In One Month!

One month from today my book, published by Smyth & Helwys, will be out. Its title is For God's Sake, Shut Up!: Lessons for Christians on how to Speak Effectively and when to Remain Silent.

One of the greatest problems in the Christian community in America today is a general inability to effectively communicate without polarizing or driving people away. This book offers numerous insights for Christians who desire to share their beliefs in more effective ways. It draws upon lessons I have learned during my communication studies, from being a pastor, and as a communications specialist for a church organization. These principles are developed with the use of personal anecdotes and news stories to provide specific examples of what to do or what not to do when attempting to communicate. I critique many famous Christians for saying things that ultimately hurt the cause. Thus, the book’s tone is often humorous/satirical.

Of course I'm biased, but I think you will find the book to be a worthwhile read with many important issues to consider along with relevant and current examples. It is not, by the way, a collection of posts from this blog. I started this blog as I was nearing the end of the first draft of the manuscript to provide a place for me to continue to write some thoughts. While my blog posts are often quite short and at times random, the book offers longer treatments on thirteen areas related to effective communication. It will be out January 28, 2007, but is already available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble. I hope you will find this book to be insightful and useful.

Worst Christian Mouth of the Year

It is time for the 2nd annual “Worst Christian Mouth of the Year” award to (dis)honor the Christian who most hurt the cause with their dumb statements. This decision is made after examining the posts here from the whole year to see which individuals were often critiqued for their comments. The winners (or is that losers) are chosen based on a quantitative and qualitative evaluation, and sadly there were many to pick from.

The 2006 winner is (drum-roll please): Rick Scarborough for his comments supporting Tom DeLay, his “War on Christians” conference, and other remarks throughout the year as he played the game of politics. Scarborough, it should be noted, was one of those in the number three spot last year, which was a group award for all of those who said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment.



Hopefully, Scarborough will resolve in 2007 to either think before he speaks or just keep his mouth shut.

Runner-ups:
2. Pat Robertson
3. Jerry Falwell
4. Tony Perkins
5. Don Hinkle

Last year Pat Robertson was given this title with runner-ups Jerry Falwell, All those who said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment, Fred Phelps, and Russell Moore. Unfortunately, each of those individuals also had problems this year as a couple remained on this list and others just missed the cut.

What I’ve Been Reading

One of my favorite things about Christmas break is the opportunity to read several books since I do not always have time during the semester to read books of my choosing. Here are a couple I recently finished that you might find worthwhile.


There's Never Been a Show like Veggie Tales: Sacred Messages in a Secular Market

This short book is an entertaining and insightful read. If you are a fan of VeggieTales like I am, then you will definitely want to read this academic look at the VeggieTales phenomenon and its cultural and religious impacts. The book should also be of worth to anyone interested in religious messages in the secular media.


The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

This is a must read for all Christians! It is a fantastic exposition on religion and politics and I am glad I finally got a chance to read it. Boyd will make you think about a number of important issues. It is well-written and closely tied to Scripture. If we had more Christians who took the perspectives of this book, then our nation and, more importantly, our churches would be much healthier today.

I have a few more books I hope to read over the next couple of weeks and will pass along any other gems I find. Hope everyone is having a great time with family, friends, and maybe a good book.

Non-Baptist?

Yesterday, the Baptist Press ran an article entitled “Belmont names 7 non-Baptists to join trustee board.” However, there is a serious problem with that headline. The article explains that of the eight new trustees there was only one who was part of a church affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC). The piece then described the seven “non-Baptists”:

The seven other trustees include three Presbyterians, two Disciples of Christ church members and one who is a Missionary Baptist. Also among the new trustees: C.C. Winans, a Grammy-winning contemporary Christian singer and member of a nondenominational church.

How is the one who is a member of a Missionary Baptist church not a Baptist? Sure, that individual is not affiliated with the TBC or even the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), but they are still Baptist. Unless the SBC and the Baptist Press think they get to decide who deserves to be called “Baptist” (which may actually be what’s going on). The article has other problems as it attacks the notion that Belmont should even have non-Baptist trustees and justifies the TBC’s unbiblical and wasteful lawsuit against the University. But this “Baptist” mistake should remind all of us to be more careful about casting people out and labeling them.

Let it Snow!

My latest column came out in the BGCM E-Message today. It is titled “Let it Snow!” The piece is a reflection on Christmas and being sure to think of God. I draw from a novel, Snow by Orhan Pamuk, that I was reading while snowed in a few weeks ago and on the thoughts I had while looking at (and playing in) the 16 inches of snow (sadly, it has melted and so we will not have a white Christmas). The photo is of Poco, who enjoyed playing in the snow with my wife and me.

David Surrenders?

People often make allusions to biblical stories, but sometimes they do not seem to get the story quite right. Consider, for instance, the comments made by Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh when he announced that he was not going to run for president in 2008. He called himself a “David” surrounded by “Goliaths.” At one point he was correct; there are much bigger names in the field on the Democratic side (Clinton, Obama). However, if the metaphor is accurate why did he drop out? Usually one only uses that metaphor when they announce themself as an underdog but still declare they will somehow win in the end. But to use that metaphor while dropping out seems to undermine the comparison.

Hopefully, this should be a reminder to us all to be careful with the biblical allusions and comparisons we attempt to make. We should not try and use an example that does not fit. We must definitely not use one in such a way as to completely undermine the very biblical story to which we are trying to pay homage.

Baptists of the Year

Ethics Daily has announced their choice of “Baptists of the Year”—Lebanese Baptists. In particular, they singled out Martin Accad, who wrote a few pieces for them during the summer conflict in that Lebanon. It is an excellent choice since Accad and others worked hard this year to teach Christians the importance of looking at the complexity of the Middle East situation and not just blindly support Israel. Congrats to them! Hopefully, more Christians will tackle the difficult issues and work to see all sides of an issue in order to learn how God would really want us to respond. By the way, my contribution on this issue at Ethics Daily was a column entitled “The John Hagee Filter.”

What Happened?

Jay Bakker, the son of televangelist Jim Bakker and a minister of a church, has a thought-provoking column at CNN that is co-authored by a fellow staff member at his church. The title of the piece is “What the hell happened to Christianity?” While some may find the title overly provocative or inappropriate, it is a column that Christians should read and consider. And the title actually seems to more than an attempt to be funny or controversial; it kind of answers the question of where our problems have been coming from. Here are a few highlights from the piece:

What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.

While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, “Why would I want to be a part of that?” They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether.

... So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today?

... Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.

Amen! This is a much needed plea for today’s Christians. If the difference between this piece and the work of Jim Bakker two decades ago is an indication of a change emerging in Christianity, then we have a good reason to be hopeful. We need to return to a focus on sharing the love of Jesus with everyone, and quit letting other minor issues distract us from that. Instead of condemning everyone to hell, we need to love them and help them find God.

Leaving Hog Heaven

A church in Georgia recently decided to change its name to drop the word “hog.” The church’s old name was Hog Mountain Baptist Church, and the new name is Hamilton Mill Baptist Church. Barney Williams, the church’s pastor, supported the change because he feels it will help them reach people who may be put off by the name, because pigs in the Bible are associated with sin, and because he is often teased by other pastors about the name.

The first reason—reaching people—is a good one. Some older church members have complained about the change since the old name is based on the history of the area. However, reaching people today is more important than keeping a name based on what people did years ago. There are a lot of odd church names based on geography or antiquated issues. It would be a shame if someone did not attend because they thought the church’s name sounded funny. That may be a silly reason not to attend church, but our job is to eliminate all reasons we can while remaining true to our mission. We must seriously consider what is being communicated by our church names.


By the way, there are a lot of interesting church names. A couple of my favorites are Tightwad Baptist Church and Halfway Baptist Church (both of which ironically and sadly describe how Baptists act at times). If you have seen a fun or odd church name, please share it by leaving a comment.

Doing is Believing

It is one thing to say you believe something, but it is a completely different thing to actually live like you believe it. Such a contrast seems to explain recent comments by David Clippard, Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director. Recently, the MBC kicked out 19 churches. Why? For giving some of their missions money to other conventions. Yes, churches were kicked out because of their missions giving!

Such an action is wrong on a number of levels. One problem with this action is that it violates the historic Baptist principle of local church autonomy. The MBC is now telling churches who they can or cannot give to if they want to remain in the Convention and is punishing churches that do not follow the edict. Yet, Clippard claimed that the Convention still believes in church autonomy. He stated:

We believe in the autonomy of the local church, and any local church can make its own decisions about the direction they want to take -- and we’re not going to fight that. ... That’s their right and that’s the way we operate. So, if that’s the decision they make, we’re simply acknowledging that. And the invitation, by the way, is out to each of those churches that they’re always welcome to come back.

