Evidence of Our Addiction

The Internet is down at our house, possibly until tomorrow night.

So...what did we do with all our free time?

The Wild One and I are at a local coffee shop with our laptops, so we can be on the Internet.

(The Director is here, too, just kinda hanging out)

What is wrong with us??

The Subculture of Christianity

So I've been pondering how my thinking has changed over the past few years, and how I can't stomach so much of the Christian-ese lingo and churchy behavior anymore--which is funny because I used to be all about that stuff not too very long ago. I don't go near Christian television anymore, I don't listen to Christian radio hardly at all, and I usually can't stand to listen to sermons anymore. And I feel very out of place in most church meetings.

And I know why I'm like this now. And it's not that I've abandoned my faith.

It's that I've grown out of the subculture of Christianity. I don't have any use for it anymore.

As Christians, and as the church, we have our own little subculture. There's a whole lingo, a whole set of protocols. Just as I tongue-in-cheeked my way through the unwritten rules of blogging a couple of days ago...the church has developed its own set of unwritten rules. And we know if someone is "in" or "out" by how they talk, or if they "know the code". (Spoken pirate-like for effect.)

Now, I know some of that is inherent in any group that gathers together. But it gets in our way when we realize that the gospel is something that crosses all cultural barriers. We weren't supposed to make a clique out of this thing; we are supposed to take this into every culture. I don't think we can do that effectively when we superimpose the Christian subculture onto everything we do. And that's why I'm kind of leery of it. Not only do I think it's unneccesary, but I think it's messing with our ability to fulfill the Great Commission.

Let me give a quick example. There are Christians who believe that when they go out in public and say things like "Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Bless you, brother!" that they are being a witness for Christ because they are being open about their faith. But those sayings, which probably began as legitimate expressions of praise, have devolved into catch-phrases, a lingo that identifies us. These days, when most non-Christians hear someone talk that way, they immediately classify that person as someone who, at best, they can't relate to; and at worst, someone who would judge them for their choices. Our lingo simply categorizes us as a subculture, and the only folks who might be impressed are...other Christians who talk that way. Kind of like a bird call.

Subculture. Get it?

So I'm not forsaking faith by being turned off by this kind of stuff. I guess I'm just looking for something more real, a way of speaking and living my faith that is more accessible to the people around me, that will give me more opportunity to actually share my faith in a meaningful way. If I'm no longer impressed by the Christian-ese lingo, how can I expect non-believers to be? This isn't about forsaking Scriptural principles at all; it's more about learning to de-construct all the extra trappings of religion and subculture that we've added on to our faith, the stuff that's unneccessary. Just another way I'm learning to travel light.

How about you? Can you relate? Any other examples of Christian subculture you know of that might be getting in our way?

Defending the Christian Label (or Traveling Light)

Yesterday we went to a local retail hobby store, and there was a "now hiring" stand with lots of employment applications folded like brochures stuck in it. Out of curiosity, The Wild One picked one up.

The amount of red tape required just to get employed at this store was daunting. Drug/alcohol testing, background checks, aptitude tests (none of which I am opposed to, BTW)...but then there were literally two pages of fine print about an "arbitration agreement", where anyone who wanted to be employed there must sign a binding agreement to resolves disputes through arbitration (read: you can't sue us). NO ONE gets employed unless they sign the agreement. I know; it says so about four different times on the application.

Now, bear in mind that none of this is inherently wrong. But this wasn't an application to work at a law firm, or a coal mine, or a nuclear power plant, or to be an astrophysicist, or to work at Area 51. This was for a retail store. I moonlight in retail; I deliver flowers. I didn't need to fill out more than a couple of pages to apply, and I didn't need to agree to arbitration. At one flower shop, I called and said, "You guys need any help?" And they called back and said, "Yep. Come on in." That was it; no butt-covering, no positioning, no self-protection.

Yet everything--everything--about this retail store's application was designed to cover the company's @$$. It was all about self-protection, like every potential applicant was poised to screw them over or something.

