Matt "Machoo" Mewhorter

No more "cool dude" pastor talk, PLEASE!

I found this guy, and I don't mean to sound unkind...but to people like myself who weren't raised in church-or in his words, 'unchurched', it seems like he's trying WAY too hard. This is kind of an example of what I was talking about in my last couple of posts, in regards to being relevant to the 'unchurched' as he really seems to go for. Although I'm sure he's great and has impacted many lives-even non-Christians- his approach would have rubbed me the wrong way growing up not going to church. His blog inspired a few suggestions for pastors who are trying to impact this generation.

For one: if you are clearly over 35 and a pastor, using words like 'freakin' and 'jacked' is the cool equivelent of your parents doing a rap about staying off drugs.

Secondly: Bragging about cussing at Christian events may make you seem 'edgy' to hip people who grew up in church, but I would have seen you as a hypocrite. I wanted to see a shining example of a person when I didn't know God, and that stuff discouraged me.

Thirdly: If you really want to be 'relevant', they normally like to be called 'teenagers'...not 'youth'. When I was a teen, I knew to avoid an event like the plague if 'youth' was printed anywhere on the flyer.

Lastly: Just food for thought (and this goes for me too) is calling people who aren't Christians 'unchurched' appropriate? Would you want to be called that if you weren't raised in a Christian home?

Thoughts on reaching the 'unchurched'

For some of you who might not know, I am a minister.

You may also not know that I was not raised in church. My entire young life was spent 'unchurched'. I have found myself to be a little on the rare end when it comes actually becoming a pastor without a church background. I believe I have the perspective of the outsider that could be beneficial.

Having said that, I'd like to say that I get tired of so many models and strategies and fool proof plans that churches brag about in reaching people like I was. I see all this stuff on being this generation's "next innovative and relevant leader". And all the "cool" stuff was thrown my way as well. I tossed most of it out the window growing up. The only people that I observed that even liked it were already Christians, or former Christians that accept the "cool" things because they 'so hated' the old stuff. It seems like Christian leaders are so focused on being relevant and hip, when most of those that occupy thier congregation are people who were already preconditioned enough to want the same thing in a shinier package. All the while, the lost or unchurched are sitting by the sidelines watching the Christians having a blast being relevant and cool in thier culture-talking for hours about how real church should be.

This is just my opinion (though I do feel that I have a sense of authority in this area, I think), but I really think that there isn't a 'magic bullet' out there to bring in 'unchurched people'. There's not going to be this strategy so brilliant and cool that the lost are going to flock in droves to come to church.  Honestly, very, very few people like myself will ever come to your church because its 'cool'.

You'll honestly have to go them, be in thier environment where they are, loving them even if they never ever convert. Don't get me wrong, there is some innovative stuff out there that I really think non-Christians would like if it was put into thier hands; but so much emphasis should not be placed on it. Most could care less if your website has a podcast every week. When I was the outsider, all I wanted was for someone to love and accept me, and point me in the direction of God. "Cool" Christian strategies and technology only made me yawn. I had plenty of entertainment at home.

As far as I'm concerned, loving people the way Jesus loved them and living the way Jesus teaches us to live is as cool and relevant as you'll ever get.

Death of a Tabloid Star

Anna Nichole Smith died today. At first, I joined most of America in scoffing at the incident, not being surprised. To me, Anna was a very annoying bimbo who could sink low enough to marry a crotchedy old tychoone for his money. I mean, really, have you ever seen that guy? He looked like the Crypt-Keeper's older brother. But my wife, Amanda, intrigued me by being, well, sad about it.

I mean, she was really upset. She even began to cry. It wasn't because she knew Anna or had some kind of bizarre fan-lust. She genuinely felt empathy for what she felt was a tragic end to a tragic life. In no time, I too began to feel saddened by this. Amanda helped me to realize that God had so much intended for Anna, but she never chose that path. As a result, she had money and fame (well, sort of), but she led a life that caused her to be both a laughing stock and a masturbatory fantasy at the same time. To most, she wasn't even human.

It stuck with me when Amanda asked this: "I wonder if anybody ever truly showed her the love of God. I wonder if anyone ever truly loved her."

The tinkering stage...

Hey everybody!

So, I'm excited that I finally have a computer that I can work on. Now, it's a matter of time until I get Photoshop, a drawing template and a scanner. The scanner's on it's way. So, for the meantime, it's freehand mouse drawings using Photoshop Elements. The cartoons below are just fooling around and getting used to things as I feel limited yet. Hope you enjoy these interesting entries as I make my pilgramage into blog-world.

Trust me, it'll get a whole lot better.

Tortoise and the Hare: 2007