The Upshot of Being a Stranger in a Strange Land

This is a fascinating read on why women are out-performing men in today’s economy.

As I read it, I couldn’t help being a pastor, researcher and communicator that there might also be connections to why the Christian Church has historically tended to grow the most when it was in a position of least influence. Perhaps there really is something to being “strangers in a strange land,” or to use biblical phrasing, “aliens and exiles.”

Something to consider.

Why Men Fail – NYTimes.com (HT: David Brooks)

Less is Really More, and Beware the Hunt for the Masses

Image via CrunchBase

Seth’s Blog: Most people.

I am an avid reader of Seth Godin (books, blogs, anything really).  I love his ability to crystalize and disseminate wisdom that can be applied to creative (writers, artists) and organizational leaders (marketers, managers, etc.).  In this short blog, he writes on the importance of “less is more” and the danger of following after the masses.

Enjoy!

No Surprises, Please!

No surprises (Photo credit: Pincel3d / Daniel)

I had the privilege the other week of assisting with a friend’s wedding in a Catholic wedding service.  One of the many surprises and joys of that experience was meeting and serving alongside Father Pablo Migone. He is a great guy.  I’ve enjoyed following some of his blog posts and found this one in particular to be very illuminating (Link to the whole article below).

On the nature of being surprised by God:

“I am convinced that God loves surprises…Unfortunately we oftentimes dislike surprises because they tend to destabilize things.  We want everything to be under control.  We get flustered and aggravated when things do not go exactly according to plan.  Yet consider this, had the Virgin Mary not been open to surprise and had she wanted to retain control over her life, she probably would have said “no” to the archangel.  The more open we become to the presence of God in our lives, the more He will surprise us through ordinary and extraordinary events.  The more we trust Jesus Christ has truly overcome the world, the more moldable we will become, gladly allowing His surprises to mold our will according to His own.

via Labyrinthine Mind: God of surprises.

Waiting Time

 

Waiting (Photo credit: Iguanasan)

Waiting Time.

This is an interesting little parable on the effects of perception and organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Sometimes, the “issue” isn’t really the issue.

Piss Christ, Revisited

Piss Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My friend Daniel Siedell has written another excellent article over at Patheos discussing the intersection of faith, grace and life through art (see below). It is well worth your time to read what might be the best perspective I’ve heard on Serrano’s Piss Christ.  And his thoughts on what it means to be a Cultural Theologian are even better.

I remember my first exposure into both topics – Piss Christ and being a Cultural Theologian – came from my dad.  He is an artist, and I have benefited greatly from growing up in a home where art was celebrated and questions were asked that forced us to think, not just regurgitate or rearrange preconceived prejudices.  When I fist came to know Christ, I remember one such question my dad asked: “What would you do if you saw a picture of Jesus in a toilet [or jar or urine] as a work of art?”

My answer then was somewhat astute for someone my age and maturity in Christ.  I answered, “Well, Jesus was crucified in a trash heap which was the equivalent of a toilet back in his day.  Whether the artist meant it or not, I think it’s an excellent picture of the beauty and grace of God in the midst of the crap of life.”

My response has not changed to this day, and thanks to Daniel, I know now that I was on to something back then.

Enjoy!

Piss Christ, Revisited.

Addendum: To learn more about how to see and perceive art with eyes of faith, and not through culture-war jargon, I highly recommend Daniel Siedell’s book God in the Gallery (Kindle edition here)  Also, for something philosophically similar but addressing cinema and movies, I would encourage Brian Godawa’s Hollywood Worldviews (Kindle edition here).

Shooting at the Family Research Council: Hate from the left | Washington Times Communities

It is interesting to note what items get media play and attention, and what do not. If the “sides” had been reversed, but the story ended up the same (heroic security guard, taking a bullet and saving lives), would we have seen/heard about this more in the news?

Food for thought.

Shooting at the Family Research Council: Hate from the left | Washington Times Communities.

iPhone Orphans

I confess that I can struggle with this.  I wonder though how this also applies to Pastors and “books”.  I am all for redeeming the time and making the most of every opportunity, but digital devices and/or reading material of any kind, even if it’s sermon prep, can achieve this same catastrophic end.

iPhone Orphans.

» The Affection of Christ Alone Keller Quotes

» The Affection of Christ Alone Keller Quotes.

This is a great one from Tim Keller.  Enjoy!

In Honor of Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King, Jr

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.“ 

- Martin Luther King Jr.

The Passion Facade at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

UPDATE: If you would like to expand your horizons on the subject of race relations and how the gospel effects us in the area of our biases, let me recommend the following books:

Keep Your Head Up: America’s New Black Christian Leaders, Social Consciousness, and the Cosby Conversation  edited by Anthony Bradley

Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf

Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian by John Piper

• Free PDF Version at Desiring God

Megamind: The Line Between Hero and Villain, Blurred in Blue

Megamind: Bad Guy Gone Good?

Megamind

What happens when your dreams come true?

At  Christ Church Santa Fe, we began a intermittent ministry of hosting movie nights during the summer.  I would put together a brief write up (called REEL Conversations) to help people think through the movie with discernment in order to see the redemption offered in it, which is a true reality for any movie. This is the write up for the movie Megamind.

I admit that I love animated movies like Megamind. This movie might just be in my Top 10 of all time. This movie-story is one where the lines between hero and villain are blurred, albeit in blue, but blurred nonetheless.  Who is the “bad-guy” (antagonist) and who is the “good-guy” (protagonist), anyway?

 Central to the story is the theme of identity and hope, and what happens when your wildest dreams finally come true.  Will it be enough?  Will your ultimate hope – the thing that drives all that you do – satisfy you in the end?

Most of us tend to live with the functional philosophy coined by the Neal McCoy country song, that “If you can’t be good, be good at it.”  You can’t escape who you are, so just be the best you that you can be.  It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do; just be the best that you can be.  Megamind comes into this early in his life and bases his life on being the best bad guy he can be.

Until one day he reaches the end.  He has accomplished all his goals.  He has reached all his dreams.  He has become the best at being bad.  And the reality sets in that there not only might, but must, be something more.

At the end of the day, we have the story about how a bad guy becomes a good guy, and the journey he takes to get there.  And that sometimes, what we thought we were all along and what we thought we wanted, might not turn out to be the total truth after all.

Questions to consider:

1. Who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy?  What makes them so?
2. What led to Megamind’s conclusion that his destiny was to become the best bad guy ever?
3. When did things start to change for Megamind? What happened to make him become something he was not previously (consider the quote below)
4. How did Megamind end up, and is there something you can take-away from this story for your life?

Quote to consider:

Thomas Chalmers, an 18^th century pastor preached a sermon titled “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection”, where he argues that lasting change can only be found not by the denial of a desire, but by replacing it with a new one. He begins by saying:

There are two ways in which [one] may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world; either by a demonstration of the world’s vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment; so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon, not to resign an old affection which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. My purpose is to show, that from the constitution of our nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and ineffectual and that the latter method will alone suffice for the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection that domineers over it.