Several days ago, I was in Greensboro NC attending the annual Anglican Mission in the Americas' Winter Conference. The thing I like most about Winter Conference is hanging out with my friends and making new friends. The thing I like least is the Mumbo Jumbo.
I am really happy to be a part of the AMiA. I love my bishop and the clergy in my network. I love that the AMiA focuses on the mission of the Church. Unlike any other American form of Anglicanism I have ever experienced, it is solidly committed to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Most folks in the AMiA, including myself, are evangelical. By “evangelical” I mean that we believe in the uniqueness of Christ, his atoning death, this resurrection and return, and the necessity of personally putting your faith in him. There are also folks in the AMiA who are Evangelical. By Evangelical, I mean part of the American Evangelical movement. They are theological committed to the Good News (“evangel” in Greek), but they are also part of the Evangelical Christian subculture.
The Evangelical subculture is the source of some good things and some bad things. Some of the bad things I would describe as “the Mumbo Jumbo.” Part of the Mumbo Jumbo is the idea that church congregations should use marketing tactics to increase the size of their Sunday attendance. This is sometimes called “Church Growth.” It is a very important part of the Evangelical subculture.
There are things which are marketing ideas that are helpful. For instance, I think churches should have good looking and helpful websites. We should use communication tools, like e-mail and facebook. We should have decent signs pointing to our church buildings. These sort of things are, I think, good and proper.
There are, however, problems with some marketing tactics. Sometimes these tactics are actually antithetical to the Good News. They are dehumanizing and manipulative. They come from a worldview that sees the Gospel as a product and human beings as buyers. While the way of Jesus is love, the way of the marketer is control. Those two things just don't seem to go together.
Another major problem is that most church people don’t have the slightest understanding of what good marketing is. It is one thing when a church uses some awesome marketing tools to sell itself. It is another thing when a church misuses marketing and therefore harms itself as well as its “customers.” This happens when churches fudge on Word and Sacrament in order to become more hip and cool.
If you had been in some of the sessions at this conference, you would have heard some speakers say, in effect, "the bigger the church is the better." If you had been in the hallways, you would have heard people talk about the methods they us to make their churches bigger. Sure, bigger churches mean more people know Jesus (supposedly, but that has been shown to be a whole lot less true than your megachurch would like to believe). But there is a certain devaluing of the Holy Spirit that happens when conversion stops being a miracle and becomes the end result of a "good close."
Enough for now. In part two, I will give you two examples of the Mumbo Jumbo; first one that made me angry, and then one that made just shake my head.
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The Mumbo Jumbo, part one
One Minute Review: Crazy Heart
Wow, a film about country music, and I live in Nashville. It stars some of my favorite actors. The Academy gave it TWO acting Oscar nominations. Did I love it? Take a look:
OMR: Crazy Heart from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.
Or take a listen here:
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An Un-Cancelled Church
Nashville doesn’t see a lot of snow. When we do, it appears as shimmery flakes falling like dandruff on the bare ground. It might pile up like so much white dust, but it is soon gone.
This weekend has been an exception. On Friday it really snowed, and that snow lingers even today on roofs and yards and streets. My children did not go the school Friday because of the mere threat of snow, and they were told to stay home again today because of the “driving conditions.”
What we don't have in snow, we make up for in churches. Nashville and environs are home to hundreds of these. On any given Sunday, a significant percentage of the local population is in attendance at one of these houses of worship. That is, except yesterday. Yesterday, tens of thousands of Christians stayed home rather than joining together in worship. Why? For many of them, they simply could not go. Their streets were iced in, or their normal transportation was not working. Others did not want to take the risk. Older people, people with small children, people who have medical conditions--these folks wisely avoided dangerous situations. But there was another reason that Christians did not worship together. Their churches were closed.
If you looked on many of the church websites on Saturday night or Sunday morning, you saw that there were many notices of cancellation. Specific services, Christian education, church events, and entire Sunday schedules were set aside. Most of these churches did not say why they had taken this action, simply that it had been done. Perhaps a site would say “dangerous driving conditions.” One huge church did have a note from the pastor, explaining that he did not feel comfortable asking thousands of people to get on the road when the police had advised against it.
Our congregation cancelled its “annual meeting” because we knew that it was unreasonable to expect that we would get a required quorum of members. We did not, however, cancel either worship service.
In our tradition, we practically never cancel Sunday morning worship. It would take a cataclysmic event to cause us to cancel, and I frankly can’t come up with an example of what that might be. For instance, our house is in a small valley. There is no way to get from my house to anywhere without going up a fairly steep hill. I was concerned that my car might now make it. When my wife asked what I would do if my car did not make it, I told her that the church isn't that far a bike ride away. I was not kidding.
So, why? Why not cancel church yesterday?
