Matt Farina - Culture

What If We Dropped the Word?

matt — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:31:50 +0000

My first article appeared on the fshbwl, today, called "What If We Dropped the Word?". It's an article about the word evolution. This comes on the heals of my 2nd guest hosting spot on the Swim Podcast.

All this theological stuff is getting to be a bit fun.

God At Work In The World

matt — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:05:40 +0000

I've herd phrases like, "We are only one generation from Christianity dieing out." I've read research findings like, "most Protestant pastors are neither called to nor competent in leadership" and "most 'church growth' is simply the recycling of church-goers from one congregation to another." And, yet, in this world where we have a lack of leadership and we have Christianity dieing out in western culture it isn't dead. In fact, it's expanding in the world. Despite our best efforts to screw up spreading the word it's still spreading, people are still coming to faith, and it's spreading to every corner of the earth without the use of force.

I dunno about you but I see this as a miracle and a mystery. It's God at work in the world and he doesn't need us. In fact, it's happening despite our superb ability to screw it up. Yet, He hasn't fired us yet.

I sit here this morning a bit amazed, humbled, and joyful.

How Do You Prepare For Easter?

matt — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:20:53 +0000

Most of the preparing I do for the holidays involves presents, candy, decorations, and a little more stress than the everyday. But, is that really what's it's supposed to be about? Santa, as we know him, has been around for less than 100 years. The egg laying bunny comes from the 18th century. Yet, Lent and Advent have been around for a very very long time. The question I'm left wondering is what is a good way to prepare for this upcoming Easter where I don't get caught up in the commercialism and get to the heart of what it's all about?

On this weeks SAP episode we talk about just that. Since recording the episode I've decided on a few ways I'm going to prepare for this Easter.

I'm doing a lent devotional. Working on the site for the Writings From The Wilderness Devotional has inspired me to actually do a Lent devotional. Something to remind me, daily, what this is all about.
Wednesday Night Church Services. The church I attend does Wednesday night church services during Lent. These services, at my church, tend to have a bit more challenging sermons that hit mature Christians a little more and challenge them. Maybe this shows they aren't as mature as they think they are or would like to be.
I'm going to stay away from the commercialism. There is a lot of commercialism surrounding Easter and Lent. Some of it is the corporate world wanting to make candy sales. Some of it is the Christian world and the constant Christian consumerism stuff that's out there. In both cases I'm going to try and shut it out.

So, this is my list. What are you going to do this Lent to prepare for Easter?

How do you overcome untruth?

matt — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:15:41 +0000

I've started to notice a lot of obvious untruths lately. For example, I was recently told that the theory of evolution had been proven to be true. You might think this is the case, too. I've herd this at least a half dozen times in the last 6 months. But, it hasn't been proven. The untruth here is not that it's not plausible and not that people believe it to be true but that we have proven it. This is where a great danger lies. I think the danger here is worse than blind beliefs. The danger is that people think something is known to be true when it hasn't been proven. I'd go so far to say they live a lie.

I don't think this always starts at the top. To continue this evolution example, I've read a number of scientists who have talked about the ideology, or belief, that surrounds this kind of work. Charles Darwin opened the Origin of Species, his famous book on the theory of evolution, by talking about his belief in naturalism and how he was working with other naturalists on this theory. He pointed out his world view and the belief that is attached to his work. He isn't the only one doing this.

In cases like this I think it's the middle men. The people who believe what these scientists or other leaders are saying very passionately and in response do a bad job representing what's going on. In this case they shorten names like the theory of evolution to just evolution. Removing the words 'the theory of' seems to give it more authority in our minds. They write and teach from the perspective that it's known to be true because they feel it is. They push this from a theory that people believe to a place where people are misled to believe that something is proven to be true.

This isn't always the case. There are times where someone with great charisma steps in and has people believing untruths. But, I think this case is rarer. It would be more like dropping a frog in boiling water. Many people would see what's going on and not sign up. In my evolution example it would be more like putting a frog in warm water and turning up the heat until it's boiling. The cold blooded frog wouldn't know what's going on.

In my mind this situation is separate from belief because the people following these things aren't thinking in terms of beliefs. They think something is as true as gravity which they can see everywhere. So, the question I'm left with is how to deal with this and talk to people about these blatant untruths. How do you deal with these situations when they come up?

