From Iona to Austin in a day…

by Josh on February 4, 2010

This morning I went to a chapel service at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. This evening, I attended the first annual Verge Conference at Hill Country Bible Church in Austin. I’ve gone through some whiplash days in my life, but… this is up there.

This morning, I was a part of a service that included liturgy, a pennywhistle, communion by intinction (dipping bread in the cup), and sung prayers. This evening, I was a part of a service with a full light show, high tech videos, full contemporary band, communion with a cracker and tray of juice, and preachers doing their best to mix a meaningful & Christ-centered message with humor and laughter. Honestly, I think I felt a little out of place at both. But I think that’s ok.

There’s this temptation we have as Christians. I’ve seen it with the elderly, with children, and yes… with college students. There’s something within us that declares that “our way” is the best. Our ministry, our church, our preference – that’s the “right” one. The other is shallow, or out of touch, or too loud. Yet what struck me today was just how wrong that is. Not in a “duh, we’re supposed to get along” kind of way, but in understanding just how similar these things are. One group repeats a liturgy to share a common story and build community in their longing for God – another sings a seemingly shallow song of five lines that does the EXACT same thing. It’s beautiful. It’s diverse, yet it’s the same. If as a college minister I can help to shape students in any way, I hope I can pass on this simple idea; there is no “best” way. We need each other. And this goes beyond worship styles. The Calvinists need the Arminians in order to keep from being paralyzed and completely counting on God’s sovereignty. Arminians need Calvinists to remind them that God is sovereign and involved. Liberals* need conservatives to remind them of the cross. Conservatives need liberals to remind them of Jesus’ life. The Church shouldn’t find a way to be unified despite differences. We should be unified because we celebrate them.

I love my brothers and sisters who praise with voices and hands lifted high. I love my brothers and sisters who recite liturgies from hundreds of years ago. I love the Church. Love it.

*For the record, hate “liberal” and “conservative” labels, but most people are comfortable with them. They’re officially out of date though. Let me know when we have new terms!!

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Batman, Prayer & The Holidays

by Josh on January 4, 2010

Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you’ve been there. It’s a formal meal, or a function, or something demanding a prayer, and all eyes turn towards…you. You know that feeling. When everyone expects you to commune with God on their behalf, when they expect something beautiful and profound to come from your lips… when they expect your faith to replace their own.

I’ve been that guy for six or seven years now in my family. Every Thanksgiving or Christmas, every Easter, I’m the one people turn to when it’s time to pray. For years, I never really questioned this, understanding that’s just my job. My family isn’t particularly spiritual or religious, so prayer has always just fallen to me. However, this year, I was troubled. I was confronted with what Peter Rollins calls “The Batman Principle.”

We all know the story of Batman. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire with an alter-ego. He spends his weekends fighting crime, beating up on the organized and unorganized criminals decimating his city. He fights them with the latest technologies, spending what must be millions of dollars on his batcave, batmobile, batsuit and many other tools with the prefix “bat.” Today’s understanding of economics though, has caused us to ask some new questions about Batman. Obviously, Batman is spending millions and millions of dollars on fighting crime, yet no one at Wayne Enterprises ever even raises an eyebrow at the money being spent. Which begs the question…exactly how profitable IS Wayne Enterprises? Obviously, this company is making so much money, it’s so profitable, that the millions of dollars being spent on Batman’s efforts aren’t even worth noticing. If anything, today’s climate has taught us one thing about big companies – if a company is clearing that much profit, somebody’s getting squeezed. Someone’s making an unfair wage, someone is getting pushed to the margins, someone is being taken advantage of. Which begs the question… Is Batman spending Monday through Friday creating the very enemies he fights on the weekends? In some way, do his efforts to fight crime act as a way to excuse his companies actions during the week?

For the Christian church, I’m afraid the problem looks similar. Do we allow the trappings of Christianity, the attendance at a church service on a Wednesday or Sunday, to compensate for our injust living during the week? Do we allow our measured participation in church to excuse our unchristian practices? In my case, I found that my family allowed my participation in faith to excuse their lack of participation, and so this year, I took a stand. When my mother looked at me to pray this holiday season, I flatly refused. It felt odd, refusing to pray, but when I realized that my family was using my spirituality as an excuse for their lack of relationship with God, well… I felt I didn’t have a choice. It was awkward to refuse. People looked at me. I said, “We can pray, or not, either way is fine with me, but I’m not going to pray.”

My mother’s eyes filled with surprise, confusion and even a little hurt. It was awkward. Yet, in the midst of these swirling emotions, my mom surprised me. She closed her eyes, grabbed the hands of my sister and I, and prayed. It was the first time in my life I’ve heard her pray. It was beautiful, amazing, and heart-wrenching all at the same time.

I have no idea what the future holds for my family. Whether they’ll discover God or not. Whether they’ll experience God’s love, forgiveness and grace or not. No clue. But I know this – they’ll no longer substitute my faith for their own. They’ll no longer pretend my words are theirs.

I’m starting to ask the question, how do my Christian practices actually excuse my own or another’s unchristian lifestyle or even beliefs? I’m beginning to wonder if being faithful sometimes means refusing to participate in faith. Then again, maybe I’m just pretending I have something in common with Batman…

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Wow.

November 12, 2009

Sometimes, you don’t need words…

31 | the sunrise project from JJ Starr on Vimeo.

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Sharing Stories

November 5, 2009

So, there was this kid. I wouldn’t call him agnostic, but…he was toeing the line. He was dragged kicking and screaming to the first gathering of The Lab. Protesting the whole time. When he walked up those stairs into that art gallery, he knew he was walking into the same old thing, the same old [...]

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EPIC: Connected

October 24, 2009

The last task of Len Sweet’s EPIC worship gathering as outlined in Postmodern Pilgrims is to be connective. Establishing community in a worship gathering is really the most difficult task to me, but it seems to be the most important as well. We know this subconsciously, which is why almost every gathering has a time [...]

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I love these guys…

October 12, 2009

One of the girls from The Lab is already doing what I want to do at TCU. Take a look! Can’t wait to see this happen on campus…

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A Return to E.P.I.C.

October 8, 2009

After a month break of just focusing on The Lab, the blog is back! We’re still looking at Len Sweet’s model of EPIC worship as laid out in Post-Modern Pilgrims and how we’re trying it out at The Lab (www.thelabtcu.com). This week is Image-Driven.
Shane Hipps laid out some theories on the power of images versus [...]

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The Lab!

September 17, 2009

Monday night was the first gathering for The Lab (www.whatisthelab.com)! I’m still a little overwhelmed at what a great evening it was. We had 37 people packed into this art gallery for our first event ever, which is really encouraging; but more than that, we had a TON of people signing up to participate in [...]

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What is The Lab?

September 9, 2009

Prepping for the first Lab gathering has overtaken my Blogging about EPIC. We’ll return next week! In the meantime, make sure to check out www.whatisthelab.com!

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Re-Thinking Worship Pt 2

September 3, 2009

Continuing to explore Len Sweet’s ideas of E.P.I.C. worship, and what that might look like at The Lab at TCU.
Participatory
One of the biggest disconnects in worship is the gap between those on the stage and those in the seats. We ask them to participate in worship, yet we really just want them to sing along [...]

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