Someone sent me a link to an interesting article from the New York Times: Teenagers Mix Churches for Faith That Fits. You have to register to read the article, but it’s free. I will make a few comments on the article as well as share some thoughts that go well beyond the topics covered there.

According to the article “in a survey of 13- to 17-year-olds conducted from 2002 through 2003, the National Study of Youth and Religion found that 16 percent of respondents participated in more than one religious congregation.” It would be interesting to see a comparable study of other age groups, because this behavior is not limited to teenagers. We can admire their passion for God and desire to learn more, and in some cases their family church might not have a strong youth ministry. But we also need to consider our view of the church.
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I have started a new technology blog called TechSpeak. It seems better to put the technology posts in a separate blog, so that this one does not have such a wide range of topics.

All future technology posts will be there. The posts from that blog will not be crossposted to my Xanga, so if you are interested in tech posts you will have to look there. If you want to follow that blog, I suggest that you subscribe via RSS or email.

Check out this article from today’s Contra Costa Times:

While not the ideal situation, Shakhawan Shekhani is not complaining about having to endure a 10-hour drive from Portland, Ore., to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton to vote in the Iraq’s national elections on Tuesday.

“It was not bad,” said Shekhani, who was forced to make two trips to Orange County in January to vote in the transitional National Assembly elections — once to register and once to vote — since there were no closer polling stations.

“Our vote is so important today for Iraq. We have to show we support the (Iraqi) constitution. We have to support democracy.”

Can you imagine enduring a 10 hour drive to go vote, and not complaining about it? How many of us would go through that much trouble to vote? Yet many Iraqis in the US are going to great lengths to vote and many in Iraq will risk life and limb to go to the polls. Another quote I read recently from an Iraqi man said that a long drive is nothing compared to the 50 years he has been waiting to be able to vote. It’s exciting to see what might be the beginnings of real democracy emerging in Iraq.

I know that there are still huge problems in Iraq and that a stable democracy will take a long to establish. But we should rejoice that something positive is happening in the election and pray for continued progress. And perhaps we should be ashamed that we place so little value on our right to vote.

Scott Aniol has written a thoughtful article on Mixed feelings regarding the place of emotion in worship. Which sorts of emotions are appropriate in worship and which are not? He gives a good list of biblical examples of the expression of emotion in worship as well as a list of emotions that are inappropriate in worship. I agree with many of the items on the latter list, although it is more difficult to support from Scripture.

We must remember that Jesus was accused of showing improper familiarity toward God by calling Him “Abba” (Jn. 5:18) and yet He taught us to do the same (Mat. 6:9). Also, David’s wife Michal accused him of acting in an undignified manner in worship, and yet God defended him (2 Sam 6:20-23). So we must be careful about the emotions we condemn in worship lest we end up becoming like the Pharisees or like Michal. But having said that, we still need to reflect carefully on this topic to be sure that the thoughts and feelings that we express in worship are worthy of our Lord.

The article also draws on the distinction made by Jonathan Edwards between lasting “affections” and more fleeting “passions,” although I am not sure that this distinction can be supported by Scripture. But the other points that he makes about emotion are not really dependent on this distinction.

On July 20, 2003 Swedish pastor Ake Green preached a sermon in which he explained why he believed that homosexuality was a sin. He was subsequently arrested and in June 2004 was convicted of “hate speech” and put in jail. He was released after one month, but the case continued to work its way through the court system. Now he has been acquitted by Sweden’s highest court.

This story is disturbing because a pastor was jailed for preaching biblical morality. Some have tried to link him with the fringe groups that shout “God Hates Fags,” but he doesn’t seem to fit that mold at all. There is a now a web site about him, including an English translation of his message of his message. You can read it yourself and see what you think. There is also a lengthy article on the question of whether or not people are born gay.

Not everyone will agree with all his interpretations, but everyone should defend his right of free speech. He was not advocating violence or hatred. Read what he says at the end of the sermon

Therefore we will encourage those who live in this manner to look at the grace of Jesus Christ. We cannot condemn these people — Jesus never did that either. He showed everyone He met deep respect for the person they were, for instance the adulterous woman, in John 8, or the woman at the well in Sychar, according to John 4. Jesus never belittled anyone. He offered them grace. We must never belittle anyone who lives in sin. The sin we cannot bear — but the human being [we must hold up].

We must be diligent to stand up for our rights of free speech, and not allow “hate speech” to be defined in such a way as to silence all debate. Forbidding all speech critical of the homosexual activists is every bit as oppressive as laws in earlier times forbidding all speech critical of the church hierarchy. Disagreement should be labeled as “hate.”

This is the 40th anniversary of the much beloved television special A Charlie Brown Christmas. What most people don’t know is that the show originally almost didn’t air. Even in 1965 the television producers were worried about using a reading from the Bible as a key part of the program. Executive producer Lee Mendelson told Peanuts creator Charles Schultz “Look, you can’t read from the Bible on network television.” But Schultz insisted on keeping the reading from Luke in the show.

Television executives were stunned by the wide acceptance of the show. The first year it was shown nearly 50% of the television sets in the U.S. were tuned to the program. Now 40 years later the show remains popular and helps a new generation understand the true meaning of Christmas. Despite the materialistic, secular nature of our nations Christmas celebrations, God is not without His witness.

This is a summary of message #3 of a sermon series on worship. To listen to the entire message click here.

What do you think would happen if God in all His glory appeared right in front of you? Isaiah had an experience like that, and it left him changed forever (Isa. 6:1-7).

In the Bible whenever we are given a glimpse into God’s heavenly throne room we find it filled with worship. People in the Bible who had a close encounter with God were usually overpowered by a sense of His incredible might and all-consuming holiness (see Judges 6:21-23; Job 42:5-6; Lk. 5:8; Rev. 1:17-18). Isaiah’s response was the thought that he was probably going to be struck dead because He had seen God (v. 5).
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