Once again, the inimitable Dr. Groothuis leads us through an examination of one the movements afoot within Christendom: Jesus for Men. This vision of the Lord is meant to counteract the supposed feminization of the Church which is turning men away. He is attractive to men, not because of holiness but because of His brawn. Read the piece here.
Month: March 2008
It’s All in the Sewer Pipes: Opening Day
And so opening day of the Rox 2008 campaign finally arrives…it seems like almost five months since we last saw the boys in purple. Here’s a video of the Hawper showing off the pipes to stoke the fires.
Saturday is for Cowpunk: Jason and the Scorchers
One of those bands I can listen to anytime, anywhere…as you’ll see in the video, there was no stage that could contain the larger than life Mr. Jason!
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
We begin with a quiz:
In the 1992 presidential campaign, a memorable proverb coined by James Carville entered the national consciousness. It was:
A. It’s the economy, stupid.
B. Change vs. more of the same.
C. Don’t forget healthcare.
The truth is, all three of these ideas were written by Mr. Carville on that famous white board as reminders to the Clinton campaign staff that these were important ideas to be communicated to the American voters. While the political process may not be of interest to many, what is instructive is to discover what makes one idea lodge in our memory while others refuse to stick? This is the question explored by Chip and Dan Heath in Made to Stick.
One of the greatest challenges that we face as agents of social change is that we must transfer our passion for the good of others into ideas that can resonate with people that we want to engage in the process. The Heaths analyze the process of communicating ideas and discover that those that cut through the avalanche of information that we encounter each day and wedge themselves permanently in our minds share six principles: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. A memorable acronym emerges from these words – SUCCESs.
Made to Stick offers change agents a toolbox for analyzing and improving the way in which we convey our passionate call to action to others so that they become equally engaged and moved to action. For example, we may have attempted in the past to draw others to labor with us in the area of serving the homeless. We offer statistics to demonstrate that toiling in this field is not without a harvest as the cynical culture leads many to believe. The Heaths point out that the standard message is lacking in any of the adhesive qualities that would make our plea sticky and thus remain in the recipient’s consciousness, standing a better chance of catching fire.
They offer a story (S in the acronym) that cements the credibility (C as well) of our desire to engage others. Rather than telling others that a homeless rehabilitation program can be successful, followed by a graph and slide show, the Doe Fund in New York City sent a driver to pick up representatives of a grant organization. Rather than listening to the Doe executives on the ride from the airport, the grant representatives were enthralled by the story of their driver Dennis, a formerly homeless man who was a successful graduate of the work of the Doe program. The power of Unexpectedness, Credibility, Emotion, and Story combine to make the effectiveness of the Doe program stick in the mind far better than a presentation of the statistics can. The Heaths demonstrate that we can analyze all of our ideas in this way and find ways to integrate these principles in such a way as to make our ideas unforgettable.
Many primers on preaching and ministry leadership have attempted to convey this same idea but very few are as successful as Made to Stick. The brothers Heath have given us a book that succeeds at what it recommends; the illustrations and applications make each of the principles immediately memorable even apart from the easy to remember SUCCESs. Those of us involved in the work of social justice and change are often personally impassioned but can be frustrated when others that we hope to engage in our crusade fail to equally catch the fire. Using the SUCCESs principles to analyze the way in which we promote our passion can serve the kingdom well as we find those things that can cement the idea in the minds of fellow believers and move them action. After all, isn’t that what Jesus does in all the red words?
He Is Risen Indeed at Red Rocks
For the first time in many years, my family and I had the opportunity to attend the sunrise service at Red Rocks. If you have never seen the beauty of this God created amphitheater, you can find a good Wiki here and, maybe more famously, it is the backdrop for U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ video. Yesterday, it was the house of God as several thousand people braved temperatures around 18 and snow and ice to be a part of this wonderful worship service.
The three empty crosses await the coming of the dawn and the promise of new life.
These sisters awaken the spirits in the darkness, preparing hearts for the presence of the Lord.
We look out over the Great Plains to the East, flat for as far as the eye can see, straining to catch the first glimpse of the new dawn.
As the sun rises just over the horizon, the promise of the new life is renewed. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Passion Week: Vigil
We wait through the day and the darkness for the Lord and His promised return. He told us but we didn’t understand that he would rise and leave the tomb, overcoming the final fear of humankind, death. With this miracle He alone would change all of history; we would mark the time which he created by His presence among us. Those at or near the Cross that Friday afternoon were filled with despair as their Lord gave up His spirit, crying out to the God of the Exodus and the Immaculate Conception “Why? Why have your forsaken me?” Was their last hope given up in that breath also? They could only spend the days in their personal darkness.
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:3-11)
The clarity brought by standing distant from the event still does not preclude us from our own moments of vigil. Where is God in our lives? Has he forsaken us? Is the separation temporary, brought about by our own rebellion or is it meant to strengthen us in our trust? These questions race through our minds but can be quieted by the promise of the new day’s sunrise: He was risen and He will rise again in our hearts. We must simply trust through this day.
Passion Week: The Great High Priest
The author of Hebrews exhorts us with this passage of promise:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:14-16)
On this day of Holy Week we consider the sacrifice of our Lord. He gives His life so that we might gain ours. In giving His life to rise again, Jesus shows that His dominion extends beyond our greatest fear – death – while not dismissing our lesser fears of failure in sin. He stands on our behalf knowing the human struggle against temptation and offering His strength in place of our own to overcome the weakness of our will. In every time of need, His grace is available to us if we will only reach out and take hold of it. As we reflect this Good Friday, we can consider how this confidence that he builds in us can lead us to make a similar sacrifice in our own lives. Be blessed.
Passion Week: The Year of the Lord’s Favor
Bookending the ministry of the Christ are the events of Holy Week and the announcement of His ministry:
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Lk 4:16-21
Preaching the good news and healing the broken, the essence of the Lord’s holy ministry and, by extension, our own. When we look to the heavens for a fresh vision for the fulfillment of our calling our eyes and hearts are drawn back to the utter simplicity of our mission: love others as the beloved of the Almighty King. You and I can proclaim the good news of freedom in Jesus Christ in myriad ways. We can heal the broken and shine a light so bright that sight for blindest can be attained. Our lives with each breath and act can proclaim again and again that we live in the year of the Lord’s favor. We can do all of these things if we put aside our fears, trusting in the miracle of the Risen Christ. Do you believe?
Passion Week: A Face Set Like Flint
The Suffering Servant speaks:
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The Servant moves a day closer to the Cross with the rising of the sun this morning and yet, knowing the travail that He faces, fixes his unturning face toward Golgotha. He sets the example for our own journey in God’s will. We can let the world see the shine in our face though it may be spat upon. We can turn an unscarred cheek toward our attackers. We can do all of this without concern because we are secure in God’s grace. We are adopted as co-heirs along with our Servant brother. If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?
Passion Week: I’ll Never Deny You
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
(Jn 13:36-14:1)
How many times have we been in Peter’s sandals? We have committed and recommitted to our Lord thinking that somehow He is not privy to the alternate plans that lie within our hearts. As Holy week progresses toward the history changing events of the Easter weekend, we see the definition of full commitment, unwavering and unswerving. Our Lord expects nothing short from us though He is fully aware of our duplicitous natures. For this He gave us the Holy Spirit, a presence that transfers the full Kingdom commitment to us if we are surrendered to His will. Let this be the week we surrender in full.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 