the slow numb

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: culture, media, movies, social issues, television
• Date: Feb 4,2009

Jonathan Leeman of 9Marks is reviewing chapter-by-chapter, the new Crossway book, Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney. Today, he reviewed chapter 2 entitled, “God, My Heart, and the Media,” written by Craig Cabaniss. He has some great reflections on the chapter:

…media makes up the continual background of many of our lives, and he [Cabaniss] provokes one to ask whether or not we’re aware of all the assumptions that are slowly filtering into our hearts and minds as we imbibe thoughtlessly imbibe the media.

…many Christians take care to avoid the more explicit moments in movies…Yet we often don’t give a second thought to the fact that entire storylines are premised upon, not just secular, but sinful worldviews…

And when we let storylines undergirded with these kinds of worldviews comprise our “entertainment,” our “down-time,” our “rest,” there’s an effect: “Filling our minds with these media deceptions dulls our sensitivity to God’s holy hatred for sin” (Cabaniss, 53).

Leeman notes that Cabaniss lists several pages of questions to ask of our hearts about one’s media viewing. Here are the ones Leeman reprinted (57-59):

“Why do I want to watch this program or film? What do I find entertaining about it?”
“Am I seeking to escape from something i should be facing by watching this? Am I seeking comfort or relief that can be found only in God?”
“What sinful temptations will this program or film present?”
“Do I secretly want to view something in it that’s sinful?”
“Am I watching because I’m bored or lazy? If so, what does that reveal about my heart?”

txting’s nu contxt

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: church, community, emerging church, emerging culture, media, postmodern, sacred space, technology, video, worship
• Date: Jul 6,2008

Over the last decade, as the church has awakened to its diminished role in culture and its need to step out of its subculture back into wider culture in an attempt to redeem it, Richard Neibuhr’s watershed work, Christ and Culture has been bandied about by many, particularly in such works as Church in Emerging Culture, edited by Sweet and D.A. Carson’s recent opus, Christ and Culture Revisited.

Perhaps the most helpful taxonomy that has surfaced from this discussion has come from within the Acts 29 Network and it is this: the Gospel of Jesus Christ restores a Christian’s worldview, enabling someone who lives for Jesus to engage culture and reject, receive, or redeem it for God’s glory.

Enter Mars Hill Church in Seattle and – as they call it – their “text life.” Here is the history and purpose of live texting within corporate worship from their website:

The whole “text your question” idea started during the Religion Saves series—itself a result of the “Ask Anything” campaign. It’s been a huge success on a number of fronts:

* The anonymity allows people to broach certain subjects that are commonly discussed in daily life, but rarely within a church context.
* In addition to using the technology during sermons, we’ve integrated it into many of our conferences—allowing people in multiple locations (including at home, for those watching streamed video online) to participate.
* Q&A via SMS avoids those awkward open mic moments, keeping the questions on topic and focused.
* It’s quick, concise, and cheap.

On a typical Sunday, the text messaging occurs during the 7pm Ballard service—the last of the day. The team that handles the messages receives about fifty questions during the allotted time.

In the future, we’re hoping to include Q&A at more of our services so that anyone watching in the same time zone can pull out their phone and send in a question. For now, you can watch recordings from the SMS Q&A on our YouTube channel, or on our sermon series pages.

Keep those questions coming. All you texters are participating in our worship service in a truly meaningful way. For example, the question about abortion after a rape has generated a lot of attention and some amazing stories have emerged of God’s grace, goodness, and transforming power.

On behalf of Mars Hill Church and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks for the text.

“Thanks for the text.” I love that…

Here is an example on the issue of sanctification:

Redeeming texting in the context of corporate worship reminds me of Leonard Sweet’s EPIC acronym: Experiential // Participatory // Image-Driven // Communal. It’s experiential in that it is raw, in-the-moment, tactile. It’s participatory in that questions can come from anyone, abolishing the lines of “priest” and “laity.” It’s image-driven in that we see the questions on a screen. We forget that most people learn by what they see than what they hear. Finally, it’s communal in that the questions come from within the fellowship of faith.

Will this work everywhere? No. But in an age where most 20-somethings use ‘texting’ as a primary form of communication, we would do well to ask ourselves, “What can we redeem in our context to reach those who are far from Christ?”

the “when we’s” of worship

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Bible, leadership, leading, media, music, planning, prayer, sacred space, technology, worship
• Date: Apr 18,2008

Photo by luz

I think this is the most helpful description of the practicality of leading worship that I have come across. Great thoughts on the “when we’s” of worship…

Adapted from “Principles and Practicals: Cue cards for a crash course in leading worship” from Reformed Worship, Issue #63.

