reGeNeRaTe X

Standing Firm

2005-11-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV)

The more you seek to live for Jesus and the more you press to keep His Word, the more opposition from the enemy you will receive. The one thing I have tried to do over the years is to be firm in my position on a given matter without being obnoxious. The world, especially in our culture today, is very adept at trying desperately to squeeze any notion of mind-independent, objective truth.

Telling the truth and standing for it, however calmly or meekly one might do it, will earn you the respect of some and the scorn of others. I found a quote from Watchman Nee that is as apropos now as it was the day he wrote it:

When the world meets in us a natural human honesty and
decency, it appreciates this, and is ready to pay us due
respect and place in us its confidence. But as soon as it

meets that in us which is not of ourselves, namely the divine
nature of which we have been made partakers, its hostility

is at once aroused….For let the world evolve as it will, it
can never produce one Christian. It can imitate Christian
honesty, Christian courtesy, Christian charity, yes, but to
produce one single Christian it can never aspire. A so-called
Christian civilization gains the recognition and respect of the
world. The world can tolerate that; it can even assimilate and
utilize that. But Christian life the life of Christ in the Christian
believer: that it hates, and wherever it meets it will assuredly
oppose it to the death. [link]

I ask myself every day if I am willing to stand up for what I believe even if those close to me do not understand it. And every day, God seems to allow situations to come up that will test me on it. He allows the same for the Church. Who we are committed to serving and pleasing, who we truly love, is always reflected in our response to those pressures.

We are Christ-followers. We are to please no one but Him.

'Megachurches' Draw Big Crowds

2005-11-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

By Joyce Kelly and Michael Conlon
Tue Nov 22, 8:26 AM ET
On a recent Sunday at Willow Creek Community Church, a Christian rock band joined by dancing children powered up in the cavernous main hall, their images ablaze on several gigantic screens.

Thousands of worshipers from the main floor to the balcony and mezzanine levels were on their feet rocking to a powerful sound system. Outside cars filled a parking lot fit for a shopping mall. Inside some people drifted into small Bible study groups or a bookstore and Internet cafe for lattes, cappuccinos and seats by a fireplace.

This church near Chicago and others like it number their congregations in the thousands on any given Sunday in stadium-size sanctuaries; but in the end a major appeal of America's megachurches may be the chance to get small.

Institutions like California's Saddleback Church, Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois and Houston's Lakewood Church, each drawing 20,000 or more on a weekend, offer not just a vast, shared attraction but a path that tries to link individuals on a faith-sustaining one-to-one level beyond the crowd, observers and worshipers said.

Rick Warren, founder of California's Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life," told a seminar held earlier this year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that about 20 churches in America have more than 10,000 in weekend attendance.

"These churches can do a ton of things that smaller churches can't," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of the sociology of religion at the Boston University School of Theology.

"They have the resources to produce a professional-quality production every weekend, with music (often specially composed for the occasion and backed by a professional ensemble) and video and lighting and computer graphics and a preacher who knows how to work a crowd," she said.

But they also support "dozens or even hundreds of specialized opportunities for people to get involved in doing things with a small group of others. If you want someone to talk to who really understands what it is like to parent an autistic child, you may find a whole support group in a megachurch," she added.

MORE CHOICE
"Or if you really love stock car racing, but hate being surrounded by drunken rowdies, you can go with a busload of your church friends. I wouldn't say that there are fewer rules in most of these churches. Most of them really expect people to get involved in ways that can have a profound impact on their lives. It's just that there are so many paths into involvement that a smaller church just can't match," Ammerman said.

That's part of what Richard and Nancy Sauser of Schaumburg, Ill., said they found at Willow Creek where they have been members for more than 10 years. They attend regularly with their daughters, ages 5 and 7. The 30-year-old church draws 20,000 weekend worshipers.

"Anything they put their minds to, they can pretty much do," he said, marveling at the power inherent in size. But he added, "Willow Creek has the resources to effectively execute on multiple facets of church life," through more than 100 different ministries.

Sauser said he does not attend Willow Creek for its size but for the teaching and the ministry.

When the thousands at Willow Creek break into smaller groups for Bible study, the men's ministry, the special needs ministry and the adult ministry, a lot of life change occurs. "In the small groups, that is where it really gets good," Sauser said.

When the crowds head for Willow Creek's parking lot, attendants in orange vests direct processions of cars into smoothly paved parking lots ahead of the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. Inside, the throng moves through the hallways and up and down escalators and stairs, welcomed by smiling greeters.

Some drop off children at Sunday school.

On the first floor Danielle Jackola of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a mother of two who recently moved to the area from California, has come in search of a church. After listening to dynamic lead pastor Gene Appel speak on family and passing the baton of faith from one generation to the next, she liked the message -- and the entertainment.

"I had never been to something like that. I think that is one of the ways of getting your numbers up ... to get the message across but to keep it fun and upbeat. And more contemporary to get more young families involved," she said a few days later -- after deciding to join the church.

SEARCH FOR MEANING
Scott Thuma, a sociologist of religion at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, said his research indicates there are at least 1,200 U.S. Protestant churches which claim more than 2,000 weekly attendees.

Megachurches are addressing the needs of Americans who are disinterested in "traditional church" yet want to deepen a sense of meaning in their lives. Classes and volunteer ministry opportunities lead to a deeper commitment, he said.

"They have opened worship to the seeker and the unsaved rather than reserving Sunday worship for the saved and sanctified," Thuma added.

The three largest churches are Saddleback, Willow Creek and Houston's Lakewood. But Warren said the world has far larger churches, pointing to mammoth Christian congregations in Nigeria, South Korea and elsewhere.
Warren said U.S. Protestants have returned to the 19th century roots of the evangelical movement, emphasizing social issues such as caring for the sick, the poor and the powerless, and not just concentrating on personal salvation.

"The small group structure is the structure of renewal in every facet of Christianity, including Catholicism," Warren told the Pew forum. He said his church has 9,200 lay ministers leading more than 200 different ministries all over southern California with 2,600 small groups in 83 cities.

Random Thought

2005-11-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Thought: I recently made the switch back to the New American Standard Bible from the English Standard Version. The political debates surrounding translation principles are far too ridiculous for me to allow them to get under my skin. Far too often for some conservatives, the issues surrounding gender-inclusive language is rooted more in protecting patriarchal territory in the pulpit and home than anything else. My own personal belief is to receive the text as the text is given. God has equipped believers to understand that when a “he” is universal and when it is specifically referring to a male. I prefer a more literal translation and hence, I prefer the NASB. I don’t use it exclusively and use a lot of other different translations in addition to the latest Greek and Hebrew texts to help me with study.

Pat Robertson: Foot in Behind Again

2005-11-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Televangelist Robertson warns town of God's wrath
By Alan Elsner2 hours, 53 minutes ago

Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them on Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

Robertson, a former Republican presidential candidate and founder of the influential conservative Christian Broadcasting Network and Christian Coalition, has a long record of similar apocalyptic warnings and provocative statements.

Last summer, he hit the headlines by calling for the assassination of leftist Venezuelan Present Hugo Chavez, one of President George W. Bush's most vocal international critics.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said on his daily television show broadcast from Virginia, "The 700 Club."

"And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there," he said.

The 700 Club claims a daily audience of around one million. It is also broadcast around the world translated into more than 70 languages.

In voting on Tuesday, all eight Dover, Pennsylvania, school board members up for re-election lost their seats after trying to introduce "intelligent design" to high school science students as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

Adherents of intelligent design argue that certain forms in nature are too complex to have evolved through natural selection and must have been created by a "designer." Opponents say it is the latest attempt by conservatives to introduce religion into the school science curriculum.
The Dover case sparked a trial in federal court that gained nationwide attention after the school board was sued by parents backed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The board ordered schools to read students a short statement in biology classes informing them that the theory of evolution is not established fact and that gaps exist in it.

