...And Out of the Gray.

Chapter 10: Elephant 5 – Humanitarian Efforts

At first, I was kind of shocked to find this topic included as an elephant in the room – how could humanitarian efforts really be controversial, especially for a Christian audience? But Crowe soon made his premise clear: it is obvious, hands down, that Christians are explicitly commanded in the Scriptures to help and serve others. That isn’t the question, here – what Brent is getting at is that we need to make sure our motivations for serving and our priorities in serving live up to this high calling.

“The right motivation is essential to serving Christ well. Our goal isn’t merely to feed the hungry or put a roof over a homeless family. Rather, we serve with the hope that people will see Jesus in our generosity. Our freedom should motivate us to serve with the understanding that people have both visible and invisible needs” (150).

In this, Crowe is not saying that service projects are only worthwhile if they have an obvious Christian evangelistic purpose. Rather, he’s cautioning us to remember that we live in a “cause-driven culture” – it seems like everything we do, down to the kind of cleaning supplies we use, or the shoes we buy – is attached to some kind of cause, whether it’s green, red, or pink, etc. (160). We must be careful “that other’s needs don’t become like the flavor of the month,” where we’re passionate about them for a time, but soon move on to something else that is more trendy or (160).

·      How to Believe: Humanitarian Efforts

o   What is the Moral Will of God Concerning Humanitarian Efforts?

The Bible makes it clear that humanitarian efforts are integral to the moral will of God as demonstrated in the Scriptures.

o   Surprised by Grace

“A failure to serve the least of these is a failure to serve God. If we are truly free in Christ, then it should be evident in our lives by the way we interact with a world full of needs” (152). The primary example of service Crowe uses in this section is that of Mother Teresa, who believed “poverty was really just Jesus in disguise,” and that when “we operate in love, Christ is both the object and the recipient of our affections” (153). Our humanitarian efforts are one of the most important ways to serve God. Because God is our primary motivation for serving our fellow human beings, Crowe says that this also means that “the response of those in need is irrelevant to whether we should serve them,” and that “the attitude of Christ doesn’t depend on the attitude of others” (153-4). Whether or not we receive thanks for our actions, we should continue in our service of others.

o   Pride, Prejudice, and Impossible Love

In this section, Crowe works to define the way our love and service should look to others. First, he says, we must avoid to approaches to love: the segregated approach, where we pick and choose who is worthy of love based on our own arbitrary standards rather than God’s all-encompassing love, and the easy approach, which is, simply, only loving those who are easy to love. Crowe reminds us that we are commanded by Christ to love our enemies, which requires a commitment of both the heart and the will. He calls this love “impossible love” because without the help of Christ, we’d be unable to love our enemies.

o   Freedom as Essential to the Movement of Christianity

Crowe writes that our freedom in Christ calls us to action. Our freedom is what motivates us to care for those in need around the world – it “doesn’t leave us the option of walking away or even slowing down until the movement of Christianity has intersected with every spiritual and physical need on the planet” (160).

Overall, Crowe reminds his readers that we have a great responsibility to be involved in humanitarian efforts, especially when it comes to addressing issues like world hunger and poverty. This means we must use our resources wisely and be generous with everything we’ve been given and have access to.

Chapter 11: Conclusion – Grace Demands More

Crowe’s conclusion is that “the grace extended to me by God demands an exhaustive response. In other words, grace always demands more, never less” (161). And by more, Crowe really means better – characterized by the following important traits.

·      Grace Demands

o   The Attitude of Christ

Attitude is of utmost importance, because our attitude defines so much of our lives.

o   A Spirit-Controlled Life

Allowing our lives to be controlled by the Holy Spirit “involves a daily, moment-by-moment yielding to the control of the Spirit in all areas of our lives” (164).

o   Boundaries

“One who lives his or her freedom does not press up against the boundaries, always concerned with what may be on the other side. That person is confident that what is on the other side can in no way match up to what exists within the boundaries; if it did, God would have put it inside” (165). Abiding by the boundaries God sets allows us to live in freedom, harmony, and intimacy with him.

o   Test Everything, Assume Nothing

Crowe writes that the purpose of this book has been, in many ways, to emphasize the need to test everything and assume nothing, because this allows us to address the gray areas effectively so that we can live in freedom.

o   A Clear Conscience

It is important to listen to the convictions of our conscience, and “following God closely can sensitize your heart and  mind to any red flags your conscience might wave” (167).

o   Focus

Crowe writes that “In the end, the point of the ‘how to believe’ grid is much bigger than the elephants in the room. The more you understand your freedom, the more insignificant and small the elephants become. They no longer dominate the room or the discussion, but afford us the ability to focus on what matters – righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (167). Freedom means that we can focus on the most important thing – following Christ – and not be distracted by the petty differences and quarrels that can otherwise so easily control our interactions with each other (including Christians of other dominations, etc.)

o   Advancing the Kingdom

Grace demands that we share the message of Christ with others, being committed to the “ministry of reconciliation” (168).

o   Glorifying God

Bringing glory to God should be the guiding motivation for all our life choices, especially in the decisions we make regarding the so-called gray areas.

o   Intimacy with Christ

Freedom allows us to experience a close relationship with Christ, because instead of being caught up in worries about laws, we can focus on his love and grace, knowing how much he cares for us.

