:: Friday, April 18, 2003 ::
The main eventAnyone can be sentimental about the Nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you don't believe in the resurrection, you're not a believer.
Johnny, in John Irving's novel A Prayer for Owen Meany
:: Andrew 13:36 + ::
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:: Thursday, April 17, 2003 ::
It's the most wonderful time of the year...
It's that time of year again, when school children are coloring pictures of Jesus hanging from a cross, and shop owners fill their windows with gaily colored cutouts of the Flogging at the Pillar. In the malls everyone's humming along with seasonal hits on the sound system, like "O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded" (did you hear the Chipmunks' version?). Car dealers are promoting Great Big Empty-Tomb Size discounts on Toyotas.
Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Easter. Who hasn't been invited to an "In His Steps" party, where players move plastic pieces around a board emblazoned with a map of Jesus' last suffering day in Jerusalem?
Not me, for one. Somehow we just don't make the same boisterous fun of Holy Week that we do of Christmas. No one plans to have a holly jolly Easter.
From Merry Easter? by Frederica Mathewes-Green. Link via Bruderhof.
:: Andrew 07:37 + ::
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:: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 ::
Maundy Thursday
This post has nothing to do with the link above. My wife's boss met with her yesterday to tell her that their company is broke. (Which came as no surprise to Dy, since she's the company's secretary/bookkeeper/payroll administrator/office manager. She'd been trying to get him to reel in expenses for months.) He asked if she could go a couple of weeks without pay. She told him she could, and that she would even take a cut in pay. She called me yesterday afternoon, voice trembling, and said, "I kinda lost my job."
My wife is one of the best secretaries, bookkeepers and office administrators around. Her training is from the old school -- taking dictation, shorthand and all that -- but she's kept up with the times and taught herself the rudiments of website design and some graphic arts. (She manages and updates the company's website -- or did, anyway.) By the time she graduated high school, she had already decided that she wanted to pursue a career as a secretary. And she has. She worked for years for an insurance claims office that was downsized during a reorganization a dozen years ago, then went to work for a few years at the university. She hated it here. Too much bureaucracy. She much preferred a small-business environment. So when the guy who is her current boss, at the time a Ph.D. candidate in civil engineering at the university, started his own consulting firm a few years ago and asked her to join on, she was eager to do so. She's been working half-time in this position, and loves the extra time she has to piddle in the garden, shop (often for others), and work at our church relief mission. But her boss, though a terrific engineer, hasn't been the best manager. The company in some ways is a victim of its own success. It grew too fast, and he added on more staff than they were able to sustain in the long run.
So yesterday, he laid off two of the firm's three other engineers (one worked part time, the other has a wife expecting their third child), and told Dy (my wife) to take off the rest of the week and come in Monday. She's hurting right now. I would appreciate your prayers for her.
So many of us tie our identity and self-worth to what we do for a living. I know that I do. I am not sure what I would do if my boss were to drop a bomb on me like that. The consolation, perhaps, is that her boss told Dy, "I guess I should recommend that you find another job. But to be honest, if you quit then this business will definitely go under." He relies on Dy a lot.
Next Wednesday, by the way, is Administrative Professionals Day, formerly called Secretary's Day. Another politically correct holiday is upon us. Dy hates the new term. There's nothing the matter with being called a secretary. There's nothing the matter with being a secretary, for that matter. (It's interesting -- to me, at least -- that a PR guy, Harry F. Klemfuss of the ad agency Young and Rubicam, invented the day back in the '50s to encourage more women to become secretaries. Now the politically correct PR people see "secretary" as a demeaning term.)
For any bosses reading this, do my wife a favor and let your secretary know how much you value her contributions. For any secretaries (or administrative professionals) reading this, please know that, as the husband of one fantastic, organized, efficient secretary, I recognize and applaud the things you do, day in and day out, and know the crap you put up with.
:: Andrew 07:16 + ::
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Whose art is this?
Discovered this fascinating image of the crucifixion at Living Room:
I wonder who the artist is? I'm guessing it isn't Thomas Kincaid.
:: Andrew 09:11 + ::
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:: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 ::
A not-so-holy Holy Week story: Swearing off Christian music?
A group I've never heard of, Evanescence, is in trouble for using the "f"-word and other bad language. According to this CM Central news report, the group's label "officially recalled all Evanescence products from Christian stores, Christian radio, and Christian charts."
"Despite having roots within the Christian community prior to the release of Fallen," said Meltzer in the letter, "recent statements by band members have made it abundantly clear that Evanescence is a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment. No more, no less. As such we strongly feel that they no longer belong in Christian retail outlets. Despite the spiritual underpinning that has ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community, the band is now opposed to promoting or supporting any religious agenda. The decision to release Fallen into the Christian market was made subsequent to discussions with and approval by the artist. Obviously the band has had a change in their perspective, as well as changes within the band itself as relates to new band members. Wind-up deeply regrets this situation."
The "recent statements" that Meltzer speaks of is likely a reference to this week's edition of Entertainment Weekly, which has a feature article on the group. In the article, band member (and professing Christian) Ben Moody uses the "f"-word and takes Christ's name in vain multiple times.
Meltzer added: "I have no issues or problems with the band not wishing to promote a religious agenda. That is their opinion. How it has been handled is a separate issue. That being said, I do have a problem with misrepresenting the artist to the Christian community. ... I apologize for what has become an unfortunate and embarrassing situation. While I cannot go back and undo what has been done, going forward we will scrutinize our Christian artists' beliefs and commitment with even greater diligence."
Link via Holy Weblog!, who got it from Romenesko. No mention of the flap on the Evanescence website.
:: Andrew 08:57 + ::
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Thrown for a curve
I received this email today about my recent Next-Wave essay, "Contemporary Christian Baseball":
Professor Careaga,
I read your article online entitled "Contemporary Christian Baseball? [or Why should the Devil get all the good athletes?]" and I have a question: Are you serious? Because if you are, then COUNT ME IN!
I am the Sales & Marketing Manager for my father's company, Bibles-R-Us. We are a fairly young Bible and Christian literature superstore in Tennessee, and we are currently investigating unique and lucrative marketing opportunities. Could you forward to me any information you have regarding advertising within the CCB league? My father is a major league pitcher at heart, and I'm sure he'll love the idea! I look forward to hearing from you, and God bless you for what you are doing to redeem America's favorite pastime!
All I could think was: Oh. My. God.
Could someone actually think that this satirical piece was for real?
I composed this reply:
Dear _______:
Thanks for your note about "Contemporary Christian Baseball." The article was intended as satire. I apologize for any misperceptions I've caused by this article.
Grace and peace, and all God's best on your business venture. If I hear of any unique marketing ventures I'll let you know.
Andrew
P.S. - I'm not a professor (but thanks for the compliment)!
To which I received this response:
Andrew -
Thanks for your reply. Fortunately, I'm not a part of a business called "Bibles-R-Us", nor does one exist that I'm aware of. ... Your article was just so intriguing that we had to know for sure that you were joking... and boy are we glad you are.
Thanks for playing,
_______
Heh. That was a good one. She really had me going there. Talk about gullible Christians. :-)
:: Andrew 15:23 + ::
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:: Monday, April 14, 2003 ::
Credentials? We don't need no stinkin' credentials!
This being Holy Week in the Christian calendar (I guess the other 51 of the year are something less than holy), I've morphed my lectio divina exercises into longer readings, and have moved from random Psalms and other bits from the wisdom books to the final chapters of the Luke's Gospel, which I'm reading in The Message paraphrase. Yesterday and today's focus was on Luke 20, the chapter which follows Jesus' Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem.
The story begins with Jesus being confronted by Jerusalem's religious elite -- the "high priests, religion scholars, and leaders" who ask him to show his credentials for teaching. Where did you go to seminary, Jesus? Under whom did you study? What right do you have to teach in our temple?
Jesus didn't give squat about credentials. The religious leaders did care, of course. The legitimacy of their ministry, their status in the religious and political community, rested on their credentials, their education, their pedigrees.
We don't need credentials to enter the Kingdom of God. It's open to anyone. If anything, credentials could get in the way, as the apostle Paul discovered.
Listen to the words of Jesus:
"Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end." -- Luke 20:46-47 (The Message)
Wisdom is with the humble.
:: Andrew 08:00 + ::
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It must be Monday
Computers were down till 11 a.m. today. I'm snowed under. Blogging will have to wait.
Update (Tuesday, April 15): Yes, it was indeed a Monday. I wrote this note then in my haste forgot to post it. Selah.
:: Andrew 13:29 + ::
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Simon Dawes, 
