Song of the Week: Julie Miller's "All My Tears"

Former Austinite Julie Miller is featured this week:

Julie Miller's "All My Tears"
The song was written after the death of her friend, Mark Heard. You may be more familiar with the song from covers by Jars of Clay or maybe Kim Hill and Selah or some 15 other renditions you can find out there (Jimmy Scott has a pretty cool version). I'm playing the song released on Miller's 1999 project, Broken Things.

When I go, don't cry for me
In my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name.

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.

Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store,
Come and drink, and thirst no more

It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

So, weep not for me my friends,
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him
Who will raise the dead again.

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away

LeaderLines: “UnChristian Christianity: Judgmental”

“Christians like to hear themselves talk. They are arrogant about their beliefs, but they never bother figuring out what other people actually think. They don’t seem to be very compassionate, especially when they feel strongly about something.”

That’s what one young adult said to David Kinnaman when he asked her opinion of Christianity. In Kinnaman’s new book, UnChristian, the president of the Barna research firm reported on an extensive study of the attitudes that unchurched 16-to-29 year-olds have of the Christian faith. The book focuses on six complaints that unchurched young people have regarded Christians. They see us as--

Hypocritical
Too focused on getting converts
Anti-homosexual
Sheltered
Too political
Judgmental

We’ll conclude today with the last charge: those now entering adulthood think we’re judgmental.

What does it mean to be judgmental? Kinnaman wrote that it means “to point out something that is wrong in someone else’s life, making the person feel put down, excluded, and marginalized. Some part of their potential to be Christ followers is snuffed out. Being judgmental is fueled by self-righteousness, the misguided inner motivation to make our own life look better by comparing it to the lives of others.”

In other words, it’s singing that old song with a twist:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like you.
This is one of the most frequent complaints Kinnaman’s research team heard from young outsiders regarding Christianity. “Nearly 9 out of 10 young outsiders (87%) said that the term judgmental accurately describes present-day Christianity,” Kinnaman wrote, “Just to put this in practical terms, when you introduce yourself to a twentysomething neighbor, and you mention your faith, chances are he or she will think of you as judgmental.”

And it’s not just the perception of outsiders. Fifty-three percent of Christian young people told the interviewers that our faith seems too focused on other people’s faults.

Kinnaman said that interviews with young people found various forms of judgmental attitudes that young people felt Christians held:

Wrong Verdict: Young people don’t like to have their background or wisdom or inner motivations assumed simply based upon their appearance. According to Kinnaman, 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 25 “have significantly altered their appearance at some point in their life, including tattoos, dying their hair and untraditional color, or piercing their body in a place other than an ear lobe. In fact, one third of all young adults have a tattoo.” And when Christians draw the wrong verdict over young people who have made these changes, they conclude, you don’t really know me.

Wrong Timing: Being right in your opinion and knowing when to share it are two different issues. There are times when it’s a sign of wisdom, not cowardice, to stay silent on a subject and wait for the right time and place to discuss it.

Wrong Motivation: We have to be motivated by love. Kinnaman acknowledges that, as God’s ambassadors, we have an obligation to point people in their right direction, but we have to evaluate our motive for doing so:

Pointing people to Jesus is not achieved by being popular. The outrage of outsiders does not change or diminish God’s expectations. People still have to answer to a holy judge. . . . Yet an entire generation of those outside and inside the church are questioning our motives as Christians. They believe we are more interested in proving we are right and that God is right. They say Christians are more focused on condemning people than helping people become more like Jesus.

However, Kinnaman’s research team also found that outsiders are often receptive to the input that Christ followers have to give: “When their Christian peers gave them input within the context of relationship and with respect, in general they appreciated it.”

What does that type of respect look like? Outsiders suggested that we learn to listen better, that we be careful not to label, that we quit pretending to have all the answers, that we try to put ourselves in their place, and that we enjoy their friendship with no other motives.

As I’ve said before, the only way to successfully address this issue is to welcome people as they are and lead them to where they need to be. Two actions: acceptance and challenge.

First, it requires acceptance “as is.” Failure is a verb, not a noun. In other words, it’s something we do, not something we are. As we live out that truth, we’ll be able to appreciate the value of people regardless of where they are in embracing and living God’s standards.

Of course, some Christian leaders have an understandable fear about accepting others in this way: Won’t we inadvertently send a signal that their sinful behavior isn’t in fact sinful? Won’t we come across as condoning things God clearly says are against his will?

That’s where the second action comes in. We need to be able to say to people, “Come as you are... but don’t stay that way.” Life as it was meant to be lived includes aligning our behavior with certain standards. Church leaders need to have a clearly-marked process of spiritual growth that people can work through so they come to accept and practice those divine expectations.

Again, this isn’t simply an approach we should take toward certain people but all people. We can be grateful that God continues to take that approach to us. I’m not a finished product, and neither are you. Aren’t you glad you’ve found acceptance “as is” here at Hillcrest, and aren’t you glad you’ve found encouragement to keep pressing forward toward full maturity? Let’s make sure we extend this twofold approach to everyone.
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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

The Masai Creed

Listen to the late Jaroslav Pelikan recite and comment on his favorite contemporary Christian creed. The segment is under 3 minutes:
The African Masai Creed
This is an excerpt I clipped from a Speaking of Faith podcast called "The Need for Creeds." Pelikan, according to the program website, was "a scholar who devoted his life to exploring the vitality of ancient theology and creeds. He insisted that even modern pluralists need strong statements of belief." You can listen to the entire interview with Speaking of Faith host, Krista Tippett, in this podcast.

