To the Pastors of the TikTok Generation

 January 19, 2022

By Brea Perry

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction. - 2 Timothy 4:2

By now, you’ve probably encountered the infamous video of Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK. No, not that one, the other one. No, no, no, even more recent than that. There you go, THAT one.

I could sit here and break down bar for bar what made Pastor Todd’s sermon illustration so absurd that all of Christian Twitter assembled like the Sanctified Avengers to clown him, but there are people with far more theological eloquence that are better suited for that task.

We could discuss how spiritually abusive it is for a pastor to humiliate a person by smearing his saliva in their face–NOT to heal a blind man of his affliction and expose the ills of a society that treats disabled folks as disposable, as Jesus did–but to illustrate a point that had little to do with the text he was deploying. (Yes, the person with spit all over their face is Mike Todd’s biological brother. No, it doesn’t change anything about what he did. This also is not the first time he’s done this “illustration.”)

We could talk about how this is not the first time that Todd’s pulpit antics have led to widespread criticism or that he has been accused of perpetuating egregious harms from the pulpit.

But I’m not here to talk about him at all really. Mike Todd is but a cog in the well-oiled machine of making excuses for the sake of power. I’m not in the business of zeroing in on individuals when there are entire power structures to rebuke and tear down.

Every few years, older church folks gather to coalition-build and tackle the task of “getting these young folks back in church.” They told the 20-year-olds of the 90s/early 2000s that “gospel music has gone too far” when Kirk Franklin came out with Stomp and Revolution. But eventually, they conceded and added reformed Christian hip-hop to the mix because at least they got ‘em talking about Jesus instead of drugs, right?

More recently, “getting these young folks back in church” has consisted of pandering to 20-year-olds via smoke machines, gigantic billboard screens, and pastors stomping around in Bred 11’s and tailored plaid suits, quoting Tik-Toks, and performing goofy skits to make weak sermon points. 

I’d be lying if I said it never worked. There are folks out there who are more than willing to dedicate 10% of their paycheck every month to make sure their church is equipped with the best purple spotlights and handheld microphones that money can buy.

Sometimes the “cool church” aesthetic becomes smoke and mirrors that distract churchgoers from the decontextualized scripture passages coming from the pulpit. There’s only so much that the best musicians and a charismatic preacher wearing the latest Forces can do for a young person seeking answers to their deep theological wrestlings. There are only so many vapid spiritual platitudes that church leaders can give before we start to see through the ruse.

To the pastors of the TikTok Generation: 

Where do we go when we hunger for a gospel that is undebased by hot takes and corny cliches? 

Who is Jesus when you are not parading him around as the mascot for consumerism? 

Do you have a point to make when you’re not performing for our likes, comments, and shares to prove to your publishers that we’ll buy the book you’re proposing?

What’s left of the good news when misogynistic fear-mongering has started to bore us because we’ve been hearing the same ‘ole tune since we were first made aware of our bodies? Do you have a stronger antidote to a culture that reduces women to the sum of our body parts than deploying the same attitudes in the pulpit and throwing some Holy Ghost shame on it for extra seasoning?

Is there healing available for those who have come to see that what passed as faith for all of their natural life was really spiritual abuse at the hands of narcissistic leaders?

How do we contend with a sacred text that has provided the fuel for every egregious act of violence under the sun, from colonialism to chattel slavery to domestic abuse to upholding structures designed to keep people in poverty?

Is there a good God under all of that somewhere?

Our rejection of the institutional church has led some saints to believe we’ve given up on Jesus. We’re not leaving Jesus. We’re leaving misogyny masquerading as mission, capitalism claiming to be calling, and narcissism naming itself fresh revelation. 

Many of us would happily go back to the hymns and the pews if space to wrestle through the questions that have been cast aside as “off-limits” came with it and the space for spiritual abuse was left out. But we are past the point of sticking around while pastors obey their own whims, slap the name of Jesus on it, and dare us to question their authority to do so.

There has to be more to [church] than clout-chasing and viral sermon clips. 

Source: https://thewitnessbcc.com/to-the-pastors-of-the-tiktok-generation/

After You #Leaveloud, Don't Forget to Rest

April 29, 2021

by Kristina Button

I think that it is very hard to know where or even what our next step is when we #LeaveLOUD. Many of us find ourselves wandering in the wilderness; the space between our previous spiritual community and our next church home. Leaving an unhealthy church and entering into the wilderness gives a sense of freedom, yet, it is also filled with uncertainty. The biggest questions that those of us in the wilderness seem to have are, “We outchea, but where do we go and what do we do? How long do we stay in the wilderness?” I firmly believe that the next step is to rest. 

Black Christians should normalize and prioritize taking a sabbatical after leaving white and multiethnic organizations. A sabbatical is nothing more than a time of rest (the root word of sabbatical is “sabbath,” which means to rest as God did on the seventh day of Creation). You might have heard of a pastor or other spiritual leader taking a sabbatical where they take time to disconnect from the world to hear from God. 

