American Idol, Outsanding warrants, and advice from Ice Cube

Last week I watched American Idol contestant Jermaine Jones get kicked off the show for having 4 (undisclosed) outstanding arrest warrants. The two Brit producers indicated that they want contestants to be honest in disclosing all the dirty details of the past. 

You can watch the video here.

A few thoughts crawled around my mind and dropped here and there like the termites currently infesting my study at church. 

1.) If you have outstanding warrants, is the best place to hide, or rather run from them, a very popular nationally televised singing competition? This article explains the warrants and the reason they were issued were not of such a grave nature that authorities would actually chase Mr. Jones down. So I guess the moral of the story is that its OK-depending upon the severity of the crime-to not show up for court. Sometimes. I guess he didn't shoot the sheriff, or the deputy (allegedly) like Bob Marley did. Good to know that if you have any outstanding warrants, that shouldn't necessarily make you shy away from American Idol (so long as you tell them) or any other reality show. Land of the free.

2.) If you do watch the video, you feel beyond uncomfortable for this joker. The two Brits try to take the high road by telling him that they are all about giving second chances. They confess that they actually care about Jermaine, and the contestants. I'm guessing a better way of "caring" would have been to address this privately? It's pretty fascinating, for lack of a better word, that even Christians can say (and think) we are doing something for the good of another, yet at the same time NOT be doing it for the good of another. Since this was not a public offense before an American audience, the American audience didn't need to be privy to this. Matthew 18 is a good example of how Jesus instructs us to say the hard things necessary to offending parties, but to do so privately. The scriptures always give parameters, like "speaking truth in love" as well as structures and frameworks (Matthew 18; I Cor 5) which allow the sentiment and activity to be consistent with the gospel.

3.) I'll never cease to be amazed by the "I'm not judging you" comments that non-Christians and unfortunately many Christians cherish hearing. Yet I shouldn't be amazed, because it makes complete sense. The two Brits adamantly say something to the effect of "We're kicking you off the show, because of your undisclosed arrests, but we're not judging you." Uhh....I think Jermaine would have rather been judged BUT kept on the show....But there is a reason why folks so often have to preface everything with "I'm not judging you," and expect one in return: God's righteousness or lack thereof. 

Paul writes of the Jews in Romans 10:3, he says, "They did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own." Inevitably if you are not declared righteous by God, or actually believe you are declared righteous by God, you will seek your own and be slave to the judgments of others. You will seek a righteousness that comes by some sort of works (rather "good" or "bad"). You will. And this is case in point why unbelievers always feel such a need to say, "I'm not judging you...." They expect it in return. They need it.

But if God does declare Jesus' record to count as your record (for the Christian), you don't need to bothered by other's judgments. In fact, when we are bothered by their judgments, it is because we DON"T believe like we say we believe. The problem is not with the other person judging us. The problem is our lack of belief that God doesn't judge us. Who cares if someone judges you? I confess I do, sometimes. Ok, maybe more than I like to admit. But it is stupid and irrational, isn't it?

Ice Cube once sang "Check yourself before you wreck yourself." Provided the "yourself" includes a positional righteousness in Christ, I'd have to agree. If you don't check yourself to see whether you are really resting in Christ's righteousness, you will wreck yourself. And it will be your fault, not the fault of the "judges." Whether on American Idol or the judge next door.

Saved? Totally, or mostly saved?

I just finished reading I Corinthians for my devotional time the other day, but took some time to make it through the rather famous I Corinthians 15 passage which spends a lot of time and focus on the resurrection.

But there is another gem present that most of us often overlook

1 Cor. 15:1-2   "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,  and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain." 

The gospel is clearly a message of something God has done in history: coming, living, dying, rising, ruling, and one day raising us up bodily. That much is clear from the following verses and the ones following them.

1 Cor 15:3-4 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."

Nevertheless also part of the gospel is its power to save us. Romans 1:16-17 makes that clear, but so do verses 1-2. The gospel is something "in which you stand," but it is also that, "by which you are being saved." One of the reasons I never use the expression so-and-so "got saved," is not because it is un-biblical, but rather because it is incomplete. The bible doesn't speak of Christians simply as those who have "been saved" but those who are NOW "being saved." 

