Viral marketing, viral video…… you’ve probably heard someone using those terms. If you haven’t, or if you’re unsure of their meaning, when something goes viral it simply means that is replicates and spreads quickly and exponentially… like a virus. Thanks originally to email, and now to YouTube and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, we’ve all seen the power of viral marketing and viral video, even if some didn’t know what it was. Some of you might remember the Peanut Butter Jelly video that was popular several years ago, the dancing baby from Ally McBeal or the fat kid lip-syncing Numa, Numa. A more recent example would be the JK Wedding Entrance Dance that was posted on YouTube last month. A friend of mine sent me the link in a Facebook message, I posted it on Twitter and Facebook, several of my friends posted it on their sites, etc., etc., until within a few days it was everywhere. As of right now, exactly one month after being posted on YouTube, the video has over twenty million views. What was originally just a video of someone’s wedding entrance is now among the top 100 most viewed YouTube videos of all time!

Anyways, this got me thinking; we as people are viral. Our attitudes are viral, our passions are viral. We all know this – we’ve all had that situation where everything was going good, but all it took was that one person saying that one thing to us and from that point on the day was ruined. On the other hand, we’ve all had one of those days where nothing seems to be going right but all it took was one person to smile or say something encouraging and suddenly things seemed to turn around. So I was lying in bed early this morning thinking about Jesus and how everywhere he went he was speaking life into people. Jesus changed lives not through law, but through love. John 3:16 doesn’t say if you accept Christ, God will love you. It says because God loves us He sent Christ to us. Jesus loved people where they were at and that love was so infectious it caused them to love, and then to change. Because even a child knows that merely saying “I love you” isn’t the same as showing it through your actions and life. As the old DC Talk song says, “Luv is a verb.” The early church didn’t have any fancy marketing strategies to advance the message of Christ; no TV/radio commercials, no podcasts, no websites, no million dollar buildings. Nothing to draw people in, except love. What began as just a sect of Judaism is now the largest religion in the world, and originally is spread from person to person through love.

Yet Christianity is now hemorrhaging followers. Instead of growing it is shrinking year over year. Why is that?

Rolling Hills Baptist Church sells property to help community.

I’ve posted that link on Twitter several times but thought I should put it on here as well. It’s still messing me up.

This is the church BEING the church; realizing it’s not about a building or time frame, but about community with God, each other and the world.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said “…on this rock I will build my church…”; later in Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”. In the original text, the word we translate as nations is the Greek word ethos, which can be interpreted as both bordered territories and ethnicities. I think too often we interpret that scripture as going to third-world countries, yet how many “nations” are represented in the United States alone? I’m all for sending missionaries to other countries, but if we interpret Matthew 28:19 literally doesn’t that imply we’re all missionaries? You may not be called to China, but what about your place of employment?

Another problem I’ve seen (and participated in, so I’m pointing the finger at myself) is so-called “outreach ministries”. Again, instead of being salt and light in our world, we convince a group of people in the local church that it’s their ministry to go into the community and “reach out”, which usually has nothing to do with serving or love. Shaun King (pastor of The Courageous Church in Atlanta, GA) posted something on his Facebook page that really intrigued me. His wife was getting her hair done and her stylist asked, “Does your church have an outreach ministry?”, to which Shaun’s wife replied, “No. Our church IS the outreach ministry.” That’s what Rolling Hills Baptist Church is doing; they’re (literally) putting their money where their mouth is by assisting those in their community who need something more important than an expensive building. Not that I’m against comfortable seats and concert level PA systems – I’m actually very much in support of all that. I believe Christ has called us to excellence in ministry. But when a church puts its WANTS and WISHES above the NEEDS of the community God called it to LOVE and SERVE, there is a problem.

Tony Morgan once asked, “If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would your community notice?” In the case of Rolling Hills I believe so, because their “church” isn’t about the building they meet in, it’s about people showing people the love of Christ.

For those who haven’t seen my Twitter or Facebook stream the past few days, I purchased Derek Webb’s new album Stockholm Syndrome. Derek is one of the founding members of the popular CCM group Caedmon’s Call and a few years ago decided to branch out into a solo career. I’ve never really listened to Caedmon’s Call or his solo stuff, but I was intrigued so I figured I’d buy it. Especially considering it’s the first explicit release from Christian label INO.

Anyways, like most people, I do most of my listening while driving. So I burned the album to disc and popped it into the CD player this morning before heading to work. I’d already listened to some of the album at home, but driving to work it felt like Derek was giving me a kick in the teeth on two songs in particular – Freddie, Please and The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum.

