Dear Church: Get rid of your guns!

In America, there are an estimated 357 million or more guns.

As Americans, we love guns as much as we love cars and apple pie.

"You'll have to pry my gun from my cold dead hands..." is an actual motto that comes off the lips of many.

This love for guns in our culture has permeated even the church.

This popular image above of a girl clinging to her gun and her Bible has become something of our witness as a church in America.  We should be disturbed by this. 

But many of us are not, and many of us even celebrate it, because we've got our thinking out of whack with Scripture, and we believe that the Second Amendment is something we should cherish and celebrate. To us, its ethos has come to rival just about anything Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not against the Second Amendment per say. I'm not interested in lobbying politicians to take away the rights our constitution gives us in America. I have serious doubts such would make things better, just as prohibition failed to make things better.

But what I am against 100% is our love for guns. 

Our love for guns is as terrible, if not more so, than our love for money.  And the Scriptures warn us against both. 

But as Americans, it seems we can never have enough guns or money, and we've created a bastardized form of Christianity in which we encourage the body of Christ to love and chase after both.

Guns, like money, are far from simply neutral tools. They are symbols that have the ability to transform our hearts if we are not careful to guard them.  Both can infect us with an unhealthy sense of pride, power, and security.  Both have the power to destroy lives and shatter community.

Some people don't believe we have a gun problem, and that it's simply a heart problem.  And in some sense, they are right. If you took away guns, people would simply resort to other means of killing people.  Cain murdered Able long before a gun was invented.

Such is indisputable.  But such is also naïve.

For the prophets, when they spoke about future things, they didn't merely talk about a time in the future when one day, people would simply have warm and fuzzy hearts that did nothing but bleed love and joy.

The prophets didn't envision a world in which we loved Jesus and also had a nice gun rack in our truck.

The prophets spoke of a day in which people's hearts would be so transformed, that they would also transform their weapons. 

The prophet Isaiah once said:

'Now it will come about that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the Lord

Will be established as the chief of the mountains,

And will be raised above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths."

For the law will go forth from Zion

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And He will judge between the nations,

And will render decisions for many peoples;

And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they learn war. '

 ~ Isaiah 2:2-4 (NASB)

Isaiah spoke of the future, "in the last days" in which God's people would hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  They aren't a people who simply blamed mass shootings at schools on heart problems and were content to send up "thoughts and prayers."  They are a people of action who saw the dangers of owning a weapon, and believed they would be better off living without them, to the point where they transformed them into tools fit for nothing more than  working in a garden. They are a people who are not interested in defending themselves or waging war anymore.

Isaiah foresaw a prophetic community and a people who are keenly aware that hearts and weapons have a strange way of becoming tethered together in a way that transforms both. 

Weapons can shape our hearts, and in turn, our hearts shape our weapons.

A prophetic people blame not only the heart, but they blame the weapons that accompany that heart as well.  For when weapon and heart transform each other, it's not just a heart problem that we have, it's also a gun problem.

And if our hearts are rightly where God would have us be, as a prophetic community, we must disavow ourselves of a love for weapons, and instead, see them as instruments that need to be turned into tools used to nurture plants.

If we see guns as instruments for which we have the right to own in order to defend ourselves and our loved ones against evil forces and against tyrannical governments, then our understanding has become dull. 

We need to change that thinking, and see our guns as instruments that need to be transformed just as much as our hearts need to be transformed.

Unfortunately, few of us are there yet.  Many of us have a sick and unhealthy love for guns.  We'd sooner die and let our children die than to be found without a gun.

And to me such shows the truth that those who cherish owning guns often say...

Our hearts really are desperately wicked.

Yes... they most certainly are.  And that is what makes owning a gun so dangerous.

In Jesus name, get rid of your guns good people. 

How to Find a New Church

After much discussion, my wife and I recently decided it was time to find a new church to call home.  Thankfully, we did not have to search very long, and I am happy to report that after only visiting 3 different churches in the area over a short period of time, the Lord brought us to a church that both of us are very happy to be a part of.

Thinking on our brief journey, my mind naturally turned to those who might find themselves in a similar situation.  I've known some people who have spent months and years trying to find a church to belong to, but for a number of reasons, they never manage to settle down somewhere.  My hopes in reading this brief article, you'll be able to narrow down your search and that the Lord will help you find somewhere that you can grow and serve. 

Here are my tips on finding a new church:

1.  Keep it Local:

I believe this to be one of the most crucial things in finding a church as well as the most practical.  I've been part of a church before where I had to drive 30+ minutes on average Sunday morning just to get to church.  Such makes mid-week activities and fellowship outside of Sunday morning gatherings very difficult, especially if you live in a large city like I do, and have to battle terrible traffic.  And like any other relationship, long distances often creates problems. 

Therefore, I believe if you are looking for a new church, unless you live in a very rural area, you need to get out a map (like Google Maps), and draw a circle within a 10-15 minute drive of your house, and limit your search for a new church to congregations located within that distance from your home.  Church isn't just supposed to be a Sunday morning activity.  It's supposed to be part of your life.  And the proximity you have to drive to be involved at church and in frequent fellowship with other believers becomes increasingly difficult the further you get away from home.  If you have to drive a far distance to be involved in the life of your church, it will ultimately hurt the quality of the fellowship you enjoy.

