Tag Archives: church

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Open letter to Luck and RGIII, and perhaps to Church

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On my way to pick up some roofing material this past Saturday evening, I alternated, as usual between sports talk and NPR. This time I’m glad I tuned into the latter more than the former. 
I caught the tail end of an interview with former Denver Broncos Tight End Nate Jackson. Not knowing remembering him during his playing days did nothing to diminish the impact of the interview. Jackson had recently written an open letter to Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III (the 1st and 2nd overall picks from the recent NFL draft). 
The letter eloquently warns these two superstars of what they can soon expect. But I think it can also be read, in some ways, as an open letter to the Church. My favorite snipped, shared during the interview is below:
After negotiating your contracts, you both will surely buy a house in an affluent suburb where no 22-year-old would be happy living. Your new neighbors will be rich as well, facelifted, lipo-sucked, Xanaxed and dripping in diamonds, simply delighted to welcome you to the neighborhood. You will commission an interior decorator, recommended by a neighbor, to furnish your home. This will guarantee it feels nothing like Home. And someday, when all of this is over, you’ll walk through and gaze upon the marble columns and the embroidered drapes like artifacts in a museum, wondering why you ever listened to that woman.
Probably some sage advice. Don’t pick the most expensive neighborhoods because you won’t be friends with your neighbors! But part of it actually reminded me a little bit of John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life. I believe it was in this book that I came across the “novel” idea that just because one makes 100,000 dollars a year, one doesn’t have to live off 100,000 dollars a year. Or whatever number you make. Yet that attitude is so foreign to not only NFL players-where it clearly makes sense NOT to live among folks in the same income bracket-but to suburbanites like myself. If you can afford a bigger house, you get a bigger house. You deserve it. 
Now again, there is nothing inherently wrong with a bigger house. Some Christians graciously use every square foot to bless others. But I fear many affluent Christians opt for such a house without thinking one second why or to what end would God have me use this house? Is it to bless others, offer hospitality, host small group bible studies, youth events, etc..? Or is it because we simply can buy this house? And because we simply can, we must. That’s more like slavery. I love Nate Jackson and John Piper’s advice. Don’t just spend money because you can; a good reminder to all of us.
My 2nd favorite snippet is below:

With all of this pushing against you, the role of friends and family becomes very important. There are people in this world to whom you’re just Andrew and Robert. Son, brother, lover, friend. You need to lean on these people when the Weirdos start to make sense. You need to run to the familiarity of genuine friendship. But even in this, there will be a loneliness, because, as a defense mechanism, you will have assumed a piece of your new identity, and your loved ones won’t understand it. Caught in between these two worlds you’ll drift. You’ll feast on the fruits of excess, and will only grow hungrier. You’ll dine with familiar faces, and find you’ve lost the taste. And so you’ll get in your Mercedes on your days off and drive to the facility and watch film. Ah yes. Football. That’s what this is all about.
There’s much to commend in this, but I’d like to just mention a few. Jackson wisely explains to these two lads that they will “feast on the fruits of excess, and will only grow hungrier.” What a prayer this would be for the Church! That we would lose our materialist appetites and hunger and thirst for that which satisfies: thirsting for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). That our clamoring for more stuff because we think we’ll be satisfied when we have it would leave us only more hungry and thirsty. Great reminder Nate. I need it.
Andrew Luck and RG III will find themselves torn between two worlds, distasting the extravagances and yet also forsaking the familiar faces of friends. Because of football, they will find themselves pulled back and forth. And it will be lonely.
But even in this, there will be a loneliness, because, as a defense mechanism, you will have assumed a piece of your new identity, and your loved ones won’t understand it. Caught in between these two worlds you’ll drift. 
There is a loneliness that comes from being a Christian on a pilgrimage to our New Heaven and New Earth (Rev 21), or as Jackson puts it “assuming a piece of your new identity and your loved ones won’t understand it.” A non-Christian will find solace and comfort-though temporary or illusory-in all this world has to offer. But just like T.S. Eliot’ Magi who found Jesus, and life immediately became harder, we fill find ourselves feeling uneasy in this present age when we return to our former “kingdoms.” There is a joy in following Jesus now, yet there is also a precarious uncomfortability which befits the Christian pilgrim. At times it will come to surface in an a subtle uneasiness. That’s good. At other times, it will be a dissatisfaction with arriving at an end you thought would make you happy and it didn’t; and you feel let down (as all idols do eventually). That’s good. Still other times it will lead to a deeper longing in a minor depression or homesickness for a place devoid of tears and physical presence of Jesus. That’s growth. 
But it’s in these times when you know you’re walking with Jesus. Just remember to look at him and hear him say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Let him have the final say in your journey. Amidst the sadness of the journey there is great joy and comfort to be found. We’ll forever be in this tension until the world we were made for comes down from heaven. Caught between these two worlds we’ll drift.

