General

New Car

sciontc

Well, we got a new car last week. It is a Scion tC and it is quite a bit smaller than my truck was (That was the idea). The color is called Black Sand Pearl and in the sun it looks midnight blueish. It gets about 30 mpg on the highway so instead of paying $50 dollars a tank, I’ll pay $25. The Scion comes with a standard sunroof/moonroof, CD player, AC, power windows and locks, keyless entry and the tires and rims are stock. I had my eyes set on a Mini Cooper S but this had everything I wanted on the Mini plus the added room for $6,000 less. I’ll break it in properly as I drive to Dallas on the 3rd. A twelve hour road trip is exactly what the doctor ordered.

No, really. I am going to Dallas to officiate a wedding for a dentist.

For more pictures, click on the photos or the link above the iPod.

openhatch

General

New Look

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I’ve been tinkering with a new WordPress theme created by Justin. It is called Radical Congruency 2005 and can be downloaded here. I really love the look and it is extremely functional. Good on ya Justin!

Let me know what you think about the new look.

Peace,
Felker

Popular Culture, Rants

Craptacular Evangelism Strategy

I’m talking about Church Signs.


One of the things that makes me want to vomit is glib church signs that make the blue hairs all warm inside but confuse those outside our little circles. The 2 churches near my house are regular offenders. That is why I have enjoyed reading the terrible collection of bad church signs found at Crummy Church Signs. The best part is the color commentary and snide retorts written underneath these real church sign sayings submitted by users. Here are a handfull of my new favorites: (Sign in bold; User comments italics)

“God loves you whether you like it or not.”
So is this a threat? Do you DARE me to not like it?!?!

“Faith in yourself has won many a race….never quit trying.”
Yes, folks, the cornerstone of the universal church, as established by God Himself, since time eternal: “Faith in Yourself”.

“The dyslexic atheist believes there is no Dog.”
And the dyslexic church sign reviewer says this sign is a big “elip of parc.”

“Try Jesus….If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back”
(Just a note here: I am not at all making this sign up. I saw this on a real sign in front of a real church). There is nowhere to begin on this one.

And finally, my personal favorite:

“Road Rage: How would Jesus Drive?”
On a donkey.

Via

Books

Don’t Steal This Book (Idea)

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Two book ideas that have been floating around in my mind for the last few weeks:

First, Campus Ministry: The Other Ministry to Students would be about my misadventures in campus ministry. I considered calling it “So, When Are You Going to Do Youth Ministry?” in honor of the question that I’m most asked by my friends, mentors, parents, etc. There is a huge hole when it comes to campus ministry information. There is a good deal of Catholic books but on the Protestant side not so much. That is book idea number one.

Number two is a book in the tradition of ministry idea books like Youth Specialties’ Videos That Teach and Group’s Blockbuster Movie Illustrations.

I want to name this new book Firm on the Rock: Messages that Move You.

Using music illistrations from The Police, U2, R.E.M., Clapton, Dylan and many others I hope to give ministers and teachers a new perspective on these old favorites. The tagline could be something like “Redeeming With Soul”.

What songs would you like to see in this forthcoming book? Help me out with ideas.

Books, Popular Culture

Engage

Well, it is Christmas at Hogwarts and Harry is spending his vacation with the Weasleys. Or at least that is where I left them last night.

Unless you have been in a coma or under a rock, you now know that the sixth book in the Harry Potter series was released over the weekend. I am a little over halfway into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and I am enjoying every page.

The controversy that surrounds this little boy is at times laughable. That was why I was a little unnerved when I saw an email entitled Worried About Buying the New Harry Potter Book? in my inbox. I was thankful that the article wasn’t some fundamentalist whack-job on how Harry Potter drinks blood and dances in the nude before the full moon. The article was an intelligent call for Christians to engage with this cultural phenomenom not to thow stones at it. The article, Harry Potter and His Critics, was written by Jerram Barrs and can be found at The Discerning Reader.

