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Stuff Christians Like

Modesty Talks

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(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Kristin Weber. You can find out more about Kristin on her website.  You can also follow her on Twitter. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

Modesty Talks

I was taught from a very young age that modesty is an outward reflection of what Christ is doing inwardly. It’s figuring out exactly what that “outward reflection” should look like that causes some robust dialogue within church communities. (Shocking, since Christians rarely disagree on anything.)

I grew up in the conservative home school world, where the “chastity button” (top button) on blouses got fastened and swimsuits included oversized t-shirts and long gym shorts. When I was instructed as a kid to run away if anyone tried to touch me in my bathing suit area, I was like, “so basically if any one tries to touch me at all, run.” (To which my dad responded, “yes.”)

I attended my first official modesty talk around age 13, when we started getting our clothes from worldly places like Coldwater Creek and Eddie Bauer. Up to that point, my mom sewed most of our clothes. (Did anyone else’s mom make them a lady bug jumper complete with a lady bug blouse, lady bug buttons, and a lady bug headband special for their piano recital? Just mine? Thought so. That’s why my mom is better.)

Since then I’ve seen numerous approaches to the modesty “issue.” Here are three of the most memorable:

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Finally!

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Tired of feeling like you hate sweet baby Jesus because you don’t have anything to put in the offering basket since you direct deposit your tithe?

Concerned that maybe your pew neighbors or row radius doesn’t know you’re still down with the king?

Exhausted by staring with shame into that offering basket with nothing to give since you gave online?

Fear not, my friend!

Your days of silent agony are over!

My friend Ben recently showed me what one church is doing.

Finally!

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Extreme Makeover: Big, Big House Edition

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(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Stephen & Shae Pepper. You can check out their blog here. You can also follow them on Twitter @youthworkinit and like them on Facebook. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

Extreme Makeover: Big, Big House Edition

Anyone who’s ever seen the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition knows that it requires a lot of people with different skills to work together to build a house.

Anyone who’s ever read 1 Corinthians 12 knows that it requires a lot of people with different skills to work together to be the body of Christ.

So what would it look like if people from the Bible were to work together to build a house? Here’s our cast listing for Extreme Makeover: Big, Big House Edition:

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Rice Krispies & Bibles.

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A friend sent me the photo below.

First off, this isn’t a juke. The guy was clear up front about what he wanted to give you. I’ve got no issue with this.

There are two things that are funny to me though:

1. He didn’t say “treats” in the main sign in chalk. In what is a classic dessert based Bible ministry mistake he ran out of room to write that word. (You see “Treats” on the right on a piece of paper.) When I first saw this I thought maybe he was just giving people loose handfuls of rice krispies. How disappointing would that have been?

2. The line “Free! Like the love of Jesus!” is fantastic. I think I could hang out with this guy.

What dessert would you have used?

 

Free

The secret about how some Christians witness.

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Why do some Christians use shame as a way to tell people about Christ?

Why is shame sometimes the first thing you experience from Christians?

Why do we use shame sometimes when we witness?

Because love takes too long.

Love is too messy.

It’s slow and out of our control.

And worst of all, love makes us vulnerable.

Shame doesn’t really require me to let my guard down.

I get to lob rocks from behind the safety of my walls.

Love?

Love exposes us.

It unmans us.

It disarms us.

And then, there is the considerable risk that we won’t be loved back.

So we pick shame.

And we take steps away from a Christ who never used that as a tool for evangelism. Was he honest? Direct? Did he even use the R word? Repent? Of course!

But did he deploy shame? When a shame parade landed at his feet with a woman they wanted to stone, what was his response? When the Pharisees deployed shame about his dinner party guests what did he do? When the woman at the well approached, did he offer water or shame?

Love is slow.

Love is sloppy.

Love is tangled and difficult at times.

But at the end of the day, to quote Bob Goff, love does.

Greatest Booty, God, Booty Moment of all Time?

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A few years ago, I wrote a post called “Booty, God, Booty.” It was inspired by a hip hop station in Atlanta that played an “Inspirational Vitamin” moment at 6:30 every morning.

The problem was that five minutes before and five minutes after, they played their regular music.

So at 6:25 you’d have a song like “I’m in love with a stripper.”

At 6:30, the God moment, a hymn or a Bible verse.

At 6:35, back to music, Lil’ Wayne “Lollipop.”

I thought, “Wow, they just went Booty, God, Booty.” It became a catchphrase challenging me on my inconsistencies in life. Those moments where I lived a certain way Saturday, a different way Sunday morning and then a different way Monday.

Well, recently I think I bumped into the greatest Booty, God, Booty moment of all time.

It occurred in Miley Cyrus’ song “We can’t stop.”

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50 Shades of Amish Romance

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(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Jennifer Faddis. You can check out her blog here. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

50 Shades of Amish Romance

As Christians, we certainly can’t be seen clutching a book for our reading pleasure that is 40, 50 or even 60 shades of any kind of drab color. So, we quench our thirst for romance with the wholesome and seemingly prolific Amish romance novel genre. Who knew the plain folk had such intriguing love lives?

The “Real Housewives of Bird-In-Hand” feature tidy buns and sporty little kapps (that’s caps for you who don’t know your Amish speak). If the ladies are searching for a hearty bachelor to receive a rose, they need to look no further than the nearest fresh-faced fellow in black pants and suspenders! ‘Cause everybody knows the hot guys with the Methuselah beards are already off the market! What a rip-off for these hard-working chaps, by the way. At the wedding, instead of exchanging rings, the groom has to say “with these whiskers, I thee wed.” Instead of some new bling, he gets to pitch his razor. Makes sense.

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How to save seats, like a boss.

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If you’ve ever been to a Christian conference or a camp, you know that saving seats is a must.

You’ve got to sit near the front because the Holy Spirit doesn’t even go to the back of the auditorium.

Plus, folks saved seats for the Sermon on the Mount. A lot of people don’t know that, but it’s true. I’m pretty sure they threw down palm branches.

Yesterday, though, I saw a teenager save seats like a boss.

He was like an NBA center. Tremendous wingspan. I loved his approach.

Forget bulletins or Bibles, here’s how to really save seats.

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