Convictions Verses Beliefs - The Nonsensical Square Circle

Convictions verses beliefs.  Convictions are like braided steel and beliefs are like cotton rope.  Beliefs can grow to become convictions but they can also fade like a post vacation tan.  It has become common knowledge that when teens raised in the Christian faith leave home they have a good chance of leaving the faith, never to return.  The Barna Group conducted a survey among young people (13-17) in 2009 and found that strong interest in staying connected with a church was most common among non-mainline denomination teenagers (49%). Only one-quarter of mainline (denomination) students (25%) and one-fifth of Catholic teens (20%) said they definitely expect their life to include active involvement with a faith community or church by age 25.  Why?  Their belief (if they had one) never grew to the level of a conviction.  Why? Because they never had a firm foundation.  Why?  Partly because in the Postmodern world there has been a blurring of the boundaries between truth and untruth.  Actually, the word "truth" has been systematically weeded out especially when it pertains to religious beliefs.


Let me try to give you a visual.  Imagine four people in the basket of a hot air balloon.  When they started the trip they all believed that having hot air in the balloon was the only way to keep them floating safely in the sky.   But they had all been exposed to many popular published papers and well prepared speeches  reporting that baskets don't need balloons to stay aloft.  Others reported that free falling baskets were not only fun but were the real goal of ballooning.  Others stated that it didn't really matter if the basket floated or fell because it was all an illusion anyway.  Suddenly there appeared a huge tear in the balloon and the basket began to free fall toward the ground.  Kyle smiled and said, "I really don't care about the hole because all my friends believe that balloons aren't necessary for this trip and I have learned tolerance."  Sarah yelled excitedly, "Yeah!  I always wanted to free fall.  My pastor always told me that there are many ways to get back to the ground and we should be open-minded to other ways.  This way is lots more fun!"  Tina closed her eyes and began to chant, "I'm floating.  I'm floating. I'm floating."  Brian looked around and realized that the situation was urgent and  his belief that a fully inflated hot air balloon was necessary for the basket to stay aloft was truth.  He grabbed the emergency parachute, strapped in on, and jumped from the doomed basket.


I know I've addressed this before but I think it's ultimately one of the most important topics of the Christian faith.  Is it true?  I mean if it's just one of many cool fads but it's not true then we should jump.  Have you seen the bumper stickers that show many different religious symbols configured to form the word "COEXIST"?  The symbols include the crescent of Islam, the Buddhist yin yang, E=mc2 (science), the Jewish Star of David, the pagan symbol "ankh" (everlasting life), the Celtic symbol of Wicca, and the cross of Christianity.  Now I agree that we need to coexist and as far as I can tell, we do.  But I think that the meaning of this in today's culture is that they are all equally valid and true as long as the believer is sincere.  I love Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, Jews, pagans, and Wiccans but I would never demean their beliefs or mine by the nonsensical idea that all of the beliefs can be true at the same time. Our young people have few convictions because they hold to the idea that truth is relative and to claim any exclusive truth is intolerant and wrong.  Jesus is cool for me but certainly not necessary for you.  You cling to that stone idol on a string around your neck and that is just as good as a risen Savior.


Jesus said unless we receive the Kingdom of God like little children we will not enter it.  Even a child knows that a circle can't be a square and that nothing can't be something.  A child knows that a rock can't be a marshmallow.  So why is it that adults can believe that God can both exist and not exist based on our beliefs or that Jesus both rose from the dead and didn't rise from the dead?  Why is it that adults can believe that life randomly came from a cosmic accident and evolved over millions of years and at the same time find it compatible with the belief that God created living creatures "each of their own kind" on the fifth day?  


