Depressed Leafs fans invited to church

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Oshawa

Toronto Maple Leaf fans were excited, cheering as the Leafs kept the series even with the Boston Bruins, hoping for the chance to see their team advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but then they were crushed as the Leafs were defeated in Game 7 of that series. It didn’t help that the Toronto Blue Jays lost as many games as they won this week or that the Raptors also had a poor week. One church showed by their sign that they understood the pain and sorrow of Toronto fans. For that, I’m giving 4.5 stars to St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Oshawa.

This sign really works! It captured how a lot of people were feeling and offered them a place to go for hope and healing, a Sunday church service. I know I’ve apologized for overdoing the number of reviews for the sign of this same church, but they caught my attention yet again with this outstanding sign and St. Matthew’s Anglican Church has now earned my highest rating so far. Well played.

Finally, a church with an Easter message on their sign!

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church

For some reason, it was surprisingly hard to find any churches with signs mentioning Easter this year. In fairness, I’ve mostly been taking pictures of church signs I see while walking my dog or sometimes while driving around the city. A friend snapped this pic from the Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church⸺that’s a little too far away for walking my dog!

Jesus loves the people driving by our churches and this sign communicates that truth in a relevant way given that this was so close to Easter Sunday. Not everyone would get the meaning of this sign, but I think many people know that Jesus died on the cross and would understand this message claiming Jesus did this out of love for us. I like it, but I have to apply my usual review standards. This sign is not the most welcoming and it does not give a specific invite. Since Bowmanville Seventh-Day Adventist Church holds their church service on Saturday at 11 or 11:30 am (not clear to me from the website), it’s important to have this on the sign if you’re wanting to invite people to come. So great job giving a relevant, positive Easter message, but, unfortunately, lacking in a couple other ways. 3 stars out of 5 gives this sign a passing grade.

Do-It-Yourself Church Sign

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Oshawa

OK, first, apologies for featuring church signs from St. Matthew’s Anglican Church so often! That’s not fair when there are so many other church signs around. I’ve spent the last couple weeks moving and St. Matthew’s just happens to be on that runway from my old address to my new address. Plus I really like this week’s sign! I promise not to do another sign from St. Matthew’s next Friday, unless it’s really very good. (Sorry for skipping the review last week… last Saturday was the big moving day.)

“What could this sign say for you to come on Sunday?” Great question! This week’s sign is witty and welcoming. St. Matthew’s Anglican Church is saying to all the people passing by, “We’d like you to come to church… What could we say to convince you?” And the sign gives the times people can come on Sunday. Four stars! It’s welcoming, fun, friendly and gives a specific invite. Congratulations to St. Matthew’s Anglican Church for earning the highest score so far on the Weekly Church Sign Review.

“I’ll be back!” said Jesus, long before Arnold Schwarzenegger!

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Oshawa

I have to admit this week’s sign at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Oshawa definitely caught my attention! I knew right away it would be the sign for this week’s review. Sorry for all the snow in the picture I took on April 6! The sign reads: JESUS SAID “I’LL BE BACK” A LONG WAY BEFORE ARNOLD DID! Is it funny? I’m still trying to decide.

I previously reviewed a “Christian Budweiser” sign by St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. It didn’t score so well. But I do want to give this church one star for effort. They are trying to do something with their sign and they do change every week to two weeks. I’ll give them a second star for including the invite to the Sunday Worship Service, though perhaps they should’ve included the word “Sunday.” I’m hesitant about giving another star for the humor of the sign as I’m not sure that i’s that funny. Could we run a poll on whether this sign is funny or not?

The humor is in suggesting that Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger’s catchphrase “I’ll be back” could’ve been used by the resurrected Jesus as a way of promising his followers that he would return to earth someday following his ascension into heaven. The second coming of Jesus is clearly taught in the Bible so this catchy idea makes sense. It’s not theologically incorrect. But do people who don’t attend church know that Jesus promised to return and that Christians today are waiting expectantly for the second coming? Personally I believe the return of Jesus is imminent. It could happen at anytime. I’m not so sure that many people in the church today believe this or teach it or act as it were true. It’s in the creeds, but do Christians live watching and waiting as Jesus instructed? Do people outside church know that we believe that Jesus ‘will be back’? If not, the humor of the sign falls flat and it’s a joke that only works for insiders. If you click on the “CLICK HERE to join the discussion” link just below this post you can leave a comment to tell me if you found the sign to be funny or not, and maybe you can tell us what you believe about the second coming. Do you agree with the 2 out of 5 stars score? What would you give this church sign? (If you don’t see the link for joining the discussion, click on the title of the post and that link should then be visible below the post.)

Finally, I’m not sure if St. Matthew’s Anglican Church put up this sign because Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the news this week or if that’s just coincidental, but God’s peace be with him. Schwarzenegger underwent heart surgery on March 29, spent the Easter weekend in hospital and just went home today. A spokesperson released a statement saying the 70-year-old “Terminator” actor and former California governor was “home and doing incredibly well.” Here’s Arnold’s tweet from the hospital:

It’s true: I’m back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that’s something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I’m truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages.

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 2, 2018

Jesus Is Risen, but Doctor Strange Is So Mystical

WEEKLY CHURCH SIGN REVIEW: Life Point Church, Oshawa

Doctor Strange is a pretty good movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So when I saw it being advertised on the church sign at Life Point Church in Oshawa it caught my attention. What kind of event is this?
“Reel to Real” is a ministry at Life Point Church which looks at “the culture as expressed in the popular movies of our times.” I’d heard of this before. To be honest, it was one of the sources of inspiration behind the “Frame of Mind Movie Night” which I co-lead. Regarding Reel to Real, Life Point Church goes on to explain that “many of the modern movie makers are the ‘story tellers’ of our day. We don't agree with every statement or concept presented in every movie that we explore, but we do look for the kernels of truth, the overriding ‘God themes’ that can be found in the movies we will consider.” Very interesting. Probably a very good time watching and talking. I would be very interested in exploring the movie Doctor Strange along these lines. Just one problem… Look at the date on the sign!
I took these pictures of the church sign on Friday evening, March 30, but the Reel to Real night featuring Doctor Strange took place way back on January 21st. I might’ve given this sign 3 or 4 stars because I like this invite to go to a church, see a movie and consider it from a Christian point of view. I like this kind of cultural engagement. But advertising an event that happened over two months ago is not good. This sign is an LCD screen and it moves through several announcements, many slides are community-related, but I did see another slide for something in February. It’s a good looking sign on the corner of a very busy intersection. Unfortunately Life Point Durham Church Network has not updated their sign for two months or more so the the information is not too useful to anyone anymore. Thus the downgrade to just 1 star. The only saving grace here is that “Life Point Church Sun 10 am” is always displayed on the sign and there’s definitely a community focus presented on some of the slides. They’re trying, but they really do need to keep that sign updated.
It’s Easter weekend! Good Friday, observing the death of Jesus on the cross, and Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, are big events for Christians. It’s disappointing to see a great sign like this one not being used to invite people to some great Easter events at the church. I couldn’t even figure out if there were Easter events happening when I checked out the church website. Instead of some kind of Easter invitation, this church has chosen to continue promoting a discussion about the movie Doctor Strange which took place a couple months ago.

Weekly Church Sign: Not a church sign, but it could be!

“Real integrity is doing the right thing even without any recognition”—that is a good message. It tells people passing by something about what this school values. Yes it’s a school not a church (French école = school in English). So maybe I shouldn’t review it as a weekly church sign, but I wanted to show that having a good church sign doesn’t have to be difficult. This message is certainly in keeping with our Christian values. I’m sure you could find a Bill Hybels version of it. He wrote a book titled, “Who You Are When No One’s Looking.” In that book he says, “Character is not what we have done, but rather who we are.” That’s a good one. Likewise, “Worry a little less about the darkness, and spend a little more time thinking about what you can do to leverage the light that you’ve been given.” A great quote that speaks to the values of your church can work well on your church sign.

I still like the idea of using a church’s sign to invite people in, but a good quote like the one above could earn 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a good way to bring some variety to the content on the church sign.

The quote on the school sign made me think of former US Vice-President Joe Biden. While at a movie theatre with his granddaughter, when he thought no one was looking, Joe wrote a note, gave it to a reportedly homeless man and talked with him.

As it turns out, this Facebook post went viral and media outlets went crazy reporting the story, but I believe Joe Biden was doing the right thing here by this man and was not seeking any recognition for doing it. That’s integrity. It jumps out at you when you have the concurrent contrast of President Trump paying off a porn star and Joe Biden stopping to get to know a homeless man. Seems pretty clear which one of them has integrity and respects the dignity of every individual.

Weekly Church Sign: Happy New Year’Easter!

This is a pretty good church sign or at least it was in January and maybe even in February. It’s kind of odd to be talking about the “New Year” in March! As we reach mid-March, shouldn’t our attention be turning toward Easter (April 1)? Zion Christian Reformed Church, it’s time to refresh your church sign!

In January, this sign would likely get around 4 out of 5 stars. It would’ve been timely, playing off of New Year’s Day. The triple repetition of “new” is an effective way of emphasizing it’s a new year, new church service time at 9:30am and you’re welcome to join us (New Beginnings). It’s simple, but I like it. Drivers on this medium busy road in Oshawa can easily process the message.

The only problem here is this message on this sign has been left up too long. This is actually surprising as Zion Christian Reformed Church is usually pretty good about frequently changing their sign. In fact, I found last year’s sign from this time of year on my camera roll! Hmm… last spring looks much springier than this spring!

So to review this church sign has a good message, easily understood by drivers. It’s welcoming and has a specific invite. Zion Christian Reformed Church is trying to make good use of their sign and reach out to their community. Subtracting one star because it’s been up too long, this sign still earns 3 out of 5 stars. I’m hoping they change it to a good Easter message very soon!

Weekly Church Sign: Don’t visit us, visit our website

Ritson Road is a very busy street in Oshawa. Thousands of cars are driving past this sign for Ritson Road Alliance Church everyday. Why not grab people’s attention with your sign, invite them to come to your church, or at least give them a smile? This sign is an epic fail. It probably got more second looks while my dog was sitting there than it had up to that point. Yes, it’s a clever website address with that .church domain, but let’s be serious most people driving by could find your church website if they wanted to. The sign is an opportunity to give them a reason to look you up online. And this website address fails to give them that reason.

At a minimum the church could’ve use the second line on their sign to say “Join us Sunday 10:30 am.” Instead they put that message, “Join us Sunday 10:30 am,” on the other side of the sign. That is a serious sign sin. You can’t put half the message on one side and the other half-message on the other side. Do they think commuters will put together the two halves by the end of the day? They could easily have put the full message on both sides of the sign. It still wouldn’t be very good, but it would’ve been better than splitting it up.

I’ll give them a ½ star for effort. Their church website http://www.ritsonalliance.church/ is actually pretty good. It’s friendly, welcoming and interesting. But I’m not evaluating websites in the Weekly Church Sign Review, I’m looking at signs. And the sign at Ritson Road Alliance Church is pathetic. Don’t advertise website addresses. Don’t do that! Instead give people a reason to google your church! They did have Sunday info on the other side of the sign, but there’s no humor here or any attempt to grab people’s attention. The sign doesn’t even light up at night! I was very tempted to downgrade to 0 out of 5 stars when I discovered the sign doesn’t light up at night. It’s very dark around this church at night, kind of spooky and not welcoming.

As I said last week, all too often churches fail to use their signs to try to draw people in. Admittedly, Ritson Road Alliance Church, you do not have much space on this sign. You might be able to purchase a set of slightly smaller letters that would allow you to put a little more info on the second line. That might help a bit. Even better would be to get a sign maker in to refresh and reconfigure the whole sign. Using your current letter set, I think this would fit (on both sides of the sign):

YOU’RE INVITED TO JOIN US
SUNDAY 10:30 AM

You could promote an upcoming event at your church. Why not put up a quotation from Jesus? I suspect you’ll find this to be too edgy, but here’s another suggestion that would fit:

LESS BUSY THAN WAL-MART
JOIN US SUNDAY 10:30 AM

If you can catch people’s attention and make them think about something, they just might think about your church the next time they think about going to church. And, yes, they might even google “Ritson Road Alliance Church” and find your website.

Weekly Church Sign Review: “Christian Budweiser”?

Churches can use their signs to tell people about their church, to invite people or to share their message. This is valuable advertising especially if the church is on a busy road, and, yet, all too often churches fail to use their signs to try to draw people in. I'm told I can be too cynical, so I'm going to try to offer some constructive criticism on church signs. While out walking my dog, I've been snapping pictures of church signs as a kind of hobby. Come back to the blog every Friday for my review of a local church sign. I snapped this picture just a couple of days ago...

