What to think about Britney

In the wake of the disaster that was the VMAs the internet is abuzz with talk about Britney Spears and her “comeback” performance.  The range of emotion seems to have gone from shock and disgust to pity and back to disgust again.  The critisizm has come hard and fast and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.  I wonder though whose really to blame?  Is it Britney for wearing that outfit and being unprepared?  Is it the record label whose trying to convince us that that song is worth our dollar?  Is it the MTV for putting her on stage when they more than likely knew what would happen?  Or is someone else to blame?  Maybe it’s us.  I think MTV gave us exactly what we wanted.  Something in our nature delights in seeing people train wreck their lives.  We have an insatiable appetite for celebrity that must constantly be satisfied by the next sexiest star.   We love to see people fall, especially if we think they are above us in some way.  What is it inside of us that wants this so badly?  So what are we to think about Britney?  I guess I can’ t answer that question for anyone but me, but personally I’d like to think of her as a person.  A person whose made mistakes and taken some missteps.  A person not really any different from myself (expect for the bikini.)  You see “God so loved the world,” (John 3:16) and that means Britney as profoundly as it means you and me.  So I hope that before my heart rises up in judgment it will break with remorse over our culture and the way that it uses people and then discards them like yesterday’s garbage.  I pray I’ll be moved to see people around me not as objects to be used but as people with dignity, value and worth and that includes Britney.  

An Open Call to Lawrence Artists

If you are an artist here in Lawrence please check out our new blog Hope Lawrence.  The blog was created in order to promote for an event that we are hosting in the community.  Below is a description of what Hope Lawrence is about.

Hope Lawrence exists to give hope to those in need by connecting the arts community of Lawrence, KS to the plight of those ravished by the AIDS epidemic as well as other social concerns.  It is our belief that the arts can play an important role in bringing attention to problems that have been overlooked for far to long.  Everyone has something unique they can offer, and as artists we can lend our voice and talents in order to bring some relief to those who are suffering.

Our first Hope Lawrence event will take place on October 6th and 13th from 3:30-5:30pm in the basement of the Lawrence Community Center.  For two hours on these two Saturdays we will come together to paint, sculpt, and draw around the theme of Hope.  This will be a communinal creative experience where each person will work on their own piece but in a collective setting where we can get to know one another and see each others works in progress.  In addition to our individual pieces we will also have the opportunity to work on a collective mural.  The event will culminate on October 20 when we will hold an auction/street sale where we will sell the pieces in order to raise money for a charity addressing the issue of AIDS in Africa.  We will announce which charity here at this blog in the coming weeks.

Space will be limited so if you are interested in participating and sharing hope with those in need through your medium, please email us at spur2002@aol.com and let us know so we can register you.  There is no cost to register, but you will need to provide your own supplies.

Pray for Caden

Please pray for our friends Darin and Shannon White and their son Caden.  Caden was diagnosed with cancer earlier this spring and although he is doing better everyday, he still has a long road ahead. If you’d like to keep up with his progress you can visit his website at www.cadenwhite.com.

Beauty

 

I started growing a garden. Up to this point I’ve harvested two cucumbers and a sweet pepper. Needless to say the results haven’t been everything I was hoping for. As I was out working in the garden I noticed that the miniature rose bush that I bought my wife for valentines day had bloom and the beauty of the roses were really shinning through. Because my roses were in a pot near my garden, it got me thinking about the question, “why roses?” You don’t eat roses and I don’t think they’re used for any medicinal reason. The only thing they really exist for is to be beautiful. That is their function. It’s as if the existence of beauty were just as important as food. One plant makes cucumbers the other makes beautiful flowers and both are needed. Do you notice beauty around you in your everyday life? Where?

Feeding Hungry People

Some of us at Renaissance go from time to time to a local shelter to serve some food to people who need a meal. Different people and groups prepare food for each night of the week. I always wonder what other people serve? Is it good food or is it just the thing that’s easiest to make? It seems like it would be very easy to look at people in need and just say, “well they should take what they can get.” Regardless of what other people do, the rule we’ve set up is this: If it’s good enough for us, it’s good enough for them. If it’s not good enough for us, then it’s not good enough for them. We test this in a very practical way, we eat what we serve. We eat the same meal they are eating. People in need are not second class, it bothers me when they are treated this way. So, in light of this do you guys know of any meals that are tasty, healthy and can be made easily for at least 35 people?

Tom’s Shoes

Here’s a guy named Tom who started a company that will donate one pair of shoes to people in need for every pair that’s purchased. Check it out here, and buy some shoes.

Christ in the Workplace, or Maybe Not.

Here’s an interesting article from Relevant Magazine about The Office.

The three books Angela would want on a desert island:  The Bible and the Purpose Drive Life.

The Sacrifical Love of Primetime Television

Perhaps I watch too much TV. Ok, I’m sure I do, but this week was pretty incredible. If there was one thing that stuck out to me this week though, it’s this, we love heroes. There’s something about the offer of one person to give their life on behalf of another that gets us every time. Three examples from the primetime line up this week come to mind.

First (spoiler alert), Nathan and Peter Petrelli from Heroes. We were all convinced that Nathan was resigned to letting the bomb go off, and in our eyes this made him a villain. But when he flew down at the last minute, embraced Peter and flew him out of the city, all of our previous grievances with the character went out the window. It was the first truly selfless thing he had done all season. Next, there was Charlie Pace from Lost (once again, spoiler alert). Charlie gave his life this week so that the people he loved could be rescued. In that moment Charlie became more than a pathetic ex-druggie and wanna-be surrogate father. He became a savior, a hero.

Finally, there is Wesely Autrey, a real life hero. This week he went on Deal or No Deal. This guy actually threw himself on someone who had fallen on the tracks in front of an oncoming train in the New York City subway. Unfortunately, Wesely only won $25 (he turned down an offer of over $300,000). Despite his poor game play they did send him home with a new car.

I say all this to point out the fact that we are moved by acts of selfless, sacrificial love. There’s just something about it. Jesus said as much when he said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NIV)

I think we love these guys so much because we see in them something that we hope to be. We all want to be the hero. All of us want to save the day. I also think we intuitively know that behind our veneers of self-sufficiency, we’re all hoping someone will save us. What do you think?

Missional Music

If the church is the community of God sent out on the mission of God, then why are all of our worship songs so individualistic? Here’s a list of some great worship songs about social justice, all of which can be found on itunes. Know of any others?

Delirious – Our God Reigns

Tim Hughes – God of Justice

Charlie Hall – Micah 6:8

Blood:Water Mission

This is an excerpt from the Blood:Water Mission’s Homepage (www.bloodwatermission.com):

“When Dan Haseltine, Jars of Clay’s lead singer, visited Africa in 2002, he had to struggle to accept what he saw. Poverty and physical and social suffering in Africa shook him, challenged him, and changed him.

Haseltine returned overwhelmed by despair, transformed by hope and called to action. He came back with a vision for clean blood and clean water in Africa — blood free of the HIV virus and water free of parasites and bacteria that cause AIDS patients and others undue suffering. He and his band mates envisioned this orphaned continent to be transformed through the installation of Christ’s sacrificial symbols of blood and water.”

Here are a few questions for us to ponder:

1. How aware are we of the ongoing AIDS crisis in Africa?
2. How does faith motivate us to engage this issue?
3. Is there a particular way you are taking part in the global AIDS crisis?
4. What do you think of the approach of providing clean blood and water?

Discuss : )