The Church and Monsters, INC

Mark 10:13-16

¹³ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.  ¹⁴ When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Monsters, INC.

In Disney Pixar’s Movie Monsters, INC. there is a comical scenario in which Monsters rely on the screams of children for energy.  What makes things interesting is that the Monsters are deathly afraid of children, believing that if they are even touched by a child their life will be in danger.

This scenario may be outlandish, but the central theme might not be as far from our reality as we think.  The theme, in a nut shell is that children have their purpose and place but by in large should be feared and avoided.  I think we tend to share view sometimes…ever heard the saying “children are to be seen and not heard” or “I need a break from children when I am worshiping God.”  You should see some of the looks I get when I suggest to individuals that they volunteer in the middle school programs!  

The Lesson…

One thing is for certain, this is a theme that the apostles had.  The children just weren’t a high priority for Jesus’ disciples.  To them, following Christ was a grown up affair.  Surely, Jesus was too busy doing miracles and teaching to pay any attention to these young ones.  But Jesus had something to say about this attitude.  It is an attitude that still exists in today church, and Jesus’ words still ring true.  

The Great Debate...

As a man who does not have cable, dish or any other form of additional programming, I am very limited on my television viewing.  With this in mind, I found myself watching an episode of one of the many weight loss shows on TV.  During this episode the participant deduced that his addiction to food/over-eating stemmed from being molested as a child.  During this same episode the man "came out" and basically quoted Lady Gaga saying "God made me this way and God doesn't make mistakes."  Now, I am not trying to oversimplify same sex orientation, but I found it interesting that he saw no POSSIBLE correlation between his traumatic experience and his orientation.  Couldn't he just as easily said "God made me an over-eater and God doesn't make mistakes" or "God made me an alcoholic..."

Don't misunderstand me I AM NOT COMPARING SAME SEX ORIENTATION to addiction.  What I am saying is that there are many people who are wired towards addictive behavior (some argue it is genetic, or at least is with them from birth).  In that regard I see parallels- I do except that same sex orientation can/does exist in some people from birth.  So with that in mind, I am convinced that the homosexuality debate within the Christian community hangs on the answer to the question "Is same sex orientation God's design or a result of the fall?" Regardless of your thoughts about that question, both sides must accept that same sex orientation is very real, and may very well be something a person is predisposed to from birth.  

Original sin (the fall) is in our DNA and there are many things that all people are predisposed to from birth (lust, selfcenteredness, etc, etc...)   We accept the face that a man will struggle with lust most of, if not all of his life.  We must accept that regardless of there ethical stances there are people who will have same sex orientation their entire life.  And so, if an individual takes a stand against same sex marriages/relationships he or she must do so empathetically.  And likewise, those in support of same sex marriage/relationships must recognize the way people are "wired" is not necessarily by God's design. 

Redefining Hospitality

My wife's 18 year old, un-churched cousin is staying with us for several weeks this summer and watching her struggle through one of her first "Sunday experiences" has got me thinking a lot about the top of hospitality  If you ask most churches, they will tell you that hospitality is important, but if they are anything like our church, their hospitality plan has nothing to do with people.  Our "hospitality committee" is concerned with how are collection center looks, the state and position of our furniture, and how up to date our bulletin boards are.  Is anyone else picturing Martha running around with her hair on fire?

I have a hunch, in the story of Mary and Martha, both sisters were practicing hospitality (or at least a perception of hospitality).  Jesus was a visitor in their home after all.  Most churches ascribe to Martha's interpretation of hospitality.  I contest that seekers are hungry for hospitality as defined by Mary.  Getting back to my wife's cousin.  I empathized with her as she struggled to sing songs she had never heard before, bending awkwardly to read the lyrics from a half blocked screen, unable to find the hymn fast enough as our pastor called them out with absolutely no time given before they began.  And yet, when asked about her experience this is what she had to say "I like it!  The pastor shook my hand after the service and he seemed really happy that I was there."

On God's Revelation

I have a confession...I am way too involved in social media.  I have used it as a way to network, and in so doing I see the opinions of complete strangers.  In so doing I have seen a reoccurring theme: skepticism of church history.  It seems to be coming from "the extreme Sola Scriptura club."  Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with carefully and literally following the scripture, but I do have a problem with a nonchalant dismissal of nearly 2,000 years of church tradition.

Here is the irony I see in all of this, how can you believe wholeheartedly that God used fallible people to accurately record his Word and the fail to even consider that he did the same using the church fathers.  Why couldn't He use the Council of Nicea to expound upon His revelation?  Why do you reject the concept of the Trinity because it is not directly in scripture (this is a real example)...you don't think God was at work when the church formed this understanding?  Let me remind you that those people that you are rejecting are the ones who determined what books would be in the bible that you are reading.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think church doctrine should contradict scripture (that is why I don't buy immaculate conception - "All have sinned and fallen short...").  What it comes down to is this, Jesus gave his followers (what would become the church) his job of being the living revelation of God before he departed.  If you believe that God's revelation did not die with Jesus' ascension than you have to believe that God has guided the church the way he guided those who formed the bible. You also must believe that God continues to guide his church.

Statement Of Purpose: My Story

I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior when I was only five years old at an Awana meeting.  I didn't know much about theology or church doctrine but I knew that I was a sinner and that I needed Jesus to rescue me from that sin.  As I entered my teenage years the LORD used the youth ministry that I was a part of to help me develop a more robust understanding of the Gospel of Christ.  Specifically, in high school at a youth revival the speaker helped me understand what it meant to surrender to God.  He talked about how an individual’s relationship with Jesus should affect every aspect of his or her life at all times.  I vowed to let God have control of all aspects of my life during that revival.

