WWJB Saturday: Lazy Evangelism Edition

Found here



From the product description (Please note that the choice of font is theirs and not mine):

Leave an impression of the Cross on your journey and you may lead another to Jesus!

Can you imagine how proud our Heavenly Father will be to look down at His beautiful creation and see Cross Impressions scattered on beaches around the world in remebrance of Jesus?

Our Brown Rhinestone - Women's Christian Cross Impression flip flops are much more than just neat flip flops.  They are truly a fashion and faith product that will help you proudly display your love for Jesus and perhaps even lead another to Him!

Yes, I'm sure that when God looks at creation, he doesn't care about our misuse of natural resources or the polluting of our waterways, He really just wants to make sure that there are miniature cross imprints all over the land.

Apart from that, this is a great example of what I refer to as "lazy evangelism." It's a tool that people can use to assure themselves that they are reaching out to others with Christ's love even while they are neglecting to build actual relationships with those people. Because it's a lot easier to dream that your flip flops are saving souls than it is to actually get involved with broken and dying people. Besides, Jesus is always pictured wearing sandals. I'm sure they were just like this. That's how he got so many followers.

Blessed or Privileged?

Yesterday I came across an interesting article in the April issue of The Lutheran that raised a question I've been pondering since. It's a question that I believe is important for all of us to consider.

Because the online article is only available to subscribers, below I've included the passages that caught my eye.

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A distant voice of alarm called out as I read the snazzy postcard I received in the mail from a local church. "Come and See Our Newly Renovated Community Center!" it read. A glamorous picture of the remodeled and expanded building glossed the center of the card. The closing line read: "God has richly blessed us!"


The large congregation was in a middle-class area. Undoubtedly, their economic affluence had helped make the building project a reality during these difficult economic times.

I studied the card for a moment and set it aside, but hours later that voice persisted. "What is it?" I thought.


Another voice came to mind. It was that of my friend, Rubi, a social worker and member of a Lutheran congregation. "We are blessed!" I could hear her say, "We have a strong community, beautiful children and the sun is shining on us today!"


Her church is of modest means. No doubt the congregation that sent the postcard is blessed, but is their new building a sign of God's blessing? What about churches in more modest neighborhoods? Are less wealthy congregations somehow less blessed?


Sometimes we say "we are so blessed" when we mean "we are so privileged." I know, as I sit and type on my fancy computer that this is a tricky ethical conversation. I'm not out to critique the gap between the rich and poor at this moment. I'm not suggesting we hand over all our material possessions. I'm suggesting we think about the difference between the privileges and blessing in our lives. It's a question of not only semantics but theology.


Maybe, in the face of our social addiction to materialism, it's become normal to confuse our blessings with our privileges. The prosperity gospel is all around us. Famous "pop" church leaders preach that material success is an indication of God's favor or blessing. Cultural messages teach us to idolize material things like fancy cars, nice clothes, sexualized bodies, and expensive homes. Suddenly a big, beautiful home or an elaborate vacation becomes a "blessing."


But the opportunity to own material things like a brand-new car, a gym membership, or an expensive suit is ours as a result of our economic privilege.


In the U.S., whites have been historically privileged over people of other ethnicities. All over the world, corporations are privileged over individual farmers or factory workers. Throughout the centuries, society has privileged certain characteristics over others. Privilege is a result of social construction. It's born of systems such as slavery, colonization, and patriarchal societies that honor certain kinds of work. Privilege is not divine providence.


...When we equate God's blessing with material things, it can give rise to an attitude that we are an "exceptional" country that is somehow more blessed and "better" than the rest of the world because we are materially privileged. We may think our technology is the best, our ideas are the best, our views about religion, our way of life...you get the idea. But perhaps we aren't necessarily exceptional-just privileged.


Jesus reminds us in John 10:10 that he came so we might have "abundant life." What does that mean to us? Do our material goods compose "abundant life?" What blessings make your life abundant?


The line between a privilege and a blessing isn't always clear. Sometimes there is tension. For example, is a glass of clean drinking water a blessing or a privilege? Is the peaceful neighborhood where I live a blessing or a privilege? Is my first-rate education a blessing or a privilege? Is my local, excellent hospital emergency room a blessing or a privilege?

*Credit: Lindsay Mack, former ELCA missionary; The Lutheran April 2011 - emphasis mine

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Are will guilty of speaking of our privileges as "blessings?" Does it matter what term we use? (I think it does.) Are we really correctly representing to the world what it is to be blessed when we put vanity plates reading "HISWILL" on our Lexus or tell them that God "gave us"  our new laptop/iphone/car/big house/etc?

I wish more Christians would seriously consider this question.

Theatre Church

As you probably know, I am rather fascinated by both how Christians have adopted their own consumer culture and the various attmepts to ensure that Christianity is "relevant" to the current generations. Lately I've been wondering how long it can possibly be until those two worlds collide and "secular" consumer industries start marketing things to the church in order to help them in their quest to be more relevant. It looks like that day is already here.

Yesterday, in my quest to get one more Oscar nominated film under my belt before Sunday, I went to a matinee at the local AMC theater. I usually frequent independent theaters (we have some amazing ones here in the Twin Cities) so I always forget that the chain theaters mean at least 20 minutes of commercials, previews, and various theater promotions. Due to that forgetfulness, I arrived early and had to sit through all that promotion. But in the midst of all the clips telling me to go get a Coke in the lobby or join the National Guard, there was one that I hadn't seen before. There was a promotion in the middle of all of this encouraging me to "grow [my] church at the movie theater." Apparently AMC theaters now have an established program of recruiting people to host church services in their theaters as a strategic growth strategy for new and multi-site churches.

The other reason this caught my attention is because awhile back there was some media coverage about a new church meeting in a local theater. It received the typical charming oddity human interest story spin of "Who'd have thought?" Now I know who: AMC theaters and Fathom. That's who thought.

I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no problem with the idea of renting a theater for church and am making no statement on the churches that meet there or their beliefs. It may be a very cost effective option for them that fits into the model of what they want their church to be. Although, I personally would have a very had time focusing on the sermon if the smell of popcorn was wafting in the air. But then again, I'm kind of addicted to popcorn and have a bad habit of not eating enough breakfast prior to leaving for church on Sunday morning. :) If this model works for someone, that's great. I just wanted to mention it because I had been wondering how long the church could seek to find it's place in American culture until American culture realized the opportunity that existed in marketing to the church. I thought this was a very interesting example of that. If you are as curious as I was, you can check out more information at http://www.fathomtheatrechurch.com/

What Would Jesus Buy Saturday: What's That in My Inbox? Edition

Today's installation is a two for one special that includes both actual products available for purchase and something available free online.

With the popularity of the Jonas Brothers in recent years, the purity ring has become a commonly known trait of American Evangelical Culture. I remember when I was growing up, the whole purity pledge idea was really gaining steam. In that culture, there are a lot of people who wear purity rings as a symbol of their commitment to abstaining from sex until marriage. Although movements like True Love Waits and Silver Ring Thing are the most widely recognizable in this field, the push for purity has seen others enter the market looking for ways to keep encouraging teens to just say wait.

For one organization this comes in the form of chastity e-cards. (You read that correctly)

  Yes, waitwear.com has jumped into the fray, providing not only products that advertise one's commitment to abstinence (more on that later), but also e-cards that can be sent to encourage others to maintain that commitment, congratulate them on doing so, or thank a future spouse for waiting. (Although, I think I would be more than a little concerned if I received a secret admirer card congratulating me on choosing abstinence, as one option allows.)

For me, the congratulations cards raised more questions than answers. For example;

So, would you be proud that your friends are proud of you? Or creeped out that they're keeping count? Also, when does this count start? If it just marks years without sex, does that make it appropriate for a ten year old? Does it start at puberty? Or when the actual decision to abstain is made? Or is it like an AA chip, that's awarded to that one girl in youth group who was always known to "make mistakes" but is trying to get her chaste life back on track?

But as I said, they also have products for sale to help you advertise this commitment to the world. Because they may not notice your purity ring or know it's significance, but there's no missing these products:

You can find even more designs at their online store.

