The Morning Five

Obama Debates Dobson, MTV's The Hills Sing Christian Praise, Osteen in San Antonio and a Different Kind of Mega-Church ...

Jesse Carey — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:39:44 GMT

Barrack Obama and The Hills trying to get in good with Christian rock? James Dobson and Obama debating theology?! Mega-churches meeting in basketball stadiums and in outdoor fields?!! Here's today's special hot-button edition of The Morning Five ...

1) Run for The Hills!
Reality TV star Heidi Montag say she wants to record a Christian album. The tabloid-frequent star of MTV's The Hills told USA Today, "I have been the most religious person since I was 2 years old.” She said she is a “kind of non-denominational Baptist" and has "always felt this crazy connection to God.” Though she said she once dreamed of being a missionary in Africa, Montag said that now she believes Christian music is her career path.

2) Speaking of Unlikely Christian Rockers ...
As the presidential race continues to heat up, so does the debate over what candidate Christians should support. And presumptive Democratic nominee Barrack Obama is courting a group that has long been associated with candidates on the other side of the spectrum. Here's a story from The New York Times about evangelicals who are not only voting for the Illinois Senator, they're raising money for him. The article looks at how Obama supporters are planning house parties, Christian rock concerts and campus events in an effort to stir support among young, moderate evangelicals.

3.) Obama vs. Dobson
But even as Obama hosts a series of engagements with evangelical groups, not all high-profile leaders are showing enthusiasm for the senator's spiritual talk. Last week James Dobson made headlines for speaking out against what he said was Obama's “fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution” and confused theology. Now, a debate over theological interruption of scripture has been thrust into the mainstream spotlight and pundits and cable-news talking heads are themselves debating the intricacies of scripture.

On one hand, it's annoying to see people who profess to be Christians squabble over seemingly minor syntax, but at the same time, at least people are talking about faith. Unlike decades gone by where any talk of religion or faith was considered taboo, faith--and more specifically Christianity--has become one of the major issues that will decide our next President.

4) Remember the Alamo Dome
A massive crowd filled the AT&T Arena in San Antonio (the stadium is also the home of the NBA's Spurs) to hear Joel Osteen deliver his signature feel-good message. The event is one of 22 worship services Osteen is holding this year away from his home church, Lakewood, in Houston. Tickets for the event were sold for $15 at the box office.

5) Tearing Down the Mega-Church Walls
Here's another story about a mega-church whose leadership has taken a different approach to holding worship services. Uncomfortable about the prospect of spending tens-of-millions on a new building to facilitate their growing numbers, Cornerstone Community Church in California decided to do something different ... have church outside.

Their new plan involves creating an outdoor sanctuary and several other buildings that will serve as homes for learning centers, the Children's Hunger fund and recreational areas. The entire facility also emphasizes their passion for using resources wisely by creating eco-minded areas like "grass-crete" pavement, using recycled water for irrigation and preserving open spaces (almost 60 undeveloped acres).

Tough bikers, Facebook achievements, old-time revival preachers and more ...

Jesse Carey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:58:48 GMT

I just got back from a screening of the new Disney/Pixar movie WALL*E in L.A., so posts were a little sparse last week. I'll post a review of the film on Friday along with some commentary from interviews we got to conduct with of the film's stars, so keep an eye out for those later in the week. More good news is that I got to sit behind Bob Saget on the plane ride back, and I can say that after a short chat exiting the airplane, that Danny Tanner is really nice in real life too.

1) Facebook Tops MySpace
I wrote a story last week about the rise of Web 2.0 technology and the implications it has on faith (you can go here to read “The Tipping Point of Faith 2.0”), and now new numbers show that in May, Facebook has took a significant lead over MySpace in the number of unique visitors going to the site. This is significant not only because of the sheer volume of people going to the social networking destinations (almost 240 million in May alone), but because Facebook is lending credibility to social networking. Online sites like Facebook are no longer just places for teens and music fans to hang out and exchange information; Facebook has created a place where college students, working professionals and friends of all ages can communicate and network.

2.) Tougher than Hell!
Here’s a story about Guts Church in Tulsa, OK, and their recent “Tougher than Hell” biker rally. I occasionally went to events at Guts when I lived in Tulsa a few years ago, and they’ve always come up with creative ways to reach the community. You can go here to see a few YouTube clips from the event. Along with having a good time and reaching out to bikers from the Tulsa area, the event raised more than $300,000 for the church’s missions program that provides children with clean water and food.

3. Thinking Big
Here’s a cool video interview from Big Think with Blake Mycoskie. Blake is the founder of TOMS Shoes, a company that makes unique looking-shoes with a social element to their business model. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair to child in need in poor areas of countries in Africa. Though the company is for-profit, it’s sales model is breaking ground in conscious consumerism.

