Communicating for a Cause

What Image Are We Reflecting?

I had an interesting conversation with my 16 year old daughter yesterday about her Psychology class. It seems they were having a heated discussion about lifestyle "choices" some people make and whether this is predetermined at birth or if it is a conscious decision made by each individual. 

One of her classmates brought in her Bible and was firing off verse after verse on why this is an "abomination to the Lord," refusing to discuss the actual topic presented. She explained it seemed like it was just this girl taking on the entire class. (She goes to a secular public high school)

"It made me sad to consider myself a Christian", she told me

I'm certain this girl felt she was just standing up for what she believed in. But instead of drawing people closer to Jesus, she came across as closed-minded and judgmental; unwilling to discuss another point of view. 

The point of this post is not about the subject matter the class was discussing. It's about being intentional in how we respond, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Sometimes we need to lose a few battles in order to win the war. 

Will those kids remember the Bible's point of view on transgender? Probably not. Will they remember a harsh and judgmental Christian? Absolutely. 

Sometimes I wonder what could happen if we spent more time reflecting the heart of Jesus and less time reflecting organized/institutionalized religion. 

At a Loss for Words

I've been sitting at my keyboard for a little while now, and my heart is just so heavy. It's rare that I find myself without something to say, but I can't seem to find the right words.

My friend, Mark Horvath from InvisiblePeople.tv is currently driving all over this fine country of ours (again), championing the stories of homeless people.

When we first met, I imagined the typical stereotypes of who these people were.

Drug addicts. Bums. Losers who prefer to panhandle instead of work.

When I took time to listen, my world was changed. One of the fastest growing groups of newly homeless people are previously middle class families hit hard by the recession. And kids.

Last night Mark met Sergi. It was his 18th birthday and first night homeless. Looking at his picture, I thought of my own almost-18-yr-old son.

And I want to scream

How can this happen? Where is the rest of his family? Doesn't ANYbody care? Or see how wrong this is?

I don't have the answers. But the frustration churning inside me about the sheer insanity of it all is more than I can bear.

The best way I can sum it up is in a tweet Mark posted this morning.

"We don't need random acts of kindness. We need deliberate acts of compassion"

If you want to learn more about Mark's travels (thanks to the generosity of Ford, Hanes, the Pepsi Refresh project & other great sponsors) click here. To learn more about InvisiblePeople.tv click here.

Pop Goes the Church

Wow. I was really impressed with the depth that this topic was explored & the solid reasoning behind it. It's hard to sum up in a few words how important I think this book is for leaders in ministry to read, so here's my

Top 5 Reasons Why You Need This Book
(in no particular order)

1. Gives reason to why it's so important to understand culture now vs. even a decade ago
2. Brings clarity to the role of pop culture in ministry (probably not what you think)
3. Demonstrates living examples of ministries who are making this work & making an impact
4. Tim's conversational style & storytelling are engaging and fun to read
5. Pop culture is not going away. Learn it. Live it. Leverage it.

This is not a "one-Granger-size-fits-all" point of view, but truly enlightens readers on the importance of understanding pop culture and its role in connecting people to Christ. Definitely worth the read.