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Archive for category Cultural Commentary

What’s your response, Christian?

Apr 22

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Cultural Commentary | 11 Comments

A friend on Facebook posted this status today:

So, Larry King is getting his 8th divorce, and Elizabeth Taylor is possibly getting married for a 9th time. Jesse James and Tiger Woods are, well… you know… Even Newt Gingrich is on his 3rd marriage. Yet the idea of same-sex marriage is what is going to destroy the institution of marriage? REALLY?!?

What’s your response, Christian? Can any argument be made? Our inability to distinguish our actions from the rest of the world has made us look foolish when pushing a political agenda but not living up to our personal moral one.

You know what my response was? Nothing on Facebook. Went and got my wife flowers. The only comeback we have is to live out our gospel.

What about you?

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Feb 4

Posted by Clayton Bell in Cultural Commentary, Resources, Spiritual Insights | 1 Comment

Yesterday I plowed through Donald Miller‘s latest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I love the subtitle- “What I learned when editing my life.” We all would like a chance to back and make edits, improvements, change characters and scenes in our life, wouldn’t we?

While we can’t go back and change past experiences, we can live with greater intentionality and focus for the rest of our lives, which is the path Miller travels in this book. In the process of editing a previous book into a movie screenplay he learns what a great story is, realizes his life isn’t one, and determines to start living a great Story.

However, a succinct summary of the book doesn’t do it justice. Miller’s writing style, very stream-of-consciousness, drifts without getting lost, is funny and lighthearted right before it pierces you with depth and insight. He seems just like the kind of guy you’d want to grab a drink with, be it carbonated or fermented. If  you’re not the kind to pick up such a book, it’s the very reason you should. You need to be stretched to dream, wonder, reflect and imagine what you life is and what it could be.

I do want to add on caution to the book. As with Blue Like Jazz, Miller’s writing seem to strike their deepest chord with long-time or disaffected Christians. Since I’m neither, I never resonate as deeply with his writing, though I’ve seen it’s impact on others and appreciate the healing it’s brought them. However, I would be wary of a non-Christian reading this book, as they may come away thinking the way to a better story with God is to “try harder,” one of the most dangerous and horrifically wrong things a non-Christian can think about God. Someone who understands sin and redemption, but never quite found their groove or purpose in Christ (Ephesians 2:10) will find a sympathetic and challenging voice in Miller. Had I read this 12 months ago, before I started planting Trinity New Life, this would have been a great encouragement to take the steps to do so, and I hope it plays the same role in the lives of other Christians.

Oh, and if you want a review of the book covering more of the actual content, check out Ross Middleton’s review.

Have you read it? What did you think?

How white pastors can honor MLK Day

Jan 18

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Spiritual Insights | No Comments

Today we remember the life and passion of the great Martin Luther King, Jr., who for a brief and all-too-short period of time was the mouthpiece of God to breakdown sinful and wretched beliefs, mindsets and practices along racial lines.

As a white pastor, I would like to take a moment to encourage other white pastors to honor MLK’s legacy and dream with more than self reflection and social media compliments. I’m far from a race expert(though one of my best friends is black [and he's so well-spoken!]), but since I believe it’s not just the responsibility of black pastors to talk about race, here’s my entry into the fray-

  • Watch the speech. If you’ve never done that, PLEASE do so. It’s not about black and white, it’s about all of creation coming together. There can be no doubt this man was a prophet from God in this area.
  • Read Ephesians 2:14-17
  • Speak about race in your church. From the pulpit. Call it Sin. Because it is. It’s not just “kinda wrong,” or “just the way some people were raised.” It’s sin. It’s sin in white people, it’s sin in black people. It’s sin in Asians, Latinos, and New Yorkers. Racism is a Sin, and it must be called so, and called to be repented from. If you can speak on sensitive topics like sex and money, why leave race out?
  • Have a pastor of another race come and speak in your church, one of your friends. You are friends with more than just white pastors, right? Doesn’t have to be on MLK, doesn’t even have to be on race. But be intentional about exposing your congregation to people and cultures they never would come across in their daily lives.

That’s my list. Anything you want to add? Anything you want to disagree with?

Death to RSS!!!

Jan 13

Posted by Clayton Bell in Cultural Commentary, Social Media | 6 Comments

I know we were all excited about RSS when it came out year ago, but I think it’s turned into a bad thing for the web.

Ok, maybe not ALL of you. Some are still wondering what RSS even is.

Either way, getting our news and updates from RSS readers and Facebook notes (I’m sure some of you are even reading this in a Note!) erodes the design aspect of the web. There are some visually stunning websites out there, but you never see it because you’re stuck in your RSS reader. Here’s an example:

Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met You Mother, or as you know him, Doogie Howser, mentioned on Twitter one of his favorite websites was Uncrate.com. When I visited, I loved not only the unique products they highlight, but the amazing website. I visited a few days in a row, finally subscribing to their RSS feed. That’s where the fun died. Look at the difference-

OR……

Seriously, which one you rather look at? One is compelling, captivating, visually engaging. The other is informative and truthful, but boring as all get out. No more RSS for Uncrate.com!

