DownshoreDrift

Have You Decorated For Christmas Yet? When Do You Start?

So, three weeks ago when we were putting up our Christmas tree, playing a little Bing on the old turn table, warming chestnuts over the fire, and sipping Egg Nog, I couldn't help but think about just how much I love Christmas.  All the presents were bought, wrapped, and under the tree and we had already purchased the Christmas goose and cranberries.  Each night thereafter, I cuddled with my kids and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to them. We pulled out the Christmas programs on DVD and watched them all. Then, about a week ago we went and had our picture taken with Santa at the mall.  Finally, the big day will come tomorrow and we will open all the presents. We'll have grandparents over and we'll have a big feast. Everyone will wear their Christmas sweaters and we'll really "Deck the Halls," so to speak! 

We've decided to follow the lead of the retailers and start doing Christmas early this year to avoid the rush.  Next year, I think that we'll move it up to October. You can't get started too early, now, can you?

Seriously, guys, this is getting ridiculous. Everywhere I go, I am already seeing Christmas stuff. People are starting to shut down and get ready for the holidays. Folks all over our city are already putting up Christmas trees and are decorating in their yards. Plastic snowmen are beginning to dot the landscape. The insanity of it all!  The whole month of December is wiped out with Christmas celebrations and it is next to impossible to schedule anything that is unrelated. I was at a local Baptist association meeting last week and we were talking about some initiatives for 2009. We wanted to get some pastors together and everyone agreed that if we wanted to do it before January, we had to have the meeting before Thanksgiving. That is how it is with my church and just about everyone else that I know as well.  I stopped the meeting and asked everyone if things were like this when they were younger. Basically, people are out of pocket for about 6 weeks. Everyone agreed that it was not this way years ago. Christmas celebrations did not start up until about two-three weeks before Christmas. That's how I remember it as well.

There are some reasons for this, I think.  Some of them good, some bad. Here we go:

1. As people live further and further away from their families, Christmas is the one time of the year when everyone gets together, so it has become a REALLY big deal.  "I'll Be Home For Christmas" puts more of a lump in our throat now than it ever has. Christmas' little brother, Thanksgiving, is an alternate Christmas for many families that are split because of divorce or it is a time to meet with one side of the family or the other. Our family rotates Christmas and Thanksgiving between my wife's side and mine. But, gifts are exchanged over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend every year now.
2. The commercialization of Christmas is completely out of hand. Our consumeristic economy depends on us spending truckloads of money on stuff that few of us really need or want. I recently saw that Americans spend $500 billion a year on Christmas!  Alternatively, $10 billion would provide clean drinking water for every person on the planet and would help prevent the deaths of 1.6 million children a year that occur from lack of access to clean drinking water. Shocking, isn't it?
3. I think that a lot of people are looking for the "perfect Christmas."  There is this ideal that is promoted that has you gathered with your family and friends experiencing warmth, peace, and comfort. There are so many different ways to experience Christmas now that you can't possibly do all of them, so, you have to spread it out for six weeks or so to get it all in. It seems that we aren't getting enough of what we are supposed to be getting during the year, so we try to get it all in at Christmas. Or, we are so empty as a culture that we can't wait to start celebrating something that makes us feel loved. 

Is any of what is driving the expansion of Christmas into November even remotely related to the birth of Jesus Christ?  Remember Him? He is the "Reason for the Season," isn't He? It seems that Jesus isn't talked about much until right around the actual day of Christmas.  We kind of wear ourselves out regarding Christmas and then remember that this is supposed to be about Jesus (or for most, family) after all. I know that I just explained the plot line of just about every Christmas movie ever made, but there is some truth to it.

So, this year I have decided to NOT celebrate Christmas at all until 18 days before.  Why 18 days? Because that is when our church Christmas Party is. On December 7th, we will gather with Family Life Bible Fellowship and have our annual Christmas Extravaganza. If I can't fit it in in 18 days, then it is too much, right? 