The passage indicates our present need to still "hold fast." We are being saved even now from sin's nagging Power (we're no longer totally enslaved as before), as we already have been saved from sin's Punishment ("in which you stand"). The proper response for the Christian is to keep holding fast to the truth of the gospel (and within the message there are many golden nuggets like new family, new record, new world, new heart, new future, new desires, new hope, new convictions, etc....) and don't stop. While you are free to use the word "saved" to refer to a Christian, or someone becoming a Christian, we are never to think of salvation as something only happening in the past. Your testimony of how you became a Christian is never more relevant than how you are "being saved" now. 

While someone may not be "partly dead" or "mostly dead" as in The Princess Bride, it is biblical to think we are "partly saved" or "mostly saved" (saved from sins punishment, and enslaving power, but not yet its annoying presence in our lives and world) now and will be "fully saved" when we go be with Jesus. Jesus has already done ALL the work for us, so now we hold fast for the duration of the ride.

Practically teaching Calvinism

When I interviewed for my first youth director position, the interviewing pastor said, "Are you comfortable teaching TULIP?" I was surprised-and frankly turned off-that he would ask me that question so soon in the informal interview. But the funny thing is, now twelve years later, I don't think I've actually ever sat down, or rather stood up, and specifically spent a deliberate time teaching Calvinism that way. I've also never preached a sermon designed to prove what I believe to be the truth about predestination.

Instead, I've just more or less assumed that truth, and so have taught passages of scripture Calvinistically. Let me give you two examples from this Sunday: one from Sunday School and one from youth group.

1.) Sunday School. I was trying to affirm the good things about the book Crazy Love before moving on to the critiques. We looked at the parable of the Seeds and the Sower, which explains that the true believer will produce fruit and persevere by faith until the end. He/she will not be overtaken by the weeds, the rocks, the cares or the persecution of this world. I didn't say, "this is the Perseverance part of the P in TULIP." I simply emphasized that true believers will persevere until the end. The passage  refutes the "I prayed a prayer when I was 6 and am good to go now" mentality. I had a professor that would say, "That's not Reform theology, that's just bible!" I prefer to try and teach Reformed truths this way.

2.) Youth Group. In a previous youth group, we learned how gossip is living contrary to the gospel. As a result, I figured we should probably instruct the kids that their responses and expectations to gossiping friends will depend upon whether their friends are Christians or non-Christians. For instance, while some non-Christians MAY respond favorably (Matt 5:14-16), we should not EXPECT them to respond favorably when confronted. Why? We read Ephesians 2:1-5. Because the natural state of man (and teenagers!) is that we're dead in sins and trespasses, and enslaved to the "prince of the air," until we're made alive by Jesus. Why should we EXPECT them to NOT gossip? In addition, their real problem is not that they are gossiping, but that they need to be forgiven and made alive by Christ. What good is it to just tell them to stop? I just gave them a little of the "T" for Total Depravity (I didn't go all the way and say dead men/women can't choose Jesus either, but it was a start).

This is simply practically applying Calvinistic thought to the issue of gossip. I don't know whether or not it's as effective as teaching TULIP to teenagers (but I think it could be). Still, in my own experience, I know a number of people have come to embrace the truths of Calvinism not by walking step-by-step through TULIP but by hearing hearing these truths piecemeal over time and then saying, "Ahhh....yeah, that's what I already believe." That's pretty close to my own experience too

Youth Ministry that is more than "keeping the kids off the streets."

I used to not be a big fan of W.V.U. coach Bob Huggins. I still have a hard time not calling him "Thuggins." But I do like the lad now, and not just because he coaches for W.V.U.  I can see that he does indeed care about his players. Whether it was that loving moment (though somewhat creepy as well) of him caressing his injured player in the Final Four floor, or the increased graduation rate, I don't know. Perhaps its the more of the latter than the former. 

When coaching at the University of Cincinati, he had a very low graduation rate. In fact I don't think anyone had one lower than Huggins. That's not to hard to believe, since I don't think he graduated A player. Seriously. 

But according to many college coaches, just have kids play basketball for the college is a win-win. The coaches win (literally) and make money, and the college kids play basketball and stay off the streets. Keeping the kids off the streets is better, "non-graduation emphasizing" coaches will reason.

I wonder if that's really the case. Maybe it is. But in the end, you may keep them off the streets, but if you don't equip them while in college, don't many simply return to the proverbial streets?

