I received a compliment today from an unlikely source. I married a young couple, friends of mine. The wedding was less than formal, primarily because neither the groom's or the bride's family are not into show or formality. The wedding and the reception were held in the same location, a local Grange Hall. At the reception I sat beside a young lady probably in her late teens or early twenties. I had barely sat down when she turned to me and and said, "I have been to other weddings but this was different. It was real".
I've been reflecting on her words. From the bit I know about her, I can assume that church is not part of her world. That's why her words were a compliment to me. Jesus had the ability to move freely among sinners, among those that were considered "less than" by the religious folk of the day. He was "God with us" yet those who considered themselves to be the people of God gave Him the most trouble. It almost seems as if the "sinners" were closer to the Kingdom of God than the religious. Repeatedly we find that the "Word in Flesh" touched common people in a way that the religious elite did not.
I have found sinners to be interested in God, in the Bible and the practical application of the Bible, almost more so than the religious. They want to know how to do life. They want to know what God has to say. However, the have no interest in theory or the theology of self hidden behind the facade of God. They easily discern the difference between what is real and the religious posers.
I get frustrated with Christians who continually lament how evil the world is; how difficult it is to witness. I don't think the problem lies with the bad people in the world. I believe that the problem lies within us. For many of us Christianity is a facade. We say the correct things but our heart is far from our words. The sinners instinctively sense our hypocrisy and shut us out.
However, if we began to live the 'Logos", the word, the sinners will take notice. They respond to real.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
in what do we trust?
Once again I heard the voice of truth in a strange place. I was listening to a sports talks show on the radio while on the road in my truck. The host stated that whenever you threaten the thing that brings security to a person, the person will always react strongly. He went further to say that it is easy to discover the source of a person’s security by watching to what they react consistently and strongly.
How true! This morning I spent some time on the water fishing. My mind pondered this truth for a time. I was reminded of an incident that occurred in the Middle East several thousand years ago. The nation of Israel had once again turned from the worship of the I AM to the worship of the popular created gods of society. A fearful young man received a mandate from the I AM to destroy the man-created image that the people of his household and of his city worshipped. One night he dared destroy the image of the god along with the instruments of worship used in their religious ceremony.
The next morning, the men of the city immediately pronounced a death sentence on Gideon for destroying their god. They demanded that Joash, Gideon’s father, immediately deliver Gideon into their hand. In the midst of the chaos and tumult, Joash spoke words of truth and wisdom - But Joash shouted to the mob, “Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who knocked down his altar!
If Baal was truly a powerful god, then surely Baal could defend himself. However, Gideon’s actions revealed the heart of the matter. Baal was the creation of man and as such he needed the protection of man to exist. He was not a powerful god able to defend himself. The source of security for the men of the city was revealed. It was not the I AM but a creation of their own.
Thousands of years later, we are really no different than those Israelites living in the Middle East. When the source of our security is anything other than the I AM, we quickly lash out at whatever threatens our sense of security. That is why truth is frequently attacked viciously. It reveals the source of our security.
On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be overtaken by the I AM, if He becomes our source of security, then we find ourselves in the place of Psalm 91:
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
Will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I am trusting him.
How true! This morning I spent some time on the water fishing. My mind pondered this truth for a time. I was reminded of an incident that occurred in the Middle East several thousand years ago. The nation of Israel had once again turned from the worship of the I AM to the worship of the popular created gods of society. A fearful young man received a mandate from the I AM to destroy the man-created image that the people of his household and of his city worshipped. One night he dared destroy the image of the god along with the instruments of worship used in their religious ceremony.
The next morning, the men of the city immediately pronounced a death sentence on Gideon for destroying their god. They demanded that Joash, Gideon’s father, immediately deliver Gideon into their hand. In the midst of the chaos and tumult, Joash spoke words of truth and wisdom - But Joash shouted to the mob, “Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who knocked down his altar!
If Baal was truly a powerful god, then surely Baal could defend himself. However, Gideon’s actions revealed the heart of the matter. Baal was the creation of man and as such he needed the protection of man to exist. He was not a powerful god able to defend himself. The source of security for the men of the city was revealed. It was not the I AM but a creation of their own.
Thousands of years later, we are really no different than those Israelites living in the Middle East. When the source of our security is anything other than the I AM, we quickly lash out at whatever threatens our sense of security. That is why truth is frequently attacked viciously. It reveals the source of our security.
On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be overtaken by the I AM, if He becomes our source of security, then we find ourselves in the place of Psalm 91:
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
Will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I am trusting him.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
what shall we build?
I want to build a great church. Through the years I have heard church leaders make that statement repeatedly. If you were to rewind the words I have spoken and play them back again, most likely you would hear me say them at some point in time.
While I am not sure that there is anything inherently wrong with these words, they usually point to an underlying issue that is a problem. Jesus said the He would build His church and by implication that work probably extends to us as well. However nowhere in scripture do we see that our focus is to be “building the church”.
The problem occurs when the church (or perhaps something posing as the Church) becomes more important than people. Jesus, at the point of His ascension, instructed the disciples to go into the world and make disciples. Paul told the saints in Galatia that he labored until Christ be formed in them.
I cannot speak for other church leaders. For me however, the intent of building a great church had less to do with people and more to do with building a great system of programs, services and facilities. It had to do with the desire to be cool and cutting edge. When I place this paradigm against the template of scripture, I find a great deal of discordance between the two.
Without a doubt I am involved in building the Church today. However my focus has changed from being toward a structure and a system to being toward building people. The primary fruit of Jesus’ ministry with people was not the evolution of a great healing ministry complete with conferences and programs. No, the fruit of Jesus ministry primarily manifested in the lives of 11 diverse followers in whom He poured His life.
We build the Church as we make disciples. We build the Church as we labor until Christ is formed in people. Both endeavors require us to leave our elevated platform and pulpit to interact deeply with the lives of people. We will be pricked by the rough edges of life; pummeled by the raw emotion of wounded people. Our neatly constructed theology will fall woefully short in our efforts to make disciples.
The time has come for us to focus less on building a church and more on building people!
While I am not sure that there is anything inherently wrong with these words, they usually point to an underlying issue that is a problem. Jesus said the He would build His church and by implication that work probably extends to us as well. However nowhere in scripture do we see that our focus is to be “building the church”.
The problem occurs when the church (or perhaps something posing as the Church) becomes more important than people. Jesus, at the point of His ascension, instructed the disciples to go into the world and make disciples. Paul told the saints in Galatia that he labored until Christ be formed in them.
I cannot speak for other church leaders. For me however, the intent of building a great church had less to do with people and more to do with building a great system of programs, services and facilities. It had to do with the desire to be cool and cutting edge. When I place this paradigm against the template of scripture, I find a great deal of discordance between the two.
Without a doubt I am involved in building the Church today. However my focus has changed from being toward a structure and a system to being toward building people. The primary fruit of Jesus’ ministry with people was not the evolution of a great healing ministry complete with conferences and programs. No, the fruit of Jesus ministry primarily manifested in the lives of 11 diverse followers in whom He poured His life.
We build the Church as we make disciples. We build the Church as we labor until Christ is formed in people. Both endeavors require us to leave our elevated platform and pulpit to interact deeply with the lives of people. We will be pricked by the rough edges of life; pummeled by the raw emotion of wounded people. Our neatly constructed theology will fall woefully short in our efforts to make disciples.
The time has come for us to focus less on building a church and more on building people!
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