If I were to call you a humanist would you deny it? Would you want to fight about it?
A simple working definition of Humanism is someone who emphasizes a person's capacity for self-realization through reason; while rejecting religion and the supernatural…
According to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933 humanism regards the universe as self-existing and not created... man as a part of nature that has emerged as a result of a continuous process…and that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected.
Now I would bet we have a hundred percent on the “I’m not a humanist list.”
But what if you are more affected by Humanism than you realize? What if while aiming and claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ and a Christian in the purest sense, you were by action a humanist?
At any point in our lives either privately or in a church setting that we begin to operate in our own strength and our own abilities we become affective humanists.
When we fail to passionately pray for the power of God to be poured out in our lives we are being humanists. When we fail to realize that apart from Christ we can do nothing...we are in being humanist. When we reject the miraculous and the supernatural and the intervention of God we are being humanists.
Christianity has no greater enemy in all the world than Humanism. Humanism is the face and force of atheism. Atheism immediately gets the attention of everyone, but humanism sounds so, so human. And there in lies the danger.
When all we do and all we claim and all we expect is what humans can do, we are affective humanists. When we fail to throw ourselves upon the grace and mercy of God, we are humanists. When everything we design and do can be explained and accomplished by mere humans we are humanists in the purest sense. Whether it is by creed or deed, when we give no room for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our ministries…we are nothing more and nothing less than Affective Humanists!
As believers we claim the Divine Creator reached down to man as the Suffering Redeemer in order to provide for each of us the Holy Indwelling. And we either choose to live our lives affected by Him or affected by humanism. Reject humanism expect a miracle!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
a call to prayer
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Abraham Lincoln, November 1863.
And here we are 145 years later and a man who then would have been nothing more than a possession is now able to become president of the United States of America.
For all the things that can be said to describe President Elect Obama, he is a man. Equal to and with all other men. Regardless of race, religion, or nationality he has taken the powerful words of Abraham Lincoln to their highest potential.
Regardless of your politics, prejudice or passion we are Americans.
If you are a part of my intended audience you are a Christian. You are a part of the most noble and honorable and compassionate people upon the face of the earth. You above all others understand that we are, under God all created equal. Because of our place at the foot of the cross and our position in the Lord Jesus Christ we all inhabit the highest and most lofty position possible.
It is in that place of high esteem and great expectation that I call upon you to engage in a great war, a war of prayer. Now more than ever we need to pray for Mr. Obama. He now holds the most difficult position in the world. And added to the pressure that comes with the office he now bears the burden of being the first black man to fill the position. He faces a level of expectation and criticism unlike any man before him.
We must pray for him with all of our hearts. Not that he will do the will and whim of a party or people. But that he will be able to hear the voice of God and yield to the Spirit that alone can turn the hearts of great men. We must pray for his safety, his health and his wisdom.
We must claim as our prayer the words of Lincoln, “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
And here we are 145 years later and a man who then would have been nothing more than a possession is now able to become president of the United States of America.
For all the things that can be said to describe President Elect Obama, he is a man. Equal to and with all other men. Regardless of race, religion, or nationality he has taken the powerful words of Abraham Lincoln to their highest potential.
Regardless of your politics, prejudice or passion we are Americans.
If you are a part of my intended audience you are a Christian. You are a part of the most noble and honorable and compassionate people upon the face of the earth. You above all others understand that we are, under God all created equal. Because of our place at the foot of the cross and our position in the Lord Jesus Christ we all inhabit the highest and most lofty position possible.
It is in that place of high esteem and great expectation that I call upon you to engage in a great war, a war of prayer. Now more than ever we need to pray for Mr. Obama. He now holds the most difficult position in the world. And added to the pressure that comes with the office he now bears the burden of being the first black man to fill the position. He faces a level of expectation and criticism unlike any man before him.
We must pray for him with all of our hearts. Not that he will do the will and whim of a party or people. But that he will be able to hear the voice of God and yield to the Spirit that alone can turn the hearts of great men. We must pray for his safety, his health and his wisdom.
We must claim as our prayer the words of Lincoln, “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Preparation not Prevention
It occurred to me the other day that another one of the Porky-Jesus ideas that we have is the purpose of our quiet time.
Have you ever gotten up late or so tired that you decided that you were going to have to forgo your quiet-time? You heart was not set on evil; it was just set on sleepy. You had not decided to make a pact with the devil or align yourself with the “powers of darkness.” You just did not have a quiet time, this time. And off you go into the day.
And as the day unfolds or unravels as the case maybe, you decide after a flat-tire or a traffic jam, or a cup holder full of coffee that what has gone wrong with your day was the absence of a quiet time. You conclude that if you had taken time for a quiet time you would not have lost that document, or picked your hose, or whatever it was that prompted the contrition.
But as I got to thinking about that approach and thinking about passages like the spiritual armor passage in Ephesians…I was reminded that we do not have quiet times to prevent difficulties and challenges in our day. We have a quiet time to prepare us to respond and be like Jesus no matter what trick, trap or mishap we or the devil might spring in our life.
The quiet time is not to make my life easier, it is to make it easier for people to see Jesus instead of my flesh! Our quiet time is where we pick up our cross, or renew our crucifixion so that it is Jesus living in us that encounters the dung of life!
So, in the morning...when you have your quiet time…ask God for combat boots not silk slippers. Ask Him for a sword, not a butter knife. Ask Him for a fire proof shield not a parasol. Ask Him to help you smell like the Rose of Sharon, no matter how deep the manure gets!
Have you ever gotten up late or so tired that you decided that you were going to have to forgo your quiet-time? You heart was not set on evil; it was just set on sleepy. You had not decided to make a pact with the devil or align yourself with the “powers of darkness.” You just did not have a quiet time, this time. And off you go into the day.
And as the day unfolds or unravels as the case maybe, you decide after a flat-tire or a traffic jam, or a cup holder full of coffee that what has gone wrong with your day was the absence of a quiet time. You conclude that if you had taken time for a quiet time you would not have lost that document, or picked your hose, or whatever it was that prompted the contrition.
But as I got to thinking about that approach and thinking about passages like the spiritual armor passage in Ephesians…I was reminded that we do not have quiet times to prevent difficulties and challenges in our day. We have a quiet time to prepare us to respond and be like Jesus no matter what trick, trap or mishap we or the devil might spring in our life.
The quiet time is not to make my life easier, it is to make it easier for people to see Jesus instead of my flesh! Our quiet time is where we pick up our cross, or renew our crucifixion so that it is Jesus living in us that encounters the dung of life!
So, in the morning...when you have your quiet time…ask God for combat boots not silk slippers. Ask Him for a sword, not a butter knife. Ask Him for a fire proof shield not a parasol. Ask Him to help you smell like the Rose of Sharon, no matter how deep the manure gets!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Seven years ago today…9/11
Its hard to imagine that seven years ago today at just about this exact moment (as I write) our world was changing. It would never be the same, for any of us.
For the thousands who lost their loved ones it will never be the same. The love, the loss, the pain, the fear, the anguish, the loneliness, the struggle, it all leaves a person changed.
After a couple of anxious phone calls that morning it became clear that what was happening was bigger than any of us knew. From our office we all drove around the block to my house so we could watch the live coverage. I will never forget seeing the tower begin its collapse behind Peter Jennings. He was focused on the camera and the report he was giving and for a couple of seconds we were seeing something that he wasn’t. It was one of the most horrible sights I have ever seen. Everyone in the room was devastated. The whole nation was thrust into mourning for months.
For a few weeks we all took things a little differently. Like Alan Jackson’s song says we hugged more and loved more and prayed more and appreciated more.
The tragedy is that here we are seven years later and for most of us it is completely forgotten. If you rarely or never fly then you don’t realize the extra security measures that are taken. For the vast majority of us it is business and politics as usual.
September Eleventh is a date and a number and synonym for tragedy. But what we have forgotten is that what made that day what it was, was people. It was people who flew the planes. It was people that died in the towers and in the Pentagon and in the field in Pennsylvania. We were shocked and horrified and tormented because of the loss of people.
However, the second tragedy of 9/11 is echoed every time we forget that the only thing in this world that really matters is people. We forget that the only thing that matters is people when we terrorize other people by driving recklessly and with rage. When we blow our horns and scream profanities at people who we perceive as being in our way!
We terrorize our families when we are unkind and ungrateful. When we criticize and accuse and mistreat them as if they were our debtors. We are nothing less than terrorists when our attitudes are self-serving and hateful and calloused.
Jesus taught us that if anger and hatred are in our hearts…it is as if our hands were already bloody!
Remember 9/11. Mourn the dead, remember the suffering, have a moment of silence. Then decide that you will make sure there is one less terrorist in the world. One less person driven by anger and animosity and rage. One less person who sees every other person as something in their way of self-importance. Let’s make sure that there is one less person in this world who is jealous and ungrateful and resentful. One less person like the hijackers and one more person who is more like Jesus!
May God bless the people in our country and our world.
For the thousands who lost their loved ones it will never be the same. The love, the loss, the pain, the fear, the anguish, the loneliness, the struggle, it all leaves a person changed.
After a couple of anxious phone calls that morning it became clear that what was happening was bigger than any of us knew. From our office we all drove around the block to my house so we could watch the live coverage. I will never forget seeing the tower begin its collapse behind Peter Jennings. He was focused on the camera and the report he was giving and for a couple of seconds we were seeing something that he wasn’t. It was one of the most horrible sights I have ever seen. Everyone in the room was devastated. The whole nation was thrust into mourning for months.
