Rather than trying simply to reproduce the entire image ?as is,? turning it upside down challenges the artist to focus on the various shapes and lines that make up the picture. Perhaps surprisingly, even those who claim they have no skill at drawing can create quite vivid images when they free themselves to focus only on line, shape, and shadow rather than the entire image. (This activity is based on an exercise in the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.)

• What was it like to try to draw the image upside down?
• Why might we be stuck in seeing Jesus in only certain ways?
• What still surprises you about the life, ministry, and work of Jesus?
• In what ways do you think Jesus' own ministry was an "upside down" way of seeing the world and others?
• What might you do in the coming week to see Jesus in a new and challenging ways?
  

A teacher tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “What are you doing Greg?” I remember feeling frustrated that this teacher had disrupted me in what I felt like was a spiritual exercise tantamount to fasting and meditation. I looked up in exasperation and answered flatly, “I’m flipping off the devil.” The look on my face must have convinced the teacher that I was totally sincere. So, instead of sending me to the office, he stuttered out, “Well, um, stop doing that.” I complied with his request but took secret pleasure that I was still going to flip Satan off in my heart.

Okay, so I was a weird kid. But you have to understand my background. I was raised in a family filled with body building, tobacco chewing, beer drinking thugs (insert signature line here*) where flippiing off someone was as common as waving hello. I wasn’t quite sure what it meant but I knew it was something you’d do to those you really hated and the only person that I really hated at the time was the Devil. So I reasoned that if there was one person I could flip off and consider it an act of worship it would be the Devil.

Up until that time I had never read Jude 8-10, “In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand.”

I didn’t know that I was supposed to be careful in the way that I dealt with Satan by refusing to try to take him on myself. I didn’t know that slandering celestial beings was a no no in the divine scheme. I didn’t know that a simple “The Lord rebuke you” would suffice. I didn’t know all this because I was only eight years old.

So how do I deal with Satan thirty five years later? Well, I don’t flip him off anymore, although I hate him more than ever. I hate what he has done to this nation and the hearts of our young people. I hate that he has blinded the minds of those who believe not so that they won’t trust in Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:4.) I hate that he hates the God whom I love and who loves me in spite of all my mess ups.

I hate Satan with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. But now I choose to flip him off with my life and not my middle finger(s). I want to live such a God honoring life that it enrages him more than any word or gesture ever could. I’m not quite there yet but I am pressing on to live a life that makes God smile and gets Satan ticked.

Join me.

* The signature line “….and that’s just the women” is a registered trademark of Greg Stier Inc and is not to be used without the express written consent of Greg Stier and the female bodybuilders in his family.

Clayton Bell currently serves on staff at Every Nation, Tallahassee as Family Pastor. He won't be there much longer because he is stepping out to plant a church. This is part of his story.

Me: Tell us about where you are currently serving and what you are currently doing? Clayton: Well, right now I'm in Chantilly, Virginia for the North American conference of Every Nation Churches, the denomination I'm a part of, and will be planting our church through.

Next week I'm back in Tallahassee, Florida for my last two weeks as the Family Pastor of Every Nation, Tallahassee. I've spent the last year here overseeing the children's ministry and the middle and high school ministries.

Me: Can you describe your intial call to plant a church? How did God speak to you?
Clayton: Hmm...My call to plant a church was a long and winding one. In the summer of 2005 my wife and I attended a pastoral school for our denomination, with my intent to be a better executive pastor (my role at the time). Many of the other pastors there suggested we consider being lead pastors one day, which we'd never really aspired to. At the end of the school we recieved a prophetic word that God was calling us to lead a church, which strongly confirmed what we felt in our own spirit.

And then...nothing.

I spent the next year trying to figure out where and when with several possibilites never really leading anywhere. As soon as we decided to start moving in a direction of planting I lost my job and we went through a tremenously difficult family situation, all within the same 30 days. How we went from there to here is better answered in the next question. a church planter must learn before he sets out: I can do nothing else but this.

Me: Church planting is what some would call "risky business." What was the 'tipping point' for you to take the plunge into starting a new church?
Clayton: After losing my job in 2006, I explored several other options at churches around Florida, but we felt God calling us to stay in Tallahassee to be around friends. I found a job at a local marketing and PR firm, and I had NO idea what I was doing!

Thankfully, God blessed me with an incredible boss and coworkers, and I learned so much during that time. In fact, I learned the one thing a church planter must learn before he sets out: I can do nothing else but this.

