This blog entry is part one of a multi-part entry.


In our day we have winnowed down nearly every news story to a sound-bite.  There are many who bemoan the 'lame-stream media' for only giving us a 10 second video-clip or phrase to represent a story.  A story which we know, deep down, must have a great deal more detail and context to it.  Most of us are so busy with the press-and-crush of daily life that, while we sense there is a deeper story, we don't end up following up any more than most journalists today.  So, as a natural consequence, we have become a culture that thrives on the shallow, seemingly never content and always wanting more.  I guess that is what keeps us watching through 3 minutes of commercials to get to the next 10-second sound-bite.  We're primed for 'the story after the break'.

It is similar to eating.  If we eat high carbohydrate diets all the time, especially of the sugary, high fructose corn syrup, snacks and soda variety . . . there is a constant craving for more and an inability to feel rest in our physical self.

We all have been, and currently still are, conditioned by this world system to crave, be discontent and rather intolerable to anything of substance.  This is a resulting consequence of this 'habituation of the shallow'.  When life requires sacrifice, delay or difficulty . . . . or heaven forbid denying ourselves something altogether . . . there is little tolerance for it and we come to resemble petulant little children in our reactions to it all.  We dig our heels in against that which might disrupt our small and narrow template of what it means to live our lives.

We Christians, of course, point to the media, political parties, and the world around us, decrying the shallowness of it all . . . and then we design our 'religious institutions', ministries and church services in such a way that they mirror the very spirit of that which we just lamented in the world.

If you are going to have (or go to) the 'happening' church it has to be high-energy, with dynamic worship teams leading the way, wearing all the most current fashions, backed by the right labels.  It is quite a rehearsed show.  Quite a weekly performance.  It doesn't matter that those very same members are living with their boyfriends or girlfriends, having inappropriate relationships with one another, or have generally bad character and dispositions in how they treat one another.  What matters is the IMAGE that is created for everyone else to see.  You see, we don't need a life-style and track-record of godliness and good character . . . what matters is the snap-shot you see on Sunday morning.

We bring motorcycles and Ferrari's on stage to capture people's attention.  That way people will think we are cool, hip and 'IT'.  The logic goes that they (the world that is) will want to come and hear what we have to say because of all the visual stimulation. The problem is that what we provide is 'world lite'.  The world will always be several steps ahead of a church that is trying to emulate it, which is of course motivated by being 'culturally relevant' . . . right?  The irony is that our development teams are chasing the next thing the world does, so we can emulate it also. Does anyone see a potential problem in this? I was thinking that there was Someone else who we were supposed to emulate . . .

Personally, I understand the need to be culturally relevant.  To be culturally irrelevant is foolishness, if you want to reach out to extend God's grace and love to hurting people. I have been one of those 'hurting people' and I needed someone to reach out to me where I was at the time.  I think, however, we have forgotten that Yeshua/Jesus generally shunned bringing attention to Himself.  His life was rather quite the contrast to many of our weekly religious gatherings.  In many cases, He forbade those whom He had healed to tell anyone that He had done it.  That is nearly unfathomable in today's 'get people to church' strategies.  If, perchance, God actually does do something rather striking in our ministries, we have a plethora of means to make sure everyone hears this 'God-story'. Our means be which we get these 'stories' out rivals the 'get out the vote' of most political campaigns.

Does God do so little, that is striking, in our ministries that we must make sure that people know He showed up recently? Are we subtly trying to manipulate 'followers' (now there's a culturally relevant and narcissistic term) by our clever marketing strategies? Is it both? Might we need to step back and seek the Father regarding the foundation and motives of why we are doing what we are doing?

The contrast of the ministry of the Son of God is worth pondering. Yeshua/Jesus simply engaged people in their brokenness and spoke truth (often times very hard truth) with strength, grace and love.  He told people to stop sinning.  He spoke of His coming earthly Kingdom (Second Coming).  That we would all give account for our lives.  That there actually is a hell.  I know, I know, that's become passe now.  Of course, we wouldn't want to offend anyone with talk like this today.  Believe it or not, He also said that His authentic disciples would be those who laid their lives down completely for His sake and that they would also deny themselves in order to really experience the fullness of LIFE the Father had for them.  Some accepted it.  Some did not. He let the chips fall where they may. He loved people enough to tell them the truth and give them the full picture. He respected them enough to let them wrestle it out for themselves.

Yeshua/Jesus did not come into the world to imitate the world.  He came into the world and offered Himself, as He was.  As an alternative to the world.  He knew who He was and what His eternal calling was.  He lived in that truth and purpose each day.  It changed the lives of those with whom He interacted on a daily basis.  And it changed world history forever.

We all want to have an impact in the world. It might be a better life-strategy, individually and corporately, to seek Him as to who we really are in Him and to seek an understanding of the eternal calling that He has determined for our lives.

"For we are His workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which God prepared beforehand 
that we should walk in them."
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Ephesians 2:10

No glitz, performances, special lights or fog machines required.