Why Barnes & Noble Is A Very Dangerous Place

Last night, my wife and I had date night. Our boys are out on spring break and hanging with the grandparents, so we availed ourselves of the opportunity to enjoy an evening out.

We had a nice dinner, stopped at a hair cut place to purchase hair product, bought guitar strings, scheduled a pedicure, and then headed to the capstone of the evening - Barnes & Noble.

Now I will confess here, B&N is one of my favorite places in all the universe. I am a book junkie. I love reading. It's like a two year old walking into a McDonald's play place.

So I instantly ditched my wife and began browsing the thousands of choices that awaited me. I was informed that there was no time limit for me doing this, but that there was a dollar limit. So I was bummed right off the bat.

I checked out the new releases, the bargain tables, and made my way to the religion and spirituality sections. On a side note, as I was walking to the religion aisles, I passed three sections that were strategically placed together: Relationships - Sexuality - and Self Improvement. All towards the front of the store and all right next to the Starbucks café. There's a whole 'nother post to be written about that and its implications for me as a beginning church planter, but I'll save that for another day.

I arrive in the religion section and begin perusing the selections. And I'll tell you, before I left for the night, I was concerned, discouraged, and fired up all at the same time. Let me explain why.

I came to the conclusion last night that the word Christianity has no meaning anymore. Not because Jesus isn't the Savior and not because Jesus isn't supreme, but because we're calling everything under the sun Christian these days. I saw this book in the aisle along with this book by John Shelby Spong who has denied every core tenet of the Christian faith starting with the virgin birth and ending with the resurrection. I saw books from liberal Catholic scholars and liberal "New Christians" as Barnes and Noble labeled the table where their books resided.

It was all very disturbing and I said to my wife on more than one occasion that I was looking at books that if people believed and trusted what was written in the pages of them, that we were looking at doorways to hell. Plain and simple.

These were books that have absolutely distorted, redefined, repackaged, and reincarnated a Jesus that never existed. And the saddest part for me was to watch the numerous people who were picking these books up and buying them. I truly hurt for them. I wanted to rip the book out of their hand and warn them about the direction they were headed. I wanted to stop them from jumping off a cliff into a sea of stupidity that will never tell them who the Jesus revealed in the Bible is. I wanted to rescue them from the book they were going to read.

And it hit me: That's why I'm planting Eternity. Because we are in a world where the rough edges on Jesus have been shaved away so that He can be more marketable and palatable to the refined senses of the 21^st century.

And I am so passionate about putting the rough edges back on Jesus. His bloody death, His awful suffering, His total humiliation, His victorious resurrection, His final and absolute defeat of all his enemies, His glory as reigning King, and His majesty as ruler of the Universe.

I learned a lot last night at the bookstore. More than I wanted to. But I saw very clearly how a bookstore reflects the battle that we must wage for the hearts and souls of a lost and hurting world.

I only bought one book last night. The title: "Authenticity".

Tim Keller vs. John Maxwell

Picture these two squaring off in the octagon! And tell me that wouldn't be hilarious.

Back when I was in college, I got involved in leadership in a variety of ways in everything from summer freshman orientations to residence life. Ever since then, I have in one capacity or another been drawn to being a leader. Whether it was being a volunteer leader of a sports ministry at my local church, or taking ownership and leadership of a region, or leading and guiding staff to grow a business, or teaching a Sunday school class or community group, I am wired to take the ball and run with it from a leadership perspective.

And again, I find myself in a position of leadership. This time, it will be leading a church plant named Eternity. And as I think about that and how I've grown as a leader, Tim Keller and John Maxwell came to mind. You see, ten years ago, I was reading every leadership book I could get my hands on. I've read:

21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership
Jesus The CEO
Lincoln On Leadership
Spiritual Leadership (Blackaby And Sanders)
The Servant Leader
Who Moved My Cheese
The Leaders Legacy
The Pillars Of Leadership
Leadershift

And many more! And here's what I found. None of them prepared me for being a leader. NONE! Am I saying that they were not useful? Not at all. What I am saying is that ultimately, they didn't do a thing to prepare me as a leader. Because they all focused on me. They focused on the checklist of things I needed to do to get people to follow me. They reduced leadership down to a set of "principles" and "laws" that get people to buy into you.

And then there is this quote by Tim Keller:

Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus' costly grace. The number one leaders in every church(ORGANIZATION emphasis mine) ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don't need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn't based on their performance.

And it hit me. What has prepared me to be a leader has been Jesus. Jesus has prepared me through His word, through time in prayer with Him, through the thousands of sermons I have listened to, through the countless times He has placed bold and courageous friends in my life to call me to the carpet on my ignorance and my sin. Jesus has prepared me to do what I am doing now. And Jesus will help me to persevere through it. Jesus will be there to hold me when I fall over the coming years. Jesus will be there to rebuke me when I go astray. Jesus will be there to strengthen me, embolden me, and encourage me.

Jesus prepares you to be a leader. Not a book. And to the extent that you are aware of who Jesus is and who you are not will determine how ready you are to lead. So here's a quick suggestion:

Put the man made leadership laws down and get on your knees before Jesus and ask Him to break you and mold you. Man doesn't make a leader. Jesus breaks a leader.

It’s The Gospel Stupid (II)

Earlier this week, I shared some thoughts on Tony Payne's address at the Gospel Growth vs. Church Growth event. Today I want to look at the very next point he makes in that address and it is this:

Gospel growth as it happens in people's lives daily is long term and it's slow. The Christian life someone has said is like solar power in that it doesn't happen overnight but it does happen. And that's what it is like. It happens slowly and incrementally and the character of growth is that we demonstrate endurance and patience. It's a process. In other words it takes place over time. It moves on.

Now I know that doesn't sound earth shattering and Tony said the same thing, but just in the last 24 hours God has shown me how I really don't believe this or feel comfortable with this.

I want change in people to happen now. Immediately! Without delay. If it takes any longer than it absolutely has to, you're either A) Not getting it or B) Stupid.

