Beauty in the hell that was ...

I've begun reading the book Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society, by Jason Locy and Timothy Willard.  It explores the false-faces we put on to cover up the person that we truly are deep, deep down inside.

That 'person' is often scarred, wounded, tired, tested, and refined.  That 'person' has been - at times it feels - to hell and back in life.  Is it possible that good can come from those times?  Is it possible that beauty can come from it?

This quote exploded off the page at me, speaking to these very questions ...

True Beauty, some say, resides at the threshold of pain.  This is why we can call the crucifixion beautiful.  Not because we are barbarians, but because there`s an inherent truth and goodness in it.  Christ lays his life down for all of humankind, past, present, and future.  This is good; he is good.  And his goodness points us to truth, truth of redemption, truth of coming restoration, truth of forgiveness.

This is why we can look back on pain in our lives and call it beautiful.  It wasn`t beautiful then; it was hell.  But from that hell grew a shoot, and from that shoot a leaf, and life sprang up where hell resides; that is beautiful.  God makes it so.

These truths are reflected in the song Beautiful Things, by the band Gungor.  Enjoy the video and may you learn to see beauty in the pain as you find restoration through the work of God in you.

Youth Culture Missionary

A couple of years ago I wrote an endorsement for a friends book that was about to be published.

He asked me what 'title' I wanted to go after my name.  You know how this works: you want to have acquaintances who are 'impressive people' endorse your book.  There was one obvious title he suggested, but I knew I wanted something else to be listed also.  I just wasn't sure what that was.

I thought about it for a while.  What describes what I do, but also what I want to be?

I chose the title, "Youth Culture Missionary".

I look back and still think it was the right choice.  It is what I do ... at least in part ... every week.  I have the privilege of rubbing shoulders and running in the midst of many, many teenagers who are both actively engaged in the growth of their Christian faith, and those who aren't.  Some who aren't are still exploring spirituality and specifically Christianity, but many are not and really don't care to at this point.  But that is ok, because I know that God is still interested and, therefore, so am I.

I may not be an 'impressive person' to many, but it's what I do and what I want to be.

Kill Your Television ...

Back in the 20th Century, I had this shirt that I wore almost every time I went to the public schools.

"Why?", you ask.

Simple ... it started conversations like no other t-shirt I have ever owned before or since.  And these were not short, ten second sound-byte conversations.  These were not, "So, how is school going?" kind of conversations.  These were the real deal.  They were honest, reflective conversations with teens that often had significant emotion wrapped up in the dialogue.

Let me tell you what the three words on the t-shirt were (in case you haven't guessed from the title of this posting):

kill

your

television

Three words that got everyone talking.

In the 21st Century, the shirt might says, "Kill Your Cell" or maybe "Kill Your Computer", but I'm not sure it would get such a deep reaction.  There is something about TV.

Check this out:


Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

In the past people have said, "Time is Money".  In some places and for some moments, this might be true, but there is a greater truth that is overshadowed by this statement:

"Time is Limited"  

How you and I spend our time tells a story about our souls.  What we give our focused time to can leave a legacy or vaporize like mist.

The clock is ticking ... what is directly in front of you?

.

Flatland, Atheists, and "Something More" ...

One of the songs that I love to sing when our student ministry gathers together is called, "Consuming Fire".  The lyrics that catch eyes and stir curiosity are these:

There must be more than this
O breath of God, come breath within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for You
Fill us anew we pray ...

The song captures that notion that life viewed from the perspective that, "what we see exists and there is really nothing spiritual - nothing more than the physical", is lacking.  It captures the hopes that you and I actually have meaning to our lives and a destiny that is more than just the survival of the fittest.

And yet, for some of us this is a hard pill to swallow.  The idea that there is a God who has been involved in shaping history is tough to believe.  Some of us are "prove it and I'll believe it" people who have just enough skepticism that nothing could really ever prove it!

Now, to be fair, people who believe there is a God don't always make this easy, do they?   Take this idea of the Trinity, for example:  "God is One, but made up of Three unique and distinct personalities in such perfect relationship to each other that they are actually One".  Pardon?  "How does that make any sense?", the atheist would say.  Hmmmm ...

I've been reading a great book called, No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come as You Are Culture in the Church.  In it, John Burke, the author, explores exactly the questions and problems that I've mentioned above.  Both John and another author named Rob Bell have made use of a concept called "Flatland" to help us wrap our minds around the mystery that is "the More of God" (my term).

Check out the clip below and see how Bell explains this very helpful concept during his speaking tour called "Everything is Spiritual" ... I think, whether you fall into the category of 'Christian', Atheist, or something in-between, you will find it helpful.

Comments?

"I've Never Heard a Parent Talk Like That Before ..."

I try and get over the the high school and help serve hot lunch to the students on as many Thursday afternoon's as I can each month.  It gives me a chance to serve the students that I pray for and it's also a chance to say hello to teens I haven't seen in a while.  Plus, there are some really hard working parents and teachers who make the lunch program possible and if I can cheer them on and support them in their efforts, I am jazzed to!

Today, one girl who came early to grab a bite to eat and was visiting with some of the adults who she knew.  Someone introduced me to the girl and mentioned it had been my birthday this week.  She asked what I did to celebrate and I said that I had spent the day with my wife and kids.  Her response was apologetic and almost a matter-of-fact when she said, "Oh, you have kids, that sucks.  I am sorry for you."

