The Decade in Review A.K.A. Leaving Egypt out of It.

 When I sit back to remember I usually do it in one of two ways.

1)  I focus on why I am glad to be where I am at this very moment

2) I begin to remember how it used to be and find myself longing to be back there.

  I realize this is not exclusive to myself.  As I read the scriptures I begin to see that it was a pretty typical practice of God's children to reminisce about "the good old days."  A certain story about a group of people coming out of Egypt always seems to come to mind.  As I write my final blog post for 2009 and wrap up a decade of significant changes this is where I have landed.

  Like all blessings that God has given us the art of remembrance can be warped by Satan.  

  There are many instances in the Bible when God commands his children to remember events in the past and focus on how God has either delivered them or blessed them through those events.  I believe that God is please when his Children practice the art of remembrance today.  So as the decade wraps up, take a moment to focus on what God has delivered you from, or blessed you through, and for just a few moments leave Egypt out of it.

Happy New Year see ya in 2010!

P.S. Leave a comment and let me know what you favorite event of the past decade has been. Mine is a tie between balloon boy and Stephanie Meyers making Vampires fun again.

Are you calling my wife ugly? A.K.A Why I think Jesus Might Feel Like Beating Us Up Sometimes.

   I have noticed that a lot of my blog posts have been kind of negative.  I did not mean for this to happen it just kind of did.  I have been thinking long and hard lately about my view of the Church, and the tone set by my views and the views of others that I talk to and listen to.  It is beginning to occur to me that it has become the cool new trend to point out everything that is wrong with Christ's Church.  I know that this is something that has been going on for awhile, but it seems to become more and more rare that I read or listen to something that is positive about the Church.  I am always hearing how traditional, new age, unrelevant, sneaky, and boring it is.  Sad to say most of those comments come from regular Church attenders.

  I am in no way a head in the clouds type of guy, I know that the Church as a whole has some issues today, but with that being said I have started to stop and hesitate before insulting Christ's Church.  I look at it this way.  The Church is symbolized as Christ's Bride in the Bible.  As a husband, I have to wonder how I would feel if every time my wife was talked about, she was talked about negatively.  It would not take too much of it before I was ready to bust some heads.  Which leads me to wonder, if perhaps some of the negativity that we use so much of to speak about the Church has any correlation to its success?

    The first rule of sales is you have to believe in the product your selling, and I wonder sometimes if we actually believe in the Church?  We preach and teach about its necessity, and the good that it will do for people, but our closed door conversations, hall way monologues, and frequent blog writings seem to suggest that we don't believe in our own product sometimes.

Anyway I say all of that to say this.  I would like to hear your comments about why you love the Church?  I don't want any negative comments, there is plenty of time for that and if you want any examples just read back through a few of my posts. I'll go first.

I love Christ's Church because it is the only place I know that gives everyone regardless of age, race, and history, meaningful and everlasting significance.  

What's Yours?

If I had a million dollars A.K.A Maybe I should not have a million dollars

  Every once in awhile I read a verse of scripture that I can not get out of my mind.  I will be walking down the road and it comes to mind (I don't walk down the road that much though).  I will be taking a shower and it comes to mind, eating and it pops up, playing a video game and it sneaks back in.  When that happens I usually need to write about it or preach it or  I will never be able to move on, so here you go, if you stumbled on this you get to hear about a passage of scripture that has been working on me for a few weeks now.

   "See that you also excel in this grace of giving.  I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." 2 Corinthians 7b-9

  I'm not quite sure yet why this verse has stuck with me, its not the first time I have read it, but for some reason this time the idea that Christ, even though he had everything he could possibly need or want, gave it all up to walk around with us broken sinful people for 33 years has really hit me hard.  I think one of the reasons is because God is really working on an ugly idea that I have had in my heart and mind for many years now.  The idea goes something like this, "Why don't those people just do it themselves?"

    Do you ever think like this?  It is a pretty popular mindset among people, but the problem is if we claim to be followers of Christ it does not fly, and in fact I would go as far as to say that you can not claim to be a Christian and have that attitude.  Here is how God is breaking this out of me.

me- "Why doesn't that guy just get a job?"
God- "Jonathan, though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that Jonathan through Christ's poverty might become rich."

me- "That is ridiculous, how in the world do you expect me to to give money to her? She is probably just going to spend it on __________anyway"
God- "Jonathan though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that Jonathan through Christ's poverty might become rich."

me- "I have already given all of my time to Church stuff this week I am not giving any more time or money or effort, today is my day off, they can do it themselves."
God-"Jonathan though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that Jonathan through Christ's poverty might become rich."

    What it really boils down to is this.  What if Christ would have had the mindset towards me that I often have towards those who are in need of my time, money, and general resources?  Somewhere a long the lines I bought into the idea that people who are well to do are well to do because they worked hard, and people who are doing poorly are doing poorly because they have not worked hard enough.  You know what?  Even if that is a true statement, as a Christ follower it does not matter.  We are not called to judge why someone is in the situation they are in, we are simply called to show the humility of Christ to others.  What if we applied 2 Corinthians 8:8 like this?

