Vacation

Hey all,

I'm off on vacation for a few weeks. I'll post some new thoughts when I return. Enjoy the sun. And the Son!

Bill

Church Changers

So, there are game changers every where we go in life. We see them a lot in entertainment. But do we see them in our workplaces? Do we see them in our churches? Some are pretty obvious. Email was a total game changer for work and social interaction. Texting has done the same thing. What's next for your workplace?

In a church setting this is a harder one to define. There are some pretty obvious game changers in our history. Martin Luther and the Reformation stands out. But you could easily put the Pentecostal movement begun in Azusa and the Vatican II document from the Catholic church in the same category. All three of those events affected churches all over the world, they changed how we are/become churches.

Some of you have heard me argue that I think one of the more recent examples of this is Willow Creek in Chicago. Not so much in how they became a mega-church, but in the Willow Creek Association they helped form. That has really put the era of "denominations" on notice, and will produce great lasting change for how churches relate and work together for years to come.

The thing about each of these church game changers, is that, eventually, every church had to change because of them. It always hasn't been willingly. In fact, sometimes the change is to compete against the change movement coming their way (you see this particularly with the Pentecostal movement of the early 1900's.) But, no church can ignore game changers forever. They eventually have to respond.

I bring this up, because I think we're in a time where a lot of different people are seeing a lot of different game changers in the church world. We get pushed to react to all kinds of events because they are touted as being the next big game changer and it demands our response and attention. In my career alone I've seen game changers touted like: The end of Denominations, the Alpha movement, The Social Justice Gospel emphasis, A return to liturgy, Contemporary Christian Music, House churches, Emergent churches, Online churches, Mega churches, and more all get mentioned as the next thing that will restore/destroy church as we know it.

Perhaps in no other field than the church are we both so fearful of game changers, and willing to see them everywhere we look.

So, what do we do with that? I certainly don't know. But I would preach caution. I would guess most things don't end up becoming the game changers we think that they will. And if we trust the Holy Spirit, and are listening to Him, He will direct us to the ones we need to see, and help us determine how we can transform accordingly. There are game changers happening for our church right now, I do believe that. But I also believe God will show us how to change for His glory and His gain if we ask Him.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church.

Bill

More Game Changers

So, if not Television, have you considered my friend: the Movies?

We're talking about game changers here, things that impacted their area so greatly, that the "game" has been played differently ever since. In Movies there are a number of classics that still fit the bill. "Citizen Kane" is still probably the greatest example. It absolutely transformed how people made movies in a way that most modern movie-goers rarely realize. But, there are many others. "Psycho" was a huge game changer, if for no other reason, than that Hitchcock killed the "lead" in the first 1/3 of the movie. Nobody did that! It was revolutionary. "Star Wars" changed movies for better, and worse, by becoming a global phenomenon.

The latest, and most obvious example, is "Avatar". After it came out it was loved by many and dismissed by others. I heard often that it was a pretty picture, but with no substance. Well, to each his own, but it would be foolish to not see "Avatar" as the game changer that I think it will be. James Cameron went all in on the art of 3-D movie making, and he showed what was possible if you did it intentionally, artistically, and not just for lame effects. Much like Color movies ended the era of Black and White, "Avatar" throws down the gauntlet to modern 2-D movies and says, "Yeah, but can you do this?" Will it affect all movies to come in the future? It remains to be seen. But it's very possible all of us are in the middle of a game change for movies, like it or not.

Anybody see where this is going in relation to the Church, yet?

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Game Changers

I've been thinking about this image a lot lately. A Game changer. Something that comes along, and just profoundly affects things so much that it affects how the "game" is played from then on out. It's often hard to see a Game changer for what it is at the time. It's usually only after years have passed that we're able to see with hindsight just how affecting a particular event/thing/moment can be. But they happen, probably more often than we realize.

So, I thought I'd talk about a few, and see if we can get a little feedback in the process. Most of these will start out not having much to do with the church, but that's where this is leading so follow me until we get there, won't you?

Those of you who know me well know I've got a love of entertainment, so I had a hard time deciding between Movies or TV to begin with. But, I'm choosing TV, because I'm hoping to see a game changing movie in the next day or so.

Anyway, TV gamechangers: Think about how MTV has completely transformed how music is packaged and "sold" in the world. Think about how ESPN has completely changed how whole sports are played. Basketball is a lesser sport for me year after year, and I think ESPN shares a great deal of the blame for that. Guys play to be on a highlight reel, they don't play to win. As networks I can't think of two greater examples that have changed the "games" they market to than those.

As to TV shows, "Hill Street Blues" is still probably the biggest game changer affecting television drama today. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was doing multi-arc, large cast television before Hill Street Blues went on the air. Nobody moved between workplace and home life like they did. Every drama on television today pulls from HSB more than we often realize. And for Comedies, I've got to say "Who's the Boss." No, I'm kidding. For comedies I think the game changer that influences the game more than any other was NBC's Thursday night comedy night starting with "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" o' so many years ago. That night dominated television for years, and as much as every quirky comedy today claims they're happy with their niche audience, everybody secretly wants the universal acclaim that Bill Cosby and Michael J Fox had for that run.

So, what do you think? Am I on to something here? Do you see TV game changers that I've missed? Art you interested in where this continues to go from here?

Don't go to Church, Be the Church

Bill

Failure is Success

This is one of those things that no one likes to hear when it's happening, but I'm absolutely convinced it's true.

We learn much more from our failures than we do from our successes. Would you agree? I think about the many times I've failed at something, and my learning curve from those times is much, much higher than in the times when I got every thing right. That was true in all of my relationships. I'm a much better husband today because of my abysmal track record at being a boyfriend (thank to all my Ex's by the way :) ) I'm a better Pastor because of my mistakes made at other churches (Thanks to all my former parishoners.) I just think we see the truth of this across the board in our lives.

So, why do we celebrate success and hide from failure? If it's about learning, and growing and improving, and all that, is success really something to celebrate?

I mean, it is, of course. But, I worry that we celebrate our successes at the expense of 'celebrating' our failures too. If we're going to lift up the one, I'm thinking we should lift up the other as well. And, since we all fail (quite often for some of us) wouldn't it be nice to see that in a better light?

Just a random Tuesday thought.

Don't go to Church, Be the Church!

Bill

Sun or Son

Which is stronger: the Sun or the The Son?

In Washington we crave the Sun most of the year. We get a little exctied when we see it. We make plans for what to do when it's around. Its mere presence can alter the course of our whole day, or even our weekend, when we want to spend time with it. None of this is bad of course, but for me it raises a question:

Do we act the same way about the Son?