Hollywood and Slim Whitman
New Testament Christianity (Which is the theology of the Church of the Brethren) and Hollywood! A member of the Church of the Brethren actually has a start on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood – it is Slim Whitman. (For more information you can check out http://www.hillbilly-music.com/library/books/index.php?id=1378)
How a New Testament Christian connects with the larger world is always a matter of discernment. We often struggle with what it means to be in a world that is often antithetical to the teachings of Jesus. Some believers opt for an almost total separation from the world (the Amish), while others become willingly co-opted by the world (Mega Churches – in my opinion). Either of these extremes misses and distorts the life that we called to live in the New Testament.
Jesus recognized our dilemma and prayed for us in John 17:11:
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
Being in the world may mean that we face the temptations of relative fame and fortune, or it may mean we will face hardships. Either way, Jesus prays that God will protect us and keep us at “One.” Fame and hardships are very different realities, but they both of them can tempt up to stray from our faith and our faith community.
New Testament believers are able to thrive in the world and enjoy all the goodness God created. However, we are also able to witness when the world goes wrong because of our relationship to the Creator!
Peace!
Doctor “J”