Archives for category: communication

An Advent Uprising

November 26, 2007 //

The term “Black Friday” always reminds me of the Depeche Mode album, Black Celebration (but with less new wave flair) or the Black Plague. This has become an annual, morbid, spectacle as we watch shoppers stampede, fight and generally clog up the works at our favorite big box retailers to the tune of $475 billion this year.

As followers of Christ immersed in this culture of consumption, what are we to do? Yes, yes, “Jesus is the reason for the season” and we must certainly “Put ‘Christ’ back into Christmas” but fighting the temptation to go bust down some doors to get that half-priced plasma television is an uphill battle all the way. These days, every other television ad spends considerable effort making it seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to get into line at 3am to shop or that upgrading to that 52″ plasma screen will infuse your life with more meaning.

Eugene Cho and David Park have raised some really provocative thoughts recently about consumption and what it means to follow Christ. Maybe it’s the conspiracy-theorist in me, but I love the idea of subverting all of the marketing of these megacorporations and the greed in our hearts by turning some of this Christmas shopping season madness on its head.

Eugene writes about Buy Nothing Day and some of the reservations he has about this movement. In general, I think movements like Buy Nothing Day or that gross Feed The Pig commercial (where a man is about to buy a king-sized TV that he cannot afford until his grotesque half-man/half-pig companion smacks his hand) are good at raising awareness about our consumer habits. Greed, overconsumption, debt, keeping up with the neighbors — this is the air we breathe, and it can be extremely difficult to see life from another perspective.

However, it is far too easy to feel a sense of superior righteousness or to participate in things like BND as a one-time only, special engagement. As followers of Christ, we are called to a lifestyle of good stewardship and of genuine concern for others. To paraphrase Bonhoeffer, when Christ calls us to follow Him, He bids us to come and die — and the struggle to deny our impulse for the latest and greatest gadgets and stuff does require a certain kind of death.

The Advent Conspiracy invites us to restore “the scandal of Christmas by worshiping Jesus through compassion, not consumption.” [h/t: David Park]. Like any movement, I suppose the AC runs the risk of becoming faddish or trendy — but I think it is worth that risk. I love that this movement isn’t about not giving gifts or being cheap (“Um, I gave you two rolls of toilet paper out of the multi-pack because I wanted to be, like, a good steward. Right.”) but, rather, about giving better gifts — our time, our creativity, our hearts. Read through AC’s list of relational gift ideas and see if you don’t come across something that would really touch the heart of someone you love this Christmas.

May God change our hearts so that we enjoy giving and may He open our eyes to see the opportunities we have every day to love and serve. Prepare the way of the Lord!

Categories advertising, church, communication, community, faith, family, hope, stewardship

A Glorious Noise

November 5, 2007 //

Last Friday, our family went to see Architecture in Helsinki perform live at the House of Blues here in San Diego. The House of Blues has a “pass the line” policy, where concertgoers can be the first in line if they dine at the HoB restaurant. Because we wanted to make sure to get seats in the balcony, we ended up having dinner there before the show (which, it turns out, was pretty good). After dinner, we jumped the line and sat front row, center in the balcony.

Unfortunately, the first two acts were a serious letdown. Panther, which is essentially just one person, a delay pedal and a bunch of blips & bloops, was kind of fun for the first two songs. I think his music is more interesting in recorded form, as seen in this video clip for You Don’t Want Yr Nails Done. At least he brought along a live drummer. Glass Candy, on the other hand, was just a boy cranking out pseudo Kool & The Gang riffs on a half-size synth and a girl aerobacising and vocalizing in between the overly plentiful stage banter.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to indie kids discovering the dance floor. I mean, look at Matt and Kim. Some criticize them for being too precious, but it’s hard to deny their enthusiasm and joy. Check out their video for Yea Yeah and see if it doesn’t brighten up your day:

Our family loves all manner of live music, but even our daughter turned to me at one point during the Glass Candy set, frowned and shrugged. All I could do was shrug back. Things turned around quickly, however, as soon as Architecture in Helsinki took the stage.

From the get-go, they brought a level of raucous joy and excellent musicianship that basically turned a bunch of motionless indie kids into Dance Party USA. Listeners are helpless to do anything except smile and dance. Our little one was a total trooper, staying awake as late as she could. She stayed long enough to hear her favorite song, Like It Or Not (or, as she calls it, “The Trumpet Song”) — a hopped-up conga-line singalong extravaganza, before we had to call it a night.

Just to pick up a thought I had started before, I really, really wish I could experience this kind of joy and freedom in our church music. Seriously, when was the last time a worship band caused you to spontaneously smile and start dancing? Architecture in Helsinki definitely has that DIY, everyone’s invited kind of indie vibe, but they are not sloppy in their execution — for being basically an ensemble band, they are extremely tight. And, because they are so good at what they do, they are free to enjoy the music and draw others into it. A nice template for our worship bands, no?

These days, it seems like a band’s image is as important as the music they create. So, it is refreshing to see a bunch of normal looking people, not particularly dressed up get up onstage and rock the set. It worries me when, on all of my worship discs, every person has radiant skin, straight teeth and perfect hair — I’m not trying to take away anything from these artists, but simply hoping that our communities are open to all kinds of people, onstage or otherwise.

As the psalmist says, “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.”

Categories church, communication, community, emerging church, faith, family, hooray!, indie, music, reviews, worship

That Dog Won’t Hunt

November 2, 2007 //

Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, had his show suspended by A&E after he went on a racist tirade which was recorded by his son and published by the National Enquirer. Read more over in this article, Dog N-Bombs Himself into Hiatus. Here is a quote from this conversation:

I’m not taking a chance…not because she’s black but because we use the word n—er sometimes here. I’m not going to take any chance ever in life of losing everything I’ve worked for 30 years because some drunken n—er heard us say n—er and turned us into the Enquirer magazine…I’m not taking that chance at all never in life. Never..

On his show, Duane comes across as a tough guy with a soft heart. After tracking down lawbreakers and bail-jumpers, he’s always ready with a hug or a kind word of advice. Of course, it’s nothing new for the people/characters on reality shows to be very different from their on-camera persona, but Chapman’s rant still stands out for its defiant racism.

In his public statement, Chapman offers a marginally better apology than the usual non-apology, “I’m sorry if I offended anyone.” He does acknowledge that he offended people and expresses remorse, but still attempts to explain away his actions: “I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term.”

In the end, more disappointing than one reality star’s private racism is the response of many people. In the email talkback segment of one cable news show, viewers’ opinions ranged from “get over it” to outrage that anyone was offended by this incident at all. Is there more resentment brewing underneath the surface, or are people just more willing to express it?

Well, in any case, we can probably expect to see Dog back on the hunt in a month or two — just ask Don Imus.

Categories communication, controversy, race, reconciliation, sigh

NYWC 3: Mysterious Ways

October 21, 2007 //

I am worn out after day three of NYWC but, finally, in a good way. I always have difficulty articulating my inner life but I have been in a particular state of disorder in the weeks leading up to NYWC. In the midst of busyness and weariness, I have not been listening well for God’s voice. Today, at the convention, the fog began to lift in myriad ways. This was a full day of getting to sit under some great teaching, and Mike shared about building a holy rhythm to our lives.

* * * * *

I have been looking forward to hearing Francis Chan since I saw that he would be a main session speaker. He is a dynamic and gifted communicator — and, as an Asian American, it is so encouraging to see a face to whom I can relate up on the main stage. I am sure, though, that his words spoke to everyone there this morning. I won’t attempt to recap everything Francis said (although I’m sure I will wear out the CD of his talk that I picked up), but God was definitely speaking to me through his words this morning. Several times, I found myself in tears as I listened.

When Francis began to share his heart, as a parent, about what he wanted from his daughter’s youth pastor, I was completely convicted. More than programs and messages and the big show, he is looking for a youth pastor who will love and pray passionately for his daughter. I know I would wish the same thing for my daughter — and, if that’s what I’m looking for, then I cannot offer any less.

Francis’ words about actually believing the Bible and living it out — not mediated or filtered through someone else’s lens, but engaging, living and breathing the Word of God in real life. The consequences in the life of Francis and his church have been nothing short of revolutionary.

* * * * *

In the afternoon, I went to a brilliant seminar by Mike King. His words gave voice to so much of that with which I have been wrestling over the last couple of years. He exhorted us to find out what makes us feel fully alive, and to incorporate those things into our everyday lives. I am looking forward to reading his book Presence-Centered Youth Ministry. He gave several practical, creative, engaging ways to incorporate a rule of life into our daily living.

In particular, his words about community spoke powerfully to me. Not just community as a concept, but the physical, proximate community of people with whom we actually live our lives. The commuter church has not been kind to our family in terms of building and maintaining these kinds of meaningful friendships — I feel my heart gravitating more & more towards this friendship and proximity.

* * * * *

Tonight’s main session was brutal in all the right ways. Doug Fields spoke about his deepening concern for the heart of youth workers and he identified ministry envy as a primary killer of our hearts. While we might be good at masking the obvious envy we have of others, it comes out in the way we talk about and criticize others. Sure, we might try to disguise the envy by claiming that we’re just pointing out our differences, but it looms large in many of our lives.

