Forgive Me, But ...

I don't think I care. Not that I don't care about Penelope Cruz, I do. She's a beautiful person made in God's image for His purpose. But I don't care much for a big deal headline about how she almost fainted for winning an Oscar. The caption: "Penelope Cruz says she almost fainted after winning the night's first Oscar." … Is "so what" an appropriate response? … I could tell you about many people around the globe tonight who didn’t “almost” faint … they did … from hunger, thirst, drunkenness, loss of a loved one … from real issues, in the real world, that’s really broken and in need of a real Savior. Not a functional Savior (thanks to Driscoll for the insight), someone or some experience to distract us from our emptiness and give us "heaven on earth." The more the news dishes out shallow trivial anecdotes about superhuman movie stars the more we are potentially lulled into thinking that we live in a shallow world that has no need for the depth of the Gospel. Am I overreacting? Comments welcome.

Let's Be That Generation ...

... that throws off ambitions of vanity and lives for a bigger cause than self gratification ... that turns away from societal norms and cuts a new path ... and most importantly, let's be that generation that doesn't react so sharply to the disappointing flaws of those before us that we lose the value in their convictions and belief systems. Think about it - there have been generations before who have thrown off the norms and blazed new trails, of course they weren't always leading in the right direction (the 60's come to mind), but even those that sought to lead in the right direction often went so far into that direction that they introduced a whole new set of injustices and heresies to be corrected. By whom? The generation after them of course ... who would react so strongly that they ended up back in the same pile of mess the other guys were reacting to. Confused yet? Reacting to something that does not line up with God's heart and plan for redemption is completely appropriate. Reacting so much that we are disgusted by anything associated with the crowd and/or convictions that we're reacting to, regardless of its validity in the Christian worldview, is not appropriate ... but often practiced. Perhaps you have noticed some of this in the past half century. Strong orthodoxy absent of compassion for the broken leads to a social gospel devoid of the truth about sin and the need for a Savior ... which leads back to fundamentalism combined with skepticism about anyone who tackles issues of social injustice (hello Dr. J) ... which leads to ... you get it. Overbearing dominant leadership in the church combined with (the one man answer-all show) combined with stiff sermons laced with lengthy theological rhetoric leads to a an unhealthy skepticism about leadership in general and an anti-authoritarian bent that even slips into questioning that authority God's Word claims for itself (hello McClaren). Overemphasis on the church building and its structures and hierarchies leads to a distrust of institutions and organizations (hello ... me). So, where do you stand? What are you reacting to? If you are passionate about the mission of the church you have likely noticed the oregano in its teeth and are prepared to remove it with a pressure washer ... but may I suggest that a simple water pick might do the trick. What am I saying? That we don't have to react so strongly that we do more damage. The orthodox ogres are right about the importance of sound doctrine ... and the meek mercy-givers are right about the need for that doctrine to translate into a mission to loose the chains of injustice. So it is my prayer that as we are reacting ... we slow down, pray more, seek God's heart, not our own agenda ... and somewhere in the middle of the swing back in the other direction stop and realize that balance is needed in these issues. Let's be that generation ... the generation that doesn't react so strongly that we need to be reacted to.