My wife is gone tonight, spending girl-time with some friends from church. That left me with Trusten, Brahm and Samuel from 5:30pm through to their bedtime. I had great plans to make it a fun night and for the most part succeeded. We drove through Sante Fe park, ate dinner at Sonic, enjoyed the mild evening outside by eating ice cream on the porch, and then working out the sugar rush from the ice cream by letting the boys ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk. I was feeling pretty good about my fathering as I imagined my boys remembering the night fondly as they grow older. Then I blew it.
As the spiritual head of the household, I should have brought them in the house and ended the night with family worship... but instead I thought it would be more fun to watch a movie together in our pajamas. Sounds innocent enough, but it was a mistake.
As we sat down together to watch Disney's Tarzan, my perfect evening began to slip away. At first it was really fun. We propped pillows up on the bed and sat in a row. I warmed up Samuel's bottle that Grace had left for me and even began feeding him right when she told me, 7:30pm. The boys seemed to be enjoying the movie and I was feeling really proud of how I had planned and controlled the evening with three boys under the age of four.
Then Samuel started squirming and fussing. I tried to lay him down for the night in his crib, but only needed a few minutes to see he wasn't going down that easy. I got him up and returned to the movie to find Trusten and Brahm not sitting so obediently anymore. As their attention span for the cartoon diminished and their desire to provoke each other increased, my peaceful end to the evening vanished. I soon found myself losing my patience and scolding Trusten specifically for not sitting still and watching the movie- a scolding that seems so silly now.
Most parents probably know the feeling of regret and guilt I experienced as I tucked my sweet boys into bed. My words during the end of that movie viewing were not loving or merciful. They were harsh. I knelt to pray after everyone was asleep and confessed my sin to God. I felt broken and ashamed, but also forgiven.
I couldn't leave it alone, so I went back into the boys' bedroom and knelt over Trusten to ask his forgiveness.
"Trusten, I am so sorry for the way I yelled at you during the movie. I feel really bad."
"I'm sorry too Dada."
"I forgive you Trusten, will you forgive me?"
"Sure." He smiled and hugged my neck.
"I love you buddy. We're best friends."
"Ya, best friends forever."
There was that perfect ending I was looking for. My three year old son and I connected at the heart level as I humbly reconciled with him. He was as quick to forgive as I was quick to scold earlier in the evening. I'm thankful that my heavenly Father is more patient with me than I tend to be with my sons and I earnestly pray that my fatherhood will come into conformity with His more everyday.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Family Revival=Church Revival, Part 1
It is time for me to get straight to the point. We can talk all day about what is wrong with the American church, but I would rather talk about some solutions.
I think one of the biggest problems with the body of Christ today is that we have forgotten that we are to be a "house of living stones" not a house of segregated programs. And in case you were wondering, no, I'm not talking about a specific church. This is a universal problem in the American church. If my statements here apply to one, they apply to most.
It seems to me that for about the last 10 years pastors and church leadership have been trying to solve the problems of a lack of depth/discipleship and connection in their congregations.
Can I propose that the answer is not more programs, but fewer?!
As people get busier, they connect with others less- even if others are involved in that same busy-ness. As people are hammered with more and more information, they retain less of it. Simply creating another program with new curriculum and new vision to cast will not solve this problem-it will only add to it.
I believe that the loss of spiritual maturity and connectedness in our churches is directly related to the loss of the family as the central building block for the church community. This divorcing of church and family life started slowly occuring years ago as we began to depend on the church building, church staff and church programs to accomplish what every believer is called to accomplish in the context of the home.
I certainly plan on writing more about this (a wise person once told me that more people will actually read your blog entry if you keep it short), but let me end with a question.
How many programs would really be necessary if families truly functioned scripturally with:
Sounds like a perfect "small group" ministry that doesn't require another meeting per week. The best part is, it was designed by God and not man!
More later...
I think one of the biggest problems with the body of Christ today is that we have forgotten that we are to be a "house of living stones" not a house of segregated programs. And in case you were wondering, no, I'm not talking about a specific church. This is a universal problem in the American church. If my statements here apply to one, they apply to most.
It seems to me that for about the last 10 years pastors and church leadership have been trying to solve the problems of a lack of depth/discipleship and connection in their congregations.