You can read the whole letter here. I really do think it gives the Christian as well as the NFL athlete something to ponder.

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How to point people to a church without Arrogance or Ignorance

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When talking to unbelieving seekers or Christians without a church home, there are always two extremes to avoid. The first is to assume that all churches are doing the same thing and preaching the same thing. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, as many churches and denominations have certainly abandoned the gospel. That’s ignorance.
The other extreme is to assume that your church is the only faithful church in the area. Now of course this is possible, but to assume that is the case without any evidence falls on the same side as arrogance. People can pick up on arrogance and most folks aren’t big fans of it.
There can be a weirdness when it comes to pointing such a person to a church. You do have to acknowledge that not all churches preach Christ and Him crucified, but you don’t want to sound (or be for that matter) arrogant, divisive, and say, “It’s my church or one that has gone apostate. Those are your options.” Both can be destructive for the seeker. You could end up affirming falsehood or reinforce their suspicion of “You just want me to come to YOUR church.”
So what can you do?
Last night a good friend of mine really offered a great idea. Simple but really quite good as it affirms the truth while graciously avoiding error.
1.) Explain the gospel to the seeker. Whether he/she is a believer, seeker, or just thinks he/she a Christian, you have the opportunity to say, “I would recommend you go to a church that really preaches the gospel. Not all churches do these days. Here is what I think the bible says about the gospel.” If he/she is asking about churches to go to, you have the open door. Thoroughly explain the gospel message.
2.) Challenge the seeker/believer to really listen to the sermons and see if what is being preached is the gospel. Tell him/her to go to church where the gospel is preached. Explain the difference between moralism and true repentance and faith. Let them know the difference between universalism and the truth that only Jesus can save. Let them know that they should be able to hear the difference between grace and simply “try harder and be nice” or “do this and God will love you more.” If they know the gospel, they will be able to smell moralism, universalism, and legalism.
3.) Listen for exegesis more than opinions or good advice. Don’t say “exegesis.” But you can tell them that a gospel centered church will always be centered around what God’s Word really says. If a passage is read but not expounded and applied, then you are left with opinions and advice.
4.) Follow up with him/her. You can always say, “I can’t speak for all the churches in the area. I’m sure there are good ones. But here is my experience with mine. If you’d like to come and check out my church, if for no other reason to help you confirm you’re in the right place, we’d love to have you.” If not, you can still ask him/her to describe his/her experiences so far.
If you live in a churched area, chances are you will have such opportunities to direct people to churches other than yours. But in such opportunities, you may end up with an opportunity to share the gospel, direct people to other good churches, or eventually plug them into your church community. The latter is not a bad goal if you truly believe that it is the best place for them to grow in Christ.

If you center everything around the gospel, and help point them to church that preaches the gospel-regardless if its yours or not-it’s a win for the home team.

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A poor in Spirit church

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In my last sermon I preached on the first beattitude, Matt 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” As a point of application, I pondered what it might look like for Redeemer as a church to be poor in Spirit. We would not be proud of ourselves because we believe that we preach grace and every other church doesn’t. We would not be proud of ourselves because we believe in discipling kids, not entertaining. When our bible studies lead us to compare ourselves with the world, instead of loving the world, or think about sin generally instead of particularly, we’re not spiritually broke.
But the question then remains, should someone not take some pride in what his/her church does when their church preaches the gospel and many others in the area don’t? Or if not “pride,” how should we think of churches who are faithful to what they feel God calling them to do? Is there place a for confidence and critique of other churches?
Of course there is a place for critique, provided critique is not ALL you do. But 99% of your critiques of other churches will accomplish nothing, and sometimes that may be a good thing. Here are some thoughts which can inspire a God-centered confidence and joy without looking down on other churches who do things differently, or even at times, perhaps glaringly unfaithfully.
1.) Boast in the Lord (II Cor 10:17). We don’t boast in our philosophy of ministry, our theology, our ______, but only in the Lord. He has saved, delivered, and directed us to where we need to be. The church as a whole boasts in the Lord for what He’s done for them, and how He’s allowed us to apply biblical principles to our church ministries. Boast of what the Lord has done at your church and have confidence that He is at work.
2.) Being poor in Spirit (Matt 5:3) allows us to re-visit policies and programs when we need to do so. It allows you to say, “We could do this better in the future,” or “Maybe this isn’t the best use of our gifts and resources at the time.” If you are proud of what you do, you will find little room for evaluation. If you boast in the Lord, you are always looking to Him who may want you to tweak or nix some policies, programs, ministries, etc….
3.) If you boast in the Lord, not simply in your church, you will be aware of what others churches are doing. This allows you to learn from them.
4.) Boasting in the Lord lets you recognize we really don’t want all churches to look alike. We want them all to preach the gospel, disciple kids, do missions and mercy, etc….,but each church will probably play a niche in its community. Boast in the Lord for churches who may reach drug addicts, others single mothers or homeless, still others folks with disabilities or divorces.
5.) Being poor in Spirit does not eradicate the opportunity to critique others, but it does eradicate even the need to judge others. It is Jesus’ church. And yes, we judge those within our own churches. But Jesus may surprise us someday with how he thinks of mega, mini, or multi-site churches. Perhaps we need them all. Regardless, we don’t get a vote. So be careful not to overvalue your own critiques or convictions, or you may just be undervaluing Jesus’ bride.

You should obviously commit to, plug in, and serve the church you feel most responsibly preaches, teaches, and applies the gospel. But remember to boast in the Shepherd, not the shepherd/s, or the sheep.

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A response to Rachel Evans "15 Reasons Why I left the church" Part II

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This is a continuation on Rachel Evans’ blogpost “15 Reasons Why I left the Church.”

While I don’t think there is any reason to abandon the church altogether, local churches have much to learn from her reasons for leaving. I’m thankful for her honesty and specificity. There is much to learn from her.

Here are Reasons 6-10, and my takes on them.

6. I left the church because sometimes I doubt, and church can be the worst place to doubt. 

Isn’t that a sad thing? The church can sometimes be the worst place to doubt, but it really shouldn’t. In fact it should be the opposite. Doubt in community, don’t doubt alone. Doubt your doubts, but doubt your doubts with others. Never alone. Doubts don’t look so scary in community. And if we’re all honest with one another, we have varying degrees of doubt. Little known Jude 21 even reminds us, “And have mercy on those who doubt…”  We probably need to do a better job of not freaking out when people say, “I don’t know if I believe _______ or believe at all.” Christians will people outside the church not freaked out about that. So let’s relax. God isn’t too busy to deal with all of our doubts. He’s not scared of them and we shouldn’t be either.
 
7. I left the church because I didn’t want to be anyone’s “project.” 

Some folks are sensitive to being projects. I was exposed to this in college, when some lass found out that others were “targeting” her. She wrote about it in the campus newspaper. I’m not sure if she was/is a believer or not. I had no problem with people intentionally discipling or evangelizing me. But I know both unbelievers as well as believers can be sensitive toward this.

I think this is all in mentality. We have to be intentional in evangelizing, discipling, and mentoring. Whether it’s someone else saying, “Go and disciple so and so” or me deciding “I need to disciple so and so,” there’s always going to some intentionality. I don’t know how you follow the Great Commission without intentionality. You can’t make disciples without making a disciple out of this person or that person.

However to me (and I don’t know what “project” means to her-maybe I’ll ask her!) it’s often in the intent. When it comes to outreach, the goal is to really develop friendships that are gospel centered (moving towards the gospel). However, if that person never becomes a Christian, I have still gained a friend.

I have a feeling that becoming someone’s project perhaps means the expectation that the person becomes like you or becomes like X with this and that quality.

But we all need discipleship in some sort of community. Many people are content hiding on Sundays. That can’t be the case.

8. I left the church because it was often assumed that everyone in the congregation voted for Republicans.

You don’t have to vote Republican to be a Christians. You don’t have to vote Democrat either. Some denominations or congregations have de facto candidates. We have to vote our conscience. I’m in a primarily Republican congregation. I haven’t asked everyone, but I’ve listened to them talk. They’re Republican. There’s an assumption that I always think like they do. I don’t always. But that’s OK. That’s just part of living in community. Church members however should make sure that there is no church “party line.” And in conversation, it’s probably wise to makes sure you know AND respect the politics of another before assuming them. That can be a bit unloving, and reinforce “you must vote this way” mentality even if you don’t explicitly say it. In the end, both sides have to bear with one another in love. If you’re a Democrat or Republican and feel alone, please don’t leave. Then you close the door for a more diverse congregation in the future.
  

9. I left the church because I felt like I was the only one troubled by stories of violence and misogyny and genocide found in the Bible, and I was tired of people telling me not to worry about it because “God’s ways are higher than our ways.”

It’s OK to be troubled by violence. We should. If the violence in the OT doesn’t make us do a double-take, we may be de-sensitized. But there are good resources and answers to questions like these. We should not be afraid to ever answer with “God’s ways are higher than our ways.” But I would probably put our answers in this order: 1.) I don’t know, but here may be some good resources on _____ 2.) I personally don’t know why, and it’s hard….. 3.) God’s Ways are Higher than our ways.

