Voting is still underway for the 1st round, but we wanted to go ahead and give you a heads up about the schedule for the rest of the tournament….

Midnight Tonight – Voting for the 1st round ends

8am Wednesday, March 14th - 1st Round matchup winners will be announced & we will give you a leaderboard update for those that submitted brackets

9am Wednesday. March 14th – Voting for the “Salacious 16″ round will begin and last until midnight Wednesday night

8am Thursday, March 15th – We will announce the Salacious 16 winners and update the leaderboard

9am Thursday, March 15th - Voting for the “Egregious 8″ round will begin and last until midnight Thursday night

8am Friday, March 16th – We will announce the Egregious 8 winners and update the leaderboard

9am Friday, March 16th – Voting for the “4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse” round will begin and last until midnight SUNDAY night

8am Monday, March 19th – We will announce the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse winners and update the leaderboard

9am Monday, March 19th – Voting for the American Jesus Madness Championship will begin and last until midnight Monday night

8am Tuesday, March 20th – We will announce the winner of the 2nd annual American Jesus Madness tournament as well as the winner of our bracket challenge

*Note: All times as CST

American Jesus Madness is officially underway!!

Brackets have been submitted and now it’s time too vote.

You don’t have to have submitted a bracket in order to vote, nor is their a limit on how many times you can vote. But if you did submit a bracket, make sure you have all of your friends stop by and vote for your picks so you can make sure you win our $50 iTunes gift card!

And remember, you can vote for whoever or whatever you want to for whatever reason you choose. But we will judge you if you vote for Mark Driscoll or John Piper.

Anyway, the talk is over! Let the voting begin!

UPDATE: Apparently “block repeat voting” had not been turned off on the polls. It’s fixed now, so you can now vote as often as you like. Please accept our humblest apologies for the mixup.

UPDATE 2: REMEMBER – voting ends at midnight (CST) tonight!!

VOTING HAS CLOSED FOR THE 1ST ROUND OF AMERICAN JESUS MADNESS

Today is your last chance to submit your bracket for our annual American Jesus Madness tournament!!

What is American Jesus Madness you ask?

It’s our version of March Madness, but instead of basketball teams we use pop Christian culture and let you vote on the winners.

Our bracket may be made up, but the prize is very real!

This year, we’re giving away a $50 iTunes gift card to whoever chooses the most correct “winners” from each matchup!!

It’s simple to enter and your chances of winning are a WHOLE LOT BETTER than winning ESPN’s bracketology.

So don’t wait!

Check out the rules and deadlines here and sumbit your bracket today.

Hurry, the tournament starts tomorrow!!

If you’ve been on Facebook or Twitter or simply turned on CNN sometime in the past few days, then chances are you’ve probably either watched Invisible Children‘s Kony 2012 video or at least heard about the campaign.

If you haven’t, it’s part of an effort to arrest Joseph Kony, the International Criminal Court’s most wanted man. Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistence Army and the purputrator of unspeakable crimes against children and their families.

As noble as this campaign appears to be, it has received a considerable amount of criticism since it exploded across the internet. This isn’t a post, however, about either that criticism or the virtues of trying to bring one of the world’s most vile people to justice.

Instead, I want to look at what the incredible popularity surrounding this campaign says about 21st century social activism, particularly when it involves those of us in the Christian faith. Obviously, people of all stripes, both religious and non-religious, have jumped on board this campaign, but if Facebook is any indicator it seems to have struck a particular chord among those inside the church.

After a few days of trying to process both the criticism and praise directed towards Invisible Children‘s campaign the dust has begun to settle in my mind and I’ve noticed a few things, both good and not so good about our collective response.

You may not have noticed the same things that I have or you may completely disagree with my observations, but these are some of things that, for me, the response to Kony 2012 reveals about 21st century social activism, particularly in the church.

1. Social media is a fast and powerful tool

This goes without saying and it doesn’t take a genius to realize it. However, the speed at which this campaign has spread (26 million+ YouTube views in 48 hours) and the reach the campaign has found (from celebrities to global news coverage) should be an incredible reminder to all of us of how powerful social media can be, both for good and evil. Great good can be accomplished when social media creates awareness about important issues or raises support for people in need. Great evil can occur when it is used as a weapon to bully others. Kony 2012 should remind us how very careful we must be with this powerful tool.