We have become weak in our presentation of the Biblical truth and because many of our leaders don't have convictions with regard to the God of the Bible, neither do our youth have convictions.  Because many of our leaders don't believe the Bible and present bits and pieces to suit there desires, our youth are finding it meaningless and worthless. And quite frankly if it is not true then they are justified in fleeing.  But if it is true then they are fleeing from the very thing that will provide for them hope, forgiveness, and eternal life.  Our youth are increasingly hopeless, depressed, and angry.  Look around you.  Read the paper and see for yourselves.  


If it is true that "The Lord our God is One" that "Jesus is the way and the truth and the life" that "In the beginning God created.." that one day he will "Judge the living and the dead" that "on the third day he rose from the dead" and that there is a "broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life" then to just hold hands and sing Kumbaya is like all of us falling to the ground in our balloon-less basket.


Friends, truth is!  I challenge you today to examine what you hold to be true and if it doesn't stand then move on.  None of us really want to cling to a sinking ship.


One last thing, if you find this blog meaningful please pass the link on to your friends and family members!  


Grace and peace,


David

Spiritual X-Ray Vision - Let's See Through the Facade and Get Real

I don't know if you're old enough to remember when comic books had advertisements in the back for all sorts of cheap and useless things.  There were "Sea Monkeys", nightcrawler farms, and plans to build a hovercraft.  But the one thing that seemed too good to be true were the glasses that could see through things. I think when I was eight or nine my buddy Steve and I sent away for a pair and of course when they came in the mail and we slipped them on, we couldn't see through a piece of Kleenex let alone a wall.  Oh well, we were out $2.00 plus shipping and handling because we splurged on the De Luxe Model but we learned a lesson about false advertising.  What if they were real and we could see through all the facades we put on in life and especially the ones we put on when we walk into church on Sunday.  If those glasses really worked we could pass them out at the door when people walked in.  Imagine the scene:

Bart:   "Hey Bob! How are you today?"

Bob:    "Great!  Life is good!  Praise God!"  

Bart secretly puts on his see-through glasses" and sees Bob's guilt and addiction to pornography.

Bart:   "Hey Bob, why don't we grab a cup of coffee sometime. I want to tell you my story and how God has brought me out of the pit.  I'm not sure but I think we guys need to stick together!"

Scene 2

Sherri:  "Tina, I ran into Steve at the mall.  He seems like such a wonderful man.  You are so blessed!"

Tina:    "Oh yes, he is.  What a wonderful man! Alleluia and Amen!  Blessed be the name of the Lord"

Sherri slips behind the Advent Wreath and puts on her super secret see-through glasses and sees the emotional and physical pain that Tina is hiding from the mental and physical abuse she is receiving from her alcoholic husband.

Tina:   "Sherri, you know I've been wanting to invite you to join us.  We have a small group that meets at my home once a week to talk about our struggles and get into the Word.  I have been so blessed by this group of woman and we have found a safe place to share some really difficult stuff.  We'd love to have you join us!"

OK, I know that we won't likely walk into church on Sunday and blurt out all of our garbage and share all of our hidden sins but if we don't start getting real we will continue to see people die both spiritually and physically. We need to not be afraid to broach the really hard topics so that sin can be revealed, repentance begun, and real healing happen.  I know because I've been there.  I know because I know people who are there now.  I know because I see the real deal on Facebook, at the ball field, and in the news.  I see the Barna Studies that show the disconnect between what people profess and what they live out.  It's time to stop playing church and to start being the church!  

Pornography

Adultery

Drug Addiction

Sexual Abuse

Financial Struggles

Etc.

Etc.

Etc.

We need to address the sin inside the church so we can help people break free.  We need to help people break free of their sin but also from the bondage of sins committed against them.  This is not done in self righteousness but in humility, in transparency, and in the love of Christ.  Jesus said "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  He said in Mark Chapter 2 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."  If we are all good and doing well then I guess we have no need for Jesus but we all know better.  We need him because we are broken and lost and in need of a Savior.  We need him to change us from the inside out.  We need him to lift us out of the pit and place our feet on solid ground.  We need him to free us from pride, lust, selfishness, idolatry, and every other sin that separates us from God.