Learn more about the Masai Creed here.

Half-Off Jeans?! The Scandal!

So the Baylor Lariat is announcing that two sororities are offering to have their designer jeans half off today. Oh the scandal! First they allow dancing on 5th street, and now--

What?

Oh . . . never mind.

Winning Ways: “The Cost of Doing Nothing”

A few years ago a Seattle newspaper released what they called the “Cost of Nothing Index.” It was a chart of the monthly cost of minimum fees for many standard services. The report noted that the phone company charged $14 even if you never picked up the receiver. You’d be billed $11.95 a month to empty garbage cans even if you never set them out. Even if you were gone from your house for a month, the standard sewer charge was $7.25, the minimum natural gas charge was $4.51, and the minimum electricity charge was $1.50. All total, the paper found it cost $54.91 a month for the privilege of having these services at hand, even if you never do anything with the services.

That’s the cost of doing nothing. Jesus warned us that there’s a cost in doing nothing about our decision for him, too. In our spiritual search, understand that God gives you sufficient time to make up your mind, but not unlimited time. In Matthew 11, Jesus talks about 3 towns whose time had run out. We’ll look at his words this week in a new series called “The Final Four.” It’s a study from Matthew 11 about how to beat the obstacles to real faith. If you missed the first sermon in that series on Easter Sunday, you can listen to it here.

Also, join me at Discover Hillcrest this Sunday. The class will be held right after the morning service, AND LUNCH IS PROVIDED! The class is for those who want to become members, and for those who just want to learn more about Hillcrest. Topics include:

* The most important thing you need to know about Jesus
* Four fundamentals of spiritual growth, using the acronym "H.I.L.L."
* Our church's key values and strategy
* How to "connect" with others in the church

While I teach the adult class, BJ teaches "Discover Hillcrest Kids" for children ages 8-12, and Jim teaches "Discover Hillcrest Youth" for students in grades 6-12. Childcare is provided for children under the age of 8. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. You can register by contacting our Ministry Assistant, Jami.

Links to Your World, Tuesday March 25

Very cool: “MySong automatically chooses chords to accompany a vocal melody, allowing a user with no musical training to rapidly create accompanied music. MySong is a creative tool for folks who like to sing but would never get a chance to experiment with creating real original music. Come on, you know who you are... you sing in the car, or in the shower, or you go to karaoke clubs, or you just once in a while find yourself singing along with catchy commercial jingles. MySong is also a great tool for songwriters who want to quickly experiment with melodies and accompaniments.” (Find it here)


You Know You're A Redneck If Your Wife Is Quoted In The Local Paper Saying . . . (click here to find out!)


“A growing number of baby boomer parents are freaking out inside. . . . They don't want to let on to their adult children that they're getting worried, but these parents are sharing their concerns at work, at the gym, at the grocery store or anyplace they can commiserate: Their offspring — post-college degreed and in their mid- to late 20s — still haven't a clue about what to do with their lives.” Read more of the USA Today article here.


Our church supports Paul and Martha Buford as missionaries in Honduras. They have both entered the world of blogging and they have some thought-provoking posts. Check out Paul’s blog here and Martha’s blog here. You might want to start with Paul’s post about a new ministry that he found as an ex-cop among police officers in Honduras.


Looks like my Blogger service is going to allow users to schedule when they want a post to go live. It’s only available in draft right now, but this is a much-needed feature. If you post on the Blogger platform, check this out.


Is Oprah the Next Billy Graham?


I’m planning to go to the national Arts Conference hosted by Austin’s Hope Chapel. Learn more about it at this article: “Churches Urged to be More Artist-Friendly, Transform Culture.”


Pro-lifers should avoid 'Idol Gives Back,' leader says.


The 7 Essential Habits Of A Successful Fitness Routine.


Travel Without the Laptop, Carry Your Computer on a USB Drive


Very Funny: This Man has a Man-Cold (HT: Martha).


Have you read the previous posts since last Tuesday? They include the “Song of the Week“ (this week, The Weepies’ "Somebody Loved"), news on UT men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes, reflections on the Obama race speech, and the continuation of my LeaderLines series called "unChristian Christianity."

Obama's Race Speech: Some Comments You May Not Have Seen

Following Obama’s remarkable speech on race last week, I was looking forward to reaction from a few folks in particular. Here are a few thoughts from writers you may not have seen:

First, Thabiti Anyabwile has some fine thoughts. He is an African-American pastor who serves as pastor at my former pastorate, First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman. In this post, he challenges us to think about what our gut reaction to the Obama speech says about our attitude toward the whole subject of race. He has also posted the entire Jeremiah Wright speech here and has asked readers to answer some great questions while listening to it.

Next up: I was sure Julie “Bible Girl” Lyons at the Dallas Observer would have some good comments, and she did not disappoint. I particularly liked how she introduced us to her friend DD:

DD, who’s in her late 30s, grew up as the only black kid in her rural Texas elementary-school classes. “I thought my first name was Nigger,” she says. Compounding her separateness was the fact that she was impoverished as well, living in a tumbledown shack with an outhouse.

Coming up, she had every reason to hate. The same day she held in her hand an acceptance letter to medical school, a truck full of yahoos barreled past her in the street and screamed, “Nigger!” One of the first times she entered the operating room in scrubs, she was mistaken for the cleaning lady. She has duly noted the disparities in position and pay for women of her race, and it frustrates her that many of her white colleagues assume she is a beneficiary of affirmative action.

Every black girl she knew growing up, she says, wanted at some time to be white and blue-eyed with straight, silky hair pulled in a ponytail. It is something few white people understand at all -- what it’s like to have a sense of inferiority sown in your soul from the earliest age. DD gathered from her early school years that everything black was bad, and everything white was good. Black kids were stupid, ugly, poor, dirty and despised. White kids were smart, pretty, rich, clean and worthy.

The stain goes so deep, she says, that only a relationship with Jesus Christ can purge it out. When she got saved at the age of 21, she says, she gradually lost all those feelings of inferiority -- replaced by an understanding that she was a daughter of God. The people who reached out to her at that time, she says, were white Christians. It is something she will not forget, and it precludes her from viewing white people as an evil, homogeneous group. She loves her white brothers and sisters in Christ.

“I live my faith and not my race,” she says. “It is a simple choice.”

As a former speech writer for President Reagan, I expected Peggy Noonan to weigh in from her unique perspective. In “A Thinking Man’s Speech” in the WSJ, she wrote:

“The speech assumed the audience was intelligent. This was a compliment, and I suspect was received as a gift. It also assumed many in the audience were educated. I was grateful for this, as the educated are not much addressed in American politics. He didn't have applause lines. He didn't give you eight seconds of a line followed by clapping. He spoke in full and longish paragraphs that didn't summon applause. This left TV producers having to use longer-than-usual soundbites in order to capture his meaning. And so the cuts of the speech you heard on the news were more substantial and interesting than usual, which made the coverage of the speech better. People who didn't hear it but only saw parts on the news got a real sense of what he'd said.”

The always-provocative Christopher Hitchens in Slate was rather more skeptical:

“The consequence, which you can already feel, is an inchoate resentment among many white voters who are damned if they will be called bigots by a man who associates with Jeremiah Wright. So here we go with all that again. And this is the fresh, clean, new post-racial politics?”

What were your favorite reactions from bloggers, pundits, and opinion columnists?

Song of the Week: The Weepies' "Somebody Loved"

Such a sweet song. Listen to--

The Weepies' "Somebody Loved"
The song (purchase) is composed and performed by Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, the husband-wife team known as The Weepies. It's easy to find yourself "in love," but this song captures the wonder of someone who knows that it's pure grace to be loved. It looks like the lyrics were written by this couple in their lean times before they were discovered.

Rain turns the sand into mud
Wind turns the trees into bone
Stars turning high up above
You turn me into somebody loved.

Nights when the heat had gone out
We danced together alone
Cold turned our breath into clouds
We never said what we were dreaming of
But you turned me into somebody loved.

Someday when we're old and worn
Like two softened shoes
I will wonder on how I was born
The night I first ran away from you.

Now my feet turn the corner back home
Sun turns the evening to rose
Stars turning high up above
You turn me into somebody loved.

LeaderLines: “UnChristian Christianity: Too Political”

In David Kinnaman’s new book, UnChristian, the president of the Barna research firm reported on an extensive study of the attitudes that unchurched 16-to-29 year-olds have of the Christian faith. The book focuses on six complaints that unchurched young people have regarded Christians. They see us as--

Hypocritical
Too focused on getting converts
Anti-homosexual
Sheltered
Too political
Judgmental

We’ve already looked at the first four subjects in LeaderLines. This week, let’s see why those now entering adulthood think we’re too political.

Three quarters of young outsiders and half of young churchgoers describe present-day Christianity as “too involved in politics.” Nearly two-thirds of Mosaic and Buster outsiders and nearly half of young born-again Christians said they perceive “the political efforts of conservative Christians” to be a problem facing America. Kinnaman added:

In our exploration of this subject, we also discovered that such concerns are not only the domain of young Mosaics and Busters. One fifth of all American adults (21 percent) believe “the political efforts of conservative Christians” are a major problem facing the country today. Half of the adult population (48 percent) describes the political involvement of Christians as a concern.

If you have a hard time imagining how tying politics and religion together can create a problem, I have two words for you: Jeremiah Wright. Of course, the controversy over Barak Obama’s pastor also reminds us that the “too political” label doesn’t just belong on evangelicals. Wright is hardly an evangelical.

Focus on the Family’s “CitizenLink” interviewed Kinnaman on this complaint from young people that Christianity is “too involved in politics.” They said:

Here’s the tension, the balance, the main question, especially for folks who read our e-mail. Obviously, there are issues we as Christians need to fight for: one-man, one-woman marriage; the sanctity of life, etc. etc. God’s design on these issues is clear, but can we do it without falling into these stereotypes? Because you’re not advocating in the least that we back off biblical stances on issues.

And his answer:

Even though the Gospel may not be popular to everyone, it does not give us the excuse to be offensive in that process. We don’t have to be a jerk in order to stand for righteousness.

We need to be willing to have very frank and open conversations with people who are not Christians. And while we want to hold fast to biblical truths, we need to learn from people about why they’ve come to the conclusions that they’ve come to. So that even if we disagree with them, we haven’t simply come to them trying to convince them of our views. We may have a time and a place for that, but my take from the data is that we’re far too often in the position of trying to convince everybody we’re right than trying to understand why people might disagree with us — particularly people who are not Christians.

We have to ask ourselves, How do I go about these conversations with my neighbors? Am I feisty? Am I polarizing? Am I an “expert”? Am I arrogant about it? Or do I have an attitude like Jesus did, which was not willing to compromise, but willing to have conversations with people and willing to learn, and willing in many ways to point to deep matters of the heart that reflect what people are really after.