2. Leave the Checklist at Home:

For some people, finding a new church is often like dating.  People build ridiculously long checklists of things they are looking for in a church, and as a result, they never find that perfect church to belong to.  I did this for a few years when I was dating.  And as a result, I found starting new relationships very difficult, because nobody out there was good enough for me, as they didn't meet my highly itemized list of have's/have not's.  The result?  I was the king of first dates, but I didn't have many second dates.  And that's because I dismissed many girls outright simply because they didn't conform to this long list of what I thought the perfect girl for me would actually look like. 

It was only when I finally gave up on dating a list and looking to build real relationships that I found the woman who became my wife.  And if I compared my wife to some of the ridiculous things I had put on my ever growing list, I probably wouldn't be married as I am this day.  And if you approach finding a church this way, the chances are, you'll never find a church to belong to.  The perfect church, like the perfect woman, simply doesn't exist. 

A church is a highly relational community, therefore, you should engage each potential church you consider joining in a very relational way.  Be gracious.  There is no such thing as a perfect church.  If there were, you would ruin it by showing up.  Show each church you visit a bunch of grace and cut them some slack.  If they do things a little differently than you are typically accustomed to doing at church, don't pass judgment on them, rather, simply embrace them in the same way Christ has embraced you.  Get to know the people there and find out why they do things the way they do.  You might actually find out that you prefer their unique approach to things.

3. Go to Serve:

While it is important when looking for a church to find somewhere that can help meet you and your family's needs, don't pick a church just because they have great preaching, great singing, and a great youth program.  Don't go to church with a consumeristic mindset, thinking of only what you can get out of belonging to a certain congregation.

Rather, have the attitude of Christ, and look at each church as a place you are going in order to ultimately serve.  Only in looking to be a blessing to others will you ultimately be blessed.  And only in serving your local church will you be able to rightfully say a certain church is "your" church.  Don't go to church to get, go to church to give.  See what you can bring to the table instead of the other way around.

4. Don't Stumble Over Theology or Denominational Affiliations:

While the theology of a church is important, it should not be the primary reason why you pick a particular church.  And denominational affiliation should have very little weight in your mind as to why you decide to attend a certain church (most folks don't really care about denominational affiliations these days anyway, except those who have their bread and butter made by them).  Over the years I've learned that no matter what the official denominational affiliation a church has, and no matter what creed is printed in its bylaws, most churches tend to have a very wide spectrum of beliefs in each congregation anyway.  This is seen even in churches that are very theologically rigid, or have strict practical commitments.

So, don't get too hung up on the particular theological bent or denominational affiliation (or lack thereof)  of any given congregation.  Churches tend to be made up of actual people, and not systematic theologians who are interested in doing nothing more than defending and propagating their pet theology.  Every person is at different places in their walk in Christ, and not every person is going to see eye to eye on all of the particulars of the faith.  We all see a little bit dimly.

Therefore, while I would caution against being involved with churches who don't commit to at least a basic evangelical theology and lifestyle as a community, keep in mind that the apostle Paul was a minister to congregations where some people had doubts about if Jesus Christ was really bodily resurrected!  They weren't really altogether sure about that fact.  Some had their doubts.  And many other churches that Paul wrote letters to were struggling with accepting some very other basic Christian beliefs that we tend to take for granted today.

So, keep an open heart and mind about wherever it is the Lord may be leading you and your family to worship and serve alongside.  The Christian community is a very diverse community, and each congregation often has a long history.  Engage each church relationally, and you'll find theological and denominational affiliations tend to not be the giant hurdles that some have made them into over the years. 

In my opinion, so long as you can see Jesus Christ living in the lives of others, and you find fellowship in the Holy Spirit, that is all that you ultimately need in order to belong to a church.  And as you relate to others in the congregation as actual people, instead of a mission field of people you need to convert and reform or correct, and I believe you'll find a lot of these traditional barriers to fellowship fall to the wayside, and you might just find yourself planted firmly by the Lord in a church that is full of folks struggling with their theology just like you.

Conclusion:

Above all, when searching for a new church, trust the Lord to guide you to the right place.  And give an ear to those who care about you in your life, and see where the Lord might be leading you through them.  And if you are married, work very hard with your spouse to come into agreement about where you and your family should serve the body of Christ. 

Finding a new church can sometimes be a difficult thing to do, but it doesn't need to be needlessly difficult.  I firmly believe if you take the things written above to heart, you'll find your search for a new church comes to an end very, very soon.

God be with you in your journey.

Worship-tainment

Lights. Cameras. Action.

I could be talking about the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon;  I could be talking about U2 in concert;  Or, I could be talking about your local Sunday morning worship service.

And in many ways these days, there's an increasing lack of difference between the two.

A dozen or so people may appear on stage on any given Sunday.  But for those dozen people appearing on stage, there is a supporting cast consisting of dozens more that are making the entire performance possible week after week.

Increasingly, churches no longer just have worship leaders and choir directors.  They have executive musicians, creative directors, audio/video technicians, graphic artists, and just about everything else that you need to pull off a full blown live production of a TV quality show or musical concert.

Worship has become a form of entertainment.

You may not pick up on it, but you hear it in the voice of every pastor who stands up and says "We guarantee the exact same experience at all 5 of our worship experiences this weekend!"

