Is Santa Anti-Jesus?

It's not new news that Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus' birthday. Everyone knows that. Even those that choose to celebrate the 'Christmas' part and not the 'Jesus' part. So is it wrong to get all pumped up about Santa, Rudolph and all the other Christmas add-ons that we see everywhere? Are those things okay or do they detract from the holiday? Is Santa Anti-Jesus?

I'm not sure that Santa can be given a universal diagnosis of 'good' or 'bad'. Like most things in life, it's more about how we perceive him and approach him.

At the core, Santa isn't a bad thing. He's just some fat, white guy that culture uses as a Christmas mascot to get kids to focus on doing good and giving. Ain't nothing wrong with that. He's just a guy who loves getting his cookies on. I can relate with that. And spiritually, Santa seems to be a pretty neutral guy. He doesn't play favorites between religions. Rarely is the character of Santa associated with Jesus or any other type of faith in any way. For all intensive purposes, Santa is neutral in pretty much every way. That's why everyone likes the guy.

Here's when Santa does become an issue though. In many ways, the character of Santa has replaced Jesus as the main character in the Christmas story in today's culture. Most Christmas songs, commercials, and movies have some sort of reference to the big guy (see Netflix for several terrible examples of this). If someone didn't know any better, their natural conclusion to all the Christmas jargon around them would bring them to think that Christmas is all about Santa and his reindeer.

And that's okay with many people, since Santa is more politically correct than Jesus. No one is complaining about omitting 'Santa Clause' from government buildings or cutting Santa's name out of certain TV broadcasts (see youtube.com/watch?v=6Ei3g97-tH8). Santa is a safe bet. We can all agree on Santa because, again, he's neutral. No one is gonna complain about a jolly, old, fat guy with a sweet tooth.

Jesus, on the other hand, was anything but neutral. He drew a line in the sand and told people that if they wanted to follow him, they had to go all in. There is no towing the line with Jesus. He made a lot of bold claims that made it hard to half-believe in him. When Jesus claimed to be God, even when faced with his own death, he basically had to be one of two things. He was either completely crazy and delusional and living in a fantasy world. Or he was completely right and actually was God.

There's not a lot of room to stand in the middle on your perspective on Jesus. Either he was a compulsive liar or was telling the truth. And that's where people differ.

So here's what's important in this conversation. It's okay to have Santa statues in your home. It's okay to listen to Santa Baby on repeat (please don't though). It's even okay to watch ABC Family's Desperately Seeking Santa on YouTube (you'll regret doing this). But don't fall into the trap that many non-Christians in the world want you to fall into. Don't let Santa replace Jesus as the main character in your Christmas story. He can be a fun, little insignificant side character. But remember whose birthday it is.

Jesus is the main character. It's his holiday and his miracle that we celebrate. Keep that in mind over these next few days leading up to Christmas. And maybe even keep an eye out for how many more references there are to Santa than to Jesus in today's world. You may be shocked at how easy it is people to focus on the wrong main character.

Happy birthday, Jesus. We celebrate together and exchange gifts because you gave us the best gift.

You've Got Way More Potential Than You Realize!

I don't want to sound like Joel Osteen. Mainly because I can't pull off that wonderful hairdo.

But here's the simple truth. If you know Jesus, you have an unbelievable source of power inside of you called the Holy Spirit. Do you realize how much power that means you have? Just imagine Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but on redbull. Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised us this power in Matthew 28. He said "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Matthew 28:18).

With this same source of power, these people did awesome things:

- Moses went 40 days without food
- Samson ripped down the temple with his bare hands
- Daniel survived a den of lions
- Lazarus got undead
- Mary conquered an epic teenage pregnancy
- Jesus…welp, his whole life basically
- Chuck Norris dominated a generation (yes, he's a believer!)

As a Christ follower, you have the same source of power as all these people! The Holy Spirit gives us way more potential than we can even imagine. But most of the time, we don't even think to tap into it to do huge things. We just ask Him to help relieve us of stress or heal us from a cold. Those are important prayers in all, but if that's all the power we ask for…we are really selling ourselves short of some huge things that God could be doing through us. That's like going to a 5-star steakhouse and just getting chicken tenders. 