If you have time check it out. If not, here is a highlight:

I see the books as valuable because they consistently include the three fundamental themes that can be found as a subtext in almost all good literature: the beauty of creation, the appalling reality of evil, and the universal human longing for redemption — for a better world. These themes touch the way the world truly is, the way God has made it. J.K. Rowling does not profess to be a Christian, as far as I am aware, but she has insight into the themes that are at the very heart of what Christians understand to be true about the nature of the universe in which we live.

Self-sacrifice in these books is the primary means by which evil is defeated. Now that of course is the very heart of what Christianity says about the nature of the world. We come from God’s hand as those who have been made glorious. Life is beautiful as God has given it to us, yet it is appallingly twisted and broken by the reality of evil in our lives, and God Himself has made the ultimate selfsacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ to bring about the destruction of evil in the supreme act of love. He gave Himself to death to save the lives of others — to bring protection, renewal, transformation, strengthening, and redemption to us. Recognizing that this theme of self-sacrifice is running all through the series, it is extraordinary to me that there has been such a violent and negative response by Christians. One has to hope that it is the minority response rather than the response of large numbers of believers. I think this negative response is a tragedy for all sorts of reasons.

It is a tragedy in that there are many people who have failed to read the books with an open mind. The Word of God challenges us to be prepared to celebrate anything that is good and true, wherever it is found. Sadly, I think there are many people who are unable to see the good qualities that there are, either in the Harry Potter books, or in much else in popular Culture. Many of those who have criticized the books to me personally have not even read them.

Additionally, when these sorts of criticisms are made about books without a proper basis it causes an appalled and dismissive reaction to Christians in general and the Christian faith itself. That is a tragedy. Often Christians are indeed guilty of responding in fear to our Culture — criticizing, condemning, and cutting themselves off from it as much as possible. Anything that is popular becomes suspicious. And this is a very serious problem in the life of the Church. It is not that we should accept everything our Culture presents. But Christians should be prepared to celebrate what is good and cultivate Biblical discernment in the midst of our Culture. This is what any Christian should do in regard to the Harry Potter books or anything else. You will have to decide for yourself if the Harry Potter books are good for you or your children, but please do so in a way that is thoughtful and discerning according to the Biblical picture of truth, beauty, and goodness, not in a way that is suspicious of anything popular in our culture, or that is untruthful and unkind.

Some 450 years ago John Calvin encouraged people to read books by the ancient writers from Greece and Rome. He wrote instructions for the teachers in the school system he designed in Geneva, Switzerland, asking that they have the students read the great classics of Greece and Rome that were pagan and non-Christian. And he asked that they not criticize them, but rather encourage the students to celebrate what is good in them, and to learn from the truth that they could find in them. Calvin said on another occasion that it is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to deny that pagan writers like Plato wrote many things that are true and helpful. We must be prepared to act similarly in our day when it comes to the Harry Potter series or any other product of our culture.

Books, U2

Walk On Revisited

I just picked up the revised edition of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman. Right off the bat I noticed the added thickness and beautiful blue cover. There stands Bono dressed in black leather staring into the sky. The audience, with thier hands raised, look like they stepped right off a Hillsong worship album. Church is underway.

I was not planning on reading the book until school started in the fall. Alas, I could not resist.

I am in Searcy, AR for an administrator’s confrence. This is where I went to university. I spent most of my time in a small coffee shop called Midnight Oil instead of studying. I believe in not letting school get in the way of one’s education! So, instead of heading back to my hotel I stopped in for old time’s sake.

I pulled out my iPod and listened to Elevation as I read the foreward. Written by Steve Beard, the forward contained a couple of great nuggets.

(U2’s) lyrics unfold a world beyond the things that can be merely seen and rationally grasped. The music is not a simplistic mish-mash of yummy lyrics about skipping with Jesus through the fields of daisies. Instead, their songs wrestle with pain and frustration without catering to hopelessness.

