February 16, 2010
Huh? A Baptist who celebrates Ash Wednesday? That’s like an American celebrating Boxing Day. The two just don’t go together. Despite the misnomer, Baptists do celebrate Ash Wednesday and Lent, especially this Baptist. Two of the classic Baptist distinctives is local autonomy and soul liberty. Each Baptist church has the freedom to worship however the church sees fit. Since we Baptists do not have a book of worship or order, like other denominations, Baptists are free to worship as they feel led. This of course does not happen in a vacuum. I have always believed that Baptists must be led by scripture, reason, tradition, and experience (the Wesleyan Quadrilateral) with scripture being the final authority.
Here at First Baptist Church, we are preparing to dive into the spiritual discipline of Lent. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. The goal of Ash Wednesday is to reflect upon our humanness, our need for forgiveness, and our connection to Christ’s last days. These themes are symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, with the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return…” during the worship service. In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of penitence and mourning. Job was known for placing ashes upon his head to mourn the loss of his family.
Sure, Catholics do it, but that does not mean that we become Catholic if we receive ashes. We are merely participating in the greater historical liturgical practices of Christians. There is nothing magical about the ashes. You are not any more holy for participating in Ash Wednesday, but it is just another way to experience the presence of God in our lives in a symbolic way.
But, where did this act of worship and repentance on Ash Wednesday come from? Christianity Today provides some insight:
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Ash Wednesday | Tagged: Ash Wednesday, christian, christianity, christians, faith, Jesus, Lent, liturgical, theology, worship | 
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Posted by Alan Rudnick
February 5, 2010
Believe it or not, but we all take risks. We take a risk every time we drive, go to the store, or eat dinner at a restaurant. When we drive, there is a risk of an accident. When we go to the store, there is a risk that we could slip and fall on spilled milk in isle 8. At a restaurant, there is a risk of eating contaminated food and getting sick.
Some risks are bigger than others. Football, skiing, snowmobiling, ski diving, and racing are all risky activities. Men are responsible for 68% of all injuries, while women only 32%. Young people under the age of 24 account for a third of all injuries. Unfortunately, for me, these statistics ring true for me, but that’s another story.
Insurance companies make money by discriminating people based on age, sex, and past medical history to account for the likelihood of accidents, medical procedures, or injury. Financial companies charge people more money for loans if they are deemed more likely to default on a loan. The bigger the risk, bigger the potential reward or loss. Millions of dollars are invested in “venture capital” projects that could either fail or make a ton of money.
Risk is big business… I guess you can say a risky business.
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Leave a Comment » | Discipleship | Tagged: christian, Christian values, christianity, christians, epiphany 5c, faith, Jesus, risks, seekers | Permalink
Posted by Alan Rudnick
November 4, 2009
Many people ask me what I’d being doing if I was not a pastor, often I say, “I don’t know, but I know I would not be happy if I was not a pastor.” I truly cannot imagine doing anything other than ministering to others, cultivating faith, teaching, and providing spiritual care. However, I could be a chaplain to an NFL team. What a dream job!
I have already blogged about my experience providing the invocation at the NFL Players Gala in Washington D.C. Besides doing my ministerial duties, I got to meet Bill Cower, Ben Roethlisberger, John Riggins, Clinton Portis, and Larry Fitzgerald. Believe it or not, the NFL regularly uses chaplains and spiritual advisers for players and teams. You could imagine the sweet perks of the job!
Time Magazine wrote a piece on NFL chaplains who regularly counsel and meet with players. What is most interesting about the article is how one chaplain tells players they shouldn’t “pimp out Jesus”:
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3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: chaplain, christian, christianity, christians, faith, God, NFL, religion | Permalink
Posted by Alan Rudnick
October 12, 2009
As part of Judson Press’ blog tour for Russell Rathbun’s new book, nuChristian: finding faith in a new generation, I have had the wonderful opportunity to preview and review this insightful book. In addition, Wednesday of this week, I will feature a Q & A with Russell about his new book. On Friday, Russell will be featured as a guest blogger.
nuChristian begins with a very brief forward by author and activist Shane Claiborne (fellow Eastern University alum), of the Simple Way. Claiborne, known for being a radical voice and champion for the poor, harmonizes with Rathbun’s message of how Christianity must shape “nuChristians”. That is, Christians who are no longer identified by hypocritical actions, scandal, and hot button issues.
In the preface, Rathbun lays out that the purpose of this book is to join the conversation of David Kinnamen’s book UnChristian. Back in 1996, Kinnamen’s Barna Group, found that 83% of Americans identified themselves as Christians, and that fewer than 20% of non-Christians held an unfavorable view of Christianity. Between 2004 and 2007, nine out of ten non-Christians between the ages of 16-29 found Christians to be too anti-homosexual. In addition, almost as many saw Christianity as it as “hypocritical” and “judgmental.” Seventy-five percent of non-Christians thought Christians were too involved in politics. UnChristian used these statistics and made the case that non-Christian resentment is focused on perceived Christian attitudes. Kinnaman used these statistics to form a bleak picture of Western Christianity.
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1 Comment | Book Review | Tagged: Christ, christian, Christian values, christianity, Emergent church, faith, Generation X, House of Mercy, Judson Press, megachurch, nuChristian, post modernity, Russell Rathbun, seekers, theology, UnChristian, young people | Permalink
Posted by Alan Rudnick
September 21, 2009
With mega-churches basking in the spotlight of mainstream media, several studies have been done about the mega-church movement that might just surprise you. A study just released a few days ago, indicates that the largest churches in the United States are “Christian, contemporary, and evangelical.” Mega-churches are growing, so the short term studies cite. The largest churches in the United States have reach amazing numbers:
- Lakewood Church – Houston, TX 43,500 weekly
- LifeChurch.tv – Edmond, OK 26,776 weekly
- Willow Creek Community Church – South Barrington, IL 23,400 weekly
- North Point Community Church – Alpharetta, GA 23,377 weekly
- Second Baptist Church – Houston, TX 22,723 weekly
However, more long term studies show that churches and communities of faith are losing ground. The 18 year American Religious Identification Survey show that the percentage of “other Christians” (evangelical, protestant, and non-denominational churches) has dropped. Even in the Bible belt! In Texas, 20% of “other Christians” (basically, non-Catholics) have changed their faith affiliation to something other than Christian. You can check out the interactive graphic here.