2. Social media has quickly become an unquestioned authority

Most of us like to think of ourselves as informed people (I know I do), but I think social media demonstrates that most of us are more gullible than we are informed. I don’t mean that necessarily in a bad way. Rather, we all seem to give intrinsic authority to what we read or watch online even though we know we shouldn’t. If we follow a link to a slick video or a professional looking website, more often than not, we accept what we find as true, especially if it is our first time encountering the given topic. We can pretend that this isn’t the case, but how else do we explain the speed at which celebrity death rumors spread on Twitter of videos like Kony 2012 spread across Facebook? We wouldn’t share these things if we knew they weren’t true. We share or retweet these things because we assume they are true before we ever look into the validity of the claim (if we ever do). In short, we react more often with our gut than we do with our brains, believing whatever we want to believe. This isn’t healthy or helpful.

3. We are a passionate generation

When I saw “we”, I mean the current 18-35 year old generation of which I am a part. Things go viral or get popular because we’re passionate about what we love. Whether those things we love are music, activism, books, movies, food, or video games the success or failure of these things rest of how well they tap into our passion. We don’t have the sort of singular challenge of the World War II or Civil Rights generations, so in looking for purpose in life we pour out our passions wherever and whenever we find the opportunity. Something like Kony 2012 taps in perfectly to this desire for purpose and meaning which is exactly why it exploded across the web.

4. Our passion extends only to the effort it takes to watch a video or retweet something

We may be brimming with passion, but more often than not that passion fizzles out quickly. I hate to say it, but I have a pretty strong feeling that Kony 2012 will pass out of our collective consciousness very soon. Perhaps not as quickly as it arrived, but within a few months something else we deem important and urgent will come around, distract us, and Kony 2012 will become “so yesterday”. It happened with Haiti and Japan. It will happen again. This is because, for the most part, our passion isn’t nearly as deep as we pretend that it is. We’re eager to click away at buttons on the internet, but turning that passion into a lasting way of life in the real world is something else all together. More on that in a minute…

5. We are beginning to understand the practical implications of the gospel

For our parent’s generation, spreading the gospel was almost exclusively defined by making converts. For my generation, the growing focus seems to be on social justice, or how we are meet the physical and practical needs of those around us. This usually isn’t done in exclusion to the gospel, rather it is the gospel that spurs this very Christ-like concern for the poor, the oppressed, and the persecuted. We’re learning, or perhaps remembering, that the gospel speaks to both body and soul.

6. Boundaries and borders are no longer relevant

The internet has torn down the cultural boundaries and geographical borders that once divided us. With nothing more than a smartphone we can instantly be in communication with anyone, anywhere on the planet and know almost anything there is it know in the world. Without resources like the internet and social media, atrocities like those in Northern Uganda would go completely unnoticed for most of us. With this incredible interconnectedness we are able to more easily answer Jesus’ call to go to the very ends of the earth. Of course, with these incredible resources comes equally incredible responsibilities. Strangers on the other side of the world are now are neighbors, and despite what you might have heard, we are our brother’s keeper.

7. Jesus is less relevant to our gospel

Or at least we don’t seem to know how to include him in our evangelistic efforts. As traditional boundaries and borders are broken down and multicultural communities become the norm, rather than the exception we are faced with people who not only don’t know the name of Jesus, but who are often not interested in the gospel we have to share. So, in response many of us simply put Jesus on the back burner for fear of offending others. However, if Christ-ian is going to be our defining identity, then we will have to find new and creative ways to keep Christ at the center of all that we do. Without Christ our good deeds lack the transformative power necessary for us to achieve our lofty goal of changing the world.

8. We like our theology to fit on a bumper sticker 

We don’t like to think a lot. It gets in the way of playing Angry Birds. We prefer soundbites. We want everything to be simple and easy to digest, which is why we ignore so many other global issues. We don’t want to deal with the messiness of complex global problems. It’s easier to pretend that everything can be solved with simple solutions. Which is why a 30-minute video about a nearly 30 year old atrocity is so appealing. And when I say “theology” I’m not simply talking about its abstract, intellectual side. If that’s all theology was, then perhaps fitting it on a bumper sticker or poster would be ok, but theology is meant to lead to a particular way of life. When our faith is reduced to nothing more than a Facebook share or colored bracelet, it’s not faith at all. It’s simply a nice thought that requires no action. Which leads to number 9….

9. We’re full of it

We’re willing to put up a poster, wear a bracelet, or maybe donate money to a cause, but we’re not so interested in changing our way of life. For example, we’ll decry the violence in Northern Uganda until we’re blue in the face, but few of us are willing to abandon using our cell phones whose raw materials lead to so much violence in the region. Or we’ll protest the pathetic wages of workers in Southeast Asia, but most of us refuse to give up the technological devices those expoilted workers create. If we genuinely cared as much as we claim tocare on Facebook, we would make serious, long lasting changes. Instead, the most any of us seem willing to give up is 30 hours of food or perhaps 40 days without a soda. Not exactly the Christlike self sacrifice we preach about and definitely not the sort of action that will cause any real change in the world. In other words, we’re full of it. However….

