Fractured Saints - never beyond mending - a christian blog for the broken ones

Can there be a modern life without internet, TV, and cell phones? Can a person function well in this new era of hyper-technology? Can you carry on business as usual? Can you succeed without being plugged into the information flow?

When is it too much? When does technology begin to truncate life. When does technology turn from servant to master?

I want to go back. I want to go back to when I wasn’t dependent on technology. I want to go back to when I didn’t have a cell phone appendage, or unlimited information at the touch of a button, or constant connectivity and pseudo-omniscience. I want to go back to playing outside, I want to unleash my creativity because it is necessary, not because it’s a hobby. I want to feel private, non-homogenized, and not categorized. I want the simplicity of ignorance. I want it to just stop. I want to reset our technology credo?

Are the walls of our prison made of silicon?

Can you throw away your cell phone, TV and computer? I can’t.

So, I see this and I’m not sure what to make of it. (linked)

Is this a rip-off or redemption?

Is this Gospel transformation or cultural campaign bait?

What’s the motive?

I do this with my own music in my head.  I ascribe personal “Christian” significance to songs written with decidedly  non-christian meaning; but is it OK for the pulpit to do it??

Is there a difference between a personal action and pulpit action?  What does it mean if I make a statement opposed to my pastor making the same statement from the pulpit?

I can’t put my finger on it. Help. Why do I feel icky about this?

Saturday night I took my family out for a fun evening of shopping. It was a break from the ordinary. We rarely go out weekend nights, so this was a real treat-even if it was to our local Goodwill. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but then I began to process the evening objectively. Poverty sucks. It makes me feel ashamed. I am a teacher and my wife doesn’t work. I am supposed to provide for my family; which I do. We are blessed to be without real want. We lack nothing. We have a nice house, plenty of food, two moderately-functioning cars, and health insurance. Why then, do I feel so slighted and embarrassed that I can’t afford new things for my family?? Why do I feel like I owe my wife an apology?

I blame myself. I have bad eyes. My eyes are not set on Christ. I am mesmerized by the pretty things of this world and I desire them. I want the things, and I will not stop wanting them. I do not want the satisfaction of Christ’s sacrifice. I want shiny, Chinese plastic; flashy,Japanese technology; soft, European clothes; and high-calorie, American food. These things are driven into my eyes and I don’t see truth, so I feel ashamed. I want to fill my heart with the pleasure of things instead of Jesus.

I blame you too. You have bad eyes just like me. We lock arms and skip down the unending isles of consumer paradise. You encourage me to be discontent and covet your success by showing me all of your pretty new things that I can’t have. You speak as if you don’t have to sacrifice; ever. You enter my house and taint everything you touch: my mind, my wife, and my children. Damn you for that.

Our relationship is a paper mask. You would just as soon cut my throat to let someone with more money, power, or influence take my place.

I love you, but you don’t love me. You don’t even know me.

I love you more than I love the God who hung himself for my freedom.

You told me I was free. You told me I could have it all. You lied.

You make me feel ashamed.

You will never change. You are incapable of change.

But I can….. by God’s grace, I can. I want a new dream. A dream that gives me true hope for humanity, gratitude, grace, and love. A place that doesn’t pit me against my neighbors or family. A time that extols service over selfish ambition. I hope for a real King, under whom I can be find peace and righteousness.

I want you, American Dream, to stop making me feel ashamed.

You are an illusion- a figment of romantic imagination that denies the real Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

One day you will not be here. You will not be able to make me covet or feel like a failure.

One day, I will live in That Kingdom and not be ashamed.

With all of the election energy flowing it is probably treacherous to ask the question John Stossel raised in his October 20/20 piece “Voting for Dummies” : Is the American public qualified to vote for a leader?

I think that the founding fathers had the right idea. There should be conditions set forth to be a voter.

As to what those conditions are….. that is for someone smarter than me to answer.

I am not doctor, lawyer or a soldier. I do not study politics. I am, by all accounts, an average person-neither exceptional nor deficient. I am an average American.

I teach high school. I see the new crop of young voters walking through my door on a daily basis. Some of these voters cannot read, pronounce the word “accepted”, or follow basic protocol for taking a 15 minute break. Some cannot even define the term “theme”. 3 out of 13 seniors know what Roe vs Wade is “about“.

Only about 80% of these seniors will go on to post-secondary education.

I am by no means passing judgement on their character. They are decent, well-intending citizens. However, I am very reluctant to throw my lot in with them. I am older, wiser, and don’t trust them to make rational decisions.

According to www.centerforpubliceducation.org (garhhh….. I cited sources) There were close to 4 million 9th graders in 1999 and of that same graduating class in 2003 only 70% remained (2.7 mil). Leaving roughly 1.3 million voters who did not finish, what we as a society considers, basic education in 2003. The Current US population is said to be around 300 million. The 2007 US census cited 222 million people over the age of 18, of which, 189 million have at least a high school diploma. Approx. 70 million just have a high school diploma. Approx. 76.7 million hold an advanced degree.

According to these figures, only 1/4 of the total population currently has an education past high school. Add to those numbers 1.3 million (and growing) high school drop-out voters each year.

I’ve said it before: We send cops to cops school. Lawyers to law school. Doctors to medical school. Soldiers to the Armed Forces. Each area has it’s own expertise. By the current model of voter rights-I should be allowed to vote on strategic maneuvers of military units. I should be allowed to directly vote for police and fire department chiefs, policies, and procedures. These are entities funded by citizens for their protection. Just like the very government we embrace.

Obviously this is a ridiculous concept….or is it?

The qualifications to vote: 1) be a citizen 2) be 18.

Our current election model assumes voters are qualified to be decision-makers.

Does anyone really believe that a 22 year old meth addict has the same voter qualification as a 45 year old librarian? Or perhaps a 18 year old fast food employee has the same understanding of domestic policy as a 65 year old business analyst. Of course not.

We are founded on a system where every citizen has a voice. What happens when the majority of voters become under-educated on the vast issues, solutions, and key considerations facing the nation?

What is the collective vote of 14 million drug users and 6 million high school drop-outs worth?

The same as 20 million teachers, firemen, lawyers, and small business owners.

Imagine this:

If we took the total number of drug users and high school drop outs it would equal the populations of:Alaska,Delaware, DC, Montana,N. Dakota,S.Dakota,Vermont,Wyoming,Hawaii,Idaho,Maine,Nebraska,Rhode Island,West Virginia, and maybe Mississippi combined. These would be state full of drug users and high school drop outs. Redistribute the numbers other places and it might look just shy of the entire state of Texas. or a little more than Florida.

Like I said; I’m just an average American. But it seems maybe I’m becoming exceptional by default.

I believe in freedom and equality, but let’s face it: some people make really, really,really bad decisions with their lives and should not be given the power to affect other peoples’ through selecting our government.

Below is an edit of a 3 minute video I was recently sent. The laugh track was added by “The Soup” who got hold of the video (and is also the source of this edit).

I think the 30 seconds sums it up but is tainted by the laugh track. If you want to see the original, entire video view below.

I have mixed emotions about this

My first impulse is that of shock and awe. Laughter crept in but then suddenly anger and embarrassment.

The question sprang from my lips,”What are you doing??!!?”

Why does this performance bother me? I had to wrestle with this question.

Is it because it is bad music? No. The music alone is not bad, it’s just not my taste.

Is the because of the dancing? No. They are better dancers than I am. Albeit it’s funny to watch a white man move that way….

What exactly am I watching? I see Christians(??) engaging culture very, very poorly.

I confess that my judgment on them is wrong. For my part in this catastrophe: my sin taints my perspective and I am cynical. I will try to be as objective as possible. I am also working on relatively little information about the event.

Who is producing this? (Taken from www.theway.org) The Way is a fellowship of the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ for the manifestation of the more abundant life. A follower of The Way is filled with and manifests power from on high, holy spirit, and freely avails himself of fellowship meetings for spiritual nurture and growth. The Way fellowship is cemented together by the Spirit of God with each individual believer being transformed by the renewing of his mind according to the Word of God.

