A Recent Conversation

I have been dialoging lately with someone about our different views of religion and worldviews. Here is an email I just sent him:

"I just want to give another thought about our previous discussion about worldviews. I imagine I come across as a bit sheltered and perhaps narrow minded. The fact is my first degree is in Religious Studies. That means I studied the major religions besides Christianity like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. I had courses in the sociology, anthropology and psychology of religion. I also took courses in world religions and philosophy. These were taken at California State University and taught by non-Christian professors. I have been exposed to and openly explored what worldviews are available. Based on our conversations I am assuming you are a theosophist (though you may not know it) since you believe in a god and that there is truth of him in most if not all religions.

I tend toward the rational side so I look for logic in my belief system too. In my academic studies and personal experience I can tell you that Christianity is philosophically and intellectually superior to anything else out there. Only Christian theism can answer life's questions in a consistent and rationale manner.

So I do not hold my beliefs based on a sheltered life, on the contrary I am quite the shopper and look for the best deals. I have checked out the competition and nothing even comes close to being a Christian (unless you are willing to give up rational thought). Just wanted to let you know where I'm comin' from."

I don't think this is too in your face, but it does let him know my point of view. What do ya think?

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Positive Mental Attitude

No posts here for a while. To sum up what is happening in my life- I have had a tremendous turn around due to changing my attitude and being more positive. The exact opposite of the cartoon here:










I wouldn't say I have the "believe in myself" philosophy, but I do have the "believe in God's belief in doing something with my life" philosophy. Very cool.

I decided to launch CMP University and was able to do it and get 23 beta testers in about 5 weeks. That has opened other doors and I am basking in the possibilities as I let God show me what can happen when I trust him and take chances.

I think what happened with Will was incredible, but I will wait until he decides to tell you about it.

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Web 2.0- First 25K

According to Feld Thoughts, the first 25K are early adopters and don't represent how your product will do in the mainstream.

I don't disagree, but would take 25K any day, especially if they enrolling in CMP University.

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The Evil Empire Strikes Back

File Under: Tidbit

Score one for Disney: The Evil Empire Strikes Back

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Will's Monkey

File Under: Special Request




Dude, this is the best I can find...

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The Real Christianity

File Under: Tidbit

Forget the DaVinci Code- this comic shows what a lot of people truly believe about Christians and the Church (Warning- some mildly explicit language):

Bigger Than Cheeses - My webcomic will knife fight your webcomic

What are you doing to enhance or dispel these perceptions?

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Marketing The Church: Calling Card Indulgence

File Under: Tidbit

Make a call and get blessed at the same time: Marketing The Church: Calling Card Indulgence

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Marketing The Church: Is Jesus Your Boyfriend?

File Under: Disturbing, but True

Call me lazy, but it is easier to link to my other blog than to re-write or copy and paste everything. I do add these witty introductions though! Go read this post, it will make you laugh, cry and feel awkward-all in about 20 seconds...
Marketing The Church: Is Jesus Your Boyfriend?

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Time Management Video

File Under: Tidbit

I just posted a video of my Time Management presentation. Check it out or send to a friend who is always late.

http://www.michaeldaehn.com/

(The video is about halfway down the page)

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The Seedy Side of Indy

File Under: Tidbit

The new Indy films are very entertaining, and bringing people to church.

Marketing The Church: The Seedy Side of Indy

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Marketing The Church: Churches Embrace the Web In Bid to Attract Members

File Under: Church Marketing

Churches are getting into Web 2.0, but are they ready?

Marketing The Church: Churches Embrace the Web In Bid to Attract Members

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In Today's Culture, Do You See Evidence of a War on Christianity?

File Under: Discussion

The Washington Post asks: In Today's Culture, Do You See Evidence of a War on Christianity?

There is a wide variety of responses on the site.

There is certainly a battle the Christians fight, but our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms ( Ephesians 6:12).

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Giving Box

File Under: Kudos

Quest doesn't pass the plate: Giving box.

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Marketing The Church: The Last Da Vinci Code Post

File Under: Tidbit

Are you getting tired of the Da Vinci Code yet?

Marketing The Church: The Last Da Vinci Code Post

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Church trying to convey God's relevance to everyday life

File Under: Tidbit

A church in NC is working on the Church trying to convey God's relevance to everyday life.

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Postmodern Church Conference- Are We Too Relevant?

File Under: Discussion

A conference on the postmodern church was held at Tyndale University. ChristianWeek reports:

"Keynote speakers also included Blue Like Jazz author Donald Miller, who says in many churches, a 'slick PR marketing style sales pitch' has been substituted for the message of Christ. 'We have accepted a free market translation of the Scripture,' said Miller. 'While the Church peddles an offer that will make your life better and fulfil you emotionally and in every other way, Jesus' message was different..."

"...“Now we have gone even further, with some of our churches looking like nightclubs and coffee houses where we go to be entertained by a band or performer.”

The challenge is to be relevant to our culture while communicating the same timeless truths of the Bible. It is not always easy and people are prone to extremes, but what is the alternative? We can't stop trying.

