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Let’s get rid of the elephant in the room right away. In the past there has been some tension between Free Will Baptist colleges. In some ways, it’s been like a heated rivalry in sports; but the difference is the schools never seem to meet up. Instead, attacks are launched from hundreds of miles away through students, publications, teachings, etc.

In reality, perception is as far as we’ve gone for connection. We hear rumors. We spread rumors. Is there any truth behind them? Maybe. Maybe not. But at times it seems we’d rather spread the latest gossip first and find out we’re wrong later. And when we find out we’re wrong…well…let’s just say it’s not so easy to admit.

Sadly, many of us have never stepped foot in that “other world.” We think we know what’s going on at the other colleges. We think we know how they live, what they believe, and what they say about “us.” But the truth, we haven’t been there. We don’t know them. We haven’t built relationships with those people. We simply judge without ever knowing all the facts.

In the past several years, I’ve seen that tension start to ease. It seems we’re actually seeing each other as people and not institutions. Whether it has been through leadership conferences, camps, the NYC, or any other gathering, I feel like we’re finally starting to realize we’re not so different from each other. Sure, we may attend a different college. We may believe different things. We may even have different convictions about different areas of life. But when it comes down to the basics and what’s really important, we’re actually fighting on the same side. We wrestle with the same topics. We encounter the same problems in ministry. Our training may be different, but our cause is the same.

Lately I’ve noticed Twitter and even Facebook have been driving forces for demolishing the old mindset and helping us cross the bridge to unity. It has given us a chance to connect with people outside of our typical “bubble” and interact in a way that’s never been done before. No matter if you’ve come out of California, Oklahoma, Nashville, Virginia,  North Carolina, or any other state, Twitter allows us to forget about the name of the school on our diplomas, and instead connect with one another as the body of Christ.

Now in no way am I saying you shouldn’t take pride in your institution. We should be proud of where we come from and our education. But we can’t let our location or alma mater divide us, even if we don’t agree on every single facet of life.

In a lot of ways, Twitter is self-indulgent and, as a comedian recently put it, a major “time suck.” However, I truly believe it’s allowing us to bridge the gap from knowing each other as “colleges” to knowing each other as people and fellow believers.

We can argue all day about our differences, but when push comes to shove, we’re definitely more alike than some want to admit.

Maybe something as simple as a “tweet” will lead our denomination to a level of unification that we haven’t seen for many years.

If you listened to our most recent Brink Podcast , you heard us discuss a new genre that is developing in Christian publishing. It’s actually being called “Christian Vampire Fiction.” If you listened you also heard some strong opinions come out and heard things get a little bit fiery. If you haven’t listened, I encourage you to do so. You can visit www.thebrinkonline.com/podcast or find us on iTunes.

I’d like to add a few more comments and maybe clarify a few things with this post.

First of all, I understand that the vampires in Twilight are not the typical vampires we’ve seen in literature. They have morals, practice abstinence (even if it’s not for the right reasons), and are like “normal” people. But here’s my problem: Vampires have long been considered mythological creatures that represent some type of cultist activity. And as we know, they survive by feeding off the blood of living creatures. So how does that line up with Christian value and virtue? It doesn’t.

Regardless if the vampires are moral human beings or not, when we start mixing elements of mysticism in with Christianity, we’ve created a syncretic approach. Essentially, we are blending 2 systems of belief that do not need to be blended.

So let’s look at this even deeper. What happens when a Christian parent tells his or her teen she can’t read Twilight but she can read the Christian alternative? Essentially that parent is saying “Since this is Christian, it’s okay.” In reality, the parent is telling that teen “If it’s labeled Christian, it’s acceptable.” And the truth of the matter is, something labeled “Christian” could be far misleading than the original brand.

The danger of labeling something as “Christian” is that many people in our world aren’t able to discern things from a biblical worldview. They see the Christian label and accept everything at face value, never once thinking to question what the author might be saying. This has led to a lot of “Christian stuff” that is garbage. From Christian music to Christian publishing, there is a lot of stuff out there that has the “Christian” label but is far from biblical.

Christian Vampire Fiction exemplifies that. Mixing Christianity and mysticism is not acceptable. Parents may think this is harmless, but it’s a gateway to other things.

Look at books like The Secret or The Shack. These books have ideas that actually go against the words of Scripture. However, people in our society read the words of these books as Scripture, accepting everything as truth, simply because it’s labeled “Christian.”

