This time of year conjures images of Currier and Ives and Norman Rockwell - a time that was more peaceful. But those images are opposite of what we know today. Some have never known those peaceful times; they have only known the hustle and bustle of the season. Somehow the "peaceful, relaxed and unhurried" doesn't really fit our culture today.
Today we have merchandisers who will not celebrate Christmas, but will celebrate the holidays. We have stores who sell "Holiday Trees," who forbid one organization to 'ring their bells' in front of their stores, who sell "Holiday decorations." All of this in order not to offend anyone. I'm offended!!
Today we have shoppers rushing from store to store to find that perfect gift for their loved ones. We hustle to party after party not wanting to miss an opportunity to visit with co-workers and friends. There isn't anything wrong with parties or finding that perfect gift, but where are the simpler times?
On the other hand we have musicians who are busy making preparations for Christmas performances. For over 25 years I have been among those preparing Christmas musicals for the church. It is often because of those musical performances that I have failed to know the "peaceful, relaxed and unhurried" times.
Isaiah 9:6-7 reads like this in "The Message."
"For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over
the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings."
In spite of the hustle and bustle, in spite of those who are removing "Christ" from "Christmas," in spite of those who are busy preparing and performing musicals, we desperately need to find the "Prince of Wholeness" and the "wholeness He brings."
We need to rediscover that "Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness." This year may you find that peace that comes only through the Prince of Peace; may you find that "wholeness."
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Will the Church Ever Learn
I came across this article written by Michael Catt. He is the Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. You may recognize the church name; it is the same church that brought us the movies "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel." Pastor Catt speaks honestly and forthrightly about the church in the 21st century.
Will the Church Ever Learn? :: Michael Catt
Okay, you should be able to tell where this is going by the title. There are “churches” today that have little to do with what the New Testament or Christian history calls the church. Only in America could we have made something so sacred so trivial and irrelevant. If we were in a third world country or living at the time of the Apostle Paul, most of what we call “the church” wouldn’t exist. It would have never been started and it certainly couldn’t have succeeded.
The “Joy Boys” have turned the church into Santa's workshop. Gifts on demand. Money on demand. Cars on demand. Healing on demand. We’ve been good, so God better pay up. We’ve thrown out a few obscure promises we found in the Scriptures (pertaining to Israel and the Old Covenant) and demand God to make them work for us in 2007.
We’ve got more options for churches than any other culture in the world. Find a church that fits YOU. Find a preacher YOU like. Find a church with programs for YOU. Serve as long as it is convenient for YOU. Attend when YOU feel like it. Give YOUR money. After all, ME-church is all about what I like, want, need and feel. It’s God on demand.
Styles have superseded substance. Trivial pursuits have prevailed over Truth. Playing has taken the place of prayer. Happiness is more important than holiness. Self-centeredness is crushing the servant spirit. Christ is Mr. Potato Head—we can make Him look like anything we want. If we don't like the way He looks, we can pull Him apart piece by piece.
Only in this silly, self-centered culture would we be having some of the debates we are having. Worship styles. Translation arguments. Which systematic theology is right? Instead of fighting the devil and storming the gates of hell, we’re fighting among ourselves.
God forbid that someone, some preacher or prophet, should call us back to the basics. The basics aren’t cool. Who wants regular coffee when you can go to Starbucks and get a hundred different flavors all to your liking? Who wants plain vanilla ice cream when you can go to Marble Slab or similar places and mix it up to fit your taste?
Recently a prominent preacher in the Atlanta area said, in effect, if he could rewrite Christian history he would emphasize building relationships more and the gospel less. This is the same arrogance that led him to proclaim in a major Christian magazine that Jesus wouldn’t call Himself a shepherd if He were alive today. I guess the next announcement will be this young buck is looking for a vacancy in the Trinity. How arrogant. How blasphemous. How unbiblical can a guy get before someone calls him on it?
In mid-October, Christianity Today released an article regarding Willow Creek Community Church. While thousands of churches have followed the Willow Creek model, the church is now saying they made a mistake.
Quoting from the article, “Not long ago Willow released its findings from a multiple year qualitative study of its ministry. Basically, they wanted to know what programs and activities of the church were actually helping people mature spiritually and which were not. . . . Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow called the findings ‘earth shaking,’ ‘ground breaking’ and ‘mind blowing.’”
Willow churns out programs like Proctor and Gamble churns out diapers. They measure levels of participation like a business measures the products coming off an assembly line. It’s about nickels, noses and numbers. The more nickels, noses and numbers, obviously the more blessed you are by God. Right? Wrong.
Read carefully what the article says, “Having put all of their eggs into the program-driven church basket you can understand their shock when the research revealed that ‘increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.’” Well, duh!
Hybels calls the study “the wake up call” of his adult life. He admits, “We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and became Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self feeders. We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.” Oh, you mean like lifestyle Christianity, something like the New Testament?
Wow, now there’s a novel thought. We need to get people to pray, seek the Lord, study their Bibles and other basic stuff that is too hip to do in American Christianity. In American Christianity we “seek” God and self satisfaction. While millions long for copies of Scripture around the world, there are churches so hip you don’t have to take your Bible to church. You don’t have to worry about them wanting you to be an intercessor.
The folks at Willow say they want to change the way they do church. Really? Are they going to be able to get all the churches they’ve influenced to change the way they are doing church? Or what they call church? They say they are going to rethink all their old assumptions. Didn’t they learn in school that you never assume anything?
Maybe, just maybe, if they and others were more concerned with teaching the Word without apology, they’d build a stronger church. Not necessarily bigger, but certainly stronger. Their admission can be summed up as a confession to being a “wood, hay and stubble” church. They’ve led tens of thousands to build bigger barns, but they have nothing in the loft but hay. Hay is for horses.
I’d like to suggest they get back to the meat of the Word, the milk of the Word, the Living Water and the Bread of Life. That would be a healthy start for an emaciated church.
Will the Church Ever Learn? :: Michael Catt
Okay, you should be able to tell where this is going by the title. There are “churches” today that have little to do with what the New Testament or Christian history calls the church. Only in America could we have made something so sacred so trivial and irrelevant. If we were in a third world country or living at the time of the Apostle Paul, most of what we call “the church” wouldn’t exist. It would have never been started and it certainly couldn’t have succeeded.
The “Joy Boys” have turned the church into Santa's workshop. Gifts on demand. Money on demand. Cars on demand. Healing on demand. We’ve been good, so God better pay up. We’ve thrown out a few obscure promises we found in the Scriptures (pertaining to Israel and the Old Covenant) and demand God to make them work for us in 2007.
We’ve got more options for churches than any other culture in the world. Find a church that fits YOU. Find a preacher YOU like. Find a church with programs for YOU. Serve as long as it is convenient for YOU. Attend when YOU feel like it. Give YOUR money. After all, ME-church is all about what I like, want, need and feel. It’s God on demand.
Styles have superseded substance. Trivial pursuits have prevailed over Truth. Playing has taken the place of prayer. Happiness is more important than holiness. Self-centeredness is crushing the servant spirit. Christ is Mr. Potato Head—we can make Him look like anything we want. If we don't like the way He looks, we can pull Him apart piece by piece.
Only in this silly, self-centered culture would we be having some of the debates we are having. Worship styles. Translation arguments. Which systematic theology is right? Instead of fighting the devil and storming the gates of hell, we’re fighting among ourselves.
God forbid that someone, some preacher or prophet, should call us back to the basics. The basics aren’t cool. Who wants regular coffee when you can go to Starbucks and get a hundred different flavors all to your liking? Who wants plain vanilla ice cream when you can go to Marble Slab or similar places and mix it up to fit your taste?
Recently a prominent preacher in the Atlanta area said, in effect, if he could rewrite Christian history he would emphasize building relationships more and the gospel less. This is the same arrogance that led him to proclaim in a major Christian magazine that Jesus wouldn’t call Himself a shepherd if He were alive today. I guess the next announcement will be this young buck is looking for a vacancy in the Trinity. How arrogant. How blasphemous. How unbiblical can a guy get before someone calls him on it?
In mid-October, Christianity Today released an article regarding Willow Creek Community Church. While thousands of churches have followed the Willow Creek model, the church is now saying they made a mistake.
Quoting from the article, “Not long ago Willow released its findings from a multiple year qualitative study of its ministry. Basically, they wanted to know what programs and activities of the church were actually helping people mature spiritually and which were not. . . . Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow called the findings ‘earth shaking,’ ‘ground breaking’ and ‘mind blowing.’”
Willow churns out programs like Proctor and Gamble churns out diapers. They measure levels of participation like a business measures the products coming off an assembly line. It’s about nickels, noses and numbers. The more nickels, noses and numbers, obviously the more blessed you are by God. Right? Wrong.
Read carefully what the article says, “Having put all of their eggs into the program-driven church basket you can understand their shock when the research revealed that ‘increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.’” Well, duh!
Hybels calls the study “the wake up call” of his adult life. He admits, “We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and became Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self feeders. We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.” Oh, you mean like lifestyle Christianity, something like the New Testament?
Wow, now there’s a novel thought. We need to get people to pray, seek the Lord, study their Bibles and other basic stuff that is too hip to do in American Christianity. In American Christianity we “seek” God and self satisfaction. While millions long for copies of Scripture around the world, there are churches so hip you don’t have to take your Bible to church. You don’t have to worry about them wanting you to be an intercessor.
