the view from her

I recently came across an article at Collide Magazine that asked the question, "Is Christian Music Dying?" It's well worth your time to read, explaining some of the shifts taking place in so-called "Christian music." I say "so-called", because as I've mentioned before, I think the term is a misnomer, describing the audience, rather than the genre.

At issue is the fact that more and more young bands comprised of members who are believers are choosing to release their music in the mainstream (Switchfoot, The Fray). They don't lead with the fact that they're Christians, they want their music to speak for itself. I think this is a good thing. The quality of music must then by definition be better. We all win, especially non-believers who ideally hear a more meaningful message in the music they enjoy.

The Christian music industry provided "a built-in audience" for Christian artists. But the real result for many was an "illusion of commercial success." It's hard to think that many of them may lose a platform with the failure of the industry. But if they can't compete on a mainstream level, doesn't that say we have accepted lesser skill or ability simply because it was "Christian"? That would be a terrible indictment. The writer summarizes the issue this way:

"I believe the Christian music industry lacks a holistic Christian worldview, a deficiency that often renders its output incomplete. A holistic Christian worldview, simply put, understands life to be a collection of intertwined parts or elements, all of which fit together and are permeated by Christ. A compartmentalized worldview suggests a person is spiritual when doing spiritual things, professional when doing work-related things, and familial when doing things with one’s family. On the other hand, a holistic worldview suggests the Christian never stops being spiritual regardless of the religious, laborious, mundane, or exciting nature of the moment’s activities.

"The Christian music industry, it seems, prefers the compartmentalized approach; dividing the human experience into categories such as Spiritual, Romantic, Fun, Sin-Tarnished, Joyful, and so on. Most Christian music then focuses on the Spiritual category with the understanding that the Romantic and Sin-Tarnished categories are out of bounds or areas on which to tread lightly.

"By contrast, mainstream music better fits the holistic view—songs about God, love, lust, war, peace, life, death, pain, and joy are not hard to come by. In this way, mainstream music may more accurately reflect the whole and depth of a Christian’s experiences, or at the very least, it may serve to reflect those parts of a Christian’s experience not reflected by the Christian music industry. My guess is that this at least partially explains the declining dedication (or at the least the decline in exclusive dedication) of Christian youth to the Christian music created for them."

The church where I work has a passion to reach out to people who have not yet met Jesus. And yet, when attempting to articulate this value, we often get stuck at the phrase "people who have not yet met Jesus." While descriptive, it's lengthy. Other "labels" seem to have different issues. So we've been having a bit of discussion about how to refer to those people we want to reach.

Many of the words we use have a rather negative connotation. "Non-Christians" is a little like referring to people of other ethnicities as "non-whites." It kind of presumes a superior position. We used to call them "the lost." Which, while theologically true, is not such a great way to open a conversation. The "unchurched" also starts with a presumption that everyone should be "churched," but more importantly, it doesn't really describe our purpose. Which is not just to turn people into "churched" people.

Because what we really want to do is connect them with God.

We've tried a few others on for size recently. The "unaware." Not bad, and not too negative. Or the "indifferent" which refers to an assumed lack of interest in religious things.

I think it was Leonard Sweet who suggested we simply call them the "normal" people. Which, when you consider getting up early every Sunday morning, regularly giving away a portion of your income, and all that turning-the-other-cheek stuff, actually kind of makes sense.

This is the time of year when we think about new year's resolutions, and many of us resolve to spend more time connecting with God by reading the Bible. I think I was in my late 30's when I actually read the entire Bible through from cover to cover for the first time. Not too impressive considering I was born and raised in a Christian home and grew up going to church three or more times a week. I've now read it through several times, each time using a year-long reading schedule.

This past year I used A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants as a daily guide. The readings are directed towards those working or serving in ministry and are arranged in themes that loosely follow the liturgical calendar. I highly recommend it if you currently serve in ministry.

This year I'm going back through the Bible. If you'd like to give it a try (it's only January 3rd, and you already know how the story starts) here are some thoughts. There are lots of "one-year Bibles" to choose from. Tyndale's One Year Bible includes daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. It's great if you want your Bible reading in convenient, bite-sized portions. But frankly, it's a terrible way to read the Bible because it strips each section of any sort of context or understanding of the greater story. And the Bible is all about story.

If you're not really familiar with the Bible, it's comprised of lots of different books, written by different authors, and many tell about the same events. So you may want to try a One Year Chronological Bible. This version rearranges the books and narratives so they fall into a chronological order that tells the story in a more understandable way. This particular version (in my opinion) isn't great because it simply lists duplicate passages back-to-back. It's a bit annoying to read the same story over and over.

My favorite and most recommended version is The Daily Bible in Chronological Order. The writer provides brief overviews as you go along, and helpful historical context. Multiple retellings of an event (i.e. the Gospel narratives) are incorporated into one story, with applicable references acknowledged. The power of chronologically telling the story is evidenced, for example, in incorporating the Psalms as David wrote them during his adventures in 1 Samuel. As you read of King Saul plotting to kill David and chasing him into the desert, David, fleeing for his life, hides in a cave and writes Psalm 54, "Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might." You get a much broader sense of the Bible as a beautifully sweeping, epic story. And it is the story of us.

2008, you were great. I started a wonderful job, with awesome people, and have some incredible work to look forward to in 09. I sold my old car and got a new (used) car. I read a lot of books, saw a lot of movies, traveled, dated some nice men, made some new friends, and spent time with old friends. There was an earthquake and a great-nephew was born - both on my birthday.

You may or may not recall the "mission statement for singles" we carefully crafted every New Year's. That inspiring tradition ended this year, mostly because its primary advocate got married in December, at age 43. That was a celebration.

And, I'm looking forward to some cool things in 09. Lost returns on January 21, and we just happen to be "storing" my roomie's 42-inch HD TV at my house. I've decided to buy an iPhone. And The View From Her will be getting a much-needed face lift. When one is of a certain age, three years can really take their toll.

Thanks for reading and commenting here. I hope 2009 is rewarding, fulfilling, and filled with God's love and direction in your life.

So 2008 is wrapping up, and personally I like to look back and review any major gains or losses, milestones, or decisions. A blog is very helpful for this purpose.

2008 is shaping up to be the year of community. Or maybe connection. This past year I left a job that was not a good fit, but God knew we needed each other for a certain season. He then provided a job that's a perfect fit. It's a place I love, with people I love, and the rare and rewarding knowledge that what I do matters. God is good. And this new job has provided an entirely new community.

In 2008 I joined Facebook. When I left The Local Megachurch over two years ago, it was hard to stay connected with so many friends, co-workers and ministry partners. Now I can keep up with important activities in their lives - mission trips, photos of families, vacations, birthday parties. We comment on each other's lives, maintain simple interaction. I also took on Twitter. Mostly because the rather younger staff at my new church all nagged me into it. It's yet another way to see what people around you are up to, and interact with them.

I came across a couple of blog posts about this subject recently, via the Daily Scroll. Rhett Smith thinks asking Does Online Community Exist? is the wrong question, because obviously it does. He says, "The right question I think: Is what are you doing about the community you are a part of, and to participate and give to a community…not just take?" Rhett plans to move everything up a level - continue online, but try to connect with people on the phone, email, live chat. AND, to meet everyone in his online community (blog, Facebook, Twitter) who lives in his immediate area. Talk about coming full circle.

Pomomusings considers Friendship in a web 2.0 world. Which, when you have "1478 friends on Facebook, 179 connections on LinkedIn, 366 followers on Twitter, 682 people subscribed to pomomusings RSS Feed and an average of 700 unique visitors a day here at pomomusings" rather means you need to reexamine your definition of "friend." But it's irrelevant to the question of community, because the online "friend" number is a matter of personal preference. Some accumulate as many as possible. I pretty much connect only with people I know, or who write a personal message explaining why they want to connect. Most of my Facebook peeps really are friends at some level.

