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!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, February 12, 2007
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.
Anyway, his latest article over at Reformation21 is just too good to pass up.
Enjoy, and I will soon begin the promised series.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, February 05, 2007
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?
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?
Thursday, February 01, 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
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?
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?
Friday, January 26, 2007
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...
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...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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'.
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'.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, January 08, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Cheerful Giver Part II
STEWARDSHIP – OLD TESTAMENT-STYLE
In the Old Testament, we find that Abraham was tithing before the Law required him to do so. In Genesis 14, Abraham tithes Melchizedek – why? Was it because he was forced to? No, it was out of gratitude to God. Then we find Jacob, as he flees from his angry brother, having a vision in Beit-El [Genesis 28], and making a vow that everything the Lord gives to him, he will give back a tenth. Again, this is before the requirements found in the Law! These men understood that everything is the Lord’s and by their tithe they were recognizing God's sovereignty. Could you see Abraham saying – “Should I give out of my gross or my net?”
In Deuteronomy 14 we find the Israelites commanded to bring their tithe to the place where God chooses to make His name dwell, (Jerusalem), and they are to eat the tithe of their grain in the presence of the Lord – learning to fear Him. And if they lived too far away, they were to convert their tithe into money and bring it to Jerusalem and then buy whatever they desire and eat it before the Lord and rejoice!
Some may be thinking – “Now, that is more like it, buy what I want and enjoy it, why give to the Church?” If you feel this way, you have missed the point of Deuteronomy 14 – they did this in order that they might be reminded of their total dependence upon the Lord, and in this knowledge of His goodness, they celebrated the tithe with joy and thanksgiving.
Throughout the Law we also find that the tithe was used to support the Priesthood and the upkeep of the Temple, AND to support the downtrodden, poor, orphans and widows. These are the works of ministry! We are not giving our money because God is cash-strapped; He does not need our money -- we are giving to MINISTRIES in order to glorify our God for what HE HAS DONE!
STEWARDSHIP – NEW TESTAMENT-STYLE
There are many who say that tithing is not a New Testament command; that we are not under law, but under grace. They are right – we are under grace, but it is a sad fact that many are so poorly versed in God’s Holy Word that they do not know the fact that under grace, we who could not fulfill the Law, now have it written on our heart. Therefore, tithing as a burden imposed upon the people of God as an act of works is gone, but now, with the Law written on our hearts, we now give out of joy to our God! Remember Romans 12 – we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, which is reasonable service compared to the great gift of our Lord and Savior!
The early church sold what they had and gave to all who had need, this is a little more than the 10% -- as a matter of fact, in many instances in the New Testament, there is no discussion of a tithe, rather there is the example of giving away what you have.
Jesus tells the Pharisees in His great woe to them [Matthew 23], that they tithe mint, cumin and dill, but have neglected the weightier matters of the law. In this passage, He does not say – “No need to tithe”, rather He says, these things you ought to have done, WITHOUT neglecting the other things. For the Pharisees tithing had become a mark of their ‘spirituality'; you see it again in the parable of the Tax Collector and Pharisee who went down to the Temple to pray [Luke 18]. The Pharisee is bragging about his tithing – but is not justified by it! We, who are Christ’s, should know this – we are not justified by our acts, but by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone.
Giving for the New Testament believer is not about fulfilling the law in order to be justified, rather for us, as it was for Abraham, Jacob, David and all of the saints of the Old Testament, it is about recognizing the sovereignty of God over ALL of our resources, and out of gratitude to Him for what He HAS ALREADY DONE, we give to the work in His kingdom!
So many miss that important point – giving in the context of the New Testament is not with an eye to getting something in return, nor is it to do something to chalk up points on our holiness scale, it is because of the continuing grace of God working in our lives, made possible by the finished work of Christ on the Cross!
One should never give out of a compulsion that is man-centered, but only out of a spirit that is God-centered. 2nd Corinthians 9:6 is one of the most abused passages regarding giving – televangelists will tell you that you are to give to get, and they will tell you that it is verified in 2nd Corinthians. This is obviously one of those proof-texts that people love to extract from its setting and use as a tool to manipulate the base attitude of greed in the heart of man. Yet, when put in its context, this passage says that we give out of a cheerful heart, through the grace of God, not under compulsion; and ultimately for the glory of God, NOT to increase our coffers. We will have benefits, absolutely, but they are benefits in line with the Kingdom of God. That does not mean that one might not be blessed financially, but if you are giving for that reason, you may well be sorely disappointed.
Our true treasure is found in Christ, and God has ALREADY blessed us beyond our understanding, on a hill called Calvary, 2000 years ago. It is the finished work of Christ that is the ground of all our blessings, NOT THINGS. As Paul says in 1st Corinthians 2:9 -- "...no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"…
In the Old Testament, we find that Abraham was tithing before the Law required him to do so. In Genesis 14, Abraham tithes Melchizedek – why? Was it because he was forced to? No, it was out of gratitude to God. Then we find Jacob, as he flees from his angry brother, having a vision in Beit-El [Genesis 28], and making a vow that everything the Lord gives to him, he will give back a tenth. Again, this is before the requirements found in the Law! These men understood that everything is the Lord’s and by their tithe they were recognizing God's sovereignty. Could you see Abraham saying – “Should I give out of my gross or my net?”
In Deuteronomy 14 we find the Israelites commanded to bring their tithe to the place where God chooses to make His name dwell, (Jerusalem), and they are to eat the tithe of their grain in the presence of the Lord – learning to fear Him. And if they lived too far away, they were to convert their tithe into money and bring it to Jerusalem and then buy whatever they desire and eat it before the Lord and rejoice!
Some may be thinking – “Now, that is more like it, buy what I want and enjoy it, why give to the Church?” If you feel this way, you have missed the point of Deuteronomy 14 – they did this in order that they might be reminded of their total dependence upon the Lord, and in this knowledge of His goodness, they celebrated the tithe with joy and thanksgiving.
Throughout the Law we also find that the tithe was used to support the Priesthood and the upkeep of the Temple, AND to support the downtrodden, poor, orphans and widows. These are the works of ministry! We are not giving our money because God is cash-strapped; He does not need our money -- we are giving to MINISTRIES in order to glorify our God for what HE HAS DONE!
STEWARDSHIP – NEW TESTAMENT-STYLE
There are many who say that tithing is not a New Testament command; that we are not under law, but under grace. They are right – we are under grace, but it is a sad fact that many are so poorly versed in God’s Holy Word that they do not know the fact that under grace, we who could not fulfill the Law, now have it written on our heart. Therefore, tithing as a burden imposed upon the people of God as an act of works is gone, but now, with the Law written on our hearts, we now give out of joy to our God! Remember Romans 12 – we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, which is reasonable service compared to the great gift of our Lord and Savior!
The early church sold what they had and gave to all who had need, this is a little more than the 10% -- as a matter of fact, in many instances in the New Testament, there is no discussion of a tithe, rather there is the example of giving away what you have.
Jesus tells the Pharisees in His great woe to them [Matthew 23], that they tithe mint, cumin and dill, but have neglected the weightier matters of the law. In this passage, He does not say – “No need to tithe”, rather He says, these things you ought to have done, WITHOUT neglecting the other things. For the Pharisees tithing had become a mark of their ‘spirituality'; you see it again in the parable of the Tax Collector and Pharisee who went down to the Temple to pray [Luke 18]. The Pharisee is bragging about his tithing – but is not justified by it! We, who are Christ’s, should know this – we are not justified by our acts, but by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone.
Giving for the New Testament believer is not about fulfilling the law in order to be justified, rather for us, as it was for Abraham, Jacob, David and all of the saints of the Old Testament, it is about recognizing the sovereignty of God over ALL of our resources, and out of gratitude to Him for what He HAS ALREADY DONE, we give to the work in His kingdom!
So many miss that important point – giving in the context of the New Testament is not with an eye to getting something in return, nor is it to do something to chalk up points on our holiness scale, it is because of the continuing grace of God working in our lives, made possible by the finished work of Christ on the Cross!
One should never give out of a compulsion that is man-centered, but only out of a spirit that is God-centered. 2nd Corinthians 9:6 is one of the most abused passages regarding giving – televangelists will tell you that you are to give to get, and they will tell you that it is verified in 2nd Corinthians. This is obviously one of those proof-texts that people love to extract from its setting and use as a tool to manipulate the base attitude of greed in the heart of man. Yet, when put in its context, this passage says that we give out of a cheerful heart, through the grace of God, not under compulsion; and ultimately for the glory of God, NOT to increase our coffers. We will have benefits, absolutely, but they are benefits in line with the Kingdom of God. That does not mean that one might not be blessed financially, but if you are giving for that reason, you may well be sorely disappointed.
Our true treasure is found in Christ, and God has ALREADY blessed us beyond our understanding, on a hill called Calvary, 2000 years ago. It is the finished work of Christ that is the ground of all our blessings, NOT THINGS. As Paul says in 1st Corinthians 2:9 -- "...no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"…
Thursday, December 21, 2006
The Cheerful Giver
As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David and went out from the threshing floor and paid homage to David with his face to the ground. And David said to Ornan, "Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the LORD--give it to me at its full price--that the plague may be averted from the people." Then Ornan said to David, "Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all." But King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing."
~ 1st Chronicles 21:21 – 24 ~
The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah.
~ Psalm 24 ~
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.
~ Romans 12:1 ~
I recently posted on the servant's heart and I thought I would complete the short series with a couple of posts on giving. There are a few more thoughts running around in my head, and may post them at a later date.
True servants of God are ones whose hearts have been transformed by the Spirit of God. We cannot ‘work’ our way into a servant’s heart – oh, we can put on a façade that LOOKS like a servant’s role, but the Lord examines the heart, not the outward actions – ask Saul who thought he could placate God by sacrificing the best animals of Amalek – it cost him the kingdom; maybe you could ask Ananias and Sapphira – they thought that their outwardly magnanimous gift would elevate them in the eyes of the embryonic Church; instead, they were truly slain by the Spirit of God! (giving 'slain in the spirit' a whole new meaning!)
We cannot ‘become’ servants by reading a book on our purpose, nor can a pastor enforce servant’s hearts on the congregation by pounding the pulpit hard enough – no, servant’s hearts are the result of a heart transplant by God -- from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, followed by the sanctifying work of the Spirit in our lives, driven by a life of prayer. We are called, as we read in Romans 12, to be living sacrifices, which is our reasonable worship. Our prayer should be, as David’s in Psalm 51 – “Create in me a clean heart, and restore a right spirit in me”.
We are called to be HUPERETAS – fellow under-rowers on the great ship of faith. We are people who are not our own, but bought with a price [1st Corinthians 6:19, 20], no longer living to ourselves, but rather living to the Lord [Romans 14:7, 8].
With that backdrop, this post will touch upon a subject that many are uncomfortable with – as I was when I began in ministry. It will discuss our Christian service as stewards of the things that God has given us.
As I have been studying this, I went through many passages regarding tithing, and money, but at the end of it all, I discovered something quite remarkable – that giving to the Lord’s work has ALWAYS been an act of worship, not an act of reluctant servitude.
It is said that if you want to know a person’s god or idol, you need only follow the path of their time, talent and wallet. This will ultimately lead you to what they love or desire more than anything else. It is truly sad to say that in our society we might find that the god/idol of some is a Sony Playstation, an iPod, a nice car with 22’ wheels and spinners, a motorcycle, or even a career. Even sadder, the Body of Christ finds that the trail of their time, effort and money often leads to similar or identical idols!
As a Pastor I have often heard the following questions: “Do I tithe on the gross or the net of my income?” or “Is tithing actually a New Testament principle, I mean, now we are under grace, right?” As if giving to the Lord’s work was as cumbersome and forced as giving to the IRS, or paying a traffic ticket!
Of course, I understand that many so-called preachers have abused the concept and have extorted or downright swindled money out of good, God-fearing people, all the while they drive luxury cars, have two or three mansions, and a suite of private aircraft and bodyguards. Oh, of course they will distribute a pittance of the gifts to ‘doing the work of the kingdom’. Sadly, these selfsame people ‘rob’ from the local church, as they coerce people to give to THEIR ministries, so that the giver will get! Money gets sent in, oftentimes being deducted from the work of the local church’s ministry, with the promise that somehow this ‘seed’ will blossom into a ten-fold blessing for the giver.
