Faith Archives - Page 10 of 12 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

The “Fiddy Cent” Bible

Posted on: 10/5/09 4:57 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Not to be confused with a Bible that only is half a dollar… this “Bible” is a collection of self reliance advice from successful rapper Fiddy Cent. (now forever knows as “50”)

It’s always intriguing to peek at the philosophies that our kids hear from their heroes today. I think you’ll find some of 50’s advice… well… interesting.

Fast Company Magazine provides a little slideshow giving you a glimpse of this new book, a collaboration between 50 and author Robert Greene. 50 was a fan of Green’s 2000 book, The 48 Laws of Power. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson credits Green’s book for his success- 50 was named the #1 earning Hip-Hop Cash King by Forbes in 2008. Green and 50 worked together this time to create The 50th Law- the 50 Cent Bible.

Here’s some of the advice you’ll find from 50.

“Lead from the front”

“Reality is my drug. The more I have of it, the more power I get and the higher I feel.”

“Make everything your own- self reliance”

“I was born alone and I will die alone. I’ve got to do what is right for me and not live my life the way anybody else wants it.”

“The public is never wrong”

“When I nearly died, it made me think- this can happen again any second. I better hurry and do what I want.”

If your kids are fans of 50, here’s a fun exercise. Don’t over-react, instead, use this as an opportunity to teach your kids to evaluate philosophies like this (they’ll get plenty of this when they’re out on their own!), comparing them with Biblical truth. Place 50’s advice parallel with corresponding Biblical advice- compare and contrast. For example. Take 50’s “Lead from the front” and compare it with Jesus’ model of servant leadership and “The first shall be last” philosophy.”

Don’t rip on 50’s philosophies… just ask questions.

“What is good about this advice?”

“What might be dangerous about this advice?”

“How does this advice differ from Biblical advice?”

“Which is right?”

Posted in Entertainment Media, Faith, Music, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

How Many Atheists… Really?

Posted on: 09/29/09 3:01 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s interesting to me how often the subject of atheists has come up in conversation lately. Maybe it’s because I just re-read the final edit of my book titled CONNECT, a book that devotes an entire chapter on the type of kid I call the “No-Way-Kid,” a kid who is quick to tell you, “There is no way you’ll ever find me in church!”

Youth workers keep asking me about these types of kids. It seems that I’ve been hearing a lot of conjecture about the growing number unbelieving kids.

Notice the semantics there… I didn’t say “atheists.” We have to be careful with our word choice. If we were talking about atheists… the numbers are much smaller.

How many athiests are there really in the U.S. right now?

Do you want the quick answer? 1.6 percent. That’s right. Not even two percent. Check it out yourself on the chart on page 5 of this “Religious Landscape Study” from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Now, if we expand that definition to include anyone who is “unaffiliated” with any religion, then that percentage would grow to 16.1 percent. That includes atheists, agnostics and those who simply refer to themselves as generally “unaffiliated” with any faith.

If you want to take a closer look at young people specifically, check out the chart on page 40 from the same study. You’ll find that 25 percent of 18-29 year olds (the youngest group surveyed) claimed “unaffiliated,” with 3% claiming to be atheist and 4% claiming agnostic.

25% sounds a little bigger. Think about it. 25% of 18-29 year olds claim no affiliation with any religion.

This is a slight increase from previous data. David chimes in on this increase, looking at this study and others in this week’s Youth Culture Window article.

This isn’t our first article about this study. I referred to it in a blog about the changing U.S. religious beliefs, and David referred to it before in his article about shrinking church attendance.

I encourage you to check out those articles and studies first hand (each article links the original studies so you can investigate it yourself). Fascinating stuff!

Posted in Evangelism, Faith, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

If God Texted the 10 Commandments

Posted on: 06/6/09 7:52 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This is hilarious…

GOD TEXTS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg’s

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok – ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

(ht to McSweeney’s via Fast Company, list by Jaimie Quatro)

Posted in Faith, Humor | | Leave A Comment

Keep it Real

Posted on: 05/13/09 12:21 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m speaking at a conference in the Maritimes (Canada) this summer, and I just was chatting with the conference coordinator about the theme. He wanted me to send him my theme and the direction I would go.

