Jumped the Shark?

Jump the Shark. It's a phrase used to mark a defining moment when you know that your favorite television show has reached its peak. Most of us have had these moments where we know that we have seen the best there is to see. For Happy Days it happened when the Fonz, as cool as he was, jumped a huge shark in tight blue shorts and a leather jacket. I remember this Happy Days moment as a kid but have to admit that I didn't see it (at the time) as a defining moment to mark the show's decline. It was just a stupid sitcom that had run its course.


But this often overused phrase can still describe moments when we know that something has reached its peak performance. Some say that the X-files was never the same once the movie came out on the big screen. Sports teams can 'jump the shark' with the poor performance of an aging quarterback. I'm sure that someone somewhere remembers a time when Elvis jumped the shark. You know it had to happen. Some young fan remembers the day that Elvis appeared in a bad movie or showed up fat on stage. Seinfield and Friends really never jumped the shark because the actors knew that, if they didn't quit, they too would have a date with this hungry shark at Universal Studios.


I guess my thought is this...and I know it is a stretch. But I wonder when and where the American church jumped the shark. At some defining moment last century, the American church began a decline in popularity, baptisms, and relevancy. Maybe this is how the church at large is supposed to function. Maybe it is never really supposed to be popular. Maybe the cultural church that existed decades ago was a bad thing. There is a Biblical case to be made that the gospel message only spreads like a wildfire under persecution and unpopularity.
So I'm not exactly sure if one can state an actual moment in which all would agree. There may be hundreds of reasons that the church is distastful to the many unchurched people in our communities. One can conclude that the church has jumped the shark.


Along those same lines, I am bothered at a recent attempt by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to return to the good ole' days. You know...the days when women had their set, God-given duties at home while the men worked 'hard' at their daily grind. SBTS has created a homemaker degree for women. I'm not kidding. Not our proudest moment. http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=9351. If the Baptist church has not officially 'jumped the shark' then we can definately see those sharp teeth emerging from the deep. I'm glad that FBC Memphis has an alternative interpretation of women in the world. To be honest, I can understand the fundamentalist reasoning by Paige Patterson, the President of SBTS. For Dr. Patterson, whose wife as of a few years ago actually wore a headcovering to demonstrate her submission, he has seen the research on failed marriages and home stress and has now offered what he thinks is a remedy. But easy church remedies always scare me. They usually end up being racist, homophobic, or taking up residence in a theological wasteland.


But doesn't this come across as a seminary grasping at straws. I mean, let's be honest, the world is partly in the shape that it is in because the church has not been proactive enough in the areas of justice, giving, compassion, witness, and knowledge. And now SBTS believes that part of the American problem is due to working women. They should have never left home. It's just too easy to think that an MRS. degree, as someone jokingly coined it, is going to save the family unit.

Dr. Patterson, this world will never return to the 1950's (as much as you loved it) and we don't want to return. More importantly, did you ever ask Christian women if this is the lifestyle that they wish to have imposed upon them. There is something sinful lurking underneath with this and it is in someway related to allowing men to once again have their way. Dr. Patterson has the audacity to say that women can still grow intellectually but at the same time learn how to be a good homemaker. What is so intellectual about sewing on a button or washing the dishes?


I hate when churches and seminaries attempt to find an easy solution outside of the message of Jesus Christ, who really said nothing about women and vacuum cleaners. The more difficult path is to live your life for the welfare of others, to seek justice, to be less materialistic, to offer rigorous, theologically-sound seminary courses, and to help remove the rain cloud that is over the head of so many people that feel inadequate due to gender/lifestyle.

If the church has 'jumped the shark' then it is time to rethink matters and ask ourselves what we want to be known for at the end of the day. Furthermore, we must never attempt the easy road of returning to the way it used to be.

d365.org

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Episcopal Church in America have developed a unique online devotional. The name of the site is d365 www.d365.org and I've been impressed with its simple approach for busy believers. Spread the word about this attempt to bring many different thoughts and prayers into one comprehensive site.

Proof that I am from the MS Gulf Coast!

My parents in Pascagoula have a fiddler crab problem. No joke. My mother informed me today of this problem as if she was just talking about dust bunnies under her sofa. I asked my mom how progress was going with her lazy contractor and her primary complaint was that there is no weather stripping at her front door. I'm thinking...it's letting the cold air out and the warm air in. Hence the name 'weather stripping.' No...it's the fiddler crabs getting in the house. While most people deal with the occasional house fly or cockroach...my folks squash crabs.