½ star out of 5 stars

Playing off an 1980s Budweiser beer commercial which sings, “For all you do, this Bud's for you,” St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Oshawa is letting people in their neighbourhood know, “For all you do, this Blood is for you... and a wafer too!” I guess the aim of this sign was to be funny, but making light of that which is most sacred to the church, ie. the blood of Christ, is by definition sacrilegious. Some will rightly take offence at this sign.

I can see that they are trying to be welcoming, saying that the Eucharist (also know as Communion in other churches), the service of remembering the body and blood of Jesus in his sacrifice on the cross, is open to all... that everyone is welcome to eat the bread and drink the wine and remember the suffering and death of Jesus. By adding the Budweiser phrase “For all you do,” this invitation implies that people have earned the right to share in this sacred remembrance. But Jesus dies for us because no one is worthy, all have sinned and fallen short. Recently at a small group Bible study, we saw how Mark's account of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-26) makes clear that not one of the disciples was worthy to be at the table and that was the point that Jesus was making. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So all are welcome at the table, at Eucharist or Communion, but no one has earned that opportunity and it is only for those who believe in what Jesus has done for them and trust in him as Lord and Saviour.

Why the ½ star for St. Matthew's Anglican Church sign, the “Christian Budweiser” sign? Because they are trying to be welcoming and friendly with this sign. Unfortunately, it's too churchy for secular people. The humor fails. Theologically it's bad. And it has no specific invite. Usually St. Matthew's does much better with their church sign and I hope they change this one soon.

Previously I've seen on their sign an invitation to something called, “Church from Scratch.” I like the sound of that, like we'll start with the basics ingredients and figure out together how to do “church.” Their website explains:

At St. Matthew's we are trying to do what Jesus calls us too each and every day. We are called to help share and be the Good News of God. We are called to look for and connect to God in everyday life. The trouble is we have too often tried to make people fit out practices on a Sunday morning instead of first listening to you and responding to God that is working there too. We want to create an opportunity to explore your spiritual life on your terms, where you are free to decide for yourself when to stay or when to go deeper. Church from Scratch is one way we can do this.

“Church from Scratch” sounds like a great way to reach out and welcome people in. Put that on the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church sign and I bet they could score 4 or 5 stars ;-)  As I live in the same neighbourhood, I may have to check out this “Church from Scratch.” Hopefully they'll forgive me for rating their “Christian Budweiser” church sign so poorly.

Franklin Graham's Mind-Boggling Support for Donald Trump's Ban on All Muslims

I've been struggling to understand why so many evangelical Christians seem to be supporting Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate for US President. He has said so many things that are against our Christian values, the latest being his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. I can't begin to tell you how shocked, how horrified I was, really, to hear Franklin Graham give basically an endorsement of Trump because he too would like to ban all Muslims. It's just not a position I ever would have expected the son of Billy Graham and founder of Samaritan's Purse to proclaim. And yet he did.

For some time I have been saying that Muslim immigration into the United States should be stopped until we can properly...
Posted by Franklin Graham on Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Many of us in Canada and the US had no idea of the extent of the Syrian refugee crisis until Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old boy washed up on the shore of Turkey. He died, along with his five-year-old brother Galib and their mother Rehan, in a desperate attempt to escape to Turkey and then find a way to Canada where they have some family. Why are people so desperate to flee from Syria? The brutality Bashar al-Assad and the resulting civil war left much of the country open to the invasion of the Salafi jihadist militant group known as Daesh (or ISIS). And now the US, UK, Canada and other allies as well as Russia are carrying out bombing missions against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Here are some quick facts about Syria from World Vision.

• 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance.
• 4.3 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.6 million are displaced within Syria; half are children.
• Most Syrian refugees remain in the Middle East, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt; slightly more than 10 percent of the refugees have traveled to Europe.

It is the worst refugee crisis since World War II. And this is why the European Union and other countries are bringing in Syrian refugees. Canada is currently bringing in 25,000 Syrians. The US had committed to 10,000, but now even that number is in doubt, thanks at least in part to Donald Trump and Franklin Graham.

Perhaps giving shoeboxes filled with toys to poor children is the extent of Franklin Graham's compassion, but the Samaritan for whom he named his organization Samaritan's Purse does much more than that. The travelling Samaritan comes upon a man whom robbers have left beaten and bloodied, laying in a ditch. While the Jewish priest and the upright Jewish man have just walked by him and done nothing, it is a despised biracial Samaritan who shows him compassion and bandages up his wounds. At great personal risk, the Samaritan brings the beaten man into town and pays for his care. (In that culture Jews despised Samaritans so much that bringing the beaten Jewish man into a Jewish town may very well have resulted in the Samaritan being assaulted.) His compassion tells him it is the right thing to do in spite of the risk. And in case you missed the point of Jesus' parable, Franklin, it is the Samaritan who shows us the compassion God has for the needy, the compassion which God has shown to you and calls you to show to others.

As Christians that compassion tells us that helping the Syrian refugees is the right thing to do in spite of any perceived risk. Threatened by a brutal militaristic apocalyptic doomsday group (Daesh), these people have fled their homes and their country and are seeking refuge, but you would have us treat them as the enemy. How dare you flaunt your "Reverend" title and presume to tell Christians and Americans that they too should support Donald Trump's ban on all Muslims. We are not "at war with Islam" as you say in your Facebook post. No, America, Canada, the UK and their allies are fighting against Daesh, a brutal militaristic group which is a small faction of radical Islamic fundamentalism focused on bringing about an apocalyptic doomsday.  Given how diametrically opposed we are to Daesh and the horrible things they have done to both Christians and Muslims, can you explain to me in any coherent way why we would not show compassion to the victims of Daesh who have had to abandon their homes and flee from their country? Bringing Syrian refugees to our countries is not only the right thing to do and the humane thing, it is also certainly what the Samaritan would have done. You are responding in fear like the priest and upright man in Jesus' parable, and not with the compassion of the Samaritan.

Sunday Preview (5 Jan 2014, Christmas 2A)

As Christians, do you suppose we should spend more time or less time dealing with the biblical text of Sunday’s sermons? I guess I’m asking part of the bigger question James 1:22 raises about becoming doers of the Word rather than just hearers of sermons. And, yes, I suspect part of the answer is spending more time with the biblical passages behind the sermons so that we are better prepared to hear God speak to us through his Word through the preacher. Every sermon can have a life-changing impact on us. I’m a biblical exegete who no longer preaches every Sunday, but I do miss this process of grappling with God’s Word and making clear its message to us. So I’m going to try this approach of previewing the biblical text many of us, at least in churches following the Revised Common Lectionary, are likely to encounter this coming Sunday in hopes that we might do more than just listen to sermons.

