There is very exciting news for you faithful Hesed Nowers out there. We are happy to welcome Clint Dobson to the ministry team of Hesed Now. Clint is a student at Truett Seminary and will be graduating in August. You can check out more of his information on the bio section, and I suggest going there just to see a picture of his smiling face.
Adding Clint to the umbrella that is Hesed Now is exciting because he is the first addition to the team, and he has a vision that matches up with the goals of this ministry. Clint will be contributing to the site through sermons on the iTunes podcast, by blogging on the site, as well as helping with the writing of new materials. He truly has a minister's heart and is going to bless those who come in contact with his work. We are very excited to say the least.
While we are on the subject of newness, keep an eye out for new materials coming soon. There are new booklets in the works that will be on a variety of different engaging topics. We are also updating the site weekly with new blogs, so keep checking in on us. Sometime next week the website will be updated and the blog format will allow for comments and feedback. Please chime in on the conversations and let us know what you think and how you are growing.
As always, you can e-mail info@hesednow.com with any questions, comments, concerns, or jokes of the day. We really appreciate the support and prayer, and our hope is that many will come to know the truth of the Good News through this website. May your life demonstrate Hesed Now.
**Podcast Notes**
The power of the unknown is a potent force in our universe. It is like when you broke up with the love of your life in 10th grade and wondered if they thought about you half as much as you thought of them. As you sat on the couch fabricating the date they are on at that very minute in your mind, they sit in their bedroom alone waiting for you to call and are crying because you have obviously moved on.
I say all of that to say this: if in your warped mind you started to believe that any of the sermons on the podcast were a big deal, please do not let the power of the unknown fool you. We are very humble ministers with very humble positions, and the recordings will often reflect this very thing. We are not speaking to thousands of people on the weekends and there are probably 100 better podcasts you can download on iTunes. I'll even give you a list of them if you want them. The primary reason for even creating the Hesed Now podcast is in hopes that maybe someone will encounter the risen Christ through our teachings.
So, you have been warned. In the coming weeks and months there will be some low quality recordings of sermons on the podcast and they will be marked with an asterisk at the end of the title on iTunes. Feel free to disregard any of these sermons, or at least prepare yourself beforehand. If you want to get good recordings and crowd dynamics from the ministers on Hesed Now, I have a suggestion for you: e-mail info@hesednow.com and ask one of us to come speak at your church. Spreading the Good News is our favorite thing to do and we are eager to go anywhere possible if there is a need.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
iChristmas
My wife Becca, her mom, and I were all watching the news in Houston on the night of Thanksgiving. One of the biggest stories of the evening news happened to be the lines at stores such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. These lines began forming days before Thanksgiving so these people could get the “door buster” deals. So our obvious reaction was to go down to Best Buy and see what it was like. To be 100% honest, I was thinking about staying outside for a couple of hours to see if I could get a new laptop for a cheap price, but when we got to the store the scene was worse than I even suspected.
In the parking lot was a make-shift soccer game going on. Then there was a series of families who had small children, even an infant in one case, bearing the cold elements and camping out for who knows how many hours. Most of the ones in the front of the line had to have spent at least the entire day of Thanksgiving there in order to be towards the front of the line. Overall, there were anywhere between 50-75 individuals in line 10 hours before the doors were set to open in 45-50 degree weather mind you.
The news had also reported that some of the malls were not even waiting until the standard 4 or 5 a.m. opening times, and they were going to open the flood gates at 12:00 a.m. As I said, there were some tempting deals for the people who got through the doors first. But as I started to look at the situation with spiritual eyes, I became even more aware how far we have gotten away from the message of the season. Even more than that, there must be something more than a great deal driving people to cut Thanksgiving short (or even out all together in some cases).
In the book of Amos, the prophet has a message for the people from God about their consumption habits. He says: “’In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!’ Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’—skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done.” (Amos 8:3-7 NIV)
God is upset with the people of Israel because they cannot even celebrate festivals without salivating at the idea of getting back to the marketplace and ultimately taking advantage of the poor and needy. Sound anything like our culture today? I’ll promise you one thing: there is no way the lines at all of the stores were filled with rich people like the CEOs and the owners of these respective businesses. So we have people waiting for days outside of stores in order to get a good deal, and at times even making their entire family sit on pavement in the freezing cold during a holiday in order to get more items from the “door buster” deals.
Our society thrives on consumerism and “dishonest scales” in the marketplace. On top of that, we have allowed the day after Thanksgiving shopping spree to be a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving itself. How is it that the season of Advent, which symbolizes the coming of our Savior who taught us how to be self-giving people, has turned into the season of iEverything. Apple is genius, to be honest, because they have created a list of products that typifies America. iPod, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and even iLife. Until our souls scream “ENOUGH!” and push back against what we have developed into, the vicious cycle will continue (unless God intervenes as He did in the book of Amos).
