Our Heroes - An Indictment

So, I'm taking a GRE practice test and I'm asked to respond to this statement "Sports stars and movie stars have an obligation to behave as role models to the young people who look up to them. In return for the millions of dollars that they are paid, we should expect them to fulfill this responsibility."

Here's what I said. Pretty sure it's barely adequate, but I found it interesting to reflect on nonetheless.

Many in our society assert that sports and movie starts are obligated to behave as role models because young people look to them as such. Furthermore, they have declared their enormous salaries as all the more reason to demand respectable living. While it is easy to sympathize with this position, the moral imperative that requires these cultural icon behave admirably is less defensible than the requirement of virtue that society as a whole must lift up only admirable persons into the limelight.

"The test of any culture is the stories they tell and the heroes they raise up," I once heard Nancy Ortberg, a Pastor in California, say. This truth is a grave indictment on our own culture. Indeed, our stars are a reflection the values we cherish. It would seem that our heroes are chosen on the merit of their physical appearance and ability and dramatic personalities. It is because our society values beauty and intrigue above character and integrity that our heroes so often lack virtue. However disgusted we may be with their failings, we must admit that these are the stars our own collective choosing. Claims that our society wants something different are disingenuous. Rather than railing against those who collect millions of dollars but live so poorly, we must learn to ask why it is that we are willing to make heroes of such individuals.

Some have suggested the salaries of stars should motivate them to behave as role models. While their exorbitant salaries do make their negative effects on our youth all the more disturbing, closer examination of this reasoning is needed. A persons behavior is always a reflection of their character. The notion that one can positively reshape behavior without transforming their character is false and this has been verified by millions of failed New Year's resolutions. With this understanding in place, it is clear that fundamental character reformation will not be instigated such by motivators such as money. This faulty logic could be compared to offering fame on the condition of genuine humility. Anyone who would be so motivated toward fame would have already disqualified themselves from the pursuit of genuine humility. Likewise, one who would attempt to use virtuous living as a means to acquire great wealth has already belied their lack of virtue.

It is a misapplication of blame to revile stars for failing to behave admirably. Stars will inevitably and always be those who do best what the culture values most. Stars do what they are paid to do, and very clearly ours are not paid to be role models. To the contrary, they are paid to entertain either through the drama of film or the competitive spectacle of sports. It is society as a whole that must accept the responsibility for the heroes it has created.

I am second

Check out this simple, clear way to bring stories of following Jesus to your glocal neighbors. I hope to see it, and others like it across the map.

www.iamsecond.com

God's Word is Dangerous Entertainment

I know an unbeliever who while in the middle of a prolonged affair, oddly loved to listen to a local preacher who repeatedly scolded adulterers. This guy had a sense that the preacher was speaking God's Word, but he nonetheless made no effort to leave his life of sin. Then, one day, despite his fondness for him, he killed the preacher.

I am, of course, talking about King Herod and John the Baptist. This old story is a relevant warning to all who come to church as religious consumers and listen to sermons as entertainment.

Mark 6 tells us that John railed against Herod, telling him "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herod "feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man" and "he liked to listen to him." Of course, respecting and appreciating God's Word is no equivalent to doing it. Herod, was a fan of John, but not a follower, and thus did not respond to the clear rebuke and instruction of John.

And it went with him as it most often does with fans - given the right conditions they become outright enemies.

It strikes us as amazing that Herod would so easily go this way -- How could he choose this, knowing John to be a "holy" man? The answer is disturbing: Herod had trained himself for this day of decision with countless repeated decisions to ignore, to persist, not to repent. Herod sealed his fate long before the day of decision. And so do we.

Give consumers of God's Word the right circumstances, and they'll crucify those who bring it.

Consider the fact that millions, of people hear the Word of God proclaimed in churches across the globe. Many people have heard a sermon virtually every week for a lifetime. Is it possible to absorb and live out so much, or is the result more often inoculation?

Consumers are lousy disciples.

As I study Jesus' ministry, one thing is abundantly clear: Jesus did not come to earth to draw a crowd, but to make disciples. He's constantly avoiding crowds and trying to rein in his popularity. He knew how fickle crowds are. You remember that the same crowds that cried “Hosanna, Save us” to Jesus on Palm Sunday, cried “Crucify Him” on Good Friday.

This sort of Christian consumerism is epidemic today. Somehow we’ve sadly been convinced that the best way to follow Jesus is to learn something new about God, when in fact God would be more pleased, and we’d be more blessed, if instead we put into action one thing we’d already learned. You're better off hearing one sermon in your life, or reading one book of the Bible and learning to obey it, than consuming thousands and finding them fascinating. Our God is isn’t looking for an audience, he is looking for followers. I wish our churches displayed a similar interest.

Dallas Willard likes to repeat Kierkegaard's observation that while most people think that in church the preacher is the performer, God is the prompter and the congregation is the audience, the truth is that God is the audience, the preacher is the prompter and the congregation is the performer. Willard slyly suggests that pastors, who too often hear "Good job" after the worship service, consider preempting this by asking congregants "How'd you do?" as they shake hands on the way out.

Many Christians could write a book of the things they’ve learned about following Jesus, but couldn’t fill a postcard with the things they’ve actually learned to live. Virtually every Christian I know understands far more about Christianity than is necessary to be a mature follower of Jesus.

I know this is true of me. You might say I've acquired 10 lifetimes of learning and display about 10 minutes of wisdom. May God save you and me both from Herod's fate, as together we take the next step of obedience, and the one after that.

Video of John Ortberg and Gary Hamel on Innovation and the Church

Gary Hamel was ranked #1 most influential business thinker in the world in 2009 by the Wall Street Journal. His talk at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit 2009 was touted by many as the highest impact and he's here sharing a lot of the same thoughts on what the church needs to come to grips with, and how it needs to innovate.

It is equal parts disturbing and inspirational.

Watch him being interviewed here by John Ortberg.
Shifting Tides