Thursday, May 27, 2010

Book Review: "Change Your Church For Good"


"The church in America is dying." This is the declaration we have been hearing for decades now, from everyone from modern/emergent types like Brian McLaren, conservative/traditional folks like Wayne Grudem and R.C. Sproul, and even secular sociologists and university types. While Christianity is exploding throughout the rest of the world (Korea, Africa, and South America, in particular), the U.S. has moved into the "post-Christian" category. Heck, China has more self-identified "Christians" than the U.S. now! Church attendance is down, particularly among younger generations, and more and more Americans are turning to an egalitarian "spirituality," not Jesus.

This is a problem that Brad Powell, the author of "Change Your Church For Good," desires to tackle. This book is aimed at American churches who feel stuck in their ways, out of touch with culture, and dying on the vine. He identifies the problem(s) as being an internal issue for the church; the problem is not God, or the Gospel, or even the "world" and their sinfulness. Powell does a great job of talking about the problems in the modern American church without it coming across as hopeless, overly-critical, or just piling on. While I may disagree with him about some of the solutions to the problems, his heart comes across as genuine and hopeful.

In many ways, this book feels about 20 years too late. It feels like it belongs to the stream of 80's and 90's make-your-church-super-exciting-and-more-consumer-oriented-to-create-a-bigger-draw-for-the-people-in-your-city type of books. He makes repeated calls to do away with the "man-made traditions" of the past while embracing newer forms of technology, music, and services. While I appreciate and respect the evangelical mindset (a tradition to which I proudly belong), I don't believe that the solutions are primarily solved through the activities, structure, and flow of our Sunday service. While heart issues are most definitely discussed, it feels like there is"Change..." seems to put a high emphasis on physical/practicial (superficial?) solutions to the problem of the dying church.

To give you one example of how this comes across in the book, Powell talks at one point of wanting to make people feel welcome in the church building for Sunday services. He speaks of churches that have signs hanging on their walls: "no food or drink in the sanctuary," "no gum," or "no running in the auditorium." These signs, he postulates, make people feel more like they are "in a museum" and not a warm, inviting place. The solution? Install cup holders in the seating so people feel free to bring their drinks in the services. While I 100% agree with the author that we should never "care more about [our] carpeting than people" and that "God intended the church to be about people, not place," my belief is that cup holder solution is only a band-aid, at best, for a society that is entirely too self-focused and consumeristic. (At least I feel too self-focused and consumeristic...)

This book does have several strengths, mainly in the call to speak the language of the culture without compromising the essential truths of the Christian faith. He (mildly) calls out both seeker-sensitive-evangelical churches as well as liberal-progressive-don't-offend-anyone churches. I fully agree with the author's conclusion that Biblical truths and cultural relevance are not mutually exclusive. Call us crazy, but people like Powell and myself truly want to have our cake and eat it too: love, forgiveness and acceptance holding hands with truth and transformation.

If anyone has read the book "Unchristian" by Kinnaman & Lyons, they will no doubt detect resonances of their work in this book. Where "Unchristian" comes across as a work of statistics and sociology, this book comes across as much more accessible and pastoral. The writing style is easy to follow, and the chapters are organized well enough to communicate the author's main thoughts. Overall, I found this book to be insightful, but not revolutionary. While I appreciate Powell's call for the church to look in the mirror and come to grips with the need for change, I found the solutions offered to be far too thin. By way of analogy, it would be like me looking in the mirror, recognizing that there is a problem, and then deciding to change my wardrobe and hair, not to exercise and eat healthy. This book does not address issues at a deep enough level for it to receive a truly enthusiastic review from this humble blogger. :)

* I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for a fair review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Lyrical Analysis of "Ice Ice Baby"

OK, so I heard the song "Ice Ice Baby" last night on the show Glee, and it got me thinking..."what the heck are these lyrics even about?!?" I've never really taken the time to think deeply about what Vanilla Ice is trying to tell us. Every time I've heard the song, a spasm of joyful-early-90's-hip-hop dancing, and completely ignored the lyrics. So, for today's super-important post, I will be decoding the symbolism, metaphor, irony, and depth of meaning that is present on this legendary song. Here goes:

All right stop, collaborate and listen
Apparently this song is best enjoyed when there is some sort of group effort put into understanding these lyrics. I must immediately stop doing what I was doing, and join forces with some other people in an effort to understand what is being communicated.

Ice is back with my brand new invention
Where was Ice before? No one had ever heard of him before this song!! Also, this brand new invention is apparently going to be revolutionary, like the light bulb, or the fax machine.

Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Something is grabbing and squeezing our beloved Vanilla Ice?! Maybe it was an early incarnation of the smoke monster from Lost.

Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Sheer poetry. All around the world, whalers are nodding their heads in stoic agreement.

Will it ever stop? Yo, I don't know. Turn off the lights and I'll glow
Will what ever stop? The rhymes? Whatever was squeezing him before? The harpoon? Also, Ice has just revealed to us that he may be radioactive.

To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal, light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
I really think that Ice should reconsider before doing destructive things to the microphone. Otherwise, how else would we ever hear him? Also, he gets 14 extra bonus points for coming up with the "vandal-candle" rhyme scheme. Never even saw it coming...

Dance go rush to the speaker that booms
Here he's reaching out to that ever coveted "Geico caveman" demographic. Also toddlers.

I'm killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom
Oh. Dear. God.

