Three Reasons I (as a Vikings Fan) am Happy That the Packers Won the Super Bowl

I’ve sometimes been told that I’m too cynical, that I need to loosen up and count the blessings in my life and make the most of everything. I thought I’d start with the fact that the Vikings’ worst enemy team, the Green Bay Packers, with effort and circumstance, won the Super Bowl this year. And I have the fortune to live an hour from Green Bay.

1) Emotional closure: Let’s face it. It was still about Favre. Once the face of the franchise, who helped develop the team into a regular playoff contender after a quarter century of mediocrity, he has possibly tarnished his legacy in the eyes of this generation by his three years spent playing for other teams. However, Packer fans have wanted to see him suffer further justice (vendetta?) for his crimes of loving to play football and being hopelessly indecisive.

Their relationship to Favre has been unnecessarily complicated. For example, they’d love to revel in the glory of their Super Bowl XXXI championship, but it was led by . . . Favre. They’ve wanted to move on, and the best way (along with seeing him fail) was to be able to revel in a glory without him.

The outcomes of the 2010 season and Super Bowl XLV achieved that. Aaron Rodgers has always been an exceptional quarterback, and Packer fandom largely ran to him in his first days as a starter like a recently-dumped girl runs to a new crush. Even though his stats, Hall-of-Fame eligibility, and overall legacy aren’t at Favre’s level yet (but they will get there someday), Pack fans have already elevated him above Favre, and even compared his beard with Jesus’s. Commentators seem to be developing a bias for him, too. Maybe he will be the next Brett Favre. (Who will be the next John Madden?).

All this to say, since the new Packers beat Favre (even though he was 41 years old with a breaking down body, throwing to a transient receiver corps and playing for a team going through a rough transition) and won the Super Bowl (even though it was a weakened AFC in an overall injury-ridden season of general mediocrity), they can feel better about themselves, and that’s good!

Favre is completely gone. The Packers have established themselves without him. The historic Bears-Packers rivalry has been restored and renewed. All these years of drama-queen-style embitterment and insecurity are over! Better that it happen sooner than later. Packer fans are much easier to live and work around now.

2) Wisconsin’s economy: I might have to get a little selfish here, but the truth is that, though I am a Vikings fan, I am a resident of Wisconsin and their economic well-being affects my everyday life.
      
Wisconsin has the largest debt per capita in the nation, when you calculate the ratio between the total debt and the population. They collect more than $1 billion in excise tax (mostly from smokers) and actually still owe the state of Minnesota $59 million. Thus to say, there’s a lot of work to be done.

However, the Packers‘ success has created more spending all across the country on gear (it’s spending to which I personally wouldn’t contribute), and it has helped the economic health of my state of residence. I can’t object to that.

3) Reconciliation with friend Bear fans: I’ll have to be honest when I say that the 2008-9 seasons were a bit of a rough patch in my relationship with Bears fans (and growing up in Chicago area, I have plenty). I do remember meeting the soon-to-be fiancee of a very close friend at a coffeeshop, and I had to let her know of my fandom right away, for the sake of their relationship.

The Vikings‘ dominance over the Bears and Packers the last two seasons did make friendships and relationships difficult as I lived as a Vikings fan in Chicago, but after this year, we can reconcile under the belief of a common enemy. What of reconciliation with friend Packer fans, you ask? It’s not an issue. They never seek it.   

So . . . how’d I do?

Death of the Consumer Church, pt. 1: Diagnosing "Heart" Problems

For many years as I studied the Bible and prepared to be in ministry, classmates and some cynical friends would tell me, “American Christians are a bunch of consumers.” A bit annoyed and discouraged, inwardly I would brush them off and deny the thought.

Then I took part in a deep study of Paul’s epistles and the early Church (pre-Constantine), and how to really (no, really) do church “by the book.” I felt I had been given a truly biblical vision and mission of the Church, and also an inspirational story of how God used it as His instrument in a historical story of countless people who came into God’s family. Then I looked at the current American Church, where I was studying to serve, and I couldn’t deny it anymore. Consumerism is an extreme problem in the American Church. It’s a growing cancer that will hinder the American Church to the point of disablement until it’s addressed.