I'm such an impulsive, inpatient, non-enduring person. I've had mentors tell me for a long time that life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. I've never wanted to hear them. But I'm having to listen now. Because I realize that as I plant Eternity, I'm going into this for the long haul. I have to be able to look long term with people. I can't judge whether they've "got it" in just a few weeks or days of knowing them. I have to project out over a much longer timespan to ponder how much God can transform them in 5, 10, or 25 or 50 years.

And what's even crazier is that I don't have to look any further than my own life to prove it. I may not be changing "rapidly" overnight not but I'm a much different man in so many respects at 30 than I was at 20. And I suspect if God should allow me to see 40, I could say the same thing 10 years from now.

But we are so short minded. We are so A.D.D. We don't want growth in people to take place over long periods of time. We want instant gratification. We want fast results. Unfortunately, the Gospel most of the time doesn't work that way.

And that is why I'm glad that the church plant will have the name that it does. ETERNITY. To always serve as a reminder that results may not be immediate. But given enough time, we see the sheer miracles the Gospel has caused.

It’s The Gospel Stupid

This weekend I came across a message given by Tony Payne at a recent event that 9Marks and Matthias Media held called "Gospel Growth vs. Church Growth"

It's a great message and you really should listen to the whole thing by right clicking here and downloading the MP3. There were several parts of the message that I'll blog about but the snippet I want to talk about today is:

Read Colossians Chapter 2, it's a terrible indictment of modern Christianity captivated by false religion and by experiential philosophy and by a different Jesus that isn't the Jesus who is preached to us in the apostolic word. And that's why Paul says it here. Don't be seduced by the latest ministry program that promises you a fail-safe secret, a new label, an extra step, a new experience, or dare I say it a second blessing. Don't be seduced by them. It's not about tricks or techniques. It's not about something different. It's about understanding and grasping the word of Christ more and more and more deeply so that it changes your heart and life….Gospel growth is not about moving on or going beyond Christ, we must remember that.

As I prepare to plant Eternity, this admonition is the one I want to grab a hold to most.

Too many churches today are looking for the "silver bullet". Their church is declining, in shambles, or in need of a massive overhaul and instead of correctly diagnosing the problem, they begin to look for the latest "evangelistic" para-church fad that's going to rescue their congregation from the abyss. They believe that it's because they haven't had the right program that things have gone wrong. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Churches aren't faltering because they are using the wrong programs. They're failing because they've had the wrong focus. It doesn't matter how many programs you have at your church, it is all in vein if Jesus isn't the hero.

I recently heard a sermon where the pastor was preaching on a particular subject and it was your general "Seven principles to doing such and such". It was 15 (FIFTEEN) minutes in before the name of Jesus was ever mentioned and even then Jesus wasn't the focus, He was just a principle.

And this is happening all around our country and our world. We want to look to anything but Jesus. We want to make the Gospel "five verses and a prayer" and then move on to our eschatology eight balls because it's cool to speculate how many planes are going to fall out of the sky when the rapture happens. We've missed the point.

It is possible to be seduced by another Jesus that appears in the Bible. It's possible to be seduced by theology. If Jesus (and the Gospel) is not the focus of your theology and your programs, you're leading yourself and other people towards destruction.

The whole focus of the Bible is Jesus and it's crystal clear. But somehow, we've let Jesus get really fuzzy in our churches.

I’m Guessing That Peter, Paul, And Mary….

Didn't tell people about Jesus because they felt compelled to obey a commandment. I could be wrong, and one day I'll find out. But I have a hunch it wasn't the case.

So imagine my surprise when reading an article recently on evangelism that implored the necessity for all people to evangelize "Our culture that has descended into the deep pit of shameful immorality" and the article used the name of Jesus ZERO times. ZERO. None. Zilch. Nada. Niet. Goose Egg. Doughnut. Empty. To be fair, the word Lord was used ONCE. The word Christ was used ONCE. So it had that going for it.

So we're supposed to tell people about WHO? And we're supposed to do it WHY?

It doesn't take long to find multiple articles, essays, and speculations as to why conversions, baptisms, etc are DOWN in almost every major denomination in the United States. And not just DOWN, but PLUMMETING would be the more proper word to historic lows (or at least lows we haven't seen in almost fifty years).

And as sure as you can find those articles, the answer to fixing the problem almost always goes something like this:

"Now dadgonnit, get out there, fire up the folks sittin in your pews, tell em to start praying fer their neighbor and witnessin to em. But before you do that, tell em they got to start bein righteous and settin a good example for all them shamefully immoral people out there. We all know people ain't gonna come to Jesus if they think we're just a bunch of sinners too. So boys, strap it up, leave here on a mission, and for God's sake start winnin them souls to Jesus."

The one thing that kind of advice is devoid of is the true source of everything we do in the Christian life. Jesus himself.

And I wonder when we're gonna finally own up to the fact that maybe the reason evangelism is non-existent is because the majority of the people in our pews are lost and don't the first clue about who Jesus is. Just a thought.

Because when I think about Peter, Paul, and Mary (not the band mind you), I see people who were brought face to face with exactly who they were, and exactly who Jesus was. I see a people who were not "nominally" associated with a good teacher, but rather radically transformed by God become man. I see people who, by the grace of God, were made transformationally aware of the vast gulf that lie between them and their Creator.

And in that realization came the necessary leap from "have to" to "can't help but to do it". Most people in church are doing things because they feel they "have to". I think, personally, this is a very strong sign of a seriously defective faith in Jesus. Whereas we see in the earliest examples that they couldn't help but to do what they did.

The answer to our defective lives is not "try harder", "do more", "learn more", "organize it better" or "come up with cool acrostics for it". The answer to our defective lives is Jesus. A deepening, growing, thankful, humble, repentant life with Jesus.

Evangelism is not an act. It is a person. It is news that cannot help but be communicated. It is an announcement that cannot be muted. It is a transformation that cannot be dismissed.

And its power lies in the evidence, ethos, and expression of the one who proclaims it.

Instead of "trying harder" or setting numeric goals that are completely man made - maybe it's time for us to take stock of what we call a "Christian" these days and readjust the definition to a more Biblical, Jesus centered, cross-saturated, resurrection rejoicing, and eternity focused one. Maybe it's time for the Gospel to reclaim its rightful place in our lives, our homes, our pews, our preaching, our associations, our denominations, our states, our countries, and our world.

