taking a few days off
I hope each of you have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.
Peace to you.
mpt
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
a good quote
“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.” Mitsugi Saotome (b. 1937), Aikido instructor, author
Thursday, May 22, 2008
another 'hokey' review
A new review popped up on Hokey Pokey. And this one stung a little. But it happens.
And I appreciate the blogger's honesty.
a good quote
"I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love."
I heard somebody say this quote on the radio. I don't know who said it. I guess it doesn't matter.
But hearing them made me cry. Mostly because I have on so many occasions fought against unity and love.
*sigh*
gratitude
It's important to be thankful. Here are two reasons I am thankful this morning...
-My wife is gracious. Jessica's love for me is more powerful than I can comprehend. It's overwhelming, even when I'm not the husband that I promised her I would be. In recent months, I've been walking through some personal junk, and even though at times I've not been the loveliest person to live with, my wife has engulfed me with her love. I am thankful for her, and for what she brings into my life on a daily basis.
-I am thankful for Elias. I felt him move about fifty times this morning. His mother had her belly up against my back as we slept and he danced and wiggled nonstop for like twelve minutes. I think it was Jess’s way of trying to wake me up. It worked. I couldn’t fall back asleep after feeling him punch my kidneys. Jess and I are convinced Elias is going to like sports, which frightens us some. I just hope he never asks me coach one of his teams. That would be embarrassing (for him and me). But I’m a very talented record keeper. But anyway, I am thankful for every time he moves. It helps me believe in God. I don’t know what it is about him squirming in his mother’s belly that makes me see God. But it happens. Sometimes at least.
the business of being born
I watched this documentary last night. I highly recommend it. You might rethink giving birth in a US hospital.
(One downside: You see Ricki Lake naked.)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
writers need help
I just returned home from visiting with my psychiatrist. Since I take Adderall, I have to meet with him every other month. Usually, the visit goes like this...
"How's everything going?" he'll ask.
"I think OK."
"Still writing?"
"Yep."
"Well, I guess I'll fill your prescription and see you back here in 8 weeks."
"Awesome. It's a beautiful day outside, huh?"
"It really is. Have a good one. And tell your wife hello for me."
Then I go home. Seriously, I pay a lot of money for that conversation.
But this morning my doctor asked me more about my book.
"You've been working on a book, right?" he said to me.
"Yeah, I have been. It's finished now."
"That's good news. When does it come out?"
"October."
"Ooh nice."
"Yeah, I'm excited."
"It's crazy, Matthew, but I have at least twelve patients who are writers with actual books out in stores."
"Really?"
"Yeah, one of them brought me her latest work of fiction yesterday."
"That's cool."
"Yeah, that's a lot of writers," he said.
"But really, Doctor, does it surprise you? Most writers are pretty effed up in the head. I think it's a prerequisite to becoming a writer."
He laughed and said, "Yeah, you're pretty much right."
And then I gave him my usual report on the weather and said goodbye. It was a really nice visit actually. I might have gotten my money's worth.
kt
KT Tunstall put on a fantastic show last night at the Ryman. Her energy was amazing, and her vocals were raw, and in my opinion, flawless. Also, her backup band (especially her percussionist and lead guitar player) were fascinating to watch.
I highly recommend the show.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
the 'why' behind my website...
I've had a couple people write and ask me the "story" behind the design of my website. So I thought I'd share. If you haven't seen it yet, you can check it out here. I wish I could say it was a super cool story, but it's not really. Ha! I didn't grow up reading comic books, and I wasn't necessarily a fan of graphic novels. But a year or so ago, my friend introduced me to the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson. I didn't "get" the appeal at first, that is until my friend taught me how to "read" a graphic novel. To be honest, I'm still not sure I totally get it, but I did fall in love with the "artwork" of comic books and graphic novels and how important its role is to how a story is told. Another friend of mine--Matthew Mewhorter--is an artist and he was willing to take a chance at drawing (yes, by hand) my site.
