Church Needs Dudes

What do YOU think the church needs?

High Culture vs. Popular Culture

The world of enertainment and mass communications - through television, radio, contemporary music, movies, magazines, art, video games and pop literature - is indisputably the most extensive and influential training system in the world.

- George Barna -

The term popular culture is relatively new and was initially a reactionary term to high culture. High culture referred to works that were of the highest sophistication and quality. An orchestra playing Tchaikovsky would qualify as high culture, whereas a different group of instruments playing something that sounded like Metallica would not make the cut. High culture was experienced by and for those who were elitists, typically in the upper class.

What about the rest of us? The term popular culture started as a definition of the entertainment options of the average person - everything that wasn't considered high culture. However, in the past fifty years, the definition has changed, and now it is known to refer to anything in culture that is popular. Scholars explain, "Popular culture requires a mass audience created by urbanization and democratization along with technologies of mass distribution; in other words, mass media in all forms."

Basically, in non-intellectual terms, this means: Pop culture is the world of music, movies, television shows, books, magazines, fashion, sports, art, video games, and the internet that has a following and acceptance by millions around the globe.

Every church makes a choice in how to respond to the pop culture, and the choice it makes determines how much of an impact it will have on its community.

I Am Second (Part 2)

2008-09 St. Louis Blues

It was a good finish for the StL Blues last night. The players left all they had out on the ice. They finished 41-31-10 for the season, but made an incredible 8-1-1 run during the last 10 games of the season which put them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Make sure the check out the 2009-10 season with a more experienced team!

What Would Happen If...

     What would happen if you could find a church where the Bible comes alive? What would happen if your church service used words that normal people could understand? What would happen if the music were familiar and made sense? What would happen if you addressed issues that people really care about, that could really make their lives different? What would happen if you had a church where you could invite a friend and there would be a good chance that he or she could understand and begin to experience an inner life change?
     It is not only about being relevant. It is not about having a contemporary service with drums and guitars or adding drama to your line-up. It is about turning around, staring your culture straight in the face, and leveraging that culture to reach people for Christ. It is about bringing pieces of the culture into the church in order to make the Bible understood, and highlighting where biblical principles are already present in pop culture. It is about not giving up on the church but changing our view of church from the inside out to that we begin to see life-transformational changes in our communities.
     It is about getting out of your holy huddles, turning around and looking real people right in the eyes, seeing the lives they live and the problems they encounter (as messy and unholy as they might be).
     If we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting what we have always gotten-- and I am not satisfied with that.

Bob Casady Original Recipe

So... I went down to the office yesterday to grab some papers from my mail box, and I was greeted by Pastor Bob Casady and Jim Mason. They were placing Peeps (the Easter candy) in the microwave and then handing them out to other staff members as gifts. We've got such a nice staff here at SUMC.

Casady Orignal Peep Reciple:
- Place Peep on Paper Towel
- Place Peep in Microwave
- Nuke Peep for 35 seconds
- Deliver Peep to staff member on Paper Towel
- Eat Peep before it cools

Flyleaf Covers Crowder and Hillsong

Write. Discuss. Implement.

Leaders:
If you don’t do this already, I want to challenge you to start a simple habit.

Write everything down.

It’s the skeleton key to creativity, productivity, and ingenuity.

Record every creative impulse. Every possible vision initiative. Every good idea. Every bad idea. Every “I need to check into that” situation.

Record it any way you can. I keep most of my thoughts in a Moleskine. But if I have to, I will jot blog ideas on napkins. I’ve called my own voicemail to capture a song melody. I keep notebooks all over my house, in my car, on my bike…just in case inspiration strikes.

Type it. Blog it. Twitter it. Scribble it. But whatever you do, capture it!

It doesn’t have to be pretty. Just get it done.

Millions of lucrative business ideas and helpful inventions never saw the light of day because somebody didn’t write them down.

Now, after you’ve written them down, organizing and implementing your ideas is a much more complicated process. And the way you do that will depend on your personality and circumstances.

But recording your thoughts is to vision what a blueprint is to a building.

Why would God give you more vision and concept if you’re not being a careful steward of what He’s already given you?

Good Friday

I've noticed a lot of people pontificating on their blogs today about what Easter means and all that biz. Well I'm no theologian so I'll give you the average joe's Good friday devotional.

Jesus died for YOU! Get your act together.

Harmonica + Beatbox = Original