So what does that look like?  I think it looks like those who are in positions of leadership within the church unashamedly getting into things that may be hard to hear and may not be popular.  Jesus said he was the way and the truth and the life. As far as I can tell, the truth isn't always easy but it's always the best.  

I want to leave you with some words from the Apostle Peter:

1 Peter 4

Living for God

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. . .The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Unashamed truth but salted with prayer, love, grace, self-control, and in the power of Christ!

I think this is a good start!

Peace, David

Have Feet Will Travel - To Be A Christian is to Be Missional

It was Sunday morning and we were in worship. This was a "new church start" and we were in the fellowship hall of the parent church (United Methodist).  I was a new believer and I was drawn to this group because I enjoy the "contemporary" worship style.  As we sat there holding our "prayer stones" (whatever the heck a prayer stone is) a young woman moved to the front, stood at the podium, and began to lead us in prayer.  She open with these words, "Now, let us turn to the Spirit, by whatever name we call him . . . "

WHAT!  My jaw dropped.  Whatever name we call him?!!  Krishna? Allah? David Koresh? Ba'al?  I dropped my prayer stone and ran.  OK, not right then but the day after.  I invited the "Pastor" to my home for dinner and we had a discussion about Christ, about the Bible, about the Gospel.  It appeared that Jesus came to show us  a better way to live, to bring world peace, and that all the paths eventually lead to God.  He died to show us how much he loved us but not as a substitute sacrifice for my sin.  I heard quotes from Henry Nouwen, Brian McLaren, and others but not much from Jesus, Paul, Isaiah, or Moses.  We parted ways spiritually.  I love him but not his message.

So that brings me to today.  It seems that there is always a move to reinvent, repaint, or reshape the church. One day it's "The Emergent Church" and the next day it's the "Missional Church Movement". Rob Bell, the Pastor of Mars Hill Church and one of the Emergent Church leaders wrote a book a few years ago called "Velvet Elvis" in which he began to repaint the Christian faith.  There were some good points in the book and some solid truth but there were also some serious wanderings from truth.  Bell described Christianity as a trampoline were people are bouncing.  He used the concept of the springs being doctrine (bendable, flexible, nonrigid) and he discussed those in the faith that used bricks (rigid, unbendable) instead of springs.  He made the argument that we could have a faith even if one of the bricks of our faith came crashing down.

"What if that spring [doctrine] was seriously questioned? Could a person keep jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian?"

For instance, if we found out that Jesus didn't really die on the cross but instead died of pancreatic cancer or if his bones were found still inside of the tomb, could we still keep jumping.  I guess we could keep jumping but we'd be jumping for nothing.  I say, if the bricks became springs or if they crumbled altogether I say we get off the trampoline because we're making fools of ourselves up there.  Bell wants to repaint the Christian faith but I have a better idea.  Let's find a scraper and remove all of the graffiti and paint that false teachers have used to alter God's original and perfect painting.

So on to the "Missional Church".  The main concept is that the church was never meant to be an "in" church but an "out" church.  I want to say that I applaud the idea that many churches have become inward, ritualistic, and have failed to be the hands and feet of Christ in the real world and we should break down the walls and move out.  So I agree in theory but here is the deal.  When we begin to focus on one aspect of "church" and begin to reshape it there is a tendency to make it what we want it to be.  If the "Missional Church" has as it's core to carry out the "mission" of Christ then let's call it what it is, "The Church".  And within that we have to define what Christ's mission was.  You see the "Church" can be clearly seen in action in the Book of Acts.  We see that it was clearly both "in" and "out".  They met daily and read from the scriptures, broke bread, and worshipped God.  Was it in a big building with stained glass and a pews? No.  But there was a time and a place where they stopped what they were doing and gathered. Cool. I like gathering.  But, they had a purpose (a mission)  for which many lost their lives.  They purposed to share the good news of Jesus and his resurrection.  Was their mission to feed the hungry?  Was it to cure cancer?  Was it to stop the spread of leprosy? No, it wasn't their mission but as they lived as a disciple of Jesus and lived to share the Gospel they did these things as a natural outpouring of God's love.  The bible says that they sold their possessions as others had need so that no one went without.  It wasn't their mission but it was who they were.  They were Christians. When we are living as Christ we by nature become missional.  

