My Christian Faith in a “Social Media Fearing” Society

If I ever ended up on a reality TV show, one where they had me living in a house with people of opposing beliefs and lifestyles and habits, I’m not sure there would be enough drama from me to make the episode controversial enough to be considered modern entertainment.

faith family friends sign

There are 2 main reasons for this:

Here’s the 1st reason.

Despite me being concrete on what I believe in and stand for, as my Christian faith is the basis of my existence, my role is not to “convert” anyone who is close-minded to what I believe.

I will gladly share my faith with anyone who I believe is searching for hope; which is what I believe Jesus and His followers demonstrated in the New Testament.

But Jesus didn’t seem to argue with nonbelievers and skeptics.

The people He seemed to really have an issue with were the people of His day who believed they already had their golden ticket into Heaven, but who weren’t willing to truly surrender their hearts to God’s will for their lives; which typically involved simply loving their neighbors as themselves.

(Apparently though, it’s not that simple; otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this today.)

Therefore, I feel I have no business in arguing with a “non-believer” of Christ, the Messiah; whether it’s a person of a different religion, or a skeptic of religion, or someone who simply doesn’t participate in religion whatsoever.

I feel that if my faith is not evident through my attitude and actions, words alone definitely won’t help the situation.

From a secular (and marketing) perspective, what good is a professing Christian on a reality TV show if he or she isn’t willing to argue, lose their cool, and demonstrate the opposite of Jesus’s mentality? The hypocrisy of Christians sells.

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But if a Christian is actually helping others overseas to get access to clean water, that’s apparently not worth prime time advertising dollars.

I feel the media is quick to give pedestals to the most opinionated and argumentative professing Christians, which helps make the rest of us appear as fools.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I fully accept my title as “fool for Christ’s sake,” as the Apostle Paul puts it.

But what if there were more examples of… I guess I could simply say… level-headed, nonjudgmental Christians in the media?

I don’t think America is really accustomed to that.

Here’s the 2nd reason I don’t think I would make for a controversial enough episode in a reality TV show:

I would quickly and openly admit I am not perfect.

There’s a stereotype that Christians are the most judgmental people; that they think they are “holier than thou.”

If I was on a reality TV show, the 1st thing I would proclaim to the other people in the house was that I definitely, absolutely do not believe I am better than anyone else.

I would share with them that my understanding of the Christian faith is not that we are people who think we are perfect.

It’s quite the opposite. I know for a fact I am far from perfect and therefore have no right to judge anyone else. Instead, I depend on God’s grace not only for eternal salvation from my imperfect state of being, but also for constant salvation from my greedy, selfish mindset.

I believe we are all sinners in need of God’s grace. I’m simply in the same depraved state as everyone else.

Our society (on both sides of the fence) places so much value on the morality/immorality of homosexuality, as the controversial topic only further divides America in its own civil culture war.

I remain publicly mute on the topic, because I’d rather focus on the things listed in the Bible that I personally struggle with every day:

Like pride.

And greed.

And gossip.

(Those are items people tend to overlook in the New Testament the moment they see a reference of homosexuality; even when those things are listed together with homosexuality in the same verse.)

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Our society actually places a high value on gossip, in case you haven’t noticed.

What should be a shameful thing is instead worshiped.

Let me be clear: While our society is divided on homosexuality, we love gossip.

In actuality, gossip is condemned in the Bible; the whole way throughout the book.

But it’s easier for us to question the things in the Bible that only some people relate to, like homosexuality… while the more identifiable issues to the mainstream, like pride and greed and gossip, are virtually excused.

So if I was in a reality TV show, my role would be to help other people alongside me. For example, if I was placed in a house with self-proclaimed slobs, I would help them do their dishes every day before I would allow myself to lose my temper with them.

Granted, I would still fear my scenes could be edited to be taken out of context, packaged into bite-size morsels, so convenient to be blasted all over Twitter- making me out to be the judgmental character I most wished to disassociate myself from.

After all, I fear that in some regards, as we live in a time when the Internet has become the modern day Tower of Babel, we have learned to fear social media (and its potential backlash) more than God Himself.

At the same time, isn’t it safe to say that we as a culture even worship social media, as well?

It’s sad, but that concept helps me better understand the concept of both worshiping and fearing God; though at first it seems like a paradox.

In a reality TV show setting, I would consider myself as a “competitor” in a contest, whose agenda was to prove that Christianity is serving others; not judging them.

Christianity is about demonstrating love, by being patient and kind and understanding and forgiving.

If we dumb down Christianity to “heaven or hell” or “traditional marriage or gay marriage” or “Republican or Democrat”, then I feel we’re not talking about the same faith Jesus taught His followers.

