Linkage Randomness

There's been some fantastic stuff on the interwebs these days. . . I offer:

--Here are some very interesting thoughts on the Gay Marriage debate and the difference between civil and religious marriage.

I'm squarely on the fence on this one :) I agree that we need to make more out of religious weddings so as to set them apart from civil agreements. I also agree that all peoples regardless of sexual orientation should have the same rights (not necessarily "marriage" but the financial and tax breaks, etc. . .). I also am in favor of protecting the word, and institution of; Marriage. Because of our family's journey with adoption and continuing ministry therein, I also shudder to think of the relaxed adoption laws that would accompany non-descript, anything goes, civil marriage law in this country.

Tough to land on. . . . I'm working through it . . . I'd love to hear your thoughts on this article.

--Here are a series of posts from Jared Wilson about the (hopefully) demise of the performance dominated worship services. I've been a part of these churches, I've planned the services. . . (we never did bike-jump the Pastor, though :) ) bought the t-shirt, etc. . .

But, this was very convicting, and yet calming for me. The evidence is on the table, these kinds of gatherings are not helping the furtherance of Christ's church. If we're doing the Billy Graham Crusade, . . .fantastic. . .call it a crusade, not a church. Take a few minutes and read these posts . . excellent thoughts.

here
here
here (I remember when we passed this book out in 1998)

--I just finished an 11 day detox. Over the last 11 days I lost 13 + pounds and a few inches. As well, over the course of the last 90 days, my cholesterol has dropped 30 points, my triglycerides are now "normal" as well. (If you'd like a brief Aaron Britton health history, message me. . . . but it's way too boring and depressing for a blog post :) )

Thanks be to God for a health-improving summer! And, thanks to Amy and Greg Nunamaker for hooking us up with the program.

If you have 9 days or so where you could go with eating alot less and taking it easy (the detox is not easy. . . . fairly brutal) check out Isagenix. Don't mess with the MLM scammery, just follow the directions and it's pretty simple. Isagenix provides your body with all the nutrients it needs without most :) of the calories, it's pretty simple math. I'm grateful to Jody (who lost a few pounds herself) for helping me through it, and to our kids for dealing with a couch-ridden dad for a few days.

My body needed to lose the weight, and I feel pretty refreshed and ready to go back to work next week. Thanks Isagenix! (hopefully I'll get paid for this advertisement)
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--Good thoughts on social media and the church

--Better thoughts from Mark Altrogge on social media balance

--Two great links on community and how we screw it up in America. :) here and here

Sabbatical Thoughts

Well, the summer sabbatical is almost at an end. I will end things up next week where it all started for me, with Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin in Atlanta. Those guys really got me started with leading worship (from afar) and now lead a church, (Passion City Church) in Atlanta.

It's been a really educational and eye-opening summer. There's alot to unpack. Is anyone interested in my thoughts on Church, after visiting many? Does anyone care to hear family thoughts after spending so much time at home? See, I just get the feeling that not many are reading this blog and so I could just talk to all of you if you wanted to hear about various things. No need writing pages and pages of blogs about a whole summer unless there's enough interest to warrant conversations impossible. I'll wait to hear from ya'll.

Aaron

Anne Rice and Hating the Player (not the game)

As you've probably heard, Anne Rice has left Christianity. This was sobering for many, because her conversion was quite famous, and because she was a very well-known vampire author. . . well not a vampire herself, . . but, anyway. . . . :)

Here's a bit of her statement from, apparently, the world's most reliable news source: Facebook

I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

What I'm about to write may offend some. . . it might come across a bit in-sensitive. . . .if that's you, and I know you. . please take the opportunity to talk to me about this. If you don't know me, then please be confirmed if you think I'm a terrible, judgmental, sinner. Because, I am.
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I was born in Alabama. I toured throughout the South as a young man, singing in many smaller, fundamentalist churches. Also, I grew up in Nebraska, that harbinger of political equality, and started in vocational ministry working at a church that could only be described as Right-leaning.

However, never once did I feel as though anyone in any pulpit was conflating the quality of my Christianty or depth of my commitment with which political party I was voting for. Never, even in the midst of many inappropriate youth group "gay" jokes from leadership, did I feel like we, as Christians, were "anti-gay". Never did I feel like the church was "anti-science" even though I was exposed to some things that I would say, looking back, were pretty bad science.

I think that this reaction against the Church by many, to leave because "they're all Republicans" or "they don't leave room for science", "they all hate gay people" or "they won't let me vote for whom I want to vote" are over-reactions. That's right, I think Anne Rice over-reacted.

Are there butthead Christians who do look down on folks for the very reasons stated above (and in Mrs. Rice's post). Yes. Are there people who identify proper Christianity with voting for a certain political party? Yes.

Are those people indicative of the larger church in America? No. Should these people cause one to reject the church as a whole; or to throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater? No.

See, I heard it when pastors would clarify, "we're not going to tell you who to vote for". I listened when folks talked about loving all people regardless of their struggles, while still rejecting certain behaviors as sinful. Every time a pastor talked about abortion, or standing up for life, I did not understand that as a political play/ploy. I listened, I asked questions, and I gave folks the freedom to get a bit emotional and take a side on an issue, even if I took a different side.

The worst example was at a church in Nebraska where I served; During a service the pastor recognized a local politician, campaigning, who was in attendance that day. He stood up, some folks clapped. . .the service continued.

Today that kind of behavior could get someone thrown in jail :) But, did I huff off in anger? Did I judge the pastor as a kingdom conflating, right wing nut job, commie hater? Did I leave the church? No. Though inappropriate, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Life, and worship, went on. I guess such is the emotional level that our political discourse is taking place these days.

This all goes for the Left-leaning church as well who would reject folks if they ever supported war, or judged any "private" behavior as sinful.

But, I must say, I've found many of my left-leaning friends to be taking a bit of a martyr's attitude in the evangelical church. Some behaviors have seemed a bit "quick trigger" to me.
Like, once the pastor says "abortion is wrong" the judgment "oh, that means all of these people are voting this way, and if I don't you think I'm a sinner" is what is heard by those who are feeling a bit mis-understood.

So, what I would say is this. . . . let's talk. If you feel as though your church is doing any of the things Mrs. Rice alleges for "Christianity", why don't you set up a meeting with your pastor? Perhaps you are wrong and mis-heard him. Perhaps he needs to be more nuanced and could clarify some things for you. Perhaps you are taking a forwarded email from a church member or off-hand comment as representing the church as a whole. Perhaps we all need to give each other some latitude in our speech, and love each other enough to forgive some over-statements and ill-timed humor.

Christians have made many mistakes, as have churches, (since they, after all, are led by Christians). I have been hurt by churches, I have disagreed with things that have been said.

However, let's all have enough humility to understand that none of us are un-baised observers. We come to these issues and situations with our pain, wrong thinking, and opposite extremes. Know that about yourself. . Know that. Seek to understand others with enough humility to see your own passions and "dogs in the fight".

And, please, on the political party issue. . . .let's become an issue-by-issue, nuanced, skeptical people as the church. And, let's stop believing in a party, man, or any form of government to do what only God can do.

An unfortunate choice of Kid's worship music lyrics. . .

The clip seems to have funny margins. . . here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqsbn7hPKL4&feature=player_embedded

What Community Can't Do

Great post from Pete Wilson.

How many times is our spiritual growth stunted by not alienating ourselves from community. . . but by expecting too much of it, and then becoming disappointed?

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Tags» Clowning In Rome, henri nouwen

What Community Doesn’t Do

I’m a huge fan of community. I write and preach about how important and essential I believe it is quite often. But today I want to remind you of what community doesn’t do.

In Clowning in Rome (which I highly recommend) Henri Nouwen wrote:

We constantly feel tempted to want more from those around us than they can give. We relate to our neighbors with the hope and the supposition that they are able to fulfill most of our deepest needs, and then we find ourselves disillusioned, angry, and frustrated when they do not.

We know when we expect someone else to…

complete us

take our pain away

understand us completely

heal us

that we are expecting something which cannot be given by another human being. But while we know this is illogical our loneliness and brokenness still pushes us to expect it anyway leaving us disillusioned and angry.

There are some things community just can’t do.

David Powlison

This is great stuff from David Powlison. He is a Christian counselor (I'm tempted to say, "the" christian counselor :) ) that keeps the gospel central and takes pretty aggressive postures toward most modern Psychology. Over at JT's blog, he's doing a series on David Powlison's article, "Seeing with New Eyes" .

I've been pretty hard on the "empty love tank" philosophy in the past. Here is my much needed :) confirmation/affirmation from an authority on the matter. In this short excerpt, David answers the question; Can you change what you want (desire)?"

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Can you change what you want? Yes. Does the answer to this question surprise you? It counters influential contemporary views of human motivation. Most Christian counseling books follow on the heels of secular psychologists and take your desires, your “felt needs,” as givens. Many leading Christian psychologists make the unchangeability of what we long for the foundation of their systems. For example, many teach that we have an “empty love tank” inside, and our craving for love must be met, or we are doomed to a life of sin and misery. Desires to feel good about ourselves (“self-esteem”) or to accomplish something meaningful are similarly baptized. This creates the psychological equivalent of the “Health and Wealth” theology, which similarly selects certain common desires and accepts them as givens that God is obligated to fulfill. The psychological versions of health and wealth miss that God is about the business of changing what people really long for. If felt needs are unchangeable, then it is impossible for us to learn to pray the way Solomon did. This reinforces our tendency to pray for our cravings. It reinforces a sense of victimization in those who were mistreated. It reinforces the tendency to press God into the service of our lusts.

The deepest longings of the human heart can and must be changed if mankind is to become all that God designed us to be. Our deviant longings are illegitimate masters; even where the object of desire is a good thing, the status of the desire usurps God. Our cravings should be recognized in order that we may more richly know God as the Savior, Lover, and Converter of the human soul. God would have us long for him more than we long for his gifts. To make us truly human, God must change what we want; we must learn to want the things Jesus wanted. It is no surprise that the psychologists can’t find any biblical proof texts for their view of human motivation. The Bible teaches a different view.

The Christian life is a great paradox. Those who die to self, find self. Those who die to their cravings will receive many times as much in this age, and, in the age to come, eternal life (Luke 18:29). They will find new passions worth living for and dying for. If I crave happiness, I will receive misery. If I crave to be loved, I will receive rejection. If I crave significance, I will receive futility. If I crave control, I will receive chaos. If I crave reputation, I will receive humiliation. But if I long for God and his wisdom and mercy, I will receive God and wisdom and mercy. Along the way, sooner or later, I will also receive happiness, love, meaning, order, and glory.

Dancing in the Minefields

This is a great tune. Great lyrics. . . thanks to Andy P!

HT: JT