A New Advent for a New Testament

At the end of the Old Testament the Messenger of the Lord says this:

[malachi 3:1]

"See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming," says the LORD of Hosts.

This is God’s word.

And with that God's people entered a season of advent. Of expectantly waiting and preparing for the Lord's coming. That season of advent lasted for over 500 years. And then, out of nowhere (or to be more precise, out of Nazareth) almost undetected by everyone the Lord came…

[Luke 2:1-14]

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the inn. In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger." Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!

This is God’s word.

Immanuel. God with us. Christmas. Nowell. Whatever you call it, one thing is certain. The advent was finally over.

Now we today refer to "advent" as the brief period of time in which we expectantly wait and prepare to celebrate Jesus' first coming, his birth.

But as you celebrate the season of remembrance we call advent I hope you consider the advent season we live in TODAY. Not a season of the year, but moment in history we find ourselves when we “Advent” or expectantly wait and prepare for the Immanuel to come, For Jesus’ second coming.

I hope this Christmas season reminds us all that our advent is not just about celebrating an important historical event that happened thousands of years ago. But that it is also about expectantly waiting and preparing for the second coming of the Christ. Are you treating others as if you expect Jesus' return? Are you preparing yourself and others today for that return? I want to encourage us all to not let advent fade as December passed, the leaves return, and summer comes around but rather live in a perpetual state of advent, of expectation, of hope, and of preparation for a Savior's return.

National Collegiate Week promoting racial unity. Ironic? I can't decide.

I'm personally challenged with reaching specific people-groups without further isolating them at the same time. I'm sure I'm not alone in struggling with that balance. For instance, National Collegiate Week is all about recognizing that college students are a unique group within society and as such should be addressed, trained, outreached to, and even perhaps allowed to worship separately in their own environment. Many churches have worship services intended specifically for unique peoples (young adults, traditional-music-lovers, cowboys, whatever).

Yet on the other hand we talk about the necessity of a racially diverse congregation as if race were a "special case" of people-groups that should be integrated together while most other people-groups are being more and more divided and segmented.

The irony for me is that an incredibly segregated group of people (college students) are being challenged to desegregate by race ("the college students we are segregating from the rest of the church need to be desegregating among themselves, racially-speaking").

Revelation repeatedly speaks of unity between every tribe and language and people and nation. The more I reflect on those passages and on current Christian culture the more I like the push for racial diversity and become more and more uncertain about efforts to further segment (and essentially define ourselves) based on anything other than our mere Christianity.

Are we being intentional to worship among a racially diverse peoples yet at the same time trying to segment ourselves based on other, equally trivial, preferences and demographics such as age or worship styles? It sounds inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst.

I know there are issues with this attitude such as, "So do I speak Korean to a bunch of Anglo-Saxons and do I speak 'modern' to a bunch of 'postmoderns'?" and I get that. Jesus, Paul, and others seemed to know their audiences very well and interact with them accordingly. However, they interacted with children, elderly, Samaritan, Jew, gentile, women, men, shepherds, and kings. They accepted everyone. They interacted with everyone. They worshipped with everyone. I'm not sure that "demographic-based" churches or churches that segment themselves along these demographic lines are mimicking this all-inclusive attitude. Seems very much a "separate but equal" mentality.

That said, I totally understand and appreciate the very difficult challenge college ministers have of balancing between relevant ministry and segmented ministry.

Video Games are Enabling our Sons

Boys I know are busy. Busy racing cars through a crowded city. Busy fighting oppressors and leading men into battle. Busy playing in the championship football game ... all on a quiet summer afternoon. I'm speaking of video games, of course, and the 'gamers' who love them. As much real-life work as boys face these days, what is it about video games that occupy so much of their attention? Whatever it is, this draw seems to only be increasing as these boys mature into men. Why is it that this draw toward the "virtual world" is increasingly spilling over into manhood? What needs are they going to a controller or keyboard to fulfill that we as parents might be able to meet more effectively?

