Fun is a four letter word - Part 2

When I wrote the earlier post on 'fun' I did not expect it to be a two parter. It was just an off the cuff article. But now after some reflection, I have some additions to make

The notion that making fun is the main aim of everything is more insidious than it appears. Wanting fun in every activity means that you want that shot of endorphin or dopamine in every activity. So, any activity that doesn't give you that is deemed not to be of interest to you. This meas that you short circuit rational though processes and depend only on one feedback qualifier: feelings of fun

Notice how dangerous this can be to your spiritual life. A bible study is 'boring' because you it involves work and processes of thought which at times can bypass those yearnings for emotional stimulation. What happens? You give up and thus, what could have been an important tool for spiritual growth is neglected because you let 'fun' be the dictator of what should be undertaken

I notice this all to much at church. We fear boredom and pain. Why? Sometimes, these two seemingly unwelcome fellows are exactly the teachers that we need

The best story I have heard regarding this comes from Gary Player, the world famous golfer who is up ther with such amazing legends as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

Once, while Gary Player was at the driving range hitting balls, someone came up to him and said:

" I wish I could hit the ball like you"

Gary then thought about it and told the man:

" Sure, you can. Just get up at the crack of dawn. Hit a thousand balls until your fingers bleed. Wash the blood off. Then go hit a thousand more. Then, you'll hit the ball like me"

Gary said that the man then left looking sad. And this was his final comment:

" The man wanted to hit like me but he didn't want to do the hard word. Nor suffer the pain. It doesn't work that way - you have to go through all of that"

Likewise, recently when some of the youth asked me about how to deepen their spirituality, they didn't like the answers I gave. Hard bible study doesn't sound like fun. Disciplined prayer sounds even less. But that's what you need to grow into mature christians. And like that man, they will probably look for more 'fun' ways of becoming more mature or not bother. That is up to them

I have taken a stance like Gary. You want to know how to grow, I'll tell you with the limited knowledge I have. But I won't cajol or make you hit the balls. Nor will I call you at the crack of dawn to get to the driving range. You will have to dig deep and find the motivation to do so. Champions are driven from within, not from the outside.

So too with saints of God

Why Billy is not Joel, but he still can't start the fire

I like Bill Hybels. I really do. He gets a lot of bad press for being seeker-friendly but frank admission here, I am Bill Hybels friendly, ever since I got his book "Too busy to pray" (Highly recommended). In Australia, on the sometimes questionable so-called Christian cable channel with such whack jobs as T.D Jakes, Joyce Meyer and assorted tele-con-vangelists with bouffant hair - he's a paragon of biblical solidity. Well, almost anyway..

He's no Joel Osteen. I rue the day I got that book for my dad and then spent countless wasted hours debating why it was rubbish. Why the Holy Spirit never led me to buy a J.I Packer, John Stott or John Piper book for him, I'll never know

Joel "See how my teeth shine" Osteen is a horrible waste of sermon space. His stuff isn't bad...if you like your God nothing like the God of the Bible. Yes, I know, he quotes lots of scripture but so does Hallmark cards in their pseudo-religious section. And nothing on Jesus coming to save. Apart from that, it's the gospel according to Oprah and Dr Phil..with a slightly Paulo Coelho kind of 'god'

But Bill, he tries to tell people about Jesus...but in a nice way. Yes, a gentle way. Through drama, great songs and stage sets: it's a wonder he hasn't won a Tony award now. His approach is to coax you gently into the Kingdom of God, with a few folksy jokes, a slap on the back and do pick up a decaf Latte on the way in please

Unfortunately, much as I prefer him over the perfectly coiffured one with the teeth, he still falls short of a standard which I believe must be upheld. It is this:

The Gospel must be preached unreservedly

Therefore, no soft selling, cajolling, playful nudges and unclear messages. No relegating Christ and his work on the cross to some footnote while the pastor cracks jokes downloaded from the internet and goes on about the singles 12 step recovery mininstry for weeks on end.

When you preach this, or another kind of similar message, Paul says:

"..the offence of the cross has been removed" (Galatians 5:11: ESV)

The cross offends because you are offensive to God. Therefore, it needs the unimaginable work of the son of God becoming man to die on the cross as an atonement to propitiate God's wrath and at the same time, exact his loving grace and mercy to you, a reprobrate sinner deserving of nothing but hell

If that above passage sounds foreign to you, then you have been listening to a different gospel. Or a false on

Put it this way, on the pulpit, you sometimes only have one chance to say something. What are you going to say? You can tell the congregation that they are decent people, maybe even pat them on the back and give them a pep talk like a football coach

But woe to you should one of them leave the church without understanding the gospel.

"Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16: ESV)


If he or she dies that night without knowing God - part of that responsibility lies on your seeker friendly head. Think about it