 10. I left the church because of my own selfishness and pride.
I love this one. Honest. Some people are “driven” from the church. Many are not. Many just leave because of these two reasons. The preacher didn’t do _____. The music was not contemporary or too contemporary….Most of the time its just these two things: selfishness and pride. A desire had become elevated to the level of a “need,” and it wasn’t met. As a result, it OBVIOUSLY made the person become angry. That’s what happens when desires are elevated to the level of needs. 

This is a gal who recognizes that she plays a part. I can work with that. Most churches can work with that. If more folks would recognize how much pride and selfishness they bring to the local church the SECOND they step in the door, we’d see fewer people leaving. And we’d see fewer “reasons” for them to leave. Remember the Seinfeld break-up line, “It’s not you it’s me.” Before you break-up with the church, remember this line, and that may stop your break-up.

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Response to 15 Reasons Why I left the Church

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Some blogging chick name Rachel Evans that a friend of mine follows on Twitter (and I subscribed to his list) put out something rather provocative. And sad. And perhaps something those who haven’t left the church really need to hear. Her blog post is called “15 Reasons I left the church.” It’s worth the read as its insightful, honest, and accurate. Here it is and here are her reasons:
1. I left the church because I’m better at planning Bible studies than baby showers…but they only wanted me to plan baby showers. 
2. I left the church because when we talked about sin, we mostly talked about sex. 
3. I left the church because my questions were seen as liabilities. 
4. I left the church because sometimes it felt like a cult, or a country club, and I wasn’t sure which was worse. 
5. I left the church because I believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that humans share a common ancestor with apes, which I was told was incompatible with my faith. 
6. I left the church because sometimes I doubt, and church can be the worst place to doubt. 
7. I left the church because I didn’t want to be anyone’s “project.” 
8. I left the church because it was often assumed that everyone in the congregation voted for Republicans.
9. I left the church because I felt like I was the only one troubled by stories of violence and misogyny and genocide found in the Bible, and I was tired of people telling me not to worry about it because “God’s ways are higher than our ways.”
10. I left the church because of my own selfishness and pride. 
11. I left the church because I knew I would never see a woman behind the pulpit, at least not in the congregation in which I grew up. 
12. I left the church because I wanted to help people in my community without feeling pressure to convert them to Christianity. 
13. I left the church because I had learned more from Oprah about addressing poverty and injustice than I had learned from 25 years of Sunday school. 
14. I left the church because there are days when I’m not sure I believe in God, and no one told me that “dark nights of the soul” can be part of the faith experience. 
15. I left the church because one day, they put signs out in the church lawn that said “Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman: Vote Yes on Prop 1,” and I knew the moment I saw them that I never wanted to come back.  
I first want to say how NOT to respond to these issues when they come up with your friends, your kids, co-workers or neighbors. Don’t respond to someone’s frustrations at church with the law: “it says you should go to church regularly (which I think it does in Hebrews 10). Don’t respond with anger. Don’t respond by saying how dumb the reasons are. 
Most of these reasons are good reasons to WANT to leave the church. None of them qualify as biblical reasons to JUSTIFY leaving the local church. But she has some great points, so let’s see what we can learn from her. When people grow up in the church but don’t abandon the faith professed in the church (the latter happens as much as the former I presume), it is often motivated by a lack of love they sense in the church. So instead of pointing fingers, let’s repent of ways in which we may have repelled people from the church by our intentional or unintentional sins. By the way, she came out with a following article for why she came back to church-though I’m not totally sure what that coming back looks like in practice. 
I’ll just break these reasons up into a mini series with hopefully not too many posts. Probably 3. Worked for Tolkien and a few others….
1. I left the church because I’m better at planning Bible studies than baby showers…but they only wanted me to plan baby showers. 
This chick may be better at bible studies. We need more women teaching the bible in the church. I know folks who are better at teaching bible studies who haven’t been utilized or affirmed in their gifts. Church leaders do drop the ball. That makes me sad. Yet I know of one gal who hasn’t been utilized properly with her teaching gifts, but has taken the opportunity to do more private one-on-one discipleship (people have sought her out-that’s what happens sometimes when you’re gifted; though it doesn’t have to be the case, as I still have to seek people out for this!). Jesus had a discipleship/small/cd group (whatever you call them) of 12. But he also had 3. If you as an individual aren’t given the opportunity to lead a bible study, then meet one-on-one with another believer and train him/her to do the same. There are a zillion people in my church alone who could benefit from this! One-to-One bible reading is a great resource for how to read the bible with another Christian.
Sometimes people refuse training or oversight and that’s why the opportunity isn’t there. Sometimes its just not having time. Sometimes we aren’t as good as we think we are and so people don’t come. Sometimes we are good enough, but for whatever reason people haven’t showed up to bible studies we tried to start. Don’t leave the church. Disciple one or two or three people. Nothing is cooler or more effective in building and multiplying the church.