10. If we can learn how to be authentically Christian in a complex world, we might actually change the world

It’s easy to be critical and pessimistic about my generation, but what if we actually do figure out a way to live out our incredible potiential and seize the unprecedented opportunities we have for sharing the kingdom of God with the world?

What would happen if we found a cause we’re passionate about and stuck to it for years, rather than a few weeks? What would happen if our efforts to, say, feed the hungry meant we actually went down to a soup kitchen and fed people rather than simply tweeting statistics about famine? What would happen if “Christian” wasn’t simply a part of our Facebook profile or a collection of things we “liked” on our timeline, but a particular way of life in which we constantly seek out tangible ways to serve others in the real world?

I think if we can begin to see the power of the internet and social media as simply a stepping stone to real action, then we may just do exactly what the producers of Kony 2012 hope to do. We may just change the course of human history forever.

Well, that’s what’s been rolling around in my head over the weekend, but what do you think about all of this?

What am I missing?

Is putting up a poster or “liking” a video on Facebook all that’s required for “changing the world” in the 21st century or can we do more?

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

We’ve done the research for you. So, all you have to do is submit your bracket, vote for the winner, and wait for your prize to arrive in the mail.

As promised here are the breakdowns for the 1st round matchups of American Jesus Madness….

Mark Driscoll vs. Fake Mark Driscoll

If you’re not familiar with Mark Driscoll, count yourself lucky. He’s the pastor of Seattle mega-church Mars Hill and he’s here to remind you how much God hates you, but also that God wants you to have a lot of marital sex so you can keep your wife perpetually barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. On the other side of this battle is the Twitter account “Fake Mark Driscoll”. This hilarious twitter feed, run by blogger Stephanie Drury, gives us the “real” insight into the goings on at Mars Hill. Who wins? Well, that depends on whether you enjoy funny parody or tragic reality more.

Complimentarianism vs. Rachel Held Evans

If you’ve never heard the word “complimentarianism” before it’s not because you’re illiterate. It’s because it’s a made up word used by those in the Reformed theology camp to keep women from having any position of leadership in either the church or the household. Here to battle this patriarchal theology is the expert in all things “biblical womanhood”, author and blogger Rachel Held Evans. For a while now she’s been fighting the good internet fight against ridiculous theology. Now will see if she has what it takes to win in the octagon of arbitrary public voting.

Gay Affirming Christians vs. Westboro Baptist

For years now, there has been issue more hotly debated in the church than that of homosexuality. While many Christians have come to embrace homosexuals as their brothers and sisters in the faith, many others adamantly reject this inclusion, while still others find themselves somewhere in the middle. We’re figured this thing can be easily resolved if we just put it to a vote in an arbitrary, strictly for humor vote. Why didn’t somebody think of this earlier? Of course, to solve this ecclesiastical conundrum, we couldn’t think of anyone more fitting for them to face than Westboro Baptist. Besides, if we left Westboro out we figured they would probably show up at our houses to protest.

Chik-Fil-A vs. In-N-Out

This is an epic clash between the two greatest fast food restaurants on the face of the planet. Incidently, they both have Christian owners. Chick-Fil-A may be the more famously Christian of the two, but In-N-Out puts their faith where your mouth is going to be (well almost). John 3:16 is inscribed on the bottom of every cup they sell. The only loser in this battle is those of us who don’t live close enough to Chik-Fil-A and/or In-N-Out to enjoy them on a regular basis.

John Piper vs. Masculinity

John Piper is like a senior citizen version of Mark Driscoll who doesn’t talk as much about sex. But he also wants you to know that God hates you which is why “He” sends tornadoes to destroy your home and kill everyone you know. Piper also wants you to know that Christianity is a masculine religion. But masculinity called us to expression his frustrations over this. Apparently masculinity is none to happy to be associated with a Bible full of “inferior” female authors and “weak” female heroes. Masculinity was particularly upset to be connected to a faith centered around a guy who, in masculinity’s words, “didn’t have the balls to fight the S.O.B.s that nailed him to a cross.” So, we decided to pit John Piper against the masculinity he thinks he loves so much.

Pope Benedict XVI vs. Jefferson Bethke

There is no Christian on the planet more famous than Pope Benedict XVI. For a few days, though, Jefferson Bethke gave him a run for his money. He’s the now famous rapping poet behind the viral video “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus”. Despite the fact that Mr. Bethke learned everything he said in the video via organized religion, he is convinced that “real” Christianity isn’t an organized religion. So, what better matchup for the rapping poet than the leader of the largest organized religion on the planet?