The statement mentioned intelligent design as an alternate theory and recommended students read a book that explained the theory further. A decision in the case is expected before the end of the year.

In 1998, Robertson warned the city of Orlando, Florida that it risked hurricanes, earthquakes and terrorist bombs after it allowed homosexual organizations to put up rainbow flags in support of sexual diversity.
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How come God seems to judge "liberal" towns for rejecting God in the classroom but Robertson's God ignores all the lying and cheating in Washington DC where the conservative Evangelical Messiah George W. Bush administration is struggling with ethics/integrity issues?

Is God blind?

Nope.

Didn't think so.

Change Is 'Bout to Come

2005-11-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

I recently just got accepted into a volunteer ministry at The Dream Center in Los Angeles where I will be working in the area of Teen Discipleship. I'm pretty excited, especially about the weather. As a mild asthmatic, I look forward to 70 degree temperatures year around. But more importantly, I look forward to seeing what God will do and how He will do it. God adventures always turn out to be wilder than anything a Christ-follower could imagine.

A Ball of Confusion

2005-11-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

Over the last few years, I spent several hours engaging in some very deep and at times heated debate over the nature of Scripture, its role in the life of the believer, and of course around the person and divinity of Christ. The arguments against Jesus as “the only way” were particularly offensive to them. Of course, some of the ones most offended were professing Christians.

If the world is confused about Jesus Christ, then it is because a great number of those claiming to know Him are as well. I have heard a number of scholars attempt to dismiss verses where the exclusivity of Christ is fairly clear with a lot of exegetical gerrymandering.

But if Scripture informs Scripture, then I should also find the same central teachings throughout the New Testament.

It makes little sense to me to claim that Jesus isn’t the only way of salvation for humanity when His mission from the start was to save humanity (Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:25-32). In addition, John 3:16 underscores Jesus’ salvific concern for “the world” and not merely for those specific persons who would follow Him. Peter makes the issue even clearer in Acts 4:12 that there is salvation “in no one else” (cf. 1 Tim. 2:15).

If we’re not getting the story right amongst ourselves, then it makes perfect sense that the world would be confused about who Jesus is. Then again, taking Jesus seriously would also require one take Scripture seriously and perhaps that is the problem right there.

But in the end, the one thing that I walked away from the numerous discussions I had with my friends was my own need as a preacher/teacher to hold fast to the Living Word Himself, to Scripture with an open ear and a clear understanding of my own frailties. Jesus alone knows who belongs to Him and who does not.

Solo Christo

Fellowship: It's On You...And You...And You

2005-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

POHS: Part III

A Blogger's Ramble on Fellowship

My following thoughts and concerns are fairly fluid and ever changing so do not expect to make much sense out of them, lol.

I could easily craft this post around the principle that real Christians go to church but I won’t because I simply do not believe that. On the contrary, I believe that since real Christians are the Church, we need to rethink what fellowship is according to the Lord Jesus Christ and according to the Scriptures.

The New Testament is clear on the importance of being connected to other believers. Not only is this a matter of ministering to one another (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; Phil 2:2-5) but also of maintaining accountability in the faith (Heb 10:24-25). In other words, spiritual formation is worked out here daily as we sharpen one another in the faith to obey the commands of Christ and preach the Gospel. That is the heart of the Great Commission itself (Matt. 28:18-20).

The “Stay Away Saint” syndrome where believers Spiritual formation cannot take place apart from maintaining fellowship with other saints. What is changing is the views of some about whether the worship gathering (i.e. church service) ought to be considered the central point of the week. It is clear, however, that there was no either/or mentality when it came to worship gatherings. Believers continued to meet regularly in the temple/synagogue for public worship (Acts 2:46, 4:1, 5:12, 5:17-21, 5:42) but they also met in homes (Acts 2:46-47; 12:12; 18:7).

There are a number of reasons why folks want to stay home. From my own struggles some Sundays, I have found myself bored by the gatherings. Others complain about the routine of the service or the length of the service as being “too long.” Some did not like the music sang. Whatever the reason, I am convinced that skipping corporate worship gatherings is NOT the answer.

A Christ-follower who has been baptized into the body of Christ can no more try to disengage from corporate fellowship with other saints than I can change my DNA and try to get new parents. In addition, the very nature of the body analogy that Paul makes underscores the complexities of trying to function apart from the corporate fellowship of believers.

True, the building is not the church. The actual worship gathering is not the church. The church is the people and those who you meet on your job or in your neighborhood who are Christ-followers. But if Scripture is to be the rule of faith for the Church, I cannot justify ignoring corporate gatherings. The early church didn’t. In fact as we’ve seen, they had both temple gatherings as well as home gatherings. We are the body and the Holy Spirit works through us individually (via the gifts of the Spirit distributed to each one) to edify the whole body of Christ as well as to make disciples of all nations and peoples.

The fact is that we need each other, especially today with all the technological advances that are cropping up daily. Blogging and instant messaging are fast becoming the cheapest ways to talk to others without having face-to-face contact with them. And there is nothing wrong with that. After all, how many folks who read Paul’s epistles ever met him personally? But the big issue here is that blogging and instant messaging ought not become substitutes or excuses for skipping corporate gatherings where believers come together to worship Christ and honor the sacraments of baptism and communion.

There is nothing like being in the presence of live people who serve the same God and who are supposed to be fulfilling the same mission: the GREAT COMMISSION. More importantly, we are commanded to meet together in the first place (Heb. 10:24-25). We are like restless and helpless babes in the wild if we disengage from some form of gathering because our “needs” are not being met.

Frankly, I had to examine whether or not I was being selfish when I flirted with the “Stayaway” issue. I had to examine if my attitude was so focused on what I could “get out of” the exercise of going to church that I had lost focus of the primary purpose of corporate worship in the first place: WORSHIPING GOD. I believed that I had and decided to repent and change my attitude regardless of where I was worshiping.

I also had to come to the understanding that when I attend a worship gathering, I might be able to encourage and admonish other Christ-followers and receive the same. I definitely believe that, especially after my mom went home to be with the Lord very unexpectedly at 52 in January 2004. I'm not sure I would have survived without the local fellowship I was a part of or without the godly men and women through whom the Holy Spirit ministered to me.

And here is where the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is so important. Because He has baptized us into the body of Christ and because He has distributed spiritual gifts for the edification of the body, our unity and connection is all the more important. I can tell people that I have the gift of teaching or prophecy all day long but if I am never meeting with other saints to allow the Holy Spirit to use those gifts for the edification of others, then it means NOTHING.

Fellowship is a matter of the Holy Spirit working through our connection and communion to do the will of God in the earth. How is the Holy Spirit to operate and draw sinners to Christ through a collection of disjointed body parts asserting their right to “be alone”? There are far too many verses that speak to the power of biblical community and unity to give up on corporate gatherings (Act. 4:32; Rom. 12:5; 1Cor. 1:10, 1Cor. 12:12, 25-27; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:3-6; Phi. 1:27;2:1-5; Col. 3:11-14; 1Pet. 3:8,9).

This should not, however, be an excuse to ignore some of the reasons why folks are having problems with today's version of “church.” Corporate gatherings and house gatherings are not an either/or but both/and for me personally. I bet we don't have this issue when it comes to the sports gatherings. LOL!

The Church must be the fluid, organic body she was called to be so that we effectively
represent Jesus to a sinful world who desperately needs Him.

Solo Christo

The Death of Kyle Lake

2005-10-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely stunned to silence and shock over the accidental electrocution death of Kyle Lake, the pastor of University Baptist Church. Words cannot express how I feel right now. I just read the news posted on Ginkworld by John.