Some folks take this approach with youth ministry. Keep the kids away from their "bad friends" and entertain them while in jr. high and high school. In other words, if they are entertained, they at least have somewhere to go; they are being kept off the streets.

But the problem is much the same with the college athlete who only knows basketball. He'll simply return back to what he knows because he can't play ball forever. With youth who have been entertained throughout their church and youth ministry experience, where will they go when they head off to college? Not the church. It just can't keep up. It's impossible to do so, not to mention draining when you try. 

If you haven't seen this article, that emphasizes discipleship over entertainment, check it out. It sums up a lot of what many, including myself, really envision.

If the goal is not simply to keep the kids off the streets, but to point them to Jesus and His Church NOW and LATER when they leave, the church has to 1.) Throw resources toward the children/youth and  2.) Expect much of them. I'm not talking about parents role, but focusing on the Church's role now.

1.) Throw Resources. I don't mean money. Money helps in that we can purchase material, go to retreats, etc....But the best resource a church can spend is adults who love Jesus. That's the most important. College kids who walk with Jesus usually have several things in common: one is that they have a few godly adult relationships. In addition to parents, they have a few adult relationships which challenge and encourage them. Kathy Keller in her article about raising kids in the city had this to say...

I have often said that the best thing you can do for your teenage children is not to have them in a great big youth group (of other teens as clueless and confused as themselves), but to have lots of young adult, cool, ardently believing friends.

.....More seriously, the time came in the life of one of the boys when the club culture cast its allure, especially a fabled den of iniquity known as the Limelight. Begging to be allowed to go fell on deaf ears. Sneaking off to try to talk his way in resulted in being caught and grounded for decades. We were bemoaning this seemingly intractable desire to walk on the wild side to a 30-something friend. He was a talent agent who represented very well-known people, and my sons thought he was the coolest person they'd ever met. When the son in question walked up, Steve turned to him and said, "I hear you want to visit the Limelight. If you want to go, I'll take you. I went there many times before I became a Christian, and I never want to go back. But if you want to see it for yourself, I'll take you." We never heard another word about it. Steve had been there, done that, and found Christ better. His words had a power that our lectures never could have.

Whether it's formally teaching Sunday School, youth group, filling in as a sub (we always need them), or informally teaching (talking to them at church, having them into your homes, inviting them on an outing, going out for lunch), these resources get most bang for the buck. Most of us would rather throw money at a ministry than get involved and get our hands dirty. But God seldom uses more money to change the lives of our youth; he uses His people.

2.) Expecting much from them. Just as a good college coach expects his student athletes to do more than just be "off the streets," the church has to expect more than just decent Sunday School/youth attendance. We have to find them "jobs" to do while they are already in jr high and high school. Perhaps no segment of the church is more self-absorbed, but that is partly OUR fault. We perpetuate that when we don't give them opportunities to serve NOW, thinking they are too young to serve, lead, help organize, or even at times teach. Of course they will think the world revolves around them when we don't give them opportunities to bless others. And the more plugged into serving NOW, the more integral church involvement will be THEN when they leave. If serving the church is part of their normal Christian lives, then church becomes not something that they go to (or sleep in) once a week, it is part of who they are. Why would they want to miss corporate worship when it has become more than simply a "spiritual activity?"

In addition to opportunities IN the church, we need to expect them to be involved in the mission OUTSIDE the church. 

These two areas seem to pop up time and time again in studies dealing with the college-and-beyond transition. And since these factors simply involve the church being the church, it is wise for us to emphasize these two things in the youth ministry of a local church.

Gross and Graphic

I came across another thoughtful article the other day on the CNN belief blog called "My Take: Stop sugarcoating the bible." Here's an excerpt:

For example, look in any modern translation of Isaiah 64:6, and you’ll find that, to a holy God, even our most righteous acts are like “filthy rags.” The original language doesn’t say “filthy rags”; it says “menstrual rags.” But that sounds a little too crass, so let’s just call them filthy instead.

And let’s not talk so much about Jesus being naked on the cross, and let’s pretend Paul said that he considered his good deeds “a pile of garbage” in Philippians 3:8 rather than a pile of crap, as the Greek would more accurately be translated.

