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The Gospel of Optimism

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen, wildly popular and somewhat controversial purveyor of the so-called Prosperity Gospel, granted an interview with Time magazine recently. The magazine assumed that perhaps some of the sheen of Osteen’s message might’ve lost some of its glint, what with the recession clinging tenaciously to most folks’ pocketbooks.

Not so. Attendance at his Lakewood Church in Houston is up 10 percent, and this spring he preached in a sold-out Yankee Stadium. His message sounds as relentlessly optimistic as ever.

These days there are so many things trying to pull us down, with the economy and the swine flu. I really think there’s something [that affects people] on the inside when somebody tells them, like I do, God’s still in control. He’s got good things in store for your life. And when you trust, when you believe, you can see amazing things happen.

I’ve always thought the Prosperity Gospel, as I understand it, was kinda bunk, and suspected that those who pedaled it were too pollyannaish for my taste. A quick trip through the New Testament will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that getting right with God doesn’t guarantee a life on easy street.

But, being the optimist I am, what Osteen says in this piece resonates with me. I believe its the height of folly to assume God will monetarily reward us if we’re good Christians. But I do believe that God cares for us and (all things being equal) likes for us to be happy. And I do believe he does have great plans for us — though the greatness is in the plan, not us.

But I gotta be honest with you — I’m not overly familiar with the Prosperity Gospel or what Osteen (or others) teach. Are any of you know a little more about this topic than I do? Fill me in, if you would. I’d love to hear from you.

Tags: church, evangelism, Joel Osteen, poor, Poverty, prosperity gospel, recession, rich
Posted in church news | Permalink

Silence Isn’t Always Golden, Pastor Says

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Interesting release from the Baptist Press. Johnny Hunt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, visited four Middle-East countries this October, and he listened to Islamic imams call followers to worship. This is what he said in response.

We’re hearing the voice of the leaders of Islam giving their Friday messages. It’s the message of Muhammad, the message of the Qur’an that is dominant in an area that once was very Christian. The Apostle Paul would have made his way through these hills within probably 20 miles of this very city. We would have heard the message of Jesus Christ. But that voice has been silenced. We have been drowned out because we’ve allowed ourselves to be silenced. The voice of Islam has been raised because they are willing to pay the cost to make their message known, while we in our affluent culture have done less and less to make Jesus known. As never before in our lifetime, we must raise our voices even louder than the voice of Islam to make the Gospel known.

Tags: Baptist, church, evangelism, faith, Islam, Muslim
Posted in Middle East | Permalink

And In This Corner … Church

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

The New York Times gives us a peak at how the evangelical movement is manifesting itself in Brazil, one of the world’s most Catholic countries. And it includes an awful lot of fighting. Here’s the lead:

The atmosphere was electric at Reborn in Christ Church on “Extreme Fight” night. Churchgoers dressed in jeans and sneakers, many with ball caps turned backward, lined a makeshift boxing ring to cheer on bare-chested jujitsu fighters. …

With the crowd still buzzing, Pastor Mazola Maffei, dressed in army pants and a T-shirt, grabbed a microphone. Pastor Maffei, who is also Pastor Meira’s fight trainer, then held the crowd rapt with a sermon about the connection between sports and spirituality.

“You need to practice the sport of spirituality more,” he urged. “You need to fight for your life, for your dreams and ideals.”

The Times tells us that about 15 percent of Brazilians describe themselves as evangelicals these days — quintuple the number who said so 50 years ago. They’re attracted to the movement because, in part, of the freedom of worship: Evangelical churches are obviously unfettered by many of the rituals found in the Catholic Church and, apparently, attract folks through their doors with mixed martial arts fights, raggae and makeshift tattoo parlors.

I’ve been to a lot of churches stateside, but I’ve yet to go to one that’s hosted a cage match or allowed me to get some new ink. When we hear about the burgeoning worldwide Christian church, I think I sometimes make the mistake of assuming they all worship much like I do: Some nice, tuneful worship music, a 40-minute sermon, coffee and donuts afterward.

That’s obviously not the case. But the question is, is that a bad thing? Does mixing MMA fighting with Christianity bother you? Or does it excite you? Let me know. I’d love to hear.

Tags: Brazil, Catholic, church, evangelical, evangelism, fighting, MMA, tattoo, UFC
Posted in South America | Permalink

I’m A Fan. U2?

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

U2's Bono

Christianity is full of paradox. I think paradox is part of the faith’s very DNA: The King born in a manger; victory found in shameful death; the promise that, in order to save one’s life, one must give it away.

So it only makes sense that Christianity — the force that almost singlehandedly preserved the cultural achievements of ancient Greece and Rome, the foundation of so much of the Western World’s art, literature and philosophy, the entity that’s so woven into our cultural sensibilities that no atheist movement on earth can drive them apart — is, at its core, the most countercultural movement on earth.

That’s a long prelude to introduce the actual theme of this post: An outstanding essay on U2’s Bono by one of my favorite bloggers, Steve Beard. Beard, founder of the faith-and-culture roundup known as Thunderstruck, suggests that Bono — that hard-rocking Irishman — has become one of Christianity’s most effective evangelists. And, as such, Bono is wrapped in paradox.