Overall, I liked this book. As I’ve mentioned before, I was surprised by some of the chapters included, expecting more of the gray areas to be the more obvious or highly-debated issues you hear about in the news. In some respects, I think Crowe could’ve improved his book by trying to address more of these and expanding on his discussions in general – adding detail, maybe more statistics and research to complement his anecdotes, etc. As it is, I think it is better suited for a younger audience, and would be highly beneficial for middle school and high school students to read. However, I still think this was a worthwhile read, and it was interesting to read his take on things we were discussing in class (at times, the topics lined up perfectly). I would also encourage everyone to attend one of his seminars or presentations if they ever have the chance, because I think he is a very effective and challenging speaker.

Watch What You Watch.

Chapter 7: Elephant 4 – Entertainment

“What was the last movie you saw? What was the last sermon you heard? Most of us will remember more about the movie than we will about the sermon.” – Brent Crowe

Crowe’s point with this chapter is that we should be discerning about our entertainment choices, because entertainment (movies, TV shows, online videos, etc.) plays a huge role in our daily lives, and we are wired to remember what we see. This can be a helpful or hurtful; on one hand, positive entertainment choices have the power to impact our lives and thought processes for good. According to Brian Godawa, a Christian screenwriter, “Great movies are like incarnate sermons . . . . Probably because they put flesh onto the skeleton of abstract ideas about how life ought or ought not be lived” (131). On the other hand, however, poor entertainment choices can have negative effects that reach further than we might ever expect. Crowe’s “hope is that we would neither get lost in [entertainment] nor retreat from it, but allow our freedom to instruct and guide our engagement” (134).

This is an issue that few people take seriously enough, according to Crowe: “Thinking Christianly about what movies we’ll see or what shows we’ll watch seems to be a theological road that very few travel” (131). Responses to entertainment tend to be polarized: either it is something evil to be avoided in general, or something that can only be good if it deals with explicitly Christian themes. Crowe clarifies his stance between extremes, “I’m not an alarmist who believes a giant boycott of entertainment is the answer. But I’m also not a passive cultural glutton who thinks it’s okay to check your brain at the theater door” (132). Crowe asserts a different approach, which takes into account the importance of storytelling in culture to share truths, (as evidenced by Christ’s parables, the myths of authors C. S. Lewis and Tolkien, etc.). Crowe writes that “The incarnation of Jesus is the only true myth because it was the only time that story came to life,” but “the story of the Bible – God coming to earth and sacrificing himself for humanity – became the standard for story,” which has in turn given all our other human stories meaning.

·      How to Believe: Entertainment

o   Are my entertainment choices within the explicit moral will of God?

The Bible makes it clear that we must guard our eyes and our minds from sin, as written in Psalm 101:3, for example: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (134). But the issue of entertainment involves many gray areas. Crowe explains the difficulty of knowing how to approach certain entertainment choices, comparing two kinds of movies: “While both the slasher movie [about a crazed serial killer] and the war movie [portraying soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives] might have equal amounts of violence, a very different message or worldview is being communicated. So how do we know the difference?” (135). Here’s where the questions previously discussed come into play, yet again.

o   Are my entertainment choices being made under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

“Every day we must decide,” Crowe writes, “ which life we will feed – the new life in Christ or the old self enslaved to sin. The life we feed most is the one that wins” (135). Reality shows are one area that is especially questionable, because many of them tend to feed on the “carnal curiosity” we have “to peek in on other people’s misfortune” (135). We should take care to make sure we are submitting our entertainment choices to the Spirit’s authority.

o   Will this entertainment choice have a positive spiritual impact on me (1^st Corinthians 6:12; 10:23-24)?

