Velvet Elvis Lives! It Rocks Too!

Look for comments to come on this title and picture. I think Josh will be pleased.
There is a book out by a man named Rob Bell. He is the pastor of a rather large church called Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The book is entitled "Velvet Elvis" and is Mr. Bell's take on some of the issues regarding how the Body of Christ should do "Church" now and into the future. His idea of Velvet Elvis is that the above shown photo is a painting that has perhaps become somewhat passe. Design, and much of art is that way. When you look at a 1994 Plymouth Voyager minivan it appears antiquated by today's standards, even one that is pristine or completely restored. If you were to look at a Sear or JC Penny catalogue and looked at the fashions of the 1970's you would laugh at the polyester leisure suits. Yet, in their time, the cars and the fashion were exciting, fresh, attention getting, and normative. What happened? Well, time and the progress or change in art and taste in art. So it is with the "visible" church and how it does its corporate life. Mr. Bell suggests that there are aspects of the way we do church that seem to the "world", those he believes we are commanded to reach, to be out dated like an old van or styles that are out of fashion. He also suggests in his book that the very language that we use, that is "traditional" to us and quite understandable, can be a hindrance to reaching the lost for Christ. What Pastor Bell says can be quite challenging to those who have been doing church for some time.

Here are some things to think about:
1. Can some things that we do in the church get out of date or are our ways of worship and study "the way" of doing things?
2. Do you think that sometimes when you talk to someone who isn't a believer that they are confused by little things you take for granted?
3. Are there some traditions at your church that even you are not sure about?
4. When someone writes a book that challenges your way of doing business or thinking is it best to avoid it or try to learn as much about it as is possible?
5. Can your faith be destroyed by the thoughts of other people?
6. If you read and or study a book by someone who challenges the status quo are you necessarily "teaching" that book or are you "learning" from it?
7. If you regularly spend time in God's Word, "The Bible", is it a good idea to go outside of it and get the opinions of others?
8. What is it that makes up a "good" book to study other than "The Bible" if reading other literature and authors is an all right thing?

I look forward to some of your remarks. Have a great week in study, but also in "being with" family, friends, and hopefully those who don't know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Is Shooting People To Save Them A Good Idea?

There was an interesting article circulating on the Internet. I first saw it as a commentary in the New York Times. It is about evangelical youth groups that use violent video games as part of their "draw." The idea is that they are trying to reach the lost where the lost are at. So, they have video games set up on wide screen televisions and they have some of the latest and some of the most violent games available to play. The games include the shooting, mutilating, dismemberment, and killing of virtual people. There was certainly a challenge to the evangelical community by the author of this article. The question is, "Is virtual destruction of human beings not in conflict with the teachings of Christ and the entire New Testament?" How far can we go into the world in order to reach it? A famous evangelist once said that he wanted to stand at the very gates of hell and drag people away and turn them to God. Wouldn't he have to look a little different to be noticed by the crowds heading into eternal separation from God in order to get their attention?

I know that we have used video games as a draw. I don't know if we have used violent ones or not at our church. I know that we have had paint ball outings. Paint ball was pretty much invented as a military training exercise. It simulates combat. The paint ball splats and marks a "kill." I have heard people say that it is "simply" a form of tag...your it. I beg to differ. I think it is more "splat" your dead. To think otherwise is a bit disingenuous to me, but maybe I am a bit prudish. There is much documentation in the field of psychology that suggests that violent games, violent television shows can desensitize people, particularly young men, regarding violence. It sounds like "hardening of the heart" to me. But, then again, I may be a prude.

It was certainly an interesting and challenging article. I would be interested in your input on this matter. What do you think? Are virtual games that center around the killing of the "enemy" simply virtual fun? Or, are they in conflict with biblical teachings particularly those of Christ himself? What should we do as a church? Should our youth group use this type of device? Should we go "paint balling" just for fun and "fellowship?" I'd love to hear your comments.

The Living Learners, Not Dead Poets, Meet Again!

How I have looked forward to yesterday evening at my home with the young men of our high school small group. I have waited and waited and I was not disappointed. We had ten men present and perhaps there is another three to four who may not have known about the starting day, or perhaps they forgot. A group of about fifteen is perfect. Yet, we all agreed that we would leave that open chair and allow the group to grow as the Lord leads. Open minds, hands, and hearts; that is what we want to have.

We covered some basic ground rules for our meetings:
1. My house is your house. Everyone is free to go anywhere except the bedroom area upstairs to preserve the privacy of my wife and daughters if they are home.
2. After 6:30 p.m. you can just walk in, no need to knock. If you come earlier you are welcome though you will need to knock and we might not be home.
3. Our meetings are officially from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on every Sunday evening.
4. You may stay later if you want to "hang out" or talk more. Don't panic if you see me getting into my pajamas and going to bed. Just make sure to lock the door as you leave and turn out the lights. If you want to spend the night call home first and get permission. I think we have extra tooth brushes and you can use the guest bedroom. (This last thing about staying over night...it's a joke.)
5. If you are not coming for some reason you will call and inform us that day.We are looking for commitment and we also, particularly in winter, are interested in everyone being safe.
6. You can bring food, food and beverages will be provided, you can eat whatever you find in our home. Cabinets and refrigerator are open for scrounging.
7. We want our study to be spiritually and emotional safe for all who attend. We will respect everyone's contribution.There will be no mocking...except JM. (This last suggestion is a joke too.)
8.There will be "rabbit trails" that we follow that may take us from our planned agenda for an evening.We are a study,but we are not a class.We will follow them when it seems right to do so.I will reserve the right to get us back on task if I feel that we are not walking along a productive path of discussion.I will moderate simply because of my having a greater amount of experience.I'm just older, that is all.
9. What is talked about in our study stays in our study.We are not talking about keeping our topic or our discussions "secrets" from our parents. No one is "hiding" anything.(Parents are actually welcome if for some reason a parent wants to sit in for a time.)We are talking about confidentiality. Someone may share a pain, concern,or problem of a private nature,trusting that his friends will protect him in this.The "personal" issues we discuss together are just that,personal. We will all protect that special bond we have with each other.

We contemplated the following subjects as possible studies for our group:

A) "The Book of Revelation" from a technical/literary standpoint.
B) "The Book of Isaiah" from a prophetic and historical perspective.
C) "Love, Sex, and Relationships" from a biblical paradigm.
D) The study of World Religions from an open and respectful position.
E) The Study of the kings of Israel and Judah.
F) Jewish Culture
1. Sovereignty of God
2. Justice of God
3. Why God allows suffering
4. Where we fit in
G) Study God. Who is He? Why does He appear different in the OT compared to NT.
F) Study the "Sermon on the Mount" in conjunction to our church's 2008 Vision.

I ask all of you to pray about these subjects and comment on them on this blog. Let's have a good talk over the Internet and be prepared to discuss, but also take action this next Sunday so as to get ourselves moving. Pray for each other this week. Pray about who you might invite to our group that you think would be helped and would enhance our discussions. Pray for the requests brought up as subjects of our prayers especially the two young people who have very broken and dysfunctional home situations. Pray for their safety, their hearts, their salvation.

Don't hesitate to call me this week if you need something or have a question that you don't want to put on the comments field. Let's all rejoice in the Lord all this week. Let's all decide to trust Him at least just a little bit more.