Words'nTone

FYI—Just haven’t been doing a lot of writing these days…scribbling notes and doing some research for sure. For those new or interested I have a number of items on examiner.com that might be of interest….book reviews, essays, commentary—Chip’s musings and streams of consciousness. Enjoy for now…

As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end” (Mark 13:1-7).

There are signs everywhere.  The end is coming!  No, literally there are signs. It is inescapable as one drives the highways and byways, there are billboards and posters everywhere, a real media blitz by Harold Camping of Family Radio. According to Camping, this Sunday is the last time truly born again Christians will celebrate Sunday morning worship on this earth. Camping claims, through Bible verse twisting and a warped sense of numerology, that the rapture of the Church— of true, born again Christians—will take place on May 21, 2011. This event will be earth-shattering and will put the world on notice that Judgment Day has arrived.

This is not the first time Camping has predicted the end. He tried in 1988, but that fizzled and he went back to the drawing board.  ...full essay

As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end” (Mark 13:1-7).

There are signs everywhere.  The end is coming!  No, literally there are signs. It is inescapable as one drives the highways and byways, there are billboards and posters everywhere, a real media blitz by Harold Camping of Family Radio. According to Camping, this Sunday is the last time truly born again Christians will celebrate Sunday morning worship on this earth. Camping claims, through Bible verse twisting and a warped sense of numerology, that the rapture of the Church— of true, born again Christians—will take place on May 21, 2011. This event will be earth-shattering and will put the world on notice that Judgment Day has arrived.

This is not the first time Camping has predicted the end. He tried in 1988, but that fizzled and he went back to the drawing board.  ...full essay

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My colleagues at the New England School of Theology have posted some fine reviews on Campings “Judgment Day” predictions....read here

Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.” While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me” (Mark 14:1-7).

“For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land’” (Deut 15:11).

These words are very familiar to most Christians, “you always have the poor with you.” It is how we hear these words (or ignore them, or even excuse them) that matters. Some read the words and hear:

1. The poor will always exist—nothing you can do about it
2. The poor will always exist—no matter what you do about it
3. There will always be poor people [just a matter of fact, they exist]

But the text could equally mean that the poor will be among the people of God. As Jesus was present among the disciples, so shall the poor be ever present among the people of God, that is closely associated with them—perhaps even marked or defined by their presence among the community of believers.  All one has to do on a Sunday morning is look around the sanctuary, who is there? This would help us, in part, to know if we are in compliance with Jesus’ words to His disciples. ...full essay

Somewhere in New York City is a box of 1780 bonds used to save America when it was young and struggling to determine its own destiny. Now America once again faces one of its worst financial crises since the Great Depression. A Wall Street player has challenged Peter Fallon to save America, again, by finding this box.

In William Martin’s City of Dreams, the reader is taken on a thrilling ride through the centuries and through the streets of New York City, the exciting, gritty, inspiring “City of Dreams.” It is as if Martin “had a pair of extra lenses in his sunglasses and whenever he wanted, he could flip them down like polarizing filters to remove the modern world” … full review

This was supposed to post on Saturday evening, but they (my Examiner.com editor) told me a “glitch” happened...glitches do happen...but here it is now…

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“This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33).

Easter morning services don’t prove the resurrection of Jesus, but the mere fact that churches exist offers some empirical proof that something did happen on that first Easter morning. There is abundant historical evidence that the formation of the Christian Church was built on the confession and acknowledgment that Jesus, the One crucified on Good Friday by the Romans, rose from the dead. An observant, yet unknown, apologist once wrote,
“There [in the New Testament is] a community was formed, and here we have it today and we have something pretty empirical here … which is more likely: that these disciples got together when Jesus died and said, ‘Isn’t this horrible; let’s pretend he rose from the dead,’ and started a movement that has endured persecution for a lie, or that he arose? … The apostles saw and heard these things happen in time and space, and I have no reason to disbelieve the soundness of their testimony.  Rather I have more reason to trust their powers of observation because they signed their testimony in blood.”
In a recent Wall Street Journal online essay, “The Gospel According to Hollywood,” John Murray surveyed the films Hollywood produced … full essay