This is not the spirit of giving that is discussed in God’s Word – God is not our lottery ticket – He MAY bless our giving, but if our motive is to give to the Kingdom in order to get financially rewarded, we will be sadly disappointed most times. Our Messiah says that we are not to lay up treasures on the Earth, but to store them in Heaven where moth, rust and robbers cannot get to them!
So the local church and its pastors have been painted with the same brush as these abusive ministries, and therefore many unbelievers, (and sadly, believers), adhere to the fact that preachers (i.e. me) are always standing with their hand out. Well, truth be told, I have spoken on giving once in five years.
God is no beggar! I am not standing with my hand out – as I hope to point out in these posts, it is not our BURDEN, but our PRIVILEDGE to put our resources into the work of the Kingdom!
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills -- [Psalm 50:10 – 15] -- For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
Does that sound like He is begging? No, He is calling His people to offer a sacrifice of Thanksgiving – give out of a Thankful and cheerful heart. God is not strapped for cash; He needs nothing from His creation, but offers to us the indescribable privilege of participating with Him in the work of the Kingdom!
I will complete my thoughts in a second post.
~ 1st Chronicles 21:21 – 24 ~
The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah.
~ Psalm 24 ~
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.
~ Romans 12:1 ~
I recently posted on the servant's heart and I thought I would complete the short series with a couple of posts on giving. There are a few more thoughts running around in my head, and may post them at a later date.
True servants of God are ones whose hearts have been transformed by the Spirit of God. We cannot ‘work’ our way into a servant’s heart – oh, we can put on a façade that LOOKS like a servant’s role, but the Lord examines the heart, not the outward actions – ask Saul who thought he could placate God by sacrificing the best animals of Amalek – it cost him the kingdom; maybe you could ask Ananias and Sapphira – they thought that their outwardly magnanimous gift would elevate them in the eyes of the embryonic Church; instead, they were truly slain by the Spirit of God! (giving 'slain in the spirit' a whole new meaning!)
We cannot ‘become’ servants by reading a book on our purpose, nor can a pastor enforce servant’s hearts on the congregation by pounding the pulpit hard enough – no, servant’s hearts are the result of a heart transplant by God -- from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, followed by the sanctifying work of the Spirit in our lives, driven by a life of prayer. We are called, as we read in Romans 12, to be living sacrifices, which is our reasonable worship. Our prayer should be, as David’s in Psalm 51 – “Create in me a clean heart, and restore a right spirit in me”.
We are called to be HUPERETAS – fellow under-rowers on the great ship of faith. We are people who are not our own, but bought with a price [1st Corinthians 6:19, 20], no longer living to ourselves, but rather living to the Lord [Romans 14:7, 8].
With that backdrop, this post will touch upon a subject that many are uncomfortable with – as I was when I began in ministry. It will discuss our Christian service as stewards of the things that God has given us.
As I have been studying this, I went through many passages regarding tithing, and money, but at the end of it all, I discovered something quite remarkable – that giving to the Lord’s work has ALWAYS been an act of worship, not an act of reluctant servitude.
It is said that if you want to know a person’s god or idol, you need only follow the path of their time, talent and wallet. This will ultimately lead you to what they love or desire more than anything else. It is truly sad to say that in our society we might find that the god/idol of some is a Sony Playstation, an iPod, a nice car with 22’ wheels and spinners, a motorcycle, or even a career. Even sadder, the Body of Christ finds that the trail of their time, effort and money often leads to similar or identical idols!
As a Pastor I have often heard the following questions: “Do I tithe on the gross or the net of my income?” or “Is tithing actually a New Testament principle, I mean, now we are under grace, right?” As if giving to the Lord’s work was as cumbersome and forced as giving to the IRS, or paying a traffic ticket!
Of course, I understand that many so-called preachers have abused the concept and have extorted or downright swindled money out of good, God-fearing people, all the while they drive luxury cars, have two or three mansions, and a suite of private aircraft and bodyguards. Oh, of course they will distribute a pittance of the gifts to ‘doing the work of the kingdom’. Sadly, these selfsame people ‘rob’ from the local church, as they coerce people to give to THEIR ministries, so that the giver will get! Money gets sent in, oftentimes being deducted from the work of the local church’s ministry, with the promise that somehow this ‘seed’ will blossom into a ten-fold blessing for the giver.
This is not the spirit of giving that is discussed in God’s Word – God is not our lottery ticket – He MAY bless our giving, but if our motive is to give to the Kingdom in order to get financially rewarded, we will be sadly disappointed most times. Our Messiah says that we are not to lay up treasures on the Earth, but to store them in Heaven where moth, rust and robbers cannot get to them!
So the local church and its pastors have been painted with the same brush as these abusive ministries, and therefore many unbelievers, (and sadly, believers), adhere to the fact that preachers (i.e. me) are always standing with their hand out. Well, truth be told, I have spoken on giving once in five years.
God is no beggar! I am not standing with my hand out – as I hope to point out in these posts, it is not our BURDEN, but our PRIVILEDGE to put our resources into the work of the Kingdom!
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills -- [Psalm 50:10 – 15] -- For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
Does that sound like He is begging? No, He is calling His people to offer a sacrifice of Thanksgiving – give out of a Thankful and cheerful heart. God is not strapped for cash; He needs nothing from His creation, but offers to us the indescribable privilege of participating with Him in the work of the Kingdom!
I will complete my thoughts in a second post.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Thank You
Thanks for the prayers -- I was greatly encouraged this week, and had we had a great weekend. We were able to deliver ~120 boxes of Angel Food to the community, and our motorcycle ministry was able to reach out to several folks this weekend during a large Toy Run.
Last night we invited some local churches to our place to have a gathering. It was wonderful! We had everything from contemporary Worship, to Spirituals, and even had some young men from a local juvenile facility perform a few songs.
This is what I love -- joining with the Body to celebrate our common heritage and faith! We should do this much more often -- we had teens, older folks, black, white, asian, hispanic, Jewish -- it was truly a picture of heaven!
Thank you all for your prayers, emails, calls, and thoughts -- the Lord is incredibly faithful, and sadly, while my head knowledge of this is there, oftentimes my deceitful heart pulls me into a self-pity mode. I apologize for the tenor of my last post.
May all of you have a blessed time during this Christmas season.
Last night we invited some local churches to our place to have a gathering. It was wonderful! We had everything from contemporary Worship, to Spirituals, and even had some young men from a local juvenile facility perform a few songs.
This is what I love -- joining with the Body to celebrate our common heritage and faith! We should do this much more often -- we had teens, older folks, black, white, asian, hispanic, Jewish -- it was truly a picture of heaven!
Thank you all for your prayers, emails, calls, and thoughts -- the Lord is incredibly faithful, and sadly, while my head knowledge of this is there, oftentimes my deceitful heart pulls me into a self-pity mode. I apologize for the tenor of my last post.
May all of you have a blessed time during this Christmas season.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Prayer
I wanted to post briefly and request prayer from the folks who periodically visit this place.
As a small-church pastor, it is always difficult to lose families; this weekend we had a family announce that they are leaving our church to go to a nearby Mega-church.
I love these folks dearly, and their announcement out of the blue somewhat blindsided me. I must admit that I struggle with the reality that folks (not only this family) leave our church where they are involved, loved and needed, and go to a church numbering in the thousands. These are wonderful folks, and dear friends, and they will get plugged in at their new church, but, oh, how we could have used them here.
I love this congregation -- their heart and commitment always amazes me. I am privileged and honored to be the shepherd of such a wonderful group. And when things such as this recent event occur, I call into question my leadership, and skills. The gospel is preached at our church; we believe in, and practice discipleship; and have church discipline. We may not have all of Mark Dever's 9 Marks down, but we certainly are moving towards that. I believe that I have been called to preach at this church, and we have seen some wonderful moves of God sweep through the church. Yet, when folks move on with a vague "The Lord told me to", I wonder....
It is hard to argue with the subjective aspect of 'The Lord said so', I believe that this is why the reason is often used -- you can't disprove it, and should you even question the fact that this might actually be their own feelings driven to the surface, people look at you like you have blasphemed; so strong is the therapeutic, and feelings-driven gospel entrenched in the evangelical community! The Proverbs state that there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors, however, so often people will say nothing and just make a jump.
When I see people who are being used in a mighty way in the smaller, local church, leave for a church that has an abundance of people and material resources, I know how the local 5 & 10 feels when Wal*Mart comes to town. We, as a small church, cannot compete with ALL of the junk that a mega-church throws at people, and when you combine that with a message that really focuses on the felt-needs, you have a strong one-two punch. And quite frankly, what is so sad is that many of these larger churches are acrimonious to the smaller church, believing that it is 'stuck' in the past because it still preaches out of the Scriptures, and actually has church discipline etc. I have had one 'leader' in a Mega-Church actually laugh about the plight of smaller churches, saying that we had failed in our ministry because we have never grown above 100. I guess that would make most of the New Testament Church a failure?
Enough about that -- I will continue to preach the Gospel, and love this congregation, but these types of events rattle my cage. The good news is that we have brought in several families this year who are regulars. God is sovereign, and that is a great comfort to me!
Second -- today is my daughter's birthday. She would have been 26 today. I lost her when she was 18 months old, and while I always feel that I have healed -- this date hits me in the head every year. I do not sit around and mourn for days anymore, but it is still like a painful scar that hurts when bumped too hard.
So -- keep me in prayer, many thanks...
Ray
As a small-church pastor, it is always difficult to lose families; this weekend we had a family announce that they are leaving our church to go to a nearby Mega-church.
I love these folks dearly, and their announcement out of the blue somewhat blindsided me. I must admit that I struggle with the reality that folks (not only this family) leave our church where they are involved, loved and needed, and go to a church numbering in the thousands. These are wonderful folks, and dear friends, and they will get plugged in at their new church, but, oh, how we could have used them here.
I love this congregation -- their heart and commitment always amazes me. I am privileged and honored to be the shepherd of such a wonderful group. And when things such as this recent event occur, I call into question my leadership, and skills. The gospel is preached at our church; we believe in, and practice discipleship; and have church discipline. We may not have all of Mark Dever's 9 Marks down, but we certainly are moving towards that. I believe that I have been called to preach at this church, and we have seen some wonderful moves of God sweep through the church. Yet, when folks move on with a vague "The Lord told me to", I wonder....
It is hard to argue with the subjective aspect of 'The Lord said so', I believe that this is why the reason is often used -- you can't disprove it, and should you even question the fact that this might actually be their own feelings driven to the surface, people look at you like you have blasphemed; so strong is the therapeutic, and feelings-driven gospel entrenched in the evangelical community! The Proverbs state that there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors, however, so often people will say nothing and just make a jump.
When I see people who are being used in a mighty way in the smaller, local church, leave for a church that has an abundance of people and material resources, I know how the local 5 & 10 feels when Wal*Mart comes to town. We, as a small church, cannot compete with ALL of the junk that a mega-church throws at people, and when you combine that with a message that really focuses on the felt-needs, you have a strong one-two punch. And quite frankly, what is so sad is that many of these larger churches are acrimonious to the smaller church, believing that it is 'stuck' in the past because it still preaches out of the Scriptures, and actually has church discipline etc. I have had one 'leader' in a Mega-Church actually laugh about the plight of smaller churches, saying that we had failed in our ministry because we have never grown above 100. I guess that would make most of the New Testament Church a failure?
Enough about that -- I will continue to preach the Gospel, and love this congregation, but these types of events rattle my cage. The good news is that we have brought in several families this year who are regulars. God is sovereign, and that is a great comfort to me!
Second -- today is my daughter's birthday. She would have been 26 today. I lost her when she was 18 months old, and while I always feel that I have healed -- this date hits me in the head every year. I do not sit around and mourn for days anymore, but it is still like a painful scar that hurts when bumped too hard.
So -- keep me in prayer, many thanks...
Ray
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Soon
Sorry I have not posted in a bit -- I have been very busy, but hope to put something up tomorrow -- regarding stewardship... This is part of the servant series that I am working on.
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