Not that we are, again, submitting our biblical ideals to a popular vote, but we’re asking the Holy Spirit to give us insights into how to apply these crucial biblical truths to a very changing and dynamic culture. Jesus Himself said that He was here to do good to the world; He was here not to condemn the world but to save it. So when we’re known as all of these things in sort of a negative light, rather than being relational, compassionate, willing to learn, informed, oriented around solutions to complex problems, those are the postures, those are the activities, the behaviors, the attitudes that Jesus cultivated.

This generation is not after simplistic formulas, moral formulas. They’re after a deep, livable worldview that helps them make sense of the world, that helps them be a better person, that helps them do good to their neighbors. And the Gospel has every element of that. It is Good News to the prisoner. It is Good News to the blind. And that is key for us to capture in our hearts and minds.

An important reminder as we move closer to the elections in November.
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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Now THAT'S Empathy

From the March issue of Reader's Digest:

Horns Coach Under Construction

Maybe you missed today's Statesman article about UT men's basketball coach, Rick Barnes. Kirk Bohls points out that Barnes has dropped the swearing, started eating healthier, and developed a more serene sideline persona that has positively impacted his team. His players and assistant coaches have noticed, and their remarks on the change show up in the article.

Down in the closing paragraphs, you get a hint about what's going on:

"Ask him what's on his iPod," assistant coach Russell Springmann coaxed.

If Barnes isn't breaking down film of Austin Peay before Texas' NCAA tournament opener in Little Rock, Ark., on Friday, there's a very good chance he's listening to one of the sermons from Matt Carter, a preacher at the Austin Stone church where Barnes and his family attend services. They are members of Lake Hills Church in Westlake.

The coach also takes part with his wife Candy's daily devotionals and reads from books she has given him, such as Billy Graham's "The Holy Spirit" and Minneapolis preacher John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life."

"The journey's real important," one Barnes confidante said. "Having self-control is never a bad thing."

I'm hoping to hear more about this life change in the near future. Life-change in Christ is noticeable! While few of us are as high-profile as a UT head coach, all who follow Christ have people watching our lives. Would your life-change be worth a Statesman article?

“Learning to Doubt Your Doubts”

In one of the old Peanuts cartoons, Peppermint Patty stepped up to the store counter at the start of a new school year. “I need some school supplies,” she said. “Some pencils, some paper, a loose-leaf binder--and some answers . . . I need a lot of answers.”

Don’t we all.

We’ve all struggled with religious questions and doubts, and this is true for those who are following Christ as well as those who are considering a commitment to him.

In his book, If I Really Believe, Why Do I Have These Doubts? Lynn Anderson identified different things that cause doubt. He says there are “congenital doubters” like himself (and myself) whose personality draws them to uncertainties and questions. Other doubters are rebellious people who say, “I’m not going to let somebody run my life or do my thinking." Then there are people whose doubts stem from their disappointment with God. Others have personal or family wounds -- Anderson pointed out how many of history's most famous atheists had a strained relationship with their father or their dad died early or abandoned them at a young age. Sometimes doubts come at particular seasons of life -- people can be great believers at one point in life and then get too busy for prayer and Bible study and find that doubts have crept into a faith they have not been cultivating.

If you can identify with those who doubt, join us at Hillcrest this Easter Sunday. I’m bringing a study from Matthew 11 called, “Learning to Doubt Your Doubts.” We’ll look at John the Baptist’s crisis of faith and how Jesus dealt with him.

It’s the first in a new series called “The Final Four.” Across the next several weeks we’ll look at how to beat the obstacles to real faith.

Invite someone to this important series starting this Easter Sunday, 9:30am or 10:45am!

Reminder: The Anchor Course is for believers who want to explain the faith and for seekers who want to examine the faith. To learn more about the Course, come to my “Get Anchored” Dinner this Wednesday, March 19, starting at 6:30pm. If you decide to sign up for the 8-week study, you will receive your book at the end of the dinner.
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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 880 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday March 18

Have Sawyer from Lost fame give you a nickname at this “Sawyer Nickname Generator.” Diane’s is “Picasso.”


Baylor Basketball is back in the big dance after 20 years. See, “Revival: Baylor's Drew brings team back after years of struggle.”


It’s college baseball season! So take a look at “Baseball Pitches Illustrated.”


Fascinating 5 minute video of undersea creatures. Wait for the octopus at the end! (HT: Michael)


“Over its four days, SXSW, as the festival is called, is like Myspace moved to the physical realm: more music than anyone could possibly hear, freely available and clamoring to be heard.” (The NY Times take on Austin’s South-by-Southwest festival.)


“Honey Bees Give Clue on Virus Spread.” These subjects have fascinated me since ninth grade when I thought of becoming a geneticist. Back then I even had newspaper clippings of early plans to map the Human Genome tacked to my wall next to my desk (the project has been discussed since the mid-70s though it didn't get underway until 1990). Yes, I am a geek--but I also had a Farah Fawcett poster on my wall, so does that mitigate the geekiness?


Inside the Mind of the Boy Dating Your Daughter.


