Religious Intimidation and a Sense of Humor

It's been a bit odd to watch the ways in which certain elements in the Muslim community appear to have no sense of humor. Of course, religious fanatics of all stripes rarely do (hard to imagine the leaders of the Spanish Inquisition cracking too many jokes, for example). Many Muslims, for example, whined and made an exceptionally big deal about a Danish cartoon showing a bomb coming out of Muhammad's head claiming it was racist. Sadly, key voices in the west (media, polititians, other religious leaders) succumb to the intimidation.

So the Pope this week makes a vague and obscure reference to a 14th-century Byzantine emperor's remark about Islam imposing itself by the sword -- trying to illustrate and protest the linking of Islam and violence. And the intimidation continues as many are now calling for the Pope to apologize for this allegation. As noted columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer stated, there is a "plague of self-censorship when it comes to anything remotely controversal about Islam."

As we well know, religious sensitivity is a one-way street. One needs only to look at American pop culture -- among many examples -- to see that Madonna including a mock crucifixion in her latest concert (with no major outcry).

The ironic thing is that as the Pope is "giving offense," the Muhjaheddin Shura Council in Iraq declares that it will "break up the cross, spill the liquor, and impose the 'jizya' tax (head tax) because the only thing acceptable is conversion or the sword." Of course, this is to protest the claim that Islam might be spread by violence (huh?).

Perhaps they have more of a sense of humor than I thought.

Wisdom of the Crowds

I've been reading a 2004 book called The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki over the past few weeks. The subtitle is: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. Though it's seems to be kind of an obscure book, it seems to be a growing and hot concept -- especially in the technology and financial industries.

Basically, the idea of the book is that the aggregated thought and knowledge of a diverse group is smarter than trained individual experts. Somewhat counter-intuitive to me, because of what we used to hear about groupthink. They key is to make the group, team or "crowd," diverse and independent.

The primary thesis is that people "together can be more productive and more intelligent than they would be apart." Which is one of the partnering principles we teach.

The book is worth the read.

The Daily Show Generation

Saw an article the other day in USA Today on the Daily Show -- the Comedy Channel's attempt to do a news program. Some people have believed that host Jon Stewart's approach to news (basically parady and humor) is causing an increased cynicism or apathy by younger people as it relates to politics and the news media. However, a new study just released points to the fact that Daily Show viewers (a substantial percentage of who are 18-24) are actually "more confident about their own ability to understand politics" than those who "consumed" the network news (those cynics among us could have saved them the trouble). It makes sense. Afterall, in order to "get" the humor of the Daily Show, one has to already know something substantial about the stories they parody.

Another intriguing note from this article is that reading newspapers (on- or off-line)increases political awareness. No surprise there. But, searching the internet (which is where most 18-24 year-olds get their news) increases both political awareness AND civic engagement. In other words, the Daily Show generation is not only more apt to be more concerned about society, but also more likely to be spurred to do something about it.

Yet another great trend from the emerging generation.

Rick Warren in the Wall Street Journal

So, he made the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Oh, not for any of the good things he may be doing, but for causing dissention. In an article entitled, "A Popular Strategy for Church Growth Splits Congregants," the WSJ unpacks some of the reasons why making sermons and music "purpose driven" is dividing many churches. I guess this is the on-going discussion in church-related circles between being relevant to culture or being faithful to traditional approaches. Haven't we had something like this for, I don't know say, 2,000 years?

To read the full article on Warren, see:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06248/719178-84.stm

Working Together on Lebanon

What would it look like if local churches started exploring ways to actually work together to respond to crisis?

It might look something like the Summit on Lebanon REACT helped plan and lead this past week in Atlanta, dealing specifically with responding to the present challenges in Lebanon.

With little advance notice, nearly 40 key leaders from churches and ministries across the USA gathered to seek the Lord and to decide upon strategic responses to the current crisis. (Many others wanted to attend but were unable because of other commitments.) These women and men heard reports straight from Lebanon about the present context, including the condition of nearly one million uprooted and displaced peoples. They looked at initial proposals for response, including those for housing reconstruction, medical teams, water projects, family relief packs, and other appropriate humanitarian answers. In addition, longer term strategies addressing business development and leadership training were presented.

But much of the time was spent discussing the questions: how can we as churches do this together? How can what we do bring greater impact for the Kingdom? How can we bring a relational model that is relevant to a relational culture and serves the emerging church in Lebanon? "Champions" for specific ministry projects were identified and they will play point for communication and coordination of those efforts.

REACT was privileged to help convene and lead this meeting, and I've been asked to continue to facilitate this emerging partnering effort. Please pray for us as we continue to bring leadership to this church-driven effort. Much follow up work needs to be done as on-going collaboration takes place.

If you or your church would like to be involved in this strategic response to Lebanon, please drop me a note. For information on REACT Services and the many partnering projects with which we are involved, contact us at: [email protected] or check out our website at: www.REACTServices.com.