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Cultural Relevance, Sucky gods, and Hijacked Communities
Having just got back from a long weekend in Illinois, I haven’t had much time to write, but I have been busy publishing some articles lately, and I wanted to share those with you.
Below are some pieces that I’ve worked on over the past month or so, along with an excerpt, and link to read the rest of it (just click the title for the full article). Enjoy:
Christian Post – “Is the Gospel of Jesus Still Relevant?“
Excerpt: Let’s be honest — the gospel of Jesus is offensive. It tells the most religious that even on their best days, they’re just whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones. It calls both the morally corrupt and seemingly morally elite to a place of humility and dependence on God. It equates lust with adultery and hate with murder. It says that no one is good, except for God, and that those with the best intentions of following God’s will have murdered his very messengers. On top of that, this “good news” of Christ says that the only way to be saved from such depravity is to die. In a pluralistic, increasingly secular culture, it’s a tough sell.
RELEVANT Magazine – “Your God Sucks“
Excerpt: I have something to say to the fast faith, consumerist churches of America. It’s not something that you want to hear, but something that I believe you need to hear. I definitely needed to hear it. I used to try to fit God into my own broken paradigm, instead of fitting into God’s way of seeing the world. I used to relegate Christianity to political stances and moralism. And I was missing out. It took me awhile to realize that it was my theology, my view of God, that needed fixing. Maybe that’s where you are. If such is the case, then it’s time to face the facts: Your god sucks.
Wrecked for the Ordinary – “Marketers, Quit Hijacking Our Communities“
Excerpt: We leaders, marketers, and revolutionaries need to be awfully careful that we do not measure the “success” of our efforts based solely on metrics. We need to avoid delving into this comomditization of the community, where we treat everyone like a number. The consequences are fatal to those that are trusting us to lead and guide them. And pretty soon, our marketing is ineffective and our message is meaningless. “Community” becomes another byword for “customer base”, and once again Christians are being called (rightfully so) hypocritical.
