http://mcpcrossroads.com/blogs.cfm Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:41:26 GMT http://bandzoogle.com http://mcpcrossroads.com/blogs.cfm?feature=486155&postid=150408 This past Monday was my day off. When the weather does not permit golf, I very often spend much of these breaks reading. One of the books I’m currently working my way through is Edward Rutherford’s, London. This historical novel covers several millennia, so it is not what you would call a quick read. In two hours of reading, I can barely notice sign of my progress by the movement of the bookmark. On the same Monday, I took three of my children plus my newly acquired son-in-law out to the movies. We decided to see Avatar, James Cameron’s high-tech offering about humans encountering a new and enchanting world, appropriately named Pandora. The newly discovered planet’s name should give us some clue of the ominous danger waiting to unfold. But as usual, humans demonstrate their persistently naïve sense of dominion, setting up all the necessary conflict any one movie can process in a little over than two hours. Thus nicely juxtaposed were these two encounters of narrative escape, one in the traditional form of slowly reading printed words on a page and the other sitting riveted to my seat wearing 3-D glasses. What these two experiences had in common were that they focused upon fictional stories. What separated them is nearly beyond enumeration. Watching Avatar was something approaching entering into an entirely different sense of reality. Reading a good novel also invites you into an alternative reality, but in an entirely different way. As you read, you become a partner with the author. Your imagination fills in the blanks and fleshes out the particulars. You have no such participation in a movie as engulfing as Avatar. You must passively suspend disbelief and the active engagement of your own imagination. You are simply going along for the ride, albeit a really exciting one. Will reading printed words on a page become an antiquated hobby one day? I certainly hope not. I take some pride in the fact that all four of my twenty-something offspring are avid readers. But even I read less and less via old media. While I continue to read the daily newspaper cover to cover, I do so on a document reader, not on printed page. I’ve tried reading books on my document reader, but I still enjoy the experience of holding an actual book in my hands and turning the pages. Nevertheless, I’m changing and I’m wondering if all this new technology is changing me. By the way, I have the Bible on my document reader, but I must confess that I do not open it any more often than any of the other Bibles that occupy my bookshelves. Here is where I wanted to say something about the one unchanging truth in all of this. Humans are creatures drawn to story. We like stories – both the hearing and the telling of them. Where there are humans, there will always be stories in one form or another. The fact that God chose to use story to reach out to us somehow feels right…appropriate. We sit up and pay attention whenever a story begins. Thus, we pay attention to God starts one. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life [John 3:16, NRSV]. So the story begins. We are invited to enter into the story. And God’s story becomes our story. London. This historical novel covers several millennia, so it is not what you would call a quick read. In two hours of reading, I can barely notice sign of my progress by the movement of the bookmark.

On the same Monday, I took three of my children plus my newly acquired son-in-law out to the movies. We decided to see Avatar, James Cameron’s high-tech offering about humans encountering a new and enchanting world, appropriately named Pandora. The newly discovered planet’s name should give us some clue of the ominous danger waiting to unfold. But as usual, humans demonstrate their persistently naïve sense of dominion, setting up all the necessary conflict any one movie can process in a little over than two hours.

Thus nicely juxtaposed were these two encounters of narrative escape, one in the traditional form of slowly reading printed words on a page and the other sitting riveted to my seat wearing 3-D glasses. What these two experiences had in common were that they focused upon fictional stories. What separated them is nearly beyond enumeration. Watching Avatar was something approaching entering into an entirely different sense of reality.

Reading a good novel also invites you into an alternative reality, but in an entirely different way. As you read, you become a partner with the author. Your imagination fills in the blanks and fleshes out the particulars. You have no such participation in a movie as engulfing as Avatar. You must passively suspend disbelief and the active engagement of your own imagination. You are simply going along for the ride, albeit a really exciting one.

Will reading printed words on a page become an antiquated hobby one day? I certainly hope not. I take some pride in the fact that all four of my twenty-something offspring are avid readers. But even I read less and less via old media. While I continue to read the daily newspaper cover to cover, I do so on a document reader, not on printed page. I’ve tried reading books on my document reader, but I still enjoy the experience of holding an actual book in my hands and turning the pages. Nevertheless, I’m changing and I’m wondering if all this new technology is changing me. By the way, I have the Bible on my document reader, but I must confess that I do not open it any more often than any of the other Bibles that occupy my bookshelves.

