You may remember The Maccabeats' viral video explaining the story and tradition of Hanukkah. Well, they're back with a Passover video using music from Les Miserables. I was only disappointed not to see Russel Crowe as Pharaoh. Enjoy.

Every Sunday for the past few weeks, I have set my DVR to record the History Channel’s new miniseries The Bible. Chances are, you’ve been watching too—the first episode had 13.1 million viewers. After a lifetime of having to endure “artistic” retellings of biblical narratives, from “The Ten Commandments” to “Godspell,” I sat down to watch the first episode with reasonable trepidation.

But I was pleasantly surprised. True, the series neglected some fairly important stories (the life of Joseph comes to mind), but it also included insightful nuances that had me rechecking my own Bible, like when the angels blinded the crowd in Sodom to allow the escape of Lot and his family. As the series has progressed, the unfortunate divergences from the original text have increased. Still, it earnestly drives home the major points of the grand biblical story: the Fall, God’s covenant with Israel, Israel’s repeated rebellion and punishment, and the Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus.

My own mixed reception is expressed in the more polarized attitudes of other viewers. Some find the series’ errors damning; others are willing to look past radical omissions for the sake of its evangelistic potential. But I’ve heard one common theme among Christian viewers of the series: all seem to watch it with one finger critically tracing key texts in Scripture. If only they did the same when confronting each other over the series’ merits.

Phil is stuck in Disney World without Skye or Christian (poor Phil!). Instead, he goes solo with an extended excerpt from his recent comedy show dealing with, appropriately, Disney World and everyone's favorite Easter candy, marshmallow peeps!

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Here's the second edition of Ur's lexical additions to ministry vocabulary. View #1 here.

Photo: Reuters / Osservatore Romano

In a meeting yesterday, newly minted Pope Francis met with Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew at the Vatican. It was the first time a Patriarch of Constantinople had attended a papal enthronement since the Great Schism of 1054.

While their double-pontiff hug doesn’t herald the healing of the divided Christian church (a prospect that seems impossible in any scenario short of the eschaton), it does highlight a surge in ecumenical hope that’s been encouraged by the new pope.

Francis has received unusually enthusiastic support from church leaders and organizations outside the RCC. Besides the Orthodox, protestant representatives of Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and other denominations have expressed their pleasure at the new pontiff’s appointment. (Ur's covered this before.)

Evangelicals are relieved by his commitment to conservative doctrine, mainline/liberal Christians appreciate his devotion to social issues and emphasis on environmental stewardship, and everyone likes his posture of humility and pastoral focus. It seems that we all can find something to love in the new Vatican.

What is Rob Bell talking about when he talks about God? A lot of people would like to know. Bell sparked a nationwide conversation with his last book, Love Wins, by challenging popular Christian assumptions about heaven and hell. He's ready to do it again with his new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God. I was able to read an advanced copy of the book and ask Bell a few questions about it. Although he draws a lot of attention among evangelicals, and his roots are within that stream of the church, Bell's theology and cultural messages seem increasingly in sync with more liberal traditions of the church. That was affirmed this past weekend when, for the first time, Bell openly endorsed same-sex marriage. As he continues to move farther away from conservative theological and social positions, will evangelicals follow him?

Early in the book you write, "God appears to be more and more a reflection of whoever it is that happens to be talking about God at the moment." How have you seen this tendency to project your ideas onto God, and how do you guard against it?

We guard against such things by always coming back to what Jesus came back to: How does your understanding of God shape you? Is it making you more compassionate and courageous and honest and less judgmental and more likely to love your neighbor? For Jesus this wasn't an interesting intellectual exercise in which we get our mental furniture properly organized, this is about the kind of people we are becoming right here and now. Some ideas shape us some ways, some ideas shape us another. That's one of the central themes of the book: I began to realize in the depths of doubt that some beliefs made me a better person and some didn't...because we all believe something. The question is: What is that belief doing to you?

You reference Helmut Thielicke's statement that those who speak to the hour's needs will always skirt heresy, but they'll also gain the truth. How can you tell when you're "skirting" heresy and when you've crossed into it? And does that even matter.