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Cheesy Jesus Collection

File Under: Ha Ha

Dave's Blog-o-rama gives us Dave's Cheesy Jesus Collection:

#1 — The Tattoo of the Christ
#2 — Air Jesus
#3 — Christian Milk Company
#4 — Jesus Inspirational Sport Statues
#5 — Armed & Ready
#6 — Football Jesus Bobblehead

Notice 3 of the 6 are Christian t-shirts.

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Sports and Bobble Head Bible Heroes

File Under: Rant

Minor league teams are seeing success with Christian themed games and giveaways such as the Nashville Sound:

"Hugely popular 'faith nights' launched three years ago by the Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball team, treat fans to giveaways such as the biblical bobble-heads, camouflage Bibles, and special pre- and postgame appearances by Christian cartoon VeggieTales characters such as Bob the Tomato."

I was told not to write my fraternity letters on bathroom walls and sidewalks because it was not a good representation of Pi Kappa Phi. I give the same recommendation to clients, sometimes less is more. Just because you can put your logo on a roll of toilet paper, does not mean you should. I have the same feeling about these promotions.

On the other hand, if you are creating something of value that people want, regardless of the Christian connection, then you have done your job of leading the culture. If you are able to give away a promotion that is so cool that anybody would want one, then you are making your message irresistable. Unfortunately the items mentioned in this article sound like copy cat and me too items that make Christian look, once again, second class.

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The Doors Light My Fire

When the Doors sang Light My Fire on the Ed Sullivan show they were told to change the lyrics from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get..." I don't remember what they were supposed to say. The point is that they did not change the lyrics. They spoke their voice and were authentic.

This was a defining moment in the career of the group. Part of why the band, and Jim Morrison are such legends today is because they were real. They did not comprimise or water down who they were- and the fans loved them for it.

It seems like we are constantly under attack to be something else, to water down our message or to conform for the sake of not offending people. What we are left with is droves of mediocre people living dull lives. God called us to live an abundant life. He created us uniquely to fulfill a specific purpose.

The next time someone tells you to cool it so that you don't offend anyone with your strong visionary words- ask them to produce those that are offended and you can address their concerns directly. In the meantime, continue to fight the good fight and follow your Leader.

John 4:44 Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

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Field Trip to Lebanon

File Under: Tidbit

I had the privilege of visiting Washington Chrisitan Church in Lebanon, MO this weekend. I actually got to preach on Sunday morning. It has been a while since I did that- I was a little nervous. I loosened up when I presented again Sunday night and was able to be more interactive with the crowd.

Sunday morning I spoke about the biblical basis for marketing the church. I used several references, but the key one is the great commission:

Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Marketing is really about learning to effectively communicate a message to a target audience. For Christians this means effectively communicating the Gospel to lost people.

In the evening I gave a mission building workshop. We had lots of fun making paper airplanes and drawing pictures, but in the end we also had a start on a mission statement, vision, and goals for everyone that attended. We also laid a great foundation for the mission statement that is being created for the whole church and discussed how they relate to and support one another.

I stayed with my buddy and preacher Heath Vogel and his family. We had lots of fun and watched Escape from Alcatraz- which was a funny movie that was supposed to be serious. Here's a quote from the movie:

Litmus: What's your name kid?
Charley Butts: Charley Butts.
Litmus: Charley's Butt? Hahahah, you got a pretty friggin' funny name kid.
Charley Butts: Oh yeah? What's yours?
Litmus: Al Capone.

Whew, you gotta go back to '79 for snappy dialogue like that.

The Vogels live in the parsonage right across the street from the church, and right next to a bunch of cows. Quite a view.

It was a fun trip and I got some cool cowboy shirts with snaps on the pockets from the outlet mall on the way back.


Hey, thanks for reading about my trip to Lebanon.

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Blogger: User Profile: Michael Daehn

File Under: Stuff

My Blogger profile automatically says I am a Capricorn. Does that mean I am New Age or unChristian for using Blogger?

Blogger: User Profile: Michael Daehn

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Links and other Items

File Under: Discussion

If you guys have links or other items to share please post them.

What do you think of the tag line? I am open to other ideas- let's see what you can come up with.

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Xianz - The Christian MySpace for Christian Friends

File Under: Tidbit

Check it out Xianz - The Christian MySpace for Christian Friends.

Thanks Will!

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Hollywood's Got Spirit- How Bout You?

File Under: Tidbit

USA Today reports that movies with a spiritual bent abound this year and next.

This is great news! Spiritual discussion is part of the cultural framework. How are you and your church prepared to take advantage of this climate- or are you going to let Hollywood be the lone voice explaining spiritual meaning in society?

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Living Between the Lines- Either/Or Vs. Both/And

File Under: Rant

Why are humans so drawn to extremes? It seems like on most issues and in many of the conversations I have with people they move toward either/or mentalities.

A book by Grenz and Olsen on 20th century theology uses the paradigm of an immanent and transcendent view of God. They trace the varios movements that swing like a pendulum between the two.

Francis Schaeffer explains the schism between faith and reason. Philosphers believe people are supposed to either live in an unproven world of faith or a reasonable world devoid of meaning.

Christians talk of their spiritual life as opposed to a sinful flesh.

This is a false dichotomy developed by Greek philosphy and in particular the teachings of Plato. God created a physical world and declard it "good." Jesus came in the flesh- which confounded the greek philosphers at Mars Hill in Athens.

Christianity is not one or the other. We are called to live in the middle, where the action is. It is easier to follow a list of commands than to consider what shows the most love in any given situation and act accordingly. Sometimes wrong and right collide and cause us to make a choice. David fed his starving men the bread from the tabernacle reserved for the priests. Jesus chose to heal on the sabbath because the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Sometimes we have to go against the established religious precedents to accomplish the most loving action.

This is a more challenging way to live, and a lot more fun!

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Mass for the Masses

File Under: Discussion

The Calvary Christian Center is planning an Easter service for 10,000:

"The media-savvy congregation, which has a TV show called "Possess the Land" that appears Sunday mornings on WRBW Channel 65, has inundated the area with 70,000 pieces of advertising, including fliers and "Alive!" Easter signs appearing like campaign signs on front lawns and street corners.Because Easter brings out people who are not regular churchgoers, Brewster said Calvary wants people to consider their church as an option.

Calvary also does extensive outreach, evangelizing on street corners during special events like Black College Reunion and organizing Easter egg hunts in low-income neighborhoods."

What do you think is the best use of these marketing funds? To focus on church goers to come to this particular church, or to do outreach and connect with the unchurched? The former may be in alignment with the mission of this church, but the latter is in alignment with the Great Comission. I guess this begs the question that Will Good asks: since when is the Gospel a come to us propostion?

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Bribing the Easter visitors

File Under: Tidbit

Rebecca Barnes asks if we should be Bribing Easter visitors with trips to Disneyland.

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File Under: Discussion

I was thinking that we should categorize our posts. Maybe something like this:

Discussion- Discussion starters
Rants- Editorial, observations
Tidbits- Interesting items and websites
Stuff- Other junk

What do you guys think? Other categories? Discuss...

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The Answer

My wife and I were tearfully praying last night for God to provide for us financially. I asked God to give us very clear signs and messages (because I am stupid) and lead us in the direction He wants us to go.

I have been putting off doing some yard work- but guess what I found today? Some would call it a $20 bill in a pile of leaves. I call it an answer to prayer that even a fool like me is sure to recognize.

Matthew 6:24-26 (New International Version)

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

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Career Stats

I was able to go to Savvis last night to see the retirement of Al MacInnis' #2 Jersey. I found myself getting emotional, especially when Chopper's kids skated onto the ice. It was like a living eulogy. Several guys got up to say that though Big Al was know for his amazing slapper, they respected him for his character off the ice. Do you see the same thing being said about Barry Bonds?

Imagine the crowd gathered to review what you have done with your life, both at your funeral and in Heaven. Are you like MacInnis focusing on character, or trying to amass stats at any cost like Bonds? I'm under a lot of pressure to make money. Our mortgage is not going to pay itself. But how do I do the things day to day that have eternal impact instead of doing whatever it takes to make a dollar? Pray for me that I can focus on activities that improve my character and help others. I want my retirement party to be like MacInnis, not Bonds.

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xxxchurch- My Inspiration

I have been struggling to be a strong, outspoken Christian for years now. I have felt like I should keep my mouth shut and just go with the flow. Don't rock the boat or upset people. Where am I afraid to speak freely? It is not at work or on the secular campus, it's when I am in Church or around other Christians.

Usually I just feel guilty for having these feelings. Why can't I just go to church on Sunday, pass the plate, sing 4 songs, listen to a Bible story and go home content? Why is it that I want more? Why do I crave a challenge and inspiration? Why do I seek to push the boundaries and ask questions that people don't seem to want to hear?

I have taken this all very personally, but that is changing. I am starting to come across other like minded Christian folks that feel we are missing something. God is doing something bigger than me or you.

The culture of most churches is not effective at reaching the culture of the communities within which they live. The world has changed and how we communicate with the world needs to change along with it. Case in point, the boys at xxxchurch are taking a bold and unique approach to battling the porn that has infested our culture by reaching out not only to those consuming it, but to those creating it. I posted about these guys on the Marketing the Church Blog the other day. I kept thinking about these guys and another buzzword sweeping the blogosphere: Web 2.0.

The web has changed since the pre-bubble days. No longer are webmasters crafting a one way message to visitors. Blogs have opened up what Scoble calls Naked Conversations. Unedited, democratized discussions that are not under anyone's control. These conversations are changing the way communication is happening. The world is becoming Napterized. Information is being unbundled and distributed in microchunks. The mass market is being given a voice, and they are deciding who is worth listening to. This is the next generation of the web.

Putting these two concepts together: bold Christians presenting timeless truths to a modern culture in a relevant way, and a shift in the paradigm about how, when and who gets to speak in the conversation and you get Christianity 2.0. I have invited some of my Christian friends that seem to be living on the edge and putting their lives at risk for God to be a part of this blog community. I invite you to join us in this discussion about how Christians can be relevant in our modern culture while remaining true to orthodox Christian truths.

I look forward to the intercourse...

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