2. I left the church because when we talked about sin, we mostly talked about sex.

 Great point. Don’t ignore the sin of suburbia. These sins are much more subtle. I “need” a bigger house, more expensive car, more space. That’s greed. Let’s talk about greed and selfishness as often as we talk about sex as sins that ensnare.
3. I left the church because my questions were seen as liabilities. 
The church has to be a place to raise questions and to not be afraid of what we hear. Parents, pastors, teachers have to listen. For our primary learning place (Sunday School), we try to let it be a place for questions. In youth group, we are spending a semester answering THEIR questions. The church can’t be scared of questions. It also can’t be scared to say, “I don’t know.” As James reminds us, let us be slow to speak and quick to listen. Listen to questions. Wouldn’t we rather have folks ask the church questions instead of their non-Christian friends who WILL listen non-judgmentally?
4. I left the church because sometimes it felt like a cult, or a country club, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.
Would love some more info on what makes it feel like a country club. Probably cliquish. Fair indictment. The only way to change that is to talk to others who don’t look like you. Get talking now. Too me a cult has specific rules (explained or understood). For instance, you might have freedom to school your children the way you feel led, but if you don’t do it the “church’s way,” then you get snide remarks, a need to give good explanation for why you’re not doing it the “church’s way” (as though that’s THE way unless you can argue for another), or a stack of books on why you need to do it the “church’s way.” I’ve been a target of that, and it does feel cult-ish. Very. Believe the gospel. Really believe the gospel gives you a freedom to follow YOUR convictions. Don’t force convictions and don’t let others force convictions on you. But when they do, please don’t leave or the cultists will continue.
5. I left the church because I believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old and that humans share a common ancestor with apes, which I was told was incompatible with my faith. 
Whether or not someone can become ordained in a denomination and hold this view is up that denomination. I don’t believe in Darwinistic evolution, and believe our common ancestor is a LITERAL Adam. I think there are plenty of holes in evolution. But many Christians do believe in some sort (not totally because they believe God played some part) of evolution. I have former professors who do. It’s probably a slippery slope, and you should in the context of a good relationship be able to disagree and explain why you do. I just don’t think its accurate to tell someone that any form of evolution is completely incompatible with faith; and that they need to leave the church or give the impression that they should. It’s probably wise to be careful when you say you can’t be a Christian and hold to some sort of belief in an evolutionary process (or any other ______.) I just don’t see how the bible gives us that 100% confidence to make such a bold claim. I might be wrong, but when you make such a claim you should have 100% confidence. And I don’t. If someone still holds to I Cor 15, which Paul puts forth as the message of the gospel, I can’t say with confidence that their science makes null and void their profession (even if they are wrong in their science-which I believe!).

Hope this is helpful in our quest to examine our own churches so that we can do what we can to be responsible and pray God’s Sovereign grace brings back those we may have unknowingly pushed away. Let’s hold more tightly to the gospel and let that be the reason people don’t like the church.

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Thoughts from the 2020 conference

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This past weekend, several close friends and I drove up to Butler PA to attend the C.E.P. 2020 Conference. The overall ministry projection, desire, and prayer was for the church to make disciples who make disciples. Several speakers specifically described such disciples as Kingdom disciples and further defined them as having 1.) Heart that loves King Jesus 2.) Mind that thinks like King Jesus 3.) Lives of service to others. Basically it was the same vision we already have put in place at Redeemer with the Head, Heart, Hands model.
But what was new was the tangible expectation of producing disciples from our children who would be discipling others. The plan is a 10 year plan. Not a 20 year plan. A 10 year plan. That means that if parents and church partner together, that by age 14, he/she would be ready in some way to make disciples. I’ve always believed that youth will only rise to the level that is expected of them. As a result, I’ve conceptually raised the bar, and begun to practically put in place opportunities for them to serve. But I’m not sure that I’ve practically put structures into place for them to actually disciple others. 
Much of discipleship is informal. Philippians 4:9 shows us both content (what you’ve learned, heard), but also informal (what has been “seen in me.”) This stuff was already on my heart due to a timely text message from a parent the past week, so now the fire to practically put something in place is scorching my back side.
Straight shooter Sue Jakes reminded us of a very simple application of the scriptural truth: children are a blessing. If that is the case, how are we as a covenant community ministering together to our covenant children? Not YOUR kids, but YOUR CHURCH’s kids. I’ve heard several times in my ministry over the years, “I just don’t like kids.” Sue Jakes shared with us a simple response: “Repent.” If children are a blessing, then we can’t just “wash our hands of them.” That children are a blessing is not specific or particular conviction, it is a timeless truth. That we disciple our covenant children is not specific or particular conviction, it is a timeless command. 
What that command looks like can be all across the board. Nursery or 2-3 year old church (we start discipling these kids at age 2), children’s church (4-1st grade), Sunday School, youth group. These are formal structures in place for passing on “what we’ve learned/received/heard” but much of discipleship is informal (“seen in me.”) At the conference, I could tell many folks’ answer to discipleship was simply “do Sunday School and do it better.” But the speakers challenged us all with the plethora of informal ministry opportunities to disciple our covenant children. 
To be regularly involved in Sunday School requires some teaching gifts. To be regularly involved in youth ministry requires a certain amount of, well, maybe insanity. But to be involved in some sort of informal relationship with children/youth requires a pulse and a love of Jesus. That’s it.
Do things with them. Even the introverted sound guy, can bring a youth along with him to help set up, troubleshoot, etc… When you pass out bulletins, pass them out with a child. When you greet, don’t just greet with a smile; greet with a kid.
Talk to them. Simple things like getting to know the names of other children/youth in the church. Talk to them. Ask questions about them and their lives. None of this stuff requires you to be “marooned” in a nursery or class room for an hour and half. It involves you simply taking time to look at those children/youth and around you and move towards them. That’s it.
In the end, if you don’t make any effort to somehow involve yourself with our covenant children, you don’t have a problem with kids/youth; you a problem with God. They need you and you need them. I don’t want to see more kids go off to college and not come back to the church. More than that, we want disciples that are salt and light outside the church. Be a disciple and make disciples. It’s for the church. It’s for you.
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On Gisele, motivations, and the church

