James Meehan - Bad Calls, Batman, and God's Presence
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Vince Parker: Hey, welcome back to culture makers today. We're talking, how can I use social media to honor God without becoming addicted to it?
James Meehan: Great question.
Vince Parker: How You can be a continual cultural maker. We answer all your questions.
James Meehan: Every single one.
Vince Parker: That's right. So keep asking them. I'm Vince Parker. This is James Meehan, and we are so glad that you are here with us and don't forget to like subscribe, comment and ask questions away. So James we'll jump right in. Are you ready, sir?
James Meehan: I'm ready.
Vince Parker: How can I use social media to honor God without becoming addicted to it?
James Meehan: Short answer you can't social media from the devil.
Vince Parker: Okay then well its time for...
James Meehan: ...can we go back...
Vince Parker: ...you have something more than that?
James Meehan: All jokes aside I think the thing to remember about social media is it is a tool that can be used for good. And it also can be used for bad if you don't believe it, just go on any social media platform and you will see a lot of people potentially using it for good and a lot of people potentially using it for bad. So for us, we want to develop wisdom through how to use it in a way that is life-giving and God honoring. And so the thing that I want to always keep in mind is that social media exists within an intention economy. So social media exists to capture your attention and the more of your attention that these companies capture the more money that they actually end up making. So there are people who literally spend all day every day, figuring out how to capture and hold people's attention to maximize profits. And so I want us to be aware of this so that we know as we are engaging with these social media platforms, that we know that they are designed to be addictive because the more our attention they capture, the more money that they can make. Now that doesn't by definition mean that we should never be on social media. Because like I said, social media is a tool that can be used for good in significant ways. It can be used to connect with people that maybe you don't see as often, right? It can be used to learn incredible things like there's fantastic accounts out there that are really informative, educational inspiring, and it can be a way for you to share your story, your life, what God is doing in you with other people so that they can see a little bit of how Jesus has changed your life in ways that will hopefully bring them closer to him. And so social media has lots of good uses to it. I think that we want to do first and foremost is just be aware that it exists to capture and hold our attention. Now, with that awareness, we can then begin to take action to make sure that we have things in place to prevent us from getting sucked into the social media, Wormhole...
Vince Parker: ...like setting some kinds of boundaries...
James Meehan: ...setting Some kind of boundaries. So for example, my wife and I, one of the things that we do is every single weekend, we take 24 hours where we don't have any technology and we don't do any work. It is our weekly And so where it is, it's a 24 hour period where we are basically detoxing from all things, the internet, so that we can just focus on connecting with each other and connecting with God. That's one of the things that we do. I know that there are some people who put time restrictions on their different social media scores, so they can only spend X amount of time on it. Now what the right solution is, is gonna look different for each individual. But I think if we all start with the awareness that social media is a tool that can be used for good or bad, it is a tool that is literally designed to capture our attention. Then we can start to put things in place to make sure that we're maximizing the good and potentially minimizing the bad...
Vince Parker: So recognize what the tool can be used for....
James Meehan: Absolutely...
Vince Parker: ...set some boundaries and then run...
James Meehan: ...and then run yeah...
Vince Parker: Versus Run...
James Meehan: Yeah come on...
Vince Parker: ...and then try to figure out the tools for, and then set boundaries. In other words, as the Bible says, make plans...
James Meehan: ...come on...
Vince Parker: ...then proceed versus just proceeding without making who does not count the cost. So let's count the cost People...
— ...come on, come on.
— There is a group of missionaries who traveled to Haiti and are now being held hostage. We wanna make sure that we're a shout there praying for them and that's cause that's, that's never good. You know, you trying out there spread the good news of Jesus Christ by the gospel and either so be praying for them, James, I know you're a fan of some sports, not all sports, but recently some fans at Tennessee trashed the stadium over a bad call, but what's a reflection of why do you think people do that? Why do you think people get so, cause I mean, bad calls are part of the game on the chatting back calls are part of the game, you know? Yes, they've cost team's games but there's a whole other 48 minutes or 60 minutes of play depending on the sport that's happening. But how do we not find ourselves caught up in that stuff?
— Right. I think it comes back to asking the question what matters most in my life...
— Okay.
