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Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2009.”]

The [Expanded

Really, you can’t review the text itself. You can review how it was written and the style, but not the content.

Thomas Nelson released The [Expanded] Bible this summer with praise from John Ortberg. Based off the New Century Version [NCV], The [Expanded] Bible takes the original text of Scripture and fleshes out English words with multiple meanings and expanded descriptions in order to more fully understand the movement of the text. For instance, John 3:16 reads this way:

[For] God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only [only; unique; only begotten; 1:14, 18] Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost [perish], but have eternal life.

Would I use this Bible on a regular basis? Really, I probably should. As I read through a passage, it would help me re-tell the story by knowing more of the true essence of the original text. I don’t use the NCV on a regular basis, though, so that makes it slightly more difficult. It does give a good glimpse into another way of reading Scripture, but I think I’ll wait until the full Bible is released in this style.

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The David Crowder Band has a way with music and worship, a fusion of passionate energy, creative talent and an ever-apparent love for their God. Their work in the Remedy Club Tour Edition CD/DVD is no different.

After the Fall 2007 release of their latest album, Remedy, DC*B hit the road to some of America’s best-known clubs. In the DVD’s bonus material, David Crowder says the band believes God is at work all the time, everywhere, so why not bring people to a worship experience where they might least expect it?

The CD/DVD begins with “Trying To Make you Sing” and “The Glory Of It All,” a simple, yet powerful song that draws in the complete power and glory of God, from Creation to the end of time, and drawing on the whole Gospel story. It sets the stage for an experience of awe in worship that is incredibly powerful.

The rest of the CD? It continues on, almost as its own, complete worship experience. The band breaks for Crowder to explain bwack’s (DC*B drummer) technical prowess, including the radical transformation of a Guitar Hero controller into a stand-alone musical instrument. (His latest project built a sampler for the rock band Family Force 5).

Late in the show, Crowder explains the dual-purpose of the show. The evening was not pure entertainment for some faithful followers, but an opportunity to give back to the communities where each show took place. DC*B invited attendees to bring socks and towels to be donated to homeless shelters in each city. In one city, the patrons of the shelter came to pick up the goods and shed tears at the overwhelming generosity.

As usual, DC*B has innovated their use of music, they bring diverse styles to this album and yet remain so simple. The words are powerful, but not complex. They draw the listener in and share a hope for so much more. If you missed the tour, you can host your own concert experience. And while you’re at it, don’t let it be pure entertainment: find a shelter in your town that could use some socks and towels.

Published at HJ

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Maybe I missed it, but ABC Family’s hit summer debut seems to have snuck past the realm of (most of) the youth ministry blogosphere. I don’t know how my wife heard about it, but I would have missed this.

Right on the heels of Juno and the Massachusetts “pregnancy pact” comes another tale of an untimely teen pregnancy in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”

Welcome to the dog days of summer, where the weather is hot and television is on repeat.

Over the past few years, cable has picked up where the networks fall off during the summer months. The networks have thrown in a few new sagas this summer, but cable still rules the summer.

ABC Family and veteran writer Brenda Hampton have joined elements of Hampton’s popular 7th Heaven series with a growing interest in teen issues to shock the summer TV lineup. Figuratively and literally.

Almost as surprising as the silence in the youth ministry blogosphere is the silence from Christian media in general. I found one obscure (and one-sided) blog from LT Nixon, and one from the Apologetic Youth Pastor (who notes that blog hits have spiked from search engine referrals on this subject — probably because he’s the only one writing about it!). Aside from those two blogs, no one seems to be writing on it.

This surprises me. This is the kind of show that big, southern denominations would have boycotted in the past. It portrays Christians. It portrays sex. In the same show.

Common problems with The Secret Life: too many references to, and too many people having, sex. Teen pregnancy is “glorified.” Too predictable. Derogatory toward Christians.

Amy Juergens (Shai Woodley) has a one-night fling at band camp with the bad-boy drummer, Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff). She gets pregnant.

Grace Bowman (Megan Park) and her boyfriend, Jack Pappas (Greg Finley), take a trip to “splitsville” after Grace’s down syndrome brother catches Jack kissing the town bad girl, Adrian Lee (Francia Raisa). Her parents, the strong Christian leaders of the community, disallow Grace (ironic name?) from seeing Jack.

Adrian is also dating Ricky. Adrian gets jealous that Ricky starts hanging out with Grace, so she starts hanging out with Jack to make Ricky jealous.

And niceguy Ben Boykewich (Kenny Baumann) starts dating the (unbeknownst to him) pregnant Amy.

The Bowman’s are stereotypical, strict Christian parents, but the portrayal is not disrespectful. Every teenage problem is condensed into a half-dozen characters, which is not necessarily realistic.

But this secret life of teenagers is realistic, if not a bit cheesy. Christian teens are tempted by their significant others to “take it too far.” There are teenagers in our schools who are pregnant. There might be a lot of sex in the show, but statistics do show that a lot of our teenagers are engaged in sexual activity.

