It's not what it's cracked up to be
(It is not as good as people say it is)
The American phrase: "Not all it's cracked up to be" is colloquial and means that something is over rated. How many of you know that there's a tendency in marketing to promote a product as useful, good, even wonderful, but in reality the product stinks?
Do you remember Ron Popeil?
In the early 1960s, Ron was selling products exclusively over television. Ron and his father became wealthy from sales of kitchen gadgets that have become household words: Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic, and the Pocket Fisherman. In 1964, through TV, Ronco pulled in $200,000 in sales. In 1968, the company's revenues were $8.8 million. Not bad.
As a 12 year old child watching a black and white TV without a remote control, I might add, I heard the Ronco pitch and purchased a Veg-O-Matic for my mother's Christmas present that year.
Here are those immortal words I heard: "The Ronco Veg-O-Matic is the one kitchen appliance you'll wonder how you ever did without! It slices, it dices, and so much more! Three cutting blades will allow you to cut potatoes in one stroke! Tomato slices perfectly every time, and in just one stroke! French Fries! Cottage Fries and more! Chop an onion without crying, and bring new life to salads, main courses and vegetable sides in no time."
Although some features of the product worked relatively well, tomatoes did not fair well at all. A large kitchen mallet could have achieved the same results on tomatoes and boiled eggs.
Hype 101
Nevertheless, we live in a world of sensationalism, hype, and flat-out-lies. And when viewing the latest add or infomercial we cannot help but be skeptical as to the wonders of the product being hawked. Seems it's all hype.
Granted, marketing must stress the good qualities of a product and downplay the marginal qualities. That's sales 101. And sales move our free market. America's economy is based on consumption; therefore, products will always be hyped and pitched as the next best thing since sliced bread in order to meet and exceed sales quotas. Things in life will always be over-rated and disappointing. That's life. That's to be expected, but the real problem with sensationalism, hype, and misrepresentation is when it enters the church world.
We do not need hype and over-play in the church world.
Let me be the first to say that Christianity has no wares to hawk. It has no product to mass produce and market for profit. It has nothing to sell. Christianity is God owned and managed. Evangelists are not his sales team, responsible under penalty for distributing product quickly. The preacher's latest teaching series, how-to-books, or bottled holy water from Jerusalem are not necessary for getting closer to God. High tech-worship, laser lights, fake smoke and music videos do nothing to move God only vulnerable people. Is it any wonder why Americans today are so skeptical of the evangelical church? I am afraid that the church today is in danger of coming across like an infomercial or a 30 second Ronco Veg-O-matic commerical.
The things of God--in spite of what some may tell you--are free for the asking. What really concerns me as a pastor--and alarms me about the church's future--is that miracles, healing, prophecy, and other ultra-spectacular topics have defined American church culture so long that unless something spectacular occurs during a church service people think that God forgot to show up.
Allow me to illustrate this point with Jesus's first miracle in John 2:1. In his sermon entitled, The First Sign: Jesus turns water into Wine, Bob Deffinbaugh writes, "It would seem that Jesus would want everyone to know what He was doing. He could have called for everyone's attention, announcing to all that He was about to turn water into wine. He could have been much more dramatic, waving His hands over the water pots, and then personally presenting the 'good wine' to the head steward.
"In fact, Jesus does not seem to even touch the water pots or the wine. He simply gives instructions to the servants to fill the pots and to serve the contents. If you had interviewed the head steward or any of the guests and asked what they thought of the celebration, they probably would have said: 'Oh, it was a really nice celebration, and the wine at the last was really something.' Most of the people never knew a miracle had taken place. It seems that only Mary, the servants, and the disciples were aware of what happened. John tells us that because of this miracle, the disciples believed in Him (verse 11). My impression is that the servants knew "what" happened, but they were not sure exactly "how" it happened, so they simply kept quiet, scratching their heads with wonder.
"Minimizing the visibility of this first display of our Lord's power is by design. Everything our Lord did in transforming the water into wine was intended to minimize His exposure. Done in this way, our Lord was able to perform the miracle without violating His Father's will concerning 'His time.' It was not yet the moment for our Lord to publicly display His power and glory. Thus, He performed the miracle privately, in a way that conformed to God's timing. In one sense, there are two miracles here in these first verses of John 2. The first is the transformation of water into wine. The second is accomplishing this miracle in a way that was not apparent to everyone.
"The point is this: I fear we have a distorted definition of 'glory,' very much like our Lord's disciples had in the Gospels. We wrongly think that if the glory of God is present, it will be in some dramatic display of power, one that is visible and spectacular, one that is seen and acknowledged by all. Let me remind you that the glory of God was manifested in this miracle, even though few recognized it as such. We may be looking for the wrong kind of 'glory.' All too often in the 'triumphalism' of the New Testament church (i.e., Corinth) and in the church today, we look for the wrong kind of glory. The glory of God, as I understand the Scriptures, is manifested in and through the saints as they'like their Savior'live humbly and suffer patiently for the sake of Christ and the Gospel"
We must be careful not to hype the Gospel and misrepresent God's glory. Just because God is not turning your tap water into vintage wine does not mean he is incapable of performing modern day signs and wonders and mighty miracles.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was watching the sun peep over the Eastern horizon, spilling it florescent colors over tree canopies, house tops, and sleepy fields. And it will happen again tomorrow just like clock work.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was breathing a prayer of thanks for a new day that found me alive and free. And the miracle was that God heard the prayer.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was going to my food pantry and finding not just food, but many varieties of the same foods.
The greatest miracle I encountered this morning was reflecting on a conversation I had yesterday with a high school classmate and assuring her that death is not the final voice--we may truly live again. The power in that short conversation changed her composure and gave her healing hope.
One thing I have learned in 56 years--30 of those years serving the Lord in ministry--I do not have to add hype or sensationalism to ingratiate the Gospel to myself or others. God makes himself known without me talking smack and clanking brass. For me, God has always been in the still small voice. And I am good with that.
For me--Christianity is all that it's cracked up to be.
Terry Dashner
(It is not as good as people say it is)
The American phrase: "Not all it's cracked up to be" is colloquial and means that something is over rated. How many of you know that there's a tendency in marketing to promote a product as useful, good, even wonderful, but in reality the product stinks?
Do you remember Ron Popeil?
In the early 1960s, Ron was selling products exclusively over television. Ron and his father became wealthy from sales of kitchen gadgets that have become household words: Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic, and the Pocket Fisherman. In 1964, through TV, Ronco pulled in $200,000 in sales. In 1968, the company's revenues were $8.8 million. Not bad.
As a 12 year old child watching a black and white TV without a remote control, I might add, I heard the Ronco pitch and purchased a Veg-O-Matic for my mother's Christmas present that year.
Here are those immortal words I heard: "The Ronco Veg-O-Matic is the one kitchen appliance you'll wonder how you ever did without! It slices, it dices, and so much more! Three cutting blades will allow you to cut potatoes in one stroke! Tomato slices perfectly every time, and in just one stroke! French Fries! Cottage Fries and more! Chop an onion without crying, and bring new life to salads, main courses and vegetable sides in no time."
Although some features of the product worked relatively well, tomatoes did not fair well at all. A large kitchen mallet could have achieved the same results on tomatoes and boiled eggs.
Hype 101
Nevertheless, we live in a world of sensationalism, hype, and flat-out-lies. And when viewing the latest add or infomercial we cannot help but be skeptical as to the wonders of the product being hawked. Seems it's all hype.
Granted, marketing must stress the good qualities of a product and downplay the marginal qualities. That's sales 101. And sales move our free market. America's economy is based on consumption; therefore, products will always be hyped and pitched as the next best thing since sliced bread in order to meet and exceed sales quotas. Things in life will always be over-rated and disappointing. That's life. That's to be expected, but the real problem with sensationalism, hype, and misrepresentation is when it enters the church world.
We do not need hype and over-play in the church world.
Let me be the first to say that Christianity has no wares to hawk. It has no product to mass produce and market for profit. It has nothing to sell. Christianity is God owned and managed. Evangelists are not his sales team, responsible under penalty for distributing product quickly. The preacher's latest teaching series, how-to-books, or bottled holy water from Jerusalem are not necessary for getting closer to God. High tech-worship, laser lights, fake smoke and music videos do nothing to move God only vulnerable people. Is it any wonder why Americans today are so skeptical of the evangelical church? I am afraid that the church today is in danger of coming across like an infomercial or a 30 second Ronco Veg-O-matic commerical.
The things of God--in spite of what some may tell you--are free for the asking. What really concerns me as a pastor--and alarms me about the church's future--is that miracles, healing, prophecy, and other ultra-spectacular topics have defined American church culture so long that unless something spectacular occurs during a church service people think that God forgot to show up.
Allow me to illustrate this point with Jesus's first miracle in John 2:1. In his sermon entitled, The First Sign: Jesus turns water into Wine, Bob Deffinbaugh writes, "It would seem that Jesus would want everyone to know what He was doing. He could have called for everyone's attention, announcing to all that He was about to turn water into wine. He could have been much more dramatic, waving His hands over the water pots, and then personally presenting the 'good wine' to the head steward.
"In fact, Jesus does not seem to even touch the water pots or the wine. He simply gives instructions to the servants to fill the pots and to serve the contents. If you had interviewed the head steward or any of the guests and asked what they thought of the celebration, they probably would have said: 'Oh, it was a really nice celebration, and the wine at the last was really something.' Most of the people never knew a miracle had taken place. It seems that only Mary, the servants, and the disciples were aware of what happened. John tells us that because of this miracle, the disciples believed in Him (verse 11). My impression is that the servants knew "what" happened, but they were not sure exactly "how" it happened, so they simply kept quiet, scratching their heads with wonder.
"Minimizing the visibility of this first display of our Lord's power is by design. Everything our Lord did in transforming the water into wine was intended to minimize His exposure. Done in this way, our Lord was able to perform the miracle without violating His Father's will concerning 'His time.' It was not yet the moment for our Lord to publicly display His power and glory. Thus, He performed the miracle privately, in a way that conformed to God's timing. In one sense, there are two miracles here in these first verses of John 2. The first is the transformation of water into wine. The second is accomplishing this miracle in a way that was not apparent to everyone.
"The point is this: I fear we have a distorted definition of 'glory,' very much like our Lord's disciples had in the Gospels. We wrongly think that if the glory of God is present, it will be in some dramatic display of power, one that is visible and spectacular, one that is seen and acknowledged by all. Let me remind you that the glory of God was manifested in this miracle, even though few recognized it as such. We may be looking for the wrong kind of 'glory.' All too often in the 'triumphalism' of the New Testament church (i.e., Corinth) and in the church today, we look for the wrong kind of glory. The glory of God, as I understand the Scriptures, is manifested in and through the saints as they'like their Savior'live humbly and suffer patiently for the sake of Christ and the Gospel"
We must be careful not to hype the Gospel and misrepresent God's glory. Just because God is not turning your tap water into vintage wine does not mean he is incapable of performing modern day signs and wonders and mighty miracles.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was watching the sun peep over the Eastern horizon, spilling it florescent colors over tree canopies, house tops, and sleepy fields. And it will happen again tomorrow just like clock work.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was breathing a prayer of thanks for a new day that found me alive and free. And the miracle was that God heard the prayer.
The greatest miracle I encountered today was going to my food pantry and finding not just food, but many varieties of the same foods.
The greatest miracle I encountered this morning was reflecting on a conversation I had yesterday with a high school classmate and assuring her that death is not the final voice--we may truly live again. The power in that short conversation changed her composure and gave her healing hope.
One thing I have learned in 56 years--30 of those years serving the Lord in ministry--I do not have to add hype or sensationalism to ingratiate the Gospel to myself or others. God makes himself known without me talking smack and clanking brass. For me, God has always been in the still small voice. And I am good with that.
For me--Christianity is all that it's cracked up to be.
Terry Dashner