Charisa Stories

Month: August 2006

  • Wrestling with common sense…

    Yesterday’s topic was about parents who try to protect their kids from every difficulty in life. Today I came across a research study from researchers at Wake Forest University who say that there may be a direct link between watching professional wrestling on television and increased amounts of “date fighting” and other derogatory behavior among teens.The findings, which were compiled in 1999, and shared with other researchers in 2001,  have been published in the journal Pediatrics  recently. Here are some highlights from ABC News story.


    Dr. Robert Durant, one of the study’s authors, said the intensity of such behavior corresponded with the amount of exposure to wrestling. The behavior Durant and his team were looking for was increased amount of drinking, drug use and fighting, both verbally and physically, with their dates.


    “Is it causing these behaviors or is it that those adolescents were more prone to engage in health risk behaviors and in other violent behaviors more likely to watch wrestling,” Durant said back in 2001. “I would think that a little of both is occurring.”


    The researchers found that among high school students, the frequency that they had watched wrestling in the previous two weeks was associated with the frequency that they had engaged in tobacco, alcohol and other substance use, as well as the frequency that they engaged in behaviors like fighting and carrying weapons.


    Durant also said that he was surprised to see that teenage girls who watched wrestling were also more likely to fight with their dates as well.


    “We have to advise parents to monitor what their children are watching and be careful about the amount of violence and substance abuse they allow their children to watch on television,” he said.


    Signs to look for include throwing folding chairs at dinner and having only Spandex outfits in the closet. In some ways it is hard to take this seriously because I find it hard to take pro wrestling seriously. One pundit said the most amazing hold in pro wrestling is the one it has on it’s audience. Frank DeFord once noted, “I believe that professional wrestling is clean and everything else in the world is fixed.” While I look at wrestling as bizarre entertainment, it is nonetheless a cultural phenomenon. I have written before about the coarsening of our culture. Wrestling, reality tv, and Springer (and that genre) have contributed mightily to the slide. I used to watch pro wrestling as a kid growing up in Southern Ohio. I used to dream of applying Killer Kowalski’s Iron Claw on a couple of jerks at school. But I never considered actually trying these tactics outside of my imagination. Why are researchers finding that youngsters today are actually influenced by this stuff?


    I suspect that Dr.Durant hit on a couple of key factors. One is the amount of exposure. Nonstop exposure to unhealthy messages has an impact. I have to monitor that in my own life. Imagine how it impacts hormonally raging teens.


    A year long study (50 episodes, from 2/12/98 to 2/1/99) by Indiana University’s Department of Telecommunication of World Wrestling Federation’s “Raw is War” recorded the instances of sexual and violent interactions:



    • crotch grabbing or pointing: 1,658 instances
    • garbage cans, chairs, tables and brooms used in wrestling: 609
    • kicks to the groin: 273
    • profane descriptions of people: 158
    • obscene finger gesture: 157
    • simulated sexual activity: 128
    • scantily clad women: 70
    • urinating (talking about/appearing to): 21 (New York Times, 1999) The Times story also noted that one third of the viewers of “Raw is War” are seventeen and under. 

    I would imagine that the content has gotten even worse in the seven years since that study was done. That is substantial exposure to toxic values.

    In response to the report that wrestling leads to increased teen violence the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. issued a statement refuting the study’s findings. In a statement released Friday, WWE said:


    “The researchers could not find a direct causal relationship between watching wrestling and health risk behaviors. The study ignored other factors that might lead to the types of behaviors discussed in the study. Its findings, therefore, are less than conclusive. In contrast to the findings of this flawed study, many of our fans attest that watching World Wrestling Entertainment programming has been a positive experience for them and their children. Many teens viewing our programs credit them with furthering their self-esteem and confidence.”


    In a related story, the Fox Council of America (FCA) reported that the appearence of foxes in hen houses was in no way related to unexplained disappearences of chickens. “We are proud of our long history of foxes watching the hen house,” noted the FCA spokescritter. Okay…that didn’t happen. But it makes as much sense. Of course this stuff has an effect. I guess the WWE thinks if you believe rasslin’ is real you will buy that statement.


    So what is a parent to do? Joni and I had a few principles that worked pretty well.