For a few weeks we all took things a little differently. Like Alan Jackson’s song says we hugged more and loved more and prayed more and appreciated more.
The tragedy is that here we are seven years later and for most of us it is completely forgotten. If you rarely or never fly then you don’t realize the extra security measures that are taken. For the vast majority of us it is business and politics as usual.
September Eleventh is a date and a number and synonym for tragedy. But what we have forgotten is that what made that day what it was, was people. It was people who flew the planes. It was people that died in the towers and in the Pentagon and in the field in Pennsylvania. We were shocked and horrified and tormented because of the loss of people.
However, the second tragedy of 9/11 is echoed every time we forget that the only thing in this world that really matters is people. We forget that the only thing that matters is people when we terrorize other people by driving recklessly and with rage. When we blow our horns and scream profanities at people who we perceive as being in our way!
We terrorize our families when we are unkind and ungrateful. When we criticize and accuse and mistreat them as if they were our debtors. We are nothing less than terrorists when our attitudes are self-serving and hateful and calloused.
Jesus taught us that if anger and hatred are in our hearts…it is as if our hands were already bloody!
Remember 9/11. Mourn the dead, remember the suffering, have a moment of silence. Then decide that you will make sure there is one less terrorist in the world. One less person driven by anger and animosity and rage. One less person who sees every other person as something in their way of self-importance. Let’s make sure that there is one less person in this world who is jealous and ungrateful and resentful. One less person like the hijackers and one more person who is more like Jesus!
May God bless the people in our country and our world.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
PJ: Serve
What an interesting word. If you are in a restaurant the word serve or service means how well the staff takes care of you. Are they prompt, courteous, attentive? Often a restaurant will succeed or fail as much upon the service they provide as the food they “serve.” Mediocre food that is served well can be very satisfying while a great meal can be ruined by bad service.
Take the word serve into tennis or volleyball and you have a whole new meaning. When one tennis player rears back and hits the ball as hard as they can at the other player, it’s called serving. However they do so with every intention of causing the opponent to either miss the ball completely or otherwise fail to return the ball properly. In this instance the word serve really means self-serving. I doubt very seriously that Venus Williams’ opponent was all that pleased to be served a tennis ball at 127 mph, a new record at Wimbledon for a woman. I don’t even want to think about how silly I would look trying to return a serve like that.
But what does the word serve look like in ministry. Is it the effort and intention to provide something for someone else? For many it is truly about putting others above and better than themselves. That is what Jesus did and that is what He calls us to. But sometimes like out of date milk, service can go bad. Really bad!
In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul had to call a few folks out because as they served the Lord’s Supper it became all about their appetites and their indulgences and bore no resemblance to actually serving others…which is the clearest reminder in the experience…Jesus sacrificed everything to serve his body and blood to us!
Serving can become a guise for control and selfishness. Someone can say they want to serve in a certain area or position but the service has nothing to do with what they provide to others, but rather it is all about what they gain, feel, or can influence.
However, make no mistake. It is just about impossible to serve and not get something out of it. Every time you try to lift someone else up or seek to be a blessing to another you will get blessed. Short of experiencing extreme physical pain or personal loss, it is often difficult to not be more blessed by your own act of service than the one you were intending to bless. Which brings us to the crucial word in all of our acts of service, our intentions. It is the heart.
If a person has the heart of a true servant then their service will be selfless and deeply satisfying. If they are seeking to serve their own agenda and aggression, then it will be quite likely that they will end up serving in a way that is not really meant for the good of the recipient. And don't think about asking them to not serve or to serve in a new area.
Just for the record, whenever anger is your first response, you can bet there is no servant's heart.
Isn’t it odd that in tennis a powerful serve results in love for the opponent? And only in tennis does the word serve not mean servant hood and love really means zero. Now that is some serious porky-jesus. How’s your serve?
Take the word serve into tennis or volleyball and you have a whole new meaning. When one tennis player rears back and hits the ball as hard as they can at the other player, it’s called serving. However they do so with every intention of causing the opponent to either miss the ball completely or otherwise fail to return the ball properly. In this instance the word serve really means self-serving. I doubt very seriously that Venus Williams’ opponent was all that pleased to be served a tennis ball at 127 mph, a new record at Wimbledon for a woman. I don’t even want to think about how silly I would look trying to return a serve like that.
But what does the word serve look like in ministry. Is it the effort and intention to provide something for someone else? For many it is truly about putting others above and better than themselves. That is what Jesus did and that is what He calls us to. But sometimes like out of date milk, service can go bad. Really bad!
In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul had to call a few folks out because as they served the Lord’s Supper it became all about their appetites and their indulgences and bore no resemblance to actually serving others…which is the clearest reminder in the experience…Jesus sacrificed everything to serve his body and blood to us!
Serving can become a guise for control and selfishness. Someone can say they want to serve in a certain area or position but the service has nothing to do with what they provide to others, but rather it is all about what they gain, feel, or can influence.
However, make no mistake. It is just about impossible to serve and not get something out of it. Every time you try to lift someone else up or seek to be a blessing to another you will get blessed. Short of experiencing extreme physical pain or personal loss, it is often difficult to not be more blessed by your own act of service than the one you were intending to bless. Which brings us to the crucial word in all of our acts of service, our intentions. It is the heart.
If a person has the heart of a true servant then their service will be selfless and deeply satisfying. If they are seeking to serve their own agenda and aggression, then it will be quite likely that they will end up serving in a way that is not really meant for the good of the recipient. And don't think about asking them to not serve or to serve in a new area.
Just for the record, whenever anger is your first response, you can bet there is no servant's heart.
Isn’t it odd that in tennis a powerful serve results in love for the opponent? And only in tennis does the word serve not mean servant hood and love really means zero. Now that is some serious porky-jesus. How’s your serve?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Porky Jesus: Comforter
“Let’s get comfortable.” Isn’t that great thing? Oversized Tee shirt, loose shorts, perfect temperature, favorite show, and something to eat! That is comfortable. Being with people you know in a familiar place, no pressure, that’s comfortable.
How about this, a soft bed, a warm comforter, a full attack of the sandman and no schedule, let the sleeping begin. Sign me up! Oh hallelujah that Jesus said He will “give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever!” Wow! God wants us to be warm and cozy and comfortable! He has even dispatched the third person of the Trinity to make us comfortable! As a buddy of mine used to say, “Prob-lee!”
There is as much difference between Comforter and Comfortable as there is between Portuguese and Porky-Jesus! Jesus did not promise the Holy Spirit aka Comforter in the KJV to make us comfortable! He sent the Comforter, parakletos in the Greek language which means called along side; to come to our aid as we struggle and suffer through life. The fact is that if we are not out of our comfort zone and struggling and even suffering for Jesus, we do not need the “Comforter.” If we do not need the Holy Spirit, He will not be evident in our life.
A sail boat does not need the wind to sit moored in the harbor. It needs the wind when its sails are unfurled and its anchor is stowed and the rudder is set upon a course. We do not need the Holy Spirit or the Comforter unless we have willfully placed ourselves amid the fight and the fury of obedience in this sin-bent world.
Its seems that so many in the church believe that God has called and promised us, that if we will follow Jesus, we will be comfortable. Read the promises of many books and sermons and you would think that Jesus is the ramp to easy street. And yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Follow Jesus and you will need a Comforter, you will need someone called alongside to help. Because you will struggle and strain and feel like giving up. You will hurt and feel alone and be unsure. You could find yourself in prison or beaten or dying. You can find yourself abandoned, betrayed, and used.
What about the slap on the other cheek was going to feel better than the first one? What part of that second mile was going to be easier than the first? Just exactly how much fun was it suppose to be to keep loving those who spitefully use you? Jesus never said nor even hinted that the path of obedience was going to be comfortable. He taught us that it was going to be so challenging and so demanding that the only way we would ever make it is if we had someone to come alongside and help us press on.
However, if your Christian experience is quiet and comfortable and as easy as sitting on a padded pew or a personal Sunday School chair…you might want to double check something. If the path you are on is broad and crowded and relatively unchallenged…you might want to take a moment.
But if you feel like a piñata at Albert Pujols’ birthday party…or if following Jesus is making you pray harder and longer than you ever have before. If obedience is giving you a serious need for some comforting…congratulations! You must be following Jesus. After all He promised a Comforter for the conflict…not to make you comfortable.
How about this, a soft bed, a warm comforter, a full attack of the sandman and no schedule, let the sleeping begin. Sign me up! Oh hallelujah that Jesus said He will “give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever!” Wow! God wants us to be warm and cozy and comfortable! He has even dispatched the third person of the Trinity to make us comfortable! As a buddy of mine used to say, “Prob-lee!”
There is as much difference between Comforter and Comfortable as there is between Portuguese and Porky-Jesus! Jesus did not promise the Holy Spirit aka Comforter in the KJV to make us comfortable! He sent the Comforter, parakletos in the Greek language which means called along side; to come to our aid as we struggle and suffer through life. The fact is that if we are not out of our comfort zone and struggling and even suffering for Jesus, we do not need the “Comforter.” If we do not need the Holy Spirit, He will not be evident in our life.
