spiritual regurgitations

A Post from Bobby Vaughn on "missional" living!

Good post from the Northwood Church blog (Bob Roberts)...definitely says it as it needs to be said - it is much more difficult to be a follower of Jesus in your own context than in a context in which you don't belong.

"I have a confession to make.  As a pastor, this isn’t easy for me to say.  5 years ago I would have rather have gone to Vietnam and love the people “over there” than go to my next door neighbor and get to know them.  It’s so much easier, cleaner and gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside.  But my confession doesn’t end there.  Here’s the long and short history of my adventures on Latania Lane.

Quick take...

Vicky and I received a Christmas "circular" advertising for Jesus 'stuff' over at the local Christian bookstore.  Their "logo" for the month?  "We give because He gave".  I know that might be a helpful logo/slogan for them during the upcoming shopping season...but really?  I mean, really?  Do we really want to equate what Jesus did to what we buy to give?  I mean, really?

Is it too much to ask?

All I want is something simple...bullet points that summarize the extent of the Health Care Bill that is being considered by our government leaders written in a manner that I can understand and evaluate.  I have tried to be open minded...I have tried to give this stuff a chance...but it is confusing at best.  I don't want what I hear from many people...but it all appears to me to be "talking points" by political parties...one saying we can't afford to wait on this and the other saying we can't afford this...I tried to get to the government website that has the bill for us to read...but it is full of confusing legal-eze AND it is over 2000 pages!  2000 freakin pages...all I want is a simple point-by-point summary...is that too much to ask?  If this is such a big deal, wouldn't it make sense to have a presentation of the bill that EVERYONE would understand?  More to come...

For some reason, I thought this was funny!

Getting close to 55...

I’ve discovered something  recently that I am having to accept as reality - being middle-aged.

I’m actually turning 55 this next month and I’m fairly oblivious to the actual amount of time I’ve spent on the planet.  You can blame that on hanging out with young people for years and years as well as having that rare disease that fights being a “grown up”…some of my closest friends not only call me immature but they have accepted the fact that there is nothing that they can do to help me be more mature.

Here are a few things that I have discovered recently:

Poly-amorous? It is bound to happen!

It was bound to happen!  This CNN Living article is worth the read.  I didn't want to be alarmist...nor do I want to be one now.  But a materialistic, naturalistic worldview leads to these types of conclusions.  IF all you have is the human species and our "natural" genetic and biological urges, then that tells us that monogamy and covenantal relationships are simply restrictive and not "natural" and frankly, out of line with what we scientifically "know" about the species. No, we live in the skin of a body that needs to be stimulated and pushed to ultimate fulfillment.  In addition, add to that a cultural swing that allows for marriage to be "re-defined"...where boredom in a relationship is license for being "poly-amorous"...for family to be "re-defined"...for society to embrace all those relationship configurations that "pleases" and accepts/tolerates what happens privately in the lives of people, you have the likelihood of relational chaos.  Again...add to that more and more societal "experimentation" and more and more people who are publicly promoting these alternative relationship styles through the media and other communicative venues and what do we get?  Culture is reaping what it is sowing...and to be shortsighted and say that the "Church" will not have to deal with these issues is naive.  So, pull up your sleeves...you think we HAD work to do...it is only just beginning!  Hey, let me know what YOU think!

Healthy distraction...

I was trying to think about something profound today...but my profundity index is low today...so I turned to my favorite distraction - G.A.S.  Gear Acquisition Syndrome is the name of the game.  My first stop, none other than my Internet pal "Guitar for Worship" nerd, Karl.  He has a great gear "shoot out" on a few efx pedals that are of HIGH interest to me...namely, overdrive pedal.  Of course, the one he "loves" is more expensive than the one I have...but that's just fine with me!  I gotta wonder for a while though...what does that young punk, Karl, do that he gets paid to evaluate guitar gear?  I mean, I have a real job!  Worship Leaders...just like all the comments I got over the years...don't they just work one day a week?  So, I look at that site for a bit...read and watch some stuff...laugh along with Karl...email him about his obsessions...do some surfing of the pedals he is talking about...watch his Edge worship video on the U2 Concert at the Rose Bowl...get even more distracted as I fall into the trap of hating that beany clad dude who has all the fun playing guitar for an incredible singer/front man like Bono...I surf over to some sites that talk about how to dial up Edge's delay tone and how much stuff he has that I don't have...then I surf over to Pedalgeek and ProGuitarShop and check out some more gear.  Then I take a few moments and wish there was a money tree in my backyard...but then have to pray for a while because I'm not "seeking first the Kingdom of heaven...".  As you can see, one distraction leads to a pit of time wasted...but hey, at least I had some fun for a while.

