The Prosperity Gospel

I saw this excellent video on out of Ur's site and I had to share it. It's a 9 minute short film on the prosperity gospel and its impact on third world countries. It's sad, but worth seeing.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Favorite Reads

I recently read a post on the Out of Ur blog about favorite books on leadership. Many were classics, and more than a few were actually (gasp) works of fiction. This inspired me to reflect on some of my favorites. They all have a quality that inspires towards something greater. As is often the case, the order is random and not a ranking.

1. Cry the Beloved Country. I realized there was more to this than just poetic writing and sympathetic characters when I went against policy after I finished it. Often I will alternate between novel and inspirational nonfiction work, but when I put this one down, I did not feel the need. There is something sad and beautiful about this book and its triumph of truth over cynicism, and I get a sense of divine sorrow and divine love from reading it. It has a slow storyline, but that it definitely not the point. Highly recommended.

2. Seedfolks, by Paul Fleishman. This is a book all ages from middle school until old age can read and enjoy. It is written like a series of short stories, yet together they give a sense of community. It also adds to the theme and style (like Cry the Beloved Country) of being honest without being cynical. Because honestly, there is hope.

3. Notes from Underground, by Fodor Dostoyevsky. I heard he wrote some other books, some obscure legal documents or what-have-you, but this novel captured my attention immediately. It is written as a series of notes from a man who withdraws from society and claims to live underground. This perspective, of thinking he is above and below everyone, is fitting to the story. The first part is one long-winded, contradicting monologue after another. It makes good satire, but slows it down in places. Once I finished the second part, where he details events of his life, I realized the purpose. He has everything and nothing figured out. He has moments of clarity in which he seems to find hope--then scolds himself for sounding too "bookish". The most poignant and tragically funny part is when he continually pushes a woman of ill repute away for being too much like him. I cannot picture anyone who is exactly like this character, but parts throw the mirror on my own ugly cynicism. Sometimes we become so jaded, we, like the character, are speaking truth and we fail to realize it. And that is the tragedy.

Fun with Hero Worship

The reading continues. I'll probably have a reading list soon, but there's at least one or two books I need to finish first. In the meantime, here's some quotable goodness from a book I haven't read yet.

"Never attach yourself to any (person) as a parasite. Adopt no man as a guru. Apart from the inspired writers of Holy Scriptures no man is worthy of such confidence. The sweetest saint can be mistaken." (AW Tozer)

Warren Wiersbe and Chuck Swindoll approve of Tozer, so it must be a good quote.

Fun with Worship

So, here I am without a gripe or deep question. Not even a smart comment. All I have is an amusing story. How embarrassing.

In church the other day, we sang a song or two in a row, the last of which ended abruptly. Just before transition, we heard a tiny voice.

"That was fun. Can we do it again?"

Not too long after, the child received her wish.

Is the Era of Age Segmentation Over? | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders

I had to share this, because I had an opinion (surprise surprise) that I felt worth adding.

Is the Era of Age Segmentation Over? | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders

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One thing I observed about youth groups, especially the past couple of years, is how they feed compartmentalization. Let's watch a movie for two hours, read the Bible for ten minutes, then play a game for five minutes. There's no apparent connection between them. (That's the inherent attitude, not my personal opinion.) Actually, we never outgrow that and guess what? The "falling away" isn't just among the youth. Is this really about the "kid's table", or are more people just deciding a faith that has no practical value (makes no difference) isn't worth having?

What do you think?

Christianizing Scripture

I either haven't made this disclaimer or it's been a while since I have, so here goes. This blog is NOT about criticism of individuals. I'll take issue with or shots at philosophies I find dangerous, but that's where it ends. For whatever reason I feel the ideas (and just the ideas) deserve a good kick to the curb, and maybe a sucker punch or two when the ref isn't looking. This brings me to this post's topic.

I recently attended a Bible Study exploring the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. As I've mentioned before, this is one of my favorite books. Yes, I'm that weird.

The leader of our study read from chapter one (____ is meaningless, _____ meaning pretty much anything) then used an excerpt from an author and some NT verses to say the exact opposite. Basically, it was using Scripture to argue with Scripture. I found this a bit disturbing, but it happens quite a bit. We don't like what something says, so we proof text our way out of it. There's a dangerous pattern to this.

I guess what surprises me the most is people who do this are the same who argue for taking other difficult passages literally, like "wives, submit to your husbands" and "if a man doesn't work, neither should he eat." I guess as long as it's not uncomfortable for you personally it's okay.

Ecclesiastes, like other OT books, has a lot of uncertainty at times. This makes the reader uncomfortable, which I'll argue is good. Sometimes people need that, or we'll feel too sure of ourselves. Try most of the time.

In these passages, the authors always come to a point of faith. Not certainty, such as "I can argue my way out of this" or really "I can" anything for that matter (unless it's through God). It ends with faith in One who is greater, One we could never fully understand. We can know Him, but we won't figure Him out. May He forgive us for suggesting we can.

Happy Labor Day

There's no way I could have put this better. Happy Labor Day.

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