PINK POODLES AND CONSUMER CULTURE
Every month as I (Dave) prepare to write this update I ask myself, “What is happening in the American church—and the culture at large—that our missionaries would benefit from knowing?” Over the past few months I’ve read a number of articles that seem related, albeit in a strange manner, so please bear with me.

While traveling I came across an article in the Arizona Republic with the headline “Heavenly Life.” The article tells the story of “Scottsdale princess” Marissa Leigh’s 16th birthday party, thrown by her parents with a $150,000 price tag. They spent $50,000 just on renting a house to host the party, and the girl’s gifts included two new cars. No detail of the party was overlooked, down to dying Marissa’s two poodles pink (her favorite color) so that they would match the three dresses she wore throughout the evening. The article’s sub headline reads, “Marissa gets whatever she wants…”

The second article was posted by my pastor, Skye Jethani, on Leadership Journal’s blog, Out of Ur. Attending our suburb’s 4th of July parade, he observed that “every church had T-shirts with their logo and some clever pitch line, yet another example of the triumph of consumer culture over kingdom values.” In his article, Skye reports, “We find ourselves in a culture that defines our relationships and actions primarily through a matrix of consumption. As the philosopher Baudrillard explains, ‘Consumption is a system of meaning.’ We assign value to ourselves and others based on the goods we purchase. One’s identity is now constructed by the clothes you wear, the vehicle you drive, and the music on your iPod. In short, you are what you consume. This explains why shopping is the number one leisure activity of Americans. It occupies a role is society that once belonged only to religion—the power to give mean and construct identity.” (You can read the full post here.)

And then there was a cartoon I saw that pictured a guy at church griping, “The leather pews are nice, but what’s a guy have to do to get a fresh cup of coffee around here?” On the surface this cartoon may seem quite funny. In fact it is really very sad because it is so true.

Finally, I read another article posted on Out of Ur that recounts the decision made by the pastor of Scum of the Earth Church in Denver to allow the reading of a poem containing several instances of the “F-bomb” in their Christmas Eve service. The article (along with comments and follow-up articles) discusses the acceptability and appropriateness of vulgar language in a church service for the purpose of communicating an artist’s “real” and “raw” experiences and emotions to the church’s target audience.

Okay, so how are an outlandish party, church T-shirts, coffee, and the F-bomb related? They are simply snapshots of our culture, inside and outside the church. This remains a culture that needs to hear about Christ and His saving grace. The point that I want to make is that in the middle of all of this you have a church trying to reach people that are of this culture. You and I may not agree with various efforts and methods but that is not the point. As the church in America struggles to reach the people beyond its walls, I would like to remind you that you possess one of the most powerful tools for reaching this culture, or any culture. It is the story. The story of one person from your part of the world who has come to faith in Christ, and how that has transformed their life.

You do not need to shell out 50 grand for a venue, print an eye-catching logo on a T-shirt, or drop the F-bomb to gather an audience. Tell the story of what God is doing in the lives of the people to whom you minister. The power of a story still grabs people’s hearts, just as in Jesus’ day.

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BOLDNESS AS EXPOSURE
It has been over 4 months since I stood among the student body of Lanka Bible College and prayed for a pastor who had been “harassed,” as they called it, in his own community. In the U.S. we would not hesitate to label the treatment he endured as blatant persecution. I cannot get him out of my mind. He is not the first pastor I’ve met who has received beatings or had attacks leveled against his family, but being asked to pray for this brother has stuck with me as I continue to imagine what he, his family and congregation face daily simply for standing for the claims of Christ.

This kind of fortitude should not surprise me, since the Bible paves the way for this kind of faith. Allow me to give a couple examples. In Acts chapter 3 we read about Peter and John making their way to the temple and meeting up with a lame man begging for money. Peter tells the man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but…in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” This “simple” act creates a tremendous stir. In chapter 4 Peter and John are hauled before the authorities, who recognize their courage (v. 13) as well as the potential impact of their message and miracles. The account is a great testament to the boldness of men undaunted by the threats hurled at them.

Then in Acts 6 and 7 we read the story of Stephen, “a man full of God’s grace and power” (6:8) who became the first martyr. We see Stephen’s boldness in his speech before the Sanhedrin. Then, at the end of chapter 7, we read how Stephen stood before his accusers, and ultimately his executors, with tremendous strength and courage.