This is the part of the rant where I tell you that this is a Christian company--a large retail chain owned by a nationally known Christian businessman. They play instrumental hymns on the store soundtrack and are closed on Sundays. This businessman also recently made news when he effectively "rescued" a major Christian university in our town that had been rocked with scandal; he did this by donating millions of dollars and offering to reorganize the board.

The whole thing reminds me of someone else I know, who at one time attended a local mega-church. She asked someone about volunteering in the church in some capacity; she was handed an application to volunteer, requiring all kinds of information, including submitting to a background check. I'm surprised they didn't draw blood right there on the spot.

Now, in some ways--and to be merciful--I can understand why this particular mega-church was so cautious. They had recently suffered scandal when one of the teachers in their school was found to be a pedophile and went to prison, and they were getting sued by multiple families for it. So obviously they wanted to be very careful about who was helping out.

Believe it or not, I can also understand why a Christian business wants to protect itself--because it seems like when you call yourself a Christian and you own a facility that's open to the public, there are always some folks who want to hold you to a higher standard than the rest of the world, or who might sue you just because they figure you're a Christian and won't fight back.

But I guess for me, this begs the question: Is this need for self-protection just a by-product of our culture...or is it that we've created too much that needs protecting? Could it be that the very institutions we have built in the name of promoting the gospel--whether it be church organizations or businesses--are now getting in our own way?

Is it really our job to set up church buildings and label our businesses "Christian" and then set up huge amounts of red tape to make sure the wrong people don't cause us damage? Is our number one priority in the world to make sure we don't get hurt or stolen from? Or is it to engage the world with the love of Christ? It's as if we are extending one hand to the world while using the other hand to block any punches we might receive. Can the world really take that love seriously if we are in such a defensive posture?

When Jesus sent out His disciples, He said He was sending them as sheep in the midst of wolves, and that they should be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves. Then He did something interesting: He told them not to carry extra clothes or money bags. Now, I'm not about to interpret that as a policy of poverty, as some have done; but I do think there's an interesting principle here to uncover. Why would Jesus tell them that? I can think of two possible reasons. One is so that they would be inter-dependent with the communities that they were going to--that they would have to engage people and allow their needs to be met that way. The other possible reason, and the one I'm chewing on right now...is that by traveling light, they wouldn't have anything to protect. They would be free to be "sheep among wolves" without worrying about what they had to lose.

I think that's the opposite of what we have in our world today. Creating massive institutions and labeling them "Christian" has given us huge amounts to lose. We're so busy trying to avoid exploitation that we cannot be nearly as effective. These institutions are essentially fortresses that we have built. Do these fortresses really keep us "safe"--or have they just become something we must defend? When you really think about it--which is protecting which?

I cannot help but think that this is just another way in which we've missed the point. I can't help but think there must be a better way to engage our world. I can't help but think that the church, while using buildings from time to time, was never meant to be contained in them. And I'm certainly not opposed to Christians owning and running successful businesses; but I can't help but wonder if affixing the Christian label (instead of just being Christians) is doing us more harm than good.

Maybe we should take a cue from the disciples. Maybe there's a better way. Maybe we could learn how to stop worrying about how we might get hurt by the wolves. Maybe we would worry less if we learned how to travel light.

(Photo by Ben Earwicker.)

The Unwritten Rules of Blogging (as I Interpret Them)

So I've been officially in the blogosphere for a little over six months now, and maybe, just maybe, I'm getting the hang of it.

Come to find out that bloggers, like nearly any other group, have their own little culture. So you don't just sign on with a Blogger account and start writing. NOooooo. You have to learn how to do it, um, properly. Just like we had to learn certain rules of etiquette when we started emailing, or certain ways of expressing ourselves with characters other than the alphabet (like 300 different forms of smiley faces) :D --as a blogger, you eventually learn how to walk the walk. Online, of course.

There is no course of study on how to blog (or if there is, it's probably lame). For me, I'm a natural student of human nature, so what I have learned about blogging, I've learned by paying attention to what other bloggers are doing--kind of a peer pressure kind of thing. So here are just a few things I have learned about the unwritten rules of blogging.

