Back on May 7th, I read an article about the news media and marketing. You can find the article here...http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/05/the-media-marke.html
This idea that the media sells drama has been on my mind for a while. There seems to have been a paradigm shift in the purpose of the media somewhere along the way. If I understand the purpose of journalism and media (which I may not, some journalism major can correct me), it was created to disseminate information to the public. It seems now that the glory of news media is not to be informative, but to be financially productive. This is why they sell the news and create drama, even when it is non-existent.
Does this bother anyone or is it just me?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Beauty Pageant for Nuns Cancelled
I don't know if you caught this news yesterday, but an Italian Catholic priest was planning an online beauty pageant for Nuns. He has since suspended the beauty pageant because of pressure from his overseers. This is fascinating to me. (I personally was looking forward to the priests to have a weightlifting contest after the pageant.)
Here's my one of my observations...the church is deep trouble when we have to uphold the beauty of our women to get the attention of the world. It would be far better to uphold the beauty of Christ, for His glory is never fading.
What do you think about this beauty pageant for Nuns?
Here's my one of my observations...the church is deep trouble when we have to uphold the beauty of our women to get the attention of the world. It would be far better to uphold the beauty of Christ, for His glory is never fading.
What do you think about this beauty pageant for Nuns?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Contentment
I was teaching on contentment last night at our Bible Study from Philippians 4:10-13. One of the things that I did not get to teach on was that there is such a thing holy discontentment. The Apostle Paul indicates that is good and right for us to learn to be content in any and all circumstances. As I said last night, contentment is a learned virtue and a trust issue. We have to lean to learn and learn to lean. Contentment is about trusting God with joy no matter what.
But there is a kind of discontentment that is good. I would call it holy discontentment. It is the kind of discontentment that you find Paul speaking of in Philippians 3. Unholy discontentment leads us to things like grumbling, complaining, coveting and stealing. Holy discontentment leads to things such as repentance, humility, obedience and innovation. It takes us toward God rather than away.
So, when I find myself discontented and doing unholy things and having unholy thoughts I should immediately be alerted to the fact that I am experiencing unholy discontentment. But if I find my discontent leads me to greater repentance, obedience and creativity then I am experiencing holy discontentment.
But there is a kind of discontentment that is good. I would call it holy discontentment. It is the kind of discontentment that you find Paul speaking of in Philippians 3. Unholy discontentment leads us to things like grumbling, complaining, coveting and stealing. Holy discontentment leads to things such as repentance, humility, obedience and innovation. It takes us toward God rather than away.
So, when I find myself discontented and doing unholy things and having unholy thoughts I should immediately be alerted to the fact that I am experiencing unholy discontentment. But if I find my discontent leads me to greater repentance, obedience and creativity then I am experiencing holy discontentment.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Right Voice, Wrong Face
Did you catch the story from the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? It was the one where China had the pretty girl lip sync the Chinese national anthem. The reason they went "Milli Vanilli" on the national anthem was due to the fact that the real singer was not pretty enough. It's amazing to me that they couldn't find just one cute girl who could sing out of about 1.5 billion people.
This problem is not isolated to the Chinese. Whenever appearance is more important than substance it always ends up being ugly rather than beautiful. It is like Jesus pronouncement concerning the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-26. He says, "You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." In other words, when you do things for appearance sake you don't solve the problem. You make the situation uglier when you look a little closer.
This problem is not isolated to the Chinese. Whenever appearance is more important than substance it always ends up being ugly rather than beautiful. It is like Jesus pronouncement concerning the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-26. He says, "You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." In other words, when you do things for appearance sake you don't solve the problem. You make the situation uglier when you look a little closer.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Big Foot
If you have been watching the news lately then you know that "Big Foot" has made a return. Two dudes in North Georgia claim to have found "Big Foot" and his family. (Here is one of several hundred links in case you are not up to date - http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/15/big-foot-discovery.html.)