We need a break from the regular microaggressions and tokenization that comes with being in white and multiethnic churches. I used to feel shame if I wasn’t in church every week or at least seeking a place of worship for my family. This toxic line of thinking resulted in my family worshipping in churches that were just as toxic as the ones before. I came to the realization that, in order for me to be whole, I have to prioritize and be aggressive about seeking healing and rest. 

For a long time, I didn’t know how to go about resting; the idea felt daunting. It’s been trial and error along the way, but this past year has taught me how to prioritize healing and rest. 

The racial stereotyping and microaggressions that Black people experience in white and multiethnic churches cause weathering. We carry that trauma with us for the rest of our lives. This is why rest is so important. This is why we need to take a sabbatical after we #LeaveLOUD. 

Seek the Lord, pray, fast, go to therapy, or take a break from church. Go on a vacation. Connect with the outdoors (#BlackPeopleHike). Find a Black mentor. Find other justice-minded believers and build community with them. 

White supremacy got us out here thinking that we are alone in our struggle. Don’t go off alone. Know that you are not alone. Your struggle might not look like everyone else’s struggle, and so your sabbath might not look like everyone else’s sabbath. Once you decide to make your exit, your goal should be to prioritize healing and rest. You deserve rest. You deserve healing. You deserve restoration.

Source: https://thewitnessbcc.com/after-you-leaveloud-dont-forget-to-rest/

Spirituality is a Potent Asset for our Crucial and Radical Transformation

By Rev Edward Buri

Victoria Falls, Zambezi River

     If there is one place that is driven by newness it is the marketplace. Companies are always launching new products and if not new products, they are re-launching old ones. We are bombarded with images of newness all the time on television, newspapers, radio and on the web. Companies do a lot to persuade us that even their old products are somehow new and superior to previous versions.  The more I consume the images of new product launches, the more I ask myself: how much do we invest in renewing our people? How does our community invest in creating women and men of improved character?

     Softie, a film of photojournalists and activist Boniface Mwangi, captures the sad reality where Kenyans expect money from political aspirants as part of the luring process. They describe him as a good man without money. Some sing praises of other competitors who always give them money. Good policies and good heartedness are not forefront qualities in the winning equation. All that bad people need is big money. The money then becomes the sustainer of evil and not a tool for good. How can people unlearn this?

     I recall from my high school Geography class a concept called river rejuvenation. When a river is streaming down the Aberdares, Mount Kenya or the Mau it will usually carry clean water with hardly any dirt. It is young and therefore bubbly as it gallops fast down the mountain. As it flows on, it is joined by other streams – tributaries – making it larger. As it is joined by other rivers, the size slows it down. The increase in the volume of water makes it lazy and the water gets dirtier because of the soil and other debris the river has harvested as it heads into the ocean.

     But this aging river can get a new life. How? If on its path it meets a sudden sharp change in ground level with a lengthy fall the result is a waterfall. The waterfall makes the aging monotonous river a spectacular site. People travel from far not to see the lazy river upstream, but the long, misty waterfall. Because the massive volume of water drops with a mighty force, upon hitting the bottom it automatically gains speed, making the river bubbly and vibrant again. The waterfall makes the old river young again.

     Similar is the hope spirituality brings to a people. God promises renewal to meaningless and messed up lives. But truth be told, newness is often disorienting and even threatening, especially because it uproots you from familiar ground and gives you a new mission. Renewal sometimes is so radical that it even drops your earlier name – you are no longer just Size 8 but Size 8 reborn.

     The story of Size 8 Reborn is very inspiring. From a pit of self-confessed vice to the pulpit of Good News. Reverend Linnet Munyali Muraya of the Mateke fame has been public about her reformation story.  Before her transformation, she thrived as the queen of secular music. She was as secular as secular can get and pushed the limits to unveil thicker layers of the night. But a widely publicized encounter with God made her life take a sharp turn towards the light. Her conversion experience coded in her Mateke song implies an aggressive disengagement with a life of sin, which results in “uhuru” – an experience of freedom. Some may argue that “Mateke” theology, but it is hard to argue about her vivid transformation. God is still radically changing people!

      This is a story you would best read from the Gospel narratives. Some may have wanted to lock her in the life of night. But light has converting power too! Some may have wanted a lukewarm transformation where she can play hot or cold. But light is radical too! Her transformation is a sharp critique of vice-driven lives. Many will be following her priestly career in search of slip ups. But let us give her a chance.

     Rev Linnet Muraya is a loud exhibit of the potency of the church and spirituality. This experience of radical transformation needs to be expanded beyond personal transformation and find application in the larger cultural reforms of the community. This potency is universally applicable even in the realm of politics where both politicians and citizens need a thorough transformation. Prodigal politicians need to come to their senses and embrace a  form of politics in which deception is unnecessary. Citizens too need a radical perspective where principle-based voting paralyses voter bribery. Some may preach that such radical transformation is not possible, hoping to clip radical ambitions. But a good look at divine interventions affirms the validity of dreaming the impossible dream. If only the church and its priests could find a consistent way of involving the power in the truth that “nothing is impossible with God!”