Every Child a Wanted Child? “’I wouldn't have had an abortion, but there are women out there who experience really big disappointment,’ said Jolene Sodano, a stay-at-home mother in Nazareth, Pa., whose daughter was mistakenly identified as a boy. ‘They really want to give their husbands the little boy they want, or a little girl, and they will abort based on these results.’” (from an LA Times article about home testing kits for gender identity)


“Many churches have practiced an evangelistic strategy that doesn't expect to reach young men until they return with wife and kid in tow. If this was ever a wise strategy, surely now it is bound to fail.” (Collin Hansen’s response to the City Journal article on “child-men” I referred to in a previous “Links to Your World”)


“We in the United States are not and never have been the villains that some of the world and some of our citizens make us out to be, but that we are a confection of normal (greedy, lustful, duplicitous, corrupt, inspired--in short, human) individuals living under a spectacularly effective compact called the Constitution, and lucky to get it.” (David Mamet is no longer a “brain dead liberal.” He veers into some language I don’t use, but people will be talking about his article.)


“An analysis by the Pew Research Center found that 55 percent of white evangelicals ages 18 to 29 identified themselves as Republican in 2001. By 2007, that figure had dropped to 40 percent. This generation is not turning into liberal Democrats -- it is more pro-life, for example, than an older generation of evangelicals -- but it has become more loosely moored to the GOP. These trends highlight a simple fact: Many evangelicals are center-right voters who respond to a message of social justice and community values, not only to a message of rugged individualism and unrestricted markets. Over the years, religious conservatives have made common cause with movement conservatives within the Republican Party -- but they are not identical to movement conservatives.” (“Faith Without a Home,” by Michael Gerson)


Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change.


"Tithing is Biblical," says Ken Hemphill in a response to the CBS News report questioning the biblical command to tithe.


How Pornography Hurts Your Relationships.


5 Deadly Animals That Might Just Save Your Life.


Have you read the previous posts since last Tuesday? They include the “Song of the Week“ (this week, for your Holy Week meditation, Jars of Clay's "O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile"), comments and photos from our trip to Israel, a surprise about Katherine Heigl, and the continuation of my LeaderLines series called "unChristian Christianity."

Song of the Week: Jars of Clay's "O Come & Mourn With Me Awhile"

For your Good Friday mediation this week, go to the audio player (upper right corner of this blog). You can listen to "O Come & Mourn With Me Awhile (Our Lord Is Crucified)." The lyrics were composed by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863), recently released by Jars of Clay on their Redemption Songs project in 2005.

O come and mourn with me awhile
O come near to the Savior's side
O come together, let us mourn
Jesus our lord is crucified

Seven times he spoke
Seven words of love
And all three hours, his silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men
Jesus our Lord is crucified

O love of God--O sin of man!
In this dread act Your strength is tried
And victory remains with love
Jesus our lord is crucified

O break, O break hard heart of mine
My weak self love and guilty pride
His Pilate and his Judas were
Jesus our lord is crucified

O love of God--O sin of man!
In this dread act Your strength is tried
And victory remains in love
Jesus our lord is crucified

O come and mourn with me awhile
A broken heart a fount of tears
Ask and they will not be denied
A broken heart love's cradle is
Jesus our Lord is crucified
Jesus our Lord is crucified
Jesus our Lord is crucified
Our Lord is crucified

And victory remains with love
Jesus our lord is crucified
O love of God o sin of man
In this dread act your strength is tried
And victory remains with love
Jesus our lord is crucified

LeaderLines: “UnChristian Christianity: Sheltered”

Canadian pastor Mark Buchanan was speaking at a Christian youth camp. He held up two video cases. One was the case for the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The other was a training video for a sewing machine. He asked the young people, “When you look around at churches today, which of these videos would you say best captures the essence of the Christian life?”

Every single one of them said the sewing machine training video.

That’s the fourth complaint from young people that David Kinnaman addresses in his new book, UnChristian. The president of the Barna research firm reported on an extensive study of the attitudes that unchurched 16-to-29 year-olds have of the Christian faith. Our Ministry Staff is reading this book together, and I’m summarizing Kinnaman’s research for you in LeaderLines. The book focuses on six complaints that unchurched young people have regarded Christians. They see us as--

Hypocritical

Too focused on getting converts

Anti-homosexual

Sheltered

Too political

Judgmental

We’ve already looked at the first three charges. This week, let’s see why those now entering adulthood think we’re too sheltered.

By the way, someone asked me about the labels “Mosaic” and “Buster” in Kinnaman’s book and in my reviews of it. These are popular labels for different generations. “Busters” is the label given the generation following the Baby Boom, so called because there was a birth “bust” after a 20-year birth “boom.” Busters are now in their very late 20s to early 40s. They are also known as “Generation X.” Those who are now in late elementary school through their 20s are the “Mosaic” generation, so called because they are the most diverse American generation to date in terms of race, religion, musical taste, and so on. They are also called “Millennials” since most of them have come of age at the turn of the millennium. (Personally, I believe that younger Boomers and older Busters have a generational identity all their own, and I’ve written about it here.)

Kinnaman focuses on younger Busters and older Mosaics, that group of 16-29 year olds who are entering or just starting their adulthood. And they don’t find the church too useful as they try to figure out how to make their way in the world:

Only one-fifth of young outsiders believe that an active faith helps people live a better, more fulfilling life. Three-quarters of Mosaics and Busters outside the church said that present-day Christianity could accurately be described as old-fashioned, and seven out of ten believe the faith is out of touch with reality. Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five believe their generation experiences a very different style of life than young adults did twenty years ago, and Christianity no longer seems in step with their fast-moving and ever-changing lives.