   "For you know the grace of (insert your name here) that though he or she was rich, yet for your sake he or she became poor so that you through (insert your name here) you might become rich."


    This is not a popular idea at all.  Christian's a lot of the time like the idea that God has blessed because of how good, and spiritual, and stylish we are, but here is the truth.  In God's eyes everything we do is dirty, broken, and poor.  It is only because we have been clothed  in the righteousness of Christ do we appear before our Father as rich in grace in mercy.  


  So how does this apply practically?  Here is one way I think it could.  We are all aware of the debate that is raging right now about the idea of government run health care.  There are arguments on both side that seem to make sense to me.  There are people who are dying in this country from stupid disease's that could easily be cured if they were caught quicker, and the only reason they are not is because they can not afford the coverage.  On the other end I can see what can happen when government has too much influence in an arena such as health care.  I have also heard the stories of other countries that do run their health system this way, and a lot of people are not happy about it.  So where do I land on this issue in light of 2 Corinthians 8:8?  It's pretty simple.  I think both sides are wrong, convenient right?  Really though, think about it.  According to the teaching of scripture who should be in charge of caring for those who can not care for themselves? THE CHURCH!  Who should be caring for the sick, the homeless, the poor, and the oppressed? THE CHURCH!

    Let me make my point very simple, I believe that if every Church as a whole was doing its job in the area of caring for the sick, hungry, poor, and oppressed  the debate over health care would not even be happening because we would not need it.    Now I know that I am young and idealistic, and there are some of you reading this shaking you head saying, "thats too simple."  I would agree with you to a point, it is too simple, because for far too long the Church has shunned one of it's greatest responsibilities and opportunities in this world.  All I know is this.  My stomach hurts anytime I ever hear a Christian say the phrase, "that's not my responsibility."because I always wonder to my self, "than whose responsibility is it?"

Imagine with me if you would a scenario.  A woman wakes up one morning and is sick, she has been sick for several weeks and it is not getting any better so she needs to go to the Dr.  There is a problem though, this woman is poor, she can not afford a Dr. and she knows that if she goes she will be paying the hospital bills for years to come.  What if instead of going to a hospital she could go to a Church that happened to have a hospital inside of it?  What if she could go to a building and find not only a professional staff of Dr's but also a professional staff of Dr's that follow Christ and administer what ever health needs she may have, completely for free!  The Dr's are Christians, the nurses are Christians and they take to heart the words of 2 Corinthians 8:8 and simply heal because that is what Christ would do.  What if those Dr's and nurses were being funded by the tithes and offerings of people like you and me who have no medical training at all, but realize that the words of 2 Corinthians 8:8 apply to us as well. If that scenario ever became a reality on a global scale a lot of debates that are going on right now would be silenced, and a lot more people would see the reality of the Kingdom of God here and now.

So how about you?  How do you apply the words of 2 Corinthians 8:8 in your daily life?  What steps is your Church has a whole taking to battle the problem of sickness and healthcare in your community?
    

Is Jesus a sissy?

    There is an idea that has been disturbing me for awhile now that I want people's opinion's on.  Actually I don't want your opinion, I want someone to be able to show it to me in scripture.  Can some one please show me the phrase "Having a Relationship with Jesus Christ."  Now I know that the idea is there.  I know that through Christ's sacrifice on the cross he has enabled us to come into relationship with God and be called his children (Galatians 4:1).  What I mean is the actual phrase, "relationship with Christ," is one that I can not find in Scripture, and I have been looking.

    Some of you may be asking, "Jonathan, why have you been looking for this phrase in scripture?"  Well I'm glad you asked because I want to tell you.  Every time I hear the phrase "having a relationship with Christ." I can not help but think, "That is not in the Bible," and  "Saying it like that really does a disservice to Christ and what he wants and desires for our lives." There is an aspect of Christianity that has really been bothering me lately and I want to blame some of it on this idea of "a relationship with Christ."  It seems to me that Christianity has become, for lack of a better phrase, really sissified.  Now before you throw up your defensive walls I really just want you to consider it for a moment.  How much of what we do as a Church is girl centered?  We walk into a sanctuary that has been decorated more than likely by women, we pass around shiny plates, we sit quietly and watch pretty backgrounds move around on the screen as the songs we sing about Jesus talk about him being beautiful, and lovely, and how he wants us to climb up in his lap and pet his beard as he gives us a big hug and tells us everything is going to be ok (not an original idea, for more on this listen to Matt Chandlers sermon entitled "Sanctification in Marriage" on the Village Church Podcast.)  When that is all done we sit down again and listen to a guy tell us about how much Jesus loves us and views us as a bride and how he wants to marry us have us live with him forever.  Am I the only guy that has an issue with this? 

  Yes I understand that the imagery of the bride of Christ is biblical, but I believe that as a whole we have done a great disservice in portraying this imagery, and because of that I really do think we have painted a picture of Christ and his Church as a very effeminate and sissified community.  Something happened in history that took the Christ of the Bible, the Christ who got angry and drove an entire group of people out of a temple with a whip, hung around with rough and tough fisherman and other various rough necks, was beaten half to death and still had the strength to carry a cross all the way up a mountain knowing full well we was going to be nailed to it, and replaced him with a permed haired, robe wearing, flower picking wimp, and I don't like it!  

I think it all started when we began "having a relationship with Christ" instead of serving and following Christ.  I have to admit this is still an idea that is fresh in my mind and that I am wrestling with, but one thing I know for sure, for the most part men have a real problem with Church and I don't think its God's fault.  Now do not get me wrong, I am not a sexist nor do I believe women should have no part in Church.  I believe the beauty of Christ is that he is an individual who appeals to both men and women.  As you look through scripture you see a man who could lead other men, and be respected and loved by women. You see a man who could drive out the supernatural with his very words and yet at the same time was one of the most compassionate and loving individuals that has ever lived.  I believe that for some reason the Church focuses more on relationship than service, and the problem is women respond to relationship but men respond to service.  We have carved out the model of a sissy Jesus and men do not want to follow or serve a sissy.  We call men to relationship when we should be calling them to service.

    Men would never say out loud, if they attend Church, that they think Jesus is a sissy, but it does not take a rocket scientist to realize that The Church is lacking in the men department. God Bless our women who have stepped up and are working hard to advance the gospel, but it's time for men to start doing their job, and it's time for the Church to stop retarding that process. There is an amazing process that takes place when we rework the way we present Christ to men and I think it is even found in scripture.  I am struck that when Jesus calls the disciples to himself he does not say, "Come have a relationship with me," or "Come and get to know me better."  He says, "Come follow me I'm going to put you to work"(my paraphrase).   The disciples did not just sit around and listen to Jesus talk at them about how great his coming Kingdom was going to be, they were active participants in bringing that Kingdom to this world. Because Jesus gave them an opportunity to follow and to serve they grew to love him i.e. build a relationship with him, so much so that later all of them but one would die a horrible death for him. How many men in our Church's today would die a horrible death for Christ? 
    Men need a figure that thy can serve and follow.  Don't agree with me?  If your a man look at all of the men in your life that you admire.  Were they sissies?  Did they walk around and pick flowers and say nice religious sounding things?  I doubt it.  Look at the types of activities that you participate in.  Why do you participate in them?  Why do you follow certain sports figures, rock stars, and movie stars?  Could I suggest its because you see in them or in the activity a way to live out what it means to be a man?  I believe that Jesus was and is the ultimate personification of what it means to be a man.  He was strong, powerful, and yet loving and compassionate all at the same time, and if the men of our Church's could grasp onto that, amazing events would take place.

    Like I said earlier, this is an idea that is fresh to me.  I wrestle with it  a lot lately.  So I would love to hear your opinions.  What are you doing to engage the men of your Church for Christ?  Do you agree that we have sissified Jesus?  If so what do we do to restore the true picture of Christ?  I know one thing I am doing, I no longer ask people to have a relationship with Christ, I ask them to follow and to serve, I figure the relationship will grow out of that.

Its good to be reminded.

Sometimes when I get aggravated at how weird teenagers are its good to remind myself that I was one not too long ago.












Nice Necklace eh?

       

Is Modern Day Youth Ministry Harming the Church?

  I am a youth minister.  It's neat being a youth minister.  Sometimes when I am getting my hair cut and the lady (or gentleman whatev) is making small talk with me for a better tip I like to see the expression on their face when I tell them what I do for a living.  There are usually two responses #1 is "really? your a minister?" I never understand this response because when I look in the mirror I think I fit the typical minister mold, skinny, product in my hair, and a slight five o clock shadow.  I'm either a minister or I work for the Apple Store. Then there is the second response, "awww thats nice."  They are right, it is nice.  I have been a great respecter of men and women in ministry ever since I was a child.  I was not one of those people that thought ministry was something you did if you did not want to work, it was and is hard work and I knew it.

      I knew youth ministry was more than just pizza parties and wild concert trips to see Michael W. Smith.  In fact I viewed these types of events as perks to the job, not the job itself.  Granted there are some lazy dudes out there that use ministry has a cloak to hide behind so they can sit in their office all day, play farmville,  eat pork rinds, and drink Red Bull, but I like to think of my self as an optimist in this department and call them the exception not the norm.  I bring all of this up because I want everyone who reads the next statement, (according to my stats the whole five of you), to understand that I am both a fan and respecter of youth ministry.  With that being said I need to ask the question that has been bugging me for awhile now.  Is modern day youth ministry doing more harm than good for the Church Universal?