I have several online people I consider friends whom I've never met. By reading their blogs, I learn their heart, passion, peeves, and outlook on life. We converse in the comments on each other's blogs or exchange email. Occasionally we actually meet.

So I think online community is very real, and is a positive way that technology serves to extend and enhance our connectivity with each other. I'm looking forward to what's next in 2009. Especially when I get one of these.

An inspirational sports story recently gave me food for thought. First, read the whole thing. Two football teams: Faith Christian School in Grapevine, Texas and Gainesville State School, a maximum-security correctional facility. The Gainesville players arrive and leave in handcuffs.

"Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. 'Here's the message I want you to send:' Hogan wrote. 'You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth.'"

Responsive Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for the Gainesville players to run through. With a paper banner to crash through at the end. Half the Faith fans sat on the opposite side of the field and cheered for the Gainesville team.

That's a great, heartwarming story. So here's my thought. How could the Faith fans do that? Those players are criminals. How could they... well, bless them that way? Honor people who don't honor God? Condone their sin that way? And the answer is obviously, as Coach Hogan put it, to make them know they are just as valuable as any other person.

You know what else I wonder? I wonder why some Christians don't think Rick Warren should pray at President-elect Obama's inauguration. I wonder why that's condoning, and not honoring. Why not honor him? He's the elected president, and he's just as valuable as any other person.

And I wonder why some Christians selectively don't want to be involved in the lives of gay people, the alcoholic next door, the Muslim family across the street - birthdays, barbecues, invitations to the movies. I wonder why that's condoning, and not honoring. Why not honor them? To make them know they're just as valuable as any other person?

See, it's not really cheering the bad guys. It's really cheering the life and relationship we have with Jesus, by demonstrating that life and relationship with anyone.

I have always wanted a 4-translation Parallel Bible, haven't you? My awesome sister gave me this one for Christmas, with King James, NIV, New American Standard, and New Living translations. Personally, I like the familiarity of the NIV - it's the version from which I recall the most scripture - but it's interesting to compare it with the more casual New Living. And sometimes you just need to be reminded of the often fearsome beauty of the King James version. So it's cool to be able to compare them side-by-side.

A very timely example is the Christmas story in Luke 2. Which of course should only ever be read from the King James version.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."

The New Living translation isn't too bad:

"She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep."

Although "strips of cloth" sounds strange - not a blanket? Or a shawl? Why not wrap the baby in the original cloth, rather than tearing it into strips? Better just to define KJV's "swaddling clothes." On a side note, The Message, which I generally like, turns the passage into an almost comic parody:

"She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood."

Good grief. A hostel? "Sheepherders" in the 'hood? I rest my case. And, I look forward to the interesting "flavor" the side-by-side comparison will add to my Bible reading this year.

Well, I spent Christmas with my sister, who has two English Bulldogs. They both got Christmas sweaters for Christmas. Yes, that's right, one has a Christmas stocking/candy cane on her butt...



And the other has a sort of Santa cape with matching hat.



But I know what you're really thinking.

Where can I find a super awesome pink plastic donut like that!?

Consider this my Christmas card to each of you.
May you have a wonderful Christmas, full of love and peace.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and while we of course celebrate the 2,000 or so years since Jesus' birth, it's interesting (though not nearly so significant) to note that it's also the 50th anniversary of NORAD's Santa Tracking System. Which began like this:

"The time was 1955. The place, Colorado Springs. The ad was printed by Sears, and the number... well, the number wasn't Santa's phone at the North Pole. It wasn't even the gold and glitter phone at his secret bachelor pad in Las Vegas. Someone at Sears' ad department made a mistake, so the phone number printed in the ad wasn't the one that the Colorado Springs store had set up to take note of the children's wishes.

It was the hotline for the Continental Air Defense's Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup.