Ephesians 1:3-14

This is an amazing biblical passage to read and to study for the beginning of a new year for people whose identity is “in Christ.” I want you to try this. Take a deep breath and read the full sentence Paul wrote here. It starts in verse 3 and ends at verse 14! That’s one long sentence. 202 words long. A sentence communicates an idea. In this case it is a big idea which is given many supporting reasons. Paul gives praise to God the Father for everything we have received “in Christ.” He repeats this key concept of “in Christ” 11 times in this one sentence. That’s gotta be important. This is certainly a biblical passage worth memorizing, if anyone does that anymore. I’d recommend it. Memorizing this passage will give you such a better grasp on what Paul has to teach us about being Christians in this world.

So what should a good biblical sermon on this passage sound like? One sentence, one big idea: Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ” (v3). How has he blessed us in Christ? I see the apostle listing five big blessings we have in Christ, and, again, he’s listing these that we might praise God. Some exegetes point out that the phrase “to the praise of his glory” occurs in verses 6, 12 and 14, and that, therefore, Paul is listing three blessings, such that a couple of the five are actually re-instatements or expansions. That’s possible. Sometimes I think commentators try to make Paul out to be much neater than he actually is, but at least there is still serious engagement going with the text; however, I do get concerned with those who come out with a pristine three-point sermon looking something like this:

1. Chosen by the Father (1:3-6)
2. Redeemed by the Son (1:7-12)
3. Sealed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)

That’s very, pretty. Too pretty. This outline can be used to show that this passage is Paul teaching about our Trinitarian spirituality. Cool, but not sticking to the text. Again, Paul gives praise to God the Father. That is the main idea. He gives praise to God for all that we receive in Christ, as made real in our lives by the work of the Holy Spirit. The passage develops a list of five of these blessings we have received in Christ. So while it’s true that the Triune nature of God is affirmed here, it’s done incidentally not as the focus of the passage. In my opinion, that makes a stronger case for the reality of the Trinity than a direct argument. He can just assume it while making some other point. Hopefully, the sermon you’ll hear on Sunday will stick close to the text and cover these five big blessings we have in Christ, maybe three or four with some compression.

1. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (v4a) v4

God did this “that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight” (v4b).  Let me comment further under the next blessing as the two are closely related since God has chosen us in Christ and by doing so he was predestining us to adoption.

2. God predestined us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ (5a) vv5-6

Here’s the deal. Jesus is not merely a conduit of God’s blessings, like a live electric wire zapping us. They don’t come to us just through Christ, instead Paul repeatedly talks about the blessings we have in Christ. It’s about incorporation. We have been baptized into Jesus (Rom 6:3) and we have been united with him (Rom 6:5-8). This give us a new address in the heavenly realms that’s “in Christ.” Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell in their book Why I Am Not a Calvinist say,

Now that we have been incorporated into Christ, we have entered into the drama of his own story. His death has become our death, his resurrection has become our resurrection (Eph 2:5), and his position of privilege at the Father’s right hand bring us an immeasurable wealth of grace (Eph 2:6-7)… It is in him we have been chosen and predestined (Eph 1:4-5). This means that Jesus Christ himself is the chosen one, the predestined one. Whenever one is incorporated into him by grace through faith, one comes to share in Jesus’ special status as chosen of God."

This is an awesome reality. Consider what we’ve become in Christ. Easy to see how Paul considers these to be reasons why we should praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. In him we have redemption through his blood (v7a) vv7-10

Verses 7-10 explore God’s plan of redemption through Christ, and, as it turns out, it’s far bigger than just “the forgiveness of our trespasses” which is already amazing. It’s very important for us as Christians to recognize that God’s plan in Christ is so much bigger than just me being forgiven of my sins. God is in the process of setting everything right in Christ and we’re part of that plan. Very cool!

4. In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession (v11a) vv11-12

There’s a lot of divisive theology coming out of the interpretation of verses 11-12. Rather than getting hung up on each phrase and Paul’s precise sequence of thought, I see the passage clearly affirming that “God’s own possession,” a way of referring to God’s own people or God’s nation, has been transformed in Christ so that now it’s not just the Jewish nation. Now the people who belong to God are the Jews who have set their hope on Christ (v12a) along with the Gentiles who believe in Christ (v13b). We are God’s own possession, his people. We are in Christ and the focal point of God’s work in redeeming all this world.

5. In Christ, we were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit (v11a, 13c) vv13-14

The Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives is “the down payment of our inheritance” which means we’re not just getting a promise of redemption. No, the Holy Spirit is redeeming us, giving us the power to change, here and now. Praise God! We may not yet be all that we will be, but we’ve come a long way so far! And there is, perhaps, the best thought to relate to this being a new year coming. Thanks to all that we are receiving in Christ and to the working of the Spirit in our lives, we are being changed. Let’s praise God for that and really open ourselves up to what he will do in our lives in this coming year. Let’s not just be content that God has forgiven our sins in the past. Let’s look forward with hope and anticipation of what our great God will be doing to redeem us and to make us more like Christ in this year ahead. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

John 1:1-18

The Gospel text would also make for a great sermon this coming Sunday. After everything I wrote about the Ephesians passage, I won’t say much here which is a crime, of course! This opening passage in the Gospel of John is a real power text. Much could be said about identifying the pre-incarnate Son of God as the Word and what the gospel writer means to communicate by this new title, not to mention the whole concept of the Word becoming flesh and light coming into darkness. But, since I’m keeping this brief, I want to look at just one thing, this “man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe” (vv 6-7). And in verse 15, we are told, “John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’’” So you’re thinking this is John the Baptist.

While Matthew, Mark and Luke all identify John as “the Baptist,” the Gospel of John never does. Every preacher I’ve heard preach this first chapter of John feels compelled to inform us that, yes, this John is John the Baptist. Rarely does any preacher ever answer the question as to to why the text does not name him as such. I think it’s a question we should ask. Why omit the title which would at once bring clarity, perhaps a needed clarity since the Gospel is named “John.” I want to say two things about this. First, it seems to me the writer is stressing that this was just an everyday man named John, you know, a bloke that goes by a common name. What he says about this John is actually to be true of everyone who believes, that we are to be witnesses and testify about this light that has come into the world. He is not presented as being anymore special or different than any of us. What we are told about John here is what everyone who comes to believe that the Son of God has lived among us is to do—to be witnesses and to testify.

