Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

This sounds like a beautiful promise, something worthy to achieve, but be careful.

These words may speak to our longings and calm our fears but be cautious.

This ideal may seem like an American Dream but don’t allow it to lull you to sleep.

Sadly, in our effort to have “life”, we resort to slander, we fight, we take others to war and we even justify killing.  Our desire for “liberty” becomes self-focused; one man’s liberty becomes another’s oppression.  The pursuit of “happiness” becomes our unquenchable narcotic; leaving us with an insatiable appetite for more.

In this season remember:

The American Dream

is not

The Gospel Dream.

A dream where the dreamers pursue self-sacrifice as a way to true life.  A dream where in becoming a servant to all, others are set free.  And a dream where suffering in solidarity with the least of these, unites us in joy.

The Big Story

What do you think of the way in which James Choung illustrates the Gospel? (play video)

What does this illustration highlight about the Gospel that other illustrations often miss?

Are there things about the Gospel that are failed to be communicated in this illustration?

Inflatable Gorillas

As consumers living in the 21st century we are bombarded with advertisements, jingles, and billboards all jockeying for our attention. Those peddling products use these tactics in the hopes that they will "hook" us and then "lure us in" until we purchase their product; one that most certainly will "revolutionize" our way of life.

Enter: The Gigantic Inflatable Gorilla.

Promising "Huge" savings at a "Monster" discount, the gigantic inflatable gorilla is one monkey that is tough to beat. You can find the gigantic inflatable gorilla perched atop most car dealerships hoping to create just enough of a spectacle and attraction that you are compelled to stop in. I'm not sure what gigantic inflatable gorillas have to do with automobiles, but some would say, "It doesn't matter, as long as it helps sell cars."


This is "attractional" marketing.

As church communities I think we should be attractional as well. Yet I think our attractional nature should not come from the gigantic inflatable gorillas of great music, quality programs, slick marketing campaigns, or caring for the poor (yup, even caring for the poor can be a "hook" to get people to buy our "Jesus product").

In his book, A New Vision For Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context, Scot McKnight writes: "(Jesus) did not perform miracles to get attention or to coerce others to follow him, but to reveal a kingdom that would eventually embrace the world in a universal display of God's salvation."

I am all for inspiring musicianship and creative worship gatherings. I believe the church should do works of both compassion and justice. I think these elements (and other things like it) are good not because they can be useful "bait" for a "spiritual seeker", but because through those elements (and others) the living hope of the gospel can be realized and experienced. The Church should be attractional not because of what it does to grab people's attention for the kingdom, but because (through all of its expression) it embodies the very kingdom itself.

Have you ever felt like the church was trying to "sell" something? What are the true attractional elements of the Church?

The Gospel (New Definitions pt. 2)

We've recently been discussing the need to better define words that we use without much thought within Christian sub-culture. In a recent post we asked the simple question: "What is Evangelism?" many would respond by saying that it is the proclamation of the Gospel..."the Good News".

While I would agree with this statement, it begs yet another question: What do we mean when we say: "Gospel"?

Is the Gospel reflected accurately enough when we say: "Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I could be made right with God and go to Heaven when I die"?

What elements do we need to consider when trying to define what the Gospel is? How has our western culture influenced the way we view and understand the Gospel?

Evangelism (New Definitions pt. 1)

I was recently in Pittsburgh with with some other pastors to discuss how to help encourage "stuck churches" regain their missional focus and call.

Much of our conversation focused around this word: Evangelism. We discussed at length (and passionatley) just what we mean when we say "evangelism" and just exactly how one measures a church that is healthy in the area of evangelism.

While there were some differences between us pastors as we tried to define the word evangelism, our culture all the more has all kinds of thoughts and images when one hears, "Evangelism" or "Evangelistic" (in some ways Evangelism has become a dirty word as it conjures up images of people passing out tracts, holding picket signs, or even missionary imperialism).

So now I am curious...How do you define the word "Evangelism"? What does Evangelism look like? How does a church measure it's health in this area?