1. Use lots of hyperlinks--like this random link to Aaroneous' blog, or this random link to one of my previous posts. Using links is not only a courtesy to help drive traffic to other bloggers' sites (and your own)--it also makes you look like you are real smart for all the online reading you obviously are doing.
2. When people are good enough to leave comments on your blog, you should comment back. Even if there are 237 comments and it takes you all night and part of the next day. Forget the job; blogging IS your job now. Responding to comments shows people you care. (Responding to 237 comments shows that you are obsessive/compulsive; but that's another blog entry.)
3. DON'T WRITE ANYTHING IN ALL CAPS, LIKE THIS. JUST LIKE WITH EMAIL, WRITING IN ALL CAPS MEANS YOU ARE SHOUTING. AND SHOUTING IS IMPOLITE. ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE BLOGGING ANYWHERE SOUTH OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE IN AMERICA.
4. Cool. Bloggers. Sometimes. Put. A. Period. At. The. End. Of. Each. Word. Like. This. I have no idea what this means. Just do it from time to time. You'll fit in.
5. Cool bloggers like to start postings as if they are continuing a conversation. Like starting a post with the word "So" (you'll notice my bloggy coolness in doing that at the beginning of this very post). Starting with "And" or "But" is done less frequently, but also pretty hip, if you ask me.
6. Bloggers sometimes deliberately use bad grammar for effect; however, you should try and spell-check whenever you can. Nothing makes a wors impression than bad speling.
7. Excessive potty-mouthing is not good, but it is considered chic to throw an occasional cuss word into your blog. Especially if you are a Christian. This is "in" right now.
8. Sleepwear and underclothes are the official blogger uniform. All the cool bloggers blog in their underwear. This, of course, poses a problem when you are blogging in a public place like a coffee shop or at work. To avoid arrest, I fool the masses by stealthily wearing my underwear underneath my regular clothes. Mwahaha. (Incidentally, blogging in the nude is not recommended. Most people simply cannot write intelligently when they are naked.)
9. Do not use your real name. (My name, um, is actually Elmer Sczhlapczkovsky. I went with the moniker to make my name easier to pronounce.)
10. Break the rules occasionally just to show what an independent rebel-type you are. (Except for the shouting part. DON'T DO THAT.)

Keep these rules, and you are virtually guaranteed success in blogdom. And as you learn...you'll find that for the most part, other bloggers are helpful, patient, and generally nice folks. :)

Covered Wagon or Bandwagon

So I'm pondering the current trends I'm seeing, reading about, and experiencing--both away from more traditional forms of church and toward new expressions. Emergent, missional, organic, and other terms--these are words that are used in an attempt to explain what God is showing us, to explain what we are doing, and how it is different from the traditional approach.

The way I see it, there are generally two different approaches people have when venturing into new territory like this. For our purposes, let's call them the "covered wagon approach" and the "bandwagon approach."

The covered wagon to me is a picture of the days of westward expansion in America--the pioneers. People who left the comfort zones of the established eastern cities and ventured west into the frontier, who traveled in caravans of covered wagons to set up homesteads in the wilderness. These people were going into basically uncharted territory, starting from scratch. Their reasons were varied, but in general, they were dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted something more--a new start. They understood the risks of going into the unknown, but their hunger for adventure overrode their sense of caution. This is the heart of a pioneer--a hunger for something more, and a willingness to step outside the lines to find it.

In any new movement or trend, there are pioneers at the heart of it. The reason we even have new ways to look at church is that someone, somewhere, grew tired of the way things were and felt like there must be more. A significant number of people, actually. These are the people who actually own the changes that are happening, because the change has been worked inside of them. They have ventured outside the boundaries because they themselves are hungry, looking for a fresh expression of their faith, something to make it count for more than it did before. They would do it, even if nobody else did. That, to me, is the covered wagon approach--the true pioneer spirit.

