Handbook for the Sellout

Do you ever get the feeling that Christians are sometimes less scrupulous in marketing their ideas and programs than the secular society in general? I mean just go into any Christian bookstore and they've almost become a parody of themselves. Test-a-mints anyone? Or how 'bout a Christian energy bar made from only biblical ingredients - guaranteed to give you the strength you need to reach the lost. Now I know I sound very cynical, and I have a tendency to be too critical, but some of this stuff really bothers me. I'm all for a Christian bookstore carrying books and music that can encourage and help people grow in Christ, but sometimes I think the lure of the quick buck entices Christian marketers. In Keith Green's biography there's a part where it tells the story of him going to a Christian music festival. Someone made a comment to him about how they make so much money selling "Jesus junk". Keith was so appalled to hear the name of Jesus associated with the word "junk", and just couldn't believe that the name of Christ was treated so lightly.

What got me thinking about this was this article. I've always loved Calvin and Hobbes, and I love that Bill Watterson has rejected the offers to cheapen his work by licensing it for anything other than the comic strips and books. I think it's an interesting how that article talks about how the Chronicles of Narnia is being marketed on really every level by any means available. Did C.S. Lewis envision Aslan action figures? Now, I know that the movie is being handled by Disney, and the marketing decisions are probably not made by Christians, but they sure tried to market it to the Christian crowd. I got three or four emails from some marketing conglomerate asking me to organize groups for screenings of the movie. I'm not knocking the movie. I just wonder if Christians, evangelicals in particular, have bought into a market-driven mentality. There's a fine line sometimes between reaching your target by being relevant, or, in contrast, simply trying to be a people-pleaser. Jesus was relevant because he wasn't afraid to get involved in people's lives, but he certainly wasn't a people-pleaser. They don't crucify people pleasers.

Bono and Me

Well, I know it's been a while since I've updated, so if you're back from before, thanks for looking again. I don't want to talk about books all the time, but I still am kind of. I've been reading, among other things, Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas. I would consider myself a U2 fan; I mean I have all of their albums, but I always was skeptical of Bono's faith. I guess the thing that sticks out to me most about the book is Bono talks about faith a lot. It's real to him. Even though I don't agree with everything he says (oh, though, that could be said of about anyone), he seems genuine to me. Here's an article with an excerpt from the book. Simple concept with profound consequences.

If you think about how grace is such a foreign concept to the world it really boggles your mind, the grace that God shows to us. At the Passion conference, John Piper said "Christ suffered to display the glory of God's grace" (my paraphrase). I think it's a subtle difference than just saying to display the "glory of God." Sometimes I think Christians fall into a performance trap thinking "we'll do all this stuff in Jesus' name and give God all the glory", when in reality, God receives the greatest glory when we point to what Christ did. In the end, again, it's simply not about us.

I'll end with one of my favorite Psalms and one of my favorite U2 songs.

Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

How long to sing this song......