Belly up to the Altar

Posted: May 28, 2015 in Uncategorized
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What is a church? I’m not talking about it’s physical structure or its interior contents, but more to the point, what is its purpose, its reason for existence?

I Googled the definition of the word Church and a few choices came up. The first said church definition and one was church definition Bible. I decided to see what the difference was between the two.

The mystery was solved with a click of my mouse.

Church:   (Noun) A building used for public Christian worship

I was not surprised by this definition and I actually expected it. The reason this did not surprise me is because many confessing Christians live as if they believe the church is in fact a building.

I decided to check out the church definition according to the Bible to see what I would find. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be right.

Church:  From the Greek word ekklesia. This word is the Greek words kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus the word means “called out ones”

I dug a little deeper and discovered the English word “church” does not come from ekklesia but from the word kuriakon, which means “dedicated to the Lord” This word was commonly used to refer to a holy place or temple.

So with minimal “detective” work I have found the source of our ineffectiveness and deterioration. The true meaning of the Church, you and me, got mistranslated into a building made by men.

I wondered if anyone sent Jesus the memo because he is working off old outdated information, well if he is going by the Bible anyway. (thick sarcasm)

This is what we are told in Acts 7:48: However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men.

We are the “building” the “temple”, God resides in us. So the church is wherever we are. That can be either good or bad. Because we can either draw people into a relationship with Christ or drive them away.

A “church” building does not have these abilities. It just stands there. A building never gossiped or judged someone harshly. It has never wounded someones spirit or caused them pain. It’s an inanimate object.

You and I on the other hand are very animated. When people say they were hurt by the church they don’t normally mean a brick fell out off the wall and hit them in the head. They are talking about flesh and blood people.

We have somehow given people the impression, churched people are perfect or that we have it all together. I am certainly not lumping all churches together under this umbrella statement, I am simply speaking to the ones that behave this way.

People are afraid to share their messy lives with us for fear of  judgement and condemnation. We look so nice and shiny in our Sunday go to meeting clothes. We talk so appropriate and holy on Sunday. We gossip but cleverly wrap it in a “prayer request”

We point fingers, whisper and glare, All while wearing our Jesus mask.

I want to tell you about this place I visited years ago:

I walked in and was surprised as everyone turned and watched as I made my way to my seat. I was greeted with kind words and sometimes just a nod and a smile.

As I settled in, the man in charge asked me if I needed anything to drink and immediately brought me the cold drink I requested. He asked me how my day was and listened as I shared about the rough day I had that capped off a very rough week.

He listened intently and was sympathetic. A few others sitting around me listened and shared their struggles and told me they understood what I was going through.

I spent several hours there. We all laughed together and cried together. Quite a few asked for my cellphone number so they could see how I was doing and maybe get together again. They shared their numbers and  told me to call anytime, day or night, no matter the hour, if I needed to talk.

By the time I left I had forgotten about my terrible week. A smile even crept across my face. I felt lighter, even refreshed. I decided to go every Sunday. I needed this in my life, I needed the friendships and to know people cared about me and maybe even loved me. I lived for Sunday so I could see the people who had literally become my family.

I remember the time I went away on a business trip for 3 weeks and my phone blew up with calls from everyone wondering if I was okay and where I had been.  They said they were worried about me and thought something had happened to me.

I loved hanging out with these guys on Sunday and found myself missing them throughout the week. We started doing other things together, bowling, fishing, movies. I had never known love and acceptance like this before. They did not care about my baggage because they said, “Everybody has baggage. We’re all in this together.”

I could tell these guys anything without fear. I felt so free.

I remember when I got notice that I was being transferred out of state with my job and the last Sunday I was there. There was a lot of tears.

As I left for the last time I turned and looked at the sign above the building. The neon sparkled through my tears. Al’s Bar. I was going to miss this place. This was my family. I hoped I would find a place like this where I was headed.

Why is it the corner bar is more inviting than the local church? Why does the corner bar seem more like a family than the family of God?

Freedom to do…..nothing

Posted: April 22, 2015 in Uncategorized
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There is constant media coverage of Christians fighting for religious freedom in America, but the only freedom it seems we want to embrace is the freedom to show others what we stand against, not who we stand for.

