Christianity: Restriction or Celebration?

The following is an excerpt from a book I'm reading called The Liturgical Year by a Benedictine nun named Sister Joan Chittister. I will be doing an overall review on the book soon, but I wanted to share with you a couple of paragraphs that I found particularly inspiring.

Note: I am generally opposed to the usage of the term "religion" in a positive sense as I view "religion" as a set of man-made rules and obligations meant to keep people in line. I view my faith in Jesus as something much deeper, much more relational, much more sacrificial than just "religion." The author of the following paragraphs, however, is using the term "religion" in a broader sense, meaning more along the lines of "a system of faith." I do not begrudge her this usage of "religion," I just thought a little clarification might help.

One of the interesting things about religion, about Christianity, is that in a society full to the brim with excess - a glorifier of excess, in fact - religions has come to be seen as one of life's great restrictive factors. Religion, this society assumes, exists to say no to the good things of life. It damps the human need for pleasure and destroys joy.

But nothing could be farther from the truth. Religion is life to the excess.

Religion celebrates what the rest of the world forgets - the inherent goodness of life itself. Religion knows that life unadorned and raw is the ultimate high. Everything else is a pale shadow of the real thing. All the excesses in the world - sex, alcohol, drugs, gambling, greed - are simply substitutes for the real thing. They are made for people who have yet to discover the joy of being human, the glory of God among us.

As I read these words this morning, I was reminded of another quote from C.S. Lewis:
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

I am challenged today to continually wage ware against the cultural lie that Jesus came to give us a bunch of rules and restrictions against all fun, pleasure and enjoyment. I am challenged to remember that Christ came to give us abundant life, peace beyond our understanding, joy unspeakable, and love of the purest kind. When I forsake worldly pleasures, I do not do so out of a sense of obligation, trying to somehow earn God's favor, but rather out of a sense of joy, knowing that I am trading my mud pie for the riches of God's kingdom.

Am I A Post-Evangelical??

It seems like everything today is post- something else. Post-modern, post-Christian, post-hardcore, post-American, and on and on. In my theological "Word of the Day" today, I came across another "post" something.

Post-Evangelical: A modern movement among Evangelicals who are dissatisfied with the current trends in Evangelicalism toward compromise in practice, thinking, and methodology. The evangelical church, according to Post-Evangelicals, has become a circus which integrates its method of “doing church” with the corporate world of business and marketing. Voices of Post-Evangelicalism call for a reform, pleading with the church to re-establish its traditions in the roots laid by two thousand years of church history, not a reinventing of church based upon current cultural trends. Post-Evangelicals are “post” because they believe the name “Evangelical” is beyond recovery.

This definition of post-evangelical may have one or two omissions based on other objections that I've heard. How about this one: "The Evangelical church is just a front for the Republican party." Or this

However, based solely on the above description, I find myself fitting into the post-evangelical category more comfortably than I would have previously thought:

• I am dissatisfied with many of the current trends in the American Evangelical church, particularly in the "dumbing down" of the gospel, doctrine and theology.
• I am not particularly stoked on the way the church often gets marketed and treated like a business
• I do deeply desire to recapture a church that has roots in history. I feel like someone who has just started learning about my family tree and I love it!

I would not adopt the term for myself, however, because of one important disagreement with the definition: I do not believe that the term "Evangelical" is beyond saving. Within the last decade there have been those who have advocated that followers of Jesus should no longer use the term "Christian" because it comes with so much baggage. I feel like that kind of defeatism doesn't really serve it's intended purpose. Call me crazy, but I'd like to part of the rebranding of my particular strain of Christian faith. I am not Catholic. I am not Orthodox. I'm not an Anglican. I am not a Mainliner. While I do value and appreciate aspects of each of those veins of the Christian faith, I am an evangelical and I'm not ashamed of it.

Maybe we need a reformation. Maybe we need a refocusing. Maybe we need a renewed appreciation for our roots as a 2,000 year old church. I'm just not personally ready to throw out the term because I believe it still serves as a good definition for those who are committed to sharing this good news (evangelion) with the world around us.

