"That's So Gay"

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) has been running a public service campaign called: "Think Before You Speak". The campaign (featuring 3 short commercials: cashier, pizza shop, fitting room) is designed to help educate people about the phrase: "That's so gay" (in reference to something that is dumb or stupid). The campaign clearly points out that this phrase is hurtful to those that are glbt.

What do you think of these public service announcements? Have the announcements shifted the way you talk or think? Aside from avoiding phrases like: "That's so gay", what else can someone do to become more sensitive to the feelings of those around them?

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?

Tuning Out TV

My family canceled cable TV at the first of the year. We did this because we noticed that the TV was becoming an easy default when there was "nothing to do". Our kids would watch it any chance they had (after homework was finished of course) and Misty and I would channel surf just to "see what's on".

The TV in our home was like the snack cupboard in the kitchen, you're not really hungry, but when you walk by it you are bound to eat something. Our family "ate" a lot of TV.

So we made the decision to get rid of cable TV (our objective was to get rid of "useless" channels, cut some excess spending, and stay connected through the free TV aired by the major networks). Down-grading would be easy, after all, we would still get local channels right?....nope. Rabbit ears were useless in trying to tune in our favorite network shows.

So here our 50 inch plasma sits...virtually useless since January 1, anxiously awaiting those few moments it gets to fulfill its calling through the Wii or a DVD (those elements aren't off limits...just monitored for time).

I remember when Misty and I first told the kids we were canceling cable TV; they cried...yeah, really (Sponge Bob junkies going through withdrawal). We missed elements of it as well (no more Today Show with coffee in the morning and no more LOST in HD).

Yet since we've tuned out TV we've noticed several things change in our daily living: our kids no longer beg us for the "latest and greatest" that is advertised to children a zillion times a day, we spend more time reading and playing together as a family, and we find ourselves going to bed getting up earlier (giving us a more productive day).

There may come a time when we decide to re-connect our cable TV, but for now we are enjoying being tuned out to TV and tuned in to family.

What are other "snack cupboards" we should try and limit in our life?