My prayers and thoughts go out to his wife and three children as well as his church family. May the peace and presence of God be with them all.

kat

Word of God: The Holy Feast for Saints

2005-10-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

POHS: Part Two

But He answered and said, “'It is written, `MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” (Matt 4:4)

Jesus’ rejoinder to the voice of the enemy during His testing in the wilderness has always been taught as a model for how we ought to deal with satanic tactics of deception and assault in our lives---and well it should be.

The Word of God is more than just the pages of Scripture. Note that when Jesus said that we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, He does not relegate the proceeding to a once-and-for-all act. God is still speaking to us through the Scriptures and still illuminating His Word to us as we meditate on it.

For those who insist that God speaks only through His word, such a claim is ridiculous at best. Every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth is not merely the words from Genesis to Revelation but whatever else He chooses to speak to us circumstantially. Even Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you." (John 16:13-14)

Think of a time when you were in your office or at home minding your own business. Suddenly, it comes to you to call a friend. You are not sure why that thought even came up but it will not leave you. Finally, you call that person, only to find out that he or she has been struggling in some area of their faith and they are AMAZED that you called.

That’s not you; that’s the HOLY SPIRIT speaking to you so that He could minister a word in due season to a needy saint.

The Word of God gives us the parameters by which we judge what we hear but the God of the Word must never be confined exclusively to His Word.

Walking in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is ever important for the Church, especially in times like these when all our talk seems to fall on deaf ears in today’s culture. If the Church is going to be about the business of making disciples and building the kingdom of God, then the Church must feed on the Word of God for its strength and sustenance.

The major problem that we have today is that denominationalism and sectarianism has turned the word of the Lord into little specialized menus where one can pick and choose what he or she will imbibe. You can have the experience-driven, sign-seeking menu where only the charismatic gifts of the Spirit are taught and any silly distraction like gold flakes can distract from the Cross.

For others, there is the intellectual Jesus who stresses the dogmatics of the faith and the necessity of sound doctrine while lacking any experience of such truths as well as the Author of those truth. Simply put: the Holy Spirit becomes nothing more than a lifeless creedal refrain to be recited during a worship gathering.

If we are to be an effective Church, then we must take in and apply the whole counsel of God’s Word to our lives. Furthermore, we would do well to avoid the kind of junk food diet of “bless me, bless me now” the American church has all but swallowed without counting the cost to follow Christ.

What God desires are soldiers of the Cross willing to allow for self-inflicted piercing where the word cuts us asunder to heal and deliver us and conform us into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49; Heb. 4:12).

What a shame it is for a hungry person to stumble into the midst of a group of people claiming to have the bread of Life yet when that starving person asks for bread, that group cannot give it because they themselves have not taken it in.

Church: the Body is weak and our cupboards are bare. We are being weighed and found wanting by the Spirit of God.

We must feast on the Word of God and listen hard for the voice of God as He illuminates and directs us as we operate as His ambassadors. We are children and He is our Father and the Lover of our souls. I end with the words of Tozer:

I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. The prophets habitually said, 'Thus saith the Lord.' They meant their hearers to understand that God's speaking is in the continuous present. We may use the past tense properly to indicate that at a certain time a certain word of God was spoken, but a word of God once spoken continues to be spoken, as a child once born continues to be alive, or a world once created continues to exist. And those are but imperfect illustrations, for children die and worlds burn out, but the Word of our God endureth forever.
If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God. Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, 'Speak, for thy servant heareth.' Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking Voice. Amen. [1]

Solo Christo

More Resources on the Word:

"How to Read Your Bible" (F.B. Meyer)

"Reading the Bible For Life Change" (Terry Powell)

"The Practice of Pondering" (Jean Fleming)

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[1] A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.

Prayer: The Dialogical Act of Intimacy

2005-10-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

POHS: Part One

Reading through and studying the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus is shedding a great deal of light on walking in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. A few verses caught my eye just before I went off to bed:

But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. (Luke 5:15-16)

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

Irrespective of the pressing desires and needs of others, the Lord made sure that He spent time alone with God. For Jesus, prayer was not a perfunctory activity on His “to-do” list. Instead, it was an opportunity for Him to commune with the Father. Furthermore, prayer was a channel by which important decisions would be influenced. The scenario in Luke 6:12 takes place right before Jesus calls the twelve disciples. You don’t think that is a mere coincidence, do you?

If the Word of God is meat, then prayer is the great spring that makes everything go down well for the believer. Like a pool of water in the desert, prayer is our opportunity to plunge into the deep, deep wells of God’s presence, to listen to the many waters of His voice, His wisdom.

In prayer, we behold His glory, we listen for His voice with obedient expectancy, and above all, we are with Him. Prayer is the down payment, the quick “sneak preview” of what eternity with Him will be like.

When the Church prays fervently, God is never slack. The greatest revivals the Church has ever experienced were birthed out of fervent prayer. Storms of people were converted and filled with God’s Spirit because God was able to show Himself strong through surrendered vessels.

Of course, for the Church---especially the American church---to be set aflame, we must pray our way through, not talk or think our way through, to God’s presence through sincere prayer and brokenness.

In his book The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer comments:
______________________________________________________________
God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day. This Flame of the Presence was the beating heart of the Levitical order. Without it all the appointments of the tabernacle were characters of some unknown language; they had no meaning for Israel or for us. The greatest fact of the tabernacle was that Jehovah was there; a Presence was waiting within the veil. Similarly the Presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His Presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian's privilege of present realization.

According to its teachings we are in the Presence of God positionally, and nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence actually. The fiery urge that drove men like McCheyne is wholly missing. And the present generation of Christians measures itself by this imperfect rule. Ignoble contentment takes the place of burning zeal. We are satisfied to rest in our JUDICIAL possessions and for the most part we bother ourselves very little about the absence of personal experience.

Behind the veil is God, that God after Whom the world, with strange inconsistency, has felt, 'if haply they might find Him.' He has discovered Himself to some extent in nature, but more perfectly in the Incarnation; now He waits to show Himself in ravishing fullness to the humble of soul and the pure in heart.

The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged. This would burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs and fungi were burned away by the fire that dwelt in the bush.[1]
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One of the popular Christianese slogans I hear is that we are “waiting on God.” But could it be that God is waiting on His saints to press in through prayer? Could it be that God longs to be intimate with the crown of His creation whom He loved enough to redeem with the blood of His Only Son?

The dialogical act of intimacy requires two parties who are attuned to the other. Think of marriage. I would be mightily ticked off if my husband would only give me a few passing glances and never read any of the love notes I left for him around the house. I would be disgusted if he would tell others how much he loves me yet never spends time with me and never talks or listens to me.

See how annoying that is?

How much more, then, is the Almighty Himself, the Matchless One who longs to give us what we most require: Himself? I am convinced that the more time we spend with God in prayer, the more of His presence we will take to the world as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we pray, we will be led by the Spirit just as the early Church was, just as those men and women whose hearts burned for Jesus Christ and the knowledge of Him. And as we are led by the Spirit, we will be able to bring the Gospel in power and authority so that the Holy Spirit can draw them to Christ.

Solo Christo

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[1] A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God. Taken from E-Sword Bible Software.

The Power of the Holy Spirit (POHS)

2005-10-25T23:14:00.000-07:00

POHS Series: Introduction

Consider the following assessment of the Church:

"As in truth, so it is in service. The Church is helpless without the presence and power of the Spirit. The Church never talked so much about itself and its problems. That is always a bad sign. The lust for talk about work increases as the power for work declines. Conferences multiply when work fails. The problems of the Church are never solved by talking about them."