      Walking around our neighborhood recently, I passed by a construction site where a building was being pulled down to make way for a new construction. Heavy machinery was tearing the old house down and what caught my eye was a sign at the construction gate that said, “demolition for progress.” Sometimes soft adjustments will not move us – only radical changes will shift us. Where it takes radical only radical will do. There are times change comes by giving a house anew color. But sometimes it comes by demolishing it and building up a whole new structure. Let us not paint what are meant to demolish.

Source: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/opinion/article/2001432209/spirituality-is-a-potent-asset-for-our-crucial-and-radical-transformation

The Day I Discovered an African American Theologian

"Plain Theology for Plain People" by Charles Octavius Boothe

By Walter R. Strickland II

March 7, 2018  

History is recounted by the wealthy and powerful. Throughout America’s history of racism, slavery and segregation prohibited blacks from being protagonists in the Christian narrative. For example, there is often mention of Jonathan Edwards and John Frame in the American Christian story, but rarely an acknowledgment of John Chavis or John Jasper. In general, the American Christian story told in most evangelical college and seminary classrooms include African Americans as marginal characters and only in relation to the dominant culture.

This results in false perceptions of God’s work—namely, that God primarily works through the wealthy and powerful. People assume that the white protagonists have everything to teach and little to learn from those who have been excluded. Learning about historical figures like African-American pastor Charles Octavius Boothe (1845–1924) not only shows God at work outside the dominant culture, but it also exalts Christ as the redeemer of every ethné.

Who Is Charles Octavius Boothe?

Boothe was born on June 13, 1845, in Mobile County, Alabama, as the legal property of Nathaniel Howard. At the age of 3, Boothe learned the alphabet from lettering on a tin plate. At 14, he was sold to attorney James S. Terrel, and he began working as an office boy at a law firm in Clark County, Mississippi.

Mid-19th-century legal practice was rooted in biblical logic, which required young Boothe to explore Scripture on a regular basis. Over time, his exposure to Scripture drew him to salvation. In 1860 he testified that he “reached an experience of grace which so strengthened me as to fix me on the side of God’s people.”

At the conclusion of the Civil War, Boothe’s passion was racial uplift in a society that denied blacks’ humanity before God and the Constitution. At the age of 22, Boothe began teaching for the Freedmen’s Bureau and lecturing regularly at Booker T. Washington’s famed Tuskegee Institute. In the early 1870s, Boothe was a preliminary member of the Colored Baptist Missionary Convention that founded Selma University. He later served as the university’s second president (1901–02). Boothe desired to promote literacy so former slaves could read the Bible for themselves and escape the oppressive interpretative practices that had made the Christian faith a tool of black subservience.

Boothe’s devotion for education notwithstanding, he was, most importantly, a churchman. He established and ministered in two churches: First Colored Baptist Church of Meridian, Mississippi, and Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. (In recent decades, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church received international attention because of its role in the civil-rights struggle and the leadership of its 20th pastor, Martin Luther King Jr., after whom the church was renamed—King Memorial Baptist Church.)

While in the pastorate, Boothe maintained an itinerant teaching ministry, conducting literacy and theological training for emancipated slaves and their children. He wrote Plain Theology for Plain People as an aid for his theological seminars. Writing with the average sharecropper in mind, Boothe set out to spare others the frustration of traversing the lofty theological rhetoric of other texts. His book provides a definite system of organization while allowing simplicity of language and structure to prevail. It wasn’t until my doctoral studies that I discovered Plain Theology for Plain People.[1]

Boothe’s Significance for Me

My theological education offered me a love for Scripture and a theological framework, but it unintentionally taught me that people of color have little to contribute to theological discussions. I had well-intended white professors who assigned white authors and invited white guest lecturers. In order to become more like my Caucasian professors, I began to squelch everything in me that didn’t correspond to them in order to do “real theology.” I began stripping away my blackness in order to fit the evangelical theological mold. At that time, I only entertained theological inquiry that emerged from culturally white space; I developed a bias against African-American theologians; and I belittled the rich heritage of the black church. I was miserable.

But when I encountered Boothe’s writing, it helped me resist the assumption that whiteness equals faithfulness, and it granted me freedom to be instructed by believers outside of my racial and cultural background without feeling like I needed to lose parts of myself in the process.

Plain Theology for Plain People is significant for my story, and it should influence the evangelical approach to theology.

Boothe for Evangelicalism

Boothe demonstrates that theology can emerge from various contexts. In evangelical circles, however, certain contexts have been given almost exclusive priority. Formal theology has been disproportionately conducted by white men, and their perspective has been standardized. Thus “well-read” evangelicals can gain that label despite never interacting with theologically faithful traditions outside the dominant evangelical culture.

By normalizing a particular context, issues that arise outside of that context are often dismissed as illegitimate. In fact, theological development from non-white contexts are often only deemed “proper” when they engage issues pertinent to white culture and conform to “authorized” conclusions. This explains why issues that disproportionately affect non-white communities—like systemic injustice, racial oppression, economic inequality, and human rights—have received scattered engagement among evangelical theologians and ethicists.

The reality of white cultural dominance in evangelical spaces is consistent with what we know to be true of fallen humanity—we’re self-interested creatures. All people (white and non-white alike) are interested in the issues most pressing to us and aren’t likely to deeply contemplate the circumstances of another. So cultivating diverse church communities is important, since it necessarily expands our concerns beyond our experience.