Video games are becoming an incredible distraction for youth and young men everywhere we look. At a recent child dedication service at a sister church of mine the pastor challenged dads not only to put their families' priorities above watching football games but also above playing video games. Ten years ago that pastor wouldn't have mentioned video games. It would seem that as children become youth and youth become men that instead of growing out of it, the draw toward video games is becoming stronger and stronger. What do these artificial worlds have to offer that these boys and men are not finding in the physical world of their families, friends, and eventually co-workers and neighbors?

In the past, the needs of boys have been met by their schools, the church, and largely by the family. Today, video games are meeting more and more of these needs. By examining the draw boys have toward video games we can get a glimpse of what our boys' need. By knowing those needs, we and be better prepared to meet those needs as a parent.

Among the youth and men I have observed who play video games, the primary draw is that those games are an ENABLER. They enable the participants in ways they do not feel enabled in the physical world, whether in their families or among their friends or even co-workers. Here are seven ways that boys are enabled by either the video games they play or otherwise by the people God has placed in their lives:

Seven ENABLERs:

E-ngaging Relationships

Online game play is inherently a very connected technology. Internestingly enough though, gamers are typically very far removed from each other physically, talking to strangers and friends in a very disconnnected way. This disconnected aspect enables gamers an incredible amount of freedom to be transparent and open with each other while playing. Compare this ability to have authentic, honest communication with the masks they may feel forced to wear in the "real world" and you get a good idea why gamers can feel closer to those "disconnected" online players than they do to people they see day-to-day in the real world. The irony is that while no one is better positioned to love your boys than their parents, we all as parents often times make it extremely difficult for our sons to approach us with hard questions, failures, or advice.

N-ew and exciting

All too often the "real world" can get routine and dull if we aren't careful. In a virtual world you can constantly be reinventing yourself with little or no consequences. Wanna save the world? Go for it! Wanna race, bare-knuckled, through the crowded streets of a major city? Just reboot and you're off! The video game industry is unbelievably talented at providing gamers with new experiences. What can your family learn from this? One way is to habitually ask yourself, "What are some creative things you can do in order to keep things fresh and exciting?" Those in the gaming industry wake up every day having to answer this question all over again. Perhaps we as parents can learn a lot from this practice.

A-ccomplishment

How often do our boys feel they have accomplished something of value in this world? Today's boys have been given a "lazy pass" by far too many adults. We expect little, we avoid giving them control and empowering to even fail sometimes. We don't want them to embarrass us or hurt any of "our stuff". What are some things we as parents can do to instill a sense of accomplishment in "real world" terms? Give them responsibility. Give them a highly-visible task that has an impact if they fail. Raise the stakes and set the expectation that accomplishing the task is important but that failure is tolorated (although failure may come at a cost). "Failing" at a video game comes with zero consequences and likewise, the accomplishments gamers can attain are just as hollow and meaningless. Be prepared to handle their real-world failures, which inevitably will come sooner or later as they struggle to accomplish something of significance. They'll be surprised how satisfying actually accomplishing something of real importance makes them feel. In what ways can we push them out of their comfort zone in order to be challenged and to grow? Here's one example: Don't merely make your son mow the lawn. Instead let him design the entire landscaping. Give him a budget. Tell him you'll throw in so many hours of your own time. Make him plan out a design within budget, managing the personnel helping him accomplish the task (aka, the time you are volunteering), and see what happens. Help him only so far as he's budgeted for you to help. You might even choose to pay him a salary as well, perhaps basing part of the payment on the quality of his end product (a base salary plus a bonus).