    1. Keep a close eye on who your kids hang out with. We watched their friends closer than any other factor. Unless your child is extraordinary (pretend for just a moment that he or she may be normal) they tend to become like those they spend time with consistently.
    2. Monitor but don’t smother. Some activities (movies, shows, etc) were simply off limits. Questionable shows were discussed and sometimes allowed…sometimes not. I actually would watch shows like Beavis and Butthead with my sons. Some of it was funny. Some of it was really stupid. When inappropriate things were said they knew by my reaction and later discussion that it was inappropriate. And by participating the rebellion appeal was eliminated. I knew if they didn’t watch it at my house they would go elsewhere and watch. Removing the forbidden fruit factor greatly diminished the shelf life of the show. Who knew Beavis and Butthead would provide valuable teaching moments?
    3. Model correct behavior. My sons could see women treated with disrespect all day long on televison but that was not how we acted at our home. I tried to treat their Mom with love and respect and I expected the same from them. They learn more from us than we care to admit.
    4. Make sure there is balance in their lives. I did not want my sons isolated from popular culture totally. My experience with cloistered kids is they too often try to catch up when they leave home. But I did want  to make sure their world had a healthy balance of God’s Word, biblical teaching, and Christian fellowship.

    Paul outlined some rules for holy living that mentioned very early the importance of the mind.


    Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.


     Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


     Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


    Despite the protests of the WWE, what we input into our minds makes a real difference. And that is just as important for grownups as it is for children.


     


     


     

  • A nation of wimps?

    There is a fascinating article in Psychology Today this month. The piece is written by Hara Estroff Marano and it is entitled A Nation of Wimps. Marano notes that “parents are going to ludicrous lengths to take the bumps out of life for their children. However, parental hyperconcern has the net effect of making kids more fragile; that may be why they’re breaking down in record numbers”. Here is an excerpt from her article.

     

     

    Behold the wholly sanitized childhood, without skinned knees or the occasional C in history. “Kids need to feel badly sometimes,” says child psychologist David Elkind, professor at Tufts University. “We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. Through failure we learn how to cope.”

    Messing up, however, even in the playground, is wildly out of style. Although error and experimentation are the true mothers of success, parents are taking pains to remove failure from the equation.

    “Life is planned out for us,” says Elise Kramer, a Cornell University junior. “But we don’t know what to want.” As Elkind puts it, “Parents and schools are no longer geared toward child development, they’re geared to academic achievement.”

    No one doubts that there are significant economic forces pushing parents to invest so heavily in their children’s outcome from an early age. But taking all the discomfort, disappointment and even the play out of development, especially while increasing pressure for success, turns out to be misguided by just about 180 degrees. With few challenges all their own, kids are unable to forge their creative adaptations to the normal vicissitudes of life. That not only makes them risk-averse, it makes them psychologically fragile, riddled with anxiety. In the process they’re robbed of identity, meaning and a sense of accomplishment, to say nothing of a shot at real happiness. Forget, too, about perseverance, not simply a moral virtue but a necessary life skill. These turn out to be the spreading psychic fault lines of 21st-century youth. Whether we want to or not, we’re on our way to creating a nation of wimps.

    In Texas terms…that dog will hunt. I believe Marano is dead on in her assessment of the trends in parenting. Joni and I are now bemused observers from our now empty nest. (By the way, make time to love your wife along the way and the empty nest is awesome!) We have watched parents try to protect their children from life. That is an impossible task. At some point the ugly reality of life will rear up and bite them on their unprepared posteriors. I wrote about this issue in an earlier blog. This is from a article called “Life isn’t fair”.

    The biggest problem with kids sports is adults. As the father of three sons; I have seen the effects of the traveling squads and elite teams. Sure, some scholarship athletes come out of those programs. But the unseen consequence is that we (alleged adults) have sucked the fun out of childhood sports for a large percentage of the participants.