Netflix is Saving the World!

OK...maybe it's an overstatement to indicate that Netflix can save the world. As a new customer, I'm just pumped to have available movies around my house at all times. My wife and I can barely find time to watch a movie together and driving to the movie store, although just around the corner, just seems like another busy thing to do. I can now watch a 2-hour movie over a span of 19 days by watching short scenes while eating lunch, lying in my bed, eating a bowl of cereal, tying my shoes, picking up the living room, folding clothes, playing with my children, drinking water, flossing, writing thank you cards, blogging, or listening to my wife. It's great.

But someone out there, with way too much time on their hands, has figured out that Netflix is the environmentally safe way to get a movie to your house. Read below:

The total emissions from sending one billion DVDs to its customers is 320 tons. Keeping in mind that those DVDs are also returned to the same facility we need to double that result to 640 tons of CO2 emissions. To put this result into perspective, let's see what the alternative looks like. Let's say that the average drive to your local video rental store is 5 km (3 miles) and that the average vehicle gets around 20 mpg so that every trip to the video rental store uses 0.588 liters of fuel, releasing 1.77 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere. If everyone gets only one DVD per trip, those one billion DVDs would amount to 1,770,000 tons of CO2 emissions. If you factor in the return trip, that amount increases to 3,540,000 tons of CO2!
The lesson in all of this is that mail order is more efficient than driving your personal vehicle (unless it's a bike). A study performed for the record label EMI by the Digital Europe Project compared the relative ecological impact of purchasing a CD at a store (which requires driving there), ordering it on-line (from Amazon for example), or downloading the music (iTunes) and came to a similar conclusion as this Netflix case.

Thank you Netflix for saving our climate. Polar bears will not be stranded because of you. I can watch Weekend at Bernie's 77 times and do no harm to the atmosphere. I no longer have to fear being consumed by a glacier-produced tidal wave while watching The Notebook.

And may I add...never do the Blockbuster online thing. I thought I would be different and start there. Big mistake. I apologize to everyone.

Missing the Divine Dance!

Say No to Fundamentalism! I'm going to attempt something here that I've rarely been able to accomplish. I'm going to speak about fundamentalism without using the words conservative or liberal. I believe that fundamentalism can be an error in both camps so my goal will be to keep things civil. Sounds whimpy I know...but I believe it can be done.

J. Jacob Jenkins in his book, Buried Alive, writes about the first time he danced with a girl. He's not sure that anyone would describe it as dancing but his first attempt at it came with sweaty hands and shortness of breath. But everyone knows when the girl that you have a crush on wants you to dance...you dance. But Jenkins figured out a method. It was a formula to help him get through his very first dance with someone he really didn't know. Due to his fear of screwing up and making a fool of himself, he decided to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. This way nobody's toes would get squashed and the superficial crush could continue.

I took some liberties with Jenkins' account but you see where I am going with this. John Michael Montgomery once said, "Don't worry about what you don't know. Life's a dance. You learn as you go."

There is no real danger and no true risk of injury if we all just keep our feet on the ground. Just sway our hips back and forth, play church, and be nice. We all are guilty of making Jesus out who we want to be. But one thing is undeniably true: Christianity is intended to be life-giving and free. It offers a unique opportunity for purpose of existence and it provides special lenses in which to see and appreciate beauty. By playing it safe and not lifting our feet off of the fundamentalist foundation, we completely miss the joy of the dance. Fundamentalism demands ALL of our time and fossilizes the true nature of the gospel. Do you sense that I have an opinion on this?

I marvel at the way that people, myself included, have decided to come up with personalized (or institutionalized) formulas for living as a Christ follower. Usually, as Jenkins writes, this formula is nothing more than walking through life with a stiff neck and held breath. "Above all, love each other deeply" and "Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us" should make us ponder about our motives for living.

May we never forget: Christ is the end of the Law!

More on this to come.

Prayers of the People

Yes, the following words are from the prayer that I accidentally prayed 30 minutes too soon one hot Sunday morning in August. I just wanted to make sure we were adequately prepared for the time of giving. ha.