I see reports, almost daily, of Christians in other countries being beheaded, burned alive, beaten to death or drowned for their faith and their unwillingness to renounce Christ in the face of these dangers.

I see our brothers and sisters in China hiding in underground churches, just to worship our God. They have to smuggle God’s word just to read it. I’ve seen videos of Chinese Christians clutching Bibles, crying and kissing them. I’ve read stories of how Bibles are so scarce that they each tear out a page of the Bible and protect it with their life.

I read about imprisoned pastors facing torture and death for their unwavering commitment to spreading the gospel.

Our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ do not share the same religious freedoms we have and from what I’ve witnessed, maybe that’s a good thing.

We have the freedom to read our Bibles. We do not have to share one Bible among 100 people. Bibles are found in abundance here in America. We have “Christian” bookstores dedicated to just selling Bibles and books about Jesus.

We have the freedom to wake up every Sunday morning, put on our best clothes and drive to our beautiful church buildings, hidden in plain sight.  We even advertise our services in the local newspapers.

We have the freedom to pray whenever we want to, wherever we want to without fear of death.

We have the freedom to meet weekly in our favorite public coffee shop with a few of our friends and enjoy a Bible study and drink overpriced lattes and eat cake pops.

We have the freedom to share our faith with our family, our friends and our co workers without fear of being dragged into the street and stoned to death.

We have the freedom to feed the poor and help widows and orphans.

We have the freedom to visit those in prison and share the message of redemption.

We have the freedom to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

We have the freedom to love everyone, even those who disagree with our beliefs and try to take away our freedoms.

We have much in the way of religious freedom and we have the freedom to practice them.

Sadly we have a freedom that we tend to practice more than all the others. The freedom to do nothing

In the parable of the talents, Jesus described a man who did nothing. When he received his Lord’s money, he “went and dug in the earth, and hid his Lord’s money” (Matthew 25:18). When his Lord returned, he returned to the Lord just what he had been given (Matthew 25:25). Notice, the servant did not do any outright evil, such as stealing the money, but then neither did he do anything good. He did nothing and he got nothing good accomplished. Jesus said he was a “wicked and slothful servant” (Matthew25:26).

Matthew 25:18-30

18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

Do something

A side of Jesus

Posted: April 17, 2015 in Uncategorized
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I have a confession, I love to go out to eat. I love it for many reasons. I don’t have to cook or shop for the food for that matter. I don’t have to clean up the mess or wash the dishes. And for some reason food always seems to taste better when someone else cooks it although, there are some exceptions.

I like to take my mom out to dinner every Saturday and catch up. She likes Applebees so we usually end up there. I order a full dinner but my mom does not eat a lot so she just orders a couple sides like mashed potatoes and corn. I always push her to order more but she always says, ‘I’m not really hungry so I’m just going to get a side dish. Hey, if she’s happy then who am I to argue, right?

Side dishes for dinner may not be a problem but when it comes to our relationship with Jesus, it’s a big problem. Most people are not hungry when it comes to their faith. They are full of the world so they just take a side of Jesus. I’ve been guilty of this myself.

Did you save some room?

Usually when I eat out I can’t finish my meal. When my server comes over to my table they can plainly see the look on my face that screams, ‘I need to unbutton my pants’, but nevertheless they ask, “Did you save some room for dessert?” Are they serious? I didn’t save room for air let alone dessert.

Are you so full of the world that you are not really hungry when it comes to Jesus? You just order a side of him? A little Jesus to go along with everything else in your life?

Do you get to the end of your busy day of work, school, Facebook, video games, friends, TV and as you are falling asleep you realize you didn’t save some room for Jesus?

Cut some things

I learned a little trick so now I can order dessert when I eat out. I drink water instead of soda. Soda always made me feel full quickly. Water doesn’t fill me up plus it’s good for me. I realized if I cut out the soda I had room for not only dessert but my meal as well. No more to go boxes.

If you find you have no room for Jesus in your hectic schedule, cut some things out of it. By cutting 15 minutes off your gaming, social media and TV, you gain 45 minutes daily that you can devote to quality time with Jesus.

Sadly I see many people who claim to be followers of Christ live their lives as if they were not but they occasionally sprinkle a little side of Jesus on their Facebook page or in conversation and feel they are “Living” it.

This does so much harm to the cause of Christ and to our reputations as Christians. A side of Jesus in an otherwise sinful lifestyle only turns outsiders off to Jesus. A side of Jesus is called hypocrisy on the menu.  It does not cause others to want to follow Christ, it repels them from Christ.

Don’t mention Jesus 

If you are living a double life, leave Jesus’ name out of it. You’re not doing him any favors. Jesus had some harsh words for people that just want to order a side of him;

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

Jesus is the entrée, not a side dish

Jesus was a baker

Posted: April 9, 2015 in Uncategorized
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This blog is not intended to stir up controversy. I just want to share some thoughts on a subject that has been blowing up social media the last couple of weeks.

We’ve all been bombarded with articles about Christian bakeries refusing to bake cakes for gay weddings or pizza shops turning away catering jobs for gay weddings. It has become an us against them fight to rights. I’ve silently watched this spectacle from the sidelines and my heart is broken.

It has caused me to examine our (Christian) agenda and how these beliefs and actions line up with the actions of Jesus and the example he set for us when he walked this earth. I looked at the scriptures and examined the interaction between Jesus and people who held opposing beliefs at their initial encounter.

I looked at the story of Zacchaeus in the book of Luke. He was the despised, corrupt chief tax collector and was considered a traitor by the Jews. He was also the poster child for Jesus’ earthly mission to bring salvation to the lost.

When Zacchaeus sought out Jesus, he was still living a life of sin. Jesus did not focus on this fact. He did not see what Zacchaeus was, but saw him as he could be.  Jesus opened a door to start a relationship that led to a transformed life.

You see, Jesus did not approve of Zacchaeus’ lifestyle but he was willing to accept him where he was. Jesus knew acceptance and approval were two different things. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus where he was at, but loved him too much to see him stay there. Jesus wanted to move him in the direction of repentance.

When Jesus looked up in the tree he could have called Zacchaeus out on his sinful lifestyle. He could have refused to have a meal with him and he would have been within his rights. But Jesus was more interested in winning the war, not just the battle.

Jesus, filled with love, called Zacchaeus down from the tree and went to his house to eat with him. If Jesus would have refused to eat with Zacchaeus, he would have remained unchanged in his sin and lost for eternity. But like I stated, Jesus opened a door and Zacchaeus charged through it into heaven for eternity.

I’ve spoken to well meaning Christians who shared stories of being invited to a close gay friend’s wedding and refusing to go because they did not want to offend God. They shared with me this caused bitterness and ended the friendships. The door was not only closed, it was nailed shut forever.

They ask me what they should have done. I refer to 1 Corinthians 10:27:

 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go,

eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

Paul  finishes with this:

Even as I try to please everybody in every way.

For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many,

so that many may be saved.

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.

I want to err on the side of love. Jesus showed me love while I was still a sinner because that’s all I will ever be. He loved me, his enemy, so much he was willing to die for me and he did just that.

If I owned  a bakery and a gay couple came in and wanted a cake, what harm would there be in me baking it? Am I allowed to love these people? Will God punish me for it? Would baking this cake cost me my salvation? If I turn them away will I have an opportunity to share Jesus’ love with them?

Or could I tell them I am a Christian and I believe every word in the Bible is true but that I want to love them the way Jesus does and taught me to? Could I open a door like Jesus did?

I would not perform the ceremony but I would bake the cake.

Love opens doors

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part,but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Jesus baked a lot of cakes. I will bake some too.

Comfort Food

Posted: March 31, 2015 in Uncategorized
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Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese…evil incarnate. Why do I declare these seemingly innocent food dishes evil? It’s because they are what I turn to during times of stress and anxiety. They are warm, familiar and inviting. They provide me with a false sense of comfort, and they wreak havoc on my plans to have abs of steel and a chest of iron.

Every time I start a diet, without fail, some sort of turmoil arises in my life. I’ll start my diet like a boss. I’ll be pumping iron, sweating through cardio, drinking gallons of water, eating lots of protein and feeling the burn. Then, 20 minutes into my new diet and exercise program, I fly off the rails due to some stressful situation. I’d be cruising along and then boom, a commercial for dark chocolate covered chocolatey chocolate balls cereal hits the market. I can’t handle that kind of stress man, you feel me? I need a five pound meatloaf stat, and don’t forget the bucket of mashed potatoes. Do you have any hot buttered rolls?