    Warning…geezer rant directly ahead:

    I remember playing sandlot baseball for hours because I loved the game. I also played in an organized league but my joy and love for baseball came from the hours of camaraderie built around the sandlot games. I learned more about tough negotiations playing in my friend Vic’s backyard than I ever learned in school. For example, we were able to hammer out the Hirn Street Treaty with this rule. Any ball hit into Mr.Moore’s garden is an automatic out because we are afraid of him. And so I learned to hit the ball to the opposite field because of a grouchy old man. When was the last time you drove through a neighborhood and saw of group of kids playing baseball just for fun? What you likely saw was a bunch of dads in bad coaching shorts yelling at eight year olds for being, well, eight year olds.Why do so many of us feel the need to live out our athletic prowess, real or imagined, through our children?

    Geezer rant over…resume normal reading.

    I have been one of those dads. I dreamed that one of my sons would be an great pitcher or all state basketball player. Now that I am 50 something I can ask myself the question that I apparently never considered before. Where did I expect my sons to get those athletic genes? I have coached youth all-star teams in a competitive league so I am not naive about the topic. I wonder in retrospect if I allowed them to have enough fun in the process of teaching them the game I love? I wonder if winning was just a little too important? I wonder if I caused any of them to love the game less? The ugliest split I have ever seen outside of church was a group of parents fighting over all-star selections and playing time. It was an early indoctrination to the perils of writing this humble blog. I have had to come to grips with the fact that people will call you names and question the marital status of your parents just because they disagree with your opinions. And the all-star parents were even worse.

    So it was with that background that I read about the girl’s version of competition gone wild. This story was about the selection process for cheerleaders at a Dallas area high school. Southlake Carroll high school is in the midst of turmoil over the results of the cheerleader selection process. The controversy has actually reached the school board trustees who are being forced to weigh in on a no win issue. Parents are filing grievances. Classmates are choosing sides.

    Fight, team, Fight!
    Fight, parents, Fight!
    Fight, fight, fight!

    Initially fourteen girls made high enough scores to make the squad. A grievance was filed. The school decided to add four seniors. More grievances were filed. Then the school decided to include all thirty-two of the girls who auditioned on the team. More grievances were filed. The parents of the original fourteen argued that their daughters demonstrated the skills required to make the team. Those parents ratcheted up the battle by going over the school administration’s heads to the school board trustees. 

    The Dallas Morning News picks up the story. After several hours in closed session Monday, board members ruled 4-2 that the 14 girls who initially qualified for the squad should stay. The rest of the squad will be selected at a later date and time. Some of the original 14 cheerleaders applauded after the board vote. One cheerleader who made the first cut, said allowing everyone on the squad who auditioned “doesn’t teach anyone a lesson. It’s the principle,” she said. “It’s the work ethic behind it.”

    There are a lot of lessons that can be taught through life experiences like this. For those who have the attractiveness and skills to make the cut there is the lesson of humility and grace to those who haven’t been so blessed. Some could work just as hard and not make the cut. It is not just about work ethic.

    For those who feel the process was biased there is the very real lesson that life is hard and often not fair. I am sure my sons would tell you that if they had five dollars for everytime I told them, “life isn’t fair”, they could likely buy a new car. When we try to protect our kids from life we really aren’t doing them any favors. I have had my heart broken watching my sons go through the often brutal process of adolescent and teenage passage. But as a father, my job was to prepare them to go into a world that is every bit as difficult. So sometimes I had to lay out and let them experience some pain and then help them get through it.

    As Christians we make the same mistake. “Jesus is the answer” we say with giant smiles on our face. And He is. He is the answer to the search for significance and to fill the longing of our soul. But He does not guarantee perfect health or a trouble free life. We do seekers a disservice by intimating that following Jesus results in nonstop green lights and blue skies. That is why Jesus prioritized a few things for us.

    “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


    Jesus knew that trouble was a part of the process. He also taught us that God will provide our needs. We too often are disappointed at God when we feel He doesn’t provide our wants (that we perceive as needs). Life isn’t fair. The sooner we can teach our kids to understand that truth the better they will be prepared for the journey ahead. Perhaps if we understand the same lesson we will be better prepared to accept the troubles of life and trust God to help us get through them. Trying to avoid the trials of life make for wimpy kids and Christians.


