Celebrity Christianity

Despite having been written over three years ago my post was very angry with Chuck Smith from Calvary Chapel yesterday was the number one viewed page on my website last month.  Number two was my letter to Pastor Mark Driscoll, which is almost a year old.  Now granted, I haven't been writing much so that is part of the reason why they are at the top of my most viewed list, but the truth is, no matter what, they would have been in the top ten, and most likely the top five.

Why?  Because people google search these people.  They are big names, who have done big things, and people want to know more about them.  They are Christian celebrities. This is however not a new issue, its just a different mechanism.

Paul, sees this as a problem and addresses it in his letter to the Corinthians.  "One says he follows Paul, another Apollos, and another Cephas and another Christ".  And then he gets to the core of the matter... "Is Christ divided?  Did Paul die for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?"

Is Christ divided?

What is interesting to me is that Paul seeing the celebrity thing going on, addresses it in this way:

This causes division
I must put myself in the problem and address my part in it
I must be humble and point others away from me, and towards Christ
I must explain that no man is above another man

This does not seem to be the way with Christian celebrities these days.  It is usually some form of "well I am being blessed for not compromising the truth"  While the others compromise and are "being followed by people with itchy ears,  There is usually a subtle, sometimes a direct refutation of the other leaders.  And the statement "follow me while I follow Christ"

The question we must ask ourselves in a world that worships celebrity, is, how are we to respond? 

I think the church needs to stop building celebrities.  I think the ones that are there need to give serious thought to their ability to deflect that position, and work for unity within the body.  I think we who are not celebrities need to stand up and be who God called us to be, to hold even the big shots to the same accountability we submit to in our body. 

But what do I know, I don't even have a weekly podcast

rev

Cancel Church to Be the Church on Sunday

So yesterday I issued a challenge. I was expecting some churches had already done what I was talking about and was glad to hear that some, including Saddleback, already do it regularly, (thanks Rick Warren for responding). What I thought I might do today is give some ideas on how this could actually work at your church, with or without it being an official thing, (yes I am advocating gorilla Christianity).

First, set a date. Be realistic about it, give yourself some time. But make a firm date and figure out what needs to be done before hand to make it a very successful program. Think about the issues that might come up and deal with them before hand. Do some teaching on the call of Jesus to care for the poor and the marginalized. Do some teaching about worship as service, submission to God, and sacrifice.

Second, make sure you do the work to provide opportunities for people to join in. Do something at the church, during service time, provide coveralls or something for those that might not have heard, or are visiting. A car wash and maintenance is a great idea in the parking lot. Maybe set a clothing drive, a food drive or somthing. Speak to a local aged care facility and see if you could do a concert, a dance, or a checkers tourneyment. Do an outdoor movie night in a poorer neighborhood. Do a huge block party, with jumping castles, waterslides, and pie eating contests. Have an awesome band play. Go sit down with homeless folks and share a meal, don't just serve them, eat with them, ask their names, hear their stories.

Third, make sure you have some time for reflection afterwards. Some counselors to help get through some issues that come up. Some time for testimonies.

And lastly...

please add your own thoughts. I am trying to get a few people that have done this to post their own ideas and reflections as guest posters.

rev

A challenge (I need your help)

Lately there have been some challenges put out into the interwebs. Like this one by Jules. To me this is a great challenge, and a great way to confront some of our issues.

But I would like to issue a challenge of my own:

To every Church in the Western Christian world, take one Sunday a year (or twice a year, a month, heck every Sunday), and do not have a service. Take all of the money that would come in, and tell people to spread it around your city. Organize trash pick ups, car repair, free car washes, having lunch or breakfast with the homeless. Take one Sunday, and have a big party where you invite everyone that doesn't get invited to parties, in your homes, in the parks, on your block. On that Sunday visit prisons, and hospitals and old folks homes. Instead of singing songs for worship, sacrifice your time and money to care for those not cared for, the orphans, widows, or the mentally ill. Instead of listening to the word of God, go be the word of God realized, standing up for the marginalized, planting food gardens in public places, or doing a rally for better treatment of low income employees.