This first consideration can’t be reduced to something like, “Can a Christian see an R-rated movie?” Crowe argues that there is a “significant problem with the manner in which the question is framed. Our freedom in Christ doesn’t motivate us toward the boundaries as defined by the Motion Picture Association of America. Don’t allow the boundaries set by culture to determine the boundaries of your freedom. Culture is always changing, and the boundaries God has already set are steadfast” (139-140). Rather, Crowe suggests things like websites that provide overviews of films that provide analysis without endorsing any particular worldview (www.screenit.com is a recommended one), allowing you to make your own informed decisions. Beyond this, Crowe says he asks three simple questions to determine if a movie will have a positive or negative spiritual impact: 1.) Will it build me up? 2.) Will it profit me? 3.) Will it help me personally?

o   Do my entertainment choices addict or enslave (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

Crowe warns that entertainment choices can addict in two main ways a.) if we become obsessive about the amount of time we spend on them, and b.) if we “allow the values portrayed in a movie or show to determine our own values,” i.e., standards of feminine beauty (141). Crowe says we should “allow the Bible to always define reality” (142).

o   Will the entertainment choice have a positive spiritual impact on fellow believers and the community (Romans 14:19; 1 Corinthians 10:23-24; Galatians 6:1-10)?

Film is a powerful medium, and when a film presents admirable values or messages (take Schindler’s List, for example), it can have a strong positive influence on those who watch it and are inspired to put those values into action in their own lives.

o   Does this entertainment choice go against conscience (Romans 14:14)?

This one is self-explanatory; the main point is that some movies are a matter of conscience, and some may watch them with no qualms, whereas others will feel badly about doing so. It is important to be in line with personal conscience; even if a movie is harmless by other’s standards, it might be wrong for you.

o   Can the entertainment choice be imitated by others who understand their freedom (1^st Corinthians 10:33-11:1)?

We must also keep other members of our community in mind, especially those who look up to us as leaders. The maturity of the audience shouldn’t provide a free license “to take in excessive cursing, sexual content, and graphic violence,” because we are accountable for other people.

This chapter is something that I’ve thought about a great deal. I think because I am an artistically-minded person, I have to be especially careful about the images I allow into my mind, so I “watch what I watch.” I rarely watch TV in the first place, but I’ve made a habit of quickly changing the channel if it appears to be something with negative content. I often research movies before seeing them in theatres, and if I end up in an unexpected situation where I can’t avoid the content being shown, I will often look away. I’ve had people make fun of me for this at times, but I’ve never regretted the decision to spare myself negative images or thoughts brought on by entertainment choices. I make these decisions based on the conviction of my own conscience, and don’t necessarily expect others to have the same convictions – I just decide for myself what is right for me.

The main connection between this chapter and what we’ve been discussing in Biblical Heritage lately is that we should not be mindless consumers, but we should make informed choices about our purchases in consideration of the impact our consumption has on ourselves and others (including the people who are involved with the production, those who may be impacted or influenced by the action, etc.). This principle applies not only to the items we purchase, but the entertainment choices we make. The movie industry relies on advertising and marketing techniques just like the producers of any other product, and we should be discerning and wise about the things we support with our money. Does the entertainment choice exploit members of the community? Does it promote certain values at the expense of the wellbeing of others? Will it (or its side-effects) harm people, the environment, society, etc.? We should spend our money wisely.

The Social World

Chapter 6: Elephant 2 – The Cyber World

“Clearly, the online world occupies a predominant chunk of our attention and time, and we need to approach it with a spirit of intentionality fueled by a biblical worldview.” –

Brent Crowe

Crowe’s “hook” for this chapter is a hypothetical story about a girl who wakes up in the morning and checks multiple social networking sites, updates her status, plays two different online games, checks her email and sends some texts, all before she gets out of bed. I wish I could say that I thought this was an exaggerated example, but it’s really not. Crowe writes that he has friends who “check their social networking sites almost hourly”  (111). It’s embarrassing to admit that even this is a drastic understatement of how often we (college students specifically) check our social networks…myself included. In fact, the only reason I’ve been disciplined enough not to have checked Facebook since beginning to write this blog post is because the content made me feel guilty about it. (Just don’t ask how many times I’ve checked my iPhone for texts or reminders or emails in my inbox.)

I’ll admit I was a bit surprised to find this topic included in a book about the gray areas of life, especially right after a chapter on such a controversial topic as homosexuality. But I think Crowe’s decision to do this is really admirable and honest. Crowe explains that while some people will maintain that technology is neutral, “no one would claim that the actions taking place inside the medium are neutral. Every decision we make comes out of our worldview,” which determines how we “operate within the world” (108). In other words, Crowe is not saying that spending time on the Internet or social networking sites is evil. What he is saying is that Christ is Lord over even the most trivial-seeming aspects of our lives, and this fact should be considered in our approach to everything we do. We may find that social networking is one of the things that may be perfectly permissible, but not necessarily beneficial.

