the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and over the last five seasons has thwarted multi-layered and tension-filled plots to destroy the country and various elected leaders.  Jack is a hero.  He has a distinctive communication style. Jack is effective in what he does.  Preachers can learn from Jack.

            What Jack Says, Jack Means.  When Jack Bauer talks, or rather shouts most of the time, he says exactly what he needs or wants and is clear on how and when he needs it. Whether telling CTU goddess Chloe the latest intel to his remarkable PDA or letting President Palmer know he will accept the latest mission, Jack Bauer is a man of his word.

            When I say “in closing,” I need to be wrapping up the message soon, not rambling on for another 20 minutes just to fill time or to finally tell that story I’ve always wanted to tell.  After watching Jack Bauer, I don’t have to explain every little nuance of the biblical passage to impress people, but rather say what needs to be said. The message of Christ doesn’t deserve beating around the bush—we need to find point of the sermon and get to it.

            Jack Modulates.  Depending on the situation, Jack pinpoints what type of voice to use. When he’s barreling down the highway in pursuit of the colleague of the terrorist who has the code for the nerve gas canisters and Jack needs information from CTU head Bill Buchanan, his raises his voice, even shouting sometimes.  This helps the hearer break through any distracting clutter in their minds as to the message. Yet when he is confronting the computer geek who has the microchip needed to decipher a terrorist message, Jack speaks calmly and soothingly (usually right before he pulls some move and shoves the person against the wall) so as to allay the person’s fear. Jack isn’t a one-dimensional communicator.

            I have found, whether preaching to a crowd of 30 or a large gathering of 1000, that if I don’t preach the emotion of The story, then the congregation finds it difficult to step into it and find their story there.  I was so passionate about the fact God wasn’t distant or impersonal, I lept from the pulpit area and climbed over several rows of pews until I came face-to-face with a member of the congregation. I wanted to make the point that Jesus came to us and is right where we are.  That was six years ago.  I still have people tell me they remember that sermon—and the point.  Jesus healed the leper, so let’s get excited about it!  Jesus’ best friend was beheaded, so let’s convey the sadness and shock of that!  The message of Christ deserves more than a monotone, passionless delivery.

            Jack Delivers.  Whether diffusing a nuclear threat, finding nerve gas, or protecting CTU from destruction, Jack doesn’t let messy, sideline circumstances distract him from achieving his mission.  Everyone counts on Jack. As well, no one but Jack can do what Jack does.  He gets it done.

           Preachers have all had weeks where the toilet overflowed, two sudden funerals popped up, sandwiched between two stress-filled board meetings, which was preceded by a low-attendance Sunday when the offering needed to be higher in order to cover the surprise increase in the utility bill.  And that was on top of the fact that we had an argument with our spouse over something stupid.  Yet people are coming to hear from God’s Word.  Preachers have the awesome responsibility to bring truth and hope regardless of what circumstances try to distract us.  For the congregation we serve, we’re the only one that can do what we do.  Sometimes we just have to get it done—it may be messy, but we’ll deliver.

            So, if you’re facing a wall in your preaching, or are wondering how you can pump up your pulpit presence, you may want to ask “WWJD—What would Jack Do?”

 Jack Bauer can help you live more like Christ.  If you’re not one of the millions of viewers of the Emmy-award winning drama 24, then you don’t know Jack.  Played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer works for the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and repeatedly and literally saved the day with his focused, relentless pursuit of justice and success of his mission as a federal agent.  Of course, with the writer’s strike, it will be 2009 before you get to see the new season (and some would say that after last season, 24 is getting “old.”)  Nonetheless, by looking at how Jack lives and acts we can grow in our own journey with Jesus.

Jack Lives Simply.  He wears basic multi-functional clothes, has little possessions (save his rugged messenger bag and out-of-this world cell phone/PDA that never drops a call and gets coverage anywhere).  Jack can pick up and go on any mission quickly and effortlessly because he’s not shackled to material goods.  Do we really need four pairs of sunglasses, seven different belts, and a closet full of clothes (when we only wear about the same five to ten outfits switched around)?  Does all our “stuff” make it easier or harder to live like, and follow after Christ?

            Jack Lives Passionately.  Whether he’s calling the White House on the direct line, or interrogating a suspect, Jack Bauer lives with intensity and with great passion.  Much is at stake and he can’t afford to beat around the bush with what he kinda, sorta, possibly thinks he feels or maybe could want.  He communicates clearly and concisely. He says what he feels, and he very much feels what he says.  When he’s flying a nuclear bomb into the desert to detonate it and all he has time for is a short call to his daughter Kim, he calls her and doesn’t dilly-dally with “Hey, how are you?”  Jack says he loves her.  Jack is well aware of the frailty of life and lives it full out.

            When’s the last time you got passionate about something that mattered?  Living like Jack doesn’t mean yelling at everyone or getting high blood pressure if your call doesn’t go through, but rather discovering what it is you can give your life over to and then living that full out.  The biblical promise we have to live the abundant, juicy life necessarily means narrowing our scope.  What would you do if you didn’t even get paid for it?  What is out there that would require everything you have, everything within you to engage in and accomplish?  Jesus didn’t get slaughtered on the cross so we could maintain the status quo.

            Jack Is Loyal.  Unless given some reason not to, Jack Bauer is the most faithful friend you could have.  When President Palmer (now deceased) needed Jack to do the impossible, Jack was there.  When CTU computer babe Chloe was in a crisis, Jack talked her through it.  Again and again, Jack stands by his peeps.

            You want to be a friend to others like Jack. You need a friend like Jack.  Who has your back?  Who is your Curtis or Chloe or Bill Buchanan?  If Christ-followers are to be our brother’s (and sister’s) keeper, who are you the keeper for?

            Jack’s Job Is Detrimental To His Relationships.  He greatly desires a meaningful relationship with his daughter Kim, yet continually chooses the demands of his job over her.  He is in love with Audrey Rains, the Defense Department liaison at CTU, but tortured her fiancé (who later died) in order to get important information.  His wife was killed in season one due to his involvement with CTU.

            If you keep telling your friends or family that you can’t make it to whatever social gathering that’s planned because you “have a ton of work,” or “I just need to finish this project and then I’ll have some breathing room,” or some other type of reason, you might want to reevaluate the price you are paying for workplace success.

            Jack Stays True To His Purpose, Despite Personal Tragedy.  A typical day for Jack Bauer has meant his wife has been killed, his daughter is been chased or is estranged from him, his close friend the President has been assassinated, several co-workers have been killed by various means, some right before his very eyes (poor Edgar!), and he hasn’t had a chance to eat anything.  But, even more than the postal service, nothing keeps Jack from fulfilling his mission (finding the computer chip, destroying the nerve gas, locating the terrorist with the nuclear football).  He grieves, but doesn’t wallow in self-pity or depression.

            What have you been through already in your life?  You may think you’re too hurt or damaged or broken to be of much good to anyone, even to God.  But God is about redeeming bad pasts, and transforming old issues into new futures.  Many times the pain of our past becomes the promise and platform of ministry God has for us.  While it sounds trite, “don’t give up” really does have merit as we follow after Jesus.

            Jack Depends On Community.  If it weren’t for his co-workers at CTU (even though it is filled with high stress, frequent power grabs, and petty back-stabbing), Jack couldn’t do what he does.  He needs Chloe to triangulate the position of the terrorist cell and instantly send it to his PDA.  He needs the bit players to run interference with the administrative muckety-mucks so he can extract the information from his source.  He relies on Curtis (until he had to shoot him!) to clean up the havoc left in his wake as he chases the bad guys.  Jack needs community.  Jack seems to be a lone ranger or a maverick but he answers to authority and is not out on his own-his CTU “small group” is his lifeline, literally.

            For community to happen there is a great deal of trust that occurs.  Jack has placed his life in the hands of others numerous times.  Who do you trust?  Trust can be broken, and it has been for Jack as Miles at CTU erased the evidence linking President Logan to the assassination plot.  But Jack didn’t turn his back on the whole community (CTU) because of the weak actions of one person.  We can often miss out on the beauty of what community can bring to us because we are so thin-skinned and run away at the first emotional slight from someone else.  We have to grow up and do the tough Christian thing of actually loving people through conflict and enjoying the peace that reconciliation and forgiveness bring.

            We can learn from Jack Bauer.  While there is a great deal of violence that spills forth from Jack, he still provides some positive examples of how we can better live our lives.  So the next time you’re faced with a difficult decision or problematic situation, you may want to ask “WWJD-What would Jack Do?”

…tongue firmly planted in cheek!