Rick Santorum vs. Women’s Health

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, you know that Rick Santorum is running for President of the United States. So, as an added test for his candidacy we’ve matched him up with one of his biggest foes: women’s health. If he can pass this test, then perhaps he truly is ready to become our next President. Or maybe not….

Jack Chick vs. Invisible Children

The great-grandfather of religious tracts, Jack Chick, returns to American Jesus Madness this year as our reigning champ. Somehow Jack managed to come out of nowhere last year to run the table at our inaugural tournament. This year he’s pitted against the new face of spreading the gospel in the 21st century, Invisible Children. This non-profit is less concerned with “turn or burn” and more concerned with whether nor African children can live long enough to even make it to a church. Their Kony 2012 effort to bring down Joseph Kony has exploded this week. So, who wins this matchup between old school proselytizing and new school practical evangelism? Well, that’s up to you.

Rob Bell vs. Discernment Ministries

Rob Bell had a big year last year. First he got sent to hell for not sending anybody to hell. Then he resigned from “the other Mars Hill” to move to Hollywood and produce some sort of quasi-Christian television show for ABC. Following him (and ever other preacher they deem unacceptable) every step are so-called “discernment ministries”. These self-appointed arbitrators of Christian truth believe it is their divine calling to separate the church into “true Christians” and heretics by leading witch hunts creating lists (literally) for you to reference. Well, we thought we would return the favor and let you “discern” who the “true” Christian is in this matchup.

Pat Robertson vs. Rational Christianity

The once great sage (for some people) of the 700 Club has now become the cranky, senile old man on the porch who yells at teenagers who get too close to his lawn. So, what better to matchup against Robertson’s irrationality than Rational Christianity? Rational Christianity is that form of Christianity that realizes you don’t have to be a fundamentalist, hate evolution, and believe everything in the world is some sort of demonic, left-wing political conspiracy in order to be an “authentic” Christian. Even if rational Christianity comes out on top in this matchup, we’re pretty sure it’s still losing in the real world.

Stephen Colbert’s Lent Ashes vs. Justin Beiber’s Jesus Tattoo

If American Christianity has taught us anything it’s the importance of outward expressions of our inward faith. If people don’t know you love Jesus, then what’s the point, right? Helping us out in this department are two titans of popular culture. In the role of traditional, seemingly sincere expression of faith we have Stephen Colbert and his Ash Wednesday ashes that he boldly wears on his show every year. In the role of cliche, seemingly shallow expression of faith we have Justin Beiber and the enormous tattoo of Jesus’ face he had inked on his leg this year. We normally say “to each his own” on expressions of faith, but this is a cutthroat competition! It’s time to get judgmental!

Social Conservative Christians vs. Social Justice Christians

This matchup is a battle for the hearts and minds of the faithful. We’ve got social conservatives at one end who draw the boundary lines of the Christian faith around particular social/ethical issues and which way you vote for them at the ballot box. At the other end of things we’ve got social justice Christians who are focused instead on what the church is doing to help those in need. Rational Christianity would want us to offer a middle ground here or possible a “both” option. But this isn’t a rational tournament. You’ve got the choose! [Insert evil laugh]

Joel Osteen vs. Eddie Long

We wanted to leave Joel Osteen out of the tournament this year, but dang it, it wouldn’t stop grinning at us. How do you say no to that smile?? So we let him in and decided to match him up to the most infamous pastor of the last year, Eddie Long. After getting caught up is a less than flattering scandal, Bishop Long ended the past year on a high note by being crowned king. Seriously. No matter who wins this matchup, their continued popularity in the church makes us all losers.

Church Discipline vs. Matthew Paul Turner

Nobody likes having to go through church discipline. Except apparently the folks at Mars Hill who seem to be a bit obsessed with it. That being said, we have to imagine they (and in particular Mark Driscoll) weren’t too happy with blogger and author Matthew Paul Turner leaked internal church documents that revealed just how serious Mars Hill is about their church discipline. There’s probably a middle ground here too, but again, this isn’t reality. It’s an absurd, make believe tournament pitting real people and intangible things in imaginary pseudo-battles determined by anonymous, arbitrary voting. So, you’ve got to choose: autonomous dictatorships or cross-denominational accountability?! [Reinsert evil laugh]

Third Eagle of the Apocalypse vs. 2012 Apocalypse

If was a HUGE year for our favorite self-proclaimed YouTube prophet. First, he made not one, not two, but THREE appearances on Anderson Cooper’s Ridiculist. Then, it was featured on The Colbert Report! However, now William Tapley must face one of his greatest challenges ever: the 2012 Apocalypse. Who will will this epic battle: a crazy old man with a video camera and a keyboard in Main or the ancient Mayans? Hopefully neither, but we’ve decided to put our future in your hands anyway.

