Category: culture

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Black is the new Bieber

The pop culture phenomenon  of the week is Rebecca Black with her new hit song “Friday”. Black is being likened to teenage super-pop-star Justin Bieber. It went from 2000 hits to 25million hits just this week!! Perhaps Black is the new Bieber? Anyway, you decide:

Sometimes modern pop lyrics are hard to understand. Not in this track. They are simple, yet profound. Her observations on life are quite insightful.

It’s only March, but this song is well on its way to ‘song of the year’. Triple thumbs up ;)

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Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

So many needs in our world right now. So much devastation. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan is horrible. Keep praying and consider giving some cash to help the relief effort.

Here’s the press release from Anglican Aid:

Anglican Aid has been shocked by the horrific 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that rocked the country Japan on Friday 11th March. We await further and more detailed news with apprehension.

Our hearts and our prayers go out to all who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods, and we offer our prayers to those involved in the relief effort. We also pray for the officials dealing with the damaged nuclear reactor.  Despite the natural disasters that have devastated our world in recent times, we are thankful that as Christians we are able to find comfort in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Tax deductible donations to Anglican Aid will be accepted.  If in the unlikely event that more funds are raised than are needed, these funds will be held for future emergencies as they arise.

From Anglican Aid. Or you could go to dosomethingnow.com or World Vision.

Likewise check out the CMS website for news and prayer points for missionaries in Japan.

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JC and the Cool Gang

The Weekend Australian Magazine featured an article on the relationship between Christianity and “cool” in Australia. Basically it’s about a variety of Gen Y peeps that don’t fit the Ned Flanders (or any other traditional understanding) template of a Christian. These guys and girls are cool and yet unashamed to be into Jesus.

It includes some interesting comments on the decline in mainline denominations.

The highlight for me were the quotes from Mark Sayers on the danger of crafting a “cool” Jesus and the drift towards man-centred theology:

“When, in their quest to remain relevant to young people, churches begin to turn him into a cool Australian, latte-loving guy who hangs out with his surfboard and is cool with everything we do… kids will come [to church] because they are attracted to that. But then they discover they’re not going to be turned into a superstar and they read the Bible and they discover Jesus dies at the end.”

Along with a consumerist ideology in which ‘cool’ is the motivating force, Sayers says another dominant culture factor troubling the church is the triumph of the self-help movement, which preaches a message that life should be about self-fulfilment, not suffering.

“So the quest for salvation has been replaced by the quest for wellbeing. And the danger is Christianity will end up looking like the empire of Oprah, in which God is a sort of cosmic butler who delivers things for us… We need to return to a biblical world view that grapples with suffering, rather than avoids or denies it, and that recognises that man is not the focus. God is. And that God is not going to transform you into this buff entrepreneur with a beautiful wife. There is a much deeper reality than that.”

Go read the article and let me know what you think.

One of the things I love about Christianity is that you don’t have to be cool to follow Jesus. I love seeing awkward, uncool people (me?? you?? haha) that don’t fit in anywhere else, accepted and included into the people of God.

We’ve got to keep calling all people (cool or otherwise!) to make counter-cultural commitments in response to the gospel of Jesus – we don’t just fit Jesus around the cool stuff in our lives, but Jesus is to shape all of life!

(h/t Mark Sayers for the heads-up on the article)

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Time for some nuance between the gay and the god-fearing

John Dickson has written a great article for ABC Unleashed arguing for a more nuanced discussion about homosexuality. It’s reasonable, intelligent and well-argued.

I think this is an important issue to be discussing and appreciate Dickson’s input. Christians have to work hard at not being jerks in how we speak.

Here’s another recent article from Michael Jensen on the issue.

EDIT: Here’s a great quote from Dickson:

There is a failure of ethical imagination here, an inability to utilise two mental muscles at the same time: the muscle of strong conviction and the muscle of compassion for all. Jesus was the master of this ethical exploit. Open the Gospel of Luke at chapter 13 and you’ll hear him condemning certain behaviour and warning of coming judgment. Continue through to chapter 15 and you’ll find him wining and dining with ‘sinners’ – those you might have thought were first in line for judgment – and illustrating the point with a parable about a father’s love for his prodigal son. Keep reading to the end of the story and the point is made with disturbing clarity: so seriously did Jesus take sin that he thought he had to die for it; so seriously did he love sinners, a category in which he placed us all, that he thought he had to die for them. He was able to be morally exacting and deeply compassionate toward the same people at the same time – though it is a sad and undeniable fact that many in the church since have had difficulty emulating the feat.

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Support our Friends in Christchurch NZ

We were in Christchurch 2 months ago. It really is shocking to see the destruction that has taken place on those streets we so recently walked. More shocking than destroyed buildings is the number of lives lost. I’m praying for miracles in the rescue operation. I’m praying to the God of comfort that his people in Christchurch would be a comfort to the rest of the city. I also just gave money via Anglican Aid. Let me encourage you to do the same.

Anglican Aid launches appeal for our New Zealand friends

We have been shocked and deeply saddened by the news emerging from Christchurch, New Zealand of a destructive earthquake that struck on February 22. This earthquake has destroyed much of the CBD and our heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods. Our prayers are also with the emergency workers.

Anglican Aid is working with our Anglican partners in Christchurch, and we are accepting donations which will be used for emergency aid and to support those in affected communities to rebuild their lives.

Donations are tax-deductible.  If in the unlikely event that more funds are raised than are needed, these funds will be held for future emergencies as they arise.

ANGLICAN AID PRESS RELEASE | DIRECT LINK TO DONATE

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The Egyptian Revolution

Crazy stuff happening in Egpyt! Last night after Mubarak said he wasn’t going to let go of the Presidency I tweeted this: “the current leader of egpyt seems almost as stubborn as the guy who lead the country 3500 years ago when the Jews were in captivity!”Waking up this morning, the news was different. He’d handed over rule to the military. Pretty significant stuff after a month of protesting and 30 years in power. John Piper tweeted this earlier: “In Egypt’s 5,000 years as a unitary state, these people have never been able to choose their government before.” (BBC) After 5000 years, there’ll be big changes ahead.

Every revolution needs people to stand on a bus in celebration! (Pic taken in Tahrir Square) There are lots of amazing photos on news and social media sites that help to capture the emotion of such momentous news. Facts about Egypt to pray from.

Find out about an even more amazing revolution here.