Secondly, more as a footnote, I’d like to point out that John is definitely not “John the Baptist.” That translators still identify him as such is ridiculous, shoddy translation at its worst. What is a “Baptist”? I’m sure you’ll tell me that a Baptist is a member of a Baptist church. Whatever else John may have been, he was not that. He never even went to church, and he is certainly not the founder of the Baptist church as I heard so many times while living in the Southern Bible Belt. What Matthew, Mark and Luke are actually calling him is John “the Baptizer,” as in one who baptizes others. That translators will defend the Baptist title as traditional is indefensible. They know what “Baptist” means to people today and it is not what it meant to Matthew, Mark and Luke. They had no connotation whatsoever of this title relating to a particular church denomination, and neither should we. The Greek word is a participle, essentially a verb turned into a noun, “the one who baptizes,” i.e. baptizer. Join me in correcting this travesty. Whenever I’m asked to read one of the gospel passages mentioning John, I correct the translation and read “John the Baptizer.” We cannot let Baptists believe John began their church denomination anymore than we could let Pentecostals claim their church denomination started on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Here’s another splendid biblical text, caught up in that same tension of the “already, but not yet” that we saw in Ephesians 1:3-14. God is now bringing together his people from the land of the north and from the ends of the earth. “For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion” (vv11-12a). This is new the transformed people of God we described above in Ephesians, no longer the people of Israel, but now all who are in Christ. We will come and shout for joy on Zion. Indeed in the gathering of God’s people, we are that holy city. What Jeremiah prophesied is being fulfilled before our eyes in Christ.

For more insight into the texts for this week, I would encourage you to checkout an Australian pastor’s website, http://laughingbird.net. I’ve been checking out his site and using his Scripture paraphrases and prayers for more than ten years now. I love the way he writes prayers incorporating bits from each of the texts that week. Here’s his prayer of Commission and Benediction for this coming Sunday:

Go now, and bear witness to the light so others might believe.
Since you are chosen in Christ,
........live before him in love, holy and blameless.
Live with hope in Christ, for the praise of his glory.

And may God fill the earth with peace;
May Christ give you grace upon grace from his fullness;
And may the Holy Spirit, the pledge of your inheritance,
........lead you on straight paths where you will not stumble.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
........In the name of Christ. Amen.

Technorati Tags: Ephesians 1:3-14,John 1:1-18,Jeremiah 31:7-14,lectionary,exegesis,Ken Symes,Samaritan XP

Missing the point of Christmas

Watching the news on Boxing Day, I heard someone who someone who had been standing in line outside a box store for much of the cold night say the most absurd thing.  Asked why he’s been standing in line for seven or eight hours, the young man says, “Just for the fun of it. You know it’s the… Christmas Spirit, Boxing Day, something I wanted to experience.” (You can catch him at around 1:10 into this video.)

Standing in line outside a store on Christmas night, hoping to buy reduced-priced electronics for yourself in the morning—that has nothing at all to do with the Christmas Spirit! You might experience frostbite or the freezing of our soul, but you won’t be experiencing the Spirit of Christmas! Christmas is about the self-giving love of God shown in the birth of God’s Son as a baby in Bethlehem. God sent his son that we might have new life, that we might experience the power to change and not live in such self-centered ways.

The young man mentioned wanting to experience not only the Christmas Spirit, but also Boxing Day. I know it has little meaning to us now, but let’s be clear that the historical meaning of “Boxing Day” has nothing at all to do with the consumer-driven quest to purchase reduced-priced merchandise. Back in the day, Boxing Day was when the alms boxes in Anglican churches were opened up and the money collected throughout the year was given to the poor. It was, thus, an extension of the self-giving love celebrated on Christmas Day.

It can be entertaining when we see the ways in which the meaning of these holy days have become so twisted. But all that aside for a moment,  I think we have to admit that all this consumer-driven craziness does affect us. Was Christmas for me a celebration of God’s self-giving love or was I focused on what I was getting under the tree this year? Was I more prepared to persevere in long lines at department stores than I was to go out in the cold to attend special church services? Has the Christ Child been magnified or minimized in my holidays this year? Bah, humbug! I’m afraid people may have seen a little more of (pre-conversion) Ebenezer Scrooge in me and less of Jesus. Well, at least, there’s the makings of a new year’s resolution worth the effort.

Technorati Tags: Christmas

What not to give for Mother’s Day

What mom wouldn’t love to receive some sweet chocolate treats on this Mother’s Day? How about the mom who knows that these exquisite chocolates are made from cocoa being harvested by children who are forced to work in the cocoa jungle and in some cases sold into slavery? Could a mother who has been informed about the facts of the cocoa industry, a mother who knows that 200,000 children are being forced to work on cocoa farms in west Africa—long days, dangerous work, toxic sprays, gruelling labour—could a mother who knows the facts really enjoy the chocolate these poor children have helped produce?

Be assured unless you’ve purchased certified FairTrade chocolate for your mother, children have been abused in the production of the cocoa from which that chocolate has been made, whether it’s from Ganong Bros or Hershey’s. The chocolate industry excels in keeping this information secret, just as the clothing industry has kept secrets, some of which became public in the last couple weeks. After the factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed over 300 people on April 24th, we’ve become concerned about these clothing factories and the working conditions in them, but have we really become concerned enough to demand change? Loblaw’s Joe Fresh is compensating victims’ families and has resolved to ensure safer working conditions in Bangladeshi factories in the future. What about the other clothing retailers? Silence. Eighteen months before this tragedy, a fire in a Bangladesh textile factory killed 112 people. Walmart considered ensuring safer factories by doing regular inspections, but concluded that such inspections “could ultimately lead to higher costs for Walmart and higher prices for our customers. This would not be in the best interests of Walmart’s shareholders and customers and would place Walmart at a competitive disadvantage” (Financial Post). Unfortunately, it would seem that we would rather let these companies keep their secrets because, after all, we love falling prices at Walmart and chocolate bars that cost less than a dollar.

We need mothers and others to stand up to the chocolate makers and say no more child abuse, unfair and unsafe child labour and child slavery. Surely our moral conscious can’t let us ignore the plight of 200,000 children in west Africa. Buying FairTrade chocolate will help, but the whole industry needs to change. FairTrade shouldn’t be a label on a select few chocolate bars, it should obviously be the norm, but today in Canada only one regular confectionary chocolate bar is certified FairTrade. Cadbury Dairy Milk is the only FairTrade chocolate bar, and it’s only the original Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, none of the specially flavoured ones. Every Kit Kat and Hershey’s bar has been produced by children doing things no mother would ever imagine their own children doing. Sobering thoughts for Mother’s Day, but it’s pretty important that we actually become aware of the truth if anything is going to change.