The other approach, the bandwagon approach, is probably a bit more self-explanatory. "Jumping on the bandwagon" is a saying we use to describe people who see a trend as growing in popularity and want to associate themselves with it simply because it is popular. Now, admittedly, any trend worth its salt is going to attract followers and increase in popularity, and mostly that's something we'd want to happen. But to me, jumping on the bandwagon means that you have nothing invested in whatever new thing is happening--it's new, and it's up-and-coming, and that alone makes it appealing. The problem with this approach, of course, is that there is no real root structure in it. When people are just on the bandwagon, the moment it gets tested or challenged, or the moment something else "new" comes along, those people are hopping off the bandwagon and looking for something else to jump into.

In my journey the past couple of years, I've seen both types. There are a growing number of people who are truly hungry for more and have ventured outside the traditional, institutional boundaries (often with friends and leaders chiding them for it) in an honest attempt to rekindle their faith. Many of these have then looked around and found that there are a lot of other folks like them, people who are sharing the same hunger; and sometimes, these people begin to express their faith together in a tangible way. These, in my opinion, are the ones who are owning this journey.

Then I have seen the bandwagon kind. In the spiritual climate of my town, bandwagons are a dime a dozen. It seems like almost everyone is just looking for the "new thing." And the same is true with the missional/emergent thing. Now that those words are "out there", more and more churches here are trying to establish "emergent" worship services, almost the same way we split the contemporary and traditional worship services a few years ago. For some of these, it's just a bandwagon--a new marketing strategy to try and attract these "postmodern" types of people under their umbrella. Something new to make us look all progressive. It's so bad, in fact, that sadly, I'm already skeptical when someone here starts throwing these words around. I wonder if they are just on the bandwagon, or if they have really paid the price and earned the right to use those terms.

I'm careful about the labels I use to describe myself, for that very reason. I have ventured out here out of personal hunger, and in my studying and observing, I've found terms like "emergent" and "missional" and "organic". But before I start identifying with any of these, I want to know I have owned it in my soul. I want it to be real. I want it to truly describe both my hunger and my journey. I don't want to just jump on the bandwagon.

And that's my point, actually. The bandwagon approach doesn't stand up when the trials come. Not like the covered wagon, pioneer approach. The pioneers willfully endured the harsh conditions of an untamed wilderness because they believed, because they wanted something new, and they were willing to pay the price. That is how we need to be. Whatever God is doing in His church, we need to let Him do it in us. This kind of thing can't be jumped into blindly--not if we expect it to last. It has to be birthed in us, worked through the inside of us.

So if you're thinking of jumping--honestly--look before you leap. Don't just get excited about a new approach for its own sake. The Bible says it is wisdom for us to search out a matter. If you are truly hungry for more, let that hunger lead you to search it out, to count the cost. So that when you truly step outside the status quo, you will own it, and you will have the strength to endure when that decision is tested.

Checking In, Randomness and Some Link Love

Moonlighting (um, sun-lighting?) delivering flowers several days a week has been taking a bit of a toll, both on my time and on my blog think-a-bility. Just a bit of an adjustment...plus everytime I stay up half the night to watch a movie, it takes me a few days to get back on track. :)

Worth it, though.

So, just checking in to say hi to all you folks in blogland, and I should be back to my deep musings soon.

Here are a few links I found interesting this week:

Mark Main tells a compelling story about depression--something I think everyone should read, especially people who have anything to do with church.

Brant didn't like The Dark Knight. One of the first things he's posted that I've honestly disagreed with....but go read it for yourself and see what you think.

Kathy wrote a powerful piece on advocacy.

Ben talks about worship and fear.

Molleth shares an awesome video on the campaign season.


Our flying Australians are finally back this weekend. Yay!

Today for house church, we're having pizza and watching that movie on Sister Kenny I told you about. I love being able to be that flexible.

Happy weekend!

Remember Some of the All-Time Great Villains?...

Hannibal Lecter?

Freddie Krueger?

Darth Vader??

Amateurs.

Hands down...the Joker sets a new standard in movie villainry. At least...Heath Ledger's version of him.

I think they'll have to retire the Joker after this one. I can't imagine anyone coming close to Ledger's performance. (Sad, though, that he is not here to see it.)

Oh...Christian Bale was pretty good as Batman, too. :)

Little kids should not see this movie. Everyone else...go.

It is especially fun to watch at midnight with a theater full of fanatics.

(Yawn) I think I need a nap.