     

  • Ask a Bad Christian Part 3

    Part of the joy of blogging is the feedback. I get lots of encouragement, thoughtful input, and (for the most part) graceful challenges. My rule is that disagreements presented in a civil tone deserve a thoughtful response. Angry, name calling challenges deserve a purposeful punch of the delete button. That relates to my other rule. I am paying the fees for my little piece of cyber real estate so when you come into my cyber home those are the rules. There are lots of blogs where you can SHOUT and be a jerk. That is not how we play blog here. Those are the ground rules as we set up another edition of the wildly popular “Ask a Bad Christian”  feature. This is the third installment of the blog that answers questions and challenges sent my way by faithful musers.


    The first question for Bad Christian comes from dear friend Randy in Oklahoma. He was challenging me about my views that politics should stay out of the pulpit in my recent post about the controversy at a church in Minnesota.


    Dear Bad Christian,


    If the church doesn’t speak out on the matters of life and other relevant social issues (read: homosexuality, adultery, pornography), who will?  Who should?


    Regards, RS


    Dear RS,


    Thank you for the opportunity to clear this up. I am not at all against teaching what Scripture has to say on any relevant issue. My position is that issues of life (sanctity of life, cultural issues) come up naturally and non-politically in the expositional study of the Bible. I believe we can and must address cultural issues from the pulpit. Giving people a biblical worldview will empower them to make good political decisions. But I have found out that the taint of politics diminishes the message of truth in God’s Word. As I study the teachings of Jesus it just seems He focused like a laser on individual change…not trying to change the culture. And as individuals changed…the culture changed. Hmmm. But in the words of Dennis Miller…that’s just my opinion and I could be wrong. God and my wife both know I often am.

    Apolitically yours,  Bad Christian


    Reader Jeff wrote about the impact of Reggie White’s celebrity Christianity in his part of the world.


    Dear Bad Christian,


    I can’t honestly attest to any true Christian value (not that there wasn’t any, but I never saw it). Just having a big name talk doesn’t mean any no-names are listening.

    Plus, we all know God would never speak through a Green Bay Packer. Go Bears. Jeff


    Dear Jeff,


    I cannot prove textually in scripture that God would never speak through a Green Bay Packer. He seems to be able to speak through anything from rocks to bushes. In fact, I have claimed Numbers 22 numerous times as a example of how God could use me.


    Then the LORD caused the donkey to speak.


    While I honor your devotion to the Bears I do believe that God pours more mercy and grace on Cleveland Browns fans. I suspect that Browns fans immediately look up Job when they get to heaven. There they can compare notes on their respective suffering. Job can offer genuine empathy as they discuss the drive, the fumble, and Art Modell. As for the Christian value of Reggie’s testimony…I am sure God used his willing heart. I know I was impressed as a young man exploring faith that a former defensive end for the Cleveland Browns, Bill Glass, had become a minister. The memories of him stuffing running backs and also talking about Jesus dispelled my misplaced notion that being a Christian resulted in being a wimp. I would point out that Bill Glass was a mature Christian before he started his public ministry. That is the hope that I have for those who disciple “celebrity” Christians. God can certainly use celebrities. But the path He generally takes all of us down is a difficult path of refining. That is true even for celebrities.


    Sincerely, Bad Christian. Go Browns.


    Patricia writes about my blog where I imagined Diogenes searching for an authentic Christian.


    Dear Really Bad Christian,


    Thank you for your genuineness in following Christ. While I am striving to do the same, I always feel like I am always not good enough to be an authentic Christian. I try, but I fail again and again. I am not excusing myself, I just sometimes get frustrated with myself. You will always be my “fallible human role model” for what it is though to live for Christ. Patricia


    Dear Patricia,


    You are so welcome. I have always believed my ministry was making other Christians feel superior. It is a burden. Seriously, the first definition of fallible is “capable of making an error”. We all fall short of the glory of God. Some just won’t acknowledge that truth.


    Fallibly yours,


    Bad Christian


    Remember, Bad Christian is always available to answer your questions and field your gentle rebukes. Who knows…maybe God still speaks through donkeys.


     


     


     

  • Random musings while people watching

    I love people watching. Regular readers know that I openly acknowledge that my brain was not wired to factory specs. So I am letting down the curtain a bit to allow you to see a few minutes in my world. Here are my RMWPW (random musings while people watching) from a day at an outdoor food court yesterday.