Reimagining the evangelical tradition to include voices that have been obscured isn’t just good for marginalized Christians—it’s good for all Christians. Theology from every context offers valuable contributions. The mature theologian takes his or her seat at the table of theological discourse and both enriches and is enriched by the exchange. Different perspectives taken together embody a more robust vision of faithfulness and affection for Christ than they could ever manage alone.

PS - "To be clear, this was not the first time that I discovered any African-American theologian, but it was the first time I discovered Boothe."

Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/day-i-discovered-african-american-theologian/

How a book about evangelicals, Trump and militant masculinity became a surprise bestseller

"Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

 By Sarah Pulliam Bailey

July 16, 2021

When historian Kristin Du Mez’s latest book, “Jesus and John Wayne,” came out in the summer of 2020, it received little attention from mainstream gatekeepers and reviewers.

But the book, which explores evangelical fondness for former president Donald Trump and strong masculine figures, has since sold more than 100,000 copies through word of mouth, podcasts and book clubs. When it came out in paperback last month, the book shot up to No. 4 among nonfiction paperbacks on the New York Times bestseller list.

As journalists and academics tried to explain how evangelicals could bring themselves to vote for Trump, Du Mez argued that evangelical support was not a shocking aberration from their views but a culmination of evangelicals’ long-standing embrace of militant masculinity, presenting the man as protector and warrior.

“In 2016, many observers were stunned at evangelicals’ apparent betrayal of their own values,” Du Mez wrote. “In reality, evangelicals did not cast their vote despite their beliefs, but because of them.”

The book also described a pattern of abuse and its coverup by several mainstream evangelical leaders, many of whom are still in leadership. Du Mez contended that evangelical leaders’ emphasis on militant masculinity created a culture where abuse was able to flourish and often kept secret, an argument that has both caught fire and created controversy.

Du Mez, who teaches at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., wrote that mainstream evangelical leaders such as John Piper, James Dobson and John Eldredge, preached a “mutually reinforcing vision of Christian masculinity — of patriarchy and submission, sex and power.”

“The militant Christian masculinity they practiced and preached did indelibly shape both family and nation,” Du Mez wrote.

Piper, Dobson and Eldredge did not return requests for comment.

Bible teacher Beth Moore’s split with Southern Baptists has some women wondering whether to follow her

Russell Moore, who was the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s policy arm until earlier this year, said in an email that everywhere he goes someone asks him about the book.

Moore, now a public theologian for Christianity Today magazine, said that many evangelicals are trying to understand recent developments like Trump’s rise and revelations of sexual abuse in evangelical spaces. Moore said that Du Mez has shown that “much of what has passed for evangelicalism over the past decades was more John Wayne than Jesus” and that some of the characters in her book who have been portrayed by some as fringe turned out not to be fringe at all.

“ ‘Jesus and John Wayne’ is not the whole picture, but it’s on target in enough places that we should take seriously the mirror put to our faces to reform ourselves by the gospel we believe,” Moore wrote in an email. “I don’t agree with this book on everything, by any means, but there are key aspects that are necessary for us to see, and that can help us make sense of some things.”

The book showed how masculine pop-culture figures like John Wayne could influence the evangelical imagination and shape the way people act and think, said Karen Swallow Prior, who teaches English at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“Among my own group of friends and peers, this is the book that they have been talking about more than any other in recent years,” she said. “I can’t think of the last one that people talked about this much.”

In his review for the journal Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture earlier this year, Yale University historian Jon Butler called the book one of the most important on modern evangelicalism in the past four decades. A review for the Christian website Mere Orthodoxy said the book should be required reading for evangelicals. Du Mez’s book also inspired a four-part episode for the popular Holy Post podcast and was named book of the year last year by Englewood Review of Books.

The book also has its critics, including First Things magazine, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and other reviewers for Mere Orthodoxy.

“Having announced her thesis about militant Christian-nationalist, male-patriarchal supremacy, she mines American history for classic deplorables,” Daniel Harrell wrote for Christianity Today. “On the other hand are plenty of white evangelical men canceled out for political acts never committed but only assumed and whose patriotism gets distorted as nationalism simply because they’re white, Christian, and male. As a political force they barely register compared to Amazon, Facebook, and Hollywood.”

One of the more frequent criticisms she receives is from the subtitle of her book: “How white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation.” Du Mez said that she wanted to challenge White evangelicals to examine their core beliefs about Jesus’s teachings to “turn the other cheek,” love your neighbor and love your enemy.

“I wanted to make clear that I wasn’t going to woo evangelicals or cater to evangelicals,” she said. The Bible lists virtues like love, peace, kindness and gentleness that Du Mez argues would contradict the model of militant Christianity that leaders have held up.

Raised in a Dutch immigrant community in Sioux Center, Iowa, Du Mez’s mother was a Dutch immigrant and her father was a longtime Reformed theologian at Dordt University, where in 2016 Trump famously told a crowd he could shoot someone in the middle of New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose supporters.