And then another word on the state of the Church:

"The Church knows quite well both the reason and the remedy for failure. The human resources of the Church were never so great. The opportunities of the Church were never so glorious. The need for the work of the Church was never so urgent. The crisis is momentous; and the Church staggers helplessly amid it all. When the ancient Church reproached God with sleeping at the post of duty, God charged His people with being staggering drunk. The Church knows perfectly well what the matter is. It is sheer cant to seek the explanation in changed conditions. When were conditions ever anything else? The Church has lost the note of authority, the secret of wisdom, and the gift of power, through persistent and willful neglect of the Holy Spirit of God. Confusion and impotence are inevitable when the wisdom and resources of the world are substituted for the presence and power of the Spirit of God."

Those words were written by the great Holiness preacher Samuel Chadwick originally published in 1937.

I was prepared to offer some more thoughts on eMerging versus emerging but after praying and asking God about it, I felt that the subject of spiritual transformation and what might be “missing” from our Church today was where the Holy Spirit wanted me to go.

The diagnosis that Chadwick had for the Church of Jesus Christ in his day is as relevant now as any other word that has come forth about the state of the Church and her powerlessness.

I could say a great deal about the issues that certain segments of the Church are struggling with but I am convinced that the answer to make disciples as our Lord commanded lie not in conferences but in remembering the third Person of the Trinity.

Whether you are a ministry trying to reach Millenials or a traditional church struggling with how to minister to the thirtysomethings in and outside your fellowship, the answer is following the example of our foreparents in the book of Acts.

When I read the Acts of the Holy Spirit, I see several things that would serve the Church well as we break through to fresh ways of presenting the Old Story of God’s Grace in Christ to a world that desperately needs it.

Without conferences every week, the Internet, podcasts, Bible colleges, multiplexes, a bazillion Bible translation or PowerPoint slides, the early church preached the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, were willing to die for it (and did on numerous occasion).

In all that, they were led by the Spirit in tangible ways that are clear for all to see. And that might be the problem we are having. Just like Chadwick noticed in his day, the problem of relegating the Holy Spirit to the dusty corner of creeds or theology books has been a storied problem throughout the Church.

I have seen grown men and women cry streams because of the lack of power in sermons. Their tears are understandable but need to focus more sharply on the real problem. The issue is not a lack of power in sermons but in the people doing the preaching.

We have settled for conferences and “how-to” books from reputable sources. We rush to apply what we have learned only to find ourselves registering for another conference because the last fix “didn’t take.” In an age where we can download the latest information or news with our iPods, we also run the risk of trying to turn our walks with Christ into e-Discipleship exercises.

There is simply no such thing and there are no shortcuts or magic formulas for walking in the power and presence of the Spirit. Over the next several days, I want to share some of my convictions about the power and presence of God that I really hope someone, even if it’s just one person, will be able to apply.

In His Grace

eMerging But Not Emerging

2005-10-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

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S: (v) emerge (come out into view, as from concealment)
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I and some friends from my old church had a great deal many discussions about the emerging church and culture. Of course, I have never considered myself to be a part of the conversation although I do share similar views on certain issues that the emerging. After reading James Macdonald's observations on the emerging church and grappling with all the other things I have discussed with other leaders as well as my own research, there are several points I want to stress:

1.) I am eMerging but not emerging--as the title suggests. By that I only mean that I am doing my best in the power of the Spirit, to emerge or come out from all the unnecessary traditions that have hampered and not furthered the Gospel. Be it the obsession with choir robes or building funds, I am doing my best to leave behind all the drama over non-essential issues that have more to do with personal preferences and acceptable cultural mores than they do with the pure Gospel and simple truths of God's Word. People need to see and experience Christ in me than they need to experience anything else. There is lots of discussion about the emerging church being radical but I really do not see anything that off-the-sleeve. Little has changed other than a new crowd of leaders-----mostly white males, of course---saying slightly different things about questioning tradition. Meantime, things are still the same, just about.

2.) Less talk--more do. The emerging conversation certainly lives up to its name. There is a great deal of discussion, so much discussion that sometimes when I'm listening to certain leaders, I get this sense that the movement is more preoccupied with what it's saying more than it is with what it is doing. Now don't get me wrong. Discussion is vital to understanding one another. But discussion is not enough. Maybe that is why the gospel of Luke is so near and dear to my heart. One of the dominant themes of Luke is the necessity of hearing and obeying the word of the Lord. Perhaps the movement would be better served by living out what it preaches before writing about it or attempting to explain to misinformed modernists like D.A. Carson. I personally know of churches that are doing just that---making disciples in ways that frighten the powers that be in the evangelical wing.

3.) JUST SAY NO to "cool." This is not so much directed at the emerging church as it is with those churches who miss the overaching issues that the emerging church as well as others not directly connected to the movement are trying to stress. If there was one thing that Macdonald hit absolutely on the spot a few days ago it was his observation about the problem with obsessing too much over what is "cool" or the trendy thing to do. I have seen churches---traditional and contemporary alike---who sincerely believe that if they would just employ PowerPoint slides or toss in a scruffy looking praise band, they will attract the unchurched and dechurched. WRONG. To do so is like putting a bandaid on a broken leg. To admit the need for change is dangerous because you are immediately confronted with the need to step outside the box you and others have been comfortable in. But, as one of my seminary professors, Jesus didn't die so we can be comfortable. Ask Peter in Acts 10. God got all up in his comfort zone and the Gentiles were forever impacted by the Gospel as the Holy Spirit Himself opened the doors of the Church to non-Jews.

more later....

James Macdonald's Take on "Emerging" Church

2005-10-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

I got this from the Leadership Blog via my Leadership email. Very interesting observations by Pastor James Macdonald of the Harvest Bible Chapel

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2005/10/why_james_macdo.html

October 17, 2005

Why James MacDonald Is Not Emerging (Part 1)

(James MacDonald is pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and its several satellite campuses. His preaching is featured on the radio program Walk in the Word. His is another perspective in the postmodern, emergent church dialogue.)

Let me begin with a word of personal appreciation for the current leaders of the emerging church movement. I am deeply grateful for your courage in standing against the many shortcomings of the modern Western church. Thanks for insisting that authenticity in relationship is the foundation of genuine Christian community. Thanks for standing against the formulaic/instant Gospel which fills our churches with tares and insulates the human heart from a genuine transformational encounter with the living Christ. Thanks also for daring to believe that failure is not final and that Christ yet longs for His bride to function with the health and wholeness He created it to enjoy.

In case you are wondering why my gratitude for the leaders of the emerging church does not translate into enthusiasm for their current emphasis and direction let me take a few words to explain why I am not emerging.

1. Because observing the bad is not a credential for guiding us to the good.
Even if every placard-carrying protestor across from the White House has a legitimate complaint they will not soon be invited to cross the street and participate in governing our nation. The hippies of the late sixties told us that the choice to “make love, not war” would go a long way toward solving society’s ills. We now know however that free love is a fast track to rampant perversion and escalating victimization of the innocent among us. History is replete with proof that those most articulate about our shortcomings are often least able to bring balanced, objective solutions.

I resonate deeply with much of the criticism flowing from the emerging church against current Western Christianity, but I am deeply grieved to see the emergent remedies accepted so uncritically by those who feel gratified by the accuracy of their critiques. Knowing the soup is bad does not make one a chef. If successful diagnosis was a license to treat the patient every lab technician would be a surgeon . . . scary.

2. Because God is looking for obedience to revealed truth, not just sincerity.
I have had numerous interactions with and time to personally observe several of the key emerging leaders such as Chris Seay, Carol Childress, Dave Travis, Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren, and Rob Bell. Some I have only spoken with, others I consider to be dear friends, but each that I have been exposed to gives strong evidence that they are sincere and genuinely committed to Jesus Christ. If all that Christ asked of us was a gracious, kind demeanor they would be exemplary indeed; however the Lord is asking for much more.
In John 14:21 Jesus taught “he who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” We are expected to obey our Master and to accept His Word without equivocation. Cavalier questioning of the explicit statements of Scripture regarding the necessity of the new birth, the priority of biblical proclamation or the binding authority and sufficiency of Scripture cannot build a stronger, more Christ-honoring church no matter how sincere the messengers. Critiquing the church is good; disregarding or diminishing the revealed truth of our Founder is not good, no matter how ‘nice’ the people are who do it.

3. Because Christ’s is a kingdom of substance, not style.
Candles and bells, paintings and sculpture, incense and chanting--great! Let’s bring back the best of all those offerings of worship, but let’s not confuse style and substance. According to Jesus it’s still truth that sets you free, not artistic expression. Wearing suits and ties is certainly not necessary and it can be contrived and unnatural, but wearing jeans and sandals is not a means to the revealed presence of Christ. John 14:21 teaches that obedience to the substance of Christ’s teaching brings His “manifest presence,” not forms--old or new. In most of these discussions we are simply inserting an ancient-dead form in place of a modern-dead one. The former feels new because it’s so ancient, as in “wow, we lit candles and sat in circles at church--that was so powerful.” Or wait, was it the form that was powerful or just the broken routine that allowed my heart to worship with fresh sincerity? The renewed, ancient forms of worship are powerful if they are offered in spirit and truth and will become just as worthless as they become routine.

The power of Christ is not experienced in style, but in heart-felt substance and to miss that point is to set the stage for Emerging Church II when our kids get sick of the currently cool. Style is fun and fresh methods can promote sincerity, but the manifest presence of Christ which is the life of the church comes in response to biblical substance from the heart, not surface adjustments which can quickly become an end in themselves.

A Word From a Fellow Christ-follower on the "Church"

2005-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

In addition to this blog and ministry stuff, I happen to moderate a fan messageboard in my spare time. It is funny how the Spirit of God cannot be bound up in our little religious vacuums as to silence the cries of the frustrated---even on a message board that actually has nothing to do with Church. Rose, as I will call her here, had some choice words after reading the article "Pimpin Ain't Easy: The New Face of the Black Church". A lot of what she said is exactly what I and other Christ-followers have been struggling with

Rose gave me permission to share some of what she said:

_________________________________________________________________
Anyway, this little paragraph of yours caught my attention because I have a few friends back home who take their last money to attend every conference from Juanita to TD even when they can not afford it. And they seem to not be able to fathom missing one single conference. I used to think something was wrong with me because I did not have this obsession with conferences....but I wised up. There is nothing more spiritual about attending conferences. Especially when I see some of them acting the same way they acted before they left! Now I love my friends, they have been my friends for more than 20 years. But I don't see the benefit to them of going to all these conferences, especially since I know for a fact that they are spending their last dollars to do so. And one of them has a penchant for the most expensive hotels!

I also am feeling the rest of your post. After serving God for almost 30 years, in the last few years of my life, I have become a bit disillusioned with the church. And for good reason. I see what you are seeing and I don't think that God intended things to be this way. I personally believe that the Republicans have for years used the gullibleness of christians to get their support. I have always said that if Bush was such a christian man, then why did he not vote against abortion when he had the chance to do so? For years, my church back home has encouraged us to support the republican candidate under the guise that he was the christian choice. And the only thing they had to base this own was a video clip of him attending church or saying the word God.

I remember when I first saw news reports where republicans were claiming that their party was 90% christian and that the democratic party was immoral...they had everybody from James Dobson to Jerry Falwell on there claiming this. Well, my first feeling was that God would not allow this and that he would judge them for hijacking christianity. I immediately had visions of a lot of them being brought down one by one for their underhanded deeds. Little did I know, my vision came true. Delay, Rove, Libby, etc. Need I say more? Remember how hard these people came down on Clinton like Clinton had committed a sin worthy of a crucifixion? Well, do you know what I saw when they did that? I saw those men who brought that woman to Jesus claiming they caught her in the very act of adultery. I always wondered, if they were not hanging around waiting for their turn with her, then how did they catch her in the act? They were just as guilty as this woman! But they came out hard against her. And when Jesus said, "ok, cast the stone if you can", they all walked away. I guarantee you, if Jesus would have walked into that impeachment hearing and gave the same ultimatum to all those republicans, they would also have walked out. Clinton was no different than any of them. Condit, as well as a host of other white house officials have all had a history of sleeping with interns. They just didn't get caught. Now don't get me wrong, I have always had a respect for people like Dobson and Falwell. But I do not believe that God will allow any of us to put him in a box. God is not republican and he is not democrat. But if you want to pick a party that Jesus was mostly homogenous with, it would definitely be the democratic party. Jesus hung out with the people in the hood...on the street...the prostitutes, thieves and killers. He said he came for those who were sick, not well. That says it all.

I hate to say it, but there was a time in my life when I joined in with church folk who would criticize outsiders for not coming to their churchs. Now I understand why they don't come! People don't see us acting any different or showing any more restraint than the Joe on the street. And what makes it even worst is when we turn hypocrite on them and point the finger at their sins!A lot of people overlook this, but the people that Jesus came down the hardest on when he showed up on the scene was the religious folks. It was not the "sinners", for lack of a better word. It was the religious folks who thought they had God all figured out. It was the religious folks who thought they had an inside connection on God just because their grandpa was Abraham. It was the religious dude who thought he was better than the other dude just because he didn't do the same things the other dude did....of course, the other dude was the one who was shown grace and mercy from God.

I will be honest with you....I spend a lot of time asking God where the "church" is gonna go in the last days and how should I function as an end time christian. Sometimes I even ask him if I can do without the church, I get so frustrated, you know. I am still looking for church home in California and I have been here for almost 2 years! I want to visit the big megachurchs here just to say I've been there, but I don't want to join any of them for some of the same observations you mentioned in your post.
____________________________________________________________

What do you think? Share your thoughts and observations. Peace.

Memo to Jesus

2005-10-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Memo
To: The Lord Jesus Christ
From: Your Little sillyputty
CC: The Holy Spirit
Date: October 17, 2005
Re: Bush Fish

Dear Lord Jesus Christ

I thank You for all that You are. I thank You for being the God who was, who is, and who is to come. I thank You for the grace and mercy of the Cross that paid for the sins of humanity.

But I’m having a problem here. Maybe it’s just this silly American’s issue but what does it mean to love You? I thought loving You was abiding in You, Your commands, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

But is worshipping President Bush now considered the ultimate proof of my relationship with You? Sometimes, I get the feeling that it is when I see pictures like the one above. Please write me back soon. I love you.

Your bondservant,

sillyputty

Divine Discontent

2005-10-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

The Scriptures remind us to be content with what we have and where we are but there are times I believe when God allows us to become discontent with our present condition so that we will cry out to Him for revelation and change. I came to this conclusion after talking with a good friend and sister in Christ of mine about trying to discern how or if God is calling one to a specific place. But in order to leave where we are at, we must on a lot of fronts become "discontented" with where we are.

Comfort zones and the familiar are two of the biggest enemies of an adventurous life in Christ. The story of Abraham is the best example I can think of from the Word of God that exemplifies this point.

Abram was a wealthy pagan with a wife and extended family. But his dad Terah died and so did his brother Haran, leaving Abram to take care of Haran's son Lot. But from all accounts, Abram was wealthy and settled in the land of Haran.

Then one day, God spoke and human history would never be the same:

____________________________________________________________
The Call of Abram

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
____________________________________________________________

Interestingly enough, Abram's father was actually intending to venture to the very place God would show Abram buthe decided to settle in Haran (11:31). I wonder if Terah simply got comfortable with the surroundings and decided to camp there. He did die there and Abram probably would have stayed as well had God not spoken a change of direction into his life.

I am not sure where those of you who are reading this are in regards to discontentment. But this much I know: God will make it clear where He is leading. And where He guides, He will provide. Even as Abram was moving, he always took time to build an altar to worship God. Worship, pray, fast, and listen. Meditate on the Word and believe God for the answer to that discontent (or divine discontent) you are experiencing.

Shalom

a few simple principles to share

2005-10-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

The more I live, the more I am convinced that:

1.) Know what and who you represent

2.) Understand the mission of the organization or church/ministry you belong to

3.) Never represent what you cannot believe

4.) Think "we" and not "me"

5.) Question your motives for doing things. It really helps.

5.) NEVER undermine who or what you claim to represent

I came to these principles just moderating a message board but I believe they are also transferable principles that operate in the kingdom of God. There are plenty of folks running around claiming to the know the truth but the lives, in the words of the late great musical prophet Keith Green, "don't match up." May it never be so with us.

O Shut Up!

2005-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Every now and again, I feel like throwing a book at the television everytime some self-appoint overeducated, seminary-trained know-it-all tries to explain why every tragedy under the sun happen. Some scholars were clear: God sent the tsunami to judge all the evil done to Christian missionaries.

I don't want to devalue or downplay the wrath of God against sin. That is a biblical reality. I suppose what pisses me off the most is that those who supports this have little to say when drama comes knocking on America's door. I am firmly convinced that some Christians believe that as long as America supports Israeli political policies, no harm can come to us. This erroneous and ridiculous view is based on a twisting of God's promise to Abraham (cf Gen 12:1-3). We must as Christians pray for Israel but that does not excuse our own national sins.

So if you take the view that the tsunami was judgment on evil, then Katrina is the second sorrow for America. If God is a just God (and he is of course), then judgment is on our shores. So long as we worship the Presidential Seal or political power as a means of gaining power for ourselves, God will absolutely judge the Church of Jesus Christ before the whole world. So long as we preach Jesus like he is a prostitute who gives us what we want when we want it, that foolishness might attract crowds but in the eyes of God, ICHABOD is written over the doors of that church.

So we need to shut up and look in the mirror and allow the Holy Spirit to search us and try us. Then maybe we won't have so much free time on our hands to point the paternalistic finger at other folks when tragedy strikes.

RANT OVER

Dream Church

2005-09-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

Apart from marrying the man of my prayers and having children, the most prominent thoughts that meander through my head are about the Church. What kind of church or local fellowship do I dream of and see being used in today’s cultural matrix?

The centrality and reality of the Incarnation and Cross of Jesus Christ must permeate every fiber of my being as a believer, leader, and visioneer. This means that preaching and teaching topics will have a focus: the glorification and worship of God. A few years ago, it finally dawned upon me that the best way for the Christ follower and the church to make disciples was to be disciples in their midst. Bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ without the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ is a sham. Leaders especially need to focus as much on followership as we do leadership. As we do that, the presence of the Living Christ will work through us and draw people to the Cross.

The centrality and reality of the Incarnation and Cross of Jesus Christ must also define and empower the very life of our church. Without the presence of Jesus driving us and the Word of God as our foundation, we are nothing more than a country club dressed up in religious jargon. That is no way to live.

Live simple, not ascetically or extravagantly but simply. That means we won’t be teaching people how to “get wealth” and try to put a Christian spin on it to make it more doctrinally palatable. I believe in living simply and will seek to both model and teach this approach faithfully because I believe it is biblical and makes our lives a lot easier and less stressful on some levels. That God wants us to lived blessed lives is biblical only so far as it allows Him to define what “blessed” is.

There are NO “Lone Rangers” in ministry. Pastors and elders will work together to govern the church of Jesus as God has ordained in His holy word. In addition, those in the five-fold ministry are called by the Spirit to equip the saints for ministry. We will not be killing ourselves doing everything while gifts and talents rot in the pews and stink up the joint.

Intercessory prayer is an absolute necessity--for the entire community. Prayer for our leaders and their families as well as one another is key. But there is something else. Pray for your city. God is going to set the city on fire with His Spirit. What will we do to be a part of that? We must understand our city and present the truth of Jesus and His Word in ways that are relevant for where the people of our community are. It is such a diverse place that we might—no we WILL struggle initially to define exactly who we are to go after. But God will sharpen our vision

GIVE, GIVE, GIVE! We need to support other churches as best we can. The spirit of giving and not hording must reign so that the kingdom of God and the gospel of Christ are spread to the entire world.

The building is not the church; the people who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are the Church. Meeting places are fine but when you spend more money building multiplexes instead of people and the work of ministry, then there is a problem. Part of me fantasizes about having a mobile format where you drive a bus into a neighborhood, pitch a tent, and preach. Talk to the people. I would always think about that when I was living in Washington DC. And offer the folks some food while I’m at it!

De-emphasis on altar-driven evangelism and more lifestyle. I believe that one of the worst things to happen in the last one hundred years of the Church is the obsession with and focus on “altar calls” similar to those that you would see at evangelistic crusades. While I have no problem giving anyone the opportunity to come forward during a service, there must be a lifestyle of bringing Christ to men and women just the way the early church did. That is really one of the main reasons why the church grew so quickly; they didn’t wait until synagogue meetings to compel people to Christ. They lived the message everyday in the workplace and in their neighborhoods.

The ultimate aim of the assembling of ourselves together is to glorify God. Glorifying God involves an experience where everything---preaching, singing, prayer, giving, call to discipleship----honors God as subject and object.

All the gifts of the Spirit are welcomed and embraced. It’s pretty scary to tell the Holy Spirit which gifts we champion the most and not hinder His work among believers and in the world. The bottom line is that we need ALL that is available to us in Christ to mature in Him and to fulfill the Great Commission.

Reclaim the arts for the kingdom. My New Testament professor required a creative response for every exegetical paper he assigned. With literary leanings of my own, I normally wrote a poem at the end. Why can free stylers (a rapper) free style for Jesus during a worship gathering? No good reason. I dream of being able to reenact or re-present the stories of Jesus in play form. I also dream of reading through the Scriptures publicly using Eugene Peterson’s The Message. It lends itself to dramatic presentation and it’s easily understandable

We need to kill the seeker sensitive versus traditional arguments for “doing church.” We are asking the wrong damn question. The question is not whether churches are seeker-sensitive but whether Christ-followers themselves are seeking seekers. Get that straight and you’ll cut half the dialogical bull trying to pass itself off as authentic ecclesiology.

The Church and Katrina

2005-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am not going to waste space cracking the Bush administration and the remains of FEMA for the ridiculous response to the disaster. I am not going to even get into the whole debate over whether President Bush likes us Black folks or not.

I want to continue to challenge the Church of Jesus Christ to minister not only to those displaced and devastated by the hurricane but also to reach out across denominational lines. I have heard story after story of churches around the country adopting those fellowships destroyed by the hurricane. Some are putting up displaced pastors and their families. Others are feeding survivors as best they can.

I was watching "Oprah", something I rarely do , but her show the other day was based in New Orleans. I will never forget the cry of a middle-aged woman when asked what they needed while being holed up at the Superdome: "WE NEED MINISTERS DOWN HERE! MINISTERS!"

The hurting are calling for the Christ we serve.

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

2005-09-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

Please continue to pray for all those affected by this devastating disaster. I have friends who lost their homes and members of their families. What is needed now is CASH donations. Let's do our part to help as we continue to seek God on their behalf

LEGIT LINKS

The Red Cross

Network for Good (has more links to donate)

Of course, there are always heartless scammers out there wanting to make a buck off of someone else's demise. Here is some helpful information:

FRAUDULENT CRAP
The folowing advisory is from CUNY and the NYS OFFICE OF CYBER SECURITY ANDCRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATION CYBER INFORMATION

BULLETIN DATE ISSUED: September 1, 2005

SUBJECT: Fraudulent Websites for Hurricane Katrina Victims

OVERVIEW: We have received information indicating that Internet domain names are beingcreated that could be used to lure unwary users into visiting potentiallymalicious web sites.

BULLETIN: Relief and charity efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina beganimmediately after the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast area. Shortlythereafter, web sites began to appear which were designed to defraudunsuspecting users. Some of the activities include soliciting donations forseemingly charitable purposes, attempting to collect personal informationthrough phishing scams and also spreading malware to unsuspecting users. Overthe past few days, domain names that redirect users to malicious web sites haveappeared online, in addition to email scams requesting donations for thoseimpacted by the hurricane. While some of these sites and messages may belegitimate, many are not. At the time of this bulletin, please be aware that thefollowing domains are reported to be suspicious: katrinahelp.com katrinacleanup.com katrinarelief.com. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and additional domains maycontinue to appear. In addition to fraudulent web sites, opportunists may use this event as avehicle for other types of online attacks. For example, email messages thatclaim to contain attachments with photos, video, or other information aboutHurricane Katrina may actually contain viruses, worms, or other malware.

RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend that staff be advised to:

Validate the relief fund or charity through a known reliable entity.
Please refer to the FEMA link below for a list of reputable disaster relief resourcesfor Hurricane Katrina.
When a message containing a request for donations for these victims appears, donot respond unless you are certain it is a valid message.
Avoid visiting untrusted web sites.
Avoid opening email messages and attachments that claim to contain video,photos, or other information relating to relief solicitation for HurricaneKatrina.
Follow standard best practices for email and web browsing security.

REFERENCES:

SANS: http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2005-08-31

Washington Post: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfi...na_phishin.html

Better Business Bureau: http://www.give.org/news/disaster_pr.asp

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm

NYS Cyber Security & Critical Infrastructure Coordination
30 South Pearl Street, Suite P2
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 474-0865
7x24 CSAC 1-866-787-4722

CSCIC PGP Public Keys are available at:http://www.cscic.state.ny.us/security/inci..._keys/index.htm

FOR MEN ONLY...

2005-08-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

For those men concerned about the "feminization" of the church…

Be Careful What You Ask For

There has been a great deal of lamenting as of late about the feminization of the Church. That is, a great deal of church activity is geared toward women and not men and that as a result, men are bored with church.

If this is the case, then the male leaders who have been crying the last 2,000 years about women not being meant to minister in certain church positions have no one to blame but themselves.

When you tell women, sirs, that they cannot enter the pulpit or cannot teach Sunday school classes, you force them into other auxiliaries and ministries of the church. But with all those women in those aforementioned slots, it would only make sense that the ministries would become “woman-focused.” LOL!

If men are sitting at home, why haven’t the strong male leaders in churches taken the time to personally challenge these men to come to church and lead their families by example? Do you expect the wives to arouse the bored men from their slumber?

You cannot blame the feminist movement for the feminization of the church without dealing with the misogynistic foolishness that painted women into a corner of the church that makes you feel more comfortable. Women are simply blossoming in the theological and hermeneutical corner they have been painted into for centuries.

Perhaps if women were allowed to exercise the gifts God gave them, they would blossom there as well and be used by God even more to edify the universal body of Christ.

Stay away saints from the Gen-X generation are often chided as selfish when they supposedly whine about the church not meeting “their” needs. But I wonder if the same argument could be made for those men who use boredom as an excuse to disobey God and dishonor their families by golfing over worshipping.

Turning every song into a war cry is NOT the answer to drawing men. Preaching the Cross of Christ is. Preaching about the Jesus who is the PERFECT model for godly men is the answer. Mature men of God taking the time to disciples other men is the answer.

Women would fall all over themselves for Christian men who choose to model themselves not after some proto-man offered in a Christian self-help book but rather off of the Lord Jesus Christ, who:

Walked in integrity

Demonstrated a strength beyond belief by enduring what he suffered

Walked in self-control in his relationships with others

Cried in front of other men

Knew how to demonstrate tenderness towards a child without being a pansy about it

Honored the women he ministered to by reminding them of how He, God , saw them

Challenged leaders to follow the Father with truth and integrity

Laid down his life for humanity

Loved furiously, notoriously, and unapologetically

This is the kind of man my Christian brothers need to model themselves after. Let God shape us sistas as He wills. He is the Maker of us all.

Peace out

Recovering the Church

2005-08-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

The term “emerging church” has been bandied around for the last several years to speak to a new generation of leaders who are seeking to “be the church” in a postmodern context that speaks to this generation in a way that perhaps the modernist approach, with its love for absolute truth and structure, cannot.

As a Gen-Xer, I am not so much concerned about the postmodern context in which the church finds itself so much as I am concerned about the Church period. What we need, other than innovative but scripturally grounded approaches to sharing Christ with the world is recovery, but recovery of what?

Community

First, we have to recover a biblical understanding of community. Community as it relates to the church is modeled quite nicely by the early New Testament church (cf. Ac. 2:42-47). Make no mistake: community is not a panacea or default answer to every ill of the church or of society. But it sure does help to have it. I do believe, however, that regaining a biblical call to community will help to remedy the “stay away saint syndrome” that is crippling the Church. I don’t know about you, but I cannot claim to love Jesus, embrace His Word and His lordship over my life and then stay away from the very ones I am called out with to be the Bride of Christ. It simply doesn’t work that way, folks. We are saying we belong to Christ with our lips but our actions (or lack thereof) betray where we really are. As one of my former pastors used to say all the time, “If it’s right to be in church, then it’s wrong to be out of church.”

To go even further, the church is not the corporate worship service or the building but the Body of Christ that the blood of Jesus purchased on Calvary’s Cross (yeah, I’m about to go fundamentalist on us right now!). A worship service is not supposed to be a smorgasbord of programs whose sole function is to meet my every waking need. A worship service is a time of corporate meeting where believers in and followers of Christ Jesus meet to exalt the One who is the center of our worship: GOD. Our needs are not the center or focus. I am convinced that as we exalt Him seek to glorify Him in worship that His Spirit will minister to us in ways that no purpose-driven copying from other “successful” ministries can.

Community from a biblical perspective is the place where those who have heard and seen the Gospel of Jesus and the in-breaking of the kingdom of God are drawn in by the Spirit and discipled, loved, and nurtured in the faith. How this can happen while we go golfing with our “I love Jesus” t-shirts on during worship times is beyond me.

Lordship

For the last several years, there has been a theological war of words over the place of Lordship and salvation. In one camp are such dispensationalist theologians as Charles Ryrie, who teaches that salvation comes to the one who confesses Jesus as Savior. In the other camp, however, are those like fundamentalist pastor John Macarthur who believes that one could not claim Jesus as Savior without Him being Lord. The drama is known in theological circles as “The Lordship Salvation” controversy.

While I certainly don’t want to ensnare myself with the petty legalism that has hampered evangelicalism the last several decades, I also do not want to be content to stand in front of a church, claim that Jesus is my Savior, and then proceed to live a life void of any discernable fruit of conversion. I am beginning to embrace the rightness that Robert Webber suggests in his book Ancient-Future Evangelism in which he urges evangelical churches to embrace the renunciation of evil as part of the baptism rite. This was to “speak to how Jesus Christ rescued the world from the powers of evil. These symbols also speak to how their commitment to die to sin and be raised to the new life in Christ is symbolized in baptism” (Webber, 95).

Of course, renouncing evil does not mean that persons won’t sin. Otherwise, there is no need of 1 John 1:9 for the believer. But I do believe that the rite of renunciation symbolizes a conscious recognition of the need to forsake sin and live lives that bear the fruit of repentance.

Jesus, our dear sweet Savior who is often portrayed from pulpits like some emasculated spiritual eunuch, laid the smack down on any notions that following Him was meant to be comfortable or easy:

Luk 14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,
Luk 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Luk 14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
Luk 14:31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Luk 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
Luk 14:35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus lays down three negative representations of persons who cannot be His disciples: those who value other relationships and people over Him (v. 26), those who will not take up their own cross, a symbol of suffering and sacrifice, to follow Him (v.27), and those who will not renounce all that they have for His sake (v.33). Sound easy? Sound like anything we are reading from the most popular books in Christian bookstores or hearing from pulpits today in America?

Simplicity

Do not think for a minute that “name it, claim it” theology or materialism started with televangelists. As much as materialism has poisoned some of the leaves of church life, much of the blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of those in the pew. After all, if we were not so drawn to possessing things as much as we were possessing the riches inherent in Christ, we would avoid these false teachers like the plague and stop contributing to their self-serving ministries who make a mockery of the Word of God and turn the Lord Jesus Christ in some divine Gordon Gecko from “Wall Street.” How pervasive is materialism and the idol of wealth in our American churches?

In certain circles----primarily charismatic and Pentecostal circles---the “endtime harvest” and “sign of Christ’s return” have nothing to do with spiritual revival in the Church or winning people to Jesus Christ. And the aforementioned signs certainly have nothing to do with the Bride of Christ being purged of sin and being made ready for Christ’s return. On the contrary, if I am to believe some folks, the endtime harvest and true sign of Christ’s return is the appropriation of wealth for myself and the Church. That’s right, folks. The sign of endtime revival and the soon-coming Lord Jesus Christ is that my house is bigger and that my bank account is larger.

How dare we treat the Lord Jesus Christ and the very blood He shed to atone for our sins like lukewarm milk set aside for the dregs of materialism!

But don’t think for a minute that slick TV preachers and their lesser-known imitators are the only ones. We only need to look at our check registers to see what we truly believe. God forgive me for spending more money on lattes than on ministry. I am not saying that we Christians shouldn’t enjoy the fruits of our labor. But I do believe we honor the Lord when we give generously to the kingdom of God for the benefit of those we are reaching and ministering to.

Humility

I am speaking exclusively to church leaders and I will keep this short and sweet. We who are called to preach the Gospel and shepherd the flock of Jesus Christ need not think for a minute that the clothes or jewelry we wear or the car we drive is a sign of God’s favor upon our lives or ministries. The apostle James warns us not to lust after becoming teachers of others since “we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (Jas. 3:1)

Neither should we think that our education puts us on a pedestal just a step below the Triune God. The stripes on a preaching robe will never have the delivering, liberating power that the stripes laid on the back of the Lord Jesus Christ took in our place.

Humility invites the power and presence of God, something that is absent from a lot of churches today. Humility embraces the reality of human finitude and weakness while gloriously embracing the awesome mystery of the One wears time on his wrist like a cheap Timex watch.

Power
When I say power, I am referring to dunamis, the dynamite resident in the spiritual gifts imparted by God to the Church for ministry. The very idea that some well-educated theologian can decree her or his list of spiritual gifts that he believes no longer function in the Church pisses me off, frankly. Perhaps this fallacy explains why we have become program and self-help book addicts, waiting for that next quick fix for our churches. I remember belonging to a church that was so void of power that I would literally cry after every service. I vowed never to go through that again. The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit did not take a vacation from the activity of the Church. He is so gracious, however, that he will allow us to obsess over the latest church growth methods and sweat over our latest dry offering of church programming just so that we will finally get it through our heads that Jesus Christ is the Head and Source of the Church. You don’t have to hang from the chandeliers of your sanctuary and act a stark, raving mad fool just because you are “Spirit-led.” Please. The ultimate fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power is surrendered lives of Christ-followers sowing the Good News wherever they are, communing with the Spirit and ministering to the needs of others.

Robertson Apologizes

2005-08-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Pat Robertson got it right and I'm proud of him for this:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050825/ap_on_re_us/robertson_assassination

Robertson Apologizes for Chavez Remarks
1 hour, 23 minutes ago

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson apologized Wednesday for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, only hours after he denied saying Chavez should be killed.
"Is it right to call for assassination?" Robertson said. "No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him."
Chavez, whose country is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush. He accuses the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.

On Monday's telecast of his Christian Broadcasting Network show "The 700 Club," Robertson had said: "You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

He continued: "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

On Wednesday, he initially denied having called for Chavez to be killed and said The Associated Press had misinterpreted his remarks.

"I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out,'" Robertson said on his show. "'Take him out' could be a number of things including kidnapping."

He later issued the apology on his Web site.

When the AP had called Robertson on Tuesday for elaboration, spokeswoman Angell Watts said Robertson would not do interviews and had no statement about his remarks. He also declined several interview requests Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the State Department called Robertson's remarks "inappropriate."

Books That Matter

2005-08-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Books That Shape My Ministry Perspective

There are several books that I have read over the last few years that have been a great blessing to me and really help to open my eyes to the complexities of our modern-day culture and the wondrous necessity of living and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Bible (God). Duh, shock, LOL. But I am more convinced that the Gospels are the richest resource we have for getting a peak at how Jesus, the Incarnate One, impacted the lives of everyday people. And think: he did this without holding one leadership conference.

The Upside-Down Church (Greg Laurie). This book is my personal favorite when it comes to discussing how the Church should be the Church. He uses Acts as the foundation of his book and while biblical scholars and historians debate whether Acts should be viewed as a historical document or a “how to do ministry” record, Laurie captures the adventurous journey of the early Church as these men and women submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit to turn the world upside down for Jesus. No gimmicks, no charts, no special offers for video material.

Courageous Leadership (Bill Hybels). Hybels shares my passion for the local church and building being used by God to build it from the ground up. The book is a practical, inside look at the good and bad things Hybels did that help create Willowcreek Church.

Rethinking the Successful Church: Finding Serenity in God's Sovereignty (Samuel Rima). This General Baptist leader tells it like it is. I read this book during my second year of seminary and felt the Holy Spirit literally stamping out just about every desire I had for a “successful” ministry. Rima bears his soul, revealing the struggles he had early in his ministry with the success trap and how God broke him. I believe that church leaders, especially those who are in training, should read this book.

Women Leaders and the Church: 3 Crucial Questions (3 Crucial Questions) (Linda L. Belleville). Let’s face it: the controversy over the issue of women in church leadership will never be silenced on this side of eternity. But as a woman, I appreciated reading a scholarly study that supports such women without sacrificing a high view of Scripture. I know that Piper and Grudem won’t buy her arguments but it’s nice to know that there are scholars, particularly evangelical women scholars who will not back down from their position.

Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Jack Deere). This former Dallas Theological Seminary shared his personal testimony of his journey from the stale cessationism taught in the halls of a lot of conservative evangelical scholarship to a serious adventure with God as he learned that (shock!) the Holy Spirit is alive and well. Most valuable to me is the appendix, which is replete with a series of refutations of criticism from such venerated pastors/teachers like Dr. John Macarthur.

The Younger Evangelicals (Robert Webber). This book just might be my favorite book about what is going on in the body of Christ from a generational perspective. Without really getting into the emerging church argument specifically, Webber lays out how three main groups—the moderns, the pragmatics, and the younger evangelicals approach what it means to be the Church and how we deal with a host of issues surrounding the mystical body of Christ. This book made everything “click” for me, confirming some of the ideological shifts I had sense among fellow Christ-followers of my own generation.