And maybe the scariest scenario of all: Adrian’s mother, in the midst of sneaking around with Amy’s dad herself, has no clue what her daughter is up to in her spare time. Sometimes this can be the biggest problem we face in student ministry.

We are only four weeks into The Secret Life saga, so my spin on the story may change at the end of the season. But for now, keep an eye out for this show. Missing it would be a shame.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager can be seen Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Article originally published on The Journal of Student Ministries blog.

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Dan Merchant wonders, “Guys, guys [and presumably gals, too]—how are we supposed to have a conversation when everybody’s talking at once? Why is the Gospel of love dividing America?” Want to know why? Merchant decided to find out, so he donned a religious bumper-sticker-covered jumpsuit and set out across America in the documentary Lord, Save Us From Your Followers.

Along the way, Merchant meets Southern Baptists, apathetic Protestants, atheists, Al Franken, Catholics, homosexuals, Jim Santorum, a cross-dressing nun, and Tony Campolo calling Jon Stewart a “prophet of God” (referencing Tucker Carlson’s Crossfire on CNN, October 2004). He listens, asks, talks, pokes, prods. People critique his bumper stickers. They talk religion. In a conversation.

Merchant meets Ron Luce, leader of the national youth movement “Battle Cry” and discusses the “bee-hive” Luce and the event ran into in San Francisco. “Battle Cry” wants today’s Christian youth to speak out against the mass media culture that has turned America, a “Christian nation” according to Luce, into a culture opposed to Christianity. In San Francisco, “Battle Cry” staged a protest event on the steps of the San Francisco City Hall.

“It’s like we put our finger into a bee hive, and we didn’t know it—we didn’t realize it was a hotbed for a very violent response to people who represent the Bible,” Luce said.

This situation, according to Joe Garofoli, of the San Francisco Chronicle, put this Christian event on the same sacred steps for gay marriage, where the Mayor had decided to bless gay marriages just a few years ago. After the blow-up during the first event and plentiful press coverage, Luce brought “Battle Cry” back to San Francisco the next year, and again held a protest on the front steps of City Hall.

Merchant’s documentary opens with an animation of commentary from talking heads:

Jon Stewart: “Religion: it’s a powerful healing force in a world torn apart by… religion.”

Jerry Falwell: “We formed the Moral Majority. We weren’t intending to say everyone else is in the Immoral Minority.”

Merchant hit the streets and asked for the opinion of Americans on what Christians are all about: to be holy. Fanaticism. The Crusades. Killing off non-Christians. Trying to get other people to be Christians. Being good people That “love thy neighbor” thing. Theatrics. Jesus Christ. Being really snobby. Hypocritical. “Preparing to be holy, and being butt-[censored] wild behind closed doors. And that’s a fact.”

For Merchant, the trip began on a trip to Ethiopia, where he met Christians “full of joy, kindness and grace, despite living with daily hardships that would snap [him] in half.” That messed him up, he said, because he started to recognize the “stark contrast” between the Christians in Ethiopia, and the Christians he saw in America. “This collision of faith and culture in America—is killing me,” Merchant says. “It’s one thing to project our faith from a bumper sticker, it’s another to have a conversation. I think we’re getting it wrong again.”

Some will recognize this title from the book release. Lord Save Us has garnered attention from the Today Show and a USA Today Op/Ed piece. The film is available on DVD via group-screening license, by free download from the film’s website, or in a planned limited theatrical release June 13.

As documentaries go, Merchant and co-producer Jeff Martin produced a solid one. Both put their extensive television and film production experience to work, and through their production label hope to create more titles that express the spiritual truths of grace, redemption, and forgiveness.

The voices they include in Lord Save Us span the colors and faces of America and give a multi-sided voice to this commentary on Christianity in America. Politics and hot topics make up the early minutes of the film, while social justice and humility fill the later minutes. The film is also up-to-date, including footage of the Iowa Debates between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Through much of the film, there is a visual stimulation overload with animation, news clips, original interviews, talking heads, images, and music. Yet the representation implied is clear: there are many, many voices… and as Merchant noted early in the film, they’re all talking at once, and few are listening.

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In college, one of my friends thought a jazz book was misplaced in the spirituality section of the local bookstore. He bought it, liked it, passed it around his apartment and the rest of campus. None of us realized how big this book would be. That was Blue Like Jazz in 2003, which author Donald Miller himself never imagined would be a big hit. Miller admits in Jazz Notes that the books success surprised him, and he “anticipated about 90 percent more [negative feedback]” than he got.

Five years later, Miller himself has moved on, as have many of the crowd’s favorite characters, including Tony the Beat Poet and Pastor Rick. The book had sold over one million copies, and the screenplay for “Blue Like Jazz: The Movie” is complete and ready for filming. Now, Miller revisits Blue Like Jazz with Jazz Notes: Improvisations on Blue Like Jazz, a remix version, giftbook style.

