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Life's Like This...

Great Video from my good buddy Tommy Shelton.

So this has been Interesting!

Wow, all I can say is unbelievable what one little post stirred up. I guess that is a good thing, but again I go back to my earlier point that I wish we got that fired up about other things that are more important.

I have decided that between now and the election I will highlight different quotes and thoughts from Christians who are intelligently trying to figure out how to interface with this thing called government.

I am glad that some of you are so passionate about politics, frankly I just don't care that much about who wins. No matter who is in the oval office our call as believers is the same and I will continue to do the work of Jesus regardless.

The Bible clearly teaches us that no matter who is in power whether it is Nero or Obama, Hitler or McCain the cause of Christ will go on and neither political party can help or hinder that. If you don't believe that look at how the church flourishes in China under a communist regime.

So I challenge you to care a little less about who is in power and care more for the powerless.

Come Lord Jesus,

Mark Helsel

Here is a quote from Shane Claiborne one of my favorites.

"George W. Bush on Ellis Island in 2002 said, "The ideals of America are the hope of mankind. This light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it." That is very dangerous theology. But to be fair, Barack Obama on the David Letterman Show this year said, "This country is the last great hope of the planet." And that is very dangerous theology too. I think we know who the hope of the world is, and it's much better than any presidential candidate."

Why Obama will Win

I am scared to even write this post considering the backlash I have gotten in the past when I wrote about anything political (It is all in fun). I am not endorsing a candidate through this, in fact I have no idea who I am voting for so don't write comments about my support for Obama because I don't support him. 

Can I vote for Ronald Reagan?

So I will simply give you a couple of reasons (not all the reasons) that Obama will win, plain and simple.

1. MCCain and Palin are all over the map right now. Charges of Obama being a socialist one day,something else the next day, probably Jeremiah Wright the next day, and so on. He is getting desperate. Just a side note, if you haven't noticed in the last couple of weeks THE GOVERNMENT owns American companies and banks and it is being supported by a Republican president. Both parties have taken steps closer to socialism that is a fact.

2. The Colin Powell Endorsement- Nuff said! This hurt the Republicans.

3. Young Evangelicals- Many will vote for Obama, because they see this race as much bigger than a one to two issue election. The Republicans have left them uninspired and empty. The religious right just doesn't "get" these younger evangelicals, they can't understand why they would vote for a democrat. In fact they "assume" that their young people will vote for McCain. Many Christians talk as if there is only ONE candidate you as a Christian could possibly vote for. It is this lack of dialogue that has caused many younger evangelicals to move to Obama. Many of my Christian friends around the country are voting for Obama.

4. It is the Economy Stupid-There is plenty of blame to go around here because basically it is everyone's greed from politicians (both parties), to Wall Street, to the American consumer that has gotten us into this mess, but the incumbent party always takes the brunt of the public's wrath.

You might not like that, but it is the truth.

It will be Obama by 10 percentage points, mark my words. Don't hate the messenger. This is not an endorsement.

Jesus for President!

Mark Helsel

P.S. I would love to hear who you are voting for, if you know.

Reaching the Facebook Generation

Great Post over at Church Relevance about reaching Millennials. Here it is below.  

During May and June of 2008, the Economist Intelligence Unit asked 164 corporate executives from around the world what techniques they have found are most effective at marketing to the millennial generation (the generation born between 1982 and 2001).

How to Reach the Millennial Generation

• 41% say participate in viral marketing and peer-to-peer recommendation sites
• 36% say sponsor or advertise in areas of interest to millennials
  (e.g., extreme sports, music venues, chat rooms, social networking sites)
• 35% say deliver a great product at a great price
• 30% say focus on millennials’ key influencers
  (e.g., parents, peers)
• 28% say contribute to social causes that millennials support
• 21% say contribute to corporate or issue blogs
• 21% say message millennials through wireless text messaging
• 19% say exploit contests, promotions, and retail tie-ins
• 12% say develop online games for company website

In other words, if your church wants to reach the millennial generation, create a great church experience that is remarkable (creates word of mouth) and targets the key influencers and social catalysts of your local millennial community.

Also, show that you care about the things that they care about by sponsoring local events or participating in causes that they are passionate about. Blog about what you do and use text messaging. And be sure that you keep things fresh and fun with occasional special events, games, etc.

Revenge of the Ref

AH, don't think this is supposed to happen.