    • I do not understand women and shoes. Can someone (preferably female) explain to me why you, as a species, are willing to cram your feet into shoes so pointed you could give injections by kicking somebody in the posterior? I look at my foot and I look at those shoes. It does not compute. The human foot does not narrow to a needlepoint. The second question I have is why do women wear shoes they cannot walk in? I realize I am lacking advanced degrees but it seems to me that a shoe that does not allow you to walk is not a good idea. I am watching two kinds of awkward walkers during my mall musings. First are the women who are wearing very high heels. I observed one young lady doing an imitation of a fawn taking her first steps, awkward and unstable. How is that attractive to watch an otherwise well dressed woman wobble across a room? How have the lawyers missed this opportunity to sue a manufacturer? I am certain that more than one woman has found pavement while trying to perform a difficult task like walking to lunch. Then there are the women who combine the slide on shoe with the high heels. The combination of trying to keep the shoe on while maintaining balance is sadly amusing. I have been told that high heels make a woman’s legs look more attractive. I think the truth is a paraphrase of the quote from author F.Scott Fitzgerald who noted that “the rich are different from you and me”. I think that the parallel truth is that “the glamorous are different from you and me” and that applies to shoes. The women that look really good in needle-nosed circus stilts would look good in combat boots. For the rest of us I recommend comfortable shoes and a warm smile.
    • Men, no matter how much they work out, should be legally constrained from wearing tank tops. Even if you have impressive biceps I still have a desire to go home and watch an episode of Cops. Sorry. And some of you look like a bear wearing a undershirt. That is cute for Barnum and Bailey…not so much at the mall.
    • Cellphones are the official electronic device of Satan. I listened (not my choice…I couldn’t not listen) to three separate disputes happening via the miracle of cell phones. I couldn’t help but think that having a way to instantly connect when upset is a really, really bad idea. Making that call while in the red hot ember phase of anger just can’t be good. Maybe it would have gone better if these unhappy people had waited a few hours to finish work and then had a conversation (Conversation – an ancient means of communicating where people sat, made eye contact, and talked without electronic amplification or cryptic text). But that is just me succumbing to the inexorable decline into grumpy old manhood.
    • We don’t exercise nearly as much as we supersize. I am watching some trays of food go by that could feed a six man football team with normal portions. I remember the size of burgers, fries, and drinks from my childhood. I suspect those would be smaller than the “Happy Meal” size of today.
    • I keep thinking about Reggie White. I wrote an article about his search for real Christianity a couple of days ago. Tomorrow his widow will be in Canton, Ohio to witness his posthumous induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I thought about how suddenly his life ended. I would imagine that Christmas Day in 2004 was a joyous family day for the Whites. I suspect that Reggie White was excited about the new year, his renewed quest to get his walk with Jesus right, and his almost sure election to the Hall of Fame. I am sure he never expected Christmas night that the next day would be his last on earth. The next morning Reggie White died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 43. As I listen to these angry conversations I wonder. I wonder if these dear people knew this would be their last day on earth – would they be talking to loved ones like that? Would such petty things matter if they knew less than 24 hours remained? If I was armed with the knowledge that I had just a few precious hours left would I not mend every fence and reiterate my love to family and friends? James (who consistently ticks me off with his honesty and lack of loopholes) writes about the folly of boasting about our future plans. 

    Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog–it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.  James 4 NLT


    See why James is so annoying? Because I do know what I ought to do. But if I decide not to do it I don’t want to call it sin. I want to call it things like that is  “a place where I need to grow” or maybe “I am just wired that way so I can’t help it”. Why can’t God cut me some slack on things like this? And the answer is because He loves me too much to leave me the way I am. You just never know about this vapor that is life. I am still deeply saddened that I could not find time to see my best friend from high school on a trip home to Ohio years ago. He wanted to get together. I was too tired. The next week he died in an accident. If only we could drop being so self-absorbed and considered what would happen if our time on this planet was limited. What actions would we take? What wrongs would we right? And if we know what we ought to do and we don’t do it…what would you call it?


     

  • Will Democrats go to heaven?

