The Cartoon Song: A Reflection

In the late '90s, Christian radio stations were abuzz with the hidden track on the album Past the Edges by Chris Rice: Cartoons.



Without question, it is a catchy, fun little song. It presents us with a simple hypothetical to consider: What if cartoons "got saved"? And it is clever to imagine how those famous cartoons would say "hallelujah". And yet, as imaginative as this song is, the message that it sends leaves much to be desired...

The song suggests that "Beavis and that other guy" won't be or can't be saved. The slight pause and one word dismissal of "nah" makes at least some people in the live audience laugh -- there are some who cheer, even -- but, I don't see the humor or joy in it. Why is it that we think that these two cartoon characters can be so easily tossed aside? Is it their choice of dress? Is it their choice of music? Maybe it is their presumed education level or their choice of language? Why is it so difficult to imagine Beavis and Butthead getting saved?

The answer really all depends on your understanding of salvation. Some people believe that salvation is totally dependent on our actions -- that is to say that we humans have a kind of authoritative role in whether or not we are saved. Some say -- either with their actual words or with their actions -- that salvation is based on our believing something or doing something or saying something, as though our being saved or not is dependent upon our "works".

I don't agree with this understanding. You see, I don't believe that we humans (or cartoons, for that matter) have any authoritative role in "being saved". Salvation has nothing to do with any choice that I could ever make. It has nothing to do with any magic words or special incantations. It is not something that comes about because of our "works". Salvation is not something that we do. God - and God alone - is the one who acts through Christ. If salvation is dependent on me and my actions/choices, then that would mean that God is bound by me...and that is a really weak God! Salvation is a gift from God -- pure and simple.

So, I have to wonder... why say "nah" when considering what it would be like if Beavis and Butthead were saved? Is God not capable of extending the gift of salvation to characters like them? God doesn't hesitate to save Fred Flinstone, a character who frequently mistreats his wife. God readily saves Scooby-doo and Shaggy, who are known trespassers (and long suspected drug users). God has no problem saving someone like Yogi Bear, who is an admitted thief. And yet, according to the song, God has no interest in saving two teenage boys who like to watch MTV.

Really?!? I'm just not buying it... I wholeheartedly believe that God is fully capable of saving Beavis and Butthead! Do I know that God would save them? No. I don't know that any more than I can know if God would save anyone else! I don't claim to know the mind of God. This is why I find it rather upsetting that there are "Christians" who dare to make judgement calls like Chris Rice has in his song "Cartoons". There is no good reason to suggest -- even in jest -- that God has no interest in or ability to save someone...

Jesus said -- without mincing words -- that we are not called to make these kinds of judgements. "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get (Matthew 7:1-2)." It is pretty clear that none of us are in any position to decide whether or not God would save someone. If we're going to be judged according to the judgments that we make, then I am going to follow the rules of love and grace...

Advent Re-Post

Advent is here! And followers of my blog may already be aware of the fact that I have a fun habit of having all kinds of crazy things happen to me during the Advent season. I am, apparently, a kind of magnet for these sorts of things.

Well, so far this Advent has yet to present anything too crazy... But, there are still 3 weeks to go. In the meantime, I thought I would provide you all with links to my favorite Advent-ures from years gone by: And That's When I Set Myself On Fire (Part 1) & And That's When I Set Myself On Fire (Part 2).

Enjoy, my friends!!

Time for a Facelift (for the blog, that is)

I'm trying out a new look for the blog... What do you think?

Holy Week According to Facebook

I admit that I am a Facebook junkie. So, when I saw this posted on one of my friend's pages, I had to share it. Basically, it is meant to look like Jesus' Facebook page during Holy Week.

Enjoy!

Check It Out Here

I'm Not Keen On Shaving My Head, So...

Ok...so, I'm looking for ideas. Have you ever participated in a fundraiser or some sort of challenge for a club or group where the leaders name their goal and say that "if you reach this goal, then Bob (or whoever drew the short straw) is going to have his head shaved (or something like that)"? Know what I'm talking about? Usually, it is some school group that is challenged to raise several thousand dollars. If they go above and beyond, then the principle or that goofy science teacher that everybody likes finds that they have a date with some hair clippers.

For whatever reason, the only ones that I can recall always involve someone ending up bald.

So, here's what I'm wondering... Besides the tried-and-true "shaving of the head" bit, what other "rewards" could there be? I'm thinking about this, since I would like to issue a challenge to the congregation that I serve - and I would like to add a fun twist to the challenge. But, I don't really think that folks will actually WANT me to shave my head, so I'm guessing that THAT isn't the best "prize" to suggest.

Anyone have any ideas?

E-Z Answer Squirrel

If only...

Ring Them Bells!

In honor of my love of the Muppets, and in celebration of the Christmas and Holiday Season...