·      How to Believe: Social Networking

o   Am I representing the attitude of Christ in my social networking? (Romans 15:1-13)

Crowe asks us to ask ourselves, “What’s my purpose for social networking?” He writes that “as we communicate through this medium, we should do so in a way that represents Jesus” (109). We must also be careful not to fall into escapism. I found the following statement particularly insightful: “If you find yourself going to the Internet to escape your true reality, then you must ask yourself if that’s a Christlike attitude. If we’re not careful, we can fall into a trap where the Internet becomes an unrealistic reality for us” (109). I don’t think Crowe is just addressing people who, for example, get caught up in online games based on fantasy realms or their avatar identities. The Internet can become a substitute for our real lives in less obvious ways – like when we escape into Facebook to avoid making eye contact with the person in line next to us at the Post Office, or when we check our newsfeed obsessively and get discouraged by how interesting other people’s lives appear to be in comparison to our own.

o   Are my social networking activities under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

Crowe reminds us that the “flesh wants to pursue sinful self-interests, and the Spirit wants that which pleases God” (109). In the cyber world, we may often be “just one click away from sin,” and we must be especially careful to guard ourselves against this.

o   Does social networking have a positive spiritual impact on self (1^st Corinthians 6:12; 10:23-24)?

Crowe writes that “the most destructive activities for any community are gossip and side hall conversations. If we’re not careful, social networking will present opportunities to tear down or slander,” and we may be culpable for participating in gossip whether we’re the ones writing it or reading it.

The immediate gratification of social networking technology may also “spoil us,” in that we may get into a habit of impatience regarding things that require longer amounts of time (and are worth spending that time on).

o   Will social networking addict (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

I think it’s obvious that social networking is addictive, whether it’s feeling the desire to post a picture on Instagram of every activity of your day, or checking your notifications constantly to see who’s following your every move on Facebook. Crowe reminds us that social networking should be a “way to communicate, not a place to live your life” (111).

Perhaps the most convicting part of this chapter was the way Crowe incorporated this quote by C. S. Lewis, which I’ve read many times: “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with sex and drink and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us . . . .We are far too easily pleased” (111). Crowe clarifies that he isn’t comparing social networking to lust, sex, or drinking – what he’s emphasizing is that we often get caught up (and addicted to) things that have no eternal value, and they can numb us to “the daring adventure of following Jesus” in our real lives, with our real friends and community members.

The following questions are very straightforward, but no less crucial to consider. They primarily address considerations of whether our online activity is done out of pride, jealousy, anger, or other community-damaging attitudes. Crowe warns against using the Internet as an outlet for gossip or anything that would damage your reputation, writing that we should “never post something you would be ashamed to say in a crowded room” (114).

o   Does social networking go against your conscience (Romans 14:14)?

o   Will social networking disrupt fellowship and damage relationships within the community (Romans 14:15)?

o   Will social networking damage your reputation (Romans 14:16)?

o   Will social networking remove focus from the big picture of God’s Kingdom? (Romans 17-19)?

o   Does social networking further the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1^st Corinthians 9:19-24; 10:33)?

Crowe reminds us that “we must guard our hearts against becoming obsessed with the trivial” (114). “You’ll always face the challenge of rising above the white noise,” Crowe writes; “Focus is never easy” (114). Technology can be a useful way to represent Christ to others, but we have to constantly reorient our approach to technology to accomplish this.

Chapter 7: Elephant 3 – Social Drinking

In this chapter, Crowe defines social drinking as “casual drinking in a social setting without the intention of getting drunk” (119). He makes it clear that he doesn’t think social drinking is a sin, but he does want to address some considerations we should make in regard to our attitudes about drinking with others.

·      How to Believe: Social Drinking

o   Is social drinking within the explicit moral will of God?

Basically, Crowe takes this section to explain that drinking is included all over the Bible, in positive, neutral, and negative ways. “I find it amazing to note how many positive statements connect wine to God’s blessing and love,” Crowe writes. Clearly, he does not think drinking in itself is sinful; it can be a joyful celebration. However, there are also clear warnings against being drunk.

Crowe maintains that whether we drink or abstain from drink, our decision must be made in an attitude of humility and respect for others, not in an attitude of pride or self-righteousness. We should also be aware that our decisions influence others, and we should be considerate of who will be affected by our choices. For example, though we may believe it is fine to drink, we should abstain if drinking in the presence of a “weaker believer” might lead him to sin, to be confused, or to interpret our actions in a way that is harmful to their trust of us. The following questions are used to give an outline of how Christians should approach this issue:

o   Is the decision to socially drink being made in the attitude of Christ (Romans 15:1-13)?

o   Is the decision being made under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

o   Will social drinking addict or enslave (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

o   Will social drinking hurt a brother spiritually or set a spiritual deathtrap (Romans 14:13)?

o   Does social networking go against your conscience (Romans 14:14)?

o   Can social drinking be imitated by others who understand their freedom (1^st Corinthians 10:33-11:1)?

Overall, Crowe reasserts that it is up to each individual to decide what he or she believes about this topic, but each should be firm in that decision and have made it in an attitude of humility, seeking to honor Christ and others. We should “test everything,” making sure that our actions (whatever they are) help to build each other up and to present the truth of Christianity well.