Monthly Archives: October 2008

broken…revisited

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I went out for dinner with a friend tonight, and as we were enjoying our burritos and some good conversation, a familiar song came on the radio. Hearing the song led me to think about a seminary class I took last year, since it was for an assignment in the class that I listened to this song at least 100 times in the span of only a few days. You see, we were asked to make a video for the class and in my video I had decided to use a song from a  CD I had recently bought. The album was by Lifehouse, and the song was “Broken” (the same song that was playing when I was eating at Qdoba tonight). I became completely consumed with the creation of the video, and I shared all it’s versions here back in February. Looking back through anewdoxology’s now nearly one year existence, the only post(s) that brought more visitors to this site were my confused thoughts during the food crisis/riots in Haiti back in April (found here and here). The video went on to be used in worship at a few churches during Lent, and was also featured on a popular Christian men’s website. All of which surprised me, since it started as an assignment for one of my classes.

Here is the video (watch it again if you’ve already seen it):

As it turns out, “Broken” is the current single from Lifehouse’s latest album (Who We Are), and the song has been receiving quite a bit of airplay on radio and TV lately (reaching #8 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart). I obviously realize my video had nothing to do with the song’s success, but regardless of how high it makes it on the charts, it has a very significant meaning to me. The song reminds me that even though I am broken, God enters into my life (and especially my suffering), and offers me hope and restoration…and based on the comments people have left on this site and youtube in response to the video  – along with the emails I received from people who were impacted by the video’s images and message – I like to think there are some people in the world who are reminded that God is with them, helping them through their brokenness and offering them hope and healing, whenever they hear the song on the radio. And to me at least, that’s a beautiful thought.

If you know someone going through a time of brokenness, please forward them this video, because as one of the quotes in the video says so well, “Real caring is the willingness to help each other in making our brokenness into the gateway to joy” (Henri Nouwen).

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It should also be noted that Lifehouse is considered by many to be a pseudo-”Christian band” … whatever that means.

what it’s like being a team chaplain

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The latest issue of ESPN The Magazine includes an interesting article about team chaplains in professional sports. The Mag talked to Anthony Johnson, former NFL player and current chaplain for the Jacksonville Jaguars, about what it’s like being a pastoral figure to millionaire athletes. Here is a bit of what he shared.

anthony-johnson

On his theological approach to the job,

“My focus is biblical, but I make it inclusive. No matter what a player’s faith, I’ll talk to him. And I’m not afraid to engage with players who are atheist or agnostic. Those can be great talks, too.”

On what it takes to get the job,

“Each team has a chaplain. A degree, but not seminary, is required to land the job.”

On what he actually does,

“We hold chapel during camp and the night before a game; as many as 35 players attend. We’re also available for pastoral care—baptisms, wedding preparations, deaths—and we lead a variety of Bible studies.”

On counseling players through tough life stuff,

“A lot of what I do is one-on-one counseling. Most questions are about juggling life as a Christian and as a player, but we talk about anything. One guy recently asked about how to resolve conflicts in his marriage. I wouldn’t say infidelity comes up a lot, but enough. These young men may wind up in situations deemed illegal or inappropriate. I try to help them understand how that would affect them and their loved ones.”

On whether God cares about wins and losses,

“I don’t discourage players from praying for wins. But I do stress that if God doesn’t answer that prayer, it doesn’t say anything about His purpose for the guy.”

Religulous in Next-Wave

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My pre-review of Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous was published in this month’s issue of Next-Wave Church & Culture E-zine. Next-Wave is a cool publication I discovered when one of my former seminary professors wrote an article on the theology of the TV show Lost for their June issue, and my theological review of the new Coldplay album was published in the August issue. The editor’s at Next-Wave titled my most recent article “I Might Go See Religulous” and ran it next to another article about the same film, that one titled “I Did Go See Religulous.” I really like the juxtaposition between the two articles; one written by a person (me) thinking about seeing the film, the other by someone who has just seen it. And perhaps the coolest part is who that other person is… Dan Kimball (pastor, speaker, and author of The Emerging Church, Emerging Worship, and most recently, They Like Jesus but Not the Church).

