For the past few years blogging has been a kind of game for me. A strategy game, to be exact. I loved the game (still do) but more than that I loved that the game brought social interaction into my otherwise church-entrenched life. In the game of blogging I always wanted to write interesting, well written essays, or at least link to them when they were written by others. My subscriber count and my Mint stats were how I knew whether I was winning at the game or not. You may think I’m kidding, but looking back at my years blogging that’s how I felt many times, like I was competing against other bloggers for page views.

Eventually, however, the game grew tiresome. Why? Because what I wrote about or linked to, or even the frequency at which I posted mattered little in my page views or subscriber count. For instance, we all know that last month and this month my posting has been paltry, yet my hits and readership have been utterly unaffected:

I was writing just to write, because, ya know, you gotta keep up the regular posts or else your readers will leave. And I got sick of writing just to write.

So now I write or link when I really want to. At my own pace. Blogging isn’t a game to me anymore. It’s still a passion of mine but I’m not “in it to win it.” I’m just in it ’cause it’s fun. Also, I’ve got a new game to play, World of Warcraft. But unlike blogging it’s meant to be a game and nothing more. WoW is a very fun game for me because, like blogging, I have interaction with other people.

Unfortunately many of the people I interact with in the virtual world of Azeroth are immature preteens. Still, many aren’t immature, nor preteen. I have found a guild where many members have families or are married without kids and all of them have at least graduated high school. In fact, one lady I play with has children that are in high school, she’s in her 40s. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Another fella I met plays with his wife on a regular basis. I enjoy interacting with them because while we’re playing “the game” we’re chatting about real life things. But I digress.

My point is that I haven’t been blogging much because it’s no longer something I’m competing in, it’s just a casual, twice weekly distraction. The blogging game has been replaced by another game that’s just as fun and just as interactive for me. Now I just need to get my mom to play WoW.

“Boy, do you see that man there? The warrior with the tabard of a white dawn upon black.”

“Yes Father, who is he?”

“There walks a good man.”

“He doesn’t have the shining magical armour of the knights from the city Father.”

“That he doesnt, but after all the wonders, evils, triumphs, and defeats I have seen in my time, one thing I have learned above all. I will tell you my lesson, and I want you to keep it your heart and remember it.”

The boy turned to his father and laid down the small wooden sword with which he had been joining the golden-armoured knights of the city in battle against goblins of his imagination.

“The bards do not record the songs of easy victories. The names of those who did what was easy do not ring through every hall and hovel. For all their magical clothing and strutting about, the shining knights you spoke of do not look so grand as the weary shield-bearer returning not from his conquests of worshiping admirers in the square before the bank, but from the desperate fight, hard won and costing dear, bowed by the humble grey steel which guards his life.

I tell you boy, and remember this well, when you face the darkness and return, your shield will be battered and rent, not gleaming and praised by fools.

Judge a man by the trials of his shield, not the empty reaping of his sword.

That man there is a man who upheld his truths against all odds. That man there was tested by standing his ground even against a swarm seeking to deny him. That man there deserves glory not for the strikes with which he slew or the deeds which he did, but for the shield with which he denied the working of ill.

We are not all strong, we men. We are not all skilled with blade or bow, not all brave or able to stand alone when all seems lost. Not all are true to friend and ally or can remain true when friends are few and assailed.

Yet, for all our weaknesses, each of us, mankind always has had one strength.
If a man can find it in himself to simply stand up and bid ‘HALT!’ to evil, others will be enboldened to stand beside him. Each time the laughing horde surges towards him and his conviction denies it, mankind is bought a chance.

When conflict rises, and all is chaos of surging voices and hateful blows and doubt and fear and lofted banners, if men can stand for what they believe in truth will always prevail. The battles that are worth fighting, and the ones on which everything depends, are those that are uncertain with all voices crying for you to flee.