B-elonging

Online play is often times about building alliances and developing into a team. What conscience effort can we make to further instill a sense of belonging in our families? Playing games (yes, even video games sometimes) with your family, planning trips, family-night-outtings, and weekend getaways all help foster a sense of belonging. Keep in mind that the main goal is merely to build family unity and love. Sometimes it's easy to get frustrated when events you plan don't panout the way you'd plan. Be flexible with your plan in order to keep the goal in mind: "Unity and Belonging"! Also, please don't under-estimate family dinners (or breakfasts if that fits your family's lifestyle better). If you can't make it happen during the week very often, do what you can and make it a required family activity (Saturday lunch, Sunday dinner, etc). (unpaid family chores is a great way to build a sense of belonging also)

L-eadership

What efforts can we take to offer real and meaningful leadership opportunities to our boys? In a virtual world they can be kings and lead a group of warriors into battle. They can coach a team to a championship. The risks aren't high because if they fail they just... "reboot". Are you as a parent able to risk delegating significant responsibilities to your children in the hopes of providing them with real leadership opportunites within our homes? Boy Scouts is a great opportunity as well but even with Scouting, parents have to be careful not to "do it for them". Truly let them lead and also be willing to accept them when they fail. So many boys have grown accustom to the "lazy pass" mentioned before that throwing it away sounds intimidating and a lot of work to them. The book, Do Hard Things by teenagers Alex and Brett Harris is a great resource for boys that challenges all teens to do hard things, like leading!

E-mpowerment

Online players are empowered to race cars, fight oppressors, compete in the big game, play in the sun on a rainy day or go snow skiing in the middle of the summer. What are some ways we as parents can empower our children to do things they otherwise might only dream about (or act out online, as the case may be)? If your son is athletically-inclined, encourage him to try new sports (team sports, extreme sports, etc). If your son is more social, encourage him to throw a party at your home. Empower him to make up a nonsensical reason or theme for the party. If you son is introspective then empower him to join or start a book club or chess club. The point is to empower him to succeed at the things he enjoys doing and you may even learn a new hobby or two in the process!

R-elease

What healthy ways do you offer your boys to "let off steam"? How can you develop a home life with more of an atmosphere in which boys can have some way to release stress and anxiety? When they are stressed out are you willing to listen intently, offering understanding more than advice and instruction? Do your other children love your son enough to lend an ear without tattling? Playing sports together is a great way to let off steam too and also builds on some other enablers listed above. In fact, any exercise together can help let off stress (bike riding, walking, hiking, swimming).

Better than any video game

Now is the time to begin providing and modeling a home life that provides your children with more than video games ever could. It takes intentionality and lots of effort on our parts, but the effort is well worth it.

This isn't your father's Oldsmobile. And what was wrong with my father's Oldsmobile?

Actually my father never drove an Oldsmobile. Any vehicle with the word “old” in it is inevitably doomed anyway. In a consumer-driven quest for all that is new and shinny and undiscovered, "old" just won't do. Perhaps “Wismobile” or “Distinguismobile” or even “Myleftturnsignalhasbeenonfor6blocksmobile”.

Anything but “old”.

It’s those who wants things new. They want to use new words like, “community” instead of “friends” (“friends” is so “90’s” anyway, right?). They want coffee shops with couches, not bar stools. They want iTunes not records. They want to grab intrinsic human desires and relabel them with some post-modernism in order to “newify” things to their liking.

Come to think of it, I’m starting to sound a little old myself.

... You kids get off my lawn!!

Is Technology Bad? (part 2)

God’s church has been using technology since God’s church has existed. Technology has taken the form of writing on parchment, Guttenburg’s printing press, modes of transportation to spread the good news, television to bring that good news into thousands of households, even computer software to afford better accounting methods and communication for a church staff. Today technology continues to grant us greater accessibility but there is at the same time other motivations for using technology that can be dangerous. More and more of the church is becoming addicted to technology. As it turns out the problem goes deeper than the dilemma of whether to read hymns from a book or to read them off of a wall.

Is Technology The New “Works”?