    As I write this I am flying over Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. After spending three days in Minneapolis I have been reminded that the people of Minnesota are polite, reserved, and kind. So I was a bit surprised to pick up a New York Times story and read that a divisive controversy has been raging at the Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood, Minnesota. The controversy has caused the church to lose 20% of it’s membership. Since Woodland Hills is a body of 5,000 members that is a stunning loss of 1,000 folks. Must be pretty serious stuff, huh? Must be heresy or moral sin that is involved, right? But the controversy in Minnesota is about how the church should embrace patriotism and politics into the sanctuary.


    Dr.Gregory Boyd founded the Woodland Hills Church in 1992.  He wrote a book that I loved called “Letters to a Skeptic” so I knew his name before this story came to my attention. Before the last presidential election he preached a series called “The Cross and the Sword”. In those messages Boyd proclaimed that the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns. “When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross,” Boyd preached. That apparently riled up enough people to generate an exodus of 20% of the congregation.


    The argument about whether America is a “Christian nation“ is a difficult one. Clearly America was founded on Judeo-Christian values and as a place of religious freedom. I don’t believe that is the argument Dr.Boyd is making.


    Dr.Boyd defends himself by saying he is not a liberal. He opposes abortion and believes that homosexuality is not God’s ideal. Boyd is not a stranger to controversy. He withstood an effort by his own denomination to oust him a few years ago when he wondered if God fully knew the future. Dr.Boyd and I part company on that issue. But on the issue of politics in the church I think we are kindred spirits. Boyd states that his sermons were not an attack on Republicans or the religious right. He notes that Christians on both sides have turned politics and patriotism into idolatry.


    To that I have to say amen! I have been roundly criticised for supporting George Bush in my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I regret the political references I made in that book. I wish I could remove them because I found out that political remarks polarize and deflect the message of the Cross. I tried to make it clear that Christians were making a mistake by trying to change our culture through politics instead of by changing hearts for Jesus. That book was written during 9/11 and after I had been personally convicted of my sin toward President Bill Clinton. I did not pray for Bill Clinton. I did not respect him as the authority my sovereign God allowed to be in power. I regret the impression that I gave to some readers that I believed the Republican party was the official party of Christianity. I do not believe that at all. And yes…I expect to see Democrats in heaven. And Libertarians. A few Republicans will be there too. But the common link will not be politcal ideology. The link that will bring us there will be Jesus.


    Boyd tells the story of being alarmed while visiting a megachurch worship service on the Fourth of July. New York Times writer Laurie Goodstein writes that Boyd watched as the choir sang “God Bless America” as a video showed fighter jets flying over a hill silhouetted with crosses.


    “I thought to myself, ‘What just happened? Fighter jets mixed up with the cross?” he said during an interview. I have to admit that I have shared Boyd’s concern in recent years. I do not believe that the hope of the world is democracy, although I believe there is no better system of government. The hope of the world is Jesus. Boyd makes a couple of points that are indeed thought provoking.


    “Christians are not to seek “power over” others – by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should seek to have “power under” others – winning others hearts by sacrificing for those in need.”


    And that is indeed what Jesus did. I have a hard time finding a point of disagreement with Dr. Boyd on that point. That is EXACTLY how a group of men and women in the first century with NO political power turned the world upside down.


    Dr.Boyd also noted that “America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”


    Hard to argue with that. American has been blessed beyond measure. But I fear we are in danger of forfeiting the blessings God has bestowed by becoming self-absorbed and not generous. I have written often about the lack of giving in the evangelical community. We (protestants) give a paltry 2% on average. Evangelicals are only slightly better at 4%. If we simply tithed we would have enough resources to feed evey hungry person AND have enough left over to fund outreaches to tell the world about Jesus. But we choose to buy a better car, a bigger screen TV, and demand that politics make a difference. The fact is that laws and government can only restrain. Jesus can change the heart and change behavior from the inside out. 


    I am not smart enough to decide what God has called people to do. If He has placed a desire for people to impact the culture through political action I am not about to question their motives. But I do agree that His house should be a house of worship and not a house of political promotion. Political outreaches should, in my opinion, find venues outside of the sacred space that is God’s sanctuary.