An Overview of the Bible

matt — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:04:51 +0000

The Bible is an incredible book is many ways. It is the most popular selling book of all time. Yet, it is one of the least read books. If you look at the number of books bought verse the number read it might be the book with the smallest percent read of all time. These days most of America is considered Biblically illiterate. People don't seem to know where the bible came from, don't know the themes of the bible, don't have an understanding of translations, and so much more.

St. Matthew Lutheran church is aiming to change that with a great bible study that covers those topics and more. The nature of the Bible study is an overview which mostly covers information that isn't under debate by different denominations. It's something everyone can learn from.

The bible study audio is available via a podcast feed here.

The first study covered an overview of what the bible is, shows why Jesus is at the center of the bible, and even provides a time line for the bibles writing. One of the elements I found amazing was some of the prophecies in the Old Testament and where they were fulfilled. The audio is available here and the slides that go along with it here.

The second study discusses why the Bible is Gods word. It covers what the Bible says about itself, divine inspiration, the topic of contradictions and errors, how scripture defends itself, the idea of inerrancy, and how the bible is laid out. The audio is available here and the slides that go along with it here.

On the way are studies about the canon (New Testament) and how it came together, figurative and other types of language used in the Bible, different translations, and more. If you're interested in learning about the bible this is a great study for you.

How We Treat Others

matt — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:30:15 +0000

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." -- Ephesians 4:29-32

Any thoughts about living this out in a world sucked into politics where bashing is a norm and a world that is increasingly against Christians?

Understanding Your Pastors Time

matt — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:30:53 +0000

Over the past couple weeks I've been part of several conversations about the expectations of pastors. Everyone I have spoken with has different expectations and sadly, most of them have unrealistic expectations.

I don't call them unrealistic because of theological considerations. Though, if we were going to go that route it wouldn't be hard. I call them unrealistic because of time considerations. Basically, when you add up all the duties they are expected to do and the hours it takes it's just not a list of realistic expectations. So, let's look at some of these expectations, the time they take, and what that means.

Let's start by looking at Sunday morning worship. For most of us you are talking about an hour of worship and maybe a Sunday morning bible study. This might be an hour to about two and a half hours of our time. But, for pastors it takes a lot more time than that.

To prepare for Sunday morning service our pastors have to prepare those great sermons. That takes, when averaged out, about 8 hours to prep. We, also, have that bible study they do. That's another 8 hours of prep. Then, throw in your typical church with multiple service times and a bible study and you have another 6 hours on Sunday. That's about 22 hours a week for them for what we usually see as a few hours.

After this expectations vary. Pastors have a certain amount of other responsibility depending on the church and their role their. There is hospital visitation, counseling, pre-marriage class, confirmation for the children, managing the alms fun for the needy, oversight of the ministries, and so much more. At the same time we expect them to be the model spouse and parent. Those take a lot of time.

When you get to a larger church this gets compounded because there are more people to counsel, more people to visit in the hospital, and just more to do.

But, how much time do these things take? Take a church with weekend attendance about 1000. That pastor has at least 10 hours a week in meetings overseeing ministries around the church. At this point we only have Sunday services and oversight and yet 32 hours a week of time are accounted for.

Now, what else do we expect and when do we expect the day to end. Are they supposed to go at it 50, 60, or 70 hours a week?

Hospital visitation is one of the hot expectations. If a church of 1000 has 3 people in the hospital (this is a low estimate) that would be a good 3 hours per person of time when you figure for commute and everything else involved. The total is at 41 hours a week.

Confirmation, or teaching of children, is another common part to church. If you figure for a one hour class, with pre made materials to go over, that's another 5 hours. We are up to 46.

Do you see how it can climb quickly?

At this point we haven't talked about future planning, giving to the needy, ministering to people, counseling, or a host of other things and yet we already have the pastor working 46 hours a week.

The idea I am trying to convey is that expecting the pastor to be part of or do everything that's the duty of the church is not realistic time wise. God just did not put enough hours in the day.

This leaves me with a few questions: What are my expectations of my pastor based on? What is realistic for him to do? What is the biblical model for this? God wouldn't make a situation that's unworkable. So, what is the solution?

What's the Point of twitter?

matt — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:16:55 +0000

I just signed up for twitter account and am now wondering "what's the point of twitter?"

Twitter, for those of you who don't know, is a way that you can let the world know what you are doing at the moment. At least that's what most people use if for. You can update it at their website, with a text message, or an instant message. You can, also, put your up to date twitter message on your website with a badge.