This is why I find Eucharist so powerful-you gather with others to center and ground and remind yourselves of the body and blood given for the healing of the world. The Christian faith is ultimately an incarnated reality in which the mystery of God is born in flesh and blood--love your neighbor, as Jesus would say. Jesus comes to give us actual lived life in a whole new mode of being. So yes, it matters. Certain paths are destructive and others make the world a better place.

A pope! A pope! We've got a new pope! What does it mean to three Protestants with a podcast? We're not sure, but we talk about it anyway. Phil reviews "Oz the Great and Powerful," which turns out to be neither. Then Skye takes us through his thoughts on the Gospel - what it is and what it isn't, and how we sometimes get it completely wrong.

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Later this week I'll be publishing my interview with Rob Bell about his new book, but it seems Rob is talking to a lot of folks right now about a lot of things. He spoke on Sunday at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. In response to a question about gay marriage Bell said,

"I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think the church needs -- I think this is the world we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are."

I may be mistaken, but I believe this may be the first time Bell has publicly voiced support for gay marriage. Although Bell is popular with some evangelicals, it seems that he is increasingly voicing both theological and social views consistent with mainline progressive Protestantism. What do you think?

The ministry world is evolving rapidly, and the folks at Merriam-Webster can’t seem to keep up. Crack open the latest edition of your dictionary and you’ll see what we mean. Concepts essential to Christian leadership are conspicuously absent from its pages.

We’re working to remedy this oversight. As dedicated servants of the literary good, we’ve started an ongoing list of key ministry terms to help you navigate today’s ever-changing ministry landscape with cultural intelligence and verbal acumen. So grab a blue pen, open up your dictionary, and add these lexical gems for future reference.

Watch for more dictionary entries coming soon, and add your own in the comments.

The news from Rome yesterday that cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aries has been elected the 266th Pope has brought swift responses from around the globe. More progressive news agencies were quick to point out Bergoglio's conservative views on homosexuality, marriage, and contraception. Others focused on the new Pope's humility and concern for the poor in his native Argentina--a quality emphasized by Bergoglio choosing the name Francis I.

Evangelicals are also expressing their thoughts on the new Pope. My friend Kevin Palau, president of the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, emailed me yesterday with excitement. It turns out his father, Luis Palau, aslo from Argentina, is a close personal friend of Bergoglio. Luis reports that Francis I has been a good friend to evangelicals in Latin America.

A report from The Oregonian included Palau's reaction to the news:

"I exploded," Palau exclaimed. "I just couldn't believe it. In the last election, he was in the running but he told me he felt led by God to remove himself from the race. "I said, 'Maybe next time,' and he said, 'I'll be too old.'"

Palau has a history of praying with the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He said, "Whenever we pray together, [Bergoglio] says, 'lay your hands on me and pray for me, that God will keep me as servant.' " And Palau calls the new Pope a leader who is "respectful of all sides of Christianity."

Italian clothing company "Jesus Jeans" has successfully trademarked the word "Jesus" in the United States. Skye asks if he can trademark "Buddha Bras," and Phil shares how he offended Christian retailers by mocking the "Score With Jesus" soccer ball. They then make a link between Jesus-branded merchandise and circumcision in the New Testament. Did you watch "The Bible" on the History Channel this week? The crew asks if it's fair to call the series "The Bible" when it ignores large portions of the Scriptures? Finally, an impassioned plea for the death of "Christian music" gets Phil all riled up. All that, plus Skye walks out halfway through Phil's wrap-up song! It's a crazy week on the Phil Vischer Podcast!

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In case you haven't heard, Rob Bell has a new book being released next week. Will it be as controversial as Love Wins? Here's a preview video in which Bell lays out the premise of the book.

I'm going to be interviewing Bell about the book and other matters. As I pull together my questions, I'm curious to know what you'd ask him if you had the chance. Share your questions here and maybe I'll use them in the interview which will be posted on LeadershipJournal.net soon. Stay tuned.