Du Mez said she began working on the topic around 2005 when she started teaching at Calvin, a Christian university rooted in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism. Du Mez was teaching a class on U.S. history and lecturing on President Theodore Roosevelt to show how American ideas about masculinity have changed over time through economics, foreign policy and race.

Two male students came up to her after class one day and suggested she read the book “Wild at Heart,” by Colorado-based author John Eldredge, which has sold more than 4 million copies. She bought a copy and found “a particularly militant conception of masculine Christianity that Roosevelt had been promoting.”

In the early years of America’s war with Iraq, Du Mez considered how Eldredge’s vision of masculinity promoted militaristic ideas about America as an empire. Du Mez said she also reviewed data that showed White evangelicals were more likely to condone the war in Iraq and the military’s use of torture.

“I was trying to tease out: Is this mainstream or is this fringe?” she said in an interview. “As a Christian scholar, I thought, is this what I should be doing? If this is fringe, should I hold this up as though it’s mainstream?”

Newly leaked letter details allegations that Southern Baptist leaders mishandled sex abuse claims

Du Mez set the topic aside for a few years but picked it up again in 2016 in the days after the “Access Hollywood” tapes came out — in which Trump is heard making vulgar comments about women — and many evangelical leaders came to Trump’s defense. That’s when she decided what she had been working on wasn’t fringe.

Du Mez is a longtime member of a Christian Reformed Church, part of a denomination under the umbrella group called the National Association of Evangelicals. She was influenced by cultural evangelicalism through popular Christian music and the “purity culture” movement that encouraged sexual abstinence before marriage. However, she wasn’t exposed to popular evangelical leaders like John Piper, Wayne Grudem or Jerry Falwell Sr. until adulthood.

Her book, published by a nonreligious publisher called Liveright, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Co., found its way into the evangelical world through powerful word-of-mouth networks. Du Mez’s editor Daniel Gerstle said “Jesus and John Wayne” was the publisher’s “surprise hit” of 2020, selling over 300 hardcover copies every week in its first months of publication. The first jump came in late December when the book began selling more than 900 copies a week. Popular Bible teacher Beth Moore, Gerstle noted, has tweeted about the book, describing it as the one she hopes evangelicals read in 2021.

While the book is almost entirely focused on White evangelicals, Du Mez said she has received feedback from a number of Black Christian leaders about it as well. John Onwuchekwa, a Black pastor in Atlanta who left the Southern Baptist Convention last summer, said he felt “vindicated” when he read the book because it seemed to affirm his experiences and connected dots for him.

“The book was refreshing because it wasn’t someone who [seemed] angry or vindictive,” Onwuchekwa said. “There was a courage, a boldness, a matter-of-factness.”

Other books about evangelicals, politics, gender and race that published in the past year include “The Making of Biblical Womanhood,” by Beth Allison Barr, “White Too Long,” by Robert P. Jones, “White Evangelical Racism,” by Anthea Butler, “American Blindspot,” by Gerardo Marti, “God’s Law and Order,” by Aaron Griffith and “Taking America Back for God,” by Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry.

Du Mez said that many “troubled” evangelicals who have read her book are going through a “religious reckoning” where they’re grappling with what they have been taught both culturally and theologically. However, she said she hasn’t seen much change by many evangelical institutions.

Evangelical leaders and institutions continue to promote their versions of masculinity. This weekend in Dallas, thousands of evangelical men are expected to gather for a conference called Promise Keepers that will include speakers who once sat on Trump’s evangelical advisory council. Attendees are promised “biblical and spiritual tools that will empower you to be the man Christ intended you to be.”

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/07/16/jesus-and-john-wayne-evangelicals-surprise-bestseller/

5 Things that Frustrate Gen Z Christians

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

by Jacob Murrie

What should older Christians know about Generation Z in order to best disciple them and reach them with the gospel? To be sure, this is a big topic, and I’m just one member of this generation (born between 1997–2012)—which is not a monolith. But it might be helpful to share a few aspects of contemporary evangelical culture that generally bother my generation.

The goal is not to shame older Christians or suggest we young folks are enlightened. The goal is to offer some fodder for discussion that might lead the generations to better care for, think with, and serve alongside each other in a changing world.

To that end, here are five things that tend to frustrate young evangelicals.

1. When Partisan Politics Reshape Faith

In the past few years, we have grown increasingly weary of the meshing of politics and the evangelical faith we often see among older believers. This is not because we don’t value many of the same causes; it’s that often our parents and grandparents will question our Christian orthodoxy if we don’t align fully with their political affiliations. When we shift slightly to the right or the left, our faith is often assumed to be endangered.

It sometimes feels as if older generations want us to “pick a king,” 1 Samuel 8:6–8 style. But many in my generation do not wish to be identified as conservative or liberal, as much as they want to be identified as Christlike. Because of this, many of us joined the 35 percent of people under 30 in voting independent in the 2020 general election. This approach is sometimes considered “innocent” or “naive,” but for many Gen Z Christians it’s the most reasonable and biblical choice.

