Halloween Costume Contest

OUR WINNER!!


DORSEY

It was a close race, but our first annual (and maybe last) Halloween Costume Contest winner is Dorsey. It started out as a landslide but NinjaNun picked up speed at the end. However, the votes were split between her two entries which created a win for Dorsey's picture in his beautiful attire. I am sending a $10 iTunes card to Dorsey this week. Congrats.

With only eight votes, it gives me pause to consider if anyone even stops by the site. It takes me back to those Youth Ministry days when I would work hard to plan an event and three kids would show up. My ego is shattered... flattened... I am worthless. What am I here for? What is my purpose? Does anyone even care that we have the SCP site.... I think we should just quit. If no one is going to pay attention, then why do anything at all. Josh and I haven't done a podcast in over a week, but no one misses it. So why go to all the effort if no one is really listening. (Geesh I wish Pastors would ask themselves that question more often... but I digress.)

If I say Pastors should resign, that'll get 'em to respond. So that's it, be controversial. Next thing I am gonna do is say that homosexuality isn't a sin... oh... wait... NinjaNun already did that on her site. I know, I will say abortion is actually good for the country since it lowers the crime rate.... damn, William Bennett beat me to it.

I got it. How about I say that George Bush invaded Iraq because God told him too and it really didn't matter that they didn't have WMD's... he just had a hard on to take out Saddam and he was bound and determined to gain acceptance and approval from his Daddy. No can't say that... that might be too close to the truth and no one would comment except for the extreme right-wingers in the crowd. Most of us deep down believe that anyway so it probably isn't controversial enough.

Alright. Well I guess I am left doing this because I like to. Who cares if anyone is listening or reading.... I will write what I want to write. I will say what I want to say. And if only eight people give a damn...then that's just fine by me.

Anyway, congratulatons Dorsey. You are now officially a member of the SCP Hall-of-Fame.

Rethinking the Church

Well, here I sit, wondering what I am going to write to let everyone know that I am rethinking my personal church sit-out. It's funny because I have about three blogs ready to post that further communicate my disdain for the church.

Then, last week I read an interview with Eugene Peterson, author of The Message and someone I highly respect as a pastor, thinker and writer. It has somewhat immobilized me because in this interview he critiques pastors, the way the church manipulates people with language and marketing, and also our own approach to the Christian life. Then somewhere in the middle of the dialogue the interviewer makes this statement to Mr. Peterson:

But many Christians would look at this church and say it's dead, merely an institutional expression of the faith.

There it is, I thought. The perfect chance for one of my heroes to give me clarity on what he thinks about the church. For once and for all I will have the definitive answer for everyone who asks me, "Why don't you go to church anymore?" Eugene Peterson is an authority and certainly if people won't listen to me they will listen to him. I wasn't quite prepared for the answer:

What other church is there besides institutional? There's nobody who doesn't have problems with the church, because there's sin in the church. But there's no other place to be a Christian except the church. There's sin in the local bank. There's sin in the grocery stores. I really don't understand this naïve criticism of the institution. I really don't get it.

Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree. There's no life in the bark. It's dead wood. But it protects the life of the tree within. And the tree grows and grows and grows and grows. If you take the bark off, it's prone to disease, dehydration, death.

So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive. And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn't last long. It disappears, gets sick, and it's prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism.

In my writing, I hope to recover a sense of the reality of congregation—what it is. It's a gift of the Holy Spirit. Why are we always idealizing what the Holy Spirit doesn't idealize? There's no idealization of the church in the Bible—none. We've got two thousand years of history now. Why are we so dumb?

Did that bastard Peterson just call me naïve and dumb? Hold on there Mr. Smarty Pants, but you haven't been what I have been through. You cannot understand my frustration with this institution. Who are you to interrupt my peaceful, non-church life and cause me to rethink the church?

Oh, I could argue with him on several points. But the part that sticks out to me is where he says the institution of the church is like a bark on a tree and it protects what's on the inside. Without the bark, the tree becomes sick.

The church has been described as a family. So when I think of my family as an institution, as bark for protecting those within it, I can see this illustration more clearly. If my children were to step outside the family declaring they could make it on their own, they would be susceptible to all types of troubles. The family is designed to protect each other and that is what we should be doing.

