Category Archives: culture

November 26, 2012 · 07:00

seeking transformation through conversation

7 questions for a Scripture-centered, transformation seeking conversation.

1. What are you thankful for today?

2. What are you struggling with today?

3. If this story is from God, what does it teach us about him?

4. If this story is from God, what does it teach us about me? (Humanity?)

5. If this story is from God, how does it apply to me? or What does God need to change IN MY heart?

6. If this story is from God, what should we do together to obey this message from God?

7. Who could you share this story with?

These questions have been around for a good while, I first heard of them more than a decade ago. They were a method being used in a Deaf church in Eastern Europe I once attended. These particular questions are my adaptation from those used in the Church Planting Movement in their Discovery Bible Study. I learned about this in the Balkans a couple of years ago. I have continued to use and adapt them in transformation seeking conversations.

timeless thinker, mere Christian

C. S. Lewis died on this date in 1963. Lewis seems to be a timeless thinker and writer. Many influential writers today acknowledge Lewis’ impact on them, or, at least his thinking comes through in their ideas, this is the mark of a classic writer, a writer whose ideas are biblical and stand the test of time.

His death, and the death of Huxley who also died on the same day, was eclipsed by the death of JFK. Kreeft wrote a dialogue which ensued on their arrival at the afterlife that examined their philosophies (I found the end of this book, while interesting, quite unsatisfying).

Nonetheless, Lewis’ impact hasn’t faded, but I hope young and younger readers will stretch beyond their beloved Narnia to, at least Mere Christianity.

So, on this Thanksgiving day, I am thankful that God sent Jack to us. And I hope people will read him so he can turn their head back to God.

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November 20, 2012 · 05:18

being nice?

I was intrigued by something in Francis Chan’s new book _Multiply_. (By the way, I saw it at Sam’s Club in paperback for under 10 bucks.) Anyway, Chan talks about the gospel affecting our lives (he’s talking about discipleship). It’s kind of like he saying the gospel should make us nicer.

Now being nice is not something I’m widely known for. But I am trying to work on that. Selectively, I admit. But I am aware and I am talking to God about this. Indeed for some of us, sanctification takes longer than others of you. Lewis talked about this in _Mere Christianity_… remember Dick Firkin and Miss Bates? I think it was the chapter “Nice People and New Men”. The point being, some of us have further to go than others of you as far as niceness is concerned.

So I had this dream (yes, I was up at 4, thank you jet lag), it was pretty vivid. I was working at Kroger (did you know I spent 21 years with Kroger?). I was all alone working the checkout line. There was a long line of customers. And this is the thing I remember about this dream, I was just working really hard to be nice to everyone. Unusual.

See, it’s really easy when you’re under great pressure to get frustrated and then to show that frustration by impatience and rudeness. (Like me at the movies the other night.) I think this is our natural inclination… to be abrupt and even rude, it is a reflection of selfishness, of wanting our own way, what Lewis calls ‘the great sin’… pride.

So next time you’re in my local grocery store (not a Kroger), where there are usually 10 people in each of two lines and the poor cashier is under pressure and therefore not very nice, remember they didn’t make the schedule which put only two cashiers in the store at that time.

Chan suggests that, as the Gospel changes me, if I’m nice to them, they may be nice to the next person and then who knows? This is a very small way that the gospel can influence the culture in that moment and that place. I agree.

See, further back in line, quietly observing, is your neighbor or colleague, who is quietly wondering if the Gospel you are talking to them about is actually real.

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November 18, 2012 · 18:33

Un-connected

We use a simple one room flat in Budapest. No phone, no tv, no Internet. My son-in-law asked what I did… I read, I write, I think, I pray…

Each morning when I’d go out, I have a choice to make. At the end of my block I can go straight or turn left. Going straight is quicker and more direct to the tram. But turning left takes me to the Walking Street. Along this walking street there are pubs, restaurants and finally Starbucks. Several offer wifi. As I walk along the blocks my phone connects to the wifi and I and updates my Gmail and Twitter. At first it was a hassle, but once I got used to the system, it works great. And not having Internet all the time helps me be more present when I’m meeting with someone… Here is an article that I really resonated with about travel… read Kaplan

a song for Holy Week

“Empty” Jesus Revealed Music Video by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt from Vision Video on Vimeo.

