I always think nothing could get worse in Evangelicalsim and then I read something that tells me things are getting from bad to worse. This week I am reading a book by Brian McLaren and understanding nothing he is saying which I think he secretly wants....:). There seems to be an outer group such as me, and then this cliquish "in" group called the postmoderns. From what I am reading, we in the outer group cannot possibly understand the postmoderns so we shouldn't even try to talk with them much less mentor them. Only the "in" leaders can do this.
Bob at his TotemtoTemple blog directs us to a masterpiece review of McLaren's last book (his next one comes out on this March 25) by Tim Challies. From what Tim wrote, I don't think he got it either. But then Tim isn't in the "in" group either. Maybe Tim and I can reminisce about the good ole times together.
The sad thing is, for Tim who is young, I think the good ole days were last week. That is how fast all of these new and very "off-track" ideas are bombarding the church. Between universalism which seems to be really what McLaren is into, and the Third Wave, and open theism and God knows what else...and only God does know, we are under attack from the INSIDE.
And if all of that was bad enough, get this:
Church 'Brings Christ Into the World' of Violent Video Game's Players
"A Colorado congregation has an unorthodox outreach that uses a popular but violent video game to share the gospel. With two televisions, eight controllers and two Xboxes to accommodate up to eight video game players at a time, Red Rocks Church in Golden draws white-collar professionals with mortgages, kids with expendable incomes and scruffy-faced teens who come to play Halo 2 (H2), the record-breaking video game that raked in more than $125 million during its first 24 hours on the market in November -- making it the biggest one-day sales event in entertainment history.
In H2, which is set in 2552, players take on the role of a marine who is skilled in the art of hand-to-hand combat. In detailed maps, players stalk one another and try to eliminate one another with all manner of weapons.
Yet while the other gamers are hoping to go on killing sprees or running riots, Scott Bruegman, pastor of Red Rocks Church and an avid video game player himself, is hoping to grow his flock through the Halo outreach, which is currently held on Thursday nights.
"We started playing Halo to have fun," Bruegman, 33, who moved to the Denver area two years ago to start a church targeted at teens and young professionals, told "New Man" magazine in the March /April issue, out now. The full story on Xbox evangelism can be found in the magazine.
"But as more people came to play we saw that it was a great way to meet people," Bruegman added. "Eventually, we realized it was a great way to build relationships that could lead to conversations about Christ."
So why does Bruegman use H2, a first-person shooter game that is rated "M" (for mature) and features blood and gore, violence and even some bad language?
"Halo has brought people together and relationships have formed," Bruegman said. "By playing Halo a sense of trust develops and the non-Christian gamers see Christ-like attributes in our lives. As we've become friends they've started asking us about life and God."
Jeff Marlan, 30, an aspiring professional golfer, is glad Bruegman was willing to embrace an entertainment phenomenon and use it as a tool to minister.
"They've really impacted my life through the times we've played Halo," Marlan said of Bruegman and other church leaders. "I've always been a Christian, but I've never been too involved in church. It's been a life-changing experience."
Adds Bruegman: "We're befriending people who have had few positive encounters with Christians and we're bringing Christ into their world."
For more information on how to use video gaming as a form of evangelism, visit: the-whats-next-collective.org, xboxmission.org, redrockschurch.com."
I rest my case.
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6 comments:
I honestly didn't know what to think of that McLaren book... I think he had some good points, there was just some stuff that I didn't know how to take... There was a lot of stuff that you could almost take two ways... I'd get into it further, but I don't feel like pulling out the book.
Colin (virtualroadkill) said:
Sorry - I haven't read the book, the review or any other blogs on the topic, so I'm not defending them.
I will say, though, that you seem somewhat confused about the whole post-modern thing - it's just a somewhat arbitrary label to identify a group of people with similar age, who see the world and their ideals within it in a reasonably similar way. Also, it's a secular term, not specifically theological. It's no more an "in" group than the baby-boomers and their white-picket fences.
It's not about "in" and "out" groups, rather different people who have different ways of understanding and communicating. An us-and-them approach only serves to raise the defence mechanism and prevent good communication.
To effectively communicate to any such sub-culture, we should understand it, which is easier for someone from that sub-culture than for a passive observer.
The church, too, is a sub-culture with words, phrases and behaviours foreign to the casual observer and all too often takes the us-and-them approach to evangelism (with the church being the "in" group, of course). With the world changing as quickly as it is, kudos to any church that successfully bridges the cultural divide and uses their own idols to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, as did Paul in Athens (Acts 17:22-23) and other places. That is, of course, assuming that we believe in the Christ of the gospels, who ate and drank with sinners, much to the criticism of the church leaders of his day.
Hi Diane,
I am Scott Bruegman from the Golden, Colorado church that plays a lot of video games. I was unsure as to why you are down on our efforts to reach people in natural ways for Jesus. We have just started Red Rocks Church and amazing things are taking place; lives are being changed! I bet you would love our church. The body of Christ is growing here and this body plays Halo.
I have worked w/ Scott for a few years in the 90's and feel that I can testify to his heart for the unsaved. The Church historically attacks any new move, or tool of ministry. But the Proof of whether it is of God is and Always Will Be Whether Lives are Changed. Martin Luther said "the Gospel of today is the Law of tommorow" Judge the results not the methods.
I help run a Friday night G4C, Gamers 4 Christ at our church. We have been running for about 6 weeks now. We built a 4 TV console and still run 3 other XBox units aside from the console. We generally have LAN Parties that have about 28-30 people attending and 28 can play. We play from 5-10 on Friday evenings and stop mid way and give a gospel message. We have seen over 25 kids give their life to the Lord, 11 on the first night alone. We have had over 75 students come through our G4C program and God is blessing it every week, we need to build another. It has been primarily an outreach, only 20 of our youth group students come, making over 55 students who were not part of our youth group come in to our church. Many have not stopped on just coming Friday nights. We have students who join our Outdoor Disciple on Monday nights, or our praise and worship band ND Light on Tuesdays or youth group on Wednesday or Revealed our drama team on Sundays. God has moved his people to bring the church to the unchurched. We don't allow any put-downs, bad language etc. they all result in push ups. Kids invite other kids and we hold tournaments and we give a 45-60 minute gospel message every Friday night and we have seen the Holy Spirit move. It has been awesome! We don't play campaigns, just slayer games, capture the flag etc. It's sort of a virtual lazer tag or paint ball. I would love to find a way that I could get 30 unsaved students to church on a Friday night and have a great time. Well, we found it. There are lots of great sites out there to support Christian Gaming. Sometimes we need to think outside of the box to reach the lost, don't stop. Allow God to captain the ship. If the Holy Spirit convicts you of the method then stop. Too often we act for the Spirit and get in the way of the work God has in hand. Blessings!
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