4. Outreach Behind Bars
The Denver Post has written a really inspiring story about a local prison ministry that is changing lives through faith. The article even features interviews with intimates who have had their lives changed through the outreach. In some cases, the prison officials have even reported mini-revivals within the prison stemming from inmates who have had their lives changed by God.

5. "A Rollin' Gospel Revival"
Tony Jones, Mark Scandrette and Doug Pagitt—leaders in the somewhat controversial emerging church movement (you can go here to read my article, “The Emerging Church Explained”) are embarking on a summer tour to market their new books and generate interest in their organization, Emergent Village. The three will be posing as turn-of-the-century revival preachers in what their describing as “The Church Basement Roadshow”. Though the group’s self-described “irreverent” antics are causing a lot of buzz, Tony Jones says that so far, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

Political debates, Darwinists, drama clubs and more ...

Jesse Carey — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:56:55 GMT

Hope everyone had a good weekend and a great Father's Day. Here's your Monday edition of the Morning Five ...

1. Acts of God
The L.A. Times has posted this story about the Christian theater movement that is on the rise with faith-based writers and performers gaining more prominence in the world of drama. The story talks about a new, creative generation that is producing plays that are more than just the Easter productions and Passions plays of the past.

2. Darwin Debates
A United Church of Christ pastor is making news for a new book in which he says that God used evolution as a means of creation. According to this story in The New York Times (provocatively titled “Darwinist for Jesus”), the book Thank God for Evolution has garnered criticism from traditional creationists like Creation Museum founder Ken Ham who said the writings are “no different from what an evolutionary atheist would preach”. But author Michael Dowd says he offers a “God-glorifying, Christ-edifying, Scripture-honoring way of thinking about evolution.”

3. Political Showdown
Speaking of hot-button debates, Beliefnet’s latest Blogalogue is a debate between social activist Jim Wallis and David Klinghoffer, author of the new book How Would God Vote? Why the Bible Commands You to Be a Conservative (now that’s a zinger a of title!). The two have squared off in a pretty heated dialogue over what party of affiliation most closely aligns with scripture.

4. Give It Away
How does our slipping economy effect American’s charitable giving? Accord to this story, though Americans still give lots of money away to people in need, disaster victims and select causes (more than $295 billion in 2006), that number may be sliding until the economy is corrected.

5. What's in Name?
And finally, on a lighter note, an Illinois-based artists, who is also a local bus driver, has legally changed his name to “In God We Trust.” The 57-year-old said that he wanted to changed his first name to “In God” and his last name to “We Trust” to show people how God helped him through tough times in his life. This, according to his friend “One Nation.”

Where Would Jesus Work Out?

Jesse Carey — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:27:28 GMT

A Christian gym manager in Florida is getting headlines after announcing plans to open his own “Lord’s Gym”, which he says will offer Christians a safe place to work out. Along with a modest dress code and Biblical imagery on the walls, his facility will host “Yogod” classes (an alternative to yoga) and a “Chariots of Fire” spinning class. If only there was already an alternative place where Christians could work out in a wholesome, community-focused atmosphere … some sort of young men’s Christian association or something …

Jokes aside, I can see the appeal of having a gym that has a Christian focus and encourages wholesome behavior and modest clothing, but my concern with trends like this is that Christians further isolate themselves from a culture that needs to hear what they have to say.

The story from The New York Times ended with this line:

Merri Bush, 42, who is a member with her daughter, Christyna Askey, 21, said she probably would not have joined a regular gym. The two of them walk on the treadmill each morning while they read and discuss the Bible.

Ms. Askey said, "It's cool to be able to do that and not have people say, 'What are you doing?' "

My question is, is that a good thing or a bad thing?! Shouldn’t we want non-Christians to ask us what we’re doing when we’re reading the Bible or talking about our faith? Isn’t that a really good opportunity to open a discussion about what we believe in a neutral environment, where non-Christians might even feel more comfortable dialoguing about Christianity?

I don’t want to condemn these Christians, because I honestly don’t think their intentions are wrong. And maybe people who struggle with different things need an alternative environment to work out at. But my concern is for the idea of making faith too comfortable. The New Testament pretty much assures us that we will face trials and objections when we show our faith in public—but that’s not always a bad thing.

If anything, discomfort should be more appealing than comfort—just look at the fate of all 11 disciples (aside from Judas). Ten of them were martyred in violent deaths, and the other died while in exile. Where is this message in modern-day Christianity? When compared to being executed for our beliefs, facing uncomfortable questions on the treadmill seems pretty minor.

The problem is, too often, terms like “safe” and “family friendly” have become synonymous with “Christian”, especially when applied to culture and entertainment. This thinking has infiltrated our daily lives, teaching us to avoid anything that challenges what we believe.

