The following post is from April of 2018. It may be that we in the church are starting to see that things are not as rosy as we had been led to believe. We need introspection....I need introspection. We do not need a high production 'day of prayer' or any of the abysmal national prayer breakfasts....for we do not know anywhere near the extent of the trouble that is headed our way....nor do we do not know for what to pray....and have found a more practical source of information than the Spirit of God. We need preaching from men who have found their lost unction. We need humiliation....not ecumenism.
The 1971 musicals Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar reflected something that was happening in American culture as the calamitous 60s came to an end. It was an interesting subject....this Jesus. Neither production would touch or was even concerned with the resurrected Jesus....for He was merely the Barack Obama or the Donald Trump of that time period. Ten years later the Academy Award winner for Best Picture....and Best Original Score.....Chariots Of Fire.....reflected a new phase in America's religious scene. Jesus was no longer a clown or a conflicted martyr....He was the Lord of the Sabbath.....and the Lord of Glory!
Godspell originated on the very agnostic Carnegie-Mellon University campus. Jesus Christ Superstar was the product of people who had no real religious interest. The Executive Producer of Chariots Of Fire was Dodi Fayad who later died in a car wreck along with Princess Diana.
Since then we have gone through our blasphemous Last Temptation and mystical The Passion phases. Today we are in a 'feel good' phase.....Paul: Apostle Of Christ being a welcomed diversion. We were a music-driven culture in the 50s and half of the 60s until the Beatles became more image than music and took us along with them. That's where we are today....increasingly an image-driven culture....Donald Trump being a colossus granite statue with clay feet. Conservatism in the 80s tried to construct a foundation upon which to build but even that proved porous.....Rush Limbaugh being evidence of how easily man can be overwhelmed by the image.
Our moorings had come loose and we drifted under a moonlit sky towards the open sea......once a frigate we had been converted into a party boat.....no longer in a safe harbor....and with a raging tempest brewing....we scurry to set our sails only to find out that they have rotted. We rush to the stern...to awaken our Master to ask....."do you not care that we are perishing".....but He is not there....we look out on the waves but He is not there either.....we look for Jonah to throw overboard.....to quell the storm.....or for Paul for instructions.....but neither are on board.
Jesus Christ was the safe harbor that we drifted away from....and the only foundation from which to build upon. That which we are building upon today.....Make America Great Again....is already collapsing before our very eyes. The 80s were our last hurrah. Christian publishing embarked upon a prolonged period of good sound literature...and teaching that addressed our minds.....and weaned us for a time away from the image. We reveled in the discovery of the sovereignty of God in all things....were humbled before the descriptions of His holiness.....and we set to work to rebuild the church.....but were soon captivated by how big we could grow our churches.....and then we were waylaid by politics....and finally we were lured into the new Jesus Christ Superstore....where you can get anything that you want.....and where the customer is always right.
("Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life'.")
The 1971 musicals Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar reflected something that was happening in American culture as the calamitous 60s came to an end. It was an interesting subject....this Jesus. Neither production would touch or was even concerned with the resurrected Jesus....for He was merely the Barack Obama or the Donald Trump of that time period. Ten years later the Academy Award winner for Best Picture....and Best Original Score.....Chariots Of Fire.....reflected a new phase in America's religious scene. Jesus was no longer a clown or a conflicted martyr....He was the Lord of the Sabbath.....and the Lord of Glory!
Godspell originated on the very agnostic Carnegie-Mellon University campus. Jesus Christ Superstar was the product of people who had no real religious interest. The Executive Producer of Chariots Of Fire was Dodi Fayad who later died in a car wreck along with Princess Diana.
Since then we have gone through our blasphemous Last Temptation and mystical The Passion phases. Today we are in a 'feel good' phase.....Paul: Apostle Of Christ being a welcomed diversion. We were a music-driven culture in the 50s and half of the 60s until the Beatles became more image than music and took us along with them. That's where we are today....increasingly an image-driven culture....Donald Trump being a colossus granite statue with clay feet. Conservatism in the 80s tried to construct a foundation upon which to build but even that proved porous.....Rush Limbaugh being evidence of how easily man can be overwhelmed by the image.
Our moorings had come loose and we drifted under a moonlit sky towards the open sea......once a frigate we had been converted into a party boat.....no longer in a safe harbor....and with a raging tempest brewing....we scurry to set our sails only to find out that they have rotted. We rush to the stern...to awaken our Master to ask....."do you not care that we are perishing".....but He is not there....we look out on the waves but He is not there either.....we look for Jonah to throw overboard.....to quell the storm.....or for Paul for instructions.....but neither are on board.
Jesus Christ was the safe harbor that we drifted away from....and the only foundation from which to build upon. That which we are building upon today.....Make America Great Again....is already collapsing before our very eyes. The 80s were our last hurrah. Christian publishing embarked upon a prolonged period of good sound literature...and teaching that addressed our minds.....and weaned us for a time away from the image. We reveled in the discovery of the sovereignty of God in all things....were humbled before the descriptions of His holiness.....and we set to work to rebuild the church.....but were soon captivated by how big we could grow our churches.....and then we were waylaid by politics....and finally we were lured into the new Jesus Christ Superstore....where you can get anything that you want.....and where the customer is always right.
("Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life'.")