It may be time to really examine why Peter, Paul, and Mary did what they did. And I don't think it had anything to do with "because they were commanded to".

Amen - Preach It Brother!

My wife's sister gave me a great Christmas present this year by giving me a gift certificate to Amazon. I love to read and am slowly becoming a bibliophile.

One of the books that I purchased with that gift was Jerry Bridge's most recent work "Respectable Sins". I'll do a complete book review here in the next couple days but one of his statements really resonated with me:

But on the whole, we appear to be more concerned about the sins of society than we are the sins of the saints. In fact, we often indulge in what I call the "respectable" sins or even "acceptable" sins without any sense of sin.

O-U-C-H! Wow! That's a 2X4 upside the head right there. You think about it though. It's absolutely true. There are so many churches on crusades against pornography, gambling, abortion, homosexuality, alcohol, stem-cell research etc. And please don't get me wrong, all of those things are societal sins and I'm not saying that we should quit praying that God would deliver people from them. Neither is Bridges.

But how many churches have you seen go on a crusade against:

• The gossiping elderly women's group in their church
  
• The men who care more about their golf swing than they do about leading their family spiritually
  
• The church members who give Jesus less than one thought each day
  
• The divisive church clique who wants to play the black sheep role and portray that they are being mistreated by the church
  
• The wealthy church members who hang out with each other but show no hospitality to those less fortunate than they are

And the list could go on. When was the last time a church went on a crusade against that? And I'll ask this tough question to give you an idea of why I'm finding this book to ring very true:

When was the last time abortion split a church and destroyed the unity of the body? Conversely, when was the last time an un-forgiving, gossiping group of people split the church and destroyed the unity of the body?

Puts things in perspective doesn't. The societal sins are great. There's no doubt we live in a fallen world. But the secret world of our hearts and our tongues is far more deadly to our churches and to our Biblical communities than the adult book stores alongside the road.

And I think one of the major reasons a lot of people go on those crusades against societal ills is because it's easier to do that than to repent of the evils inside our hearts as members of a Biblical community.

It's easier to put the focus on what's wrong AROUND us rather than focusing on what's wrong WITHIN us.

It's safer to focus on IT instead of focusing on ME.

But if we don't repent of ME, we'll never make any headway against the sins of society.

The battle must begin in us first.

I’m A Closet….

Celine Dion fan…those of you who know me already knew that. But in my blog life, I must confess, I'm a closet reader of Penelope Trunk.

Who is Penelope Trunk (Even though that is not her real name)? She's the author of Braazen Careerist. She would be described by many in Christian circles as a blazing feminist. She's a dispenser of very un-orthodox advice. And as far as I can tell, would not call herself a Christian.

But one thing is for sure. She's a darn interesting read. Whether I agree with her or not, whether her advice is Biblical or not, her posts are good reads. And I had to quote her from this post as I think in many ways, she is spot on here:

One of the first things people think when they are unhappy is that they need to change their job. Maybe they'll get a job that pays more, or that allows them to be their true self, or will be their dream job.But you know what? A job does not make you happy, it only makes you unhappy. And forget about that raise, because the incremental happiness you get from earning more than, say, $100,000 is barely noticeable. (Yes, even if you have a family of four in San Francisco. Stop thinking you're the exception to every rule. It's a flaw that undermines your ability to change.) The thing that increases our happiness is our relationships. A job cannot make those better. However a job can make you so unhappy that you can't relish the relationships in your life.

Now obviously, Penelope and I would disagree on THE THING that increases our happiness, but we very much agree on the fact that people take WAY too much value from their job. I did. For a long time. My value in life came from what I did. It was a good job. It was in "ministry". Therefore, I was a good person and had every reason to be proud.

But it was during that job that I took so many things – starting with my family – for granted. I sacrificed my family on the altar of a "ministry" job. And as I get ready to plant a church, the one vow I have made is to never do it again.

EVER!

Too many people have been great at their jobs and their spouses and children have wondered why daddy didn't love them. You can be the greatest employee, doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, pastor, director, developer, communicator, etc you want, but at the end of the day, God will have a lot more to say about what you did with Jesus, your family, and those closest to you than he will about how great you did in your job.

What's funny is that Penelope gets it. And I wonder why millions of Christians, who have the Spirit of God dwelling within them, don't?

Who Are You Trying To Help? Yourself Or The Local Church?

UPDATE: Tim Challies (on queue from me)...see that's funny because Challies gets like a gazillion hits a day and I get (well not a gazillion)...wrote a great post today on the church. He too does not see it as a failure but rather as something worth putting our hand to the plow on.

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It was a good couple of days as I finished up some work on my prospectus for Eternity and had a great meeting in Jefferson City yesterday. I'm excited to see God opening more and more doors as planting a church gets closer and closer.

I wrote this question in my last post:

How do you define the point at which para-church organizations (Promise Keepers, AWANA, FCA, Young Life, Missions Organizations, Conventions, etc) cross from being a helpful resource provider for the local church into an un-Biblical entity usurping the mission of the local church?

This is a touchy subject. Particularly because employees and supporters of para-church ministries will inevitably point to the vast "good" that they are doing. And while it may be true that they are seeing "good" results from their efforts, the question isn't whether "good" is being done, but rather (I believe): "Are we trying to take the place of the local church?"

It might be helpful for me to state up front what I believe the mission of the local church is. I'll combine three scriptural passages here for brevities sake because I think they kind of get to the heart of the matter:

To make disciples in a local community by teaching them all the Jesus has commanded us, equipping the saints so that we may present every man complete in Christ

That's a hybrid I know. But you get the point. The local church is the means that Jesus has established to present every man complete in Christ. It is the vehicle. It is the bride. It is the mechanism. It is promised that the gates of hell will never prevail against it. The Bible presents no other entity designed to serve as this disciple making body.

So why do we have so many para-church type organizations.

I would argue for two reasons. First, many people who start para-church organizations do so because they have detected a need in their own local church (which they fill) and then move onto attempting to fill that need in all the local churches they can. Second, if a local church is filling a need but doing so in an unsatisfactory manner (or at least perceived by the para-church organization that way), the para then attempts to fill that need in a way that they believe is more effective or "in-tune" in today's environment.