A Tendency to Glamorize

I think we often tend to glamorize the past and think America was a Christian nation, where everyone loved God, was very upright and moral and that our society didn't have the major problems that it does today. We believe that America is worse off, but is that true? 

When you really look into it you find that is not the case. Take for example this little tidbit from a book I picked up from Garry Wills called Head and Heart: A History of Christianity in America. Check this out.

"In 1909 there was one saloon for every 500 hundred people. There were more saloons in the United States than there were schools, libraries, hospitals, theaters, or parks, and more certainly than churches."

Go Figure! 

*Just to clarify I don't think drinking alcohol is bad but this little stat does say something about the priorities back then when America was "CHRISTIAN". Saloons back then also often had dancing girls and prostitutes. Of course you could also mention racism and a host of other things as signs of a culture that was rotten even back then.

Jack is Back

Time to kick some BUTT!

Walking the Streets with No Names

This could possibly be the greatest concert moment ever captured on a DVD. It is from the U2 Elevation Tour. Very Tasty. If you have ever been to a U2 show it is a rock show and a worship event all rolled into one. Listen carefully to what Bono is saying in the clip. He is quoting a Psalm from the Message Bible.

Searching for Soul in America

So I have been away from the pub for awhile, sorry to those who are regular readers. The demands of a new baby, work and speaking for Youth Specialties has taken precedence over this, but I am back.

This sunday morning at our church we will be doing our first equip:parent event and we will be showing the DVD,Soul Searching,If your not familiar with this documentary or the book that goes with it, you should be. It is some excellent research done on teenage spirituality in America. I recommend this DVD to any youth minister. Show it to your parents, show it to your teens, your church board, whoever will watch it.

One of the major findings of the study is what Christian Smith, the author, calls Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism which is the prevailing spirituality practiced by American teens and their parents. What is M.T.D? Well the simplest way to explain it is this.

Moralistic-God wants me to be Good

Therapeutic- Faith & God should make me feel Good

Deism- God is wallpaper. He is there but doesn't really do much. Not involved in my life

Now obviously this is not Orthodox Christianity but it is the most prevalent belief system in America amongst Christians. Go figure. So you can see why so many youth pastors across this country are frustrated.

Katy Perry at Youth Group

You know Katy Perry, the infamous singer of "I Kissed a Girl", what many of you might not know is that Katy was once a Christian singer. A Christian singer who didn't make it and then made a 180 degree turn in another direction.

Her interview in Blender sheds some light on her upbringing the good and the bad. Here is a taste.

Perry has a Jesus tattoo on her left wrist she got when she was 18. “I see it every time I’m playing guitar,” she says. “It’s looking back up at me. That’s where I come from, and probably where I’m going back to.”

She grew up with an older sister and younger brother in her parents’ ministry—“Evangelical, with a heavy Pentecostal flavor”—in a world of Christian school, Christian camp and church several times a week. “It was kind of an island,” she remembers. “We spoke in tongues. We knew there was this one way, and all the other ways were wrong.” In Perry’s house, deviled eggs were called angeled eggs. “I didn’t know enough to ask my mom, ‘How come we call them that? Everybody else calls them something else.’”

When Perry hit her teens, she began going out drinking. That’s when she found out about her parents’ wild hippie days. “I started spending Sunday mornings crying and hung over,” she says. “Because crying is what you do when you’re hung over. So my dad started telling me about when he was my age.” His testimony—the story of his past and his conversion—offered an example of how she could put her life right. She’s protective of her parents’ beliefs, even if she doesn’t share them anymore: “They found God at a time when they really needed to, and I believe in the God they found. My dad would have died from one tab of Strawberry Fields too many if he hadn’t found God.”

Couple of observations:

1. The danger of the Christian bubble. Calling "deviled eggs" by the name "angeled eggs" come on! This is the ridiculousness of Christianese. All of us should be wary of reinforcing students living in a Christian sub-culture.

2. Young Adult Searching- So is Katy Perry running from the real Jesus or some other version of Jesus that her parents showed her or other Christians did? I believe most young people who run away from church and Jesus are students who have just never seen the real deal. There is something to be said about the fact that many young people do "test the waters" out in the culture and then do return to a faith in God later in life. That is assuming they have a Christian base in the first place, which increasingly is not true.

Love to hear you chime in.