It's been quite the process actually, almost a year in the making, so I'm glad to have it up and available for people to see. Let me know what you think!
yay, a new book by gloria copeland is out!
Thank God for Gloria Copeland! For one thing, she's a hot old lady. And secondly, she's been talking to God again, and guess what?!? He's given her a brand new message for all of us to read. Yep, just like when Moses received the Ten Commandments, except the mountain that she climbed to receive "God's word" was actually owned by Copeland Ministries Incorporated. (Yeah, they are RICH. Ask Huckabee. He knows.)
If you don't know who Gloria Copeland is, you must not have Cable Access Channels. Because if you did, you would see her and her husband all over the place on channels somewhere between 46 and 103. You should watch her some time! Once in a while she teaches us how to make biscuits.
But anyway, according to the back-cover copy of her new book... God has a master plan for our lives! (Yay! Is anybody else thinking of the first time they heard Obe One say, "use the force, Luke"? OK, well, I am.)
The back-cover copy continues... It may not seem like God has a master plan, especially when we stumble and fall. (And when we have hemorrhoids or unnecessary hair follicles in strange places.) But we aren’t just accidents of nature that God took pity on. (Of course, not! We're experiments!) Although it may seem like we’re blindly making our way through this world (Is anybody else feeling sorry sorry for Stevie Wonder right now?), the truth is that God is guiding us all the way. (Like a seeing-eye dog? Or a walking stick? Bifocals? Oh, wait, like a heat-seeking missile!)
But thankfully, Gloria was once just like you and me: Human. It's true! Read on.
When Gloria and her husband Kenneth were newlyweds in 1962 they had nothing—no money, no long-term plans, and no God. (Poor things. Of course, they did have a Chevy, some Mac-n-Cheese, and couple pair of tube socks, but she doesn't mention that.) But then Gloria was given a birthday card with a simple inscription: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Jesus, thank you for Hallmark.) And something within her shifted into place. (Ugh. I don't even want to know.) She shared her thoughts with Ken who at the time was a nonbeliever. But soon the power of God began to work within him as well. (Which I can only imagine included some more "shifting.") For the first time, they began to connect with God’s Master Plan.
YAY! The force! It's totally real. I told you!!!
She goes on to say this: God had a plan for Adam and Eve. (Um, which was nudity, and we know how that turned out.) God had a plan for Abraham. (I'm not saying anything about Abraham, he lives in the condo two over from mine.) And God has a plan for every one of us. (Ooh, I hope mine includes nudity!)
Is it just me or does Gloria's hair look yummy? Mmm.
a dated excerpt from jesus needs new pr...
FEELING BLE$$ED?!? Last year when Zach Johnson beat out Tiger Woods and other famous pagan golfers to win his first Masters tournament, he said in an interview, "Jesus was with me every step of the way. I felt Him," Well, no wonder Tiger and the others didn’t stand a chance at winning The Masters—I mean, who does stand a chance when you’re playing against Zach Johnson a la Jesus? For the record, I think Zach is fibbing. Jesus was not out on the Augusta greens, golfing, and helping him win The Masters. How do I know? Because Jesus was playing hopscotch with me at my church’s Easter party and helping me find all of the plastic eggs and mini-Kit-Kat bars. Now, I’m quite sure Zach is a decent guy with decent intentions. But come on. Do we hear ourselves? Can we honestly suggest (with straight faces) that Jesus helps people win golfing tournaments? Are we really ready to proclaim that as truth? Sure, Zach can thank God for his talent; that’s one thing, but him telling the media that he could feel Jesus walking with him every step of the way is quite another. But you know, Christians get whacky-excited when it comes to “Jesus” mentions on national TV; seriously, it’s up there with the excitement a lot of Christians feel for Christmas, Easter, and sermons about sodomy. I tend to think a lot of Christians believe that God hands out extra credit points when we mentioned Jesus’ name in front of television cameras where the potential audience is in the millions. And maybe he does--what do I know? Of course, I’m inclined to wonder how Jesus got shout-outs before microphones, cameras, TVs, and uh, golf was invented? If it weren’t for sports and the Grammy Awards, Jesus would get no love from the national media. Okay, so here’s my real beef with Zach’s kind of Christian