God and Country

Last week I was at an outdoor church service. They did communion and during this time, they put various “color” shots up on the video screen. (“Color” is lingo for camera shots of scenery, settings, objects, etc., which are nice backgrounds but aren’t the main programming.) During communion I noticed that they put up a couple of shots of the American flag. I realize that most people would think this was nice and not see the least problem with it—in fact they are likely to think this is a good thing. However it greatly disturbed me.

To me, displaying the American flag prominently during communion was a sign of just how highly we American Christians think of our country. While I imagine few people consciously think this, it’s like Continue reading →

Who Is Most Important and Influential?

You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder them.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies, awards tarnish, and achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do Continue reading →

Business vs. Art

I’ve been wondering to myself recently if business and art are almost polar opposites. Much of the time, especially for start-ups, business is focused on following demand. What you want to do isn’t important, you simply do whatever it is other people want. In my opinion, art is usually the opposite of this. Art is created because the artist feels a need to create and express something inside themselves. Art is created for its own sake, and is done regardless or even in spite of what other people think about it. I think this is where the sparks fly when business and art attempt to mix. Business people (at least my stereotype of them) typically don’t understand art. A majority of the population doesn’t understand art either, but Continue reading →

Unemployment (Part 2)

Most people are in a position to survive for a while without an income. However with the average time of unemployment being so long, people can find themselves in a really challenging position. While there are ways to cut one’s expenses, certain bills such as school loans, mortgage and car payments are difficult to change after the fact. For example, a person may be able to cut out cable television and eating out from their budget, but they can’t go back and not go to college or not buy their house. (True, a person may be able to reduce loan payments or sell the house, but those things aren’t likely to put them in a better financial position overall.) As their resources run out, a person can find themselves with expensive late fees, Continue reading →

Unemployment (Part 1)

I have my alarm set to the radio, tuned into NPR specifically. Today I woke up to Marketplace Morning Report talking about unemployment. It was both slightly comforting and depressing at the same time. It was comforting because I was reminded that there are many people out there in my position: skilled, educated, experienced workers who can’t find work. It’s good to be reminded, because of all the people I know, only one or two are in a similar position to me. For various reasons, I had begun to question if it was just me, if it was my fault, if I was doing something wrong or if I was simply not that valuable.

With our culture so tied to money and work, it’s a real challenge to feel valued when you don’t have a job. “What do you Continue reading →

10. How Can We Translate Our Quest Into Action?

10. How can we translate our quest into action?

One of God’s core qualities is love (1 John 4:8, 16). He shares that love with us and wants us to participate in it. In order to do so, we must learn to love like he does. In fact, he says that we are to be known, not by our beliefs, but by our love (John 13:34-35)—a pretty amazing statement! The only way we can do this is to get to know him (through Jesus), not just know about him. Learning to love is like learning to dance (or play an instrument or sport). However we (in Western churches over the past few centuries) have focused more on learning many facts about God. You need look no further than to the importance we place on doctrines and theology to see that this is true. The Continue reading →

Church Karate Studio

This is what I’ve been trying to say: “Church should be more like a karate studio (or dance lessons) and less like a college lecture.”

The idea that I think is super important is that the Christian life is supposed to be a practice, a way of life, or in other words, something you do. While most christians would probably agree with that statement, in practice we’ve made it mostly about what you think, believe, and know. So the idea is that church ought to be more like interactive training rather than learning a lot of facts. (Not that those things are bad, just secondary.)

People or Ideas Comic

David Hayward just published this comic which really captures what I’ve been trying to say:

Again, the practice of loving people MUST be a higher priority than beliefs, ideas, doctrines, theologies, etc.