Tim Tebow vs. Jeremy Lin

Last but not least we have an epic matchup between the 2 most popular Christian athletes in recent memory. On one hand, we have Tim Tebow, known more for his Christian faith than his actual professional playing ability. On the other hand, we have Jeremy Lin, known more for his actual professional playing ability than his Christian faith.

Well, that’s it. It’s up to you now!

Fill out your bracket, submit it, and then start vote like crazy on Tuesday!

It’s here!!

Presenting the official 2012 American Jesus Madness bracket!

Big thanks to everyone who took the time to make nominations for the bracket. We really appreciate it.

Just to recap….American Jesus Madness is our spin on March Madness (which begins next week), but instead of basketball teams, we use pop Christian culture.

Obviously these people and things can’t “play” each other, so we settle the battles by voting. Starting on Tuesday you’ll determine the winners of every match by voting in our interactive polls. What are you voting on exactly?

Well, that’s up to you.

You could simply vote for which person you like better, which you like less, which one is more entertaining, which one would win in a bar fight, which one is more sane, which one is more insane, which one is a bigger jerk, or you could get really judgmental and vote on which one you think is the better or worse Christian.

Whoever or whatever gets the most votes advances on to the next round.

Frustrated that it’s not a clear, set in stone rationale? Well, sorry. It’s just for fun. Besides, isn’t irrationality exactly what American Christianity is all about anyway??

But because we love you all so much, we’re going to help you out later today with a 1st Round match by match breakdown. You may not be familiar with everyone or everything in the tournament, so we’ll provide a brief description of every single match-up to help you out with your voting.

Here’s the really fun part…..WE’RE GIVING AWAY A $50 iTUNES GIFT CARD to whoever wins our bracket challenge!!

That’s right!

Whoever chooses the most “winners” correctly will be declared our winner and we’ll mail them our illustrious prize.

Wanna increase your chances of winning for free?? Of course you do! Well it’s simple….voting is unlimited, so vote for your choices as often as possible, then share a link to the tourney on Facebook and get your friends to vote for all of your winners too.

Play your cards right and you’ll win this thing no problem.

Anyway, here’s the all important rules and guidelines….

 
RULES & DEADLINES

-You MUST be a living, breathing human being to enter (sorry, we’re prejudice like that)

-Only 1 entry per person

-In order you enter you must do one (or preferably all) of the following and let us know which one(s) you did when you submit your bracket

“Like” us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Subscribe to The American Jesus

If you already do all three, share this link to the tourney on Facebook /Twitter

-We don’t have an awesome digital entry system like ESPN so you will need to print off the bracket (it gets much bigger & easier to read when you click on it), fill it in, scan it/take a picture of it/whatever, and email it back to us

-Make sure to include your name and address with your bracket submission so we can mail you your prize if you win!!

-The deadline for submitting your bracket is Monday, March 12th @ 12am CST 

-The tournament/voting will begin Tuesday, March 13th @ 8am CST, at which time the schedule for the following rounds will be announced

-Correct selections will be award the following points: 1st round – 1 point; 2nd round – 5 points; 3rd round – 10 points; 4th round – 20 points; championship – 40 points

- In case of a tie, we will have a sudden death tie breaker in which each person will choose a celebrity Christian representative, make their case for why that person/place/thing should win, and then we will give everyone 24 hours to vote on a winner.If you’ve got any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section.

Good luck!!

A church in New Zealand this week posted and then abruptly removed this billboard after “heated response” from several nearby residents.

According to The New Zealand Herald,

“The Equippers Church billboard which displayed the phrase ‘Jesus heals cancer’ caused outrage amongst many, and sparked an Advertising Standards Authority investigation after nine complaints were laid. The sign bore a tally of six to signify the number of people the church claimed had been healed of cancer. The church has now replaced the sign with a new billboard displaying a summarised sentence of a Bible verse: “Jesus heals every sickness and every disease – Matthew 4:23″. The original billboard’s claim particularly disgusted the Condin family, whose 3-year-old son is undergoing treatment for leukaemia. Taradale resident and mother of two Jody Condin said she saw the new billboard yesterday. She felt the replacement was still misleading.”

