As women are poised to inherit the earth, it is probably not the best idea to diss stay-at-home dads. This is an older video of Mark Driscolls (2008) but I think it exemplifies the disconnect between an authentic gospel of grace and Neo-Calvinism’s absolute rigidity when it comes to ideal discipleship.

Yes, it fits within their worldview of strict gender roles and biblical literalism. But it’s still creepy. (h/t Pomomusings / Dazed Dad)

Ridiculous.  Two of my thoughts:

1. How is your ministry context reaching out to stay-at-home dads who are undoubtedly going to be on the rise in the future?
2. How do people take Neo-Calvinism seriously again?

Your thoughts?

(Previous post on Driscoll and Neo-Calvinism)

Chris Anderson, the head honcho of the TED talks, discusses how web video accelerates innovation (h/t Seth Godin). While the whole video is interesting as he talks about how web videos inspire innovation and advancement, check out about 9:30 into the video (you can click the timeline to fast-forward to it)

Here’s the segment:

9:30 Humanity watches 80 million hours of Youtube videos every day. Cisco actually estimates that within 4 years, more than 90% of the web will be video. If it’s all puppies, porn and piracy, we’re doomed…Video is high-bandwidth for a reason. It packs a huge amount of data, and our brains are uniquely wired to decode it.

He also expands on his embrace of online video in a recent CNN article:

I’m convinced that the latest iteration of crowd-accelerated innovation, fueled by Web video, is about to ignite the biggest learning cycle in human history. There are huge implications for the future of global education. Tomorrow’s best teachers will be global stars reaching literally millions of kids. And talented students around the world will no longer have their potential destroyed by lousy teachers. They can learn directly from the world’s finest.

What I take from this rise of online video is three when applied to churches:

1. There’s a need for online video component to your church. Video has become ubiquitous not only because of its negative aspects of emotional coercion and seductive psychological manipulation. Rather, the brain is more fully engaged, the Created is more in tune with the rest of Creation when engaged in video. While print and spoken word are absolutely essential and train different parts of your brain (particularly critical thinking), the counterpart of video of services, preaching, teaching, conversation will be an essential component in coming years as a partner to the gatherings of followers of Christ.
2. There’s a weeding-out of bad preachers and teachers of bad theology.  We are fearful that the web gives a platform for bad theology and hate-filled rhetoric. It does. But the bad teachers will become either exposed or isolated from the global discourse…I mean, when anything comes up that says “Fred Phelps” I ignore it for my own sanity.  So long as people don’t embrace the fanciest of web fluffy sermons or write off  preachers for isolated sermonic shortcomings (we are human and I have bad sermons on occasion!), the potential for better theology and preaching is possible.
3. There’s a jump-start to alternatives to the dominant narrative. There are always critiques to dominant forms of Christianity that emerge in some circles (liberation, feminist, process, etc) and sometimes have a hard time expanding beyond their base to anywhere other than academic circles. With web video, explaining those subjects and providing a context for their emerging theology can make a better connection with other social groups. You can imagine a web chronicler taking a social event and collecting/presenting a dozen responses from faith-filled people from their different backgrounds…all on one page! Perhaps that respondent will be you from your pulpit, pew, or in a t-shirt at home in front of a webcam.

What do you think?

• If you have online video from your ministry context, what role does it play and how is it received?
• If you do not have online video from your ministry context, what considerations have you made regarding it?

Discuss. Welcome to our visitors!

Faithful readers will remember the discussion of the church in Florida that is hosting a Qur’an-burning day in a few weeks. We talked about their lack of hospitality or understanding of the issue (What Would Jesus Burn?).

Well….it got better. Or worse.

They accepted the help of a Christian Militia group called “Right Wing Extreme” to help with security for the event. The Militia was going to send anywhere from 500-2000 gun-toting members to its defense. Violence to the Qur’an begats violent calls to arms it seems.

But then today, the group decided to cut ties with the event:

“Right Wing Extreme has pulled support for the International Burning of the Koran day and will not attend the event,” the group announced in a 1:50 a.m. press release on its website. “After much thought and prayer the organization’s leadership determined this event does not glorify GOD in way that leads the lost to Jesus Christ.”
The group, which bills itself in the release as an “armed Christian conservative group,” says they got started in April 2009 after a department of Homeland Security report called “Right Wing Extremism,” which highlighted the radical far right’s revitalization since President Barack Obama took office.
The group considers Islam a “cult” and blasts the President for his support of the Park51 Islamic center which a Muslim group plans to build near Ground Zero in New York. But they do not think burning Islam’s holy scripture will solve any problems.
“Dove World Outreach are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” the release says. “However we ask that they not hold this event for the reason that it may diminish the work of the Holy Spirit to witness to Muslims.”
The release also quoted James 1:19: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Here’s the lesson for today, and I think it is a true one. I’ll put it in big caps.