Beard offers this example:

Bono has the reputation as rock ‘n’ roll’s most effective and enigmatic spiritual provocateur — rattling the souls of fans all over the globe. “I sometimes think I have a kind of Tourette’s syndrome where if you’re not supposed to say something, it becomes very attractive to do so,” he once confessed. “You’re in a rock band — what can’t you talk about? God? OK, here we go. You’re supposed to write songs about sex and drugs. Well, no I won’t.”

And then there’s this:

There is very little garden-variety Evangelicalism (in the North American sense of the word) found in the members of the band. They drink, smoke, swear, and wear leather pants. But there is a hefty and poetic theological substance that I think would startle St. Paul and would bring a smile to the Psalmist. This rock ‘n’ roll band is committed to social justice and eternal truth. In this day and age, that is no small luxury.

Bono disappointed several Christians I know when he made a cameo in Sasha Baren Cohen’s crudely provocative “Bruno” this summer. Many felt it beneath this rock star who, as time goes on, seems to poetically preach more and more with each passing album. For me, it felt like just one more pebble of paradox: The sort of enigmatic and sometimes incomprehensible paradox we all — and Christianity itself — is made of.

Tags: Bono, counterculture, culture, evangelism, music, rock, U2
Posted in Entertainment, culture | Permalink

O.J. Award: Tim Tebow

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Tim Tebow on the cover of SI

Let me make a confession: I don’t like the Florida Gators. I’m sick of them, frankly. I’m sick of their national championships, sick of their uniforms, sick of the way Gators fans scissor their arms up and down in mimicry of an alligator chomp. Nothing personal against the school, really … it just seems unfair that one university would be sooooo good all the time, while others — like those that I root for — aren’t.

But while I’m not a Florida U. fan, I can’t help but like Gators’ quarterback Tim Tebow, who crawled onto the July 27 cover of Sports Illustrated bearing, on his eye black, a Bible verse: Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Sports Illustrated has some of the best writers in the world, so Austin Murphy’s story on the QB is, of course, outstanding. But oddly, it has very little to do with football. That’s because the story’s about Tebow’s real passion: faith. He’s the son of a missionary who takes the word of God on the road with him everywhere — from hotels to prisons to far-flung countries around the world. “He wants people to see what he believes through his actions,” says David Nelson, a Gators wide receiver. “He wants them to say, ‘I see the way you live your life, the passion you have, the fun you have, and I want what you’ve got.’”

A snippet from the story:

At a time when Americans are leaving organized religion in large numbers, according to a 2008 Pew Research poll, Tebow is leading his own personal counterinsurgency. “Every Sunday we have a service for our players and their families,” says Meyer, who remembers when “three or four kids would show up. Now the room’s full.” Since Tebow’s arrival on campus, and in large part because of him, Florida has launched a series of community-service initiatives. Even as the football program has suffered an embarrassing string of arrests, the number of hours players devote to charitable causes has dramatically increased. “Our community service hours are completely off the charts,” says Meyer, who describes his quarterback’s influence on the team as “phenomenal.”

The O.J. Award doesn’t seem like it’d be designed for a guy like Tebow. The whole point of the thing, really, is to honor those who labor for Christ without the expectation of a lot of attention — and Tebow, obviously, gets a lot of attention.

But while Tebow gets plenty of accolades, it’s for his football. And that, in turn, allows him to serve God with a certain level of success, but also in modesty and humility. It’s not Tebow’s way with a football that’s changing the world around him: It’s his commitment to something greater than himself.

So, Tim Tebow, have an O.J. on me. And here’s hoping you might wind up on the roster of an NFL team I do root for.

Tags: college, evangelism, Florida, football, Gators, mission, missionary, Tim Tebow
Posted in O.J. Award | Permalink

Bad Nukes, Good News?

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Granted, the news out of North Korea rarely strikes me as “good,” and these days the situation there seems particularly dire. Earlier this week, the isolationist country tested a second nuclear bomb, conducted some short-range missile drills and leader Kim Jong-il seems to be getting more belligerent with each passing news brief. North Korea’s known for playing high-stakes matches of brinksmanship to get what they want, but these games of chicken make me a little queasy.

But according to the folks at Open Doors USA, a Christian ministry that monitors areas in the world where Christians are often persecuted, North Korean believers think North Korea’s latest round of sabre-rattling is an opportunity to further evangelize in this closed country.

“What an awesome testimony that Christians inside North Korea have started a prayer campaign for evangelizing the entire country, says Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller in a recent press release. “We need to keep them in our prayers as they risk their lives for their faith.”

That’s not just hyperbole, according to the folks at Open Doors. North Korea is the world’s No. 1 persecutory country of Christians, according to the organization’s World Watch List, and Moeller says an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 of the country’s 200,000 estimated political prisoners are Christian.

Tags: crisis, evangelism, global issues, North Korea, nuclear
Posted in Asia | Permalink