The folks at Willow say they want to change the way they do church. Really? Are they going to be able to get all the churches they’ve influenced to change the way they are doing church? Or what they call church? They say they are going to rethink all their old assumptions. Didn’t they learn in school that you never assume anything?
Maybe, just maybe, if they and others were more concerned with teaching the Word without apology, they’d build a stronger church. Not necessarily bigger, but certainly stronger. Their admission can be summed up as a confession to being a “wood, hay and stubble” church. They’ve led tens of thousands to build bigger barns, but they have nothing in the loft but hay. Hay is for horses.
I’d like to suggest they get back to the meat of the Word, the milk of the Word, the Living Water and the Bread of Life. That would be a healthy start for an emaciated church.
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Word
Instead of offering some trivial words that are empty, I thought I would share The Word. I want to share some of my favorite scripture verses with you. Maybe they will offer some comfort to you. Maybe you will want to offer a word of praise for the Father has made available to us as His children. So as we approach the Thanksgiving holidays may our thoughts focus on God's Word.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Some selected passages from Psalm 103
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 139:1-6 (NASB)
LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Psalm 100
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Some selected passages from Psalm 103
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 139:1-6 (NASB)
LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Psalm 100
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Strange Phenomenon/Frightening Phenomenon
A very strange phenomenon has occurred. It is the strangest thing. In the past week my children have turned 20 and 23. I know that is not a strange phenomenon - although there have been times I have wondered about both of them - Ha! (Just kidding, guys)
What is strange is that my children are getting older, and yet their parents haven't. That is a strange phenomenon - don't you agree? How can my children be in their twenties and yet I am still the same robust young man that I have always been? Ha!
Seriously, in the past week my son turned twenty, and my daughter and her husband both had birthdays. It is amazing to me to see how they (son, daughter, and son-in-law) have matured into incredible young adults.
That was brought back to me this week as I read about a recent study about young adults. According to the study, 70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22. "As young people transition from high school into the workforce or college, they are faced with many choices - including whether to continue attending church."
That concerns me on two levels - as a parent and as a leader in a church. First, let me address my concerns as a parent. You spend 18 years training a child, doing everything you can to teach me. You teach them how important the church is - in spite of her many flaws. Yet when they reach the age where they make the choice about church attendance, 70 percent have chosen to not attend.
Being in a position of leadership in a church - that statistic frightens me. It frightens me for several reasons, but let me only talk about two. First, the church has failed to teach these young adults the importance of not only a relationship with God the Father, but also the relationships with other people. Second, the church is in trouble today unless some drastic changes are not made. We are not reaching these young adults. Unless the church recognizes the serious consequences of losing an entire generation, the church will cease to exist. By that, I'm not suggesting that all churches will die, but I do believe that churches that don't make the necessary changes to reach these young adults will die. That is harsh language, but I believe that it is accurate. We must begin the drastic changes to reach these young adults.
On a personal note, let me say how proud I am of the three young adults who have celebrated birthdays this week. They have remained connected to the church, for that I am eternally grateful. I'm grateful that God has blessed me with these three young adults. I am a blessed man. I also eagerly anticipate what impact these three young adults will make in the church of tomorrow.
What is strange is that my children are getting older, and yet their parents haven't. That is a strange phenomenon - don't you agree? How can my children be in their twenties and yet I am still the same robust young man that I have always been? Ha!
Seriously, in the past week my son turned twenty, and my daughter and her husband both had birthdays. It is amazing to me to see how they (son, daughter, and son-in-law) have matured into incredible young adults.
That was brought back to me this week as I read about a recent study about young adults. According to the study, 70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22. "As young people transition from high school into the workforce or college, they are faced with many choices - including whether to continue attending church."
That concerns me on two levels - as a parent and as a leader in a church. First, let me address my concerns as a parent. You spend 18 years training a child, doing everything you can to teach me. You teach them how important the church is - in spite of her many flaws. Yet when they reach the age where they make the choice about church attendance, 70 percent have chosen to not attend.
Being in a position of leadership in a church - that statistic frightens me. It frightens me for several reasons, but let me only talk about two. First, the church has failed to teach these young adults the importance of not only a relationship with God the Father, but also the relationships with other people. Second, the church is in trouble today unless some drastic changes are not made. We are not reaching these young adults. Unless the church recognizes the serious consequences of losing an entire generation, the church will cease to exist. By that, I'm not suggesting that all churches will die, but I do believe that churches that don't make the necessary changes to reach these young adults will die. That is harsh language, but I believe that it is accurate. We must begin the drastic changes to reach these young adults.
On a personal note, let me say how proud I am of the three young adults who have celebrated birthdays this week. They have remained connected to the church, for that I am eternally grateful. I'm grateful that God has blessed me with these three young adults. I am a blessed man. I also eagerly anticipate what impact these three young adults will make in the church of tomorrow.
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