logic. If I choose to believe that Jesus helped Zach win that big golfing tournament, than I also must believe he could have stopped President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from declaring April 8, 2007 “Iranian Nuclear Day” and that he could have saved the lives of the American soldiers who were killed in Iraq that day and not to mention, he could have helped me beat my wife in a game of Scrabble. I cringe whenever I hear someone suggest that Jesus’ blessings come to us in the way of good parking spots or iPods or trophies, or whenever I hear him talked about like he’s a slot machine, as if Jesus would ever give us a 1 in 142,576* chance of hitting some kind of earthly jackpot. It’s this kind of thinking that makes me want scream sometimes, mainly because it reveals a blatant misunderstanding of Jesus, I believe, and maybe a misunderstanding of faith, too. Like so much of modern evangelicalism’s tactics, I think the prosperity gospel is just another human endeavor to make faith simpler for people. Think about it; by packaging faith with an end goal in mind—whatever that goal might be—wealth, success, good health, a BMW, you’ve essentially taken the “faith” out following Jesus and replaced it with something that could potentially be added or subtracted on next year’s tax forms. Tagging some kind of “end result” to faith Jesus is again, another way in which capitalism has seeped into our belief system. With an end result in mind, Jesus can be taken out of the spiritual category and put under some other category where faith can be measured, compared, packaged, and yep, resold in a box that has “GOD WANTS YOU TO BE (fill in the black)” on the outside. Those who proclaim this “end results” message tell their followers, “Just hold on! Don’t lose faith! Keep on, keeping on…,” and by doing so, they essentially make God into a “financial formula,” one that a first grader could solve. I guess a lot of people don’t understand that the more tangible we make God, the more we bring him down to our standards, the less faith it takes to believe in him. And a tangible God becomes a lot like the banker on Deal Or No Deal—we know he’s there because we can see his silhouette, he’s calling us on the phone, and he’s either giving or taking away money. But Jesus isn’t practical. And we can’t make him practical. In fact, to be honest, Jesus is pretty impractical. Anything less, and it’s no longer faith; it becomes little more than a good attitude. A lot of Christians hate hearing that because an impractical Jesus is one that can’t be used and abused for our own selfish gain. An impractical Jesus is one that must remain in the spiritual realm, where he cannot be turned into something measurable or systematic. But that’s a good thing; because Jesus was never supposed to be copy and pasted onto balance sheet, explained with a graph, or alliterated into four points. Jesus is to be encountered, pursued, experience, debated, and meditated on. But modern evangelicalism has stolen much of that away by attempting to sell us their version of Jesus, a practical, boxed-up and bubble-wrapped version of him. *Odds vary, based on denomination, how “Christian” you act, and whether or not, you’ve read Joel Osteen’s book Your Best Life Now.
my new web site...
Don't worry. My blog address will remain the same! My new site is not all the way finished, but it's getting there...
my first two books are on sale for only $4
Relevant Books is having a huge sale! All of their books are only $4, which includes The Christian Culture Survival Guide and The Coffeehouse Gospel.
And according this link, my two little books are their top sellers. That's pretty cool, I guess.
So, if you don't have them, go buy them for $4!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
hope, a quote about
Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are anger and courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be. --St. Augustine
welcome!
To everyone who is visiting from Stuff Christians Like, thanks for stopping by. I hope you will sign up for my blog and visit again.
Thanks Jon for the love.
mpt.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
christians in california want you to...
boycott Starbucks because their cups show boobs!
Yes, BOOBS.
Dear Lord, what will all the Lifeway Bible study groups that meet at Starbucks do?
To tell you the truth, I wish I had known about this earlier--I might have gone to Starbucks this morning.
But really, why boycott this? We never boycotted Sunday school material that displayed Eve's fig leaves too low. Or when Adam's fig leaves were too small...
(And if I look closely, I think I see pubic hair. Or are those scales? I can't tell.)