As you’ve heard me say in sermons, we have a choice to be either a “bunker church” or a “beachhead church.” A bunker is a defensive military position: it’s a place you hide in when you’re under attack. A beachhead, on the other hand, is an offensive military position: it’s a place from which an army can advance. Too many Christians want their churches to be bunkers where we can all enjoy shelter from a world we find so threatening—places where we can speak our insider language and deal with issues that only insiders care about. But Christ expected our churches to be beachheads from which we can make sensitive and persuasive outreach into our culture.

We are to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world,” according to Jesus, and that requires we be in the world while not being of the world. Mike Metzger, an author and the founder of the Clapham Institute (from which William Wilberforce drew his strength to fight slavery in the British Parliament), describes the delicate balance this requires:

Being salt and light demands two things: we practice purity the midst of a fallen world and yet we live in proximity to this fallen world. If you don’t hold up both truths in tension, you invariably become useless and separated from the world God loves. For example, if you only practice purity apart from proximity to the culture, you inevitably become pietistic, separatist, and conceited. If you live in close proximity to the culture without also living in a holy manner, you become indistinguishable from fallen culture and useless in God’s kingdom.

As leaders, we need to make sure our church is a beachhead for God’s life-changing invasion into northwest Austin!

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

We Ran Where Jesus Walked

Diane and I just got back from Israel yesterday. We got a chance to walk where Jesus walked--well, run where Jesus walked! The tour leader packed a lot of sights and sites into our seven-day visit. I won't bore you with a play-by-play of the trip, but here are a few comments on a few images--

It was helpful to visit the scale model of Jerusalem as it would have looked during the Second Temple Period (Jesus' day):


Diane was asked to lead the group in singing "How Great Thou Art" in St Anne's Church, and the sound echoed and echoed. Someone said it was like God was singing back to us. Hard for a simple photo to do justice to the moment:


One privilege given the pastors in the tour group: as we stopped at various sites, pastors were asked to read scripture selections describing events that took place at the various sites. Here I am reading Luke 4:14-30 at one of the cliffs of Nazareth, Christ's boyhood town:


Recently, the remains of a 2000 year-old fishing boat was discovered in the muddy shores of the Sea of Galilee. I had read about this some time back and I was anxious to see this discovery for myself. Dubbed the "Jesus boat," this is the remaining hull of a boat that Simon Peter and his fellow fishermen would have used before being called to be "fishers of men":


The Dead Sea is over 30% salt (as opposed to the ocean, which is only about 3% salt). Thus, you do not sink when floating in the Dead Sea. Frank Dartez, my father-in-law, demonstrates this fact:


Here's a shot of ancient olive trees in Gethsemane, the place where Jesus prayed the night before he went to the cross:


I must admit that a lot of the traditional sites marking the events of Christ's life and Passion left me cold: over the centuries, church structures have been built over the sites that were believed to be the places where Christ was born, executed, resurrected, and ascended. The crowds are so packed into these places so ornate with items of veneration--well, it just left my Protestant soul unmoved. But the Garden Tomb was another matter. Here by a skull-like cliff, Charles Gordon found tombs and burial caves, including one believed to have been owned by Joseph of Arimathea, who gave his tomb to the disciples for Christ's burial. We observed the Lord's Supper at this site--a moving experience. Here we are entering the tomb where Christ was laid--or one very much like it:


We covered so many sites that it was difficult to pause long enough to reflect, but I was struck by a thought standing on the Mount of Olives and facing the East Gate of the old city. The prophets say Messiah will come through this gate upon his return to judge (Ezekiel 44:1-3), and many people have selected the valley between the East Gate and the Mount of Olives as their grave site in anticipation of their final judgment by Christ. As I stared at this Gate, sealed with stones and concrete for only One to come through it, I thought, "I will face him as he comes through that Gate, and what will he make of my life?"


We felt quite safe during our trip, but I read today that four Palestinian militants were killed by IDF forces yesterday in Bethlehem (story), 2 days after we visited that little town under Palestinian Authority.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Grace Anatomy

So . . . I'm thumbing thru the March 2008 issue of Reader's Digest on my long flight to Israel. The magazine had an interview with Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up, 27 Dresses). This section caught my eye:

What are you reading now? Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace? Grace is my favorite concept.

An enterprising reporter needs to dig into this aspect of Heigl's life. As Oliver Twist said, "Pleas, sir, I want some more."

Winning Ways: “An Anchor for Life”

He was friendly, but blunt.

“My friend gave me this because I was asking him a lot of questions about Jesus,” he said, holding up a copy of the Gospel of John. “You expect a lot when the first thing I’m supposed to believe is that Jesus turned water into wine.”

That was my introduction to Terry, a Canadian businessman with a practical mind who had begun a spiritual search. I suggested we meet to discuss what Christians believe. A small group formed from that suggestion, and we met weekly to explore Christianity together. It became the first of many small groups I’ve formed for that purpose.

I’m forming one of those small groups right now. Want to be a part of it?

The eight-week experience is called “The Anchor Course,” and it starts soon. Hebrews 6:19 says of our faith: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul.” I want to help people anchor life to something solid, and this course will help. Through our time together, spiritual seekers can discover the meaning of Christianity and believers can develop their understanding of the faith.

What do Christians believe about God and his relationship to us? Why is the Bible so important to believers? Who is Jesus? What was his vision for the church, and how must believers make that vision a reality? What about heaven and hell? And why does the cross stand as the most recognizable symbol of the Christian faith?

Firm answers to these vital questions will anchor your life.

