4 posts tagged “christianity”
I'm spending Christmas this year with Karina's aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania. It's been real nice to just sit around a relax quite a bit. I get up later than everyone else and am fairly unapologetic about it. I make jokes that few people, if any, get. The things that I do get laughs about are the quirky, random "Metts" things that I do.
There's something about being a Metts that makes you enjoy destroying cultural norms. When I heard a song by Jamiroquai in Macy's I broke out spontaneously in dancing - this was received by stares. When one of aunt Julie's four Pomeranians licked my face I licked his right back, much to the horror and disgust of my audience. Last night, when we attended a candlelit Christmas Eve service, I kept my candle lit for an extra fifteen minutes after the service even though all the others had extinguished theirs.
It was at this service that I found myself exercising another familiar Metts habit - constructive criticism. I found myself always looking to understand why things were happening and gauging their effectiveness. The service consisted of carols sung by the congregation, scripture readings, solos, a short message and a chorale.
It was interesting to sing the carols of old that have survived the ages and contrast them to the solos of contemporary songs like 'Breath of Heaven.' I had a conversation with Karina both before and after the service about why the older carols last so long and why the contemporary songs feel clichéd and cheesy.
Is it the language? Are these songs inferior because of their modern phrases and focus? 'Breath of Heaven' paints an incredibly dramatic picture of Mary's story - and the composer takes a lot of theological liberty. It's also written as if an angel hadn't appeared to her and as if Joseph wanted nothing to do with her. "Me," "I" and "My" appear in the song twenty-four times. That's an awfully self-centered view for someone who definitely wasn't focused on herself in the biblical account.
Not to say that some of the older carols aren't riddled with theological liberty. 'We Three Kings' doesn't take into account that we don't know how many Magi there were and that they probably weren't kings - but there's something songs llike this do have - a perspective of praise and glory to God. One thing that you will find in the ancience carols is a reverence and attitude of worship.
The reason could also be musical. The composers of older times took much more care in the fabrication of their music. The sound is so much more rich and full than the three-chord pop songs of today's contemporary scene.
Today's young Christian musicians need to recognise these factors and incorporate them. I've already seen some convincing signs that they are. As artists, we've got to work toward a Christmas, and a faith, that isn't clichéd. That's what's going to last. Our own faith, our own espression of good theology. Using the creativity that God has given us.
“I’m going to Egypt to preach the gospel!” “Last summer I went to Bolivia and saved thirteen children in jungle tribes there for Christ!” “I just got back from China where we did a short-term missions trip and fifty people were saved!”
We hear stories like this from our peers all the time and even tell them ourselves when we have the opportunity to experience a trip like one of these. At first, it may seem that stories like these are cause for rejoicing. That we should be praising God for the wonderful work that these people are doing.
I should start with my short-term missions background. In 2001, I went to visit a missionary family from our church whose father was working as a contractor for an orphanage in Uganda. I was there for two months and mostly helped supervise the younger kids. I felt frustrated with what I was doing because I wasn’t entirely sure what my role was.
In 2005 I went on a trip with YWAM, an organization dedicated to giving young people a chance to share their faith with others. We went to Sweden, Finland, Norway and northwest Russia. We did street performances and evangelism. The group was tallying the amount of people who had “accepted” Christ and there was much rejoicing every time someone did so. We were on a roll.
But I felt something was off. We would cruise into a little Russian town, do a performance, and save people afterward – simple, right? What I’ve realized since then is that those many people we came in contact with rarely had the opportunity to get connected with a church and even less of an opportunity to have a mentoring relationships with a mature Christian.
When I think about my walk, the two things that I couldn’t have done without are my church family and my mentors. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today – and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be a Christian. When I think about how we went through Russia in a SWAT team mentality, I doubt any real difference was made in the lives of those people.
The problem is with short-term missions. Too often is a team of Americans sent halfway around the world at the cost of $3000+ per person, rushed through evangelism the local people giving them serious doubts about your commitments to them and their culture, and flown back home in time for Tim and Sarah’s wedding (wouldn’t miss it for the world).
At some point along that line, we have to realize that if there’s any benefit in short-term missions, it’s for the person going, not the person they’re going to. The person in that other country is giving up his or her time and money to facilitate you in hopes that someday you’ll care enough to commit to them on a greater level.
Our last stop on the YWAM trip was Visby, Sweden. I met church leaders there that I really desired to work with and ended up moving there for a year to do youth outreach. While the time there was more effective, having time to actually build relationships with the people I met, a year still isn’t long enough. That year was mostly about me learning one of the most important lessons of my life – be involved in ministry, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
Any type of ministry, whether in the states or overseas, requires commitment. It’s a full-time gig, and God expects our all. The next time you consider heading off to Thailand for a month to preach the gospel, think seriously about how that trip is going to help your heart for missions, and what the benefit will or won’t be for the people there. Then decide if you want to spend $4000 on that, or on sponsoring ten children through Compassion International for a year. What is needed more?
The following was written as an editorial for The Crusader - The Spring Arbor University campus newspaper:
The sights and sounds of the new school year assault our senses. Frisbees fly across the plaza, McDonald’s has business at midnight once again and the clatter of card-protectors and key-chains echoes across the campus as the freshmen run to class. I’m sure most of us are already feeling the pressure of classes, assignments, jobs, sports activities, student groups and the many other activities that make college life busy.