If a militia decides you are too radical, then you might be on the wrong path. 

I suspect we’ve got a Pharaoh situation where the pastor and church have hardened their hearts beyond the point of backing down. But I’m certainly in prayer that their violent act will not escalate to the injury of anyone else, and I’m thankful for the militia group deciding to not participate in the escalation.

Thoughts?

(h/t Ruach mailing list)

There’s a Florida church that has decided that on September 11th they need to burn a Koran in protest of Islam’s growth since 9/11. From the article:

The Dove World Outreach Center, a non-denominational church in Gainesville FL, is planning to mark this year’s anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with a little bonfire of Korans, the holy book of Islam. They even have a Facebook page with a mission statement to justify their actions:

“On September 11th, 2010 we will burn the Koran on the property of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!”

The church, which also protests against issues such as homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and abortion, has decorated it’s front lawn with signs proclaiming “Islam is of the devil!” and it’s pastor, Terry Jones, has even authored a book with that title

I wouldn’t even spend the time on these folks except they have also posted a “Top 10 reasons to burn the Koran” here. Ironically, there are several of them that if you replace “Islam” with “Christianity” and you have a word-for-word description of sections of Christianity’s history. For example, #10 says this:

Islam is a weapon of Arab imperialism and Islamic colonialism. Wherever Islam has or gains political power, Christians, Jews and all non-Moslems receive persecution, discrimination, are forced to convert. There are massacres and churches, synagogues, temples and other places of worship are destroyed.

Anyone ever heard of the Crusades? Anyone out there? Am I alone on the Internets?

Anywho, a blogger guy in FL has been writing to the church imploring them that such a thing is not acceptable with a point-by-point refutation. The pastor has responded

Thanks for your concern. We are unconvinced that the ‘nice’ church is winning against the Kingdom of darkness. God and his people were not always sweet and loving to people to people and practices that were evil.

Amazing. Burning books, claiming an entire faith as evil, and disowning the ‘nice’ churches that care for the sick, love sinners, and offer gracious presence…yep, sounds like WWJD to me!

Thoughts?

Apparently our friends at Westboro “Church” have ran out of social groups to protest and have moved on to…nerds.  They are planning on protesting ComicCon (h/t Bilerico) this year. Seriously.

(yes the image is photoshopped)

Why?  Here’s their own words (I refuse to link to their website but you can go there and find this verbatim…minus the accompaning picture):

Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.

If we were even taking this seriously, being an enthusiast (nerd) of a topic does not necessarily equal misplaced devotion. There are multiple motivators for becoming one, and multiple sustaining forces once nerd-dom has been established.  More often than not nerdiness is an escape from reality or a relaxation from stress…and most likely, the stress itself is the idol.

But while we’re talking about misplaced devotion, I’m calling pot and kettle here.  If Westboro spent as much energy on reading the bible as they do making God look ugly, they’d be rockin’ scholars instead of the surface-level enforcers that they are.

Uh, I think you are doing it wrong…

(h/t Jesus Needs New PR)

My senior minister noted this past Sunday that Jesus is often sending people to do stuff. Sending disciples to get a donkey for the entrance to Jerusalem. Sending disciples to prepare the upper room Sending the Lawyer out to “do likewise.” Telling people to “Go” and do something.  Often, Jesus was standing still while his disciples did the work of ministry around him.

Perhaps we are called to play a “Go” role in in the kingdom, going to the slums, going to do the work, going to be the hands and feet, going to the depths of grief with another, going to the floor in advocacy, going to the town hall in protest, going to the mattresses, going to where Christ does not seem to be found, wanted, or acknowledged.

Perhaps in a world of taking all that you can get, we are called to go to the extremities of pain, grief, doctrinal rigidity, and apathy and bring them back to the Christ who calls for them.

For Earth Day, here’s a recap of the Blog Action Day participation on Hacking Christianity on the topic of Climate Change.  Enjoy!

• Hacking Global Warming: exploring how our understanding of God as relational can lead to advances in understanding climate change.
• Hacking Global Cooling: exploring how our human condition of growing closer and yet more frigid towards each other compounds the problem of climate change
• Hacking Climate Change: exploring how aggregate individual responses and caring for individual ecosystems will yield positive understandings of God and our response to climate change.