I started brainstorming about the theme REAL. Just one word. I’ve used that theme before and really liked it. So I whipped up some thoughts on the subject. Curious of all of your thoughts.

Theme: REAL

REAL is a word we hear almost every day. No one wants a fake. No one likes a phony. In today’s language we even have developed phrases that show our desire for authenticity: “Let me keep it REAL.”

But does the world really want REAL? Is the desire for authenticity… authentic? Let’s be honest. Most of the people we run into in this world are more concerned with outward appearance than who they really are inside. Often, what we see from people on the outside is not the REAL thing. Honesty is rare. Complete authenticity is almost extinct. In the online world it’s difficult to find people who really are who they say they are. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is really REAL anymore.

“Keeping it REAL” seems to be just a catchy phrase… a bunch of words without meaning. In actuality, the world has exchanged truth for a lie. The world seeks “temporary” things, while ignoring our eternal condition. In the Bible, in the beginning of the book of Romans, Paul describes people as “suppressing the truth with their wickedness.” Think about that. He describes people as pushing away the truth, exchanging it for a lie. How REAL is that?

What does it mean to be truly REAL in superficial world?

This week we will be talking about our REAL condition and the REAL pressures we feel every day. God provides something so REAL that we can’t ignore it… and it’s not found in religion or good deeds… it’s found in a relationship with Him. An authentic relationship with our creator changes us in a REAL way, a change that occurs from the inside out.

It doesn’t get any more REAL than that.

Posted in Faith, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Miley’s Reaction to Miss California

Posted on: 04/28/09 12:14 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Most of us are aware of Miss California’s statement about Gay Marriage. But how many of us have heard what Miley said just days after? Read below… because I want your feedback!

It all started when Miss California, Carrie Prejean, answered a question about same sex marriages. I quote:

“We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what in my country, in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be, between a man and a woman.”

You can read all about it here.

As a guy who is very sensitive about this issue (because we as Christians have really messed up and said hateful and judgmental things), I was actually really pleased with Miss California’s response. I think she was not condemning, and at the same time, she shared her honest opinion based on her Biblical values. She has come across really strong through this whole ordeal.

I’m not going to debate the issue in this blog. I’ve shared my two cents on the homosexuality issue before in blogs and articles. But I was very interested in Miley’s response to this whole thing.

I keep an eye on Miley because… well… most of the young girls of this nation are doing the same. Miley has had some ups and downs in the press. She is a proclaimed believer, and I think she’s been a pretty good role model overall.

A couple days after Miss California’s comments, Miley twittered about the subject. Her words:

“Jesus loves you and your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! That’s like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz he’s gay and that is wrong and very sad! Like I said everyone deserves to be happy. I am a Christian and I love you — gay or not. Because you are no different that anyone else! We are all God’s children!” (MTV News)

Hmmmmmm.

We, as Christians need to follow Christ’s example on this issue. That means

1. Showing love and compassion.

2. Pointing to the truth in love (not changing our morals to be politically correct)

Unfortunately, we (Christians) have failed on both extremes in recent years (you’ve heard me rant about this recently).

Where do you think Miley’s comments fall?

Posted in Faith, News, Sexuality, Youth Culture | | Leave A Comment

Reacting to the Day of Silence?

Posted on: 04/17/09 5:13 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last year I blogged about the Christian response to “The Day of Silence.” It’s called “The Day of Truth,” and I’ll tell you up front… I’m not a big fan. This year I’ve been getting emails about both days… so in response to the inquiries, I’m reposting last year’s blog. Here goes…

The Day of What? (modified from it’s original 4/21/2008 version)

Why is it that Christians always feel that they need to “stand up for their rights” and speak out against organizations, or governments that are caught up in sin?

Where is this in the Bible?

It’s probably no secret to some of you that today was the pro-homosexual tolerance Day of Silence. This day brings attention to the anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. I’m not going to address the issue of homo-sexuality in this blog. I’ve addressed it before in blogs and articles. In this blog I’m simply addressing our RESPONSE to the world when we don’t like what we see. (and I’m going to highlight an example of how NOT to respond)

Why do Christians think that picket signs or protesting is the answer?

