I wrote a song this week. Ok - I really didn't write a song I just made up a tune to go with some scripture verses but if you knew me you'd know this is amazing. I was reading in the Psalms and it just hit me - I started to sing and there it was - an offering to the Lord. I tried to teach it to our little band Wednesday evening but couldn't get it right. My son Jeff is here this weekend and helped me work it out. He gave it a new sound - a little more contempary and not so hicky country. We practiced it tonight and it is good. I think we are going to play it in church tomorrow. I hope everyone will like it - especially the Lord cause it really began as a personal moment with Him in the Word.
I think thats how the christian life has to be lived. It starts in a personal moment with the Lord but you need others to help iron out the wrinkles and perfect it and together make some beautiful music to the Lord. Instead of trying to go it alone why not find a fellowship of believers somewhere who can help you polish that song in your heart.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
My Shopping Cart Epiphany
The wife and I went to the grocery store tonight to get some food. Our kids are coming in for the weekend and despite the fact that they have been away for a number of years and are married they still eat a lot, especially at my house. Anyway, it was in the parking lot at the grocery store that I had my epiphany. I saw very clearly that the problem with America is we are LAZY.
Now I hear some saying this is nothing new but I beg to differ. There have always been those among us who were lazy but we have taken this vice to a hither to unknown level (thus the capitalization of the word).
Why you ask would I say such a thing (if your reading this I'm guessing you might ask). When we came out of the store and went to our car there were two carts right next to it yet there was a cart holder (I'm not sure what the technical name is) right in front of my car - 10 feet away from the where the carts had been parked. There was another cart holder one parking spot to my right - again maybe 10 feet away(I love such places because I don't have to walk too far to dispose of my cart). Both places were almost empty of carts. Now I ask you, how hard is it to walk 10 feet and put a cart in one of those things? I mean even someone in a wheel chair could have done it with ease. Then it hit me - you know the epiphany thing. Were LAZY - that is our problem.
I don't have a solution for this problem but at least I now recognize it. Maybe we should start support groups for people who struggle with this problem. Since the government is giving away money these days why not use some of it to identify the worst offenders and get them some mental help. Perhaps our schools should add a course that will give our children the skills they need to combat this issue. Of course being a pastor I would certainly expect ministers to preach to this disgusting social malaise. Why not start a letter campaign and ask our new president to address this concern before it destroys us all.
Remember, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing (or something like that). That's the problem - we're LAZY!
Now I hear some saying this is nothing new but I beg to differ. There have always been those among us who were lazy but we have taken this vice to a hither to unknown level (thus the capitalization of the word).
Why you ask would I say such a thing (if your reading this I'm guessing you might ask). When we came out of the store and went to our car there were two carts right next to it yet there was a cart holder (I'm not sure what the technical name is) right in front of my car - 10 feet away from the where the carts had been parked. There was another cart holder one parking spot to my right - again maybe 10 feet away(I love such places because I don't have to walk too far to dispose of my cart). Both places were almost empty of carts. Now I ask you, how hard is it to walk 10 feet and put a cart in one of those things? I mean even someone in a wheel chair could have done it with ease. Then it hit me - you know the epiphany thing. Were LAZY - that is our problem.
I don't have a solution for this problem but at least I now recognize it. Maybe we should start support groups for people who struggle with this problem. Since the government is giving away money these days why not use some of it to identify the worst offenders and get them some mental help. Perhaps our schools should add a course that will give our children the skills they need to combat this issue. Of course being a pastor I would certainly expect ministers to preach to this disgusting social malaise. Why not start a letter campaign and ask our new president to address this concern before it destroys us all.
Remember, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing (or something like that). That's the problem - we're LAZY!
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Demise of Evangelicals
A friend of mine ask me to respond to an article titled" The coming evangelical collapse" by Michael Spencer. It's like a lot of other articles I have read that discuss the present state of the church in America. Why he wanted my input is strange. Maybe that in itself is a sign that we are collapsing after all. Anyway, what follows is my response. Read on if you care or dare.
"Wow - there is a lot to reflect on here but I will respond out of my accumulated ignorance.
Whether you agree with this guy in every detail or not you have to agree that the modern American church has come on hard times.
All the recent reports that Ive seen stress this - Willow Creeks Revel, Barna's surveys, Stetzers Essential Church, the book UnChristian, Present Future etc. By most standards our faith is superficial, our doctrine is polluted with heresy, and we are losing our youth. Most of our churches are in decline mode. There is very little significant evangelism going on. Add to that fact that almost everyone is saying that the center of Christianity has shifted to Latin America or Africa. It may be that evangelical movement is on the way out.
What is the evangelical movement anyway? A movement - not the kingdom of God. Well movements come and go. It may pain me to see it collapse but it will not destroy or hinder the KG. Ephesus was once a powerful church in the heart of Asia - essential you might say - now its gone, but has the church disappeared? There were once great churches in England and great men like Spurgeon, Wilberforce and others. They are gone and so are those churches. Has the KG disappeared? It won't disappear in America either, but it may take a new form. Is that bad?
We forget that our way of doing church is relatively new in light of 2000 years of Christian history. Are we so arrogant to think that God has developed the perfect model and that we must fight to keep our brand of church alive. God will do what He wants, how He wants, where He wants. If I'm blessed I might get to be a small part of that.
I'm no doom and gloom person but I do think the American church is in for even more change in the next 10 -20 years. I have already seen huge change in my brief lifetime. It might take the form suggested in the article.
I agree to some degree that we have tried to build the KG in America with politics and have failed. We used worldly weapons rather than spiritual ones and have not been able to tear down the strongholds. We have pretty much lived in ease while so many of God's children have lived in struggle. It may be the time has come for that to change as well. I have had a sense of this for a long time.
That being said - I believe that the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is indestructible. The gates of hell will not prevail against it - maybe against me or my congregation or my denomination but not against the body of our Lord Jesus. Should I resign myself to the predicted collapse? God Forbid! I am called to serve the church in preaching the gospel, therefore I must, with the wisdom God gives me strive to keep the flock I serve on the cutting edge of the movement of God's Spirit. "The wind blows wherever it pleases". I must turn my sails to catch it and ride it - not sit back and curse the fact that it is moving me to a new place or drop my anchor and try to stay put. The early Christians sat in Jerusalem, indifferent to the Great Commission, until the fires of persecution broke out and scattered them into new places. Was God judging them for not moving out into the world as He had commanded by allowing the persecution to break out. Perhaps. If so then if persecution comes let's take courage in the possibility that perhaps God is once more stirring up his people to move out into new places.
I close with a quote. I found great encouragement from this. It comes from the book George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore.
" For the past thirty years (the book was first published in 1970) numerous people have been saying, 'There can never be another revival! The times are too evil. Sin is now too rampant. We are in the midst of apostasy and the days of revival are gone forever!'
The history of 18th century revival entirely contradicts that view. It demonstrates that true revival is the work of God - not man - of God who is not limited by such circumstances as the extent of human sin or the degree of mankind's unbelief. In the decade between 1730 and 1740 the life of England was foul with moral corruption and crippled by spiritual decay, yet it was amidst such conditions - conditions remarkably similar to those of the English-speaking world today - that God arose in the mighty exercise of His power which became the eighteenth century revival."
"Wow - there is a lot to reflect on here but I will respond out of my accumulated ignorance.
Whether you agree with this guy in every detail or not you have to agree that the modern American church has come on hard times.
All the recent reports that Ive seen stress this - Willow Creeks Revel, Barna's surveys, Stetzers Essential Church, the book UnChristian, Present Future etc. By most standards our faith is superficial, our doctrine is polluted with heresy, and we are losing our youth. Most of our churches are in decline mode. There is very little significant evangelism going on. Add to that fact that almost everyone is saying that the center of Christianity has shifted to Latin America or Africa. It may be that evangelical movement is on the way out.
What is the evangelical movement anyway? A movement - not the kingdom of God. Well movements come and go. It may pain me to see it collapse but it will not destroy or hinder the KG. Ephesus was once a powerful church in the heart of Asia - essential you might say - now its gone, but has the church disappeared? There were once great churches in England and great men like Spurgeon, Wilberforce and others. They are gone and so are those churches. Has the KG disappeared? It won't disappear in America either, but it may take a new form. Is that bad?
We forget that our way of doing church is relatively new in light of 2000 years of Christian history. Are we so arrogant to think that God has developed the perfect model and that we must fight to keep our brand of church alive. God will do what He wants, how He wants, where He wants. If I'm blessed I might get to be a small part of that.
I'm no doom and gloom person but I do think the American church is in for even more change in the next 10 -20 years. I have already seen huge change in my brief lifetime. It might take the form suggested in the article.
I agree to some degree that we have tried to build the KG in America with politics and have failed. We used worldly weapons rather than spiritual ones and have not been able to tear down the strongholds. We have pretty much lived in ease while so many of God's children have lived in struggle. It may be the time has come for that to change as well. I have had a sense of this for a long time.
That being said - I believe that the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is indestructible. The gates of hell will not prevail against it - maybe against me or my congregation or my denomination but not against the body of our Lord Jesus. Should I resign myself to the predicted collapse? God Forbid! I am called to serve the church in preaching the gospel, therefore I must, with the wisdom God gives me strive to keep the flock I serve on the cutting edge of the movement of God's Spirit. "The wind blows wherever it pleases". I must turn my sails to catch it and ride it - not sit back and curse the fact that it is moving me to a new place or drop my anchor and try to stay put. The early Christians sat in Jerusalem, indifferent to the Great Commission, until the fires of persecution broke out and scattered them into new places. Was God judging them for not moving out into the world as He had commanded by allowing the persecution to break out. Perhaps. If so then if persecution comes let's take courage in the possibility that perhaps God is once more stirring up his people to move out into new places.
I close with a quote. I found great encouragement from this. It comes from the book George Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore.
" For the past thirty years (the book was first published in 1970) numerous people have been saying, 'There can never be another revival! The times are too evil. Sin is now too rampant. We are in the midst of apostasy and the days of revival are gone forever!'
The history of 18th century revival entirely contradicts that view. It demonstrates that true revival is the work of God - not man - of God who is not limited by such circumstances as the extent of human sin or the degree of mankind's unbelief. In the decade between 1730 and 1740 the life of England was foul with moral corruption and crippled by spiritual decay, yet it was amidst such conditions - conditions remarkably similar to those of the English-speaking world today - that God arose in the mighty exercise of His power which became the eighteenth century revival."
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Green Bible
I was conversing with my sons the other day and we were laughing about a song called "I Think My Wife Is A Calvinist". It is pretty funny. One of the lines in the song says that she only reads the ESV. That lead to the question had I seen the new "green Bible". Well, Ive read a little about it. It's a Bible for tree huggers. Every verse in the Bible that has to do with nature and the environment is marked in green - like the words of Jesus are marked in red in some Bibles. I think its made out of recycled paper and has some other features that make it eco-friendly. Should make a lot of enviro's happy. Hope it helps a lot of them find slavation in Jesus Christ.
That got me to thinking about all the speciality Bibles on the market today. There are Bibles for kids, teens, parents, couples, pastors, those in recovery, apologists, singles, soldiers, fireman, policeman, cowboys, sportsman, football and basketball players and the list goes on. One Bible for men called the Everyman's Bible had a tag line that read: "Finally a Bible that every ordinary guy from truck drivers to lawyers can call his own. This is the Bible for men with straight talk about the challenges of life..." I began to imagine other kinds of Bibles that might appeal to some of us but I have chosen not to share those thoughts with you lest you be offended or think I'm an idiot. Truth is I am a little put off by all this speciality stuff. I thought we already had a Bible that any man could call his own. And my Bible certainly contains straight talk about the issues of life and faith.
As I see it, the real need is for us to be in our regular Bibles enough that we will know where to find help on raising kids, healing relationships, defending our faith, using our money wisely, being good stewards of the environment and loving God with all our heart. Do we really need a speciality Bible for this? No! But we do need to take the time to read and pray and let the Holy Spirit teach us. I know I don't read my Bible enough and thats the problem. What about you?
That got me to thinking about all the speciality Bibles on the market today. There are Bibles for kids, teens, parents, couples, pastors, those in recovery, apologists, singles, soldiers, fireman, policeman, cowboys, sportsman, football and basketball players and the list goes on. One Bible for men called the Everyman's Bible had a tag line that read: "Finally a Bible that every ordinary guy from truck drivers to lawyers can call his own. This is the Bible for men with straight talk about the challenges of life..." I began to imagine other kinds of Bibles that might appeal to some of us but I have chosen not to share those thoughts with you lest you be offended or think I'm an idiot. Truth is I am a little put off by all this speciality stuff. I thought we already had a Bible that any man could call his own. And my Bible certainly contains straight talk about the issues of life and faith.
As I see it, the real need is for us to be in our regular Bibles enough that we will know where to find help on raising kids, healing relationships, defending our faith, using our money wisely, being good stewards of the environment and loving God with all our heart. Do we really need a speciality Bible for this? No! But we do need to take the time to read and pray and let the Holy Spirit teach us. I know I don't read my Bible enough and thats the problem. What about you?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Funerals Are Interesting
I went to a funeral today. Actually I officiated it. There were lots of people I didn't know and some I did. Some people spoke to me while a lot of them would'nt hardly look at me. I figure they must feel guilty cause I'm not that ugly. Anyway it was a pretty normal funeral as funerals go. Before the funeral I listened to people standing around talking - about cattle, business, the need for rain, their kids and such but I didn't hear many talking about the person we were there to remember. Odd. After it was all over we went to the church dining hall to visit and eat. Funerals make people hungry. I sat at a table with a man I know and I learned something important-again. You can't judge a book by it's cover as the saying goes. I have known this guy for a long time - from a distance. I have also formed ideas about him and most of them were wrong. It was embarrassing. I was amazed at the things I learned about him just sitting at the table talking with him. Maybe that's why Jesus spent a lot of time eating with people. Somehow it helps us know each other better. I guess it's a mystical, spiritual thing. Most of all I was amazed at what I learned about myself. I'm going to try and be a little slower on forming opinions about people and a little more focused on trying to get to know them better so I can celebrate their imagio dei (I hope I spelled that right).
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