When we isolate ourselves to the point where every uncomfortable encounter with non-Christians is avoided, we’re missing a big part of being a Christian is all about.

Jesus rarely isolated his disciples, but encouraged them to go into all the world. That’s not just the far corners of developing countries and unreached tribes—that’s everyday places like where we work, go to school and, for some people, where we work out.

The original Lord’s Gym was an outreach center for at-need teenagers. It offered them a place to go to get off the street and use their time constructively, while reaffirming positive values and faith. These new Lord’s Gyms are for-profit franchises. And, I may be a little over-sensitive, but I even find that name applied to a gym marketed toward Christians a little offensive. It may be unintentional, but calling it the “Lord’s Gym” implies that other gyms are not the Lord’s. It subtly implies that God honors that place over other local gyms.

Is that the message we really want to send to our neighborhoods and communities?

The Manifesto Debate Continues ...

Jesse Carey — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:17:55 GMT

A few weeks ago I wrote about the “Evangelical Identity Crisis” that was facing some major Christian groups in the wake of “The Evangelical Manifesto”. A group of concerned leaders drafted a document that attempted to de-politicize the term “evangelical” and make it less of a polarizing idea for non-believers. There’s an interesting discussion of the whole document, the debate over what role faith plays in politics and what it all means for evangelical Christians at this Beliefnet forum. You can also check out our discussion of the debate and let us know what you think here.

"Cool" charity, Scientology debates, strange birds and body slams!

Jesse Carey — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:09:18 GMT

Sorry for the delay in posting last week. Things are starting to slow down a little with some projects we've been working on, so posting should be back to normal this week. Here's today's edition of the Morning Five!

1. Charity is “Cool” …
... That’s according to this New York Times story (a free registration is required to read it). The article basically looks at how $10 mosquito nets, which can help prevent the spread of malaria in Africa, have united denominations and attracted to young people to humanitarianism.

2. Interfaith body slams!
I have to admit; I was really disappointed when I read this story “Algeria Muslim body slams Christian evangelists”. Call it poor syntax, but I was really hoping to read an article about wrestling.

3. For the birds
The nation of Israel has named the Hoopoe its national bird. Despite a biblical ban on eating the bird (along with other “unclean” fowl like eagle and vulture), the bird won a competition to name a new patriotic symbol that coincided with Israel’s 60th birthday.

4. & 5. Scientology Protests and Unlikely Alliances
A boy, who the media only reports was “a minor”, was arrested in London for holding up a sign that read, “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.” According to this report from a London-based paper, police officers order him to remove the sign, and when he didn’t, they arrested him for a breach of public order. A police spokesperson said that the boy’s sign violated a law that prohibits signs that are "threatening, abusive or insulting".

The boy was with a group of activists protesting outside the scientology headquarters in London.

The message boards on one newspaper’s website have garnered some interesting discussion, but I think the real argument isn’t really about Scientology. The “religion” that counts several Hollywood superstars in its ranks, has received plenty of criticism for its practices and beliefs, which were started by sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard. But really, the debate isn’t about the status of The Church of Scientology or the creditability of its members—it is really a matter of free speech.

What if a group of protestors met outside of a Christian church or a mosque with the same the signs? Would the police still be criticized for arresting the protestor, or should all protestors be reserved the same rights to express their feelings toward other people’s beliefs?

The incident brings to mind another recent court case which made strange allies out of conservative legal groups and traditionally liberal groups like the ACLU. The Alliance Defense Fund, the Christian Legal Society and the Justice and Legal Society all filed briefs along with the ACLU to defend a student who faced suspension for displaying a sign that read, “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” at a high-profile school event.

The student, who held up the poster at a school-sponsored outing to see the Olympic torch being brought through their town, said the senseless sign should be protected by free speech. Despite all the legal help from both religious and liberal free speech advocates, the student lost his lawsuit against the school. But the case, much like the one against the scientology protestor, sparks an interesting discussion about what should be covered by free speech when it comes to religion.

The Shroud of Turin, praying on a plane and business in Bethlehem

Jesse Carey — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:04:48 GMT

Here's your Mid-Week edition of the Morning Five:

1. Prayer Plane

Here’s an inspirational story for you from New Zealand. Two pilots began desperately praying after an engine went out on their plane. Call it divine intervention, but the pair found a safe landing spot right next to a large that said “Jesus is Lord.”

2. Shrouded in Mystery

A physics professor from Colorado has opened the latest chapter in the mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin. The burial cloth that some people believed held Christ’s body between the time of the crucifixion and resurrection was declared to be a fake years ago after radiocarbon dating suggested it was a forgery from medieval times.

