(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Ben Cotten. He writes a blog over at bencotten.net. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

The Clap Offering – By Ben Cotten

I grew up in a non-denominational church that did “modern” worship before it was cool. Granted, what we did wasn’t exactly Hillsong United, but it did involve an overhead projector and a PA system. It was the 7-11 approach to worship music. 7 words, sung 11 times. Remember “I Exalt Thee”? Ever heard that song done 11 times with a polka beat? You haven’t lived.

A lot of things have changed since then, but one thing has not.

The Clap Offering.

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A few months ago I wrote a post called “Hearing your name for the first time.” It was about how the prodigal son thought he was no longer worthy to be called a son, and how God kept saying “you are mine” over and over again in response.

And though it’s not Wednesday, I found two videos that captures that moment perfectly. Because along the way we all hear voices. Voices that tell us we’re not good enough for God. Or we’ve blown it too many times to ever step through the doors of a church. Or if we could just stop doing that thing we keep doing, God would be happy with us. Some of us have heard those voices so long they’ve become like soundtracks for our lives. But into that noise, into that clutter, I think God loves to speak the truth. I think he loves to give us our real name, our real identities, and our real freedom.

It reminded me of these videos. A bajillion people have seen them, and you might have too. The first is a girl who was born deaf, finally getting to hear for the first time at the age of 29. The second video of a deaf baby hearing for the first time, and the moment he smiles so big that he drops the pacifier is unbelievable.

A weird thing happened to my generation.

A lot of us grew up thinking of church as strict and fundamentalist and a buzz kill. Christians got a reputation of being hypocritical and close minded and constantly protesting anyone who didn’t agree with them.

You drink beer? Enjoy your fold out couch in hell.
You watch movies that aren’t rated G? Gonna be a hot one in the fiery furnace.
You listen to music that’s not Christian? It starts with “h” and ends in “ades.”

Was everyone’s church experience like this? Not at all. But for me and a large group of people, this was the perception we grew up with of faith. So what did I do in reaction to that?

I boomeranged the other direction. I was so afraid of being labeled judgmental or close-minded or fundamentalist that I over corrected in the other direction.

I realized this while jogging the other day while listening to Kanye West and Jay-Z. I was listening to their song “No Church in the Wild.”

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I feel like over the years of SCL rambunctiousness I’ve been pretty clear about two t-shirts I think Christians should make. Here’s what the t-shirts would say on the front:

1. “I attend night services at church.”
This one would allow you to jog on Sunday morning without getting judged by people driving to church. (e.g. “me”) Because my first thought is never, “I bet that runner went to church on Saturday night.” My first thought is usually, “Worshipping at the temple of flat abs? I see. Good to know.”

2. “I direct deposit my tithe.”
This would allow you to hot potato the offering plate without getting judged as miserly by your pew radius or row neighbors if you will.

But, much like my idea for a cologne that smells like old hymnals called “For Hymn,” my t-shirt ideas have fallen on deaf ears. Until today.

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I don’t sing at church with my hands raised.

Why?

Mostly because I have really muscular arms, and it’s distracting to other people at church. Blocks the view and whatnot. It’s worship time, not gun show time. And I’m considerate that way.

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What’s your blog?

What’s your cause? What’s your band? What’s your book?

What’s the link you want people to see more than anything else?

I hereby declare this “Shameless Saturday.”

Post a link to whatever it is you’re all about, with no shame or apologizing or feeling like you’re making a comment on a post you really don’t care about but are instead secretly trying to pimp your own blog. (I’ve done that myself many times. The best way to do it is to say, “That’s an interesting post. It reminds me of something I wrote recently on my blog ….” Sometimes when people do that, it’s actually a good link to something they wrote that is similar to what was written on another post. But when I was trying to build my blog that was something that I always tried to do.)

Please, use the comments this weekend to let us know about your blog or your cause or your band or your whatever. The Internets are so big it’s hard to find everything cool. (I try to do Shameless Saturday once a season, so please consider this the winter 2012 edition.)

Tell us what’s up in the comments with a link.

(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Hannah Parsley. She writes a blog called Hannappenings . If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!) 

Tim Tebow: The Christian Girl’s Heartthrob - By Hannah Parsley

So, I’m pretty sure the only reason Tim Tebow and I aren’t in love is because we haven’t met yet. Give it time…and divine intervention.

If Christians had a Tiger Beat-esque magazine (which I like to imagine would be called Aslan Beat, obviously) every week’s cover would probably be Tim Tebow. Who better deserving than a quarterback who puts verses under his eyes each week, is building a hospital in the Philippines, and tweets pictures of his dog and family? I mean, seriously, if you are a Christian girl and you have any interest in sports whatsoever, you are mildly in love.

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I love HelloSomebody.

They do great things for great causes with great watches.

Last fall they helped us send 6 Rwandan kids through a yearlong leadership program. And this year, we’re talking about working together on an even bigger project. Recently though, they gave me a lesson in leadership I wanted to pass on to you.

If you do something well, people will imitate you. So when folks saw HelloSomebody using watches to change the world, a few people copied the watch and started to do the same thing.

This was at frustrating to me at first because I consider Manny, one of the people who helps run HelloSomebody, a friend.

So I talked to him about it.

I asked him if it bothered him that people had copied the idea. (How ironic of me to even dare ask that question given that SCL was started in response to SWPL?)

I asked him what he thought about competition, and his response was perfect. Here is what he told me.

“At end of the day poverty, hunger, lack of water, that’s our competition. That is what needs to keep me awake at night.”

Wow, in the midst of my pettiness, in the midst of me worrying about being original or what other people do with the watches, Manny straightened me out.

Poverty.

Hunger.

Lack of water.

That’s the competition Manny is concerned about.

If you bought a HelloSomebody watch last year, thanks. As Manny reminded me last week and I reminded you today, you jumped in the ring with some big competition. And I’m glad you did!

This is a quote from Jack White (White Stripes front man, troubadour, musical genius.)

I agree with him.

To that, I would add what my friend Thad told me once. He said:

“The best albums are received, not written. They’re gifts you get and then share with other people. You can often hear the difference on someone’s second album. Their first album was a creative gift from God and then on the second one they tried in their own power to repeat it. And they grinded it out and it’s nowhere near as beautiful.”

I think that’s true of books and blogs and conversations and life in general. I think amazing things happen when God is in the room. The best things I’ve ever written, I don’t remember writing. I can’t take credit for them because I don’t feel like I created them; I feel like I received them.

What about you? How do you think God shows up in creativity?

I don’t remember what it felt like when the steel bar tore through my face. The moment it happened, my body was flooded with adrenaline and I got drunk on survival. I hit the ground running, blood pouring from a wound that would require plastic surgery and hope. But I probably need to back this story up.

In the seventh grade, I was in love with my Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp skateboard. It was my whole world. And one day, I thought it would be fun to jump off a concrete loading dock at a factory. (I was constantly gleaming the cube in the seventh grade.) The plan was to grab what I thought was a stable bar and swing from it while my skateboard sailed off the four-foot drop.

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