When We Pray . . .
* As a community: using “we” instead of “I.”
* For a variety of reasons: to adore God, to confess sin, to give thanks, to ask God for something.
* At a thoughtful pace (more slowly than we normally speak), and with space for attentive, reverent silence.
* Without using verbal filler (“just,” “um”).
* To God, who is Three-in-One. Though we sometimes address the Spirit or the Son directly, we pray most often to God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus the Son.

When We Work with Technology in Worship . . .

We strive to be unnoticed, sacrificing a small bit of our full participation so that others may worship fully.

Overheads

* Make sure the projected light fits properly on the screen.
* Make sure all the words that are being sung are visible.
* Anticipate the next line or verse, moving the transparency with enough time for people to see ahead.
* Move the transparency as few times as possible.
* Move the transparency smoothly and discreetly.

Sound/Lights

* Anticipate the speaker and have the microphone turned on; turn speakers’ mikes off during singing.
* Keep listening and adjusting the sound levels as needed.
* Set lights appropriate to the mood of the service.

When We Sing or Play Music . . .

Our primary work is to support the congregation.

Players

* use a consistent tempo, a clear bass line, and room to breathe.
* give obvious cues for when God’s people are to begin singing.
* make the melody stand out, especially when introducing new songs.
* allow the text of the song to guide the accompaniment.
* drop out occasionally so that the people can sing unaccompanied.

Singers

* sing with expression of face and voice.
* be aware of body language; make eye contact.
* avoid idiosyncratic embellishment that a congregation can’t sing.

When We Speak in Worship . . .

We don’t instruct people what to do next, we invite them to participate in the act of worship. We:

* give a foretaste of the next text, or refer to the one preceding, when introducing a song or a reading.
* let people know how each act fits into the dialogue of worship and the theme of the service.
* attend to the emotional contours of the service—what’s happening in our heart and in the congregation’s hearts.

We read Scripture with intelligence, passion, and hospitality, keeping the following principles in mind:

* Prepare: practice the reading ahead of time.
* Pace: read slowly, but use some variety.
* Space: allow time for the text to be heard and absorbed.
* Grace: read with expression that makes Scripture come alive, yet not with so much drama that it calls more attention to the reader than the message.
* Embrace: whenever possible include both genders when referring to people (the NRSV translation does this automatically).

looking forward to this…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Gospel, community, emerging church, media, relationships, technology, web 2.0
• Date: Jul 13,2007

Via Andrew Jones, a.k.a. the Tall Skinny Kiwi:

The Wikiklesia Project finally gets underway, after a number of laggards get their chapters in for the first book right before its release on July 23. And in case nobody says anything, my chapter was probably the LATEST. Sorry about that everyone. Life has been busy lately. My chapter is called “The Ugly Blogger” and its about the dark side of blogging. Thanks to Len H. and John La Grou for their patience and foresight on this project.

Blurb: The first book, Voices of the Virtual World, is a “collective, chaordic conversation on how emerging technologies are impacting the church.” All proceeds from the Wikiklesia Project will be contributed to the Not For Sale campaign.
“In this volume, we hear from a wide range of voices, including bloggers and students, technologists and theologians, entrepreneurs and pastors… from a progressive Episcopalian techno-monk to a leading Mennonite professor… from a tech-savvy mobile missionary to a corporate anthropologist whom Worth Magazine called “one of Wall Street’s 25 Smartest Players.” Voices promises to be a far reaching exploration of spiritual journey contextualized within a culture of increasingly immersive technology.”

Further, from the Wikklesia Project About page:

It’s our hope that Wikiklesia generates a continuous stream of high quality collaborative literature – embracing topics of significance to the global church. We have no idea if this will work, but we’re giving it a good go.

After the first book is published and in the marketplace, Len and I will “pass the mantle” to two new editor-facilitators to oversee a second Wikiklesia project. When the second project is complete and in the market, those editor-facilitators will pass their commission to a new pair of editor-facilitators for the third book – and on it goes.

Wikiklesia is a grand experiment in personal participatory media. Even this web site follows the “wiki” format. All Wikiklesia authors and facilitators have virtually unlimited access to the site – to create pages, re-write pages, and mash-up ideas at will. Join us in making a little bit of ecclesiastical history.

