Singled Out

I had the privilege of attending the "Children Desiring God" conference in Minnesota last week and not only got to hear John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and C.J. Mahaney talk about how to teach the gospel to kids, but also attended Bethlehem Baptist Church on Sunday and was blessed by Piper's amazing sermon on the theology of singleness. It actually made me cry. However, "When Harry Met Sally" also made me cry, so maybe that's not saying a whole lot.

In any case, I'm singling out "Single in Christ: A Name Better than Sons or Daughters" as a wonderful sermon. Read it and let me know what you think!

Introducing: Swell Saturday!

I love alliteration (or should I say, adore alliteration.) Thus Wesley Wednesdays now has a new sibling: Swell Saturdays. Each Saturday I’ll attempt to write about different things that I found particularly swell that week. Here are this week's winners:

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones: This might be the best children’s Bible I’ve ever seen. Lloyd Jones begins by explaining that the Bible tells one big story and that Jesus is the hero of that story. She then artfully connects each individual story to the overall plot of the Bible, so kids begin to see God's Word as a cohesive whole rather than a book of random tales. Her storytelling skills are fantastic, her theology is solid, and the illustrations are gorgeous (the forbidden fruit looks nothing like an apple and the people look like they could actually be from the Middle East!)

Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”: This is an unlikely choice for Swell Saturday. Not only do I generally dislike country music, but I was a huge Bo Bice fan during the fourth season of American Idol and was crushed by his defeat at the hands of Carrie Underwood. Yet I absolutely love her new single. I’ve never been cheated on, been involved in an even remotely tragic relationship, or harbored any resentment towards men, but for some reason I’m always drawn to bitter songs about ill fated love affairs (“The Man That Got Away,” “I Wish I Could Forget You,” “But Not For Me,” etc.) and Underwood’s sassy ode to revenge on an unfaithful boyfriend is no exception. Whenever it comes on the radio, I’ll always turn the volume way up and belt out the lyrics, “I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights and slashed a hole in all four tires and maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats” at the top of my lungs.

PBS Late Night Documentaries: I’ve had a difficult time getting to bed at a decent hour and I blame PBS for airing such fascinating documentaries at 11:00 p.m. I’ll be just about ready to head to bed when I flip through the channels and see, “Once considered to be the Mediterranean of California, the Salton Sea is now one of the greatest ecological disasters of our generation. Discover this beautifully awful and awfully beautiful place tonight on Truly California.” How can I resist that? These documentaries are short, snappy, and absolutely gripping. So far I’ve learned all about the development of organic farming in the United States and the saga of the Imperial Valley’s Salton Sea. Leave it to the network that taught me how to count in Spanish when I was in preschool to now teach me about the benefits of community agriculture.

The Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements Series: I have a love/hate relationship with the stairmaster in my apartment building’s workout room. I love that I can burn a ton of calories in only thirty minutes and that I don’t have to pay for a gym. I hate that it involves thirty minutes of painful and boring exercise in a tiny stuffy room with no television or music. I’m tempted to quit about every five minutes, but reading the Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements while I’m exercising helps me persevere and finish my workout. This awesome series features short books about various cults such as Mormonism, Mind Sciences, and “Jesus Only” churches. Each book is written completely in outline form, perfect for someone who is trying to simultaneously read and gasp for air. The books do a great job of explaining the differences between each cult and Christianity and provide good scriptural and philosophical arguments against the cults’ claims. I highly recommend the series, even to people who choose not to read it on the Stairmaster 3000.

Tuscan Three Cheese Kettle Chips: In my opinion, Kettle Chips are to potato chips what Haagen Dazs is to ice cream. And my new favorite variety is the Tuscan Three Cheese. As the bag says, it’s a “Mediterranean Vacation In A Bag.” Plus, the very chic celery colored bag coordinates perfectly with my kitchen. A Mediterranean vacation and color coordination – who could ask for more?

Video Killed the Sunday School Star

I’m a hypocrite. There I was on a Saturday night, exhausted from a weekend of kids’ theatre performances and no curriculum prepared for Sunday morning. I had two choices: stay up all night and write a thoughtful introduction to Proverbs or show up fifteen minutes before the 9:00 a.m. service and pop in a video. Although one of my favorite soapboxes is the peril of using movies in Sunday school, fatigue won out over righteous indignation and our elementary schoolers spent that Sunday watching the “Jesus” film for kids (which is basically a shorter version of the “Jesus” film with spliced in scenes of kids saying things like, “Who are all these people?” and “What’s going on now?”)