A sail boat does not need the wind to sit moored in the harbor. It needs the wind when its sails are unfurled and its anchor is stowed and the rudder is set upon a course. We do not need the Holy Spirit or the Comforter unless we have willfully placed ourselves amid the fight and the fury of obedience in this sin-bent world.
Its seems that so many in the church believe that God has called and promised us, that if we will follow Jesus, we will be comfortable. Read the promises of many books and sermons and you would think that Jesus is the ramp to easy street. And yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Follow Jesus and you will need a Comforter, you will need someone called alongside to help. Because you will struggle and strain and feel like giving up. You will hurt and feel alone and be unsure. You could find yourself in prison or beaten or dying. You can find yourself abandoned, betrayed, and used.
What about the slap on the other cheek was going to feel better than the first one? What part of that second mile was going to be easier than the first? Just exactly how much fun was it suppose to be to keep loving those who spitefully use you? Jesus never said nor even hinted that the path of obedience was going to be comfortable. He taught us that it was going to be so challenging and so demanding that the only way we would ever make it is if we had someone to come alongside and help us press on.
However, if your Christian experience is quiet and comfortable and as easy as sitting on a padded pew or a personal Sunday School chair…you might want to double check something. If the path you are on is broad and crowded and relatively unchallenged…you might want to take a moment.
But if you feel like a piñata at Albert Pujols’ birthday party…or if following Jesus is making you pray harder and longer than you ever have before. If obedience is giving you a serious need for some comforting…congratulations! You must be following Jesus. After all He promised a Comforter for the conflict…not to make you comfortable.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Porky Jesus / No idles before me
At the heart of our relationship with God, is the prohibition against Idols. Idols are manmade images that serve as the focus of worship and surrender. For most of us, we do not have a real issue with idols.
Through the decades some have tried to make a case that the things in our lives are or can become an idol. But I seriously doubt that any of you worship your car or T.V. or pet or anything else at the level that would offend God. For most if not all of us, these objects in our lives are not idols. They are merely indulgences and distractions. I am pretty sure there is no one reading this, who on a daily or weekly basis, spends anytime adoring a piece of metal or plastic that has electronic parts or a pet or a human partner for that matter.
The only idol that any of us come close to worshiping is ourselves. The only thing in the world that gives God a run for His money, is us. There is nothing in the world that can cause me to act in direct rebellion against God faster than me.
But even the idol factor is not the most damaging thing in the world. The most damaging and heretical thing in all the world is the idle factor. Far too many of us are idle…inactive, ineffective.
The Puerto Principle or as it is more commonly called the 80/20 rule, is what is destroying the fabric of our churches and our culture. The fact that 80% of the work and 80% of the funds come from only 20% of those in the fellowship is fatal. Literally! It is fatal. The influence and effect of the church upon America and the world is dead. The church is no different from the world and the world is spinning out of control and it is all due to the fact that the majority of the church is idle!
What if your heart was working at only 20%; or your lungs or kidneys or liver? You would be home bound and bed ridden if not hospitalized.
The church suffers from the fact that we are idle before God! We are branches without fruit, clouds without rain. We are a church of tares and not wheat.
God is calling the body of Christ to awaken, arise and function. The gates of hell cannot stand against the body of Christ if it is functioning in all of His power and glory. But if we are as a quadriplegic with only 20% of our body functioning, hell laughs at us instead of trembles.
The two great commands do not challenge whether or not we are focused on a figurine. To Love Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbors the way Jesus loves us, is a call to not be idle. It is a call to live, love and light this dark world in everything we do…and it is certainly a call to not be idle!
Don’t be an idle worshipper…do something. Bear fruit for the glory of God. kh
Through the decades some have tried to make a case that the things in our lives are or can become an idol. But I seriously doubt that any of you worship your car or T.V. or pet or anything else at the level that would offend God. For most if not all of us, these objects in our lives are not idols. They are merely indulgences and distractions. I am pretty sure there is no one reading this, who on a daily or weekly basis, spends anytime adoring a piece of metal or plastic that has electronic parts or a pet or a human partner for that matter.
The only idol that any of us come close to worshiping is ourselves. The only thing in the world that gives God a run for His money, is us. There is nothing in the world that can cause me to act in direct rebellion against God faster than me.
But even the idol factor is not the most damaging thing in the world. The most damaging and heretical thing in all the world is the idle factor. Far too many of us are idle…inactive, ineffective.
The Puerto Principle or as it is more commonly called the 80/20 rule, is what is destroying the fabric of our churches and our culture. The fact that 80% of the work and 80% of the funds come from only 20% of those in the fellowship is fatal. Literally! It is fatal. The influence and effect of the church upon America and the world is dead. The church is no different from the world and the world is spinning out of control and it is all due to the fact that the majority of the church is idle!
What if your heart was working at only 20%; or your lungs or kidneys or liver? You would be home bound and bed ridden if not hospitalized.
The church suffers from the fact that we are idle before God! We are branches without fruit, clouds without rain. We are a church of tares and not wheat.
God is calling the body of Christ to awaken, arise and function. The gates of hell cannot stand against the body of Christ if it is functioning in all of His power and glory. But if we are as a quadriplegic with only 20% of our body functioning, hell laughs at us instead of trembles.
The two great commands do not challenge whether or not we are focused on a figurine. To Love Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbors the way Jesus loves us, is a call to not be idle. It is a call to live, love and light this dark world in everything we do…and it is certainly a call to not be idle!
Don’t be an idle worshipper…do something. Bear fruit for the glory of God. kh
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Porky-jesus/ Membership
Do you remember the Member’s Only jackets of the Eighties? They had the cool stand up collar and the epaulets or shoulder straps. They were the bomb! They came in a small variety of colors. There was even a leather version. But the mystique was “members only.” They also had a marketing tag line, “when you put it on, something happens.”
The reality of course was that “Member’s Only” was a brand name not an identification for the person wearing it. Wearing the jacket did not make you a member of anything. The only thing it made, was profit for the retailer and the manufacturer. The jackets, like my silk shirts and very large bell-bottomed pants have, by the grace of God, gone out of style.
It is my opinion that the jackets were so successful not because they were so fashionably impressive, but because people loved the idea of membership. Give people the idea that having a membership is something that makes them better than someone else, or entitles them to something that otherwise they could not receive and they will line up. Sam’s, Costco, J.B.’s and others are cashing in on that idea!
I have in my pocket a card that says I am a Sam’s club member. I also have a Costco membership; it is great to be king! However, I do not carry any responsibility for either of those companies. I do not go in and ask how I can help. I do not clean windows or pick up trash or offer customers assistance. I am a member for my consumption. Sadly, that mindset is a part of the church culture.
For most, we see membership as something that makes us special, that gives us entitlements, that gives us power. Because I am a member I have a voice, I have a vote, I have rights! But that is a far cry from what Jesus had in mind.
The word member appears in Scripture as a translation of two different words. One means a place on the council, the other a limb or part of a human body. Guess which one is always used regarding members of the body of Christ? You guessed it. In the context of a believer it is always as a functioning part of the body. Church membership as we know it today in the local church has no Scriptural basis. It is a tradition that began prior to the Reformation and is a legal stipulation if not a hijacking of the imagery of the Book of Life.
We are not called to be members of a ruling body! We are called to be the arms,legs, feet, hands, ears, eyes and mouth of the body of Christ. There are no rights. There are responsibilities. My legs have no rights. They have a responsibility to remain attached and subservient to every other part of my body. They are to enjoy the benefit of being a functioning part of my body, enjoying the benefits of all the others parts doing their share. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
Until the local church realizes that it is the body of Christ and not a political or social organization we will fail to change our world. It is time that we abandoned the stockholder with rights and privileges mentality. It is time for believers to embrace the fact that we are to be parts that are responsible to the whole body. That we have the responsibility to do the right thing for the right reasons and that slaves and servants have no rights!
The next time you want to demand your rights and your voice in the church business meeting remember this; If Jesus had put His crucifixion to a vote, His very own disciples would have voted down their only chance of missing hell.
The world is waiting to see a local church whose members embrace their responsibilities instead of expecting their rights. Are you a member?
The reality of course was that “Member’s Only” was a brand name not an identification for the person wearing it. Wearing the jacket did not make you a member of anything. The only thing it made, was profit for the retailer and the manufacturer. The jackets, like my silk shirts and very large bell-bottomed pants have, by the grace of God, gone out of style.
It is my opinion that the jackets were so successful not because they were so fashionably impressive, but because people loved the idea of membership. Give people the idea that having a membership is something that makes them better than someone else, or entitles them to something that otherwise they could not receive and they will line up. Sam’s, Costco, J.B.’s and others are cashing in on that idea!
I have in my pocket a card that says I am a Sam’s club member. I also have a Costco membership; it is great to be king! However, I do not carry any responsibility for either of those companies. I do not go in and ask how I can help. I do not clean windows or pick up trash or offer customers assistance. I am a member for my consumption. Sadly, that mindset is a part of the church culture.
For most, we see membership as something that makes us special, that gives us entitlements, that gives us power. Because I am a member I have a voice, I have a vote, I have rights! But that is a far cry from what Jesus had in mind.