Oh really?  I'm glad.  Jesus and the apostles never did such a thing.  And with my busy life, I wouldn't want to miss out on something, as if coming to church were no different than watching my favorite TV show.  I would hate to think another church service heard a different set of songs than I got to hear.

And churches know that in order to compete with the church down the street, they will have to pull out a more elaborate production.  These are the "worship wars" of the early 21st century.

Worship has become an event to be performed and a commodity to be packaged and sold instead of a faithful expression of the locally gathered communion of the saints, who corporately assemble together to worship the Lord, and to allow heaven and earth to be bridged together in Him as they stand in His presence and minister.

Worship has become a thing for young hipster artists to perform, instead of a service offered to God by consecrated priests who know what it is like to minister to the Lord and to one another.

Gone are the little old ladies with a special song in their heart.  Instead, American Idol rejects literally dot our church stages all across the country and have taken their place.  Many of them know how to perform, and they will gladly do so for a few bucks (because it's probably one of the few musical "gigs" that they can make regular money from), but few understand how to minister as a priest standing before God.  Few understand how to bring heaven and earth together.  Instead, they know how to create sensual and emotionally manipulative environments, in which they substitute fog machines for the Holy Spirit.  And they measure success by the size of the crowd, how many people put their arms up in the air and sing along, and how many people bought this year's CD...  just like you would at a U2 concert.

Real priests aren't fooled by such things.  They know there is an utter simplicity in worship, and that God shows up powerfully in the everyday normal-ness of life.  They aren't as concerned about the size of the crowd as they are about what happens whenever two or three gather together in the name of the Lord.

They know stories involving guys like the biblical patriarch Jacob, who was simply camping out one night while on a journey, and woke up the next morning after having an amazing dream in which he saw a stairway linking heaven and earth together, and concluding "the Lord is in this place."  As a result, he built a makeshift altar of sacrifice from the rock he was sleeping on from the night before.  He used what was simply on hand and what was what was just laying around.  And he called that place Bethel, or "The House of God." It became a notable place of worship for centuries to come, yet it was very unassuming and unimpressive in every sense of the word.  But God was there!

Simplicity, not extravagance, should be the hallmark of our churches and our worship experiences.  

Worship services should consist, not of elaborate productions with professional musicians and top talent imported from afar, but of amateur saints who have grown up together in the local community, and simply want to share Christ together in mutual celebration.

Anything else might just be worship-tainment.

Let's Excommunicate Donald Trump from the Church!

My proposition is a very simple and straight forward one:  Christians everywhere need to excommunicate Donald Trump from the church. 

And instead of being seen in public praying with him, interviewing him, asking him to come speak at our schools, events, and talk shows... or otherwise courting Donald Trump in any way, shape or form, the church and its leaders need to publicly rebuke and shun Donald Trump.

With one voice, we need to let Donald Trump know in a very clear manner that he needs not call himself one of us, because he's not one of us.  We should not let Donald Trump in anyway pretend to be a Christian of any sorts. 

By playing make believe with Donald Trump, it not only makes him look like a fool, it makes us as the church look foolish for submitting ourselves to his nonsense, and worst of all, it brings reproach on the gospel and everything the church values and stands for.

And such would not only be good for our sake, but most importantly, for Donald Trump's sake, and the sake of his unsaved soul. 

Of course, we might be afraid to shun Trump. 

After all, if we shun Trump, who else might we consider shunning?

Where would it stop?  If Donald isn't a Christian, then who is, and who is not?

And if we kick him out, then what would we do with all the other serial adulterers and serial divorcees in the church?  What's would we do with our top-down, heavy handed, authoritarian leadership styles among our pastors?  What would we do with those who live lives full of excessive materialistic indulgence, and who think it's God's will for them to be loaded, and to live in large palaces?

Well, such might lead us to start asking some really hard questions and coming up with some pretty hard to swallow truths.  Truths we don't like.  Truths that bring into question where we stand with Jesus, and how much our lives align (or don't align) to the teachings of Christ. 

And such is why we as Christians in America continue to play church with Donald.  Because actually being the church might be too costly of a thing.  It would shake us up in ways we don't want to be shaken.

Donald Trump isn't a Christian.  Don't be afraid to say it.  He needs to hear it.  And most importantly, we need to hear it. 

I hereby excommunicate Donald Trump from the church of Jesus Christ.  I hope you'll join me.

Church Stages that Look like a TV Game Show

A couple months ago, I was a contestant on the stage version of "The Price is Right."  It was something of a childhood dream come true. I won the opening bid on contestants row after successfully outbidding three other women on a pair of designer high heels (don't question my manliness), but was unable to sink a putt on the famous game, "Hole in One."  Even so, it was a pretty cool experience.

Recently, I was watching an online video of certain preacher that I've followed a little bit over the years.  I noticed that he was speaking at a church I wasn't directly familiar with.  But as he was speaking, I became somewhat bothered about the platform he was standing on.  In my mind, I couldn't help but feel that the super trendy church that he was speaking at had a stage that looked like something you might see on a TV game show.

As I sat there and wondered about the stage of this particular church, something in my heart just felt a bit unsettled.  I couldn't help but wonder, "To what degree does the architecture and aesthetic design of a church building and sanctuary have on a local congregation?"   Of course, questions like this are things that get fleshed out primarily in places like seminary. It is something you've probably never considered, and have little concern about.

Most people just shrug at such questions as these.  "Architecture and building designs are completely neutral!" you probably say.  "All that matters is that God is there when we show up!"

And part of me would be inclined to agree with you.

Except for the fact that no architect or designer worth their salt would ever say that the design of a structure is a completely benign and neutral thing.  Such would be like an author saying books in themselves have no meaning and are completely neutral things.  Both notions are equally absurd on face value.

Whether we like it or not, the design of a church building and the stage of a church is one that is full of great meaning and purpose.  They are not theologically neutral buildings or rooms, and I believe that the design that goes into a sanctuary says a lot about what that church thinks about its relationship to God, and to each other.

And if you think that the design of a church is still a completely neutral thing, then ask yourself a simple question: Why is it that churches often go out of their way to design a sanctuary in a certain manner?  Why is so much money spent on jumbo screen monitors, giant crosses, stained-glass windows, pulpits, multi-colored stage lights, fog machines, scented air (and yes... you read that right, some churches pump in their own scented air), back-drops, and a host of other bells and whistles?  If it's all the same, why not just make churches giant concrete cement blocks with four walls and no windows?  It would save churches a ton of money.

No matter what mental gymnastics you might use to shrug off stage designs, at the end of the day remains the fact that how you build a church building conveys a subtle message about what is happening on and off stage.

And if the stage looks like a TV game show or American Idol, what's that say about the people on the platform?  And equally important, what's that say about the people who are not on the platform?

I fear that our increasingly flashy platforms at church are changing the dynamic of what the church has been.

Increasingly, "the congregation" is becoming nothing more than a mere "audience," compossed of nothing but mere "attendees."  And if you have ever had the opportunity to stand up on such stages (I have), then you'll understand that those on stage are practically overwhelmed by the brightness of the stage lights, and in most cases, can seldom see anybody in the congregation beyond the first couple of rows.

Imagine the impact that such a thing has on a preacher and his relationship to his congregation.

Increasingly, the preacher on such a stage becomes further and further removed from his congregation.  As a result, he may be tempted to look at his congregation as mere pawns to be used to further his own agenda, and exploited for his own personal gain.  And to the congregation, the preacher will become something of a celebrity.  After all, he is on an awfully big stage surrounded by a lot of lights. And due to the multi-site church phenomenon today, many don't even get to see their pastor in person.  He's just a guy on a jumbo sized monitor.  He becomes something of a TV game show host.

We should find that troubling.

Especially in light of the fact that when we open up the Scriptures, we see that ministry was a very intimate and personal thing.  Even when Jesus was surrounded by the crowds, he was still able to single out one person to minister to.  And when the apostles established the churches that they planted, the primary meeting place that the church would gather would be in the living room of other members of the church.

We've come a long way from those days. And instead of continuing down the road of new trends, I believe we need to seek out the ancient paths of those who came before us, and walk the roads they walked. And we need to increasingly think about the way we do church, and what impact that has on the life and ministry of our churches, as we seek to be faithful to calling placed on us.

Reasons Why I Never Leave A Church

Have you ever felt tempted to leave a church?  I know I sure have.

My guess is that there are probably pretty good chances that you've been part of a church where you and/or your family were personally hurt by somebody else in the congregation, perhaps even by one of the pastors.  Or, you've been part of a church where there were numerous practical and theological "problems" that abounded. Or, maybe you've even been part of a church that has rejected you in some way from ministering, and where you feel that your gifts and talents aren't being put to good use, and that you were stifled in some way.  Maybe you've even felt that you just aren't getting fed.

And, for all these reasons and more, people leave churches that they've been in someway committed to every single day.

I can personally relate.  Having been a part of several different churches since I became a Christian, and having been involved in just about every ministry of the church at some point in time, I've pretty much seen and experienced it all.  Heck, Lord only knows that I've even been the source of some sour problems within a church.

God help us all!

Yet, with all the things I've seen and experienced over the years, I personally feel like I've never experienced any legitimate reason for leaving a church.  That's not to say I've never left a church and moved on to somewhere else.  I certainly have.  And I don't deny, there may be some very legitimate reasons why one should leave a church.

But, personally speaking, when I left a church and went somewhere else, I never left for any of the reasons people typically give for leaving a church.  Anytime I have moved onto another church, it was for one reason, and one reason alone:  I felt my time there was simply done, and that the Lord needed me to be somewhere else for another season in my life.

Have I been abused by leaders in the church?  Yes, absolutely.  Have I been part of churches whose theology was a little bit off, and that I disagreed with some of the things said from the pulpit, or by other ministers in the church?  Yes, absolutely.  Have I been part of churches that, for one reason or another, didn't allow me to minister in some official capacity?  Yes, I'm experiencing that even now at my current church!

But, are these valid reasons in which to leave a church?

Absolutely not.

When I read the pages of the New Testament, I can't help but notice that life in the early church wasn't without some serious problems.  While we have this tendency to read the New Testament with rose-colored glasses, and to see it as something glorious, the truth of the matter is that life in the New Testament church was fret with all sorts of awful problems.  Most of the New Testament was written in response to the ever present problems and challenges that congregations were facing.