What would happen if Saddleback in Orange County, and the Eucatastrophe in Fort Worth, if Mars Hill Church in Seattle and the Revolution in New York, if Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa and Awakening Chapel in Long Beach, if St. Patricks Cathedral and Adullam in Colorado, all just changed it up once and a while and sent the real church out, instead of trying to call everyone in? What would happen if we unleashed the talent, the artists, the musicians that we bind up in our programatic Sunday mornings, into a world that thrives on the creative? Can you imagine people with the talent of Willow Creeks band, taking requests from a park full of homeless people, to just sing and play. Can you imagine a homeless guy coming up and singing an old song from his past with them?

I can imagine it. I can imagine experiencing Jesus in a Matthew 25 way.

I challenge Mark Driscoll, Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie, John MacArthur, Greg Boyd, Hugh Halter, Phil Shepherd, Jay Baker, Doug Pagitt and countless others to reorder their budgets, to make some plans, to set their hype machines in motion, and do a Matthew 25 worship day, at least once a year.

Now for those of you that may have already done this, awesome, please don't let my ignorance, or arrogance offend you. I am just imagining this wonderful worship, and its effect on a world I am growing to love.

Please share this if you think its a good idea, or even if you think I am an idiot

rev

Making a name for myself (painful realization from Babel)

Many of you would know that ten days ago or so I wrote a letter to Mark Driscoll, this is the last I will mention it I promise. What happened was the link was tweeted by Rick Warren, Rachel Held Evans, and Don Miller, and it became a minor internet hit. I got more hits on that thread in two days than the rest of my blog in three years. And it felt good. I had already decided to make a commitment to blogging everyday, so this seemed like it was a great jump start. But... (why does everyone have a big but)...

Since then I have been tracking my stats. I have been advertising my blog on twitter and facebook. I even wrote a post yesterday hoping to stir up some interest by asking Rick Warren why he deleted the link he had earlier posted. The truth is I was, and I guess am, trying to make a name for myself. During silence today I recognized this, and I immediately felt conviction. This was the sin of Babel. Facing their mortality, and their loneliness, they decided to build a city with a giant tower and make a name for themselves

Genesis 11

Universal Language, Babel, Confusion

¹ Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. ² It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³ They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. ⁴ They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” ⁵ The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth

The problem is that up until this time you were named by God. You were who God named you, you didn't make a name for yourself. This city was a direct attempt to answer the problems that only God can answer. To confront death, loneliness, separation and the eternal questions, by making a city, centralizing power, creating monuments. Big shining beacons so all the internet could see...

I have been sinning, please forgive me. I believe I have a prophetic message to the church at large, and am living that out with my community in Long Beach. But I will let God give me my name, and a place to speak, I will no longer try and make it for myself. Thanks for your forgiveness.

rev

So what happened Pastor Rick Warren?

I don't have an axe to grind with Rick Warren. I actually think he gets a bad rap most of the time. I think he is wrong about plenty of stuff, but you know what... I am too. So...

Rick... keep growing and changing, searching for the truth. As much as I try I like you... but...

I gotta ask what happened last week? Wasn't a big deal, I just don't Get it. I posted a letter to Mark Driscoll, about another of his stupid manly man comments and apparently you found it, and must have thought it funny, or challenging, or important, because you tweeted it. Then after a relatively short period of time you deleted your tweet. So what gives?

If you later realized I was a jerk (which I could have told you up front) why not tell me? Or if people complained because of other stuff on my blog, you could have told me that. But really, how did you like it enough to tweet about, but then delete your own tweet? Seems odd, and I asked you personally but you didn't answer so I thought maybe you would see this and retweet it, and then you might read it and give me an answer. The way it stands I don't think Mark Driscoll would be very proud of you... Well I guess that isn't a good point :)

rev