Film in this video came from “Jesus Revealed.”

opening the curtains on Jesus

It’s been said by 17 billion people on every social networking platform in the universe that most/many Christian videos are cheesy. Whoa, that’s strong. What the heck does cheesy even mean?

I asked a smart, well educated international type (who is an American Christian and gets the arts) what ‘cheesy’ means. He said “the quality is below what we would expect from the professional world” or even, that which is “exaggerated”. Okay, I get that. So, a few weeks ago, when I was asked to watch and review part of a British (Christian) video series, I was concerned. The subject is Jesus. Is this series “cheesy”? THAT is an important question.

The download (of disc 1) I watched was “Encountering The Authentic Jesus” which has three episodes:

Jesus. the Hero (14:30 min. + credits)

Jesus. the Revolutionary (<11 min. + credits)

Jesus. the Underdog ( <14 min. + credits) 26.34 40.22

Prior to viewing, I read what J.R. Briggs, whose opinion I often value, said about this series: “…the Jesus Revealed videos are legit and are something I’m excited about,…” READ J.R.’s thoughtful and thorough review HERE… Indeed, if you don’t follow his blog, you should.

Back to the cheesy question, IF I understand “cheesy”, this series, in my opinion, is not.

J.R. mentioned Rob Bell’s “Nooma” series which I have used widely and I don’t think they are considered “cheesy”. So, if Nooma is a standard for professionalism (non-cheesy?), this series gets really close. I found the scenery and acting to be compelling. I think I like Bell’s series best when he has the scenes acted out and he is the voice over. “Jesus Revealed” is put together and taught by Andy Frost, and, in my opinion, Frost is on camera a bit too much. Especially when they had such authentic (as far as I can tell) sets and actors to work with. This is a good teaching series and I get the need to be clear about the teaching, but I’d rather not seen Frost quite so much.

A further concern I have is accent. I think I can usually understand an English accent most of the time. However, Frost is not the clearest speaker I’ve heard. I’m really sorry if this comes off as judgmental (after all I’m a guy with a southern drawl so I understand what it means to not always be understood, but I’ve asked to write a review) but I see Frost’s accent as a small drawback. Why does this matter? Well, for adults, I think they would get used to his speech pattern quickly and it would not be a problem at all. But for the less mature (teens and some collegians)? Well, let’s put it this way, after 16 years working with both groups I KNOW how hyper-critical younger folks can be. Sadly, they sometimes turn off the message because of surface stuff. So be warned, this could be one of those times. I really hope I’m wrong.

I biggest reason I hope I’m wrong about kids turning this off is because the content is excellent. The presentation is thoughtful, passionate and (to use a terribly overused word…) authentic. I found the acting and the sets to be really helpful, and for me, visuals are important. I really liked these three episodes and I intend to use them. There are several main positives that I see:

1. The presentation of the story of Jesus is accurate.

2. From a practical perspective, the ability to download is better for overseas use which I really care about) and allows one to view on a tablet for small group use as well as other computer based uses which is superior to being tied to a DVD.

3. The episodes are easily split into short segments that can stand alone! Thus a single segment can be used as a really good visual illustration of a lesson for someone to ask the group important questions. Indeed, Frost’s teaching includes questions that he poses with passion.

4. Frost’s presentation is passionate without getting to the point of being ‘preachy.’

So, I hope you will check it out. Here’s the website where you can see the trailer CLICK HERE to see for yourself. If you would like to see more extensive previews look HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: I do endorse this material (though remember, I’ve only seen disc 1) and I plan to use and suggest its use to people I work with. For me, its a resource that I will make good use of. I think that this material and thoughtful questions may be used by God to open the curtains and reveal Jesus to some people.

_________________________

Here are additional resources for you to consider:

Interview with Frost

Check out this new song that uses film from the series.

“Empty” Jesus Revealed Music Video by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt from Vision Video on Vimeo.

DISC 2 -> CLICK HERE

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