In a powerful exegesis of the Genesis account of Joseph and his brothers, Doug showed us the crippling effects of envy — and ways in which we can combat it. By celebrating others and their accomplishments we are protecting our own hearts. Celebration counters our tendency to turn those who should be colleagues and friends into rivals.

* * * * *

Doug’s words caused me to reflect more deeply about what I recently wrote about the American worship music industry. My words might have come across as an unfair attack against Matt Maher, in particular. I sincerely regret speaking quickly and foolishly. There is plenty of room for legitimate criticism when it comes to the worship industry, but I want to be much more careful with my critical words — not to speak out of envy, bitterness or cynicism. I want to spend more time celebrating those things I genuinely love and appreciate than in criticism (legitimate or not).

Categories asian american, church, communication, community, controversy, faith, family, hope, ministry, postmodern, prayer, preaching, youth ministry

NYWC 2A: The Story

October 20, 2007 //

I missed the second half of today’s NYWC because our family went up to Disney for their annual Mickey’s Halloween Treat night. If you have the chance to go, it is lots of fun — games, crafts, dancing and, of course, tons of candy. In any case, that’s why these are my reflections from Day 2A at NYWC.

The running theme throughout the convention is “Storyline” and the YS team has done a fantastic job so far in pulling together the idea that we are all part of God’s larger meta-narrative story. I love that in the room where we meet for the general sessions, they have even played with the way we sit — kind of an “in the round” experience. I was half-expecting one of those U2 circular-type stages where Crowder could run a circuit through the crowd :)

For me, Joe Castillo’s artistic presentation of the Creation story was totally new and unexpected. I can be kind of a cultural Philistine when it comes to art, but my heart was definitely moved by his “SandStory” presentation. Joe has a SandStory video clip of the Passion on his site, which will give you an idea of what this was all about. Marquis Laughlin presented a powerful monologue from the book of Revelation — what a voice! If I had a voice like his, I would talk all day long (not that I don’t already!). I love the fact that to kick off the first general session, we were immersed in the beginning and the end, so to speak, of The Story.

* * * * *

I’m a sucker for old-school punk rock. I grew up skateboarding to Minor Threat and The Pogues, so getting to hear Flatfoot 56 for the first time today at the general session was really nice. I mean, seriously, how can a band with a bagpiper not put a smile on your face? I really appreciated the video clip in which Tic interviewed them and they had a chance to share their heart. They are reaching kids who might feel utterly rejected by the church by literally meeting them where they are — for example, opening for Irish-punk heroes Flogging Molly. I commented to the bagpiper afterward that this probably isn’t their usual crowd, but he smiled and said they knew this wouldn’t necessarily be their typical audience but that they still had lots of fun performing.

* * * * *

Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil gave a stirring talk which used The Lion King as an extended metaphor for reclaiming our identities as the people of God and our role in pointing youth back to their true heart and calling. It will probably take a couple of days to interpret the scratches and doodles I wrote in the dark in my notebook, but I will share soon about some of the great things Dr. McNeil shared about the global story in which we, and our students, find ourselves.

* * * * *

As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of the David Crowder*Band. And, from what I could see today, it appears that so are most of the 4000 or so of us gathered here this weekend. From the opening quarter-note hoedown clapping of “Undignified” to the really green keytar and the exhortation that our singing was “pretty” but need to be much louder, it was classic Crowder — which is to say, the man really has a knack for leading groups of people into the presence of God. The Super Mario synth jam and the (somewhat frightening) video of Crowder as Mario were bonuses.

Singing “Remedy” this afternoon was particularly powerful for me. I think people who have criticized the Remedy album for being too simple have missed the point. I think David has always been an incredible lyricist — pushing the boundaries of our imaginations in corporate worship — and his skill has only grown over time. He evokes so much through so few words. Those of us in ministry (or who have suffered through the “sermon that never ends”) know that it is much more difficult to preach a meaningful short message than it is to drone on & on for an hour.

These words came to life as we sang:

Here we are / Here we are

The broken and used / Mistreated, abused

Here we are

Here You are / Here You are

The beautiful one / Who came like a Son

Here You are

So many of us in youth ministry are hurt, wounded and weary. That’s why I appreciated Marko’s words about the “holiness of wasting time” so much. We need to be honest about our brokenness, not hiding it by working even harder. But it’s not just a story of our brokenness; rather, as we view our frailty and limitations, “We lift up our voices / We lift up our hands / To cling to the love that we can’t comprehend.”

Categories asian american, communication, design, faith, indie, music, postmodern, race, reconciliation, youth ministry