ASHTON WAS WRONG

After our fall kickoff on Sept 17 (see below), our regular Wednesday night gatherings begin on Sept 23 with a two-part series called "Ashton Was Wrong: Jesus Is Not Your Homeboy."

What is this series all about? I'm not trying to pick on the step-dad of Bruce Willis' kids. But I do think Mr. Kutcher is an interesting "case study" of a contemporary young adult. And a few years ago, I was struck by the photo of him wearing the t-shirt at right, reading "Jesus is my homeboy."

In this series, I want to talk about this common idea of Jesus as our buddy, a laid-back dude. (Think about Will Ferrell's hilarious and brilliant prayer to "dear tiny Baby Jesus, with golden fleece diapers" and his "baby Jesus powers" in Talladega Nights, or go back to the very groovy Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright With Me.") In contrast to this view of Jesus, I want to look at who he really is and how he works in our lives.

In my conversations with young adults (and as one myself), I find a lot of people are confused, lonely, guilty, and making lots of choices that leave them feeling pretty bad in the morning. And in light of this, it's pretty clear to me that we need more than a Divine Homeboy. And in the Bible, Jesus certainly offers a lot more.

So what's this series about? Essentially, for people going through their 20s and 30s, I'm trying to answer the question: How does Jesus work in our lives? As always, my hope is to be real, honest, funny, and to ultimately give some good news.

Our series begins Weds, Sept 23, at 6:30 pm in Grace Commons at St. Stephen's Church.