Let me ask you: name one person you know that accepted Christ because someone “protested” them into the Kingdom.

So why do Christians feel the need to do this?

Oh… I know why. It’s because when Jesus looked at the corrupt government of his day (Are you aware of what was going on in Herod’s house at the time?) he must have responded by gathering a mob and picketing the immoral lifestyle… wait… just a second… you mean… he didn’t? Well maybe he started a website, organizing people to protest in another way? No?

Hmmmmmm.

Well, Christians have created their own day in response to the Day of Silence called The Day of Truth. On Monday, April 20, 2009, some Christians have decided to establish this day to “counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective… The Day of Truth provides an opportunity to publicly exercise our free speech rights.”

When I saw this I immediately thought of a few conversations I’ve had with Dan Kimball on the subject. Dan is a Christian speaker and author who believes engaging in homosexual acts is a sin, but shows incredible compassion and love to the homosexual community (He touches on this in our podcast with him, Podcast Episode #12 and in his powerful book, They Like Jesus, But Not the Church). I asked Dan his opinion about this Christian response- The Day of Truth. Dan gave me some quick thoughts:

i think those types of things end up doing more harm than good. i would encourage parents to be talking with their teenagers and youth leaders addressing it wisely in their ministries, but doing a public event at a high school i am not sure is beneficial to the direction of hope. i would encourage the Christian teenagers to simply be friends with gay students and pro-gay students, and in the context of friendships the message of jesus will come through. I don’t know if formalizing a date to do it only reinforces things and we lose our voice.

I can’t agree more.

Earlier this year many of us saw statistics of just how bad we look to the rest of the world. Only 16% of unchurched people had positive things to say about Christians. The majority of them used words like “hypocrite” and “judgemental” to describe us. The other term they use is “anti-homosexual.”

It all comes down to this. The Day of Truth web site is not without good intentions. They seem to be seeking conversation with homosexuals. Their cards bear this as part of their message:

It’s time for an honest conversation about homosexuality.
There’s freedom to change if you want to.
Let’s talk.

I think talking is good. But here’s what I’ll leave you with: If our goal is conversations, do you really think a formal day of “speaking out” will create conversations with homo-sexuals? Or will it build walls?

Some great comments to this blog last year here.

Posted in Evangelism, Faith | | Leave A Comment

America Becoming Less Christian

Posted on: 03/10/09 10:03 AM | by Jonathan McKee

America is becoming less “Christian” according to the American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Really? I would have never guessed. (sarcasm implied)

75% of Americans call themselves Christian, according to the survey, where in 1990, the figure was 86%. (CNN, March 3, 2009)

I’ve been looking at these stats for years, and they always seemed to land around 80%. Newsweek did a survey a few years ago and 81% of believers called themselves Christian. About 5 years ago I posted an article on our website about reaching out to the “unchurched” and quoted a stat from 1999 when 82% said they were Christian. But as I stated in that article, many of these proclaimed Christians have no idea what this word means. It seems to mean a lot more about the religion that was handed down to them, rather than being a follower of Christ and his beliefs.

I found it fascinating that the CNN article sited a difference between “evangelicals” and others:

The survey also found that “born-again” or “evangelical” Christianity is on the rise, while the percentage who belong to “mainline” congregations such as the Episcopal or Lutheran churches has fallen.

One in three Americans consider themselves evangelical, and the number of people associated with mega-churches has skyrocketed from less than 200,000 in 1990 to more than 8 million in the latest survey.

The article goes on to note an increasing divide between evangelicals and those turning away from “religion” as a whole. fascinating stuff. I encourage you to read it.

It’s interesting to watch religious (and anti-religious) trends. Last year I blogged about Americans treating religion like a salad bar where they take what they want, and leave what doesn’t match their lifestyle.

This is the time of “what’s in it for me?” This mindset creates a huge divide between true followers of Christ and the rest of the world. Christ’s actual followers believe in love, harmony and self sacrifice, where the world believes in lust, “my rights,” and self preservation.