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This is a great example of praying for something and then not getting it.

Tom Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen, who may be getting the gag order next time that joker plays in a big game, urged people to pray for her husband Tom to win the Super Bowl.

Unless you’ve been in a cave the last day or so, you probably know that the Pats in fact did not win the Super Bowl. As a result she did what any “normal” high profile Q.B.’s wife who had asked for national prayer via twitter would do: blast the F%#@ing receivers for not catching the balls thrown to them. An ESPN article says:

After her prayers for a Patriots’ championship went unanswered, Bunchen lashed out at the team’s receiving corps for failing to haul in her husband’s passes. While waiting for an elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium, Bundchen was being heckled by Giants fans when she spoke to people in her group.
“My husband can not f—— throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times,” Bundchen said in a video captured by theinsider.com, a gossip website.

The title of one article read “Gisele Bundchen (Mrs. Tom Brady) goes from asking for prayers to dropping the F-bomb in 24 hours!” Most people found this a little ironic, if not hypocritical. I did too.

Here are a few questions and takes:

1.) What God is she praying to? Probably not Allah, but was it the Judea-Christian God? Was it the impersonal force that we all know and love called Karma? Since she didn’t just want “positive thoughts (I love that one, whatever thoughts can do….)” but actual prayers, I’m a bit curious who I was supposed to pray to. And if I did run into Gisele, I’d have to be straight up with her and tell her I did actually forget to pray. That’s what happens when you don’t write prayer requests down….I’ll be ready for it next year.

2.) What to do with unanswered prayers? We often don’t get a “That’s why I didn’t answer the prayer the way you wanted me to” from God. But He does give us a little bit of insider information in James 4:3: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Sometimes our motivation for specific things like a bigger house or better spouse can reveal an underlying selfish motive. God wants us to change even if our house doesn’t get bigger or our spouse better.  What is often overlooked is that our behaviors and responses to things like “unanswered” (they were answered, just with a “no”) prayers and desires often reveal the selfish motivations behind the requests. You can examine your heart till the cows come home, but often the only way to truly know the heart attitude is by how we respond when God tells us no.

We just had the blessing of a new building. He said yes. And so we thanked Him and will thank Him more formally in a few weeks with a thanksgiving service. However, how we responded when God said “no” along the way was in fact a greater indicator of our heart’s true allegiance.

3) Gisele, like it or not, reminds us of the Church. How many stupid things have Christians said or done that has made her bridegroom look bad? We say and do just as many dumb things as Gisele, and we (I’m assuming I don’t have any supermodel followers) aren’t even models, much less supermodels. Yet Jesus still loves His bride. I’m very curious how Tom Brady is handling this situation with his own wife. Hopefully behind closed doors and not via the media, social media, or internet, as is often the case with high profile pastors and other Christians.