2. When Apologetics Outweighs Relationships

Let me be clear: Christian apologetics is important. It’s vital we know why we believe what we believe, and why those beliefs are reasonable. But many in Gen Z have seen apologetics weaponized against nonbelievers. I left my private Christian school ready to duke it out with the atheists of the world, assuming they would be hostile and seeking arguments with me. But instead I found young adults who at worst thought Christianity was weird, but more often were lonely and looking for meaningful relationships.

In many of my friendships with nonbelievers, apologetics became a valuable tool after a relational connection formed. I had thoughtful answers to tough questions, like “If God is good, why does he allow evil?” But instead of these questions being hurled at me by Professor Jeffery Radisson (God’s Not Dead), they were asked in vulnerability by hurting or inquisitive peers. Should we still be prepared to go toe to toe with Richard Dawkins if he wants to debate Christianity? Absolutely. What we know shouldn’t change, but perhaps the tone and timing of how we talk about it should.

3. When Christians Don’t Live What They Believe

We felt this acutely during the 2020 general election. We were faced with two presidential candidates who, whether in character or policy, reflected decidedly immoral and un-Christian values. For many of us, that was a dealbreaker. Yet many Christians looked the other way or found ways to defend their favored candidate. My generation is hyper-sensitive to hypocrisy, and we saw it all around us. We are also sensitive to theological hypocrisy and selectively applied doctrine.

Biblical sexual ethics are cited to oppose same-sex marriage, but ignored on other matters like divorce or cohabitation before marriage. The imago Dei is correctly invoked to advocate against the cultural system of abortion, but not to fight racism. We insist that sin can take structural forms and infect entire societies, but we’re selective about which systemic sin issues we want to call out. Many in Gen Z recognize that living faithfully requires applying Scripture consistently, even if it conflicts with your political alignment.

4. When Christians Are Known More for Judgment than Love

Judgment and love are both part of God’s character. Grace and repentance are both part of the gospel. Jesus responds to sinners in love, while also commanding us to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). But today, many Christians are more defined by judgment than love. Of course, the culture around us has warped definitions of both. There are biblical commands that appear judgmental to our culture, but are truly loving. Challenging a brother or sister when they’re in sin may appear judgmental but ultimately results in life for them—which is loving.

Our secular culture’s distorted, small vision of love is actually an opportunity for us to more robustly live out biblical grace and love, even as we don’t compromise on truth and holiness. Accusations that Christianity is “too judgmental” should be expected to some degree—the Bible’s moral demands will always come across that way to some—but my generation’s hope is that a reputation of radical, Christlike love would also define our faith and attract unbelievers—as it did in the early centuries of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

5. When Christians Aren’t Serious Thinkers

At a time when careful, critical thinking is generally on the decline and intellectually lazy behavior is on the rise, Christians sadly have a reputation for being among the worst offenders. Evangelical Christians are particularly adept at avoiding expert advice they don’t like, all the while participating, knowingly or unknowingly, in misinformation campaigns.

You probably have a Christian aunt who regularly shares incredulous articles or conspiracy theories on social media, showing a reckless willingness to believe dubious information without bothering to check facts. This is just one byproduct of a larger trend we see that frustrates us: a distrust of academia and intellectual life generally.

This is frustrating not because academia is the ultimate truth, but because God is (Psalm 19:7). As believers in the God of truth, Christians should be the most intellectually vibrant. We have the resources to do that. While academicians are not infallible, they do have expertise, and that should matter to Christians.

By downplaying rigorous scholarship, credentials, and expertise, Christians have retreated from the forefront of culture-shaping disciplines, are playing catch up, or in some cases are actively resisting these culture-shaping arenas. With Scripture as our solid foundation, Christians ought to be the most intellectually curious thinkers and culture-makers in the world. We should value learning and education—not for our glory, but for God’s.

Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/things-frustrate-gen-z/

Lessons Learned From A Cigar

Greetings from the hump of 2021!

I think I speak for many when I say 2020 was cruel.  The pandemic compounded with lockdowns, fear of death, George Floyd, no toilet paper, racial tensions, #45, so many people dying, freefall economy, little positive sight of a future…fill in the blank.  All life was completely disrupted for the entire world.  For me it was my breaking point and I can only imagine what it was like for everyone else if I was feeling like this.  Thankfully as things on the family front were solid, work life also terrific, it was still chaotic and stressful.  Well, even though it's now 2021 and quickly moving to '22 I feel like 2020's cousin just moved in.  But one new way I discovered to get through the days was through cigars.  Years ago a few close friends introduced me to cigars but I could only get through half a cigar about every 2 years.  But in 2020, it became a nightly ritual and this new delight taught me new opportunities to begin to cope and learn some new things.  So here are a few lessons learned from my discovery:

Start With a Cut.  First things first. To start a cigar, you first must cut the top part so you can pull from it.  Cigar cutters come in all forms and sizes and prices (the cheap ones will do just fine by the way).  Right away, this prompts these life pro-tips learned from cigars first and foremost, that some things in life need to be cut away regularly as a lot of life's priorities will pull from us.  As a Christian and gardener, I appreciate this idea so much because this is called pruning (John 15.2).  Pruning is often initially painful while for some it comes as a relief until you see the magnificent effects and results.  Perhaps this is what 2020 and 21 is teaching us.  At other times pruning is simply fun - as in the case of the minimalist or the KonMari movement.  After pruning the results take months.  In every season, I f there’s something (or someone) that is holding you back from depth, progress, or joy then it's time to get out the cutters and the lighter.