      Let me explain how this question began to surface.  As I look back on my years as a kid in the Church, I am struck by the fact that I was not apart of a youth group.  My home Church was simply too small to pay a designated youth minister to come in and work with what little amount of youth we had in the Church.  This means a couple of things.  One, I participated in a lot of "old people Church stuff."  I sat in service on Sunday morning, I went on trips with grown ups,  I ate fellowship meals with people who for the most part were way older than me.  Don't misunderstand me, I went on youth trips (usually with other churches), and I had a Wednesday night bible study that was with kids my age (taught by volunteers from the church).  Secondly, I spent a lot of time listening to "old" people teach, sing, and preach.  At the time I hated it.  I wanted so badly to be at a church that had a cool young dude that could play guitar and take me to Taco Bell when I wanted to go, I desired to be apart of a youth group.

      Looking back on it though, I am grateful for the time that was spent among my older brothers and sisters. I believe, that because of my time spent with these dear people I relate a little better as a minister with the older folks in my congregation.  Let's face it, how many horror stories have we heard about youth ministers butting heads with older folks in their congregation because of a lack of ability to work with them?  Could it be that were setting our future youth ministers up to fail, because of the constant emphasis we place on segregating age groups within our congregations?

      I have heard it said that Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week in regards to Church, and I believe that is true, I also believe that statement applies to more than just skin color.  A trend began to emerge among Church folk, and I am not smart enough to tell you when it started, but I know it was in full swing when I was a teenager.  The mindset of this trend goes like this, "I don't like the music, chairs, decorations, and dress style of this Church so I'm going to go find one or start one that looks and sounds more like I think Church should look and sound."  These Churches began to pop up all over the place, young disgruntled 20-30 somethings began to start their own Church's and although they would never say it out loud the pervading mindset among these congregations was NO OLDS ALLOWED!  This is not to say that there were not a few trendy old folks sprinkled in among the crowd, but old traditions were gone.  No old music, no old way of doing communion, no old way of preaching, it was all going to be new and fresh.

      I'm a fan of new and fresh, and sometimes I think its needed, but as I look back on this trend and I see what has developed as a result of it, I begin to wonder if we have sacrificed something very important in the quest for new and fresh?  Let me be very clear, I have no problem with congregations that are predominately younger, but I do have a problem with congregations that segregate the elderly under the guise of progressive evangelism and trendy seeker sensitive programs.  So why do I bring this up?  Why does my stomach turn whenever in the past I have walked into a church building to find that everyone is wearing the same designer clothes?  I believe it is because as a youth minister I sometimes come in contact with students who have become a casualty of this segregation mindset.  Let me explain it this way.

    Those 20-30 something's that segregated themselves when I was a child have now become parents with teenagers, and those teenagers have been taught that if they do not like the way something is going in the group that they are apart of, they can just leave and find another group.  As a result youth ministers become circus ring masters.  We cater to the needs of those who whine and complain if something is not cool, flashy, fun, or interesting enough.  If something is not interesting to them (i.e. they have to hang out with old people, and sing songs that old people like, listen to teaching that old people have to listen to)  we develop program that pacifies, instead of teaching them to find the value and worth in the beauty that is worshiping together as a family of sanctified believers.  Somewhere along the line we bought into the idea that the youth at a church are the most important part of the community, this is a lie! Buying into this lie has resulted in youth ministers that spend more time pacifying whinny kids than teaching and developing strong Christian teenagers.

    Let me be clear about this, youth ministry is a vital part of our Church culture today, but youth and children's ministry that teaches segregation from the rest of the community is at best going to develop whiny shallow Christians and at worse going to fail completely.  When we fail to teach our students that there is value in the way that our elderly brothers and sisters worship, we fail to teach them about what Christ desired for his Church. 


So how about you?  As a minister or participant in a local Church how do you make sure that students are encouraged to be in community with older brothers and sisters?  What programs do you have in place to make sure they spend time together?  I would love some suggestions as I am struggling with this concept.

Mass Elitism A.K.A why is no one commenting on my blog?

Ok here is a problem that I have just discovered about myself, *deep breath* my name is Jonathan and I need attention. There I said it. I am an individual that thrives off the attention of others. Here is how this scenario plays out. On Monday morning I wake up, I get out of bed, make coffee, brush my teeth, take my dogs out and then go into my office. As I am sitting at my desk in my office I begin to realize that I need to do a lesson for this or a lesson for that and I begin the beautiful process that is lesson or sermon writing. When I am done with this process I sit back, breath a sigh of relief and instantly this thought comes into my mind, "I hope _______ likes this." There is a blank there because on any given day the name that goes inside of that blank changes. Now I know I should not being doing my job for the glory of any one else except my heavenly Father, but let's be honest with out selves for a moment. When was the last time you did something purely for that reason? When was the last time you dressed with the idea that you were going to please God? When was the last time you decorated your house and thought, "Gee I hope God likes this." If we were all honest with ourselves I think we would realize that a large majority of what we do is done in order to please other people. Or maybe to but it more bluntly, we do it so other people will like us. Why is it that I operate like this? I think it has something to do with the way I have been trained to act ever since I was a small child. I can remember as a child sitting in school being taught the most basic of human lessons, to matter you need to succeed, and to succeed you need people to think your worth following. We all learned this lesson and we learned it in one of two ways. We were either cool and people liked us, or we were uncool and we watched other people be liked and in turn we copied what those people were doing in the hope that someone would pay us attention. Now I realize that for most of us it was not this clean cut, we had moments where we were kings of the world, and then moments where the kings of the world beat us up and stole our girlfriends(personal experience? You be the judge). As adults we have somehow convinced our selves that we have grown out of this need for self validation, but I would suggest we have just gotten a whole lot more sneaky about it. Let me give you an example.

