AUTHOR: Robin Dugall
DATE: 8:45:00 AM
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BODY:
Over the weekend, I noticed that Angel stadium was not going to be hosting our beloved Anaheim, er, Los Angeles Angels for a taste of the national pasttime...that was bummer news because I was up for a game. Rather, they were hosting Saddleback Church for their 25th anniversary. That grabbed my attention because I would have loved to see how many brews those So. Baptists could have chugged during a good worship experience. Never seen that before...talk about a party! Seriously, we all need some celebration in our lives...and I would NOT, repeat, WOULD NOT have had a problem with 20K people getting together for a big of "yeah God"...that's cool. What got me concerned was that now Saddleback is taking on the world. It isn't enough to be faithful within one's sphere...to see God change lives so that the Kingdom is being realized in one's own backyard. But now, to quote Shaman Rick, "for the past 25 years, God has been setting us up...to bless the entire world". My oh my. I thought that was Jesus' job. Mmmm. Anyway, what irks me is that this comes from the same location that is also trying to build $40 million dollars of new buildings on its sprawling campus...trying to raise money from people who live in one of the wealthiest communities in the world where only 11% of the population can even buy a home. What's amazing to me is how blatantly arrogant it is for a bunch of people to say that they are going to take on the world through another church program. Oh yeah, I can see the signup sheets for that one! I want to see how many are going to sign up for building a desperately needed sewer system in the poorest sections of Calcutta. I want to see how many people sign up to cradle in their arms a child dying of AIDS in Ethiopia. Notice that this global effort is being kicked off by a $5 million pledge drive vs. that $40 million pledge drive for new facilities on the Saddleback ranch. Now, you can accuse me of being sarcastic...maybe I am...but the problem is this - have you talked to people from other countries lately about their feelings about a bunch of rich Americans coming to their country and helping THEM to fulfill the American dream? A new friend of mine from Chile wrote this to me recently, "We just need to be careful...a group of Gringos who come down to Chile sometimes can really be taken the wrong way...the people that we work with are in many ways a proud people...they are sometimes hesitant when it come to outsiders instructing...what I am saying is that sometimes the higher number of outsiders the higher the threat level is in their mind that they will be "instructed" as opposed to shared with. Sadly, this way of thinking is due to many missionaries in the past who have treated Chileans as dumb people who need to be taught and conquered." Now, that is some truth to contemplate for a while before you take on the global "Goliaths" (not my word, Rick's word). I would be much more impressed if Saddleback took on the "Goliaths" of ambition, greed, materialism, rampid crisis mode living, neglected children, and the proliferation of SUVs in Orange County. It is always easier to handle somebody else's demons than your own...huh!
By the way, here's more...a commentary by Ed Spivey of Sojourner's Magazine on the Purpose-Driven life phenomenon:
The Purpose-Driven Life promotes a 40-day plan for self-reassessment, a timetable inspired, one assumes, by the biblical narratives. Forty days is a big Bible theme. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days, and, as I remember from Sunday school, Barabbas got 40 days for purse-snatching on the Sabbath, although I could be wrong about that. I know for sure that Jesus spent more than a month resisting Satan and probably could have used The Purpose-Driven Life - or any other heavy object - to throw at the guy. No question, the book is a powerful devotional aid. But I’d only recently changed my life after reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (the new edition has eight). And before that I read all your major Chicken Soup for the [names of marketable personal weaknesses]. So I’m kind of worn out. It’s a good thing I already have a purpose in life, except on weekends, when they don’t broadcast The Daily Show."
Let me close with this...read ANY book on the reality of Christianity in our world today and you will read the same thing...the "Church" is growing fine, thank you! It is exploding in Africa and Asia and South America. Where is it stale, ineffective and culturally irrelevant? America. Most people agree that the NEXT great Missionary movement will NOT be actualized when we send but when we are those who the "sendees". We need to hear stories of Christ-followers from places that are completely different from Orange County California. We need to see the Kingdom of God at work through people from small villages with NOTHING but a small hut and the hope and joy of Jesus that comes from inner peace and community.
Put it this way, and then I'll shut up...here's a small encouragement to the leaders at Saddleback, why not give the $40 mill to Disneyland..we need another good ride at the park (in the old days, an E ticket attraction) more than we need more from the Saddleback compound. In fact, you could even have a sign made for the new ride like every other ride at Disneyland has... "sponsored by Saddleback church". Oops, I forgot, you are boycotting Disneyland...something about a group of people you don't like.
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