Back to work...maybe some profundity will knock me over the head!

More from "Souls in Transition" - Young Adults and their outlook on Religion

This section of Dr. Smith's concluding chapter will tend to either depress or inspire you...it is not good news but it is information that can lead to new ministry perspectives IF taken seriously.

"Most emerging adults are okay with talking about religion as a topic, although they are largely indifferent to it - religion is just not that important to most of them...the best thing about religion is that it helps people to be good, to make good choices and to behave well".

In other words, moralism...that isn't necessarily personal or transformative...what "religion" is good for is to make "them", other people in the world/culture behave well and make good choices (whatever that means).  Moralism is essentially a religious "substitute"...it assumes that we need something to be able to set some sort of standard for behavior...if religion is helpful in doing that, then fine...but the exception?  Moralism is fine unless someone imposes their moralism on "me".  Dr. Smith continues...

More from "Souls in Transition"

Christian Smith had a provocative conclusion to his Soul Searching book about adolescence...he stated that parents still have a significantly high impact on the religious/spiritual journey of their teens despite the talk about the apparent waning of parental influence.  That was good news for some...bad news for others.  If you have a student ministry that is NOT taking parents and the "home" seriously, it might be that "your" ministry is short-sighted and, in the long-term, non-effective.

Interestingly enough...in his NEW book on "emerging young adults" (Smith uses that language due to the fact that he defines young adulthood as those individuals who are emerging into responsible/independent adulthood) he states essentially the SAME THING! 

"What the best empirical evidence shows about the matter...is that even as the formation of faith and life play out in the lives of 'young adults', when it comes to religion, parents are in fact hugely important...furthermore, it is not only parents who matter in forming the religion of emerging adults...other nonparental adults in the lives of youth are often also important and, in certain circumstances, can actually 'substitute' for parents as formative influences in the lives of youth."  

I'm not crazy about the title - but the info so far is fascinating and provocative

It sound like a book on disembodied souls...essentially a gnostic thought...but it is not.  It is Christian Smith's latest work which studies the religious/spiritual journey of young adults.  I found his first book not only helpful but revolutionary to my thinking about youth ministry.  If you haven't read, Soul Searching...you need to especially if you have a heart for students.  Christian's work on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism was explosive in how it brought substantial critique to the needs based, consumeristic, market-mentality/driven praxis that is often called, "youth ministry" in our culture.  If all we are "producing" in local church are narcissists who feel badly when they make a bad decision but then use God like he is a band-aid or a cheap suit to make themselves feel better, then we are in a heap of trouble.  All I can say is Soul Searching stands on its own as a fabulous analysis of what ministry has become. 

So, because of being so enamored with his work on high school adolescence, I couldn't wait to take a peak at what Dr. Smith discovered about young adults.  This is probably the sticky-est age group among most in institutional church.  I've heard more angst, frustration, confusion or out and out resignation of defeat among those who are in the seats of power regarding this age group than any other.  I'm just starting the book...so I cannot give you a definitive "thumb's up/down" review...but so far, take a peak at this:

"As a result of...complicated social transformations, the transition from the teenage years to fully achieved adulthood has stretched out into an extended stage that is often amorphous, unstructured, and convoluted, lasting upward of 12 or more years.  During this time frame, emerging adults experience a freedom that is historically unparalleled, a life structure that is often at most only loosely governed by older adult authorities.  This enables emerging adults for many years to explore, experiment, discover, succeed or fail, move on, and try again.  For many, this age is also marked not only by alot of fun and growth but also by a great deal of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, stress, disappointment and sometimes emotional damage and bodily harm."

I couldn't agree more...the issue is that I know "emerging adults" in their 30's who haven't "emerged" into adulthood...they are still playing games with life and expecting "the world" to treat them kindly, fairly and with extravagant generosity.  In other words, many are "spoiled"...but that's for another post.  I'll give you an update as I make my way through the book...can't wait to see what more Christian Smith reveals...so, more to come...