And in the early stages of a para, I think the intention is good. They want to help the local church. They want to help it fill a need it is not currently filling (or at least not filling effectively in their minds). At that point, the para is simply a resource provider to the local church. It exists to adorn the bride of Christ, providing her with much needed tools, methodologies, etc. Essentially, it is a bridal shop helping the bride get ready for her big day.

But then something begins to happen that I think is very un-biblical and ultimately destructive. The para begins to think that its mission is important. It begins to think that the local church exists to grow it, not the other way around. It begins to put its own objectives ahead of that the Bible prescribes for the local church. The para begins to become consumed with its own vision. Its own success. Its own importance. Its own numbers. Its own financial health. Its own fame. Its own mission. It quits looking to the local church and asking "How can we help?" and begins looking at the local church and saying "Here's what we need you to do".

A para-church organization NEVER has the right to tell a local church what it should do. Nor should it even attempt to. And when it does, it shows a fundamental lack of respect for the leadership and shepherds of that local body. It assumes it knows what is best for that church, rather than those that have been charged with shepherding it. Essentially, the para gets tired of adorning the bride and watching her get all the glory. It simply steals the dress and tries to walk down the isle itself.

And ultimately every para weakens, plateaus and either dies or at best becomes marginally effective. Why? Because it failed to recognize that it was there for the local church – not the other way around.

Hear me on this, I am not saying para organizations are wrong to exist, but they must do so within Biblical confines. Selling resources, providing aids, doing what it can to help adorn the church is a good thing. Being a strong Christian business that sells good products to a church presents really nothing wrong. But the minute you put your own vision above that of the local church, you have tried to take the place of the Bride of Christ…and one thing is for sure about that…

Jesus doesn't sleep around.

490

What do we do when someone makes a mistake?

Do we forgive? Do we forget? Do we ignore? Do we move on? What do we do?

I've made plenty of them. I'll make plenty more. Others have made them. Others will make plenty more.

But it's this topic of forgiveness that keeps coming to mind. Because in forgiveness, I see the two components of grace and mercy more clearly than ever before. Grace in the good we extend in forgiveness, and mercy in the judgment we withhold in forgiveness.

Jesus' command here, as most of His commands are, is impossible to accomplish in our own strength. We are not forgiving people. We are not grace giving people. We are not mercy loving people. By nature, we are judgmental, arrogant, proud, legalistic, pharisaic, hard-hearted, stiff-necked bigots.

We will always tend to take it light on our own faults and magnify the defects of others. We'll always point the finger at others, and put magic ink on ourselves. By nature, we're hateful, spiteful, and quick to condemn the actions of others.

It's because of two things:

1. Sin has corrupted our soul.
   
2. We don't have a clue what the Gospel is about.
   

You see, 490 doesn't even begin to touch the level of forgiveness each of us has been extended. Not even close. ∞ wouldn't even get it. I've been intrigued and humbled lately by the fact that God so often describes Israel and by extension us as a prostitute who went in search of other lovers. And even though we are in our sin a dirty, nasty, prostitute – God takes us back. Forgiveness is available. Forgiveness is given.

And yet we go on, holding it against others. We're so grateful for the gift that we don't give it to others. How dare we! We have no right as prostitutes to judge adulterers. We are just as bad as they are.

And as we look at the different spheres of our life: Marriage, friendships, work, church, community, etc – are we a kind of people who understand what we were and what we are when God extended His forgiveness to us. And second, do we live and breathe as people ready, happy, and willing to dole out grace and mercy (forgiveness) to others? My guess is not.

So as you get ready to see Baby Jesus in your manger at home. Understand he wasn't a baby given to you so you could worry about how many gifts you're going to get or give this holiday season. He was a baby given because you and I were prostitutes and needed that baby's blood for forgiveness. If we want to honor that baby, we should become people that live by His power as He did.

Church With Benefits

After yesterday's interaction with an article about friends with benefits, I wanted to take a moment today to show how our culture's attitudes towards sex also manifest themselves in our attitudes about church.

In the same way that someone seeks the "booty call" with a FWB, I believe there are millions of people attending church today who are using a local church of their choosing for their "spiritual booty call".

Let me explain.

Essentially, the one night stand or the FWB is intended to produce a maximum amount of immediate pleasure with little to none ongoing commitment towards the other party. In the same vein, as I experience emotional or isolational lows, I can immediately begin looking through my iPhone for my next hookup to relieve me of my crisis and the great thing about the "booty call" is that it is on demand, when I want it, and there's no expectation that I have to respond to anyone else's expectations of me. It is 100% on my terms.

And millions are doing the same thing with church. I attend when I want to, and only for my benefit. I am there because I am experiencing a personal spiritual, relational, or emotional crisis, and I want God to give me my "spiritual booty call" to make me feel better. But don't ask me to make any ongoing investment in the church. Don't have any expectations of me as someone who came to that church. Just allow me to come in, use your church as I would a prostitute (I might even pay you for your services), and then I can move on, go back to my life and I'll get back to you if I need you again.

The book of Hosea pretty clearly describes us as playing the role of the prostitute. It pretty clearly draws the analogy that how we tend to act sexually with one another, is also the way we tend to interact with God. And if you'll look closely enough, you'll see that it's absolutely true.

We've all seen those people who attend church every few months or so. We've all seen those people who want the church to be everything they want on a Sunday morning but have no intention in making an investment into the life of the church community. We've seen people who want a pastor or God for that matter to be a genie of spiritual fix all, but want to do nothing to discipline themselves to keep stupid to a minimum in their life. We've seen people who show up, want the spiritual "orgasm" so to speak, and then retreat to their life with no change until the next time they want their ecstasy.

So here's the question to consider: Are you using your local church for a "booty call", or are you gonna quit dating the church and marry it?

It’s One Thing To Break A Rule

It's a whole different thing to commit adultery.

That was a little nugget I pulled from a sermon by Jonathan McIntosh at The Journey. It was toward the very end of the sermon, but it really stuck out to me. So much so I wanted to write about it today.

When we think about religion, when we think about Jesus, why is it that we automatically default to the rules and regulations we believe will be imposed upon us. Is it because we don't want to be told what to do? Is it because we love our sin so much that we don't want to give it up.

We don't want to be told not to have sex outside of marriage. We don't want to be restricted from getting inebriated every weekend. We don't want to be bound by having to give generously to God's church and God's people. We don't want anyone imposing rules on us.

But yet when we get married, we have no problem with the rules our spouse imposes on us. And those rules are unspoken. Don't hit me. Don't hurt me. Provide for me. Take care of me. Love me. Pamper me. Honor me. Cherish me. Don't sleep around on me. Don't talk bad about me. Wear your wedding ring.

So what's the difference? The main one is that we see Jesus as a set of rules and we see our spouse as a person with whom we have an intimate relationship. We can break Jesus' rules and it's just breaking a rule. We break our spouses' rules and we're committing adultery.

And there's a big difference in the two. In one scenario, we're simply someone who can't follow instructions, in the other we're a whoreing spouse.

But I would say that we should look at our relationship with Jesus the same way. The essence of the Gospel is not rules but a person. A person who is the same in His humanity as our spouse. And once we are united in faith to Jesus, we are engaged in an intimate (non-sexual-but still intimate) relationship with Him. And to violate that relationship by placing other God's, other desires, other motives ahead of that relationship is to play the part of a whore once more.

It puts our sin in a whole new light. You're not just breaking a rule. You're cheating on Jesus. And that's imagery, especially in the book of Hosea, that the Bible uses repeatedly.

It's funny, I would never do anything to hurt my wife, not because I feel bound to obey her rules, but because I couldn't take doing something to wound her heart. I love her. I care for her. However, I don't think twice about wounding the heart of Jesus. Mainly because, too many times, I reduce the Savior to a set of rules to follow.

Christians were never meant to live like that. Thank you Jonathan for sharing that on Sunday.

Don't Be A Hypocrite

Today's blog post can be found over at LifePoint's blog site.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Bill McLellan, a columnist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, wrote a column about Sen. Grassley wanting to investigate six "prosperity Gospel" types. I'll just say that I'm not a huge fan of Mr. McLellan but I think these paragraphs are right on:

But it isn't. According to a story in this newspaper a week ago, Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, has asked Meyer for documents detailing the finances of the Joyce Meyer Ministries, based in Fenton. He wants to know about clothing, cosmetic surgery, a $23,000 marble-topped commode, a $30,000 conference table and five pages of so on and so forth.

I could go item by item, but let's just take the first one — clothing. What business is that of the government? Do we want staffers from the Finance Committee poking around in Billy Graham's closet? Maybe they would find expensive Italian suits. So what? If preachers are required to wear cheap clothes, the Rev. Larry Rice would pass muster, but not many others, and certainly not any of those who espouse the "prosperity gospel." That's what Meyer preaches, that God showers blessings on those he favors.

And if you want to believe that, you can. It's not the role of the government to decide the theological validity of anybody's religious beliefs. Matters of faith are not stuff for a Senate committee to consider. Of course, the senator is arguing that financial matters are a little different. In a written statement, he claimed he has "an obligation to donors" to find out that the money is being spent as intended. No, he doesn't.

Basically what McLellan is arguing is that if you're stupid enough to give to the "prosperity Gospel" types, then that's your business and your loss. It's not up to the government to save you from your own stupidity. And that's absolutely right. There is a real inherent danger in governmental interference in religious matters. Suppose some feel that John Piper is too fundamentalist and that people shouldn't be subjected to that, then what?

You go down a slippery road because what's being investigated depends on who is in power. And while we may agree that those in the "health and wealth" camp are destroying people's souls and perverting the great Gospel of Jesus, we should leave justice and accounting for that perversion in the hands of Jesus and not in the Senate floor of Washington DC. What we end up cheering for today, might very well turn out to be the very thing that sends us underground in the future. Once government feels comfortable dictating religious matters, it is a slippery slope we walk.

The columnist ends with a great closing salvo:

I think not. Freedom of religion means, among other things, that matters of faith are not subject to government approval. A "prosperity gospel" that includes a $23,000 marble-topped commode for the preacher does not appeal to me, but maybe it does to you, and the U.S. Senate has no business saying it shouldn't

If you want the "money lovers" to not be able to live their lavish lifestyles, then the answer is to share the true and real Gospel as much as you can. Not look to the politicians to bring down their empire.

This Would Be Funny

If you couldn't honestly say that somehow it may be true.

The invitation. A funny and peculiar thing. Why do we do it? Where did it come from?

Response to God is an important part of faith and repentance. Peter exhorted those listening to his sermon to repent and be baptized.

Billy Graham made the invitation a cornerstone of the American church. Thousands upon thousands of churches followed suit. I've heard sermons on why not doing the invitation is sentencing people to hell. (BTW, the pastor who gave that sermon pastors a large Baptist church in a town that shares a name with a hippie gathering in the 60's)

Does it all depend on your theology? Is it emotional manipulation?

Can it be effective today in a culture conditioned to be skeptical of religious manufacturing?

Don't you get disgusted with the pastor who utters the words "just one more verse" because he doesn't want to be embarrassed by the fact that no one responded to his sermon and therefore he wants to try and force someone to come to the front so it can look like he had an impact?

If it's so effective, why did Billy Graham have to "engineer" movement by encouraging his counselors to begin moving forward first?

What if you don't give people a chance to respond publicly? What then? Should there be public response other than baptism? Does the public nature add undue pressure?

All things I ponder while waiting for another episode of Survivor and The Office.

Does Jesus Make You Happy?

It's a fair question. I would argue it's the most important question in life. Recently, a well known blogger and author posted a list of things that made him happy:

• The newly released album from the David Crowder Band.
  
• When my wife makes me go play golf with my son--who now owns his first set of clubs.
  
• Winning another fantasy football game.
  
• The smell of the church atrium now that the coffee shop is open.
  
• Finding out that I'm going to a conference after all
  
• Yard work...in moderation.
  
• Our Sunday evening service
  
• Learning that a friend is finally blogging
  
• Watching a football athlete speak.
  
• Discovering that iTunes has some competition
  
• Our new king-size bed.
  
• TV Shows
  
• When someone delivers freshly brewed decaf coffee to my office mid-afternoon.
  
• Spending time downtown
  
• Watching my daughter play soccer.
  
• Cool parts of my job
  
• Planning my next trip to the beach.
  

What you'll find striking about this list is that Jesus didn't make the list. For that matter, God didn't make the list. Church made it. But God didn't. There's a big difference. I tried to point that out to the author. The author chose not to publish my comment on his blog. It appears asking why Jesus didn't make him happy was not an acceptable comment for others to see.

But now the question looms for all of us. If you published your list on the Internet, would Jesus make it? You see the list above lists sports, coffee, stuff, leisure, etc but is that truly where our happiness and joy as Christians is supposed to originate. How exactly is the list above any different than a garden-variety pagan's list?

I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I was willing to. I assumed it was just an editorial oversight. He really did love Jesus and Jesus actually did make him happy. He had just missed putting Jesus in the list. But given the fact that my comment was reviewed and not acted upon, I can only assume once the minor detail was brought to his attention, he still didn't think Jesus should be included.

Which is sad, because I think there are millions of Christians that would make their lists and not include Jesus in the mix. When you get right down to it, Jesus doesn't make them happy, He's just a drag on their life. Too many rules. Too many don'ts. Too many things He expects of me. That's not fun. That's not happy. That's oppressive. Give me my family, my food, my fun and that's what makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, those things make a lot of people happy, and in many respects, there's nothing wrong with those things bringing happiness to your life.

But Jesus should be # 1 on that list. And you should find all those others things enjoyable only because first you find enjoyment in Jesus. It's in Him that we have life, breath, and everything. He is the giver of all those other things. He is the reason you can live with a smile and not in terror fearing for your life before a Holy righteous God.

He is, in every meaningful way, the river of living water.

Now, if He could only find a way to make his way up in the rankings of things we love in life.

It’s No Wonder (IV)

So far we've looked at the fact that most Christians don't have meaningful relationships with lost people. A significant result of that is that we are becoming less and less influential in the world around us. As we become less influential, the health and substance of the Christian church is under assault. As I wrap up this series, I want to address one final perspective related to all of this and it is:

Is it any wonder that we are being marginalized by the lost world and that their perceptions of us are becoming increasingly negative?

Check out this short article here by Time Magazine (HT: Scott Hodge) and then read this article from a San Antonio news site (HT: Mike Olmsted). Now let me start off by saying that I firmly believe the goal of Christianity is not to win a popularity contest. Our main objective is not to be elected homecoming queen in the United States. A faithful life, devoted to Jesus, and lived out in the public squares will most certainly draw persecution, rebuke, ridicule, and scorn from a good majority of people. That is promised to us by Jesus himself as it was the reward He himself was given for a lifetime of faithful, perfect love demonstrated to the world. We should never be "en vogue" as I think when that day arrives, you will be able to point to cornerstone pillars of Christian faith that we have tossed aside in order to be liked.

However, what these articles point out that is that we are being disliked, I believe, for the wrong reasons. More and more, Christianity is being pigeonholed as the "anti-gay", "anti-booze" faith. Our withdrawal from meaningful relationships with lost people has allowed us to retreat into our fortresses and begin hurling spears at those that stand outside the Christian castle. And more and more, we are becoming known for what we stand against than who we stand with. And this should not be the case.

Read 1 Peter 2:12 and really take that verse in. Peter exhorts us to keep our conduct honorable, and in so doing that when the world accuses us of evil, that we have behaved and done things in such a way that they will have no choice to see that we are not evil, but rather so amazing in our character and service that they glorify our God in heaven.

We will be hated for our stances on the moral issues of the day. We will be persecuted for our theological beliefs and the firmness of our convictions. We will be savaged for our immovable stance on human life, human conduct, and human standing before God. No doubt about that. But we are missing the other piece of this verse and that is our good deeds towards lost people. And it is hard to do good deeds for lost people when you don't know any. Jesus called us to engage the world and to be its servant. Throughout history, martyrs whose blood was spilled because of their beliefs were also immortalized in the annals of history for their service and love of their executioners.

So it should be with us. But we are not looking to serve the lost. We are looking to condemn them. We have taken up a firm position in the seat of the Pharisee's and stand as the world's judge. We stand far off from the lost because they may make us unclean. We have shunned them as our neighbor. We have wiped ourselves of their stench. And the longer we do that, the more we will be hated, but for all the wrong reasons.

Are you a Christian that someone might vehemently disagree with on the issues of the day but that same person who hates you for your beliefs would also cry if you left their life? How you answer that question will be very telling of the maturity of your faith and your walk with Jesus.

It’s No Wonder (III)

So far we've looked at the fact that most Christians don't have any meaningful vibrant relationships with lost people. We then explored the possibilities of the difference it would make in our world and in individual lives if that were not the case. Today I want to look at what I believe to be a direct result of Christians not engaging their neighbors, their world, or their culture. And that is: Is it any wonder that our churches are in the shape they are in today?

I mean seriously. To give you a flavor of what I'm talking about, you need to read this and this, look at these and digest them, and then really think through what some of these mean. After you've looked at all that, you'll have an anecdotal feel and a numerical feel for the paragraphs I'm about to share. The resources I point to are by no means comprehensive or necessarily linear. If you care enough to, you can get a feel for the state of things just by diving in a little bit online.

But the overwhelming conclusion you come to is that the American church, especially the more traditional corners, are in deep trouble. And almost every measure you could use to judge that will bear that statement out. And I've come to two inescapable conclusions as to why that is.

1. The majority of "professing" Christians (I'm saying 85% plus) couldn't articulate Biblically what the Gospel is.
   
2. Because they don't know it themselves, they're incapable of sharing it truly with lost un-churched people.
   

We wonder why we're so inept at evangelism in church today. It's because the majority of people in our pews aren't saved and don't know (and certainly aren't transformed by it) the Gospel themselves. They may know bits and pieces, but they don't understand who Jesus is. They're coming to church as some sort of psycho-therapy or emotional release, but they have no clue who the Biblical Jesus really is or what the Good News is all about. And if you think I'm full of bull on this one, I challenge you to get a group of the average ten people from your church together and simply pose this question and listen to the response you will get:

What is the Gospel?

