The tale told by Plutarch is this: Themistocles strongly opposed the proposal of Eurybiades to quit the bay of Salamis. The hot-headed Spartan insultingly remarked that “those who in the public games rise up before the proper signal are scourged.” “True,” said Themistocles, “but those who lag behind win no laurels.” On this, Eurybiades lifted up his staff to strike him, when Themistocles earnestly but proudly exclaimed, “Strike, but hear me!”
The statistics are against churchgoing young adults in America. These "twenty-somethings" who are seeking to build community with each other and the church at large are having a difficult time.
Churches are struggling to provide ministries that meet the felt and real needs of these men and women; as a result, many of them have built their own communities outside of the church. The church must make an effort to reclaim this generation with and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This means providing opportunities to build real community for believers in the church, believers who have left the church to seek their own community, and those who are unsaved and need Christ.
At Village Seven, Catalyst was launched to provide a place for twenty-somethings to gather and fellowship, study God's word, and build real community together. As the staff member who oversees this growing community, I have been impressed with the dedication and passion of this group. The first study had 18 attending, and the numbers have stayed consistent in the last two months. I am excited to see how God will continue to draw His people together. Please pray for this young community and feel free to encourage twenty-singles you may know that are unconnected to give Catalyst a try.
Catalyst is currently studying Philippians. My prayer for this group echoes the Apostle Paul's in 1:6: "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
The picture for this post is taken from Neon Genesis Evangelion, a Japanese show about a young boy struggling with the hedgehog's dilemma (see below for details on this phenomenon). Shinji Ikari, a young teen, is the perfect candidate for psycho-analysis. He lost his mom at an early age, his father blames and despises him, and no one gives him the affirmation he desires. As a result, he fears getting too close to people to avoid being further injured and out of fear of injuring himself.
Without giving too much away, the series ends with Shinji acheiving self-actualization. The final two episodes of the series leave the action element of the show unresolved, while instead focusing on Shinji's consciousness. In a moment of triumph, he realizes that he is "loved," and his personal understanding of who he is sets him free.
Shinji's experience is nothing new. In fact, one needs only to flip through the channels, pop in a movie, read a few blogs, or read a book to see Shinji's struggle everywhere. People are hurting in a broken and painful world. You will also see the solution Shinji discovered all around you: Self-actualization. By realizing the full potential of you, accepting yourself and lacking prejudice, you can break-free of the problems plaguing you.
Regardless of your personal take on self-actualization (or defenition, as they vary), a Christian must look at culture's response to the hedgehog's dilemma and find it lacking. The ultimate answer is for man to save himself through himself. One blogger wrote "If you think (decide) you are unhappy, you’ll always be right. If you think (decide) you are happy, you’ll always be right." This is a hopeless task.
Ecclesiastes teaches this clearly. Man saving man is vanity, meaningless, chasing after the wind. Self-esteem is impossible to satisfy. Instead, Christians must find their joy and hope in Christ-esteem. Unless we are filled by the grace and peace of Jesus Christ, how can any of our problems truly be solved? Apart from the love and patience of a Father who will never abandon, a marriage that will never be broken, and a house that will always be filled with joy, how can man find satisfaction?
The hedgehog's dilemma, also called the porcupine's dilemma, has been used by psychologists to describe intimacy problems in humans. To put it simply, because we are like hedgehogs, with prickly spines, intimacy can only lead to pain. The closer we get, the more we poke each other. As a result, as much as you are I might crave a close reciprocal relationship, we must keep our distance to avoid pain.
While it can often take extreme cases like physical abuse for the dilemma to manifest itself in an obvious way, each of us have a tendency to avoid relationships because of the potential pain. If I invest in the lives of those around me, I will get hurt. This is the reality of the broken world in which we live. Even a spouse, best friend, or family member can cause us pain, whether it is intentional or not.
As Christians, we are called to pursue relationships whether they hurt or not. We are called to make disciples of all nations, to love our neighbor, and to serve the "least" of those among us. The hedgehog's dilemma can be very real and painful for some people, but it is no excuse for us. We recognize that God restores relationships and brings healing. We know the joy of the Lord is our strength. Therefore we should boldly develop relationships with friends, family and even strangers, speaking the truth in love.
I realize this is easier said than done, but one of the first steps must be identifying our "dilemmas" and crushing them with the truth of God's word so He can enable us to truly love our neighbors.
I was asked to write an article for the student paper at Colorado Springs Christian High School last year. Over the course of that school year, three of our students (Freshmen and Sophmores) lost a parent to cancer. The bracelets, pictured above, were made by me and the Bible study I lead to remember to pray for these families. Below is the article I wrote:
In 2004, the Lance Armstrong Foundation paired with Nike to produce the well-known “live strong” wristband. The band, symbolizing the fight against cancer, was instantly popular and inspired so many people there were bidding wars on EBay due to shortages. Even today, over four years later, these yellow wristbands are still found everywhere.
As I was thinking about these wristbands, I was struck by a strange thought. “What message are these wristbands sending?” Or, in other words, what worldview is represented by these two simple words? The answer is not difficult to find. The battle against cancer is, indeed, a fight. It is about clinging to life with every breath; instead of giving in, those struggling against impossible odds are to live life for all it’s worth before it is too late in hopes of attaining the greatest meaning possible.
In the meantime, money will be raised and research will be done to help prolong the lives of those with cancer. The goal is that one day cancer will be defeated and living strong will be even easier. As a result, human life will be extended and mankind will have conquered one more enemy.
While the battle against cancer is a worthy one and the idea of living strong is certainly not wrong, I have been wondering how the Christian worldview should fit with the idea of living strong. We are certainly called to run the race well, fight the good fight, and live passionate lives loving God and our neighbors while we are here on this earth. But there is something that should set us apart and give us a different perspective than others.
We have hope that cannot be understood apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While we are to live strong and use the opportunities God has given us, we are also to die well. We should be like the Apostle Paul, torn between living for Christ and yet yearning to be with Him (Phil 1:21-23). For us, death holds no sting (1 Cor. 15:55) but instead is our gain.
This is something most of us have been told over and over, but have never really stopped to meditate on. We have great promises from the one who cannot lie that this life, full of evil, sickness, sin and death, is not the end. Instead we look forward to eternity without pain, sorrow and suffering. This means that we should not only live strong but also be sure of what we believe.
Are we just playing make-believe or do we truly trust that God is good and true to His Word? Whether cancer is defeated or not, do you intend to die well, putting you hope in the one who saves? I do not know what this year will bring for each one of the students and faculty at CSCS, but I know that God is faithful and I pray each of you will rest in Him.
"It's a movie about divorce angst!" one of my good friends commented as we left the theater last night. "Existential divorce angst!" her husband added. And they were right.
When the previews finally ended and the movie began, I was extremely excited. My childhood nostalgia would be realized in spectacular Hollywood fashion; the reviews I had read had me pumped up. Unfortunately, they set me up for failure. While maintaining a likeness of the book, the spirit of a fun wild rumpus after an early-to-bed from mom lasted for less than thirty minutes in the film.
Instead, we were treated to a complex movie about the fragmented human psyche and the fragile, angst-ridden nature of a nine-year-old boy. I felt bad for the parents who brought young children to this PG affair: there were dark, scary moments that bordered on verbal and physical abuse, several swear words, and no real resolution. Ultimately, while Max comes to self-realization that his explosive (wild) emotions are problematic for his family, we never see him apologize or admit wrongdoing.
Nor do we see his imaginary monster-friends admit their faults. In the end, all that we feel good about is that Max did not end up dead in a gutter. The director, Spike Jonze, said he wanted a movie about an average nine-year-old. He was also told to make the story his own, personal and dangerous. By doing the latter, he neglected the former, making a movie undergraduate psychology students will have a field day with while nine-year-olds struggle to understand what is going on.
Disappointed, two-thumbs-down.
**Update: This is a quote from Brandon Fibbs, who reviewed the movie on his blog: "This is not a film for children. It’s not that the material is objectionable (it’s not) but the manner in which it unpacks its themes leads to a convoluted density and languid pace that will challenge many adult viewers, let alone kids. The film, which takes the classic book in some uncomfortable, melancholy new directions, fashions an emotional texture beguiling to most adults but likely bewildering to children."**
**Also note World Magazine's Review, which is similar to my own. Also note I posted first (just kidding)**
For those of you who didn't know, I am now finishing my fourth year at New Geneva Theological seminary. After this, I'll have 1.5 years to go. Language is almost finished, systematics winding down, and I still feel like I know too little. New Geneva has been a great school for me; God has clearly orchestrated everything from the order of classes I have taken to the people I sit with each semester. He has provided for me time and again and I am so grateful.
As I "race" towards the end of my studies, I try to find helps to get me through this with less damage to the finances. Recently, I applied for a seminary scholarship, where I may win some money to help me along. As I reflect on the end of seminary, which seems too far away and yet very near, I am most thankful for an incredible wife who has supported and loved me through each and every moment of study, test prep, complaining, and joy I have experienced. Thanks Nicole!
Sometimes I wonder whether it is wise or not to read some of the posts my former students have left in various places. Whether on Facebook notes, personal blogs, or forums, the younger generations are flocking to sites where people will listen to what they have to say. In fact, I am doing the same thing as I type! And yet, does this personal expression actually do anything productive or useful for them, those they debate or discuss with and culture in general? From what I have seen and read thus far, my answer would have to be "NO."
Let me start by saying I do not believe these medias are bad at all. In fact, I believe these "journal-like" avenues of communication allow people to better express themselves and communicate with each other. What I am conflicted over, however, is the content of these communications.
I am a presuppositionalist when it comes to logic. I enjoy evidential reasoning from time to time, but if you can cut to the chase and deal with the root of the issue philosophically, it saves a lot of time and energy. The main problem is, that many people do not know what they believe or why they believe it so they end up with a hodge-podge of mixed presuppositions that contradict each other. Unfortunately, these folks rant and rave about a great many things without ever stopping to smell the roots of their worldview. As a result, they just sound stupid.
Case in point: I was perusing some notes on Facebook written by former Christian school graduates who are now in college and think they understand debate and philosophy. One of them posted about their problem with a God who judges people unfairly, condemns them to hell unrighteously, and then points to open-mindedness as a potential solution. Shortly after this post, along comes our Christian evidentialist, who does the old 1...2...3...4 throw Bible verses and argue point-by-point over the sub-issues instead of getting to the heart of the matter. From then on, for about 5 days, canned arguments, dated back to high school days, with a bonus helping of ad hominem and a dose of Wikipedia links.
My stomach sank as a read on and I left not feeling as though I had read a good paper between two intelligent men, but rather a laughable attempt at playing grown-up by six or seven fools who all think they are right. The saddest bit to me is that several of the posters were fence-sitters, who randomly threw in Amens! when they were not even sure where they stood.
If I was in a less critical mood at the moment, I might have some constructive plan to help such people. Unfortunately, I just feel irritated and depressed, which is sad because I would rather be laughing at the antics of Miss Teen Usa South Carolina-esque people. Instead, I am saddened because I know them personally and I fear for where their logic leads!
Wait...strike that...I suppose I have already suggested an answer. These young men and women simply need to learn to deal with the issues that govern their logic then they might get somewhere. The only other problem is getting people to see this...
Catalyst Defies Statistics!
