Archive for the ‘worship’ Category

It is humorous and interesting how a blog post on Pat Robertson’s response to the earthquake in Haiti spikes my blog traffic. What is the cause? Is it that people agree or disagree with Pat Robertson? What has this man done to generate the type of attention that he has? Does anyone actually care about Robertson? Do you actually care more about the people in the country of Haiti? And if you do, what are you doing about it?

A comment on my previous post addressing Robertson’s hateful comments asked, “Can God forgive us for sitting on our a**es passing judgement on people who are actually doing something besides sitting around talking about it.”

Currently, I am, indeed, sitting. I usually do sit when I type. As I’ve been typing, I have been clicking on a button that says “send.” The button processes a message that I am sending to various orphanages and organizations in Haiti in hopes to adopt a child or even two from Haiti who have possibly been orphaned as a result of the earthquake. An update on our ADOPTION page will be posted later today. If you would like to donate to our adoption fund, please click the button in the far left column.

Another “send” button upon which I clicked processed a donation to UNICEF (who is currently providing aid in Haiti) and earned me frequent flyer points in order that I may fly to Haiti to assist with rebuilding efforts. Organizations with whom I have communicated (some through my employer/university/MVNU) are suggesting that additional people are not currently needed. So I don’t think I need forgiveness for sitting on my backside and “doing nothing.” Must I justify my giving and my doing? In the midst of what I hope to be loving acts, I am not stating ridiculous and asinine judgments on people based on their geographic location and a natural disaster. Bad things happen. Evil is present. It is our human dilemma.

What else can we do about the dilemma?

Thank you for your comments.

It comes down to this: What story are you going to embrace? The story of the popular culture? Or THE story? What’s your new tradition for Christmas? How will you celebrate the coming of God to earth in the person of Jesus? He offered salvation and freedom. How about you? Will you share the same message or remain a slave to deadening consumption and commercialism?

What story are you going to embrace? The story of the popular culture? Or THE story? What’s your new tradition?

Our celebration of Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of Jesus. God showed up on earth to bring that which is wrong back to rights and we attempt to honor that God by misusing our resources and giving ourselves to the commercial entities that prey on the human bend to “need more.”

“I have to have it. It’s bigger. Its’ better. I have to have it. Or… I have to give it. Because then I can mend a broken relationship or show love by filling someone’s longing or addiction to have more stuff. It… completes…. me.”

Is there a better way? Is there a better way to worship the coming of the King?

How are you celebrating Christmas?
Black Friday shopping?
Spending time at a nursing home offering time and attention?
Going to see A Christmas Carol in 3-D?
Sending life-giving resources to children who do not have food?
Carving the holiday ham?
Watching Christmas Vacation repeatedly?
Black Friday shopping?
Buying stuff?
Using vacation time to read to your child?
Attending a religious gathering?

Is there a better way?

It’s coming. The day marked for the celebration of the birth of Jesus is nearing. Comments are frequently made about the origination of the holiday being pagan. I would argue that which was pagan and made religious has largely become pagan again. The “celebration” that we now call Christmas has become the commercial exploitation of God coming into the brokenness of humanity.

It’s coming. Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, millions of people will sacrifice a full night of sleep and either stay up all night or awake very early to drive their vehicles to shopping malls and retail stores across the country. Long lines, crammed traffic grids, and hateful behaviors are no deterents from the “cost savings” for the mass purchasing of items that may or may not be needed. We’ll discuss the idea of a “need” soon (for those of you coming to the Narrative Gathering on Monday nights be thinking about what a need is). Black Friday is an interesting social phenomenon. Why do consumers think they are “saving” money? Do consumers consider what money actually is? Are the majority of purchases on Black Friday for items that would be purchased even if “sales” didn’t exist? Is the purchasing of items encouraging unfair trade or even slavery in other countries? Pick a question or add a question and we’ll kick it around. Of course, my hope is that we all begin to consider the fullness of what it means to consume, buy, worship, purchase, and enslave while imagining what alternative behavior may be more life sustaining as we celebrate the coming of God into human reality.

“Don’t go to start a church… go to serve a city.”  -Steve Sjogren

I read this line on a twitter update from Chris Bean. I’m just going to leave it at this: What are your thoughts?

Click below on comments to add your perspective.

>> This post reminds me: After accepting a new position at MVNU in August and not having time to update subversiveREFORMATION.com I was unable to post the series “On Church.” Now is the time. Be checking back for posts from Chris Heuertz of Word Made Flesh, Adam Walker-Cleaveland of Pomomusings, and more “On Church.”