Off and on

I take pounds off. I put pounds on. I take pounds off… It becomes a vicious cycle. I do well and see improvement but something sends or sucks me back to my old ways. It becomes, to me, a losing battle. Why try? I know the outcome already.

I’m not alone in feeling this way. Millions of people join gyms on January 2nd every year, with hopes of this being ‘THE YEAR’. The gyms are packed solid all over the United States, but come the third week in January, we are talking Zombie apocalypse. The gyms are desolate arenas of failed dreams. The fitness fanatics get sidelined by life, come week two and limp through week three, only to give up and say, “There’s always next year.”

What you know

It’s easier to return back to what you know than to continue into the unknown. My old life is right there where I left it, patiently waiting for my inevitable return. It’s welcoming and familiar and like mom’s meatloaf, comforting.

I know what to expect. I rationalize I’m six foot tall and 170 lbs and that’s not so bad. I tell myself I made it my whole life without Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s muscles, so do I really need to be buff? I make lots of excuses and rationalizations for not following through. I look around at my friends and none of them look like “The Rock” either. We are all ordinary and I find solace in that. I lower my standards from “The Rock” to the standards of those around me.

I told myself I wanted to be in shape, but I just didn’t want to do what it would take. I didn’t have the discipline to go the distance. So back to business as usual, pass the macaroni and cheese, please.

When we turn from our old lives we are leaving behind the familiar. We head into unknown territory. We leave behind the past. We leave behind all the bad. Things on this new path seem to be going well. We might be leaving behind friends who were part of our past but would only hinder your attempt to break free from your old life. You will miss them but you need to move forward and they will only hold you back.

You make new church friends. You start getting into this whole God thing and it’s pretty cool. People are nice. Everybody calls you brother. Everybody is hugging all the time. Your meeting new friends over coffee. Yeah, life is good.

Que the enemy

Boom, three weeks into your new life, the road gets rough. Maybe your girlfriend just ain’t in to this whole Jesus thing. Maybe your family is laughing at you. The road ahead looks like an IED went off in the middle of it. You don’t want to crawl through all the mess, who knows how long these troubles will last. You look back and suddenly your old life looks like a nice big plate of meatloaf.

You start thinking about going back to the comfort food of your old life. There’s friends back there you’ve known your whole life. They get you. Maybe you can still salvage your relationship with your girl. Going back to the familiar seems easier then going into the unknown.

You reason with yourself, your life wasn’t so bad. None of your friends are living for God and instead of raising your standards to Jesus, you lower them to those around you.

Satan’s meal plan

Satan wants to be your dietitian. He wants you to stay in your comfort zone, eating comfort food. His plan to accomplish this is extremely simple. He will send trials, persecution, troubles, stress, worries, fear, anger, a dash of hate and mix it all together in a big bowl with an egg and some salt and boom, a comfortable meatloaf.

He drizzles some guilt over the top of it to seal the deal. You turn back to your old life, feeling unworthy and realizing you don’t have what it takes to live for God. Your old friends welcome you back with affirmation, “It’s okay. We knew you’d be back. Let’s go get a beer.”

You are right

When you realized that you could not live for God, you were closer than you thought to successfully living for God. We need to surrender to God and admit we can’t do it. We are screw ups, but guess what? He already knew that.

We are dependent on God, every second of the day, in order to live for him. We need a daily diet of scripture intake. We need daily intake of the living water. We need to be in daily conversation with the Lord of our life. That’s the only way we will successfully stay connected and persevere in our walk with God. It’s the only way it will last a lifetime.

Psalms 119 gives us a blueprint for a successfully consistent lifetime walk with God

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word (Psalm 119:11-16)

Satan knows you are a failure. He just wants you to think God is too. You will fail in your own power. Thankfully God does not expect you to live in your own power. Don’t eat Satan’s lies.

You can’t out exercise a bad diet

I don’t want you to read your Bible

Posted: March 10, 2015 in Uncategorized
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I want YOU to want to read your Bible. If you missed that, here it is again. I don’t want you to read your Bible. I want you to want to read your Bible. I don’t want you to pray. I want you to want to pray.

There’s a big difference
I have adult children in different states and if they called me only because I wanted them to, it would be out of obligation. However, if they called me because they wanted to, that’s love. Do you get that?

I work with at risk teens and I want them all to stay out of trouble, graduate, get a great job and live a life of purpose. But me wanting that for them is not enough. They have to want it for themselves or it won’t happen.

In my quest to fulfill Jesus’ command to make disciples, not just churchgoers, I know these disciples will need to be in the Word of God daily and communicating with God through prayer daily also. But they need to see the need for it also. They need to be disciplined in their daily life or they will never really be true disciples.

So how do I get people to want to read their Bibles and pray? It’s simple. I don’t. I simply connect them with the one who can.

For it God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
(Philippians 2:13)

That means God is at work in you, helping you want to obey him., and then helping you do what he wants. As a Christian you are no longer a slave to sin because God has changed your ‘want to’.

The closer you grow to God the more you will want to read His Word and pray to Him. The more you do these things, the closer you will grow to Him.

Change of Heart
I am seeking a change of heart in people. It is my hearts desire to create a people who love God, love others and do whatever they want.

I want to create people who pray because they want to. Who read the Bible when they feel like it and feel like it often. Who serve as much as they want to and want to quite a bit.

I want to create people who do all this not out of law or obligation, but out of their hearts desire.

This is how you will know you have created true Disciples. This is how you will know if you are a true Disciple of Christ.

Do you hate your friends?

Posted: February 16, 2015 in Uncategorized
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Seems like a stupid question, I agree, but stick with me for a few minutes and I’m certain things will make sense. This is not a blog about loving your enemies. I am writing this to find out why a majority of people hate their friends and even their family members.

Suppose all your friends and family were gathered together at a beautiful hotel on the beach to attend the wedding of close friends. After a long exciting day of celebration, everyone is exhausted and they turn in for the night.

You wake in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke. You quickly jump from your bed and open the door into the hallway. You are immediately alarmed at the site of smoke hovering along the ceiling. You look both ways down the hallway. Silence. No one knows there is a fire.

You think for just a moment. You don’t want to wake anyone because you rationalize they are tired and may get upset at you. They have a big day planned tomorrow. You quietly slip back into your room and quickly pack your bags. You soak a towel in water and drape it over your head and mouth.

You open the door again and are shocked at how quickly the smoke has spread. Visibility is difficult. You feel your way along the wall to the stairs. You race down the stairs two at a time. You burst out of the hotel gasping for air.

No fire trucks. No police. No one knows the building is burning and people are going to die. Your friends and family are going to burn to death. You think about the agony they will experience. You shutter at the thought.

You look one last time at the building as flames dance from shattered windows. You walk away into the night leaving the screams behind you.

No one would do this you say? Listen closely my friend. Do you truly believe in a place called heaven and a terribly real place called hell? Do you believe those without Christ will spend eternity in hell? If the answer is yes to these questions and you don’t do everything you can to warn your friends and family of their need for a Savior, you are walking away with their screams behind you.

We would not care if someone got mad if we woke them up to rescue them from a fiery hotel, but we don’t want to offend anyone with the message of Salvation. We are afraid they might not talk to us or call us Jesus freaks. So we pack our bags for heaven and let our friends and family sleep through the danger. We quietly walk away with their screams echoing throughout eternity.

Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'”

Litter Pan Theology

Posted: January 27, 2015 in Uncategorized
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To say that I frequently have visitors over to my house, would be an understatement. We literally have guests over everyday. If you are like me, you want to have a clean, inviting home, when friends arrive.

To maintain this standard, my wife and I literally have to clean everyday. Every night when our visitors leave, we have games to put away, little ones to clean up after, toys to put away, dishes to wash, floors to sweep, carpets to vacuum, the list goes on. All of this in preparation for the next day’s visitors.

What if I did all this cleaning, but left my cat’s dirty litter pan in the middle of my living room? What if I failed to empty it for weeks? What if I simply dusted the furniture and vacuumed around it? Would you notice my clean dining room? What if I invited you in and acted like the filthy, stinking, eye watering litter pan was not even there?

You’d wonder why I was worried about dusting my nic nacs while ignoring the most obvious thing that needed to be dealt with. I could spend hours on “routine” maintenance issues around my house, but until I deal with that big pile of stinky cat poo, none of it will matter.

Many professing Christ following, church goers practice Litter Pan Theology. They come to church each week, sing some songs, throw a few bucks in the offering, listen to a good sermon and go home. Meanwhile they have a major issue in their life they neglect. Things only they know about. They play the game, do a few little religious things and skirt the real issue. They dust around the edges, wash the windows, look around and say perfect. All the while they have this big crap filled litter pan in the middle of their life and completely ignore it.

Dump the pan
What they need to do is dump the litter pan. Get rid of the steaming pile of crap. If they refuse to deal with this issue they are wasting their time coming to church. A filthy litter pan overpowers everything else in your life. Just like a burning cat urine smell permeates everything in your home, a sin issue you refuse to deal with taints everything you do. You will be ineffective in your walk and in your ability to hear from God.

If you don’t deal with the issue of sin, you put it ahead of God. Anything you put ahead of God, becomes your god. Don’t worship a litter pan.

He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

Watering Rocks

Posted: January 22, 2015 in Uncategorized
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Jesus tried to teach us something about making disciples that for some reason, we as a church, are determined, not to learn.

I’m not suggesting we are acting with malicious intent, but more likely, ignorance. We have the best of intentions when it comes to church growth and disciple making as well as evangelism, we just don’t follow the example Jesus gave us. In fact, all of our methods are polar opposites from the methods Jesus used.

Before you head to the comment section and type, ‘How dare you’, or, ‘Who do you think you are?’, could we take a few minutes, read a little scripture and discuss why I believe we ignore the example Jesus set for us? Thank you.

Imagine it’s Easter Sunday at your church. You’ve spent weeks preparing your services and programs because you know that statistically, visitors are at an all time high on Easter. Churches are packed and this is your one opportunity to get them saved and attending your church.

Nothing will be left to chance. The worship team has chosen the perfect songs to extract an emotional response from their audience of newcomers.

The children’s ministry rooms have been freshened up with new inviting colors and the Noah’s ark mural was just installed yesterday. Check

The smell of fresh coffee drifts through the foyer, mixed with the scent of chocolate covered donuts and cherry filled pastries. Check

All the greeters are at their stations, dressed in their new matching blue Polo shirt complete with embroidered names. Armed with breath mints and welcome packets they greet guests through wide smiles. The greeter to guest ratio seems like 2 to 1. Check

The rest rooms are as clean and sterile as a heart surgery ward, as is the rest of the building. Check

Your Pastor has worked and reworked his sermon to get the most bang for the buck, so to speak. It’s seeker friendly, heavy on love and acceptance and light on sin and sacrifice. We can discuss these issues later, after they say the sinner’s prayer. We don’t want to scare them away. This might be our only chance.

Now let’s check out How Jesus handled large crowds of seekers. We will start in Luke 14:25. Massive crowds were pressing in on all sides. The “church” was packed. Like our Easter services, this was the perfect opportunity for Jesus to give a message to get people to say the sinner’s prayer and join his Church. So let’s eavesdrop on Jesus’ perfect sermon:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.”

Whoa, wait, what. Don’t leave please. Jesus is just kidding. That was his icebreaker. Please give him a minute. Jesus you’re scaring them. Look at their faces. You want to lose them? Just get to the sinner’s prayer part.

“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Hey where are you going? Don’t leave. Come back! Jesus what are you doing? We need them. There’s thousands of people here. We will be the biggest church in town. Don’t you want a big church? You are doing this all wrong.

Oh wait we lost them but some more crowds are coming. Now Jesus remember what happened to the other crowds? Let’s get it right this time. Welcome everyone. Let me introduce our esteemed speaker, Jesus.

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Jesus please stop! Look at them. They are leaving. Say something!

“For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink,

No something else. Something positive.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. The one who feeds on me will live because of me.”

In Matthew 13 Jesus is once again surrounded by such large crowds that he had to get in a boat and preach from the water. This is a church planters dream. Reel them in Jesus.

Jesus says there was a farmer who cast some seed on the path and the birds ate it. Some seed fell on rocky places and sprang up quickly in the shallow soil. The sun came up and killed the plants because they had no root. Other seed fell in the thorn bushes and got choked out. Other seed fell on good soil and produced a big crop. If you get it, you get it. Then he walked away.