To be honest, if I had a teen who was wanting to read Twilight, I would probably prefer my teen to read Twilight instead of the Christian alternative. Here’s why: I could use Twilight as a teaching tool. We could read the book together and discuss the truth in the book, and also where the book falls short. However, things become much more complicated with a “Christian” version. Not only is the quality of the writing typical poorer, but you also have a “Christian” version that is not quite Christian at all.

We have to be very careful and discerning. “Christian” does not mean God-honoring or even biblical. In fact, it even seems like some “Christian” things are more a mix of religions than anything. And the truth is, we cannot mix religions and worship God.

It starts small, even with a simple book. We HAVE to compare what we do and what we read to the Word of God. We must give it a test and see if it holds up when we look at things through a biblical lens. Even if it’s labeled “Christian,” if it does not fall in line with a biblical worldview, it’s not very “Christian” at all.

If you have a comment or a disagreement or agreement, I ask that you tune into our podcast at www.thebrinkonline.com/podcast first and hear our full argument.

This post is a plea. Maybe by now you’re sick of hearing coverage about Haiti. Maybe you’re tired of seeing all of the Facebook statuses, tweets, CNN headlines, commercials asking you to text to donate $10 to the Red Cross. But the truth is, this is still a major problem. The earthquake in Haiti was only the beginning of the problems.

The people that survived the quake are now facing starvation because there is no food. Gas prices are now around $14/gallon. Think about that for a minute…the people in Haiti survive on less than $2 per day and now gas prices are $14/gallon.

In addition, people are hurt and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to meet these needs. This is a serious serious issue.

My friend Ryan Akers has close connections with Mountain Faith Mission in Haiti. Both him and his father have been over to the country and interacted, worshiped, and fellowshipped with the people. These same people, including children at an orphanage, are now facing possible death if they do not get the supplies they need.

Here’s what Ryan wrote recently on his blog: http://run4haiti.wordpress.com/

This past week has been a big distraction for me, simply because I work with a mission that’s involved in Haiti. I can only imagine, and definitely pray for those, who are living in the midst of this nightmare.

I am truly heart-broken. My mind stays so distracted by Haiti that I feel useless in other areas. Presently, there’s about 4-5 Americans with MFM who are emailing and strategizing the best way to be very effective on the central plateau. The earthquake has happened, damaged buildings horribly, and killed numerous people. That seems bad enough, but now, as the email from yesterday proclaimed, the food supplies are being slowly shut up. There is simply not enough coming in, and what is, seems to be staying in Port-au-Prince.

That’s simply put. Here’s my way of telling you what I’m trying to say. If you are a Christian, and you have not given to this effort, then you need to. I don’t care if it’s thru MFM or some other organization, but you should be giving. It’s Biblical to give. It’s Christ-like to give.

We’re assessing how the best way to go about getting things to the people is. Honestly, there’s no simple way to do it. Roads are blocked. Air is blocked. Ports are shut down. We’re working hard to contact, make connections, and trying to get stuff down to our people. Some thoughts are to fly in to an airport in the north if at all possible. Other thoughts are to find somewhere above the compound on the mountain to have a brave soul land a plane with supplies. Other thoughts are to mobilize a truck to head to the Dominican to buy food. In truth, all of these are super difficult. Fuel is scarce. Food is scarce.

Please donate. And please pray. Pray for open doors.

Here’s what is happening. People are dying. People are dying from injuries. People are dying from hunger. People are dying from basic things that you can easily access as you read this. Think this is a guilt trip? Maybe it is. But the point is…you should be involved. I don’t care if you mail a check, donate on PayPal, or work with a local group to organize a fundraiser to give. Just do something. Move, work. In the name of Christ, look at the faces of the children in our mission. Do it for them. Feed them. Be moved by these scenes. Don’t be disconnected. Team with MFM and let’s further the kingdom.

Please do what you can to help the Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti or some other organization in Haiti. These men and women and children need your help. Even just $5 can go a long way. Put yourself in their scenario. Imagine you were not hurt by the earthquake but everything you had was destroyed. While things might initially seem okay, imagine if you had no food and there was no promise of food on its way. Now add to that injuries, disease, the death of loved ones, etc and that’s a fraction of what the people in Haiti are dealing with.

If you can give anything at all, here is the website for  Mountain Faith Mission: http://www.mountainfaithmission.com/

Ryan has set the site up to accept PayPal donations. You can also send a check. PayPal has verified the site as a non-profit organization so your donation is secure. Simply click on the “Donate” tab on the web site.

Please help!

We’ve heard it said: “The church is full of hypocrites!” That statement is made more often that anyone would like to admit. And sadly, it’s true to an extent. But what specific things cause people to label Christians as hypocrites?

