What Would Jesus Watch At The Comedy Festival?

Last night I had the privilege of watching our perennial favourite comedian, Andrew McClelland, perform his hilarious hour long show, Truth Be Told, at the Victoria Hotel. He is a master story teller, who dresses in a flamboyant gentleman's standard and employs liberal doses of wit with expansive vocab to tell entertaining stories from history and his own life.

The WWJD wristband fad of the late 90s

In one section of his show, he referred to a book, What Would Jesus Eat, which he amusingly suggests has the worst title for a book behind celebrity food critic, Matt Preston's latest book which is called Cravat-a-Licious. This book title reminded me of the late 90's Christian fad of wearing WWJD woven wristbands which had two apparent purposes: a) to remind the wearer of their imperative to behave in a Christ-like manner; and b) to act as a point-of-interest when talking with a curious non-Christian, because Christians seemed to lack any other conversational strategy to inform the non-Christian of their faith viewpoint. The WWJD bandwagon has since expanded out to dieting, commercialization of society, music and parody.

On reflection, the question of "What would Jesus do?" always seemed a little strange to me. On one hand, Christians already have an understanding of their moral imperative through the Spirit, as the Apostle Paul writes:

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16

On the other hand, (albeit facetiously), it seems improbable to consider the moral ramifications of 21st century choices based on the life of a 1st century Jewish insurgent. Eg. Should I buy a Prius, plant 15 trees, drink fair-trade-coffee or drop a few coins in the hat of the busker that I sang along with as I walked by?

For me, the key problem with the WWJD meme is that it paints the world in a far too simplistic mold, with the proposition that every choice has a clear delineation between good and evil. Jesus himself hung out with the prostitutes and drunkards (Luke 7:34), an action that clearly challenges most modern Christian notions of acceptable behaviour. Therefore, I think that most choices require wisdom, research, consultation with scripture and careful consideration of the facts. Even then, I'm willing to bet that the 'right' action will not be immediately evident.

Which brings me to my original question: what would Jesus watch at the comedy festival? Most Christians I know are too wary of the comedy festival, let alone to even consider which comedian they might watch. Watching the Comedy Gala on the TV is not a good way to sample the Festival.

I've been going to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for over 5 years and I have found it to be a worthwhile and entertaining experience. It's good to have a laugh and with discernment, you can find some really good acts that are relatively clean (probably no more dirty than what you would probably watch in a movie let's be honest). Obviously avoid the comedians whose posters contain words such as 'provocative', 'challenging', 'sexy' or 'Stephen K Amos'. Yes, Christianity can be comedic fodder, but perhaps we could learn something about not taking ourselves too seriously?

For those who are looking to dabble their noses into live, stand-up comedy for the first time, the Comedy Festival is featuring a show called Squeaky Clean Comedy. There is only two more shows left (15th and the 23rd), so check them out. Otherwise, be a little adventurous, do some research and go have a laugh!

St Johns Lutheran Church: Southgate

St Johns Lutheran Church, Southgate

Not surprisingly, the first church to visit on our journey was St Johns Southgate. Less than 10 minutes walk from our apartment, St Johns is a Lutheran church nestled amongst high-rise apartments, upmarket restaurants and next to the cultural heart of Melbourne, the Arts Centre. 

The building, dwarfed by its surroundings, is unremarkable and quaint from the outside, but stepping inside reveals a modern chapel with a main assembly hall that is sunk below the street level. The ultra white walls and interesting angles provide good reflective surfaces for the sun to stream through the windows high above, creating an open and airy environment for what could have been a tight and narrow space. A huge cross hangs in the middle of the wall immediately behind the altar, with a generous purple cloth draped across its wooden beams. 

The crowd was a curious mix of late twenty somethings, urban professionals, a couple of young families and a cohort of grey-heads – a mix which is probably reflective of the Southbank demographic generally. Most are well groomed in a conservative style. The large organ pipes, the dress of the Pastor and the prominence of the communion altar give signals that this church follows a more traditional liturgical style. 

St Johns has three advertised services each Sunday: a 9am traditional; an 11am contemporary; and a 7pm youth orientated service. We chose the 11am for convenience and because 'contemporary' sounded more fitting with our style. However, the service was contemporary by 1960s standards and featured several routines that would have appeared more in keeping with a Catholic church service than my perceived idea about what the Lutheran style is. 

Lasting a bit over an hour long, the service speedily whipped through a highly prescriptive worship that required congregational responses, frequent standing up and sitting down, and praying set prayers projected on the screen. The music was provided by a sleek grand piano that emanated a rich sound around the chapel, while the lyrics flirted between strict theology and being overly flowery.

Communion was an interesting affair, with parishioners invited to kneel before the altar as the common cup and wafers were passed around. The language reflected a sombre and humble understanding of the cross and the air was thick with doctrinal terminology. Bible readings were taken from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Gospels with the NIV picking up the translation work. 

The sermon theme was appropriate for the season of Lent in keeping with the lead-up to Easter. It focused on the reality of death for all and hope that Christ provides for new life eternally and on Earth. It was delivered from the pulpit with a serious tone and used real-world analogies to focus the message. Most surprising however, was the 'reflection' time immediately after the sermon, which allowed the congregation to comment on, and engage with the Pastor about the sermon. Most of the attendees seemed happy to sit quietly in their pews, while one guy asked a challenging theological question that was deftly handled by the Pastor. 

The service concluded with a range of announcements that seemed befitting of a town meeting and they indicated a vibrant and active church community with several prominent ministries. A bring-a-bake lunch was provided, but we chose not to stick around. 

The verdict? A solid theological church that is catering to the Southbank crowd, but the overly prescriptive nature of the service is probably not for our palate.

Evidence-based faith and Lazarus

It was interesting to re-read the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Obviously it was a significant miracle and John devotes quite a few verses to covering the story. It was only at the end of the narrative that this section caught my attention:

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
John 11:40-45 

I think this section fascinating because Jesus seems to have performed the miracle as a demonstration of his divinity with the aim of convincing the watching crowd that his ideas were more than just merely conceptual.

Within our scientific and educated context today, I wonder if Jesus performed this miracle down at local Melbourne morgue what the response would be from the onlookers/media/commentators? Would the evidence of the miracle propel people towards faith in God?

Therefore, it would seem from this account of Lazarus that Christ does not expect blind-faith. He appears to acknowledge the human desire for evidence, much in the same vein that the Psalmist writes:

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8

Tribe: Church For The Irreligious

Having heard whispers about this new concept for a Christian community, it was exciting to see that Tribe Church has officially launched! Dave and Emma have done a terrific job in deconstructing current expressions of church and then reshaping to fit a truly modern and relevant frame.

The tagline of 'church for the irreligious' gives an insight into this intriguing project and I'm looking forward to visiting sometime in the future.

Check out the concept, shot in a Trouble With Paris style:

TRIBE Launch from Tribe Church for the Irreligious on Vimeo.

New Beginnings

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

A short synopsis:

I grew up in Healesville and for about 13 years I attended a local church called Liberty Family Church. This is a community orientated, pentecostal church that specialised in grass roots Christian living. It was a fantastic church to grow up in and when employment and the hot blonde came along and I moved to Werribee, I felt that I had a faith that was practical with considered theological underpinnings.

In Werribee, we immediately connected in with an even smaller, pentecostal church called New Generation City Church. This church was extremely friendly and had a great understanding of fellowship. Over the 5 years that we attended, the church grew significantly and with the addition of new members, the church had to move locations three times. The church featured a wide demographic (culturally and chronologically) and we met some great people.

However, that season has just concluded.

For various reasons, my wife and I felt it was time for a move, so we packed our life into a moving truck and rented a renovated, NY-loft-style apartment in Southbank. While the new residence is within commutable distance from New Gen, it was mutually felt that a spiritual move was required as well. This opinion was sparked by: a long-held predilection for local, community churches that within an immediacy of one's abode; a desire for a less pentecostal flavour; and the opportunity to reignite a sometimes stagnant faith that is seemingly endemic to the late twenty-something, university educated crowd.

Therefore:

Having been a Christian for approximately 18 years and only experienced a limited number of churches, I would like to make the most of this new season and gain a broader understanding of the wider spectrum of Christian thought and expression. I believe a well-balanced faith would take account of the 2000 years of Christianity that has managed to thrive despite conflict, persecution and corruption. This narrative is found in the various denominations and expressions that at some point in time were an off-shoot from mainstream Christendom, in response to new and exciting theological differences.

I want to explore these differences and discover God's wider purpose for the church, ecumenically speaking.

This blog will serve as a reflection point for this journey.