Can I propose that the answer is not more programs, but fewer?!
As people get busier, they connect with others less- even if others are involved in that same busy-ness. As people are hammered with more and more information, they retain less of it. Simply creating another program with new curriculum and new vision to cast will not solve this problem-it will only add to it.
I believe that the loss of spiritual maturity and connectedness in our churches is directly related to the loss of the family as the central building block for the church community. This divorcing of church and family life started slowly occuring years ago as we began to depend on the church building, church staff and church programs to accomplish what every believer is called to accomplish in the context of the home.
I certainly plan on writing more about this (a wise person once told me that more people will actually read your blog entry if you keep it short), but let me end with a question.
How many programs would really be necessary if families truly functioned scripturally with:
- the husband loving his wife by selflessly washing her in the water of the word (Eph 5:25-27),
- and the father (with the support and help of the mother) raising up children in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord, teaching them diligently to obey what God has said (Eph 6:4, Deut 6:7)
- and children who honor their father and their mother not forsaking their teaching (Eph 6:1-3, Deut 5:16, Prov 1:8)?
Sounds like a perfect "small group" ministry that doesn't require another meeting per week. The best part is, it was designed by God and not man!
More later...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
God Owns Your Time
Last night and this morning I have been feeling the Lord deal with me about my time. He has been sharing a very simple truth with me, "Ryan, your time is not your own, it's Mine."
What a simple, yet revolutionary thought! My minutes do not belong to me! This means that if I am going to call Jesus "Lord," I am going to have to return my minutes to the rightful Owner. He has granted me the minutes of my life as a gift to accomplish His purposes. What does it say to Him when I waste those minutes on unfruitful ventures?
I find myself often thinking about obedience to the Lord as saying yes to Him when He asks something of me. That is true, but I think it is only a part of obedience to God. I think I also need to start making my minutes obedient to Him. For me, this brings new meaning to 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
So now I see that my minutely question to myself needs to be, "Does my activity this minute bring glory to God?" There are many categories of activities that would cause me to answer yes to this question: preparing my mind for action, working at my job as unto the Lord, showing love to a neighbor, praying, leading my family to walk with God, resting (this is different than being lazy), taking care of my body, studying the Bible... you get the idea. Activities that cause me to answer no to this question are contained in the category of disobedience.
Ephesians 5
15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV-emphasis mine)
What a simple, yet revolutionary thought! My minutes do not belong to me! This means that if I am going to call Jesus "Lord," I am going to have to return my minutes to the rightful Owner. He has granted me the minutes of my life as a gift to accomplish His purposes. What does it say to Him when I waste those minutes on unfruitful ventures?
I find myself often thinking about obedience to the Lord as saying yes to Him when He asks something of me. That is true, but I think it is only a part of obedience to God. I think I also need to start making my minutes obedient to Him. For me, this brings new meaning to 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
So now I see that my minutely question to myself needs to be, "Does my activity this minute bring glory to God?" There are many categories of activities that would cause me to answer yes to this question: preparing my mind for action, working at my job as unto the Lord, showing love to a neighbor, praying, leading my family to walk with God, resting (this is different than being lazy), taking care of my body, studying the Bible... you get the idea. Activities that cause me to answer no to this question are contained in the category of disobedience.
Ephesians 5
15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV-emphasis mine)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Missing the Point
This is the text from the sermon I gave to about 100 people at Monday night's community-wide Holy Week Service at First Presbyterian Church in Chanute, KS.
Mark 11:15-19
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." 18And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
Jesus clears the temple and says "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations. But you have made it a den of robbers."
He doesn't like it when we miss the point.
The courts of the Temple were filled with money changers and merchants. They were selling animals that the people needed to make sacrifices. The purpose was religious, but the motive was for selfish gain.
When we focus too strongly on the religious traditions, and not enough on God's word (which is what Jesus declared as he drove them out) we are in danger of twisting our religion into something evil, though we think it is good.
And what if Jesus walked into your church? How many of your activities, programs and conversations would he overturn and say, "No, you are missing the point!"
You know, I think we could even miss the point this week as we approach Easter. This is a week when we remember Jesus' journey to the cross and then His glorious resurrection. But , its possible to make it more about the songs and the banners and the traditions than what it is truly about- the Son of God painfully blazing a path for us to the Father and then saying "follow me."