— ...and the reality is is that the things that matter most to us are going to have the greatest influence on us. And so, for example, back in the my day, whenever I was not a follower of Jesus, whenever I wasn't in good God honoring life, giving community, the things that mattered most to me were UFC and call of duty. And I remember getting so angry if I would get like a laggy match in call of duty, where I would get beat by somebody else, dude, I'd be yelling. I'd be shouting like all of these different things because that's what mattered most to me
— Did you break the TV.
— I never broke a TV
— Controller?
— I never broke a controller because I was, I was cheap. Okay. So I'm not about to break my controllers, but the amount of unnecessarily harsh things that I would say to random people over the internet, right. It was ridiculous.
— James it is a great time to apologize. to all those people.
— Yes, DADDY_O_3207 I'm so sorry for the horrific things that I said to you about your mother and the people that are closest to you. I sincerely apologize
— That was good James
— But I use this as an example to say, because that's what mattered most to me, it had the most influence on me. And so when things didn't go my way I would lose control altogether. And the reality is is that we live in a world today where as human beings, we are all searching for significance for meaning, for purpose. And for some of us, we find those in sports. We find it in our job. We find it in our relationships. And if that's what's most important to us, then that's something that has the most influence on us. And if things don't go our way, what happens is we lose control. And so what I want to caution all of us against is allowing something good, like sports, allowing something good, like your friend group, allowing something good, like your favorite TV show or your favorite influencer or whoever to be the most important thing. Because at the end of the day, if we call ourselves Christians and what matters most to us is Christ, crucified, buried and resurrected. What matters most to us is sharing the good news of Jesus to everyone else in the world. And if I'm constantly triggered because of the things that are going wrong, according to my standards, and I'm not going to be present enough to show people the love that they need in the moment that they need it. And so if I'm a follower of Jesus and I'm at that Tennessee Vols game and all of my friends are going bonkers because we just lost the game. Here's what I don't want to do. I don't want to just shame them because they lose control. All right. I want to mourn with them, but I want to set a better example for them that, Hey, even though we lost at the end of the day, man, that sucks, but we're going to get our, you know, we're going to pick ourselves back up. We're going to go back in and do what we can to be better next time. And then I want to support those friends and show them hopefully a better example.
— That's good. Good James. I'm like, let's geek out for a second. Now. We love all things. Marvel universe.
— Yes, please. I think I know where you're going...
— DC
— ...come on.
— Did I believe What they called the Fandom...
— ...to the kingdom of fans
— Yeah where They released a bunch of trailers. And teasers. For the flash...
— Come on...
— Batman...
— ...come on...
— Aquaman and a host of others that I'm excited about. Did you watch, have you seen any trailers? How do you feel about this is DC making a comeback on Marvel?
— Probably not. It's going to, it's going to, it's going to take them a long time to come back. Here's the deal, DC, man. They are just like, they're that, they're that team that is so inconsistent, but when they start winning, you love to see it. But when they start losing you just kind of expected. Right? So when the first wonder woman came out...
— ...that was amazing.
— I was celebrating cause I'm like, man, underdog story. Let's go then wonder woman, 1984. And I'm like, oh, this is sort of what we expect. Now. Here's the thing. The Batman, the trailer, they released starring Robert Pattinson, AKA Edward from the Twilight series...
— ...right
— That might be before somebody else time. But here's the thing. When I first heard that he was going to be the new Batman, my initial reaction was, oh, but I've seen some of the different movies that he's in that are maybe less well-known he's done a lot of more independent films and he's an incredible actor...
— Right And so I'm actually pretty confident in his ability to be Batman. I'm just not as confident in the abilities of DC to produce another good live action movie. So I'm hopeful. I'm really eager. And the trailer looks fantastic. The trailer looks honestly, though, sort of just like a rehash of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy with Christian bale, Batman, dark Knight, greatest superhero movie of all time.
— How do you make Batman darker? And they did it with this one.
— Here's the thing though. The way that they made a darker, as they just put some more filters on the tray, I'm excited. I think it'll probably be really good. I hope it'll be great. The rest of the DC stuff, I'll be honest with you. I'm like, yeah. 50, 50. Maybe it'll be good. Maybe it won't now here's what I'll say
— What about Shazam.