Everything else, I'm calling Festivus after the Seinfeld episode where George's father came up with a different holiday besides Christmas. I don't think that we'll do the "airing of grievances," the "festivus pole," or the "feats of strength," but I am going to survive this year by recognizing that everything that is not fairly close to the holiday or is not related to Jesus in some way is just Festivus. 

In case you're wondering about Festivus, here's a clip:

So, no Christmas for me until the time is right. I think that I'm actually going to enjoy Thanksgiving!

Poll: When do you decorate for Christmas?

Ben Cole Makes Nice With Malcolm Yarnell

Only SBC blogging types would understand the significance of this event, so if you are not one of those people, just ignore.

Ed Stetzer is twittering the convention. He caught a picture of Ben Cole making up with the powers that be at Southwestern, represented by Dr. Malcolm Yarnell. I think that Ben was supposed to kiss the ring, not the head.  Those guys are such a riot!   Yarnell and Cole would make a great comedy team.    

Good to see Malcolm smiling.  Ben takes that greeting one another with a holy kiss, seriously, eh?

Yes, the SBC Annual Meeting is a strange happening. Strange indeed.

My next next post will display a picture of pigs flying.

Stay tuned for some fireworks tomorrow, actually.

The Flesh Eating Cockroach and the Night of Plague

I'm slowly putting up reflections on my last trip to India for posterity's sake - plus I have this innate belief that every thought and experience that I have is worthy of publication. At any rate, this story is worth telling.

Our entire trip went as smoothly as could be expected. No one got sick. Travel was perfect. Everyone got along really well. All the trip objectives were met. We went to dinner our last night satisfied that we had done all that we came to do. We would head back to Delhi the next day and then fly home.

Fortunately, I had escaped any type of stomach problems. It is no secret that I am not the biggest fan of Indian food. It just does not agree with me. Still, I thankfully eat all that is served me and I try to be gracious. I figure that it would be rude to say, "Um, I'm an American and I don't like your food." So, I eat and smile. I am extremely careful about not drinking the water or eating any uncooked vegetables, though. For the most part, I protect my stomach pretty well. However, the last night it hit. I was finishing dinner and I had to run to the bathroom. I don't want to get too graphic here, but the next couple of hours were pretty uncomfortable. I took some pepto bismol and finally laid down to get some sleep. This was around 10:30pm.

At around midnight, I was slowly awakened by something sharp and prickly stabbing into my hand. I was sleeping with my left hand stretched out above my head and as I felt the poking, I woke up enough to throw whatever it was against the wall. I jumped up, turned on the light, and pulled my bed back to find out what had just been gnawing on me. It was a roach. I figure that it was about 3 feet long. In reality, it might have been a medium sized dog. Somehow, I was able to grab my shoe and start beating it to pieces. It had really long antennae and it was massive. Okay, maybe not three feet long, but it was pretty big. The guy rooming with me jumped into the fray and actually beat the thing into two pieces. I've never been one to be afraid of roaches or any type of insect, but this thing was pretty big, and it had just been eating my hand. Roaches in America don't do that, do they?

Well, after killing Godzilla, I decided to lay down and go back to sleep. I noticed that I could not feel my left hand. It was going numb. That was the hand that the roach had been gnawing on. Then, I noticed feeling leaving my right hand. Both my arms started going numb. Then, the rest of my body, including parts of my face. Um, this isn't normal, right? I spoke to my roommate and told him that either I was going to get worse and die or I would get better. Clearly I was thinking on a very high level at this point. We were some ways away from a hospital or doctor so I didn't really think that I could do anything about it. What was I going to say? I got bit by a roach and I going numb all over? Help? So, I told him that if I didn't wake up, the roach numbing agent had gotten me. Nice. It must have been affecting my brain as well.