Now, what is the consumer church? It’s more broad than some might think. When some hear the phrase, they think of:

1) Nit-picky Christians who peruse churches like shopping for a new car, trying to find the closest match to their self-tailored felt needs, which refer to anything and everything including specific theological non-essentials, programs, musical worship style and location.
2) The financial and moral corruption that comes from Christians being involved in commerce, the type of people that Jesus drove out of the temple.

These are just byproducts. Consumerism is not a matter of church programming. It’s a matter of the heart. Consumerism enters a church when attendants primarily go to “consume,” to receive, not to give, and when leaders of the church only further enable them.

Here, where everyone has the freedom to be the architect of their own destiny, businesses and even some politicians are successful in profit-making and campaigning when they cater to such worshipped individuality. Just how many advertisements use the word “you”? With the internet, cell phones, MP3 players and Kindles, it seems a growing portion of all purchasable products have become much more accessible, customizable, and privatized.

Including church.

If one had a late Saturday night, he/she can sleep in through the morning services and attend an evening service at another church to get the “spiritual fix.” Or one can stay at home and listen to a recording of favorite hymns or worship songs, and then catch the recording of a sermon online.  A consumer also thoroughly enjoys the sometimes ridiculous amenities a church provides elsewhere (e.g. a fellow pastor received a recent complaint about the church’s videos not being in high definition). It’s sad how types of conveniences and extravagances climb our priority list.

Outside of materials and conveniences, the consumerism of our culture has spilled into relationships within the congregation. At even slight disturbances, will approach a church leader like the manager of a restaurant. People withdraw from circles of friendship, Bible studies, and even church communities themselves before the idea of reconciliation can cross their minds.     

However, I personally feel that the biggest hindrance of consumerism upon the Church (and I’ll refer to this again later, using my personal journey) is carried by functional ministry itself. When the consumer comes only to “receive,” the very duties of the Church (i.e. teaching, hospitality, charity, fostering community, and even evangelism itself) are left to its leadership alone. This is not the way the Church was built to operate as laid out in the New Testament.       

Now, it’s not the time to point a finger. The consumer Church is not a result of any particular flop by any controversial and assimilating type of ministry (e.g. Willow Creek’s “seeker” approach, Relevant magazine or the Emerging Church’s self-dubbed mission to the postmodern world). On the contrary, there is actually something to be said in favor of attempting to communicate the Gospel to culture.  Sadly, within our country, consumerism has permeated, seemingly, congregations from every denomination and theology of culture. It’s arguably been a longtime problem for the Church in a land of freedom and prosperity. 

I doubt, for example, it’s a threat for the growing Church in China, for example, where people mostly download Scripture off the web (smuggling hard-copy Bibles is illegal and risky) and they secretly meet in each other’s small apartments for worship, for fear of the government. I doubt, also, that consumerism and selfishness is a problem for the strong Church in Africa, where they worship, united, in huts and nameless buildings despite poverty, disease and some Muslim aggression.

The heart of the issue is that we live in a society with the elevated notion of self, the reluctance to commitment, the impersonal stinginess and the general materialism that all make the aura that is our consumer-driven world. This is a real threat, and it’s certainly not how the Church can flourish and bring life and light to itself and the dark and depressing world, as it was meant to do.

And I can only think of the word “flourish” when I think of what could happen if we start giving ourselves entirely and cheerfully to biblical living and to the Church. It’s an act of worship, where worship is not a weekly musical event, but a constant lifestyle.

Not for the sake of changing culture. But for the sake of changing lives.