Yet the "church as bark" analogy has its own problems. What if the protection it supposedly offers is weak? What if the bark (the structure) is damaged so therefore it is not designed properly for protecting or caring for those within it?

Then the final part hit me. Peterson says, "Why are we always idealizing what the Holy Spirit doesn't idealize?" Is that what I am doing? Am I idealizing this institution? Are my unmet expectations the only thing causing me to stay away from church? Do I need to simply acquiesce to the church despite its flaws?

Like I said, I am rethinking the church.

Here's a link to the interview with Eugene Peterson in Christianity Today. It's good stuff!

Salvation Challenge

Chad over at Mr. Preacher has been posting some really good stuff lately. You should go there and check him out.

The most humorous recently was a link to the Glory of God Games website and a video introduction of their new game called , Salvation Challenge.

Here, I will let Chad describe it:

"So", you ask, "how does one play this amazing new game?" Well, it's simple really. You start at the cross (how spiritual of them) and you and your friends roll the die until you reach Cavalry, where you--and this is truly the best part--slap a red sticker on your head and shout, "Jesus saved me!" then go directly to the river Jordan to be baptized.

But, that's just where the "fun" begins. The object of the game is not to gain the most money, like in some board games, but to give a million dollars away to Missionary causes. The first person to do this wins the game!

Seriously, go watch this video and prepare to be amazed as a grown man places a red sticker on his forward and screams "Jesus Save Me" in front of the church leaders assembled to watch...or maybe gawk is a better word.

And I present now for your entertainment, "Stupid Church People" in action! Please enjoy.

Thanks again Chad.

Dissension Among Us

Brandon over at badchristian.com has written a critique of our most recent podcast entitled "A Bit of Dissent".

Go check it out. Brandon's a friend that offers a valid opinion. Any press is good press, right?

A Modest Church Proposal

Here's an excerpt from a response I gave to the "20 Questions" post of a few days ago. The question revolved around what my opinion was on how the church needed to change for it to be productive.

First, I am just tired of the way the Pastors role is viewed within the church. We as church attenders have abdicated our spiritual roles and rights to the pastors in our congregations. We go to church to be fed, to be motivated, to be inspired, to feel good, to be enthused, to learn....all of which we expect will come from the stage on any given Sunday.

We put so many roles on the Pastor... he becomes a quasi CEO/Office Manager/HR Director/Fund Developer/Recruiter. That's our fault because our expectations our high.

But it is also the Pastors fault. Pastors accept these jobs and then try to be all things to all people so they might not offend any...and in the process win none. Many are neutered, weak and ineffective yet with an extreme amount of "virtual power". Pastors need to take back their role as shepherds. Congregations need to fire their pastors as CEO's and ask them just to love them as people not numbers....(cont'd here).

READ THE COMPLETE RESPONSE HERE.

FYI: This link goes over to the blog that will become the central location for all of Steve's writings. This "homepage" of the SCP site will seek to communicate the general happenings on SCP, other items of interests, updates for Josh's blog, the podcast and also Steve's blog.

21 Questions: Josh Style

Josh felt the need to "one-up" Steve by posting a "21 Questions" on his own blog.

Make sure you check it out and chime in over there! But don't ask him anything too hard, you know he is just the "goofy guy".

Seriously though, go on over there and ask away. You might actually learn that Josh has a very sensitive and caring side to him... but then again, maybe not!

SCP Challenge #1: Costume Contest

This just in, Dorsey from Head-First has offered himself as a living sacrifice to SCP for our amusement and pleasure. Well, if you can call it that. Here is Dorsey in Drag. Dorsey is our "official" mascot of the SCP Challenge #1: Costume Contest. Read below for all the details and don't forget, there is a prize for the winner!!


Here are Dorsey's comments regarding this now infamous moment in his life: It was taken at a “harvest-party” (for Christian Satan-worshippers afraid to celebrate Halloween) at my kids’ Christian school (so it was almost a church event). I actually got hit on a couple times that night. I also received the award for “most humorous costume” (which, incidentally, came with Philadelphia Flyers tickets—box seats, even!).

Congrats Dorsey on the tickets. And congrats on those cute little "rosey cheeks" of yours.