John Jackson, a teacher at the University of Colorado, however, convinced a lab at Oxford (where the shroud was originally dated) to rethink its dating method and factor in the possible contamination from carbon monoxide. According to the new analysis, the shroud could actually date back to the time of Christ.

Though some scientists are still skeptical that it was the actually burial clothe of Jesus, Jackson (who is Catholic), remains optimistic.

He told a local paper, “Science still has much to tell us about the shroud. If we are dealing with the burial cloth of Christ, it is the witness to the birth of Christianity. But my faith doesn't depend on that outcome."

3. Back to Bethlehem

If you’re look for a location to host your next business conference and just can’t seem to book a major convention center, you may want to read this story: “Bethlehem remakes itself as host to conferences”

4. We the Church

The site wethechurch.org is getting a lot of buzz lately. Essentially, it is a forum where believers can post their prayers, praise reports, testimonies and struggles with others. The site, which faced some problems early on due to a lack of moderation—a problem associated with many open forum sites—is still growing. If you’ve never checked it out, it’s definitely a cool Web 2.0 destination for online ministry now that the kinks are being worked out.

5. Designer Churches

I always like to see when Christians get recognized for innovative design. The site ChurchRelevance.com has posted this list of the "Top 85 Church Web Sites." The church web site has a lot of challenges because it has to be a balance of content, organization and easy navigation to essential information (like service times, location, ect.), so it's cool to look at a list that organizes churches who have done a good job at it.

Caspian rules, purity parties, veggies parade and more ...

Jesse Carey — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:29:21 GMT

Hope everyone had a good weekend ... here's your Monday edition of the Morning Five ...

1. Party Times

The New York Times has posted a feature about the growing trend of Father-Daughter Purity Balls. The prom-like events first began 10 years ago in Colorado Springs, but have spread to churches around the country. The events are part-social gathering, part-ceremony, with the goal of reaffirming the value of purity to young girls. With a $10,000 budget, the one profiled in the Times story almost looks like an evangelical answer to an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16.

2. Prince Caspian defeats Iron Man

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian toppled the mighty Iron Man to take the top spot at this weekend’s box office. The second installment in the fantasy franchise took in more than $56 million domestically and $20 million overseas. Disney, one of the studios behind the films, is already in the pre-production phase of the next film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is slated for a 2010 release.

3. Name that Castle

Speaking of Narnia, we’re all pretty big fans of the stories, but some people really love the books. Would you name your kid after the Castle of Cair Paravel?

4. Debt Forgiveness Fast

Activists around the world joined a global fast on Friday to show their support of a campaign to encourage wealthy nations to forgive the debt of developing countries. As part of the Jubilee “Drop the Debt” campaign, supporters met to put pressure on G8 members to cancel the enforcement of debt repayments of nations that are struggling to meet anti-poverty goals. The campaign is based on the Old Testament "Year of Jubilee”, when God commanded that debts be forgiven every 15 years.

5. A Veggie Tale

And finally, no this story isn’t about a new Veggie Tales movie: “Veggie Pride Parade urges 'Give Peas a Chance'”

The Evangelical Manifesto, The Hobbit, Kirk and the Plague of Frogs

Jesse Carey — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:32:11 GMT

Here's the latest five ... comment away

1. Manifesto Resistance

Last week, I posted a story about the “Evangelical Manifesto”, that attempts to separate the term “evangelical” from a political context, and bring it back to its theological roots (saying it describes belief in basic tenants of Christianity).

Here’s a story that looks at “Why Some Leaders Won't Sign the Evangelical Manifesto”. Among the more high-profile leaders not signing the increasingly controversial document are Billy Graham, James Dobson and Tony Perkins.

2. Tony Stark Lives!

If you liked Iron Man, you’ll love this story: “Robotic suit could usher in super soldier era” Warning: Picture highly disappointing

3. Down to Middle Earth

If you’re a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, you may want to check out this conversation between filmmakers Peter Jackson and Guillerno del Toro next week. The two will chat live online about the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit.

4. Show Me that Smile Again

Kirk Cameron fans, this one’s for you … a Growing Pains reunion (sort of). The cast recently sat down with The Insider to give an update about their post-primetime lives.

5. The Plague of Cable News

Legions … frogs … invasion?! Is it Old Testament-style plagues? No, just the front page of CNN.com. (Not only is it an over-sensational cable-news video, but is the link to buy the T-shirt really necessary? Seriously, you can’t make this up.)

Dan Brown Meets the X-Files

Jesse Carey — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:07:24 GMT

I came across this story and couldn’t help but to post it. This has to be one of the weirdest headlines I’ve read in a long time: “Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens”

According to an AP story: “Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.”

I'm not sure what’s more intriguing: the Vatican making a moral statement about the belief in aliens or the fact that the Vatican has their own astronomer.