Christmas Time is Here

I get completely swept up in the wonder of Christmas. Admittedly, I am a dreamer and easily enamored. But, I wonder why others aren't as swept up in the joy as I am. There are so many who dread Christmas. If they see Christmas decorations or hear Christmas music at a time which they deem to be "too soon", they get agitated. Why is this? Instead of rejoicing and praising God all month long for the gift of His Son, we stress and obsess over family gift lists and making our homes sparkling-clean for out-of-town guests. Is that really what this season of blessing has come to mean for our society? Christmas is more than just a single day. Why should we restrict our celebration to just December 25th and waste the rest of the month running in and out of shopping malls?

I've been feeling confused and frustrated lately hearing Christians rising up to defend the true meaning of Halloween for the Christian faith and then tearing down the meaning of Christmas. Just because our society has warped Christmas into a consumerism-oriented holiday doesn't mean that we've lost. We need to stand up for Jesus Christ. We need to stand up for this time to praise His coming to this world to free his ransomed people.

Christmas is not just some winter holiday. Political correctness isn't about politics and tolerance, it's a weakening of our determination to stand up for Christ. On Halloween this year Loyal Thurman, pastor of Anchor Church of Baltimore and director of HFTR, spoke about Halloween and of our need as Christians to stand up and fight for what's ours. Halloween is a holiday that has long been forgotten in the Christian faith and even hated by some. Christmas (for the most part) is still ours, but quickly slipping away, and pushed away further by those who have decided it's already a lost cause. We need to reclaim it. It doesn't matter that "Oh Jesus might have been born in September... or was it April?". This is the time that his people have chosen to come together, for one beautiful day of worship and devotion and gratitude for his gift of salvation. This is the day where we stand up and say that Jesus is the way, the ONLY way, the truth and the LIFE.

We need to reclaim this season for Christ. It's a time to celebrate, to worship, to be thankful for the gift of a Savior. We celebrate redemption. We celebrate our Savior who came to live among us and to experience all of our pain and grief. It's not about presents and big holiday dinners. There's a song called "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sung by the group Band Aid, a collection of famous singers from the 80s, written to raise awareness of the the famine in Ethiopia from 1984-1985. It's played on the radio every year and admittedly, it always makes me cry. It's not just some dumb Christmas song, it's a song that reminds us of what Jesus Christ would want us to think about during this time of the year. While we're out buying big screen TVs and iPods for our loved ones, there are children out there who don't even know it's Christmas time. They don't know what it is to experience the beauty of snow or the feeling of an overly stuffed stomach after Christmas dinner. There are people who are low enough and without enough that the joy of knowing Christ would be enough reason to celebrate. We should all be so low and humble.

Our hearts should be in daily worship and communion with our Lord. We can sing the words of Oh Holy Night every day. It bids us to fall on our knees and praise the one who was born and died to give us new life. I can't listen to that line without my soul just crying out. Yes, we should worship and praise every day of the year. But, there's just something so beautiful about the way our hearts are changed and joy is enhanced this time of year, if we let it. People who don't even know the servant heart of our Lord stretch out their hands this time of year to love those in need. Why can't we stretch out ours, even more, to show the true meaning of Christmas and just what kind of love our Lord and Savior represents?

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere- Jesus Christ is BORN!

Thy Kingdom Come

Unified Underground 2010 is over and it was incredible. We were blessed with amazing speakers, whom we're fortunate enough to also call our friends, as well as a really unforgettable time of worship with Ascend the Hill. The Lord was truly present and we saw Him working through fellowship, prayer, teaching, and worship. We've started looking through the evaluations you filled out and are learning more about what you desire in next year's conference.

We're looking forward to next year as we try to hold on to the knowledge and growth we received this year. It seems as though there is always a period of let down after spirit-filled encounters such as Unified Underground. You reach a spiritual high there and feel so close and wrapped up in the arms of God, then return to regular everyday life. It's back to work and back to busy schedules. But, He is still with us here in the everyday life. We didn't leave Him behind at Riva Trace. He is still in our hearts and souls and still longing to be just as close and intimate with us. We don't have to lose that feeling. We can keep the fire burning. Through worship with Ascend the Hill we claimed that we would spend it all for Him. We offered up our soul, mind, hands, and time to Him. We need to not forget these claims. Every day is a new chance to invite Him in and ask him to take hold of our lives. He tells us that he is with us until the end of time (Matthew 28:20), and our God keeps His word.

It is our hope to help keep the fire going by writing here often and giving encouragement to you all. Please let us know if there is anything you need help with or want to know more about. You can email me at starr@HFTR.org or my husband Lucas at lucas@HFTR.org.

We hope to see you all again next year at Unified Underground: THE END IS NEAR (September 30-October 2, 2011). The promo video will be available online soon as well as mp3s from the speakers at this year's Unified Underground: Thy Kingdom Come. Stay tuned!

Unified Underground has come and gone...

We want to thank everyone who came out to Unified Underground this past weekend, and everyone who kept the conference in their prayers as well! It was an amazing time, and judging from everyone's response, a life-changing experience for all who attended; we give all the glory and praise to God for that!

All of us at Hope For The Rejected have been slowly recovering from running around all weekend, but we have already started planning for next year. The questionnaires that we handed out will be an integral part of putting together Unified Underground 2009; in fact, we've already gathered several great ideas from them. Our goal is to meet the needs of our community, so rest assured that we will ever be striving for that!

Keep your eyes out for pictures and videos from this weekend; we'll be rolling those out over the coming days, weeks, and months.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported what God is doing through Hope For The Rejected and the rest of His servants in the underground subcultures. This movement would be dead without you!

Unified Underground 2009 will be held Oct. 16-18, 2009!

Your prayers are needed for UNIFIED UNDERGROUND and OCD!

Our Corpse Destroyed's van just died, so please keep them in your prayers... both that they will be able to track down a van to borrow to get here, and that God will take care of their finances so they can get it fixed up.

Please also keep Unified Underground in your prayers throughout this week, and through the weekend! Pray that God would move through the conference, that He would change hearts, and above all, that He will be glorified by raising the underground subcultures to share His gospel with this lost world! Please also pray for the physical safety of all those who are traveling to get here, and that everyone's car will hold up.

We appreciate so much that we have so many people willing to join us in lifting these prayers to our Father, and we couldn't put on this conference or carry on with our ministry without your support! Even if you can't be there to share this weekend, you can make a huge difference by contributing your time to and dedication to pray!

Nation of the Underground

Nation of the Underground is this weekend (starting tomorrow)! I believe registration is closed, but if you have the opportunity to go, please contact them (nationoftheunderground.com) to be sure!

In the beginning of Philippians 2, Paul points out that divisiveness within a fellowship indicates spiritual problems. Let's drop the selfishness and pride that are causing us to act like people who haven't experienced the full extent of the saving grace of Jesus Christ! It is time to unify the Church so that we can do our job... speaking the Truth of the Gospel in love to a world who desperately needs to hear it! Nation of the Underground—along with Hope For The Rejected's Unified Underground and other ministries too numerous to name—is part of a huge revival and awakening of the underground Church, and will be held in Hurst, TX tomorrow (7/24) through Sunday (7/27). Loyal Thurman will be there representing Hope For The Rejected, so be sure to talk to him if you get the chance.

If, like me, you can't attend, please join me in covering Nation of the Underground with all the prayer we can muster. Pray for the safety of everyone who's traveling to be there, and that—above all—God is glorified in every way possible, specifically through the spiritual growth of His children. Only by growing closer to Him can we become more effective agents of His grace here on earth!

God bless!

Cornerstone Festival 2008 recap

Last week, the Hope For The Rejected team attended Cornerstone Festival 2008 in Bushnell, Illinois. On Saturday, we hosted Unified Underground Day on the Fatcalf Stage, featuring a number of bands and speakers intermingling throughout the day. Bands that took the stage included Flatfoot 56, Sexually Frustrated, Blaster the Rocket Man, Sleeping Giant, Take It Back!, Bridgeshadows, The Red Baron, Leper, Filthy 42, and Spirit Child. Hope For The Rejected director Loyal Thurman and assistant director Lucas Walther addressed the crowd, along with Rose Kurczab and Lara Freeburg of The Asylum (our gothic partner ministry), Rise Above pastor Skip Brooks, Joshua Stump of Nashville-based The Anchor Fellowship, The Red Baron frontman Phil Porto, and Jeremy Ritch of Pennsylvania's Hold Fast Ministries. Remarkably, we saw many people defying conventional boundaries by sticking around to listen to bands and speakers from all subcultures. Unity was a common topic spoken from stage, but it wasn't the same type of unity that has been called for in the past. Whereas prior years found leaders calling for brotherhood within scenes, it is apparent that everyone is being convicted of the absolute necessity of unity among all of the underground subcultures, as well as unity between those subcultures and the mainstream Church.

Perhaps the most noteworthy difference at the Festival this year was the overall feeling of Christ-centeredness that was apparent wherever one looked. Over the past few years, I have seen many bands out there who are bold and unashamed about proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the underground. This year, however, I saw that fire intensified, and I saw something new accompanying it: the bands not only welcomed God's presence, they pleaded for it and led the crowds in outright worship experiences. There was passion and heart like we haven't seen for years, and it finally seems that a number of bands—both new and old—have stepped up to whom the Spirit-filled "torch" can be passed. Jeremy Ritch of Hold Fast wrote, quite simply and unequivocably, "I witnessed revival." Although there is much work to be done and a long road to travel, we are seeing the emergence of a humble and devoted generation of followers of Christ in the underground who seem well-prepared for the task.

Book Review: The God Conversation

The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith
by J.P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff
(IVP Books, 11/30/2007)

We live in a society defined largely by postmodern thought. The enlightened minds of our day generally consider truth to be relative and discoverable based on an individualized meaning of things, and the masses have followed suit. A slew of contemporary Christian thinkers have recognized the change that this turn in thinking necessitates to the nature of the Christian apologetic—a shift from "rational" to "relational"—and Youth For Christ even formulated an entirely new and different way of looking at things (3Story) based on this concept of "relational evangelism." Initially, at least, this notion of sharing the gospel of Truth by showing how it affects our lives during the course of our everyday interactions and personal relationships seems very natural. It turns out, though, that most of us aren't very confident in our intrinsic abilities to do so, and so it has become the topic of a number of books.

One of the latest entries to the arena is The God Conversation by J.P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff, and the book utilizes a somewhat different approach than most of its kind. Rather than present a conceptual model for how to do this, or spend a lot of time providing Biblical basis for doing so, the authors seek to provide an overview of—as the subtitle of the book says—"using stories and illustrations to explain your faith." Moreland and Muehlhoff are doctors of philosophy and communication, respectively, and their areas of expertise make them well-qualified to carry out their stated task. In the foreword, author Lee Strobel recalls evangelist Paul Little's analogy of "'putting the cookies on the bottom shelf'—that is, making complex and controversial topics accessible through easy-to-remember nuggets of insight and wisdom." Indeed, listen to any effective preacher and you will discover that they are an expert in this area. They understand that illustrations are not only more practicable, but more memorable as well. Telling a story also sustains the interest of the listener while simultaneously allowing one to repeat a point by rephrasing it. Jesus' parables represent perhaps the best example of this method of teaching.

In The God Conversation, the authors address five of the major relevant issues that any contemporary Christian is likely to face in conversation, and the book is structured so as to allow two chapters for each of these questions. Moreland and Muehlhoff analyze the apparent contradiction of the existence of a good God and pain and suffering, the viability of Christianity as opposed to other religions, the possibility of the Resurrection, moral relativism and absolute Truth, and what the truth or fallacy of Evolution means in terms of Christian truth claims. Each chapter is divided into numerous sections; likewise, these issues will presumably be discussed over the course of a number of "real-life" conversations. For convenience, stories and anecdotal content are set off with a rule down the side of the page. Numerous sidebars give additional insights into the topics and, although I'm glad to have the supplementary information, I feel that this makes the pages seem a bit jumbled. I noticed at least a dozen typographical errors throughout, but this unjustified sloppiness didn't detract from the points the authors were making.

Moreland and Muehlhoff cite a host of the greatest Christian thinkers of the past century, including C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, William Lane Craig, Philip Yancey, Norman Geisler, Michael J. Behe. Having read many of the aforementioned authors, the rest of the material was nothing new to me, although the book certainly provided salutary advice for weaving these thoughts into conversations and making them accessible to those who lack a familiarity with the subjects at hand. The standout portion of the book is the section on moral relativism and absolute Truth, which I considered particularly useful because it adeptly explains how one can use real-life scenarios and examples to frame such a highly theoretical, philosophical issue in a way that can be easily understood.

While I question the applicability to my own daily interactions of all of the specific examples provided herein, I am quite certain that—at the very least—the authors have provided me with some good suggestions on how to structure my discussions, in general. We must recognize, of course, that the highly relational nature of our faith makes impossible a systematic or methodological approach to sharing, and simply glean what lessons and guidelines we can from the anecdotes presented within. That being said, the multitude of stories, analogies and illustrations that the authors include in this volume are certainly helpful and, if one takes their suggestion to heart and takes the time to commit some to memory, they will certainly be useful in future conversations.

The authors conclude with some final cautions, chief among these to avoid the temptation to attempt to get every point across—and use every story and example from the book—in a single conversation. The authors remind us of the critically important and Scripturally-rooted principle of genuinely listening to others before we try to give them the answers to life's questions:

If we want our friends and neighbors to listen to our story, then we must listen to theirs. If we want others to attend to our convictions, then we must first attend to theirs. If we desire for others to cultivate common ground with us, we must do so first. In doing so we will create a communication climate in which we can fulfill our deepest longing—having the God conversation with those who matter most.

This handily sums up the foundation of relational evangelism and a relational apologetic. With its question-and-answer approach and stated intent to address some of the most pressing issues that modern skeptics are likely to bring up, the book also serves as a very good primer to apologetics. Due to obvious limitations, the topics within are covered only cursorily, and the wise reader will certainly recognize that she would be well served by further investigation. Indeed, it is not at all the intention of the authors that The God Conversation be the furthest you delve into the topics. Knowledge comes through prayer, discipleship, and study, and these are the best way to prepare oneself for the conversations that they will actually have. Certainly, one should explore what others have written on the subject, from the titles conveniently listed in each section's "Further Reading" suggestions and beyond as well, but the journey shouldn't end there. Spiritual growth is ongoing, and we will communicate the Truth with increasing effectiveness as we gain better understanding of each of its many facets.

Movie Review: "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

I'll always remember Ben Stein first, of course, as the monotonous high school teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but Stein's resumé is far more extensive. He is also a trial lawyer, economist columnist, and professor who served as a speech-writer for Presidents Nixon and Ford before breaking into the entertainment industry. In a way, then, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed seems like the natural culmination of his collective pursuits in the academic and entertainment arenas.

Expelled is a documentary primarily about the issue of academic freedom. In our country's schools and academic institutions today, the theory of neo-Darwinism—also known as macro-evolution or simply Evolution with a capital 'e'—is taught as incontrovertible fact, even though it has many inconsistencies. Anyone who dares to so much as question particular aspects of the theory—much less its validity in general—is ostracized and faces other serious consequences to their career and reputation. In Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Stein presents the stories of professionals from a number of scientific disciplines who received unfair treatment apparently simply because they gave credence to the possibility that Darwin didn't offer the best and only explanation for the origin of life. Stein allows his trademark dry wit to shine through and the result is a documentary that is anything but dull—a few moments even had me laughing out loud.

Initially, I was somewhat disappointed by the fact that Expelled didn't really get into many of the arguments for "Intelligent Design." The film did, however, make absolutely apparent the gaping holes in Darwinist and neo-Darwinist theory—for example, where did the first living cell come from to begin with? Darwin's theory explains evolution on a small scale [read: adaptation], but does nothing to explain how one species could beget an entirely new one. We also learn that, from a scientific standpoint, Darwin was too vague and nebulous with how he defined things and how he draws his conclusions for his theory to even be considered viable. Clocking in at only 90 minutes long, though, I realize that adding more would have risked compromising the succinctness which which Stein makes his point. The film accomplishes exactly what Stein intended, as stated in the conclusion: he successfully sheds light on the existence of the "wall" that prevents people from even challenging Darwinism, and how absurd it is that this wall exists, when considered from the standpoints of both freedom and good science. Had he really gone further and delved into the actual evidence for ID and against Darwinism, the documentary's length could've stretched into days.

Toward the conclusion of the film, Stein builds his case against the suppression of Intelligent Design ideas by interspersing stock footage of Nazi Germany and the Communist regime that followed. I was a bit offended, at first, by the fact that the filmmakers chose to capitalize on such affective events by making the comparison. I soon realized, though, that the type of totalitarian control that Stein refers to always begins with the suppression of ideas which challenge to the establishment. While I certainly don't feel that there is as devious a conspiracy at work as the implication here might be, Stein does indeed make a powerful metaphor of the Berlin Wall. "Scare tactics"—as some might see them—aside, the film makes a good case for Stein's argument while giving ample time for the most prominent and well-respected neo-Darwinists, including Richard Dawkins, to make their case. As Stein himself states during the course of the film, he simply wants the case reopened and freedom of thought returned to the academic and scientific arenas—he leaves the actual investigation largely to the viewer, after giving some enticing evidence to motivate us. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed leaves the audience with a desire to delve further into the issue, and begs the question: after watching this film with an open mind, can anyone offer a good reason why the case of the origins of life and species shouldn't be reopened?

"Anyone? Anyone?"

---

If you'd like to learn more about Intelligent Design, here are a few places to begin:

• Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution by Michael J. Behe
• Intelligent Design 101: Leading Experts Explain the Key Issues by Michael J. Behe et al.
• The Biblical Basis for Modern Science by Henry M. Morris
• Institute for Creation Research online archives: http://www.icr.org/archives/

Movie Review: "Lake of Fire"

I just recently got around to renting Lake of Fire, a documentary about abortion that gives remarkably evenhanded treatment to the opposing sides of one of the most polarizing and divisive issues of our day.

If anything, Christians and pro-lifers get the negative coverage, if only because those who portray pro-lifers in a negative light are louder and their actions more outrageous than those of the majority. The actions of these misguided people are balanced, though, with footage of the more rational and Christlike champions of the pro-life movement, including coverage of a peaceful 1993 protest at the nation's Capitol. The movie pulls no punches, and shows footage of abortion procedures in all of their gut-wrenching detail. However, I also felt like it lacked many details that would have been helpful, even though it clocks in at a lengthy 2.5 hours. I would have liked to have seen a lot more about the history of abortion and especially the legal background in this country, but instead much time was spent focusing on just a few cases and personalities. This limitation makes the film more of an introductory work, in my mind—something of a jumping-off point for further investigation. Still, there is quite a lot of useful information to be had.

Oddly enough, what was to me the most poignant argument presented for the pro-life position came from the outspokenly pro-choice Noam Chomsky. He attempted to put the issue in perspective by uncovering the rhetoric as he sees it. Chomsky boils it down to an issue of how we define a "child"—more specifically, whether an unborn child is included in that definition—and how that definition affects our morality. He then goes on to [mistakenly] imply that pro-lifers often see pro-choice activists as women who are simply choosing convenience over life. No one on either side of the debate, he points out, would advocate taking the life of a 3-year-old child just because the mother didn't want to take care of it. He is absolutely and obviously correct on this presumption, but for me, following Chomsky's logic begs the question: if it's not right to take the life of a newborn child, why is it alright to take the life of one who is about to be born? And if it's not acceptable to kill a child who will be born in one month, why is it okay if she won't be born for another six? Where do we draw the line, and what criteria do we use? I see no basis—logical, moral, or otherwise—for being able to draw a distinct line between the fetus as "just a fetus" and the fetus as "an unborn child."

Lake of Fire, far from being a vehicle to push the filmmakers' agenda as I had somewhat cynically suspected, had the effect all the same of solidifying my views on abortion and pushing me further toward one end of the spectrum. As someone who, until the past several years, has been relatively lukewarm on the argument, the disturbing images, heartfelt testimonies, and emotive anecdotes forced me to contemplate the issues at hand. In being compelled to rethink and evaluate where I stand on the issue, the only conscientious "choice" I could make was on the side of "life."

Unified Underground 2007 video!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uRR_2-ixrKI

You can learn more about Unified Underground, read a full recap and see tons of photos at www.UnifiedUnderground.com!

UNIFIED UNDERGROUND 2008 will be held October 10-12, 2008! Keep an eye on the site for more details as they become available!


www.UnifiedUnderground.com