As technology becomes more and more a part of our worship experiences the danger is

that we somehow may become dependant on that technology. The arguments being made for increased media-based technology usage (projectors, high-end sound systems, video) include:

“Media helps make it easier for people to pay attention”

“Members of the clergy have begun competing with MTV, video games, and the Internet by jazzing up their sermons”

“Technology can inspire your congregation in new ways”

“We live in a media-driven world”

source: Is Jesus the Next Killer App? CNET Networks, Inc. [http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6066157.html]. 4/28/2006.

While the statements above are true statements the point is that they are not necessarily good. In fact, statements like these might be reworded like this:

“The news that we are condemned creatures being redeemed to an all-powerful, perfect, and just being by his own grace simply isn’t good enough to be interesting in and of itself.”

In other words, these statements are nice ways of saying that the good news simply is not good enough. There must be something more to this because if not then why am I not all that impressed on Sunday mornings? Why do I find my mind wandering during a sermon? There must be more to the message otherwise it wouldn’t be so boring, right?

The belief that our works makes us sort of righteous and that God’s grace makes up the difference means God’s grace is not all sufficient and that He is all-powerful, except for this one area in which we have control of the wheel. In a practical sense today’s church faces a danger very similar to this works-based salvation. According to many congregations it is not the good news in and of itself that warrants our attention and is found “inspiring” but rather the presentation of that good news. It’s the technology. Sure the grace saves us, but only after all that technology can do to get us there. This reminds me of a similar passage from the Book of Mormon that reads, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”. Technology is in danger of being the next “Works”; the fallback for those of us that fail to see the power and sufficiency in God’s grace alone.

Is Technology The Problem Or The Symptom?

This observation is not at all meant to be a slam on the congregation member who tends to feel this way. Are they so wrong for admitting boredom? Are they wrong for admitting to feeling uninspired? As called ministers it is clearly our biblical mandate to bring the gospel and all of its truths to the congregation. If the message is stale or boring then using technology to do what the power of the message of the gospel was intended to do (excite/terrify/awaken/impassion/etc) is terribly wrong. In fact it sounds similar to teaching a works-based salvation.

Why is it we have become so dependant on technology that those driving home Sunday afternoon tend to reflect more on its use in a service than on the truth that was proclaimed in it? Could it be that we are not bringing the truth that our congregations need? If a sermon lacks biblical teaching; if people do not leave better knowing the creator of this universe then they will go home feeling something was missing. Filling that void with technology aids is essentially admitting to God that either he cannot impress himself upon the people adequately or that he cannot work through your teaching of the bible. I like how Kim Riddlebarger, speaking about informal Christianity on the weekly radio show, “The Whitehorse Inn”, put it when he said, "If you are preaching to consumers rather than disciples then you gotta keep their attention [with technological innovation] or you're gonna lose 'em." If you preach to consumers then by all means, use technology to it full extent. However, to peach to disciples the good news of Christ should suffice.

Game On! With so many video games being played online over the Internet should I be concerned?

The New Video Game Trend

When I was a boy I loved watching movies. I loved the smell of the popcorn, the taste of candy mixed with butter on my fingers, the larger-than-life sound of a high-budget film, crowding into a dark theater with lots of other anxious patrons, and of course there was the big screen! Watching movies on TV was okay, but what every kid really wanted was to experience the movies the way they were meant to be experienced: in the movie theater. Watching movies was one of the most entertaining things I did growing up.

Then very abruptly things changed. Sure I still went to the movies and still enjoyed the experience. Only I started going for different reasons. The new blockbuster wasn’t the only draw anymore. In fact what movie was playing became of little consequence. As adolescence crept in I became more interested in who I was meeting at the movies more than how a plot would unfold and anticipated who I would get to sit next to more than what the upcoming previews would be.