The one thing that we desperately need to remember amid all this hustle and bustle is our relationship with God. As much as it sounds cliché, I want to emphasize the Church, and its importance in the lives of college students.
In his book, The Fabric of Faithfulness, Stephen Garber mentions that the period between adolescence and adulthood is essential for the formation of moral meaning. He goes on to say that those who keep their integrity into adulthood are those who choose to be a part of a community that shares their worldview.
We see this played out in our lives. Our friends and influences always affect us and shape how we think, what we do, what we believe and who we trust. The best way for us to experience this kind of community is for us to find a local church and serve in it. This can be hard – but worth it.
First Timothy is a great book to read when trying to understand our role in the Church. In Chapter 3 verse 15 (ESV), Paul describes the church as “the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” He goes on to describe Timothy’s role in the church, which we should take to heart as well. Chapter 4 verses 6-8 says,
“6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
So how do we go about being a good servant of Christ Jesus? By being “trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you followed.” The Church is set in place to instruct us and preach the word.
Paul goes on to give instructions to each age group and gender. Young women and old women, young men and the old, widows and the children and grandchildren and elders; all receive instruction for their behavior in the Church. This is a huge point for college students living away from their families. The Church provides a family – the family of God. In a church we have brothers, sister, fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. God designed the Church this way so that we could grow and learn from each other.
The Church is the family of God and we need to be an active part of it. Find a church and commit to being there. The Crusader is featuring a series of articles on local churches in the faith section so pay attention to that and make an effort. Ask your friends where they attend and go along with them. If you’d like to visit mine, just send me an email and I’d be glad to take you with me. Church involvement is a big commitment, but it’s a bigger blessing.
I've been going through a bit of a struggle with my photography recently. It all started when I went out to Aurora one Saturday to visit Jimi Allen.
To provide some background, I was planning on working for Jimi before I went off to Sweden last year. One night when I was in Sweden I was passing out sandwiches with the salvation army. I got into a lengthy, half-swedish half-english discussion with a drunk guy about life, the universe and everything. We got around to talking about why I was in Sweden, and I told him it was because I wanted to share Christ with people like him. He asked what I would have done if I hadn't come. I told him that I would have a job learning about and doing what I love; photography. He thought I was crazy.
I don't think I was crazy. Sweden was neccesary, and I learned so much there that will stick with me throughout the rest of my life and has made me who I am today. However, I found myself wondering from time to time what life would have been like if I hadn't gone.
This brings me back to Jimi. I came to Jimi because I wanted help with my business. I wanted to start building a client base in the city and I had no idea how. I came with a list of business related questions to ask him, expecting the appointment to be fairly straightforward. I got more than I bargained for.
Jimi ended up asking me most of the questions: "What do you see yourself doing in five years?" "What do you see yourself doing tomorrow?" "How is your Bible education going to help your photography?" "How can you combine your faith and your photography?" We spent about three hours talking in between his appointments with clients.
When we got the bottom of things, we had established one basic principle. Faith and photography shouldn't be separate for Christian photographers like Jimi and myself. Photography is the way we communicate with the world and one of the ways we convey God's glory to the people around us. Up until this point I had been struggling to think about why God had given me these two seemingly separate desires; to be a photographer and to serve him. These shouldn't be separate. In an age where the visual rules all, it is more important than ever that we glorify God in art and imagery. It is even more important that we affect people with our images. Images stir people to action; from what they buy, to what they wear, to what they do on the weekends. How much greater would it be if images inspired people to serve God?
You see, up until this point I had been taking a lot of pictures like this:
You see, I love images like this. I love the light. I love the lines. I love the way different compositional elements work together to create a strong image. However, when you get down to it, it's not really going to change anybody. It's lacks that power. It lacks significance.
The end result of my conversation with Jimi was that I sought to push myself harder to capture some significant moments. Ever since then, I've been wracking my brain, and trying to create a better image. It's taking time, but my eye excercises seem to be bearing some fruit. Take this example from a recent trip to millenium park:
Now this isn't Pulitzer prize winning photo by any stretch of the imagination, but it's an important step for me. It shows my view of how these people are interacting with the world, and in a way, it contains my feelings towards this interaction. I'm starting focus more on the people around me.
This got me started in another idea. I decided to start bringing my camera to the youth drop-in center I volunteer at. I wanted to produce some meaningful images that showed how the kids there interact with the world. It's going to take some time, but here is one of the firstfruits of this effort:
I don't like to talk about my photos very much, preferring that the viewer take as much out of it as he or she can, but I'm trying to make a point here. This photo is showing progress because this isn't the typical portrait of mine. It's not a high-school student dressed up in their best and ready to smile for the camera. This boy is so much more genuine than that. The first thing I noticed about him is that he didn't turn his face to the other side. He didn't try to hide his scar; he's not ashamed of it. His lip is also busted; he's probably been in a fight recently. His arms are crossed, which is a typical sign of toughness or defiance. However, this boy is probably 13 or so years old.
Okay, so these aren't huge accomplishments by any means, but I think that I'm growing. I'm thinking about things, and trying to impliment them. It's going to take some time, but as you can see, I'm pretty excited about what it means for me.