The Anchor Course is a chance to build friendships around a weekly meal, and a chance to build faith around a weekly discussion. Join us—and bring someone who has been asking questions about Christianity!

It all starts with my “Get Anchored” Dinner on Wednesday, March 19, 6:30-8:00pm. By attending the dinner, you’re under no obligation to sign up for the Anchor Course. You’ll enjoy a good meal and learn more about the course. Should you decide to register for the course, we’ll meet eight weeks for dinner and discussion starting Wednesday, March 26, 6:30-8:00pm. Your children can join you for the meal and then go to childcare and youth activities, which take place at the same time.

For the “Get Anchored” Dinner, an RSVP is not required, but it is encouraged. Contact my assistant, Jami (345-3771 or email). To learn more, go to the Anchor Course website (here) or read a book excerpt (here).

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 880 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday March 11

Okay, I usually post a "Links to Your World" every Tuesday, but you're getting it early this week since Blogger doesn't let me set a date and time for a post to publish (boo!), and since I don't know when I'll be at a computer screen again in my return trip to Texas. I prepared this "Links" list before I left home a week ago:

“God, help us open a can of you-know-what on all of your enemies.” Suggested closing prayer in Lesson 5 of the hilarious Rejected Sunday School Lessons for Children. (HT: Think Christian)


With 60 percent of remarriages ending in divorce during the first decade--and two out of three remarriages in California now end within the first 24 months--what can you do to make your remarriage work? Here are some suggestions.


Golf is a fading pastime, with duffers falling from 30 million to 26 million since 2000. Fewer people are willing to commit 4 hours required to play 18 holes.


"It’s all show, this new soap. . . . You have to wonder about the leadership’s judgment, if they’re willing to make a poor decision like this,” says one woman. “It signals weakness at the top.” (Lotion soap switch angers congregation)


“These days, Highland Park United Methodist is a spiritual food court, with a service for nearly every taste somewhere on the church campus. People can go to the sanctuary for a traditional Methodist service with a big choir. They can go to Cox chapel for an Anglican Methodist service that includes communion and lots of liturgy. In Wesley Hall, they'll get a high-energy contemporary service with a rock band playing praise music. In the Great Hall, there's a teaching service that features in-depth Bible study.” (From a Dallas Morning News story about yet another service at Highland Park, this one featuring old-time hymns.)


Exodus International, the largest worldwide Christian outreach to those affected by unwanted same-sex attraction, and their friends and family, is experiencing “rapid growth,” according to this article. If you want more information about our own support group, contact me.


Time magazine wonders if an explorer is closing in on the Lost Ark.


What punctuation mark are you? According to the quiz, I am a semi-colon: “You are elegant, understated, and subtle in your communication. You're very smart (and you know it), but you don't often showcase your brilliance. Instead, you carefully construct your arguments, ideas, and theories until they are bulletproof. You see your words as an expression of yourself, and you are careful not to waste them. You friends see you as enlightened, logical, and shrewd. (But what you're saying often goes right over their heads.)” (HT: The Presurfer)


One author shows you how to “Get R.E.A.L. about your health”: Realize the truth about your current health, Eliminate excuses, Ask for accountability and Live with a plan. The author suggests some useful fitness tests here and here.


Talk about your Frozen Chosen: Photos of famous church buildings sculpted from ice.


Man-dles: Candles for dudes:

Boogie Back to Texas--Now Try It

Well, I finally learned how to work through the Hebrew on the hotel computer, and "Boogie Back to Texas" is loaded on the audio player. We leave for the Tel Aviv airport at 1:30am (I think that's about 5:30pm Monday evening for those of you in Austin).

Song of the Week: Asleep at the Wheel's "Boogie Back to Texas"

Diane and I get back to Texas from our Israel trip this week. It's 11pm Saturday in Austin but it's 7am Sunday in Jerusalem, so I'm posting the "Song of the Week" in the upper right corner of thiw weblog. Here's a traveling song--Asleep at the Wheel's "Boogie Back to Texas."

Been gone so long,
I can’t wait to get back home
Home to the Lone Star State,
another day I just can’t wait
Look out boys,
I’m a-headed your way
I got a mind that wanders
in a ’57 Chevrolet
Hold on tight,
I got a licence to fly
With the pedal to the metal
watch me roll on by

Wanna boogie back to Texas
Boogie back to Texas
We’re gonna boogie back to Texas,
eight beats to the mile

Rollin’ out-a New York,
Philadelphia
Pittsburg wheelin’,
West-Virginia all the way
I’m gonna make it to Kentucky
Gonna make it by the mornin’
If I’m fast an’ if I’m lucky
Hold on tight, I’m a-homeward bound
Gonna boogie back to Austin,
back to my hometown

Boogie back to Texas
Boogie back to Texas
We’re gonna boogie back to Texas,
eight beats to the mile

Well, state line slammin’ me
Oklahoma city’s just a memory
Forth Worth, Dallas,
I roll on by 50 miles
Clear the roads,
I’m a-headin’ that way
Gonna boogie back to Texas
‘cross the U S of A

Boogie back to Texas
Boogie back to Texas
We’re gonna boogie back to Texas,
eight beats to the mile

We’re gonna boogie back to Texas,
eight beats to the mile

Can’t you see I’m on my way … Boogie!

Winning Ways: “Catch the Vision!”

Posting it late . . .

“I’ve been visiting and I like what I see,” one of our guests told me. He went on, “Here’s one of the things I’m asking at every church I visit: What are you trying to accomplish as a pastor?”

