If you don't think it's funny, then I'm guessing you've either never been to a church that's like this, or you're currently a happy attender of a church like this. ;-)
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.
oy vey... I laughed, but... oy vey...
ReplyDeleteIs it a trailer for an actual film? Or just a parody of newer service formats done as a trailer?
ReplyDelete*touches nose*
ReplyDeleteit's vaguely true of some 'services' I have been part of in the past
ReplyDeletebut overly cynical [in my opinion], as this is not communicating any good that happens in those times, or the actual words spoken and sung, so is not a true depiction, or that the Holy Spirit is often really changing hearts..so I am wary of this kind of humour, in wanting to be fair...even though I don't have much desire to be part of the programmed stuff any more..
[but, to be honest, I think it would help my kids, and other teens and twenties and early 30's...and also newer Christians]
I won't knock the stages I have passed through and found growth through
i think i'm the opposite. i love poking fun at the stages i went through. especially when they're culture/time based. it's kinda like looking back through old photos of me in bell bottoms and angel sleeves. i think it's ok to poke fun at the fashion while not at all demeaning the good that the clothes did (in keeping me covered and warm). in the same way i think that poking fun at our means of connecting to God, especially when it's so tied in to where our culture is today, is helpful in making us realize that it's the connecting to God that's important, not the dark framed glasses and the breathy worship leader with the cool powerpoint going on behind him.
ReplyDeletebut would anyone say that whatever stage we're in now, has nothing to do with any culture?
ReplyDeleteit's just not possible...cultural things [like electronic instruments, for example], are just vehicles to convey spiritual messages...just as timbrels were, and organs etc
this applies to all kinds of singing that humans are involved in and use, to worship God...
so the content, words,and Spirit are the real key, not the form of the vehicle...
otherwise, if we 'despise the day of small things' we can lose the childlike spirit we need, and appear [or feel, subconsciously] 'all-knowing' and superior, regarding those things..
when they could be really helping someone grow closer to God
I've gone back to even re-liking some childhood Sunday school choruses, because my spirit is open to God through them
but it's like I'm doing that without chucking out some things of the past, such as congregational gatherings where a lot of contemporary music is used
there is a programming that happens to 'services' that are not even contemporary [as the above video was mocking], but more 'traditional,' many fall into it...
especially when they have the set 2 hours, or so
so it's not the domain of young, 'modern' type churches
definitely true. but i think the older forms of worship have been made fun of for ages now. since we've got new material, it's time to chew on the new stuff. ;-)
ReplyDeletei think the key is that we always be willing to approach God in various ways and not just in the one "right" way (which just happens to be the same way we've always worshipped and feel most comfortable worshipping in). if we insist that our way is the right way, then we're putting ourselves before God.
there's a church here in fort collins that for a long time had a sign out front that said, "we're not like your parents church." i thought, what a horrible thing to define yourself by what you're not, and to put down a means of worship that has been helpful and good for an older generation. the problem is that there are personality types who want things to always stay the same, and they need to be willing to accept some change for the sake of others. and there are others who always want to be new and different, and they need to learn to value the old ways as well, for the sake of others.
I find that there is a kind of 'political correctness' that seems to exempt them from that, for some reason
ReplyDeleteI should say that this was posted on another site I read at..
and a few of the responses posted there said it better [maybe] than I did [and these are from inter-church people..not fundies at all]
"Is it any worse than formulaic traditional church services?
We could parody the Bells and smells of high church, or the set responses of many traditional churches."
[Salvation Army and free church...unity with all in Christ - Christian]
"I don't particularly like that sort of thing, certainly not now, but each to their own. I cannot see the point of videos taking the mick out of other people's beliefs. However we go about worship, it will seem strange to someone else."
[Catholic]
"Obviously I'm probably too liberal, but I do think that God can work through any setting or service and because we are all individuals we will all prefer different services through which to experience God; whether that be a 'contemperary' service, traditional smells and bells, a very minimilist plain service, some mixture, etc. Just because *we* have a preference does not mean that our choice is better than any other, or indeed is the only one that God ordains."
[raised RC, but open to evangelical, and a very intelligent [but also childlike, spiritually] online friend]
or a younger generation
ReplyDeletewhich is my point
is this not being just the same, in a critical way?
no. one is putting another generation's style down entirely. the other is making fun of their own style of worship.
ReplyDeletethis video is a great example of not taking ourselves, or our worship styles, too seriously.
the sign in front of the church is a great example of pushing away from something just to be different.
that's two different things in my opinion. laughing at ourselves is healthy, i think. thinking we're better because we're not someone or something else is unhealthy (also my opinion, of course).
in fact, you could say that the video is a great example of not taking the style of worship too seriously and the sign is a great example of taking the style of worship far too seriously. i think there's far more danger in the latter than the former.
ok
ReplyDeleteI just felt there was something to learn...on either side of thinking about this [and those who truly know me will know that I am NOT for this programmed style of things - 'modern or Traditional', and have been out of it for over 7 years]
but from what I have learned, in 27 years of being an adult Christian, I had to speak up
I shall withdraw
not sure where you've seen that attitude - I haven't come across it. I've seen plenty of fun being poked at the older, more traditional styles of worship, by people who talk as though anything that's old-fashioned is bad, stuffy, etc... so I think it's healthy to poke a bit of fun at the newer ways too, lest we all take ourselves and our worship styles too seriously.
ReplyDeletelooks like this has been removed. here's a copy on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys4Nx0rNlAM
ReplyDelete