The entire list of authors is here. I’m particularly looking forward to Bob Hyatt’s chapter on “Technology and the Gospel,” Scot McKnight’s chapter on “BlogReviews,” and Drew Goodmanson’s chapter on “Will the Internet Create a New Reformation?”

baker’s worship tricks

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Christian season, art, blogging, books, church, emerging church, media, music, photography, planning, prayer, sacred space, technology, video, worship
• Date: May 27,2007

If you’re a worship leader and you haven’t heard of Jonny Baker, let me introduce you. Worship world meet Jonny. Jonny meet the worship world…

Baker is a London postmodern; author of Alternative Worship – a great resource for holiday planning btw; director of independent record label, Proost; a member of Grace, an emerging church/alternative worship community; works for CMS helping reimagine church and mission; coordinator of worship at Greenbelt Arts Festival; and blogger. Whew! I can’t even keep my to do’s organized…

I keep up with Baker via his blog. And though his blog modus operandi is well, very postmodern in its approach and thus for some, probably a bit ambiguous, his Worship Tricks are worth the price of admission alone.

Baker’s Worship Tricks are creative ideas, video loops, pieces of liturgy etc that Baker has stumbled across that have been used or could be used in worship. As a side note, I’ve always thought the words ‘tricks’ seemed weird, but in a English sort of way, I’m giving some rope.

Baker has just started his third installment of his Worship Tricks series. His previous two, Series 1 and Series 2, each contain 100 ‘tricks.’

Below is Baker’s kickoff to Series 3 of Worship Tricks. It is a beautiful confession:

When our thoughtless criticism stifles the creativity of others,

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy

When we keep a tight hold on power and deny others the chance to participate.

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

When we prefer the safety of our holy huddle to the wideness of God’s world.

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

When we decline to take risks for fear that we might fail.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

But when we praise the gifts of others,

share the power that we are given,

engage with communities beyond the boundaries of our comfort,

and risk everything we have for the sake of others,

then, God rejoices in us.

Almighty God,

who forgives all who truly repent,

Have mercy uponus,

pardon and deliverusfrom all our sins,

confirm and strengthenusis all goodness,

and keepusin life eternal,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

dearly beloved, the bar has been destroyed

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: editorial, media, music, television, the art of...
• Date: Feb 5,2007

If ever that was a bar, it has been raised and annihilated. Time of death: 7:00 p.m. CST. Place: Halftime show of Super Bowl XLI.

Who is the culprit? Try the new king, or ‘prince’ of pop [sorry, MJ]: The Artist.

The reviews have been glowing:
Prince Reigns with Stellar Halftime Show (Detroit News)
“His performance at Super Bowl XLI will surely go down as one of the most thrilling halftime shows ever.” (New York Times)
“the entertainment triumph of the evening.” (The State)
“He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows — ever. (Associated Press)

In a day where we all are waiting to name things ‘the best ever’ with our top 10 lists, I think this transcends any list that could be made. This was and is one of the quintessential live performance of all time.

Here is when the magic set in: A gigantic sheet that was attached at the bottom [not the top] was ‘thrown’ up into the air and as it was flowing, they lit Prince from behind and his shadow became larger than life as he shredded on his “Artist Formerly Known as Prince” symbol guitar. [Was it just me or did his guitars sound GREAT last night?].

And of course, how perfect was it that he closed with “Purple Rain” in the rain. Amazing…

As a side note, I though the Piano Man’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was understated and classy. Billy, you are still relevant!

Before I could flesh out all of my thoughts on the Prince performance, as it typically happens, someone encapsulates them better than I could have. So here is Bob Lefsetz of the infamous “Lefsetz Letter” in all of his brilliance, seriously:

Hey, look me over
Tell me do you like what you see
Hey, I ain’t got no money
But I’m RICH on PERSONALITY!

If you didn’t come to party, don’t bother reading this.

Tonight we partied like it was 1999. And we didn’t even EXPECT IT!

… While we were reveling in the best Super Bowl in years, because of the weather, Prince took the musical slot, which was previously fumbled by everybody from Aerosmith to the Stones, to the point where it’s become a joke, and made the game IRRELEVANT!

Oh, U2 did a good job. But they’re from IRELAND! … And they’re supposedly credible. It’s not about show, but meaning…

I’m categorically against playing the Super Bowl. It makes you small. You appear desperate. But I guess rules are made to be broken, because the execution in this performance evidenced all the rock, all the roll, all of the soul absent from music today. Fusing the opposing colors of the human spectrum in a way that Michael Jackson tried to but never could, Prince united us, showed us it was all about the joy, the feeling, the rush, that we’re all in it together. That we want and need leaders, but they’ve got to have charisma, we’ve got to believe in them. And we believe in Prince.

Oh, he hasn’t had a hit in eons.

But he looks just the same.

And the do-rag seemed affected. But the choice of material excused the headgear.