I'm glad to see someone recognize that the bible isn't "proper." It is so far from proper or an etiquette manual, it's astounding. The bible has language, stories, characters, activities that are certainly not rated PG, but R. Let's just consider the "language" part of it. 

Many people who think any use of any cuss word in any situation is always a sin often point to this passage in Ephesians 5:4, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving."

But the problem with such thinking is that the bible itself doesn't pass it's own "filthiness" test. Unless that is, filthiness means something different than gross or graphic. God inspires writers to write in such language that is, well, something. It's raw. It's earthy. It's real. It's gross and graphic. It's filthy in some sense, particularly when it describes sin in sexual terms (Ezekiel 23:20) or menstrual rags. (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3). 

Ultimately what happens when we ignore the graphic language of the bible, we just get a safe, proper, black and white, Christianity where everything has an easy answer. We forget the depth of sin, the ferocity of the spiritual battle, the nastiness (crap, or S%$*) of self-righteous behavior. 

Don't be too quick to condemn someone's language that actually closely aligns with the bible. Someone once said in bible study, "We think we are the s%*^, but we're really not; we are really more sinful than we think." I commended this guy's spiritual breakthrough. I think he finally understood the gospel and simply reiterated an expression more "Pauline" than the words "rubbish" or trash" our modern translations have substituted in Phil 3:8.

On heresy and humility: you don't have to be a thelogical jerk

Here is a post from Justin Holcomb on dealing with heresy and what it is not. The whole thing is well worth the read, but here are some snippets.

If a believer authentically holds to the Nicene Creed, we should not call them a heretic, no matter how strongly we believe they are gravely in error on the details or on other doctrines. A good shorthand for heresy, then, is to ask, “Can they say the Nicene Creed and mean it without their fingers crossed?” If the answer is yes, they may still be wrong, and they may be heterodox, but we cannot call them heretics, because they fit within the bounds of historic Christianity.

For the grammatically anal, it should "if a believer holds....we should not cal HIM (not them) a heretic." But that's beside the point. I love his winsome and humble attitude, which I think is what Paul is driving at in Phil 4:8 in "whatever is lovely." This attitude is an absolute necessity, though rare, in theological dialog. This guy went to Reformed Theological Seminary (where I went) and is doing a fine job at being "winsomely reformed," as they taught us down in those parts. You don't have to be a jerk to question, challenge, discern, or dialog with those of differing theologies-even bad ones.

Such an attitude of humble, charitable engagement stands in stark contrast to the spirit of the blogosphere today. Rather than being fundamentalists who turn disagreement into division, we should contend for the truth with humility and grace. That’s how Jesus treated us.

You just never know someone

Jim Rome radio interviewed Charles Barkley this week and the most interesting part of the segment centered around this question: "Were you surprised to hear that your friend Tiger Woods was thinking about becoming a Navy Seal?" Tiger's old coach explained that this was actually the case, that he considered leaving golf for the seals.  Barkley's pithy retort landed pretty close to real wisdom: "You just never know someone Jim." 

Barkley had been friends with Woods for about 15 years or so and had no clue. You just never no someone Jim. I mean, did you think OJ Simpson would go out and kill people?

I think OJ probably gave those near him a few clues...but that's coming from someone who really didn't know him.

Jim Rome responded in complete agreement, particularly when it comes to athletes. We have no idea who they really are. 

Again Barkley commented, "You just can't get to the know someone from sound bytes and interviews."

I wonder how true the "you just don't know someone" principle is in our churches today. Could someone consider leaving his/her profession and become a Navy Seal, yet none of his/her friends know that it was a serious option? 

Yep.  Much of church interaction is a bit more than "sound bytes" or "interviews," but not that much more.

Gathering together for small group ministry of some kind in homes provides a great place to "consider" such options. In order to know and be known, you have to put yourself in places where it is natural and conducive to know and be known. However, you also have to take the step of faith and bring others into your "considerations."

While it's true we can't know athletes, I do have hope that small groups can help us negate the statement: you just never know someone.

But that will only be the case if we choose to offer our brothers and sisters in the faith more than just sound bytes or interviews. We need to offer our homes and respond to the offer of homes. However, when inside the homes, we need to offer ourselves. If Jesus knows me and my warts and still loves me, I can be hopeful that His people will know me and love me. But even if they don't-and they never will know or love me 100% satisfactorily-we can still be free to know and be known.