We have become so familiar with this story and so numb to the expressions that we can think of the cross without shuddering. The original disciples couldn't. They knew all too well what happened to Jesus. They knew what a crucifixion looked like. They remembered it with nausea, I believe.
I heard John Piper say in a sermon once, "If you would have been there, you would have thrown up. You would have pulled your hair and ripped your clothes and cried, 'No! No! No!' And you would have run away and thrown yourself to the ground." (quote is from memory, so not exact)
Let us not forget tonight that the things we celebrate this week and especially Friday were gruesome and painful.
I like Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" because it reminds me of that. Jesus' flesh really was torn and ripped apart. The tender skin on his head and scalp really was ravaged by the crown of thorns. The nails really were driven through his hands and feet. And he really did feel it all.
But there is something peculiar about all of this that I want to show you. Jesus died this horrible death to save us from the penalty of sin, but He has also beckoned us to follow Him in it.
Matthew 16:24
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 10:38
38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
We are able to read these statements lightly, but the disciples and early church couldn't. For them, the command to take up a cross carried with it mental images and sounds and smells. It was a shocking call for their savior to give. It was impossible for them to take it lightly.
This is what Easter is all about church!
Yes, Jesus walked that road and endured those beatings and hung on that cross to pay for our sins, but also to show us the way to the Father. He beckons to us even today, "This is the way, walk in it."
I believe the apostle Paul understood this.
Philippians 3:10-11
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
We like to get excited about that first and second phrase… I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. But what in the world are American Christians supposed to do with that third and fourth phrase? I want to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings?
I want to become like him in his death?
I don't think we fulfill this call of Jesus by merely attending church, paying our tithes or volunteering for committees. I think that even this week we are probably missing the point. Its almost impossible for Americans not to!
Everything in our culture teaches us the opposite of this mentality. Its hard to deny ourselves in a culture of instant gratification and rampant personal entertainment. Its hard to take up our cross in a country that has convinced itself that the cross is just a symbol and not a gruesome tool of torture and death.
So what has been our response?
We have let the culture change the gospel message instead of letting the power of the gospel change the culture.
Think about it… when you were led to the Lord, were you told anything about carrying a cross and denying yourself. Were you told that these things were not suggestions but requirements to follow Jesus?
I wasn't. All I was told was that if I prayed a prayer asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart I would go to heaven when I died. Those are great things to tell someone who wants to become a follower of Jesus, but it’s only half the story.
We have forgotten that being like Christ means being like someone who was rejected by men, treated like a criminal, beaten, tortured and then killed. We have forgotten that it means being like someone who gave up his rights and said no to his flesh daily. Someone who didn't consider his time his own, but spent his life doing the father's will.
Earlier in Philippians Paul says this about imitating Jesus.
Philippians 2:5-8
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
By making the gospel more user friendly and easier to accept, we have filled our altar calls and our evangelistic crusades with new "converts", but we have stripped it of its power. The result is a church, full of luke-warm attendees, that is slowly looking more and more like the culture around it.
Presenting the gospel the way Jesus presented it, might mean less people accept it. But Jesus himself said that, "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matt 7:14)
And if we don't return to the true gospel soon, then our church buildings will continue to be filled, but the true people of God, that house of living stones and that holy priesthood that Peter talks about, might just disappear in America all together.
We need to remind ourselves how to do the hard things for God again. We need to teach our children, young people and new converts that Christianity is not about taking the easy road. Its about following in our saviors footsteps and he took the hard road! Simply doing "church" is not Christianity. Christianity is carrying a cross.
Now let's make this more personal. That day in Jerusalem, Jesus walked into the Jewish temple and caused this commotion. But for those of us in Christ, our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). If Jesus walked into the temple of your heart, what would he overturn? What would he drive out? What would he be declaring inside of you?
I wonder if he would say something like, "Your religious activities do NOT make you my follower. That is the broad path to destruction. If you want to be my follower you have to deny yourself and take up your cross. That is the narrow path to life!"
In closing though, I want to tell you that there is reason to be comforted. There is reason to take hope. There is a point to all this beyond the suffering and self denial. Look at Philippians 3:10-11 again:
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus didn't just suffer and die on Friday. He rose from the grave on Sunday!
