sermon: suffering & sacrifice

03/15/09, Colossians 1:24-25
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren
Christians are called to suffer for and to sacrifice themselves for others so that the beauty of Christ and the gospel would be revealed.

Notes from 3/15/09

sermon: fractured and reconciled

03/08/09, Colossians 1:19-23
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren
Jesus Christ is our head and our life.

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Notes from 3/8/2009

sermon: the head, or, jesus vs. the zombie apocalypse

03/01/09, Colossians 1:18
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren
Jesus Christ is our head and our life.

longevity: braces vs. back braces

Lost Ground
Christians: We’ve got work to do. Scratch that. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And we’re going to have to do it for a long, long time.

Many recent studies confirm what most Christians already know: identifying oneself as a Christian is often a conversational Blue Screen of Death (or Beach Ball, Mac users). For many, “Christian” is to “Virtue” as “Blagojevich” is to “Honesty”.

It would be a mistake to interpret these reactions to the current Christian witness as rejection of Christian beliefs merely. Much of the criticism is focused on misalignment between Christian belief and Christian action. Apparently there are scores of people in the west who dislike hypocrisy (???). The message seems to be, “More Salt, please. Less Sweet-N-Low.”

What studies such as these point to is an increasingly prevalent skepticism toward, suspicion of, and even open hostility to those who call themselves Christians.

I’ve had the opportunity to experience this increasing tension many times firsthand. On one such occasion, I was invited to a party by a close friend who was not a Christian. As a joke, he introduced my wife and I to the group by saying, “Hey everyone, this is Aaron and Kayla. They’re Christians.” Instantly all of us were plunged into a wet-concrete-filled swimming pool of tension. A few people introduced themselves to us. Most did not. Later, someone scolded my friend for ousting us so rudely. My friend had good intentions — he was trying to be funny and spark some conversation. But he might as well have said we were there to recruit for Am-way on behalf of the Aryan Nation.

It’s Not Going Away
Strikingly, studies such as these also seem to indicate that prevalence of hostility increases in reverse proportion to age (that is, younger individuals are much more likely to distrust Christianity and Christians than older individuals). As such, the answer isn’t to sit tight and wait until the controversy blows over. This isn’t going just to go away. It’s going to get bigger.

Solutions in Strategic Longevity
What should this mean for us as we think about what it means to be salty in the world? For starters, it means that we’re going to have to be in it for the long haul. Consistency and longevity will be key. We will have to build a sustained witness over longer and longer periods of time. I suspect my friends who aren’t Christians will agree with me on this point.

“Is Christianity true? Fine. Prove it. I’d love to see what it would look like for you to stick to what you believe and keep trying to bless people in genuine ways even when things get rough and no one likes you.”

Church planters especially will be forced to create strategies that look not only 10 years into the future, but 20, 50, 100, and 150 years into the future. Crucially, they will have to sacrifice short-term gains for long-term gains. This may include breaking with conventional short-term focused church-planting strategies, increased alliance-forming with like-minded local churches, and strategically sacrificing the pretty nice-to-haves for the robust must-haves. Much money is spent on braces. Why not try investing in  back-braces instead?

Next: Strategic Longevity Continued
Fine, but what would a strategy for being the church over 150 years in city look like? Stay tuned.

meditation: kingdoms

A question from this week’s sermon: how do the bad guys know that they’re the bad guys? Revisit this scene from my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film, Unbreakable. Caution: This is the film’s final revelation. If you haven’t seen it before and care about that kind of thing, don’t watch the below.

sermon: kingdoms

02/15/09, Aaron Youngren, Colossians 1:13-14

This week we ask, “How do the bad guys know that they’re the bad guys?”
2/15/09 ‘Kingdoms’ notes

sermon: survive and thrive

02/08/09, Aaron Youngren, Colossians 1:11-12

This week we see that Paul and Timothy are not only praying that the Colossians would know God and bear fruit, but also that God would give them His own power to do so. By God’s power the Colossians will not only survive, but also thrive.

meditation: survive and thrive

Sermon on Colossians 1:11-12 (podcast available for itunes here, or as rss here, thanks Mike) +
slightly dated music video from the greatest band of all time =
legendary world tour?

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:11-12

penn says “proselytizing = love”

Whenever I am training others for evangelism I insist that in a very short time nothing but absolutely honest friendship and loving good news proclamation will be an acceptable witness in America. No bait. No switch. No gimmicks. No bull.

Although most know Penn Jillette as half of the quirky comedy team “Penn and Teller”, more and more he’s known as a thinking man’s Atheist. Sure his show with a funny title can be a bit obnoxious at times (although far less than this athiest show and this religious show), but that won’t let me stop him from giving us some lessons in good old fashion proseletyzing.

one day we will see tractors

Last Tuesday I tried to simultaneously prepare a sermon for Colossians 1:9-11 last week and watch a son of Chicago make history on Facebook/CNN. The text interacted remarkably well with the moment, and I was struck by the longing for fruitfulness and restoration evidenced by those present. See for yourself:

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Matthew Bullock is excited.

Richelda Kamara is im so emotional right now can’t even control my tears.

Derek Adams is in with the new.

Marianne Schilling hopeful again. Finally.

Jennifer Strauss Richmond is so proud.

Christopher Saunders says THIS IS THE MOMENT!!!!!!

Nathaniel Conanan is watching at work.

Shawn Scherr is enjoying the finest hour of my generation!

Aine Calgaro has goosebumps.

America nor the world will