You will be both amazed and disheartened at the answers you receive. I was. I did this at a large church that I attended and couldn't believe the answers I received. They sounded good. They may have been bits and pieces of the whole. But not one person in a group of fifteen people who had just completed the membership class for this church could articulate clearly what the Gospel was. And by the way, if you think the Gospel is "Jesus died on the cross for my sins", then you have missed it as well. You're a product of crusade or para-church evangelism which reduces the glorious Gospel to a formula for a "get out of hell free" card. I would argue that para-church ministries and crusade evangelism have done more harm to the cause of Jesus Christ in the last 30 years than they have helped. That's hard for me to say and may be hard for some to hear but I am believing more and more it is the absolute truth.

And so because our churches are full of people who don't know the good news, they certainly aren't going to be beacons of sharing that good news with anyone else. And worse, they are going to be me-centered for most of their church life. They will not look to give their life away or serve others. And consequently, they will never get to know other lost people. They've got their ticket to heaven punched and the rest of the world can screw-off because Christianity is all about me now. How unfortunate! How tragic! And now, because they don't know the Gospel, they can't be transformed by it. They will spend a life growing more and more focused on themselves and less focused on those around them. And the vicious cycle continues. The more they turn inward, the less they turn outward, and thus the cause of Jesus is hurt even more.

It’s No Wonder (II)

Yesterday, we looked at the fact that most Christians (especially those in Christian leadership) have no vibrant personal relationships with lost people. There's a bit of a caveat to that in the sense that new Christians are more likely to have personal connections with lost people but over time, most Christians become isolated and withdrawn from the world that they were saved. They busy themselves with church activities. They go to work for Christian organizations. They turn more and more inward until they are completely isolated from a world of people destined to become objects of God's eternal wrath.

With that being the case, is it really any wonder that the news we watch is as bad as it is. Now, understand that I know we live in a sinful fallen world and that the bad news all around us is primarily attributed to sin and to the consequences of our idolatry in the Garden. I know that. I'm not about to say that we can eradicate sin just by getting to know more lost people. But check out this sampling of stories from the last little while:

• 2 Year Old Held Hostage
  
• 3 Year Old Burned By Mother
  
• 6 Year Old Found Hanged – Sexually Abused
  
• 11 Year Old Drives Drunk Father Home
  
• Woman Attempts To Flush Newborn Down Toilet
  

And that's just a sampling. I have in my RSS feeds literally thousands of news stories of humanity gone awry. And that is what happened when we exchanged the glory of God for an idol. So yes, we are living in a sinful world. Yes, that is what God promised would happen when Adam and Eve screwed it up. Yes, that is why Jesus came to die.

BUT….

Have you ever thought for a moment about the folks lives around you. I mean each of those stories above, this person was in a town that had churches. This person was in a town that had Christians. This person was in a town that preached Jesus. And have you ever asked yourself the question: I wonder if they knew a Christian? Or better yet: I wonder if a Christian knew them. I mean really knew them. In a way different than just saying hello on the way to the mailbox, did someone who had been transformed by Jesus know who that person was?

Sadly, I think the answer in most cases is probably going to be no. You know why? Because lost stinks. Because lost is dirty. Because lost in dangerous. Because lost is messy. And Christians, once they make their "decision for Christ" spend the rest of their lives trying to avoid all those things. Christians don't like dirty. They don't like dangerous. They don't like unclean. We become Pharisees. We become white-washed tombs. We don't care about the poor. We don't care about the un-educated. We don't care about the hurting. All we care about is how nice our church building is when we show up there on Sunday morning to talk to other people who don't care about lost and we can share our nice cozy gated community lives together.

And I'll tell you the people who are the worst about this are the people who grew up in church all their lives. They seem especially ill-equipped to deal with lost because they have been protected from reality their whole lives. Is it any wonder that the most on-fire people for Jesus and seeing their communities transformed are the people who were converted later in life. Who were saved from pits of hell unimaginable? Have you ever thought about that? And why that is? I know why it is.

Because they know what they have been saved from and they can't imagine anyone else having to endure that for one second longer than they have to. They have a compassion for lost. They have a love for lost. They feel drawn to lost to try and do whatever they can to redeem it.

Have you ever thought about what a difference you might make if you would just make one friendship with a lost person and get involved in their lives? Have you ever thought about what God might use you to do in that person's eternal existence? Have you ever wondered what the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ could do to a lost soul? Have you ever seen it? Have you ever felt it? Have you ever known it? For most of you, the answer is no…and that's sad. What's even worse, you probably won't do anything to change your current pattern. And you'll never see what the Gospel can really do in the life of a lost person.

It’s No Wonder

I'll start off this post by saying you can get mad all you want to. You can write all the comments you want. You can say all the nasty things you want anonymously. But the fact will remain that if you'll truly examine your life, you'll be guilty. You ready for the challenge:

Name three people in your life right now that don't walk with Jesus that you have a personally vibrant relationship with and that you are helping to walk down the road to an encounter with God.

Guess what, most of you, in fact 98% of you aren't even going to have one. Not a single one. You don't have a single lost friend. You may be able to name lost people left and right. You can throw out their names. But you can't tell me one thing about their lives. You can't tell me one thing about the hours you've spent with them just hanging out and building a relationship with them. You can't share stories of God working through you because you haven't put yourself in a position where God can do anything except watch the game with you.

And I hear a lot of people talk about evangelism. I mean a lot. Mega-Church pastors, Para-church presidents, Seminary professors, etc. You name it and everybody's talking about it. The problem is nobody's doing it. And nobody's admitting they're not doing it. It's easy to preach it. It's a whole 'nother thing to do it. And I bet if you peered inside the lives of the biggest evangelism proponents, what you would see are people who are passing the buck to their followers and leaving true evangelism up to the other folks.