What?! He claims they still believe in local church autonomy at the same time they are forcing churches to follow the MBC’s demand or be removed from fellowship. And he claims they will not “fight” the church’s right to make their “own decisions about the direction they want to take” at the same time that the MBC is kicking (a form of fighting) churches out for the direction they have decided to take concerning missions giving.

Talk is cheap. It is one thing to claim to believe in local church autonomy. However, if one’s actions do not match, then it is just meaningless rhetoric. Consider the wisdom found in chapter 2 of the book of James:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them? ... In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

The incongruity between Clippard’s words and his actions is hurting the work of sharing the love of Jesus. It is not just about churches no longer being allowed to send messengers. It is already hurting ministry work. For proof of that, check out a recent post by Gary Snowden about how the MBC has removed a Hispanic pastor from their church because the church was kicked out by the MBC. Power has trumped principle. Politics has trumped ministry.

Metaphorical Problems

It seems that Christians often use inappropriate metaphors or use metaphors poorly. A couple of recent pieces demonstrate this problem. The first one is by Agnieszka Tennant in Christianity Today. The column is called “Dating Jesus” and critiques a movement of women going on dates at restaurants or elsewhere alone but saying they are going on a date with Jesus. Here are a couple of highlights:

I don’t question the devotion of anyone who says she loves Christ intensely, whatever language she uses to express it.

But I have little patience for taking biblical metaphors too far and giving one’s relationship with God an air of irreverent chumminess. Somehow, the scenario in which “his princess” shaves her legs for a date with Jesus seems to leave little room for fear of God.

... The Bible is replete with breathtaking metaphors that hint at God’s love for us. Thank God, we don’t always take them to illogical ends: I’ve never heard a preacher take the Good Shepherd image to mean that God raises his children to ultimately kill and eat them.

Amen! The author makes an excellent point about the problem of taking a metaphor and trying to use it literally.

Another problem that Christians sometimes seem to have with metaphors is using inappropriate ones. Consider a letter written by former Baylor president and chancellor Herbert Reynolds. He wrote it to discourage the publishing of a book about the recent controversy at Baylor (the book has since been cancelled). In the letter he referred to his fellow Christians as “adversaries.” He also threatened to expose some damaging information if the book went ahead as planned. He wrote:

My tertiary specialty in the Air Force was psychological warfare and I was no mean student thereof. It is imperative to know everything conceivably possible about your adversaries and their soft underbelly--and have the patience to await the most strategic moment to strike.

Such rhetoric is over-the-top and inappropriate. Our fellow Christians are not our “adversaries.” Satan is our adversary. And to use a violent military metaphor to describe how you are going to treat your brothers and sisters in Christ is un-Christ-like and wrong. Reynolds should apologize.

The metaphors we use are important because they offer insights into how we are thinking. When we use metaphors wrongly (such as in the dating Jesus example) or when we use inappropriate metaphors (such as in the military attack example) it shows that there are some significant problems with our thinking. Christians should learn to avoid such metaphors. Hopefully, by doing so we will end up with more a more Christ-like thought process.

Letters to the Editor

Tony Cartledge, editor of the Biblical Recorder, has an excellent post on his blog about “Talking Back” to the media. He offers some advice about how to respond if you feel that your local newspaper has gotten a story about Baptists wrong (his advice works for those of other denominations as well). He points out that mistakes do happen, so sometimes there will be a need to write a letter to the editor to address the problem. He also explains that newspapers do want to hear back from their readers and will often publish pieces that “provide additional information or express divergent views.” He then offers five very good suggestions to keep in mind while writing the letter to the editor.

Every Christian should be concerned about how Christians are presented in the media because it may be the only glimpse of us some people get. Thus, if we feel like we are being inaccurately represented we should attempt to correct the record. We should also speak up if poor Christian examples are getting bad media attention so that we can remind people that not all Christians are like the one getting bad media attention. So, check out his suggestions and then get ready to write your letters.