This divide is not a rebellious divide where Christians make a bunch of noise. It’s a divide where people will see hope in the lives of Christ’s followers and notice something different. These Christians will be ready to answer when people ask about the hope that they have (I Peter 3:15-18)

If the people of Christ continue to grow, then the divide will only become larger.

Hmmmmm.

(ht to KJ)

Posted in Church, Evangelism, Faith, News | | Leave A Comment

More Loyal to Toothpaste Brand Than Church?

Posted on: 02/18/09 3:22 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Another example of “what the world thinks of us.”

USA Today puts it like this:

Some Americans are more loyal to their toothpaste or toilet paper than to their religious denomination, making those consumers more choosy about Charmin or Colgate than they are about church, according to a new survey.

According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16% of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22% of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19% would use just one brand of bathroom tissue.

Sigh. I don’t think I’ll even comment.

(ht to Jamie L.)

Posted in Church, Faith, News | | Leave A Comment

A Positive Evangelism Experience from an Atheist

Posted on: 12/31/08 2:02 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Greg Stier over at Dare 2 Share just emailed me about a YouTube video he just saw… fascinating!

I don’t know if you are familiar with the comedian Penn, of “Penn and Teller.” They are quite popular. Penn is an atheist and is always quick to point out phonies. In this particular video… he surprised me. He had an experience with a guy in his audience who kindly gave him a Gideon Bible. Penn was very complementary of this guy’s attitude and methodology. That’s huge!

Penn, a self-proclaimed atheist, goes on to argue that if we think someone is going to Hell, we should definitely warn them. He argues that we shouldn’t keep our religion to ourselves. We SHOULD prosthelytize. After all, he says, “If I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it. There’s a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

Yeah. Very cool.

It takes him a couple minutes to set up his story (he’s very artsy)… but it’s worth the wait. Watch what he says. Good stuff.

(Click here to see the video if you received this via email)

Wow! Good job Mr. Gideon Bible dude! Very cool.

Greg blogged about it as well on his blog today: http://www.gregstier.org/

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New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on: 12/29/08 10:36 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m trying to take a little time off with the family the next few days before I fly off again… so I’ll leave you with a list of my 5 resolutions for next year.

1. Yell less. I’m a parent, I’m Irish, and I’ve got teenagers in the home… there’s usually some yelling involved. I’m going to try to handle situations more like Clint Eastwood. Instead of yelling at my son, I’m just going to ask him, “Do you feel lucky… punk?”

2. Read more of the Word with my wife. This resolution will probably help the first one. In the last year Lori and I have spent some time studying the Bible and praying together, but not nearly enough. Lori loves this time, and I do too… when I actually do it. I’m wanting to have more of these times, so I’m resolving to make it happen.

3. See the 160’s on the scale. Some of you remember me talking about my weight before. I LOVE food. It’s my vice. That’s why I hit the 200’s a few years back (not a pretty picture). In the last year, I’ve really been working out hard and got down to the low 180s, I even hit 179 for a few days (before the holidays). But I really want to see 169 at least once. I’d be happy to settle in the low 170s… I just want to see my old friend 169 just for a day!

4. I want to bench-press 300. Call it what you want, but part of my getting back in shape has been hitting the weights again. Realize, in high school I was a lightweight (135 poundish), but I always liked lifting. I got close to benching 200 in high school, but never hit it. A few years ago I hit that mark. Now that I’m trying to get into shape, I’m up to about 235 on the bench… and trying to increase. Yes, 300 is a pretty lofty goal. Can I up it 65 pounds in one year and hit the 300 mark? I have no clue. But I’ve gotta have something to strive for.

5. I want to see our Training Tools page come to fruition. Most of these goals have been personal goals… but I’m pretty dang excited about this ministry goal. David and I are working on a training tools page that would offer youth workers two needed resources: online computer-based training for all youth workers, and “ready-made” power point and training outlines for youth leaders. We’ve already started this, we hope to be launching three of the training outlines with powerpoint in the next couple months. This resource is gonna rock. And like all the other stuff on our site… it will be free.

How’s that?

Wow… that would be cool if I could look back and have accomplished those 5 things by the end of 2009.

Posted in Faith, Family, Personal | | Leave A Comment