Flickering Pixels

I finished Flickering Pixels Saturday night. It was written by Shane Hipps, a leading marketer for Porsche turned Mennonite pastor.

Overall, the book was well-written. Hipps wrote intelligently, yet simply. The first half of the book revolved heavily around technology. The second half shifted to theology. His main argument was that the medium and the message are intricately connected. In a sense, the medium is the message.

This matters because so often, people, in Christian circles especially, talk about changing the mediums of communication. So, they may say that we can adapt our methods, change our approach, alter our mediums, yet still stay true to the message of the gospel. Or more simply, “Change the method; not the message.”

Hipps would disagree with this statement, and you begin to understand why as you read his book. Hipps points out that while technology can help us connect, it usually does the opposite–we usually end up isolated. He goes on to say that technology cannot replace genuine, human touch and presence. There is something necessary about being with people in real space and real time. Sure, we can use technology, but it can never replace our presence. Technology must be our servant, not our master. And in order to reach this point, we must make a conscious and concerted effort to be with people.

Essentially, it boils down to this: we, the Church, are the message.

We are God’s chosen medium to represent Christ to the world. And if we accept that and do that, we share the message, the gospel, the Word, which is Christ.

The Importance of Direction

Yesterday at church, I had an epiphany of sorts.

The preacher was going through Acts 16, talking about how Paul obeyed the Spirit’s direction. Instead of heading north-northeast into Asia, the Spirit led him to enter Europe, which was west.

North-northeast vs. west. That’s a drastic difference on a compass.

Just think, if you live in NYC and head north-northeast, you end up in Greenland. Head west and you’ll end up in Chicago.

So Paul obeys the Spirit and ends up in Phillipi. From there, he goes to Thessalonica, then to Corinth. And what do you know? He meets Lydia who ends up supporting his ministry. And, as a result of planting churches in these three cities, he writes letters to each of the churches. These letters (5 of them) become part of the New Testament.

Just think, the Lord was not only directing Paul so he could meet another ministry partner…The Lord was directing the formation of the New Testament. That’s big!

So maybe, if the Spirit tells you to do something, in your life, you should listen. Who knows what kind of grandiose plans He has in store?

4 Pieces

Today, I had 4 pieces come together. Two of the pieces came thru dreams.
Here they are:

  1. I had a dream of a picture, in which I was standing in a hole. It looked something like this picture. The message attached to the dream, “Bloom where you’re planted.”
  2. In another dream, a man said to me, “Haven’t you learned from history? The challenger must execute a strategy; the victor’s only duty is to defend his fortress.”
  3. The other day, I was thinking about work. I enjoy parts of my job, but I loathe other parts. I thought, “If you hate your job, you have 3 options: a) you can whine and moan; b) you can accept it and make the best of it; c) you can let it drive you to trying something else, something you’ll enjoy.”
  4. I was standing in an area of the Continental Tire plant, taking notes on tire grades. It was over 100° and I was sweating profusely. So, I took a step forward, and went around a plastic curtain. There, it was 70°. Just a step away…

Four pieces. If you think about them for a minute, I’m guessing you can put them together.

25

At 25 I’ve finally figured out why I’m here. I know my calling / vision / mission / values / theology of cultural engagement / spiritual gifts / talents & strengths / motto / skills / and myers-briggs type indicator.

I know who has influenced me, what life events have shaped me, what books have changed me.

To know these things…well, it takes time—years . It takes reflection—both habitually and randomly. It takes humility and courage. Humility to learn from the past and from the present. Humility to face yourself and to face God. Courage to face the future. Courage to face yourself and to face God.

Getting the right mixture of humility and courage is difficult. It takes time. But when you get it right, you’ll know.

P31

I read somewhere that “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

When I read that, I thought of my wife. Not because she charmed me by deception, or because her beauty is fleeting– in fact, my wife is gorgeous. And charming! But it’s the rest of the saying that I want to address, so here it goes:

Hannah has been gone for four days now, visiting family in Ohio. But before she left, she packed my lunches for the week. She left a list of easy-to-make meals on the fridge. She made sure all of the laundry was clean. And she finished all of the dishes. For these things, I praise her.


Honey baby, YOU ROCK! I love you! May you be honored!

And now I’ve posted it to the public, so you can be praised “at the city gate.”

PS: Hannah is also pregnant with #2!

Speak John Doe

Sometimes we simply have to connect the dots. We have the knowledge, but it’s scattered in our brains like debris blowing in the wind. At times, we get lucky, we see the pieces come together, and it’s like a glorious epiphany.

So here’s the first piece of debris, the first dot: The Greek of the New Testament was Koine Greek. Koine was the common, everyday language. It wasn’t the elite language. It wasn’t the language of the empire. It was John Doe’s simple speech.

Here’s the second dot: In America, a lot of Christians speak Christianese. I wrote a blog about this one time (Christian Awkwardness). We hear words like sanctification, salvation, atonement, premillenialism, and we think if we use these words we sound really smart. But when the world hears us, they look at us dumbfounded. And so we say, “Well, it just proves the Scriptures. The spiritual man discerns spiritual things, but the carnal man is blind and cannot understand.” And John Doe looks at us and says, “No, you moron, I can see. You just can’t speak like a normal human being.”

Here’s the glorious epiphany: When you talk about Jesus with people, speak John Doe. Use words that make sense. God used relational words and pictures for us (Husband, Father, Friend, etc.); why can’t we do the same? Use pertinent data so the tech guy can process it. Be a spotter for the fitness junkies as they whip their spiritual bodies into shape. Use the arts as a medium to communicate the gospel, via movies, e-books, songs, pictures. Who knows? Perhaps you could even use a blog.

The options are endless. Be creative.

Here’s my two cents before I close: Think through your example before you give it a test-run. You’d feel like an idiot if you ran out of gas.

And the other cent: Think about the culture we live in—what are some of the most popular products or services? Google, Facebook, McDonalds, Apple, Amazon, WalMart, Skype, etc. And what are some of the buzzwords? What categories do we use? Technology, the economy, art, relationships, business, music, etc. How can those be incorporated in our explanations of the Gospel?  

Turning Vision Into Action

Turning Vision Into Action is another book I am currently reading. It was written in 1996 by George Barna, head of the Barna Research Group.

In the book, he obviously talks about vision. He says vision is a clear and concise mental portrait of a preferable future, imparted by God to His chosen servants, based on an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstances. Did you catch all that? Again, vision is a clear mental picture. It is a picture of a preferable future. It is imparted by God to His servants. And its based on an accurate understanding of God, of your self, of your circumstances. Vision is tangible to the beholder, he says. And it motivates and directs a ministry. It filters information. It serves as a catalyst in decision making. And it measures progress.

That’s quite a mouthful, but I think he’s right. When you have a vision from God, for your life, you orient everything around it. Every dollar, every hour, every person you meet, every book you read becomes an important piece of the puzzle. And you try to arrange that puzzle so that it looks like the picture you have in your head.

Here’s my current problem. I have ideas and they’re starting to come together. But I don’t have a vision. I don’t have a CLEAR…AND…CONCISE mental portrait.

But I want one. So I’m going to pray and see if God will give me one.