It seems that would be a compromised and ultimately misleading version of the very Gospel we are called to share with our “neighbors”…

Now, the question is, would an American audience buy into a concept so revolutionary… that serving others, not judging them, is what faith in Jesus is all about?

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Dear Jack: People and Animals and Life and Death and What Happens Next

4 years, 8 months.

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Dear Jack,

I wanted to document this day for you because I believe it’s important to document your spiritual journey.

This morning on the 5 minute drive to your preschool, you cautiously asked me, “Daddy, one day, will all the people and all the animals be dead?”

I definitely wasn’t expecting such a deep question from you so early in the morning.

The fact that you even asked me that question shows me that you are processing your understanding of what death really means.

I’ve been curious for a while regarding at what point I would have a conversation like that with you.

It appears your understanding of death is based on what you see on Power Rangers and Disney movies, since someone (usually a parent) dies on nearly every animated Disney movie I’ve ever seen.

I answered your question as simply yet as accurately as I knew how:

“Yes, that’s true. One day, all the people and the animals will be dead. But for those of us people who believe in God and in Jesus, His Son, and if we help other people, then we will live in Heaven together.”

It somehow seems out of place to summarize our religious beliefs into such a small amount of words, but you are already familiar with this from what you hear at home and at church. But you seemed to be satisfied to my simple answer for your difficult question.

For the next few minutes until we got to your school, you were silent as you stared at the window.

As I helped you out of your car seat, I saw you seemed disheartened, so I asked you if were okay.

You put your head down and began crying softly.

I assured you whatever what it was, that we could talk about it; assuming you were sad because, in your words, one day we will all be dead, including the animals.

You looked up to answer me, “I just want Pandy!”

We had discovered last night that you had left one of your favorite stuffed animals, Pandy, at school.

Once we found Pandy inside your classroom this morning, you were no longer sad.

In other words, Pandy is still alive!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Listening to Radio Hanukkah (SiriusXM Channel 68)

4 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack: Listening to (Hanukkah Station)

Dear Jack,

Right before backing out of the parking space of your school for our journey home a few night ago, I decided to find a station on SiriusXM that we both might enjoy, while our family is reviewing the all new 2015 Hyundai Sonata this week.

I looked up and saw what was arguably one of the most random stations I’ve ever seen on Sirius XM: Radio Hanukkah, channel 68.

To see three different Christian music stations on SiriusXM is no surprise, but I’ve never seen a “Jewish music station” before; even if it is just a temporary, seasonal station.

The first song that was playing when I turned to that station was “The 613 Commandments” by Debbie Friedman. It sounded like the kind of song you would learn in Sunday School at our church.

After only two seconds of hearing the song, you blurted out, “Daddy, I like that song.”

So I kept it on Radio Hanukkah, channel 68.

Another song, “Bagel” by David Weinstone Music for Kids, was about a man pretending to be a bagel; though at first you thought the singer was saying “baby” instead of “bagel.”

You liked that song so much that you asked me to play it again after it ended. I had to explain to you that unlike a CD, I couldn’t instantly replay the song.

Unsurprisingly, we listened to that station the whole way home.

Since college, when I wrote my final paper of college on Jewish history, I have been fascination by Jewish culture.

Two thirds of the Christian Bible is the Old Testament; or as I call it, the Jewish Bible.

Technically, the majority of what we believe overlaps into what Jewish people believe.

So the way I feel is that by us being exposed to some Jewish songs, we’re catching up on some lost culture of our own religion.

If nothing else, we had fun hearing a song about bagels!

Dear Jack: Listening to (Hanukkah Station)

Catch up on the entire series of the 2015 Hyundai Sonata Weekend. A lot of exiciting things happened!

2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T: Family Friendly Review

Dear Jack: Our New House Now Has Electricity & Tile (2015 Hyundai Sonata Weekend)

Dear Jack: Primrose Vs. Rainbow- Finding A Preschool Near Our New House

Dear Jack: Listening to Radio Hanukkah (SiriusXM Channel 68)

My Conference Call With Kirk Cameron Today

I kept assuming it wouldn’t actually happen- that somehow there would be some kind of technical difficulty get the call through.

Kirk Cameron and Nick Shell

Fortunately, I was wrong. I indeed was on an hour long conference call with Kirk Cameron today.

Obviously, I’ve been reviewing movies for a while now, from a family friendly perspective. That means that sometimes, like with 23 Blast, I am even asked to review the movie before it even arrives in theatres.

That is the case this week with Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas.

While the majority of the call revolved around his new movie, he was able to speak a lot about other things.

He spoke a whole lot about his family; his wife and 6 kids! I could tell Kirk is truly a family orientated guy.

That’s what he talked about more than anything, actually; his family. Oh, and he loves Christmas!