I got to thinking about this fascination with "Big Foot". Why are people so enamored with the news of "Big Foot"? I think it has everything to do with a desire to come close to that which is holy. Discovery is important to humanity because he longs to see the mysterious revealed. People are fascinated with the unknown. It is the reason people are searching the water for the LochNess monster, the sky for aliens and the land for "Big Foot". They want to have knowledge of the HOLY. Holiness means more than just purity. It means that a certain thing, person or place is set apart from the rest. It is the desire to discover holiness that drives us to look in the water, to the skies, in the woods and even in ourselves to find that which is holy. This is where the problem lies. We will never find the holiness we desire in those places or things.
True knowledge of the Holy is revealed in God's Word. It's the place to search if you want to find that which is set above all the rest. Discover the Holy in the Bible.
New Link info on "Big Foot" - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,406101,00.html
I got to thinking about this fascination with "Big Foot". Why are people so enamored with the news of "Big Foot"? I think it has everything to do with a desire to come close to that which is holy. Discovery is important to humanity because he longs to see the mysterious revealed. People are fascinated with the unknown. It is the reason people are searching the water for the LochNess monster, the sky for aliens and the land for "Big Foot". They want to have knowledge of the HOLY. Holiness means more than just purity. It means that a certain thing, person or place is set apart from the rest. It is the desire to discover holiness that drives us to look in the water, to the skies, in the woods and even in ourselves to find that which is holy. This is where the problem lies. We will never find the holiness we desire in those places or things.
True knowledge of the Holy is revealed in God's Word. It's the place to search if you want to find that which is set above all the rest. Discover the Holy in the Bible.
New Link info on "Big Foot" - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,406101,00.html
Monday, May 12, 2008
What Does This Say?
I was reading "The Christian Index" this morning. I came across an article that announced the candidacy of Johnny Hunt for the new President of the Southern Baptist Convention. The one paragraph that was weird to me was this...
"In the 21 years of Hunt’s pastorate church membership has increased from 1,027 to more than 16,800. Current average church worship attendance is 6,800."
What does this mean? Is this good? For me, this is frightening. How can a church have 10,000 people absent (on average) in worship if they truly are members of the church? This seems extraordinarily out of whack. I am sure that this is not the only church with numbers like this. I am not saying everyone will be there every Sunday, but this gap is huge and seems to be growing in American churches.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is glorifying Christ.
"In the 21 years of Hunt’s pastorate church membership has increased from 1,027 to more than 16,800. Current average church worship attendance is 6,800."
What does this mean? Is this good? For me, this is frightening. How can a church have 10,000 people absent (on average) in worship if they truly are members of the church? This seems extraordinarily out of whack. I am sure that this is not the only church with numbers like this. I am not saying everyone will be there every Sunday, but this gap is huge and seems to be growing in American churches.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is glorifying Christ.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Whether
Whether is the next word that we want to look at in 1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether says that in any case, such as eating or drinking, that our primary goal is to glorify God. No matter what the circumstances, good or bad, we are to glorify God. Whatever the day unfolds, sunshine or cloudy skies, we are to glorify God.
Whether functions to let us know that everything we do should be subordinate to the this one thing: glorifying God. So, if you decide to munch down on a Snickers bar or gulp down some Diet Mountain Dew you should do it in a way that points to God's heaviness in your life.
The question is then, "How do I eat a Snickers bar for the glory of God?"
1. I can eat it and enjoy it.
2. I can eat it and thank God who provided it for me.
3. I can eat it and thank God for those who were creative in making it.
4. I can eat it and share it with those around me.
Whether just means whatever the case may be I need to do for God's glory and not my own.
Whether functions to let us know that everything we do should be subordinate to the this one thing: glorifying God. So, if you decide to munch down on a Snickers bar or gulp down some Diet Mountain Dew you should do it in a way that points to God's heaviness in your life.
The question is then, "How do I eat a Snickers bar for the glory of God?"
1. I can eat it and enjoy it.
2. I can eat it and thank God who provided it for me.
3. I can eat it and thank God for those who were creative in making it.
4. I can eat it and share it with those around me.
Whether just means whatever the case may be I need to do for God's glory and not my own.
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