How Hollywood and the Church are the same

Hollywood is a very formulaic town. They make things they know have worked in the past and will more than likely make money in the future. Which is why we have six of these horrible movies, four of these confusing movies, and three of these tearjerkers. 

The Hangover is literally the same story three times over! 

And TV is not immune to this effect either. Take a look at this little math equation:

American Idol = The Voice = America's Got Talent

For as much we might think that the movie or TV business if full of creative people and innovative ideas, it really is a very conservative town.  

The same is true for the Church. We tend to do thing that we know had success in the past. So we keep doing things exactly the same.  

Over. And over, And over. 

Back to Hollywood for a second. Everyone knows that the Office should have stopped before the last season was made. Even me, a fan of the show, admits the last season had very few good moments. But Hollywood knew it would 'sell' and so they made it.  And now the greatness of the show is tainted because of one 'should not have been made' season. 

The Church will do the exact same thing. We have a great idea, then we will run it into the ground until everyone is tired of it. Then we will, for tradition sake, keep on doing it.

Over. And over. And over.  

Until we are left with a ministry that no one wants to do, and it has drifted from the original brilliance and now limps along tarnishing the otherwise golden legacy it created.  

So I wonder how could it be that if the entertainment business is not very risk taking, and Churches set themselves up as entertainment producers then I suppose we will continue to function as Hollywood: Formulaic.

Spirituality = Medicne, Religion = Hospital

Time and time again we hear that there is a growing interest in spirituality but not religion. ​

After discovering what my calling is, I have had people tell me, "Yea, I am very spiritual but I think organized religion is horrible." 

While I feel the above statement is laced with irony and contradiction (spirituality of all sorts always calls the devotee into community and structure), this is not really what I find interesting.

What I find interesting is why there is push back against the institution we call religion. 

For me it is like saying, "Yes, I like medicine but I think hospitals are horrible."​

Hospitals are institutionalized medicine. Religion is institutionalized spirituality.

We may never get sick, but we are sure glad that hospitals exist. And because hospitals exist we take greater risks with our lives. If we did not have institutionalized medicine we would not do a great number of things and we would be scared or many more things.

For instance, if you are ever stranded in the deep forest without a lifeline, we will behave much differently than when we are camping in the woods. When we do not have the security of the things that can heal us, we will become much more cautious with our actions. ​

Likewise, with institutional spirituality we take greater risks and we have much less fear than without it. 

And so, for those who push the boundaries of medicine I am thankful for you. You are helping advance the practice. But you also know that you have the institutionalized ​medical community to support you in case you fail to find the cure you are looking for.

For those of you who push the boundaries of the spiritual practices, I am thankful for you as well. ​You are helping advance the practice of spirituality. But you also must know that you have the institutionalized spiritual community to support you in case you fail to find what you are looking for.