For example, in Corinth, the church had deep sexual problems.  One guy was sleeping with his step mother.  Other men appear to have been visiting idolatrous temple prostitutes.  Marriages were in disarray.  Church services were full of mass chaos, and people were fighting for prominent ministry positions.  The poor were being neglected.  Church members were getting drunk at the church pot-luck.   There were a lot of cliques, and factions were threatening to destroy the unity of church.  The church even came under the sway of some so-called "Super Apostles," that showed up out of nowhere and threatened to lead the church into heresy.

Needless to say, there were some serious problems at the Church of Corinth.  And we've not even talked about other churches, like in Galatia, where some members of the church were insisting that converts to Christianity needed to get circumcised.

I'm sorry, and I don't say this to be crass, but when was the last time you went to a church that was overly interested in whether or not your penis had a foreskin or not?  I venture to say, while I've seen some awful junk in the church over the years, and I am guessing you have too, none of us have probably ever been to a church that cared about how your boxers were filled out.

Yet for all this hostility and all these problems, I've yet to find a single verse of Scripture in which the apostles ever instructed other Christians to leave the church they were a part of.  

At best, the apostles instructed Christians to avoid interacting and having fellowship with people who were particularly egregious in their theology and lifestyles.  But even in all that, they never, ever suggested that somebody actually leave their church.

Instead, the apostles called upon each church to work together to resolve the difficulties they were having.  They encouraged those in the church to love one another, forgive one another, and to strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit, at all costs.

Of course, these things aren't just difficult to do, they are hard things to do!  It's hard to press on when you see things that grieve you.  It's hard to press on when you or your family get insulted or hurt in the process.  It is hard to deal with all of these things that often make the church anything but the source of joy that we feel it ought to be.

But such is ultimately the cross we are called to pickup and endure.  But in embracing the cross, we open up ourselves to the opportunity to be transformed into the person that God wants us to ultimately be.  And I don't think we can become that, unless we embrace the church, with all her faults, and with all her problems.  As the late Art Katz used to say, before the church can be a source of life to us, it must become a place of death.  The cross always precedes the resurrection in the ways of God.

If you feel tempted to leave your church right now, I would encourage you to stay a little bit longer.  Endure yet another season of whatever trials you feel you are going through.  Wait on God, and see what He is yet up to in your very midst.  You may only be three days away from a resurrection event.

21 Things the New Testament Church Never Had

If you were to read the pages of the New Testament, you might be tempted to read our contemporary and modern day church practices back into its pages. But, did you know that most of the things that compose that which we associate today with the church are completely foreign to the New Testament?  So foreign are our concepts of church to the pages of the New Testament, if you were to transport the apostles to the present day, somebody would have to explain to them some of the most basic things that you and I take for granted today.

21 Things The New Testament Church Never Had:

1. Church Buildings
2. Denominational Organizations
3. Statements of Faith
4. The Pope (or any other hierarchical figures)
5. Seminaries and Bible Colleges
6. Senior Pastors
7. Vision Statements
8. Youth Pastors
9. Worship Services
10. Sunday School
11. Praise and Worship Teams/Worship Leaders
12. Pulpits
13. Pews
14. Ushers
15. Staff
16. Volunteers
17. Orders of Service
18. Liturgical Church Calendars (I.e. Christmas and Easter)
19. Altar Calls
20. Communion Cups and Wafers
21. Offering Plates

Such begs the question. If Jesus and the apostles did not teach us about such stuff, should we continue to center our life as the church around these contemporary things? At some point, should we consider discarding some, if not all the items on this list? And if we keep them, on what grounds do we justify their continued presence in the life of the church today?

Bloated On Big: A Call to Simplicity

Growing up, my family entertained a foreigner from Germany who stayed with us for a short time while he traveled on business in the United States. The experience was an unforgettable one for all of us.

Our visitor, in his semi-broken English, liked using the word "BIG" a lot to describe all things American. He was quite obsessed with this phrase. We found it humorous.

His eyes marveled at the things I took for granted every day.

Like, I had never considered that as a kid, that our 2-story 4-bedroom 2,000 square foot home was "big." It seemed quite average to me. I had some friends who lived in homes both bigger and smaller.

According to this report from data collected by the US Census Bureau, the average size of a new home being built in America today is about 2,600 square feet. Compare that to this report on Germany, where the average home size is less than 1,000 square feet. As American's, "on average" we've not lived in homes that small since the 1950's, and what is average to us is quite big to most the world.

Let's face it, in America we do "big" really well. We look to "Super-Size" everything from our French fries to our churches. When we dream, we dream big.

And there is a lot I like about that.

Except, I'm starting to feel a little bloated about the entire "big" thing.

Making everything we do the equivalent of a Thanksgiving Dinner is starting to get really tiresome, old, and unoriginal. I don't want Thanksgiving Dinner every day. On some days I just want a tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

I believe God is calling all of us to something smaller. I believe God is calling us to live more simply. I believe God is calling us to less exceptional things, and is calling us to more ordinary things. After all, it's in the ordinary every day things we find God the most.

For heaven's sake, God's only begotten Son came into this world, not as the CEO of a Fortunate 500 construction company, but as a simple carpenter. He didn't even have power tools. If Jesus would've been born in America today, He would probably work as a 1099-contract based worker. He wouldn't even officially have a "job" based on IRS standards. He would probably wear denim blue jeans that you could hang a hammer from. Jesus wouldn't be caught dead in skinny-jeans.

Let's get back to small. Let's get back to simplicity. Let's trim our budgets. Let's take on less debt. Let's build smaller churches. Let's live in smaller homes. Let's lay off the super-sized fries.

God's blessings, numbers, and money

How do you know if God has blessed you, and the direction you have taken in your life?

For many people, this involves telling a success story.  You had a dream, you set some goals, you worked hard, and you accomplished what you set out to do.  Inevitably, you point to trophies on the wall, awards received, the endowment of titles, increased positions of influence, a new car, a nice house, and perhaps even a modest to large stash of cash sitting in your bank account.

At the end of the day, many of us attempt to assure ourselves and convince others we are blessed because we can quantify our blessings in some numerical way.  So much so, that our blessings can often be summed up and easily displayed by a pie chart on a short PowerPoint presentation.

Churches often do this.

"We had 13,000 show up last week!  We brought in over $400,000!  We are thinking about expanding our facilities just so we can make room for the numbers we are seeing!  We are blessed!"

When phrased like this, I could be talking about the mega-church I go to.

But, when phrased like this, I could just as easily be talking about a local movie theater, a concert venue, a theme park, or some other business operation.  Perhaps I am talking about a local political rally.  Or, maybe I know of a con-artist that is ripping senior citizens off left and right through some sort of illegal operation.

Either way, you can't distinguish God's blessings simply by looking at numbers.

Individuals or churches that point to their numbers or cash flow to prove God's blessing on them often forget that bars and strip clubs can do the same.  Dare we look at the numbers that flow to pornography websites every hour?  Or, how about the speed and numbers at which Islam is spreading across the world?

Jesus once said that "God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust alike." (Matthew 5:45)

Or if you wanted to make it a little more contemporary and in modern vernacular, Jesus is saying "God sends boatloads of cash to the people I love, but he also sends boatloads of cash to the people I hate.  Deal with it!"  (King Jimmy Version- 1982 edition)

Knowing these things, perhaps we should be more reserved in pointing out the quantifiable and numerical data that we often invoke to show God's blessings in our lives.  We need to stop thinking that way.  For truth be told, both good and bad men find measures of success in this world.  I know both good and evil men in this world, some who are swimming in rivers of money, others somewhere in-between, and others who are destitute.

God has not distinguished men and His approval of them by the degree to which their actions are successful or unsuccessful in this world.  Only the "prosperity Gospel" does that.  Indeed, the measures of success and blessing you enjoy might actually be the very thing that becomes a curse to you and results in your very undoing.

According to ancient Greek mythology, there was once a king named Midas, who requested that one of the gods bless him with the gift to turn everything he touched into gold.  His request was granted.  Initially he touched a twig, and it turned to gold.  What an awesome gift!  But when it came time to eat dinner at home, he found he couldn't eat anything.  For every time he picked up something to eat, what he touched turned into gold.  As a result, Midas starved to death.

Recent history has seen this play out numerous times in the church.  Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker were arguably the two greatest "televangelists" in history.  Their preaching was so influential and popular, that their sermons were broadcast all around the world.  Millions upon millions of dollars came pouring in.  By every measure of success, God's blessing seemed to be on them.  But the "blessings" they enjoyed eventually became a stumbling block for them, and when temptation set in, both had their ministries ruined overnight by scandal.

In light of these things, perhaps there is something else we need to be looking for when it comes to God's blessing on our lives, and in the lives of others.  Perhaps God has blessed us in such a way that we can't easily quantify that blessing by looking at a pie-chart on a PowerPoint presentation.

Perhaps God's blessings cannot always be quantified because they are so much immeasurably more than we could even think or ask.  

Maybe that is why Jesus told the poor that they should count themselves blessed, even though as poor individuals, they didn't have much to count to begin with.  He didn't tell them they were blessed because they tithed and could now expect a large windfall of cash to come their way.  He told them they are blessed because theirs was the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is not something you can quantify.  It's not something you can toss up on a PowerPoint presentation.  Rather, the kingdom of heaven is something you can only see by interacting with the people God has blessed, by His giving to them a small portion of that kingdom through the Holy Spirit.

In such individual people you see light and you taste salt.  Gathered in the greater assembly of such a people, whether it be 2, 3, or 10,000, you experience something supernatural and other worldly.  And such people, no matter if they are rich or poor, many or few, carry with them something glorious and powerful.  While they may celebrate any quantifiable measures of success they experience as a community, they are a people who ultimately know that they are all a part of something greater than what can be measured or numbered.

Avoid comparing the "blessings" others seem to enjoy that you do not.  Doing such will only serve to rob you of what God has already given you in Christ.  Don't look at the size of your church, or whether or not your business is thriving.  In doing so, the blessings you already enjoy may turn to rot, and the apple tree that you eat from may no longer be so edible.

Ultimately, no metric system can quantify or measure the work that God has done, and the many blessings He has blessed you with.  If you believe that Jesus loves you, died for your sins on the cross, was raised from the grave, and gave you new life in the process, then count yourself among the blessed.

Don't count yourself blessed because of the success of whatever work you attempt to accomplish.  Count yourself blessed because of the work that God has already done on the cross for you in the person of Jesus Christ.  

Standing on the line.

When I saw the above picture, taken on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine, I became angry.

I became angry because I feel that many Christians in America simply cannot identify with what is going on in the above picture. In the very center of a violent and deadly protests in Ukraine, some orthodox priests stood between protestors and police and prayed. They didn't stand on the side of the protestors. They didn't stand on the side with the armed government officials.

These priests literally "stood in the gap" between the two sides, lifted up the cross, and interceeded to God and cried out to God for peace.

Everybody else took sides.

Take for example, Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan. Not that I care all that much about the leanings of most Roman Catholic officials. However, I think his attitude is prophetically telling of that of the church in general in America. He's reported saying: “We Catholics in the United States cannot let these brave Ukrainians, whose allegiance to their religious convictions has survived 'dungeon, fire, and sword,” languish. They deserve our voices and our prayers.'" He added: "Nor can we as American citizens fail them, as we call for our government to stand with them."

Instead of standing in the gap, lifting up the cross, and interceeding to God and crying out for peace, the archbishop has called on American's to not fail the citizens of Ukraine, and exhorted us to pick sides. The end outcome of such a behavior, ultimately, will manifest itself in further conflict, and perhaps even war.

In an age where men draw lines in the sand and tell everybody to pick a side, these priests dared to stand on the line that men drew. They didn't choose a side. They chose God. They chose the peace that Jesus Christ came to bring, and offered it to the rest of the world. It is a peace which many Christians in America, who are so used to picking sides simply cannot indentify with, because their minds cannot divorce their identities from nationalistic and patriotic ideals. It's the type of peace that keeps men from killing other men.

In the words of the late Art Kazt, Christians in America are "far too American." And that is why we as American Christians cannot identify with these priests. This is what makes me so angry.

As a reuslt of not knowing the peace Christ came to bring to this world (which we limit primarily to warm fuzzy feelings), and not having out identities grounded in our understanding that we are citizens of the kingdom of God, we go along with the rest of this fallen world: We choose sides.

Moses is dead-- Let's keep it that way!

Moses is dead-- let's keep it that way!

Before you gather stones, hear me out. I love our dear brother Moses. He has taught us a lot about the Lord. Without him, we would have never discovered Christ. He was one of the greatest prophets that have ever lived, and if there were ever a man that spoke on behalf of God, it was him.

But, with the coming of Christ, I think it is time we move on from some of the things Moses taught, as with the coming of Christ, some of the things he prescribed have simply become outdated. Take for example, animal sacrifices and temple rituals. These things are considered outdated, not because of any human philosophy, but because of the work of Christ on the cross. Because of what Jesus accomplished in His death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, there are some things Moses prescribed that have faded away, and are no longer part of our faith.

Such is a very over simplistic summary statement, but as Christians we all get this... right?

If so, why is it that we continue to look to Moses and the leadership model he employed as being an example for us as a viable ministry model since the coming of Jesus Christ? If Jesus Christ brought an end to so much of what existed under the old covenant, why is it that we continue to use the "Moses on the mountain top" model of ministry for the church today?

Moses model of ministry was a pyramid, top-down, hierarchical approach to ministry. Moses heard from God. Most people did not. Therefore, if anybody wanted to know what God thought, they let Moses climb up a mountain, disappear for a number of days, then come back and tell everybody what God had to say. But, as the problems in Israel grew, and there were simply too many people for Moses to handle one-on-one. So he established some people in-between him and the people, and he would delegate the decision making and God-talking to others thing. The bigger Israel grew, the more mid-level managers were added, and the further Moses was removed from interacting with the people one-on-one. The only time Moses was consulted was for issues that were too big for anybody else in the pyramid to figure out on their own.

Such isn't by any stretch of the imagination, a bad system of government. In fact, it is quite good, and there is a lot of wisdom to it. However, there is a big problem with this form of government: Moses died, his government eventually collapsed, and it was never rebuilt.

And if you pay attention very carefully, upon the coming of Jesus Christ, Moses's ministry stayed dead. Jesus Christ did not resurrect the ministry of Moses. He let it lay in the dust. He brought with him not only new wine, but new wineskins, for the new work Jesus Christ was doing was incompatible with the work Moses did. As the book of Hebrews reminds us, Moses was great, but Jesus Christ is greater. So since we have Jesus Christ, while paying great respect to our brother Moses, let's allow Moses to stay dead. For Jesus Christ replaced Moses, and brought us new things in the process.

There is a lot of ministry being done these days that models a Moses style ministry. Superstar preacher figures climb up to the mountain, speak to us on behalf of God, then go back into hiding once they are done. If they are good enough at the entire hearing-from-Godand-speaking thing, and attract a large enough crowd, they do like Moses did, and delegate a number of leaders to stand between them and the people, and allow others to speak on their behalf.

Such preachers will seldom, if ever, talk to you after the church service is over. They vanish far too quickly for anybody to say anything. If they go to lunch with anybody after the service, they'll go to lunch with people closer to the top of the pyramid. Hanging out with the pastor in his home would be out of the question. If you get sick, somebody else will visit you. If you need somebody to counsel with, somebody else will do that. If you are lucky, when you die, the guy on top just might preach your funeral. But, chances are, he's probably too busy for that too. But no problem, the pastor's got a guy for that too.

In contrast, Jesus Christ established a new way of ministry. He preached to the masses, yet was always available to them. He gathered together a close group of people, taught them everything He knew, shared His meals and life with them, opened up and made Himself vulnerable (enough so that one of them had him killed because they didn't like what they saw!), and then taught those guys to do the same with other people.

While they were doing this, Jesus promised to be in the midst of each and every single one of them as they established their own outposts. This is something Moses could never do. Moses had to stack things the way he did, because he was unable to be everywhere all at once. He was finite. But Jesus Christ, on the other hand, can be in the midst of every group, all at once. He is infinite. He can be something Moses, nor us, can never be.

So, instead of creating our own little mini-Israelite nations, with us playing a Moses like leadership role, let us gather in community together with others centered around Jesus Christ. Moses is dead. His body is missing. Let's keep it that way! Let us not try to be Moses, and let us not try to take the place of Jesus Christ.

Whatever happened to modesty?

Whatever happened to modesty?

For centuries modesty has been treated primarily as a woman's issue. That is, women were to dress in such a way that wasn't very flashy, or didn't show too much skin. Modesty has often been measured by ruler sticks and defined by feet and inches. Dresses were to be worn down to your ankle. Hair was to be extremely long. Wearing makeup and jewelry were rare. Seeing any skin below the neckline was out of the question.

But the sexual revolution of the 60's changed that. Women burned their bras in public. Plunging necklines and mini skirts became acceptable. Flaunting what the good Lord gave you became something of the norm. Skin was in. Magazines, music videos, and pop culture began to push and reflect these changes. 

And progressively, such cultural norms began making their way into the church.  Sermons have been preached. Debates raged.  Battle lines were drawn.  Feelings of teen-aged girls were dashed to pieces as they were excluded from church activities because they were dressed rather "whore-ish."  Worship leaders began to sport tattoo's. Pastor's started talking about their "hot and sexy" wives from the pulpit.  And after a lot of back and forth, some people just became tired of it all, tossed their hands in the air, and have stopped saying anything altogether.

However, I think the issue of modesty is something the church cannot afford to give up on.  For in giving up on modesty, the church loses terrible ground in the social and ethical arena.  For modesty is a virtue that shows that we as Christians are a people who have a different value system and ethos, because we live as people who are participants in the death and resurrection of Christ, and are a people who look forward to His coming.

What is modesty, and why is it such a big deal?

In its essence, modesty is the art of living life in such a way as to not draw attention to yourself.  Modesty is the manifestation of humility, and is expressed through simplicity.  Modesty serves as a check to materialism, consumerism, self-indulgence, and "vain glory."  

Modesty is such a big deal because as Christians we realize that our chief end is to draw attention to Christ and glorify him.  We are to embrace a simplistic lifestyle because we realize that everything in this world is passing away, and that living our lives in light of eternity, we strive to put our money towards things that really matter.  Therefore, while we may enjoy some luxuries and creature comforts as the result of working hard, we realize the best use of our money is not to frivolously spend on getting the latest and greatest "stuff." (i.e. buying the new iPhone every time it comes out)  While looking to dress nicely and respectfully, we aren't consumed with having a huge wardrobe with the latest designer labels and brand names.  Rather, we prefer to focus on the "inner man" and the beauty of our hearts.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I don't see modesty as primarily having to do with women and the length of their skirts.  Modesty is a Christian virtue that is egalitarian.  It is a virtue for men and women, young and old.  And it isn't centered around clothes.  Modesty is a spirit that one walks in.  It is an issue of the heart.  Of course, how one dresses serves as a reflection of how modest one is.  But then again, so are the toys you buy, the cars you drive, the places you vacation, and the size of the house you live in.  

I think the more affluent we become as a society and as a church, the more the spirit of modesty is threatened, and the more it is quickly forgotten by the church.  For with affluence comes the opportunity to buy more and more stuff.  With affluence comes the ability to buy nicer things, bigger things, sexier things, flashier things.  That's not to say poor people lack the opportunity to be immodest.  They certainly can be.  But with wealth comes the opportunity to buy more "bling."  And since wealth brings with it a sense of privilege and entitlement, it becomes easy to justify indulging in an over-the-top materialistic lifestyle.  After all, you've earned it!

I also think about the impact the lack of modesty has had on the church as a whole, especially in the "mega-Church" phenomenon.  Increasingly in Evangelical circles, "the worship experience" is becoming an over-the-top musical and visual arts performance.  We saturate congregations with light, music, video, fog, and whatever we can in order to fully elevate and stimulate the senses.  While there is nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves, I cannot help but feel that the church is striving to be more "sensual" than "simplistic."  Having a low-key modest worship service has become out of the question.  We must go for bigger, better, and flashier.  And since the pews are full of people and since the offering plate is pretty full, we feel it's not such a big deal to spend $10,000 for one service. Yet it never dawns on us that the early church primarily met in living rooms.

In having such grand worship services, I feel the church is affirming that living an over-the-top lifestyle is ok, and is even to be preferred to that of a modest one.  We affirm that beauty is found, not in simplicity, but in extravagance.  But, as the late philosopher and theologian G. K. Chesteron reminds us:  Modesty is always beautiful.  Such is a powerful statement, and one I think the church would do well to burn in our souls.  Let us live our lives in search of elegant simplicity, and find beauty and value in the things that are truly beautiful and the things that are truly valuable.  For if we cannot do such, then we have failed to look at the world in light of our belief that Jesus Christ died and rose again, and are in grave danger of living how the rest of this world lives.