Love for the Sacred Human Life

    “So, you’re sure he’s the father?”
    “Uh, yes! He’s my husband,” my pregnant wife confirmed to the doctor, as he prepared to give her a shot. She was a bit annoyed and sad that such questions needed to be asked of all patients and that she had given an honest but, to them, a seeming minority answer.
    My wife and I had to face the sad reality that we were an unusual couple in the north suburban Chicago hospital. We were seemingly young to be having children, and we were having children while I was in grad school and washing windows for a living. My wife had a good job that she was leaving for the sake of the family, being always able to nurture our upcoming firstborn. We also surprised a few of the hospital staff with our decline to the pre-natal Downs Syndrome test, the information from which usually determines some couples to abort, which we would never do. We were, sadly, a seeming rare couple that was willing to put finances, goals, and other freedoms (some evil) on the altar for the sake of family. For the sake of sanctity of life.
     This certainly wasn’t the only way that my oldest’s birth portrayed to me the sanctity of life. There was also the magnificence. It’s amazing to think that she was once small enough to fit under my fingernail. Now she too big to even lay across my lap.  I remember being in awe that, as soon as she was conceived, her genetic code was all in place, the details of which will only marginally unfold as we watch her grow. With the creativity beyond that of an artist and the precision beyond that of an architect, He knit each one of us together.
    Life is a miracle of God. It’s sad that it seems Christians are among the few to see it, and its irreplaceable beauty and value.
    Maybe it’s also because Christians better understand the alternative.
    The Bible is replete with stories where the essence of life is defended or even saved by a passionate God. God speaks in Ezekiel, saying that He “takes pleasure in the death of no one.” Jesus, who also declared that God is the “God of the living,” healed the sick and raised Lazarus from the dead, both outraged and weeping at witnessing the effects of death upon His children. The apostle Paul declares to those in Corinth that death is the “last enemy to be defeated.”
    Death is not what God ever wanted for His children. Life is.
    I recently stumbled upon a video on the internet entitled “99 Balloons.” It’s the story of a little baby named Eliot Hartman Mooney, a victim of Edwards Syndrome, born to a young Christian couple. Predicted not to survive even to birth, he continued to surpass expectations, receiving nothing but love, support and affection from his parents, their church friends and fellow patients in neonatal intensive care and their families. He lived ninety-nine days. At his funeral, the attendants released ninety-nine balloons. (Click here for the story).
    When I look at how I was taught the sanctity of human life, it wasn’t from first becoming a father. It wasn’t from the shouting by people that hold up signs outside abortion clinics. It wasn’t from inspirational stories of very fertile couples who (all the power to them) morally raise a large number of children. It was from watching my parents care for my mentally-handicapped little brother.
    And I’m reminded about the sanctity of human life from stories like Eliot Hartman Mooney. Any type of story that gets people to ask, “Why would a married couple, along with their friends, family and even their church, invest so much of their time, money and emotional energy into a child who would not live long to communicatively return their affection or make them proud with some adult-like accomplishment?”
    Because life is a sacred miracle.
    Believe in life. Pass it on.

Top Ten Signs you're an NFL addict.

You might be an NFL addict if . .

10. You’re emotionally involved in each season’s storyline. Beyond your own team. And not just for the sake of fantasy football points.
9. All the people that came to the Super Bowl party that didn’t pay much attention to the season or just want to talk, eat and play games? You’d prefer they weren’t there.
8. The NFL is the only sport where you watch regular season games intensively (namely, not while doing the laundry). In all the other sports you watch (if any), you just read the papers or check the team websites until the playoffs start.
7. You really don’t care who’s going to be featured in the Super Bowl’s halftime show. It’s the time to refill on refreshments or switch parties.
6. You aren’t caught up in the drama and gossip of players’ off-the-field issues.
5. When you need to learn about a city’s culture, you first take a look at their NFL team’s fan base.
4. You wonder why other championship series need to drag on so long at seven games.
3. You talk about the NFL authorities and their decisions on regulation with the passion of Rush Limbaugh.
2. You celebrate the spring draft each year, hosting a party or going out to eat, as it’s a lone event in the long and boring off-season.
1. AFL? UFL? What are those?

I might come up with a few more. Feel free to add.

Christmas Letter 2010

The family in River Park, October 2010

Hello, readers!
    As I (James) type this, I’m sitting comfortably on the couch on my weekly day off. The girls are napping and Christina is running a few errands. With some light rain and temps in the mid-40’s, it was very mild for a Wisconsin late-November, but the first snowfall made up for lost time, giving us 12 inches in three days, along with a big temperature drop and 50mph wind gusts.
    Time has seemingly flown a bit since our last letter, even though it was an atypical 18 months ago. I know I say this in each letter, but this year was even more adventurous, with more unexpected surprises. The good news is that we also have made successful strides toward a settled, normal life for our family. Hopefully, our next Christmas letter will be a lot more boring.
    When we last wrote you (June 2009), James had just graduated from seminary and was moving the family (Abby and pregnant Christina) to live with Christina’s parents in northern Delaware. Christina served as a substitute teacher while James transferred to a nearby Starbucks and continued his search for a church position. This search, while proactive, only resulted in second-round phone interviews and two visits (Virginia Beach and Denver).
    However, in November, Bill Heider, Christina’s former youth pastor and now senior pastor of local Crossroads Church, took interest in James’s qualifications and hired him as an intern. We were able to raise support (thank you to all who gave!) and even rent Mr. Heider’s mother’s nearby house (as she was on an extended vacation in Arizona). It was wonderful that we were able to house our growing family! We lived and hosted Thanksgiving, Christmas (’09) and church parties there while James worked three part-time jobs (Crossroads, Starbucks and TwoFish) and Christina regularly babysat. Though we were busy, we were able to have lots of fun family time and take advantage of our time on the East Coast (e.g. touring Boston and
Delaware beaches).
    On January 6, Kaylee Joy Gilliland was born in the same hospital as her mother, St. Francis in Wilmington, DE. After another overnight trip the hospital, Kaylee was born just 13 months after her older sister. She kept us up many nights, but her playful smile and energy is a blessing to our household.
    In March (’10), after James had updated his public resume and done some more networking, he was contacted by the Evangelical Free Church in Sheboygan, WI. After several phone interviews, James, Christina and 4-month-old Kaylee (who was cared for by visiting Grandma Gilliland) were flown from Philadelphia to Milwaukee as James was a candidate for the church’s new Pastor of Worship Arts. The Elders unanimously
voted to hire him the day we landed back in Philadelphia.  For the past six months, we’ve lived in a quiet and peaceful historical-downtown outside the city known as Sheboygan Falls.
    James has been busy at work, overseeing the production of three different types of services each Sunday (traditional, contemporary and evening) as well as special events (concerts, fundraisers and dramas). He’s attended conferences in central Wisconsin and in Denver, and has done everything in church this year from hospital visits to dancing a polka as Martin Luther. James has also made some more initiative with going on creative dates with Christina or outings with Abby and Kaylee. He also is trying to make more time for video games. Don’t talk to him about any of his favorite teams of any sport, though. He’s a bit crabby about them this year.
    Christina did very well to tackle head-on the daunting double-duty of pastor’s wife and mother-of-two. Both in Delaware and in Wisconsin, she’s connected with other other mothers, and here in Sheboygan, she’s initiated a weekly “play-date” with other young moms that’s familiarized some with our church community. Christina, in addition to being a good homemaker, also has started her own piano/voice studio (visit the site at www.mrsgstudio.com)! On the side, she’s joined the prestigious Lakeshore Chorale and has already gotten two solos. She also likes to read, and has enjoyed a variety of literature this year, from devotionals on the Sabbath to Ted Dekker.
    Abby just turned two years old, and stands at the 91st percentile height and weight. She is very energetic and independent. She loves fruits and vegetables, still likes to read, quote the TV shows she watches to herself (mostly VeggieTales and Winnie the Pooh) and is starting to form her own sentences when she talks. Abby also seems to have a strong liking of music (we did not prompt her in any way, we promise you!) and will sing, dance, and/or react positively to most any type of music she hears. This next month, she’s signed up for her very first music class at the local recreation department.
    Kaylee is about to turn one year old. She is very playful and extroverted. She’s on the threshold of walking, having taken almost five consecutive steps frequently. Her desire for something has seemingly pushed her into learning a consonant (e.g. she taught her self “pah” for puffs and “ba-ba” for bottle). She has almost four teeth, but can serve herself those fruit/vegetable/grain puffs with the best of them. Kaylee is still a crawler, but she curiously climbs everywhere, including the stairwell. She’s not trying to sing yet, but she does wiggle in a rhythmic fashion when music starts playing.

    Other adventures of our family this year include a ferry trip across Lake Michigan,  James playing a Christmas Eve service at a homeless shelter, our purchasing a minivan, Christina’s college house reunion in Malibu, lobster on Thanksgiving and a blizzard canceling church and almost stranding us our own house!
    We feel we’re finally on a road to getting settled and less adventurous. We do feel very much at home in Wisconsin, and back in the Midwest, only two hours from Wheaton, our alma mater. We do wish we could travel more, though, and see all of you! We’d love to hear from you. Hope you have had a blessed year from the Lord. Thanks for reading and a merry Christmas and a happy new year to you!

Grace and Peace,

James, Christina, Abby and Kaylee Gilliland

www.psalmistandcolumnist.blogspot.com
www.mommadaybyday.blogspot.com (Christina’s blog
has been reposted by EFCA Communications online!)


 

Gilly’s Christmas Playlist ’10 -- Track 3: “SMS (Shine)” - David Crowder*Band

A Christ-less Christmas?

    I’m not, normally, someone to openly complain about how commercialism and the general goal of “non-religiosity” in the public square tend to downplay or even omit the true history of holidays. (Technically, even the word “holiday” should be in the crosshairs of, for example, the ACLU because it’s actually a compound word of “holy day,” which smacks of the pulpit). I’m in favor of “keeping Christ in Christmas,” not because of an argument about the Christian heritage of this nation, but because it seems, in my opinion, that the meaning behind holidays (even beyond “Christian ones”), that may have been influential and memorable, are now fading out of sight amid the blinding glow of commercialism’s politically-correct billboard.
    I think it’s because I’ve tried to imagine, this year, in my own mind, a Christmas without Christ.
    American Christmas traditions and commerce have done well, sadly, to achieve that. None of the “top 25” Christmas songs on the radio or billboards really mention Christ, and even in carols, some beautifully-written and densely-packed with crucial theology and “controversial” Truth, singers and listeners alike just let words like “Christmas” (literally, “Christ’s coming”) roll off their tongue without any thought, as they probably have been doing for years. To a strong degree, organizations that want non-religiosity in the public square can take a break. Christ’s name is in Christmas, but His presence isn’t in many hearts and minds.
    Still, myself, I find much difficulty getting into the “Christmas cheer” with a mindset where Christ is replaced by Santa, holly and sales. It’s hard to listen to the words of songs. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Why? Cold weather can be miserable. Family reunions, if they’re pleasant, happen several times a year. I get more gifts on my birthday and can buy peppermint and eggnog year-round. Say ‘hello‘ to friends you know and everyone you meet. And ignore them until the next year?        
    The American traditions of Christmas are getting more and more substantive, but it still seems like a shell of significance as compared to the event upon which it’s based.     The main way we can keep Christ in Christmas in our hearts is to understand what is biblical and what is tradition, because we all have such traditions. In and of themselves, they are not wrongful, but should they be placed above or against what is biblical, a red flag should be raised.
    I’ll go first.
    When I sing carols, what fills my mind? Is it the poetic wording of God’s gift of His Son to a hurting world, and my longing to be nearer to and imitating of such a wonderful God? Or am I thinking about how this song brings me back to my youth group’s caroling days, and how I got a Super Nintendo that year? Good times. Or am I thinking about how this particular arrangement and delivery could really use some more lower treble, and if they’ll go for the cool high note at the end? When I sit down to eat my Christmas dinner, will I approach the table as an opportunity to celebrate the family and blessings God has given me as He gave Christ, and how I can give as He gave? Or will I be secretly missing the taste of my grandmother’s delicious Swedish ham and meatballs? 
    Even harmless traditions and distractions, when over-prized, can make a Christmas Christ-less in our hearts. Let’s try to avoid that this year.

“SMS (Shine)” by David Crowder*Band

    I’ve recently come to enjoy the work of David Crowder*Band. It’s rare for me to have any type of favorite, and I’ve just written about Hillsong United achieving that. DC*B (for short), this out-of-the-box electric rock band, is a comfortable number 2. They actually, in my opinion, outdo Hillsong United in general creativity, both in their musical style and lyric-writing, but the cost of this creativity is that their songs are less “sing-able” by congregations. Instrumentally, their songs are hard to execute for many worship teams. They also don’t quite have the stage presence of worship leadership as much as Hillsong United, and this leaves them on the fine line between functioning as a band that writes songs that congregations sing, or a band that writes songs that congregations listen to. In any case, they’re talented, and their work is irreplaceable. 
    I was surprised to find out that, despite all their years in the field, their Christmas output was just one song, a rendition of “Feliz Navidad.” Until now. This song is not technically designated as a Christmas song, and the music video takes on a different theme, but the lyrics speak otherwise. The song “SMS (Shine)” features a “just-right” electric and balladic groove, with not quite enough tenderness to be a slow-dance song, but not quite enough oomph to be a nightclub beat. In the lyrics, David Crowder writes of his heart feeling overcome, and how he longs for “a sign, a hint” from God. Verse 2 and the bridge read:

“You sent a sign/the hint, oh whisper/human, divine/everyone is listening/death laid low/quiet in the night is stirring/all around the rush of angels/oh, the wonder of the greatest love has come”
 
    And the last chorus reads:

“Love has come, what joy to hear it/He has overcome, He has overcome”

Some fun observations from the Women’s Brunch:

1) Humor columnist Dave Barry once recalled a family Thanksgiving dinner, where the kitchen was filled with the family’s women. All kitchen duties to prepare the big meal were delegated, and the cooks were diligently and intensely working in a eerily choreographed fashion. Dave Barry said he’d feel more comfortable walking into the control room of a nuclear submarine. After stopping by the kitchen to drop off my lunch while the Women’s Brunch meal was being so prepared, I know what he meant.

2) While working on Friday, the office bathroom was occupied, so I ventured over to the men’s room by the gym. It had been declared a second ladies’ room, but I was still allowed by one of the nearby ladies to go inside. This former men’s room was decorated a bit more and very fragrant, but the urinals were untouched. Later, I talked with some of the event coordinators, asking where I could go, should nature call while I’m providing jazzy ambience on the piano during the brunch. The women directed me to some abandoned bathrooms on the other end of the facility on the lower floor.

3) Did the women not know that the candy on some of the tables was not just for decoration? I knew, and maybe some of the bussers did, too. Delicious selection.

P.S. I spent some time conceiving (and I guess I’m not the first) a Men’s Brunch. Probably wouldn’t start until at least noon or 1pm. No servers necessary, as it’d be a generous buffet, filled with scrambled eggs with cheese, omelettes with peppers and onions (probably the entirety of the vegetable portion right there), brat sausages, chocolate covered waffles and strawberry cheesecake (for fruit nutrition). There would be no need for people to wait for equal shares before anyone got seconds. Tables would be decorated last minute with car parts and empty soda cans, and guests would be surrounded by flatscreen TV’s airing sports. Dressing up would be NOT encouraged. Speaker would be Kurt Warner, discussing how the new Batman Begins movie series addresses spiritual warfare. I guess I’ll have to pass this along Larry and Rob . . .