Boy, when you sit and watch the people pass in the streets below, watch for men such as that one. Men who know that a shield held firm is not for the protection of himself, but for the protection of the man beside him. The glorious cannot turn the tide but for the rock of the true and steady which halts it’s advance.

Look to the shield Son, for no shield held in courage ever returned from battle undented. No man who stands for his truths will never find need to fight.

I know not where that warrior goes as he passes through our great gates, and even I could not always find the courage to stand at his side in times of darkness, but I know this; he is a good man. And a good man is more rare and more valuable than any golden hero with prancing steed and flawless shield.”

The boy looked out again across the crowd, as the warrior slowly made his way through the great oak portal of Stormwind. The light of the day was fading, and the twin gates began to serenely swing closed behind him.

The boy did not notice his father, his one remaining eye bright with memories, gazing at a torn and faded flap of cloth in a weary pile behind the door, slightly ajar, leading off the balcony back into their small home.

An old and wrinkled peice of cloth. Black, with white dawn rampant.

Several weeks ago our church had Vacation Bible School which is another way of saying, “I put a lot of work, stress and time into an event that by definition has very little return.” I then had five days off. I say “off” when really I was in the office every day getting ready for our summer mission trip. I took the youth group to Greenville, South Carolina (beautiful city) for a nine day mission trip. We put roofs on homes, and I even remodeled a horse stable. Very tiring work. In fact, it made Vacation Bible School seem like an evening on the couch watching baseball (Cubs are still in 1^st place, BTW).

After The mission trip I came back and had 5 days off. I say “off” but I was coming to the office every day preparing for being out of town for 10 days on vacation. I went on vacation, had a wonderful, picture perfect week with my family in Chicago (well, Lombard, but no one really knows where that is, so I say Chicago) and then came back home. I had 2 days off. I say “off” but really I was dog sick and couldn’t find the will to get out of my computer chair. Then, yesterday I took the youth to Six Flags Over Georgia. We had a great 13 hours together, I really love those kids. And now here I am.

So, that’s where the hell Ben has been. Any questions?

Personally, I love how he points out how ridiculous modern-day church tithing is.

After being in ministry for five years I’ve seen the grim reality that most ministers, and especially their most church members, don’t care nearly as much about discipling believers or living like Christ did as they do about “growing” their church. They can’t care because they don’t have the time to care. They’re much too busy getting more church members.

Why would a minister or a member want to grow their church? The reason usually sounds something like, “because we want to share the Good News of Jesus with as many people as we can” and at first blush that sounds good and noble, but it’s regurgitated tripe. Most people hear that explanation and think “Hey, that’s a very Christ-like attitude.” But it’s not. And what’s more troubling is that at best this attitude is a front, a farce, a play-show, and at worst it’s an excuse to be either an egotist or greedy.

Christ was never concerned about the numerical size of any church. Furthermore, as per the New Testament, churches were never large, as a rule. Jesus is concerned with how many people are in His family, that’s true, but he never cared a lick about how big any given church was. “But”, you say, “Doesn’t a bigger church translate directly to a bigger family of God?” No. It doesn’t. Here’s why.

The larger the church, the more bureaucracy is needed

As a church gets larger it needs red tape, protocol, and bureaucracy just like any other business. And as we all know (thanks to the government) bureaucracy caters to two groups of people: the wealthy and the vocal. It overlooks, as a rule, the needy and the silent sufferers. As a church gets bigger the same pattern develops.

Don’t believe me? Ask any minister who is willing to be honest with you if they have to carefully consider any action they want to do for fear of pissing off the “faithful givers.” Unfortunately, Christ called Christians not to cater to the wealthy or the vocal, but to the silent, the needy and the suffering. Bureaucracy in a church = sin.

The fact of the matter is that a larger church just isn’t capable of being nimble enough to help those who need it. Only a smaller church (read: house church or small church) can effectively minister to it’s members and their needs.

We all know that small government works better than big government, so why would we think the church is any different?