What was that? Even the disciples were perplexed.

Jesus refused to water rocks because it’s a waste of time. He cuts right to the chase, to weed out the pretenders. He only wants the true followers. The totally committed. He does not care about big numbers just for the sake of big numbers. He’d rather have 12 surrendered hearts than 12,000 pew warmers.

But not us. We took classes. We read books on church growth. We would rather water rocks

Jesus loves you…so I don’t have to

Posted: January 15, 2015 in Uncategorized
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Sounds like a funny t-shirt or bumper sticker, but the harsh reality is not funny. I know countless professing Christians who hide behind the slogan, “Jesus loves you”, without really loving people.

The irony, to be called a Christian, is to be, Christ-like. We are told throughout the New Testament, to be imitators of Christ, therefore if Jesus loved people, skeletons and all, shouldn’t we love people too?

Many in the Church body focus on a lot of things when building a church, but neglect the one thing that works. We build big fortresses for millions of dollars on sprawling campuses. We conduct extensive market research and hire consultants to inform us of what unbelievers are looking for in a church.

We visit coffee houses in search of the finest coffees and pastries to serve in our caramel, mocha, latte color decorated “Hebrews” coffee bar. We read best selling, emerging church books to find out if guests want to wear, “Hello my name is” tags or remain anonymous. The latest polls tell us our music needs to be upbeat, like the chart toppers with plenty of lights and fog. People want to feel like they are at a concert.

We purchase cushioned chairs that rival the finest home theaters, complete with cup holder and built in Bluetooth and handy cell phone charger for convenience. Our interior design team spent months picking our color schemes after attending home shows and researching the latest fashion trends. Who knew puce was in?

Our subscription to “Church Business” magazine came just in time, before we got too far into construction, informing us that having a 20,000 gallon saltwater fish tank in our foyer would land us on the front page of our local newspaper, making us, the talk of the town. God truly does work in mysterious ways. Can I get a witness?

Our visitor center is stocked with full color glossy brochures of all 427 programs we offer, from softball to knitting. Our book store is stocked with all the latest books from the countries top motivational, I mean mega church pastors, sharing vital secrets on how to have the best life ever.

We hired the team from Walt Disney World to decorate our children’s ministry rooms and MTV executives came up with our themed teen center and the t-shirt design for our youth leaders, “You can’t spell youth ministry without Y O U. They are so in tune with God, it’s scary.

Our billboard campaign is in full swing promoting our new sermon series, God Invented Sex, and should really pack them in. Our pastor’s wife just read an article in Cosmo titled “SEX SELLS” This just confirms we are experiencing God’s Favor. Our pastor’s 50 foot smiling face looks great and will really build HIS platform.

Thankfully, our consultants have their fingers on the pulse of society and warned us against displaying any crosses or religious references in our décor. Seekers don’t like that kind of blatant, in your face, God stuff. We made sure to inform our leadership team to send out memos reminding their teams, people are easily offended at the name of Jesus, so let’s just stick with “God”.

Okay, so there may be a bit of satire here, but not as much as you would think. The point I want to make is this; We as a Church, in America, focus on a lot of things that are not Jesus.

We look to world to design and build Jesus’ church. We ignore the detailed instructions Christ gave us to build, His Church. We think we need to have the best buildings. The best music. The best coffee. The most comfortable seating. The most programs. The coolest youth rooms. The most charismatic speaker.

Many churches have all these things and yet fail to make disciples. They loose attendees when the next best church down the street opens up for business. They fail to have an eternal impact on their communities.

These churches are so focused on empire building, they forget, we are in the Kingdom building business. And the best way to build God’s Kingdom is to LOVE people. To be servants in our communities. Love is the most powerful weapon we have in our arsenal. Lights and fog won’t change hearts. Coffee bars and bookstores won’t bring about true repentance. Gorgeous landscaping will not make disciples who make disciples.

Love is all you need. Love is the answer to every question. How can I be so sure of this? Because God solved all the problems of this sinful world with love.

For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only son. Jesus loved the world so much, he came. Love’s the only rule. Go be Jesus. Go love people

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