and you want to see what American culture has done to the Way, check this out.
I feel like I've just seen a Monster Truck Rally commercial or a used car lot advertisement...for Jesus.
Unfortunately this site has a different Flash presentation up from last week. Last week talked about some type of guarantee to "take you to a high place of worship", whatever that is.
This week it's "receive an impartation which will without question change your life".
Well, how can something without question change my life when I don't know wtf it is?
What the hell is an "impartation"?
Is that a fancy word for the Lottery?
Why is it mentioned as a "sound of worship that is pleasing to the Father" when it's a mime?
Watching a mime I should prepare to be "overpowered by the presence of God and the weight of His glory".
Really? That's going to happen via man instead of God?
I mean, I can understand something like this when the disciples got teleported six miles to Capernaum in true Star Trek fashion, but this?
I don't know why I don't get any sense of hype when I read the bible, even though stuff like a withered hand being healed right before one's eyes, and a man risen from the dead, and a man bit by a viper shaking it off his hand and going about his business lah-dee-dah while everyone waited for him to keel over dead, and a whole host of other things trump a skit by a long shot.
Awe and hype are worlds apart, bro.
3 comments:
alrighty then..the mime gospel? We are truly insane. Postmodernism has oblliterated our sensibility entirely. One o these days me and mine are pulling a Thureau,I swear. I hate this kind of schlock. Again, JTT, they suck, put something out there that doesn't...other than doing us the service of pointing out the sucking. Go and find me something that is right and good and pure. I know there are idiots. There are a lot of idiots. If it bothers you so much maybe you need to get out of the fish man.
I don't have issue with what the guys are doing. I saw a mime sermon thing back in the early 90's and it was great. I'll bet these guys are good.
My beef is with the extreme overselling. The commercial sounds as if the Red Sea is going to part and we're all going to see God the Father himself.
The Body has become so much about hype and promotion and man-based techniques and tools of "inspiration".
A good rule of thumb, I've found, is: if someone tells me how great or "life changing" or "inspiring" or incredible or awesome or "uplifting" some preacher, some event, some book, some group or some anything is, that means I don't want to see it, buy it, watch it, hear it, don't want to go check it out.
I'm tired of being oversold.
I'm numb to hearing people talk about how great their worship is, or how loving their church is, or how great their preacher is, or how great some event will be they think I should consider going to.
I'm fed up with seeing people pour it on thick in the name of Jesus.
Jesus doesn't pour it on thick. He didn't, and doesn't, oversell the Way.
When a large percentage of His followers turned away from following Him, He didn't go chase them down and say "Wait! You don't understand! Let me explain! I really meant...!"
Nope. Jesus doesn't chase people. And He doesn't oversell them or hype Himself.
Jesus understands that some people are going to get His scandalous words, and some aren't.
I wish we'd quit thinking that it's our duty, job, responsibility (or whatever the hell people call it) to "win" the whole world to Jesus.
That's not what we are to do, and it's not what is going to happen either.
My whole thing is quit overselling the Way with worldly pinnache and marketing.
It's the Holy Spirit's gig to bring the power, and we don't predict His how/when/who.
We can invite Him. We can pray for Him to show up. We can welcome Him, and give Him liberty to do whatever He wishes (how few churches or people do that?). We can follow His nudge.
But we don't know ahead of time what He's going to do. We can follow His lead, and do what He prods happen, and observe what He's doing, cause He has a recognizable fingerprint.
But for some Follower to guarantee that we're going to spiritually cum like we never have before by seeing or experiencing Christian event or production xyz?
That's not the Way.
When did Jesus say "Oh y'all! Make sure you come up on this mountain! You're not going to believe it! Miracles galore! Dumbfounding suspension of human reality as God heals! You're going to be blown away by what happens!!"
That's not Jesus. This marketing hype b.s. has GOT to go.
Oh, and me jumping out of the fish?!? Har dee har har!!!
No one in the "Christian industry" would touch me with a ten million foot pole. And I would have much too much enjoyment calling them a brood of vipers and a bunch of bedwetting, thumb-sucking Christian momma's boys. (savoring grin)
Heh heh, last week I mentioned something off-cuff to a friend, and he thought we could co-author a book about it. But then he said "Um, but I don't think the publishing industry would smile on your GDs and MFs if you're going to write a Christian book." LOL Exactly.
You are a freakin' piece of work you know that man.
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