He has assumed the name that is above every name and has received all the rights and privileges and glory that he denied himself while on earth. All authority has been given to Him and He is with us always. There is indeed power in the resurrection!
The risen Christ will aide you in your path of suffering. He'll help you bear the weight of your cross. He will assist you if you will have His help.
And someday, somehow (borrowing Paul's wording), you will complete your path in His footsteps of suffering and step onto to the path of His resurrection.
On that day every hard decision for Christ, every pleasure you forsook, every dime you gave away, every persecution you endured, every trial you encountered, every desire you denied for Him-- it will all be worth it!
You will step into your reward, having completed your journey down Christ's suffering road and you will understand why Jesus' call to come and die, was actually a call to come and live!
So, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. “
Hebrews 12:2
Mark 11:15-19
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." 18And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
Jesus clears the temple and says "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations. But you have made it a den of robbers."
He doesn't like it when we miss the point.
The courts of the Temple were filled with money changers and merchants. They were selling animals that the people needed to make sacrifices. The purpose was religious, but the motive was for selfish gain.
When we focus too strongly on the religious traditions, and not enough on God's word (which is what Jesus declared as he drove them out) we are in danger of twisting our religion into something evil, though we think it is good.
And what if Jesus walked into your church? How many of your activities, programs and conversations would he overturn and say, "No, you are missing the point!"
You know, I think we could even miss the point this week as we approach Easter. This is a week when we remember Jesus' journey to the cross and then His glorious resurrection. But , its possible to make it more about the songs and the banners and the traditions than what it is truly about- the Son of God painfully blazing a path for us to the Father and then saying "follow me."
We have become so familiar with this story and so numb to the expressions that we can think of the cross without shuddering. The original disciples couldn't. They knew all too well what happened to Jesus. They knew what a crucifixion looked like. They remembered it with nausea, I believe.
I heard John Piper say in a sermon once, "If you would have been there, you would have thrown up. You would have pulled your hair and ripped your clothes and cried, 'No! No! No!' And you would have run away and thrown yourself to the ground." (quote is from memory, so not exact)
Let us not forget tonight that the things we celebrate this week and especially Friday were gruesome and painful.
I like Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" because it reminds me of that. Jesus' flesh really was torn and ripped apart. The tender skin on his head and scalp really was ravaged by the crown of thorns. The nails really were driven through his hands and feet. And he really did feel it all.
But there is something peculiar about all of this that I want to show you. Jesus died this horrible death to save us from the penalty of sin, but He has also beckoned us to follow Him in it.
Matthew 16:24
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 10:38
38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
We are able to read these statements lightly, but the disciples and early church couldn't. For them, the command to take up a cross carried with it mental images and sounds and smells. It was a shocking call for their savior to give. It was impossible for them to take it lightly.
This is what Easter is all about church!
Yes, Jesus walked that road and endured those beatings and hung on that cross to pay for our sins, but also to show us the way to the Father. He beckons to us even today, "This is the way, walk in it."
I believe the apostle Paul understood this.
Philippians 3:10-11
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
We like to get excited about that first and second phrase… I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. But what in the world are American Christians supposed to do with that third and fourth phrase? I want to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings?
I want to become like him in his death?
I don't think we fulfill this call of Jesus by merely attending church, paying our tithes or volunteering for committees. I think that even this week we are probably missing the point. Its almost impossible for Americans not to!
Everything in our culture teaches us the opposite of this mentality. Its hard to deny ourselves in a culture of instant gratification and rampant personal entertainment. Its hard to take up our cross in a country that has convinced itself that the cross is just a symbol and not a gruesome tool of torture and death.
So what has been our response?
We have let the culture change the gospel message instead of letting the power of the gospel change the culture.
Think about it… when you were led to the Lord, were you told anything about carrying a cross and denying yourself. Were you told that these things were not suggestions but requirements to follow Jesus?
I wasn't. All I was told was that if I prayed a prayer asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart I would go to heaven when I died. Those are great things to tell someone who wants to become a follower of Jesus, but it’s only half the story.
We have forgotten that being like Christ means being like someone who was rejected by men, treated like a criminal, beaten, tortured and then killed. We have forgotten that it means being like someone who gave up his rights and said no to his flesh daily. Someone who didn't consider his time his own, but spent his life doing the father's will.
Earlier in Philippians Paul says this about imitating Jesus.
Philippians 2:5-8
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
By making the gospel more user friendly and easier to accept, we have filled our altar calls and our evangelistic crusades with new "converts", but we have stripped it of its power. The result is a church, full of luke-warm attendees, that is slowly looking more and more like the culture around it.
Presenting the gospel the way Jesus presented it, might mean less people accept it. But Jesus himself said that, "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matt 7:14)
And if we don't return to the true gospel soon, then our church buildings will continue to be filled, but the true people of God, that house of living stones and that holy priesthood that Peter talks about, might just disappear in America all together.
We need to remind ourselves how to do the hard things for God again. We need to teach our children, young people and new converts that Christianity is not about taking the easy road. Its about following in our saviors footsteps and he took the hard road! Simply doing "church" is not Christianity. Christianity is carrying a cross.
Now let's make this more personal. That day in Jerusalem, Jesus walked into the Jewish temple and caused this commotion. But for those of us in Christ, our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). If Jesus walked into the temple of your heart, what would he overturn? What would he drive out? What would he be declaring inside of you?
I wonder if he would say something like, "Your religious activities do NOT make you my follower. That is the broad path to destruction. If you want to be my follower you have to deny yourself and take up your cross. That is the narrow path to life!"
In closing though, I want to tell you that there is reason to be comforted. There is reason to take hope. There is a point to all this beyond the suffering and self denial. Look at Philippians 3:10-11 again:
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus didn't just suffer and die on Friday. He rose from the grave on Sunday!
He has assumed the name that is above every name and has received all the rights and privileges and glory that he denied himself while on earth. All authority has been given to Him and He is with us always. There is indeed power in the resurrection!
The risen Christ will aide you in your path of suffering. He'll help you bear the weight of your cross. He will assist you if you will have His help.
And someday, somehow (borrowing Paul's wording), you will complete your path in His footsteps of suffering and step onto to the path of His resurrection.
On that day every hard decision for Christ, every pleasure you forsook, every dime you gave away, every persecution you endured, every trial you encountered, every desire you denied for Him-- it will all be worth it!
You will step into your reward, having completed your journey down Christ's suffering road and you will understand why Jesus' call to come and die, was actually a call to come and live!
So, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. “
Hebrews 12:2
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Think Un-American: Part Two
One of the biggest problems with a revival in America is the location. It is hard to walk with God in our country. It is almost as hard as shoving a camel through the eye of a needle. Why? Because we are unapologetically rich and mindlessly attached to our possessions and comfort. We are much like the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-27.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23And Jesuslooked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enterthe kingdom of God!" 24And the discipleswere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,"Then who can be saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." (ESV)
I can't help but read this story and ask myself, “could this happen to me?” Then I say, “Lord, don’t let me be that man! Don’t let me draw close to you and then walk away sad!"
But that is exactly what will happen as long as I allow my comfort and prosperity to trump God's word and will in my life.
How can we avoid becoming this man? Again, think un-American. There are two big American philosophies I see at work in this man's heart.
1. He was self reliant, even in his religious practices.
He was a believer in himself. He thought that if Jesus would tell him what was required to gain eternal life, he would surely be able to accomplish it himself. He had the American spirit. “I can accomplish whatever I put my mind to. I CAN DO IT. " Oh how easily pride disguises itself as honorable duty and diligence!
Jesus wasn’t distracted by this man’s religious resume- which was quite impressive from man’s point of view. Jesus was focused on the man’s heart. And in the man’s heart there was a blind spot the man couldn’t see. That's the second American philosphy I see at work:
2. He worshiped wealth above the Lord in his heart and didn’t even know it.
The root issue here is idolatry. He enjoyed his wealth and came to depend upon it. His lifestyle had grown to match the size of his riches so much that the thought of losing his riches felt like losing his life.
Wealth is dangerous and we all have a lot of it. We are the richest nation filled with the richest people history has ever seen. Every person reading this post is richer than the majority of the rest of the world. So please don’t think I’m only talking to those out there who are wealthy according to our standards. I am writing to us all including "poor" Americans. I'm writing to myself and I certainly don't consider myself wealthy, at least not according to the way I've been programmed.
We are a money centered society that programs our children to seek the American dream: "Work hard at all you do and go to college so that you can get a good job that makes lots of money someday which you can spend on temporal things and frivolous pleasures." In other words, do everything you can to create a little piece of heaven for yourselves on earth instead of living in a way that makes you hope and long and strive for God's eternal reward.
That "American" dream is a lie that has the power to spiritually destroy people. In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches the parable of the sower and in verse 22 he says, "As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. " (ESV)
Our prosperity will effectively prevent a revival in the church until we stop treasuring the stuff and start treasuring the Word of God. This applies to individuals, families and churches. We have to show the world that God is more valuable than anything that can be bought on the earth! God is the treasure, the blessing, the security, the wealth and the comfort to a true disciple, not the money in his/her pocket or stuff he/she can buy.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Psalm 119:162 (ESV)
Father, wake the American church up from its materialistic slumber and open our eyes to the value of YOU!
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23And Jesuslooked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enterthe kingdom of God!" 24And the discipleswere amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,"Then who can be saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." (ESV)
I can't help but read this story and ask myself, “could this happen to me?” Then I say, “Lord, don’t let me be that man! Don’t let me draw close to you and then walk away sad!"
But that is exactly what will happen as long as I allow my comfort and prosperity to trump God's word and will in my life.
How can we avoid becoming this man? Again, think un-American. There are two big American philosophies I see at work in this man's heart.
1. He was self reliant, even in his religious practices.
He was a believer in himself. He thought that if Jesus would tell him what was required to gain eternal life, he would surely be able to accomplish it himself. He had the American spirit. “I can accomplish whatever I put my mind to. I CAN DO IT. " Oh how easily pride disguises itself as honorable duty and diligence!
Jesus wasn’t distracted by this man’s religious resume- which was quite impressive from man’s point of view. Jesus was focused on the man’s heart. And in the man’s heart there was a blind spot the man couldn’t see. That's the second American philosphy I see at work:
2. He worshiped wealth above the Lord in his heart and didn’t even know it.
The root issue here is idolatry. He enjoyed his wealth and came to depend upon it. His lifestyle had grown to match the size of his riches so much that the thought of losing his riches felt like losing his life.
Wealth is dangerous and we all have a lot of it. We are the richest nation filled with the richest people history has ever seen. Every person reading this post is richer than the majority of the rest of the world. So please don’t think I’m only talking to those out there who are wealthy according to our standards. I am writing to us all including "poor" Americans. I'm writing to myself and I certainly don't consider myself wealthy, at least not according to the way I've been programmed.
We are a money centered society that programs our children to seek the American dream: "Work hard at all you do and go to college so that you can get a good job that makes lots of money someday which you can spend on temporal things and frivolous pleasures." In other words, do everything you can to create a little piece of heaven for yourselves on earth instead of living in a way that makes you hope and long and strive for God's eternal reward.
That "American" dream is a lie that has the power to spiritually destroy people. In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches the parable of the sower and in verse 22 he says, "As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. " (ESV)
Our prosperity will effectively prevent a revival in the church until we stop treasuring the stuff and start treasuring the Word of God. This applies to individuals, families and churches. We have to show the world that God is more valuable than anything that can be bought on the earth! God is the treasure, the blessing, the security, the wealth and the comfort to a true disciple, not the money in his/her pocket or stuff he/she can buy.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Psalm 119:162 (ESV)
Father, wake the American church up from its materialistic slumber and open our eyes to the value of YOU!
Monday, March 3, 2008
First Step to Revival: Think Un-American
Lately I've been trying to take the "American" out of my ministry. This has not been an easy task. Everything in my brain tells me that ministry success is the same as ministry popularity. If God has chosen me to be a dynamic minister that truly makes a difference, then my events should be well-attended and my messages well-received and my name well-known. Yes, I am a pastor who struggles with pride and selfish ambition. How could I not? I have been raised in America.
Every pastor I have ever spoken with on the matter has said "numbers are not important," but I have only known a few that really mean it. Most pastors will quickly justify their true opinion by saying, "But healthy things do grow."
I totally agree that healthy things grow. What I have felt increasingly uneasy about lately is the rate at which we expect that "healthy" growth to occur. It seems that we all want a rapid explosion of conversions and filled pews. We equip the gospel with all the latest PR and advertising tricks of the secular business world and pray that our budget money spent on glossy invitations and giveaways is justified with a sufficient amount of people who show up and respond. We rejoice in the amount of people who come forward for altar calls or, if you are a seeker-sensitive church, the amount of people who privately check the hoped for box on the response card (lest somebody feels embarrassed).
If we don't see such immediate fruit from our ministry efforts we become discouraged. Why? Because we want to see the results of our efforts with our own eyes, so we can receive the pats on the back and glory in our successful ministries. I know I sound cynical, but I am just being honest about the things I have noticed in my own heart. Our concern is not God's overall plan for the human race and His church over time, rather our concern is feeling good about what we have spent our 70 hours a week away from our families to accomplish. And what makes us feel good is high attendance to our events and even higher attendance to the next events.
What if the next great revival on God's heart is a slow moving force with the power to literally impact the entire globe, but which will move slowly through generations instead of quickly through months? A generational movement of the gospel is much less rewarding to the individual pastor- especially to those pastors who are involved in its beginnings. We may never see the altars crowded with people or the news stations reporting on our popular ministry, but what if three or four generations later our nation is totally and completely transformed because of what started with us?
I want to dedicate this blog to a discussion of just that sort of revival. Maybe it should be called a reformation. I'm not sure what to call it, but to me something has to change with the way Americans do church. I plan on exploring the radical in this blog. I don't plan on exploring radical ways to move the church in the same way it has been moving. I want to explore radical ways to do church completely differently than the traditional or emergent norm. I want to draw conclusions based on scriptural principles taken in context and not on cultural trends, anecdotal evidence or proven business-like methods. I don't want my ministry to be influenced by American thinking, I want American thinking to be influenced by my ministry. Mainly, I want my ministry to be successful in God's eyes, not man's. And yes, I really mean that.
Every pastor I have ever spoken with on the matter has said "numbers are not important," but I have only known a few that really mean it. Most pastors will quickly justify their true opinion by saying, "But healthy things do grow."
I totally agree that healthy things grow. What I have felt increasingly uneasy about lately is the rate at which we expect that "healthy" growth to occur. It seems that we all want a rapid explosion of conversions and filled pews. We equip the gospel with all the latest PR and advertising tricks of the secular business world and pray that our budget money spent on glossy invitations and giveaways is justified with a sufficient amount of people who show up and respond. We rejoice in the amount of people who come forward for altar calls or, if you are a seeker-sensitive church, the amount of people who privately check the hoped for box on the response card (lest somebody feels embarrassed).
If we don't see such immediate fruit from our ministry efforts we become discouraged. Why? Because we want to see the results of our efforts with our own eyes, so we can receive the pats on the back and glory in our successful ministries. I know I sound cynical, but I am just being honest about the things I have noticed in my own heart. Our concern is not God's overall plan for the human race and His church over time, rather our concern is feeling good about what we have spent our 70 hours a week away from our families to accomplish. And what makes us feel good is high attendance to our events and even higher attendance to the next events.
What if the next great revival on God's heart is a slow moving force with the power to literally impact the entire globe, but which will move slowly through generations instead of quickly through months? A generational movement of the gospel is much less rewarding to the individual pastor- especially to those pastors who are involved in its beginnings. We may never see the altars crowded with people or the news stations reporting on our popular ministry, but what if three or four generations later our nation is totally and completely transformed because of what started with us?
I want to dedicate this blog to a discussion of just that sort of revival. Maybe it should be called a reformation. I'm not sure what to call it, but to me something has to change with the way Americans do church. I plan on exploring the radical in this blog. I don't plan on exploring radical ways to move the church in the same way it has been moving. I want to explore radical ways to do church completely differently than the traditional or emergent norm. I want to draw conclusions based on scriptural principles taken in context and not on cultural trends, anecdotal evidence or proven business-like methods. I don't want my ministry to be influenced by American thinking, I want American thinking to be influenced by my ministry. Mainly, I want my ministry to be successful in God's eyes, not man's. And yes, I really mean that.
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