The word member appears in Scripture as a translation of two different words. One means a place on the council, the other a limb or part of a human body. Guess which one is always used regarding members of the body of Christ? You guessed it. In the context of a believer it is always as a functioning part of the body. Church membership as we know it today in the local church has no Scriptural basis. It is a tradition that began prior to the Reformation and is a legal stipulation if not a hijacking of the imagery of the Book of Life.
We are not called to be members of a ruling body! We are called to be the arms,legs, feet, hands, ears, eyes and mouth of the body of Christ. There are no rights. There are responsibilities. My legs have no rights. They have a responsibility to remain attached and subservient to every other part of my body. They are to enjoy the benefit of being a functioning part of my body, enjoying the benefits of all the others parts doing their share. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
Until the local church realizes that it is the body of Christ and not a political or social organization we will fail to change our world. It is time that we abandoned the stockholder with rights and privileges mentality. It is time for believers to embrace the fact that we are to be parts that are responsible to the whole body. That we have the responsibility to do the right thing for the right reasons and that slaves and servants have no rights!
The next time you want to demand your rights and your voice in the church business meeting remember this; If Jesus had put His crucifixion to a vote, His very own disciples would have voted down their only chance of missing hell.
The world is waiting to see a local church whose members embrace their responsibilities instead of expecting their rights. Are you a member?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Porky-jesus: Go-spiel
I am sure you have gotten them, the email identifying Barak Obama as the Anti-Christ. The one I received stated that the Scriptures revealed that the antichrist would be a Muslim in his mid-forties. Not real sure where in Scripture it says that, but the email said it did. And then there is Oprah, who according to the multiple emails I have received, is starting her own religion.
I remember when Ronald Regan was the anti-Christ. Then it was Mikhail Gorbachev. Then of course Russia was the force to be feared as the army of the Tribulation and Armageddon. Then the Gulf War came and the books came pouring out about how it was the build up to Armageddon. I am pretty sure Jesus has missed His second coming at least a couple of times. I don’t know why He keeps putting it off. But according to some very reliable Christian authors He apparently is not paying very close attention.
The modern church reminds me a lot of our little dog Elvis. If a bird landed in our backyard Elvis would get “all shook up.” If a dog came into our backyard Elvis was more than ready to bark a chorus of “you ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog!” I have seen his “temperature rising” over every little thing that came along. Seriously, we had a dog named Elvis!
The church is the same way. We get so worked up over the latest current event. I remember when the judgment of God was coming because of a movie “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Then Harry Potter was going to lead all of our children into witchcraft. Then there was of course the dreaded Di Vinci Code. Dan Brown should send a tithe to the churches in his area for what the church did for his book sales. And I guess we have not yet seen the fallout from “The Golden Compass.”
If I can go totally anthropomorphic for a moment…the Trinity must be rolling Their eyes at all that we get worked up about. I am pretty sure that the Kingdom of God is not worried about the scribbling of a few mortal authors. I am also convinced that God does not breathe a sigh of relief when someone steps us to confront the latest heresy just before the church caves in and all is lost.
I am very confident that when Jesus said the “gates of Hell shall not prevail” He was not overlooking the publishing industry or the next Johnny or Jane-come-lately. Maybe we would do well to heed Gamaliel’s advice, “keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is from men it will come to nothing” (Acts 5:38 NKJV)
Am I suggesting that we do nothing in the face of pointed and powerful attacks against the Gospel? No, I am just saying let’s don’t replace the Gospel with the Go-spiel. The word “spiel” means “plausible superficial talk.” The church is spending way too much time and money on the plausible superficial talk instead of the Gospel, the good news. We are not to try and drown out the world with more of man’s words. We are to turn up the volume and clarify the Gospel. Instead of writing books and Bible studies about the Di Vinci Code let’s prove that the Gospel is true, that Jesus saves and that nothing can stop us if we are following God. We need not fear the New York Times best seller list! The number one selling book of all time is the Bible, more than six billion. The next one on the list has sold less than one billion.
It is time for the church to start reading the greatest book every written and start living it loud and clear in our culture. The darkness is powerless; it merely exists in the absence of light. It is time we started loving, living and sharing the gospel in our daily lives. It is time we stopped being little barking dogs of the go-spiel. We must choose to live the light of the gospel so brightly and beautifully that the darkness never has a chance.
So the next time you feel compelled to send an email or write a Bible study or preach a sermon about the wickedness of the latest publication or celebrity, take a moment. Clear your head. Say a prayer and go be Jesus to somebody. Remember we have been called to preach the good news of the Gospel, not go-spiel.
I remember when Ronald Regan was the anti-Christ. Then it was Mikhail Gorbachev. Then of course Russia was the force to be feared as the army of the Tribulation and Armageddon. Then the Gulf War came and the books came pouring out about how it was the build up to Armageddon. I am pretty sure Jesus has missed His second coming at least a couple of times. I don’t know why He keeps putting it off. But according to some very reliable Christian authors He apparently is not paying very close attention.
The modern church reminds me a lot of our little dog Elvis. If a bird landed in our backyard Elvis would get “all shook up.” If a dog came into our backyard Elvis was more than ready to bark a chorus of “you ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog!” I have seen his “temperature rising” over every little thing that came along. Seriously, we had a dog named Elvis!
The church is the same way. We get so worked up over the latest current event. I remember when the judgment of God was coming because of a movie “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Then Harry Potter was going to lead all of our children into witchcraft. Then there was of course the dreaded Di Vinci Code. Dan Brown should send a tithe to the churches in his area for what the church did for his book sales. And I guess we have not yet seen the fallout from “The Golden Compass.”
If I can go totally anthropomorphic for a moment…the Trinity must be rolling Their eyes at all that we get worked up about. I am pretty sure that the Kingdom of God is not worried about the scribbling of a few mortal authors. I am also convinced that God does not breathe a sigh of relief when someone steps us to confront the latest heresy just before the church caves in and all is lost.
I am very confident that when Jesus said the “gates of Hell shall not prevail” He was not overlooking the publishing industry or the next Johnny or Jane-come-lately. Maybe we would do well to heed Gamaliel’s advice, “keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is from men it will come to nothing” (Acts 5:38 NKJV)
Am I suggesting that we do nothing in the face of pointed and powerful attacks against the Gospel? No, I am just saying let’s don’t replace the Gospel with the Go-spiel. The word “spiel” means “plausible superficial talk.” The church is spending way too much time and money on the plausible superficial talk instead of the Gospel, the good news. We are not to try and drown out the world with more of man’s words. We are to turn up the volume and clarify the Gospel. Instead of writing books and Bible studies about the Di Vinci Code let’s prove that the Gospel is true, that Jesus saves and that nothing can stop us if we are following God. We need not fear the New York Times best seller list! The number one selling book of all time is the Bible, more than six billion. The next one on the list has sold less than one billion.
It is time for the church to start reading the greatest book every written and start living it loud and clear in our culture. The darkness is powerless; it merely exists in the absence of light. It is time we started loving, living and sharing the gospel in our daily lives. It is time we stopped being little barking dogs of the go-spiel. We must choose to live the light of the gospel so brightly and beautifully that the darkness never has a chance.
So the next time you feel compelled to send an email or write a Bible study or preach a sermon about the wickedness of the latest publication or celebrity, take a moment. Clear your head. Say a prayer and go be Jesus to somebody. Remember we have been called to preach the good news of the Gospel, not go-spiel.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Porkyjesus: Normandy Christianity
If you have not seen the opening scene from the film, “Saving Private Ryan” then you have missed what many call the most realistic reenactment of the WWII event of the American forces landing at Normandy, France. While I am on a reel I will refer to one more movie: Braveheart. If you are a man and have not seen Braveheart you need to. One of my favorite scenes is when the sword of William Wallace the main character is thrown high into the air and it lands point down in the ground as a symbol that the tyranny ends “here and now.”
You can see the clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGt2SoTPc2k
It is my deep conviction that for an extremely long time we have allowed painters and holiday card makers to focus our attention on the wrong image. In fact most of what we see going on in Christendom is as weak and worthless as a manger scene. Yes I said it, as worthless as a manger scene. You would think that the coming of Jesus had more to do with livestock than it does with Redemption. Christmas is not about a baby in a hay box. It’s about the King of Glory launching his attack under the cover of humanity, poverty and obscurity.
Christmas is about the Son of God putting on the uniform of flesh to wage war against sin death hell and the grave. Christmas was Jesus landing at Normandy to take on the evil power that had taken over the world. The truth is that Jesus was born in a cow stall because the devil was so in charge of the Temple and the country that Jesus had to mount His attack on the fringe of Bethlehem. The reason the whole world can embrace the celebration of Christmas is because we have allowed the real meaning and message of Christmas to be diluted, polluted and commercialized. Face it, babies, mangers and gifts, sell. The war against the dark powers of hell is reserved for Halloween!
When Jesus landed in Bethlehem a war started. A war that saw the murder of thousands of babies in an attempt to kill the Christ Child. Not many Christmas cards with “Rachel weeping for her children” is there? Christmas is about a Warrior King who against all odds mounted a one man war against the power of Rome and the power of Hell at a “Beach” called Bethlehem.
Easter is no different. We have surrendered the celebration of the greatest battle of History to become about eggs, bunnies and candy. The Cross was Jesus jamming His cross into the ground like a Braveheart sword and declaring to the world and to the king of this dark world that it was over. Sin was being defeated, death was being conquered and Hell was being invaded. Declaring that a world of people who would have lived and died and condemned to hell, were being set free! It was a war that started in Bethlehem and was finished in Jerusalem on a hill called Calvary! And those who walk in the power of the Resurrection would be able to change the world!