He mentioned how living out in California, or as he calls it, “the land of fruits and nuts,” (a reference to food, not people) his family is definitely health-conscious, but referenced his loved for Southern style biscuits; as he recently visited the Duggers (19 Kids And Counting) as well as the Robertsons (Duck Dynasty).

Kirk contributed a lot of his health consciousness to his wife; Chelsea Noble. He loved talking about her; explaining how they met on the set of Full House.

His mother who happened to be there because Kirk’s sister Candace was there for taping, encouraged Kirk to find a girl like Chelsea who was “even more beautiful on the inside than the outside.”

Eventually Chelsea played Kirk’s girlfriend on Growing Pains and a year later, he proposed.

When asked if Kirk missed the days of Growing Pains, he laughed, with no relectance, to say no; comparing that part of his life to high school.

I could tell he wasn’t at all annoyed by the Growing Pains mentions, but his focus is clearly on his family and his faith. He has moved on with his life.

Kirk does, however, keep in touch with Jeremy Miller, who played Ben; and occasionally Alan Thicke and Tracey Gold.

Saving Christmas

The main takeaway from my conference call with Kirk Cameron was that he’s far from a has-been. It’s evident he’s doing much more meaningful and remarkable things in his life now than ever before.

He’s humble. He really is. I heard him talk for an hour.

It wasn’t about him; it was about family and God the whole time.

Now, it’s time for me watch his new movie Saving Christmas so I can write a review for it here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog; which is sort of the whole point of my conference call with him!

Stay tuned for that…

Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD: Family Friendly Review

This past Saturday evening we had a “family movie night”… we saw the Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD.

Why Do We Call It Christmas?

It is made by the creator of Veggie Tales, Phil Vischer, so you already know that it’s a quality production.

Not only is it high quality production, but it is also very informative, as well as funny.

My son’s favorite part was the blue flying squirrel. Of course, there are also robots and pirates!

Buck Denver Asks... Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD: Family Friendly Revie

The Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD does a great job of giving answers to the questions about the traditions of Christmas that most of us have never got around to asking or looking up:

  • Why is it called “Christmas?”
  • Why do we celebrate on December 25th?
  • What year was Jesus really born?
  • What do Christmas trees have to do with Jesus?
  • Where did Santa Claus come from?
  • Which came first – Christmas or Hanukkah? And which one did Jesus celebrate?
  • What are the “12 Days of Christmas?”
  • How does the name “Emmanuel” explain the real meaning of Christmas?

The humor is aimed at adults as well as kids. I feel that had this been a Disney production, the jokes would have contain innuendos.

But with the Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD, I feel the humor is instead a capitalization of “awkward moments.” The puppet characters are more relatable and lifelike because of it.

I’m not sure that it’s being marketed this way, but in addition for home entertainment, this DVD would make a perfect and extremely addition to your church library.

In fact, I would even say it would make an essential addition.

 Why is it called "Christmas?" Why do we celebrate on December 25th? What year was Jesus really born? What do Christmas trees have to do with Jesus? Where did Santa Claus come from? Which came first - Christmas or Hanukkah? And which one did Jesus celebrate? What are the "12 Days of Christmas?" How does the name "Emmanuel" explain the real meaning of Christmas?

I noticed that this the Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD is very “Catholic friendly.” I know that might sound like a strange comment, but it’s evident to me that this DVD is not simply geared towards Baptists, as I feel a lot of “Christian entertainment” is.

Though I’m not Catholic myself, I sort of feel like Catholics get the short end sometimes in regards to being marketed to alongside Protestants.

However, the approach and narrative in this DVD includes Catholics in the same boat as Protestants; in that we all are believers and followers of Christ, as our spiritual salvation.

With all that being said, even if you are not a religious person, instead even the biggest skeptic, I still believe you would find this DVD to be enlightening.

If nothing else, you’re going to learn answers to questions you’ve probably always wondered, but never asked, about how the ways we celebrate Christmas actually goes back to the birth of Christ.

And one lucky reader (in the U.S. or Canada) will win a free copy of this book today…

Just be the first person to post on the Facebook wall for Family Friendly Daddy Blog (not a private message), asking me, “Did I just win the Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD?”

If you’re the first person to do so, I will respond by saying yes… After that, I will follow up by getting your address to give to the publisher so they can send you your won copy!

Update: A winner was found within just a few minutes of this post going live. The giveaway portion is now complete.

“Did I just win the Buck Denver Asks… Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD?”
  • Family Friendly Daddy Blog
  • Family Friendly Daddy Blog Yes, Tamera Ballard, you sure did! (Just send me your mailing address and I’ll make sure the agency gets it out in the mail in the morning Thanks for reading!

    “Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: ‘Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising’):

    Many thanks to Propellor Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

    Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”