hipostacy

In this post, I am summarizing a really interesting article from Christianity Today by researcher and author of Generation Ex-Christian, Drew Dyck. You can read the entire article and see a video interview with Dyck at the following link:

http://christianitytoday.imirus.com/Mpowered/book/vctrc11/i1/p12

In the past two decades, the number of Americans claiming "no religion" has nearly doubled, from 8.1% to about 15%. This can be attributed, primarily, to 20- and 30-somethings drifting away from the faith of their youth, numbering closer to 22%. The problem is less, "Who is unchristian?" than, "Who is EX-Christian?" What is behind this drift, and what can we do about it?

Some say this happens every generation, but the numbers are 5-6 times the historic rate for young Christians who stray from the church in their late teens and early twenties. Plus, young people are delaying the factors that usually bring them back to the church (namely, marriage and children). If they are away a decade rather than a couple years, the estrangement is considerably more problematic. So the problem remains - why?

Does it revolve around moral compromise? Is the disconnect between their upbringing and their behavior too great to accommodate? Perhaps, but it appears to be much more complicated than that. New Atheist literature may be involved. They may have been hurt by the church. They may have been enticed by other spiritual pursuits (Buddhism, Wicca, etc.). But Dyck's research indicated that, almost invariably, it had more to do with their experiences INSIDE rather than OUTSIDE the church.

His research seems to point toward a superficial theology taught (or at least implied) in many churches - what sociologist Christian Smith calls "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." This is a theology that revolves around a distant deity that rewards people for being "good, nice, and fair" and focuses on helping its followers "be happy and feel good about themselves." Understandably, this inauthentic, surface-only faith holds little attraction to a young person (or anyone else, for that matter) who is trying to make sense of the world and maintain their faith in the midst of the very real struggles of life in a broken world.

So maybe this is the why, but the question remains - what do we do about it? We can do only so much to "fix" the culture, and we have little control over those that hope to seduce us away from the faith, but what we CAN control is our response to it all. For example...

First, try not to get hysterical.

Second, avoid the two typical responses, which are (1) going on the offensive with our most compelling "arguments" and unintentionally judgmental sermons, and (2) disengaging completely.

Third, engage ex-Christians (or those who express doubts while still in the fold) and their doubts with love and compassion rather than trite platitudes or criticism for asking "insolent questions." Dyck relates that nearly every person he interviewed expressed unchristian push-back from their Christian "friends" (one was actually slapped on the face!).

So, basically there is no substitute for thoughtful and prayerful engagement of those with questions and doubts, whether inside or outside the church. Can I go out on a limb here and suggest that the perfect solution for helping the average Christ follower engage the doubter is Q Place? If you are unfamiliar with Q Place, you can learn more at http://www.qplace.com/ or you can email me, but basically Q Place groups are groups intended to meet people where they are and engage them in spiritual questions without telling them what to believe or judging them for disagreeing with us. Sounds like just about the perfect solution.

I will finish with a quote from Drew Dyck: "This means viewing their skepticism for what it often is: the tortured language of spiritual longing. And once we've listened long and hard to their stories, and built bridges of trust, we will be ready to light the way back home."

Amen, and amen.

FRANCO FUN

Since his painfully disappointing turn as Oscar host, James Franco has not been on my list of favorite people. But as of yesterday, he is officially redeemed.

The teaming of visionary, genre-bending director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later) and Mr. Franco was a match made in heaven. I have watched 127 Hours twice in the last two days, and I am still reeling. It recounts the true story of Aron Ralston, rock climber and thrill seeker, who was trapped at the bottom of a rocky crevasse for over five days before freeing himself. It is a powerful and moving tale of the triumph of the human spirit and a brilliant bit of filmmaking, and Franco was completely invested from the first frame to the last.

See it and tell me what you think, but I will warn you - there are three or four minutes near the end of the film that are among the most visceral and graphic I have ever seen. This segment was essential but challenging. And even though I was physically uncomfortable, it was worth it.

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Long time, no posts. I am going to try to be more diligent about posting stuff here. Since my last post, much has changed in my life. My son is still at Columbia College Chicago studying film, my daughter is getting ready to cut her first demo CD, my wife is studying public relations at Bradley, and I have lost over 70 pounds and have become an avid runner. Stay tuned for more interesting stuff (I hope).

My new sermon's up on itunes. Check it out at the link in my last post.

wcc is podcasting

Next time you are in iTunes, search for Washington Christian Church and you will find our podcast. My most recent sermon is there and is entitled "RSVP - come as you are." Check it out and let me know what you think.

If you have trouble finding our podcast page, here is the URL:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=298774314

and the second is like it

An awesome Breakpoint broadcast on my birthday
(for more Breakpoint, visit http://www.breakpoint.org/):

WALL-E
What It Means to Be Human
December 18, 2008

The fact that the hit movie WALL-E has a plot that even a child can follow doesn’t mean it’s juvenile. Released earlier this year, the Pixar film follows the story of a little robot named WALL-E. While the rest of Earth’s inhabitants have embarked on a 700-year cruise-like vacation aboard a space station, this little robot is left behind to clean up the planet.

As WALL-E sifts through the trash, he begins to learn what it’s like to be human. A Rubik’s Cube says something about the human capacity for logic and play; an old VHS tape of Hello Dolly teaches him about the human capacity for creativity. One hand-holding scene, which WALL-E plays over and over, teaches him about love.

The little robot continues, day in and day out, to do his task of cleaning up the earth, until a “female” robot, aptly named EVE, comes along. EVE, or Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, is on a mission to see if the earth can once again sustain life. If so, humans can one day return to it.

Ironically, while WALL-E is trying to learn about what is to be human, humans adrift in the cosmic space station have grown robot-like, tethered to machines and out of touch with each other and their own creative impulses.

Many critics saw the film as an environmental movie. But while WALL-E has a lot to say about the stewardship of the creation, it is ultimately about much more. Filmmaker Andrew Stanton, an outspoken Christian, recently explained to World Magazine that what really interested him in the story line was “the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine, because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people.”

“The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love,” Stanton says, “but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that . . . irrational love defeats the world's programming.” That’s why Stanton created WALL-E and EVE to work literally against their own robotic programming to demonstrate love, first for each other, and then for humanity.

In contrast to robots learning to love, Stanton wanted to show how humans had become machinelike. Our routines and habits, he argues, have programmed us “to the point that we're not really making connections to the people next to us. We're not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living—relationship with God and relationship with other people.”
I couldn’t agree more.

Another thing you’ll notice about the film is that all the humans are enormously obese. This was the result of Stanton’s imaginative logic of what would happen to humans as the result of living long term in zero-gravity conditions. But, Stanton told Christianity Today, it’s also what humans would look like when we become “big babies with no reason to grow up.” Stanton explains, “I was going with the logic of what would happen if you were in a perpetual vacation with no real purpose in life.”

Through the stark depiction of such perpetual laziness, viewers rediscover something that all of us can easily lose sight of: the value and beauty of meaningful work.

Sacrifice, love, logic, playfulness, creativity, connection, work—take some time this Christmas and let a little robot remind you what it means to be human, created in God’s image.

engaging culture

Excellent article. Read it.

http://www.abpnews.com/3206.article