Deadly when I play a dope melody
Because when I think of the song "Ice Ice Baby", I instantly think of the power of melody.

Anything less than the best is a felony
I'm really glad to see that he is willing to hold himself criminally liable should this song not deliver the goods. That demonstrates real maturity and character.

Love it or leave it, you better gain way
Gain way could be misinterpreted as "gain weight" thus encouraging the youth of America to not make healthy food choices. Good thing Ice inspires so much dancing to counter his potentially irresponsible food messages.

You better hit bull's eye the kid don't play
So the kid is playing with a firearm? Or maybe a bow and arrow? Someone should alert the kid's parents quickly!

If there was a problem yo I'll solve it
Good, cuz I was about to panic. Ice has got this under control, people.

Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
I'm glad that this lyric draws my attention to the hook, because I frankly would have missed it. Those stupid 3 words go by so fast: "Ice, Ice Baby." Good thing he says it a few (thousand) times.

OK, I know that there's like 3 or 9 more verses, but this is all the lyrical genius that my brain can handle in one sitting. Maybe at some point in the future I'll analyze the other verses. For now, just remember that with all the poisonous mushrooms, vandalism of microphones, target practice, and felonies, this just may be one of the most dangerous verses ever written. Respect the Ice. Peace.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Rambling & Catharsis

(So, this post is mostly for me. I'm not sure if it will make any sense to you. I'm not even sure that you will enjoy reading it. This post, however, is something I need to do after a day like today. Everything feels a bit reflective and bittersweet right now.)

I spent the vast majority of my 9-to-5-day today in meetings, discussing "things" and "stuff" with "people." I talked about plastic wall hanging things, acoustic treatment of a gymnasium, the father of someone I know dying, the sister of someone I don't know dying, the future of my church (organizationally and spiritually), and a T-shirt design. I'm not sure how effective any of my conversations were. I'm not sure if anything I discussed today will actually end up making a difference in the universe. One thing I do know is that I poured myself, heart and soul, into all the conversations that I did have.

Before I left my office today, one of our church elders stopped by. He was having a few of us look over his will and sign a few things. He's been fighting cancer for several years now. He had been given a clean bill of health a few years ago, but now the cancer's back and more intrusive than ever. Now he's facing another risky surgery in an attempt for more knowledgeable and skilled surgeons to get the rest of the tumor that the first ones couldn't. As I listened to him talk, I was filled with a sense of respect, admiration, and, yes, even love. Many people, when faced with a similar situation, choose complaining and misery over optimism, joy and purpose. This man has chosen to face his cancer head on while making the most of however many days he has left on this earth.

When I came home from work, I was greeted by the most beautiful woman in the world who had worked to prepare a delicious meal for our family: some sort of garlic-red-sauce noodles, salad, garlic bread, with a glass of Cabernet already poured for me. My 5 and 3 year old girls hugged and kissed me, then proceeded to to tell me about their (mis)adventures at the zoo today. Delaney (3) not only peed her pants while at the zoo, but proceeded to do it once again when she got home. That girl just loves to pee wherever she is. I can't say that I really blame her. In the past, I've been harsh with her for her failing to control her bladder, but today it just didn't seem to matter...

After dinner, the 2 girls went outside to play in the sandbox with a little neighbor girl (who I'm not sure knows how to speak English...good thing my kids watch Dora), leaving Lynn and I alone with the 7-month-old. Earlier in the day, I had burned a few DVD's of our family movie from 2 years ago for the purpose of sending to family members on Mother's Day. (I KNOW we're behind...stop judging!) We plugged the movie into the player, mostly for the purpose of making sure the DVD burned correctly. Lynn and I then sat and watched pictures and video of "things" and "stuff" that happened in our lives 2 years ago: pony rides on Cinco de Mayo, our trip to Vegas for Lynn's Mrs. United States Pageant, a trip to the state fair with amazing friends, and the kids learning how to play in the snow.

* Side note...humanity has always longed to travel through time. I am utterly amazed that we have the ability, thanks to modern technology, to revisit these moments in the past via photos and video. Pretty freakin' remarkable time that we live in...

I do NOT have the same kind of drive as my wife does when it comes to capturing moments for posterity. She takes pictures and video all the time, writes down funny moments in the kids' baby books, and scrapbooks all the memories. I will probably never scrapbook a page in my life, but I am eternally grateful for the time and energy that my wife puts into it. (Also, my wife learned how to edit video on iMovie for the purpose of doing these family videos. That's pretty stinkin' sexy, if you ask me...). If my house was to catch fire, the number one thing I would grab, aside from my family members, would be these scrapbooks. When I look through their pages, I am reminded of what is most important in this life: relationship. And, as the old saying goes, relationship is spelled T-I-M-E.

I don't really care that much about the plastic wall hangers or the T shirt design; what I really care about, at the end of the day, are the relationships that I have invested in. I care about my relationship with my Heavenly Father, who gives blessings and mercy and love and grace and gifts that I have done literally nothing to earn. I care about my relationship with my wife, whom I love more than any other human being there is. I care about my relationships with my children, because God has entrusted them to me for a short little while. I care about my relationships with friends, coworkers, & church family, because I believe that relationship is the only thing that will last into the next age of New Creation.

I'm going to try an experiment tomorrow. Whenever I feel myself getting frustrated or mad, I'm going to remind myself of how I feel right now. I long to hold onto this perspective. May we all grow in our ability to see past the fluff and the distractions and the superfluous and see the heart of the matter.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8