Meine Klein Welt

ABBA Day

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ABBA

So my freshmen are diligently working(more or less) on an assignment, when one of them says very abruptly

“We should have a national ABBA dedication day.”

I responded, not quite sure he’d actually said what I thought he said

“Really? Are you sure you mean ABBA? I mean they’re kind of old don’t you think?”

Another student asked incredulously

“Are they still alive?”

I sighed, kind of amazed that any of these students actually know who ABBA is

“Of course they’re still alive. I mean, they’re old but they’re not THAT old.”

The first student chimed in again

“I think they made mostly Disco music. . .I really like Disco music. . .Maybe we should have a national Disco dedication day.”

Shortly thereafter this same student starts singing “Heart of Glass” to himself, to which a nearby student asked

“Is that ABBA?”

“No, that’s Blondie”

Then he decided to start singing YMCA, at which point I gently reminded him that there is no singing in Computer class.

New VCS Video

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Our school recently commissioned a professional video that does a great job of capturing the vision and focus of Vienna Christian School. In it are some moving testimonies from parents, students, and staff. I am including a link at the bottom of this post.

For some reason the school chose not to include me in the video. The concern, I’m sure, is that our administration feared a sudden influx of teaching applications from many eager single women. Or something like that…

http://www.viennachristianschool.org/media.htm

Filed Under: VCS

Men in the Church

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I remember reading the book Wild at Heat by John Eldridge a few years back, and while I have quite a few problems with some of his conclusions I think the premise of his book is very good. Defining the male role in society and the church is a very good discussion to have.

I remember reading his assertion that men in general feel out of place or bored with the contemporary church in America. And in reference to my last post, I wonder how much of that has to do with the evangelical church putting so much emphasis on feelings and emotions. I don’t think I’m over-generalizing when I say that most men aren’t very much in touch with their feelings. Can it be that many evangelical churches have pushed men out of the church by preaching sermons that address mainly felt needs and emotional issues?

Any thoughts?

Professional Development

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Our staff is currently working on our ACSI accreditation and as part of that we are required to read a number of books dealing with Christian education. The first book my group read is Love Your God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland.

This book spends a great deal of time addressing evangelicalism as an anti-intellectual movement. This certainly isn’t a new idea, but is definitely something that I, as a Christian educator need to be wary of.

Moreland pegs the anti-intellectual trend in American Christianity to revivals including the Great Awakening. These revivals focused on making people feel their need for God, but spent very little effort educating new converts in the essential tenants of their faith. This led to a generation of Christians who, instead of responding to intellectual criticism with an educated response, retreated into the safety of faith. There was no explanation for faith, you simply had to trust that what the Bible says is true.

This line of thinking led to a false dichotomy between faith and reason and an unhealthy skepticism of anything intellectual. Philosophy became a bad word in Christian circles and it didn’t take long for Christians to become a laughing stock amongst any sort of thinking people. The extent of the anti-intellectual movement in American Christianity was perhaps best exhibited during the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925.

Even today evangelicals are very much affected by this non-thinking approach to Christianity. Many sermons in the church address only felt needs and are often emotionally manipulating. Congregations are made to feel guilty instead of being reasoned with. Pastors rely more on rhetoric than sound Biblical teaching. Christianity is put in a box of personal experience, and beyond being a travesty, this is unbiblical. The truth of Christianity is not limited to the experiences of the individual believers.

Jesus often challenges his listeners and disciples with parables that engage the intellect and Paul is often charged to make a philosophical or intellectual case for the truth of Christianity. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer Christians who are able to intellectually engage their culture because they are not taught how to do so.

The church does a great disservice to Christ and His message to neglect the intellectual development of its congregants. We are  told by Jesus himself to love the Lord with all our mind, so why is the church so hesitant to educate those whom it is responsible to equip?

This is not meant to say that emotion has no role in Christianity, but to more to point out that it has been elevated too highly in many evangelical circles. For instance, how should one witness to those who do not “feel” like they need God? If Christianity is truth, then we should be able to reason with people about it.

There is a bumper sticker that sums up the anti-intellectualism rampant in evangelical churches today: God said it, I believe it, that settles it. If Christians wish to have a meaningful impact on the world they must do better than this. We must be able to reason with those whom we wish to evangelize to. The Truth is not true merely because I believe it.