The Great Flood of 2008... in Rhyme

'Twas the week before Christmas,
and in Macomb, Illinois,
not a person was driving -
neither a girl, nor a boy.
The ice storm had come,
and much power was down.
The ice coated EVERYTHING
in this Midwestern town.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
was only 2 days away,
and the pastor at First Pres
found she needed to pray.
A parishioner called
and needed some help.
"The church building's flooded,"
he said with a yelp!
The ice, it would seem,
had coated the church,
clogging all of the drain spouts,
forcing the water to search
for the easiest path
to escape from the roof.
So the water flowed inside,
where things aren't so rustproof.
The pastor's left eye, well,
it started to twitch;
she feared driving to church
she'd end up in a ditch.
But she managed to get there
with the help of a friend
(who's own church then flooded
before the month's end)!

It had flooded the Chapel's
newly carpeted floor,
and it dripped from the speakers
and was soaked up by the door!
It flooded the pastor's old office -
and how!
She was ever so thankful
to not be in there now!
The water flowed into
the Conference Room,
and the pastor wondered when
the adult class could resume.
Down in the basement
the water dripped, too,
causing ceilings to crash
and tiles to unglue.
They gathered up waste cans
from each nook and cranny -
the number of leaks
and the drips was uncanny!
And up on the roof
they caused quite a clatter;
as they chipped at the ice,
my teeth started to chatter.
The work to clean up
went on through the night,
as the pastor, sexton, and others
worked with all of their might.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent -
it came and it went,
for the ice storm made it too hard
to attend any event.
But the Christmas Eve service
went according to plan,
and we all celebrated the birth
of the Son of Man.

I Need a Laugh... Don't You?

This has turned out to be quite the interesting Advent and Christmas Season... There will be a blog posting after Christmas with all of the crazy, wacky details. I may not have set myself on fire this year (at least not yet), but this is definitely one for the record books.

In the meantime, I need a good laugh. So... Enjoy!

Java, Others, and You...?

So, my friend Gary shared this link with folks in my Presbytery the other day. I highly recommend that you check out the website, as it has some pretty interesting things to say about marketing your church. Seriously, folks, we need to wake up and smell the coffee...

Advent Musings

So, clearly I have not been able to blog in a while... It has been a bit crazy these last several weeks, so I appreciate any and all prayers that are being aimed in my general direction.

It seems that there is at least one thing that happens every Advent that is, well... unexpected. All you have to do is take a brief stroll down memory lane and read some of my blog entries from last year to see what I mean. While nothing has come crashing down so far, and I have (to this point) been able to avoid setting myself on fire again, there have been a few moments during this Advent season when I have found myself asking, "Really? This is what is going to happen this Sunday?" Since there is still one Sunday left in this Advent season, I will delay in writing about those adventures... at least for today. We'll see what this Sunday brings...

Oh -- if you haven't checked out the joy that is Wordle.net, you really need to wander over to see it! Check out this nifty creation (based on the stroll down memory lane that I mentioned above...)!

Poll Results -- What Language I Should Learn Next (according to you)

I wanted to write a quick note about the results of the last poll that I had posted regarding what language you fine people thought that I should study next. I thought that the results were rather interesting, with 60% of you voting for me to study Spanish. I should say that I have studied Spanish before, but I could certainly use a refresher course or two.

Really, I had imagined that more of you would have voted for me to study Korean, but that only received one vote! I am increasingly interested in learning Korean -- especially since there are so many Presbyterian brothers and sisters who speak Korean that I would like to be able to communicate with more easily at presbytery meetings and the like. Although, I would like to brush up on my Spanish for the same reason...

I have not yet ordered the materials to begin my study, but I hope to be able to do that before the end of this year. At this point, I am feeling especially drawn to brushing up my Spanish skills; but, I imagine that I will be taking on a study of Korean before too long, as well. I am likely going to use Rosetta Stone, so I would be very interested to hear from people who have used these materials in the past (or present).

Presbymeme II -- My Response

Ok... time for me to dive into Presbymeme II. (I know that I wrote more than 25 words on number 5, but I shortened it as best I could...)

1. What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus.

It is a tie, I think, between How Great Thou Art and This Is My Father's World.

2. What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?

Using Galatians 1:6-10 and 3:19-29, my colleague challenged us to recognize that labels we place on one another are all erased in Christ.

3. If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?

I would have to choose And That's When I Set Myself on Fire... Part 1.

4. What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?

In no particular order: Good News from PGR, Presbyterian Bloggers, and reyes-chow::MODERATOR

5. If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Some of our "families" within this family seem to be very different from one another - apples and oranges, even. But, as the father says in the movie: "We all different, but in the end, we all fruit."

Tagged: Pastor Julie, David Parker, David Esche, Joel Adams, and Landon Whitsitt.

Presbymeme II

Ok... so, for those who are unfamiliar with memes, you may want to read this (or this) first.