The Facebook group "Missional Church Leaders" states this as their description:

"A group of missional church leaders who are committed to leading others in living the mission of Christ."

I have two questions:

1) What if we took out the word "missional" and instead said "A group of church leaders who are committed to leading others in living the mission of Christ"  Wouldn't that adequately define the biblical role of church leaders? 

2) What exactly was and is the "mission of Christ"?

There is a trend toward a "social gospel" that wanders from the original gospel of Jesus.  There is also a crazy sense that there is somehow a distinction between evangelical and missional.  The mission of the church was and is to share the good news that Jesus is the Christ.  So, by default, a missional church must be evangelical.  If you read every quoted speech/sermon that Peter, Paul, and Stephen preached you will see that they preached Christ.  Jesus preached repentance, love, faith, mercy, and judgment. He is the one and only Son of the living God.  He lived a sinless life and died for the sins of the world.  He died a substitutionary death in the place of sinners and took the wrath of God in our place.  He rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death.  By faith in him we can have our sins removed and inherit eternal life.  Jesus Christ "came into the world to save sinners"  and to "seek and save that which was lost"  Did he feed the hungry?  Sure but the next day they were hungry again.  He said he was the bread of life and living water.  He came to give himself.  So, I ask again, "What is the mission of Christ?" so that when we go out and become missional we are doing his will and not a man centered mission.  

Should we be missional?  Of Course!  It defines us.  Blessed are the feet of those who bring the good news.  Why the feet?  Because feet walk.  They go out.  They travel.

We need to stop repainting and redefining the Christian faith but instead strip away the man made, read the bible, and get to the business of telling people about Christ.  If we see someone hungry along the way feed them. If they are naked, clothe them.  If they are hurting, hug them but if they don't know Jesus then give them some good news.  We need to stop being politically correct and avoiding the topics of sin, repentance, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, holiness, and judgment.  Let's stay in and worship this morning then go out later and be Jesus' feet in the word went we go out.  24/7.

Peace, 

David

The You Beneath Your Skin - The Real You

When I was in college I did a little writing and one of the things I wrote was a short poem that I can't recall verbatim but the gist of it was this:  If you remove your arms you are still you and if you remove your legs you are still you.  The "you" lives beneath all of the tissues, sinews, bones, and fluids that you probably think of as "you". Even as the body is washed away the "you" continues to exist.  I want to explore this today because I had a powerful moment yesterday with a man who has become very dear to my heart.

Pastor Jeffery Stokes is an eighty year old, African American, Pentecostal preacher who I met in a rescue mission about two years ago.  He was sharing the Good News with a couple hundred people who needed some good news and I was there because God had led me there, apparently because he wanted us to meet.  Pastor Stokes is affectionately known as "Papa" and it fits well because he calls me "son" and somehow he and I, who are from opposite sides of the tracks, have come to be family.

Papa's body is a bit tired,  his joints a bit sore, his hearing is impaired, his pill box is overflowing, and yesterday he was downcast.  Now usually I go to Papa's house to find encouragement and to be ministered to but yesterday we did a little role reversal.  His thoughts were a bit fixed on his body which is easy to do especially when it aches and pains but God reminded me of the little poem I wrote twenty five years ago.  I laid hands on "Papa" and prayed over him then we moved from the couch to the dining room table and got into the Word. We were reminded that this body we inhabit is only a shell or a tent for the spirit that is the real us.

