Sunday, March 27, 2011

Evangelism Theory

Upon hearing the word, “church” on FM 96 this week, my ears immediately perked up. When you hear mention of the church in the secular media, the news is rarely, if ever, good. They don’t bother reporting when the church helps build houses for the homeless, or its members give shelter to those living on the streets. Those items aren’t newsworthy. Whenever I hear mention of ‘the church’, it’s normally because of some sin or some blatant shortcoming of her people. So when I heard the DJ talk about church, I knew it couldn’t be good.

Fortunately, nobody was molested this time around and no one embezzled money from the finances. They were making fun of a couple of different things that some churches are doing in order to try and ‘fill up the pews’. One church is giving away two prizes of $500 in order to draw people to its Easter service. Another offers Christian pole dancing classes. The radio DJ’s found these examples to be absolutely hilarious.

It is a very sad day when even the people of the world are able to recognize when the church has debased herself. Unfortunately, some churches are the legitimate targets of public ridicule.

We all have our own theories on the most effective ways to lead people to Christ. The proof is in the putting. If you have led 6 or more unchurched people to Christ within the last year, I’ll be glad to listen to yours. In my life as of late, I have had the unwanted privilege of watching the debate through the spectacles of my e-mail account. I don’t know if this sounds anti-evangelical, but sometimes, I think that it is better to let that church or that Christian organization die. It isn’t that I mind being subject to public ridicule for the sake of Christ, but when the jokes take aim at our worldliness, what shame it is. It is better for the church to close its doors than to dirty the name of Jesus.

What are your evangelical theories? I have very few. Here is however one of my own theories.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (New Living Translation)
20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Being used of God has less to do with strategy than it does the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those around us. How many of you know precisely the inner workings of God’s Spirit in hearts of those around you? Being ready to be used by the Master is tied to the lives that we live.

I’m not Mr. Superhero Evangelist. However, today I watched as my little sister publicly professed Christ as her Lord and Savior. My brother in law did the same. For some time now, I have prayed for them and done what I could to be a witness for Christ in their lives. Praise God.

You’ll have to ask her as to how much weight my example has played in her faith. I don’t know for sure. However, if she knew me to be a liar, a drunk, an abuser, greedy, licentious, a gossip or a slanderer, how interested do you think she would be in knowing the Jesus that I proclaim?

For those of us who consider ourselves to be evangelical, how much weight do we really place on keeping ourselves pure? Is that part of our strategy? Or are we more inclined to show how worldly we can be and still be fine with Jesus? Paul tells Timothy, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use.” Vs 21

I’m sure that your church isn’t handing out fistfuls of cash on Easter Sunday. You likely don’t have pole dancing lessons either. I pray that the Christian freak show doesn’t get any worse than it is.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My Church: Faith

What is my church like? It's filled with incredibly human people. Some of us are serious about being used of God, others just want to enjoy this life and feel good about our standing with Him. Some of us are warm. Some of us are not.

We are a big enough church that you can slip in and out and few people will notice. Which is good if you just want to check it out in secret agent kind of way. The drawback (if you call it that), is that it's large enough that if you actually want to be a part of the family, you'll have to be intentional about finding ways to connect with people there. Sure, we have greeters at the door. They'll smile at you. They'll shake your hand and they really are glad to see you, but they won't know you from Jack the bear.

Overall, I believe in the people in leadership. There are always issues, but I believe that their hearts are normally in the right place.

It took me over a year to find my place, but am glad that I have. I am very thankful for the men and women who walk with me; people who take the initiative to pray for me when they are aware of my needs. I hope that I do the same for them.

Your experience might vary, but if you are looking for a Christian faith family of you own, I'd encourage you to check it out.

Kevin

Monday, March 21, 2011

Expecting

Psalm 139:13-16 (New International Version, ©2011)

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Heart Aches

I’m caught in between two worlds tonight. At supper this evening, I read a booklet called Quantum Faith. Don’t worry. It’s only 20 pages long. I didn’t want to pull an intellectual muscle or anything.

The premise of the book goes something like this, “You are the one giving substance to your world through words!” It seems to be all about getting God to do the miraculous things that you want Him to do. Through faith and the power of your words, you can do everything from keeping your car running perfectly to preventing your computer from crashing.

In the other part of my world, my friend from public school spends his days and nights watching as his son struggles for life itself. Unless God extends His strong right hand, it doesn’t look good.

I know I should be a little more diplomatic when I make reference to the literary efforts of a fellow believer. It sounds to me, little more than a Christian version of witchcraft. Get your words right, get the faith formula down and God is obligated to act in the way that you dictate.