My age group is the most entitled generation to walk the face of the earth in a long time, if not in the history of the world. The attitude is more and more pervasive that we “deserve” everything. We deserve a Playstation 3. We deserve a new cell phone. We deserve new clothes. We deserve a holiday. All of this is not contained only to the month of December as it was 20 years ago, but it is common all year around. I deserve new clothes because it’s tax free weekend in Texas. I deserve new skis because it’s winter. I deserve new sunglasses because it’s summer. What is scary is thinking of what we actually do deserve.
This Christmas season (or should I say Holiday Season to be more politically correct), I invite you to join me on a journey to start pushing back against our culture. I invite you to scale back by a fraction this year as a way of creating a starting point. I ask you to question if you truly believe less is more. I encourage you to begin a new tradition that points to the message of the season through our actions, and, in turn, maybe we will find our own salvation.
-Brady Herbert
In the parking lot was a make-shift soccer game going on. Then there was a series of families who had small children, even an infant in one case, bearing the cold elements and camping out for who knows how many hours. Most of the ones in the front of the line had to have spent at least the entire day of Thanksgiving there in order to be towards the front of the line. Overall, there were anywhere between 50-75 individuals in line 10 hours before the doors were set to open in 45-50 degree weather mind you.
The news had also reported that some of the malls were not even waiting until the standard 4 or 5 a.m. opening times, and they were going to open the flood gates at 12:00 a.m. As I said, there were some tempting deals for the people who got through the doors first. But as I started to look at the situation with spiritual eyes, I became even more aware how far we have gotten away from the message of the season. Even more than that, there must be something more than a great deal driving people to cut Thanksgiving short (or even out all together in some cases).
In the book of Amos, the prophet has a message for the people from God about their consumption habits. He says: “’In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!’ Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’—skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done.” (Amos 8:3-7 NIV)
God is upset with the people of Israel because they cannot even celebrate festivals without salivating at the idea of getting back to the marketplace and ultimately taking advantage of the poor and needy. Sound anything like our culture today? I’ll promise you one thing: there is no way the lines at all of the stores were filled with rich people like the CEOs and the owners of these respective businesses. So we have people waiting for days outside of stores in order to get a good deal, and at times even making their entire family sit on pavement in the freezing cold during a holiday in order to get more items from the “door buster” deals.
Our society thrives on consumerism and “dishonest scales” in the marketplace. On top of that, we have allowed the day after Thanksgiving shopping spree to be a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving itself. How is it that the season of Advent, which symbolizes the coming of our Savior who taught us how to be self-giving people, has turned into the season of iEverything. Apple is genius, to be honest, because they have created a list of products that typifies America. iPod, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and even iLife. Until our souls scream “ENOUGH!” and push back against what we have developed into, the vicious cycle will continue (unless God intervenes as He did in the book of Amos).
My age group is the most entitled generation to walk the face of the earth in a long time, if not in the history of the world. The attitude is more and more pervasive that we “deserve” everything. We deserve a Playstation 3. We deserve a new cell phone. We deserve new clothes. We deserve a holiday. All of this is not contained only to the month of December as it was 20 years ago, but it is common all year around. I deserve new clothes because it’s tax free weekend in Texas. I deserve new skis because it’s winter. I deserve new sunglasses because it’s summer. What is scary is thinking of what we actually do deserve.
This Christmas season (or should I say Holiday Season to be more politically correct), I invite you to join me on a journey to start pushing back against our culture. I invite you to scale back by a fraction this year as a way of creating a starting point. I ask you to question if you truly believe less is more. I encourage you to begin a new tradition that points to the message of the season through our actions, and, in turn, maybe we will find our own salvation.
-Brady Herbert
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Changing of the Guard by Brady
One of my favorite TV shows and movies growing up was Dennis the Menace. The movie with Walter Matthau and Christopher Lloyd was based on the 1950s comic strip and TV sitcom about a rambunctious, blonde-headed boy who was always getting in trouble. I related to this show on several different levels to say the least. But if you watch movies like this or sitcoms from the early years in television, you’ll see a drastic difference between the 1950s and now. I know the obvious thing to point out as a Christian minister is the sex and violence, and yes there is more of that on TV today, but I’m talking about something different. Have you ever noticed how much Dennis is allowed to run around alone with no parental guidance anywhere in sight? This is the same way with Timmy from Lassie and Tom in Tom Sawyer.