The kids’ reaction to the video was amazing. Their eyes glazed over and they stared at the screen, quietly munching their popcorn. They didn’t throw clay at the walls or grab my shoes or punch their siblings or attempt to crawl out of the room every five seconds when they thought I wasn’t looking. They were remarkably well behaved. I left church that afternoon with conflicting emotions – frustrated that I chose to go against my convictions and show a video and thrilled that my classes were so delightfully calm after a crazy weekend.

Using video as a teaching tool is a growing children’s ministry trend and I can definitely see the appeal. The kids are quiet, they’re entertained, they pay attention, and they probably remember a good chunk of what they see. Some proponents of this method argue that they’re simply adapting their teaching style to meet the needs of a generation raised on video games and Sponge Bob.

However, I think relying on multimedia to teach kids the Bible can be dangerous. Not only does it reinforce kids’ already incredibly short attention spans (if they can’t learn to sit and listen to a ten minute story, how will they be able to sit and read their Bibles for ten minutes?), I believe it also makes the Bible seem less credible. If a child’s primary biblical instruction is packaged like a Saturday morning cartoon, I wonder if that child will grow up thinking that the Bible is simply a book of fun stories. Plus, I think there is educational benefit in kids interacting with biblical concepts through discussion, art, and games as opposed to passively receiving information through a video.

This leads me to my question. When should the church change its methods to keep up with cultural trends and when should it ignore those trends? For instance, I think that church websites are a great idea. We’re an increasingly web based society and I believe that the ability to download sermons, check out a church calendar, and read a statement of faith online can be a wonderful evangelistic tool and a practical help to a congregation. On the other hand, I don’t want to follow our culture and show videos in Sunday school (except on occasions when the children’s director did not budget her time well and has no lesson prepared.) What should be the church's criteria for embracing or ignoring cultural trends?

I’d love to hear your opinions on this issue. In the meantime, I’d better finish up my lesson on the Psalms so my kids don’t end up watching my old copy of “The Flying House” on Sunday.

Wesley Wednesday: Awesome Welsh Towns Edition

Welcome back to Wesley Wednesday! This week's installment features, "Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise," a beautiful Easter hymn that our kids' choir sang on Sunday (they only sang four of the ten verses, but they did get a standing ovation.)

This hymn's tune was composed by a man named Robert Williams (1782-1818), a blind basket maker from Anglesey County in North Wales. The name of the tune is "Llanfair" and is apparently named after Wil­liams’ home town of Llan­fair­pwll­gwyn­gyll­go­gerychwyrn­drob­wllllandt­ysil­iog­og­o­goch. In Eng­lish, the name means “church of St. Mary in the hollow of white ha­zel near the ra­pid whirl­pool of the Church of St. Tysil­lio by the red cave.” I challenge you to find a more awesome name for a town than that. Enjoy another great Wesley hymn!

Hail the day that sees Him rise, Alleluia!
To His throne above the skies, Alleluia!
Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia!
Reascends His native heaven, Alleluia!

There the glorious triumph waits, Alleluia!
Lift your heads, eternal gates, Alleluia!
Christ hath conquered death and sin, Alleluia!
Take the King of glory in, Alleluia!

Circled round with angel powers, Alleluia!
Their triumphant Lord, and ours, Alleluia!
Conqueror over death and sin, Alleluia!
“Take the King of glory in! Alleluia!”

Him though highest Heav’n receives, Alleluia!
Still He loves the earth He leaves, Alleluia!
Though returning to His throne, Alleluia!
Still He calls mankind His own, Alleluia!

See! He lifts His hands above, Alleluia!
See! He shows the prints of love, Alleluia!
Hark! His gracious lips bestow, Alleluia!
Blessings on His church below, Alleluia!

Still for us His death He pleads, Alleluia!
Prevalent He intercedes, Alleluia!
Near Himself prepares our place, Alleluia!
Harbinger of human race, Alleluia!

Master, (will we ever say), Alleluia!
Taken from our head to day, Alleluia!
See Thy faithful servants, see, Alleluia!
Ever gazing up to Thee, Alleluia!

Grant, though parted from our sight, Alleluia!
Far above yon azure height, Alleluia!
Grant our hearts may thither rise, Alleluia!
Seeking Thee beyond the skies, Alleluia!

Ever upward let us move, Alleluia!
Wafted on the wings of love, Alleluia!
Looking when our Lord shall come, Alleluia!
Longing, gasping after home, Alleluia!

There we shall with Thee remain, Alleluia!
Partners of Thy endless reign, Alleluia!
There Thy face unclouded see, Alleluia!
Find our heaven of heavens in Thee, Alleluia!