    I am active politically. I study issues and candidates and I always vote. I give to causes that I believe in and I would be willing to work for a candidate that shared my goals for our country. But Sunday should be about Jesus. I agree with Dr.Gregory Boyd. I might argue with him about some of his views (I know a Yale Divinity and Princeton Seminary grad would be terrified of me). But I believe his heart is right on this one.


    His series on the Cross and Sword resonates with me. I think the church (on Sundays) should steer clear of politics. God’s Word taught effectively will mold followers of Jesus that will view social issues wisely. Moralizing on sexual issues has produced guilt but not real results. Jesus forgave the woman caught in sin and THEN said go and sin no more. My goal is to introduce people to Jesus, disciple them into a real relationship with Him, and then  watch as the Holy Spirit changes what my sermonizing cannot.


    The body of Christ is about Jesus. About being a good citizen that respects authority. And about demonstrating His amazing grace to a desparately needy world. The message should be grace, redemption, and the forgiveness available to everyone. All parties are welcome at the foot of the cross. We need to spend more time there…for the good of America.

  • The dangerous lure of “Celebrity Christians”

    I have struggled for years with the concept that God somehow intervenes in athletic events. I have seen the post game interviews where athletes thank God for helping them make the big play or for helping their team win. And I wonder if God really chooses to get involved with sporting event outcomes. Does He sovereignly evaluate the two teams and inventory the number of Christians on the home team versus the visiting team? Is it quantity or spiritual maturity that determines the eventual outcome? Would God bless a team with 20 nominal Christians or the one with 10 really committed believers? What if two equally committed players, one a wide receiver and one a cornerback, are going for a pass in the end zone for the game deciding play? Who gets the blessing of victory? The best prayer or the best player? Faith in sports is an ongoing debate and was the subject of a recent story in USA Today.


    Tom Krattenmaker wrote a thoughtful piece about the career and ministry of soon to be (this Saturday) Hall of Fame pro football player Reggie White. Sadly, White died in December of 2004. Here are some excerpts from Krattenmaker’s article published in USA Today this past Monday.  My comments are italicized.
     
    On Saturday, the late Reggie White will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The “Minister of Defense” — he was an ordained minister who had a passion for Christian evangelizing during his stellar playing career — will be extolled for his quarterback-sacking prowess, service to the community and commitment to his family and Christian faith.


    Amid the deserved praise that will pour forth in the speeches and media coverage, there probably won’t be much, if anything, said about another important but less easily swallowed chapter of White’s story — namely, his post-retirement disavowal of much of what he stood for as the Jesus-praising champion of jock evangelism. As the greatly changed White put it shortly before his premature death, at age 43 of cardiac arrhythmia in December 2004, “(God) doesn’t need football to let the world know about him.”


    For those who don’t follow sports, White was a superstar defensive lineman in the 1980s and ’90s, playing primarily for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. Not only was he a star on the field, selected to the Pro Bowl a record 13 times, but he was also an exemplar in the now-common practice of using athletic stardom to spread the evangelical Christian message. A frequent speaker at churches and religious events, a man quick to turn post-game interviews into opportunities to proclaim God, White probably did more than any other sports star to usher in the conspicuous religiosity that we witness in pro sports today.


    As a player, White correctly sensed that his preaching wasn’t welcomed by all fans. But he stormed past that disapproval as though it were just another lineman blocking his path to the quarterback. As he said in one live post-game TV interview during his days with the Packers, “God allowed me to use this game as a platform to proclaim the name of Jesus. … I know some people don’t like what I say sometimes, but God has called me to preach a message, and I have to preach the message.”


    Disclaimer. I was a staff member of Athletes in Action for five years from 1975–80. I loved AIA and the people we met there. Some of the finest Christians I have had the privilege of knowing were a part of that group. I was a big supporter of the idea of using the platform of famous athletes to communicate the gospel. I begin to question that by the end of my time with AIA and I continue to ponder the issue a quarter of a century later. Before I tip my hand…more of the USA Today story.


    Contrast that with the White who emerged shortly before his unexpected death nearly two years ago. “When I look back on my life, there are a lot of things I said God said. I realize he didn’t say nothing. It was what Reggie wanted to do. I do feel the Father … gave me some signals … but you won’t hear me anymore saying God spoke to me about something — unless I read something in Scripture and I know.”