Wow.  What do you say in response to that?  I just told the truth:

"Actually", I replied, "I have two absolutely amazing kids.  My boy is 12 and my daughter 10 and they are incredible.  It is a joy to be their dad!"

She stopped eating.  She looked me right in the eye and said, "I have never in my life ever heard a parent talk like that about their kids.  You mean you like them?"

At first I thought maybe she was joking, but realized she wasn't.

I wrote about the power of our words earlier this week.  Today I was affirmed that our words matter.  I could have joked and made a goofy statement about my kids after her initial comments, but chose not to.  If I had joked, this girl may not have come face-to-face with the fact that it is possible for a parent - a father - to love and appreciate his children.

Our words do matter and I hope I get a chance to visit with this girl again and hear her story.  Maybe she'll ask me to share more of mine. 

"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
   and the hearts of the children to their fathers ..." 

- Malachi 4:6

The Power of Words ...

"Poorly chosen words can kill enthusiasm, impact self-esteem, lower expectations and hold people back. Well chosen ones can motivate, offer hope, create vision, impact thinking and alter results."

- Nan S. Russell

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."

- Revelation 12:11

On more than one occasion I've challenged my children to re-think what they have just said.  Usually it is because they have spoken something that is not kind or wishing evil on another person.  Often, however, I say it when they have spoke words of blessing over someone, because I want them to realize the weight of what they have said and how good it is.

Words matter.

With words I can tear the hopes and dreams of a person to shreds.  In the same way, I can increase a dream and speak life into the very soul of someone.

It's true in the spiritual realm too.  I can speak out a curse (calling out evil over someone) for someone with my words.  In the same way, I can invite God's blessing in the life of a person.  My words can bind Satan and his demons to silence and inactivity in the name of Jesus (Rev. 12.11).

Words matter.

Parksville seems to have much more grumpy and negative complaining among its' people than any other city that I have ever lived in.  Charlene and I have had to watch ourselves closely.  We want to be people who build others up with our words and not tear down.  More than once a week we (mostly myself) will chat briefly about watching the focus of our words, because ... well, they matter.

So how do you speak?  Do you treat the words that come out of your mouth with the weight that they deserve?  I'm really working at it ... maybe you could start by encouraging me in the journey I'm taking!!

Thanks!

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be"

James 3:3-11

lessons on spaghetti sauce and church growth ...

"Variety is the spice of life!" - William Cowper

One of the continual challenges that the church communities which I have been a part of over the last 15 years (six in total, ranging from a three-month stay in a city to a seven year stay in a city) have had is related to space. It seems that church communities are regularly found to be outgrowing their real-estate, which, in the words of that particular community is, "a great problem to have".

sidenote: It's less-often a problem in youth ministry situations because of the age-restrictions placed upon those groups. Although youth ministry generally has more growth on any given year than the rest of the church community, because students graduate out of the ministry at the end of middle or high school, numbers don't race skyward for long.
 

As a response to growth, churches generally choose one of four options to deal with this "great problem" that they have:

1.) Add to an additional service at a new time (in the same room) ...
2.) Build an expansion (expand the meeting room) ...
3.) Start a new church in the surrounding area (often called a church-plant) ...
4.) Start an addition service off-site, in the surrounding area, using a live-feed of the sermon (a relatively new trend refer to as "adding a campus")

Cockroach Herding and Marketing ...

I often read articles and books on marketing. Below is an item that I read in Adbusters this week. When marketers convince us to follow their trends, the difference between humans and insects gets a little blurrier ...

Cockroach
A group of researchers at the Free University of Brussels have recently figured out how to influence the behavior of one of the world’s most resilient creatures: the cockroach. Combining elements of entomology and robotics, the group created an experiment that involved mingling light sensitive, cockroach-scented robots with the real deal.

Within a constructed social arena, the researchers set up two separate shaded areas, one area being darker than the other. Upon being released into the arena, the 16 organic roaches, which have a natural distaste for light, chose to socialize in the darker of the two spaces. The researchers then placed four of the robot roaches into the arena and allowed the two groups to mingle and become acquainted.

After the living roaches warmed up and befriended their artificial counterparts, the group then programmed the robots to graze in the area with more light. Although cockroaches are instinctively drawn to the darker of the two areas, they were unable to resist the impulse to imitate, and ultimately follow their cockroach-smelling robotic friends into the light.

Herding
A team of marketing specialists have recently figured out how to effectively influence the social patterns of Manhattan’s most trend-savvy demographic: the hipster. Utilizing elements of guerrilla methodology in conjunction with a strong understanding of cultural capital, the team successfully interloped the Lower East Side’s vibrant nightlife and established an intimate venue where they could easily manipulate young consumers.

The team engineered a recurring, premeditated “non-event” in which they would hang out on a street bench located in front of New York’s most prominent American Apparel branch. Initially, they were able to attract the interest of passing youths because of their status as minor celebrities within the city’s taste-making elite, but over time “The Bench” (also known as the “anti-scene”) grew to become a hyper-local social phenomenon and quickly developed a reputation as a cool alternative to neighborhood bars and clubs.

Positive media publicity further popularized “The Bench” and soon enough the surrounding sidewalk was packed with thronging youths eager to hang out at New York’s newest and freshest night spot. Although youth are supposed to be resistant to social control, they were unable to resist the impulse to imitate, and ultimately follow their marketing-savvy friends into the light of American Apparel.