Eventually, I fell back asleep - for a little while. I awoke a little later to feel something else biting my hand. It was a mosquito. I slapped at it, and then felt another bite a moment later. Then, another and another. There was a swarm of mosquitos that had somehow made it into our room. I was feeling a bit sheepish about NOT taking the malaria pills that the rest of the team had taken. Oh, I won't get malaria, I said. Not me. So, this goes on for a while until we realize that we should turn on the bathroom light to attract the mosquitos. We ended up sleeping the rest of the night (all 3 hours of it) under our blankets, covered from head to toe with a swarm of mosquitos waiting for any part of our body to stick out from under the blanket. When I woke up, there was actually blood on my pillow. I guess a mosquito got too full and spit some of my blood out before he flew off.

In the morning, I was talking with my roommate and I told him that I thought we experienced some  spiritual warfare. He disagreed. "Just life," he said. Okay.  Massive stomach cramps, followed by a flesh eating roach the size of a Volkswagen, followed by a swarm of mosquitos, all in one night. "Just life," he says. Maybe so.

I love going to India, but today, I am glad I am home. 

So, This Is What the Sweet Sixteen Feels Like?

Okay, so vanity has taken over. Either that or I'm really competitive. I'll side with the competitive angle. A little competition is good, right?  Some might see this and think that it's a little much, but hey, this is a tiny blog compared to some of the monster Baptist blogs out there.  I need all the help I can get!

So, here's the deal:  Tony Kummer at SBC Voices set up a competition last week. He tracks all the blogs of Southern Baptists (over 314 to date) and he decided to do a tournament ala the NCAA basketball's March Madness.  He put 68 teams, er, blogs in the tournament and divided it up into four regions for people to vote on who they thought had the most influential blog in SBC life. You can see the initial contest HERE. I was pretty surprised to be selected as one of the 68 blogs to make the big dance.  I was a #12 seed in the South Region. I was even more surprised (shocked, really) to make it to the next round - the Sweet Sixteen. So, basically, this is quite the Cinderella story.

Davidson went down today and I have a very strong feeling that I won't make it to the next round either. Tony changed up the rules a little (can he do that? - um, I guess he can since it's his contest) and says, "For this session I want you to consider the helpfulness of each blog, especially when they write about SBC related issues."  Oh no! I'm doomed! I don't really write about SBC related issues here anymore, at least in the direct sense.  I knew I quit too early!  He is even offering a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com for the winner. Those who love me know that if anything would motivate me . . . well, I better not get into to that.

So, even though I don't write about SBC related issues here at Downshoredrift, I figure that the stuff I write about (ministry, church life, spiritual formation, where God is working in the world around us, missions, my family, book reviews, changing culture, the Kingdom of God, etc.) SHOULD be what we are talking about in the SBC instead of petty politics (except for maybe my family - the SBC doesn't have to talk about my family, except for my kids. They are pretty cool). So, to parrot Barak Obama, a vote for Downshoredrift means a vote for CHANGE!  That's right! Let's change the tone of the SBC!  What better way than to put Downshoredrift in the Final Four!

Too much?  Sorry.  My friend Micah Fries is trying to get people to vote for him so I thought I'd do the same.  Go over to SBCVoices and go down to the South Region and vote for Downshoredrift, if you would be so kind. Remember, a vote for Downshoredrift is a vote for the little guy, the underdog, the common man!  It's a vote for change!  Send Cinderella to the Final Four!      

Yeah, I got carried away.  Oh well! It's all in fun.   :)

Edgy Church Makes New Rules

I've always said that the style of church or worship that you experience doesn't matter - it is the heart that matters most. Often, in trying to be innovative, we are just repackaging the same old forms in new ways. The heart doesn't really change. At the core of our experience, we must ask the question: Do we look to God or are we just trying to do what pleases us? I ran across a hilarious bit of satire at Larknews that makes a great point about new church forms:

Edgy church breaks old rules, insists on new ones

    ROCHESTER, Minn. — At The Circle, a young, innovative church which meets in a renovated bus depot, there is no pulpit, platform or pastor, as such. The congregation rejects the labels "Christian" and "congregation," preferring "followers of Jesus" and "friendship community."
    There are no ushers, but rather "helpers."
    There is no worship team, but rather "God artists."
    And woe to anyone who affixes traditional church labels to any of it.
    "God's doing a new thing here," says Mitch Townsend, the leader of the church. He shuns the "pastor" label and insists people call him, "Hey, man," or simply "Dude." If someone slips and calls him "pastor," he bristles and gently rebukes them.
    "We got rid of all those old labels," he says. "There's no going back."
    At the church office, which they never call a church office but rather "the Hub," secretaries, or "community action facilitators" as they are called here, tap-tap on computers (which they still call computers) and take calls.
    When a visitor slips up and refers to The Circle's "sanctuary," Dude Townsend cuts him short.
    "Listen, it's not a sanctuary, it's a meeting place, a gathering place," he says, flushing red.
    "Sorry, pastor," the visitor says.
    "Not pastor," says Townsend. "Dude, or friend. Or just hey, Mitch."
    "Sorry, Dude Mitch," the visitor says uncomfortably, and slinks away. Mitch quickly goes to him and hugs him.
    "We're all about love and freedom here," he says. "I know it's hard to get used to."
    At a Sunday morning "gathering," as services must be called, people sit in chairs arranged in circle around a "focal point" (not a platform) and listen to the team of God-artists play instruments and sing "songs of adoration and devotion to the Creator," as opposed to praise and worship music. The gathered "posse of Jesus followers" is free to sing along and to express themselves in any way that seems "real and authentic."
    "We strive to be genuine here," says non-pastor "Hey, Jim" Richards, who in another setting might be called an associate pastor. "It's about being who you are, not fitting into a pre-determined box."
    Before Dude Mitch's personal sharing time (which markedly resembles a sermon), one visitor raises her hand and says, "Is there going to be an altar call? Because I really want to give my life to Jesus today."
    Dude Mitch answers quickly, "We don't have altar calls here; we have 'God moments' or 'Creator re-connects.' And we don't say 'give your life to Jesus,' but you may begin a lifelong love relationship with the Creator-Friend, if you like. But please wait until we are done with sharing time."
    After the service, "new friends" join in the "kick-back hall" for refreshments and conversation with the Dudes and other Hub personnel. They may also join a mid-week "hang-out crew" of 10-12 people which meets in a home, and which is steadfastly not referred to as a "small group."
    "Anyone who wants a break from normal, rigid church life is welcome at The Circle," says Townsend. •

I'm still laughing. I do feel a bit sheepish, however, because my folks call me "Alan" instead of "Pastor Alan," so I guess I can't say much. I just always figured that no one has titles in the Bible, so we shouldn't have them now. But, God save me from making it a rule!

Mission Trips for the Wealthy?

I've got some more stories and pictures from our recent trip to the Gulf Coast coming this weekend, but in the meantime, I thought that I'd point to this article:

                     

Ritzy missions trips aim for wealthy


    HAMILTON, Bermuda — This year, instead of helping a missions team build a church sanctuary in Honduras, Bill Taylor of Open Bible Church in Wichita is evangelizing at beach resorts in Bermuda.
    "Now this is missions work," says Taylor while striking up spiritual conversation with wealthy resort guests.
    As more church-goers tire of spending vacation time in the Third World, churches are taking a break from poverty and targeting the luxury class with the gospel.
    "Our worldview had gotten too narrow," says one pastor. "Rich people need Jesus, too."
    Grace Family Church of Littleton, Colo., recently started a ministry called Higher Calling and sent a missions team to tony boutiques in Milan’s fashion district. The group reached out to watchmakers, jewelry store workers and super-wealthy patrons.
    "People who were never interested in missions trips are jumping at the chance to go," says the pastor.
    Team member Joyce Andrews says the salespeople "will tolerate a lot of evangelizing if you are committed to buying a diamond necklace or a watch." Andrews says she felt vastly more effective evangelizing luxury jewelry shop employees than on her last three trips to Central America.
    "I feel useless in poor places," she says. "But I found I fit very well in wealthier environments. Striking up spiritual conversations at the perfume counter is right up my alley."
    Pastor Brent Keefauver says his congregation in Miami was suffering from "poverty fatigue" because of the malnutrition and generally dismal motif most missions trips offer.
    "We were gaining a global perspective, but losing the joy of the Lord," he says. "We had to switch gears fast."
   