But friends, it gets better. Mark Dice, leader of that Christian group had this to say... "Need I say more? It's extremely poor taste... the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks."
Yes, that's an actual quote.
Slutbucks. SLUTBUCKS.
You know, I think I actually went to a Slutbucks back in my college days. All I got to say... that place had some nice sized cups... (I know; bad.)
But I love coffee too much to boycott Slutbucks. How about you?
famous people saying christian things
"Then Jesus took two of these babies and started feeding 5000 men! And there were women there, too. And children!"
"OK, look, we come in peace, ya'll. We're not Christians. We're from the emergent church! Do you know what emergent means?"
"Wow. Let me tell ya, Beth Moore's Bible study gives me my jolt of Jesus in the morning. It's just what I need before I head out to Burger King with the kids."
"Promise rings are totally cool. Ask Leslie. She's my Christian friend."
"Toe. Bee. MACK. And the mac is back no slack..."
"Oh I'm just thankful that he wants to go to Liberty University. That's really all a Mom could ask for."
"We doin' Fridays or Ruby Tuesdays after church?"
"I am proof that God can do miracles in Sudan."
"Oh, dude, before I met Jesus I was all into black eyeshadow, man, but after I met Jesus..."
the churched tour
OK, so it's now time to make arrangements for what will happen AFTER the Third Coast University Tour. That tour will run for most of the month of October. A few weeks ago, I hung out with my tour-mates The Afters and Matt Maher. I think this tour is going to be fun!
But after that tour, I'm planning to go out and do some church, college, bookstore, or other kinds of dates surrounding my upcoming memoir: Churched--One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess.
The event will be an evening of story, humor, inspiration (so churchy!), and maybe a few surprises (just because I couldn't think of anything else to put here).
So, I'm asking you for your help. If you know of a church, college, or event that might considering booking a "churched" event, have them send me an email (matthewpaulturner@gmail.com). I'm a cheap date, I mean gig.
my collide column for this month
Click here to subscribe to Collide.
A Mixed Tape: The Ego Has Spoken
By Matthew Paul Turner
The following story is true and occurred a few years prior to the invention of YouTube.
When I was living back east, a friend of mine begged me to be in her church’s Mother’s Day skit. Even though I didn’t attend her church—a monstrosity that boasted a million members and had like 65 services—I agreed to “star” in the three-and-a-half minute dramatic illustration. When I arrived at the church on the day of the performance, my friend (I’ll call her Sherry) was hysterical.
“We have a huge problem.” Sherry wiped a tear from her eye. “Pastor came into church this morning and demanded that we cut 30 seconds out of the play.”
“What?” I yelped. “We’ve been practicing this thing for weeks. How in the world does he expect us to change it now? The first service starts in 15 minutes. It’s impossible.”
Sherry shrugged her shoulders. “None of that matters, Matthew. If I don’t cut 30 seconds out of this skit, I could lose my job. So, can we please just try?”
At the time, I thought Sherry was probably overreacting. But that changed a few minutes later when, as the two of us were busy editing, Sherry’s pastor came storming into the choir room. He was a short, stout man with a booming voice. “Have you made the edits?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to be able to get it done.”
“Sherry, I need you to be sure,” he said, looking at her the same way I imagined Napoleon might have looked at one of his subjects. “If this skit goes longer than three minutes during the first service, I will cut it out of the next three services. It’s not like we need to have a skit. So make it happen.”
I stood there a little shocked. While I was quite aware that many pastors have egos bigger than their church’s steeples, and that the problem has been around since Constantine first made it legal for men to boast about God in the public square, it was still difficult to watch this pastor throw his weight around.
Thankfully, for the sake of Sherry’s job and her pastor’s blood pressure, we did cut 30 seconds out of the skit. But that didn’t satisfy him. In between the first and second services, I watched as the worship leader, the stage manager, and the sound director scoured over the church’s order of service. “Pastor just came in here demanding that we cut one minute from the service.”