Notes: For documentation of claims about chocolate made in this blog posting, please read my previous post “The children producing the cocoa never taste the chocolate” which includes a clip for an outstanding video documentary. My regrets that I am not better informed about the clothing and textiles industry. I just saw in the news this week how we become so concerned in the midst of tragedy but so quick to forget when shopping for low prices—so parallel to my findings in cocoa production and chocolate sales.

Technorati Tags: chocolate,Ganong,Kit Kat,Hersheys chocolate,cocoa,child labour,child labor,child slavery,Ivory Coast,Ghana,chocolate industry,FairTrade,Cadbury,Cadbury Dairy Milk,cocoa production,Joe Fresh,Loblaw's,Walmart,Mother's Day

It’s Easter and the church is full

It’s great going to church on Easter Sunday and finding that the place is packed. Why should we ever complain about the church being too full? I’ve sat in almost empty churches before – not fun, quite disheartening. Yet some regular church attenders can be quite put out when they come on Easter Sunday and find the parking lot is full and “strangers” are sitting in their regular seats. Yes, these are those Christians who complain about the “Holly and Lily Christians” who only show up at Christmas and Easter.

Personally, I don’t understand why people would only come to church two or three times a year, but I think it’s great that they come for Easter Sunday. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives meaning to that Sunday and to all our Sunday church services. When the priest / pastor declares, “Christ is Risen!,” on Easter Sunday, I like hearing that large crowd sound of everyone responding together, “He is Risen Indeed.” If you’re only going to come one or twice a year, you couldn’t pick a better Sunday than Easter Sunday. So keep coming back!

Rather than moaning that these people only show up twice a year, why don’t we do our best to celebrate Easter Sunday, pull out all the stops, sing the best songs, hear the clear exposition of the Scriptures, feel the warmth of true Christian fellowship, and participate in the most joyous Communion feast of the year. Why don’t we give people a reason to come back the following Sunday? What if the experience of Easter Sunday was so compelling that people would be eager to return next week? Think: crowds following Jesus. What kept them coming back?

The reality is that far few people attend church than who claim to follow Christ, and maybe the church is partly to blame. Philip Yancey wrote a fascinating book on this subject called Church: Why Bother? He talks about a period of his life in which he decided not to attend church, but to support it from the outside, “I am not alone… Some of them have stories similar to mine: they feel burned or even betrayed by a former church experience. Others simply ‘get nothing out of church.’” (p.20) We can dismiss these reasons, many do, or we can attempt to address them as valid concerns. I know I don’t like being bored at church. I know it’s painful when you feel betrayed by your pastor. And I know how good it is to be in a church that promotes healing in those hurt relationships and sees no benefit in being boring for the sake of tradition. Why should people bother coming to church? And when they do come why wouldn’t we celebrate it rather than complain? Britney Spears has made the headlines for all kinds of things as we all know, but I think it’s pretty cool that she hit the headlines today just for going to church on Easter. I can be happy about that.

So let me suggest a new way to respond to those “Holly and Lily Christians.” How about saying, “Happy Easter! Great to see you” (or Merry Christmas on that other Sunday). Why not be brave and go further? “It’s great to see you today. I don’t think I’ve seen you since Christmas. I don’t know if you’d have any ideas, but I’ve been working on this project to redesign how we do church on Sundays. Do you have any ideas of what would make our church services more interesting, more compelling and more relevant to people? Any thoughts?” Now, of course, church is not entertainment or just crowd pleasing, so there may be answers that won’t be helpful, but I suspect some of the answers would be very interesting. We must ask ourselves how we’ve taken such a relevant message of great news and made it seem irrelevant to so many people today.

Technorati Tags: church,attendance,Easter,Britney Spears,Christmas,Sunday

The book Chapters !ndigo somehow forgot

Chapters Indigo sent me an interesting email last week, something like this:

You can click on the pic above, for Chapter !ndigo’s full list of 50 books, definitely some very good books. It seems to me that they forgot THE book that has changed far more lives than any of these. It has been more widely read than any of these 50 books and translated into more languages than all of these books put together. Martin Luther’s translation of THIS book reformed the German language much as the King James translation has shaped the English language. It is THE book that has forever changed my life and continues to transform my future. My source of hope, inspiration and direction. Reading it is unlike any other book, for in it the faithful hear God speak to them, an experience to which we must humbly respond, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:16). If you’re going to make a list of books that will change your life, how could you possibly not include the most life changing book of all, The Holy Bible?

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Michele Bachmann for Pastor

Michele Bachmann for President!? How about Michele Bachmann for Pastor? I don’t see her as a strong candidate for President of the United States, but after hearing Michele Bachmann preach at a church in Iowa, I’m convinced she would be a great candidate for becoming a pastor. It’s true she won the Ames Straw Poll last week in Iowa, but why did she win it? Wasn’t it because of Bachmann’s compelling Christian testimony and her faith-inspired conservative values? If so, isn’t this poll really telling us that Bachmann would be a great pastor more so than telling us she would be a good president? I really think she could be a great pastor. She would have to drop the political rhetoric and stick to her more compelling message about her faith, her experience as a Christian, and what she’s learned from the Bible. If she could do that, I could see her being a serious candidate for becoming a pastor. Bachmann’s passion would be far better applied on this church track rather than on this bid to become President.

Michele Bachmann is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Minnesota, the first Republican woman to represent that state in Congress. In Washington DC, Bachmann founded and chairs the Tea Party Caucus within Congress. Now, with little to no political accomplishments, she’s a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. And she seems to be very focused on winning the Iowa Caucuses which is the first step toward that goal. The Ames straw poll victory certainly helps her.

In the midst of this campaigning in Iowa, on Sunday, July 24, Michele Bachmann spoke at a conservative Christian church that bans women from leadership and preaching. New Life Community Church Pastor Brian Hagerman explained, “We generally would not have a woman to come to specifically teach because we feel God calls men as pastors to be the primary teachers of their churches.” Yet they did invite Michele Bachmann to this church in Marion, Iowa to “share her testimony”—to speak as one believer to fellow believers about what God had done and is doing in her life. They just did not want her teaching the Bible or speaking too heavily about politics.