I am not an expert on Post Modernism (or Post Modernity for the scholars out there) and its culture, but I do know that our culture’s social norms have shifted drastically in the last 40 years. It would seem that the rebels from the 1960’s are now largely in control of most of the major universities, and there is this idea that our society is much more free and tolerant than the 1950’s. But have we really become more tolerant, or are we just exchanging one set of norms for another? For instance, one of the quickest ways to ostracize yourself academically is to suggest a woman should be more like June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver. Have we replaced one train of thought with a new set of beliefs? Has merely a changing of the guard taken place as opposed to true “progress” culturally?
David Brooks hits on this idea beautifully in a book called Bobos in Paradise. He says, “We feel we are less strict with our children, but in fact we intervene in their lives far more than did parents in the 1950s. In Tom Sawyer, for example, Aunt Polly may have tried to civilize Tom with beatings and strict table etiquette, but she also allowed him hours of unsupervised time to wander and adventure. Today we don’t adhere to that etiquette, but we don’t allow much wandering, either. Instead, we shepherd kids from one adult-organized activity to another.” (pg. 197) What a valuable insight!
No wonder youth ministries were almost non-existent in the 50s but are essential in today’s culture. Kids today may be allowed to pass gas (I couldn’t think of a better way to say that?) at the table, but they are also not allowed to go anywhere without supervision or at least a cell phone. Brooks also points out other ways this plays out in our culture. For example, we can now tolerate sexual jokes in our culture, but ethnic jokes will cause you to come under fire in a heartbeat. It is not culturally acceptable to make fun of homosexuals, but Christians are fair game to blast (see the Kathy Griffin at the Emmy Awards or read this article http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/oct/07101004.html). We can actually talk about sex in any venue today while we are as strict as possible on anything that could be deemed sexual harassment. Tattoos and body piercings are allowed and expected on college campuses today, but fraternal rituals and parties which would have been deemed modest in the 50s are now not tolerated. So why does the “old way” seem so stuffy to us enlightened Post Moderns?
The truth is that the code is changing and has now changed when it comes to permissible and impermissible behaviors. Freedom is a concept that I believe haunts every American. I think this is because we see everywhere phrases such as “Land of the Free” and believe we are unchained individuals. This is the reason I drive an SUV by myself most of the time. I’m free, unattached, and feel that I am accountable only to a few individuals. This is not true though.
Obviously you cannot murder someone and hold onto your freedom. Same goes with social structures in our culture. We aren’t going to throw out rules and social order EVER, no matter how many hippies say we already have.
The problem comes for me in the fact that it has begun to affect the Church as well. As always, we are the “quick ones” who react 30 years later, but it has begun to change in Christian circles everywhere. In the 90s abortion and homosexuality were the fights worth sacrificing for. This is still the case for many today, but the shifting or emerging culture would deem these groups as archaic people with a sort of “radio-orthodoxy” (see Brian McLaren’s work). So the question is: If our emerging church culture is not fighting abortion and homosexuality, what are we fighting? Things like the environment, poverty, and Africa (the ONE campaign or Invisible Children are HUGE right now) have become the new mantra of this culture. These issues are decidedly less divisive and are obviously worthy of any Christian’s attention.
For the record, I recycle at home and started a program at my church, Becca and I have a Compassion child, our youth do service projects frequently, and I am very interested in what’s going on in Africa. But instead of making these issues the new boundary to gauge if you are truly worth listening to, or even worse, if you are truly “Christian”, is no different than the groups emerging leaders disdain. If you dismiss someone because they are a Republican and fight against abortion, you’re not much different than the very people you disagree with, nor are you more inclusive. Creating a new code of entrance qualifications is no more Christian than saying a homosexual joke. Creating a new set of boundaries based on global warming or Africa is no different than basing it on abortion or other issues. Wiping out norms and social etiquette is also not possible either. Maybe the best solution lies in less debate over red and blue issues, and unifying the Body to fight vehemently for kingdom issues. You say that it is impossible to be a kingdom citizen and not involve yourself in government affairs like abortion rights or global warming? Maybe that is so. But it appears that Jesus lived in a time period that had “hot button” political issues, and he cleverly answered these questions while keeping a kingdom focused agenda (see Matthew 22:15-22). We are arguing as family members, and hopefully no one else is listening.
I am not an expert on Post Modernism (or Post Modernity for the scholars out there) and its culture, but I do know that our culture’s social norms have shifted drastically in the last 40 years. It would seem that the rebels from the 1960’s are now largely in control of most of the major universities, and there is this idea that our society is much more free and tolerant than the 1950’s. But have we really become more tolerant, or are we just exchanging one set of norms for another? For instance, one of the quickest ways to ostracize yourself academically is to suggest a woman should be more like June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver. Have we replaced one train of thought with a new set of beliefs? Has merely a changing of the guard taken place as opposed to true “progress” culturally?