How in heavens name have we allowed the two most important events in History to be hijacked? It has been hijacked because we have forgotten that Christianity is about the power and purpose of a risen King. It is because Jesus is so small and insignificant in our lives that we hand over our faith and our truth without a fight.
The Church herself has taken the horror of the wrath of God and the punishment of sin through the Flood and the Ark to become about animals. Animals! God crushes the sin of the world and redeems one family and we turn it into a children’s story that focuses on animals. We have turned Christmas into a Manger scene when it was Jesus landing at the beach of humanity ready to destroy the kingdom of Satan. We have allowed Easter to become about everything in the world except the Kingdom and the Power and the glory of Jesus Christ! The greatest tragedy of all is that we have made our holidays to be about a day in the past instead of the power and dominion of Christ to be made real in every day and every area of our current life!
When I think about how we have allowed the power and truth of King Jesus to be obscured by the commercialization of holidays, I am more convinced than ever that all we speak is porkyjesus.
You can see the clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGt2SoTPc2k
It is my deep conviction that for an extremely long time we have allowed painters and holiday card makers to focus our attention on the wrong image. In fact most of what we see going on in Christendom is as weak and worthless as a manger scene. Yes I said it, as worthless as a manger scene. You would think that the coming of Jesus had more to do with livestock than it does with Redemption. Christmas is not about a baby in a hay box. It’s about the King of Glory launching his attack under the cover of humanity, poverty and obscurity.
Christmas is about the Son of God putting on the uniform of flesh to wage war against sin death hell and the grave. Christmas was Jesus landing at Normandy to take on the evil power that had taken over the world. The truth is that Jesus was born in a cow stall because the devil was so in charge of the Temple and the country that Jesus had to mount His attack on the fringe of Bethlehem. The reason the whole world can embrace the celebration of Christmas is because we have allowed the real meaning and message of Christmas to be diluted, polluted and commercialized. Face it, babies, mangers and gifts, sell. The war against the dark powers of hell is reserved for Halloween!
When Jesus landed in Bethlehem a war started. A war that saw the murder of thousands of babies in an attempt to kill the Christ Child. Not many Christmas cards with “Rachel weeping for her children” is there? Christmas is about a Warrior King who against all odds mounted a one man war against the power of Rome and the power of Hell at a “Beach” called Bethlehem.
Easter is no different. We have surrendered the celebration of the greatest battle of History to become about eggs, bunnies and candy. The Cross was Jesus jamming His cross into the ground like a Braveheart sword and declaring to the world and to the king of this dark world that it was over. Sin was being defeated, death was being conquered and Hell was being invaded. Declaring that a world of people who would have lived and died and condemned to hell, were being set free! It was a war that started in Bethlehem and was finished in Jerusalem on a hill called Calvary! And those who walk in the power of the Resurrection would be able to change the world!
How in heavens name have we allowed the two most important events in History to be hijacked? It has been hijacked because we have forgotten that Christianity is about the power and purpose of a risen King. It is because Jesus is so small and insignificant in our lives that we hand over our faith and our truth without a fight.
The Church herself has taken the horror of the wrath of God and the punishment of sin through the Flood and the Ark to become about animals. Animals! God crushes the sin of the world and redeems one family and we turn it into a children’s story that focuses on animals. We have turned Christmas into a Manger scene when it was Jesus landing at the beach of humanity ready to destroy the kingdom of Satan. We have allowed Easter to become about everything in the world except the Kingdom and the Power and the glory of Jesus Christ! The greatest tragedy of all is that we have made our holidays to be about a day in the past instead of the power and dominion of Christ to be made real in every day and every area of our current life!
When I think about how we have allowed the power and truth of King Jesus to be obscured by the commercialization of holidays, I am more convinced than ever that all we speak is porkyjesus.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Fishers of Men
Who does not love to watch the Discovery Channel’s “Dangerous Catch?” Men risking life and limb in order to catch fish or crabs or whatever. When you watch the show you kind of figure out why a few clusters of crab legs cost so much!
When I think about how these men are so willing to risk their lives for us to eat crab, it really seems kind of crazy. In fact it makes me rather ashamed that I am not more willing to risk life and limb to be a fisher of men.
When Jesus called the sons of Jonah and the sons of Zebedee to follow Him and become fishers of men He was making quite the play on words. What Jesus was saying to these men was, “Follow me and I will give you a new vocation. I will make something completely new and different out of you.” He did not say come follow Me, I want to teach you how to use your skills as fishermen to gain converts for my new religious movement.
Yet for most of the modern church growth movement it seems that the goal is to apply the most recent marketing and recruiting “fishing” techniques in order to draw the greatest number of people into the organization. It seems that when we hear Jesus say “I will make you to be fishers of men” we think it’s about catching the most fish. The methodology then becomes about how well we can bait our traps and attract the most fish to come into them. Then we have to make sure that we have become so indispensable in their lives that they will keep coming and keep giving so we can build bigger and bigger traps and provide better and better bait.
But if I read the Gospels correctly Jesus did not call these men to use their fishing skills in the kingdom. Jesus called them and us to a whole new objective. To make every new fisher of men to be a person who is leading others to become fishers of men.
A true fisher of men is not looking for how many but how much of a difference he can make in someone else’s life. Someone said, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a life time.”
The goal of Jesus was to turn those salty seamen into broken hearted followers who cried salty tears for those who are a heartbeat from hell. To see them lead others to a place where they were in a deep loving relationship with Jesus, loving and serving those around them and moved by that same compassion to reach others who are a heart beat from hell.
The evidence is that the bass tournament fishermen tactics that we use to grow our churches may in fact be working in direct opposition to the purposes of Jesus. In spite of how many fish our best anglers are catching we are losing the race in every way. The percentage of people who are unchurched and unsaved continues to grow. The difference between the lives of people who are in church and out of church has disappeared. The moral, ethical and spiritual condition of our country and our world continues to disintegrate at an alarming rate.
Maybe it’s time we took a hard look at exactly what Jesus called us to do and made sure we are making a difference in the lives of people and not just trying to find a better bait and build larger traps. Could it be that the difference between fishermen and fishers of men is as great as the difference between Porky Jesus and Portuguese? Ciao`
When I think about how these men are so willing to risk their lives for us to eat crab, it really seems kind of crazy. In fact it makes me rather ashamed that I am not more willing to risk life and limb to be a fisher of men.
When Jesus called the sons of Jonah and the sons of Zebedee to follow Him and become fishers of men He was making quite the play on words. What Jesus was saying to these men was, “Follow me and I will give you a new vocation. I will make something completely new and different out of you.” He did not say come follow Me, I want to teach you how to use your skills as fishermen to gain converts for my new religious movement.
Yet for most of the modern church growth movement it seems that the goal is to apply the most recent marketing and recruiting “fishing” techniques in order to draw the greatest number of people into the organization. It seems that when we hear Jesus say “I will make you to be fishers of men” we think it’s about catching the most fish. The methodology then becomes about how well we can bait our traps and attract the most fish to come into them. Then we have to make sure that we have become so indispensable in their lives that they will keep coming and keep giving so we can build bigger and bigger traps and provide better and better bait.
But if I read the Gospels correctly Jesus did not call these men to use their fishing skills in the kingdom. Jesus called them and us to a whole new objective. To make every new fisher of men to be a person who is leading others to become fishers of men.
A true fisher of men is not looking for how many but how much of a difference he can make in someone else’s life. Someone said, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a life time.”
The goal of Jesus was to turn those salty seamen into broken hearted followers who cried salty tears for those who are a heartbeat from hell. To see them lead others to a place where they were in a deep loving relationship with Jesus, loving and serving those around them and moved by that same compassion to reach others who are a heart beat from hell.
The evidence is that the bass tournament fishermen tactics that we use to grow our churches may in fact be working in direct opposition to the purposes of Jesus. In spite of how many fish our best anglers are catching we are losing the race in every way. The percentage of people who are unchurched and unsaved continues to grow. The difference between the lives of people who are in church and out of church has disappeared. The moral, ethical and spiritual condition of our country and our world continues to disintegrate at an alarming rate.
Maybe it’s time we took a hard look at exactly what Jesus called us to do and made sure we are making a difference in the lives of people and not just trying to find a better bait and build larger traps. Could it be that the difference between fishermen and fishers of men is as great as the difference between Porky Jesus and Portuguese? Ciao`
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Porky Jesus: Caliendo Christianity
I used to really struggle with Paul’s invitation to imitate him as he imitates Christ. I misread it thinking that he was telling people to imitate his imitation of Jesus. Sort of like someone impersonating an impersonator. Like me impersonating Frank Caliendo as he is impersonating John Madden.
But what Paul was calling them and us to do was to imitate Christ, just as he was seeking to do. Instead of an expression of arrogance it really is a solid principle. We are to all be imitators of Christ. We are to mimic Him…we really are to play the part of Jesus in the movie called our life.
What neither Paul nor Jesus calls us to do is imitate each other!
I heard Erwin McManus say and I will paraphrase, “I don’t want to be relevant. Relevant means just like everyone else who is already there.” If I understood him and I think I did, the same thing could be said about contemporary. Both basically mean, “ just like those around you.” It simply means existing in the same time period.
