"Guess who's back? Back again. Cotton's back. Tell a friend."

As some of you may recall, several months ago Doug Cotton was removed from his church Christian Life Fellowship on charges of abuse. Many of Mr. Cotton's parishoners felt he behaved in an inappropriate manner, and they convinced the elders of CLF to remove Cotton from his pastoral position.

Mr. Cotton felt wrongly ousted and went to Minister Fellowship International, asking for their help.  Wendell Smith, who is the co-chairman of MFI,  threatened to sue the church if they did not re-instate Mr. Cotton.

The elders balked, and a reader offers this insight into what happened next:

Subsquently, Wendell held a meeting with the CLF elders. During the meeting he asked the elders to trust him. When it was pointed out that he threatened to sue the church and the elders individually, he admitted his threats were a bluff.

Now, according to this same reader, MFI is going to re-instate Cotton in a new church in Gray's Harbor.

I don't have a problem with Doug Cotton starting another church. If he can convince people to follow him, than so be it.

I do, however, have a problem with MFI backing an abusive pastor over the church elders and its members.  I am rather surprised that some ministers continue to maintain membership in MFI, an association that puts power over accountability. (Yeah, I'm talking about you Bob MacGregor).

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Doug Cotton be able to convince the residents of Gray's Harbor that he's changed? Will anyone in MFI ever stand-up to Wendell Smith?

Stay tuned.

I wasted a lot of time in high-school listening to youth pastors.

That's the lesson I took away from GC Pastor Wes Dunn's recent 40 minute diatribe errr sermon he called  Five Lessons on Authority. 

Here they are:  

1. Ask for help and listen
2. Surround yourself with authority who will help you get where you want
3. Learn to be teachable
4. Allow leaders to come in and cut away things
5. Honor your parents

Yeah, doesn't make much sense to me either. And Mr. Dunn spent the majority of that sermon telling stories about food. Which, of course, led me to imagine a rather portly Mr. Dunn huffing and puffing around the stage.

But here are a few random unrelated thoughts  I took away, while the preacher weighed the pro's and con's of using a simmering sauce over a dipping sauce: 

- The GC folk call their small groups, "Cadre's". This is, to put it mildly, lame. It is clearly one of those words the pastoral staff thought up, and then convinced all the kids that it was a normal word, and so it no longer sounds weird to them. But to me, listening to it for the first time, it sounds kind of creepy. Like, "Let's go out in the woods  and drink Kool-Aid" creepy.

- Mr. Dunn compares getting a tattoo to circumcision. He says they're the same. hmmm. At the risk of revealing to much info, I will admit that I have no personal experience with tattoos or circumcision. I will say; however, that given a choice, I will take a tattoo EVERY FREAKING TIME. I will take getting an intricate life-size portrait of the Mona Lisa tattooed all over my back, before I let anyone get close to me with a circumcision knife.

That's just, you know, an fyi.

- As in all sermons involving authority, Mr. Dunn tells the kids they need to let their leaders cut out certain parts of their life.

(He says this after the Tattoo/circumcision comparison. So I'm wincing and reaching down to protect myself from any hypothetical circumcisions that might take place at my desk.) 

And in all such "authority sermons", the aspects of life that need to be cut out are relationships and music. However, Mr. Dunn also includes an interesting twist and ads clothes as something to be cut out, leading to this statement:

Have you ever heard God say, "Get rid of those Jeans, I don't like them?"

WHAT!?!

"Um, No. I haven't. Because I'm NOT CRAZY."

Mr. Dunn ends the lesson with some soft piano music playing in the background and a prayer.

I felt manipulated in high-school listening to these sermons. And I feel manipulated now. Seriously, it was a waste of my time.

Here is something interesting from the Snohomish County Business Journal.

Trinity Lutheran College is relocating and…

Money for the relocation will come from the $23.5 million sale of Trinity’s current campus to The City Church of Kirkland. The college must move by 2009 under that agreement.

This is nice addition to their Capitol Hill rowhouse. And it will be like two bookends of prosperity keeping our country together.

The Seattle Newspaper that reviewed several Seattle churches a couple weeks ago, recently received this letter from the Church Council in response to their article:

Dear Stranger Editor,

I’ve now spoken to several pastors whose congregations were featured as part of your “Month of Sundays” article. Most of the pastors are disappointed, some are hurt, others are angry. Would it be possible to have a meeting with Dan Savage and other Stranger executives so we could discuss this and other issues? My hope is that it would be possible to build a more positive relationship between congregations in Seattle and The Stranger newspaper, and I believe a meeting could help. It looks to me like we could gather ten or more pastors of the churches you covered and that a meeting might be very helpful to us all.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to your response.

Rev. Sandy Brown
Executive Director
Church Council of Greater Seattle

To which the editor responds:

Dear Sandy,

I don’t see the point of a meeting. Anyone upset by “Month of Sundays” is welcome to send a letter, which we will publish. But a sit-down to discuss “this and other issues”? Can you be more specific about what those “other issues” are? And how a meeting would be helpful to you? I certainly don’t see how it would be helpful to us.

The package stands on its own: some of the pieces were respectful, some were irreverent.

I’m frequently disappointed, hurt, and angered by things that are said by pastors in churches all over Seattle. I doubt very much that Seattle pastors would be willing to sit down with me once a week to “discuss” their most recent sermons simply because I was disappointed, hurt, or angry.

It wouldn’t occur to me to ask for such a meeting, however, because I recognize that Seattle pastors have a right to say whatever they like. I trust that Seattle pastors recognize that we have a right to publish whatever we like.

Sincerely,

Dan Savage
Editor
The Stranger

Couldn't have said it better myself.

(A tip of the cap to C-Sneth)

A weekly alternative newspaper in Seattle called The Stranger reviewed 20 churches in Seattle.  Here are their thoughts on the City Church.

City Church, Belltown

2700 First Ave

Sunday services: 9:30 am, 11:30 am

www.thecity.org

How do you run a four-campus megachurch with just two pastors? Hold one service and simulcast the video at all the others.

That's the operating principle behind City Church, which has campuses in Belltown, University District, Issaquah, and Kirkland. Every Sunday, in other words, City Church's thousands of members get together… to watch TV.

This can, for obvious reasons, be disorienting for a newcomer. At Sunday's 11:30 a.m. Belltown service, it took me a few minutes to figure out that the woman onscreen (Pastor Gini, a slim blonde in a hot-pink suit with white piping) was not, in fact, in the room. Weirder still, the virtual pastors could see their audiences around the city. As in watch on monitors. As in, "Stand up, Belltown! I can see you!"

Like many megachurches, City Church's canon is Fundamentalist and dogmatic. They believe Adam and Eve existed, literally; they think God created the world in seven days around 6,000 years ago; they think Satan is real and lives in a fiery place called Hell; and you can probably guess how they feel about the gays.

City Church's Fundamentalism, however, probably isn't the reason most of its members have chosen to go there. It's a friendly, laid-back, nonchurchy environment (no band; no organ; and certainly no icky crucifixes)—the kind of church, in other words, popular among urban youth. When Pastor Judah, a beaming thirtysomething with heavily styled hair and hipsterish horn-rimmed glasses, made a particularly salient point (this Sunday's sermon was about Saul, who drew the wrath of God when he saved the spoils of battle to sacrifice instead of destroying them) half the room raised their right hands (yeah, like that) and shouted. "Come on, come on!" "Tell it!" "That's right!"

City Church is thus the ultimate intersection of religion and technology: A closed feedback loop between pastor and flock.

A much kinder review than this blog has ever given.

(Tip of the cap to vacationing Chris Snethen.)

Teapot,

Per your request, I listened to Judah Smith's sermon titled "Mistaken Love" and will now share my thoughts:

It was way, way, way too long. You failed to mention that it was an hour plus sermon…and I also would have appreciated you mentioning that I could skip the first 20 minutes of it because he didn't have a single useful thing to say during that time.

He did however mention that everyone should enjoy when his wife speaks because she is so good to look at every single minute. Now Judah, I understand what you are trying to do here which is compliment your wife (a wise thing to do, albeit slightly over done by EVERY SINGLE YOUTH PASTOR IN AMERICA), the problem is that you also spend so much time preaching on purity that it seems slightly odd you would encourage young people to check out your wife. I realize this was not his intention, but still…it left me wondering.

Mistaken Love is the appropriate title for this sermon. In it Judah tried very hard (and very long) to tell us why it is important to "be good" because we love God and each other, and NOT because we have to. This, in itself, can be a great and powerful sermon. I really wish I could say that Judah got this right. Unfortunately, this was probably the most disturbing sermon I have heard in quite awhile.

Judah starts by discounting "grace" in saying that so many of his youth think "Grace is Grease…it can get you out of anything" and then goes into the reason we NEED to be so good is out of love for God (and by goes into, I mean takes 45 minutes talking about seemingly nothing before getting to his point…lots of stories…lots of voices…I still love his voices).

Judah is right, we should "Be Good" because of our love for God, but he fails to tell us WHY we should love God. Which is because He sent His Son to die on the Cross bearing our sins, so that when we screw up…and we all screw up…we don't have to suffer the consequences of our sins (hell) because Jesus covered them for us. And on top of it all He doesn't demand anything from us other than belief in Him, because He knows we can't handle it…you see the real point should have been: WE CAN"T BE GOOD ENOUGH…but we don't have to be, Grace really is Grease. It really will get you through all your mess ups. That is a powerful message.

But Judah doesn't seem to want to talk about the Grace of God and I would guess that could be because of one or two reasons:

One:

Judah doesn't really understand the Gospel of Jesus and despite the fact that he could spout off the same things I have just said, it isn't real to him (I lived this way for many many years. It's one of the reasons I blog). He knows Jesus saved him, but he still needs to "do the right thing" so that he can feel worthy of the Love of God. Judah, Jesus loves you, regardless of anything you might do. He will always love you, and you know what? HE died for you, while you were still a sinner. He didn't wait for you to change, He didn't dangle salvation in front of you like a carrot; baiting you to be good so that you could earn His love, NO. He just loves you.

or Two:

Judah is afraid that if he preached the true Gospel that everyone would realize it has nothing to do with how much you read your Bible, how much you Pray, how big your youth group is, how many conferences you get invited to…we are all the exact same: SINNERS. And damn it Judah, there is only one thing we can do about it. Accept the gift that Christ offers. (Judah, by the way, tells everyone these same things…but yet he still misses the point)

Judah may realize that being a "Holy Man of God", like he so often claims to be, doesn't mean anything. Judah is a sinner just like the rest of us (it only takes one sin to be a sinner). The true Gospel is offensive, it tells us that God was the one who chose us and we had nothing to do with it. It makes us powerless, despite what we may want to do, despite how good we may act, despite how many times we shower, it is entirely up to God. God chose me just like God chose Judah…it is very humbling, imho.

Judah completely misses the point in the 1 hour and 10 minutes of preaching where he is real close yet so far away. He ends by listing things he doesn't do, which to no one's surprise were: Going to R-Rated movies, Drinking, and Whistling at Pretty Girls as they walk by (he seriously used that as an example). He claims to do all these things because he: loves God, loves his wife, loves people, and loves little Billy.

Ah yes, little Billy. Judah used Billy in 2 of the 3 examples: Imagine if little Billy sees you walking out of an R-Rated movie. Maybe God has released you to see R-Rated movies, maybe the sex in movies has no effect on you, but imaging walking out and seeing little Billy (who's dad got him hooked on porn at the age of 11). What are you going to say to little Billy? See you on Sunday?

Also, Judah doesn't drink. You may call that legalistic (personally I prefer to call it religious, but whatever) but Judah says it's holy. And it's because he loves little Billy. Here, as best as I can remember it, is what Judah had to say about drinking (to be read in your best southern accent):

"People say to me, Judah, Why don't you drink? Jesus turned water into wine and you've been trying to turn it back to water ever since. Well I say…Shut up… Shut up."

"People say, Judah, is it ever Miller time for you? Is ‘this Bud' ever for you? And I say NO, because what happens when little Billy comes over. What do I tell him? Billy, do you want to try some Budwiser? Would you like some Miller time?"

Honestly, this sermon was the most religious - non religious sermon I have ever heard. Judah just doesn't quite get it and sadly I imagine there were a number of young teens listening that thought he had nailed it. Now all they have to do is figure out how to love God.

To sum up, Mistaken Love left this reviewer…cold.

I just caught this gem on the Generation Church website. (Yes, this blog is going "all Judah-all the time")

Generation Interns 2007/2008 

Have you heard about our Generation Intern Program? It’s a program that will train you to be the leader that you’ve always felt called to be! You will encounter other people that are as passionate for God as you are. Join the movement by applying for Generation Interns 07-08 and be prepared for a year of growth and transformation! All applications are due by July 15th. In order to waive the $50 dollar application fee turn it in by June 1st. (emphasis mine) Download the application on our website www.generationinterns.org or pick one up at the church offices!

WHAT? There's an application fee to become an intern!?! Are you kidding me? My office in DC is offering an internship program, and while you get to work for us for free, you also don't have to pay a dime, and you can earn college credit. (I'm lobbying for a 21 year old college female, preferrably she is from the University of Florida or the USC, some college in the South.)

Out of curiousity, I printed out the Generation Intern application. And um… well, the $50 fee is just the beginning. To be a church intern you have to pay the City Church $4,250. This boggles my mind. I checked the tuition fees for Washington State and UW, and it costs $2944 a year to attend Washington State and $3990 to attend UW.

So um, can someone explain to me why on earth you would pay a church to work for free and get zero college credit? I'm trying to give the City Church the benefit of the doubt, but this sounds like an incredible scam. 

eleytheria, recently made this comment in regard to Judah Smith (I believe):

Oh, if only you guys know how famous you were up in Seattle too.

One Sunday when I went there a couple months ago he said that he didn't care what some stupid blog said about him, he already read his Bible too many times to be convinced otherwise than what he knows about God.

I found this interesting in light of Pastor Judah Smith's recent "Flex" message, which I just listened to.

His message was about 30 minutes long, and while I couldn't really tell you what the essence of his sermon was there were 2 things that I picked up:

1. Judah thinks of himself as more "holy" than your average Christian (Cadre leader specifically) and that he is "the man of God"…it's funny how he manages to make it sound like someone else is calling him these things, but its a story that Judah is making up…anyway you can check that out at the 24min and 30sec part of his Flex sermon. It's actually a rather funny story, he uses a great Texas/Military accent, I honestly laughed while listening to it…he's a great public speaker, give his sermons some substance (maybe a touch more humility as well) and I'd be a big fan.

2. That the term "Flex" means you need to be able to receive correction and advice from all types of people… I guess this is what the sermon was supposed to be about, although its hard to tell for sure since what he mostly talked about was himself…he brings this up shortly following the story referenced above and also at the 20min mark.

To sum up: The message didn't make a lot of sense to me and although it was mildly entertaining I found it to be a waste of my time. However, if "Flex" means to be able to receive a "word" from anyone at anytime…then Judah needs to get back in front of that mirror (listen to the sermon and you'll understand).

And now I have a question for all of Judah's friends:

DOES PASTOR JUDAH SMITH OF THE CITY CHURCH IN SEATTLE HAVE A BET WITH ONE OF HIS FRIENDS THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO MENTION TAKING A SHOWER IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS SERMONS?

Every sermon I've heard of his recently has some reference to Judah in the shower, or near the shower, or not taking a shower…the shower is always mentioned. It's odd.

David Mackin writes in this great post: 

There are two meetings coming to town! Meeting #1 is Matt's meeting. Meeting #2 is Paul's meeting.
Which one do you plan to attend?  Here are the details:

Meeting #1:

"Matt McPherson is a highly successful entrepreneur who has been recognized by the Fortune 500 Magazine more than once. He is the owner of several thriving businesses including Matthews Bows, the world's largest archery bow maker. He is also an innovative designer of the-state-of-the-art McPherson Guitars, a name that has become synonymous with quality, integrity and inspiring music. Matt's testimony is that God is the giver of all wisdom and creative ideas, and he is quick to give God all the glory for incredible success." (from http://www.thecity.org/)

Meeting #2:

Marketplace Ministries Banquet
With Guest: Paul of Tarsus…
 
Tickets are not required. (The food has been donated by local brothers and sisters.)

Paul does not know how to make "archery bows or guitars." (He just makes tents and converts for Jesus.)

Paul is not a "millionaire." (He doesn't make enough money to support himself by making tents; at times, he needs believers send him money, too.)

Paul is not a "highly successful entrepreneur."  (He just makes tents because he can take his trade wherever he preaches the gospel of repentance.)

He has not founded any of the "world's largest" companies. (He just travels, preaches the forgiveness of sins and plants churches.)

He says that all of his "incredible success" in Judaism before he met Jesus is now just dung (Philippians 3:8).

He does not play the guitar. (He is not going to try to entertain you. He is just bringing some of his traveling companions who are also risking their lives to preach the Gospel (Romans 16:4). They are asking for greater boldness to preach the gospel. It's going to be a prayer meeting.

Just so you know, we don't make this stuff up. You might think Samaritan stayed up late one night putting this together but I swear, this is not us…

Here, for you viewing pleasure, is a video advertising…no…I'm not gonna spoil it (but Judah Smith is in it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoG3ENXg_kU&mode=related&search

And don't worry, this one's short.