Now, I’m not Pentecostal (the tradition most closely associated with divine healing), but I’m also not ready to completely dismiss God’s ability to miraculously heal the sick.

After all, healing people both spiritually and physically was at the heart of Jesus’ mission.

So, I’m torn on this issue.

I’ve never been miraculously healed myself or seen anyone miraculously healed with my own eyes, but I’ve heard countless stories, often times from very reputable people, that attest to God’s continued ability to heal the sick.

But then there’s that part of my brain that says “God doesn’t work that way anymore. There’s probably a “rational” (whatever that means), scientific/medical explanation for why their stage 4 cancer suddenly went into remission.”

Perhaps there is. I’m sure there is. I know that we have the tendency to insert God into the vaccum of our inability to explain things we don’t understand. Often times, we learn later that there is a less than divine explanation for what happened.

But as people of faith who profess allegiance to a Jesus who held divine healing as a central part of his ministry, what do we do with claims like the one on this bilboard?

Do we play the “God doesn’t work that way anymore” card? And if so, why doesn’t God? Has God chosen for some mysterious reason to withhold God’s ability to heal? And if so, what would that say about God?

Were the gospels, as the lady in the report said, simply “misleading”? Were Jesus’ miracles mere metaphors for some spiritual truth? Perhaps, but wouldn’t people who had known the blind, demon possessed, or dead people before the miracles happened called out the gospel writers for making the story up?

Or perhaps we face a situation like Santa Claus did in the movie Elf. Maybe Jesus’s divine healing powers, like Santa’s sleigh in Central Park, can’t get off the ground because enough people don’t still believe in him. Honestly, that sounds far more absurd to me than the idea of a pastor healing someone through the laying on of hands.

What then do we with our great 21st century, scientifically grounded intellect do with claims of divine healing? It doesn’t seem to me that we can simply dismiss them, for to do so, I think we would likewise have to dismiss the gospels since at their core is the story of the greatest medical miracle of all time: resurrection from the dead.

So, I’m torn.

I think I believe that God still heals the sick. I want to believe that God still heals the sick. I wonder if perhaps I suffer a disease myself and am in need of my own healing.

I wonder if I suffer from what John Milbank calls a “false humility” of faith. I wonder if in my need to be accepted and affirmed by an increasingly agnostic/atheistic society I cower away from the more “extreme” claims of my faith. I wonder if perhaps I’m ok with God’s grace being radical, so long as it fits within my parameters for acceptability. I wonder if maybe I don’t really believe that God is actually capable of all the incredible things I’ve claimed God is capable of.

To be honest, I just don’t know. So, I’m left with a bunch of unanswered questions and for now that will have to do.

What I do know is there are people who have been seriously ill and whether through divine intervention or more earthly methods they are well today and that is something worth celebrating.

What do you think? Does God still miraculously heal the sick?

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

If the reports are true, Apple will announce the release of iPad 3 today.

Or maybe they’ll announce the long rumored Apple HDTV.

Or maybe some other amazing gadget that will be the coolest thing since sliced bread….except just a little bit cooler.

Whatever it is they’re about to release, I want one.

That’s not right. I don’t want one.

I covet one.

I have an iPhone, an old iPod touch laying around somewhere, and my wife has a Macbook, but what I really covet is an iPad.

Every time I see a commercial for one or see someone using their iPad at Starbucks I get more than a little bit jealous and start trying to rationalize to myself how and why I should spend $499 that I don’t have, wait, 16GB probably won’t cut it. Gonna need at least 32GB, better make that $599. And, you know, having 3G wouldn’t hurt, so let’s just call it $729. Sure, I have bills to pay, but that teenager shouldn’t be allowed to have one if I can’t have one too….a better one of course.

Ever had that conversation with yourself?

Maybe it wasn’t over an iPad, maybe it was a car, a house, or a new pair of shoes, but I think we all suffer from this disease. You can call it jealousy if you want. The Bible calls it coveting and lists it among the 10 commandments as something we shouldn’t do.

It’s a commandment I’m not proud to say I break a lot.

Which sounds sort of weird in today’s culture. We’re expected, if not encouraged, to want the next, biggest, and greatest things. We’re supposed to look at what our neighbors have and want it too.

So, what is the Bible’s hangup with coveting?

Does God just want us to be miserable and pretend like we’re not?

I don’t think that’s the case, at least I hope not.

I think the problem with coveting is that we lose sight of all the great blessings we already have. We forget about all the incredible things God has already done for us. When that happens it is we, not God, who has turned our back on the other. It’s essentially as if we’re telling God that God’s not doing a good enough job for us.