Stockman does a tremendous service to those who follow Jesus, as well as those who aren’t traveling the path. To those who count themselves among the faithfull, Stockman will help you open the eyes of your soul to intellectually and spiritually engage the music that touches the deepest part of what it means to be human. To those who do not consider themselves believers, this book will go a long way in helping explain why U2’s music seems to scratch an unidentifiable itch. (xiii)

That’s all for now. I’m in the middle of listening to Boy as I prepare for chapter one. Go pick up this book!

Theology

Existential

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ex·is·ten·tial adj.
Of, relating to, or dealing with existence.

You cannot help but begin to think about your existence as you drive 8 hours across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Not only am I prone to think existentially but I also have the most existential music collection ever. I have the perfect soundtrack to question your life to.

Of course, U2‘s songs always pose existential conundrums. Songs like Message in a Bottle by The Police, In My Life by The Beatles, Dancing Nancies by Dave Matthews Band, and Be Yourself by Audioslave just beg you to ask yourself about yourself.

All this introspection can get annoying. That is why I love the fact that existential thinking inevitably asks you to look outside of yourself. Existential thinking isn’t about you. It is thinking about the world you inhabit. I try to live by the old Boy Scout rule of leaving my area better than I found it.

A quick side note:
The very first class I attended at a youth ministry conference was entitled “Why Youth Ministers Should Read the Writings of the Existentialists.” Tony Camoplo presented the lecture and I took an obscene amount of notes. I am weird!

Rants, Theology

Prayernouncment

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Public prayer is a fine art.

Last week, I went to back to the church I grew up in. After a few songs an elder stood behind the podium and delivered unto us a unique hybrid of intercessory prayer and announcements. His prayer went as follows:

Lord, we pray now for the family of John Smith, who died on July 1 and whose funeral services will be held on July 3. Father, also be with the family of Jane Doe who left this life on July 2 and who will be laid to rest on July 5 at Rolling Hills Mortuary.

It went on like this for quite some time. Does God really need to know the date of the funeral or which hospital room someone was in? In his prayernouncement, this elder stopped just shy of telling God that in lieu of flowers the family would appreciate a donation to the Heart Association. If it were not so frustrating it would be laughable.

I said that public prayer is an art. It is an art of learning to speak to the Father and not to those around you. In college, a friend of mine helped me make this distinction. He was relating to me how difficult it was for him to pray with his girlfriend. He told me that he had to resist the temptation to talk to her when they prayed together. A light bulb went off in my head and I realized how often I fell into that trap as well. Prayer is such an awesome gift and we squander it by trying to find just the “right words” and just the “right phrases” in our prayers.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing Tony Campolo speak. He told the story of an interview Dan Rather had with Mother Teresa. Dan asked her what she said to God when she prayed. Mother Teresa answered, “Nothing. I just listen.” Bewildered, Dan asked her, “Ok, well what does God say to you?” The old woman looked back at him and said, “Nothing. He just listens.”

Quit talking to the congregation.

General

Wrapping It All Up

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We had a great time in the Lone Star state last week. We were able to spend a lot (but still too brief) time with my friends and family. I am co-officiating a wedding for two friends in August so we spend a good deal of time at wedding hooplas oooh-ing and aaah-ing at gifts. We gave the couple a “blessing.” All of their friends and family gathered around them preaying for their future and offering advice and marital wisdom. Sandy and I have been married the longest out of all my peers. We have a whole year on everybody else! More on this wedding as the date approaches.

We caught a Ranger game last week. The Red Sox crushed the Rangers! Let’s-Go-Red-Sox!

Our trip back took a mere 12 hours to complete. We are now in the “path of destruction” for Hurricane Dennis. The highway was clogged with fleeing Floridians. Let’s pray that this all blows over.

Nothing else to report. I’m heading to Searcy, AR on Monday night for an administrator confrence (a.k.a Snoozefest 2005). I will be able to see my sister and brother-in-law. And one of the presenter’s was my advisor in college. It won’t all be bad.

Peace,
Felker

The Goal Is Soul