“Proud Mary”? “All Along The Watchtower”? Without all the stunting we usually see at an event like this, no appearance by Tina Turner or John Fogerty? … Prince suddenly gives narcissism a good name.

Yes, it’s all about Prince, but he’s doing it for us, to entertain us, to blow us away.

“Let’s Go Crazy”?? Could there be a better opening number?

And you KNEW he was gonna close with “Purple Rain”. It just FIT!

But the inclusion of the covers, and the album track “Baby I’m A Star”, those were unexpected, those touched our hearts, reminded us of when music still counted, brought us right back to the advent, the HEYDAY, of MTV.

The Stones? They’ve got no excuse. As Jake says, that’s where they USUALLY play, STADIUMS! How could they be so bad? Hell, they couldn’t even nail SATISFACTION!

… And just when we’ve given up, a saviour comes in to rescue us.

The game is now unimportant.

… But today we learned, it was proven, that NOTHING compares with music. No sport, no video game. There IS no competition for the entertainment dollar when music is done right.

It hasn’t been done right in a long time.

But it was done right tonight. The choice of material, the turquoise outfit, even down to the shoes, and the orange shirt. The ripping guitar solos. The vocals. It was the complete package.

I don’t know who should be ashamed more. The labels or the public. For straying so far from the essence, for losing the magic touch.

Prince was an inspiration. He took all the spectacle of the Super Bowl, all the glitz and the glamour, and RAISED THE BAR!

The marching band, the explosions, the stage, it was PERFECT, and it was all in service to the man. Who was in service to the music.

Shall it live forever on YouTube. Shall you buy tickets and experience the essence. Shall you be overjoyed by the power of music.

Inspiration not manipulation. Prince didn’t cowrite with Diane Warren. No exec told him what to record. None could contribute to the plan in his head, which he executed so perfectly tonight.

Shall artistry, and rock and roll, rule FOREVER!

Bob, the bar was destroyed, not raised. Wouldn’t you agree?

the rearview mirror v

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: art, church, editorial, media, music, news, pastoring, politics, technology, video, web
• Date: Jan 29,2007

1. The Pope is at it again. This time he says, “more fine art, less Paste.” I will say this was a bit more balanced than his music style talk last year. See my post about it here.

2. David Fitch waxes about the danger of mission statements and why he believes ‘value’ adjectives better serve the mission of God through the local church.

3. Some keen observations from the JollyBlogger himself, David Wayne, on the underlying communication brilliance the Hillary camp used in officially entering the presidential race for 2008 last week.

4. Speaking of Hillary, someone get her some voice lessons. Ouch!

5. Max Hsu, ‘off the hook’ photographer/artist, shows us the difference between creating and doing art by reminding us of Scooby Doo.

6. Pinch me. According to Pitchfork, The Police and The Smashing Pumpkins to reunite for appearances in upcoming months. In other news, the David Lee Roth version of Van Halen to reunite. Sorry Dave, no one cares.

7. Speaking of The Police and Van Halen, Dan Kimball debates who is the more exciting reunion of 2007. Come on, Dan, remember the reggae…

8. Interesting news item lost in the shuffle last week: Mike Jones, the male prostitute whose accusations against New Life Church founder Ted Haggard led to Haggard’s dismissal as pastor visits Haggard’s old church, …to “get some perpective” and to research a project on evangelicals with a New York-based theater troupe.

9. Ron Martoia reminds us of the importance of the catalyzing question. Isn’t that WJDid?

10. Nashville’s Tennessean reports piracy to blame for recent job cuts at Brentwood-based EMI Christian Music Group. But is piracy to blame for the downturn in CD sales in all genres? Felix Oberholzer-Gee of Harvard Business School in Massachusetts and Koleman Strumpf of the University of North Carolina don’t think so.

11. Can the E-word be saved? USA today looks at the ‘misunderstood, misappropriated and maligned’ term, evangelical, and if it can regain its ground as label of choice for Christians.

church, meet the digital age…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: blogging, church, culture, emerging church, media, technology, video, web
• Date: Jan 10,2007

..digital age, meet the church.

Slowly but surely, technology is validating itself as one of the new ways that churches are engaging the postmodern. Emphasis slowly.

Here is a quote from a story on this subject from the Lower Hudson [NY] online newspaper:

Today, it’s fairly standard for houses of worship to have Web sites that give basic information about their services – when, where, what and the like.

However, the more technically savvy congregations are now blogging, uploading video messages or podcasting past sermons.

Leaders say the digital content is available for those who can’t make it to services, such as the homebound or, more likely, the busy, but it also serves as a safe and welcoming way for the spiritually shy to check them out.