This is something I’ve been thinking about. I’m not looking for answers like “Because Christians ARE hypocrites!” I’m looking for specific answers. What is it that the world sees Christians doing that causes them to label Christians as “hypocrites?”

Is it cussing? Drinking? Drug use? Road rage? Being a jerk. Living contrary to Jesus? Adultery? Pornography? Cheating on taxes? Cheating on a girlfriend or boyfriend? Dishonesty? Materialism? Lack of tithing? Going to clubs? Arrogance?

I really want some feedback on this. Feel free to post anonymously if you wish. I’m not concerned with who answers…just looking for some answers.

What causes people to label Christians as hypocrites?

Like many guys, I enjoy sitting in front of the TV and watching Sportscenter. It’s great seeing highlights of your favorite team win and keeping track of your fantasy football players without having to change the channel.

But lately I’ve been getting pretty sick of Sportscenter, ESPN, and most sports coverage. It’s seems as though the Worldwide Leader in Sports has turned into TMZ rather than a highlight real.

Case in point: Tiger Woods

Since Friday, all of sports coverage has been dedicated to Tiger Woods. If he just won a major, a Grand Slam, broke a record, etc I could understand. But no. Coverage has been dedicated to him because of his minor car accident that has resulted in information about an affair or affairs.

Sadly, our media can’t get enough of it probably because we can’t get enough of it. We love the coverage. We love the rumors. We love the allegations. We love seeing a falling star. Gossip feels great because it’s fueled by speculation and up-to-the-minute updates.

But let’s be honest: IT’S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!

Are extramarital affairs wrong? Yes. There’s no doubt about it. But would you want your dirty laundry aired on cable TV 24/7, discussed by radio hosts across the country, written about in every paper and online site, and a trending topic on Twitter. No way. We need to get out of it. It’s not our battle. It’s not our fight. This is between Tiger Woods and his wife.

The solution to stop the nonsense is easy: Quit talking about it. But that doesn’t happen in our society. Some may even argue that I’m fueling the fire by writing this. But my point is simple: this is none of our business. It doesn’t need to be talked about on TV, radio, the newspaper, etc.

Let’s pray for these people; not broadcast their personal lives across the wire.

It’s time for ESPN to get back to what it does best: Sports. For some reason, the network seems to think we all deeply care about are Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, the Lakers, and Tom Brady. Sadly they may be right.

But when it comes to tabloid mania, it still remains none of our business.

Did that commercial offend you? Many people are answering “Yes.”

DirecTV has started using famous clips from movies to promote their products. Using movies such as Alien, King Kong, and Back to the Future, the ads appear to be an exact scene from the movie, but during the scene one of the characters steps “out of character” and gives a brief promo for the satellite company.

An NBC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area had this (sarcastic comment) to say: Indeed, Spade could be at home with DirecTV. Instead, he’s with the ghost of his famous friend, who died as a result of a drug problem that almost certainly stemmed from massive insecurities, and making a (bad) fat joke about him. HILARIOUS!

Here’s what The Consumerist had to say: Is anyone else skeeved out over the DirecTV ad?…It’s bizarre that Spade, a close pal of Farley’s went along with this. He and DirecTV must have miscalculated the ad as a tribute to a great movie moment rather than a disturbing, insensitive money grab.

What do you think? Are you offended by the commercial? Is David Spade exploiting Chris Farley? Is this “too soon?” Or is this a fitting tribute to a late actor and comedy from 1995?

By now we’ve all heard about Balloon Boy. Every station is playing the story…over and over and over and over. When new details emerge, we hear those over and over and over and over.

Despite the story being a hoax, somewhere the crazy family behind the fiasco has to be smiling.

They did this for a publicity stunt. What has happened? They got publicity! Even though the story sounded fishy to begin with, the media jumped all over it. They were being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer before the smoke had even settled.

However, thanks to that interview, we now have valuable information that says the story was made up.

But for that family, you can’t buy this kind of publicity. Their appearances on Wifeswap didn’t generate a fraction of this. This morning, Mike Glenn, the Senior Pastor at Brentwood Baptist in Nashville, TN wrote on Twitter: I know it says a lot the Balloon family went to extremes to get their fifteen minutes. What does it say about us that we gave it to them?

Pastor Glenn is exactly right! We’ve made these people celebrities. At first they had our pity, then they had our shame, and honestly now they’re back to having our pity again, just in a different sort of way.