The three of them looked worriedly at each other. Then, the sound guy piped up, “Guys, I can’t do this anymore. Seriously, I work at AOL during the week. My job is high pressure. But I feel more stress and frustration volunteering at church on Sunday than I do Monday through Friday working at AOL. I think there’s something wrong with this picture.”
I walked into that church with a great deal of respect for that particular pastor, but I’ll be honest, I left thinking he was an egotistical jerk. Now, I admit that my judgment was quick and potentially unfair, mostly because I didn’t know the man, and as a layperson, I didn’t have a clue about all of the politics, logistics, and drama that a pastor endures when putting a service together for thousands of people. But I’m inclined to think that some pastors, after their attendance, influence, and salaries grow, forget what it’s like being the church employee who makes $22,000 a year or the volunteer who is “serving the Lord” for free.
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of stories like the one I just told, stories about pastors who have book deals, YouTube followings, and the “fastest growing” churches in postmodern cities like Seattle, but who behind the scenes are as prideful as peacocks and have the people skills of political science majors. Most of the time these stories come from regular people who are simply trying to serve God with their talents, but often feel less -than-valued under the leadership of a pastor who seemingly has an ego that far surpasses the size of his blog’s readership.
It’s true; I might be unaware of all that a minister’s job entails, but I’ve met a good number of pastors in my lifetime. Without fail, the ones I admire the most make people—not the service, the sermon, or their personal status—the most important part of their job description.
Not a sermon—just a thought.
ten weeks to go...
People keep coming up to Jess and asking her if she's having twins... ugh... she's sick of that question.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
hodgepodge
I've always enjoyed the word "hodgepodge." To me, it's a funny word. Like hamster or hedgehog. But "hodgepodge" describes this post perfectly; it's an overview of what's been going on in my life.
1) My wife is now seven months pregnant. It's not been the most enjoyable pregnancy. I think she's gotten every symptom there is. Poor thing. It's difficult not being able to help much. Of course, I rub her feet and back, help her up the stairs, and try to make sure she doesn't do anything she shouldn't be doing. But still, I feel pretty helpless. And little Elias is a busy little kid. Kicking. Hopping. Flipping. Doing triple axles. He's quite energetic.
2) Speaking of Elias, Jessica and I have started prepping our condo for his arrival. First on the list: painting, tossing a lot of junk, massive amounts of cleaning, and registering his official blog address. (I know, we're so 21st Century.) I hate painting. I hate going through my own junk. And I hate cleaning. But I don't mind blogging. Anyway, we have a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time, and our condo isn't the biggest place in the world, so keep us in your prayers! OK, so don't spend too much time praying for us unless you've spent time praying for those affected by the cyclone in Myanmar or the earthquake in China.
3) Pete Wilson is my pastor. And despite that, I like him. Seriously, that right there is a huge step for me on my journey toward becoming a real grown-up. I'm not scared of Pete. In fact, I met with him yesterday and I was able to talk to him about something very personal. A year ago, I would never have been able to tell my pastor something personal. Part of the reason is that my last pastor couldn't remember my first name. But I also wouldn't have felt comfortable talking to him. So, I'm thankful to God for Pete. He listened to my story. He didn't give me any concrete answers. He just told me that he'd walk with me on my journey. A companion is far better than all of the answers in the world. Thank you, Pete.
4) One of the books I'm reading right now is Augusten Burroughs' latest A Wolf At the Table. It's a memoir about Augusten and his relationship (or lack there of) with his father. It got a horrible review from Entertainment Weekly, which worried me, since EW is pretty much my enlightened source for all entertainment. But Wolf is good, personal, and sort of feels almost true. Almost. Which for Augusten is pretty good.
5) My friend Tom Davis has released a book called Confessions of a Good Christian Guy. Honestly, I haven't read it yet, but it is sitting on my couch sort of looking at me, begging to be read. OK, not really. But you might want to check it out. I'm not a good Christian guy, so I'm not sure it was written for me.