So what’s the problem??? (Aside from a twisted theology) Culture Clash.

I am a self-proclaimed media-culturalist. I work and teach media. I love, eat, sleep, breath, and digest commercials, movies, TV, and radio on a more thorough level than most americans. I ask annoying questions like, “Who’s the target audience?” while watching Extreme Home Makeover and make comments about kids shows with words like “production value”. I am a critic. We are all critics.

So when I see Christians (??) who are espousing spiritual truths using a poorly understood pop culture device to deliver the message…. that just doesn’t work for me. I don’t think these Christians(??) understand the audience they are seeking or the culture they are in.

Christianity has a unique culture unto itself. It does not look like any other culture; nor should it.

We are called to engage culture, being in it, but not of it. We are agents of redemption for every sphere of life….including pop culture.

So how do we engage? Smarter people than me have had more intelligent, thought-provoking, and profound answers. My only issue is to understand it before you engage.

The Way International says they are a Biblical research organization. Great. Super. Praise God that they are.

Perhaps they should include a class or two in Rhetoric, Speech, Theater, Production Design, Fashion, Marketing, Choreography, and Current Trends of American Media. AKA Liberal Arts.

So I ask the question again, “What are they doing? What are Biblical Scholars with an ounce of talent doing producing a pop music concert?” Has America suddenly come up short on real Christian artists who understand pop culture and entertainment enough to maintain dignity and communicate to their audience? I’m being snarky. Sorry. It simply doesn’t make sense to me.

Christian scientists are transforming and redeeming science. Christian authors are redeeming literature. Christian politicians are redeeming government. Would the Christian community be OK with a Christian plumber running for Senate? It’s Christian- that makes it good, right??!

C’mon.

God has called all of His people to move and act for His sake. Everyone has a God-given gift. The Way International even said so. We must be discerning enough to know when and how to use them.

Perhaps I am being too harsh. I hope that this presentation points people to Christ.

I highly doubt that it does- based on the amount of humiliating publicity it has received from both secular and Christian audiences.

I recently turned my two beautiful, sweet, hairy cats over to the care of the fine people at the animal services.

I liked my cats….enough. I was caught off guard by the welling of sadness when I had to explain to my 3 year old that we could not go check on the cats and make sure they were OK in their new “hotel room”. The word “pussy” does ring loud and clear right now for many reasons…

Fast forward two weeks.

Life has become surprisingly easier, cleaner, and more pleasant smelling. Have I been blind all these years? Well, yes.

I realize that I am simply a frog in a stew pot. For the better part of a decade, a small hairy creature has been occupying space in my home. Providing the service of “cute pet” for the majority of that time, this animal (which multiplied and became two) grew in size and mess. It was not all of a sudden that I became accepting of the piles and piles of hair that was shed and left for me on clean suits or on dinner plates; or the hundreds of pounds of toxic, soiled litter; or the gallons of bile and bio-sludge left on my carpet, furniture, and other various places of importance. No. All of those things came in small, manageable quantities.

If the sum total by-product of my “cute pets” had been presented to me on day 1- I would not have hesitated to kick those cats straight to hell. But I’m a nice guy, I don’t hurt animals. I drop them off and pay other people to hurt them.

I had a moment of clarity thanks to my cat’s vacancy.

Simplify.

I realized the burden of caring and the labor of cleaning were gone.

That feeling of freedom makes me intoxicated.

I realized I must be numb to so many other things. How long did it take for me to be content with a stained, dirty house? 7 years. And the cats were cute, but not that cute.

What other parts of my life am I blind to? I taste freedom and want more.

Simplify.

What do I love? Where is my passion? What have I tolerated? Can I please throw away all of that untouched crap in the garage????

Needless to say this emotional drunkenness has caused me to re-examine many aspects of my life.

I just thank Jesus that He is not like me. He is not blind and He loves me still.