Showing posts with label Idolatry. Show all posts

(And, before you even think it... no, they were not clapping because they wanted it the sermon to be over.)

As I had posted earlier this week, the sermon on Sunday was relatively dramatic, closing with the smashing of a golden calf (spray painted ceramic cow bank) on the altar.  Earlier in the worship, I had replaced the cross on the altar with that cow.  The point of the sermon was that, after crossing over to the promised land, the Hebrews forgot about the providence of God.  They forgot all that God had done for them.  They forgot to be thankful. And, when they forgot God, they looked for something more tangible, understandable that they could put their faith in.  So they built a statue of gold they could touch, and feel, and see, and put their trust in.  I argued that, if this was possible for the Hebrews, how much more possible is it for us who have far less dramatic and tangible experiences of God.  So, when we offer God our thanks, when we remember his care, for all things in life, we keep the sacred cows from taking he place reserved for God.

At that, I smashed the cow and put the cross back on the altar.  

And there was loud applause from the congregation.

And I wasn't sure what to do.

I was pretty vulnerable during this sermon.  This was a sermon where I truly felt carried along by God.  I was passionate.  I felt inspired.  It was a God-thing.  I know it doesn't happen near as often as I wish it would.  But, as I smashed that small statue, I felt pretty prophetic.  I hope that's not pride that has me writing it down here -- sometimes it can be hard to tell.  But, suffice it to say, I was emotionally spent as I got to the close of the sermon and wielded that hammer.

And, at that time, I truly did not know how to react to the applause.

See, for me, applause usually means that "I" have done a good job.  We applaud after a good performance in a play or a rousing song where we appreciate the singer.  We applaud after the game-winning hit or the great speech.  And, while I know that sometimes people clap after a particularly good music number in worship, I didn't know what to do when people clapped after my sermon.

For a little bit there--hammer in my hand, pieces of cow everywhere, people clapping--I was embarrassed. 

Let me be clear that his was not a standing ovation that went on for a while.   There were no shouts of "Encore!  Encore!"  The congregation did not ask for a curtain call. I went home to the same 6 groupies as I always do.

This was a short burst of hearty applause.  But it was enough to make me feel like the attention was all on ME when it had felt like--and was intended to be--all about God and what God has done for us. 

Over the years I've had many folks tell me that they thought a sermon was particularly good or that it spoke to them or things like that.  But I'd never had folks clap at the close of one.

And I was embarrassed.

Now, fortunately, I have a discipleship group that I'm meeting with for Sunday School.  And, in that safe environment I was able to share my embarrassment.  What those folks told me I probably already knew, but I needed to hear it.  The people in church weren't applauding for me.  They were applauding that God was given back his rightful spot…that the cross was going back on the altar.

It wasn't about me

I'm pretty sure I already knew that.

But I needed to hear it.

This is not my stuff.  This is all from Tim Challies over at Challies.com.  But this blew my mind.  If this blows your mind at all, go check out Tim Challies' full post over at his website. 

Seven hundred billion minutes. That’s how much time Facebook’s 500 million active users spend on the site every month. 700,000,000,000 minutes. Let that one sink in for a moment. Every month we spend the equivalent of 1.3 million years on Facebook; the equivalent of nearly 18,000 lifetimes. More than half of us login every single day; we average 130 friends. And we spend vast amounts of time on there.

Facebook now offers 900 million different objects or pages for us to interact with—groups, events, community pages, and so on. We upload over 3 billion photographs every month (which means we’re uploading millions every hour).

Do you know what really blows my mind about all of this? Facebook is only 7 years old. Most of us have joined in only the past 2 or 3 years. The growth charts are out of this world:

(The image was made by Ben Hopster.)


Think about this.  Every hour we're on Facebook, we're not talking to another human being.  Assuming that's another human being on Facebook (not an unreasonable assumption) that's a half hour of real face-to-face time.  That's 250 billion minutes of face time we're loosing out every month to something that, seven years ago, we didn't even know anything about....and four years ago most of us still hadn't heard of.

Is this getting in the way of "REAL" fellowship and community?  Have we been sucked into something that is actually making it MORE DIFFICULT to be in relationship?

I know I say "I can quit any time" but can I, really?  Am I using this medium for good or is it really eating away at my soul?  What if the time I was on Facebook I was in a small group study for support and encouragement or reading my Bible or praying.   And this is something that's only been in my life for a couple of years. 

Am I accomplishing more?  Am I accomplishing less?  Is this helping ministry or getting in the way of it? 

I know I convince myself that I'm using Facebook for good.  I tell myself that I try to stay away from the "time suck" of Facebook.  I don't do Farmville or other games.  I don't chat--something that I've always found annoying since someone always seems to pop up to chat when I'm working on something else.  And I tell myself that it has gotten me into a real connection with folks I've not connected with in a very long time.  And, perhaps, that community will prove to be important in the long run.

But is it an idol for me?  Has it taken a place rightfully reserved for more holy purposes?  For God?

Amazing!  Isn't it?

Challies says:

A while back I suggested that we might be able to tell what our idols are by looking in our pockets and seeing what we need to have with us all the time. We can also tell what our idols are by seeing where we are spending our minutes and our days. There is clearly something about Facebook that has captivated us, something about it that has drawn us in. For many of us, it is now the place where we live our lives—18,000 of those life times every month.

Mind...consider yourself blown.

This is a good video as we look at Stewardship, which confronts consumerism in our culture...and, indeed, in our church.  This short video is also about how we get the church to avoid idolatry.


Confronting Idols & Making Disciples from Bill Kinnon on Vimeo.


(HT to The Blind Beggar for the Video)