Ministers are paid like drug dealers

What most people don’t realize is that many street-level drug dealers, or “grunts”, often make about the same money that they would flipping burgers at McDonald’s and end up living with their moms. However, the higher-ups in a drug organization make ludicrous salaries. The same is true for ministers. Everyone knows that low-level ministers are barely scraping by, but a lesser-known fact is that ministry leaders in top-level positions regularly make six figure salaries.

Ministers are driven by attendance, not spiritual growth

Every minister wants to make more money, or at least, they want to make enough money to buy a house and a couple cars and a dog and 2.5 children. So how does a minister make more money? By getting more people to come to their church. They don’t get paid based upon how Christ-like they are, they don’t get raises in salary because they’re men (or women) of character. And they certainly don’t get to a top level position because they’re good at discipling. They rise through the ranks of the organization based upon how well they attract people to their particular church.

Keep in mind too, that in the effort to attract people to your church, anything goes. Canvas neighborhoods, steal members from other churches, MORE FLASH, MORE FUN, MORE MORE MORE. That’s how you grow a church. If you don’t believe that’s the case then you’re living in a dream world.

Church members buy off their guilt and responsibility

The church in America is in a dire situation. Every Christian is called by God to make disciples, to minister, to live a life devoted to Christ. But just like parents buy off their guilt ^pdf in picking up their children late, so church members schlep off their responsibility to minister onto the paid staff because that’s what they’re “paid to do.” B.S.

Conclusion

The church Most churches today is are big business. They have profit margins, a paid CEO and subordinates. They even has a marketing strategy. It’s goal is to attract customers by providing a better product than any other church in town. And believe me, they needs those customers because they has business expenses. They have bills and salaries to pay. Without paying customers, the church will go out of business.

Is this what Christ envisioned when He died on the cross? Did He really envision this marketplace of buying and selling that now embodies the church today? I shudder to think.

There’s a reason why those who have business degrees do so well in ministry while those with Bible degrees struggle. The church is a business. You say, “But the church isn’t in it for the money.” I say, “Bull shit.” Every church is in it for the money. You ask how I got so bitter. I ask how the church got so vain.

Update: certain terminology has been changed to remove the “absolute” nature of my thoughts..

We did a little of everything today. A little sheet-rock, a little trim, a little priming and a little painting. Mostly I just enjoyed watching one of the students try to hammer a nail into the ceiling. When he found it awkward to swing overhand he turned the hammer upside down, with the head of the hammer toward his elbow, and proceeded to hit the nail in. I informed him that it’s usually easier to hammer overhand and you also tend to hit the target more consistently but darn it if he didn’t hit that nail every time. What can I say? My students rule at hitting nails.

The website linked above describes Pagan Christianity:

“Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we “dress up” for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.”

That’s actually a very accurate description of the book. Make no mistake, reading this book will make you question almost everything that you currently associate with Christianity. It takes you down a path that shakes loose every practice, every assumption that has no root in the Bible. But the authors don’t leave you in a depressed “can’t win” state, instead they begin to build you back up in your faith. Or, more precisely, give you handles by which you can hang on to your faith without their aid or the aid of anyone else (or any third party organization).

Pagan Christianity was a challenging read for me. It was challenging not in vocabulary or being “hard to read” but it was challenging in that it forced me to think critically about my faith. At points I had to put the book down and walk away, sometimes for days, just to digest what I’d read. I also had to resist the temptation to write this review before I had had adequate time to think through what the authors argued and what I believe.

Here are my conclusions (they’re general on purpose, so you’ll read the book to form your own conclusions). I agree with the vast majority of what Viola and Barna suggest in Pagan Christianity but I disagree, or at least have issues, with a small handful of ideas.

First, I don’t think that great Christian thinkers of the past such as Calvin, Zwingli and the like, were as blind as the authors seemed to suggest. Granted, these men may very well have been overlooking certain inconsistencies their practices had with Scripture, but I don’t doubt for a minute that anyone, even Viola and Barna, has the ability to do the same thing. The difference is they are just Scripturally inconsistent in different areas.