What an excellent question! After the last three Sunday mornings, you now know how I would answer that question: I want us to be a place where people can find Jesus and follow him together. Highlight three words in that sentence:

Find: Some of you come to Hillcrest because you’re asking questions about Christ. You’re like the Greeks who came to Philip in John 12:21 saying, “We want to meet Jesus.”

Follow: Others of you come to Hillcrest to faithfully follow the Jesus you’ve found. Like the believers Paul commends in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, “your faith is growing more and more.”

Together: All of us come to Hillcrest because we know we’ll be more effective together than alone in finding and following Jesus.

Some churches are very effective at helping people find Jesus, but they don’t really focus on helping people grow once they’ve come to faith. Other churches are very effective at helping people follow Jesus, but frankly they’re uncomfortable with the issues and questions that seekers raise. Our church needs to be where people can come together to meet Jesus and grow in him.

Don’t leave out that word, “together.” We’ll never be as effective alone as we will be together in our spiritual search or in our spiritual growth. People figure out Christianity and grow in Christianity only as they discuss things together, challenge each other, pray with each other, and watch how others live the faith.

If we don’t need to be together to find and follow Jesus, then we may as well sell our church property to a condominium developer. If we can figure out who Jesus is just by doing Google searches on the internet, or if we can grow in Jesus just by reading Max Lucado books at home, then there’s no need for all the stuff we do at the corner of Steck and Greenslope.

Neither our spiritual search nor our spiritual growth will go far unless it’s done with others. What am I trying to accomplish as a pastor? I want to build a community of people who are finding Jesus and following him together.
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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 880 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, TEXAS PRIMARY EDITION

Every Tuesday I post some links to a few of the articles I've read the past week that I found thought-provoking or entertaining. Since the Texas Primary is today, and since this primary has turned out to be pivotal for the Democrats, I'll limit today's "Links" to politics:

"When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton issued her gunslinger’s invitation to Senator Barack Obama recently, challenging him to 'meet me in Texas,' the question many people here asked was, Which one? The frontier-conservative Texas of Amarillo, in the Panhandle? The vast, immigrant-heavy Texas of Houston, where more than 100 languages are spoken in the city’s schools? Maybe the one of East Texas, with its Deep South ethos, a region one Democratic consultant described as being more like Mississippi than Texas? Or the profoundly unpredictable one in the central part of the state, among the most heavily Republican areas in the country (and home to President Bush’s ranch), yet represented in Congress by Chet Edwards, a well-liked Democrat who recently endorsed Mr. Obama? ‘It’s like running a national campaign,’ said one veteran Texas Democrat.” (from the NY Times article, “Pieces of Texas Turn Primary Into a Puzzle”)


From the Christian Science Monitor: "In red-state Texas, new signs of rising Democratic tide."


"Candidates Reaching Out to Evangelical Democrats" (The Dallas Morning News posted this story from Austin)


“‘We don’t know exactly how or why it’s happening, and the Senator won’t talk about it. He usually insists that people keep it quiet and just report it to their pastor or priest.’ . . . They say Obama has told them privately that his time has not yet come.” (“Obama Heals Hundreds”)


Julie Lyons (aka "Bible Girl") is a remarkable writer for the Dallas Observer, sort of the Austin Chronicle for the Metroplex. She has generated a lot of comments on her provocative blog entry, "Obama and the Hand of God."


The Wall Street Journal covers "The Search for the Next Soccer Mom."


"The real story of the evangelical political movement today involves neither its death nor its triumph, but rather its slow (and ongoing) shift from insurgent to insider, with all of the moderating effects that transition implies.” (from The Atlantic Monthly’s article about the state of evangelicalism, “Born Again. It’s an interesting—if somewhat cynical—view of evangelicalism as an ever-evolving movement intent to connect the gospel to the masses.


Some wisdom (har, har) from a young Bob Hope for this political season (In Internet Explorer, click once to activate and again to play):

Song of the Week: The Custom Kings' "Boys of Summer"

I've loaded "Boys of Summer" on the audio player for this week (top right corner of the blog). I found this version of the song by the Custom Kings on one of the mp3 blogs I visit (sorry, I've forgotten which one).

I remember when Don Henley released this song way back in the 1980s. It's about a young woman in a beachside town. She had turned her attention from the singer, attracted by other men, summer tourists to her town. But the singer refused to give up on her.

Would you believe God himself sang a song like that 2,740 years before Helney ever walked into the recording studio? His people, the Israelites, had lost interest in him. They began to call on other gods for their needs and began to thank other gods for their blessings. Years ago I referenced the song in a sermon from Hosea that I entitled "After the Boys of Summer Are Gone." In Hosea 2:5-15 God says, "You are acting like a faithless wife toward me. But I can tell you my love for you will still be strong, and I will win you back to my side."

Lyrics:

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summers out of reach
Empty lake,
Empty streets
The sun goes down alone
Im drivin by your house
Though I know youre not home

But I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your
Sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you
Will still be strong after the boys of
Summer have gone

I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream?
Now I dont understand whats happened
To our love,
But babe, Im gonna get you back
Im gonna show you what Im made of

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin in the sun
I see you walkin real slow and youre smilin at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Out on the road today
I saw a deadhead sticker on a cadillac
A little voice inside my head said,
Don't look back, you can never look back.
I thought I knew what love was,
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin in the sun
You got that top pulled down and that radio on baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I can see you-
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got that hair slicked back and
Those wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone