Jesus Christ, superstar?

Jesus was not a rockstar.

hello, postmoderns.
you can keep your abstract church.
your non-christmas pagents.
your technologically-difficult church.
your metaphoric church.
i do not appreciate going to church to be told that my life lacks imagination, lacks excitement, lacks inspiration.

Christmas is not about the manger, you're right. but Christmas is not about a rock concert either. It is not about cirque du soleil.

Christmas is about Jesus. a humble man, who never met expectations, only prophecies. He never followed trends. Christmas is a time for reflection, for anticipation of being saved, cleansed. Not saved from a vague conception of unimagination, but from our sins as people. How can it be that church has become so watered down that even the "Christmas special" at the local church doesn't talk about the saving power of its savoir? Christmas is no time to back away from Jesus, it is time to step up to the alter.

the holidays

long ago there was the "keep christ in christmas" campaign.
retailers were found guilty of placing signs in their store windows which read, "merry xmas." as is usually the case, someone with a dry sense of humor created a sign admonishing, "keep christ in xmas."
in recent years there has surfaced the "anti-happy holidays" campaign, again aimed at evil retailers who instructed their employees to bless shoppers with the words, "happy holidays" rather than "merry christmas."
does jesus need our help with this?
no.
but i think it is good for people to get upset. it is evidence they believe something and possess convictions.
i'm not an issues person.
i am not electrified by proclaiming, promoting, announcing, arguing about or otherwise calling attention to issues. but i admire people who are. they keep the rest of us honest. they keep us reflective. they cause us to evaluate and re-evaluate what, why and wherefore we are doing things.
was it bad to proclaim "merry xmas?" no. anyone with five minutes of greek experience will tell you that xmas is the same as christmas because "x" is the first letter of xristos, the greek work ofr christ and "x," for centuries, has been used as short hand for christ. much like elvis' close friends called him "e," some of jesus' theological buddys, a.k.a. theologians, shortened his name to "x." so exclaiming "merry xmas" is the same as "merry christmas."
what about "happy holidays?" in my opinion there is nothing wrong with blessing people with "happy holy days" because christmas is a holy day, a set apart day, a special day, plus i like including st. nicholas day, hanukkah, new years eve, new years day and epiphany in my celebrations so i don't mind the plural blessing.
but, it was the campaigners who stimulated my reflection and that is a good thing for me.
plus, i firmly believe, "the lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
read habakkuk lately? it's a good one.

the boutique church

the baby boomers, many from the early days of the jesus movement, helped found, establish, build, fund, etc the recent phenomenon known as the mega-church movement wherein churches in this country have grown numerically much larger than previously thought possible. the results are a variety of large, multi-thousand member churches which are doing great things in their respective communities. i've had the honor at serviing with several churches that fit this description and can and will testify to the effectiveness of these churches.
the question that arrises is, what is next?
for the baby boomers and the next generation down.
will they stay involved with these large churches or do those churches primarily minister best to single adutls (who can connect with other single adults) couples with children, (who can find great children and teen programs for their kids), single parents (who find incredible personal support as well as the aforementioned great programs for their children) and multi-generational families who live in close proximity and can attend church together, grandparents, parents, children, etc.
what of the empty nester couples who no longer need the exemplary children and teen programs? will they continue involvement with the mega-church or look for something different.
i think many will seek something different.
the mega-church is similar to the big box stores where a consumer is able to find everything desired under one roof, and at affordable prices. i think empty nester couples are going to begin looking for boutique churches; smaller fellowships with incredibly creative, diverse music, inspiring messages and worthwhile opportunities to support and serve others, but without the mad dash from theme park size parking lots.
for those of you ministering at small churches, your time is coming and perhaps has already arrived. but you will need to offer creative, high quality music and messages.
mega-churches will continue, because they offer something small churches cannot, and there are still huge numbers of people who need and want the mega-church experience.
one does not cancel the other. god is at work in churches large and small.
it is time, though for small churches to begin improving their quality and be ready for the rush of empty nesters who will begin walking through your doors. most of them are already christians, already tithers, and already willing to volunteer time, but you need to be ready because if you're not, they will move down the street until they find a boutique church that is ready.

t-shirts to polos

once upon a time a young man lived and ministered in a place called the jesus house. in said house he had several closets. one of these closets contained a shelf upon which young man neatly (most of the time) folded and stacked his assortment of t-shirts. these t-shirts were a nice accompanyment to said youn man's normal attire of jeans, jeans, and cut-off jeans. on special occasions he doned a sport coat that correctly matched the jeans and t-shirts. (sure he was known to wear an occasional suit, but this is the t-shirt blog). the t-shirt normally proclaimed special days, events, and other assorted universal spiritual truths; i.e. sonshine music festival, muster weekend, conglomerate weekend, adamsfishodor reunion tour (four of them!), french lick retreat, and many other too numerous to remember. for cold weather, the t-shirts were covered by sweatshirts proclaiming some of the same messages but also announcing the various colleges and universities the young man was known to visit for the purpose of speaking or performing a concert. (the young man learned that in addition to a love offering, a free meal and place to sleep most campus ministires were happy to include a school sweatshirt as part of the honorium so it became part of the contract!)

fast forward several years and young man, now older, still has a few t-shirts but now finds that the closet includes many polo shirts. most with addornment of various churches, ministries, schools and/or retreats. there was a time when said young man would not have worn these polos. has the world gotten fancier or has the young man, now older, moved into a new life stage. admittedly, the t-shirts do not look as nice. they fit tighter around the middle! o from what hights the mighty have fallen!

lunch is served

I know you've all been holding your breath since october 1, waiting to find out how the church is going, and so you're probably all dead because there was no oxygen flow in your body so your brain couldn't tell your heart to beat and all that...

But here is the long-awaited update.

Abandon House is just what I was hoping it to be. The first week there were 6 of us, and it's been around that number the past two weeks as well. We served mac and cheese the first week, grilled cheese and tomato soup next and last week was chicken and rice casserole. The food is reason enough to drive out to gloucester at 11:30 on a Sunday morning.

But we also talk about Jesus. The first week was entitled "reckless abandon," and we talked about why the abandon house is called such, and also what it looks like to abandon your life, faith, etc to Jesus. We ended up talking about living in community and how cool that would be. (i know, i know, but who will was the dishes?)
The second week was "we mistake panic for inspiration," and i spoke about how when something is wrong in our spiritual life, our first instinct is to do more "religious" things: read our bible more, tithe more, go to church more, go on a mission trip, almost in an effort to bargain with Jesus, or else we're just assuming that those are always the answers. We drew/collaged our spiritual life maps, including what we think God has in store for us in the future, trying to keep in mind that our first option is not always God's option.
Last week was a time of fellowship. aka jon and i were both super busy all week and didn't have time to prepare. so we all made lunch and ate and relaxed.
This week there is no church. It is fall break, and we all need one. But things are going well.

Things you can pray for would be people's commitment to come, we're having trouble getting the same people there week after week, and almost feel like we're starting over with publicity every monday. Also pray for time. As i said, Jon and i are both really busy with school, bands and really cool jobs which leave little time for preparing worship songs or a sermon anytime before Saturday really, and I have some really cool things i want to talk about that need more preparation time than one day.

Overall, I am really pleased and can't really believe that for three weeks i've managed to get people to my house in the hopes of talking about/with Jesus. So thanks for the prayers that have already been prayed and the ones that will be.

birthdays

"i don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve"
so goes one of literature's great birthday speeches. imagine inviting 144 people over for a birthday party and including that line in your speech.

i just had a birthday, turned 55. one of my friends signed a card, "to the aarp man of the year." now I can sign up for all those "senior discounts" and eat early bird specials in restaurants. i wonder if paul mccartney flashes his senior discount card when he dines out?

people tend to be very nice on birthdays. it's almost like birthdays are a time off from anything nasty or bad relationships or anything harsh...but when bilbo spoke the words i quoted at the beginning of these thoughts he was breaking the cardinal rule of niceness on birthdays and speaking harsh truth, at least truth as he saw it.

a hobbit does not recieve gifts on his or her birthday but gives them. one year i did that with my family. i surprised them with gifts. years later my son was still asking when i would do that again. it is still his favorite my birtday.

i like good surpises. rick mapes gave me a good surpise on my 30th birthday when the normal jesus house concert was turned into a surprise birthday party for me. it was quite an evening. i still have the photos.

if you have a birthday soon, i hope you spend it with people you, at least, half like.

danger fish in the abandon house

oh heyyy....
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2006, 11 AM.
abandon house aka church at the beach will commence.
lunch will follow, so don't you wish you were in college?

i miss bill too, it's kind of embarassing the way america votes these days. i'm in an american politics class this semester and we're learning crazy stuff about the lack of democracy in our democratic republic... anyway. my main point right now is that in most little fishies minds, the next election is between mr. barak "chi-town" obama and ms. hilary "solid as a freakin rock so i rule the state of new york" clinton. basically either world is fine with me.

i'll be bahck, in the words of my governator. and i'll have church service numero uno to report on.

i miss bill

occasionally I spot a bumper sticker that expresses the driver's longing for the previous president. i share that sentiment. yes, he did something wrong, haven't we all? but in spite of the wrong thing he did, there were hundreds of right things he did while president. i'm finishing his autobiography and remembering how much i liked having him as president. on election night, my wife and i were watching the results while staying in an incredible bed and breakfast in key west, florida. (if you go to key west stay at the eden house) we ate pizza and cheered. his first inauguration was a celebration of hope. first baby boom president. those were great years for this country; low interest rates, the deficit disappeared, the government was running on a balanced budget with money in the bank, smallest government since the 1930's, the number of abortions performed were reduced, the number of people on welfare was shrinking, college students were getting help for tuition by working in poor areas helping others, layoffs were rare because companies had confidence in the economy, the number of violent crimes went down every year for eight years, and unemployment was at 1950's levels.

the only government waste i noticed was the tens of millions of dollars ken star wasted finding out the president did nothing wrong.

during the past week, president clinton has been on an abundance of news and interview programs. listening to him answer questions reminds me of the incredible president he was.

during eight of little fish's school years, he was the president. i wonder who will be the first peson of her generation to become president. perhaps her generation will have the courage to elect a woman or minority. this country is on its 43rd president; all caucasion males. speaking as a caucasion male, we're okay, but sometimes bland and boring. isn't it time for a little variety in the oval office? not that the texan hasn't given us a few laughs. i am impressed he is bi-lingual. i wonder if he pronounces any spanish words in the same funny way he messes up english words? but i still miss bill.

those people

recently recieved an emial titled "Can a Good Muslim be a Good American?"
I do not know the author so do not have the opportunity to speak directly with him or her
after a list of reasons why, in the author's opinion, a good muslim cannot be a good american (you knew that would be the result didn't you?) the author closes with the observation, "perhaps we should be very suspicious of all muslims."
i suppose an american who is an athiest can live that way, but any american who is also a christian has a higher calling on his or her life
i suggest that the author either never read or has ignored the words in the Bible, "for God so loved the world" and other passages which point to the reality that God not only loves people of all nations, but really wants christians to love people of all nations. God does not want us to become suspecious of a group of people from another religion simply because of the tragedies caused by a very small faction within that group.
if this were true, then people would need to be suspicious of all white, southern christians because of the KKK.
people would need to be suspicious of all white military veterns because of Timothy McVey
people would need to be suspicious of all japanese because of Shoko Asahara

growing suspicious of a group of people because of religious, ethnic, or racial differences is notthing new
it is also nothing good

coming attractions

i leave in three days.

it's possible that church could be soon soon soon.

would it be weird to speak about idols on the first sunday?
"idolatry is a state of mind before it is a religious practice- the state of mind that believes it can guarantee security through the manipulation of this world...[under] two false pretenses."
ok so i totally didn't write that. Oswald Chambers (indirectly) told it to me the other day. but after reading that, how can i not want to speak about idolatry?

i was hoping to do a "hippie" sermon about calling on creation as a witness to God's covenants, and other things throughout the bible and then incorporating a yet-to-be determined interactive activity with the beach and ocean. but goodness do i love that quote about idolatry.

how many bibles do you think a church-runner (im super not a pastor) should have?
i bet the big fish has at least 10. i have two that i use on a regular basis. plus God. that's another one. dad swears by the one column bibles. i want one. how many translations do you need? i have two. plus God. that's another one. how many sermons am i supposed to have prepared? i have a lot of half-baked ideas. plus God. that's one. things are getting big around here...

Public Service Announcement

Please don't stare.

For me, church at its best is when it's double the trouble.
Two churches, two services, one weekend.

It's good to hear two views, two sermons, two lessons, have two worship times, during a 24-hour sabbath time (except when every church in America is doing an unintelligent Da Vinci Code series- but that's another topic for another day).

At its very best, these two churches would be different- preferably one inter-generational and the other a nice mix of scenesters/hipsters and indie kids (that way, you can wear whatever you want, but the worship team knows how to rock).
The second church, being made up of my people, my worship, my (deep) sermons, is, of course, a little more little-fish-friendly. But the first is of equal importance. That is wehere families can sit together, pray togetehr, worship together. That's where we find mentors, where our parents teach us how to love Jesus, and just generally interact with people oever the age of 25 (gasp!).

But this Sunday, I realized that it might be just as uncomfortable for the old people to go to church with us as it is for us to go with them. As my precious friends sat a row in front of me, and I watched a parent-aged woman begin to stare at them with the "may God save your soul" look, I saw the younger couple through her eyes: the tattoos, piercings, unbrushed hair, unshaven face, pink leggings and vans. To her, they didn't spell "I love Jesus," they didn't convey the talented, blossoming tatto artist and hard-working graphic design major that they are. That lady just saw two hoodlums. And because she saw two of those for thirty minutes, she missed one sermon.

As the intergenerational church continues to decline, following the trend to home churches, and just more stylized churches in general (blame the terrible postmoderns for that, not me!), I have one request when we do show up: Please Don't Stare. We wouldn't come to your church if we didn't want to hang out with you, to soak in some of your life experience and wisdom. And besides, you might be too busy staring to say hello, and meet the future of your world and your church.

But Will You Wash the Dishes?

A few months ago, I read a news article concerning a movement among some conservative Christians to turn South Carolina into a modern promised land. Christians from all over the country are urged to emigrate to South Carolina in order to tip the scales of the state further to the right. It sounds like once they have completed their exodus from the other 49 states and driven the democrates out of S.C. they will secede from the union and set up their own country. So far, twenty people have moved there.

This news reminds me of the community living so many of us tried in the early 1970's. We knew that day to day living would be so much easier if we were sharing a house with other Christians. It was going to be our own protestant version of a Catholic monastary without the fancy robes or Latin chanting. Unfortunately, the downfall of many of those community living experiments was dirty dishes. It seemed that everyone wanted to eat, but no one wanted to wash the dishes. Arguments, stessful encounters, and many failed cleaning schedules resulted in strained relationships among Christians who previously really liked each other. Little Fish is going to share a house this fall with several other students. One of my prayers for her is that everyone enjoys washing dishes!

I'm not sure who is going to wash all the dishes in South Carolina, but if my reference to 1970's community living does not disuade anyone, try reading about John Calvin and Geneva. Talk about a failed experiment in Christian community living. If you don't learn from history, you are destined to repeat it. Besides, Jesus commanded Christians to go to the non-Christians, not huddle together with only the Republicans.

conspiracy theories

In visiting church plants, I encountered an old church dogma that I thought was long forgotton and yet has been revived by a new, contemporary church plant. It is the KJV Only dogma. In it's simple form, it is a church dogma that tries to convince people that the King James Bible is the only English translation that correctly communicates the truth of God to English speaking people. The KJV Only folks believe that any other English translation contains errors that lead to watered-down truth. I'm amazed this dogma has ever existed in the church, confounded that it continues to exist and perplexed that a contemporary church plant would voluntarily embrace and propogate this dogma.

The origin of this dogma seems to be the 1940's or 50's and some of the controversy around the publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The dogma re-surfaced in the 1070's with the publication of the New International Version. In some circles the dogma is very anti-Catholic.

The primary fruit I have observed from this dogma is it plants fear into a person's heart; fear that a person will miss the real truth of God if any version of the Bible is read but the KJV. A secondary fruit is it demeans the King James Version, turning it from a beautiful, though archaic English translation, into an object at the heart of a conspiracy theory.

Curb your dogma! If you enjoy the KJV, bless you as you read, study, memorize, and pray over God's word. If you enjoy other translations, bless you as you read, study, memorize, and pray over God's word. If you are really uncomfortable reading an English translation out of fear that God's word has been distorted in the translating process, you can take time to learn Ancient Hebrew & Koine Greek in order to read it in it's original languages. Of course, then you'll have to decide which version of the Hebrew & Greek texts to use...

ta da!

so please check out this article. this is the church i went to while i was in santa cruz this winter, and i loved it a lot. dad thinks the name is ironic - vintage faith is a 2 year old church. anyway... those are my good friends in the picture and i think that's fun!

go-go gadget gospel

it's always good to start off a post with a song reference.

there's a lot of talk about how this emerging church is "the next generation." that is because this is important. it is important to remember that in the fall, our church will be the newest, the next, and not the first or the only. there have been many churches before us, and even many like ours. hopefully there is not another one just like our church in the same area, because that's redundant and there's no point in planting when there's a tree in your way...

but back to the point. it has been important for me, and i think for other kids who are church searching and finding these days, to find a church that has wisepeople. men and women who have been around the church block and the world and can lead me and offer solomon-like words of advice and wisdom to help me in my spiritual journey. where would i be without wisepeople like annie lamott, c.s. lewis, oswald chambers or the ever-prevalent donald miller? with that in mind, it is crucial that this emerging generation of church-leaders let themselves be pushed in the right direction, rather than assuming their way is the best. because even if it is, their way was thought of by someone else first, i'm almost positive of that.

so while our church will be lead by two crazy college kids who don't know what their doing, they are also two crazy pastors kids who have been around more than one or two church blocks and can always pick up the phone if they get lost. we're not trying to do anything new or different, just what feels right.

in conclusion: we have a name! The Abandon House. in the tradition of abandoning ourselves and our church and our faith to Jesus. so there, reality has a name.

cincy churches & the indies

thinking about cincy churches and their ability to reach little fish & the indies
four good churches have received my attention: (the names have been modified)
the world wide equipping center; an old, established church trying to redefine itself
the grape growers mother ship; a jesus movement church plant
the traversals; a gen X church plant
the skyline (not the chili); a boomer/buster church plant

for now, the grape growers win
it is huge, but she found her tribe within the hugeness
the music & messages are not always her, but the tribe is there
the skyline never had a chance if for no other reason than they are KJV only (more on that at another time)
the traversals are too slick for the indies
it's big, reaching lots of people, but very corporate
the world wide equipping center has lost its way
too bad, it's ideal for indies
as a participant and observer of church changes for thirty years, I've learned there are no easy solutions when reaching the next generation, nor the one after that
just when you have it, styles change

when little fish and screaming jon embark on their church plant next fall they will lead in a style that is natural for them not everyone will like it, but some will...

god's last name is not damn

and God's first name is not God
at a recent staff meeting one of our faithful servants complained about movies using God's name in vain
i interjected that i had never seen a movie that used God's name in vain
shocked faces from all, except our generaltional pastor
she knew i was up to something
i explained that God's name was YHWH, which translates as "I am" or "I am what I am" (no relation to Popeye) or "I will be what I will be"
one asked, "what about Jehovah? isn't that God's name"
another answered, "no, German theologians created that name by adding the vowels from "elohim" to the transliterated letters JHVH and created Jeohovah"
spirited dialogue from all
general consensus: saying "God Damn" is using the Lord's name in vain
i elaborated, often turmoil is created by complaining about non-issues
there are important issues that deserve time, attention, emotion but too often the time, attention and emotion is channeled to non-issues
i also suggested that instead of using the word "God" we might begin following the example of Madeleine L'Engle and refer to God as "El"
they only frowned
but maybe later they thought more about it

deep and wide

where is the deep and wide church? seems like every hip church is a mile wide and an inch deep (code: seeker). weary of preachers without theological grounding -- guys in leather jackets and $100 jeans whose charisma quotient rivals Anderson Cooper without a clue about sanctification or spiritual disciplines -- but a ready arsenal of three point acrostics and glib, stand-up patter.
hungry, hungry for soul shaking, seismic worship and grounded, informed teaching that stretches my intellect and world view.
pfish

alt-worship

"Jesus replied, 'Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem...But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.'"
- John 4:21, 23-24



so just what is alternative worship, anyway?