Here is where I wanted to say something about the one unchanging truth in all of this. Humans are creatures drawn to story. We like stories – both the hearing and the telling of them. Where there are humans, there will always be stories in one form or another. The fact that God chose to use story to reach out to us somehow feels right…appropriate. We sit up and pay attention whenever a story begins. Thus, we pay attention to God starts one.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life [John 3:16, NRSV]. So the story begins. We are invited to enter into the story. And God’s story becomes our story.
]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:41:26 GMT 05582F41627929216D7129724511293B http://mcpcrossroads.com/blogs.cfm?feature=486155&postid=143172 On Wednesday, reports of an impending “snow event” for Saturday brought forth a few humorous comments at a meeting of fellow clergy. Why can’t God make it snow sometime other than on the weekend? We wondered together how much snow there would be and whether or not it would effect Sunday attendance. By Thursday night at choir practice, we discussed contingency plans. Debra told choir members not to take any chances. If it wasn’t safe to get out, stay at home. We’d sing something familiar and save our well-rehearsed anthems for some other Sunday – perhaps the Sunday after Christmas. One of the planned anthems was to be the men’s chorus singing, Jesus, What a Wonderful Child. Was that a sigh of relief coming from the back row? During the day on Friday, I wondered if I even needed to finish working on my sermon for Sunday. Procrastinating, I posed the question on Facebook. One clergy colleague responded that it was like expecting snow when we were younger. If you did your homework, it would snow. But if you didn’t do your homework, the snow would likely not materialize. Another responded, “If you prepare a weak sermon, it will only snow a little and the bishop will show up at your church.” I began thinking about my sermon for Christmas Eve. By Saturday the speculation on Facebook about who would be the first to cancel Sunday services began around mid-morning. Most of you know how reluctant I am to even consider such an action. But the snow was by now accumulating at the amazing rate of two inches per hour. I trudged over to the church where a mere ten faithful members of the Hispanic SDA church had gathered. By three o’clock I was ready to cry, “Uncle!” We would cancel both the 8:15 and 9:30 services. Those who were able, however, could gather at 10:00 a.m. for a brief service of prayer and carol singing. With that reluctant decision made, I settled down to watch my beloved Blue Devils easily handle 15th ranked Gonzaga. When the snow plow pulled into the church parking lot near mid-night, I was able to fall peacefully to sleep with visions of clear pavement dancing in my head. The sun’s early morning rays on the gleaming snow is wonderfully beautiful. I’m sure that you don’t need for me to tell you this. You’ve seen it for yourself. Times such as this remind us that God is in control. While we may persist with the fallacy that we run the show, God delights in gently reminding us otherwise from time to time. In the end, there is no better way for us to live than under God’s tender care. And my sermon for this Fourth Sunday of Advent? Two expectant mothers comparing notes about pregnancy in Luke 1:39-55. The story of the birth of Jesus doesn’t begin with shepherds and wise men. It begins with the expectancy of a coming birth – not with men crowding around to see a baby, but with women becoming aware that something unique and amazing was about to take place. Elizabeth feels the sign as her baby gives her a good hard kick. Mary rejoices in God’s favor and announces the theme of the unfolding of the coming kingdom: “God has brought down the proud in the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. That sounds like very good news to me. Enjoy the snow. Hope to see you on Christmas Eve.


By Thursday night at choir practice, we discussed contingency plans. Debra told choir members not to take any chances. If it wasn’t safe to get out, stay at home. We’d sing something familiar and save our well-rehearsed anthems for some other Sunday – perhaps the Sunday after Christmas. One of the planned anthems was to be the men’s chorus singing, Jesus, What a Wonderful Child. Was that a sigh of relief coming from the back row?



During the day on Friday, I wondered if I even needed to finish working on my sermon for Sunday. Procrastinating, I posed the question on Facebook. One clergy colleague responded that it was like expecting snow when we were younger. If you did your homework, it would snow. But if you didn’t do your homework, the snow would likely not materialize. Another responded, “If you prepare a weak sermon, it will only snow a little and the bishop will show up at your church.” I began thinking about my sermon for Christmas Eve.



By Saturday the speculation on Facebook about who would be the first to cancel Sunday services began around mid-morning. Most of you know how reluctant I am to even consider such an action. But the snow was by now accumulating at the amazing rate of two inches per hour. I trudged over to the church where a mere ten faithful members of the Hispanic SDA church had gathered. By three o’clock I was ready to cry, “Uncle!” We would cancel both the 8:15 and 9:30 services. Those who were able, however, could gather at 10:00 a.m. for a brief service of prayer and carol singing. With that reluctant decision made, I settled down to watch my beloved Blue Devils easily handle 15th ranked Gonzaga. When the snow plow pulled into the church parking lot near mid-night, I was able to fall peacefully to sleep with visions of clear pavement dancing in my head.