Let's be clear on something. I phrased my challenge the way I did for a reason. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can do the 3 minute Gospel presentations, but it takes a whole different kind of person to build a relationship with lost people. I want to know if you're building relationships, not giving pre-canned presentations to an audience you're trying to sell something to. You don't win this challenge if all you ever try to do is "lead people to the Lord on airplanes" because they are people you'll never see again and you can feel good that you somehow did your spiritual duty. Never mind you'll never have to invest in that person again so you could care less whether or not you actually loved that person or not.

And you want to know the people who are the most guilty of not building relationships with lost. People in ministry! Pastors, para-church ministry employees, church leadership etc. It's amazing how busy people get with "ministry" stuff that they forget that all the crapola they are wasting so much time on is pointless compared to the eternal souls that lie desolate just doors down from them.

I'll take it a step further and say that I would venture most Christian ministry people don't even know their own neighbors. Ooohh…we're doing big things for Jesus but those people on our street can take a flying leap. I'll let some other schmuck reach them. I got things to do. I got a booming ministry that needs tending to. I got speaking engagements. I got places to go, people to see. I'm in the ministry. Yea…and you know what. You're impotent for the cause of Christ as well because you are living a lie. You're preaching to choirs but not preaching to lost. You're rapping with Pharisees but shunning the poor.

And you find a nice way to justify it every day you continue to do it. This week, we'll look at the natural results of this attitude within Christianity. It should be an interesting week.

You Can Learn A Lot As A Substitute Teacher

At our local middle school, the PE teacher had a doctor's appointment, so I was called upon to instruct our children in the fine ways of physical fitness. I knew it would be a daunting challenge. It would take skill, precision, intellect, and poise. That and a large Coke.

I have to say that when I showed up at 7 AM, I really had no idea what was in store for me. I suspected that at sometime during the day, a good game of kickball or dodge ball would break out. And it did, for two classes of fifth graders. A word to the wise: Playing dodge ball with kids may be exhilarating at the moment it happens but your body will rebel later on in definite disapproval of your activities. Make sure you have two ALEVE ready to go at a moment's notice.

But it was the rest of the day that reminded me in a powerful way of God's presence, His love for me, His love for children, and His grace in putting up with my idiocy and rebellion. I want to tell you about three kids:

• Emily is a special needs girl. I believe she is autistic and probably has several other conditions. Emily would not be what the world would consider normal. Emily cannot speak. She can make sounds which resemble the phonics you and I use but she cannot annunciate her words. I had the honor of going with Emily and her para-professional (a wonderful lady) to an adapted PE class just for Emily. We spent 25 minutes together. Emily bounced on a big rubber ball as we counted along with her. I played catch with her. We tried to get her to sit down on a rocking board meant to help her balance. She would have no part of it. We jumped across lines with Emily only after we asked her to "hop like a rabbit" because that's what she understood. We took Emily back to her class and I left to go back to another school.
  
• Corey is a para-plegic. He is a little sixth grade boy confined to a mechanized wheelchair. He has an infectious smile. I'm not sure what exactly his condition is, his Physical Therapist couldn't tell me because of privacy laws, but Corey and I had the chance to play football. I would be the quarterback and he would "go out for a pass" in his wheelchair. He could catch really well. He could throw even better. I let Corey do some bowling which he really enjoyed. And then his PT (Brenda Cook) came in to stand him up and give him some time on his feet. Corey told me that next year, he was going to be the waterboy for the junior high football team. He was very articulate and a great kid. He was so happy and lively. He didn't for one instance show any resentment for the physical body he had been given.
  
• Luke And Bradford – These guys were great. They were high schoolers. Luke had Down's Syndrome and Bradford – well I believe he has a number of conditions but one things was for sure. Bradford was a local celebrity in a high school of over 2,000 kids. Everyone knew who he was. Yesterday was "Walking Wednesday" so I had the privilege of walking with eight special needs high schoolers on the inside track. Luke and Bradford were my buddies. I would tell Bradford that he was the man. He would yell out "Luuukke…Luuukkke da man". And then Luke would take off running down the track yelling "Wheeeeeeeeeee"…all the while with the biggest smile on his face.
  

And then I finished the day singing the Alphabet rock song with ten preschool kids. We did the bean back boogie. And a lot more. It was a real hoot.

So why am I telling you all this. Because I want you to freakin wake up and realize how blessed you truly are. Quit whining about how busy you are. How overworked you are. How your wife doesn't understand you. How your husband doesn't know you. How you don't get paid enough money. How you're not appreciated enough at work. How your boss doesn't tell you how great you are enough. How your church doesn't feed you enough. How you don't have enough sex. How you drive a beat up car. How you live in such a small house. How you don't get to travel enough. How you don't get to experience life. How you can't get a date. How the pressure of ministry is getting to you. How you congregation doesn't understand. Blah Blah Blah…

These kids can't walk, talk, speak, or even make intelligible noises in some instances. Their families have to exist with little or no support. They'll never have the kind of opportunities afforded to you and me.

And yet we sit here and cry and complain about how bad our lives are. You know what. We're pathetic. We're pieces of crap sometimes stupid for our petty little attitudes we hold before God. There are people who will die today because they don't have anything to eat. What the hell in the world gives us the right to complain about anything. We woke up today in the United States in the top 10% richest people in the world. And yet we find a way to piss and moan complain about what we don't have instead of being freaking grateful for what we do have. And what we have been given. Have you ever thought about what you took for granted this morning…

It is time for us to wake up and quit being sniveling little brats before God and get down on our knees and be thankful for the blessings bestowed on us each and every day. And I thank God that Emily, Corey, Luke, and Bradford, as challenged as they are went through their days with something I can't muster sometimes and that's a smile. They don't let their circumstances get them down. They just go about life. One day at a time and make the most of it and have fun doing it. I vow today to do the same. I'm sick of being a pathetic weasel before God. And I'm sick of other people being the same way.

If you ever want a dose of reality, go substitute teach for a day instead of sitting in your high fallutin position, office, corporation, or ivory tower. Go see what you're missing. I promise you, you'll leave the day understanding how much the Gospel really hasn't captured you and more aware of your pathetic spiritual condition before God.