The CONAD boss wasn't amused when he got his first call. Instead of a report on missiles falling over Wichita or a Soviet submarine surfacing on the San Francisco bay, what he got was a six-year old telling him what he wanted—probably his own nuclear missiles and a nuclear submarine. However, instead of telling the kid to go visit the elves tied to the warhead of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, he did something else: After the second boy called—and after realizing what was happening—he told his staff to start giving Santa's polar coordinates to every children calling that line."

Imagine someone in a government office today actually answering their own phone, and then deciding to take on a situation like that. It would be like a little Christmas miracle.

My favorite year-end things are the best photographs of the year. Be sure to check these out.

The Big Picture - Posts the best photos of '08 in three sections. Click each photo to see more in that series. These are some of the most stunning pics anywhere. It's a site I visit at least once a week.

National Geographic - Top Ten most viewed photos of 2008.

And Time talks about the future of photography.

And one other observation. With the advance of social networking, it seems like there's no longer any such thing as a bad picture. The worst photos - blurry, eyes closed, weird angle - can now be cropped / zoomed / rotated and become the perfect profile pic for FaceBook or Twitter! Am I right, or what? Or maybe I just revealed the secret to my own stunning profile pics... Heh.

ADDED: On a related note, just came across this very cool way to search for photos online.

While I have not yet finalized my list for Santa, THIS is definitely on it:

Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition.

The Gift Guide in my Sunday paper summed it up this way:

"Take really bad old movies, pretend that's all the astronauts and their robot crew can get on the interstellar tellie, and have them mercilessly mock the B-movie acting and dialogue. A simple formula, and the MST3K did it to hilarious perfection. Gathered here are four of heir most-requested episodes, in a collectible tin that includes a figurine of Crow T. Robot."

Price: $69.99. Because you know you want one, too.

It's now officially one week until Christmas Eve. So you may well be almost finished with all your shopping and decorating and planning. Still, I found a couple of interesting ways to "do" Christmas differently that are worth considering.

The Advent Conspiracy is a concept that "Christmas can [still] change the world" if we "worship fully, spend less, give more and love all."

"Consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year on Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We're asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one. Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the Advent season."

They encourage making gifts, spending time, investing in activities - to "make love visible through relational giving."

On the other hand, you can also give more intentionally. Mariners Church in southern California launched a program through their Outreach Ministries called "Christmas. Different." They provide "Give Cards" which can be purchased for $25, $50 or $100. You give the card as a gift, and the recipients then choose a cause they care about. They can go online at ChristmasDifferent.org and essentially get to donate your gift. It's a pretty cool concept. Causes include victims of the recent California wildfires, HIV/AIDS in Africa, or Christmas gifts for needy families in their community.

Spending less, caring for the less fortunate, sharing what we have to demonstrate God's love... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

A study has analyzed why people pray, and found that 90% of adults in America say they pray, and more than half pray once or more a day.

"The prayers fell into one of three categories -- about 28 percent of prayers were requests of God, 28 percent were prayers to both thank and petition God, while another 22 percent of the prayers just thanked God.

Some say they are sure God exists and others pray simply to cover the bases. Some pray for big things -- to stay healthy, keep employed and to strengthen relationships -- but some pray to find parking spaces and missing items."

I call those last two the "help me" prayers. Help me get there on time, help me do well on the test, help me know what to say, help me, help me. Thank... well, God that he does. And he loves us enough to care about the missing car keys, the test and all the rest.

This weekend our music team included in our services
an artist painting live to a Hillsong United song called
"Lead me to the Cross." They began by reading the
names of God... "King of kings, Lord of lords, Prince
of Peace, the great I AM, who was and is and is to
come, Healer, Provider..." And as the names were
read, the artist wrote them on the canvas. As the song
began, she started to paint. It was an amazing,
beautiful moment. Here are just a couple of pictures
to give you a feel for it.









When the song was through, our worship leader gave
it a nice long window to breathe (quiet space in a
worship service is so important, and greatly
underrated), prayed, and then kicked it back up with
the Newsboys song "I am Free."Overall, a very moving
moment, and most importantly, I think it really turned
everyone's hearts and focus to the person of Jesus,
and not just the baby we celebrate at this
time of year.