When God is nothing more than a genie in the sky who grants our every wish, then perhaps this frustration and the coveting that comes along with it are justified. But, if God is more than a magical genie, if God truly is the Author and Sustainer of life, then I think our problem with coveting really stems from a lack of perspective.

Did God give you an iPad, a new car, or a huge mansion to live in? Maybe not, but look at the world around you and realize just how incredibly God did bless you.

You don’t have to worry about where you will sleep tonight because you have a roof over your head that keeps out the rain and walls that hold back the wind.

You don’t have to worry about walking 10 miles for clean water because you only have to walk 10 feet to the kitchen to get something to drink.

You don’t have to worry about going hungry after your crops failed and your livestock died off because you can drive down to the grocery store and buy whatever you want to eat.

You don’t have to worry that a mosquito bite will literally be the death of you because you have access to some of the greatest medical care in the world.

You don’t have to worry that your friends and family will be snatched away in the middle of the night, raped, murdered, or conscripted into a guerilla army and forced to do those things to others.

You don’t have to worry because even though you may not have the latest, greatest toy, you are blessed beyond imagination.

Be thankful for that. Celebrate that. Share those blessings with those less fortunate than yourself.

And when the latest Apple toy is announced today, try not to covet what you don’t have. Instead, be thankful for everything that God has done, is doing, and will continue to do in your life, always remembering this promise from Jesus….

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt 

You remember our American Jesus Madness tournament last year right?

Our winner take all, no holds barred, royal rumble of Christian culture…

Well, it’s back and it’s better than ever!

This year we’re upping the grand prize to a $50 iTunes gift card and YOU get a say in who enters the tournament!!

If you’re not familiar with this epic battle royale, it’s really simple….

It works just like the NCAA Tournament, but instead of basketball teams we use famous Christians and famous Christian things. We seed those people and things and then you vote on a winner.

What are you voting on? Well that’s up to you.

For example, last year Stephen Colbert and Kirk Cameron were matched up in the first round. You could simply vote for which person you like better, which one is more entertaining, which one would win in a bar fight, which one is more sane, which one is more insane, which one is a bigger jerk, or you could get really judgmental and vote on which one you think is the better or worse Christian.

It’s up to you.

Here’s what’s a little different this year….

Last year was our inaugural tournament, so we chose the participants and seeded them ourselves. This year, however, we’re asking YOU to help us choose who gets in the tourney.

The only requirement is that the person, place, or thing must have played some sort of role in pop Christian culture during the past year. It can be a pastor, a celebrity, a tortilla with Jesus’ face on it, the apocalypse, whatever. It’s up to YOU.

We need 32 participants, so be creative!

Once we have all 32 we’ll seed them, release the bracket, you fill out your bracket, turn it in to us, and the voting will begin.

Just like a regular bracket pool you will get points for each correctly guessed win, with points increasing each round. The person with the most accumulated points at the end will be declared the winner.

In case of a tie, we will have a sudden death tie breaker in which each person will choose a celebrity Christian representative, make their case for why that person/place/thing should win, and then we will give everyone 24 hours to vote on a winner.

There is no limit on how many times you can vote either in the tournament or in the tie breaker (if necessary), so vote shamelessly and often.

By the way, did I mention we’re giving out a $50 iTunes gift card to the winner?!?!

So, without further ado….

RULES & DEADLINES

-You MUST be a living, breathing human being to enter (sorry, we’re prejudice like that)

-Only 1 entry per person

-In order you enter you must do one (or preferably all) of the following and let us know which one(s) you did when you submit your bracket

                                -“Like” us on Facebook

                                -Follow us on Twitter

                                -Subscribe to The American Jesus

                                -If you already do all 3, share this link to the tourney on Facebook /Twitter

-We don’t have an awesome digital entry system like ESPN so you will need to print off your bracket, fill it in, scan it/take a picture of it/whatever, and email it back to us

-Nominations of pop Christian culture participants begin IMMEDIATELY

-We will seed 32 participants and the bracket will be released on Friday, March 9th @ 8am CST

-The deadline for submitting your bracket is Monday, March 12th @ 12am CST

-The tournament/voting will begin Tuesday, March 13th @ 8am CST, at which time the schedule for the following rounds will be announced

If you’ve got any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section.

Otherwise, start nominating your pop Christian culture participants in the comments section and good luck to everyone!!

We find ourselves, once again, in the midst of another contentious election season.

As in most elections, the role of faith is at the heart of many debates. The specific issues may vary, but the political opinions and actions of most of us in the church can often be characterized by the same thing:  what we’re against.

As a result, in the eyes of most of the country, we as Christians are defined by what we don’t do.