Stay Ignited.  Which leads to the next pro-tip.  As a rookie I started off with one of those Bic lighters which got the job done but it took a while to light the cigar.  In fact, I would justify that the slower the flame the better.  But after talking with some friends and an actual cigar expert I was easily convinced to transition to one of those butane torches and thankfully one came to me free from Cigars International (thank you CI).  The cool thing about these torches is they're refillable and the extra butane is as cheap as buying replacement lighters or torches.  Depending on the cigar, some have to be relit a few times and if I need to take a bathroom or refill break, I'll need to relight my cigar.  Come to find out in life some things need a torch - like a flaming torch.  This is exceptionally true for me as a Christian, and this idea is way cooler than merely vying for a promotion at work.  In life you've got to stay ignited, especially if you want to level up in the realm of personal development and maturity (Proverbs 1:5, 3.5-7; 1 Peter 2.2; 1 Corinthians 13.11).  As someone who is a wholesale believer in Christ, anything good or lasting in life can only be empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit and His round-the-clock provisions of that power (John 16.13-14).  The story of Acts gives a helpful account about the ODs (original disciples) meeting and wondering about what to do now that the Messiah had been crucified, risen, and ascended back to His Kingdom.  Right then the Holy Spirit appeared with incredible anointing power and His presence was validated with little flames above each of the disciples' heads (Acts 2.3-4).  The details of this story are incredible.  In fact, outsiders thought they were drunk (Acts 2.13, lol).  I believe in the same way God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit engaged disciples back then is no different than now, and outsiders will just not understand while others will want it.  So, what this means is I'm only effective when I'm in close proximity to the Holy Spirit and He will keep me ignited for every good work.  This relationship requires the commitment to sit still, listen, await anointing, and then obey immediately.  And not only that but engaging in quality personal education and mentorship with good friends who support me (and who I can also support) is one of the most wonderful ways to stay ignited.  And lest I be branded as a mystic, don't take my word for it.  Colossians 3:17 says “…whatever you do, in word or deed…” (see also 1 Corinthians 10.31).  I’m not only referring to so-called Church work, but every good work.  One lit cigar can light another as well (Matthew 5.16; 1 Corinthians 10.24; 2 Corinthians 1.4).  Need we say more?  So stay ignited.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.  Slow down…So I just learned the slower and smoother I puff the better the cigar smokes, and the less tired my mouth is too (lol).  It's the same in life.  Slow down…the thing I've loved about living in other countries is how stress-free people are when doing business of all kinds.  Speed is not a virtue.  Sure, the standard manipulations are present like in America but a lot of cultures outside America don't force time.  In fact, in most (if not all) cultures people take time...and lots of tea (and smokes) to build rapport as a priority before engaging in any type of business.  Genuine and sober character is valued above all of the thin hubris and happiness that is common in our culture.  For me, relearning this pro-tip has made all the difference and resulted in less stress and fatigue and better results (Proverbs 16.33; John 14.27).  It's awesome.  Indeed we work with all your might and as unto God, but just chill for a bit and let the Lord handle the outcomes…in His time.

Shrug off the ashes.  When I first started smoking cigars I didn’t know how to deal with the burning end of the cigar.  How soon or how late should you bump the ash into the tray?  It gets tricky because if you have a moist or sweet cigar the ashy end may stay for a long while without falling on you, but eventually and unpredictably it will fall on you unless you tap it into an ash tray.  But when the ashes crumble onto your clothes, it’s not a good idea to try and wipe them off.  Let me also affirm cigar etiquette here: the ashes or cigar but belong in an ash tray and are not to be just flicked around for someone else to deal with.  Offenses work the same way in life.  This has been particularly challenging for my self- awareness especially the more comfortable we get with others.  We too easily reduce our sensitivity to others and flick offenses and leave buts laying around oblivious to maintain sensitivity to our neighbors.  I've discovered one effective antidote is to this disease is to regularly  express genuine gratitude (1 Thessalonians5.18; Colossians3.15; Job 6.14).  In fact, for me flicking the ashes has now become a fun skill and practice.  Like in life, offenses fall on us like ashes whether from relatives, our partner, friends, work colleagues, or life.  Truth be told these offenses are not like sticks and stones.  We can then ruminate on these offenses and major in minors especially if we have baggage - and we do.  We can also be oblivious to and lack the self-awareness needed to recognize our own possible shortcomings and rough edges (James 1.9; 1 Timothy 4.12).  These perceived offenses are like ashes in the grand narrative, just simply not a big deal, and many (if not all) of life's personal attacks can be dealt with by simply taking a step back (or standing up), getting some understanding, some help, and ultimately shrugging them off (Psalm 1.1-2, 83.3; Proverbs 19.21, 20.18, 21.30).  A lot of things are first world or champagne problems and if it's absolutely difficult to get over things, get some professional help; pray, seek Scripture, talk with the Holy Spirit, an older trusted friend and if necessary, seek a therapist (Job 18.7; Proverbs 19.20,21).  Take time to process each day and take on lessons that can be learned for the future.  It's not healthy emotionally or physically to fester and try to concoct revenge or self-justification so shrug off the ashes.

