sixthgen
pastoral publishing in the 21st century
pastoral publishing in the 21st century
 This art is by Anna Henkens, Christmas 2023 You set up the cute nativity scene. A smiley baby. Cuddly animals. Shiny porcelain. Innocent characters lined up neatly in their place. Maybe it’s under your fancy tree. Or in the window sill with cotton balls around it like snow. It’s a perfect little scene.
But you know that’s not how it really was. There were real problems. Caesar trying to keep the empire’s economy going by calling a census and preparing for tax season. Judea was under Roman occupation. There was Herod, a regional king and a tyrant, a pathological liar. Ruthless and willing to crush any rival even if it meant killing a town’s entire population of baby boys. There were real problems. I admit that sometimes my Christmas celebration feels like a Nativity scene. Nice, but mostly untrue. Nostalgic and sentimental, all while there are real problems. Every year we reenact customs and rituals like we’re reenacting a Hallmark movie. Why? I think it makes us feel safe. Our traditions give us some stability in a chaotic world of real problems.  A teenager asked me, “Would you ever use Chat GPT to write a sermon?” The controversy around AI generated papers and essays is vigorous. But I hadn’t given much thought to using artificial intelligence to write a sermon.
I must admit I’ve never used Chat GPT. But here’s why I won’t use it for sermons.  You go to a mechanic to look over your car.
You go to a financial advisor to review your retirement plan. You go to a doctor to examine your health - blood work and scans. But what about your soul? Do you ever examine your spirit? For Christians, Lent is an annual soul examination. I thought about how odd this is while watching a Serta mattress commercial. They promise that their beds will improve “physical and emotional health.” We hear a lot about health in the body or mind. But what about the soul? We have millions of remedies for physical maladies - nutrition, drugs, treatments, surgeries, and mattresses for good sleep. We have ways to address mental health - counseling, therapy, rest, social connection, pills. Few address the spiritual reality of being human. The Bible has words to describe the core of who we are. Soul. Heart. Spirit. Their meaning overlaps with one another, although they all refer to an inner, hidden reality.  Not long ago, I had a week where I did four funerals. I said, “God, that’s enough. I’m done with death. I’m ready for Easter.” After a long Lent - and a long two years - we need some levity and laughter. So I have a book of Dad jokes . . .
Why can't a T Rex clap its hands? It's extinct. To whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find you. You have my Word. Last night, my wife and I watched three movies back to back. Luckily, I was the one facing the TV. We just celebrated Easter. Why is it a big deal? Because something funny happened. Resurrection is a form of God's laughter in the face of evil.  The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill is captivating the Christian podcast world. It chronicles the ministry of Pastor Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Mars Hill’s explosive growth sparked one of the largest church planting movements in American history. Driscoll was a voice for a new generation of church leaders at the turn of the millennium.
The podcast uncovers all the issues under the energy of the movement. Money, celebrity, scandal, and power. Driscoll’s stated goal was a church of 50,000 people and a media platform reaching millions. He was (and is) a brash, controversial personality. In 2014 he left the church under a myriad of accusations from abusive behavior to plagiarism. Mars Hill dissolved shortly after. The church is not immunized against the lust for celebrity. We prize the platform. “Build a brand. Get noticed. Reach the masses.” We all want to be admired, to be liked, to be someone.  My counselor is “retired.” He is the former director of his counseling agency, but maintains a part time caseload of clients. Last week he told me, “I have never been busier in my whole career. And I’m retired!”
He shared how unique this present moment is. “No one alive has been through this before. In my career I witnessed Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement, 9/11, and the 2008 economic crash. But this is different. I’ve never seen as much anxiety in nearly 50 years of work.”  Sometimes ministry is like firing a cannon. You stand at a distance, choose targets, and fire strategic shots. But sometimes, ministry is like a knife fight in a crowd. Things get serious. There is a continuous onslaught of threats and challenges that require physical, emotional, and spiritual energy. It’s hand-to-hand combat.
 Lifeway Research conducted a national poll on belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and published the results last week. They found that 66% of U.S. adults agree that Jesus physically rose from the dead. This is twice the number of Americans who attend church on a weekly basis. So what does this mean?
 Something Jesus said puzzled me. From the cross, he gave John to take care of his widowed mother, Mary. "Woman, behold, your son . . . behold, your mother" (John 19:26-27). Here's the mystery: Why didn’t Jesus call on his biological siblings to take care of Mom? This was the conventional custom. As the oldest son, Jesus bore the responsibility to care for his mother. Upon his death, his siblings ought to have taken that role. He did have other siblings. We know of his brother James who became a leader in the early church. Why couldn’t James take care of Mary?
 On Wednesday, January 6th, 2021, I saw a flag charging the Capital steps. It had two names on it. The name of our Savior and the name of our president. I was angry. Not for political reasons, but for theological reasons. Why?
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