The church seems to be very happy with being current. We are very happy to just be like whatever is current. It seems to me that the biggest bunch of copy-cats on the planet is the church. You let one church find an effective way of reaching people in a certain place or with a certain style, and look out! Let the cloning begin!
It is amazing to what length churches will go in order to succeed. If a new church is succeeding and their name is different, the church down the street will change their name. If another church is drawing crowds with black curtains, rock bands and light shows you can then count on others will follow the pattern. It’s really no different than steeples or Colonial style buildings from fifty years ago. We see something and we think that what we see is making the difference, and we clone it.
When I find myself ready to copy some other ministry I have to wonder is it really about the kingdom and the calling. Could it be really be about competing? Sometimes it seems like churches are not partners in the kingdom but rather competitors vying for the same market share. It starts looking a whole lot like it’s more about commissions and not “The Commission.”
Could it be that just as Jesus has called each individual to be his or her own unique and gifted member of the body that this is what he wants for the local church too? Maybe He has called each church and each pastor to lead each church in such a way that together all the churches can reach the whole community and or region. What if instead of trying to clone the most recent methodology for success we started really trying to imitate Christ?
When John the Baptist was challenged with the success of Jesus he responded simply, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” John did not start copying Jesus methods so he could compete. John just kept on doing what God called him to do.
How has God gifted you? Who and what has he called you and your organization to be? Instead of worrying about competing, let’s become partners and serve as compliments to each other. Instead of cloning a ministry that is having success in the area, why not partner with them. Instead of spending a fortune to become competitive why not try to become more like Jesus.
What if we stopped trying to copy what we can see and started trying to copy the one we cannot see…Jesus. What if we really invested in being REAL instead of relevant? What if we started trying to be Christ-like instead of contemporary? What if we stopped trying to tap into current trends and we tried to tap into an ancient truth: “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.” Or to be more relevant; Not by trends, nor by production teams, but by my Spirit says the Lord. What if we stopped cloning the competition…and started really being imitators of Jesus. I am pretty sure that is what the word Christian is supposed to mean.
But what Paul was calling them and us to do was to imitate Christ, just as he was seeking to do. Instead of an expression of arrogance it really is a solid principle. We are to all be imitators of Christ. We are to mimic Him…we really are to play the part of Jesus in the movie called our life.
What neither Paul nor Jesus calls us to do is imitate each other!
I heard Erwin McManus say and I will paraphrase, “I don’t want to be relevant. Relevant means just like everyone else who is already there.” If I understood him and I think I did, the same thing could be said about contemporary. Both basically mean, “ just like those around you.” It simply means existing in the same time period.
The church seems to be very happy with being current. We are very happy to just be like whatever is current. It seems to me that the biggest bunch of copy-cats on the planet is the church. You let one church find an effective way of reaching people in a certain place or with a certain style, and look out! Let the cloning begin!
It is amazing to what length churches will go in order to succeed. If a new church is succeeding and their name is different, the church down the street will change their name. If another church is drawing crowds with black curtains, rock bands and light shows you can then count on others will follow the pattern. It’s really no different than steeples or Colonial style buildings from fifty years ago. We see something and we think that what we see is making the difference, and we clone it.
When I find myself ready to copy some other ministry I have to wonder is it really about the kingdom and the calling. Could it be really be about competing? Sometimes it seems like churches are not partners in the kingdom but rather competitors vying for the same market share. It starts looking a whole lot like it’s more about commissions and not “The Commission.”
Could it be that just as Jesus has called each individual to be his or her own unique and gifted member of the body that this is what he wants for the local church too? Maybe He has called each church and each pastor to lead each church in such a way that together all the churches can reach the whole community and or region. What if instead of trying to clone the most recent methodology for success we started really trying to imitate Christ?
When John the Baptist was challenged with the success of Jesus he responded simply, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” John did not start copying Jesus methods so he could compete. John just kept on doing what God called him to do.
How has God gifted you? Who and what has he called you and your organization to be? Instead of worrying about competing, let’s become partners and serve as compliments to each other. Instead of cloning a ministry that is having success in the area, why not partner with them. Instead of spending a fortune to become competitive why not try to become more like Jesus.
What if we stopped trying to copy what we can see and started trying to copy the one we cannot see…Jesus. What if we really invested in being REAL instead of relevant? What if we started trying to be Christ-like instead of contemporary? What if we stopped trying to tap into current trends and we tried to tap into an ancient truth: “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.” Or to be more relevant; Not by trends, nor by production teams, but by my Spirit says the Lord. What if we stopped cloning the competition…and started really being imitators of Jesus. I am pretty sure that is what the word Christian is supposed to mean.
Monday, March 17, 2008
PJ2 The Great Commission
One of the things I love and hate about the English language is that words can have so many different meanings based on how they are used. For instance, Jesus gave us the Great Commission when He said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19
Or I can say “there is a great commission on the sale of certain items in our store.” Or I can say, “because of her injury, she will be out of commission for a while.”
Commission can mean mandate, it can mean money, or it can refer to the ability to operate of perform.
As has been proven through the centuries it is very easy for a religious organization to gravitate from the Great Commission toward the great commissions that can be generated in the name of the Great Commission.
For some, in spite of all of their statements and symbolism about the Great Commission, it really is about the great commissions: the money.
In the business world, organizations like banks, discount retail marts and restaurants have figured out that if you want to reach more people, then create more and more places where the people are. Go to where there is a need and fill it.
However some churches want to see how big they can build their buildings. It seems that the greatness of the modern church is measured by how big its parking lots are and how many the sanctuary will seat rather than how many people it is sending out as a part of the Great Commission.
For some it is about power, prestige and profits. It’s about comfort and convenience and consumerism. It’s about the commissions. Power-broker pastors, dizzy with their own charisma, begin to believe that the world deserves to hear them speak and therefore millions should be spent in order to grant them their wish, once a week.
One day I can see the pastors of the twentieth century standing before God and hearing Him ask, “you raised how many millions to build a building so that the majority of your congregation could sit comfortably for one hour a week and listen to you speak?”
Does it seem likely that Jesus Christ, who never owned a place to lay his head, will be pleased that America spent hundreds of millions of dollars so that we could sit segregated and self-righteous for one hour a week while the third world starved to death and went to hell?
Is it possible that the church is out of commission because it has forsaken the Great Commission for the great commissions? Somebody is speaking porky-jesus if they believe that when Jesus said “upon this rock I will build my church” that He was referring to the buildings instead of the body!
Could it be that we have become far too much like our Roman Catholic fore-fathers who in the name of Jesus created a denomination of people who were ignorant of the gospel, held captive by fear and deception in order to maintain power, prestige and profits. Are we guilty of building cathedrals that function like corrals rather than calling our flocks to fulfill the great commission and go therefore into all the world?
Maybe its time we took a good look at which commission we are really after.
Or I can say “there is a great commission on the sale of certain items in our store.” Or I can say, “because of her injury, she will be out of commission for a while.”
Commission can mean mandate, it can mean money, or it can refer to the ability to operate of perform.
As has been proven through the centuries it is very easy for a religious organization to gravitate from the Great Commission toward the great commissions that can be generated in the name of the Great Commission.
For some, in spite of all of their statements and symbolism about the Great Commission, it really is about the great commissions: the money.
In the business world, organizations like banks, discount retail marts and restaurants have figured out that if you want to reach more people, then create more and more places where the people are. Go to where there is a need and fill it.
However some churches want to see how big they can build their buildings. It seems that the greatness of the modern church is measured by how big its parking lots are and how many the sanctuary will seat rather than how many people it is sending out as a part of the Great Commission.
For some it is about power, prestige and profits. It’s about comfort and convenience and consumerism. It’s about the commissions. Power-broker pastors, dizzy with their own charisma, begin to believe that the world deserves to hear them speak and therefore millions should be spent in order to grant them their wish, once a week.
One day I can see the pastors of the twentieth century standing before God and hearing Him ask, “you raised how many millions to build a building so that the majority of your congregation could sit comfortably for one hour a week and listen to you speak?”
Does it seem likely that Jesus Christ, who never owned a place to lay his head, will be pleased that America spent hundreds of millions of dollars so that we could sit segregated and self-righteous for one hour a week while the third world starved to death and went to hell?
Is it possible that the church is out of commission because it has forsaken the Great Commission for the great commissions? Somebody is speaking porky-jesus if they believe that when Jesus said “upon this rock I will build my church” that He was referring to the buildings instead of the body!
Could it be that we have become far too much like our Roman Catholic fore-fathers who in the name of Jesus created a denomination of people who were ignorant of the gospel, held captive by fear and deception in order to maintain power, prestige and profits. Are we guilty of building cathedrals that function like corrals rather than calling our flocks to fulfill the great commission and go therefore into all the world?
Maybe its time we took a good look at which commission we are really after.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Back in the U.S. of A.
Our trip to Honduras went great! We were able to accomplish a lot both in construction and for The Kingdom. We made some great new relationships with some amazing people. Juan, you are a real image of Jesus. Clementina, you are the best, and your tamales, aye yie yie! Omar, God is going to use you in a big way! I can hardly wait to see my new friends again.
Please find more of Porky-Jesus below...
heart to heart,
kenn
Please find more of Porky-Jesus below...
heart to heart,
kenn
Porky-Jesus / Let us pray!