Looking back at the huge impact children’s and youth ministries have had on my own faith journey, it is quite fitting that God called me to minister to young people.  I first felt that God might be calling me to the ministry field when I was a sophomore in high school. In order to determine whether or not this call was genuine I tried to serve as much as possible during the rest of my high school years. At the end of my senior year while doing an exit speech on public speaking, I showed a clip of myself speaking to another church’s youth group.  The reaction to those watching it convinced me that God was calling me to Youth Ministry.  These teachers and community leaders had little to say about my actual presentation and instead kept focusing on the message I had delivered in the video.

 I enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University intending to double major in youth ministry and sports medicine.  I quickly learned that this double-major idea was not a realistic one.  I was at a crossroads, would I follow my love of sports or embrace my call.  In the end, I chose to stay true to what I had been learning in my youth group and surrendered my will to His. 

Since then I have spent over a decade ministering to young people as a volunteer and as a part-time or full-time staff person in social work, para-church and church settings.  My experiences have brought many lessons, one of them being, that the “usual” children’s and youth ministry paradigms are not working.  Those of us in ministry have to, above all else, be in the business of making disciples.  Those who work with young people must seek to create life-long followers of Christ.  Statistics show that we are failing to do just that nearly half the time.  That means one out of every two seniors that comes across my path will either temporarily or permanently walk away from Christ. 

Those are odds that I cannot deal with.  It is my prayer that God will use the Youth and Family Ministry program to equip me with new ways to successfully make disciples for Jesus.  My dream is that five and ten years from now I will be blessed with story after story of emerging adults who participated in our youth programs and who are still passionately chasing after Christ. 

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There Was Rapping at the Baccalaureate Service: Cultural Relevancy Part 2

A few weeks ago I foolishly allowed myself to get sucked into a social media debate about Christian Heavy Metal (and perhaps rock and roll at large).  One stance presented was that this genre of music was inherently evil.  Now, to be fair this spurned on by the member of a Christian Band who recently murdered his wife.   Frankly, I find the idea of a musical genre being the cause of this mans fall into evil ludicrous.  If, however, I were to entertain the idea, the next logical question is "Is metal (rock and roll) the only genre of music that is inherently evil?"  I the smart Alec that I am, I also wonder what happens with a metal song is covered in a completely different genre (Have you heard that lounge singer version of Down with the Sickness?)  But back to the real question, are other genres whose secular artist tend live on the sinful side (specifically rap/hip-hop) inherently evil?  Christian Rap has largely been considered a good thing by the evangelical community.  While I can't think of any rapper who was ever accused of worshiping Satin, I can literally think of 100 who have worshiped his toys (sex, drugs, greed) and have furthermore done so directly in there music.

Last Sunday was the Baccalaureate Service for the local community that I live and serve in.  During that service a student (think Em n' EM meets your youth group "all star") led those present in two worship songs that were his original rap songs.  One even had a simple chorus that the whole crowd was able to sing along to (like a praise and worship song...imagine that!)  I could question the motives of this man and I could critique his talents, but the important thing is this, his message through his music was Orthodox, Evangelical and Christ-Centered.  For this reason, I see it as true worship.

I think young people are absolutely wonderful at worshiping God with their talents, and we adults...we stink at it.  I believe that Worship is something you live, not just something we halfheartedly do for one hour a week.  Those high school Seniors believe that they can worship God by rapping, by sculpting, by painting, by drawing, by staring at nature...I say, they are absolutely right!

Christianity as Counter Culture

"The church exists today as resident aliens, an adventurous colony in a society of unbelief."¹ The western church is so quick to dig its heals in and fight the "barbarian" way of life. Yet it so easily accepts "civilized" culture which may indeed be every bit as un-Christian. To be more direct, there are many American principles and beliefs that are un-Christian. Similarly, there are many Christian principles that are truly un-American.

Specifically, there are an increased number of individuals who are approaching church from a consumerist perspective. I hear phrases like "What I need from a Church..." and "When I was Church shopping..." These phrases come from well intentioned people who love God, are devoted to service and to the church. They just don't realize what they are doing. The reality is they are comparing God's church to a pair of jeans. In my church individuals are also consumeristic with their attendance. If our senior pastor is on vacation then many congregants opt to miss church. So then, for these individuals worship is about hearing a phenomenal message from the pastor, instead of a mediocre message from that other person, which frequently just so happens to be me. It appears then, that when the church accepts western culture's consumerism, the church is in danger of being reduced to nothing more than a glorified support group or country club.

Another cultural practice that has infested the church, especially among youth is to ridicule those different from the "norm." I have seen Jr. High boys driven to tears during Sunday school because they were being verbally bullied by their peers. Once, a mother came to see me with concerns about her Jr. High daughter refusing to return to youth group because some girls, who she thought were her friends were texting mean comments to her during youth group. My father believes that a major reason for turning away from God during his early twenties was because of the way his church peers treated him while he was school aged.

I use these examples to illustrate the point that youth ministry may call young people to live counter culturally. For instance, sound teaching about Godly generosity and service will conflict with the consumeristic message young people are hearing from media, peers and perhaps even their parents. Additionally, the Christian call to love the "unlovable" is a very different message from what kids learn through the social complexities tied to fitting in at school. This call to live counter culturally may also allow young people to be a part of social reform.  I can't help but think that the American church and its youth could be a part of causing a drastic decline in abortion without any help from Capitol Hill.

Rodney Clapp states in his book A Peculiar People, that he believes the church's blind acceptance of cultural norms as "Christian" originated when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome.  He claims that to break away from this "Constantinian Christianity" the church must begin to see evangelism not as delivering a message but as an invitation into a world changing community. This means that Christians must begin to see evangelism as a corporate matter as opposed to an individualistic one.²

1. Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989) pp. 49.
2. Rodney Clapp, A Peculiar People (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1996) pp. 167-168.