I had opportunities for advancement at the PR firm, but didn't want them. I would be praised for a project and almost suffer a breakdown in same day because I knew I wasn't called to this. Minstry wasn't something I did as a job; it was a holy and humbling calling that God had placed upon my life, and it wretched my soul to not be walking in it.

Me: What do you think you'll miss most about your current role\ministry?
Clayton: The people. The comfort. The security. The knowing what was next, what next Sunday would be like. The friendships we've formed. This is the only church I've ever been a part of, and I've been serving in one capacity or another for 10 years. That's not going to be easy to leave.

Me: Tell us about the new church you are creating? What will it be like? Will it be unique?

Clayton: OK, I love you, Terrace, but I hate that question. And maybe I'm stupid because of that. But I don't care if my church is uniqe or different, I just want it to be honoring Jesus. I don't care if someone drives past another church to get to mine. I just want them in a Christ-centered church, no matter who's it is! (Editor's comment: AMEN!)

Now that we're past my rant (Editor's note: This is why I love Clayton Bell - he keeps it real & brings the heat!), I'll answer you in one line - Trinity New Life Church exists to see people love Jesus, love people and serve the city. Everyone loves God, but loving Jesus means being in a relationship with him and obeying His commands. Not many are willing to do that, but it's the only thing that matters! Additionally, any life truely transformed by Jesus will not be lived in isolation or selfishly. So we will love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we will love our neighbors as ourselves. While our faith will always be personal, it will never be private.

Me: So when do you launch?
Clayton: Trinity New Life Church is planning on launching on a weekly basis March 14, 2010.

Me: What does the road look like prior to your launch?
Clayton: We're currently building a team of 40 adults to help us launch TNLC, as well as raising funds to launch the church. In November we're planning on hosting our first monthly preview service, which will continue until February of 2010. In between we're planning on facilitating multiple service projects, community outreaches, and neighborhood parties. We're not expecting everyone to come to us when we open our doors, so we're going to them to show and tell all about Jesus.

Me: What's the most valuable thing you've learned so far in this particular leg of your journey?
Clayton: Faith, brother. Faith and confidence in Jesus, not in self or circumstances, is more crucial than I can convey. The importance of prayer, both corporatly and personally, has increased in my life. And perhaps the greatest leson so far has been the clarification of my motivations. Church planting's a popular thing to do right now; is that why I'm doing it? Why am I doing this? There can only be one real reason- to lift up the name of Jesus Christ among those who are lost and hurting. No church planter should step outside of his door any morning if that is not his primary motivation.

Me: How can we support you in this new endeavor?
Clayton: So glad you asked! Checks can be made out to... :-)
Actually, the biggest thing everyone can do it PRAY! And not just say they'll pray, but actually pray! You can sign up to join our prayer team by clicking here

Additionally, if you live in the Tampa area and you're interested in helping with a church plant, come on down! If you know anyone in the Tampa area and want to hear more about the church, please let us know that as well.And if you do feel led to support us financially, in any capacity, we'll be more than happy to help you store up treasures in heaven! (Editor's note: Yet another reason I like Clayton. He is hilarious!)

Me: Anything else you'd like to say?
Clayton: Thanks for the opportunity to share about Trinity New Life Church! You can follow us on the web at @trinitynewlife.com, trinitynewlife.com, and become a fan on Facebook.

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But there is nothing novel or nobel about it. This whole thing makes me sick. It is very sad, not just for his family, but because it gives another black eye to the battered bride of Christ.

Speaking of brides, I actually respect his wife for not just blindly standing by her man, pretending like she supports him. She is angry, committed to God and processing what to do next. She seems like the only one in this story who is not a fake. Don’t get me wrong, I hope they work it out. But I hope they really work it out and not just stay together in the marriage because divorce is not an option, or for the sake of the kids or whatever. And talk about Sanford and sons. I feel bad for the junkyard he has left for his young boys. Their hero has fallen. Their world has cracked.

I am praying that Sanford repents, resigns and then restores his marriage. and gains back the respect of his kids. But the dude has got a long way to go from what I can see.

It’s always something with us Christians. A few years ago it was the whole tawdry affair between Ted Haggard and a male escourt (isn’t that just a fancy way of saying prostitute?) It just seems like every year or two another nationally prominent Christian bites the dust of the lust and we, the believers in Christ, become a laughing stock to the world…again. We just keep giving the unregenerate more and more reasons not to believe in Jesus.

So how are we to respond? What’s a believer to do when good Christians go bad?

