Prayer II

I apologize for going so long without a post -- it has been a fairly hectic week.

As I have been thinking more about prayer lately, I have picked up several prayer books. I am astounded by the depth of many of these prayers -- they are incredibly beautiful!

I began to wonder why we hear prayer such as this so rarely anymore. Most of the great prayers that I have been reading were penned long before the technology-driven world of today. And I don't simply mean the Internet, but before TV, and the myriad technological advancements that have infiltrated our lives in the last 60-100 years.

It dawned on me, after examining my own life, that we really don't meditate on the Word of God like our antecendents did. These people did not have the many interruptions/distractions vying for their attention that we do today. These were people who spent HOURS in the Word and in prayer EVERYDAY! They were truly saturated with the Word of God, and it shows in their prayers!

The Psalmist talks of this in that great and magnificent Psalm: Psalm 119 -- Psalm 119:9-24 -- How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

There are many more places in Psalm 119 that discuss this, but we can also turn to Psalm 1, and we find this -- Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Is it any wonder, in this day when many pastors prepare their message by downloading a sermon from a repository of on-line sermons, that our prayer lacks depth? When pastors may not open the Bible all week, instead opting for 'tools' on their computer to do their 'research'? When one may not even pray before reading the Word, instead doing a google on their topic, and then 'cutting and pasting' the information into their sermon?

Am I a Luddite who believes that we should not take advantage of the technology available? No, I use some on-line tools, so that is not what I am saying; however, if the bulk of our study is done via a mouse, then yes, I believe that this is wrong.

Nowadays, pastors don't have time to study the Word, or spend time meditating on it (I have heard some say this), but they are consumed with administrative/CEO type work. Brothers, this should not be! Our task, first and foremost, is to study/teach the Word and be in prayer, NOT be the CEO of our church! I have heard great communicators; men who have very 'successful' churches, but when it comes to their prayer life it is either non-existent, or so insipid as to be useless. When pressed for time, most of us will ensure that the business aspect of our church is taken care of, to the neglect of our prayer life.

I once read an interview with a well-known pastor explaining how he developed sermons, and for 16 pages he described his 'technique' -- how he and his 'team' put together sermons by 'white-boarding' ideas, and thinking up grandiose illustrations to wow the congregation, yet not once did he mention actually opening the Bible or praying. It was so blatant that the interviewer actually asked, "where is the place for prayer and Bible study?" The pastor immediately said this -- "Oh, we pray...." And that was about the extent of his response!

Brothers, we need to put away our white boards, our mice, our laptops, and our multimedia, and get on our knees, read the Word, meditate on it, and then PRAY that the Father empower us with His Spirit. When the pastors' prayer life is vibrant, then the congregations will be!

Prayer I

To start the prayer series, I wanted to address something that I am guilty of; therefore am qualified to address... :-)

I have noticed in my own life as a pastor, and in the ministries of most of the folks I know, that our extemporaneous prayers lack a certain aspect that I believe to be vital. That is, starting prayer with the recognition of who God is.

In my prayer life I used to always open my prayers, both liturgical and extemporaneous, with Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam -- "Blessed are you, Lord God, king of the universe". Thereby addressing the King of the Universe with the proper protocol -- yet, I find myself anymore being much more 'casual' and just jumping into 'what I want to say'. So many prayers, by pastors and congregational members, start off by jumping right into what interests/concerns us.

When we look through the Bible and examine the great prayers, we find that these prayers are God-honoring -- i.e. Nehemiah 1:5, 6 -- “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.",

or Matthew 6:9, 10 -- “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Sadly, I think that our overall lack of understanding, or even recognition of a holy, transcendent God leads to a cavalier and even arrogant approach to the throne. And this is reflected in prayers which lack depth and honor.

Now, do not get me wrong, there are many types of prayers, ranging from prayer as simple as Peter sinking into the water and crying out "Help Lord!" Matthew 14:30, to the fantastic prayers of Solomon, David and others. Prayer can take many forms, but again, I am addressing this as a pastor -- I think that pastoral prayers have become a lost art in so many corners of Christendom, and as I said, I am guilty of this.

I have been reading through several books on prayer and here is a pastoral prayer opening that highlights what I am trying to illustrate:

O Lord, You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. You have given to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification in our Lord Jesus Christ. You have supplied all our needs according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. We can do all things through Your strength.

Do you see the focus there? It starts with God and not with us and our needs/concerns etc. How rarely we pray with a central focus on God anymore.

We need to get back to a proper focus on God in all things; starting with our prayer life!

New Series

I will be starting a series on prayer shortly. I have been praying about the new series. I have been very focused on improving my prayer life, so I feel that this would be a good subject.

This will not be an exhaustive series on prayer -- many others have written on this subject with more eloquence than I will. This is going to be from a pastor's perspective, as he works through his own prayer life.

I hope to have something up within the week.

Hunger & Thirst

This Sunday at church I spoke on Matthew 5:6 - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied...", and yesterday as I looked through the news, I was again reminded of the truth behind Messiah's statement.

I found that we still have the remnants of the Anna Nicole Smith debacle going on, the tour of Michael Jackson through Japan and the death, apparently by his own hand, of Richard Jeni. Not to mention the capture of the baby-snatching young woman in Clovis N.M. Nothing unusual; just the normal news, sad to say.

But, after spending the last week immersed in studying for yesterday's sermon, I find that these four news articles crystallize my thoughts regarding Matthew 5:6.

First, Anna Nicole Smith, quite possibly the most over-exposed news celebrity since anything-Britney! This, to me, is an incredibly sad story. Almost a Horatio Alger story; Anna Nicole Smith a.k.a. Vicky Lynn Hogan came from nowhere in Mexia, Texas to the front page of almost every newspaper in a short 39 year period. She seemed to 'have it all', or at least be in line for it all! She married into money, was a Playboy playmate, had a television show, and was a model for Guess jeans. She had everything that the world touts as important -- money, looks, fame, men, everything but what she really needed -- peace. And she died alone in a hotel room on a Seminole reservation.

Michael Jackson started out as a young star with the Jackson 5. They had a string of hits for Motown, and then Michael broke out on a solo career, and what a career it was! 'Off the Wall', was a big hit for him, but 'Thriller' was the one that put him over the top. Michael Jackson was the unchallenged KING OF POP throughout the eighties, everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. Everything was turning up roses for the man -- he even married Elvis Presley's daughter thereby solidifying his spot amongst the truly greats of POP!

Have you seen him lately -- his face is virtually falling off, his hands are swollen and overall, he is very scary looking. Not to include that he is having legal and financial issues at every turn. Is this man happy?

Richard Jeni was one of the most successful stand-up comics around, and yet, for some reason, it appears that yesterday he took his own life. Again, a successful, well-to-do, respected person (in the world's eyes) apparently driven to the brink. Sadly, many comics, who spend all of their time making others laugh, often have lives that are filled with loneliness, and despair.

And finally, Rayshaun Parson, the woman who snatched a baby from a hospital in Lubbock, Texas. What drives people to do things such as this? Well, there are probably myriad reasons, but many of these incidents have a common thread: A woman desperately wanting a baby to 'complete' her. What a tragic statement -- that someone feels this way.

These people, and so many more, hunger and thirst for the food of the world, wealth, fame, self-esteem, self-centeredness, and they find it empty. And now we have the 'radical' atheists stepping up and promoting the blasphemy challenge to our young folks. These people promise the same food that the world has promised man for millenia, the empty calories of the worldly pleasure.

I was listening to an interview with one of these atheists and they said that they (atheists) are the last group that can be vilified and hated by everyone, from Muslim to Christian to Deist. Well, I have news for that person -- I don't hate them, they are more properly pitied. If my hope was centered in myself, or the world's approval, what a sad life that would be.

Messiah says that those who hunger and thrist for righteousness will be chortazo, which can properly be translated not simply as satified or filled, but filled to abundance. Those who are hungering after the things of this world find them to be a 'mirage' that disappears every time one gets close. I think of Michael Jackson -- he seemed to be on top of the world, yet he is tortured, trying to change his looks, searching for love and acceptance in all the wrong places, seemingly under constant legal scrutiny. This does not seem to be one who has 'made it' in worldly terms. And then, we can even go back to Elvis Presley, a man who likewise found no spiritual sustenance in the things of this world.

And you may think that these are only anomalies, but truth be told, they are more common than not. Think of the litany of people who would fit this mold -- we mentioned Elvis, and Michael, Anna Nicole, and Richard Jeni, but what about Britney, Kurt Cobain, Peter Ham.... The list is endless... Those who seem to have EVERYTHING that the world holds for them are generally unhappy!

Why is that? Because when you store up riches here on Earth, moth and rust attack them and thieves break in and steal them, yet when your treasure is in Heaven, then no one can break in and steal it.

Oh Christian! How our hearts should break for those in pursuit of worldly acceptance, how our prayers should be lifted up to the Lord, asking that He open the eyes of those lost in mire of this world!

Thoughts

The recent spate (and here and again here) of teachers having sex with students is frightening, isn't it?

These are but a handful of the news items. Why is this happening?

Well, I have a theory -- our society has been raising children for several generations now with a "if it feels good, do it" mentality. Nothing is forbidden, nor should it be!!! "Just do it", and "You deserve it" are the holy mantras being played out by advertisers, teachers, and even parents, which in turn create children who are completely self-absorbed.

So, why are we surprised when this is taken to its logical conclusion? I mean, if I train up a child with the notion that nothing is, or should ever be, forbidden to them, am I not creating an environment where they grow into adults who continue to live by that rule?

The culmination of this mindset was personified in a president who felt no pangs of conscience whilst having sex with an intern in the Oval Office; his only regret seems to be that 'he got caught'. The outcome of this 'feel-good' mentality seems to be that one should 'be 'safe' or at least undetected, (I assume that 'safe sex' is the kind where you don't get caught?)

We are currently reaping what we have been sowing for at least forty years -- the concept that nothing should be taboo. And sadly, the church is no better than the world, we now teach people that the Gospel can mean whatever they want it to mean; that sin is relativistic, and that ALL people are going to heaven. When we have this kind of mentality, I am only surprised that we do not have MORE of these news items than we are experiencing!

Pray for the people caught up in these situations; especially for the children who have been damaged or influenced.

2nd Timothy 3:1-5 -- But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

The Politics of it all

This will be the final post in this series -- we have discussed many aspects of working with the dispossessed and the needy, but I wanted to cap this off with a final post regarding the church as a force for change in society.

How do we go from where we are today to once again being a force in our society? Some would say that we are a force, like never before in this country. I mean, look at the influence of Joel Osteen and Rick Warren -- does that not speak of the force of the church in the US? Sadly, not at all -- these men and many more like them are feeding the world what they want: a safe Jesus, effectively neutered from saying anything transformational -- He is no longer "the way, the truth and the life...", and He certainly would never say "No one comes to the Father except through me." Now, sad enough, Jesus has become another choice in our pantheon of choices in this society. We, (the church), have become another benevolence society -- a safe, nice, clean place -- but without any power at all!

You may say, "Ray, what does this have to do with the needy?" Much; you see, we may have 'societal' or 'political' clout with the world today, but we do not have GOSPEL clout. This is the clout that the needy require! Some pastors may have grandiose plans for curing AIDS, but without the transforming message of the gospel accompanying the cure, we have confined people to a far worse fate than wasting away with a terminal illness. For, in the end, we will all die, should the Lord tarry, and then comes judgment -- at that point, having a Purpose-Driven Activism will be superfluous.

We, the church, will never be able to navigate the storm-tossed waves of this world alone -- as Paul says -- Ephesians 4:11-14 ...he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

As long as we depend upon ourselves, and as long as we have cowardly pastors, leaders and speakers who will not edify the saints, nor proclaim the Gospel, we may be a temporal force, providing momentary shifts in the doomed trajectory of this lost and dying world, but we will never be a true force for lasting, eternal change.

This incredible saving, transforming message which we have... in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. This message my friends, is what the dispossessed, the needy, and the poor need more than anything else that we may bring to the table!

We Interrupt This Series....

For most in Christendom this Sunday will be much like any other Sunday, but for our church, we will be celebrating Purim. As some may know, I am Jewish and at our church, we celebrate Purim by reading through the book of Esther every year at this time.

On Sunday we will have all the requisite shouting, booing, and cheering as we read through Esther; I love the book as it so beautifully displays the sovereignty of God. As I read through it this week in preparation, I was reminded that the 'good' Jews had left Babylon by this time, and the remaining ones had voluntarily stayed, bringing into question their devoutness.

Yet, as we read through Esther, we find Mordecai, a devout Jew, who is in the right place at the right time, bringing to Queen Esther's attention the predicament that was created by Haman's edict regarding the Jews within the land of Babylon. We also read of King Ahasuerus' sleepless night and the serendipitous reading of the chronicles which highlighted Mordecai's efforts towards the king. We also see Queen Vashti's impertinence being the catalyst which places Queen Esther into position to be able to affect the outcome of Haman's treachery.

Does this sound like a soap opera? Well, if you have not read through the book of Esther in a while (or ever, for that matter), I highly recommend that you open to it and read through the story; you will find the fingerprints of God all over this story, and it may well bring comfort to you as you face difficulties in your own life.

This was not meant to be an expository sermon on Esther, but simply something to whet your appetite, spurring you to go and read for yourself this fun, and often overlooked, book.

Responsibility

One of the questions I raised is how much responsibility do we have to the surrounding community, or do we have any at all? I find this to be a question which raises knee-jerk reactions and hackles all around. On one side, you have those whose response is "Of course, we have a responsibility, we must take care of all of the people we lay our eyes on". Then on the other side, you have those who emphatically state "No, our ministry is to those who are Christ's alone". And both sides can be quite passionate about their positions.

Now, I am a pastor at a small church, not an expert; but I have been on both sides of this argument, and I will tell you that the truth is somewhere in between. The folks who feel that every person in the community must be taken care of may be a wonderful idealist, but they are not always being a realist. Now, before all of you dogpile with the proverbial; "Trust that the Lord will provide..., our church does that every single week, but there still needs to be a focus to our ministry, or we will simply burn out the church.

I want to be helpful here with suggestions and not simply words that express my feeling, so here is my first suggestion -- no church can bear the responsibility for the poor alone. So, therefore you should not approach the poor with the idea that it is your church's responsibility to single-handedly 'save' the entire town.

Notice that the church in Acts 6 is concerned with their own poor, and not the poor of the entire city of Jerusalem -- they realized that their meager resources had to, first and foremost, take care of their own people within the family of God. So, if you are a small church such as ours, you must focus on your own poor first. Some churches, because of the nonsensical church-growth mindset of individualism, are completely unaware of those within their own church who are in need!

ONLY when you have taken care of those within your own fellowship should you contemplate reaching out into the community. By taking care of those within the fellowship first, you are able to not only provide for their physical needs but, because they are part of your family,. you are also able to provide for their spiritual needs, and their community needs.

So, that is the first part -- now what about those who say our 'outreach' should ONLY be to those within our church? When we look at Christ's ministry, we find that He helped and reached out to thousands, feeding them and teaching them. Yes, there was a specific group He spent most of His time with, but He did not ignore the world around Him. If you read the Sermon on the Mount, you will find some of these ideas -- Matthew 5:42ff -- Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

There are large churches around our town who, I am sure, do some work to the community around them, but these churches should be the ones who lead the way in doing this. I can tell you that they are not as I have been turned away from their churches after asking for help in our community outreach ministries. Many of these churches have their own 'programs' for doing this, but they are often far removed from the folks they are supposed to be helping, and quite often their 'program' involves a CFO sitting at a desk, writing out a check to some organization that they may have little interaction with outside of financial support.

Our responsibility goes beyond 'cutting a check' for a group; I live, literally, within 10 miles of at least four monster churches, and I have visited two of them and inquired about their programs, and found that they do exactly what I said above. While I applaud their financial support, I believe that the church should do much, much more than just send money. Some of these churches could easily support a true outreach center, where single, or battered women could find shelter and spiritual help, or where children could be taught etc.

It is a sad statement that those who are doing the most for the community are people that the Christian community labels as heretics. While some of these people are truly heretical in their view, and some are health and wealth acolytes, at least they are reaching their community. What does it say about the Christian community when the best-known example of community service comes from a church that teaches false doctrine? Why do we think people flock to some of these places?

The church is still a very divided place, and when CGM tells us to 'demographically' target our audience, we end up with racially, and economically divided churches. And no one 'targets' the economically disadvantaged -- trust me, I have been in two churches that actually used a demographic model, ala PDC/L, and not once did I hear -- "Hey, let's reach the needy in our community". What that spawns is a mindset that the 'needs' of the church need to be taken care of before venturing into the community.

"Now, wait a minute Ray, you just said that we should do that!" Read it again, I said the needs of the poor in the church should be taken care of -- not the comfort needs of the rich, many times white, suburban professional. Is putting in a Starbucks facade really taking care of the needs of the church? Is installing a big-screen monitor (or five!) really taking care of the needs of the church?

Does any pastor NEED a seven figure salary? Is a church being faithful with their funds and abilities when they have a staff that sucks up most of the tithing monies, and the rest go to HVAC to heat and cool the monstrosities that pass for churches nowadays?

My friends, we do have a responsibility to our communities -- we are to be the Body of Christ, reaching out into places where few will go, feeding, and nurturing those who are in most need. Many orthodox Christians throw darts at the many heretics, shucksters, and fools that populate the pulpit nowadays, but the sad fact is; many of these selfsame people are doing much more to reach the community.

The ancient Romans were embarrassed by the Christian communities care for even the pagan poor, sadly, today we are known more for what we stand against than our efforts top reach the community!

What is Food?

As I expressed in an earlier post -- the Christian community often has a difficult time, when working with the poor; balancing physical and spiritual needs. This is a difficult balance to maintain if one does not have clear Biblical understanding of the priority.

Many groups start with the best of intentions, but find that many poor and dispossessed have very little interest in hearing the Word, rather they only desire food that is temporal. This is understandable to a degree, but when we allow them to dictate the terms, we will not be doing these folks eternal good, but simply feeding their flesh for another day on this Earth where they will continue to eke out an existence for the here and now.

Instead we must proclaim the Good News FIRST and FOREMOST; this is our mission, as directed by our Lord and Savior. This is difficult, as we in our church know all too well. We are not always successful in our endeavor to share the Gospel with each and every person, but if you are working with a regular group of people, you should be actively sharing the Word with them in a way that is more meaningful that simply slipping them a tract or forcing them to sit through a 5 minute 'sermon' to receive their victuals.

Again, it goes back to investing time in the people. In the case of Messiah, he would spend time helping and healing the people, but He always combined this with teaching. Also, you must determine how many people, as a church, you can feasibly help. Now, if you are simply handing out sandwiches and coffee, then you can do that for a larger audience, but what I believe would be a good model is to find some folks who you can direct your attention to. Once a person has been discipled, often their first impulse is to share the Gospel with others who they can relate to -- i.e. others who are dispossessed. This is a great way to organically build up a ministry for the homeless -- we have had some limited success, but I will state that it is quite time-consuming, and can be draining.

I believe that you cannot simply decide to reach the poor in your community and then go set up a tent with free coffee and sandwiches -- there needs to be some structure around it. Also, handing out pamphlets and/or tracts is one way to reach your area, but I have found that this leads to a lot of wasted effort as most people toss the tracts (and besides that, finding decent tracts is a daunting task at times), so you need a definitive idea as to what you are doing.

We should never start a ministry to the poor with the goal to provide them with Subway sandwiches. As I stated earlier in this post -- the ministry must start out with the idea that we are to proclaim the Good News to these people, and should branch out from that central goal. As Paul did, we should preach Christ and Him crucified to a lost and dying world. Unless one has a solid grasp of Grace, they can get wrapped up in 'fixing' the physical, and neglecting the spiritual. If one truly believes in Hell, and is cognizant that we are all sinners saved by grace, then our impetus WILL be to proclaim the Gospel.

So, what is a good balance -- well, I certainly do not have all of the answers, but let me give you a few of my thoughts:

1. - Before going out and 'doing' something the church should spend time in prayer, asking for wisdom and guidance as they go into the community. This is so basic that I almost did not list it, but without a solid grounding of prayer we will be unprepared.

2. - Ensure that everyone who is involved in this ministry is well-versed in the Gospel, and can provide a clear presentation of it. This is one that is a struggle; far too many people are ill-prepared for a clear presentation of the Gospel.

3. - Identify folks who you can disciple and minister to. Get involved in their lives (wisdom should prevail here -- don't go find the biggest, baddest person just to prove your compassion). Share the Gospel with them, and ask how the church can help them. Be prepared; once people find out that you are trying to do this, you could well be inundated. Stick to your guns and do what you can do, and no more. It is better that a handful are reached, rather than getting swamped with many.

4. - Partner with other churches and para-church organizations.

5. - Get training on this type of ministry, and the do's and don'ts. You should be prepared for many 'out of the box' situations, especially if your church is in a normally comfortable, and affluent area. Work with your local police departments, and (believe it or not) VFW's, and local merchant's to learn of those who are 'truly' needy, and regulars around town.

Proper prayer and preparation will lead to rewarding ministry amongst some of our country's neediest people (both physically and spiritually). It might even change your church! I fear that we are as xenophobic as were the disciples. They did not like Tax Collectors (Matthew), Samaritans (John 4), and a variety of others, yet Jesus Christ reached out to these people. When you actually get to know someone of a different race or culture you may be surprised how much like you they really are!

All need the Grace of God!

Programs or People?

At one point in time in this country, the church was the dispenser of compassion amongst the poor. Church doors used to be installed without locks, and the poor were welcome.

That seemed to change once the US experienced some economic and political power in the mid to late 20th century. The church went through a similar path of success -- yes, church attendance may have gone down by the late 50's, early 60's, however, before that most people went to church, and the church prospered along with the country. It was at this point in time that churches seemed to have dropped the ball, and became more consumed with their internal concerns and less with the concerns of the world around them. Churches began to grow larger and more stultified in their outreach to the dispossessed. Churches were now locked, and community focus narrowed.

As time went on, and mainstream denominations began to fall on hard times, they become more and more insular in their perspective, eventually many abandoned the orthodox faith in order to attract more attendees, and the church became a battleground for political ideals, while social concerns were distanced more and more from the parishoner and given over to 'professional' para-church organizations to handle, as care for the poor became politicized and no longer the realm of the 'common man'.

Now, I am not trying to whitewash some of the issues that the church struggled with -- racism and other concerns definitely affected the way the church handled working with the poor, but by and large, churches were the place where a poor person could find help. (Maybe one day we could cover some of this in another series)

As the church stepped back from their role in society, the government picked up the slack. The problem is that the government is notoriously bad at handling these types of issues; in working with the poor, and the dispossessed, there are many nuances and subtleties, and the government is not structured to handle that -- they are a broad-brush solutions group.

When the church allowed the government to do this, I believe that many felt relieved not to be responsible for their brothers any longer (all the while griping about their tax dollars supporting those they considered 'lazy'), and some of these self-same folks became vocal activist against the 'welfare state', all the while offering no biblically-based solution. And then, once we had a generation of church-attenders who grew up with the idea of the government running a 'safety net' for the poor, there was no longer a compulsion to actually get involved with the poor.

We now find ourselves in an environment where the church, by and large, has very little interaction with the poor -- we have given that responsibility over to the 'urban' or 'street' ministries, or the 'professionals' within the government.

While that may sound great, the truth is that the poor and the needy require more than a hot meal and a place to sleep (but not less). I have found that many 'street' ministries are run by people who do a lot of physical feeding of the hungry, but very little spiritual feeding. Most times they are run by well-meaning and compassionate but understaffed and underqualified people. So, what could we do to alleviate that? First, churches could partner with these street ministries, providing theological training and financial assistance to the staff. Second, encourage our people to get out and work with the needy, getting to know them, and not simply throwing their money at the problem. Oftentimes many of these folks need a friend, or a wise counselor, not simply a new pair of shoes.

We have adopted a few folks into our church, and it has been amazing to see the results. Not only do the former homeless folks benefit from our assistance, but we begin to see more clearly the Scriptures such as James 1:27 -- Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.; or Matthew 25:34-40 -- Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' We have been changed in our interaction with these folks as much as they have. Putting a face to the descriptor 'homeless' changes one's perspective.

What the church needs to do is reach out to those in their local community, providing spiritual and physical sustenance, partnering with other existing ministries, and, if necessary, providing them with training. The congregations need to be heavily encouraged by their pastors to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in the glorious work of proclaiming the gospel to the poor, and coming alongside them to lift them up.

As a final note -- I find that the larger the church, the less involvement they want to have -- that is not an absolute truth, but an observation. They may provide funds, but to get them to bring in some folks and 'adopt' them is difficult. Many in these churches are clean, affluent, and comfortable, and the sight of poor in their midst is upsetting. Also, the pastor needs to set the tone, and if he is too busy, or worse, too important, then the people take their lead from him.

I know that I have not covered this completely, and there will be more posts, but these are the initial observations that I wanted to post.

Observations

I wanted to start this series by making some basic observations. I apologize in advance for the rambling style in this post -- these are just thoughts and ideas that I wanted to put down before I started working to put together this series.

I recently spent a week in Las Vegas, attending a conference, and I was struck by a couple of things; as I traveled, I noticed that the people who are 'service-oriented' are almost invisible to the common traveler. These are the people who empty the trash, sweep the floors, pick up our mess, etc., and I found myself asking this question -- Would these people be invisible to our Lord and Savior? Have we, as Christians, become blind, or worse, callous in our day-to-day interactions with others?

I am not saying that none of these people are Christians, I have no way of knowing that, but I was simply struck by the fact that there is a sub-culture of 'invisible' people within US society. And with that observation, I wondered, "How well do we reach those around us who are 'invisible' in our community?" I am often struck by the fact that churches have outreach programs to the 'distant' inner-city, or maybe to some exotic foreign land, but I have found that is more uncommon to have an outreach within the communities that we find ourselves.

My church is in a community that has more than its share of drug abuse, and poverty, and yet when I have been part of conversations about reaching the community, I have been surprised by many pastors who don't have 'time' to reach the community, instead they are busy sending missionaries to distant lands! Now, with that being said, there are several wonderful pastors who have a heart for this community, but many often have more 'important' items on their plates.

The people within our community who are the nearest to us often become invisible, or only visible when they become a nuisance. I fear that when it comes to working with the poor, the hungry, the homeless, we are more eager to give them a coin and send them on their way, rather than bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to them along with taking care of their physical needs. More often the church sends money to someone else and lets THEM interact with these folks! We should do much more than simply tossing these people a bone: now I will tell you that this is a lot more work than giving them $20 and a pat on the back -- but the church needs to have compassion more than it needs a program for the poor!

I fear that the church dehumanizes the dispossessed, unintentionally at times, but nonetheless it has the same effect. I remember taking a youth group down to a homeless shelter to feed the homeless folks -- these youth were from a predominately affluent part of town. I will never forget one of the youth saying to me, after we had returned to 'Pleasantville':

"This, (Pleasantville), is not real -- there is a world that exists outside of it!" She then followed that up with this one: "Those people looked just like us"; you see, in her Pleasantville experience, she only knew the homeless by the stories on the news, which dehumanized the people, or made them simply pitiful victims, but not flesh and blood people with emotions, and feelings, and desires etc.

Has the church removed itself from the hurt and dirty work of dealing with the less fortunate -- have we gotten to the place where we 'hire' others to help the dispossessed?

As I go through this series, and ponder what our response should be, as Christians, to the question of hunger, and poverty, I want to ask myself some hard questions. Here are a few I want to ponder:

1. Are Christians more apt to 'send money' to needy organizations, as opposed to actually rolling up their sleeves to get involved? Why is that?

2. What should community services look like? What should the division be between feeding the hungry and proclaiming the Good News to them? Can we become TOO social; to the neglect of their spiritual needs, or vice-versa, can we become completely focused on the Gospel to the exclusion of the physical needs?

3. How could we, as Christians, do a better job of helping the body of Christ? Let me give you an example -- when there is a church that makes in excess of 100K per Service/Sunday in offerings, do they have any responsible to the community around them? And what should that responsibility be?

4. What things could the church do to be a force for positive change in society, as opposed to a boat being shoved around by political, and societal forces?

These are just a few things running around in my head -- they may change, or you may find them to be too simplistic, or even superfluous -- I would ask that you interact with me, and help me out -- I am looking in to these things -- I don't have the definitive answers to them.

Carl Trueman on Christian Freudom

I really enjoy reading Carl Trueman; he is very bright (much more so than say, yours truly), and he has a wicked sense of humor. I mean wicked in the best sense of the word

Anyway, his latest article over at Reformation21 is just too good to pass up.

Enjoy, and I will soon begin the promised series.

New Series

The next series I am contemplating is one on a Christian response to hunger, poverty and the poor. I have been thinking about this for a while, and have even posted several times on this.

I want to say that I do not have the definitive word on this subject -- many have written on this much more capably than I. I will simply approach it from a pastor of a small out-reach church. I believe that this is one area where the Church in the West needs to get their priorities together; I believe that part of the reason that we struggle with this is because of the issues that I just finished posting on.

When one's attention is focused primarily inward, and much of their life is consumed in narcissitic ventures, then the people who are missed are often the very ones we are commanded to take care of. This is not a 'social' gospel mentality; I do not believe that the church's primary role is to feed the homeless -- it is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, first and foremost. However, it is one of the functions of the church.

Some pastors, heady with the success of their foray into the political arena have made 'curing' some disease, or feeding everyone the primary focus of their vast resources, and have left the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the table, forgotten as they lift their own name up, and glorify themselves. That may be addressed in this series, but I think I would like to stay in the realm of 'what should we be doing?'.

I hope to post the first thought soon, I am on the road right now, so it may take a bit.

The Christian Life - Part VIII - The Cult of Moralism

This will probably be my final post in this area -- I am sure there are many things I have missed, but I have some other things percolating -- I may revisit this again.

One of my thoughts is that I could address how we combat these things infiltrating our churches. While I have made some basic suggestions, I think there are some that could use an in-depth discussion.

So, what do I consider the Cult of Moralism to be? It is the cult that considers the 'job' of the church to be making 'better' people. Now, at first blush, this seems to be a good thing; I agree that it is a good thing, but it is not the 'best' thing. Christ did not die on the cross to make 'better' people, but to redeem a people! This is a big difference!

This cult is recognizable by their heavily moralistic sermons -- i.e. "How to Be a Better Husband, Father, Sibling, Golfer", or the ubiquitious "How to Get More/All Out of Life, Your Job, Your Marriage, Your Hobby", or finally "How to Lose Weight, Learn to Balance Your Checkbook, Cook Low-Carb", etc. etc. etc.

Now, is there anything wrong with these topics? Not at all -- they just do not happen to have anything to do with the Gospel! And what I find fascinating is that the very churches who make claims that they are 'reaching' so many people are the very ones who are most prone to this cult! Now, if a church is truly reaching the lost, but only providing them with the aforementioned sermons, how is it exactly that they are reaching the lost? Will being a better parent provide salvation? Will being able to cook Atkins-style meals actually provide some value in the hereafter? I think not!

We have come to a place where the church has the mistaken mentality that somehow making people better is making them Christians! This is bad on many fronts, but let me simply address one area -- MAKING PEOPLE BETTER IS NOT THE GOSPEL!.

I would like to say that if making people 'moral' was the key to salvation, then we should remove Matthew 23, where Jesus gives seven woes to the Pharisees; these were very 'moral' people -- why did He have a problem with them? What about the 'rich young ruler' who claims that he did all of the commandements since his youth [Mark 10:17ff]? Is it true that if the young man had simply sold his stuff then he would have been moral enough to inherit heaven?

Now, don't get me wrong -- Christians SHOULD be moral people -- however, this is not the Gospel. If we want to truly impact our society, we need to preach the Gospel, people need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and once they are a new creation they begin a lifelong process of sanctification by the life-changing impact of the Holy Spirit.

Why do I have a beef with the moralistic sermon [preached exculsively, in lieu of the Gospel]? Because this is the type of thing that may convince someone that they are a Christian, simply because they are a good father, or go to church and they have earned how to be 'moral'. These are things that you can learn from ANY religion, or, for that matter, from watching Oprah, or Dr. Phil!

We [the church] are to be in the business of proclaiming the Gospel, teaching people to obey the commands of Jesus Christ and living in fellowship with other believers. While it is entirely appropriate to preach moralistic messages when exegeting a text, it is entirely wrong-headed to make that the exclusive diet of the flock!

Good people do not go to Heaven -- Redeemed people do! And if there is no one preaching the Gospel we are doing a grave injustice to many, many people sitting in our churches week after week.

Let me leave you with this quote from Paul -- Romans 10:13, 14 -- For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

While teaching people how to be moral might bring numbers into your church, and quite frankly is easier, and safer, than preaching the Gospel, it is no substitute for preaching that directs people to call upon the name of the Lord -- As Paul asks -- How else shall they be saved?

The Christian Life - Part VII - The Cult of Evangelism

You may be saying: "OK Ray, I have been with you through the other sections of this series, but 'Cult of Evangelism'? That is too much! There cannot be a cult of evangelism!"

I pray that you will bear with me and see if you are suffering from the cult of evangelism. BTW, as I write these posts, I do not want people to think that our church is immune from any and all of these issues -- we struggle with them like any church; my point in posting these is to keep us all vigilant.

So, what is the 'Cult of Evangelism'? Well, it is the cult that promotes the mindset that ANYTHING done to bring people into their church is not only OK, but Biblical! We see this mindset in some of the following ways:

1. - You may be suffering from the Cult of Evangelism if your idea of evangelism is to give away a car, motorcycle, or big-screen TV to the people that bring the most friends/proselytes/bored relatives/strangers to the church within a given period of time.

2. - You may be suffering from the Cult of Evangelism if you believe that you must have a famous ex-football player, wrestler, actor, NASCAR driver speak, at your church (regardless of their ability, or even beliefs!) on 'evangelism' Sunday! (And why do we have 'evangelism Sundays'; aren't all days for evangelism?)

3. - You may be suffering from the Cult of Evangelism if you believe that the number of people who show up on Sunday morning to hear the professional 'Worship Team' and see the Las Vegas-style message indicate your level of success. I have read many, many statistics that show the level of actual discipleship that goes on in many churches is abysmal -- unless you get 'plugged in' to a small group that fits your profile, you will slip through the cracks. While I am not against Small groups per se, see my post on The Cult of Individualism.

4. - You may be suffering from the Cult of Evangelism if you have a church of 2000 members, of which 78 show up on Sunday morning, or any other time for that matter. You have made people members simply because they were worked into an emotional frenzy by a professional 'pleaer', convinced to sign a membership card, maybe even prayed the little pray that is printed on the 'Evangelism' card, but there was no discipleship, or follow-up -- their one-time emotional decision has left them with buyer's remorse, and you with a bloated membership roll -- of course you may parade around the number of 'decisions' as a mark of honor without even being aware of the true spiritual condition of many of your 'converts'.

Why am I so hard on this? Because the Church, like Esau of old, has sold her birthright for a bowl of pottage. We have a wonderful birthright -- we are the Children of God, and have the unbelievable priviledge to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel to all peoples, places and nations. Yet, for the immediate gratification of a bowl of pottage, in the form of membership numbers, or church size, we have sold that birthright. We no longer preach the Good News of the Gospel -- we now 'evangelize' by using marketing techniques, even going so far as to hire professional, secular marketing groups to do our work for us!

We demographically dissect the community around us, determining WHO we want to reach (sad to say, that is often the ones who will be able to best 'fund' our ministry), all the while ignoring or marginalizing anyone who does not fit that profile. In our community we have several poor areas that several groups within the local church body wanted to evangelize for years, but I actually heard a pastor say that these groups were ..."not in the profile for the demographic that we wanted to reach". The wonderful thing is that people ignored him, and went in to these communities to preach the Word!

We use gimmicks, and gadgets to bring people in; I have even heard of a church that had an outreach event disguised as a lingerie show, others have even raffled off dinner with the pastor for the one who brings in the most people. My friends this is not evangelism -- this is growth at any cost, the ultimate in pragmatic outreach!

When we turn to the Scriptures we do not find the disciples engaged in this nonsense -- their preaching was straightforward, their message clear, and the people who responded were changed! Go read Peter's sermon in Acts 2 -- 3000 were added to the church that day! Seems like pretty effective evangelism to me. And yet, he did not revert to giving away a donkey or putting up a special speaker for the morning -- he simply preached the gospel. There are some who would say -- "Well, we get them in using these tactics, but then we preach the Gospel to them" I have two observations regarding that --

First, I disagree -- I have been to several churches who use these worldly gimmicks to bring people in, and I have yet to hear the Word preached at their church at all! Most of these folks don't want to 'scare off' the people they have 'tricked' into coming to church, so they inevitably water down the gospel until it is unrecognizeable. Sadly, many of these people think they are doing a great job of evangelizing, but in reality they are simply creating a big club, where everyone gets together on Sunday morning to share a cup of designer coffee, and buy books from their cult leader -- I mean, Pastor!

Secondly, If you think that using a 'bait and switch' technique is acceptable, then not only do you not understand our commission, you are blatantly lying to people, and were I an unbeliever caught up in that, I would be unhappy once I figured it out. This is one reason why many of the huge churches are a revolving door -- yes many people are coming in, but a good number go right back out the back door. And sadly, what churches have done is given these folks just enough 'church' to make them believe that they are 'saved'.

Well what is our commission? Matthew 28:19, 20 -- Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

How many modern Pastors believe that Jesus Christ is with us, even to the end of the age? If they do, they have a funny way of expressing their confidence in that truth -- by reverting to worldly tricks, gimmicks, and methods to bring people to their church! And how many of these people teach the new believers within their church to observe all that Christ commanded? Sadly, it has been my experience that far too few do so.

Let us be churches who have a burning desire to reach the lost WITH the Good News of the Gospel, NOT the perishable junk of worldly methods. These methods are here today and fade tomorrow, leaving pastors stuck looking for the next biggest, best method; all the while many leave the unperishable, life-changing, eternal, Word of God safely up on a shelf somewhere -- to be brought down only for a few good ideas!

The Christian Life - Part VI - The Cult of Nonchalance

There is a pervasive issue within the church today, and it has been propogated by the leaders of the church; it is the cult of nonchalance. We have become so laissez faire in our approach to the worship of the Creator of the Universe that we have robbed our young of the joy of worshipping a Transcendent God.

You see this everywhere -- it closely ties into the Cult of Revelevance (see post), and is directly tied to the pastor's attitude towards worship. We see this more and more, with men who try to be relevant by being nonchalant in their approach to God, appearing, for all intents and purposes to be disdainful of God. They think that this will make people feel comfortable at their church (as if that was the main purpose of the church!).

The problem extends from their dress to their words, to their overall attitude. I know that many an argument has been started and hard-fought regarding dress and words, but before we start that here, listen to what I am saying:

1. I fully realize that what one wears to church is not an indicator of their salvation -- but I also realize that clothes say much about attitudes. Before anyone gets up in a huff about this, let me say that our church is full of bikers, and they come in leathers and jeans, and I have no problem with that -- however, I am fairly concerned about women who show up braless with tight blouses, and low cut jeans showing off their mid-section. I am concerned about men who show up with a 'F--- Corporate Rock' T-shirt; the deacons (one of which is a biker who is usually dressed in jeans and leather), have been known to say something to people who come in dressed in such a manner. Now, when a person first comes to our church, we do not say anything, but through our teaching and guiding we expect people to pick up the idea of what is proper and what is not proper.

2. When people are standing around in the church and talking like they are out on the forecastle of a ship with their Navy buddies, we have been known to say things about it. Why? Because we are trying to get people to realize that there is a proper way to approach God; much to the surprise (I am sure) of many a pastor, Jesus is NOT our homeboy, nor is He our buddy we swap dirty jokes with! Again, words do not indicate salvation, but they most CERTAINLY indicate attitude. Now, I have many people who use colorful language to express themselves, especially when they first come to the church -- I mean, many of our folks come in right off the street -- but again, through example, and guidance, we try to show people that there is a proper way for a Christian to act, and talk.

With these two volatile statements being made, I am sure many would not only disagree with me, but would actually think I am hindering evangelism. Funny that one would think that -- I have baptized most of the people at our church, and many of them have come from backgrounds which are generally not evangelized (two of our members were homeless when I met them). This has not hindered evangelism without our community, as a matter of fact, it has caused people to come to the church! Why? Because if they want to be secular, they will find better venues to do so, but many of the people are tired of the world's ways and actually want to join a group of believers who actually are DIFFERENT than the world!

And here is where I have the biggest rub -- a pastor who makes a seven figure salary thinks he is relevant by dressing in torn jeans, and a T-shirt to preach -- when in reality people, ESPECIALLY those who do not know who God is, need to see that He is Holy and Transcendent -- and they do not get that impression when the pastor sounds and looks just like a B-Grade comedian (and most are not even B-grade).

The Cult of Nonchalance is definitely expressed when one walks into a church and thinks that they have stumbled into The Comedy Corner, or a Rock Concert -- somehow we have forgot how we are to approach God. many will say that the unbeliever will feel uncomfortable in a church that actually treats God with the Awe and Respect due Him. Well, I would say GOOD, the unbeliever SHOULD feel uncomfortable during the worship of a Holy God, as should the believer! Ask Isaiah:

Isaiah 6:1-5 -- In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

Do you see Isaiah's response? Not much like a pastor who turns the pulpit into his own humor pedestal!

Now, you may be saying -- "Well, Ray that is Old Testament -- we live in the New Testament." You are right -- so lets see what happens there:

Luke 5:1-8 -- On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

Do you see any nonchalance in the attitudes of these men? Now, you may be saying -- What has this to do with our outward actions and appearances?" Well, I think it is a tragedy that Christians in this country have so little respect or awe for God that they show up for corporate worship dressed DOWN -- in clothing they would not wear to work! That reflects an attitude, not of respect, but of disdain. I have worked with and visited many from countries that are dirt poor, and they will WALK for miles on Sunday, dressed in their best attire, to hear the Word of God preached, and we, in the richest country in the history of the world INTENTIONALLY dress as sloppy and casual as we can. Then we talk just like the world talks, and we think somehow we are being relevant -- we are not! We are irrelevent at that point -- people come to church looking for God, and we show them a cheap imitation of the world -- no wonder many do not stay once the novelty wears off!

My friends do not mistake this post as a call for suit and tie Christianity -- it is a call to change our attitudes; this will be reflected in our walk, talk, and appearance. It is not suit and tie Christianity, but it is the concept of offering our bodies as living sacrifices. Whether you wear jeans or a three-piece suit, the bottom line is that we should approach the Lord with respect, and not use our outward appearance as a tool to be relevant; rather we should come to church expecting to meet with a Holy, Transcendent God!

Malachi 1:6-8 -- A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?' By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the LORD's table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.

Do you offer the governor, (or your employer), the best while giving God less than that?

Update

You will notice that I have updated my blog 'look and feel' whilst I was upgrading to the NEW BLOGGER.

I am hoping that this is a bit easier to read, hence my purpose in changing the look.

Now, back to the series on Christian Life -- BTW, I will be updating links to other blogs soon...

The Christian Life - Part V - The Cult of Rights

As I stated previously, some of these posts are related -- here you will find that the Cult of Individualism feeds this practice. I know that both the title and the subject matter presented here may be contentious, but I see this going on not only in my church but in several I am associated with.

Here in the US we are obssessed with OUR rights! Now, that may seem wonderful on the face of it, but when I say this, I mean OUR rights to the exclusion of others rights -- in other words, individual 'rights' trump the rights of the many. Our country will continue to wrestle with this, but where it impacts the Body of Christ it needs to be addressed.

This issue stems from the fact that the Christian community has adopted and adapted the world view of the society around it, rather than impacting society with their worldview. So we see that, ofttimes, Christians are some of the more self-centered, and self-absorbed groups around -- now, when I say this I also realize that there are many groups who do not fall into this category, but overall, the Western Church, especially as found in the US struggles mightily with this.

How does it manifest itself? First, and foremost -- in rebellion against God and His Word. I have often heard this -- "I know what it says in the Bible, but I have the right to live my life as I see fit" or "I know that the Bible says I am living in sin, but you just don't understand". More and more Christians look like the world -- in their divorce rate, in their racial discrimination, in their outlook, etc.

The Cult of Rights has been propagated by those who have built large churches around the teaching of self-esteem, and self-love; now some may say that those are hard words, but I have read the books of these pastors, and have heard them speak. They are all about feel-good messages that have no substance, nor impact in the believers life. The Cult of Rights is perpetuated because it is the way to get a large congregation -- but it is in direct conflict with the Word of God.

How do we know that we are affected by the Cult of Rights? Here are a few indicators:

You may be struggling with this if you are living in direct rebellion to God's Word, and rationalize it with the fact that it is 'your right' to do so. (an example would be this -- getting a divorce because you are unhappy, rather than working through it in a Biblical manner -- it is your 'right' in our society to do so, but it is against God's Word. Another example -- obtaining an abortion, because it is a woman's right 'to chose', rather than working through it in a Biblical fashion.)

You may be struggling with this if you, or your church, spends all of its money and time on things that are not advancing the Kingdom of God -- such as the millions spent on increasing the comfort of the edifice that some call the church, while the neighborhood around it crumbles. It is 'your right' to spend the money the way you see fit, however it is not Biblical -- James says that pure and undefiled religion is visiting widows and orphans in their affliction and staying unstained from worldly ways! I live within spitting distance of several of the largest churches around, yet some of them are in neighborhoods where many struggle at subsistence level.

You may be struggling through this if you put yourself before the Body of Christ -- this is a major one -- church has become all about us (see Cult of Individualism), and this has a by-product, the Cult of Rights. In Acts we see the church selling the things they owned to take care of the Body -- in the Modern Church it is uncommon, if not downright extinct, to find people willing to give above their 'ten percent' to help out someone else in the Body. Why? Because, they 'earned' their money, and by golly it is their 'right' to spend it in a way that they see fit!

You may be struggling with this if you are about as ecologically minded as Exxon. This is a contentious one, and that is fine, but we are not called to be squanderers of God's world, but stewards. I am always amazed at how few Christians recycle, or buy recycled, by how many people in the Church think that anyone who eats and lives generally green, are pagans and tree-worshippers. It is as if anyone who actually is trying to live a life that allows for a future (should the Lord tarry), for their children has adopted a pagan outlook, when it reality it is the Christian community which should set the bar for stewarding God's creation! So many Christians that I have talked with, when they find out that I generally shop for green type products, have rolled their eyes and said "And you are a pastor?!" as if somehow doing so put me outside the pale of orthodoxy!

You may be struggling with this if you are all about tax-reform, and welfare-reform. Now, before you go crazy on me, and rant and rave about government waste etc., understand what I am saying -- I am not against either one of those things, but (IMHO) this is what we should be pushing for:

Tax-Reform: Absolutely, but rather than constantly trying to get more money back, what if Christians rallied around the fact that we would gladly pay our taxes if they were used properly, for the care and education of the people. Yes, the government is corrupt, it is a man-centered environment, but we should do our level best to influence it for good. We look like Ebenezer Scrooge when the 'Christian Coalition' goes on TV and never once mentions Christ and His redeeming work, but focuses on how much money the government wastes, and how we want it back. We should absolutely focus on government waste, but then present ways to use it more wisely, and for the benefit of the people who need it. Tragically, the 'Christian Coalition' is less Christian, and more coalition -- basically it has become a hack for the Republican party.

Welfare-Reform: This goes hand-in-hand with the tax reform issue. We want people off the welfare rolls, and I am right there with those who say that; but let me ask you, what is your church doing to actively assist? This area used to be the bailiwick of the Church, but when she stopped performing this task, the government took over, and like all governmental things, they did a mediocre job. Stop blaming the government, and adopt a family -- help them by not only providing for them physically, but spiritually -- we have done that in a few cases and the results have been remarkable! Again, the church rallies behind a political party and rants about 'their money' and how it is being wasted on Godless things/people, but can we honestly say that we are spending our money more Godly than the government?

What if the government took the position of saying that the church can keep its tax-exempt status only if it contributes to the good of the society by taking in a family, or families (you could base this on the size of the church), and helping them to get off the welfare system? Or if they had a sliding scale that enabled the church to be tax-exempt to a certain percentage, based upon their work with the local 'widows and orphans', or to the degree to which they maintained a sustainable system of recycle etc.? I know that these are simply rough ideas thrown out for consideration, so please don't comment on how impractical they are -- they should be considered starting points, not finished thoughts.

We need to get over ourselves, and our newfound political power/rights, and do something that doesn't involve us strengthening our position as the guardians of the world system -- it is corrupt, and we, who are in the Kingdom of God, need to pursuing God's agenda rather than furthering our own, and our favorite political party's ends!

Let me add this caveat as I inevitably get a comment when this is discussed: I am not saying that we divorce ourselves from the political process, rather I am saying that we work within the system to do God's work, and stop building ourselves up.

So how can we start? Well how about this:

Romans 12:1-3;13-21

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned....
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Brothers and sisters -- this passage and many others like it tell us to do the exact opposite of the Cult of Rights propogated by the modern churches and para-church organizations. We are to be self-sacrificing, humble, and peaceable; not rights-minded, rude, wasteful and arrogant!

Every time the church has gotten obssessed with its 'rights' throughout history, corruption was not far behind! Let us begin to work for the advancement of God's Kingdom, and spend less time fortifying our position, and screaming about 'our rights'.

The Chrisian Life -- Part IV -- The Cult of Technology

Some may balk at the title of this one -- "WHAT cult of Technology; should we not use modern methods in our church?" No, this is not what I am saying -- this post addresses the fascination with, and adoration of, technology within the church. You see this quite often -- "Now we have bluetooth and wireless for your enjoyment during the sermon." Oh, you mean instead of actually listening to God's Word being taught, and interacting with others in the Body?

Some would argue that having these conveniences makes it easier for people to 'share' in the teaching and preaching of God's Word by being able to download the sermon notes RIGHT TO THEIR LAPTOP! I would say that the danger of technology is (at least) two-fold:

First -- technology does not bring people together in a true sense of the word (I don't say this in isolation, I work in the technology field); most often it is a cheap imitation of being in fellowship -- I know, I know, here I sit posting on a blog, and I have developed some wonderful friendships via this medium -- I do not deny that -- but I believe that TRUE and LASTING accountability and friendships should be EXPERIENCED in the real world, and not the ether-world. I look forward to meeting up with, and spending time with my blog-friends sometime in the future; I feel that only then will we know each other in the truest sense of the word.

Also, those who are busily pounding away on their keyboard, or following the ppt presentation are NOT interacting with others around them -- it is like many individuals and strangers sitting in the same room. Instead of coming together to worship corporately, we now have 'internet cafe's' disguised as churches. And don't fool yourself, many of the younger folks are IMing, or gaming!

Secondly -- I have been to churches that have elevated technology to an idol; the means have become more important than the end. In other words -- a preacher will use technology to get a specific reaction, or to surprise and shock the gathered Body, rather than using the Word of God to transform the souls of the people. I have literally been to places where the primary topic of discussion by the pastor was the latest and greatest technology that they were employing to 'reach the lost'. (I will write more on this in a future post).

I believe that some churches would have to shut their doors if they lost power for an extended period during a service! And yet, the persecuted church in China sings in whispered hushes whilst hidden in a dank, dark basement cave, and they worship just fine without even a single powerpoint slide! What of the church in Africa? They often gather in a hut without power, or for that matter, even walls! And the singing, oh my word, what singing! And my friends in India gather in open areas worshipping (for HOURS) without the aid of a single wireless connection!

I am NOT saying that the use of technology is wrong, or unbiblical, but I am saying that it is profoundly unbiblical to elevate it to a 'golden calf'.

This is where my friends in the 'simple church' movement have so opened my eyes and been wonderful sounding boards -- they believe that we have become far too infatuated with the 'trappings' of the modern church, and far too disinterested in the transforming message of the Gospel and the healthy life of the Body!

I agree -- and while we may disagree on some of the finer points, I truly believe that the simple church groups have tapped into what the early church was about -- worshipping God in simplicity, not disguising or obliterating the message with the use of glitz and glitter; raising the 'entertainment bar' so that every week a church has to outdo its whiz-bang from the previous week.

So, before you comment about how technology is being used in a wonderful way at your church, please reread this post -- I will reiterate -- Technology, in and of itself, is not a problem, it is the adoration and idolizing of technology which crosses the line! I cannot speak for simple church folks, but I bet some of them use technology in their gatherings; however, from what I understand, they do not allow it to become the focus of the gathering, nor should we!

We should be about the business of proclaiming the Gospel, and we should actively be involved in meaningful fellowship with other believers -- let's turn off our computers for a few hours every Sunday so that we can focus on Christ and His finished work on the Cross!

The Christian Life - Part III - The Cult of Relevance

Well, as we progress through these posts, we find that they build on one another. We started with the Cult of Personality that raises some pastors to the status of celebrities, with all of the perks, and arrogance of a worldly celebrity. Then we looked at the Cult of Individualism, which causes the body to look like some kind of Frankenstein monster, rather than a beautiful bride being prepared for her wedding.

These two creat another cult -- the Cult of Relevance...

When you have pastors who begin to believe their own press clippings, thinking that they are somehow MORE than simply clay jars that are presenting the awesome message of the Gospel, you then begin to see their desire to be relevant in and of themselves, sometimes to the denigration of the Gospel!

Likewise, when you have people who are taught that church is all about them and their comfort, then these people begin to EXPECT that the message they come to hear will be about them.

Now, these two statements may cause you to wonder -- "Are you saying that our message should be irrelevant?" No, not at all, I am saying that the Cult of Relevance is not interested in the relevance of the Gospel in the lives of Christians, rather, it is interested in MAKING pastors and churches hip, cool and relevant from a worldly perspective, not a Godly perspective.

When you have pastors who think that it is appropriate to 'pitch' their latest book as opposed to preaching from God's Word, then you see the outworking of a worldly relevance. I have so often seen on TV a pastor lifting his book up and making this claim: "If you want to know how you can live a life full of __________ (fill in the blank) then you need my latest tome on XXXX"

When you sing 'worship' songs that use the words; me, us, I, and we, and never use Christ or God, you may be singing a song of relevance. It is about how I am feeling, and what I am going to do, and where I am at right now, as opposed to glorifying God and praising Him.

When you have youth leaders, and pastors who think it is 'cute' or 'relevant' to use common gutter language behind the pulpit, then you may be suffering from the Cult of Relevance as well. I know that many posts and blogwars have been focused around this one aspect of 'relevance', but the truth is that we are to be a people noted for NOT looking and sounding like the world. When we coopt the worlds ways and language, we are making the statement that their ways are somehow more 'relevant' or 'important' than the ways that Christ expounded in the Word. As a matter of fact, the Messiah made it clear that it was what came out of one's mouth that defiled them, not what went into it!

When we have sermons built around the 'Beverly Hillbillies', or 'Everyone Loves Raymond', or 'Mayberry RFD', then you may be relevant, but the message is that the Word of God finds it's relevance in sitcoms, rather than being relevant in and of itself. I have picked up some of these so-called sermons and studies and listened to them -- they are incredibly insipid, and almost devoid of anything that could be called Biblical learning!

When you have movie studios sending out contests that require pastors to do a sermo-mercial in order to win a trip to FLA., then you may be suffering from the Cult of Relevance. I do not fault the movie studios, they are of the world, but I DO fault the pastors who responded to this. And, by the way, there are more and more 'contests' that require sermo-mercials; why? Because they are effective and pastors comply!

So, what can we do about this? Well, here is a good place to start:

Matthew 16:24 - 26 -- Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?

Romans 16:17, 18 -- I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

2nd Timothy 3:1 - 6 -- But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions...

You see, if we die to selves, we will be a lot less worried about OUR relevance, and much more concerned about Christ's relevance. We must deacrease, and He must increase. As cool as James Brown was (one of my favorites), when he was lying in the casket, he was completely unconcerned about being relevant. Why? Because he was dead! So, if, as Christians we are supposed to be dead to self, why are we so consumed with being relevant in and of ourselves?

Notice that in the Romans quote above that we are to watch out for those who use smooth talk and flattery to teach contrary doctrines -- in other words, no matter how 'cool' someone sounds, their words and teaching must pass the litmus test of Biblical truth.

Amd finally, in the 2nd Timothy quote we find that people will become more and more self-centered -- well, what is this Cult of Relevance if not a self-seeking, self-centered attitude of arrogance? "I need to be cool" is the overarching concern of the modern pastor as opposed to "I need to be Godly".

Let us be more concerned with the things of God, and less concerned with the things of this world as we approach God!

The Christian Life - Part II - The Cult of Individualism

This subject has been, or will be broached by many others, I have even previously posted briefly on this, so I am not the definitive word on this, but it certainly is troubling.

Coming from a cultural background where it is so much about community (Jewish), I have been amazed at the impact that the cult of individualism has had on the church. We have churches now that divide the Body into a million little pieces every Sunday. There is a singles worship service, and a young people worship service, and an older persons worship service, and left-handed plumbers service... You get the picture.

Not only do churches have individual worship services, but they also have 'small groups' which are, likewise divided into 'types'. Most larger churches make the statement that the small group is where people really get discipled. Well, that may well be true, but when you divide the body into special groups so that they only interact with like-minded people, how growth-stimulating and discipling can that be?

As an example, we desperately need the wisdom and stability of older Christians (chronologically and spiritually), and the energy and excitement of younger people in the same environment! Many so-called worship services are nothing more than rock concerts, or at the other end, funeral dirges recalling past glories; sometimes in the same church building!! And never the twain shall meet -- because it is about YOU YOU YOU, and we would hate for you to have to sit amongst older Christians and actually have to sing a hymn -- likewise, we would hate for our older folks to have to endure being around youngsters... After all, if we had to function as a body, we might shrink below acceptable levels.

The same could be said for race or gender -- some people only attend the men's or women's functions, some people only attend the specific function that appeals directly to them. And this is the Body of Christ spoken of in 1st Corinthians 12?

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Could you imagine the Messiah having a seperate time of teaching ONLY for fishermen, and then a later time of teaching for the tax collectors, and then a final one for zealots and traitors? No, Messiah taught that the way we loved and cared for one another in the Body was a sign to unbelievers that we were His disciples -- how can that happen when our only interaction at church or in the functions of the church are centered around a group of people that we 'fit in' with? Truly I do find intolerance in the church, and that intolerance is with anyone in the body who does not fit my mold as a Christian.

We no longer come together to worship and love one another and share things and help one another -- we now come to get our weekly dose of ME religion -- replete with MY type of music, MY type of prayers, and of course, MY type of people surrounding me.

And here is the saddest piece of all -- at the forefront, and loudly promoting this is a group of people that we once called pastors. All for the sake of size and comfort we have allowed these leaders to perform amuptation on the body and reduce it to political, racial, gender, or age-based groups of interest -- not the functioning Body of Christ that Paul references in his letters.

Here is something you should do -- go read the book of Acts, see how the early church functioned -- They spent time together as a family, sharing their things, and caring for one another -- they were not perfect as Acts points out, but they were much more like a functioning Body than the modern US church!

The Christian Life - Part I - Cult of Personality

As I stated in my last post, I want to take a look at the Evangelical community within the West, and comment on some of the trends that I find to be disturbing.

The first one I want to address is the 'Cult of Personality' that surrounds many of the better known pastors. One cannot make an observation about a well-known pastor without a counter-site popping up 'protect' the pastor in question.

We should be berean in our approach to anything that is said regarding our faith, regardless of who said it. When there are pastors out there that cannot make a simple gospel presentation, it SHOULD be duly noted, and corrected. Especially when these men are high-profile, and supposedly the 'voices of modern evangelicalism'.

Their own supporters should be the first to ask these men to clarify their public statements. No one is immune from making a gaffe, and we should therefore temper our comments in the light that all can make a mistake; however it is incumbent for us, as Christians, to ensure that those who supposedly represent Christ, actually DO represent Him!

Let me give you an illustration of this Cult of Personality, Pastor-Elevating culture we live in:

Here is a standard bio for a pastor (it is no one in particular, but is culled from a number of bios) -- "Pastor John Doe is a cutting-edge, straight forward communicator whose creative teaching methods are making a huge impact in today's society. He is the founding and Senior Pastor of ACME Church. The church has fifteen campus' nationwide. Pastor John is a visionary, whose entrepreneurial efforts have changed the face of the modern church. Pastor John was also named Time's Man of the Year two years running, and he is the author of more than forty bestselling books."

Do you see anything in this bio (again, a composite) that points to Christ, or to this man's qualifications to be an undershepherd of God's flock? I mean, this could be Anothony Robbins bio, as opposed to a man of God (not saying anything about Robbins, but even he does not promote himself as a pastor!). We have become fascinated with bios, and books, and 'cutting-edge' communications, and have left important things such as Biblical Knowledge, or Prayer Life, or a Pastor's Heart in the dumpster. A man is now successful if his church is bigger than XX, regardless of whether or not his life reflects Christ's at all!

Now I want to say that I am all for reaching the lost, and reaching out, but when we have men who strut about with their 'fan-club', promoting their latest book and teaching methods, what we DON'T have are people who are role models for Christians. How a pastor lives is as much a part of his teaching as what he says; and many of the modern popular preachers do not reflect the life of one who has died to self, and now lives for Christ. What the lost need more than another self-help method is the transforming power of the Spirit in their life, and they need to see people modeling that same Spirit in their lives.

Let me compare the above bio with this bio -- And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1st Corinthians 2:1-5

When we are all about self-promoting, we are (at best) not promoting Christ as Lord and Savior, and (at worse) promoting self-dependence w/o Christ.

Before anyone comments about this, let me say that pastors and leaders in the church are due honor, yes, but honor that they get from PROPERLY teaching and preaching the Word -- not just because they carry a title. I know people without any title at all that I give respect to because of their teaching and the fact that their lives reflect God's transforming power; likewise, I know men who call themselves pastors who do not deserve any honor at all.

Series - The Life of a Christian

I am working on a new series that will examine the Evangelical community within the West (primarily in the North American context). I want to look at how we live, how we SHOULD be living, and address some of the things that concern me.

There are many in the blogsphere who have covered this; probably more ably than I will, but I feel compelled to address some of these concerns. One of the reasons is the recent spate of nonsense from many pastors who have encouraged their congregations to not only act like the world but to seek acceptance for their actions from the world! I am not linking to any examples: this tends to polarize the discussion around personalities instead of issues.

There are more and more hi-profile (and, I am sure, low-profile) pastors who seem to think that it is our mandate to become more hip, cool and worldly than our pagan neighbors; all in the name of being 'relevant'. While I agree that being Luddites, and sticking our metaphorical heads in the sand, is incorrect, I also believe that there are many in the so-called evangelical community who have extended the 'relevancy' mindset to condone any type of behavior that gets them press!

The second reason for covering this is the recent, and growing, backlash against Christianity from within the U.S. This is a backlash created, in many ways, by the worldly living of Evangelical leaders who are seeking political, and societal, power, prestige and position. This has caused some within the secular community to overreact. You may read a snippet of this mindset here. While I believe that it is the right and responsibility of Christians to be involved in the democratic process in the U.S., I feel that many have gone well beyond being involved and now are attempting to exhert their nascent 'political muscle', all the while living in a manner which they condemn in their pagan neighbors.

So, with these two items in mind, I now embark on this series. I pray that I will be Godly, Biblical, and even-handed in my posts.