Stay True to Who You Are, Pastor
February 23, 2010
Said other ways:
Don’t copy someone else.
Don’t try to imitate others.
Let God’s unique creation of you govern how you minister. Or…
On Why I’m Not Buying Chocolate These Days
February 23, 2010
And it has nothing to do with my diet, actually (though I have dropped 10 lbs. thus far, in anticipation of my upcoming role in “The Music Man”).
I don’t have a taste for chocolate anymore, at least not that produced by the leading chocolate producers in this country, such as Nestle, M&M Mars, etc. I don’t buy it because of the likelihood that some kid is working long hours as a slave to produce it. Here’s another site that talks about the same problem. See, I’m a follower of Jesus, and I began to think recently about the fact that that needs to influence the purchases I make. I’m a little late to this type of party, I realize; I naturally tend to be a little skeptical about causes promoted by folks with different political agendas than myself–and I’m sure that there are folks across the political spectrum who are in line with this one.
But I don’t care.
And the reason I don’t care is because I had to ask myself this simple question: if little American boys were being snatched up into slavery, would I stand for it? Would I turn up the music, turn up a blind eye, and pretend it wasn’t happening, if 10-year-old boys were being grabbed off the streets of Marietta? Would I buy products that were produced with their slave labor? Of course not. And nothing changes with that fact because the little boys aren’t from Georgia, but rather from Africa. Nothing. Not if I’m serious about following the Jesus who came to set captives free, whose Father’s heart must break about such conditions. Now that I know it’s happening, I’m responsible for that knowledge.
And so are you.
I wrote letters to major American chocolate manufacturers. Some companies are doing something–but no company is doing enough. In fact, here’s a great website that ranks different companies with an easy-to-understand letter grade as to their involvement in stopping slavery, etc. Nestle gets a “C”, which isn’t terrible, I guess, but they could–and should–do more, and until they do, I can do without Crunch bars.
By the way, if chocolate is certified Fair Trade, you can generally buy it with confidence. Yep, it costs more–but helping little boys get free from slavery is more important to me than cheap chocolate.
And it should be to you, too.
It’s Official: Brian McLaren is a Heretic
February 19, 2010
I guess I’m late to the party on this one, but after reading a couple of reviews on McLaren’s latest work, A New Kind of Christianity, it has become apparent that he has crossed that line, and is now engaged in out-and-out rank heresy, that those who continue to give him a platform are now complicit in his heresy, that the branch of the “Emerging Church” that is unwilling to distance itself from him–the “undiscerning branch”, and it is substantial–can be considered complicit as well.
I came to the party late because I really, really like to be careful about throwing around weighty words like “heresy”. I prefer to give folks the benefit of the doubt, to assume that they are just misunderstood, particularly if they, as McLaren was, are pastors of evangelical churches (and of course, I’m not talking about Osteen-”churches”; they’re heretical and not “evangelical” by any reasonable definition of the word), and/or if their books are published by “evangelical” publishers (though the lines there are so blurred as to be unhelpful anymore–but that’s grist for a different post). Full disclosure: I have met Brian McLaren (who seems a decent fellow in person), and when I went to his website yesterday and looked at his books, I realized that I have read fully seven of his offerings, the latest last month (and it had some value to it, despite my loathing of the title: The Secret Message of Jesus).
That said, until I read that book (which I got free)–only because I’m doing a sermon series on Jesus–I hadn’t read McLaren for several years, in significant part because he is easily the most annoying writer I’ve read in recent memory. The reviews detail some of the ways he’s annoying–and by the way, there’s a difference between “annoying” and “challenging” or “thought-provoking” or “provocative”; he’s just plain annoying–I’m particularly cheesed by how coy he can be, saying outrageous things that people call him on, then pulling back all innocent-like in responding with words to the effect of “how’d they get that out of what I said?” They got it, Brian, because of your post-modern, fast-and-loose-with-words, vague, generality-laden mish-mash of often contradictory and usually perplexing comments. Clarity, thy name ain’t McLaren.
But now it can be said, and said with pretty clear certainty, if you read the reviews: Brian McLaren ain’t on the team. He may be a saved man; I am hardly qualified to judge that, wouldn’t pretend to. But he’s now closer to the camp of Jack Spong than he is to my camp. He’s out of control, gone down the pomo rabbit hole so far that he’s now in Wonderland, only a “Wonderland” whose pseudonym is “hades”. I won’t attempt to repeat all of the falsehoods that McLaren now believes and dispenses with impunity; I haven’t read the book (and won’t), but others with greater minds than mine have read the book and are more than willing to share their reviews; click here to read them.
Seven years ago, I was intrigued by the Emerging Church movement; I saw some things in it I liked (and still do, honestly). I went to the Emergent Convention in 2004 in San Diego (in case you’re wondering, I highly recommend what San Diego can do for your soul). At one point, participants were asked to write a one-word prayer for the Emergent movement. My one-word prayer was “discernment”. Sadly, at least in the cases of folks like Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Spencer Burke, and some others, that prayer has gone unanswered.