David Brooks hits on this idea beautifully in a book called Bobos in Paradise. He says, “We feel we are less strict with our children, but in fact we intervene in their lives far more than did parents in the 1950s. In Tom Sawyer, for example, Aunt Polly may have tried to civilize Tom with beatings and strict table etiquette, but she also allowed him hours of unsupervised time to wander and adventure. Today we don’t adhere to that etiquette, but we don’t allow much wandering, either. Instead, we shepherd kids from one adult-organized activity to another.” (pg. 197) What a valuable insight!
No wonder youth ministries were almost non-existent in the 50s but are essential in today’s culture. Kids today may be allowed to pass gas (I couldn’t think of a better way to say that?) at the table, but they are also not allowed to go anywhere without supervision or at least a cell phone. Brooks also points out other ways this plays out in our culture. For example, we can now tolerate sexual jokes in our culture, but ethnic jokes will cause you to come under fire in a heartbeat. It is not culturally acceptable to make fun of homosexuals, but Christians are fair game to blast (see the Kathy Griffin at the Emmy Awards or read this article http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/oct/07101004.html). We can actually talk about sex in any venue today while we are as strict as possible on anything that could be deemed sexual harassment. Tattoos and body piercings are allowed and expected on college campuses today, but fraternal rituals and parties which would have been deemed modest in the 50s are now not tolerated. So why does the “old way” seem so stuffy to us enlightened Post Moderns?
The truth is that the code is changing and has now changed when it comes to permissible and impermissible behaviors. Freedom is a concept that I believe haunts every American. I think this is because we see everywhere phrases such as “Land of the Free” and believe we are unchained individuals. This is the reason I drive an SUV by myself most of the time. I’m free, unattached, and feel that I am accountable only to a few individuals. This is not true though.
Obviously you cannot murder someone and hold onto your freedom. Same goes with social structures in our culture. We aren’t going to throw out rules and social order EVER, no matter how many hippies say we already have.
The problem comes for me in the fact that it has begun to affect the Church as well. As always, we are the “quick ones” who react 30 years later, but it has begun to change in Christian circles everywhere. In the 90s abortion and homosexuality were the fights worth sacrificing for. This is still the case for many today, but the shifting or emerging culture would deem these groups as archaic people with a sort of “radio-orthodoxy” (see Brian McLaren’s work). So the question is: If our emerging church culture is not fighting abortion and homosexuality, what are we fighting? Things like the environment, poverty, and Africa (the ONE campaign or Invisible Children are HUGE right now) have become the new mantra of this culture. These issues are decidedly less divisive and are obviously worthy of any Christian’s attention.
For the record, I recycle at home and started a program at my church, Becca and I have a Compassion child, our youth do service projects frequently, and I am very interested in what’s going on in Africa. But instead of making these issues the new boundary to gauge if you are truly worth listening to, or even worse, if you are truly “Christian”, is no different than the groups emerging leaders disdain. If you dismiss someone because they are a Republican and fight against abortion, you’re not much different than the very people you disagree with, nor are you more inclusive. Creating a new code of entrance qualifications is no more Christian than saying a homosexual joke. Creating a new set of boundaries based on global warming or Africa is no different than basing it on abortion or other issues. Wiping out norms and social etiquette is also not possible either. Maybe the best solution lies in less debate over red and blue issues, and unifying the Body to fight vehemently for kingdom issues. You say that it is impossible to be a kingdom citizen and not involve yourself in government affairs like abortion rights or global warming? Maybe that is so. But it appears that Jesus lived in a time period that had “hot button” political issues, and he cleverly answered these questions while keeping a kingdom focused agenda (see Matthew 22:15-22). We are arguing as family members, and hopefully no one else is listening.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Are We Missing the Point? by Brady
The latest news gathering headlines for Christianity has some TV ministries and televangelists reporting earnings upwards of $69 million dollars for one year in response to a Senate investigation. One particular minister was given a Rolls Royce by the organization (or “church”) and this group paid close to $30,000 for a conference table alone. This is probably just the beginning of such reports dominating news stations in the following weeks in light of the ongoing investigation.
I have always been a little suspect of televangelists begging for money when they are jet setting in personal, private aircraft all over the world. But before we jump all over these preachers of the prosperity gospel, I think we need to see how deep this mentality actually runs in our own personal theology.
Christianity is enamored by the mega-church movement and has been for decades now. We use popular trends and demographics in order to create the next big thing. Using demographics alone is not wrong or evil, but usually our mentality is to be the biggest and the best amongst our Christian brothers and sisters rather than to reach the lost. I do not know the statistics and I am not George Barna, but I would like to see the health of local churches that are in areas around mega-churches to see if they are still thriving. It would be my guess that most of these mega-churches are growing by people joining the congregation from other churches because they have better programs, more elaborate buildings, and the infamous celebrity factor. Also, these churches allow people to slip through the cracks when it comes to discipleship and growth in the other direction, which is deep rather than wide.