The sun’s early morning rays on the gleaming snow is wonderfully beautiful. I’m sure that you don’t need for me to tell you this. You’ve seen it for yourself. Times such as this remind us that God is in control. While we may persist with the fallacy that we run the show, God delights in gently reminding us otherwise from time to time. In the end, there is no better way for us to live than under God’s tender care.



And my sermon for this Fourth Sunday of Advent? Two expectant mothers comparing notes about pregnancy in Luke 1:39-55. The story of the birth of Jesus doesn’t begin with shepherds and wise men. It begins with the expectancy of a coming birth – not with men crowding around to see a baby, but with women becoming aware that something unique and amazing was about to take place. Elizabeth feels the sign as her baby gives her a good hard kick. Mary rejoices in God’s favor and announces the theme of the unfolding of the coming kingdom: “God has brought down the proud in the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.



That sounds like very good news to me. Enjoy the snow.



Hope to see you on Christmas Eve.

]]> Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:33:57 GMT 792FBA230EDC62445008BC99CE53C54E http://mcpcrossroads.com/blogs.cfm?feature=486155&postid=136923 Spending this Christmas or Spending it Well The following is a post by Michael Craven which I thought was insightful and might be of interest:  The Christmas season is once again upon us and with it, overwhelming encouragement from Madison Avenue to spend what we have not earned to buy what we cannot afford. The day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," indicating the period in which retailers are in the black (or at least hope to be) signaled the start of the "holiday shopping season." That phrase in and of itself reveals the commercialized emphasis that has unfortunately come to define Christmas for many Americans. The thrust of this consumerist message is that the holiday is best enjoyed or most fully realized through the acquisition of "things." Advertisements bombard you with images of bountiful Christmas scenes where beautiful packages surround the tree, filling the room and "happiness" is realized upon the receipt of this or that consumer product. Credit card issuers alone (those most interested in seeing you spend what you don't have) spend more than $150 million on holiday advertising and promotions. Evidence that these messages work is found in the fact that, according to financial advisor, Dave Ramsey "Over 50% of Christmas shoppers will spend well over what they planned to and will go further into debt." As to the severity of this debt, Ramsey points out that "more than $70 billion, over half of what was charged last year, ended up as revolving debt and the interest on last year's gifts are still being paid today." On average, "two-thirds (65%) of shoppers overspent their budget by $100-$500 and 75% overspent by $50 - $100." Of course this consumerist philosophy, rooted in the notion that making more money, enabling you to buy more things, will necessarily result in greater life satisfaction and happiness, is a pervasive message year-round in America. Recent studies show that most Americans believe they would be "perfectly happy" with just 20 percent more income. And according to Boston College sociologist Juliet Schor's 1998 bestseller The Overspent American, "one-quarter of Americans making $100,000 believe they don't have enough cash. (In 2008, the U.S. median income was $50,303.) However, the evidence demonstrates that "once a society's basic needs—food, shelter, employment—are satisfied, the accumulation of greater and greater wealth does not generate greater collective or personal happiness over the long run." This is known as the Easterlin Paradox, named for renowned economist and USC professor, Richard Easterlin. In the early seventies "Easterlin sifted through numerous surveys asking Americans how happy they were. The explosion in wealth created by the postwar boom had not made a dent, he discovered. Although the average family was 60 percent richer in 1974, levels of contentment remained unchanged from 1945." (USC Trojan Family Magazine) These findings "flew in the face of the assumption held by most economists and politicians that populations get happier as national wealth increases." According to the article "today, no one disputes the truth of the Easterlin Paradox." The United States is far richer in 2009 than it was 1974 and yet our levels of life satisfaction and personal contentment haven't improved one iota. In fact, every measurement of personal well being—psychological, emotional, and spiritual—demonstrates that despite our increased abundance we are less satisfied and more depressed than ever. A joint study recently conducted by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School revealed that the U.S. has the highest rate of depression among a survey group of 14 countries. Conversely the poorest nations reported the lowest levels of depression. Researchers suggest that this may be due to differing expectations. Precisely! Americans—saturated with consumerism—have been conditioned to expect that happiness and satisfaction naturally flow from prosperity and the acquisition of things. That is the whole point of consumer advertising: to make you discontent with what you have by offering the expectation of an improved life through the purchase of the latest product—an expectation that very quickly evaporates after we have purchased said product. Of course, consciously we know this promise is ridiculous, however, subconsciously we frequently find ourselves seduced by the lords of consumerism into believing this silliest of propositions. As Easterlin has confirmed, as we acquire possessions, our aspirations rise in proportion to the gains, leaving us no happier than before. Indeed the more we earn the more we want! This misguided expectation sets us up for perpetual disappointment because as the evidence demonstrates, prosperity always fails as a source of lasting contentment and life satisfaction. The first remedy is to simply recognize the false and frankly illogical "gospel" offered by consumerism. This in and of itself offers some degree of immunity from the insidious and seductive voice of consumerism. Secondly, from a purely financial perspective Dave Ramsey offers some practical advice relative to Christmas: • Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for and put a dollar amount by every name. Total it at the bottom. This is your Christmas budget. The people in the mall have a plan to get your money - get a game plan for your shopping so you can keep some money. There is no excuse for financing Christmas. • PAY CASH - put the total from your budget in an envelope and when the cash is gone, stop spending. This will help keep you on budget because if you overspend on Aunt Sue, Uncle Harry won't get a gift. • 69% of Americans bought a gift for themselves last year. DON'T BUY YOURSELF A GIFT! This is the season to give not to receive…from yourself. If you find yourself swept up in the rush of consumerism, stop! Remember that Christmas is about God's gracious and abundant gifts to humanity; the gift of life, family and friends, good food, music, worship; the virtues of peace, charity and mercy, and the greatest of all: His Son, Jesus. Savor these things. Ponder the truth so beautifully expressed in the words of my favorite Christmas carol: Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." Christmas reminds us that we who were without hope, weary and discontent, slaves to sin and sorrow now have real and present hope. We can be saved from this dreadful condition and finally discover satisfaction and contentment not because we received the latest iPhone but because "God so loved the word that he sent His only begotten Son!" We can be reconciled with God! So this Christmas let us not be swept away by the illusory claims of consumerism; instead, let us revel in God's gracious gifts, to drink deeply the wonder of relationships and life and every moment of this season—these will leave you truly satisfied and debt free! © 2009 by S. Michael Craven  Michael Craven is the President of the Center for Christ & Culture and the author of Uncompromised Faith: Overcoming Our Culturalized Christianity (Navpress, 2009). Michael's ministry is dedicated to equipping the church to engage the culture with the redemptive mission of Christ. For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture and the teaching ministry of S. Michael Craven, visit: www.battlefortruth.org * Spending this Christmas or Spending it Well

The following is a post by Michael Craven which I thought was insightful and might be of interest: 

The Christmas season is once again upon us and with it, overwhelming encouragement from Madison Avenue to spend what we have not earned to buy what we cannot afford. The day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," indicating the period in which retailers are in the black (or at least hope to be) signaled the start of the "holiday shopping season." That phrase in and of itself reveals the commercialized emphasis that has unfortunately come to define Christmas for many Americans. The thrust of this consumerist message is that the holiday is best enjoyed or most fully realized through the acquisition of "things." Advertisements bombard you with images of bountiful Christmas scenes where beautiful packages surround the tree, filling the room and "happiness" is realized upon the receipt of this or that consumer product. Credit card issuers alone (those most interested in seeing you spend what you don't have) spend more than $150 million on holiday advertising and promotions. Evidence that these messages work is found in the fact that, according to financial advisor, Dave Ramsey "Over 50% of Christmas shoppers will spend well over what they planned to and will go further into debt." As to the severity of this debt, Ramsey points out that "more than $70 billion, over half of what was charged last year, ended up as revolving debt and the interest on last year's gifts are still being paid today." On average, "two-thirds (65%) of shoppers overspent their budget by $100-$500 and 75% overspent by $50 - $100." Of course this consumerist philosophy, rooted in the notion that making more money, enabling you to buy more things, will necessarily result in greater life satisfaction and happiness, is a pervasive message year-round in America. Recent studies show that most Americans believe they would be "perfectly happy" with just 20 percent more income. And according to Boston College sociologist Juliet Schor's 1998 bestseller The Overspent American, "one-quarter of Americans making $100,000 believe they don't have enough cash. (In 2008, the U.S. median income was $50,303.) However, the evidence demonstrates that "once a society's basic needs—food, shelter, employment—are satisfied, the accumulation of greater and greater wealth does not generate greater collective or personal happiness over the long run." This is known as the Easterlin Paradox, named for renowned economist and USC professor, Richard Easterlin. In the early seventies "Easterlin sifted through numerous surveys asking Americans how happy they were. The explosion in wealth created by the postwar boom had not made a dent, he discovered. Although the average family was 60 percent richer in 1974, levels of contentment remained unchanged from 1945." (USC Trojan Family Magazine)

These findings "flew in the face of the assumption held by most economists and politicians that populations get happier as national wealth increases." According to the article "today, no one disputes the truth of the Easterlin Paradox." The United States is far richer in 2009 than it was 1974 and yet our levels of life satisfaction and personal contentment haven't improved one iota. In fact, every measurement of personal well being—psychological, emotional, and spiritual—demonstrates that despite our increased abundance we are less satisfied and more depressed than ever. A joint study recently conducted by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School revealed that the U.S. has the highest rate of depression among a survey group of 14 countries. Conversely the poorest nations reported the lowest levels of depression. Researchers suggest that this may be due to differing expectations. Precisely! Americans—saturated with consumerism—have been conditioned to expect that happiness and satisfaction naturally flow from prosperity and the acquisition of things. That is the whole point of consumer advertising: to make you discontent with what you have by offering the expectation of an improved life through the purchase of the latest product—an expectation that very quickly evaporates after we have purchased said product.

Of course, consciously we know this promise is ridiculous, however, subconsciously we frequently find ourselves seduced by the lords of consumerism into believing this silliest of propositions. As Easterlin has confirmed, as we acquire possessions, our aspirations rise in proportion to the gains, leaving us no happier than before. Indeed the more we earn the more we want! This misguided expectation sets us up for perpetual disappointment because as the evidence demonstrates, prosperity always fails as a source of lasting contentment and life satisfaction. The first remedy is to simply recognize the false and frankly illogical "gospel" offered by consumerism. This in and of itself offers some degree of immunity from the insidious and seductive voice of consumerism. Secondly, from a purely financial perspective Dave Ramsey offers some practical advice relative to Christmas: • Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for and put a dollar amount by every name. Total it at the bottom. This is your Christmas budget. The people in the mall have a plan to get your money - get a game plan for your shopping so you can keep some money. There is no excuse for financing Christmas. • PAY CASH - put the total from your budget in an envelope and when the cash is gone, stop spending. This will help keep you on budget because if you overspend on Aunt Sue, Uncle Harry won't get a gift. • 69% of Americans bought a gift for themselves last year. DON'T BUY YOURSELF A GIFT! This is the season to give not to receive…from yourself. If you find yourself swept up in the rush of consumerism, stop! Remember that Christmas is about God's gracious and abundant gifts to humanity; the gift of life, family and friends, good food, music, worship; the virtues of peace, charity and mercy, and the greatest of all: His Son, Jesus. Savor these things. Ponder the truth so beautifully expressed in the words of my favorite Christmas carol: Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." Christmas reminds us that we who were without hope, weary and discontent, slaves to sin and sorrow now have real and present hope. We can be saved from this dreadful condition and finally discover satisfaction and contentment not because we received the latest iPhone but because "God so loved the word that he sent His only begotten Son!" We can be reconciled with God! So this Christmas let us not be swept away by the illusory claims of consumerism; instead, let us revel in God's gracious gifts, to drink deeply the wonder of relationships and life and every moment of this season—these will leave you truly satisfied and debt free!

© 2009 by S. Michael Craven  Michael Craven is the President of the Center for Christ & Culture and the author of Uncompromised Faith: Overcoming Our Culturalized Christianity (Navpress, 2009). Michael's ministry is dedicated to equipping the church to engage the culture with the redemptive mission of Christ.

For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture and the teaching ministry of S. Michael Craven, visit: www.battlefortruth.org *
]]> Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:30:00 GMT 2F73C4D8AF766E3DCDDCA26A5B6D12FD http://mcpcrossroads.com/blogs.cfm?feature=486155&postid=30775 This is where our pastors or staff can ponder everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, for public consumption. We can easily record a podcast, or upload an audio recording of the CrossRoads Worship Gathering each week. You may leave comments, listen to the audio files or put them on your iPod, click on links embedded in the blog, etc. You may also click on the orange RSS buttom to add the blog to your current "feeds" on your computer.    :) This is where our pastors or staff can ponder everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, for public consumption. We can easily record a podcast, or upload an audio recording of the CrossRoads Worship Gathering each week. You may leave comments, listen to the audio files or put them on your iPod, click on links embedded in the blog, etc. You may also click on the orange RSS buttom to add the blog to your current "feeds" on your computer.    :)]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:15:00 GMT 811E2FFEB41DDB5C4768BF653536D3A4