Just as I grew up being entertained by movies, many of you have students that have grown up being entertained playing video games. More recently the popularity and accessibility of the Internet has changed video games in almost every aspect. Regardless of what modern gaming console your students may have (even a computer) the games they play online look much different than video games did just a few years ago. Instead of playing against a computer whose responses can be anticipated and have an artificial feel to them, students now have the ability to play with other students that are just as real, just as smart, and just as unpredictable as themselves. While this online trend has changed the face of video games there is another, more fundamental, change occurring. The Internet has not only changed what video games look like, it has changed why your children play video games in the first place!

In the same way that I began going to the movie theater more to see my friends than to be entertained by the actors on the screen, the entertainment-factor of online video games is being replaced with social interaction that modern video games offer.

Parents of boys have been concerned about video games for some time now. Parents of only girls however have been able to largely ignore video game trends. However, according to recent reports⁽¹⁾ socializing is the most popular reason girls use the Internet. Since more and more video games and other technologies are moving to the Internet and offering interaction between peers, it makes sense that that same report also tells us that girls are now using the Internet at a slightly higher percentage than boys. Do not be surprised if you daughter begins showing interest in playing online video games more and more.

The Consequences Of This Online Trend

I didn’t exactly grow up in the stone ages, but when I started playing games online the technology was very different. It only enabled me to play against those I already knew. It just wasn’t possible to play against strangers. With the advent of the Internet, most online games allow and in fact encourage players to play with strangers. If you grew up near a neighborhood basketball court then you can understand how this works. Even when you met friends at the court perhaps you only had an odd number of players. Or you had 4 players and really wanted to play 3-on-3. Other times you just walked down to the court and tried to play a pick-up game with whoever was there. Whatever the specific situation is, you can see the position your parents would have put you in if they allowed you to play at the basketball court but only with people they knew. They would have put you in awkward situations that would have been very difficult to obey their wishes.

The same is true for playing online video games. Allowing your children to play modern online video games equates to allowing them to play online with strangers at least on occasion. While this is a concern, it’s probably for different reasons than you think. When we think about the dangers of meeting strangers on the Internet we immediately think about “chat rooms”. These are locations on the Internet designed to be where strangers go and communicate with each other, typically by typing back and forth. The dangers this presents our children seem obvious and it would seem the dangers for playing online video games with strangers are the same. As it turns out the more likely dangers are very different.

The more likely danger children will face when playing online games is the unbridled tongues of those they play against. The established video game rating system (ESRB) does not account for foul language that other players might use, only the language the game itself uses. Disrespectful attitudes and foul language run rampant in many online video games. Many games employ microphones so that language flows much more free than if players had to type all communication. A child chatting online with adult strangers is a concern all parents can appreciate. Alternatively, when it comes to playing online, your children are at risk of being exposed to foul language and attitudes regardless of the age of the strangers they play against. In fact a good rule of thumb is that the younger the adolescent your teen is playing with, the worse the language they hear.

While much of the language and attitudes students hear playing online games is offensive to most parents, it is probably no different than what they hear at a typical public or private school. The key deference there is those offensive remarks are no longer being left at the doorstep of the school but rather getting blasted into your home. Big difference! David was a man after God’s own heart. However he did not protect his home properly. He allowed his home to be in view of women bathing so that when he was relaxed with his guard down in his home, Satan was able to ensnare him. We must protect our homes if we are to be expected to protect anywhere.

So should children never be allowed to play online games? Perhaps. Many students will not be interested anyway. For those already playing or those very interested in playing online, perhaps you can offer to play with her or him. Once you see the game she plays you may find that online chatter is not an aspect of that particular game. Or your student, being hypersensitive because you are playing also, may realize how much foul language is present and actually see your point of view. If that does not work, try catching a flick together. Or better yet, take her to the neighborhood basketball court and try to play some pick-up games. Maybe I’ll see you there!

⁽¹⁾ Smart & Safe: Research and Guidelines for Children's Use of the Internet. Report funded by the Children's Television Workshop, National School Board Foundation, and Microsoft. Research conducted by Grunwald Associates and The Dieringer Research Group. 2000. [http://www.nsbf.org/safe-smart/full-report.htm].