    White made the comments in a remarkable and largely overlooked interview with NFL Films that aired just days before his death. There was much more. “Prostituted” is a strong word, but it’s exactly how White described the way he had been used by sports ministries and other evangelical groups eager to capitalize on his fame.


    “Really, in many respects I’ve been prostituted,” White said. “Most people who wanted me to speak at their churches only asked me to speak because I played football, not because I was this great religious guy or this theologian. … I got caught up in some of that until I got older and I got sick of it. I’ve been a preacher for 21 years, preaching what somebody wrote or what I heard somebody else say. I was not a student of Scripture. I came to the realization I’d become more of a motivational speaker than a teacher of the word.”


    The candidness of White hit at the core of my concerns. Please hear me out. There are wonderful people involved in the various ministries to athletes. Many of them are my friends. But the celebrity, power, and money of professional athletes creates a dangerous temptation. Some ministers with impure or perhaps naive motives have indeed hurt the spiritual development of these athletes. Paul cautioned about throwing immature young believers into leadership. While this is not about becoming a church leader I think the principle is important here. We were often quick to send immature athletes into speaking engagements and interviews which placed pressure on them that they were not prepared to deal with. Paul said a church leader must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.  I have seen that warning play out in real life with men and women who were not grounded on the rock before they were “displayed” as Christians. Back to the article.


    Some initially misunderstood White’s changed rhetoric as a sign that he had lost religion. Hardly. Tired of having the meaning of faith spoon-fed to him so that he could spoon-feed others, White decided to learn Hebrew so he could study the original texts of the Old Testament — go straight to the source, in essence.


    White told his NFL Films interviewers that some Christian ministers had warned people to stay away from the new, heretical Reggie. That’s deeply regrettable. White had something important to say on an issue that is far from settled — the appropriate place of religion in pro sports.


    Also, as White apparently came to believe, blending faith with pro sports and commerce might not, in the end, be good for religion. Is justice done for the purpose and power of faith when victorious players claim that God intervened so one Christian player might outdo another? Or when ministries put biblically illiterate celebrities on a pedestal to promote religion as though it were just another product endorsement?


    “I used to have people tell me, ‘God has given you the ability to play football so you could tell the world about him,’ ” White said shortly before his death. “Well, he doesn’t need football to let the world know about him. When you look at the Scriptures, you’ll see that most of the prophets weren’t popular guys. I came to the realization that what God needed from me more than anything is a way of living instead of the things I was saying. Now I know I’ve got to sit down and get it right.”


    Unfortunately, death allowed him very little time to do that.


    I wish Reggie would have stayed with us awhile longer to see what that pursuit looked like in his life. But I think he was exactly right. God does not look at the glamor of our careers or our celebrity status to further His kingdom.  Our values are too often not God’s values. If I were God and I was marketing Christianity I would hire a high powered marketing/advertising campaign. I would round up some celebrity Christians and produce feel good spots with great production and moving music. 


    But that is not the plan that God has chosen. God has chosen to use idiots like me to fulfill the Great Commission. And that is lived out in the day routines of life. I believe that everything a Christian does has the potential to be sacred. No matter how “unglamorous” my lot in life might be I have the daily potential to worship and glorify God by my work, my spirit, and my life. My work can be worship. Going to the store can be worship. Reaching out to my neighbor can be worship. Because all of those can be about glorifying God and demonstrating that He is real in my life and in this world. God’s plan is not about celebrity…it is about obedience. I no longer am a fan of celebrity Christianity. I am always happy to hear that movie star A or athlete B has come into a relationship with Christ. But I expect nothing from them. I am just happy that they are part of the family.

    God does not need celebrities to accomplish His plan. God wants every person He has called to Himself to be obedient and love Him. I am pretty sure that the God of Creation is not depending on Dave Burchett to make sure the sovereign plan gets put into place. I have the privilege of being a servant in the plan…not the pride of being necessary. My heart is exactly with my brother Reggie White. I want to “sit down and get it right”.  Pray for the White family this weekend as they feel the loss of a great man. A man who was honest and faithful and real. May I have the courage to always evaluate my life like Reggie White evaluated his own.  In the light of God’s Word and the transparency of complete honesty.