A Few Thoughts about Tiger
February 19, 2010
I’ve not written a single word on the Tiger Woods scandal, partly because it broke during a time I wasn’t writing much of anything; partly because everything that could be written has probably been written by somebody; partly because there’s a fine line to walk. But with his impending “news conference” scheduled for 11:00 today, a few random thoughts in no particular order, as they come to me:
1. It’s ridiculous–preposterous is an even better word–that NBC, ABC, and CBS are going to preempt their regular programming in order to cover Tiger’s statement live. You’ve got to be kidding. You’ve got to be kidding. Now, I’ll concede that there’s probably little that they ordinarily broadcast at that time of day–or any other time of day, truth be told–that’s worth watching, but the fact remains that the networks are breathlessly awaiting the pre-arranged, carefully-scripted, no-questions-allowed words to be uttered by a guy who makes a living smacking a ball into a hole. I say that as a golfer and sports fan, and I say that recognizing that Tiger is the eminently-watchable, greatest golfer of all time (IMHO). But still, there’s little in the way of rational perspective going on when you shut everything down to hear a golfer apologize for his indiscretions.
2. Does Tiger owe us an apology? I submit “no”. He owes his wife a massive apology, his kids, his mistresses, his enablers, etc.; he doesn’t owe us anything. We are not personally harmed one bit by his actions.
3. Piggybacking on that, if Jason Bohn (a no-name regular on the PGA Tour) were found out to be doing this, it’d be a yawner (news-wise, not to his wife), something that might rate a back-page blurb. Nobody would care. The sin is the same; the difference is that it’s the most visible athlete in the world rather than some second-tier hack.
4. Tiger Woods never should have been made a role model by anybody. Period. Those who made him such might feel they owe him an apology, but why would we make of Tiger a role model in the first place? I say this not to be mean to Tiger, nor to try to hold him to a (Christian) standard when he professes no faith in Christ (we have no warrant to do that), but the fact is that he lived with Elin before marriage, cusses a blue streak when shots go awry, and can be surly and even mean. Do I want my kids to grow up to be like Tiger? Nope, and that’s true even if none of this stuff ever came out. Do I appreciate some things about the man? Without question: his determination, his discipline, his sportsmanship, his commitment to excellence; these are certainly praiseworthy qualities. But a role model? Uh, no. And anybody foolish enough to lift him up as such deserves the letdown they felt a few months ago. He’s never been a role model I’d have ever encouraged (not that there aren’t some in sports–though of course we have to be careful; Kurt Warner comes to mind as one example, as does Tony Dungy, both committed believers).
5. The carefully-scripted nature of this news conference does raise questions about what’s going on here. At the same time, let me suggest two seemingly-contradictory thoughts that aren’t: one, it’s really not the business of the press to get the intimate details of his philandering. Their prying appeals only to our prurient interests, as the press encourages–and we play along with–this hellish spectatorism that causes us to think that things that are in no way “our business” in fact are. When I was first blogging, one of my semi-regular posts said something like this: “it’s been (insert time period here) since Laci Peterson was murdered, and it’s still none of our business.” Two, though, is this: if Tiger is truly repentant–and why would he understand what that even means, particularly in this warped society that doesn’t understand repentance, and in light of the fact that he’s not a believer–he’d not so carefully script things in such a way that no questions can be asked. Now, I’d suggest that if he opened up to reporters, he ought to rightly reserve the right to refuse to answer certain particular questions, but repentance is characterized, among other things, by a willingness to allow appropriate transgressions to come to light to the appropriate degree. There are questions that could be asked that would be appropriate for Tiger to answer, it seems to me; his unwillingness to allow such raise real questions about the nature of his “repentance”.
6. I wish the best for Tiger Woods. I have exactly zero faith in the “sex addiction rehab” he’s undergoing; I expect it to yield only temporary results at best; if his “rehab” isn’t grounded in a new relationship with Jesus Christ, then what’s the point? Appeals to change, strategies to change, power to change: all of these will be grounded in the shifting sand of philosophies and ideas found “under the sun”, and will amount to “vanity” in the end. Yeah, it’s possible, though, that he’ll be so concerned about his “public image”, or “the effect that his actions have on others”, or his bank account, that he’ll stop chasing every female that breathes. That isn’t totally without merit; given the fact that we as believers live in this world, and there are many more unbelievers than believers, I prefer it if unbelievers behave decently as opposed to indecently (though I have no right to expect it), but in the end, even if he maintains from this day ’til his dying day unswerving devotion to his wife (if she’ll have him back, which I doubt), but doesn’t become a follower of Jesus, he’ll go to hell a faithful man. And that, I submit, would be the worst thing of all.