As we approach the high attendance sunday of Easter, David Letterman’s Top Ten “Best reasons to go to church” comes to mind. His third reason listed, “This is the only place in the neighborhood you could find a parking place.” Hopefully, there are far better reasons to attend a church on Easter morning.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, nationally, church attendance climbed to 47%. Some ministers prematurely announced a revival of church attendance. But as The New York Times reported, “[A] noticeable rise…but ...full essay

On December 17, 2010 President Obama signed into law The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act. Early on, as the members of the House of Representatives argued for this bill, they referred to it as The Middle Class Tax Relief Act to angle it in a favorable light. First District Congressman Tim Bishop defended the $858 billion tax cut package by referring to it as a “necessary tax relief” for “Long Island’s middle class families.” The power of middling people is evident every time politicians seek to cut (or spend) the tax-payer’s money.

Still, nailing down a definition for the American middle class is difficult. Economists and sociologists refer to the middle class as more a state of mind than an actual economic status. Even the U.S. Census Bureau offers no official definition. Yet, the middle class has the power to elect Presidents (at a minimum to determine the outcomes of elections), make or break the successful retailing of products, and impact economic outcomes in the marketplace. Politicians target the middle class for their votes. Businesses and entrepreneurs see the middle class as a market niche. Church leaders also appeal to middling families in their own marketing of their churches. The middle class has emerged in American life as a dominant cultural force. This provides a potentially debilitating pressure for the Christian community, offering plenty of difficulty for guarding the faith. ...full essay

Someone once said that Long Island is like one long suburban city, completely diverse and middle class. Somewhat a misconception, but have you ever wondered where the “middle class” came from? Not just on Long Island, but the class of people itself. Middling people are often subject to a cultural and historical identity crisis. To date, there hasn’t been a solid definition offered. But, they are sure an important group—politicians vie for their attention and vote, marketers are dependent on them as primary targets for their client’s products. One would think middling people are a very powerful group.

The middle class does not actually possess a power that is in competition with politicians and retailers. No, it is what they can give that makes them powerful. It is the insatiable desire of the middle class to feel they need something newer, bigger, better. This works for politicians who promise them something better and good for advertisers who promise them something new and improved. It is the middle class habits, culturally, socially, and economically that make the middling people so important to politicians and advertisers. These cultural habits are a problem, however, for the evangelical Christian middle class community, for they share these habits as well. As a consequence, there is a cost for the middling of the Christian faith.

The middle class is relatively new as a class of people. ...full essay

As current political and media spin portrays an improving economy, the financial crisis is still a major contributor to long lines at soup kitchens, shelters, non-profit job centers, and food pantries. From one end of Long Island to the other, each week roughly 65,000 residents request emergency food assistance. “It’s still the economy,” commented Cynthia Sucich, Director of Communications at the Hempstead Interfaith Nutrition Network. “While some things are turning around, they’re not turning around enough.” No wonder 62% of Americans think we’re headed in the wrong direction.

It is easy to place blame on the obvious financial and political scoundrels. Yet, the church community needs to take stock of their own complicity in this current crisis. American evangelical churches benefited from the prosperous decades preceding the crash of 2008. As conservative Christians survey the damage and observe the countless ruined lives that have piled up outside the church doors, we can almost hear a contemporary and equally deceptive mantra similar to one uttered in Jeremiah’s day, “But we are the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” (cf. Jer 7:4).

