Jesus and Justin Bieber Online
This morning the New York Times reported that Jesus beat out Justin Bieber, at least online. It seems that more people have "liked" or commented on the daily blog called "theJesusDaily"than Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga or Texas Hold 'em Poker. Dr. Aaron Taber, a diet doctor in North Carolina, posts his word of encouragement on his blog several times a day and literally thousands of folks are clicking in and commenting on them. Since he is getting more folks on his blog than I am getting in church, I thought I should check it out.
One of the things that struck me was how genuinely traditional it is. The profile picture of Jesus is an old-style painting right out of the American protestant tradition of the 30's or 40's, and one of the images is clearly a Sunday School poster of a family gazing at a rainbow dressed in 1950's garb including a girl with a plaid skirt and a pink cardigan sweater with a loyal collie standing nearby. The juxtaposition of these dated images on such a contemporary media intrigued me. But as I skimmed through the multitude of messages, the most important impression was how intensely personal and individualistic it is. It's all about "me and Jesus" and the cozy little relationship I have with my Lord, with no sense of community or compassion beyond my own personal needs. I looked for something that would call me to respond in mission and witness, service or outreach and it simply wasn't there. Neither was there any sense of the Body of Christ, the community gathered. Just Jesus and me online.
Now let me be quick to say I do believe that a personal relationship with Christ is central to our faith journey, however that is only part of the story. Even the New York Times staffer Jennifer Preston, was led to write: "The increase in the number of people finding faith community via social media platforms provokes the question of what constitutes religious experience and whether "friending" a church is at all similar to worshiping at one."
And of course, the answer is, "Definitely not." To be a Christian is to be part of a Body, a member of a community where the trickle of baptismal water and smell of broken bread and the sip of wine makes us one; where fellowship with other sinful saints and would-be disciples becomes the place where Christ makes himself known. I suppose it might be possible to be a Christian in isolation, but it is certainly not what Christ intended and I would find it nearly impossible. This week Rev. Monica William and the spiritual formation team will be rolling out the theme "Worship Plus 2", simply saying that to be a disciple begins in corporate worship and is then lived out in (1) feeding yourself and (2) feeding others. It takes all three to be a growing, mature Christian. You can't do all that online...and neither can Justin Bieber.
See you in church on Sunday...
Worship:
8:15, 9:30 and 11:00: Traditional worship in the sanctuary
11:00: "Shine", new contemporary worship in the CLC
Christian Education:
9:30: Full Sunday School for children, "Youth Cafe" for 6th-12th graders
11:00: "Soar", a new alternative program for children
9:30 & 11:00: New adult classes on various topics
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