Doesn’t this beg the question as to whether Pastor Hagerman and the members of his church would actually vote for Michele Bachmann to become president? If you do not believe that women should be leaders or preachers in the church, would you be able to support a woman taking on the highest leadership role in the country? Often the belief that woman cannot lead in the church is accompanied by other conservative values like the belief that the man is “the head of household”—the key decision maker and the preference to see women staying at home rather than being in the workforce. I’ve certainly been in conservative churches that do not believe women should run for political office. In fairness, though, when asked the question, Pastor Hagerman said, “Outside of specifically leading a church or pastoring a church, I personally don’t read in scripture that God says a man can have this job and a woman have this job.” That seems a bit conflicted to me to believe that a woman cannot lead a church of 200 people  but could lead one of the most powerful nations in the world.

Today, there are a growing number of churches which recognize that Jesus fully included women in his teaching ministry and appointed a few of these female disciples to be the very first witnesses of his resurrection. To believe that only men should be leaders in the church like they do in Marion, Iowa is to disregard a lot of evidence for women in leadership in the New Testament church. The Apostle Paul, for example, when writing to the Romans, sends greetings to 27 people who helped to lead the church in Rome and 10 of them are women, more than one-third of the church’s leadership. He clearly identifies some of their titles and positions in the church such as Junia the “outstanding” apostle, Priscilla his “co-worker,” and Mary, Tryphena and Tryphosa who “worked very hard” for the church. Not only that, this letter to the Romans which some regard as Paul’s greatest theological work was delivered to Rome by Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae. It is more than likely that she would’ve presented it to the church in Rome, having been commended to the church by Paul, thus preaching the words written by the apostle. Given this reality of women in leadership in the New Testament era church, there is no reason why women should not be serving as teachers, preachers and pastors in our churches today.

Michele Bachmann is a strong candidate to become a pastor. Though New Life Community Church in Iowa said that Bachmann was not to teach from the Bible, in her speech that day, she preached a sermon, easily the best preaching I’ve heard this year. It was great. She was interesting and engaging as she shared how she grew up in the church yet somehow missed the gospel, but later did become a Christian and decided to live as a Christian making a difference in this world just as God was calling her to do. And, then, she riveted everyone’s attention as she opened the Bible and began to preach. “This is a wonderful story in 1 Samuel 14 that I want to share with you.... [King] Saul was so disheartened that he didn’t know what to do. But his son Jonathan did not give up hope. He had a heart that would not be defeated. He had a heart that said we can do this.” Bachmann continued, narrating through this incredible biblical story of courage and faith. Then, with Billy Graham-like passion, she made that Scripture come alive to every person listening, as she preached, “Oftentimes challenges that come into our life, whether they are small or whether they are large like Jonathan was facing—those challenges are often brilliantly disguised by our God as an opportunity for him to show his greatness. That he is powerful to save. And so I say to you this morning... never look at a challenge and think that you go it alone. Never think that we serve a God who is not mighty to save. He prevails.... Don’t think for a moment that he is not more powerful yet to save.” Amen!

I’ve had the opportunity to hear several new preachers fresh out of seminary preach this year as well as a few seasoned pastors. None of them had even a quarter of the passion and power with which Michele Bachmann delivered that message. Look, I don’t understand her political views or how the Republicans could even consider her to be a good candidate for the presidency when she actually advocated for defaulting on the U.S. debt, but I do know that Michele Bachmann can preach. She’s a passionate Christian who sincerely wants to live for God. When you look at what is best about Michele Bachmann’s campaign presentations in Iowa—her biblical preaching, her faith and her Christian values, let’s be serious, she is a great candidate for becoming a pastor. I, for one, would vote for her to be pastor of a church, but not President of the United States.

Technorati Tags: Michele Bachmann,Iowa,New Life Community Church,Marion Iowa,President of the United States,Republican candidate,Michelle Bachmann,women preaching,women in leadership,women pastors,Phoebe deacon,Junia,Romans 16,role of women in the church,conservative churches,Brian Hagerman,Jonathan,armour-bearer,armor-bearer,1 Samuel 14

Children are more important than chocolate

It sounds like a good news story, doesn’t it? Nestle is really helping Ivory Coast by distributing saplings that will grow into disease-resistant cocoa trees. This will greatly boost productivity and improve the quality of the cocoa beans. But is this really a good news story? What about the quality of life for the 200,000 children who labour in the cocoa jungles of Ivory Coast? What about the child slaves trafficked from Burkino Faso and Mali included in that number? Why isn’t Nestle doing something to help these children? They could’ve linked the distribution of these new cocoa trees to programs that are working to eliminate child slavery and end the worst forms of child labour.

The good news story is actually happening in Cameroon, the fourth largest cocoa-producing country. Companies like Mars and Cadbury have been impressed by research that shows that farmers in Cameroon cultivate cocoa trees in a more sustainable way that essentially preserves and renews the rainforest. This is in great contrast to the monoculture cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast where the rainforest is being razed and then with time the cocoa trees are becoming less productive. What impresses me even more is that Cameroon does not have the same high rate of child labour that keeps children from attending school nor is the country known for the same extensive practice of child trafficking and slavery. Martin Gilmour, UK-based cocoa research manager for Mars, says, “We would like to see farmers get higher prices for their cocoa. It would be better for both of us.” And it would help to eliminate the so-called “need” for child labour. So Cargill, a big cocoa purchaser and bulk chocolate producer for companies like Cadbury and Mars, is rolling out its UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon which should dramatically boost their sustainable cocoa output. This UTZ certification means working with the ILO to eliminate the worst forms of child labour which includes slavery and denial of schooling. Thus, Cameroon is already in a better position than Ivory Coast when it comes to child labour and now the chocolate companies are seeing the benefit of investing in Cameroon’s cocoa production in a way that will go further to eliminating the worst forms of child labour and improving sustainability. Excellent! Now why wasn’t this good news story broadcast on TV?

Finally, summer time makes is a great time to tell Hershey’s that we want more from our S’mores! That’s right, we want fair trade chocolate in our S’mores. Hershey’s Chocolate made S’mores to be the popular treat they are, but they don’t produce any fair trade chocolate bars. As a chocolate company they continue to show a resistance to doing anything about the serious child labour and slavery problem in West Africa. I mentioned above that Mars and Cadbury are speaking up and Cargill is listening, but Hershey remains silent. Raise the Bar, Hershey is an excellent website giving many practical ways for us to get involved in the fight against child slavery and abusive child labour in West Africa.

 

P.S. It’s hard to ever truly find a good news story when it comes to cocoa coming from West Africa. The sources I cited above may have not been entirely accurate in their assessment of child labour in Cameroon’s cocoa industry. This episode of the BBC World TV series "Survivors Guide" looks at the ILO’s project in Cameroon. Sobering, to say the least.