— Okay.
— I am excited about Shazam because the thing about Shazam is they understand the character. They weren't just trying to do overly, dark and gritty. They were letting Shazam be Shazam, which, which I'm here for. But here's the thing you gotta understand. And this is how you know how big of a nerd. I am Marvel cinematic universe live action, crushes, DC live action. But DC animated universe is incredible old school justice league justice league unlimited. And now I don't know if you know this, but they just started making new episodes of a show called young justice, which is like justice league...
— ...a new episode?
— They literally just, they're two episodes into season four and they're making new episodes. I remember watching young justice season one and two, and I was so into it and it ends on a cliffhanger season two. At some point they made a season three. I just found out about like a few days ago. And so I'm excited to jump in because the DC animated universe in credible, that's my nerd dumb for you.
— Okay. Moving on from nerd dumb to music dumb
— Oh Okay. My other expertise.
— Are You an Adele fan?
— I think that she has some really good music
— Hello?
— Is it me? You're looking for...
— ...oh...
— It that her
— Come on. She just released a new single I have not listened to it. And she's got a new album coming out in November. That's what they say.
— Did she...
— ...let us know you excited?
— Oh yeah, she can. Yes. She can sang, with an A...
— ...okay...
— ...well, some people Can sing
— ...but she can sang...
— ...here are your questions. Now, remember in the comments, what are your questions? Ask away. We'd love to answer them. obell says this. What does it mean to give God my anxiety and worries. And how do I do that also? How do I stop having overwhelming bad thoughts?
— So I think that question is such a big question. That what we say now won't fully do it justice, because the reality is, is that anxiety can be a wide ranging description of what people are dealing with
— Right For some people they get a little bit anxious. When I think about the tests that they're about to take and whether or not they're going a good grade or not for other people, their anxiety is overwhelming. It's crippling, it's chronic. And the reality is, is that depending on where your anxiety is on that spectrum, it's gonna require a different response. And so typically what our advice is usually going to be is first and foremost, go to God, whatever it is on that spectrum, go to God and know that your heavenly father cares for you. And he wants to comfort you and guide you through that process. No matter where it is. Secondly, talk to somebody about it. They might be a friend. It might be a trusted adult. It might be a professional counselor because depending on the severity of your anxiety levels, the reality is is that sometimes the best response is getting professional help. There have been times in the past where Christians have seen that as not having a faith in God, because if we really trust that God is good and he's in charge and he can bring about healing. Then we should just pray and not do that. Other stuff. I would argue that that's incredibly unwise, the apostle Paul in one of his letters to Timothy said, Hey, you've got some stomach problems. So add a little bit of wine to your water. So what he's doing is he's prescribing a very practical response to the stomach health issues that Timothy was dealing with. And so for us as followers of Jesus, yes, we want to pray, but we also want to seek professional help. And then the third thing that I would say is if you are not in good God honoring life-giving community, then you need to get into it because the amount of benefits to our not just spiritual health, but also our mental and emotional health that comes from being around great people that are there to support you and encourage you are like so wide ranging that have been documented throughout all sorts of different health studies. And so if you do not have that kind of community, we want to help you find it. And so if you live near Electric's location, the best place that you can find that is by attending switch in real life on Wednesday nights, if you don't then man, head over to switch online because we want to get you connected to a switch online small group so that you can have other people your age going through life with you and adult leader, investing in you and the links to find all that information is in the description box below.
— Awesome. Very good. Catherine asks this question. How do you feel God's presence through your daily life? How do you grow to feeling him more?