“Teaching Little Kyla…”
A series on Travis and Sarah’s journey of parental flubs, flaws, failures and accidental^ fortune.

The Invisible Children and Remember Nhu Clubs at MVNU are hosting an Art and Poetry awareness and fundraising event tonight (Wednesday) in the student union. Kyla will be presenting her piece of art that she and I composed this weekend. Her piece is called “Red and Yellow, Black and White” in reference to the song, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” As we talked about “all the children of the world” and our need to show and express love to all, Kyla used her hands and fingers to paint red, yellow, and black around a cut-out of Africa that I drew, cut out, and taped to the canvas board making a white silhouette of the country where the dehumanization of children continues through militarization and exploitation. Though I cannot talk with Kyla yet about child soldiers and sexual trafficking, she can begin to understand that love and kindness for all of humanity. Eventually, she’ll hear their stories.

We are incapable to loving absent from relationship. We are incapable of relationship absent from the context of story. We have to learn about each other. We have to be aware of the formative life experiences that make us who we are both individually and as a collective group of people in a global community.

The world is our canvas. May we cover it with strokes of love.

^ There is someone(s) greater than me/us (a divine being and a community of people) that intercede with grace and giving.

In honor of our most recent Election Day in the U.S. I decided to republish this post from the archives:

I am somewhat frequently interviewed by students here at MVNU for Research Writing projects, Public Speaking presentations, or Christian Life and Ministry papers. Tonight I was interviewed by Daniel Coutz. It was one of the more thoughtful interviews that I have experienced and I appreciated the approach. The conversation went something like this:

Daniel: “Respond to this statement: The United States is a Christian Nation.”

Travis: “No earthly empire is distinctively in keeping with the way of Jesus. Those who claim the United States to be a Christian nation need to enroll in a post-reformation church history course that discusses the period of American colonization. Also helpful would be a study in theology and philosophy to explore the definitions of theism, deism, and idolatry.

Daniel: “Do you feel the American flag should be displayed in churches? Why or why not?”

Travis: “No. The church is laced with a history of symbol and icon for visual engagement in worship and when one considers what the American flag represents I would have to question what one is worshiping. I would have no problem with displaying a flag in a church if it was displayed beside every other flag of every other nation so long as the symbol is understood to represent equality and unity.

Daniel: “Respond to this statement: The loyalty of a person belongs first to his country.”

Travis: “Why would one view an earthly empire as something to which giving loyalty is necessary or a priority? My suggestion is that most would give said loyalty due to an enculturation that promotes a sense of loyalty as nessecary. I would also suggest it has something to do with the supposed ’safety’ provided by the military branch of a certain country’s government. Fear would be that which fuels loyalty to an earthly empire.”

Daniel: “Respond to this statement. Christians living in the United States should be patriotic about the United States.”

Travis: “One’s definition of patriotism would be primary. I find it problematic for a follower of Jesus to pledge his allegiance to an earthly nation. So in the sense that the recitation of the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ is patriotic, then patriotism may be considered contrary to ‘worshipping no other gods.’”

The Extended Melody Project benefit concert is tonight in just a half hour. Admission is a $5 donation (though you can give more) and all monetary income from admission, concessions, and shirt sales is donated to an orphanage in Cambodia through Asia’s Hope. Shirts cost $10 U.S. Dollars and are sweet as evidenced below. It is a new cut and fabric from Gildan that is very similar to American Apparel.

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May the creative and artistic expressions in dance be considered worship? Does dance possess the same type of depth of meaning as other forms of creative production such as music and film?

What’s the saying?… “Dance like nobody is watching?” Or should it be… dance like everyone is watching and allow the lyrical flow of human movement to express the soul and texture of humanity in touch with the divine.

The most meaningful pieces of human struggle, tragedy, creativity, and beauty from So You Think You Can Dance?:

1) The Interplay of Creation: Hok and Jaime as a hummingbird and flower to The Chairman’s Walk from the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack.

2) On Confession and Forgiveness: Anya and Danny performing to Apologize by One Republic.

3) Time: Neil and Lacey dance as father and daughter to an emotionally invested Mia Michaels routine. Music by Billy Porter.

4) Commitment and Brokenness: Danced to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, Mark’s character commits his life to something other than the bleeding Chelsea.

5) Marriage at Bedtime: Jeanine and Phillip wrestle through anger to Mad by Ne-Yo.

6) Addiction and Freedom: Kayla is controlled by the sinister addiction (Kupono) danced to Gravity by Sara Bareilles.