Later, Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

My question is: Biblically, what does it mean to have courage? What does it mean to be bold?

Sometimes we think that courage or boldness must be a dramatic infusion of power and strength from God during moments of tremendous tension and turmoil. I am sure this accurately describes the experience of many Christians in myriad circumstances throughout the ages. But I would like to suggest to you that there is also a common, every day, garden variety Christian boldness that means being willing to stay in harm’s way for just a bit longer. The root of the Greek word for boldness, as I understand it, means exposure. In other words, to be bold is to be willing to stay exposed just a few minutes longer for the sake of the gospel.

A man escapes from a burning building and stands hunched over on the lawn, chest heaving, eyes tearing from the smoke, when he hears the cries of a child from inside the inferno. He chooses to be bold, leaving the safety of the front yard and returning to the danger of the fiery structure in order to find the child and usher her to safety. To this an onlooker might say, “What courage!” The rescuer, however, might respond that he does not possess extraordinary courage, just the willingness to expose himself to danger for a few minutes more.

I wonder if, as he stood before an antagonistic and ultimately deadly crowd, Stephen’s boldness wasn’t more a matter of standing his ground for one more minute, and then one minute more. In Philippians 1:20 I hear Paul praying, “Lord, help me to stay in there for just a few more minutes.”

I think this should also be our prayer as we face tensions, struggles and yes, the really hard times when standing for Christ means drawing “stones” from the crowd. The BOLD person, the person with courage, chooses to expose themselves for just a few more minutes because they realize what is lost, what is at stake if they choose to back down or remain in the safety of the lawn.

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“Time in the summer does not seem to move; instead, time collects, or perhaps it might be better said to pool. One of the spiritual lessons of summer is just that: to allow time to pool. To halt in our headlong rush. To be fully in a particular time. To stop long enough to see what lies around us, rather than to be always merely glimpsing." - from Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season, edited by Gary Schmidt & Susan Felch

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Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America by Garry Wills
1993 Simon and Schuster (Reviewed by David Korb)

At the November 19, 1863 dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Edward Everett, considered to be the nation’s greatest orator, delivered the main address. President Abraham Lincoln had been asked, almost as an afterthought, to be one of three men to make “a few appropriate remarks” at the ceremony.

The dedication was originally scheduled for September 23, 1863, but Dr. Everett, the former president of Harvard, told the committee that he would be unable to prepare an appropriate speech in the time given him, so the event was pushed back to November 19th.

Everett addressed the gathered crowd for two hours. Lincoln’s speech consisted of 272 words and lasted 3 minutes. Even the prayer offered by Rev. Stockton on that occasion was four times longer than Lincoln’s “remarks.” While Everett spoke with great expression and a “voice that was sweet and expertly modulated,” Lincoln’s voice “was high to the point of shrillness, and his Kentucky accent offended some Eastern sensibilities.”

We call Lincoln’s remarks the “Gettysburg Address,” but as author Garry Wills reminds us, that title really belongs to the speech given by Everett, as he was the one honored with delivering the main address that day. The day after the dedication, the New York Times reported that Lincoln “had good things to say” but all the accolades went to Everett. Nevertheless, looking back through the lens of history, it was Lincoln’s words and not Everett’s that “remade America.”

I read this Pulitzer Prize Winning book this week for the third time. It is a good reminder to me of the power of words well spoken; words whose power may not be recognized when delivered but words that nevertheless endure and bring about change.

Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner
2006 Harper San Francisco (Reviewed by David Korb)

I’ve enjoyed reading many of Frederick Buechner’s writings over the years. I am not attracted to his theology as much as his ability to tell the Biblical story in a fresh and unassuming way. In the introduction to this volume, Buechner explains that as a young minister at Exeter Academy in New Hampshire he strove to capture the minds and hearts of uninterested school boys by avoiding strong religious “language and imagery.” He knew most of those boys had no interest in church, yet the Academy required chapel attendance, giving Buechner the opportunity to engage a literally captive audience. Buechner knows that what stirred the hearts of those boys, and the many others who have heard or read his sermons over the years, is not his own words but the Biblical narrative itself. This latest collection contains 37 of Buechner’s most memorable sermons, delivered between the late 1950s and late 1990s. I’ve enjoyed reading and rereading many of these sermons this summer. You also may find this book refreshing.

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