— You know, I, I feel like I say this a lot, but it kind of just depends. So for instance, I'm the kind of person where I'm like a really logical, rational, not very emotional person. And so I don't really get the goosebumps when it comes to experiencing God. Now, every once in a while, like in a worship song, it'll just hit different and I'll feel it. But honestly the majority of the time, I don't have that sort of feeling whenever I'm encountering the presence of God. Like when I do my quiet time in the morning, as I'm reading the scriptures, as I'm taking time to pray as I'm listening to some worship music, as I'm sitting in silence, hoping that God will speak the majority of the time, it's a really powerful practice, but I don't necessarily feel God speak to me audibly. I don't necessarily feel this sense of euphoria or joy or emotion. It's sort of just like, nah, I'm I'm training. Like I'm doing the work I'm doing what I need to do. The way that I most encounter the presence of God is usually through serving people. It's like, that's actually, when I feel closest to God is when I'm helping somebody through a hard time. I had a conversation with a guy about a week ago who was dealing with some different questions that he had about things in the Bible. And we sat down at a coffee shop for two and a half hours, which is way longer than I was expecting to be there. But this guy had all sorts of questions and he went through kind of like share a part of his life. And I just sat there and I listened. I sat there and I answered those questions and I felt like that was me actually encountering the presence of God by just sitting there and being there for this individual. And it's one of those things where, you know, it's not where I expected to encounter the presence of God, but it's where it happened for me. And so that's usually where I feel closest to God whenever I'm serving other people. Vince, what about you?
— I think what I would add to that is, so you and I are both married.
— Yep That's true...
— Right And when we spend time with our wife, it's not that I initially feel the presence of my wife in the room. I just know she's there because I'm spending time with her. And when I do the things that she likes to do and that bring her energy and bring her life. And I think it's the same thing. We spend time with God when we spend time in his world, it's not that we feel his presence like that.
— Some people do, some people do...
— ...right... Or it's not that we hear God audible. It's just more like, Hey, we have to remember as believers, God says, he will never leave us nor forsake us
— Come on Come on. Somebody.
— Even if I'm not necessarily doing the things that are walking in righteousness with God, I've messed up something wrong. God's still with me. Right. That's what, this is what the scripture tells us. Right. And so I think sometimes we can get caught up in going, oh, but I messed up. So God's presence is in there when he's like, no, I'm here.
— Like Bro, I haven't gone anywhere.
— But, you are more than likely to feel in God's presence when you're doing the things that bring you closer to God. Sofar says, what if I do sin and do not feel guilty?
— I think it was last week where we talked about somebody who mentioned when they do sinned and they feel guilty. Like, is that a bad thing? And so what we talked about is that there's a big difference between shame and guilt. Guilt says I did something bad, but shame tells you that you are bad. And so I think this question is responsive because what we talked about is the idea that, Hey, like when you send and you feel guilty, that can be the power of God's spirit convicting you of your sinfulness to draw you to repentance. And that can be a really, really good thing. But what we talked about is where we can get into trouble is when we find ourselves sending and we just don't feel guilty anymore because we've become numb to the prompting of God's spirit to bring us back to him. And so what I would say to you is if you find yourself in a situation where you are sending and you don't feel guilty anymore, then I think the fact that you're asking that question means you're in the right place, because the truth is that we live in a world today where there are a lot of people who want to define the only thing that is sinful is calling things sinful, right Because we live in a world today where what people define right and wrong based off of not what's good and true, but what do I want to do? And does that hurt you? And as long as I'm not hurting someone else, I can do whatever I want. But God calls us to a much higher standard. The standard God calls us to his holyness. He calls us to unity. He calls us to be people who bring justice, all of those things go together. And so when we find ourselves in a situation where we are committing sins, where we are doing things to hurt ourselves or others or hurt the heart of God and we don't feel guilty anymore. And I think the first thing we want to do is pray and ask God to break our heart for what breaks his. Because every time we sin, what we're doing is we are choosing to turn away from God, And to turn towards the things of this world. And it's usually because we're prompted by our own desires. It's Hey, that thing looks really pretty. I want that. And God is over here saying, no, no. I promise you that what I have for you is so much better come to this. But when it becomes so overwhelmed by the loud noises and voices in this world, we can lose out on what it is that God has for us. So I would encourage you to pray and ask God to break your heart from the things that break his. And even when you don't feel guilty, as soon as you're aware that what you did was the wrong thing, then turn to God, ask him for forgiveness because he will always give it to you. When you're willing to ask. And through that practice of confessing your sins to God and confessing your sins to other people, you're gonna discover healing. You're gonna discover forgiveness and you will find the freedom that so many of us are actually longing for.
— That is good. I think that's a great place to end this week's discussion. Shout out to all those who ask questions, continue to ask them James, me and any random, final words before we get out of here.
— I'm just really excited to watch young justice, season three and four.
— Okay We'll see you guys later.