When many of us think of worshiping God through painting, writing, reading, studying, conversation, it seems odd, and it is then called alternative worship. But if all that is required for worship is the right spirit and a heart of truth, then why would any worship be considered "alternative?"
It is a spiritual exercise to go outside of your normal boundries of worship and give God the invitation to speak to you in a new place. So do it.

dont

funny anecdote
anecdote turns serious
serious turns bible story
bible story turns moral for our lives
three easy steps to accomplish this in our lives.

nononononono
here's a trick: that formula has been flowing in and out of our ears for our entire lives. it doesn't work. it doesn't hold our attention, and as a Christian College student, I am appalled that you think I am not intelligent enough to just dive into the Bible that I have been memorizing since I could speak:

"a little bit of fish, and a little bit of bread, fed a whoooole lot of people..."

Ever since the idea of starting my own worship service was planted in my head, I've been wondering what it's going to look like.
I've realized that I have things to say, and now I have an opportunity to say them, discuss them.
My goal, and hopefully the goal of others involved, will not be to entertain you for an hour or more on a sunday morning, but to challenge your life to change, to become God's creation rather than your own. And I know I can't do that through entertaining anecdotes and spewing a few bible verses at you. So bear with me as I try to figure out how I can do that.

naming

it was 1971 and everyone was a freak. drug culture made you a pot freak or speed freak, music made you a beatle freak, grateful dead freak...you get the picture. it was natural, upon becoming a christian, to be a jesus freak. did you hear the classic, "I Just want to be a Jesus Freak for the rest of my life." tough for vetern christians. It was watered down to jesus people. easier for the veterns.
music was important, but what to call this new music with christian lyrics but rock & roll rhythms? randy matthews called his gospel rock, others used jesus rock. along came chris christian producing an album for an unknown teenager named amy. he called the music "contemporary christian." not as easy to say, not as fun to say, but easier for veterns, alas another watered down name. gospel rock can be said with guts, contemporary christian is a wimpy term, even when the music is good.
little fish uses the name "indie" for everything. she drinks coffee at the indie starbucks, listens to indie music, reads indie books. i like "indie.' i want to start the indie church. little fish will. this fall she and screaming jon will start the indie church in a house on the edge of the continent next to the atlantic ocean.
george mcdonald had curdie name things because it gave them reality.

and every good indie kid has an emo picture...or 5

the small pond

there are certain advantages to being in a small pond... you know the other fish, it's easier to make waves, swimming in the same direction is sometimes the only option. you stick together. at the core of the jesus people movement of the 1970s was a tight, outsider community. people who just didn't belong.
counterculture, they didn't understand the old hymns or formal dress styles of christian culture. counterculture, they didn't champion (at least not wholesale) the free love and experimental drug culture of youth culture.
like the new believers in Acts, they were neither gentile nor Jew. and so began a small movement.
a very small pond.

little fish

Danger Group.
It's not dangerous because we jump off bridges, dance at gay bars, or talk to homeless people, although we do all of those things.
It's dangerous because every week we pour ourselves out on the table and say "Think what you want, but here I am." We share confession, communion, laugher, tears and life-altering challenges. And every week we to choose love each other. Like Jesus loves us.

We are about community. As Christians, we don't convert, we love. Our highest goal is to have someone see Jesus in us and through us.

And small group is no longer about bible study.
It's about figuring out Jesus together. Taking the text beyond talk and into every day life.

Peace Out

It was 1970. Peace signs bloomed everywhere that spring and there was a coffee house and war protest on every corner. Acoustic prophets, Baez and Dylan, sang war protests. Collegians dropped out, tuned in and headed to San Francisco -- with flowers in their hair. The times, they were changing.
Amid the foment, The Jesus People emerged. They came to Jesus in droves -- with long hair, beards, bare feet and tattered jeans. And they didn't give it up.
As new believers, they were uncomfortable, and frankly unwelcome, in middle class evangelical circles.
And organically, a new brand of faith community emerged: house churches, servant communities, communes.
Decentralized, deeply relational and counter-culture.
As our children, a new generation of idealists, face a world as deeply embattled as we did the time has come again.
Jesus People: The Next Generation.