Monday, August 30, 2010

The Emmys


So, last night I didn't watch a single minute of something I used to watch "religiously": The Emmys.


Those of you that know me know I'm an entertainment kind of guy. I love Movies, TV, Books, Music. I'll watch stuff because I want to, or because I think they're culturally relevant, or because I want to stay hip to what's up (and by using the word hip there I realize I'm proving that I"m not :) ) So I used to love the Emmys. I loved the awards, the skits, the presenters, and I loved to see who won. But this year, I just had no interest whatsoever.


What's changed? Well, me a little bit of course. I'm older, have 4 kids, and way less time on my hands. Last night was my second oldest's birthday, and hanging out with him was much more important than watching any TV show. But, honestly, it was something else as well.


Being the entertainment geek that I am, I knew all the nominees for the awards last night, and some of them got me really excited. All the nominations for 'Lost' were fabulous and well deserved. The noms for 'Modern Family', 'Big Bang Theory', and 'How I met your Mother' (hey, that's a good name for a blog) were very welcome. But most of the nominees and the anticipated winners were for shows I never watch, and truly aren't interested in. I've watched 'Mad Men', 'Breaking Bad', 'Glee', and the other nominees a few times, sure. They're fine shows, I don't disagree with the quality of the acting or writing. But, as shows, they don't interest me. Really at all. And, as their ratings show, I'm not alone.


As I talked about a few weeks back, the era of a 'Cosby Show' where 30 million plus people watch every week is over, but to have a show win an Emmy with only 3.5 million viewers is a big shift. This type of niche programming has taken over television. And by the Emmys rewarding and honoring shows watched by dwindling numbers, they are rewarding that type of programming. Is that good for television? I suppose only time will tell.


All this highlights a particular struggle for modern churches as well. There are a few churches in every area that are now considered mega-churches. They are usually 1000+ for attendance, and they offer a whole host of programs and ministries for everyone they touch. But, these churches are few and far between. Much more common are the "smaller" churches, 150-300 for attendance, who feel the need to compete (if you'll pardon the word) with the big guys. But you can't. They don't have the money, staff, or resources to do what the mega-churches are doing.


So, should they try niche ministry? Should a smaller church become the "Mad Men" of Ministry? It's an intriguing question, one to which I don't know that I have the right answer. But I think I'll explore it over the next few days.


In the meantime, enjoy your last few days of Summer, wherever you might be. And don't spend all of it watching television. There's nothing good on anyway :)




Don't go to church, Be the Church




Bill

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Spider Webs


So, I've spent a little bit of time this morning observing a Spider build a massive web outside my office window. Honestly, on a beautiful sunny day, it's hard to not just stare outside when you live in Washington, so don't begrudge me my wandering gaze too much. And it caused me to think about a couple of things.

First off, as much as I hate spiders inside, outside their webs can really be a work of art. Boy, was God clever when He made this creation around that a Spider can be an artist.

But webs generally bring up a different image for me than beauty. When I run into a spider web outside they drive me crazy. Because they're so thin nearly invisible, but once you hit them, they stick to you. They stick to you and you can't seem to brush them away. Know what I mean? Once you've got the invisible wisp of silk somewhere on your skin you can rub and brush all you want, but it seems to be impossible to get off. A huge annoyance.

And a great metaphor. How many times in our life do we bump up against things that just stick to us. A bad commute that ruins our morning. A rough encounter with a co-worker that sends us grumbling on to lunch. A fight with our spouse or kid that casts a drag on our evening. It's amazing how these little things stick with us. So many of us are simply unable to apologize, or to forgive, and move on. We let these invisible strands stick to us and distract and "bug" us for far too long.

Just like Spider Webs, this kind of stuff drives me crazy. I'd love to be the mature one that can easily brush these things away, but it's just so hard. Still, today, I'm inspired. I'm inspired by the beauty of the Spider web outside my window, to try and do a little better job this week of not letting things stick to me. Unless it's a real spider web I walk into. I still can't handle that.


Don't go to church, Be the Church


Bill

Monday, August 16, 2010

Hot enough for you?


What's your comfort zone?

On the issue of heat, I think Washingtonians are wimps. I can say that only because I am one, but I'm trying very hard to not be a wimp this year. Here's the deal. Most of us seem to complain at the rain and cold we have far too often, but then any time the sun comes out and it gets really hot around here (you know, like 80 or something) we complain about that too.

I think most of us would be pretty content if we could control the outside temperature much like we control the inside. And if we were to do that, we'd rarely move it outside of our comfort zone.

Do you remember those old thermostats? They actually had a range written on most of them that said, "Comfort zone." It was the range of temperature that most of us like to keep things in our house or room: not too hot, and not too cool. And honestly, it kind of makes me laugh to think about it.

Because, other than a few times and places, we can't do it. We can't control the temperature of our outside world to be only in our comfort zone. And our comfort zone is usually pretty different from other people around us so even if we were comfortable we'd be making other people uncomfortable. But we still complain about it, and still wish for personal comfort.

I preached on this not too long ago, but when you think about that from a Christian standpoint, it should strike us as even more foolish. You can, at great cost, control your comfort zone in your own house. You really can't control it outside in God's creation, however. And if you call yourself a follower of Christ, you definitely cannot control it at all. Because following Jesus is not meant to be comfortable. Look at the lives of any one of the Disciples from the Bible and you will not see lives of comfort. They were lives of great highs, and deep lows. They were lives of excitement and fun, terror and fear. They were lives on the edge of chaos, not comfort. But, at the end of everything, none of them would have had it any other way. That's the way life is supposed to be. So, this week, I hope the weather pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Because I hope it reminds you that that's where Jesus calls us to live. It's not easy. But following Jesus rarely is. Enjoy the sun. And the Son!


Don't go to church, Be the Church!


Bill

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

VBSurf

So, we're in the midst of our Vacation Bible Surf week here at SVLC. It's always a fun time and this year has proven to be no different. I know because so many people are working hard in their specific area, that not everyone gets to see all the things that I'm able to each week. So I wanted to share a bit of a story about why I love how we do things around here. At the end of each day I quickly run out to the parking lot so I can wave to everybody as they leave for the day. I see it as good face time for me with both kids and parents. And, when it's sunny, who wants to be inside anyway? But, yesterday something kept happening that drove home the joy of our VBSurf program. At least a dozen kids ran up to me on their way out yesterday and they gave me a big hug. Honestly, I didn't even know most of them. But every single one was super excited about the day, and after getting an awesome hug I asked all of them, "Are you excited to come back tomorrow?" The response, every time, was "Yes!" We've got all kinds of kids excited to come to our church campus in the middle of Summer. If that's not the Hand of God, I don't know what is. Thanks everybody for all your hard work. It's making an impact.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill