Category Archives: Rants
when you pastor a nightclub
OK, I don’t actually pastor a nightclub, but sometimes it feels that way. Maybe I should explain…
Discovery Church is just 10 months old. We’re a baby church. I’m new to the role of Lead Pastor. I’ve learned more about leadership this year than any of my previous 30. It’s been a wonderful, rewarding year. With that said, let me be honest about one of the weirdest aspects of planting a church like Discovery: Atheists and Agnostics like me/us much more than many of my conservative Christian fundamentalist brothers and sisters.
That seems like an outlandish hyperbole, right? In the last year we have seen faithful attendance from various Agnostics. I’ve had dinner and coffee with them. Atheists have written me to say they appreciate what our church does for the community. One Agnostic friend from another state wrote me this year and said he would regularly attend on Sundays to hear my sermons. He doesn’t buy what I say about Jesus, but he likes the message and practical application enough. Of course I’m sure not every Atheist/Agnostic feels this way, but that is the interaction I’ve had with them over the last year.
On the other hand my more conservative, “fundamental” Christian friends have had the exact opposite reaction. As a matter of fact, it would seem I pastor a nightclub. “Brad, I’d love to visit Discovery, but I’m not allowed too.” I’ve pretty much lost count how many times I’ve heard that one. One high school student had to beg their Christian parents to see their friend get baptized at Discovery. Just this past Sunday a young woman in tears said to me she loves coming to our church, but that it caused her a great deal of conflict with her Christian family and she is torn with whether she should continue to come. Her family is convinced she’s being taught a false gospel because I don’t preach from the King James Version. I’ll leave some of the other backlash out. It’s important to note here that not all of my fundamentalist friends have responded this way – some have been very encouraging and gracious, and not mean spirited.
So why have some acted as if Discovery Church and other churches similar to it are like nightclubs or other worldly places ‘good Christians’ avoid?
I would totally understand it if we soft sold the Gospel, weakened who Jesus was, viewed the Bible as just a nice piece of ancient literature, or embraced sinful lifestyles. But we don’t do any of those things. Watch our Beautiful Collision, or Captured by Grace sermon series and if you come away with those conclusions then you might fit in well at a Westboro Baptist Church protest.
So what is the issue? The issue is almost always in the HOW.
Not what I preach, but HOW (usually in jeans)
Not if we sing hymns, but HOW (with electric guitar and drums)
Not if we love and believe the Bible, but HOW (we don’t exclusively use the King James Version)
Not if we have church, but HOW (We meet on Sunday mornings, but not evenings. We meet for small groups in homes, not in classrooms for Sunday School)
HOW we do WHAT we do always creates the tension with some in the christian community. We’re OK with that because of WHO we do it for. We do it for those lost and in need of salvation from their sins. And we do it for those burnt by previous experiences with the church. If that brings criticism, that’s OK, I don’t lose sleep over it. I do hurt for those Christians who get caught in the crossfire.
So let me offer these pointed thoughts. You’re a fool if you are critical of other churches and pastors for doing church ministry differently than you would prefer it be done. If you criticize a church for using ‘contemporary’ Christian music (I hate those terms) instead of hymns, you are a fool. If you criticize churches for using the organ and singing hymns instead of being cool and hip like your church, you are a fool. If you use your church sign to let everyone know you use the KJV and still have night church unlike those weak watered down churches, you are a fool. If you scoff at pastors who still wear suits and not True Religion jeans, you are a fool. And there is a lot of foolishness out there.
The HOW is important because we should try to be as effective as we can in reaching people, making disciples, meeting the needs of the poor, sending missionaries to the nations etc. Discussion about discernment in the methods we use is absolutely helpful and necessary, but pot shots and back biting have no place in the kingdom. The HOW should never be the focus. The focus should be the WHAT. The WHAT is the GOSPEL. It’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ that matters.
Just to be clear it is the Gospel that is critical, not my jeans or your suit.
- Brad
Ugly Arrogance
For most of the casual readers here at www.bradraby.com this post will be of little benefit to you, so I apologize.
There has been some fireworks exploding in the last couple of weeks with the news that Rick Warren has been invited to speak at John Piper’s Desiring God Conference. Most of the contention has risen from what I call the “Angry Calvinists”. It seems that if you do not agree with them in all the fine points of Reformed Theology, not only will they disagree with you, but they will do so with the childish fits that my 1 year old throws when I won’t let her play in the toilet.
It is a disgrace to Christianity. It is more ammunition for my skeptic and atheist friends to shun Christianity. It is immature. It is silly. It is quite frankly annoying. Above all it is obnoxiously arrogant.
John Piper can have whoever he wants at his Desiring God Conference. If I don’t like the line-up I don’t have to attend. He’s not my elected official who is supposed to represent my values and voice. For people to call on Piper to dis-invite Warren because the have theological and methodological disagreement with him is ridiculous. Furthermore, for a ‘camp’ of theologians supposedly noted for their precise study of scripture and doctrine, they sure take all the fables told of Rick Warren’s theology etc. and swallow them whole without even a discerning look-over.
Kudos to Piper to stick by his decision. It’s time for Driscoll, Chandler, Piper and the other advocates of New Calvinism and Reformed Theology to call on their followers to mature in their faith and quit being so angry all the time. It’s just ugly.
Here’s John Piper’s defense of having Warren.
Here is a Monday kick in the pants
On Monday my Twitter and Facebook news feeds fill up with “It’s Monday…crap say it ain’t Monday…go away Monday etc.” Friday fills up with celebratory tweets and Facebook updates “TGIF! etc”
Many of you probably can sum up your feeling toward Monday with the following line: “I don’t feel like it.” So let me bring a kick-start to your week from Seth Godin’s blog:
I don’t feel like it
What’s it?
Why do you need to feel like something in order to do the work? They call it work because it’s difficult, not because it’s something you need to feel like.
Very few people wake up in the morning and feel like taking big risks or feel like digging deep for something that has eluded them. People don’t usually feel like pushing themselves harder than they’ve pushed before or having conversations that might be uncomfortable.
Of course, your feelings are irrelevant to whether or not the market expects great work. Do the work. Ignore the feelings part and the work will follow.
# #
So dig deep, press on, and do something worthwhile today. Be extraordinary at your job, class, task, to your spouse, your children.
- Brad
"Rightly Dividing the Truth"
Super Bowl Redux
Note: I intended to write this peace yesterday, but with Colts loss (I’m a huge fan) I needed a day to get over the loss to the Saints.
My 10 thoughts from Sunday’s Big Game.
10.) 106 million people watched the Super Bowl. 1/3 of our population watched the Super Bowl! It was the largest TV audience ever, breaking the record of the last M*A*S*H episode. This is remarkable in this day of endless viewing options.
Now, if the NFL owners and players screw up what they have going in their CBA negotiations and have a lockout of any kind – they would be the biggest fools on earth. The money pie is huge…8 Billion dollars huge! You can figure out a way for everyone to get a nice slice.
9.) I hated the Colts losing. Hated it. But if they were going to lose to a team in the NFL – I’m cool with it being the Saints. Drew Brees is a good dude. Despite the disappointment I felt after the game, seeing Drew holding his cute little boy after the game while his eyes filled with tears…that was special.
8.) Seriously, how long will we have to pay for Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”? I don’t have anything against The Who, but we need a more relevant halftime experience. The only thing that held that act together was an amazing stage production. That was wow. Here are some safe, but relevant suggestions for next year: 1) a country collage of Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood. 2) Kings of Leon, Coldplay or Maroon 5. 3) U2. OR, put these guys on a 7 second delay: 1) Jay Z and Rihanna. 2) The Black Eyed Peas.
7.) The biggest play of the game form a football perspective was not the interception, the onside kick, but Pierre Garcon’s drop in the second quarter. Manning hit Pierre in the hands around the 50 yard line, with about 25 more yards of running room. The Colts are almost guaranteed to score again, which would have eliminated one of the Saints possessions. Colts would have had a two possession lead, and I believe won the game.
6.) Peyton Manning is the most unjustly scrutinized player in sports. Maybe in sports history. He throws for 333 yds, and TD and a INT that people with real football knowledge know was on Reggie Wayne’s unusual break to the ball – and somehow we are back to the Peyton can’t win when the big game is on the line. I won’t defend him long, because I’m admittedly partial, but give me a break.
5.) My Favorite Super Bowl Ads:
1.) The Doritos “Play Nice” (The little boy putting smack down on his mommas date.
2.) Lebron vs. Dwight vs. Larry Bird
3.) Betty White Snickers Bar
4.) Leno, Oprah, Letterman
5.) Jim Nance, FLOW TV Spineless man
6.) E-trade Jealous Baby Girlfriend
7.) Audi Green Police
4.) My Least Favorite Super Bowl Ads:
1.) Career Builder – Casual Day. Still have a little vomit in my mouth over that.
2.) Go Daddy Ads – How many miles of slutiness can they get out of these?
3.) Monster.com – Gopher/Beaver, Whatever it was it was weird and made no sense.
4.) Coke Sleep walking – Yawn.
5.) Charles Barkley/Taco Bell – yeah, Barkley needs a super size combo meal.
6.) Audi Green Police (Yeah, I know it’s on both lists. If the Green Police weren’t intended to be satirical, then I didn’t like it.)
3.) Speaking of commercials. The Pam/Tim Tebow commercial. You know the one that got the NOW (National Organization of you better think like we do or you’re not a real Woman group) and other feminist groups all stirred up into a tizzy? Here is what I think: The groups that were crying that this ad was offensive and demeaning to women. The groups calling for CBS to pull the ad – These groups should be embarrassed of themselves. I don’t mean a little flush in the cheeks embarrassed, I mean head in the sand, go on vacation for a month, profusely apologetic type of embarrassed at themselves for creating a firestorm over this ad. I emphasized should for a reason.
Terry O’Neil, the president of NOW, responded to the commercial by saying, “I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it,” she said. “That’s what comes across to me even more strongly than the anti-abortion message. I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I don’t find it charming. I think CBS should be ashamed of itself.”
So let me get this straight…Tim Tebow and Focus on the Family are “celebrating violence against women”? I’m sorry, but these assertions can only be described as idiocy, absurd, madness and lunacy.
2.) I think Jim Nance may be one of the best sports broadcasters of all time. He is so underrated.
1.) I feel a little pit in my stomach because it has just occurred to me that football is on hiatus until September…ah well, we have March Madness soon.
- Brad
Time for a mind dump…
Let me begin by saying the following thoughts are my opinions, lest the comments and e-mails get too wild.
Here are some news items of late that I find ridiculous:
5.) The Mark McGwire ‘confession’. In his interview with Bob Costas, which I watched live on MLB network, McGwire tried to make the case that the ‘performance enhancing drugs’ that he took did not help his performance. He tried to sell us on the fact that he used them only to recover from injury.
Students all over this country have a new excuse when their teacher catches them cheating. “Mrs. Teacher, you don’t understand…these answers I have written under my sleeve didn’t help me make a good grade on the test – they only they helped me remember the answers. It’s not cheating.”
Dear Mark,
I am not the smartest person in the world, but I’m not stupid. So quit insulting my intelligence with this PR nonsense.
4.) This “Jersey Shore” craze. I watched 3 minutes of it and said to myself, “My 11 month old’s Baby Einstein videos are more entertaining than this.”
Plus, Michelle Obama said she wouldn’t let her kids watch it – let’s follow the First Lady’s advice.
3) Receiving a letter to let you know that your baby will be taken off life support. Forget the moral and ethical issues at stake in this story. It sounds like the parents were given the news by means of a letter. I would prefer a face to face meeting, no matter the discomfort or chance for it to become volatile.
My liberal friends keep telling me of the wonderful health care system to our north in Canada. No thanks.
2) Liberals over thinking. Read an article in Newsweek yesterday where a self professed moderate was criticizing President Obama for leading with his head, not his heart. In the same article he was critical of President Bush for doing what he wants Obama to do.
I know it is required that liberal Journalists take a shot at George W. Bush or Sarah Palin in each report they make – regardless of the topic, but when they do I just wish they would do so with a little more logic.
I expect http://www.salon.com/ or The Huffington Post to be irrational and sensationalist, but come on Newsweek…you can do better.
And the #1 most insanely ridiculous item of the day:
1) The National organization for Women and other feminist extremist groups calling for Pam and Tim Tebow’s commercial celebrating life to be cut from the Super Bowl. The story can be read HERE.
Let me make several points:
a) The headlines keep referring to the ad as an “Anti-Abortion” commercial. This journalistic manipulation began a few years ago when some genius discovered that it was easier to ridicule groups like Focus on the Family, and the American Family Association by referring to them as “Anti-Abortion” instead of “Pro-Life”. These same slime balls who have convinced themselves that they simply report and do not push ideologies would never refer to “Pro-Choice” groups as “Pro-Abortion”.
My honest feeling is that the ideological tide may be turning on the Abortion issue, and groups like Planned Parenthood and the NOW are scared to death.
Of course videos like this don’t help their cause: http://www.babycenter.com/2_inside-pregnancy-weeks-1-to-9_10302602.bc
b) The commercial is designed to celebrate life through the story of Pam Tebow choosing to go ahead with a risky pregnancy against her doctor’s advice. The result: the birth of Tim Tebow, whom Peter King, acclaimed sportswriter, refers to as “too good to be true”. King is not referencing his stellar career in college football, but his exemplary life off the field.
Terry O’Neill, the president of the National Organization for Women, said she had respect for the private choices made by women such as Pam Tebow but condemned the planned ad as “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.”
So Terry, let me get this straight: A 30 second clip encouraging people to celebrate life and consider other options than abortion is “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning”???
Are you serious? Or, do you just have a Rolodex of responses to any other ideology than your own?
Then again, one of America’s greatest thinkers – Jemhu Greene, president of the New York-based Women’s Media Center, said that the Super Bowl was an event “designed to bring Americans together.”
I don’t know about you miss Greene, but as a Colts fan I don’t give a rip about coming together with Saints fans next week. Furthermore miss Greene, Roger Goodell would like you to know that the Super Bowl has been a global event for quite some time now. Even the half time show will be performed by some of our musical friends from the U.K.
c) Where is the outrage from women’s groups against companies like GoDaddy who will use the sexual exploitation of women to sell their products? Where ya at?
d) Isn’t it interesting that a group that promotes itself as “pro-choice”, vehemently opposed to CBS choosing what commercials it wants to air?
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is America. If you are offended by Pam Tebow’s story and Tim Tebow’s convictions then you can purchase for less than $10 at your neighborhood Walmart a brand new piece of technology called the remote control, and change the channel.
- Brad