As believers, our lives should look drastically different from the non-believers around us. We are literally walking miracles, being rescued from slavery of sin. The Holy Spirit has come into our life and is sitting there, ready to be unleashed. He has big ideas for what he'd love to do in our lives. Lots of times though, our lives don't look a whole lot different from the non-believers in the world. We make decisions based on comfort and logical expectations, rather than walking in the assurance of the Holy Spirit to show up and do awesome things.

So don't settle for chicken tenders. Order the steak! Use the power that he's given you. Ask God to do the big things in your life that you're too afraid to ask for. You might be surprised how he answers it.

Electronic Bibles: Good or Bad?

66% of teenagers use an electronic Bible on their phone or tablet more than a hard-copy, paper Bible. 

We are at a unique time in the history of technology and faith. Never in history has the Bible been more accessible than it is now. Within their pocket, anyone can have access to dozens of Bible translations and commentaries for free. In just the blink of an eye, someone can compare a verse in three different translations without having to turn a page. It's remarkable! But yet…is it? 

While we have more Bible resources than any other generation before us, we're also far more Biblically illiterate than any generation before us too. So what's the solve? Are e-Bibles good because of the convenience and accessibility that they offer? Or will they ultimately cause long-term spiritual harm because of the lack of absorption and prone to distraction? The answer is…YES!

Electronic Bible Pros

They are great for convenience. If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can have the Bible with you at all times. They are great for looking at multiple translations too. It is highly beneficial to compare two or three different translations of a passage when studying scripture. E-Bibles make this easy parcheesi! They're good for a quick reference, too.

They are also great for sharing. It's super easy to highlight a verse and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace (kidding…Myspace is as dead as the T-Rex). You can easily select a verse and text it to a friend. Or copy a passage into Evernote to memorize. There are even some great apps to help with Scripture Memory…I suggest the app Bible Memory Verses.

Electronic Bible Cons 

They are not good for most types of Bible studying, either in a group or in personal devotionals. Several studies have shown that you absorb far less information when you read it on a screen vs. on paper. This goes the same for e-books vs. paper books. Having a paper Bible to physically open, jot down notes, and highlight creates a spiritual timeline for you to look back on the next time you read the passage. While you can highlight and save notes on E-Bibles, it doesn't create the same footprint that a hardcopy Bible does. Also with a hardcopy Bible, it is much easier to physically see the context of the passage/verses within the chapter itself which can help with understanding.

Distractions! It's nearly impossible focus in-depth on anything on your phone because of the thousands of things it's capable of doing. I just checked my own iPhone and saw that I've opened 17 different apps since this morning! It's so hard to focus on one thing on a smartphone because we're always tempted to slide over to Twitter or our Email. Or Candy Crush! Gimme dat next level! 

Conclusion 

Electronic Bibles are great tools to use alongside a good, physical paper Bible. They allow quick reference, translation comparison, and integrate well with social media. E-Bibles are best used as an additional resource or for the convenience of teaching/ referencing, when a physical Bible may not work as well.

However, E-Bibles should never fully supplement a paper, hard copy Bible. If you want to truly absorb the Bible on a deep level, Electronic Bibles are probably not the best way to go. I would encourage you to always use a Paper Bible during any type of small group Bible study, worship service, or personal devotional. You may surprised at how much more you retain!

PS: If you don't have a paper Bible, the New International Version and English Standard Version are both fantastic translations when first starting out reading the Bible! 

Free E-Book: Twitter Bomb!

I wrote a short E-book.
It's called Twitter Bomb.
It talks about the things we are disciples of.
And takes about 20 minutes to read.
And it's free!

Just click the link below and then click "Download" at the top:

Download "Twitter Bomb"

"I'm REALLY Bad With Names..."

85% of youth workers are awful with names.

I’m not sure how accurate that stat is, but I imagine it’s pretty close. It’s like a pre-requisite to working with students. It’s probably even apart of the hiring process for youth pastors…

Hiring Committee Person: How good are you with names?
Youth Pastor: Great! I actually have a system that involves photos, string and tape on a bulletin board in my office to help me remember the names of all of my students! Ha!!!
Hiring Committee Person: Oh.
(HCP uncomfortably adjusts in his chair)
HCP: Umm…you’re not exactly what we’re looking for.
Youth Pastor: Wait…really?
HCP: Please leave right now.

Youth workers deal/ dealt with this problem in different ways. Many go with the nickname approach, where they completely disregard birthnames altogether and instead give out their own.

This is always my approach. The nicknames don’t have to make sense. They just have to be something I could remember. Sometimes, I am so creatively dry that I would just give them other students’ names as nicknames. Rachel becomes Heather. Jake becomes Kevin.

Carl becomes Tabitha.

My favorite approach, though, is when youth workers try to ignore the problem altogether by using generic pronouns to dodge the fact that they have no idea who they are talking to…

Jake: Hey Pastor Stephen!
Stephen: There he is! How are you doing…friend-o-mine?
Jake: Good. It’s been a hard week. Long.
Stephen: I bet it has been, buddy. School treating you well?
Jake: I guess. Can’t wait for it to be over.
Stephen: I know what you mean…Chief.
Jake: Yep. Well, talk to you later Stephen!
Stephen: Cya later… Dr. Cool!!!

Students usually picked up on this and eventually called the youth worker out.

Jake: You don’t know my name, do you?
Stephen: Sure I do, partner! It’s…the Ladies Man!!!
(Jake stares at him angrily)
Stephen: …cuz all the ladies flock to you, fellow human!
(Jake keeps staring)
Stephen: Okay. Fine. I have no idea who you are.

Admitting there is a problem is the first step to recovery…

The Final Announcement

This is no ordinary announcement. This is the one that is so important that it deserves to be re-announced after the closing prayer so that it was fresh on students’ minds as they are walking out the door.

More often than not, it is yelled over the exiting music as students stand up and scurry out to their cars for Taco Bell. I’m not sure why, but the 'announcer' always seemed urgently panicked as if each student needs to grasp all details related to this announcement.

It was shouted as quickly as possible, with no time for breaths.

“Have a good week! Don’t forget to invite 11 friends to camp tomorrow at school! Business cards in the back! Grab a business card!!!”

And sometimes they were long.

“Alrighty. Lust Sunday is in two weeks! Mark your calendars because it is going to be a powerful time, guys! If you are struggling with porn, you gotta be there! GOTTA STOP LOOKING AT PORN, GUYS!”

The best ones were so long that they were still talking as people were getting in their cars.

“Lock-In is this Friday! Be there! Bring a 2-liter and $5! And invite your friends. Please no fireworks this time! And be on time because registration takes longer when you guys are late. Which makes my job harder. And we don’t want my job to be any harder right? Am-I-right?! HA!!! Give a guy a break!!! Oh! And make sure your mom knows that Tommy has a peanut allergy so if she bakes brownies, NOT to put peanuts in them this time. No peanuts, guys! Amen? Amen!!!”

By this point, we had ordered our food at Taco Bell.

Christian T-Shirts

This is definitely one of the more effective ways to share your faith. Everyone wears shirts, so why not turn us into walking billboards for JC? And while we’re at it, lets make them look like other, more popular t-shirts to trick our lost friends!

The ole bait-and-hook: fashion edition.

Before ya knew it, we have walking evangelists all over the place! Instead of an AEROPOSTLE shirt, it's OURAPOSTLE. Boom. ABERCROMBIE & FITCH? Nope. ABREADCRUMB & FISH. That one is a soul piercer.

Guy #1: Hey! Is that a Tommy Hilfiger shirt?
Guy #2: Nope. Look closer bro. It’s a Tell Jesus He’ll Forgive shirt.
Guy #1: Whoa. I…uhh…wow. Can you pray for me?!

This outreach method is flawless because you could be bold in your faith without having to actually open your mouth. The t-shirt does the talking. Words are overrated anyway. In fact, conversation just takes away from the "T". There were no words I could say to add or take away from the powerful message displayed on my chest (Rev. 22:18-19).

Christian T-shirts may be the most effective form of sharing your faith to the unbelieving world. If Jesus lived in today’s world of graphic design and printing presses, he’d be all over it. He could just storm through the temple with a Jesus is my Homeboy robe and point to it. Wouldn’t even need the whip.

I always like to think these shirts are starting revivals at schools all over the nation. It would start with one student, who mistakes the Christian shirt for a more recognizable logo. From there, the shirt wearer would stand in the middle of the hallway with their thumbs pointed to the shirt and let the Holy Spirit do his damage…

Girl #1: Hey. Cool shirt! I love Starbucks Coffee!
Girl #2: I do too. But it doesn’t say Starbucks Coffee. It says Sacrificed For me. Eh?
Girl #1: Oh. (starts breathing deeply) Wow. Okay. That’s…convicting. (drops to floor on knees) I need to fast for a while.

And the revival begins…