The same is true within the doors of the church.

If you look around at many of the conversations or debates happening within the community of faith, I think you will find that much of it is defined by what doctrines we don’t believe, what pastors we don’t follow, what practices we don’t participate in.

It seems that rarely, if ever, do we make our primary identifying characteristics the things we actually do.

The folks at Christianity Today have picked up on this trend and have asked several bloggers, myself included, to contribute to their campaign to inspire the church to remember the importance of defining ourselves by what we are for, rather than simply what we are against.

To this end, they are asking us (and you) to answer the question, “What is your hope for the church?”.

I believe this is a tremendously important question to ask.

If, as I think we would all agree, the church is not everything she needs to be, then this is a question that we need to continually be asking ourselves. It’s a question that points us in the direction that we need to go while simultaneously reminding us who we have been called to be.

So what is my hope for the church?

My hope is that we will remember that being a holy people is defined more by what we do than what we don’t do.  Holiness happens, not in the absence of action, but rather in those moments when we incarnate the redemptive love and grace of God to a lost and dying world.

Of course, this is not the type of holiness that most of us in the church were raised on.

For most of us, holiness is defined by a list of things we don’t do, places we don’t visit, people we don’t associate with. To be holy, a person simply (or perhaps not so simply) needs to avoid doing certain things. Rarely, if ever, is any form of action a requirement for holy living, at least not any action that extends beyond ourselves.

This understanding of holiness is, not surprisingly, due in large part to Moses. He was the great lawgiver who came down the mountain with stone tablets full of commands and laws that were meant to teach people how to be holy as God is holy.

However, as we see in Isaiah, God sent the people of Israel into exile because even though they followed every letter of the law, they had forgotten that fundamental to their call to be holy as God is holy is, like their God they must love, care for, and look after the lost, the oppressed, and the dying.

Fortunately, Moses wasn’t the only one to “come down the mountain”.

In the gospel of Matthew, we Jesus “coming down the mountain” as a new Moses. When he reaches the foot of the mountain, however, he does the most un-Moses-like thing he could do. There at the foot of the mountain stands a leper, an unclean man who, according to the law of Moses, Jesus the holy, clean man, should not touch, lest he become defiled.

But that is exactly what Jesus does.

He touches the man.

In that moment at the foot of the mountain Jesus does the holiest thing possible in the sight of people convinced that this very act was the most unholy thing imaginable. Instead of avoiding or condemning the unclean man, Jesus shows him grace, reaches out his hand, and makes the unclean man clean.

He shows the outcast leper love.

And heals him.

And in doing so, he resurrects the leper from a life of obscurity, irrelevance, oppression, and death.

This is what real holiness is all about.

For Jesus, being holy isn’t about strict obedience to a list of things we’re not “supposed” to do, nor is it about avoiding the “wrong” people.

It is a life lived out among the least of these.

You see, Jesus wasn’t called holy for the people or behaviors he avoided. He was called holy for what he did and who he embraced. It was those holy actions that defined his life.

People followed Jesus because of what he did. The sick sought after him because of what he could do. He was crucified because of the life he lived. He was resurrected because of what he did on the cross. And he will return one day to complete the work that he started.

So, for Jesus, holiness is about extending the love and grace of God to the unclean people of the world, so that every corner of creation can be redeem, reclaimed, and repurposed for use in the kingdom of God. In other words, holiness isn’t about what we don’t do, it’s about what we actually do for the kingdom of God.

When holiness is only about abstaining from things, then holiness is only about us. It’s about what we do for ourselves, with only ourselves.

However, when holiness is something we actually do, then it becomes about others and what we do for them.

When this happens, when holiness becomes defined by what we do and how we serve the world around us, then our holiness becomes reflective of who Jesus was and how he lived his life. In being holy for others we ourselves are changed and become the Christ-like people we were trying to become but never could become by focusing only on ourselves.

When that happens we have finally answered one of the most fundamental calls of our faith: Be holy as the Lord your God is holy.

Now, this is not all to say that there are certain things in life we shouldn’t do. There are. But if we are going to be the holy people God created us to be, then that holiness is something which must be lived out in love and service to the world.

The holiest moments in life are not the times we avoid drinking or smoking or having sex.

The holiness moments in life happen when a homeless drug addict is pulled off the street and given a second chance at life, when a single mother is given the help she needs to put a roof over her child’s head and food on their table, or when strangers help other strangers pick up the shattered pieces of their lives torn apart by a natural disaster.

If the church can remember this. If we can remember what true, Christ-like holiness looks like, then we may just change the world for the glory of God.

This is my hope for the church.

What is yours?

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt