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The Shocking Truth About Islam
Are We Creating “Oprah’s Favorite Things” Churches?
A few years ago a ministry friend, Brian “Lumpy” Rutherford at Christ’s Church in Albany, NY, emailed me and asked if we had ever completed a community-wide survey, so I shot him the results of our most recent survey.
You just can’t not respond to a guy named “Lumpy.”
I thought you might be interested in seeing what we did and what the results were as well.
Our entire staff went door to door in our community and asked three questions:
1. Why don’t people go to church in this area?
2. What are the greatest needs of people in our community?
3. What would our church have to do or offer to get you to seriously consider attending our church?
Here were the responses:
Why don’t people go to church in this area?
1. Because I’m too busy
2. I don’t see any need to go to church
3. I’m Catholic, I’m not supposed to go to your church
4. I know I should but it’s my only day off to rest
5. It’s irrelevant
6. There’s nothing for my kids and they hate it
7. I have been looking and still haven’t found what I’m looking for Continue Reading…
One Nation Under god(s)
Do Scientologists like Tom Cruise really believe that 45 million years ago an alien named Xenu brought the future souls of human beings to earth on a DC-10-like spacecraft to populate this world?
Do all Muslims want to take over the world and kill opponents of Islam?
What do other Catholic priests think about the sexual abuse scandal?
If you’re anywhere near the greater Philadelphia area join us this Sunday and find out (or tune in the next few weeks for a blogging recap)…
(if you are viewing this in a reader and can’t see the video, click HERE)
Please leave a comment and make sure to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter!
How Could A “Good” God Allow Bad Christian Music?
The Pietà by Michelangelo
“The confusion comes about because much so-called religious art is in fact bad art, and therefore bad religion.” — Madeleine L’Engle
I have a friend who will only listen to Christian music. By that she means music that only uses explicitly Christian lyrics – Jesus, God, Bible verses – all mingled throughout.
However, she would also contend that her musical tastes aren’t marked so much by lyrics contained within the songs, as the words that are kept out of them. No swear words ever darken the doors of her iPod. Profanities of any kind are all blocked by an unassailable wall of Christian censorship.
Her favorite band is a group called Apologetix. They make their living by taking popular songs that everyone likes on the radio and making the lyrics palatable to those within the evangelical/fundamentalist subculture.
A number of years ago a group named Smashmouth came out with a song called “All-Star.” Unless you’re Amish, you’ve obviously heard it. The song begins:
Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb
In the shape of an “L” on her forehead
Apologetix took that song, re-wrote the lyrics for Christians and re-titled it “Pray Now.” Here’s how the spiritually revised tune starts out:
Somebody once told me the Lord is not your roadie
You ain’t the star so do it yourself
I said look it’s kind of dumb if there’s things I need done
It’s a shame not to call on the Lord’s help
When I first listened to Apologetix’s re-make I immediately prayed, “Dear Jesus, please make my head explode.”
It was embarrassing. Not because I don’t have the ability to recognize a parody when I hear it, but because Christians feel the need to replace good music with this crap (and/or create a uniquely Christian music subculture) because of their fundamentalist leanings. Continue Reading…
Why I Would Vote For An Atheist For President
Given the choice between a Christian who leads like an atheist and an atheist who leads like a Christian, it’s clear which one I’d vote for 100% of the time.
Ross Perot joked that whenever someone tells him they’re a Christian he puts his hand over his wallet. In my mind, whenever someone touts their Christian beliefs in a political campaign, it ought to immediately disqualify that person as a trustworthy candidate in the eyes of every serious Christ follower.
In my voting life Americans have placed a professing Christian in the White House 5 out of 5 times. While they all did some good things in office, for most their supposed “Christian” convictions had no bearing on informing (and ultimately stopping) some of the most un-Christlike policies and decisions enacted in recent Presidential history.
Show me a candidate that leads like Jesus, and I’ll vote for that person every single time.
Even if they’re an atheist.
Would you?
Blue Like Jazz Movie Preview Tonight
I was invited to attend the preview of the movie adaptation of Donald Miller’s New York Times best-selling book, Blue Like Jazz, tonight in Philadelphia.
Miller is doing a 22 city nationwide tour to allow movers and shakers in the Christian community to preview the movie ahead of time and, if they like it, help promote it to their constituencies.
I am excited to attend for two reasons:
1. Leaders in the Christian community are finally recognizing my ability to sway the masses for good or evil.
Not since I was asked to ghost write The Purpose-Driven Life for you-know-who (lost out that contract to the guy who wrote Fireproof) have Christian leaders pointed to my natural ability to incite mass pandemonium and/or spiritual revival. Miller, obviously recognizing my gift to cause untold millions of you to leap out of bed each morning to hang on my every word, issued the invite.
2. It’s about dang time I got something free.
I never get free crap. Ever. In 11 years of killing myself to start CCV from scratch here in Philly – land acquisition, 2 building projects, 3 capital campaigns, locking myself in my basement from 3-6 am everyday writing books to help people, serving and loving and preaching so that 1258 people to date could come to Christ – this is the FIRST time I have ever received something for free that recognized my effort and influence. And to that I graciously and humbly say: it’s about frickin time.