Three years ago I purchased an Apple Computer. My old PC had broke and it was time for a purchase. I would like to say that I purchased my MAC because I was sure it was the best buy, I would like to say that I own it because it best meets my needs for the work that I need done as a minister, but if I was really honest with myself I would have to say the reason I own a MAC is because somewhere down the line I learned from a mopey haired kid with cool jeans and a sweater that cool college students own MAC's. Sure it does what I need it to do, yes I love that it does not crash, but what I really like about it is the fact that I am part of, "the group." If you are apart of the group you know what I'm talking about. When your sitting in a coffee shop and you see another person pull out a MAC you secretly in your heart know that you both are part of a far superior group of computer owning individuals. If you do not own a MAC you too are aware of the group mentality that comes from the MAC owner, in fact you have probably been proselytized more than once in an attempt to get you to convert to our way of life. Rest assured the Apple Company is not unaware of this phenomenon, in fact I believe it is what they can owe their success too, Apple has captured the essence of what I have come to call "mass elitism." Mass elitism is where we have some how convinced ourselves that we are independent and different, but in reality we are following the crowd. Somewhere deep down inside we know that this is the case, but thats ok because to be apart of the mass elite is safe and validating. If your sitting there saying to your self, "I have never been apart of that," then let me just throw out a couple of words. Track Jackets, Jnco Jeans, Tight Jeans, Slap Bracelets, Hoola Hoops, Roller Skates, The Blair Witch Project, Iphone, Macbook, Rock Band, Ipods, Playing the Guitar, The Real World, LOST, American Idol, Blogs Facebook, and gmail. If you have ever, worn, watched, owned or wish you owned any of the above mentioned things you have fallen victim to Mass Elitism...sorry.

It's ok we all do it, it has gone on since the fall of man and will continue to go on until the end, but here is why I bring it up. I think as Christians we need to be very careful about our intentions and reasons for doing certain things. I am observing and must confess being caught up in what I think may be a disturbing trend among ministers of the Christian faith, we are beginning to market ourselves as the mass elite. We write blogs that we hope other ministers will read and comment about how smart we are (Come on you know you do it). We write sermons that sometimes have little to do with the Cross of Christ and more to do with how people can feel better when they wake up tomorrow, when in fact a lot of people should wake up feeling crappy because they are living crappy God hating lives. We dawn our cool jeans, tight t-shirts and style our hair just right so that the people we stand in front of every day will find us physically appealing and somehow we believe that is going to bridge the gap and make Jesus more spiritually appealing. We worship the speakers of the faith that bring us great insight into God's word instead of pausing to worship the God who allows them the very mouth they speak these words from, and all the while we secretly wonder how we can one up the last sermon we heard, or the last blog that we read, not so that Christ will be glorified but so that we can be validated. We have turned Christianity into the same idea as an Apple computer or the latest movie that needs to be seen, but here is the problem with that, trends die, elite groups fade, and so does the validation that comes from being apart of these idols. So lately I have been trying to check my motives. Why do I write blog articles? Why am I apart of the Facebook community? Why do I care if anyone likes what I write, say, dress like, own, or look like? If I am a true follower of Christ I should gather my validation as a human being from Christ shouldn't I? Why should I care if a blind person thinks I am handsome? Why do I care if a deaf person does not like what I say? According to scripture thats what we are as a human race. With out God we are blind, deaf and dumb, and only God can make us whole. It is God we should pull our validation from, and until we do that we will always find out selves among the Mass Elite, always changing, never satisfied, always insecure.

So how about you? How do you make sure that the motives for what you do as a Christ follower and a minister are pure?

My sis and I being weird.

Half Truths and the Men of God.

I am reading through the book of 1st Samuel right now and this is what I am gathering so far. The first half of this book is really sad. If you have not read it or need a little refresher you should stop reading this waste of time blog and go read up to chapter fifteen right now. If you don't want to do that, than here is my summary. The Israelites are not happy being different then the civilizations around them so they whine for a king. Samuel the only real man of God that is found in this story up to this point warns them that if they get a King it is going to be nothing but heart ache, but of course they do not listen, and God appoints a man that does not even want the job named Saul (when he gets called up to be anointed he goes and hides in the luggage, check out chapter 10). Of course what God says is true and pretty soon Saul is doing a royally bad job at being the King (sorry for the pun). There are a lot of examples of this, but as I was reading today one story in particular stood out to me. In 1 Samuel chapter 15 we find that God has decided that it is time for the Amalekites to pay for the way they treated the Israelites when they were coming out of captivity from Egypt (Exodus 17:8-15). The Lord was very clear with Saul that he was destroy everything that had to do with the Amalekites. Saul decides instead though to take the Amalekite king hostage and to keep the best of the livestock and slaves for himself. The Lord informs Samuel of this and when he goes to confront Saul about it Saul insists that he did what the Lord had commanded him to do. Here is the last straw for God, he had put up with a lot from Saul but it was his half truth that put him over the edge and made him reject Saul as the king, in fact the Bible states that because of this, "The Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel."

When I read this story it made me think back to something I had heard Matt Chandler of The Village Church say awhile back in a sermon he preached. He stated, "Men who aspire to be Men of God forfeit the right to half truths." He was in essence saying that Men of God need to have integrity. This is really what Saul's core problem was, he was not a man of integrity at all. He followed God only as long as it brought him comfort and when his comfort came into jeopardy he caved and then lied about it. The sad thing was that he had fully convinced himself that he was doing what the Lord wanted him to do. I believe that we as ministers have more in common with Saul than we would like to admit. Take a moment and ask yourself these questions (I did after I read this story)

1) When was the last time I told a half truth (time spent in office, how I spend my time when I am there, where I got that sermon or lesson from etc)

2) When was the last time I caved in and did something I knew I shouldn't in order to please the crowd (Saul blames his actions on the people after he sees that the, "I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do," excuse was not working). Maybe a better way to ask this question is, When was the last time I should have spoken out against something I knew was wrong but did not because I did not want to make the crowd upset.

3) How many times have I let my comfort get in the way of God's work?

These are hard questions, and it would be easy to simply pass over them and go on with our day, but one thing is for sure. If we refuse to be men and women of integrity God will find someone to do our job who will.

I would love to hear your thoughts, what steps do you take to make sure that you are a Man or Woman of God i.e. keep your integrity?

Preconceived Notions or Why I am glad that God is not always who I think he is.

I am beginning to realize something about myself, and no it is not the fact that it is weird that I have over and over again in my head thought about the theological ramifications of the movie Ground Hog Day. What I am realizing is the fact that I have preconceived notions about God. In other words I have a picture in my head of who God is and how he acts. How this picture came to be is hard to say. I am sure that it is a combination of many different factors. It is a picture that shifts and changes over the years but there are some basic traits that stay the same. Let me be very clear about something, I do not believe that my picture of God is who God actually is, and on the flip side of that I do not believe that all of my assumptions about God are entirely wrong. It's hard to be a finite being trying to think about an infinite being. Below follows the list that makes up my picture of God.

1) God is a snazzy dresser. Flip through the scriptures and notice how many times when God appears to people in a human like form they comment on his clothes.

2) God is not a big fan of scientists. Look I am not saying there are anything wrong with scientists or science for that matter, but I have to think after all these years of these dudes committing their life to disproving him he is probably not rushing to become their fans on facebook, but don't worry if your scientist all you have to do is repeat three times that you approve of the literal 6 days of creation and God will welcome you with open arms into the fold.

3) God probably drinks coffee and has a goatee. If we were really honest with ourselves a good deal of the people that we know that are "close" to God drink lots and lots of coffee and are rocking some form of awesome facial hair. Just look at all the pictures we have of all the heroes of the Bible, name me one of them that did not have facial hair? The goatee is just todays hero beard. And for the record women this is a pretty good argument for why you can not be ministers, you can't grow facial hair duh.

4) God loves everyone (except racists). Look I realize that God is a lover of all mankind but it seems like a no brainer to me that he can not love someone who is a racist. Its an oxymoron, how can you love someone who hates something you created? I mean if I bake a cake and I feed it to you, you better bet your weathered designer jeans that if you tell me you hate it I'm going to smite you with my wrath (a. k. a I will tell you I laced it with arsenic and watch you squirm, but don't worry I didn't....or did I?) Sure its kind of a contradiction for me to be racist against a racist, but God approves of that kind of racism...right?

5) God is ok with me praying to him like I update my twitter account. If we were honest with out selves we would realize that God has a lot of requests to listen to on any given day, and the quotient goes up on Sunday. In light of this it only makes sense that God is perfectly ok with me updating him in 140 characters or less. If it takes longer than that to talk about it you probably need to rethink how your phrasing it or just write on God's facebook wall so that he can read it later.

6) God hates and I say again hate hymnals! Its a well known fact that God hates hymnals to be used in worship service for anything else but propping up my wobbly leg on my drum set, oh and flipping through when you get bored with the sermon.

speaking of sermons

7) God will bless my sermon more if I preach it sitting on a stool. Preaching while standing up is so 2007. We all know that God approves more of the sit down and have a conversation method than he does of the stand up and lecture method. Now I am not saying that God will not use his word to do a mighty work if you stand up, but just know your convert ratio will double if you stay seated...it's science...kind of. Oh and on a related note don't wear a tie everyone knows that God hates ties.

8) God cares more about the people out side of America. I mean really, what do we have to bother God about? He has already give us Starbucks, Joyce Meyers, Joel Olsteen, and Hillsong (I know technically they are from Australia but come on we love them.) What could we possibly have to bother God about? Let's all do God a favor and leave him to his latest campaign of making sure the RED campaign at the GAP is successful.

9) God loves the NIV, likes the MSG, (even though its technically not a translation) and thinks people that read the KJV are stupid.

Come on, really, let it go, God never talked like that and we know it. We all know that God has always and always will talk like either a very level down to earth James Earl Jones or a surfer dude...come on bra really!

10) God hates Christian radio. Yeah sure you may say that these musicians have poured their lives into praising God with their lips, I say they have laid down their gifts at the alter of fame and fortune just so they can have the glitz and glamour that comes with being on the road 24/7. If they really love God they will do what the rest of us do, volunteer their time at the local church leading worship on Sunday morning for no pay. I mean of course I get paid to do what I do for God, but I'm different...I'm a preacher I do the real work.

If your like me, than when you take a really honest look at who you think God is you probably fall down right there and thank him that he is not! I find that I am in good company with this type of thinking though. As I read through the Bible I realize that many of God's children had ideas about who he was only to find out later that God is more than they could ever hope to imagine.

So how about you? What are your preconceived notions about God? I would love to hear them.

What is truth? Or sometimes I really want to use South Park as a sermon Illustration.

In the book of John there is a passage of scripture that has for a very long time resonated with me. We find Jesus in the last hours of his life standing before Pilate, who is questioning him about who he is and what all the fuss is about. In verse 37 of chapter 18 Jesus says, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." To this Pilate responds, "What is truth?" This is one of those sayings that stops me in my tracks every time I read it, because it really is the question that everyone, even if they do not know it has been asking and continues to ask. The asking of this question really gives the reader a glimpse into the cultural climate of the time. When the leadership starts doubting about where to find truth, people should start to worry. This is a question that I really connect with because through the years it is one I have struggled with. Like I have said before, I grew up in the Church. I had always took it for granted that I was right and the rest of the poor souls that were walking around who were unfortunate enough to not have grown up with the truth were pretty much doomed to hell, unless of course they were lucky enough to stumble upon the truth one day. Looking back I am realizing that this is a very narrow view of the grace of God. Don't get me wrong I still believe the basics. Jesus is God's son, he is the only way to heaven, and people need to hear that. But as far as my other pre-conceived notions about what it means to be in relationship God go, I am starting to realize that maybe they are not all true. Please hear me before you start sending me angry comments, I still believe baptism is essential, communion is essential, and fellowship with other Christians is essential I just think a lot of us are going to be surprised when we get to heaven and find out who our neighbor in the next mansion is, that's all. For the record I want mine to be beside Bill Murry (don't ask). But I digress, I look at the question Pilate gives to Jesus 2000 years ago and I find that I ask the same question only with a slight twist. Instead of "what is truth?" I find myself ask "Where is truth?" Here is what I mean by that. The other night I was watching South Park (yes that vile show that will send you straight to hell, but bare with me before you click the x on the top left hand of your screen). The episode was about the Jonas Brothers and the whole gist of it was that Disney sells sex by selling purity. The Jonas Brothers made a huge deal out of wearing purity rings, and since they did that parents would allow their daughters to go to the concerts where the dancing and lyrics of their songs were all sexually driven. After I was done watching that I thought to myself, "That is the best way I have ever seen the concept of Christians allowing themselves to jump on a band wagon with out researching it just because it had a "Christian" symbol slapped on it." My next thought was, "That would make a really good sermon illustration." And that thought was followed by, "If I wanted to get fired." This is a concept I have struggled with for awhile, I find truth from many different sources not just the Bible. Again before you send me the angry comments let me clarify. I believe all truth is found in the Bible and I believe that any truth that is found out side of the Bible is in fact in someway rooted in a Biblical concept. But here is my question. Do you believe that truth can be found anywhere? If so how do you feel about using that source in your teaching and ministering to others? When is it inappropriate to use a source even if it contains truth? Do Christians shy away to much from using "secular" sources of truth?

I Hate My Church or I Hate the Church of Me.

Ok so let's get one thing out of the way before I go any farther, I love the Church. I have grown up "in" the Church. Ever since I can remember I have been attending Church services. With that being said I have to admit I hate the Church. Don't get me wrong I don't hate it all the time, only some of the time. A lot of you probably know what I am talking about. You get that feeling when your sitting on that pew, (or if your in a hip cool church, that plush chair that has no arms and is connected uncomfortably close to the chair and person next to you) and the thought hits you and you get that gaping hole feeling in the pit of your stomach, "Is this all there is to this?" As a minister that is a bad feeling because of course the only logical ending to that train of thought is, "Your kind of responsible for all of "this" that you are hating on so much right now." I have been getting a lot of those feelings lately. At first I thought it had something to do with the format that I was apart of, or as its better know as the "culture" of the Church. If we were honest with our selves congregations fall into only a few basic categories.

1) There is the ultra conservative, never changing, most likely dying a.k.a "old church." I think thats all that really needs to be said about that category.

2) Then there is the congregation that thinks they are progressive and contemporary but really they are just cheesy, the congregation who's Church sign out front doubles as a motivational speaker for people driving by i.e. "Prevent burning use Son block," the congregation that is excited because they just now got drums in the Church and they are going to start "contemporary" services next week which really means they are going to sing My Life is In You Lord for the first time ever and not well I might add. Let's for simplicity sake label this congregation the "unprogressive progressive Church."

3) Then we have the really cool hip Church. You know what I am talking about, you have seen them, go to one, or in fact may be the minister of one (for the record I'm jealous of you if you are.) As soon as you walk in you are handed a double shot mocha frappachino (fair trade of course), an organic T-shirt, and a guide on how to grow the perfect goatee. You step into the sanctuary, ahem excuse me I mean, "worship center," sorry my old Church roots were starting to show there, and you are immersed in a sea of savvy video clips, a Bono look alike singing the latest John Mark McMillian song, and a not overly dressed but just dressed up enough to know that he is in charge minister preaching to you sitting on a stool on a stage that looks like something straight out of the latest Urban Outfitters store set up. Minus the over priced clothes I mean come on now we are a social justice minded congregation.

Now it does not matter what culture you find your self in because I have found that the more people I talk to who attend all of the above mentioned Church styles, the more I realize that every single one of them gets that same pit in the feeling stomach as I do sitting in the congregation that I work for and worship at. By the way for those of you that are curious my congregation falls somewhere in between unprogressive progressive and some nether region that can not be placed in a category. We have John Mark one Sunday and the Old Rugged Cross the next. I have been thinking about this problem for awhile now. Why is it that no matter who I talk to it always seems that they are a little bit unimpressed with some aspect of their Church culture? Some people say, "Well people will always complain about something." Yes this is true, but the people I talk to are not complaining. They are not leaving their congregations to find something else, they are not screaming at the congregational meetings (OLD CHURCH ROOTS ALERT!) for better music or more Thomas Kinkade paintings in the foyer, they are simply searching for the authenticity of the Church they find in scripture. Could it be that no matter what Church culture you find yourself in we are all missing the point? When I look at the scriptures and observe how Jesus did ministry I notice something very interesting, he does not have to try very hard at all. People came to Jesus, people looked for Jesus, when Jesus was not around people wondered where he was. Jesus was so important to them that they would hike out for days and sit for days just to hear him speak. Why? Jesus did not have any cool church signs, savvy videos, mocha frappichinos, board meetings, drum sets, pulpits, organic T-shirts, organs, buildings, church growth conferences etc, and yet people flocked to him. How is it that Jesus was able to do ministry so well with so little? I think in a word it's authenticity. I have a feeling that the people that came and listened to Jesus never walked away going "Is that all there is?" I doubt they sat on the ground while he was teaching with that gaping pit feeling in their stomach like they were missing something, because when Jesus spoke the people knew that what they were hearing was most important words they would ever hear in their entire state of existence because they were hearing the very words of God. Could it be that we as a Church universal are trying to hard? Are we trying to hard to cater to the culture of people that we find ourselves in? Are the hipsters trying to hard to be hip and the unprogressive trying to hard to be progressive? I don't have an easy answer for that, but what I do know is that when I say that I hate Church it is not the Church in the scriptures that I hate, in fact it is not the Church at all that I hate, what I hate is what I have tried to make Church be. I hate that I have gotten so wrapped up in putting on a good program, making things fun, and making sure the same apathetic group shows up next week that I have lost a love for the Church that I once had. I have allowed my Church to taint God's Church. I have substituted the authenticity of the scriptures for flashy count downs and cute little sayings and I pay for it on Sunday morning when I leave unfed and disappointed. For the record I do not think any of the above mentioned techniques for carrying the gospel are wrong. If you want to use signs, use signs. If you want to have videos and t-shirts, and coffee, and goatees have them. But maybe you are where I am right now, if you are I would suggest that you step back for a moment and ask your self if you have allowed all of this stuff to snuff out the authenticity that the simple gospel message brings to a persons life.

So what do you think? How do you bring authenticity of the gospel message back to a Church culture that has allowed itself to lose it? How are you doing it in your congregation? I would love to hear your feed back.