Technorati Tags: Nestle,Ivory Coast,Mars bar,Cadbury,Cargill,Cameroon,UTZ certification,cocoa slavery,cocoa industry,Hershey,S'mores,chocolate,Hershey's chocolate,child labour,IO,child slavery,smores

Why the world needs Superman

Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship! Fox News got all upset and Mike Huckabee was disturbed last month when Action Comics #900 was released. I just had to get my own copy of this comic — no small feat as the publicity caused it to sell out fast everywhere. In spite of the media frenzy, the comic book story wasn’t really about Superman renouncing his U.S. citizenship. (Mike Huckabee who was so disturbed by this notion had not even bothered to read the comic before condemning it.) The story was more about the limitations of a superhero and how little Superman could actually do during the protests of the Arab Spring. Superman chose to stand with a large group of peaceful, non-resistant protesters demonstrating in Iran. He admitted this was a problem he couldn’t solve with his superpowers, but he could show his support and he did by standing with them — an action which landed Superman in trouble with the U.S. government. (Since Fox News doesn’t want him, we’ll glady give Superman Canadian citizenship. After all his Fortress of Solitude has always been in the Canadian Arctic.)

June, as it turns out, was quite the month for the iconic superhero. It saw the 10-year series finale of Smallville, the show all about the coming of age of Superman (Clark Kent). After watching it, a good friend of mine said, “It was pretty good even though I never watched Smallville before. They built up the anticipation and made you want to see Superman fly.” Humoured, I replied, “The anticipation you experienced in those two hours, I’ve been experiencing over the last 10 years! They definitely built up the anticipation. I’ve been watching and waiting for 10 years now to see the blue suit, the red cape, the first flight and the emergence of Superman.”

Action Comics #900 (and other Superman comics too), the TV series Smallville and even the song “Superman (It’s not easy)” by Five for Fighting are examples of the postmodern revision of Superman. In these last few years, we’ve learned that behind the legend and the cape, there is suffering — a vulnerable hero, sometimes unsure of himself, lonely and insecure, hurting but hoping. And we had thought he was almost a god, invincible and invulnerable, a superhuman alien, the last son of Krypton. Tom Welling in Smallville and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns have revealed this more human, more sympathetic, and more vulnerable side of Superman. In the 2006 movie Superman almost dies, sacrificing himself to save the earth. This whole new way of understanding Superman’s limitations and his “humanness” may have begun in the remarkable 1992 comic “The Death of Superman.”

This revision of Superman really does make sense. When I think back to my childhood dream of becoming Superman and being able to defeat every foe and solve every problem while never being hurt by anyone nor feeling any of this world’s pain, I realize now that wasn’t quite realistic. Seriously, how could a hero, a true hero, be untouched and uninvolved in this world’s suffering? To be a hero these days, Superman must push himself through constant trials, experience pain, and be willing to sacrifice himself. Contrast the Brandon Routh Superman of Superman Returns (2006) who struggles intensely and must use every ounce of his ingenuity, strength and speed to save a passenger jet spinning out of control — contrast him with the Christopher Reeve Superman of the original Superman movie (1978) who effortlessly rescued Air Force One by subbing in for an engine. This new young hero raised in Smallville who goes through trials and struggles to become Superman is truly a superhero.

What 9/11 taught us about heroes is that they sacrifice themselves to save others, they put themselves in harm’s way, they suffer and more often than we realized, they die in the line of duty. In Canada, the Highway of Heroes is the road travelled when fallen soldiers are returned from Afghanistan. People line the way, standing with firefighters and other emergency workers to pay tribute to our military heroes. Christians ought to pay close attention to this redefinition of “heroes” and revision of Superman. After all, we follow a Saviour who said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Yet the church is still caught up in the modern era triumphalism that produced the invincible and invulnerable Superman. Whey else would we think it odd when we as Christians are touched by and involved in this world’s suffering? Why do we question the goodness of God when a young father is diagnosed with terminal cancer? Why do we as Christians believe that we should feel no pain and be healed from all diseases? Why are we so prone to insist that God should intervene at every turn and save us from harm? (Really listen to our group prayers! See what we really believe.) We don’t expect a fellow believer to land a lousy job and be underpaid or to suffer from depression or to be unable to save their marriage. Why do we protest so loudly when the way is hard and the path uncertain? Isn’t it true that the church today celebrates success, wealth and victory? Triumph to triumph!

Perhaps we’ve gotten our heroes of the faith all wrong by worshipping success. Maybe this isn’t God’s way of changing the world. Isn’t it just possible that the heroes God calls us to be in this world will struggle and be unsure at times, be vulnerable and caught up in this misery of this world, perhaps find themselves alone, hurting yet hoping. I suspect these are exactly the kind of heroes God is using to change the world. Consider again the Beatitudes, that list of what God rewards. As Christians, aren’t we called to follow the way of our real Superhero, Jesus?

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Superhero and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1b-3, NIV but improved)

Here’s the reason I wrote this article on today’s Superman: We need a better way to translate the Greek word αρχηγος (archagos) which is used to describe Jesus four times in the New Testament (The verse above, Hebrews 12:2, and 2:10; Acts 3:15, 5:31). Our typical translations like “author” and “pioneer” fall way short of the powerful meaning packed in the Greek word αρχηγος. Though they get at some aspect of the meaning, I don’t think terms like this say enough. The mighty Hercules, really the ancient Greek version of Superman, the half-human and half-divine hero, was called both αρχηγος and saviour — superhero and saviour. These are exactly the Greek terms used of Jesus in Acts 5:31! Anyone familiar with the legend of Hercules wouldn’t imagine calling him an “author” or a “pioneer,” certainly not a “prince”—such words do not do him justice. Nor do I think that such weak translations of αρχηγος, though they convey some element of truth, are adequate translations of this title when applied to Jesus. It would be much better to capitalize on today’s understanding of what makes a hero and proclaim Jesus to be our Superhero and Saviour (rather than “Prince and Saviour” as in the NIV of Acts 5:31). He is the one who can show us how to make a difference in this world.

When I read what Hebrews 2:10-18 says about Jesus, I see a hero who shared in our humanity, suffered in his flesh and sacrificed himself for us. Through the trials, temptations and suffering, he proved himself faithful. Because of what he experienced, Jesus is merciful toward us, ready to help us, able to make us like himself, faithful to the end. This Superhero saves us, inspires us and is transforming us to be like himself in this world. It may not be easy, but these are the heroes the world needs to see emerging from the church today, real heroes who will make a difference.

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