My Favorite Records of 2010

OK, here we go with another subjective list of my favorite things from the last year. This was a good year for me, musically speaking. I have discovered a few new artists who I honestly feel have changed my life, I got to see several of my favorites in concert, and even got to open for one of my favorite bands of the last decade. Before I launch into my favorites of the year, let me explain a couple of the criterion that go into this decision for me:

- Good songs. Call me old fashioned, but I still like a good song. It seems to me that a lot of the music that I've heard in the last year or two have amazing tones and unique sounds, but are lacking in the "quality song" department. I appreciate a song that is memorable yet fresh at the same time. I don't want something so abstract that I couldn't pick it out of a police lineup with an 80's German movie soundtrack; I also don't want something that is completely unoriginal and rehashed.

- Re-listenability. It's a common enough phenomenon to like a record upon the initial listening, but have it grow tired too quickly. My favorite records are the ones that I can keep listening to for months or even come back to years later.

- Production Quality. As a producer myself, I am completely unable to not take the production into account. Audio quality, mix, creativity, harmonies, and the like all play a significant role in whether or not I like a record.

- Intangibles. Like or not, we are all subjective humans who will have certain music grab us for no apparent reason. I can make a pretty good case for why certain albums are worth listening to, but in the end there will always be some intangible reason why it really "clicked."

Now, to the list. I'm going to assume that you already kind of know what the artist sounds like, and am going to give you a couple of reasons why I liked the record as a whole.

My Top 10 Favorite Records of 2010:

10. Underoath - Disambiguation

These guys managed to do a great job of reinventing themselves after the departure of founding member and co-frontman Aaron Gillespie. The songs have some of the best elements of classic Underoath with a new twist (anyone else hear some Deftones in there?). I especially want to give props to Spencer who sang a bunch on this record. Comparisons to Gillespie aside, he did a fantastic job.

9. Red Letter - Red Letter

This Seattle indie band put out the best record of "church songs" I have ever heard, and I've been listening to church music for almost 30 years. This record is extremely diverse without sounding frenetic. Led To the Slaughter is a cool heavy song with a ton of percussion, My God, My Father has an unusual time-signature that is very smart, and You Have Opened My Mouth features some really cool slow blues work at the top.

8. Norma Jean - Meridional

Who would have thought that the insane chaos of their earlier years could have morphed into something so listenable, so (dare I say) catchy? Somehow, the almighty Norma Jean managed to blend their best chaotic elements and their best melodic elements on this record and Cory Brandan's vocals get successively better with each release. I'm a sucker for a heavy breakdown, and the "You're not getting under my skin" section from The Anthem of the Angry Brides is the heaviest thing I've ever heard.

7. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

So I might be cheating a little bit here, but this record didn't come out in the U.S. until 2010. What can I say bad about this record? This group of Brits has put out one of those record that, I believe, will still be talked about for decades to come. They definitely have their niche, but the songs remain fresh. The lyrics and the vocal delivery are some of the most honest that I've ever heard. I'd love to take Marcus Mumford out to dinner and just let him tell me all the stories that I know are behind these songs.

6. Secret & Whisper - Teenage Fantasy

I feel a little weird about putting this record on my favorites list, but when I looked back on my 2010 iTunes stuff, this was one of the ones that I consistently went to the most. It is supremely re-listenable. The comparisons to Saosin should be forever dropped because these guys can really play. The drums and guitars are tight and fast, and the vocals make me proud to have been born in the 80's. Nerd alert: I LOVE that the kick is well-gated to work on a system with deep bass, like the subs in my car. Most of the metal and rock stuff sounds like garbage.

5. Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart

I will make no apologies for liking the music of this piano-pop singer-songwriter. She has a great singing voice with more than a little attitude (I love an attitude-y chick singer!) and she can straight write a good pop tune. I really love the production and the mix on this record; it is very commercial and slick but they managed to NOT suck the life out of it. The lyrics are very honest and very heartfelt.