No religious function can properly begin unless someone leads in a quick word of prayer. This has always puzzled me. I mean, if it’s a word of prayer is it just one word? And if it’s a quick word of prayer does that mean it has to be said more quickly than usual?
Prayer is such an interesting subject. Its one of those things about which people love to talk but few have any time or tendency to participate. Books on prayer are fairly popular. Sermons about prayer are even well received.
And if you want to get a group of well fed sheep in a stampede! Just talk about how Madeline Murray O’Hare, “the spawn of Satan,” got prayer out of school! And if you have email, you realize that she must be still on the prowl! I get an email about her just about twice a year if not more. And I probably will not make it to heaven either because I don’t love Jesus enough to forward it to everyone in my contacts. Because according to the email my faith is in serous question if I do not forward it.
Did I say a sheep stampede? Boy that’s scary isn’t it? A hundred sheep trotting along, teeth bared, wool wafting in the wind. They run into each other and stop. A few of them see grass and give up walking altogether. They just stop and eat. Those that manage to keep going for a few moments keep going with furrowed brows as they bleat baaahhh! Baaaahhhh! I get goose-bumps just imagining the scary sight. Where was I? Oh yeah.
Doesn’t it seem that in most services prayer is kind of like a sprig of parsley on your dinner plate? It’s not really a part of the meal its just there to add color. So it is with prayer in many services. There is an obligatory prayer placed in the order of service so as to actually acknowledge that God is invited to what it is we are doing in His name.
Isn’t it odd that prayer remains a part of the official events in Washington?
I actually lead a prayer in the House of Representatives in Washington. That’s right. It was televised on CSPAN and everything. The funny thing was, was what did not get shown on CSPAN. There were not more than thirty people in the room. There might not have been twenty. That’s right, out of 435 representatives in the house; there were probably about thirty people in that historic hall. Prayer is a part of the form, but not a part of the function.
It’s not very different in some churches. Someone prays out loud, most present listen to what is being said. A few actually engage in the experience. We may grunt our consent every now and then and even say amen at the end of the prayer, but did we really pray?
In fact you want to save on the wear and tear of the carpet in your sanctuary, just announce a prayer meeting. The janitor won’t even need to vacuum. It’s true. Have you ever heard about a church that was really packing the pews, in multiple services, because of their prayer times? Their music, yes; the speaker, yes; because they spend large portions of their meeting time on their knees or in quiet contrition before the Lord, never. A service may be rocked deeply on a rare occasion as the people pray, but no one plans or expects to see God move because of their prayer times in the service.
That is one thing that the early church did. Prayer is far removed from the modern day entertainment venues. Yes I said it, Entertainment venues.
If Jesus drove the people out of the temple for the money madness, He would surely drive us out for our entertainment. A whole lot is entertainment. We don’t spend long portions of our time in prayer because prayer is boring. We work on our transitions between segments of the worship service. Why, because we want to look professional and polished. And well, we don’t want folks to lose interest. We must keep them, entertained. And there is nothing entertaining about listening to someone talk with their eyes closed.
In all four Gospels, the occasion of Jesus cleansing the Temple is recorded. In three of them Jesus declares that His Father’s house shall be called “a house of prayer.”
Indulging the fact that a church can be loosely referred as the house of God, it should be first known as a house of prayer.
If you will concede that the church officially began on the day of Pentecost you will note that it was not about singing, preaching or fellowship, it was prayer. When the church faced a challenge, like its leaders being in prison, they resorted first and only to prayer. They did not call the press, they did not form a steering team. They did not call their councilman or call in a favor! They prayed. Every time the early church got into a jam, they prayed their way out!
We are not giving glory to God if we are giving Him glory for something He did not do! We are merely trying to justify our actions and the ends we intended by saying that it was God who did it! You want to know why jail cells open and guards cannot see grown men walking out in plain view? Its because God is doing it in such a way that only God can get the glory! You want to know how an earthquake can tear down a jail and harm no one inside. Because God wants to do it in such a way that only He gets the glory! The reason we would rather picket than pray is because we are neither willing to wait or consider that it might not be God’s idea!
Can you imagine what the opinion of the council is of the church that came in and bullied them with numbers? Did someone ask, who cares what the bunch of bureaucrats think anyway? Well God does. Every member of every council in our nation came screaming from their mother’s loins on their way to a devil’s hell in desperation to run into someone who could show them that God and faith in Christ is more than political power and organizational will. The last thing they need to see and hear was that the church is just another self-willed and self-centered organization.
What if instead of showing up as sheep in wolves’ clothing, and only when there is something vital to the organization is involved, they showed up at every council meeting. And instead of intimidation, they simply communicated in some low-key way that while they meet there, the church group would be praying for the council or board to have God’s wisdom while they made decisions that were in the very best interest of people of their city.
What if the group of people who meet together on Sunday morning spent more of their time praying about the time when they were apart than trying to make their time together more entertaining.
Has it ever occurred to you that in theory, when the church is meeting together that it is at its least effective? Whatever size your church is, let’s say, 250 people. Most of them will sit silently during most of their time together. They will say little and do little, but, when they go their ways, there are 250 individuals who can go out and be Jesus every where they go. In everything they do they can do it as unto Jesus. You have to admit that sitting and listening does not take the power of the Holy Spirit…unless you are A.D.D. like me. But the point is that as a group, prayer is the greatest thing that can be done. Because when the church disperses, the potential is exponentially greater than any one service! The church that is exponential in its prayer time will be exponential in its power and effect on this hell bound world!
Next service, invite everyone to join in many slow words of prayer.
Prayer is such an interesting subject. Its one of those things about which people love to talk but few have any time or tendency to participate. Books on prayer are fairly popular. Sermons about prayer are even well received.
And if you want to get a group of well fed sheep in a stampede! Just talk about how Madeline Murray O’Hare, “the spawn of Satan,” got prayer out of school! And if you have email, you realize that she must be still on the prowl! I get an email about her just about twice a year if not more. And I probably will not make it to heaven either because I don’t love Jesus enough to forward it to everyone in my contacts. Because according to the email my faith is in serous question if I do not forward it.
Did I say a sheep stampede? Boy that’s scary isn’t it? A hundred sheep trotting along, teeth bared, wool wafting in the wind. They run into each other and stop. A few of them see grass and give up walking altogether. They just stop and eat. Those that manage to keep going for a few moments keep going with furrowed brows as they bleat baaahhh! Baaaahhhh! I get goose-bumps just imagining the scary sight. Where was I? Oh yeah.
Doesn’t it seem that in most services prayer is kind of like a sprig of parsley on your dinner plate? It’s not really a part of the meal its just there to add color. So it is with prayer in many services. There is an obligatory prayer placed in the order of service so as to actually acknowledge that God is invited to what it is we are doing in His name.
Isn’t it odd that prayer remains a part of the official events in Washington?
I actually lead a prayer in the House of Representatives in Washington. That’s right. It was televised on CSPAN and everything. The funny thing was, was what did not get shown on CSPAN. There were not more than thirty people in the room. There might not have been twenty. That’s right, out of 435 representatives in the house; there were probably about thirty people in that historic hall. Prayer is a part of the form, but not a part of the function.
It’s not very different in some churches. Someone prays out loud, most present listen to what is being said. A few actually engage in the experience. We may grunt our consent every now and then and even say amen at the end of the prayer, but did we really pray?
In fact you want to save on the wear and tear of the carpet in your sanctuary, just announce a prayer meeting. The janitor won’t even need to vacuum. It’s true. Have you ever heard about a church that was really packing the pews, in multiple services, because of their prayer times? Their music, yes; the speaker, yes; because they spend large portions of their meeting time on their knees or in quiet contrition before the Lord, never. A service may be rocked deeply on a rare occasion as the people pray, but no one plans or expects to see God move because of their prayer times in the service.
That is one thing that the early church did. Prayer is far removed from the modern day entertainment venues. Yes I said it, Entertainment venues.
If Jesus drove the people out of the temple for the money madness, He would surely drive us out for our entertainment. A whole lot is entertainment. We don’t spend long portions of our time in prayer because prayer is boring. We work on our transitions between segments of the worship service. Why, because we want to look professional and polished. And well, we don’t want folks to lose interest. We must keep them, entertained. And there is nothing entertaining about listening to someone talk with their eyes closed.
In all four Gospels, the occasion of Jesus cleansing the Temple is recorded. In three of them Jesus declares that His Father’s house shall be called “a house of prayer.”
Indulging the fact that a church can be loosely referred as the house of God, it should be first known as a house of prayer.
If you will concede that the church officially began on the day of Pentecost you will note that it was not about singing, preaching or fellowship, it was prayer. When the church faced a challenge, like its leaders being in prison, they resorted first and only to prayer. They did not call the press, they did not form a steering team. They did not call their councilman or call in a favor! They prayed. Every time the early church got into a jam, they prayed their way out!
We are not giving glory to God if we are giving Him glory for something He did not do! We are merely trying to justify our actions and the ends we intended by saying that it was God who did it! You want to know why jail cells open and guards cannot see grown men walking out in plain view? Its because God is doing it in such a way that only God can get the glory! You want to know how an earthquake can tear down a jail and harm no one inside. Because God wants to do it in such a way that only He gets the glory! The reason we would rather picket than pray is because we are neither willing to wait or consider that it might not be God’s idea!
