Hanukkah and the Great Battle for Worship

Just this week, VP-Elect Kamala Harris, someone who has been vocal about 'appropriating' other cultures, came out with a shallow, ignorant and remarkably insensitive statement about what Hanukkah 'means' to her. Her statement really shows the move towards a society devoid of true, meaningful religious expression outside of the approved, gooey, empty, sentimentality that has no underlying foundation other than 'it makes me feels good.

Her idea of Hanukkah sounds like a hallmark movie instead of the true story of Hanukkah; which you may read of in the book of Maccabees should you be interested. There you will find something far different than the flippant "I love Hannukah because it really is about the light and bringing light where there is darkness, and there is so much work to be done in the world to bring light and it is a celebration of Tikun Olam..." The actual Feast is about a bloody and brutal war between Jews who wanted to hold fast to their faith, and a grasping, secularizing, Hellenizing culture that had capitulated to the governmental decrees of the crazy Antiochus IV; he who had demanded that the Jews STOP practicing their religion.

The state, as it is wont to do, demanded loyalty to only one -- the STATE. The secularization of Israel was going well, with the assistance of a large number of Jews who were willing to sacrifice their faith on the altar of pragmatism and political expediency, until those pesky Maccabbeans refused to abandon their religion to sate the government's desire for worship. Instead, they revolted against the secularization of their world, and were given a miraculous victory over a crushing and oppressive government, successfully cleansing the Temple and re-establishing worship back to the people.

Now, i do not find KH's statements shocking, for if the true story of Hanuakkah were told, it would actually be a refutation of what many in our culture hold to; that religious practice needs to be subsumed under governmental control. Sadly, what bothers me is that she cares so little for something so deeply important to so many people, she certainly didn't have a problem appropriating a Jewish feast for her own political rhetoric. This is a disturbing trend I find on both sides of the aisle, one side seeks to secularize all things religious, the other, conflates their religion with their politics, sanctifying their political views. Both sides seek to put forward the sacredness of their political position in one way or another, while attempting to empty religious thought of anything truly transcendent -- what is old is new again, hello Antiochus IV!

I doubt that we will see this trajectory,(that of increasing ignorance of all things sacred, and creeping secularization), change anytime soon, and as I stated earlier, this is not just one side of the political aisle, both sides are remarkably ahistorical, corrosive in their language and bent on controlling society with their idealogies. Sadly, true, caring, and open conversations seem further away now than they have ever been, and I doubt that this will reverse until we, as a people, step away from our narcissistic, self-absorbed, victimzed mindset, a mindset fostered by 'social' media, news outlets in pursuit of eyes far more than truth and an educational system that seems less and less interested in 'education' and more and more in 'doctrination' (on both sides of the aisle), and step more into a self-giving, sacrificial, and caring attitude towards those who difffer with us. Only then will we be able to see beyond our own navel to have a true and honest discussion around the sacred and the secular.

Hanukkah, at the end of the day, is a choice between who/what one will serve. To round out this story, if we move forward in time, the Jewish nation, 400+ years after the Maccabean revolt, was once again under the rule of an oppressive government, this time Rome. And during the celebration of Hanukkah, Jesus was found to be walking through the Temple grounds, (John 10:22ff), and as He did, He was questioned about His identity: 'IF You are the Messiah, tell us plainly...' Well, He had already told and shown them, but they were far more interested in a secular deliverance, a casting out of the Romans and re-establishing of Israel as a powerhouse in the region (sort of an ANE 'Make Israel Great Again' campaign) than they were of re-establishing worship of the One True God, so, they ultimately rejected Jesus' Messianic claims, seeking to put their eyes on a temporal goal. The God-man had entered into the Temple grounds, once again the Temple burned brightly with the presence of the LORD, but they refused to see: they chose who they would serve.

Ultimately, we all have to serve something/someone; an idea eloquently put forward by that great Theologian, Bob Dylan:

"You may be an ambassador, To England or France, You might like to gamble, You might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight Champion of the world, You might be a socialite, With a long string of pearls. But you're gonna have to serve somebody; Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody. Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord, But you're gonna have to serve somebody..."

The questions is: Who will you serve?

Cleaning up and Checking In

Wow, has it REALLY been NINE YEARS since I stopped by? So much has changed that it seems superfluous to try and 'catch up'. And honestly that is not my goal -- I doubt that people read my blog, or have in many many years, this gives me some freedom to start slow and deliberately. I plan on using this as a place to put some of my thoughts, and also to do some house cleaning on sites I read/listen to, and remove dead links etc. In other words, rather than anyone reading this with regularity, I believe that this will be a notepad for my thoughts. I have read some of my old posts and like anything, some are terrible, some are OK, but all were 'where I was' at the time; in other words, it is sort of my modern version of journaling. I am contemplatring doing a podcast -- a dear friend has provided some guidance on tools etc. BTW, I am still a bi-vocational pastor at a small church, so the tooling and efforts needs to be considered in that vein (read that, non-time consuming, and inexpensive). With all that being said -- I am just leaving this as a placeholder as I work through updating and cleaning my old house out.

Public Discourse

So, Susan Sarandon recently said this, and just a few weeks ago we had the infamous statement from Hank Williams Jr.

What this shows is how ill-read, and ill-informed both of these folks are. It does seem to be in vogue to pull out the 'Hitler' card nowadays, comparing Bush, Obama, and now the Pope to the infamous murderer. Rather than couch arguments in well thought out sentences and insightful perspectives both the right and left side of our political spectrum resort to the most basic and crude ad hominem attacks.