6) I love the new Coldplay song "Violet Hill." Though I think it's actually a sad song, it has been a comfort to me of late. I've been playing it every time I feel sad or lonely or just pensive. But for some reason, that song makes me smile. You can get the song free by going to the band's website.
Hope each of you are happy, or at least, content. Peace.
part two of jason boyett''s interview with me...
Read here.
And make sure you read all the way to the end of the interview for a chance to win "Hokey Pokey"!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
my friend jason boyett interviewed me on his blog
It's part of the "Hokey Pokey" blog tour. This is part one of two. Click here to read it.
And while you're there... buy one of his Pocket Guide Books... I think he's having a sale!
Thanks Jason..
Saturday, May 10, 2008
jesus was here?
In Baton Rouge! Apparently, this is where he died on the cross. In fact the three crosses are still here towering over rt. 10. It makes me feel all warm inside. And guess what? These three giant crosses only cost somewhere between $200k-300k to build. Not bad, considering they're for our Lord and Savior.
Jesus must have been a big guy, too. The cross that he died on is about 150 feet tall!
Big Jesus.
Friday, May 9, 2008
interview with brian mclaren
This was supposed to be included in Jesus Needs New PR...
AMERICA’S JESUS ALL OVER THE WORLD
The following is an interview with Brian McLaren, author of Everything Must Change, The Secret Message of Jesus, and A New Kind Of Christian. In recent months, Brian’s travels have taken him all over the world and given him the opportunity to worship Jesus among different cultures in four continents. I spoke with Brian about how America’s form of Jesus affects the world.
MATTHEW: Brian, in recent months you’ve had the chance to travel all over the world; what did you learn about your own spirituality while celebrating Jesus around the globe?
BRIAN: Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is that travel is hard work - it’s tiring both physically and emotionally, and when one is trying to sincerely engage with each group and person, there’s a spiritual toll too. So, the biggest thing I learned is the need for “Sabbath”—for down time to rest, including resting from “serving the Lord” if that makes sense.
On a more relevant note, I realized more than ever what an echo chamber the United States is, and how crushingly dominant it is—not only militarily and financially and culturally, but also spiritually. Exported U.S. televangelists, exported U.S. speakers, exported U.S. religious fads are dominating the Christian community around the world—it’s like a massive spiritual McDonald’s franchise replacing the native spices and flavors and home cooking of each culture. So, I learned again how much I need to listen to voices from our brothers and sisters who aren’t part of the echo chamber. I came back with a long list of African and Latin American theologians I need to read and ponder.
MATTHEW: Were you ever the least bit uncomfortable when experiencing another culture’s celebration of Jesus? If so, how and why?
BRIAN: The biggest discomfort for me was hearing, for example, U.S. contemporary Christian worship music being sung in translation around the world. I was so grateful for each time when the worship of each culture was original and indigenous; I found that moving and encouraging, never uncomfortable.
From your unique perspective as an author who more often than not steers “far left” from the Christian mainstream in America, what do you believe are three important changes American’s must make regarding the PR of Jesus in this culture?
As you probably know, Matthew, my hope is that we can move from the left-right polarization to “higher ground.” To do that, I think we need to do some deep theological rethinking—not to align our understanding with “postmodernity” (or modernity either) but to align our understanding with Jesus as found in the Gospels.
That will mean at least three things:
One: Seeing how Jesus’ message was truly timely, not just “timeless,” which means to discover the radical applicability of Jesus’ message to what we would call the politics of his time. That message was not a defense of the status quo, but its overturning—it was a confrontation with his fellow Jews who compromised with the powers of empire, greed, and fire, calling them to repent (rethink everything) and seek the kingdom of God. It was a message that showed God’s solidarity with the poor and oppressed, not the “establishment.”
Two: Seeing, that for Jesus, the key issues were not simply matters of sexuality, as important as sexuality is. Rather, for Jesus, the key issues were money and power. What would happen if we applied Jesus’ teachings and example to money and power in our culture?
Three: Seeing that Jesus called his disciples to a life of radical commitment, not simply to right opinion about esoteric religious lore.
