Archives For Culture

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There Might Not Be Enough Room for Jesus at #SXSW.

Chris —  March 13, 2014

This post was written before the tragedy that happened on the night of 3.12. Jesus would definitely be present in such a place of mourning.

300,000 people from around the world have descended on a few miles of my home city for the sprawling series of parties, conferences and concerts known as South by Southwest. For two weeks, our once sleepy hippy town hosts the elite of software, film and, of course, music.

Careers are made or destroyed. Bands set up in alleys. Beer flows like water. A torrential downpour of water. It is the kind of place to see and be seen.

Which begs the question, is there room for Jesus at SXSW?

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Pope Francis Drops the F-Bomb…for Jesus?

Chris —  March 4, 2014

Apparently, Pope Francis dropped the F-bomb. Except, not really. If you read up on the story, it seems he mispronounced a word that sounded similar to the Italian word for “penis.”

Why is this news?

Probably because it’s funny. But also because our culture has a decidedly limited idea of what makes for a Jesus follower.

For decades, we’ve promoted a gospel of “sin management.” As Pastrix Nadia Bolz-Webber says, we’ve gotten really good at “not doing things.” As the tirade goes “Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t dance, don’t chew, and don’t go out with girls who do.”

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A Better Question is: Why Do Any of Us Stay in Church?

Chris —  February 13, 2014

There’s a big hubub about Millennials leaving the church. If you look at my Facebook feed, it’s either because they are following Donald Miller’s lead or because they are democrats.

It would be easy to come up with a million reasons to “leave the church.” A few include:

  • Hypocrites hurt people.
  • Stifling values enforced during childhood don’t line up with real world experience.
  • In a choice between Jesus and Dinosaurs, you can see a dinosaur’s skeleton.
  • Gay people are generally nice people, too.
  • Some churches are boring.
  • Some churches try to be exciting, but are still boring and end up feeling cheap or cheesy.
  • Churches don’t seem to care about the poor as much as Jesus did.
  • Going to church sometimes means driving a gas guzzler, denying global warming, packing a gun and avoiding public schools. (Which to some people feels like a lot of work.)

These are all really good reasons, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

Which begs the question: Why do any of us stay in church?

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Everything I Know About Church Planting I Learned From Jimmy Fallon

Chris —  February 10, 2014

Last October, a group of friends started gathering to start the adventure church planting. I’ve read some books and graduated from seminary, but one of my greatest inspirations for our new community is the Jimmy Fallon show.

Like most people, it took me a long time to warm up to Jimmy Fallon. His time on SNL swung violently between hilarious and obnoxious. When we started a Late Night show, I was just confused.

As he’s grown into the role, and mastered his unique approach, I find myself wishing that our new church planting efforts would eventually be described as “kind of like the Jimmy Fallon show, but for Jesus.” Continue Reading…

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Sunday Videos: Take a Load off Jimmy

Chris —  February 9, 2014

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