Stossel on Education
February 18, 2010
Public education doesn’t work. If that fact isn’t as plain as the noses on our faces, we’re ignoring reality. Before I go further, quick aside: I always, when I write on education issues, try to be careful to signal my profound appreciation for the many good public school teachers/administrators out there, who take their jobs seriously, who put their students’ achievement ahead of their own advancement, who sacrifice to help prepare kids for society. Among these are many fine Christians who see their calling as taking their faith into the classroom–muted as they are required to be about it. I salute them, applaud them, and appreciate them.
But they are fighting, I believe, a losing battle. And not to recognize that fact is to doom us to continue the failed educational policies of the past half-century.
The fact is that, as Stossel points out, the elitists in control, from Comrade Obama on down, see more government involvement in our schools as a good thing, when the facts at hand argue just the opposite. We spend more; we get no discernible results. Right now, we are spending a boatload of money on public education, with little to show for it; there is effectively no correlation between the amount of money spent on education and the results in the lives of the students (remember that the next time they want to raise your taxes to support education). As Stossel concludes, “choice works, but government monopolies don’t.” And he’s right.
Truthers, Birthers…and Racers
February 17, 2010
I think it’s time to introduce a new word into our political discourse to designate a very real, and dangerous, group of fringe wingnuts. We’ve got the “Truthers”, crazies who think that the U.S. government was behind 9/11. Incidentally, Glenn Beck did the citizens of Texas a real service this past week when he exposed a gubernatorial candidate–a Tea Partier, of all folks–as a “Truther”. Debra Medina, who has about pulled even in the polls with the sinking Kay Bailey Hutchison (thankfully, trailing Governor Rick Perry by a significant margin), told Glenn that, effectively, she hasn’t really weighed all the evidence, and thus hasn’t reached a conclusion, about whether or not the government was behind 9/11. Thanks for playing, Ms. Medina, but you’re a kook–even if you and I agree on a lot of Tea Party issues. If you are a “Truther”, or even if you entertain the possibility that they’re onto something, you scare Americans with a brain.
On the other side of the coin, politically, are the “Birthers”, folks who continue to press the idea that Comrade Obama wasn’t born in the United States. They produce “evidence”–equally spurious to that produced by the “Truthers”–to supposedly buttress their claims. They deserve to be dismissed as kooks as well.
But there’s a third category of people that ought to be placed alongside “Truthers” and “Birthers”; let’s call them “Racers”. Keith Olbermann goes to the top of the list of “Racers”, continuing to find racist motives behind the Tea Party movement, for instance, fabricating evidence from his own fertile imagination in the absence of anything approximating proof. I referred in a recent post to a professor at Atlanta’s Spellman College, who protested a pro-life ad (an ad condemning the genocide of African-American babies) as “racist”. Chris Mathews “forgot that Barack Obama was a black man” during the State of the Union. These folks find race in everything; these folks are convinced that racism underlies everything that people (well, conservative people) do. And so, to Olberclown and his ilk, the Tea Party has to be racist at root–ignoring mounds of evidence to the contrary and choosing to look through their pink-colored glasses and find what’s not there. Are there racists in the Tea Party movement? Certainly–just as there are racists in groups right and left all across American society. Is racism a genuine evil, a terrible scourge on this country? Absolutely. Is racism an issue in which America has made leaps and bounds of progress? Only a fool oblivious to the evidence would argue otherwise. But is the fact that many Americans are fed up with the economic agenda of the Bush/Obama administration (yes, you heard me) evidence that, because Comrade Obama is a black man, we’re racist? Preposterous–but not to the “Racers”. I propose we add that term to our political jargon, because “Racers” deserve exactly as much attention and credibility as “Truthers” and “Birthers”.
Down is Up, and Up is Down…
February 15, 2010
At least for some folks…
America is in the midst of genocide, and a significant portion of the victims of genocide are African-American kids. Of 
course, I’m talking about the holocaust of abortion. And one outfit has begun to advertise in the Atlanta area about the fact that
Black Children are an Endangered Species
The connected website is TooManyAborted, and it tells the stories of how little black kids are being murdered in the womb, as well as the story of the Negro Project, a plot initiated by the white supremacist Margaret Sanger, who began Planned Parenthood. The truth is devastating, of course…which is why liberal feminist loons will be up in arms.
Check that: one already is. Here’s the quote by Spelman College professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall:
“To use racist arguments to try to bait black people to get them to be anti-abortion is just disgusting.”
OK…let me get this straight, Ms. Guy-Sheftall: it’s not racist to abort millions of little black kids in an effort, begun by Ms. Sanger, to racially-cleanse American society, but it is racist to call attention to that fact. She went on:
“Many black people don’t know who Margaret Sanger is and could care less.”
OK…so instead of educating people as to who she was and her agenda, you’d rather leave members of your own race in the dark about the vile agenda she promoted. Oh, and you are an educator?
Down is up, and up is down, apparently for the Ms. Guy-Sheftalls of the world…
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