Loving God, indeed we take many things for granted. Whether it is the air that we breathe or our confidence in tomorrow, we find ourselves leaning too much on our own understanding. Therefore, we ask that your indwelling Spirit teach us how to gain a confidence that depends only on Jesus Christ. As we worship you in this gathered community, may we be directed on how we can love you with added strength and purpose. And may the offerings we give be a reflection of what WE believe YOU would like to see changed in our world. May our gifts bring justice to the ones who need it and meaning to the ones who stand firm against it.
Almighty God, continue to change us so that our hearts and minds are set on things above.

Does Jesus Care?

The following thoughts were written by William Willimon, a Methodist bishop in Birmingham, AL.

An earnest young man comes up to Jesus asking the Lord to help him settle an inheritance dispute between him and his brother. Jesus, who has been on a negative, judgmental jag for the past few chapters in Luke, is given an opportunity to show how caring and compassionate he really is. Time to get off the prophetic high horse and get mushy, fuzzy and pastoral.
The man addresses Jesus as “Teacher,” which presumes that the man wants instruction, but in the next breath he demands that Jesus “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” The man knows, or thinks he knows, just what ought to be done in this situation and just what Jesus will do for him.
As happens so often, however, Jesus refuses to answer the question, refuses to respond in the expected way and reframes the question, reworks the expectation. “Friend” (the word Jesus tends to use when he is preparing to thrust the dagger through someone’s heart), “who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”—which is ironic because the man isn’t asking for judgment; he is asking for action on his behalf.
It is also ironic because even though Jesus says he is not a judge over this man’s problems, he is judging this man’s preoccupations: “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” This judgment seems unfair because nothing suggests that this man is being greedy. He is asking for simple justice in the matter of an inheritance dispute.
I find it interesting that Jesus dismisses this concern over justice, refusing to arbitrate or to attempt to make peace in a feuding family, and instead tells a story about a successful, prudent rich man whom Jesus calls a “fool.” It’s hard to see how the story has anything to do with the question of inheritance since the rich man presumably didn’t inherit his wealth but got it the old fashioned way—he worked for it and earned it. Yet Jesus calls him a fool.
One reason why we study scripture, one reason why we come to church on Sunday, is so that we can receive answers to our questions, action on our petitions. We come seeking help with our daily problems, solutions to our dilemmas.
And isn’t Jesus loving and compassionate? And doesn’t he care?
Well, not always, at least that’s what this Sunday’s exchange suggests. Jesus must be about more important matters even than meeting my needs. He is also judge of my need. The questions that consume me may not consume Jesus. The matters in my life that I consider to be my biggest, most pressing problems may not interest Jesus in the least. It’s always a shock to have a conversation with Jesus and to find that he is more than the answer to my questions and the solution to my problems.What a challenge to worship a friend and savior who is also the true and living God!

I've never really pondered the idea of Jesus not caring about every detail in my life. In fact, I'm not sure that the church ever teaches anything otherwise. The questions now is, if Jesus is not concerned about every little problem, why does the concept give me comfort? As I reflect on Willimon's words, I sit here and try to imagine Jesus somewhat distant, not at all concerned about a problem that I have manufactured on my own or one that has been brought upon me. It's odd to think of such a thing but I have to admit that the possibility of Jesus moving on to more important items makes me joyous. When our daily living, with all of its busyness and stress, takes grip on our lives; we often feel like we have been betrayed. We may not notice it but how many times have we all looked up as if we didn't deserve such a thing to happen? Or how many times do we become disappointed in life because things aren't quite going as the pastor promised years ago; way back when when the adventure of Christianity made us feel like could withstand anything.

I guess I'm saying that I like the idea of Jesus dismissing some things in my life as being unworthy of his ministry. If Jesus jumped on board with every issue, dispute, argument, or pain then I would be the one in control and nothing could be farther from the truth.

God is more powerful, more perfect, more involved, and more mysterious to me if I get off the ego trip of believing that He must be concerned with what I am concerned about. His ways are not my ways. "The questions that consume me may not consume Jesus," and who am I to demand that they do.

For me, God's continuous presence goes without dispute. But must we always demand that He always be in step with us? I believe the better option would be to take the risk that Jesus has always placed before his followers; to follow him and forget about ourselves...even our worries.