On Using Technology to Enhance Student Ministry

Today’s technologies can provide us many ways to more efficiently and effectively minister to our students. What looks like just the latest gadget could be tomorrow’s ministry tool. What today’s….

Wait, what’s that noise? Is that mine? Yeah, that’s my Simpsons-theme-song ring tone. Let me get that real quick…

“Yeah it turned mine green too!”

“Well gotta go. Bye-bye”

… Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, ministry tools! Like I was saying, technology can become an effective ministry tool on 2 fronts. First there is a respect factor. What student can’t help but be impressed with a Bluetooth-enabled ear piece that makes you look more and more like that cyborg from the newest sci-fi movie? And what parent can’t help but notice your commitment to their students, knowing that the always-worn ear piece stands as a symbol of availability, ready to be used at a second’s notice to lend a listening eat to a troubled teen. Plus your other staff members will sure to be…

That beep… Where’s that beep coming from?...

Someone just logged in and wants to instant message with me! Be right back…

…10 minutes…

… Man that Hillary, she just never stops typing about those shoes! For now though, back to the issue at hand. Aside from the subconscious signals new technologies and gadgets give off to those around you, new technologies also saves time and money, enabling more student ministry dollars to go towards mission work and allowing us to better and more efficiently manage the time the Lord has given us. Take visitors for example. We are all called to be good stewards and what better way than to replace time-consuming and inefficient house visits by instead following-up by adding them to your Facebook friends and by going online and ordering them a Star Bucks gift card to be mailed to their house. It’s cheaper than the gas it would take to drive, saves lots of time, and the kids will probably think you are more thoughtful for giving them the gift card than dropping by unannounced anyway, right?

Before I get to that let it be said that I am an efficiency addict. The self-deprecating side of me might be tempted to call it laziness since efficiency essentially makes some function in ministry easier and easier. Technology does not take productive, hard-workers and by virtue of making their jobs easier, make them essentially lazy people providing them with an abundance of free time. Rather, it takes lazy people (me) and makes them productive. It means that I can do more and more by exerting the same amount of energy. Unfortunately, the do-more-with-less-work never seems to materialize – when was the last time you were so efficient with your work day that you cut out at 10am and had the rest of your day to yourself? So if technology enables us to do more (communicate more, communicate better, manage financial resources better, etc) then that makes technology good, right?

Not necessarily. Take your phone out of your ear, unplug your Internet connection, turn off that ipod, and shutdown that Final Cut Pro clip you are editing because we are going to instead use the single most important technology of the last 1,000 years: the printed word! Make sure other technological distractions are obliterated because we are about to see what the Bible has to say on the subject of technology in terms of being more efficient in our ministry.

John’s gospel describes a very touching moment between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. What makes it interesting for us is Judas’ commentary on the interaction and Jesus’ subsequent response to Judas. In John 12 Mary begins to wash Jesus’ feet with a very expensive amount of perfume. When the disciples present observe this act of love, Judas makes a very valid point. He claimed the perfume was roughly worth about a year's wages for a common worker and wonders then why this perfume was not sold and the proceeds given to the poor.

Good question! The efficiency addict in me wonders the same thing as I read the narrative. What is a more efficient use of the perfume: Cleaning feet or giving a good meal to hundreds of hungry people? While the text teaches us that there was a selfish motive under the surface of Judas’ question, Jesus did not disagree with Judas on those grounds. Rather He said, “you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” In other words, efficient use of the resources I have provided you is no substitute for genuine acts of love and affection toward those God has placed in your path. Genuine acts of love often times are terribly inefficient and often extremely low-tech.

Should we use technology to minister to our students? Absolutely. Should technology in any way take the place of or interfere with genuine, uninterrupted time and attention given to individual students in a way that speaks God’s love to them? Never. Using technology for any other reason than to enrich the relationships your students possess is distracting and harmful to your ministry.

Gotta go. There goes that Simpson’s theme music again…