4. The Black Keys - Brothers

I have liked the occasional Black Keys song in the past, but this is the first time where I felt that they made a good record from start to finish. I know some of the Black Keys purists may bemoan the fact that this record wasn't as stripped down and raw as some of their previous work, but if it works, it works. I will never understand why people want their favorite artists to keep putting out the same exact stinking record over and over again. My favorite song is probably Next Girl, but my little girls love the whistling part on Tighten Up. The world needs more music with whistling!

3. Page CXVI - Hymns II & III

As a music pastor, there are times when I am ready to give up on trying to lead music that is congregationally singable, musically creative, and theologically rich. It seems like most artists have to sacrifice one or two of these elements. Not Page CXVI. I'm not exactly sure how I stumbled upon this Colorado trio, but their "church music" came across my path at the exact right time to save me from doing Beatles tunes in church with different lyrics. They put out Hymns I in '09 and Hymns IV is due soon in 2011, but I highly, HIGHLY recommend this female-fronted, piano alternative band to you.

2. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards

I didn't realize it until I saw them live this summer in Portland, but Jack White started this band just so he would have an excuse to play drums again. Alison Mosshart is NOT the best singer in the world, but she has attitude a mile wide and hair a mile high to boot. The first record that The Dead Weather put out was pretty good, enough to make me be a declared fan, but this record takes the cake. I love the line in the first song: "all the white girls trip when I sing in Sunday service." I don't know what it is, but that makes me laugh every time. This record also sounds way better production-wise than their first.

1. The Autumn Film - The Ship and the Sea

I don't know how to put my feelings into words without sounding like an over-dramatic middle school girl. This record has done something significant to me. The Autumn Film is the same trio as the above-mentioned Page CXVI, but is an outlet for their original, non-church music songs. Tifah Philips' voice is just truly amazing and is soaked with sincerity. I am not one of those people who will listen to the same song multiple times in a row, but cannot stop playing Mended over and over. Ships on the Ocean Floor and Roll Over Me are also great songs with some cool chord progressions. This is my record of the year, hands down.

A Couple of Honorable Mentions You Might Light To Check Out:

Brett Detar - A Bird In the Tangle

Former Juliana Theory singer's debut solo country record.

Lecrae - Rehab

Not quite as good as last year's Rebel, but I love how this guy unabashedly preaches the gospel.

Deepspace5 - The Future Ain't What It Used To Be

Super fun rap record. Christian guys, but they rap about all kinds of stuff, not just straight

gospel rap like Lecrae.

Ascend the Hill - Take the World But Give Me Jesus

Outside of the box modern worship/hymns record

Anberlin - Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place

Not the same ol' Anberlin. Kinda hit-or-miss, but OK overall

The Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP

This record really works as an EP; a full-length would have dragged on too long.

Saturday Sleeper - Mixed Martial Arts & Crafts

Ahem...well, I thought it was pretty good...

The Rizers - Meet the Rizers

Best kid's music ever. 100% scripture songs that helped me memorize more of God's word.

House of Heroes - Suburba

This record didn't change my life, but it does have a couple of truly brilliant songs.

One Dishonorable Mention

The newest Linkin Park. I'm not even sure why I bought this album. Just weird and terrible. 'Nuf said...

My Best/Worst Films of 2010

Here's my basic premise: most movies are terrible. The acting is terrible. The plot is terrible. The directing is terrible. The dialogue is terrible. I realize that this premise is completely subjective because different people like different things, but some people are just easy to please and will watch whatever schlock the previews tell them to watch. I will ALWAYS advocate that people approach all media - movies, music, books, news, etc. - with an intelligent thoughtfulness and a healthy dose of skepticism. That way, they're less likely to spend their time and hard-earned money on something that has no value.

Now, with that subjective opinion-filled diatribe out of the way, allow me to offer my opinion on the movies of 2010.

Very Good Movies

1) Robin Hood. Great cinematography. The actors, particularly Crowe, were fantastic. Decent attempt at a fresh take on the classic story.