Second, I don’t think most churches are as damned as the ones the authors serve up. I understand and agree with the whole idea of “every member functioning” and such, but to suggest that every church in which a sermon is preached is squelching that function is just poor thinking. I think there are many churches with more “traditional” organization which greatly facilitate every member functioning. At the same time, however, I do agree with the authors that a house church model does lend itself to every member functioning much more than a traditionally structured church.

In conclusion, Pagan Christianity is definitely a great book to read. You may come out of it disagreeing completely with everything in it. You also may come out of it with a completely different understanding of Christianity. Either way is fine with me because at the very least you’ve been challenged to think through your beliefs.

I’d be interested to hear of anyone else who’s read this book. I’d also like to know what others have thought about it.

Step one

Left-click on the bookmarks tab then Right-click on the menu that drops down. Select “Add new bookmark”. (click image to enlarge)

Step two

In the first field, “Name”, you can put whatever you want. This will only be the text that appears on your bookmarklet. (click image to enlarge)

In the second field, “Location”, just copy and paste this code below. Make sure you replace SITENAME.COM with your blog’s address.

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For those wondering, yes this is a meme and no, I don’t do memes. Here are the rules of this meme, FYI: 1. List your top ten favorite films (in no particular order). 2. If you are tagged, you have to post and tag 3-5 people. 3. Link back to the one who tagged you.

1. Dead Poets Society (1989)

This was the movie that made me fall in love with teaching. It’s also the movie which turned me on to Robin Williams. Dead Poets Society is full of tremendous actors who would go on to make other great films. Seriously, this is #1 on my list for a reason. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you need to . . . now. I firmly believe that one teacher that is so motivated can make a lasting impact in the lives of his pupils. From the opening scene to the closing I guarantee this film will be a favorite of yours too.

2. The Matrix (1999)

A favorite of geeks everywhere, The Matrix holds profound existential truths and some bad (bad as in good) fight scenes. Regardless of whether or not you think Keanu Reeves rocks or sucks, the movie itself is phenomenal. I could go on and on that when you get in “the zone” while coding it almost does seem like you can “feel” the code but I won’t because then you’d think I was really WEIRD and you’d never come back again. But yeah, the movie is excellent and has a soundtrack to match. Make’s ya want to try and jump off walls ‘n stuff.

3. Memento (2000)

I went in to this movie never having even heard about it, let alone knowing what it was about. I won’t spoil anything for you either. If you’ve never heard of Memento don’t even Google it, trust me. Just go to the video rental place and get it. Then walk to your DVD player and put in the disk. Press play. This movie is so well done it’s almost unspeakable. And it’s got Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano to boot. Can’t lose with a combo like that.

If, however, you just can’t stand the unknown then go see a trailer. This one is really good.

4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This is one of those “well duh” choices for a top ten list. Shawshank makes everyone’s favorite list because it’s just that good. You’ve seen this one already, I know you have. So that means you owe it to me to go watch it again. And think of good ol’ Ben.

5. Star Wars (1977)

Oh come on, just humor me. If you doubt that this could be one of my favorites then you obviously haven’t seen Star Wars in a few years. Watch it again tonight with the family (’cause I know you’ve got the collector’s edition) and tell me it’s not one of your favorites too. I dare ya.

6. The Lord Of The Rings (2001-03)

This is a film you either love or sort of don’t love so much. No one hates it, NO ONE. If you enjoy fantasy, sci-fi and stuff like I do that then this movie is so good it makes you want to go on a year-long hike into the wilderness with just a backpack, and find a butt-ugly friend along the way whose only desire is to stab you in the back or bite off your finger. Or . . . maybe that’s just me.

Regardless, the photography is stunning, the acting is wonderful and the story is epic. Watch it again. <Schwarzenegger voice>Do it now!</Schwarzenegger voice>.

7. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

When I was a kid I convinced my parents I needed a real leather whip solely because of this movie. Unfortunately when I got the whip I quickly realized two things: 1) I couldn’t wrap it around anything to swing from (such as a tree branch) and 2) the only thing I could reliably hit with the tip of the whip was the back of my own head.

This movie is awesome if for no other reason than it led a little boy in Lombard, Illinois to realize that whip-wielding was not his life’s calling. Go watch it again, you know you want to.

8. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Now, many of you may not have seen this movie, but I know you’ve heard of it. You’ve probably heard that it’s got gruesome scenes, that there’s a lot of language and overt drug use (if not drug glorification). All those things are true. Still one of the most memorable, well made, entertaining films I’ve ever watched. I’d gladly watch it again.

9. Back To The Future (1985)

Thanks to this film I’ll never be able to see a De Lorean without experiencing an almost uncontrollable desire to look for a flux capacitor between the seats. Fighting, cussing, smoking, alcohol and massive quantities of electricity make this movie worth watching again and again. The two sequels that followed pretty much suck, but the first continues to entertain.

10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

This was the first black and white movie I fell in love with (followed later by African Queen). It was also the first time I experienced Humphrey Bogart. Treasure of the Sierra Madre makes me want to smoke a cigarette, don’t ask why because I don’t know. Then again, it also makes me want to get a shave from a barbershop.

If you’ve never seen this film you’re missing out on a true classic. It has some of the most quotable, memorable lines in all of filmdom such as, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.”

I’m tagging Chris Harrison, John Stansbury and Jake Bouma.

Included in the leader book is a CD as well as a DVD. The CD has a half-dozen CCM songs which fit the theme of the study and also includes a bunch of extras such as, but not limited to, promotional materials (to help you promote your study) and email headers. The DVD has several short videos, one for each session. My students especially loved the vids.

As a bonus for me (and by default, for you readers too) I was asked if I’d be interested in doing a brief email interview with the author of “Tough Sayings.” I jumped at the chance to ask Michael some questions directly. I suppose I could have limited myself to asking him about things that were only directly related to this study, but I realized that it’s not every day I get to interview a guy like Michael so I took the opportunity to pick his brain about a couple of other topics as well.

I’ve reproduced the questions and answers in their entirety, completely unedited. My questions are in italic font.

Ben: Michael, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about your youth Bible study, “The Tough Sayings Of Jesus 2.” I personally loved this study and my students genuinely engaged it as well. I truly think you’ve put out a quality piece of work here and want you to know that I sincerely appreciate all the hard work that went in to making this study a reality. That said, I suppose every interview has to start out with this question, but was there any specific event (or events) that caused you to write this study?

Michael: Ben, thanks for your kind words – glad you enjoyed it. To your question, I think for me the biggest catalyst behind writing this study was that I wanted something more. Having been in church since I was an embryo, I’ve heard lots of sermons. LOTS of sermons. But it’s been interesting to me that many times in my experience we rush past the tough stuff to get to the “good stuff.” For example, someone would be preaching through the book of Romans, and we get to chapter 8, and then the next week we’re on chapter 12. What?!? But I want to know about how God loved Jacob and hated Esau!

The effect that has had on me is that implicitly, I have developed an almost subconscious desire that whenever I come to something in the Bible that I don’t get, I just chalk it up to “Well, I’m not sure what Jesus meant here, but I’m sure it’s good” attitude. I don’t think a deep faith is built on statements like that. I think it’s built on wrestling with a text and mining it out for everything it can be.

Ben: The second question is like the first, but is more personal to me. I enjoy writing my own studies and I often wonder how folks like you who publish study materials “come up with” your selected topics. Do you have a planning team behind you? Is there some kind of “oversight” committee that tells you what to write about? I’m sorry for my very non-technical terms here, but I’m just trying to figure out the general process by which you decide upon the specifics topics covered in studies like this.