I hurt for my friend. If Quantum Faith is right, then my prayers must be little better than that of the heathen, because the young man hasn’t been healed.

The way that I understand scripture, the promise of the Gospel isn’t that our luck will get better. The assurance is that we have been made right with The Father through Christ The Son. For many, the road is tough.

God does act amazingly on behalf of many who seek His face. The unfortunate reality, is that it’s not always the case.

Hebrews 11:36-40 (New Living Translation)
36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Keep this in mind. “None of them received all that God had promised” vs 39. If these people of faith did not receive all that God had promised, what are the odds that you and I receive all that He promises here in this present life?

Having a reliable vehicle, well behaved children and a stable computer isn’t the end result of our faith. Even nonbelievers desire after these things. My friend, if you are reading this, I hope you are encouraged. Faith in Christ is in itself the victory. If you are able to maintain your testimony for Jesus in this trial, I can think of few things nearly so miraculous.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Alma Mater

Seeing ourselves through the eyes of someone else can be a wonderful blessing. I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with a friend of mine from public school. His name is Rob. Without him, I’d probably still be listening to the likes of WHAM! . He was the guy who introduced me to the music of Alice Cooper.

He found me on Facebook a few months ago and asked if we could get together. Sadly, I was kind of nervous getting together with him after all these years. I always admired him for the fact that he was so many things that I was not. He was tough, but he wasn’t a bully. He was funny, without being a prankster.

He’s still a pretty cool guy and has gotten really good at playing guitar. He still likes heavy metal. In our short time together he asked
me, “Do you remember when we met?”

It’s the kind of question you really want to have an answer for isn’t it? You don’t want to be on the forgetful end of the relationship. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember.

“Kev. I remember meeting you while some guys were trying to stuff you in a locker. I liked you from that moment on.”

Funny I would forget a moment like that.

This weekend I’ll be catching up with some of my friends from university. There’s never a bad time to visit with someone who added value to your life. Do you want to bless someone? Remind them of your first memory of them.

It was good to see you again Rob. In the words of Alice Cooper
“I hope….I hope you won’t forget me or nothin’.” Alma Mater, Schools Out
(That song chokes me up. Too bad I can’t find a good version on You Tube)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Training for Unrighteousness

Every once in a while, you might find yourself in conversations where you talk about those kinds of parents who ‘shelter their children’. When we talk about vagrant parents like that, do you ever wonder who they are? Do they have names? Or are they merely an elite, ivory tower secret society.

I want to save you the time of trying to figure out this mystery. They’re probably talking about me. Last week, in conversation, my wife made mention of “The Finger”. You know what The Finger is right? If you are looking at the back of your right hand, it’s the second finger from the left. If you count your thumb, it’s the third from the left. If you are looking at the palm of your right hand, it’s the third from the left. It is often referred to as being the middle finger, which is only partially accurate. It really isn’t the middle finger unless you consider the opposable thumb to be a finger. If you are left handed…..Never mind.

Upon hearing mention of “The Finger”, my 12 year old daughter asked, “What is the finger?”

Unfortunately, it is true. There are some things that we have neglected to teach our children. This is one of those things. My wife and I looked at each other and I asked, “Is this the kind of thing that we need to teach her?”

I entertained the thought for a moment. No. I’m really not trying to intentionally shelter the poor girl from those valuable life skills such as flipping the bird. I didn’t take the time to pray about it, which might very well be the source of my error. The conclusion that I came to in those few seconds was this. No. I’m not going to be the one who teaches her that.

“Sorry my daughter. You can learn that somewhere else. I’m sure most of your friends know by now. Ask them.”

Innocence is a horrible thing isn’t it? I maintain the hope that my children will eventually pick up all of these essential life skills. I just pray that they don’t get them from me.

You’re right. The Bible doesn’t make mention of “The Finger.” What about those other valuable life skills? Would you intentionally teach your kids to lie? How can a person get through life successfully if they are honest?

I have a friend of mine who sold his car last year. He sold it to a young woman who was headed off to university in the fall. It was a very inexpensive vehicle, and likewise, he offered no warranty on it. Selling used vehicles is as risky, if not more so, than buying a used vehicle. No matter how thoroughly you go over and inspect a vehicle, there is no way to predict the future reliability of the vehicle you are selling.

About a week after selling the car, the young woman came back to my friend. A noise had developed in the rear brakes. Even though no warranty was given or implied for the vehicle, the young lady and her father expected my friend to repair it for free. After removing the wheels, he noticed that the brakes had been over heated. Here is the conversation that ensued.

My friend – “What happened to the brakes? It wasn’t like that when I inspected it last week.”

The daughter – “Oh. I left on the parking brake and drove around with it for a while. Could that have something to do with it?”

Giving his daughter stern glare, dad abruptly cut into the conversation saying, “She only drove it for a few feet in the parking lot. The brakes were obviously defective.”

It makes me wonder what kind of conversation they had with each other before they left home. “Come with me little girl, and I’ll teach you how to scam the used car dealer.”

I’m sure that my children will pick up enough junk without me being the one to intentionally train them. Unfortunately, enough of it comes from me as it is.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I'd Rather Join The Rotary Club

One thing I hear repeatedly about Jesus, is that He was tough on the religious Jews of His day, but went easy on the blatant sinners. True story. Today’s equivalent to the religious Jews would be the church. Would it not? So if Jesus were here, in the flesh today, He’d go easy on the sinners and play hardball with the church.

If that's the case, why on earth would anyone want to be a part of the church? A close friend of mine just led someone to Christ a couple of weeks ago. Is there a grace period where we continue being nice to new converts, at least for a little while? Maybe we should give them at least a month before we beat on them. How ‘bout a year?

In some ways, we are nicer to newcomers than we are to our own. We have block parties, barbeques, festivals, dessert nights and movie nights, sometimes in the hopes that we can at least get them on the property.

Was He hard on religious Jews? Or was He hard on the religious Jews who rejected Him?

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

NOT Born This Way

Every once in a while, Lady Gaga makes me think about my own life. I suppose, as a Christian blogger, I should spend most of my time bashing her. Truth is, I do admire her flare for the theatric. I hope that it stems from her own creativity and isn’t something inspired by drug use. That would be completely lame.

Her latest album is called, “Born This Way”. I don’t know about you, but when I survey my life’s course, I wasn’t born this way.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (English Standard Version)
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of connecting with several people from my public school days. I often feel like I owe many of my longstanding friends a bit of an apology. I mean, when they chose to invest themselves into my life, it’s not like they signed up for the person that I am now.

I’m not the same person that I used to be. If you have known me for over 15 years, whether you see it as an improvement or not, the difference is Jesus. My friends from University have been among the most gracious in accepting me for who I was without Christ, as well as who I am in Him.

Unfortunately, the phrase ‘born again’ seems to carry with it a lot of negative baggage. Having lived on both sides of the fence, there are worse things than being forgiven. I like who I am in Christ and don’t want to go back.

Whatever you have been 'born into', I want you to know that it doesn't have to dominate your future.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Which is Worse?

Genesis 3:22-24 (English Standard Version)
22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

If you have walked in Christian circles for any length of time, no doubt you have heard about how Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Many of us know that God drove the man and woman from the garden. The part that I often had trouble with was this section.

After having eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God was concerned that Adam might have taken of the tree of life and have lived forever. It almost seemed mean that God wouldn’t allow the man and woman to eat of the tree of life.

For some time now, I’ve understood on an intellectual and theological level a few of the reasons why it would have been a bad thing for the man and woman to have eaten of the tree of life. It has only been the last while however that the reality has settled into my heart.

How do you feel about things like child poverty? How do you feel about things like sexual and emotional abuse? Do you like the bloodshed and starvation that you see in the world? What about human trafficking and the sex trade? Ever lose someone to drug abuse?

There are worse things than death. One of them is this –

A world forever cursed.

If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life, that’s exactly what would have transpired. As horrible as the notion of dying might be, I believe that it is better to die once, than to live cursed for all eternity. (Not that I’m looking forward to that dark battle.)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Why Bother?

We’ve Been Commanded

I suppose if you aren’t a follower of Jesus Christ, then this won’t apply to you. God doesn’t expect the children of the world to love each other with a selfless love. In fact, selfless love should not be in their nature. Those who belong to the world should lie to one another, take from one another, and cheat one another. They should talk behind each other’s back. They should have tribal factions and war with each other. They should think that they are better than one another and kill those who are opposed to them. The people of the world should, by their character, abuse the power they have obtained and lord it over the people who are subject to them. They should feel victimized and blame others for all of their life’s trials and troubles.

If however, you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus Christ, this applies to you....

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:12

These are some of the words that Jesus had for his disciples during His last supper with them. In a way, this might be a culmination of His work with them. Out of all of the things He has taught them, of all of the things He has shown them, this might just be the very core of what He was trying to convey. He wanted His people to love each other in the same way that He loved them.

Unfortunately, sometimes the church acts in every way, as if they are of the world. At times, her people bicker amongst themselves. At times, we have our own factions and power plays. From God’s perspective, I think there are very few things that disturb Him to that extent.

My wife and I have been blessed to have had 4 children. Our three youngest children just so happen to be boys. I don’t know if our experience with our 3 sons is typical, although I am led to believe that it is. I grew up with two sisters and no brothers, while my wife had only one sister. We never planned on having three sons, so we really had no idea of what to expect. There is this energy in our household, that neither my wife nor I endured in our own childhood experience. There is always someone jumping, always someone getting hurt, and always someone in a wrestling match.

Being severely outweighed, I had always assumed that my youngest would have to stay away from the traditional boyish tussle, but time has shown me the error of my assumption. Not only is he willing to join the fray at the drop of a hat, he is surprisingly capable of holding his own.

If my child is hurt by a friend of his, it doesn’t trouble me all that much. In that scenario, I merely need to feel the pain of my injured son. I do not have the groaning of a father whose son has been the aggressor. If my son hurts his friend, it bothers me more. It might sound odd, but as long as the injury is not severe, I prefer my son to have taken a hit rather than being the culprit. Most physical injuries will heal over time, but time itself has little power to change one’s sinister character.

As a parent, few things bother me quite so much as when my own children mistreat one another. It troubles me, because no matter who gets hurt, something inside of me hurts. Not only do I have to deal with the pain of the son who hurts, I also have to deal with the injustice committed by my other son. I hurt from both sides. I hurt because one of my sons has been unjust and I hurt because one of my sons has been wrongfully treated.

Without putting words in the mouth of Almighty God, that may very well be why Christ had given his disciples the command to love each other in the same way that He had loved them. God wants His children to love each other, and for this cause, He spent His earthly ministry demonstrating to them what it looks like to love each other. In those precious few hours together before He was arrested, there was an urgent undercurrent in what He was trying to communicate. It was like He was saying, ‘Guys. I want you to do for each other the same things that I have done for you. Have you been paying attention? Have you noticed the ways in which I have demonstrated My love to you? Love each other the same way. If you haven’t been paying attention, I’ll try and explain what it looks like.....’

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s own life for one’s friend.” John 15:13

Over the course of His time with them, I don’t know if they ever really noticed the way in which He had loved them. Some of their time was spent looking at the modern architecture as if they were tourists (Matthew 24:1). They competed with each other for power and control in Christ’s kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). They argued amongst themselves about who would be the greatest. (Luke 22:24)
It is almost as if Jesus is pleading with them to get past themselves. The command to love each other wasn’t so much a new command as it was a summary of what He had been trying to teach them all along. ‘Give up trying to be better than each other. Stop pretending that you are more important than one another. Stop living life as if you are some kind of tourist. I’m going away and I’m leaving you behind to carry on the work of the Kingdom.’

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Save the Planet

Well, I’m at it again. I have finished another go round through The Bible. This time through, I’m going to walk through the ESV.

Environmentalism is a word I think we all talk a lot about in our time. I don’t know if this sounds mean or not, but for all the talk of environmentalists, I don’t think I’ve ever met one. Have you ever asked anyone to give up some of their unnecessary luxuries? I won’t even try. I don’t want to be hated. The way I understand it, environmentalism is kind of like a religion, where no matter what you sacrifice, you’re never really good enough to qualify.

I’ve gotten rid of my incandescent bulbs, but I’m not in the club. This past winter, we kept our house at 15 degrees celcius to save on our natural gas. I’m still not in the club. This summer, my wife and I won’t be using our A/C in order to reduce our electrical consumption. Even if we do have the endurance, I doubt that this will even win a position with the club. I feel like I do most of what environmentalists advocate, but I never seem to fit in.

Being environmental has more to do with waving a banner, owning a Prius and burning a candle during earth hour than actually being good stewards of God’s creation.

Genesis 1:28 (English Standard Version)
28And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

You can keep your cell phone, even if you don’t need it. I really don’t care. As people, we were called to have dominion over the earth. Having dominion implies that we were to have both the authority over and responsibility for all living things on earth. If we envision the life that the first people lived, it really wouldn’t much resemble the life that you and I are living now would it? Where is the plane ride to the Dominican? Where are the consumer electronics? Where's the night life?

How many of us could be content in the life that Paul seems to be advocating when he’s talking to Timothy?

1 Timothy 6:7-9 (New Living Translation)
7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.


If we have food and clothing, we should be content. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I want at least a little bit more than that. I like to think that I live a fairly simple life, without having too much unecessarry consumption in it. I do like my laptop. I like my cell phone. I like playing my NES. Most of us like the things that this world has to offer more than we should. It isn’t the government’s fault. I’m not even advocating that we turn back the clock.

The debate in our time has very little to do with whether or not we should be good stewards of the earth. It has more to do with answering these two questions;

1 How do I do that?
2 How many pleasures can I keep without wrecking the place?