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Reflections on Winter Jam

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Several weeks ago, because I thought that we needed more adults, I attended the Winter Jam concert  in Charleston with the Redeemer youth. We had a great time hearing from a variety of different Christian bands-some of which I had actually seen in high school and college. So that part was a stroll down memory lane for me. I had a blast with those and really enjoyed the craziness of the hard rock band Skillet.
Let me give you my synopsis of the highs and lows of the concert…
Highs:
High parent to student ratio. Really high. That is a good thing. Kids need adults in their lives. Lots of them.
The place was absolutely packed. It was encouraging to see the number of folks in WV (and some from farther away) who came out to hear bands that they most likely listen to during the week. Because most youth haven’t developed a very strong filter yet, I”m glad that they are listening to Christian music.
In addition, I was encouraged by bands trying to reach kids I can’t, and give them something to listen to that is different that what they are normally offered. I was also encouraged how deft they were at contextualizing the Christian faith into the world of these students. You don’t have to wear skinny jeans and be hip to be a Christian. However, you can be. I’ll not be wearing skinny jeans. Ever. But when youth see clean cut, khaki pants/jeans wearing pastors and parents, we need to make sure that they don’t have to look like us either. 
The bands honored Jesus. The last band, a hard rock band called Skillet, talked a good bit about Jesus. Now when they sang, I couldn’t really tell what they were singing. But when the lead singer talked, he did talk about Jesus. That was refreshing.
Lows:
While I appreciated that there was a gospel presentation, and I appreciated that there was a call to repentance and faith, I didn’t so much subscribe to the methodology of having everyone say the magic “sinner’s prayer.” We were ALL instructed to close our eyes and say after him the magic prayer-no matter how many times we’d already said it (and he even hinted that he’d “come forward” a few times, though those trips didn’t mean anything-which should tell us something!). Then by virtue of everyone saying that prayer, we should expect a few conversions or re-dedications or something. Kind of weird. Weird but consistent with evangelicalism.
There really isn’t a magic sinners prayer that you can say, where you are “spiritually tasered,” and then transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (Col 1:12-13).
One band talked about having “church” together without actually going to church. I can understand that it may be hard to attend worship regularly when you are hitting up so many cities in so short a time. And if you can’t gather together with an assembly of believers, then getting together is the next best thing. But it is not “having church.” Hanging out with your buddies and the bible is not really the picture of church we see in the bible. 
Many Christians don’t have a very good picture of the church and so think they can just as equally worship God by going surfing, sleeping, skiing, or doing family time. Sometimes these venues (though I don’t think this one did) can become “church” for that week. It takes an effort to express that while this concert IS good, it is NOT a good replacement for regular corporate worship. I’m very thankful for bands like Casting Crowns that clearly stated this when I saw them.
Finally, it was a bit weird-though not inherently wrong-to take up an offering. They “passed the hat” around and people were asked give to this ministry. Since the concert was only 10 dollars, it didn’t covered all of the production costs, of which Skillet’s pyro-technicians had to have received 95%.
I would have more happily paid 15 dollars and not seen the hat. Again, just a bit different and weird-not wrong. I think more people are reached by church planting then concerts, so that’s who’s next in line for my money.

All in all, a good experience though and am glad I went. While I don’t listen to contemporary Christian music, live music is tough to beat.

Unknown's avatar

Why churches and Christians should worship on Xmas Day

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I guess it happens every so and so (maybe 7) number of years that Xmas Day falls on a Sunday. If you have a problem with me writing “Xmas,” and plenty of Christians do (including several on a search committee I interviewed with a few years ago), let R.C. Sproul straighten things out for you. 


Anyhow, many churches wonder what to do when with Christmas falls on a Sunday? Some see great opportunity. Some see great difficulty because numbers will be down. Some wonder whether or not to move or cancel services.


A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent of Protestant pastors plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.

Here’s why I think its a good idea to have worship this Sunday Dec 25th.

1.) If you believe that worship should be held on the first day of the week, as seems to the implied pattern in scripture (John 20:1,19; Acts 20:7; I Cor 16:2) , as well as the practice of most churches not called “Seventh-Day Adventist,” then you probably should continue corporate worship that day.

2.) Our actions always teach something. Now of course those actions are always subject to interpretation unless one is given in conjunction. In other words, you can’t simply assume what your actions teach. But let’s consider what a service cancellation most likely teaches. What would be the main reason why people wouldn’t want to come to church on Xmas Sunday morning? Family traditions. Presents. Family. That’s what Xmas is often “about.” If not Santa and presents, then it soon becomes about family. So by canceling a worship service because of, or so that, people can spend time with family, it seems to me that you’re teaching “family first, Jesus second.” According to Jesus, the order is actually reversed (Luke 14:26). What suburbanite doesn’t need to not only hear this, but to practice this? Our families are often our idols. I know from experience: MY OWN! 

3.) In looking at some of the comments on Ed Stetzer’s blog post, I noticed that some folks believed they were loving their pastors well by giving them Xmas Day off to spend time with family. My family and I (well at least Amy, but I can’t imagine my 3 year old not being excited because he wants to be at church every day) are excited to be in church. Part of it is that we don’t have family here. But part of it is that worship is our favorite time of the week. I don’t say this because I think I’m holier or better than you if you don’t. I’m just saying I WANT to be there. Last week my wife talked to a mother who said, “I’m so excited that Xmas falls on a Sunday. I can’t wait!” We’re not alone.

4.) What better way to elevate Jesus above presents, even above your family or family traditions, than by setting those aside in order to worship Jesus with your brothers and sisters in the faith? It gives you an opportunity to teach your children why you worship. It gives you a chance to declare before your extended family, that Jesus is your King. You will follow Him first even when it conflicts with family “obligations.”

5.) Many Christians literally risk life and limb to come to worship. We don’t need to feel guilty that we don’t, but isn’t our tendency only to worship when it doesn’t involve risk or cost to us?

Just some of my thoughts on why church’s should have worship on Xmas Day, and why I think Christians should seriously consider doing family stuff before or after worship. 

Here are some unhealthy motivations (we probably all need to repent from) for going to worship on Sunday Dec 25th

1.) You think your church is better than others. God will soon prove that He thinks the same way too.
2.) You just want to teach your kids that Xmas isn’t about Santa or gifts, but don’t consider the importance, need, desire for you to be there as well
3.) You are jealous and angry of the others getting a head start on the sticky-buns and sausage balls and the real fun.


Unknown's avatar

When people in your church move away….

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Several of the families that my wife and I consider close friends are being transferred out of state. That means we won’t be seeing them much anymore. And that is sad for us. And it is sad for our church not only because we loved them for who they were, but because they brought their gifts and passions to Redeemer. We’ll miss them personally, as well as their gifts.

Two nights ago I pondered this “exodus” for a bit. Is it worth getting close to people who may very well move in a year or two? Should we protect ourselves from this potential heartache? Should we be careful to befriend those who are more likely to stay in the area for a while?
Here are some thoughts
1.) Love vs. Self Protection: Much of what passes for love these days is nothing but self-protection. In other words, we say, “Yes” to some people and “No” to others to protect ourselves from their displeasure.  But if love keeps no record of wrongs (I Cor 13), it always opens itself to being wronged or hurt. Sometimes this hurt is not caused by any intentional or even unintentional sin (though this is often the case). Sometimes its caused by a job transfer. And if we let the “well this person could move and then I’d be hurt” mentality to creep in, we’ve protected ourselves but not loved. And love that Christians have for another ought to appear unique before the world: by this all men will know we are His disciples, if we love one another (John 13:35).
2.) God’s love moves toward people. That has to be our definition of love. This quote from Ed Welch’s When People are Big, God is Small, offers much to the challenge of befriending people who may move away from us.

In light of Hosea, such a strategy (never allowing oneself to get hurt by someone who could leave) is no longer an option for the Christian. God’s love is a costly love. It never takes the easy path away from relationships. Instead, it plots how to move toward other people. It thinks creatively of ways to surprise them with love. 

3.) Losing people?  I hate “losing” people whom I love and who love me, and support and serve the local church. I’ve “lost” friends time and time again due to moves (I still keep in touch with some, but its obviously a different relationship). But I have to remember that they are not MY sheep. They’re not yours either. They’re Jesus’ sheep. I’m just an “under-shepherd”(I Peter 5). So if He sees fit to shuffle sheep by moving them out of state, He has that right. I don’t have to like it, and I can be frustrated and saddened, but I do have to recognize His right. And He seems to know more than I do, so that really helps too.
4.) A mindset of sending, as opposed to hoarding. Naturally we tend to hoard our blessings instead of sharing them, whether it be a good dessert, friends, family, or finances. Pastors and parishioners alike can be guilty of this when it comes to people in the church. But hoarding products or people is really contrary to the purpose of blessing (Gen 12:1-3). After a season of being blessed with good relationships and fellow laborers in the gospel, do we even consider that God may want us to bless others by sending our dear friends out or releasing them? Are we really quick, or even open, to send out families we love to serve as missionaries, or plant churches, or to move?

When people are “sent” in the traditional way missionaries are sent, that’s one thing. We have a category for that. Yet often God sends people to serve in different places via a job change. They are still sent, as God determines the exact places where we live (Acts 17:26). And that’s how the gospel really went out in the beginning: some were commissioned to go, but others were “sent” or “scattered” by persecution (Acts 8:1-4).

5.) It is always better to have loved/been loved and “lost” than not to have loved/been loved at all. When people love us and we love them, we and they are always better for it. One lad told me the other day that he had a “mini-revival” while at Redeemer. I’m glad for HIS SAKE that he was here. And I’m glad for MY SAKE that somehow I, and the rest of the church family, played a part in that. Despite the sad departure, loving them and being loved by them was worth it. It always is and always will be.

Just some things to think about when friends leave your church family. Simply writing these down has helped me look at people leaving in a different way.