The American Religious Identification Survey said “the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.” With so many mega-churches growing, there must be a “drop out” rate that is not being reported because “the percentage of those who choose a generic label, calling themselves simply Christian, Protestant, non-denominational, evangelical or “born again,” was 14.2%, about the same as in 1990.”
Even more surprising are what these surveys and studies have found:
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4 Comments | mega church | Tagged: American Religious Identification Survey, and evangelical, Bill Hybels, christian, christianity, christians, church, church dropout, church growth, contemporary, Emergent church, Evagelical Church growth, faith, God, Lakewood Church, LifeChurch.tv, mega church, megachurch, North Point, seeker sensitive, seekers, The Pew Forum, theology, Willdow Creek, worship | Permalink
Posted by Alan Rudnick
July 24, 2009
There is a developing movement within literature to chronicle an outsider’s perspective on the strange land of Evangelical Christianity. It seems that the world sees all Evangelical Christians as fervent, ignorant, and misguided by a holy book. Being an Evangelical myself, I can see how the outside world can group all Evangelicals into this stereotype. The media tends to pick up on the extremes of any group, ideology, or religion and usually tries gives us the most radical angle. You would think that I would NOT recommend books about non-Christians views on Christianity, but there are two books that are worthy of your consideration about strangers in a strange land that yield some surprising insights.
In the first book, A Jew Among the Evangelicals, by Mark Pinsky, he provides a brief introduction: a religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, uses his unique position as a Jew covering evangelical Christianity to help nonevangelicals understand the hopes, fears, and motivations of this growing subculture and breaks down some of the stereotypes that nonevangelicals have of evangelicals. “I hope you’ll find laughter, perhaps puzzlement, and heartfelt interest in how people just like you wrestle with feelings, values, and beliefs that touch the core of their beings. And I hope you’ll catch a glimpse of someone learning to understand and get along with folks whose convictions differ from his own,” Pinsky writes in the introduction.
The second book, The Unlikely Disciple is by Kevin Roose. Roose leaves his Ivy League setting to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Christian college. The book gives this description: “His journey takes him from an evangelical hip-hop concert to choir practice at Falwell’s legendary Thomas Road Baptist Church. He experiments with prayer, participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach (where he learns to preach the gospel to partying coeds)… He meets pastors’ kids, closet doubters, Christian rebels, and conducts what would be the last print interview of Rev. Falwell’s life.”
Both of these books provide 3 things you should consider before judging Evangelical Christianity:
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Posted by Alan Rudnick
June 8, 2009
Ben Roethlisberger
Earlier this year, a friend and a parishioner at my former church in Maryland asked me if I would like to give the invocation prayer again at the National Football League’s Players Gala and James Brown Awards. Last year, I gave the invocation prayer at the event and got to meet James Brown (of CBS Sports), Bill Cower (former coach of the Pittsburg Steelers and Super Bowl winning coach), and other NFL players who were nominated for the “JB Award” for outstanding community involvement. The gala also serves as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. This year, I happily accepted the invitation again and got to meet Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburg Steelers Quarterback and Super Bowl Champion), Clinton Portis (Washington Redskin running back and Pro-Bowl starter), and Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinal wide receiver and Pro-Bowl MVP).
As I was traveling to the event, I could not help but wonder what place does a prayer have at a professional sports fundraiser and award show? Sure, as a pastor I believe that we should desire to acknowledge God at these functions, but what do professional athletes think about prayer and invoking the name of God publicly? Do these men of mega strength actively seek God out? Sometimes after professional sports games on television players will mention God in passing as if God was a mere minor character in the player’s life. Or during an interview, when professional athletes mention God more specifically and in great length the interviewer will cut off the athlete move on to more “important” facets of the game such as what edge the athlete had or what the athlete did before the game. Still, some acknowledge “The Almighty”, “God”, or just “being blessed” but rarely mention “Jesus.” In my mind, NFL players were not known for putting Christ as the center of their lives, either privately or publicly.
As I walked around the gala at the Washington D.C. Hilton and started to meet and take pictures with the players, I introduced myself and
John Riggins
mentioned my role in the program. Most players did not say much, but they did allow me to take a picture with them. As the time ticked down to my brief moment of prayer, I was ushered backstage and waited for my cue. As I was waiting, I saw James Brown (J.B.) of CBS Sports, who is the driving force behind recognizing NFL Players and their community involvement at the event. I decided to introduce myself and what I was doing there. J.B., a former football player, affectionately embraced me and started to share with me in great length about his involvement with local pastors, local churches, prayer, accountability partners, and working with other religious organizations. He also opened up about his faith in Christ.
J.B. also said something that got my attention. In a very humble way, he said, “You know, what we do out there is something that is done only by the Holy Spirit. You and I, do this for His sake, not ours.” Wow! Here is a celebrity acknowledging the Holy Spirit. He continued to speak about his faith in Christ and he said he enjoyed our time together as fellow brothers in Christ. He also inquired about my journey with God, my ministry, my connection with the event, and my collegiate career in lacrosse.
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1 Comment | NFL | Tagged: Christ, christian, christianity, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Matthew 6, NFL, religion | Permalink
Posted by Alan Rudnick