2) Inception. I love everything that Chris Nolan does. Throw in a handful of fantastic actors and a thought-provoking plot/premise, and the results are quite good.

3) Despicable Me. Maybe it's just because I have little girls, but the adoption story arc actually made me tear up. Coupled with the laughs from Carrell and company, it was quite an emotionally satisfying experience.

4) True Grit. Killer dialogue. GREAT acting from the entire cast, particularly the young Hailee Steinfeld. The Cohen bros, against all the odds, manage to remake a classic film, and actually improve upon it.

5) Toy Story 3. A great wrap-up to an already great franchise. I vote that Pixar be put in charge of all entertainment. If Pixar had made Lost, the ending wouldn't have been such a train wreck.

Honorable Mention / Pretty Good Movies:

Narnia: Dawn Treader - didn't butcher the book, but wasn't truly special

How To Train Your Dragon - some laughs, some heart, mostly run-of-the-mill

Ramona & Beezus - only if you're the parent of young girls :)

Tangled - no major complaints, but nothing to write home about

Alice In Wonderland - did Depp's oddball performance save or ruin this movie?

Karate Kid - decent remake. Kinda cheesy dialogue, but good for my kiddos

The Book of Eli

Mediocre Romantic Comedies That My Wife Watched But I Somehow Dodged:

Bounty Hunter, When In Rome, Valentine's Day (her favorite of the mediocre rom-coms), The Killers

Just Truly Terrible Movies - Some I've Seen and Many I Don't Need To See To Know How Awful They Are:

Letters To Juliet, Devil, MacGruber, Charlie St. Cloud, The Back-Up Plan, Piranha 3D, The Social Network, Saw 3D, Iron Man 2, Burlesque, Little Fockers, Paranormal Activity 2, Wolfman, Vampires Suck, Eat Pray Love, Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Last Airbender, Marmaduke, Sex and the City 2, Furry Vengeance, Kick-Ass, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia, The Spy Next Door, Legion, Dear John, She's Out of My League, Hot Tub Time Machine, My Soul To Take, Wall Street,

There are still a few movies that I would like to see once they're out on Blu-Ray. Only then can I formulate an informed opinion: Knight and Day, The Tourist, MegaMind, The Fighter, Salt, Tron...maybe.

One final unique category for me...movies that looked like they might have had some potential but I chose not to see because of the content, particularly sexual content & nudity:

Date Night, Dinner For Schmucks, Due Date, Love and Other Drugs, The American, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

If I called your favorite movie terrible, forgive me; it's just an opinion. But I'm still right...

Book Review: The Jesus You Can't Ignore

The Jesus You Can’t Ignore is a book by John MacArthur that highlights the conflicts of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The main thesis of this book is that Jesus often gets portrayed in our post-modern America as a soft-spoken, mild-mannered conversationalist who would never ever do anything to upset anybody, but that is an untrue caricature. The Jesus... is mainly comprised of scriptural accounts where Jesus finds himself at odds with the leading religious figures of the day and proves that He is not afraid of conflict.

MacArthur also takes opportunity to call out some of the Emergent Church-type Christians who, in his view, are more interested in theological conversations that are non-emotional, intellectually disconnected, and open to all possibilities than they are with the truth. I can’t help but feel like MacArthur is missing something, though. In this book, virtually all of the stories show Jesus clashing with the religious leaders of the day, while it seems that the Emergent folks are calling for civility with those who are skeptics, seekers, and the like. While I am certainly not a fan of Brian Maclaren, I don’t think that he has any problem clashing with those who, in his mind, are the modern day Pharisees.

The bottom line to me is this: why do Christians seem to have such a hard time finding balance? I completely agree with MacArthur’s premise that there absolutely a time and a place to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3), there also needs to be a humility present that says “maybe I don’t have everything completely figured out.” Call me crazy, but I think followers of Jesus are at their best when they are neither spineless nor butt-heads, when they know which battle are worth dying for and which battles are worth having a conversation about. I think this book by MacArthur brings up some very necessary ideals that we must be reminded about, but in the end, he just kinda sounds like he’s looking for someone to fight with. In the end, however, one fact remains incontrovertible: Jesus was and is and will continue to be a controversial figure who is impossible to ignore.

Legal note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. I am not required to make this a positive review.

Unholy Underwear

The following is from a paper I am working on for school on the subject of "calling." It highlights some things that I believe are important to remember as we seek God to know what we are called to do.

One of the areas that we must address when it comes to the subject of calling is the relationship between that which is considered sacred and that which is considered secular. The Old Testament - particularly the Torah - spends a great deal of time explaining to the people of Israel the difference between sacred and secular. There are holy days and unholy clothing, sacred implements and unclean animals, a most holy place in the temple and everywhere else. I believe that it was not God’s purpose to teach the Jews that certain aspects of his creation were good and others bad, but to teach them that he himself is a holy God. With pantheism and nature-worship so prominent at the time of the writing of the books of the law, God was teaching his people that he was separate from and transcendent over his creation.

In the New Testament, however, we begin to see a fuller picture of how God desires us to relate to all of his creation. In his conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus explains to her that the location of the worship is not what is important, but that we must worship God “in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain that divided the most holy place from the rest of the temple was torn in two. We later read in the book of Hebrews that the priests are now no longer the only people who have access to God’s holy presence, but that all who believe in Jesus now have access “by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.” (Hebrews 10:20) Paul too, in his writings, affirms the thought that now all things are sacred before God because of what Jesus did on the cross, even as he instructs us to deal humbly with those who still wrestle with these distinctions. “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.” (Romans 14:14)

When we hold to the idea that some things are sacred and others are secular, we run the risk of missing out on the calling of God that is right under our nose. We imagine that certain tasks - preaching, teaching, leading worship - are somehow more valuable than others. The mother who stays at home with her children may miss the fact that she is the primary preacher, teacher, and worship leader to those children. The young man working at a restaurant may not value the opportunities he has to show God’s love to his patrons because he is caught up in the thought that what he is doing is not particularly sacred. In the book of Ruth, we see the example of the businessman Boaz, who, because of his financial success, was able to be the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth. Because of their marriage, Boaz became an ancestor of King David and, ultimately, Jesus of Nazareth. Was his vocation any less important to God’s purposes than the “holy men” and priests who served in the temple? Of course the answer is no. Or take for example Aquilla and his wife Priscilla, the tent-makers from the city of Corinth. Even though they were tent makers, not priests in the temple or rabbis in the synagogue, they were able to have a major impact on the spread of the gospel by correcting the theology of Apollos, a powerful teacher and apologist for the gospel. Were they any less faithful to the call of God because they weren’t public teachers or preachers themselves?

It should be noted here that there are going to be certain tasks that will have a more immediate impact or a more noticeable influence than others. If God calls a person into the realm of education, the impact that they have on a young child’s life is immeasurable. But if God calls someone into the realm of administration or office management so that the teacher can be free to teach, it should be understood that the administrator’s time and effort is every bit as valuable as the teacher’s. When we start to understand that there are fewer distinctions between the sacred and the secular, it frees us to begin to live out our calling right here and now.

Gasoline and South Korean Immigrants

I'm still trying to figure out what just happened...

After my small group tonight, I went out with two of my friends to the Snow Goose. On the way home, I noticed that my gas gauge was reading low. (Does anybody else do the "naw-I-can-make-it-until-tomorrow" game the same way that I do?) After a short argument with myself, I decided to stop at the Chevron near my house to fill up.

While gassing up, I noticed two men on the other island trying to start a van with one of those pre-charged jumper/compressor things. As I filled up my Suby, I watched the two men attempt, to no avail, to start the van.

It's cold tonight in Anchor-town tonight. 6 degrees or so.