Here are links if you want to check them out,

If you like the articles, please leave a comment (or vote for them) on the Next-Wave website.

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By the way, I saw Religulous last week and although it was quite predictable in format and content (especially the people Maher chose to interview), I thought it offered a humorous look at an otherwise serious topic (especially because of the people Maher chose to interview). I actually really enjoyed it, with the exception of the last 5 minutes when Maher shares his belief that “all religions must die” and religious leaders are basically brainwashing people. As someone who is part of a religion and is somewhat of a “religous leader,” I took offense to those comments. Regardless of how much I agreed/disagreed with, I would definitely recommend that people of all faiths (especially pastors and ministry leaders!) see this film, because although it offers a rather harsh critique of the current state of our religion, churches and fellow believers…it is often right on! Which should scare us but also inspire us…to honestly and humbly think about what we believe and how we express those beliefs to others (both in organized and unorganized settings). But that’s just my two cents. You should see it for yourself and then share your thoughts if you’d like.

go green / get sick?

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Everyone is obsessed with going green lately. It’s the cool thing to do. I can respect people trying to preserve what God created to be beautiful, and I like to think I’m doing my part, but in reality, isn’t it more that we’re just making minor changes to destroy God’s creation at a slightly slower pace?

I know Al Gore has a lot to do with all this attention and concern over the earth (thanks in large part to his documentary An Inconvenient Truth) – and believe me, I don’t have any problem with Mr. Gore (the guy invented the internet after all!) – but more than anything, I think a lot of people have used this whole movement of loving the earth and making changes to be sensitive to the environment as an opportunity to feel like they’re helping (or at least get recognized as someone who is helping) while doing as little as possible. Let me give a quick example of what I’m talking about:

Very few of the people today with scooters and hybrids (especially the green crowd favorite, the Toyota Prius) are actually driving less, but they are spending less money on gas…and saving money is always cool.

I don’t want to get into a long rant about the good and bad of all this, because I don’t think it would lead to anything good (so what’s the point), but I did want to discuss the this whole “going green” thing enough to share something that happened to me today.

It was a beautiful fall day in Minneapolis. The sun was shining. The leaves are changing from green into deep shades of yellow, red and orange. And it was the perfect temperature (when you can wear warm or cool weather clothes and be equally comfortable in either). I had a few things to pick up at Target, so I hopped in my car, popped open the sunroof and turned on some Coldplay. I was feeling pretty good. I chose a parking spot in the back half of the lot because it just seemed like too nice of a day to park in front, even though there were plenty of open spots closer to the store. As I strolled into Target, performing the somewhat awkward “where do I go so I’m not in the way of cars” walk all the way through the parking lot, I ended up behind an older woman who was moving really slow and looked a bit confused. I couldn’t go around her without weaving between cars or jumping in front of them, and plus I became interested in whatever it was that she was doing, so I stayed behind her even though I wanted to walk faster.

There is a Starbucks inside this particular Target, and in the coffee shop there are some windows looking out into the parking lot. As the old woman and I walked along the sidewalk next to the store, she kept stopping at each window to look in, although she never seemed to see who/what she was looking for.  When we finally made it to the entrance she reached her hand toward the garbage and didn’t even notice when the wind took the white piece of whatever out of her hand and it completely missed the garbage can. Being just a few steps behind her, it ended up on the ground right in front of me … [here comes my green moment, my opportunity to be environmentally friendly] … I picked up my foot to step on it – saving it from becoming another piece of trash floating around the earth – and then, I did something I’ve been regretting the rest of the day. I picked it up and threw it away.