Controversial Remarks

Ethics Daily had an article today about the controversy surrounding pastor and blogger Mark Driscoll. Following the Ted Haggard affair, Driscoll wrote about pastor wives in a way that many believed was blaming Haggard’s wife for Haggard’s problems. Driscoll has since apologized for the remarks. Driscoll also offered an important point for each of us to consider. He wrote:

But I also learned that as my platform has grown, so has my responsibility to speak about my convictions in a way that invites other people to experience charity from me, which means inflammatory language and such need to be scaled back.

Amen! It is too bad it took a controversy for Driscoll to learn that. But at least he learned it (some Christians seem to be slower learners and keep making the same mistakes over and over). Hopefully, more Christians will realize the importance of being careful with their language so that we invite people in and not drive them away. And hopefully, many Christians will learn this before making a controversial mistake.

Denying Hunger

Britt Towery has a column today at Ethics Daily that is entitled “Bush Administration Ends Hunger.” It is about how the annual report of the Department of Agriculture has replaced the term “hunger” with “low food security.” Towery writes, “Such a euphemism is almost Orwellian.” He then offers some good suggestions about what each of us must do to work to end huger and poverty.

We can change the terms we use, but there is no way to honestly deny that hunger does indeed exist and is a serious problem that Christians must work to eliminate. Some may say that it is impossible to end hunger, but it is has never been tried so how can they be sure. If we did actually try we could change the lives of many people. It is possible—if only American Christians would give.

Consider a recent report from Money Matters. It explains:

According to the research organization empty tomb, inc., “if members of historically Christian congregations in the U.S. had given at the 10 percent level in 2003, there would have been an additional $156 billion available.”

If you’re wondering what could be done with such an amount, empty tomb listed the following possibilities.

*Each day around the world, 29,000 children under the age of 5 die as a result of preventable poverty conditions. It would only take $5 billion of the amount listed above to stop the majority of these deaths!

*With $7 billion of the above amount, we could provide the world’s children with a basic education.

*And, with $124 million of the amount that remains, the church could launch a massive evangelism effort in the “10-40 Window,” the area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians.

A very similar argument was made with slightly different numbers by Ron Sider in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just like the Rest of the World? (an excellent and thought-provoking book that I highly recommend; it is pictured and linked below). The conclusion of both is the same—if American Christians actually tithed we could basically end world poverty and still have a lot of money left for evangelism.

Hunger is thus a Christian problem. If we wonder why people are suffering we should look no further than our churches. We must not attempt to ignore it by changing our language. Instead we must change our actions.



The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just like the Rest of the World?

Obama and Warren

A lot of people have weighed in about the fact that Barak Obama spoke this week at a conference held at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. Many pro-life activists urged Warren to disinvite Obama, but Warren refused. Of the columns written about this controversy, perhaps the best is a piece by Marv Knox, editor of the Baptist Standard. His column is entitled “Wanted: More compelling Christians.” Here are a few highlights:

How—and with whom—should Christians cooperate?

This issue surfaced again in the past few days, when some fundamentalist Christians demanded California pastor Rick Warren remove Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) from the program of his global AIDS summit because Obama does not oppose abortion.

... Still, the conservative activists criticized Warren and Obama because the Illinois senator is pro-choice. Interestingly, they overlooked flaws in other participants. Bono’s conscience-driven music positively stirs millions of listeners, but he has used the F-word on television. Bill Gates is an agnostic who once responded to a question about God’s existence by saying: “I don’t have any evidence of that. ... Religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.” So, Obama, a Christian brother who testifies to the role Christ plays in his life and supports his words with deeds of compassion and mercy, should be ineligible to help eradicate AIDS because of his views on abortion? Go figure.

... The activists’ action is appalling, not because of their view of abortion, but because of their view of Christian cooperation. We should not be required to agree on every issue or pass a litmus test in order to work together to achieve a common good or eradicate a pandemic evil.

Where are the Christians whose faith is strong and resilient enough to labor alongside others who may be very much unlike them but who share a common concern? We need more Christians who possess generous spirits, thick skins, soft hearts, keen minds and entrepreneurial spirits. Christians who don’t worry about being accused of associating with the wrong crowd as long as they’re working on the right causes. We need them to help eradicate AIDS and eliminate abortions. We need them to mediate peaceful relationships between adversarial enemies. We need them to live winsome, reconciling lives in their communities.

Amen! It is time to start working together whenever we can with whomever we can in order to make this world a better place. If we only work with those with whom we agree on everything, we will all be working alone. And that is not what Jesus desired when he prayed that we would be one.