We love our celebrities and wanna be celebrities, don’t we? It doesn’t matter if they’re pure, true, crooked, crazy, or deceiving. As long as they stir up some sort of emotion in us, we either love them or love to hate them.

By now you’ve probably heard the answer to the question. Marge Simpson will be featured on the cover and in a centerfold of Playboy magazine. If you’re asking, “That Marge Simpson?” the answer is, “Yes, that Marge Simpson.” The cartoon character on The Simpsons.

According to the Associated Press, the average age of Playboy readers is 35. The purpose of putting Marge Simpson on the cover of the magazine is to try to appeal to younger audiences. most particularly the “20-something crowd.”

When this news first broke on TV, Internet, and print, it first came across as humorous. People found it funny that the cartoon mom off one of the highest rated TV shows was going to appear on the cover of Playboy.

But can we really look at what’s happening here? A “men’s” magazine is marketing itself by filling its pages with a naked cartoon character. Does that sound sickening to anyone else? I don’t care what your argument is, Playboy is pornography. And Playboy exists because lust exists. As if naked women didn’t do enough to sell the magazine, the company is trying to bring in a younger audience by including pictures of a naked cartoon character. Something is terribly wrong!

And do you think Playboy is only trying to market itself to the 20-something crowd? Do beer companies only market themselves at people who are over 21? Does Seventeen magazine actually try to target girls who are 17? No way. The target audience may be younger, but Playboy knows very well the idea of a naked Marge Simpson appeals to even young teen males. It may be illegal for them to get their hands on the issue, but Playboy knows they’ll find a way, whether through a friend, family member, or the Internet.

Ricky and Lucy couldn’t even sleep in the same bed together on TV. Now we’ve become desensitized that we have to put nude cartoon characters from prime time television in magazines. Ugh…

I just read about a new product on the market. It’s called “Blow.” It looks like cocaine, it’s packaged like cocaine, and in some ways it has the effects of cocaine. What is it? A new energy drink…or at least that’s what they say. The mix is sold in a small vial and is measured in grams. A small mirror is actually included in the package so buyers can grind the mix down to a powder before pouring it into a water bottle. The caffeine content is equivalent to 2 Red Bulls and 3 cups of coffee.

Hearing about that brought this question to my mind: Why is our culture so obsessed with “imitating” things that seem taboo?

For instance, when you were a kid did you ever buy candy cigarettes? If you had them, what’s the first thing you did? I bet it wasn’t throw them in your mouth and chew them up. I bet you put the stick between your fingers and pretended to smoke.

Ever known anyone who bought root beer in bottles because it resembled real beer bottles? It’s almost like that bottle of IBC gave them credibility (in their own eyes) and made them appear rebellious and cool.

Whether it’s snorting Smarties, drinking “Blow,” smoking candy cigarettes, saying words that “sound” like cuss words, or trying to appear “cool” to others buy drinking root beer out of a bottle, our culture really seems to enjoy dabbling in the thought of rebellion without completely crossing that fence.

Any ideas why? Your comments are welcome!

(Thanks to nbclosangeles.com for info)

If you didn’t see last night’s episode of The Late Show With David Letterman or haven’t turned on your local news this morning, you may have missed a story that seems so twisted that it seems like it should be part of a Letterman monologue.

Last night on his show, Letterman admitted that he had sexual relationships with female employees on the show. Letterman was married back in March to his longtime girlfriend. They have been together since 1986 and she is the mother of his son, who was born in 2003. It was not said when the affairs took place. However, someone tried to extort $2 million from Letterman over the affairs. They threatened to go public with the information if he did not give them the money. Letterman came forward with the facts and that person was arrested.

I could sit here and slam Letterman for his affairs. I could sit here and slam Letterman for having a child with his girlfriend prior to getting married. I’m not going to do that.

The thing that confuses me is the hypocrisy in media. Letterman has made his living making jokes off of high profile people who have done stupid things. Lately, he’s attacked Senator Joe Wilson for speaking out in Congress, and has bashed every political figure (especially Republicans) who have had extramarital affairs. He also found plenty of material when Senator John Edwards admitted to having an affair and fathering the child with a woman that was not his wife.

It’s interesting that Letterman has been able to make these jokes while participating in the same actions. It’s almost as if he’s held to a lower standard or gets a free pass because he’s an entertainer. Even last night, Letterman was making jokes about the matter.

It seems like the media has fun at pointing the finger at whoever they want to, yet they never even think about pointing that finger back at themselves. They have no problem with pointing out the hypocrisy in others, yet meanwhile they’re prime examples of hypocrites themselves.

Just my thoughts…