I want to make it clear that I'm not attempting to simply badmouth the idea of abstinence. However, for a healthy romantic relationship, I would suggest actually talking honestly with your significant other rather than sending them an email or counting on the fact that they read the message on your clothing. As far as helping teens and young adults make informed decisions, it seems to me that open non-judgemental conversation with caring adults and/or peers will go a lot further than an e-card or a t-shirt.

Christmas Revisited

The season is over. Most people I know have packed up their trees and decorations and I'm sure many kids are getting sick of what was "the best toy EVER" just a week ago. But I can't stop thinking about Christmas. I previously mentioned my frustration with the so-called war on Christmas. But there's something else that keeps my mind spinning.

There's a ministry in the area in which I live that currently has a TV ad out that is a short animation which explains how Jesus is the reason for the season and how he was born into the world for its salvation. (Followed by an invitation to watch their televised services of course.) I've seen people with "Merry CHRISTmas!" on their lapel or facebook status. And I've heard so many lament that no one really seems to get the true meaning of this season.

All that to say...here's what my overly analytical mind has been dwelling on: Isn't over-spiritualized mass consumerism still mass consumerism? What kind of cognitive dissonance has allowed us to joyful profess that the baby Jesus came to the world in the most humble of ways, born into a manger, the Lord of all becoming the least of these for our sake and then dream of a Lexus with a giant bow on top sitting in our driveway? How does our practice of such excess honor His example of humility and charity?

My mind is struggling to reconcile the two. I see all the pageantry and flash in the way in which we celebrate the holiday and I read biblical accounts which seem to suggest that the birth of Christ was largely unnoticed by those around at the time, which the exception of some lowly shepards and the magi bearing gifts. I imagine that families within the city of Bethlehem rose the next morning under a sun that looked just the same as it had the day before. And in spite of the prophecies, the true nature of this child wouldn't really be revealed to most until he was much older.

I'm currently reading "The Man Who Invented Christmas" about the creation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." A chapter that recently caught my eye was one in which the author discusses how the celebration of Christmas had fallen out of fashion in both England and colonial America under Puritan rule in the 1600s. Its celebration was banned entirely. In an effort to make conversion to Christianity more appealing, Christmas Day had been declared to be the same day as the popular Roman Pagan holiday of Saturnalia. That was people wouldn't need to give up their most enjoyable traditions. The Puritans were appalled at the ties to Paganism and immorality that they saw in the celebration of Christmas. They at one point declared December 25th a day of fasting and repentance. That was the original war on Christmas. It wasn't Christians feeling as if everyone else was out to eliminate Christmas celebrations, it was Christians themselves trying to eliminate Christmas celebrations.

Do I think we should ban celebrations? Absolutely not. However, I just can't shake the nagging feeling that when the holiday is more stressful than peaceful, more disappointing than fulfilling, and more gluttonous than charitable, we're not honoring much more than our own self-indulgence. I saw a Southern Baptist preacher on Fox News talking about remembering the true reason for the season. One of the things he said was that in order to honor the gift God gave us in Christ, we should give good gifts to others. Really? That's the true reason for the season? In a time when many are struggling to get by, the best way to honor God is through material gifts? The more time I spend with American Evangelical culture, the more I'm convinced they must have some special translation of the Bible that I don't know about.

If we truly believe that Christmas marks a time when God so loved the world (the whole world-no exceptions) that he sent his son to become a sacrifice for everyone (everyone-no exceptions), shouldn't that be the spirit of the season? One of hope and love towards others (everyone-no exceptions)? Regardless of if they say "Happy Holidays", fast through Ramadan, have a menorah in their window, believe in nothing outside of humanity, believe in millions of gods, or just don't know what to think about it all? If the basis of Christian theology is that God sent His son for everyone, including these people, aren't we endorsing the exact opposite viewpoint when we insist on fighting them or behaving in a generally condescending manner towards all who think/believe differently than ourselves? I don't know if there's any logical way to reconcile what this means in practice, I just know that a lot of what I saw this season, including what I saw from those who defend it the most strongly,  reflected very little of the proclaimed "reason for the season."