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My Name Is Not Ronnie

30 November 2008 6 Comments

After coming home from church today in both a state of shock and a state of ‘anger’, I went online and via my typical blog reading schedule came across this article from Ken Silva (see the ‘rebuke’ in the comments section below) Lane Chaplin about “Ronnie”

In the video below, you will hear the story of ‘Ronnie’. A seeker-sensitive Christian who church hops and loves his fifteen minute worship block and his comedy, tragedy, and stories.

The video is labeled as ’satire’ while at the same time gets the point across about the fallacies of the purpose-driven, church growth movement. I fail to see the ‘coincidence’ (reference the 2:26 point of the video between ‘Ronnie” and today’s church people. Instead, I see a pervasive spirit where we value our entertainment over evangelism and our easy-believism over the straight and the narrow road. Even though (referencing the 2:38 point of the video) the makers of this video per their own words…

…are confident that churches across this nation could not possibly have anyone like Ronnie attending

Could they?

I came to the horrid conclusion (after church this morning) that the answer to their question is unfortunately

YES

The church sang a hymn and some worship choruses. The church lit the prophet’s candle to start the Advent season and read the Scriptures in regards to the hope of Jesus’ arrival and quickly talked about Advent. The church took up the offering. However, the church went to a ‘presentation’ that came across like a ’spiritualized 30 minute infomercial’ that talked about their world missions outreach and a yard sale next weekend to raise money for missions, sacks to purchase toiletries, socks, etc. for a local homeless ministry, and small Christmas stockings to stuff with small childrens items for another local branch of a nationally known outreach ministry.

Giving and outreach is not wrong in and of itself. I do not have a problem with any of the three groups that were highlighted this morning. However, the problem came after the presentations when the empty sacks and small Christmas stockings appeared at the front and the “sales pitch” began asking for people who were interested in the sacks and/or stockings to stand up (next time, a countdown clock like they use on the six home shopping channels I have on my cable tv subscription could add to the effect…. being sarcastic here but with a point).

The majority of the people stood up while some remained seated (designed to ‘convict’ those sitting down to stand up). Some people left in disgust of the tasteless sales pitch. I would have joined them in leaving but there was a part of me that was very curious to see what would happen next (and one day, curiosity may eventually kill this cat) while thinking another announcement of going to the fellowship hall to retrieve the sacks and/or stockings after service would have been sufficient. After all the people who were interested received their sacks and/or stockings, the benediction was offered up. The elders took their place to pray for the personal needs of the congregation and the congregation was dismissed. There was no ‘announcement after service’. This was the service…..

I went to the restroom and eventually to my car in a state of anger and disgust because I realized and pondered the thought during that walk to the parking lot …

THE ONLY TIME I OPENED MY BIBLE UP THIS MORNING AT CHURCH WAS WHEN AT THE END OF THE SERVICE, I OPENED UP THE BIBLE TO PLACE MY BULLETIN IN MY BIBLE.

You can be free to interpret both the boldness of that last statement and also the ‘all-capital letters’ of that last statement per the Internet standard of ’shouting’ and ‘anger’.

There was no sermon or I ‘failed’ to ’see the sermon’. I believe the first observation was the correct one. I am wondering if we have crossed the line of Godly conviction being seared to where if the purpose-drive seeker sensitive church was to see the Ronnie video, they would really believe that people like me who are disgusted with the purpose-drivel seeker sinsitive church are the ‘Real-life Ronnies’ instead of the de-sensitized two-dimensional mass produced Christian clones who suffer from both a physical and spiritualized form of attention deficit disorder who leave when the church down the street offers a bigger romper room with new games for the kids and a ‘Gag Gospel’ (they think gag means joke but gag means vomiting to me).

My name is not ‘Ronnie”. My name is not ‘troublemaker’. My name is not ‘obsolete’. My name is not ‘accuser of the brethren’. My name is not ‘Ananias and Sapphira’. My name is not ‘mud’. My name is not ‘dissenter and preventer of progress’. My name is not ‘Luddite in the Spirit’. My name is not ‘Spiritual Baalam’. My name is not ‘Great Satan’……

My name is ‘child of God, eternally secure’…

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6 Comments »

  • Diane R said:

    That is sad. Every year at Christmas our church does the Samaritan’s Purse shoebox thing. What a contrast to yours. On the patio in front of our church is a table with free shoeboxes if you need them, and the information flyers. No one is coerced or “shamed.” There is a quick announcement one Sunday to when to bring the boxes. On the appointed Sunday to bring the boxes filled with toys and essentials for daily living (toothpaste, soap, etc.) for poor children in other lands, everyone who does it except for the elderly class nd the childrens SS, bring their shoeboxes BEFORE church starts to the front of the church. Then, at the start of he service, the elderly file in down the aisle bringing their shoeboxes and after them the children. I love watching this because it’s really something seeing elderly people, some with canes and walkers, with a shoebox under their arm hobbling to the front of the church. That isn’t easy for them and takes some sacrifice. THen after them the SS children come. And that is the last we hear of it. We can see the shoeboxes to the right of the platform in a pile so no one needs to say much of anything. The procession of elderly and children takes maybe 5 minutes. Then everyone is seated and the service goes on as usual.

    # 30 November 2008 at 1:34 pm
  • Ken Silva said:

    “came across this article from Ken Silva about ‘Ronnie’… My name is not ‘Ronnie’”

    Well, did you see my name on that post; no, you did not.

    # 30 November 2008 at 5:49 pm
  • Frequent Commenter Ken said:

    Well, did you see my name on that post; no, you did not.

    It was released on your Website, with your name on top of the “About Us” page as “General Editor”. That’s usually enough to mean it was your responsibility to pass it for publication and to attribute it to you (as Chief Editor for the site) in the absence of a blatant signature.

    Ever heard of the term “Plausible Deniability”?

    # 30 November 2008 at 6:21 pm
  • Ken Silva said:

    “article from Ken Silva about ‘Ronnie’”. Is a lie because the byline clearly reads “by Lane Chaplin.”

    Ever hear of the truth?

    # 30 November 2008 at 6:55 pm
  • admin (author) said:

    Ken Silva:

    I saw the link on the Christian Research Network page and automatically assumed it was from you because you are listed as the General Editor and you are usually the primary and majority contributor of content to that page.

    That byline is very very hard to see with that real light gray font color on top of the white background. In fact, I had to highlight it as if I was doing a ‘copy and paste’ to reverse contrast it to see the accidental error I made.

    I will be man enough to admit it. I was wrong.

    It WAS NEVER NOR WAS IT NEVER INTENDED TO BE a ‘conspirated pre-meditated’ act (i’m not out to ‘get you’ so don’t play the ‘persecution’ / ‘i am the last of the real Christian’ / ‘i’m defending the faith’ card). It WAS a simple and honest accidental mistake PERIOD based on assumption. A private e-mail between you and me conversing like gentlemen explaining the error to me would have been more than sufficient enough and I would have handled it like I handled it now, at the moment I came back to the computer ( and saw the comments that were also forwarded to my e-mail) for the first time this evening since I posted the article this morning and turned the computer off shortly afterwards and watched the Panthers beat the Packers in “the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field”, had dinner, a visit from a family member and a couple of phone calls. I have a life. I do not surf the Internet 24/7

    But no, you had to go this route…..

    Feel good about yourself and raise up the self esteem. You got your ego stroked, your id fed, and your standing with God re-assured by getting in your ‘rebuke of the day’. You have met your quota today and can now go to sleep tonight in peace knowing you did not disappoint God today by failing to meet the quota.

    I am sorry Ken Silva for accidentally quoting you as the author.

    I am sorry Lane Chaplin for not properly quoting you as the author.

    —–

    Now we are only halfway finished

    —–

    Mr Silva:

    I know you will be coming back at random times and seeing if this ACCIDENTAL MISTAKE has been corrected. I now want to see a comment from you apologizing for your tone and demeanor and especially an apology personally directed to Frequent Commenter Ken for the tone and demeanor displayed to him.

    I feel that I have adequately done my part in both correcting the ACCIDENTAL MISTAKE and also apologizing for the ACCIDENTAL MISTAKE. I want to see you adequately do your part…

    # 30 November 2008 at 8:50 pm
  • Diane R. said:

    Meanwhile, back at the sane front…..:)

    I’m reading a very good book that is really speaking to me. It’s title is “Quitting Church” by Julia Duin. I think you would like it. I found out that there are many of us who really tasted God and the Holy Spirit in the 1970’s and are now wondering wha’ happened? Julia also was a part of this 70’s outpouring and she also is wondering what happened?

    # 2 December 2008 at 11:29 am