I just spent three days in the past, present, and future. It was a 72-hour run that drove home the fact that culture rolls on. . . . picking up mass, volume, and speed. And, I was reminded that depravity is woven in and through everything, but the Gospel of Kingdom is a real as ever. . . and the Kingdom that's come is still coming!
I spent all day Friday with Britney Spears. Well, it wasn't in the flesh. . . but then again it was. If you're confused by that last statement, all you have to do is check out her new video for "Womanizer." It's the one that jumped from #96 to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in no time at all. It's a huge pop culture presence this week. I've made the risky decision to embed the video here in my blog. But I do so giving you fair warning. Britney shows us who she really is, both figuratively and literally in "Womanizer."
Lest we forget, the video's really about showing our children and teens not only who she is, but who they're supposed to be. That's why I think it's important to reckon with "Womanizer." My time with Britney and "Womanizer" resulted in a new 3-D review of the song that you can download here. The envelope's been stretched again, and we can't ignore it. Rather, we have to face it head on. Britney's "Womanizer" present casts a reality that gives us all a glimpse into a future - a very near future - that we must be addressing prophetically, preventively, and redemptively.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in the present of my past. The church where I spent my high school years, only to come back a little over ten years later to serve as the youth pastor for six years, was celebrating a mission's weekend as part of their 50th anniversary. Because of the role Supplee Presbyterian Church played in my own life and spiritual development, the fingerprint of God's gathering people at Supplee is all over CPYU. Now, they support our ministry. It was a joy to see old friends, to reconnect, and to see what God has been doing in everyone's lives. It was very, very enjoyable. Thinking back to my own high school years, my time in youth group, and my time leading the youth group. . . . well. . . . it only hammered home the fact that culture is changing and changing fast. But what really jumped out at me are two committments that have remained strong at Supplee for as long as I've known the church - a commitment to the proclamation of the Word, and a commitment to proclaiming that Word to kids. It's needed to balance the message that Britney heard, that Britney's embraced, and that Britney's passing on to a generation of kids hungry for redemption.
So. . . . know the Word, know Britney and the generation for which and to whom she speaks, and prayerfully work to communicate the Word into that very disheartening reality.
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