While the two-decade boom was in play, much of the evangelical world condemned the greed associated with it, but worshipped at the altar of an expanding economy that the greed bestowed. This is why it is so difficult for evangelical pulpits to reprimand the fiscal culprits and their political protectors. The largess of our economy enabled many building-centered church ministries to prosper (witness the rise of the mega-church movement). While the shady financial wizards played the system, church leaders were able to harness an expanding market, as well as, the bloated salaries and the increase of expendable dollars among their adherents to create bigger everything—budgets, staff, buildings—all in the name of Christ (e.g., this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord). ...full article

The national unemployment rate moved from 8.9% to 8.8% at the close of March.  Good news.  We are making progress. However, Gallup reported that 10% of adult Americans are out of work and one out of five still cannot find full time employment. New York’s February unemployment was at 8.7%, with neighboring Connecticut at 9.0% and New Jersey at 9.2%. Long Island’s unemployment rate at the end of February was 7.8%. To give perspective, at this time in 2008, Long Island unemployment was 4.7%. With the continued budget stalemate in Washington D.C., non-profits across the State are anxiously waiting for more disappointing news about cuts to their already reduced budgets.  Meanwhile, the poor, the job-less working poor, and many middle-class citizens that now find themselves among the unemployed-poor continue to stream to these very same non-profits for any and every kind of help and relief. 

Despite the constant talk, really political spin, of an economic recovery, a recent Associated Press poll indicates that Americans grow increasingly more pessimistic as costs continued to rise on just about everything, placing even more strain on already tight family budgets. Thirty-five percent feel it’s going in the right direction, but 62% indicate that the United States is heading in the wrong direction.  How did we get going in this direction in the first place?  Why are we in such an economic mess?  So many out of a home, out of a job; gone are retirement savings; many have abandoned even looking for work.  Of course there is plenty of blame all around for the continued economic mess we now find ourselves in, but yet, no one has gone to jail.  No one. ...full article

Throughout the week, I am attempting to write four items on my examiner.com page: 1) an issue related topic, 2) a book review, 3) a Christian or evangelical commentary on life, church, the world, and then on sundays, Sunday Musing.  These Sunday musings are small devotional-sized thoughts about church.  I have published two “Musings” so far, both of which most of my Words’nTone readers have read...but still pop on anyway… Judging our worship experience and Building the church community with fear and trembling.  Thanks for checking them out...as well as my other essays…

Through my seminary years I worked part-time to help support my family. My job consisted of the two things I despise more than anything on earth: cleaning and vacuuming. I was a janitor. Already I was a wreck emotionally. The combination of being a nobody at school and a janitor for a daycare center made things worse. I felt I was not fulfilling my potential.

One day while cleaning a toilet I got angry at God. Slamming the sponge down into the toilet bowl, I said, “I am a preacher, a teacher. And here I am cleaning toilets!” I protested not getting the church position. I complained about not preaching. My insecurities matched my “unfulfilled potential.” I knew I was dealing with pride, but I thought my complaint was justified because I did have gifts, you know!

In the midst of my tantrum...full essay

With less than a month before Christians celebrate Easter, atheists all over the globe “came out” this past week on a facebook event page called ‘A’ Week, letting everyone know they are a “part of the world community.” Recently the British Humanist Association supported an Atheist Bus Campaign, plastering “If you’re not religious for God’s sake say so” on public transit. The New York City Atheists have a similar campaign, with 12-foot long bus ads, “You don’t have to believe in god to be a moral or ethical person.” With evangelistic zeal, atheists are taking their message to the streets. Yet, as our atheist neighbors are coming out, Churches from every tribe, tongue, and nation are preparing for Easter, a time for unashamedly acknowledging that “Jesus lives!”

Religious holidays still bring the crowds to church….full article

After Sunday services, questions like “Wasn’t our worship great this morning?” inevitably come out.  Then, there is often the follow-up question, “How did you like worship this morning?” It is worse when the question is phrased, “Didn’t you just feel God’s Spirit this morning?” or some query close to this.  When these questions about the special-ness of our worship come at me, I truly don’t know what to answer.  “No, I didn’t feel God’s presence this morning.” Man, that just wouldn’t go over well.  What is expected is closer to “Yes, I really felt God’s presence this morning.”

I rarely think about whether I enjoyed Sunday worship or not, like the service was a theme park ride or a movie.  For the most part, I truly do enjoy my worship experience, but when asked I would prefer to say, “I don’t want to judge whether God was in our worship any more than usual. My judgment could be way off. But I do know God was pleased watching us, especially… full essay