Upcoming Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit

So, I thought I'd start the week off with some thoughts concerning the upcoming Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX. I've been asked to take part in a panel discussion on Saturday morning. I am also speaking at 3pm on the topic "Defining and Defending the Continualist Position." I've planned and led quite a few conferences, and my great hope in my participation in this one is that I'll be speaking at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, that time period takes the pressure off greatly.  Generally, only family members, the church custodian, and some guys moving chairs and tables in the back are around at that time, as most have retired to their homes and hotels for a much needed afternoon nap before returning in the evening. Those left in the room usually begin to sink down in their seats and drop their heads in an attitude of prayer that goes on for some time. If not careful, some have been known to actually fall out of their chairs as though they were slain, charismatic style. The 3pm crowd is quite pious, actually.

I'm thinking I really should blow the dust off the old family Bible, crack it open and prepare for this, since I will be surrounded by incredibly qualified people with academic degrees and what not. But, then I thought, why not just wing it?  Since many in the SBC consider those who believe in the continuation of miraculous Spiritual Gifts to base their sketchy theology on experience alone, I thought I'd just show up and see what happens. I'm sure it will turn out all right in the end. I have about 45 minutes to speak, I think, so I thought I'd show a video of people speaking in tongues to each other without interpretation for about 20 minutes. I could get some clips of all types of charismatic phenomena, like people barking, rolling around, and running around the church. It could be entitled, "Coming to a Baptist Church Near You If Continualists Get Their Way!"  Then, since we are experience based after all, I could divide the room up into small groups and ask people to share their feelings about the video. Was it scary? How did it make them feel? After that, I'd blast them for not having enough faith or something. I'm still working on my closing, but I don't want to put TOO much thought into, remember? Spontaneity and all.

In case you didn't realize, this was an experiment in satire. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence by stating the obvious, but I have read comments on some blogs that would lead me to believe that nuance is lost on more than a few. In all seriousness, I am VERY excited about this coming weekend. I feel that it will provide a much needed forum to discuss and debate one of the central controversies in Baptist life today. I am incredibly honored to be speaking and am very excited about the 3pm time, because I will get to go last, in a sense, and I will be able to respond to the statements made by the cessationist speakers before me, Bart Barber and Robin Foster. I am preparing as best I can, and do not plan to just wing it, even though I am sure to be dwarfed by the theological and mental heavyweights that will be my counterparts. So, I appreciate your prayers this week as I get ready for what should be a great experience.

With all the talk about alcohol in the SBC . . .

I ran across this article today and thought it was pretty funny. It just goes to show how we can make the Bible say just about anything we want based on our presuppositions, eh? As you read this, think about other passages that can be taken out of context, viewed in isolation, and used wrongly.

MINOT, N.D. — Jack Crocker, a beer-loving machinist and "part-time Christian," finally agreed to read Proverbs with wife Reanna. He's glad he did.
    "I'm a Proverbs 31 husband all right," says Jack, then quotes Proverbs 31:6-7: "Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more."
    "That's my permission to crack open a cold one," Jack says, having a Coors after dinner.
    But Reanna, a new church member, is pushing Jack hard to stop drinking. She insists he is neither "perishing" nor "in anguish." But Jack researched the Bible on the Internet and found 2 Corinthians 4:16 and 5:2 which say, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day," and "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling."
    "Everyone is perishing and in anguish," Jack says. "Until we're delivered from these bodies, the Bible says to drink up."
    As part of the escalating family tension he created a "Proverbs 31" category on their weekly budget and listed "beer" under it. He also wants to start a Proverbs 31 Men's Group with his buddies.
    "We're trying to find where the Bible talks about buffalo wings," he says. •

And, in case you didn't know, I found it on Lark News, which is a Christian satire site. They try to make points about how ridiculous we can be through satire, which is usually lost on most people.  I don't approve of everything there, but they usually make pretty good points that get me to think about things in a different way.