Miller, thank you for the freebie tickets, but know this – the entire 5,000,000 person Philadelphia metro area will either love or hate this movie based on my review.
So Don please be forewarned- if Kirk Cameron makes a cameo appearance in this thing I’m standing up in the theater and yelling “FIRE!” faster than you can reject propositional truth.
I’ll see you tonight. Bring it on…
Join The Kony 2012 Movement?
Friends I want to ask you to join a growing international voice called KONY 2012 which has one goal – to make Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony famous for his crimes against humanity and stir the international community to bring him to justice.
Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group in Uganda that has forced thousands of children to fight in a murderous armed conflict. He is responsible for untold rapes and murders.
Simply put – if the world knows who Joseph Kony is, it will unite to stop him. So let’s make him famous.
Watch this documentary by Invisible Children, and then please share it with others and take action.
Invisible Children has its own critics, which they respond to HERE, but no one doubts how awful Kony and the LRA are.
Some might ask why a pastor would jump into an issue like this. And that’s a fair question. My answer is simple: while no human strategy for bringing people to justice will be perfect, including IC’s strategy, a collective voice WILL prompt the international community to act. Personally, I believe Christians should always being willing to call for justice (Micah 6:8) when and where justice is needed.
My prayer is that as Christians add their voices to this movement, we will also add a call for wisdom to explore and understand the complexity of the issues which movements like KONY 2012 have a tendency to ignore (and which only the gospel can resolve).
Sign the pledge to help HERE.
(if you are reading this in a READER watch the video by clicking HERE)
This movement is not without controversy. What do you think of KONY 2012? Are you getting involved? Are you reluctant?
Other posts you might find interesting:
3 Reasons I DON’T Discourage Non-Christians From Taking The Lord’s Supper
No More Cheesy Fourth of July Church Services, Please
I’m Not Being Fed (and other stupid things Christians say)
Bringing Sexy Back One Pastor At A Time
This is going to come as quite a shock to you, but contrary to popular opinion I do not moonlight as an Abercrombie Fitch model.
Yes, I know. That’s hard to believe. But it’s true (despite the fact that my Twitter profile reads: “People Magazine’s Sexiest Pastor Alive – 2009”).
For years my kids have told me that I dress like a farmer, which has always presented a problem: a friend of mine at church is a farmer who is actually a hip dresser. “You dress worse than Mr. Miller,” my youngest told me, “and he is a farmer.”
You can understand my elation then when fellow pastor Ed Young, Jr. started www.PastorFashion.com …
Obviously this is a joke, but it raises a great question.
Should Christian leaders pay more attention to how they dress? Does how we dress at church matter? Is it time to “step it up” a bit? (BTW, I’m getting me some “spanx!”)
Other posts you might find interesting:
The Great Miraculous Spiritual Gift Hoax
How Much Detail Should Church Leaders Share About Their Past Sins?
I’m Not Being Fed (and other stupid things Christians say)
No More Cheesy Fourth of July Church Services, Please
Twelve years ago our family visited a church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, that has since closed its doors. It sat directly across from an Intel plant that employed thousands. I was impressed by the incredible evangelistic opportunity this church had been given. You can understand my utter shock then when in the middle of the service, held on Fourth of July, the pastor led us in a rousing rendition of patriotic songs, ending with, “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
I kid you not.
We sang “I’m a Yankee doodle dandy.”
I leaned over to my wife and said, “I’m going to shoot myself in the head.”
While I’m positive you and your church won’t do anything quite as ridiculous as that, can I ask you to cross-your-heart-hope-to-die-stick-a-needle-in-your-eye swear something to me about this upcoming 4th of July? Here it is:
Please for the love of God DO NOT plan a John-Phillips-Sousa-Red-White-And-Blue-God-Bless-America-Toby-Keith-Fourth-Of July-Patriotic-God-And-Country-Service
Don’t get me wrong. Fourth of July is a great holiday to celebrate, but never, under any circumstances, at any time, in any way, inside the confines of a church building and endorsed by a community of followers of Jesus Christ. Never. No way. Forever, and ever, amen.
There are three reasons a Fourth of July service is just a really bad idea:
1. It shows that you have sold out to the dominant culture
Let’s imagine we both went on a trip to Uganda and decided to go to church. We found a church listed in the phone book and walked a mile down the street to Kampala Christian Church. In the foyer sat a picture of Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni and behind the communion table sat the national flag of the country. During the service we sang songs of allegiance to the Uganda way of life, chocked full of lyrics recalling the bravery of the people who fought with the National Resistance Army and ushered in the current political leaders in the country. Continue Reading…
What Am I Supposed To Tell My Gay Friends?
Asked at a conference what he thought about gay marriage, Brian McLaren replied, “You know what, the thing that breaks my heart is that there’s no way I can answer it without hurting someone on either side.” Time Feb 7, 2005.
I’ve struggled with that question too over the years.
Here’s my best shot at a response.
What do you think?