Michael: Actually, those seem like just the right terms. For me, I preached a sermon series called “ Tough Sayings” that happened to find its way into the right hands with the publishing team behind Threads. And that subject matter really hit a need for their target demographic of young adults. In their research they found that the majority of young adults gravitate right now toward a few key things, like responsibilty for changing the world and authentic community. One of the other key aspects was depth. The fit was pretty natural.

Ben: hope I’m not getting too personal with you by asking this, but what role did your family play in the creative process of “The Tough Sayings Of Jesus 2?” I ask because I know my family plays a certain role in my ministry as well as my web design.

Michael: Not at all – Probably the most personal session in either of the books for me is the one in TS2 that deals with the death of Lazarus from John 11. That’s so personal to us because about a year and a half ago, our 3-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia. It’s moments like that when theology really meets life, and you are left asking the dificult question: “How does God feel about this?” I took great comfort in the John 11 passage, not only because of the power of Christ to heal, but maybe more so because of His emotional involvement with the sisters. My wife and I have come back to that passage lots of time as we’ve felt Jesus weeping alongside of us in this difficult part of our journey.

Ben: As I led my youth through this study they seemed to me most intrigued by the first lesson which was focused around being shrewd with money. I mentioned to the students that I was going to be doing an interview with you, the author this study, and I asked them if they had any questions they’d like answered. Overwhelmingly they wondered if you had any real-world examples, or personal experiences, of how you or someone you know have/has been shrewd with your money in relation to your friends?

Michael: This is a great question. 2 people come to mind. One is my dad. My dad has the rare combination of being both very good with money and being very generous – maybe the most generous person I know. So he’s always been very dilligent to save and spend at the right time, and never really wanted for anything. But at the same time, he was always the first in line to give. And to give quietly. So he’s made alot of friends through his generosity. I say friends, though many of those folks don’t know him and wouldn’t necessarily name him on a list of friends, but because of his generosity, the kingdom of God has been advanced. Someday, when he gets to heaven, I think he’ll be shocked at how many friends he has there.

The other one is a guy I knew when I was in seminary in Birmingham. He also had a talent for making money. His first year out of college he was pulling down 6 figures selling pharmacuticals. But even though I was surrounded by talk of God every day in school, I never met anyone more interested in helping people than this guy. He volunteered every week at a nursing home. He prayed with doctors and nurses on his route. He bought countless meals for people who couldn’t afford them and sent countless people overseas for the sake of the kingdom. He made alot of friends.

Ben: My last question is intentionally the most ambiguous because I’d like to see where you go with it. I have a large handful of youth pastors as well as other full time ministers that read my blog and I’d like to know two things: 1) What do you see as the greatest challenge facing full time ministers, and specifically youth pastors, today? And 2) knowing that we all need encouragement from time to time, do you have any words of advice, wisdom and encouragement for the youth pastors who are reading this?

Michael: This is another great question. I’ll draw on my experience in working full-time in youth ministry, and still teaching at student retreats to see what I can come up with. I think the biggest challenge in youth world today is helping students grow into a faith that is more than behavioral. More than any other demographic, I think youth ministry has the potential to reduce Christianity to principles. It’s certainly easier, and the sad fact is that many parents want students who behave. The result can be a behave / believe / become kind of model, and though it’s subtle, we raise up a group of students who base their relationship with God on their ability to behave rather than His grace.

I think the better, and more biblical, model is believe / become / behave. I notice in Paul’s writings that he doesn’t really get to the behavior part until after he’s spent ample time telling his readers who they are. To Paul it seems that behavior is simple: Understand who you are, then live out your identtiy. So in terms of encouragement, I would say this: You can help a student know who they are in Christ. Then you can help them understand how to live out their identity. Don’t bow to the easy way of just telling them not to have sex, get drunk, and use drugs. Tell them who they are.