But the prosperity gospel reaches my personal theology even more than having the desire for the best graphics on a screen during the praise singing portion of a worship service. Even people who I know are exactly opposite of what we would call “prosperity gospel disciples” still have a form of this belief in their personal theology. The culture has never been more aware of hurting places in the world such as countries in Africa. Many people believe that we are closer than ever to wiping out world hunger and extreme poverty, which is an amazing thing to think about. But the common assumption when Thanksgiving and Christmas rolls around is that we will minister to others by bringing them toys and other trinkets.
This Christmas I will gather with my family, never go a second without access to food, and will receive more presents than I know what to do with. I will give thanks for all of the things God has blessed me with. I will even pray for people who are not as fortunate. Does this sound close to the prosperity gospel to anyone else? What I am saying is that I am more fortunate in worldly terms this holiday season, but am I better off spiritually? Why is our common assumption that the people without toys are worse off than we are? Why do Americans haughtily believe that we need to bring Africa into the 21st century with technology (ironic side note: many churches, including my own, will sing worship songs with graphics of the sky or a river in the background, while we could just go outside and see the real thing.) Why is the mentality present in most of us which believes we do not have anything to learn from the way people in 3rd world countries live their lives? Or even a better question is why verses such as Matthew 19:23 do not scare us as Americans, no matter what tax bracket you fall into? Why do we not truly believe Jesus in Luke 6:20 (NRSV): “Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”? Why do I push back at the thought of selling all I have in the name of Jesus? Is it because I want to give my kids more than I ever had (as if that is possible), or is it because I believe in the practical, American Christianity diet that people have been selling me my whole life over Jesus’ demands in Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58?
The truth is, when people see Christianity today, they see the prosperity gospel in almost all of us. They see churches like the one which a friend of mine affectionately calls “Six Flags over Jesus” because of its similarities to an amusement park. We are inadvertently, or maybe purposefully, portraying Christ as an American CEO rather than the humble, impoverished Rabbi which he actually was. I am as guilty of this as the televangelist driving the Rolls Royce.
Is it wrong to minister to a child this Christmas season via buying him or her toy? I don’t think so. It is however wrong to believe that we have it better off than they do. I don’t believe Jesus or Paul were as tied to here and now as we are. We would certainly not call Paul of 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 “healthy” by any stretch of the imagination. He would need at least two episodes with Oprah or Dr. Phil to sort out his unhealthy lifestyle choices. So would Jesus. We would be offended by the demands Jesus of Luke 18:18-29. So the question is: Are we missing the point?
I have always been a little suspect of televangelists begging for money when they are jet setting in personal, private aircraft all over the world. But before we jump all over these preachers of the prosperity gospel, I think we need to see how deep this mentality actually runs in our own personal theology.
Christianity is enamored by the mega-church movement and has been for decades now. We use popular trends and demographics in order to create the next big thing. Using demographics alone is not wrong or evil, but usually our mentality is to be the biggest and the best amongst our Christian brothers and sisters rather than to reach the lost. I do not know the statistics and I am not George Barna, but I would like to see the health of local churches that are in areas around mega-churches to see if they are still thriving. It would be my guess that most of these mega-churches are growing by people joining the congregation from other churches because they have better programs, more elaborate buildings, and the infamous celebrity factor. Also, these churches allow people to slip through the cracks when it comes to discipleship and growth in the other direction, which is deep rather than wide.
But the prosperity gospel reaches my personal theology even more than having the desire for the best graphics on a screen during the praise singing portion of a worship service. Even people who I know are exactly opposite of what we would call “prosperity gospel disciples” still have a form of this belief in their personal theology. The culture has never been more aware of hurting places in the world such as countries in Africa. Many people believe that we are closer than ever to wiping out world hunger and extreme poverty, which is an amazing thing to think about. But the common assumption when Thanksgiving and Christmas rolls around is that we will minister to others by bringing them toys and other trinkets.
This Christmas I will gather with my family, never go a second without access to food, and will receive more presents than I know what to do with. I will give thanks for all of the things God has blessed me with. I will even pray for people who are not as fortunate. Does this sound close to the prosperity gospel to anyone else? What I am saying is that I am more fortunate in worldly terms this holiday season, but am I better off spiritually? Why is our common assumption that the people without toys are worse off than we are? Why do Americans haughtily believe that we need to bring Africa into the 21st century with technology (ironic side note: many churches, including my own, will sing worship songs with graphics of the sky or a river in the background, while we could just go outside and see the real thing.) Why is the mentality present in most of us which believes we do not have anything to learn from the way people in 3rd world countries live their lives? Or even a better question is why verses such as Matthew 19:23 do not scare us as Americans, no matter what tax bracket you fall into? Why do we not truly believe Jesus in Luke 6:20 (NRSV): “Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”? Why do I push back at the thought of selling all I have in the name of Jesus? Is it because I want to give my kids more than I ever had (as if that is possible), or is it because I believe in the practical, American Christianity diet that people have been selling me my whole life over Jesus’ demands in Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58?