Right now you’re probably wondering, why would you regret picking up a piece of trash and throwing it away? I’ll explain in a second, but first let’s get back to the whole “going green” thing. Like I said, I have no problem whatsoever with the environmental awareness and care initiatives. It’s actually a great cause and I’m glad people are taking it seriously. I just don’t think it’s something anyone should brag about, as if they’re better than others because they live “more green” than them, especially when being “green” often requires a certain level of expendable income that many people are not fortunate enough to have…making it a lot like so many other issues, for instance, the issue of eating healthy vs. unhealthy (it costs more to eat healthy than unhealthy, which is one of the reasons why people living in lower economic classes often have more health issues than those living in the higher classes, but that’s a topic for another day). I happen to think the slogan “go green” that you see all over the place today is a great reminder for people to do little things that will really help the environment. I would actually compare it to the WWJD bracelets that were so popular not too long ago. Sure, green signs or Jesus bracelets probably aren’t going to solve any problems, and they’re really just pointing out something that we should have already been thinking about, but they do serve as effective reminders that can have an affect on our attitude about a lot of things that will all help us all be more loving and better stewards of what God has given and entrusted to us. But let’s get back to the Target parking lot and the little old lady.

When we left the story a few paragraphs ago I had just reached down to pick up the little white piece of trash she had attempted to throw away. I also said that I now regret doing so, and I want to explain why this is the case. You see, as I was bending down to pick up whatever it was she had poorly attempted to drop in the garbage, my mind caught up with what was going on and informed me that what I was about to pick up was not just a piece of paper paper or an old receipt as I had assumed. No no, I would have no regrets about picking up one of Miss Daisy’s notes to herself or an old shopping list, but what I was about to pick up, and eventually did pick up and hold in my hand for approximately five disgusting seconds, was an old…snotty…kleenex.  Gross, right?  And when I was reaching down I realized what it was, but by then I had already committed to it (I was bent half down to the ground with my arm extended). Plus, I was “going green” in public, there were other people all around. What was I gonna do, stand up, lift my foot and let it blow away? I suppose I could have turned to the people walking in and out of the store who witnessed what I had done and explain to them what was going on…”I decided not to pick it up because it was that old lady’s snotty kleenex and I just didn’t want to touch it, let alone risk catching whatever illness she might currently have. You understand, right?” I mean seriously, how ridiculous would it have been if I said all that? Plus I was having a good day up until that point, and I didn’t want anything to ruin my vibe. But I have to admit, my vibe was starting to waiver a bit when when I walked into Target. I was actually praying that I wouldn’t end up with a cold as a result of my efforts to save the environment, one kleenex at a time.

So is going green always worth it? I’m not sure yet. I suppose it’ll take until tomorrow to know if I’m in the clear from any sick-germs that might have been lingering on that nasty kleenex. Here’s to hoping the old lady was healthy, and that she found what she was looking for at Target. I’m sure she did…they have everything at Target.

religulous

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There’s a new documentary that came out in theaters recently (Oct. 3) called Religulous (“religion” + “ridiculous”). Bill Maher stars as the film’s “host,” guiding viewers on an exploration of organized religion in our world today – offering plenty of his opinions along the way – and it was directed by Larry Charles, who also directed Borat … so you probably already know enough to determine whether this documentary will be wildly, or simply mildly offensive to you.

Apparently aware of the film’s potent potential for offense, the front page of the official website offers visitors two options; the typical “enter site” link (which happens to be on the left side of the page) and the unusual “enter kosher site” link (which just happens to be on the right). I’m not Jewish, so I entered the regular site and watched the trailer. For what it’s worth, the website does boast that it’s “one of the funniest and most offensive documentaries ever made.” At least they’re honest, right?

Let me be clear on a few things: I’m serious about my faith and I consider myself part of a religion. Maybe it’s because I try not to take myself too seriously, but this film looks really funny. If I end up seeing it, I’m guessing I will find myself nodding in agreement with a lot of the jokes being made on religions and religious people…even the ones about Christianity (and it’s not all a spoof on Christianity by the way, Maher takes shots at other religions as well).

Going beyond a just an awareness of his irreverance, Maher seems to take pride in his atheistic/anti-religion stance. While I can’t speak for other religions or Christianity as a whole, if Maher’s goal was simply to expose that uncertainty must be involved for any system of faith or belief to work (or make sense), then I would agree completely with him, but I haven’t seen the movie yet to know if that’s one of the points that he is trying to make. (I have seen this clip of Maher on Larry King talking about religion, this new movie, and even Rick Warren.)