After a few minutes, I walked over to the guys and asked if there was anything I could do to help. The two men had apparently just met at the gas station themselves. One was an Asian man with a thick accent and the other was a white guy who had a weird speech impediment or something. The white guy informed me that he was trying to help the Asian man jump-start his van, which had died while sitting at the gas pump. The van was an older model (80's??) Dodge and had definitely seen better days. While trying to help start the Dodge van with his charger/compressor, his own car (a new 2010 Chevy Eqinox) had also died. Apparently this was his first attempt to drive it since he drove up with his new wife from Delaware in April and the battery was not up to the challenge offered by the cold Alaskan night.

I have never seen two cars with dead batteries at the same gas station before.

I told the guys that my house was 2 minutes away, and that I didn't mind going home to grab my jumper cables. The white guys (rather sheepishly) said that it would be very nice if I was able to help them out. I jumped in my car and headed home.

** Total side note: ever since I installed subs in my car two weeks ago, I cannot stop listening to rap and hip-hop music. Tonight's Pandora mix was brought to you by Tupac, The Fugees, and Jay-Z. It was totally refreshing for me, musically speaking, but, MAN, I wish they didn't swear so much. Gratuitous cursing makes people sound like idiots. One well-placed "swear" word can (operative word, can) be an effective tool at driving home a serious point, but constant swearing makes people sound like they have absolutely no linguistic skills. But I digress...

As I pulled back into the gas station, I decided to pull up to the Chevy Equinox first. I figured it had the best chance at starting and I was in the mood for a success. After 15 or 20 seconds of charging, the car fired up without a problem. I unhooked the jumpers and drove over to the van. As I pulled up to the van, I noticed that HE ALREADY HAD JUMPERS HANGING FROM HIS BATTERY!! Why the heck did I drive home first if he already had cables? Oh, well. As I starting working with the Asian man to hook up the cables, the white guy walked up and handed me $20 for my help. I tried three times to politely turn him down, but he assured me that he knew I would have done it for free, but he wanted to show me his appreciation. I politely accepted the $20 and turned back to the Dodge Van.

After we hooked up the cables, I knew I had a few minutes to kill while we waited for the battery to charge. I asked the man his name, and he told me (in very broken English) that it was Suh. I kept asking some basic questions while we waited. He immigrated from South Korea in 2001, and he had no family in America. He has worked in the restaurant industry for the last 9 years, but was recently fired because they thought he was too old and no longer of any use. Suh is 67 years old. Without me asking him, he informed me that he was living in his van.

Seriously? In 6 degree weather? In his van??

As an Anchorage pastor, I have some information and access to services in the city that could be of benefit to Suh. Despite my repeated offers and encouragement, he assured me that he wanted to stay in his van overnight. I asked him if he had food, and he told me that he went to McDonald's in the morning and the Downtown Soup Kitchen in the evening. City Church is an official DSK partner and I was glad to know that money I had helped (with the pastoral staff) to decide to send to them was helping this man I had just met.

I can't describe to you the spirit that this man had. Despite his broken English, he was communicating to me a grateful attitude and an optimistic spirit. We all could learn a thing or two from Suh.

I told him that I was a pastor and that Jesus loved him and that our church had ways to help him out, especially when it comes to food. He told me that he had just started visiting a Korean church in town and he was very thankful for them. I told him to please call me tomorrow afternoon so I could follow up with him and offer help and assistance.

After a few parting pleasantries, I sat down in my car and drove away. I looked over on my passenger seat...and there was the $20 bill from the Chevy guy. Why did I forget?!? I should have given it to Suh.

I'm still trying to wrestle through what exactly just happened in the middle of the night at a Chevron near my house. I can't exactly describe it, but it was significant for me. It's very easy to pass by a couple of people in a situation like I witnessed tonight and do nothing, but for some reason I felt compelled to step in. In situations like this, I never know who is the real beneficiary, myself or the people I helped. I really wish that I had more insight into the whole thing.

I don't know the final story. All I know is that this once, I was faithful to what God asked me to do. I'm hopeful that there will be many more opportunities like this.