MATTHEW: As you conversed to Christians and non-Christians in different countries, what, if anything about America’s Christianity offends those in other parts of the world? How are their offenses all that different from those voiced by non-Christians in America?
BRIAN: This is a huge question. But the bottom line: I didn’t meet a single Christian anywhere in my travels (except for a few U.S. missionaries) who is not deeply disturbed about U.S. foreign policy and economic policy, and they can’t believe that Christians in America actually support U.S. policy—which to them seems so anti-Christian. As well, they are appalled that many Christians have stood against concern about the environment—although they’re encouraged to hear that other Christians are speaking up with a deeply theological concern for creation care.
MATTHEW: What have you witnessed in the Christianity of other countries that you imagine might be offensive to the average American Christian?
BRIAN: In addition to the widespread and deep distaste for U.S. foreign, economic, and environmental policy, there are a number of things. In Europe, it is very common for Evangelicals to drink alcohol, which would scandalize some Evangelicals here. In Africa and Latin America, many Evangelicals feel the importance of caring for the poor—which seems more “liberal” than here, but there is a lot of concern about things like wearing make-up or sleeveless dresses or shorts, or failing to wear a tie to church (in some settings), which would seem more “conservative” than here. The “rules” are simply different.
MATTHEW: Does Christianity in America bring any unique perspectives that aid humanities’ understanding of Jesus throughout the world? If so, what?
BRIAN: Americans tend to have a “can-do” attitude, which is helpful in some ways, and harmful in others. The fact is, nearly all of our perspectives have been so widely exported that there is no shortage of American influence anywhere; I would say the opposite is more the case.
MATTHEW: Would you please share any advice you might have for America’s Christians who are representing Jesus in today’s culture, perhaps ideas or virtues you personally adhere to?
BRIAN: American Christians need humility and a willingness to listen to our brothers and sisters from around the world. We need to be suspicious for the ways that wealth and power have already subverted the purity of our faith and successfully tempted us to remake Jesus in our own image.
MATTHEW: When someone approaches you who has been hurt (or even abused) by America’s “ugly” version of Jesus, how do you encourage them?
BRIAN: In my recent trip to Latin America, I had several people say almost the identical thing to me (in Spanish): “I heard you were coming and I was very cynical. I expected you to be another typical arrogant gringo telling us how to do things, as if we don’t know anything. Thankfully, you were not what I expected. You actually listen to us. You respect us. You seem like you’re here not just to preach, but also to learn. You seem to realize that America isn’t God’s chosen nation.” So, I guess it wasn’t what I said that helped them; if anything it was simply that I listened and tried to learn, believing that God is at work among them in a unique way.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
this was going to go in my book jesus needs new pr (but now it's outdated)
A STIFF MESSAGE
On July 5, 2006, I was at Starbucks reading The New York Times and sipping my over-sweetened coffee when my eyes fell on an article implying the impossible: “On Independence Day, Lady Liberty was born again!”
Indeed, at first glance it seemed that several leaders at one of the largest churches in Memphis were claiming they had led the Statue of Liberty into a relationship with Jesus. After reading the headline, I did my little praise dance, which at the time, seemed like the least I could do since it’s not every day that I get to thank God for his decision to welcome statues into the kingdom of heaven.
However, I did have several burning questions. For one, how did a church in Memphis get the good news to The Statue of Liberty? Did someone have to brave the stench of the New York Harbor and swim out to our Lady’s side and then lead her toward the narrow way? Did they parachute a Gideon’s Bible in for her to read? Or did they go on a guided tour and while no one was looking talk to her about Jesus?
But upon finishing the entire article, I realized, that fortunately, I had taken the headline out of context.
The World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church hadn’t actually led Lady Liberty to Jesus. Instead, they had cloned The Statue of Liberty and created their very own six-story Lady Liberty-knock-off and placed it in the middle of their inner city for the world to see. But according to the church, their creation was a whole lot more than patriotic décor cloned in the heart of America.
You see, the Statue of Liberation