But, what problem does it solve? What need does it fill? What desire does it feed?

The only thing I could think of was the desire to have other people know what you are doing. To know that other people care about what you are doing. Does this try to fill the need of people to know that others care about them?

Twitter with it's lack of a clear void to fill has taken off. CNN uses it, the top bloggers use it, and millions of other people use it.

What do you think the point of twitter is? What void does it try to fill? What do you think is the point?

If you're looking, you can find me on twitter at http://twitter.com/mattfarina.

The Podcasting Church

matt — Mon, 07 May 2007 11:07:59 +0000

Podcasting is one of the innovative technologies that is taking the Internet by storm. It's leaving the world of the geek and technical and heading into mainstream use. That's why when Bob and I were asked to write an article in Church Business Magazine we were so excited to write about podcasting.

That article has launched and you can read it digitally in the June 2007 issue. The article is called The Podcasting Church.

If you know anyone in the church who might be interested in podcasting or you would like to get interested please feel free to send them to the article.

Stay At Home Moms Rock!

matt — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:30:53 +0000

Stay at home moms are great. In our modern day society that only sees worth coming in day jobs that bring home the bucks the stay at home mom is becoming rarer and rarer. But, at what cost and is it really worth it?

I've herd the cost argument many times and there are two sides to it. One side says that a mom who stays at home with her kids is giving up the use of her talents. Some even go so far as to say the use of her talents to make something of herself in this world. The other side is focused on that child, what will happen to that child, and the joy of the mother with that child. The question is which cost is worth it and why?

My view has been definitely shaped by my mom. She was that stay at home mom who has many talents and is outstandingly smart. Why did she stay at home? Have you ever seen a mom who has to leave her baby for that first time to go back to work? Maybe you have been that mom. In my experience she doesn't want to leave. There is a connection I don't think men can understand. My mom didn't want to leave and she didn't.

But, at what cost? She could have worked more and made money. My parents could have afforded a bigger house. Nicer vacations. Bigger TVs. Nicer cars. I could go on but you get the point. The question that plagues me with this kind of thinking is when is it enough? How much of the dollar is sufficient? If it's about making money for stuff is there ever enough?

At the same time she didn't become a slave to the money but became free to pursue some happiness. She had the opportunity to be there when my sisters and I spoke. When we crawled. When we walked. When we did sports or danced (my sister that is). When we achieved she was there to celebrate it with us. She wasn't to busy for our lives. When we failed she was there to comfort us. She wasn't to busy to support us. Instead of chasing the dollar she chased us around which was without a doubt much more worth wild.

While I am on the topic of cost there is the cost to the children for those working moms. What happens to those kids whose moms work all day? When the moms get home at night there are things to care for around the house. There are things to take care of in the marriage. Where is the time for the kids? It's there at a very reduced amount which leads to a large problem in our society today. Kids feel unwanted, unloved, and unimportant. At the same time they aren't learning all those important things that many of their parents take for granted. The kids get left out in the cold.

Don't take my word for this. Start reading the studies on kids today. For example, you will learn that your average teenager doesn't feel desired in a day they don't get a phone call or text message. What is coming out of the secular and Christian studies tends to agree and it points to kids feeling unwanted, unloved, and unimportant. This leads to them acting out or closing up. This leads to them not chasing after many of the greatest things in life (which doesn't include the dollar). It leads to them hurting a lot of the time rather than feeling the joy of life.

Stay at home moms can often solve this. They are there to teach kids all those little things. They are there to support those kids. They are there to love those kids as they grow and and teach them how to love others. Day care doesn't teach that. By the time they spend with their kids they show that the kids are important. They show the kids that people are important and more important than money.

My mom is a great example of child raising being an opportunity for her to use her talents. She used those skills to raise us. We were a challenge that required learning a lot. She stepped up with her talents.

In no way do I mean for child raising to be just about the moms. The dads should definitely be involved as I have blogged about before. And, I understand that in this messed up world there are women who want to stay at home with their kids but have to work to support their families. This isn't about taking away from anyone else.

Basically, I am saying that the stay at home mom rocks! They are not something to be looked down on. They aren't in a position they should have to justify. They aren't giving up the opportunity to make something of themselves.

If you know a stay at home mom say a prayer of thanks for her. Give her a pat on the back (or butt if your her husband). Say some words of appreciation. They have one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs on the planet. Raising the next generation is no easy job, they take it seriously, and put their talents to something that truly is worth wild.