The truth is, when people see Christianity today, they see the prosperity gospel in almost all of us. They see churches like the one which a friend of mine affectionately calls “Six Flags over Jesus” because of its similarities to an amusement park. We are inadvertently, or maybe purposefully, portraying Christ as an American CEO rather than the humble, impoverished Rabbi which he actually was. I am as guilty of this as the televangelist driving the Rolls Royce.
Is it wrong to minister to a child this Christmas season via buying him or her toy? I don’t think so. It is however wrong to believe that we have it better off than they do. I don’t believe Jesus or Paul were as tied to here and now as we are. We would certainly not call Paul of 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 “healthy” by any stretch of the imagination. He would need at least two episodes with Oprah or Dr. Phil to sort out his unhealthy lifestyle choices. So would Jesus. We would be offended by the demands Jesus of Luke 18:18-29. So the question is: Are we missing the point?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
America's Daddy Issues by Brady
Do you remember the first time you realized your parents were not in complete control of life and they could not protect you from every harmful thing that comes your way? This happened to me on December 4, 1986 when I was 4 years old. My family landed upon some hard times financially, and I remember sitting outside of the family business as the FDIC came in and shut it down. I remember my mom crying and the next months being filled with many changes. We were forced to sell our house and move into a new one. There was not the level of extreme luxury and comfort that our family was used to. There were many tense conversations between my parents on how we would make it financially with four kids. This experience is one of the earliest memories I can recollect.
Incidents such as these shape us dramatically as humans. They cause us to build up walls for security measures and to look for a place to put the blame for having been hurt so badly. I am sure almost everyone has something similar to this experience that has dominated their past and shaped their future.
Culturally we work through these incidents as well. There are times when corporately we feel disillusioned by our government, church, or any other authority which has let us down. The government has particularly failed us numerous times as Americans, but rather than being open and honest about its limitations, we have created a world of unrealistic expectations for our leaders. This in turn causes candidates to create false images of their capabilities. To put it quite simply: America has daddy issues.
Our collective society experienced this frightening realization in the 1960’s and 70’s. Even though I was not alive during this era, my generation continues to feel the aftershocks from these decades even today. It was particularly the Vietnam War and Watergate which caused us to doubt how smart we are to place full trust in our government, especially the office of the president. This era has dominated our country’s past and is continually shaping our society’s future. Now the climate is railing against any authority at all, including God, because we have built up a wall in order to protect ourselves from being hurt again. You don’t believe me? Why is this war with Iraq constantly compared to the Vietnam War? Why have the last two presidents, one democrat and one republican who were both reelected, come under so much fire that impeachment has been the word of the day? The only reason people don’t want to impeach the current president as they did the former one is because we are more frightened of the vice president running the show than anything else.
So what am I getting at by talking about all of this? I think Scott Peck has hit the nail on the head about our country in a book called The Different Drum. He says, “The macho image of the president as a kind of superman has been created and maintained because the people have wanted it. We have wanted a Big Daddy who has all the answers, who will take care of the bully down the block, who will not only give us a safe and secure home but one that is luxurious and where we will be protected from all hard knocks. The American presidency is the reflection of the task-avoidance assumption of dependency, a creation of our own childish fantasies.” (p. 314-315)
We are the same way with God as well. Why does the culture today generally not believe in absolute truth or a supreme God? It is because we have been burned, and this is our natural defense. We see too much heartache and have felt too much loneliness to believe that there could possibly be a God who is both all-powerful and good. Somewhere the true gospel has been lost in our churches which dawn the American flag in an attempt to synchronize The American Dream and the Good News of Christ. One of the earliest Christians pushed back against this mentality in 1 Peter. He says, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” (1 Peter 4:12-13 MSG)
God’s job is not to be the “Big Daddy” who gives you all of the answers you want to hear at the exact time you want to hear them. His job is not to give you a safe, secure, and luxurious home. He is not interested in protecting you from all hard knocks. If He were, I think He would have protected Himself from the cross. Rather, we should start working through some of our Daddy issues and “consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2 NIV) Maybe life is not all about living a safe and lavish life. We should not expect our government or our God to be the blame for everything that goes wrong. After all, “This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”
Incidents such as these shape us dramatically as humans. They cause us to build up walls for security measures and to look for a place to put the blame for having been hurt so badly. I am sure almost everyone has something similar to this experience that has dominated their past and shaped their future.