CONTEST ALERT!! This gave me an idea. Being the Halloween season, maybe everyone should send us pictures of themselves or spouses/partners in their favorite, most embarrassing, hilarious (or for the ladies, your most revealing and sexy, mmmmmm) Halloween costumes and we will post them on the site and then vote for the winner. Who knows, maybe we will even have a prize for the winner (but it ain't gonna be something as cool as sports tickets). How about $10 in iTunes money for the winner!!!

Did you hear that, the person that receives the most votes for the picture they submit will receive $10 in iTunes dollars. It can be a costume from the past, or one you plan on wearing this year. But it has to be YOU or your significant other...no kids please (you know the whole, must be over 18 to enter thing).

Send your pics to steve@stupidchurchpeople.com for your chance to win. Entries must be received by midnight Saturday, October 22.Voting will begin October 24 and last until midnight October 29. The winner will be revealed on Monday morning, October 31st.

Have fun and good luck!

20 Questions

I have seen this on other sites so I thought we would try it here. Here at SCP we will have our own variation of this "Q and A" time. Now's your chance to know what I think about ANY subject in the world. (Not sure why you would want to know what I think about any subject, but what the heck)!

So here's the deal. Each person is allowed to ask me one question. The question you ask can be about anything you want to know. My thoughts on the church or theology. You can ask me what I think about life or relationships. You can ask me about sports or cooking. (I know nothing about cooking but you can ask). The point is that no question is off-limits.

You can even ask me about personal stuff. Kind of like an online game of "Truth or Dare" without the "dare" part. No secrets will be kept from you.

But don't waste your questions. If someone asks me, "why the sky is blue" or some ridiculous question like that I will answer it. And it will count against the 20 question quota.

Why are we doing this? Well I thought it might be fun. Also, I have a really heavy blog I am about to post and I thought maybe we could do something light before we tackle that one.

Remember ONLY ASK ONE QUESTION AT A TIME. You can ask more than one question, but please wait until I have answered your prior question before you ask another one. Once we reach the 20 Question limit, comments will be turned off. OK, start asking!

Baylor Univ. Yanks Gay Cups

Baylor Univ. Applauded for
Yanking Starbucks Coffee Cups
By Jim Brown
October 3, 2005

(AgapePress) - A pro-family leader is praising the largest Baptist university in the world for pulling coffee cups from its Starbucks store that featured a quote from a homosexual author.

Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has removed the offending coffee cups from its Starbucks store, citing the school's opposition to the homosexual lifestyle. The cups that were removed display a quote from homosexual author Armistead Maupin lamenting that he waited so long before embracing his homosexual identity.

Bob Knight with the Culture and Family Institute in Washington, DC, says his group has challenged the Starbucks Coffee Company by asking why it has a pro-homosexual quote, but not one from a former homosexual.

"Starbucks shouldn't be putting a cup like that out, certainly not on college campuses," says Knight. "And I think Baylor was right in saying [it was] not going to distribute something like this [because] it goes against [the school's] mission." He also suggests the school stand firm on its convictions and tell those who would criticize Baylor "that's the way it goes."

According to the CFI director, the popular coffee retailer has a history of supporting pro-homosexual and other liberal causes. Knight points out Starbucks' sponsorship of the San Diego Gay Pride Parade and Festival, which he says included "nudity, sex acts, and even a float from a porn store in the parade" as well as a children's garden."

"I don't think they ought to be mixing those things," Knight states. "And when it was brought to Starbucks' attention that they shouldn't promote this kind of thing, they just said 'tough, we're going to do it anyway.'"

Knight suggests that opponents of the homosexual agenda either let Starbucks know they do not appreciate its support for pro-homosexual causes -- or buy their coffee elsewhere.

The coffee cup controversy began after a staffer with Knight's group wrote a column for WorldNetDaily revealing that Starbucks has been shoveling dollars into the homosexual movement.

------------------------

So here's a story that is TRUE...although at first glance I thought it was fiction. I am so confused!

If you can't read the quote on the cup, it says:
“My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s too damn short.”

The quote is from Armistead Maupin, who wrote “Tales of the City,” a bestseller-turned-PBS drama.

Bottom line: Christians are idiots. And a Baptist University of higher-learning is an oxymoron.

-------------------------
In an effort to be balanced, here are related articles from various news agencies and journalists regarding this story:
The Lariat (Baylor's Online Paper)
KXII News

Also, this editorial by Damian Good from the Seattle Times is quite excellent on the topic.

Updated at 3:59 P.M. on October 5.