Can you imagine what the opinion of the council is of the church that came in and bullied them with numbers? Did someone ask, who cares what the bunch of bureaucrats think anyway? Well God does. Every member of every council in our nation came screaming from their mother’s loins on their way to a devil’s hell in desperation to run into someone who could show them that God and faith in Christ is more than political power and organizational will. The last thing they need to see and hear was that the church is just another self-willed and self-centered organization.
What if instead of showing up as sheep in wolves’ clothing, and only when there is something vital to the organization is involved, they showed up at every council meeting. And instead of intimidation, they simply communicated in some low-key way that while they meet there, the church group would be praying for the council or board to have God’s wisdom while they made decisions that were in the very best interest of people of their city.
What if the group of people who meet together on Sunday morning spent more of their time praying about the time when they were apart than trying to make their time together more entertaining.
Has it ever occurred to you that in theory, when the church is meeting together that it is at its least effective? Whatever size your church is, let’s say, 250 people. Most of them will sit silently during most of their time together. They will say little and do little, but, when they go their ways, there are 250 individuals who can go out and be Jesus every where they go. In everything they do they can do it as unto Jesus. You have to admit that sitting and listening does not take the power of the Holy Spirit…unless you are A.D.D. like me. But the point is that as a group, prayer is the greatest thing that can be done. Because when the church disperses, the potential is exponentially greater than any one service! The church that is exponential in its prayer time will be exponential in its power and effect on this hell bound world!
Next service, invite everyone to join in many slow words of prayer.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Porky Jesus/ Feed Me
“Feed me” is the cry of gluttonous churchgoer who defines their spiritual life by how much preaching they hear and enjoy. If they don’t like the speaker’s style or personality, then he does not “feed them.” And they will be off looking for someone else who can scratch their “religious information itch” with passionate and powerful insights. The Bible calls it “people having itching ears.”
The term “feed me” is forgery of what Jesus told Peter when He walked with him on the beach. He told Peter that if “he loved Him, he would, feed His sheep.” So people wanting to take advantage of what Jesus said simply cry out, “I need someone to feed me!”
“Feed me” also works well with the preacher. After all you cannot do any better than to obey Jesus and feed His sheep! If you feed them they will come! They will sit and swoon. They will take notes and nod with conviction and agreement. It’s a beautiful thing; a preacher feeding the sheep and the sheep eating it up! It’s an experience that I enjoy more than words can say. But is that what Jesus had in mind when he told Peter, “feed my sheep?”
In the context Jesus was not talking about the roughly 120 people who were already committed to following Jesus. He was talking about the whole nation of Israel and the lost world that were like sheep without a shepherd. People, who like sheep, had turned everyone to his own way. In fact it was not so much about just feeding them as it was about going out like a shepherd and bringing them into the sheepfold of faith!
In Jesus day, the effort to feed the sheep, the four legged kind, had a definite purpose. It was so that the sheep could be eaten, sheared or sustained so they could reproduce. The sheep were fed not to just make them happy, but to enable them to accomplish their ultimate purpose!
In the human world, when we feed the sheep, something else happens. The more well fed the sheep are, the less productive they become. A fed sheep (the two legged kind) should be looking for ways to share the meat of what they have been learning. They should be longing to sacrifice themselves for the good and blessing of others. They should share with those who are truly starving in our world that there is someone who really is the Bread of Life. The real goal of a well fed sheep should be to want the starving and truly malnourished of this world to eat of the Bread of Heaven.
It is such a tragedy that the entire modern church organization is set up to educate and instruct but not to enable and send out. Instead of equipping and sending out an army of people ready to share the blessings of the Good Shepherd we create more and more excuses for them to come and hide in the “sanctuary” and learn more of that, with which they refuse, to do anything!
For all the time and money that is spent on discipleship in this country, we have an ever decreasing number of people who are coming into the discipline.
Sadly most pastors and church leaders have figured out that porky, well fed sheep, don’t complain. They don’t make trouble. They just tell others about how good the food is and how they should come eat too. They consume, contribute and keep the cycle going and it never occurs to them that they should do something besides eat. After all, if Jesus told someone to feed, it’s our duty to eat, right?
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Porky Jesus Continued
Can you imagine a porky Jesus?
One year a church had two men playing the role of Jesus. One was played by a small thin man that looked good hanging on the cross in his loin cloth and light enough to be hoisted up during the ascension scene. The trouble was he couldn’t sing.
Then there was the guy who they wanted to play the part that had a great voice but he was well, a little on fleshy side. The singing Jesus was, you guessed it, dare I say it, a porky Jesus. Just a little too porky to hang on the cross in a loin cloth and way too porky to hoist the 30 feet into the ceiling in the ascension scene, so they had the petite Jesus and the…porky Jesus.
I am pretty sure that the reason they never painted Jesus as porky was because while we have no way of knowing what He looked like, it is pretty certain that a man who had no home, walked every where he went and often worked without eating to the point of exhaustion, was not porky.
Remember the story of Jesus asleep in the storm-tossed, sinking boat? Of all the explanations I have ever heard, not one time has anyone blamed sleep-apnea due to mild or morbid obesity. The most likely reason Jesus was able to sleep in such an unlikely circumstance was that he was so mentally and physically exhausted that he passed out in the back of the boat!
You never see a porky Jesus because he was serving himself to death. He was walking along endless lines of hurting people whom He healed. He very likely spent few nights indoors. After all He was not born in a house and after He began His ministry, it is very likely that he spent more nights praying and sleeping on a hillside than in a guest house.
I wonder how many times someone invited Him to dinner and by the time the dinner was over they were so convicted or enraged that they did not invite Him to spend the night!
No, I am pretty sure there was no porky Jesus. The man Jesus was thin, weary and in need of supper, a shower, and sleep! The point is that He was so busy living, loving and going out into the world that he was as we would call it, malnourished.
While Jesus was not porky, the same cannot be said my most of us who call ourselves His followers.
“In a study on body weight and religion, sociologist Kenneth Ferraro of Purdue University discovered that active church members are more likely to be overweight than other people.
Ferraro found religion was associated with obesity in all 50 states. Broken down by religious groups, Southern Baptists were the heaviest, while believers from non-Christian religions were the least likely to be overweight.
Among other indicators, believers who watch or listen to religious broadcasts were more likely to be overweight.”
We have traded the Great Commission for the great Concessions. We call the food courts at sporting arenas concession stands. Because it is where we go to concede or yield to our cravings for food.
Church goers love to go to a church fellowship meals and have a Bible study. They love to concede to their appetite for food. But don’t ask many of them to serve a meal to the needy. And whatever you do, don’t make it a habit of going to the great concessions and not taking something or you will soon be treated as an outcast!
Does it strike you as odd that churches will build enormous meeting halls and furnish state-of-the-art kitchens but never host a daily or weekly meal for the needy and hungry?
Oh, you will have no trouble finding a porky Baptist or a porky Methodist or a porky Pentecostal. You might even find a porky actor playing Jesus in a drama, but when you look at the homeless missionary of the New Testament, you will not find a porky Jesus.
Maybe churches should begin to refocus on serving the needs of the community rather than the needs of its members.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Porky Jesus
Do you speak Porky-Jesus?
Excuse me! Porky Jesus, that’s got to be taking God’s name in vain if not out right blasphemy!
Well before you heat up the tar and start plucking feathers let me tell you first of all these were the words of a precious, innocent two year old. She and her dad were having a random conversation and he referred to something as being Portuguese to which she responded, “Mommy, daddy is talking porky-Jesus!”
Well I just chuckled, as I hope you are now doing! Her dad had said one thing and she had heard another. Because of her limited vocabulary and understanding she translated what he had said into words that she could put together. Portuguese was not in her vocabulary box. So, she quickly grabbed the two things in her box that would coincide with what she thought she heard and so she came out with “porky-Jesus.”
I tell you this story to convey one simple truth; We interpret things in the framework of our box, our understanding, experience and vocabulary. We can see or hear one thing and because of our box we translate or interpret things very differently. This is especially true in regard to the Church (body) that Jesus founded and the churches that are in business today.
For about 1700 years we have been reading more or less the very same New Testament. Yet these centuries have been marked by blood, controversy and division because of the way we read the very same words.
Thankfully, it has been a long time since one Christian group has imprisoned and or executed a member of a rival Christian group. No longer is the government imprisoning people because of what they believe the Bible says, all in the name of allegiance to the Bible.
Nowadays churches just fight it out with music styles, superstars and media campaigns. One church can prove their superiority and spirituality if they are able to do a better job of saturating the market with their name and ministry strengths. Often it is about whether one pastor happens to be a more gifted entertainer than another. Not that content does not matter, content matters greatly. If your platform personality can say something profound and insightful in a moving and interesting way; then you will have a church with a growing attendance on your hands. The people probably came from another church but hey…you get more people and the church with the most people wins, right?
Currently the majority of churches are drifting or declining. And those that are growing and seemingly reaching people for the kingdom are all headed down the same spiraling staircase into self-centeredness.
Only a handful grasp the idea that the purpose of the church is to be a moving force charging out into our world and not a fortress built on a hill in which all of its people can hide.
I want to invite you to join me as we look at just how we have twisted and misunderstood what Jesus taught and commanded the same way my friend’s little girl changed Portuguese into Porky-Jesus. To be continued…
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