1) The Centrality of Eucharist. In our tradition, celebrating Christ in Word and Sacrament is essential to the way we live our faith. Our individual spiritual lives as well as our life together in community find their center in Sunday morning Eucharist. Is our salvation dependent upon our worship? Of course not. But we believe we should at least have the opportunity to gather each and every week. This is part of what it means to be liturgical, that we engage in an ongoing pattern of work and worship.
2) This Mission of the Church. Our mission is to share the Word of the Lord with those who do not know him. One way we do that is to offer the Public a place where they can unfailingly hear the Gospel at a set time and place each week. We actually had multiple visitors at both of our services on Sunday.
3) Treating Adults like Adults. We are not the kind of church that commands its members. If someone does not feel that they can come to church, that is their choice. I have no interest in forcing anyone to come to church, especially those who would be in danger by so doing. At the same time, other adults may make the reasonable decision to get on the road and drive to the place of worship.
4) Tradition. By tradition, Anglican’s don’t cancel worship. We don’t use fake flowers in the sanctuary, we use real wine with communion, we don’t cancel worship. That is how we roll.
I have no problem with other people living according to their traditions. I wrote this because I thought it might be helpful to explain ours. As for yesterday, our population was definitley affected by the snow. We had a bit better than a third of our regular attendance. But I will say this: the Lord was worshiped, his Gospel was proclaimed, and his people celebrated Communion together. I’m glad I went.
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The Book of Eli: The One Minute Review
Denzel Washington, the Bible, RPGs, Gary Oldman, crazy cool sword fighting, the apocalypse, and the girl from Flashdance. What else do you want from a movie? How about the greatest product placement since the Cadillacs in the Matrix Reloaded? I'm looking at you, Dr. Dre Beats!
OMR: The Book of Eli from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.
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Haiti
I feel powerless to be of any assistance. I can't just go to Haiti and start digging for people who are trapped. I can't send a "care package" which I know has no hope of getting to anyone. I can't be with those who are suffering, because I don't know any of them personally. At the same time, I feel that there must be something I can do. As the pastor of a church, I want to help our community to minister to those in great need.
I believe there are two things we can do to be of help. We can pray, and we can give to organizations that are on the ground in Haiti right now.
First, prayer. I want to pass on to you part of an e-mail sent by a founding member of our church, a friend of mine, and a man who leads a sports ministry in Haiti.
Your messages of encouragement and support mean so much to me and our friends during this time of suffering. Thank you can not be said enough. In circumstances like these, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. As you gaze upon the faces and the devastation in Haiti, you see a people and a land that are overwhelmed. As you listen to the response workers and leaders, you know that they are overwhelmed. Right now at our location, I see workers and volunteers expending themselves, just like they did for the tsunami and Katrina. They were overwhelmed. In the last 30 hours, I’ve received over 500 messages, many out of Haiti asking for help. At times, it becomes overwhelming.I have called upon Church of the Redeemer to pray for those who are in Haiti. We are praying for the suffering and for those who are helping them. We are praying for the governments and organizations that are trying to help, and that promises of help would be fulfilled in a timely manner. We pray that the Lord would rescue the many people who are still trapped under fallen buildings, before it is too late for them. I encouraged us to use Psalm 46 to guide you in your prayers. As Christians, we believe in a God who intervenes in human affairs, and we believe our prayers make a difference. (James 5:16)
If you would allow me, I would like to guide you in a different direction today, into a place of meditation and prayer. My message is let us not become overwhelmed. In the midst of our efforts and as the pressure was weighing down upon me I was continually drawn to a Psalms for comfort and strength. Please take some time to read and pray Psalm 46. Be still before God and draw strength from him. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your intercessions for those who are suffering.
Second, giving. I am asking everyone I know to consider giving financially to one of the many organizations which are currently involved in Haiti. The one I would recomend is World Vision. You can give to World Vision's relief effort in Haiti right now by clicking on this link: World Vision Haiti Relief or by going to www.WorldVision.org. We will be taking a special offering at church this Sunday, but I hope that everyone will give sooner than that. The need is immediate.
May the Lord bless, protect, and heal his children in the nation of Haiti.
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How 'bout them Cowboys?!
How 'bout them Cowboys?!
Finally won a play off game.
Finally broke the December curse.
Embarrassed the Eagles, again!
Superbowl bound!
One Minute Review: Sherlock Holmes
Guy Ritchie, Robert Downey Jr, Rachel McAdams, Jude Law, and Arthur Conan Doyle? What's not to love?
OMR: Sherlock Holmes from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.
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One Minute Review: Up in the Air
Up in the Air OMR from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.
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Christmas Eve
Let’s face it, today is the best part of this whole Christmas thing. Christmas Eve is way better than Christmas Day, just as anticipation is almost always better than the thing anticipated. Most of the time, the wrapped present under the tree is far superior to the unwrapped thing we stuff in a drawer within a few days.