Culturally we work through these incidents as well. There are times when corporately we feel disillusioned by our government, church, or any other authority which has let us down. The government has particularly failed us numerous times as Americans, but rather than being open and honest about its limitations, we have created a world of unrealistic expectations for our leaders. This in turn causes candidates to create false images of their capabilities. To put it quite simply: America has daddy issues.
Our collective society experienced this frightening realization in the 1960’s and 70’s. Even though I was not alive during this era, my generation continues to feel the aftershocks from these decades even today. It was particularly the Vietnam War and Watergate which caused us to doubt how smart we are to place full trust in our government, especially the office of the president. This era has dominated our country’s past and is continually shaping our society’s future. Now the climate is railing against any authority at all, including God, because we have built up a wall in order to protect ourselves from being hurt again. You don’t believe me? Why is this war with Iraq constantly compared to the Vietnam War? Why have the last two presidents, one democrat and one republican who were both reelected, come under so much fire that impeachment has been the word of the day? The only reason people don’t want to impeach the current president as they did the former one is because we are more frightened of the vice president running the show than anything else.
So what am I getting at by talking about all of this? I think Scott Peck has hit the nail on the head about our country in a book called The Different Drum. He says, “The macho image of the president as a kind of superman has been created and maintained because the people have wanted it. We have wanted a Big Daddy who has all the answers, who will take care of the bully down the block, who will not only give us a safe and secure home but one that is luxurious and where we will be protected from all hard knocks. The American presidency is the reflection of the task-avoidance assumption of dependency, a creation of our own childish fantasies.” (p. 314-315)
We are the same way with God as well. Why does the culture today generally not believe in absolute truth or a supreme God? It is because we have been burned, and this is our natural defense. We see too much heartache and have felt too much loneliness to believe that there could possibly be a God who is both all-powerful and good. Somewhere the true gospel has been lost in our churches which dawn the American flag in an attempt to synchronize The American Dream and the Good News of Christ. One of the earliest Christians pushed back against this mentality in 1 Peter. He says, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” (1 Peter 4:12-13 MSG)
God’s job is not to be the “Big Daddy” who gives you all of the answers you want to hear at the exact time you want to hear them. His job is not to give you a safe, secure, and luxurious home. He is not interested in protecting you from all hard knocks. If He were, I think He would have protected Himself from the cross. Rather, we should start working through some of our Daddy issues and “consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2 NIV) Maybe life is not all about living a safe and lavish life. We should not expect our government or our God to be the blame for everything that goes wrong. After all, “This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Prognosis by Brady
My family is dramatic. The Herbert family is never short on excitement by any stretch of the imagination. I like to think that my grandmother, mom, and sister are where the drama queen genes begin and end, but others would disagree. If I do have a trace of this trait in my blood, you can see it come out in me when I get sick or hurt. There are some of my family members that call me a hypochondriac, which I totally deny and slightly resent (ok, so I had a neck ache and thought I had meningitis once…big deal). But one thing is for sure; when something isn’t right in my body, I call a doctor. The only test I use before calling the doctor that will give me enough peace of mind to not set up an appointment is the “other side” test. If I feel a bump and I have the same lump on the other side, then I can go about my business and not worry too much. That is about as sophisticated as I get when it comes to diagnosing myself.
Now let me be clear: I like doctors. My doctor could be the world’s best at what he does. He is incredibly smart, generous, caring, and talented with numerous gifts both in and out of the medical field. He plays the violin at our church and went to my alma mater, which scores him points in my book. On top of that, one of my best friends is in medical school, my mother-in-law is a nurse, and my wife and I have another close family friend who is also a nurse. These people are working my personal rotation. Sore throat? Well I called my mother-in-law last time, so I’ll call my friend who has plenty of time to diagnose me between his busy medical school schedule and being a newly wed.
A while back, though, I heard an interesting quote that went along the lines of this: we still have priests today, but instead of wearing black coats they wear white ones. I don’t think this speaker was talking just about doctors, rather I think he was saying that we go to the sciences for any authoritative answers in our lives over faith these days. A fact of life is that people will always have authority in their lives. In fact, people will always seek to have authority in their lives. It just happens that today the proper authority will tell you to exercise and eat healthy rather than to not sleep around. We still live in an extremely strict society with moral codes, but the code is shifting. Why is it that our morals are based on health conscious issues rather than spiritual disciplines? For instance, it is morally wrong to smoke a cigarette while you’re pregnant, however some feel it is ok to sleep with your girlfriend as long as you practice “safe sex.”
Much of it also has to do with the fact that Americans are more concerned with temporal things. The new boat, the new house, the new car, the new nose, even the current temperature in the car…the list goes on and on. The only problem with this is in 5 years the boat is old because it just sat outside most of the time, the house is too small, the new car was 3 cars ago, and the nose needs to go back to the shop for some repairs. It also has to do with the belief that is prevalent today that says no one religion can have absolute truth.