Stay preserved.  You cannot leave a cigar sitting around.  This was by far the most insightful lesson I learned because a dried up (and rotten) cigar is simply disgusting.  There are no two ways around it, unless I’m really desperate which still isn’t worth it.  Like food products, cigars are perishable so they must be kept in a sealed, humidity-controlled environment.  It doesn’t cost much for the equipment necessary to keep a cigar preserved, and in fact I cannot afford not to keep my stash preserved.  So much can be said about this and I don’t want to overlook the obvious, and given our current climate we will go there.  As a Christian I am especially reminded of this daily (Psalm 37.1,35; 73.3,17).  As trust for authority continues to erode we remember that God is still on the throne, and still King.  I see so much cynicism, unruliness, violence, arrogance, ignorance, injustice, laziness, and real rebellion more than before.  While these behaviors are nothing new the feeling is that they are more pervasive than before and it has become difficult to live in this type of environment (2 Timothy 3.13).  I love the reminders and encouragement from Scripture and Christ that “…in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16.33).  The Messiah, Emmanuel has proved Himself so therefore I love the Messiah, I trust the Messiah and I listen to Him and obey Him.  The reality is Jeshua, Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit are in control.  They ordain and preserve all events for their glory (Psalm 33.10-11).  They give us other believers as blessings to help preserve and edify each other, and the important thing to remember is that staying preserved cannot and should not be done on an island if we can help it (Proverbs 17.17; Psalm 66.9; John 17.11; Colossians 3.16; 1 Thessalonians 5.11).  I have a feeling the new status quo is here to stay so it’s a good idea to stay close to the one who preserves.  We cannot afford not to do so.

Stay warm.  Cigars are for every season, even winter and I'm not sophisticated enough to smoke indoors yet especially in summer and winter.  But when winter rolls around it's wise to grab a coat, more specifically a smoking jacket.  2020 presented a vast array of seasons for all of us, and for me it was a time of persevering, lamenting, introspection and pruning (Psalm 51.17; John 16.20).  Life comes in all seasons and sometimes it's tempting to give in to callousness and coldness so it's important to recognize that these seasons challenge our areas of immaturity (Ecclesiastes 3.4; see all of James 1).  Life comes with all sorts of winter, and we should be ready and not surprised.  A good start is the warmth of God’s counsel and the warm company of other Godly people (Proverbs 18.24; Hebrews 10.25).

Stand (or sit) with your back to the wind.  This is a little like #4 and #6.  Ideal conditions for a good cigar are a spring day with little to no wind, but life comes in all seasons.  I personally enjoy smoking outside so I make sure my back is to the wind which is always present to any degree.  Just recently I experienced smoking in a sandstorm (and now I can cross that off my life list).  This principle still worked flawlessly.  It is said that "there are times when you can do the right thing in the wrong wind."  I like to think of the relationship between an airplane and the wind in which the former benefits greatly from the latter.  Or the weights and machines at a gym.  In life this is not to say to ignore or dismiss your trials, critics, opposers, or some legitimate limitations but standing with your face to the wind sometimes yields poor results.  From the wind I've learned we will all definitely always have setbacks, critics, and haters, but I don't need to constantly pay attention to them or they will paralyze me and ultimately hold me back – especially my inner critic.  Conversely flattery can be as dangerous because it affirms what you may already think of yourself, so "don't be afraid of enemies who can attack you but friends who flatter you" (Carnegie).  On the other hand China's Lao Tzu said, "Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner."  I think the point is to avoid focusing on critics and the past (or past mistakes) or run the risk of staying stuck in the past.  Conversely I've also learned to appreciate critics and trials - opposing winds - because they will provide special insight into ways to improve personal and professional development.  Like #4, when we harness criticism and opposition and take time to bounce these personal and perceived criticisms or attacks off the counsel of the Holy Spirit, close and trusted friends and advisers it serves greatly to our advantage.  Sometimes, as Proverbs says, these criticisms may serve as correction for the wise so that we become prudent…if we’re wise (Proverbs 1.7; 15.5).  Proverbs also puts the opposite perfectly, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him” (Proverbs 26.4).  Yikes, as a leader (and if you’re a leader) this is potent yet sometimes difficult because it's [often] not wise to correct a fool when you want or need to, and I've learned to neither (or just never) argue with a fool either way.  This counsel is affirmed in Holy Scripture and nearly all cultures.  In life if you have to endure a fool just don't say anything, and you CAN just walk away.

Sip a good drink to complement your cigar. This is my favorite part of each day and it doesn't *always* need to include alcohol.  But this ritual is a time to chill for a moment and do the above because it’s so enjoyable and can open up quality time to recharge especially with my wife and friends.  I've personally found coffee, Ginger ale, or Whiskey or Scotch on the weekend to be great liquid companions for my cigar (Psalm 104.15; John 2; 1 Tim 5.33).