Why is that? I’m sure there are many reasons, but let me take a shot at one. A wrapped present is a symbol of hope. An unwrapped present is an object that was manufactured at a factory in China. A wrapped present is mystery, an unwrapped present is utility. A wrapped present is, therefore, heavenly while an unwrapped present is a mere commodity. When I look at those gifts shrouded in colorful paper and bows, I am catching a glimpse of heaven. Nothing you buy at the mall will ever compare with heaven, so the gift you give or receive will never measure up to the hope that came before.
The only way that hope could be outmatched by fulfillment would be if that which is hoped for is heaven itself. For this reason, I am confident that the anticipation of the ever expectant Church will be far surpassed by the joy that is coming to her.
When Christ came as a baby, the angels sang his praises to a limited number of laborers. Their experience took them from the heavenly chorus to a manger. When Christ returns, everything in heaven and on earth will sing his praises. No one will need to point the way to him, no one will need to seek him out. He will be as obvious as the Sun on a cloudless day, as loud as thunder that has come too close.
How we will greet Christ depends in part on how we live in the ongoing Advent Season of our lives. If we are not watching, not waiting, then I expect we are in for a rude awakening. If we are waiting with fear, trying to make sure we are doing enough to earn his favor, I expect we will be in for disappointment as we see the last being made first. If we are waiting with hope, as a child looking on that unwrapped Christmas present, I believe that the joy we find will far exceed any expectations.
Advent 2009 is almost over. The Great Advent of Life will end one day, we know not when. Let’s welcome Christmas Day with joy this year. Let’s also keep our eyes open, for that final Gift will come when we least expect him.
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N.T. Wright on Advents
N.T. Wright is, in my estimation, our greatest living theologian. By 'our' I don't just mean us Anglicans, I mean us Christians. A bold statement, to be sure, and one with which others might take issue. This year, Bishop Wright wrote the words (libretto) for a choral piece about Advent. As Advent draws to a close, I want to give you some of his introduction to that piece. He provides for us a clear-headed reflection on the nature of this season.
From N.T. Wright’s Preface to the Advent Oratorio
The great, massive Advent moment is still to come in the future. . . Both Old and New Testaments promise that one day the God who created the world will flood it with his glory, transforming it so that it thrills and throbs with his love, justice and peace. That is the promise, from both Testaments . . . In the Old Testament, this is seen in well-known Psalms such as 96 and 98, and in particular the great Messianic vision of Isaiah 11, where the whole creation is restored in peace under the rule of the ‘little child.’ In the New Testament, it encompasses passages such as Acts 1, Philippians 3, and of course Revelation, which speak of the return of Jesus himself (the ‘second coming’) to put all things to rights. Part of the difficulty of grasping all this, in our day, is the frustrating fact that a good deal of Western Christianity has almost entirely forgotten this promise. Many people assume without question that the final Christian hope is to leave this wicked world of space, time and matter and to go off, as disembodied souls, into ‘heaven‟. That is fine as a statement of what happens to God‟s people immediately after they die, but it won’t do as an account of the great scriptural promises of new creation. There is a further, fuller hope, for a new world in which we shall have new bodies and new tasks to perform, celebrating and implementing God’s victory over evil, injustice and death itself.
The other moment, umbilically joined to this final one, is of course the first ‘coming’ of Jesus. In the four gospels, this is not primarily concerned with Jesus‟ birth, important though that is, but with his appearance at the time of John’s baptism, and the launch of his public ministry in which he announces that God is at last becoming King. This combination of themes makes our own liturgical keeping of Advent very complex: are we preparing for Christmas, for the Coming of Jesus through John’s Baptism, or for the Second Coming? The answer, liturgically, often seems to be ‘all three’, but I suspect that many ordinary worshippers are just confused.
Jesus’ Kingdom-announcement (What would it look like if God was running the show? Watch and listen and you‟ll find out!) is the anticipation, close up and personal in Jesus’ deeds and words, of the final promise in the Psalms and Isaiah. So the role of John the Baptist ... is to get people ready for this ‘coming’. His ministry of baptism picks up the Old Testament promises of God’s fresh cleansing of his people. His preaching and teaching warn people to get ready for the Coming One who will sweep through God‟s world and God‟s people like a forest fire. And part of that ‘getting ready’ is the challenge to live already, in the present time, by the rule of the justice that is coming. Hence John‟s simple, direct challenge to his hearers.
The close link between first and second comings of Jesus then becomes clear. Jesus is baptized by John. The Spirit descends, anointing Jesus afresh for his public ministry. The voice of God himself is heard, announcing him as his beloved Son. He is the one who will bring God’s sovereign, saving rule ‘on earth as in heaven’. The double Advent theme thus dovetails perfectly together. The first coming is not only the preparation for the second one; it forms a kind of template for it. Learning to live appropriately between the two ‘comings’, under the rescuing rule of Jesus and in the power of his Spirit, is what it means to be Christian.
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