Pastor A.J. Swoboda shares what he's learned through the process of missionally engaging the local high school in this video from the BeUndivided initiative. He nails the need for quiet, persistent, and humble community presence.

-Paul

Via Tony Kriz

Punk-cabaret musician and incorrigible creative Amanda Palmer shared a powerful talk at this year’s TED conference on “The Art of Asking.” In her speech, Palmer talks about how simply asking fans for things that she needs has revolutionized her creative life. It’s overhauled how she makes and profits from her music.

By replacing a hard transactional model of exchange (I give you an album, you give me 14.99) with a soft, participatory one (I give you all my albums, you give me whatever it’s worth to you), she’s recaptured the old, community-oriented dynamic of music. Like a street busker, a pub performer, a local act at open mike night, you give Amanda what her music is worth to you.

Though she’s certainly not the first to implement a pay-what-you-want model (I think that was Radiohead’s In Rainbows, and heck, now it’s the entire point of Noisetrade), Palmer takes the strategy way farther than the checkout page. She asks for a piano to practice on while she’s touring, and a Twitter follower opens up her house in London. Homemade food, opening bands, couches to sleep on, you name it, she’s probably asked for it, taken someone up on it, shared and enjoyed it.

By doing this, she’s brought her audience up onto the stage, humanized them by allowing them to assign value to her work. And in this relational exchange, she sees them. Like the eight-foot bride in the beginning of her talk, she looks them in the eyes, hands them a flower, and (even in the abstraction of digitized commerce) gives them the chance to choose her.

As a musician, Palmer’s model threatens the foundation of the traditional record industry, which is built on outdated ways to create and distribute music. But it also cuts left, striking at the root of illegal downloading culture, by reorienting the relationship between artist and audience, between the “creators” and “consumers” of recordings. You don’t need to lurk around on some Swedish filesharing site to get her back catalog. You can go to her website. And download all of it. For free, if you want, free and theft-free. Or for $10, $40, or whatever it’s worth to you. She asks the central question—“how does a musician make a living?”—differently, and it is getting a powerful response.

“Ask and you shall…”

Of course, she’s not alone in asking for things. At the first glance, ministry culture frequently faces the opposite problem to that faced by the record industry. Rather than demanding our 14.99 for the “album,” we give our product away for free. But are we really that different?

No. I think that there’s a largely unspoken dynamic that is constantly evaluating what we’re able to get out of the people who walk through our doors.

This week Phil, Skye and Christian discuss the Harlem Shake and the decline of Western Civilization, plus a fascinating journey through gender issues in the Oscars, Sesame Street and beyond!

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“We can’t support that?” the campus ministry leader informed us. “Not unless you include a tract or share the gospel in some way.” My college roommate Dave and I had requested some material and volunteer support from the parachurch organization for a new project Dave had initiated. He wanted to show God’s love on campus by raking leaves, cleaning frat houses, and providing hot chocolate on cold mornings. The ministry leader would have none of it. Showing kindness and love was not enough. For these acts to carry real value, he said, they had to be accompanied by something more.

That experience 20 years ago was my first encounter with the evangelical value of efficiency. One of the blessings of the evangelical tradition is it’s commitment to proclaiming the gospel--a call that many other streams of Christianity have abandoned. This missional focus, however, is often accompanied by a tyrannical urgency that results in the devaluing of every other call. If the direct missional value of an activity cannot be demonstrated it is often dismissed as useless or at most a distraction from the saving of souls. The result is what I call “evangelical austerity”--the shedding of all activities and investments deemed unnecessary for soul-saving.

Evangelical austerity not only explains the campus ministry’s refusal to help us rake leaves or clean up beer cans, but also the dreadful architecture of many evangelical buildings. A few weeks ago I was privileged to preach at the U.S. Naval Academy chapel in Annapolis, Maryland. The building is a soaring cathedral of stone and stained glass that seems out of place on this side of the Atlantic. The beauty of the space not only assists but also provokes worship. I can’t remember the last time I felt similarly inspired within an evangelical church dominated by screens and theater seating.

Beauty, whether in the form of actions or architecture, is not a high value for most evangelicals.