Our techno-savvy Moderator has blessed us with another meme - Presbymeme II! (Apparently, he initiated one a few months ago that he called Presbymeme 5... And, apparently I missed that one. I will be posting my thoughts on that one later.)

Today, I will post the rules and questions. Soon, I will post my response.

The Rules // Presbymeme II

• in about 25 words each, answer the following five questions;
• tag five presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged;
• be sure to link to this original post, leave a comment or send a trackback to this post so others can find you;

The Questions // Presbymeme II

1. What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus.
2. What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?
3. If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?
4. What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?
5. If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?

You Just Can't Trust People in Disney Costumes Anymore

No, my friends, you just cannot make up news like this. It was the headline of "Beware the Preying Pooh" that caught my attention...

Say What?

So, I have always been pretty good at learning languages. It has been a while since I have taken a language course -- if we don't count Hebrew and Greek (since I don't speak in those languages all that much), it has been about 10 years.

So, the time has come for me to start learning a language again! And I am welcoming you into my discernment process on this as I try to decide which language I am going to learn (or re-learn). Just vote for the language that you think I should try to learn next (using the poll in the column to the right). Voting will be open until August 25th.

I may or may not go with the majority on this, but I assure you that I do not already have my mind made up right now -- I really want your input! So, help a sister out and vote, please!

New Links and Blog List

I've changed my Top 5 Links again -- two of them are the same, but I added three new ones that I hope you will enjoy. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Also, I have listed some of the blogs that I like to read. Most of them are written by friends of mine! I hope that you take some time to give them a look. Enjoy!

Franken-Phone (It's Alive!)

So, my cell phone decided to come to life the other day. Really.

About a month ago, my cell phone started acting all crazy-like whenever I tried to use my bluetooth headset. All of a sudden, it wouldn't connect properly. So, I took it to the Verizon store and they gave me a replacement phone. The new one seemed to work okay. All seemed well.

But last week, my "new" phone started acting of its own free will. It started by hanging up on people while I was still trying to have conversations. These were not your typical "dropped call" situations. It stopped connecting to my bluetooth headset again. The "recent calls" menu would pop up without my even touching the phone.

I started to wonder if I needed to get in touch with a young priest and and old priest...

But this last Tuesday, my cell phone officially stepped out on its own. I was leading a training session on the new Presbyterian Women Bible Study. My cell phone was in my purse. Apparently, it got bored... so it called my dad. It was a flip phone. No way to "pocket dial". My bluetooth headset was in my car. And yet, according to my recent calls menu, I had called my dad a few times in the middle of my training session. I had even answered a few of his calls (since he called me back, wondering why I was calling and then not saying anything when he answered).

Maybe the young priest and old priest would have been a good idea...

Needless to say, I have a completely different phone now. And really, I couldn't be happier. How I survived this long without a phone that has a full keyboard, I'll never know. Plus, this phone doesn't seem to have a life of its own...

Buffalo Wild Wings

So, I had a great time at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Urbana (technically, I think it is in Savoy) on May 2nd. My friend Ruth and I, along with my new friend Jon, played trivia (of course). We actually did quite well, too -- first, second, and third place in this round (with yours truly coming in third)! Yes, my nickname on Buzztime Trivia is "Pasta"... It is all thanks to my young friend Grace, who (when she was 2 years old) couldn't quite pronounce "Pastor"... thus I became known as "Pasta Amy". As an Italian, I don't think that the nickname is all that far off, really...

Our server, Sam, was the greatest! He had a bunch of tables of not-so-greatful kids and parents that didn't know how to tip... but he was the best to us! Yay for Sam! I think we tipped him about 50% that night -- and not just to help make up for the jerks at the other tables who were treating him like crap. Alas, Sam is moving to Chicago. I wish him the best of luck. Sam, let me know if you want any contacts in the Windy City, and I'll try to get you hooked up!

So...more about the trivia... If you have never played Buzztime Trivia at a Buffalo Wild Wings, you are missing out! It is serious fun! Plus, if you sign up for a free account, you can earn points that could result in your winning prizes (and not just bragging rights)! I'm officially signed up now, so the points are slowly adding up. My working lunches now tend to involve some theological reading material and trivia... Asian Zing Boneless Wings, fresh celery with ranch or blue cheese dressing, a good book, and a Playmaker... Nice!

Drumming on the Side of the Road

So, I saw something the other day that was quite possibly the most random and bazaar thing that I have ever seen in my life while driving. As I was driving along, I noticed a car that had pulled over and parked on the right side of the highway. Then I noticed that the driver was no longer sitting in his car. No... he had gotten out of the car. He had crossed the ditch on the side of the road, and he was now in the midst of the weeds and tall grass... where he had set up a full drum set - snare, bass, crash cymbals, and the whole nine yards! Indeed, there he was (wearing only his boxer shorts) banging on the drums as loud as he could - all on the side of the highway! I don't know if it was some strange form of protest or what, but it was - by far - one of the strangest things that I have ever seen in my life so far!