Miller’s story is riveting at times. His stories are vividly honest and he asks questions that other people of faith often avoid. He talks about the first time he sinned at the age of 10. He talks about his friend Laura, a pastor’s daughter and avid non-Christian, exploring God and the Bible. He tells the ever-popular story of setting up a Confession Booth at Reed College in Portland, a notoriously secular school, where he and his friends apologized for everything that Christians had done wrong.

Blue Like Jazz is one of those books that I read nearly a half-dozen times, and it was difficult to decipher the new material from the old in Jazz Notes. Even if you have read it a dozen times, Miller writes with a freshness that will grab you every time. Clips from Blue Like Jazz are woven together with Miller’s commentary, new stories, and updates on the original story. The book also features a CD of Miller reading excerpts from the audio book.

If you are really interested in Blue Like Jazz, I would recommend the entire book. If you’ve read Blue Like Jazz and know friends who would like it, or if you want just a quick read, pick up a copy of Jazz Notes. And stay tuned for “Blue Like Jazz: The Movie” and Let Story Guide You, Miller’s much anticipated new book due out later this year.

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The American frontier was often a dark and scary place for those back home. If you weren’t adventurous enough to head out west on your own, you sat back home and worried about those who did. Tony Jones tells a story of a mother and father grief-stricken at the unknown: their daughter and her new husband had ventured to the new frontier, and for months they had no word from their daughter. They did of the frontier’s horrors in the newspaper: disease, extreme weather conditions, poor health and fights with the Indians.

In The New Christians, Jones introduces the world to the new frontier of emerging Christianity. Emerging church leaders, Jones says, are moving their churches to focus more on outward, Gospel-inspired ideas than on self-preservation.

Jones and others have received much flak from prominent Protestant leaders. He jokes that any church leader reading The New Christians would receive less criticism by covering the book with a dirty magazine than to show what they are reading. A pastor joining Jones on a convention panel, warned the audience, “It’s dangerous…if these Emergent guys get their way, pretty soon we’ll be [practicing bestiality].” Jones strongly denies this claim, but acknowledges the source of these fears. “The primary concern for traditional evangelicals,” Jones says, “is the specter of relativism.”

For centuries, people have taken their faith quite seriously, and Jones is unabashedly turning his boat in a different direction. He writes of someone who likened the traditional church to an ocean liner. One day, a small group boarded a life raft and set off in a new direction, only to find that “scores of others” wanted to follow. This “life raft” is taking faith more seriously, calling people to a deeper understanding of their belief and calling into question any “easy answer.”

For many of his opponents, particularly evangelical megachurch pastors, the message of the Christian faith has been simplified in order to draw a Gen X crowd back into the church. That worked, Jones said, for that generation, but others want something deeper.

Emergent is not the faith of a church claiming to set itself apart from culture while promoting Hollywood blockbusters (think Evan Almighty or Passion of the Christ), selling their books to discount retailers (Joel Osteen, Rick Warren) or “reveling in their newfound influence…on Capitol Hill,” Jones writes. This is a faith that finds spirituality in all of culture, finding hope in the redemptive, humanizing side of Ryan Seacrest in American Idol, balancing out the chastising voices of Randy, Paula and Simon.

The PR company’s press release said that Jones visited four emergent churches across the country, so I expected a case study of sorts. What Jones delivers is a story: of the early days, before anyone called this “Emergent”; of the detractors and his response to their position; and the stories of these four churches.

In the early days of the American frontier, dispatches were the source of what people in the East learned about the Wild West. Here’s what Jones says, in the dispatched from The New Christians, the Emerging Church is all about:

Dispatch 1

Emergents find little importance in the differences between the various flavors of Christianity. Instead, they practice a generous orthodoxy that appreciates the contributions of all Christian movements.

Dispatch 6
Emergents see God’s activity in all aspects of culture and reject the sacred-secular divide.

Dispatch 12
Emergents embrace the whole bible, the glory and the pathos.

Dispatch 19
Emergents downplay — or outright reject — the difference between clergy and laity.

Emergent Churches don’t necessarily resemble typical Christianity in their gatherings, although some aspects are familiar. Tim Keel, pastor at Jacob’s Well in Kansas City, invites audience participation in his sermon. Journey in Dallas has a podium in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs with a stage on one side, and the band begins with worship music from evangelical recording artists. Karen Ward, pastor-priest of Church of the Apostles in Seattle, VJs the worship service while others take on leadership. At Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis, members gather during the week to craft the following week’s sermon.

Emergent Churches may not speak to everyone (although Jones’ fear of his parents disapproval of his church was unfounded: “My parents loved it!!”), but it has drawn in many disenfranchised with traditional forms of church. The New Christians is deeply theological (words about God). It is not a light read or a quick one and will give you a lot to chew on. And you may not agree with everything Jones writes.

In Glenn Beck’s column last week on CNN.com, he told of a theology course he took a few years ago where the professor assigned only the books with which he agreed. Beck asked the professor for a list of books he disagreed with and read those as well. Whether or not you think you might agree with Jones and Emergent, allow yourself the space to read The New Christians and make your own opinion. You might decide to jump off on the life raft.

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