Chances are if you watch any morning show like The Today Show, afternoon talk show like Oprah, or evening show like Larry King Live you will have seen about a quadrillion doctors on there talking about how to live a healthy life. If two things are “in” right now it is this: going green and living healthy. One thing you are most likely not going to see is a minister on TV talking about sin and how it affects our life. Why is this? Most of the reason this doesn’t happen is that our culture says ministers are closed-minded nincompoops. Now are there some dumb butts out there who are ministers? Absolutely. Are there also some dense doctors out there who I would never let give me a diagnoses? Without a doubt.
In Jesus’ day, people considered sickness to be related to sin in your life. Today this idea is absurd to our post-modern minds, and maybe it should be. I am not suggesting the next time you get a cold or even worse, someone gets cancer, it is because they have sinned. What I am saying is this, the next time you get sick, maybe you and I should pray before we go to the doctor and our prayer should be more than “guide the doctor’s hand and help the equipment find out what is wrong with me.” Perhaps your pastor could help you as much as your doctor can the next time tragedy hits. Most doctors are incredibly smart and gifted, but they are not infinitely smart and gifted as God is. And we need to sit with the words my doctor told me the last time I went to his office: “We’re not getting out of here alive.” Perhaps it is time to return to the belief that we only have a short period of time on earth and what we do matters. Maybe today you need to stop a sinful habit more than you need to eat a salad. And you just might need to realize that today could be the last day you have to show someone the love of Christ on earth.
Now let me be clear: I like doctors. My doctor could be the world’s best at what he does. He is incredibly smart, generous, caring, and talented with numerous gifts both in and out of the medical field. He plays the violin at our church and went to my alma mater, which scores him points in my book. On top of that, one of my best friends is in medical school, my mother-in-law is a nurse, and my wife and I have another close family friend who is also a nurse. These people are working my personal rotation. Sore throat? Well I called my mother-in-law last time, so I’ll call my friend who has plenty of time to diagnose me between his busy medical school schedule and being a newly wed.
A while back, though, I heard an interesting quote that went along the lines of this: we still have priests today, but instead of wearing black coats they wear white ones. I don’t think this speaker was talking just about doctors, rather I think he was saying that we go to the sciences for any authoritative answers in our lives over faith these days. A fact of life is that people will always have authority in their lives. In fact, people will always seek to have authority in their lives. It just happens that today the proper authority will tell you to exercise and eat healthy rather than to not sleep around. We still live in an extremely strict society with moral codes, but the code is shifting. Why is it that our morals are based on health conscious issues rather than spiritual disciplines? For instance, it is morally wrong to smoke a cigarette while you’re pregnant, however some feel it is ok to sleep with your girlfriend as long as you practice “safe sex.”
Much of it also has to do with the fact that Americans are more concerned with temporal things. The new boat, the new house, the new car, the new nose, even the current temperature in the car…the list goes on and on. The only problem with this is in 5 years the boat is old because it just sat outside most of the time, the house is too small, the new car was 3 cars ago, and the nose needs to go back to the shop for some repairs. It also has to do with the belief that is prevalent today that says no one religion can have absolute truth.
Chances are if you watch any morning show like The Today Show, afternoon talk show like Oprah, or evening show like Larry King Live you will have seen about a quadrillion doctors on there talking about how to live a healthy life. If two things are “in” right now it is this: going green and living healthy. One thing you are most likely not going to see is a minister on TV talking about sin and how it affects our life. Why is this? Most of the reason this doesn’t happen is that our culture says ministers are closed-minded nincompoops. Now are there some dumb butts out there who are ministers? Absolutely. Are there also some dense doctors out there who I would never let give me a diagnoses? Without a doubt.
In Jesus’ day, people considered sickness to be related to sin in your life. Today this idea is absurd to our post-modern minds, and maybe it should be. I am not suggesting the next time you get a cold or even worse, someone gets cancer, it is because they have sinned. What I am saying is this, the next time you get sick, maybe you and I should pray before we go to the doctor and our prayer should be more than “guide the doctor’s hand and help the equipment find out what is wrong with me.” Perhaps your pastor could help you as much as your doctor can the next time tragedy hits. Most doctors are incredibly smart and gifted, but they are not infinitely smart and gifted as God is. And we need to sit with the words my doctor told me the last time I went to his office: “We’re not getting out of here alive.” Perhaps it is time to return to the belief that we only have a short period of time on earth and what we do matters. Maybe today you need to stop a sinful habit more than you need to eat a salad. And you just might need to realize that today could be the last day you have to show someone the love of Christ on earth.
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