Freddie, Please is blatantly directed at those who judge homosexuals (NOT homosexual behavior) and one line in particular really stood out to me:

“How could you do this to me?
How can you tell them you love me,
when you hate me?

After doing a little research I discovered this morning that the song is in reference to Fred Phelps, the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church. The guy who has become infamous for the “God hates fags” pickett signs and website and also for protesting soldiers’ funerals.

The other song, The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum is the one that really was a kick to the face. It’s in reference to a Rich Mullins quote where people would come up to Mullins after concerts and say, “Wow! The Holy Spirit really moved at that certain point in the song,” and Mullins would respond, “No actually, that’s where the kick drum and the bass came in.” Three lines in the song say all that needs to be said about the Christian subculture:

“I don’t want the Father; you know I want a vending machine.
I don’t want the Son; you know I want a jury of peers.
I don’t want the Spirit; you know I want a kickdrum.”

So, I can’t wait to get off work just so I can listen to more of the album.

In my last post I wrote about how the Christian church in America is dividing itself by arguing over the little things and not focusing on the big picture, which is the fact that Jesus is the redeemer for ALL who choose to follow Him. I used the example of a quote from Tony Campolo where he said:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids dies of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said ‘shit’ than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

The sad thing is, Campolo is right. Unless it directly affects us, we don’t care. Think about it; there are several orginizations which offer the ability to sponsor children in 3rd world nations for around $30 a month. Yet how many of us do that? And don’t think I’m judging you; I’m just as guilty as the next person. But say you’re living paycheck to paycheck and literally cannot afford $30 a month (because that might be a tank of gas for you); can’t you at least show some compassion?

So this brings me to the supposedly controversial new song by Derek Webb called What Matters More.

I say supposedly controversial because the only reason it is considered to be controversial is Webb is a Christian artist (Caedmon’s Call). If he were not a top 40 CCM artist, the “Christian” community wouldn’t even know about this song. But maybe that’s why God gave this song to him instead of John Mayer or Kanye West, because coming from a Christian artist makes it hard for us Christians to ignore.

You say you always treat people like you like to be
I guess you love being hated for your sexuality
You love when people put words in your mouth
‘Bout what you believe, make you sound like a freak

‘Cause if you really believe what you say you believe
You wouldn’t be so damn reckless with the words you speak
Wouldn’t silently consent when the liars speak
Denyin’ all the dyin’ or the remedy

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

If I can tell what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about
It looks like being hated for all the wrong things
Like chasin’ the wind while the pendulum swings

‘Cause we can talk and debate until we’re blue in the face
About the language and tradition that he’s comin’ to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit
About 50,000 people who are dyin’ today

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

The point of the song is pretty clear to me – instead of reaching out to those who are fighting HIV/AIDS, the Christian community has demonized homosexuals. In the book unChristian (authored and edited by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons), Shayne Wheeler of All Souls Fellowship contributed this:

“During the Alexandrian plague (third century), Christians risked their lives in caring for the sick, taking a posture of grace that said, ‘I am here for you. I may die, but you will not be alone.’ The church embodied the gospel and the message was not forgotten. In the 1980′s, the AIDS epidemic hit the gay community. Otherwise healthy men were dying and nobody knew why. The only link seemed to be their sexuality. The church had opportunity to again speak grace and instead spewed venom. Rather than showing compassion, we self-righteously proclaimed God’s judgment. The message came through loud and clear. It was the wrong message. And it was not forgotten.”

After sharing a personal story, Wheeler goes on by saying,

“The Bible is clear: homosexual practice is inconsistent with Christian discipleship. But there is not a special judgment for homosexuals, and there is not a special righteousness for heterosexuals. For all of us, our only hope for the fracture in our soul is the cross of Christ.”

In the same chapter Kinnaman and Lyons make a great point:

“It is one thing to be against homosexuality, to affirm that the Bible rejects the practice of same-sex lifestyles, but it is another to be against homosexuals, to let your disagreement with their behavior spill out in your feelings and words toward them as people.”

Yet how many of us have done just that?

Just the other day a friend of mine was looking at my Facebook page and noticed I am friends with someone who is openly gay. Their response – “You’re friends with ___________?”. I responded by asking “Well yeah; is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”. They responded with “Isn’t he gay?”.

Sad.

Back to the Derek Webb song; I think Derek is telling us we can continue to be part of the problem, or we can change and be part of the solution. Change doesn’t mean we stop preaching what the Bible says; change means we see a need, and despite our differences with those in need, we work to meet that need. Millions of people die every year as a result of HIV/AIDS; we can either do something about it, or we can continue to hide in our churches and talk about the “gay agenda”. Isn’t that what James 1:22 is all about; don’t just hear, but get off your butt and do?