Other websites, like this one and this one, are also visually compelling, but are probably not consumed in the way they were designed. So I say “Less RSS, more site visits!” Let’s get back to the good stuff!

Are there other beautifully designed sites you love to visit to, well, just look at?

How to end your career

Jan 8

Posted by Clayton Bell in Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Spiritual Insights | 1 Comment

If you didn’t see the way Colt McCoy ended his career last night after injuring his shoulder and missing the national championship game, it’s worth your time. What class, what faith!

Colt McCoy after the loss on ESPN.com

It’s not what you say…

Dec 10

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church Planting, Cultural Commentary, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | No Comments

…it’s EXACTLY what you say.

Words matter. Greatly.

And while they will never replace the move of the Holy Spirit in someone, they certainly can be used of the Holy Spirit to welcome, disarm, comfort and open people up. Which is why I’ll be stealing a large portion of the welcome below used by Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Texas.

“Good Morning. My name is Matt Chandler I am the Lead Pastor/Teaching Pastor here at The Village. If this is your first time visiting with us I want to welcome you. I am guessing that if this is your first time here you are in one of two lanes. The first lane is that you are a believer with a background in church and you’re new to the area or are just checking out our community. If at some point in the next hour or so your heart and mind are moved and you want to know more about us, you can fill out one of the cards in the seatback in front of you and either drop it in the joy boxes or, and this would be our preference, walk across the parking lot to the white portable buildings and there are some men and women over there that can answer any of the questions you might have about the church. The second lane is that you’re here today and you aren’t a Christian and don’t have a background in Church or not a recent one anyway. I want to welcome you. This is a safe place for you to have some doubts about what we are saying to be skeptical and curious. There are no doors that are closed for you here so explore as much as you want. Go to a home group, check out Recovery, help us mentor local students, hop on a plane to South America or Africa and help us, help others. As a former agnostic myself, I have a great deal of respect for the genuine seeker. If we can help answer any of your questions or serve you in anyway let us know.”

It’s not bowing so far to visitors that it waters anything down, but honors them and recognizes the culture shock that may be taking place when they come to church. As people who swim in this church culture I don’t think we realize how big of a shock it is for many to come to church. Read the whole post here, which includes highlights of how God’s used it to impact visitors.

Do you do something similar in your church? How much do you take visitors into account during worship, announcements, the message, etc?

The Sin of Texting

Dec 7

Posted by Clayton Bell in Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Social Media, Spiritual Insights | 9 Comments

texting while driving

This past week my wife and I drove to Jacksonville and back to attend the Every Nation Winter Conference. Nearly everyone we passed on the road was doing something on their cell phone.

In case you’ve never seen this, it’s truly terrifying to watch someone texting at 60+ MPH. I don’t know why people aren’t wrecking all the time. (BTW, I’ve stopped doing this while driving. I promise)

And then you remember all the times you’ve done it. But when you did it, you thought you were in control, that you’d be able to avoid the consequences.

I think it’s very similar when it comes to sin in our lives.

We see others do it, we see how crazy it looks, how terrible it is. When we do it, we rationalize and trust in ourselves to not let it impact others.

But I wonder what it looks like to God?

Santa FAIL

Nov 20

Posted by Clayton Bell in Cultural Commentary | No Comments

Just found this on the St. Pete Times website, Pasco section, so I put it in the magical editor over on the FAIL Blog.

Naughty list win?

More Tim Keller Awesomeness

Nov 13

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Cultural Commentary, Leadership, Resources, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 2 Comments

keller200You know I love me some Tim Keller. Man’s got game. Smarts. Insight. Fruit. Hair.

Well, three of four ain’t bad.

His church in NYC, Redeemer, is currently casting the vision for their next ten years. Here’s how they described the RENEW campaign:

By the end of this next decade the vision is to have three strong congregations serving a total of 9,000-10,000 people, worshipping at 7-9 locations and 12 or more services around the city, drawing many more un-churched people into a relationship with God, and with a reputation for serving and loving those in the city who don’t share our beliefs as well as loving those who do.
Keller’s been preaching a series of messages tying a key theme of the Christian life with hope and showing how it should be lived out in the city. The sermons are available for free HERE during the campaign.
Download them. Listen to them. Listen them again. You’re welcome.

Serving Mitchell, serving the city

Sep 11

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church Planting, Cultural Commentary, Trinity New Life Church | No Comments

(Originally posted on the Trinity New Life Church news blog)

As many of you know, I’m working with the JW Mitchell high school football team as the chaplain. In addition to spending time with the team and coaches doing leadership training and bible studies, our church will also be sponsoring their Players of the Week award. Here are your winners from the week 1 victory over River Ridge.

Congrats to (L to R):

Mitchell-week-1

  • Defensive player of the game Hunter McIntosh
  • Offensive player of the game Ricky Trinidad
  • Special Teams player of the game Codi Folsom

Pray for victory this week against Ridgewood!