You can read the entire article here:
Faith for the digital age: Congregations go high-tech to help deliver message

Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll are one of the churches leading this charge. In his most recent blog entry on Bible translations, Driscoll says this about ‘plugging in’”:

One of the great blessings and curses of our age is the Internet. For years the tech army at our church has been kind enough to post the audio files of my sermons online for free. More recently this has also included high-definition video of my sermons. The result has been a much broader sphere of influence and a corresponding broader sphere of criticism. In years past, it was not uncommon for a pastor to preach a sermon and then have it disappear forever. But in our age, what we preach can and will live on indefinitely in various media forms…

You can read the entire article here:
Pastoral Reflections on Bible Translations: Why We Preach From the English Standard Version.

the rearview mirror iii

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: art, church, culture, environment, media, music, news, pastoring, politics, religion, television, theology, worship
• Date: Jan 8,2007

Here is this week’s edition of The Rearview Mirror, where we peruse the past week’s best of the best in the blogosphere. Enjoy!

1. Bob Hyatt ruminates on the church’s simul justus et peccator.

2. Talking about worship aesthetics usually polarizes people. But Frank Burch Brown shows us it doesn’t have to.

3. Challies writes a letter to The Learning Channel. He has a new idea to offer ‘theological assistance’ to a particular group within evangelicalism…

4. The cross comes down from William & Mary’s Wren Chapel. And all heck breaks loose…

5. David Crowder Band wins MSN’s Artist of the Year. But not without a little controversy involving some ‘robots.’

6. Is Christian music getting out of the ghetto? MSN Music News thinks so…

7. Podcasts, Slate, and RSS Feeds. These are how young consumers consume the news according to the Online News Association via cyberjournalist.net. Maybe TV Guide Canada and CBS Evening News with Katie Couric aren’t crazy after all…

8. I was born in 1976. That same year, Gerald R. Ford spoke at the Southern Baptist Convention. Here were his words. R.I.P.

9. America’s first Muslim congressman is using an interpretation of the Koran owned by a man who sliced up the Bible for his swearing-in ceremony. Except that he isn’t. Terry Mattingly weighs in…

10. Activists Shane Claireborne and Brian McLaren remind us that grace is hard to communicate with a noose.

11. Steve McKoy vacates his position on vacations as times of renewal…and as he realizes they are not enough, he sees that being blessed is.

12. Do we need a greener Gospel? Lead Pastor of Blue Sky Church, Joe Schimmels, thinks so…

13. Lessons in blogging from Dr. McKnight and tips on blogging from the Tall one.

14. Dan Kimball tells us why it’s hard for him to listen to Christian music.

15. The best Christian on TV. No, really.

pat, please be quiet

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: editorial, media, news
• Date: Jan 3,2007

From FoxNews.com:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia — Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday a horrific terrorist act on the United States that will result in “mass killing” late in 2007.

“I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear,” he said during his news-and-talk television show “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network. “The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.”

Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.”

And commentary from Melinda Penner from the Stand to Reason blog:

He’s at it again. Pat Robertson is making his prophetic predictions that he claims God has told him. I’ve written before that Pat Robertson speaking for God is actually taking God’s name in vain. He’s speaking in God’s stead without adequate justification for why we should believe he is. Sure, there were and might still be prophets. Prophets speak for God and the standard in the Old Testament was so high for those who claimed to speak for God that the penalty for a false prophet was the death penalty. It’s a serious thing to speak for God, in His name, because it either carries enormous authority that people should pay attention to or it brings shame on God’s reputation among men.

The issue with Robertson is not whether he’s convinced he’s heard form God. I’m sure he is confident of that. The Biblical standard is whether we, the church, have any reason to believe he is a prophet speaking for God. Robertson has given us no reason to believe that he is – especially given the poor track record of his past prophetic utterances.

Many Christians do this kind of thing in their own arenas. They claim God has spoken to them. The sorry and shameful fact is that many times, as in Robertson’s case, what results is ridicule – not of the person themself, but of God. That is why it’s a serious thing to speak for God and take His name in vain.

The Old Testament doesn’t even use God’s name because Israel felt it was a very serious thing to use His name. Perhaps that’s a legalistic rule we’ve grown beyond because we know also that God is our father we can approach. But very often I think modern Christians have moved to the opposite extreme, blithely claiming God’s authority, which is what His name represents, with no good reason for the rest of us to take their claim seriously.

When we use God’s name, we should evaluate whether it will bring God honor or ridicule, whether we have the proper authority to use it.