Although Religulous probably fits best in the documentary genre of “look how stupid those [fill in the blank] people are,” from what I have seen and read so far it seems much more Bowling for Columbine and much less Jesus Camp. I mean, sure, Maher pokes fun at religious fanatics (like the guy who plays Jesus at the “Holy Land” theme park in Florida) and if the movie poster is any indication, I’m guesing they mock a few examples of light-hearted religious ridiculousness (like the stories in the news a few years ago about a man who burnt a fish stick and thought it looked like Jesus or the woman who reportedly sold a grilled-cheese sandwich on eBay that bore the image of the Virgin Mary…final bid: $28,000), but clearly, the film is about much more than just making fun of sacred sandwiches and Christian theme parks (since religious folks wouldn’t be offended by a movie that only makes fun of fanatics and others who have found ways to pimp religion to make a few dollars).

If nothing else, Religulous offers a slap in the face to religious leaders and people of faith – whatever flavor of belief they prefer. The film provides humor as a way of helping people realize that it might be a good idea to be capable of responding to basic questions about their faith and, although it’s not necessarily a requirement to “validate” their faith (depending on the religion), we should all possess enough understanding to express what we believe in a way that doesn’t make us sound like the butt of a joke. I’m definitely not saying people need to act like they have it all figured out – since I don’t believe that is possible – but at least take some time to think things through, being honest with yourself and others about what you think and believe so that when/if the questions are too big or your understanding is too limited, you have the marbles to say “I don’t know.” Because let’s be honest, that’s where faith comes in…not as an excuse for not knowing things, but as a way of admitting the limits of our understanding and the vasness of God’s. It also forces us to put trust and faith in a God who reveals himself to us in ways that are often mysterious at best, since the reality of life and faith seems to be that sometimes, we’re simply left wondering in awe at the mystery of God, but even this confusion is an expression of faith and worship. Having doubts is okay. Not having all the answers doesn’t mean we don’t believe, or even that we believe less. Doubts and confusion simply remind us of our need for faith…our need for God.

So what is the point of Religulous? Why did Bill Maher decide to point out that religious people don’t have things figured out any more than other people? I’m not sure yet, but I think he’s probably right in a lot of ways, he just doesn’t happen to be a person who can get over the fact that believing doesn’t always mean knowing (and he’s a guy who likes to know stuff).

Here’s the trailer:

Would you pay money to watch this movie?

sunrise

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There’s a new form of visual art called HDR time-lapse that I recently discovered and I think it’s one of the most incredibly beautiful expressions of creativity that I’ve seen in a long time. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and although it appears to be just really stinkin’ clear video footage (as in High Definition), look a bit closer and you’ll realize it’s even more brilliant than HD (I bet you didn’t think that was possible, I know I didn’t). Here’s an example: (For the best experience, I suggest watching in full-screen and make sure your sound is on).

Believe it or not, HDR time-lapse is a type of photography, with some editing of course, and pieces like the one above are actually chronological collections of individual photographs. This video of the sunrise in San Francisco was created by a man named Chad Richard, and although his video is only 41 seconds long, it is the result of photos he took over the course of 2.5 hours at a rate of about 7 pictures per second…each at slightly different light levels/settings, and then rendered to produce a composite of all 7, which means there is one super clear image from approximately each second. When put together, the result is an amazingly clear video that looks almost as beautiful as if you had woke up early in the morning to watch the sunrise from the top of the hill with Chad and his dog.

Although it’s not exactly an HDR time-lapse (the pictures were not taken as rapidly, nor were they rendered together), here’s another really creative example of individual photographs edited together to create something that looks as if it’s a video. This one is described as the “collision of three convergent paths through a city.”

I really like how the three paths become two and eventually join to become one. There are a lot of methaphors to be drawn out from this and connections to be made with life, faith, relationships and community, but I’ll leave those interpretations for others to make. Feel free to share if you’d like…