Survivor

Another season of "reality" shows began tonight with Survivor: Guatamala. Yeah, it is something of a casual guilty pleasure -- I probably miss as many episodes as I might catch, and I really don't feel compelled to watch. I have to admit that I find it kind of interesting just not a passion. (Now the Amazing Race is a different story -- for another time). Anyway I've often thought about what it might look like for a group of christians to play this game. How would you make decisions? Who do you vote off? And how would you do it as one trying to emulate Christ? Deceit seems to show its face in every show ... would it become part of the Christian tribal plan as well? I find it encouraging that most tribal members understand that it is a game and many seem to truly wrestle with having to vote someone off. I know that some of the participants have been Christians and they seemed to try to demonstrate Christ-like principles and character and they seem to have been treated well. I'm not really critiquing the show here. Just wondering. How would Christians play the game? Would they default to getting rid of the weakest or the strongest? Would God really care who won? Would the team pray for God's direction? Would they seek God's will? Just a really odd and random thought today...

To Quote

Some quotes that provoke my thinking from my recent reading: Regarding Church growth as a focus: "The seduction is in believing that God is as impressed with crowds as people are" - Richard and Henry Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership, p. 126. It is amazing how we make the goal of growing the church large in size the idol we must all pursue. "When individuals tie their identity to a program they've created, they lose the objectivity that is necessary to evaluate its effectiveness" - Stanley, Joiner, Jones, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, p. 104. What a danger to the church when we, as leaders, become enamored with our own creations! "The thrusts of our verbal sword cut deep and have the power to kill reputations, destroy ministries, and sever friendships." - Dan Allender, Bold Love, p. 100. Great reminder that I must be careful with my words ... not only words that might be intended as cutting, but also gossip and words spoken in a "knowing whisper" can destroy.

Mudhouse Sabbath

I just read Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. Lauren is a young woman with an honest, authentic heart who writes about the things she misses from her spiritual beginnings in the Jewish faith. This is not a deep theological reflection, nor an exhaustive historical defense of how the rabbi's developed their Talmudic practices. It is, however, a creative, provocative, and interesting reflection that added some insights to how I might find some greater meaning in my Christian faith. In fact, I used some of her thoughts on keeping kosher in our last communion service at Crossroads Bible Church. I also learned some great stuff about Hebrew tradition that I had missed in my seminary studies many moons ago. Should be helpful as I interact with the Executive Rabbi at the synagogue just up the street!

Imagination Prompt Generator: Writing Inspiration at the Press of a Button

So ... why don't I blog more? Mostly because I am busy ... but also because it is hard to quickly think of things to write. I don't particularly want to "journal" my life here ... that is still a bit private (though I just read about students who feel that no one should be able to look at their very personal musing on myspace.com blogs without their permission - guess they haven't gotten the word that the web is really wide open!). This site looks like it could be a help to those of us who seem a bit slow in the creativity department. Hopefully everyone will choose different topics each day or we might find blogging to be a bit boring.

A Word from A Mentor

PyroManiac has a great post from a guest blogger ... one of my mentors and favorite Bible teachers. John MacArthur, Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church, addresses a real concern the church should have in these days of advanced technology. First, are we being careful with the message we teach. Are we speaking the truth and doing it with excellence? Second, are we being good stewards of the great technology we have to spead that message? As MacArthur says, to whom much is given, much is required. It would be great to see John drop by Pyro's site every now and then. Or, maybe he could begin his own blog ... get a cool blogger name and enter the fray.

CalvinBall: Nostalgia for an Era Past

At our church staff meeting this morning we took a fairly random trip down memory lane laughing at the great games we used to play with our youth groups at Crossroads Bible Church (back in the old days when I was still a youth pastor). As always, the trip was covered with a misty veneer that seems to wrap itself around most memories of the "way-things-used-to-be" - the mist that makes things look better than it really was. But it does seem a bit sad that there really is no longer any "risk" to much of what we do and it that play now has to be absolutely safe ... if anyone even plays anymore! Maybe its the insurance companies, maybe its parents, or maybe its just common sense but play has eliminated some great games. We used to create take offs of classic CalvinBall or Official 43 Man Squamish (of course we rewrote and codified all sorts of new rules for this one - including the mandatory non-binding pledge to play the game with all seriousness). I remember, as a kid, being able to make up games on the spur of the moment and getting all of the Ratner Street gang to join in. I'm not sure that kids in my neighborhood today could do that. I'm not sure parents would let them? Maybe I've just become old... but that's a discussion for later.

A Book for Understanding the Emerging Church

Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church : Understanding a Movement and Its Implications by D.A. Carson is the latest book I'm reading. An insightful and helpful book for understanding the newest church trend -- the Emergent Church movement. The Emergent Church is essentially a post-modern revolt against what is labeled the "modernist" church that has spawned the megachurch, seeker church, and the like. Carson evaluates where the post-modern church brings needed correctives and points to some encouraging signs in the movement. He spends the bulk of the book exposing some of the weaknesses in the movement. We, as pastors and church leaders, ARE going to have to deal with a post-modern world. Understanding this "emerging church" is going to be vital to getting our message out clearly to today's world. Both modernist and post-modernist views have flaws and failures and are marred sin. God's eternal truth must be made evident to both kinds of thinkers.