While these two individuals are but the latest in our society to show a complete lack of ability to think deeply, this is an endemic problem, and is a frightening reflection of the society in which we live.

Everyone is out for themselves, and until that changes (if it ever will), the disintegration of our public discourse will continue -- for it is far easier to simply assassinate the character of the opposition rather than address their concerns.

Starting Up Again?

After talking with my good friend Matt the other evening about blogging, I have decided to pray about and put forth the idea of a new direction for the blog.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the brightest (or even in the top 1000 brightest), Christian blogger(s) out there; nor do I have anything so important to say that someone else has not already addressed it. So, I have allowed my blog to languish - well, those reasons and I have been totally booked out time-wise.

But, after speaking with Matt - I thought that maybe I could work through Puritan books, just doing a type of 'book report' for those who might be interested in reading the Puritans. A reference point, if you will.

Again, there are sites out there that do this well already, but many of them are put up by scholars, and I am a simple country pastor in a small church. My perspective may not be as erudite, but it will be practical.

So, I plan on starting with Thomas Watson's The Godly Man's Picture.

We will see how this goes... Hopefully, I will talk to you soon....

Religious Respect?

This article really got me thinking.

A couple of things come to mind.

First, I remember when Terry Jones threatened to burn the Koran -- as we all know. The outcry was deafening. Every media personality weighted in, and politicians, local and national, both sides of the aisle, (even international), raised a cry demonizing Pastor Jones.

This was a small church, in a middling town, that threatened to burn a religious book - something that is done every day in other countries (although primarily Bibles), and you would have thought that he had planted a dirty bomb!

Now, I disagree with Pastor Jones -- I am not saying what he did, or threatened to do, was correct, but I am attempting to draw a parallel.

Here, in Loveland, Coloerado we have an ART museum putting blasphemous art out for open public view. I don't remember hearing about this on the news, nor did any politician (say, the White House, or any other national politician) come out decrying this so-called 'art'. Why is that?

I would venture to say that it is because of two things:

1) - The religion being blasphemed is Christianity, which we all know is fair game. Christianity is not a protected religion, but any other religion certainly is!

2) - The world, while they loudly proclaim Islam as a 'religion of peace', KNOWS that it is not. They know that violence is an inherent piece of Islam; and they are afraid of it.

While I have friends who are Muslims, and they are not violent - the folks that have the loudest voice and the power within that religion are violent. A sad, but true statement.

Also, notice what the news was: A 66-year-old woman attacked a piece of trash with a crowbar. Not the fact that the so-called art was actually a piece of blasphemous filth, but that this woman attacked the art.

And, finally, my favorite piece of the article: 'Chagoya told the Associated Press he was saddened to see his work desecrated. "My intention has never been to offend anybody," he said.'

Amazing...

So the next time a politician, or a media personality gets on the TV and shouts about how we have to respect religion, keep in mind that they are not referring to religion in general, but to all religions outside of Christianity.

Where I am... (or where AM I?)

It has been 4 months since I last posted here - but simply too busy most times to put something up.

I also find that I am nowhere near as prolific as many others in the blogsphere. Pastoring my church and working a full-time job pretty much consumed my time.

I am working in a new position, and still adjusting to it a bit. But, I wanted to at least post (probably to myself), and simply state that I am still alive...

The church has been doing pretty well - we have grown some, and now have a small choir - which for us is a major step, as we traditionally have had no tradition.. :-)

There has been the usual shake-ups, disagreements, and discussions that accompany any change, especially in the realm of church music. It has been, at various times, frustrating, maddening, rewarding and hurtful.

The choir performed an Easter cantata yesterday and it was amazing! We still have challenges ahead, but we have begun to move in a direction that I think will benefit all involved, even if, at this time, they fail to see the benefit.

We have had our share of loss as well, one of my dear friends passed to the other side last month - he had suffered for quite some time with the ravages of dementia and Parkinson's. I was honored to do his service and the church has gathered around his widow to ensure that she is OK. And I lost another good friend at work from cancer - and have tried to be there for his family...

As you can see - right now, I have nothing of import to say, nor any keen observations to share - this is just sort of an update to level-set. I could speak on the politics of our country, or the politics of church life - or even throw out something pithy about Tiger Woods, but I really don't have any keen observations on these things. My head and heart are in a different place and I will ponder and pray about what I may post on next.

I am currently doing a series on evangelism, specifically towards the Muslim community, and also a series on Creationism and its various positions (i.e. Young Earth, Old Earth, Evolution). maybe I will post some of my thoughts on these - we'll see...

Worship Music

Yes, it has been about six weeks since I posted. A lot has happened -- got caught in a RIF at work, and been very busy at the church. However, I read a short book on worship music while I was away...

The book turned out to be a bust in my opinion. Even though it had the endorsement of a man I truly respect, J. Ligon Duncan III, IMHO, this book was not very compelling.

Before I go much further, I want to say that I agree, by and large, with many of the arguments in the book; i.e. that CCM is inappropriate for worship, and that many (if not most), CCM/modern worship songs are insipid and totally narcissistic. Where I feel that the author went afoul of a solid argument is when he began with the mantra that 'drums' are somehow part of the devil's music.

Now, he did not say that in those words, but he intimates it heavily throughout. And the old boogie man of the 'backbeat' somehow conjuring up Satan in the church is simply not true.

His argument for using classical music is that it is so far removed from anything evil that it is safe to be used in the church - although, in it's day, this music too was frowned upon by many within the church.

This is written from a Western man's view of music - drums and music of the type that he disparages, are used in other parts of the world where people have always used drums as part of their heritage. they also do not have organs, pianos and the other western instruments.

As I said earlier, I agree that CCM has no place in the worship life of the church, and I am a staunch believer in hymns, and even Psalter singing, however the arguments put forth by Mr. Lucarini just don't hold water from a musical standpoint. I would have enjoyed a much more theological argumentation, as opposed to the almost 'mystical' perspective that a certain beat and instrumentation is inherently evil.

Sadly, as I work through the changes in our worship style; attempting to jettison some of the inherited CCM and replace it with more solid modern hymns and Psalter singing, these types of books are really useless. I am going to pick up Michael Horton's A Better Way. This was recommended by a pastor that I truly respect.

I have also found Hughes Oliphant Old's books to be quite useful -- his Worship book is fantastic, as is his Leading in Prayer workbook.

Books such as Dan Lucarini's simply provide no useful theological argumentation - but instead, rely on the same arguments that the CCM folks use to introduce the drivel that they call worship music. I think there is a better way, and I believe that we can use arguments that transcend the 'drums are bad' mentality.

Are You Plugged In?

So, the final question that I posed on a long ago post was: where do non-denominational churches find fellowship and support?

There are many groups that provide fellowship and accountability, but when you are just starting out, or you are a small church that does not fit the 'denominational' mold, it can be challenging to find support and fellowship. (Make no mistake, 'non-denominational' is much like a denomination)

I will tell you, from personal experience, that you must have this support; it is vital to the life of the pastor and his family that he have someone he can turn to for fellowship, prayer, emotional and spiritual support, and friendship.

I struggled early on in my ministry because I did not have this support structure, and I just wanted to post a few thoughts here about it:

1. Seek out a local pastoral fellowship, or alliance. Most all towns have one, and many times they are not well advertised. YOU must make the effort to find a group, and get plugged in. The group may not fit you exactly, and there may be some within the group who disagree with you on some points of ministry, but this is a good place to learn tolerance as well as the ability to articulate your faith and the reasons why you take a position that you have.

2. Do some web work, find a group that shares your perspective in ministry and join it. Some of these may just be an on-line community, but it is still a good outlet for support. And again, be prepared for discussion! Don't shy away from, or be adversarial to honest, open debate! You will grow tremendously as you learn to disagree in a godly manner.

3. Attend a pastor's conference. Even if you attend alone, the good ones will not leave you alone. You will meet people from all over the country/world, who will become confidant's and counselors.

4. Finally, do not allow your pride to tell you that you can do it on your own. I found my greatest challenge to be maintaining a perspective when I had no outlet or access to other pastors. My fellow elder at our church is fantastic, and I could never do it without him, but we both need the interaction that comes with engaging fellow ministers in discussion, debate, and counsel.

If you are at a small-church and have not done any of the above, I highly recommend that you get plugged in and maintain ties with fellow pastors. It will greatly ease your burden!

May God bless your work!

Are we just nuts?

How can you tell when a society has jumped the proverbial shark when it comes to insanity?

Well, when you juxtapose this story with this one

Now, anybody with at least four brain cells functioning, please tell me which of these two is a more real and present danger?

TEC Strikes Again

Abortion, a blessing?

As the writer says -- "What more need be said?"

Incredible -- simply incredible!

Church Growth

So, I come to the question of "How do you stay true to Biblical truths when the church down the street grew from 5 - 5000 in the same timeframe by giving away a car and flat-screen TVs?"

Well, it is fairly straight forward -- recognize a couple of things:

1. - Churches have traditionally not been 5000, 6000 and up. There were a few but overall, churches tend towards 150 - 200. This is a size in which the pastor can come to know all the members. It is also a size in which people have an opportunity to be involved in ministry as opposed to being spectators at their own church.

2. - Staying true to Biblical truths has nothing to do with how big your church is. This myth has been propagated and circulated by those within the CGM leadership. It is in their best interest to lead everyone to believe that a healthy church is one that doubles their congregation regularly. This sells conferences, and books on CGM. A healthy church can be very modest in their growth, yet be true to Biblical truths. They can also be modest in their growth (numerically) as they grow spiritually.

When we compare our church to others they will inevitably look either much better or much worse than they truly are. In some small churches, every other church is 'missing it', and 'only we' have it figured out. Bad idea! In other small churches, they believe that they are bound for failure because all the churches around them are growing at a much larger rate. Another bad idea!

Truth be told -- most churches in our country are smaller, and most churches do some things well, and others poorly. Do not compare yourself to the most successful or the least successful church in town - compare yourself to the Biblical admonition that we have.

Remember, what you 'win' them with, you will have to 'keep' them with. If you bring people in by giving away a TV, then next week you will need to give away something better, and you will be stuck in a world of responding to the congregation rather than responding to the Holy Spirit's leading, and the clear direction given us in the Bible.

Stay the course!

Thoughts on Staffing

So, to continue on our series -- "Why Do Small Church Pastors Quit?", I thought I would address staffing. This is a biggie in a small church, but I believe the "desperate" need for staff is based upon a fallacy.

Now, before you respond, understand that I am not saying that staffing issues are not a real concern, but the desperation associated with staffing often is.

Here is the fallacy -- "If I want to be 'successful', I must address EVERYONE'S needs, (or potential needs), right out of the chute."

Watch how you define success!

I know pastors who planted churches and worked feverishly to 'hire' staff for every conceivable position; before they had even thought about the purpose and mission of their church in the selected locale! Now, I will state that all churches exist to be a place for God's people to gather and worship Him corporately -- but why in a specific locale? Is it because there is a dearth of churches in the area? Or maybe, the area has a specific need that a church could bring to the fore, such as a food pantry, and a place where souls would get fed as well. Determine what type of ministries you will have and what your church will look like before rushing out to hire people.

All too often what you end up with in many of the so-called CGM type of churches is a professional staff of employees who deal with the needs of the church -- everything from a pastor of "facilities" (what kind of prayer request might a lavatory bring?) to every specialty ministry under the sun (for example, I know of some places that have a pastor for single men from the ages of 25 - 40).

So, what is a small-church pastor to do? What if he cannot afford to hire a 'heavy-hitter', or someone with a resume that highlights him/her as an up and coming superstar?

Well, here is a novel idea: find someone in the church that has a passion for a ministry and train them up. Now, they will make mistakes, but any pastor who thinks he never made any mistakes is fooling himself. Also realize that you may have to remove people from ministries where they do not work out. Honestly, this is why it is 'easier' to have a professional staff that you can simply fire, as opposed to friends that you love and care about who may have to be removed from their ministry for any number of reasons.

Here is what we have found -- when someone from within the church is involved in ministry, they have a real connection with the other members of the church - they are not employees -- they are not people who are there for the paycheck, but are part and parcel of the family.

Please understand that I am not saying that everyone who is a hired employee will have these issues/attitudes, but it is much more likely to happen when they have very little connection and history with the church and its members. The other issue with a hired staff is that they, like any other human being, may find a better position, and sadly, many today have left churches that needed them, for better, and greener (if you get my meaning), pastures.

I am NOT saying that we should not have any staff -- but I do believe that the Western Church has gone way overboard in this area. They have professional music teams, professional youth and senior pastors, professional sound crews etc. And most times, it is all for the sake of a polished, and all too often, sterile, environment. I believe that a senior pastor should be paid, if possible, as the other positions I mentioned, if these can be managed, but I believe that the people who grow into these roles should, as much as possible, be grown organically, rather than putting a search on Monster.com.

And a small-church pastor should not worry over filling every possible ministry position immediately, work with what you have -- develop your own people, they have a connection to the church and to you. Decide which ministries you NEED, and then work on filling them - the church can grow into other ministries as God provides the skills and workers.

Also, be very careful that you do not take those four people who are volunteer junkies, and work them to death - spread out your ministries amongst people -- we are having a ministry 'fair' at our next potluck, and we are going to highlight the ministries that we have available -- therefore, people who may not know much about the variety of ministries and needs at our church will have a chance to get involved.

I am no expert on staffing, or church growth -- but I do know that the church in America is far too enamored with professionalism, and far too laissez-faire about developing the Body of Christ in a local environment. It is easier to hire, it is easier to fire, but it really insulates a pastor and church from having to develop the ability to work together as a body and practice body life as Paul directs us to.

So, go on and hire, but do it wisely, and as much as possible, develop the gifts and talents that God has already placed at your disposal within your local body.

Money...

So, the next question in the list of 'Why Small Church Pastors Quit' is one that involves the root of all evil: of course, I speak about money...

Now honestly, this is not a bugaboo for me, as I am not paid by our church - I have a regular 40+ hour / week job which supports me and my family. However, I have many friends who have experienced this problem.

The opinions I am about to express are just that, opinions, however, I have seen this situation enough to feel fairly comfortable with talking about it.

First and foremost -- pastors: if you are in this for the money -- get out now and save yourself some real headaches!

So, having said that I would like to bring to fore a few points:

1. - Why is it assumed almost universally within certain traditions (whom I will refrain from mentioning here) that poverty is related to godly? Many feel that, because their pastor is squeaking by on a salary that does not adequately feed his family, he is somehow becoming transcendent through that experience!

Most pastors in this situation are simply becoming disillusioned. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that poverty is next to godly, as a matter of fact the writer of Proverbs says this -- Proverbs 30:8, 9 -- give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. C'mon church! Give your pastor a break, pay him decently -- is it unreasonable that he be paid the average of what the congregation makes?

2. - Why is it that every purchase that the pastor makes is scrutinized by his flock? As if, it is still their money and they have say over what he buys! God forbid that he buy a new ANYTHING -- used is good enough for him! Yet, the congregation is happily spending their wages any way they see fit, and are happy to provide the pastor with their discards!

Now this is (maybe) a bit hyperbolic, but not much -- I have seen this in more than one situation. Pay your pastor a decent wage, and then shut up about how he spends the money -- I am not suggesting NO oversight; (for example, a quarterly trip to the Bahamas might indicate a problem), but if he buys a new car -- why do you view it as a sin?

3. - Why is there more money spent on carpeting than on upkeep of the pastors family? Is it pride in a building? What about the man who, week in and week out, provides pastoral care to you? 1st Timothy 5:17, 18 - Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain, and, The laborer deserves his wages.

Bottom line: Pay the pastor a livable wage - I fully recognize that the other extreme is alive and well, (no man is worth 1M/year), but this post is about small-church pastors and most of them make well under the average salary in America.

And again, please heed this warning -- if you are in the business of pastoring for the cash -- get out now; I don't need your help! Heed Paul's warning: 2nd Corinthians 2:17 -- For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

All of you small-church pastors out there, I pray that you are well-loved and supported by your congregation. I have been blessed by mine!

Loss of Key Persons

One of the things that will burn a small church pastor out is the loss of key persons within the core team. We experienced this as we worked through our first few years.

What often happens, as I stated in the last post, is that a church gets planted with a lot more emotion than planning, and therefore things have not been thought through.

So, what happens? Well, the folks heading up some portion of a key ministry realize that their four children have no Children's Ministry for a while as teachers are identified, and curriculum is sought and studied. (This is simply one example).

And so, they begin looking around at bigger, established churches and seeing that these churches have a ministry ready-made for their children. Off they go to that church.

Now, let me say that I understand that to a degree -- parents want their children to have a good Children's Ministry, but the reality is that a small-church drained of key personnel, AND their children never can get their ministries off the ground.

It might be youth, it might be a choir, but any of these things can strip a church of key members. Now, I will be blunt about part of the reasoning -- people are not as committed to a church as much as they are committed to a program, or perceived needs that their family has. Part of the issue there is that you did not do adequate planning and communication during the initial plant stage. People rarely understand what it takes to plant a church - there is sacrifice, frustration, and many other emotions that will occur.

You must understand that you are battling the social conditioning that we have created around the church that intimates that we are there for YOU -- and whatever needs YOU deem important. Long ago the church ceased, by and large, of being a gathering of God's people to worship Him, and became a social event with all the bells and whistles of a secular club.

Now yes, churches still worship God -- but many times the staff is professionally paid, the lights, music, setting all TV quality and the 'event' short enough to satisfy the most ardent football fan.

And when one plants a church that has none of that, it is a true disadvantage, and one will have a difficulty in maintaining members. So, enough of the problem -- what can one do about it?

Well, first and foremost -- be crystal clear with the people working with you -- "We may not have a functioning [children's ministry/choir/worship team/youth] for a while, are you committed to helping build that up?"

Second, don't try to compete with the local mega-church -- understand the focus of your ministry and stay true to it. You may shrink, but if you try to be all things to all people by adding every ministry that the local dotcom church has you will quickly exhaust your budget and your people.

If someone wants to be on a 90 person choir, well then you may just have to tell them that you won't be forming that sized choir for a while (especially since your church is 30 in number!), and they may have to find a church that provides them with that opportunity.

The greatest danger for a small-church pastor in this area is the attempt to be something that you are not, or do not yet have the funds to be. Don't over-extend your own time or the churches resources attempting to keep one or two key families, identify others who are committed to the church and work with them to bring them along.

We have had several key families leave for some of the reasons stated above, and have maintained friendships with them -- they have been a blessing to the churches where they have gone, and everyone ended up fine. Trust that God will provide for you, and that He will bring into your church those with the necessary gifts to provide the needed ministries.

At the end of the day, stay focused on your commitment to God -- NOT to the many felt needs that are out there. This can only lead you to burn-out, or compromise in some manner.

If you stay true to God He will make clear the ministries you are to have, and the size church that you will become.

May God Bless Your Work!

Friends

I realize that I have posted on some of these topics before, but as I have changed and grown (hopefully), I wanted to repost some thoughts. So, as you may remember, my first question on the last post was:

How many friends do you have to lose while attempting to do the right thing?

Answer - I have no idea -- but I do know that this can be debilitating for a small-church plant/pastor.

Many people go into church-planting with a pastor/friend that they know and trust. Sadly, all too often, the idea of starting a church, or planting one, is romanticized by all involved. Their motivation might be that they will finally have a church in which they can contribute at a level they desire. Or, it may be that they came out of a broken church and finally have a chance to 'do it right'.

There may be many motivating factors, but what I have found to be true in most cases is that the people are not united in their desire to plant a church for God's glory. And when a pastor and the people around him are not united in that goal - the fallout is usually numbered in friendships.

In our case, none of us really knew what we were doing -- we truly wanted to do the right thing, but because so much of our initial impetus was emotion, the right thing was not the SAME thing in everyone's mind.

Therefore, as the church became more 'traditional' in it's perspective, many people left or had a change of heart, usually taken out on the pastor, because the church was no longer unique, or to use a more realistic, but baser word, the church had ceased to be 'fun' for those involved.

Now, to be fair -- as the pastor, I too struggled with the exact same emotions, and it truly was not until I REALLY read the Bible and spent time in prayer with fellow elders, and sat at the feet (figuratively) of many great teachers that I even had an inkling of what the church is really all about.

I was eaten up with making the church in my image, just as much as the others were bent on making it in their image -- no one was innocent on this. But, what finally prevailed was the overriding desire to honor and glorify God, and lift Christ up so that all men would be drawn to Him -- and that was a consensus that the church came to together.

I have lost a lot less friends in recent years, and I would encourage the small-church pastor to really plan and think about his church BEFORE planting, or even taking an existing one on. Ensure that you understand the purpose of the church, and the perspective of the congregation. Do not over commit on anything until you have a clear and detailed idea of what the church needs to do to get to the place of a God-honoring institution.

The church is a place where God's people come together to worship and honor their Lord, and a place where the visitor and/or lost will hear a clear and consistent proclamation of the wonderful, soul-freeing gospel weekly. The messages will be Christ-centered and not man-centered, the families will be drawn together to worship, not split into thousands of shards that have nothing to do with one another, and the music will be God-honoring, and Christ-centered -- not man-honoring and worldly-centered.

Surround yourself with people who understand what the church exists for, and weed out those who are looking to make a name for themselves. Find team-players who want to succeed to God's glory, and do not become a despot in your pastorate, but give those who have been gifted, a place in real ministry.

These are but a few common-sense ideas, nothing unique here -- but let me encourage small-church pastors who are ready to throw in the towel. If you will work at building a God-honoring church, and find others who want to work at that as well, you will lose fewer friends than I did..

May God bless your work!

Why do Small-Church Pastors Quit?

As a note before I post this I want to answer a few questions:

1. No, I am not considering quitting.

2. No, I do not have any particular person or incident in my mind -- I just have recently heard some comments that stuck in my craw and I wanted to get my thoughts out...

With the above comments firmly in mind let us now go on to our post:

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I hear a lot of people talking about pastors who quit the ministry. Some say that they burn-out because of an unbiblical method of church planting; if one was 'truly' trusting the Lord, then the strength of the Lord would carry them through.

While this comment can be true, all too often it comes from a layperson or someone with a nice staff and an assistant, who have no idea how mind-numbing and physically draining small-church ministry can be. These folks seem to insinuate that those who face bone-weary burn-out are somehow trying to do things 'their way'.

A small confession here -- I used to buy that; but then I planted a church...

Here are some of the questions that are not well-understood by those outside of small-church ministry.

* How many friends do you have to lose while attempting to do the right thing?

* How many key persons leave to attend a church that has more 'functions' for their family.

* How does one build a church when resources leave for already established places?

* How does one support their family on a pittance of what everyone else in the church (usually those telling you to 'have faith', or 'trust in the lord') make in their vocation?

* How does one cover all the needs in the church when there is no full-time staff, only a volunteer staff, that is usually at their breaking point as well?

* How do you stay true to Biblical truths when the church down the street grew from 5 - 5000 in the same timeframe by giving away a car and flat-screen TVs?

* Also, if you are non-denominational, who supports you? There is no denominational support group built in.

These are but a few thoughts -- but I want to ponder them and in my next post put down some ways that we have managed, within our small church, to combat the above contributors to 'burn-out.

We certainly do not have all, or even most, of the answers. But, I would hope that this post and the next one might encourage someone who needs it.

Hope Part II

In the previous posts, I have covered a lot of ground as regards God's providence, and the subject of death and dying. I now would like to close out this series by finally looking at the great hope that Christians have - ‘Our Eschatological Hope’.

Three things I would like to cover in this post:

o What is the physical resurrection?
o What is heaven?
o How does the Reality of our Hope manifest itself in our life now?

As I said last post, we simply cannot understand eternal life, death, dying or suffering without having a Biblical understanding of these terms. So, we have looked at providence, we have looked at suffering, we have looked at death and now we look at the final state of man.

So, let us start by looking at two passages of Scripture that will set the tone for the rest of the post.

Romans 8:18 – 25 -- For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

1st Corinthians 15:50 – 58 -- I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

PHYSICAL RESURRECTION

What is the final state of the believer and unbeliever. I am not discussing the spiritual state exclusively, but also the physical state. Well, we see in these passages, and in many others, that there will be a physical resurrection. When people think of heaven and the eternal state, they have a tendency to think of chubby little Hallmark angels and clouds as opposed to the Biblical concept of heaven being a place inhabited by people with bodies; physical bodies.

Paul clearly and unambiguously states that we will be raised into glorified bodies, not dwelling for eternity in some sort of ethereal, gauzy existence. And we will dwell on a New Earth and in a New Heaven, in our glorified bodies, serving, worshiping and dwelling in the presence of our God forever.

When a believer dies, they are taken into the presence of the Lord in a spiritual state – as Jesus told the thief on the cross -- "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." And we also find this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus – Lazarus is carried away in the bosom of Abraham to heaven. So, when we initially depart from this plane of existence, we will be in heaven, but we will not be complete; the culmination of our resurrection will happen when the Lord returns, and soul and body are reunited in a glorified and perfected state.

1st Thessalonians 4:15 – 17 -- For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Even those who are alive when Jesus Christ returns will die in a sense, as their mortal bodies put on immortality, and their perishable dirt sacks are replaced with imperishable perfected bodies. So, yes, Virginia, there is a physical resurrection – and those who have departed first, those dead in Christ are raised first, and then those remaining will be translated into immortality.

The unbeliever will also be raised, but tragically, it will not be to bodies that have been glorified and perfected and in the presence of God forever, but to bodies that are bound for hell and pain. The unbeliever will be cast into the Lake of Fire with Satan and His minions, and there their worm will never die. They will forever be plagued with suffering – a suffering that is caused by being unprotected from God’s Wrath by the only mediator that is accepted, Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS HEAVEN?

So now we know that there will be a physical resurrection, but where will we be dwelling in our perfected bodies? Well, we will be dwelling in the New Heavens and the New Earth. And while there is a difference of opinion in how this new creation will take place, whether or not God will actually do away with the old creation completely, or simply restore and regenerate the old I will leave up to a discussion at a later date.

In the Revelation, as John was given the vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth, his descriptions were marked with the presence of jewels and crystal clear gold, and precious stones. It is obvious that John was trying to find words that would describe the beauty of heaven. What we do know is that it will be beyond anything that we can dream of, or imagine in this life.

"OK, so it is beautiful; but what and where is it?" Well, I think Wayne Grudem says it well “Heaven is the place where God most fully makes known His presence to bless.” We know that God is omnipresent – He is everywhere at all times in a way that we cannot understand, but He has always had places where He especially manifested His presence – in Israel it was the Tabernacle for example. So, Heaven will be the locus (if I may use that word) of His presence.

Will we recognize loved ones when we enter into this blessed place? Well, all I will tell you is this – Peter and the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah when they spoke with Jesus, and the disciples recognized Jesus Himself after His resurrection. What does that tell you?

HOW DOES THIS MANIFEST ITSELF NOW?

So, we have taken a brief look at heaven, the resurrection from the dead, and now we must ask ourselves, how should this knowledge impact our life in the here and now? Is there any impact in our lives? Well, let me put forth a few ideas quickly for you.

Colossians 3:1 – 4 -- If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

If you have been raised with Christ – if you are truly one of God’s children, what should you set your mind on? It is a sad truth that we Christians are as worldly and materialistic as the basest of pagans. We strive for, get consumed with, and suffer from, the same desires as the world. We do not set our minds on the things that are above. Yet, if we truly understand and believe the truth about our eschatological hope, should we not be a people who have their gaze fixed on the things above? What goes into your mind, what do you watch on TV, what do you desire above all other things?

Philippians 3:20, 21 -- But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Are you anxiously awaiting our Lord and Savior, do you live as though He could return at any time? Do you recognize that your citizenship is in heaven, above and beyond the earthly ties of citizenship – can you identify with the body of Christ around the world, or are you a person who is xenophobic and hateful towards those outside the pale of your earthly citizenship? We who are in Christ are all citizens of the same place!

Matthew 6:19 – 21 -- “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Like the Colossians passage, this one stresses that we are not to store up things on this earth, but store up our treasures in heaven. Do you do that? Are you storing up your treasures in heaven – are you living in and for Jesus Christ, or are you abusive and self-centered, grabbing all the gusto in this life, to the detriment of your family; are you willing to get that promotion at work through the denigration of someone else; are you socking away all of your grain in the barn, to the neglect of God?

He speaks of a man like that in Luke 12:16 – 21 -- And he told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? And he said, I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Brothers and sisters, the siren song of worldly goods and desires beckons to us constantly and tirelessly, and it is hard to ignore that call. Let us keep our mind fixed on the things above, anxiously awaiting the glorious return of our Savior, praying that the Holy Spirit would strengthen and guide us through the rocks and shoals of this world’s treacherous and deceptive waters. And may we all say, Maranatha – Come Lord, Jesus!

The Hope

In the past six or so posts we have examined God’s providence in detail, going from a basic definition of His providence to the providential care that He shows, even in the death of His saints. These posts have been difficult for me, as many in our church are going through hard times.

A providential God simply does not compute to those weaned on the American god who is, more or less, simply there for the good times – a god who promises nice cars, big homes, and a lack of suffering – the god of many in our modern world.

But the god advertised by many churches is simply not the God of the Bible – the God who sent His children into exile for their promiscuous love affair with idols; the God who did not allow Moses into the Promised Land because of disobedience; the God who allowed Job to be sifted, yet never snatched out of His hand; the God who has called many to suffer for His name over millennia.

This God is one that many who call themselves Christians would not recognize. Sadly we have become enamored with the comfortable god, the one who would never allow his children to suffer. But, the comfortable god is not the God of the Bible – the God in the Bible is mighty and frightening, He is in control of all things, and He is inscrutable in His ways ofttimes.

So, as I approach the final posts in this series, I wanted to quickly review the last few posts.

In my initial post on this subject, I ruminated on the fact that death, as is defined by most all of us, is an event in time. It is something that happens at a point in time, and can be delineated by a clock. What is one of the basic questions that always gets asked by the lead character in a police drama? What is the “time of death”.

All of us have this view of death, not just the lost – few people live in the mindset of eternity – that death is not an event, but a state in which all men find themselves as they march through life.

However, Paul had this mindset – we find him speaking of all being dead in their trespasses and sins before being made alive in Christ. [Ephesians 2 & Colossians 2]

I proposed a working definition of death a few posts ago. Here it is again - " Death is the state that we find ourselves in due to Adam’s sin. While physical death may occur at some specific date and time, we have all been born into, and live in a body of death until, in Christ, we are redeemed into eternal life."

This definition will really help us as we walk through this world. If we could but keep our minds fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, then we would spend much less time worrying about the many issues and problems that confront us in this life, and much more time in the Word, in treating one another as we should, and in living fearlessly for Christ. We all face the danger, in our fallen nature, of becoming far more consumed with us and far less consumed with Christ.

Most relationship issues that I deal with are overwhelmingly centered around pride, and striving in this world. In marriage for example, men are to serve their families self-sacrificially, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, and women are called to serve under their husbands, yet we all struggle with the pervasive nature of pride and sin.

So, marriages in today’s world end up (up to 50% in the church!) in divorce, because the parties will not die to self, and live in Christ. People do not have a proper understanding of death – they strive under the delusion that our world has served up, loaded with sugar and additives, that our existence on this planet involves us being happy and getting the most stuff while we have the chance, rather than us being dead to self and living for Christ – Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 2:15, 16 that we are ...the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

And yet, we have so bought into the world’s ideas that we jettison our role as salt and light, and an aroma of Christ, and climb aboard the desire train – living lives of blissful, or desperate, materialism.

As Christians, if we could but grasp the reality that we are dead, and that it is Christ who lives in us, the church would be a vastly different place. Marriages would be healed, broken friendships would be reconciled, and pastors would not be striving for bigger, better, and more more, more. Oh, the message that the church could send to a world not only consumed with, but in slavery to, materialism! It is sad when the world looks into the church and finds not only the same disease that affects them, but the haughtiness and pride of a people who believe that they somehow deserve the better ‘things’ in life.

If we would simply get a handle around the fact that we are not our own, but bought with a price, a price that included our death and rebirth through the power of the Holy Spirit, maybe we would once again be true salt and light to this sad, self-centered and dying world!

Rather than run on in this post, let's leave this here, and pick it up in the next post which will begin to discuss our eschatological hope - a hope that reaches beyond the grave into eternity itself.

Death - Part II

We looked at death as a state of being in the last post, and in this one we will look at why it is inevitable and undeniable?

Romans 5:12 -- Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…

1st Corinthians 15:21, 22 -- For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Death is the result of sin – the sin of Adam, our father. Not just physical, but spiritual death was ushered into the world through the disobedience of the first Adam.

When someone dies, we are again reminded of that first sin of Adam, and the fact that the whole of creation groans for it’s redemption, looking forward to the return of the Savior, to the new heaven and new earth. Many Christians claim that when a fellow Christian dies we should not mourn; as if the act of mourning is somehow sinful. Believe me, I have done enough funerals to know that Christians mourn!

In reality, Paul says – 1st Thessalonians 4:13, 14 -- But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

When a loved one dies, we mourn, for our loss, for the fact that we miss them, for the very real fact that death is a reminder of man's fallen condition. However, having said that, we do not mourn LIKE those who have no hope, for we know that death for a Christian is a transition from here to heaven.

2nd Corinthians 5:6 – 8 -- So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

So, we now have a working definition of death, and we understand why death is, so let us now take a brief look at the reality of death and life for the Christian.

THE HOPE SET BEFORE US

So many today, even within Christendom, want to remove the pains and inconveniences of life. Some go so far as to say that these are caused by a lack of faith! But truth be told, these people are misled and misleading – like Job’s misguided and misinformed friends, they view pain, suffering and death exclusively as God’s punishment for their personal sins, whereas the Bible says that all people will undergo these things because of our sin nature that is inherent within mankind, and even more, Christians will undergo suffering and death for God’s glory. Much like Job’s suffering brought glory to God!

Having said that though, what is the hope of the Christian?

Well, first and foremost let us look again at 1st Corinthians 15:20 – 23 -- But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Yes, death is a state of being, and yes, it was introduced into the world by the sin of the first Adam, but here is the great hope for all who are called by Christ – death has been defeated! Think about this; Jesus Christ came down to this earth, setting aside all of the glory that was rightfully His, and lived amongst man. During His first incarnation, He suffered – rejection, weariness, hunger and thirst, betrayal and many more things. Just as we are called to suffer, He suffered for righteousness sake. And then, He was nailed to a cross and suffered death – for sins that He never committed! He lay in the tomb for three days and was raised. It was as if we had died with Him – when He was raised, so were we. Into a newness of life!

Jesus was the firstfruits, and we will follow. Yes, when we die physically, our bodies will lie in the ground; but on that day when He returns, we will experience a resurrection like His – we will be in glorified bodies and will live in eternal joy in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

And in the interim, for those in Christ – they will dwell spiritually with Christ until they return with Him and like us, will be assume glorified bodies. So, when we lose a loved one who is in Christ, we can take comfort in knowing that they are in the presence of Christ; just as the thief on the cross, truly they will be in paradise – awaiting that glorious day when we will all be like Him, and know as we are known – when every tear shall be wiped away and we shall dwell in the light of the Lamb forever!

Death

The last few posts have found us examining God’s providence and the purpose, place and probability of suffering in the lives of God’s children. These are not simple topics and I pray that God’s Word has comforted you as we have examined these subjects. In this post, the third installment of this series, I will post some thoughts regarding death and dying from a Christian perspective.

This is a subject which, we in the USA, hate to even contemplate. We see many death-defying products on the market today, and people are in a mad scramble to never grow old, nor to experience pain, death or even a hint of dying. But, the truth is that death is 100% terminal – everyone gets it, and succumbs to its inexorable pull.

So, let us look at this uncomfortable subject from the perspective of the Bible. Let us see what comfort the Word of God brings to this subject.

When most people define death, they think of it as an event – i.e. “Death is the ceasing of life functions”, or “Death is when the brain stops responding”, “Jane Doe died at 5:47pm”. Death is defined as an event in time, when in reality, as this post will examine – death is not an event – it is a state of being we all live in, until and unless Jesus Christ draws us to Himself and we turn to Him in repentance and faith.

So let me propose a working definition of death for our purposes in this post:

Death is the state that we find ourselves in due to Adam’s sin. While physical death may occur at some specific date and time, in truth, we have all been born into, and live in a body of death until, in Christ, we are redeemed into eternal life.

We simply cannot understand eternal life, death, dying or suffering without having a Biblical understanding of these terms. So, we have looked at providence, we have looked at suffering, now let us examine death from a Biblical vantage point.

If our definition is correct – that death is not an event, but a state of being; where do we get this thought?

Ephesians 2:1 – 7 -- And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:13 – 15 -- And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Notice that Paul did not say anything about an event – no, he is pointing out that the STATE of the person outside of Christ is death. You see, we have it all wrong, we are afraid of death the event, but what we should be doing is focusing on death as a state of being. If we understand that all who are outside of Christ are walking dead men, and all of those who are in Christ are ALREADY living eternal lives, it will change our perspective on the event of death and dying.

We who are in Christ have ALREADY died – and have been raised with Him! We may depart from this place, but we will be with the Lord, waiting that glorious day when all are resurrected and will stand before him. We can truly look at death and say, “Where is your sting?”

No doubt, we will still experience a physical event, but to quote Thomas Boston; “I feel a sting, may the dying saint say– yet it is but a bee sting, slinging only through the skin – but, O death, where is your sting, your old sting, the serpent's sting, that stings to the heart and soul? The sting of death is sin – but that is taken away.”

In the next post I will discuss why it is that we die, and conclude my thoughts on death and dying from a Christian perspective.