American Idols

American Idol started back up last week, and I have to say, I love that show. It's ridiculous and over hyped, but there is something about it that is incredibly entertaining. It's a mix of the awe of watching a train wreck and the awe of being mesmerized by heart touching, enchanting music, which is a whole other topic I may write about later. One way or another though, for millions of people every week, American Idol is the show to be watching, but it gets me to thinking...

The show is called American IDOL, and in some cases, just IDOL. The contestants are trying to become an idol, to be idolized, and for many Americans, and contestants, the judges are very much idols. You can watch the show and see plenty of people who are more than satisfied to simply meet, touch, hug, or kiss the judges, and they don't even care whether or not they make it through. They were able to have an encounter with their idol, and that is all that mattered to them.

Now, as Christians, we are not to have any idols. We are not to have any other gods before God, and we should not be worshipping and fawning over anything or anyone aside from God. This is easy to preach, and we all "get it" on a spiritual level, I guess. I mean, we don't have big golden calves in our living rooms that we pray to every day, but we still have idols, and for a lot of people, they come in the form of celebrities. So many people love American Idol because we get to be entertained by and "have an encounter" with current celebrities and those who hopefully soon will be. They are, quite literally, our idols.

I am currently reading Crazy Love, and there is a quote in there by John Piper that I find very interesting.

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”

This is a very pointed question. Is God your idol? He commands us not to have any other gods before Him and to not have any idols ... and it is because He should be our only idol. He should be the one that we fawn over. Just like many contestants on American Idol are completely satisfied to meet their idols in the judging room, even if they don't put them through to Hollywood, and even if they tell the contestant that they cannot sing at all. How many of us are this way with God? Are we thrilled to simply be in His presence? Is it the highlight of our lives to spend 2 minutes before our Lord, regardless of what He says or doesn't say? Is Christ our idol, and could we be satisfied with Him and Him alone or are there so many other idols in our life that we could be satisfied in Heaven without Christ?

(Random photo that I found online.)

   

S.W.A.T.

Coming up here in a month, my church, X Factor, will be hosting our 2nd annual SWAT Seminar. SWAT stands for Spiritual Warfare & Apologetics Training, and that is exactly what this seminar is. It is a 2 day event to learn about apologetics from all angles and be prepared to give a reason for the hope that we profess as Christians (1 Peter 3:15). In case you don't know what apologetics is: Apologetics is simply "a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity"

Last year the sole presenter was Luke McKinnon, the pastor of X Factor, and we looked a lot at intelligent design and woodpeckers. This year, however, we are raising the bar and bringing in some world renowned apologists: J.P. Moreland and Craig Hazen will be presenting along with Luke McKinnon.

The topics for this year's seminar include: Christianity Among the World Religions, Case of the Existence of the Soul, Evidence for the Resurrection, and The Apologetics of C.S. Lewis. So if any of this peaks your interest/curiosity you should come join us.

The seminar will be Feb. 24-25 at the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, and the cost is only $25!

To register, click here.