1. Don’t be surprised.

A Christian can commit any sin that an unregenerate person can. We still have a sinful nature and it is as depraved as ever. Our sinful nature doesn’t become less sinful when we become Christians. Sure, it is legally dead, like a prisoner on death row without appeals. But it still can lie to us from behind the bars. Paul makes this clear in Romans 7:15-19, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do?this I keep on doing.”

Don’t be surprised when Christians sin. We all have it in us.

2. Don’t get cocky.

My wife sometimes gets frustrated with me when she asks me “Would you ever cheat on me?” and my answer is inevitably, “I sure hope not.” She wants me to give her a definitive “no!” but I am afraid of giving it because I don’t want to get arrogant about my own ability and resolve to stay pure. It’s that kind of sure-fire cockiness that leads to moral compromise. Galatians 6:1 reminds us, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”

I have reminded my wife of this verse and she has reminded me that she won’t be one of those stand-by-your-man kind of women if I ever cheat. She has made it clear that she will use her get-out-of-marriage free card (Matthew 19:9) if I ever commit adultery. And I believe her! This may surprise those of you who know my wife as the sweet and kind lover of people that she is! But she has another side that only those closest to her know about, an unmatched inner strength and resolve. I actually am reminded of my wife when I read Mrs. Sanford’s comments about her husbands infidelities. To be honest, I am afraid of cheating on my wife and, in some wierd way, that makes me more attracted to her. Debbie is not defined by me. She is defined by God and, therefore, she looks at me with a perspective calibrated by who she is in Christ.

We are going on our 19th wedding aniversary and my hope is that we are both faithful to God and each other for the rest of our lives. But we can’t get cocky about the strength of our internal resolve to stay pure. Instead we must….

3. Choose to live a life of dependency on Christ moment by moment.

“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God?through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25

It is Jesus who has rescued us from the penalty of sin (when we trusted Him as our Savior), is rescuing us from the power of sin (when we continue to trust Him moment by moment) and will rescue us someday from the presence of sin (when we die or fly.) But, in the meantime, we are in a daily battle with who we were (our sinful nature) and our new identity in Christ. When we choose to listen to our old self we lose. When we choose to depend on Christ we live out who we really are in Christ.

Once, at a pastor’s conference many years ago, the lead speaker (who was a famous Christian psychologist) claimed that he had counseled thousands of pastors and their wives through adulterous situations. He said that the one common denominator that all of the compromising pastors had was the the safeguards they had put in place with members of the opposite sex. This may surprise you as much as it did me but he vehemently said it was true. Every one of these unfaithful men of the cloth had refused to counsel a woman alone or be in a car with the member of the opposite sex alone or whatever.

The speaker then told us something I’ll never forget. He said, “Gentlemen, safeguards, in and of themselves, will not protect you from unfaithfulness. Only a strong relationship with Jesus and your wife will.” He went on to explain that he thought safeguards were all well and good but he pounded the point and the pulpit home with a phrase I will never forget, “lust will pick a lock.”

He is right. The only thing that will keep us pure is not some human rule but the divine rule of Christ in our hearts. The moment we put our trust in the safeguards instead of Jesus is the moment we fail. As Colossians 2:23 reminds us, “Such regulations indeed have an appearance fo wisdom…but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgences.”

4. Forgive and restore or confront and ostracize.

I don’t know Mark Sanford’s heart. Maybe his repentance is genuine, maybe not. That needs to be determined by the spiritual leaders at his church. But if and when true repentance takes place we Christians should be the first to forgive. If genuine repentance doesn’t take place then there should be Biblcial confrontation (Matthew 18:16-17) and, if that doesn’t do the trick, then ostracization by the entire church (Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.) Think of this as a holy cold shoulder done out of a heart of love with the goal being shame, repentance and restoration in the heart of the believer.

Tough stuff. But the stuff that makes Christianity unique, holy as well as loving.

I am praying for Mark Sanford as well as for his wife and family. I hope he repents, resigns and restores. I am also praying for you to be pure, to trust in the Lord, not your human safeguards to keep you pure. Please pray for me. I want to be a faithful husband who finishes well. I want to be dependent on God’s strength and not my own.

When good Christians go bad we need to confront and seek to restore. We need to analyze ourselves and not become arrogantly judgmental, to humbly trust in Christ’s power to keep us pure and to seek to rebuild the Name and Fame of Christ by living holy lives of love outloud to all around us.

We have our work cut out for us.