Paul tells us to, "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Paul and Peter both spoke of their bodies as tents and temporary dwelling places (See 2 Corinthians 5 and 2 Peter 1)

A couple days ago there was a man who received a face transplant and had been photographed by the media.  Now when he looks in the mirror he sees a part of someone else's tent but he is still the same person.  The "you" resides under the skin you see.  Papa is the same Papa despite the failing of his tent.  Papa needed to be reminded that he was just as young and just as vibrant in his spirit as he was when he was thirty and that God wasn't finished with him until he called him home (away from the body).  Papa smiled, sat up a bit taller, and his spirit showed clearly through his tired eyes.  We remembered Paul's words again, "We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."

The Bible talks about the body, soul, and spirit as distinctly different and I think we need to be reminded of this continually so that we can maintain the proper focus and I also think it will heal many of our emotional hurts.

You have a temporary, physical, tangible body that houses the real "you". It may be black, white, yellow, tan, tall, short, healthy, sick, young, old, attractive, unattractive, but make no mistake, it is not the "you".  The you is spiritual.  It is an eternal being (created but made to  live forever going forward).  Angels are spirit. God is spirit.  The "you" under your flesh is spirit.  

Your soul is voice inside your head.  It is the emotions, the intellect, the will.  It is the part that ponders, discerns, and the part that sins.  It is also the part that worships.

The Psalms talk of souls weary with sorrow and fainting with hunger for salvation. Ezekiel tells us that "the soul that sins will die" and Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid of those who can kill the body but to fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.

Here is the point:  You may be struggling with your body.  Maybe it's heath. Maybe it's an issue with your body image. Maybe you look in the mirror and see someone who is overweight, has poor complexion, or doesn't look like the guys or girls in People magazine. Maybe you are struggling with sexual orientation and you are trying to change the face of the tent. Regardless of the struggle, the "you" will carry on long after your body fails and decays.  It is the spirit/soul part of you that Jesus came to redeem. The Bible tells us that, before we receive salvation through faith in Jesus, our spirits are "dead in trespasses and sins".  When we are "Born again" our spirits are made alive.  There is a new life that happens when God's Spirit lives inside of us with our spirits. 

Peace,


David

Mourn With Those Who Mourn

I sat here for quite a while struggling with myself, debating whether of not to broach the subject on my heart. It's immensely sensitive yet I know that God wants me to journey down this road.  Where do I start?  What do I say?  What do I not say?  God I need some help.  The phone rings.  It's my brother in the Lord who says, "Can I pray?"  Of course!  Of course the phone rang.  That's the way God works.  He prayed, I listened, and the Lord gave me both peace and also a covering of his protection.  God is good.  So here we go.

About a thousand years before Christ, Solomon eloquently wrote the words and then in 1965 the Byrds sang about them:

"There is time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die . . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance . . . a time to be silent and a time to speak."

Paul told us to "mourn with those who mourn"

Sometimes (like when we see someone who has lived ninety-three full years, retired after a successful career, and the great grandfather of a small city of children) death is somewhat palatable and maybe even welcome.  We can wrap our minds around the words "a time to die". But sometimes it just doesn't go down so well. Today we mourn together.  Even though this blog may be reaching you in Michigan or in India, Australia, or anywhere else on the globe we can all agree that when a seventeen year old boy takes his own life in a moment of despair we can't help but mourn.  It happens every day somewhere but when it reaches into your home or even close to your home it eats a whole in your heart.  My heart today has a whole in it and I want to tell Stephen's family that we love them, God loves them, and so do people around the world who they've never met.  Death bites.  But it's not the final word.

So what now?  What about the rest of us who say, "Why?" What about the young people who are secretly struggling with despair right now who think they have no hope, those who have contemplated such a thing?  What about the college girl who has been taught that she's the random product of time and chance, she came from nowhere, and will end up nowhere?  What about the churches who want to do a quiet little memorial thing but then stop there?

I've heard people say that "nothing good can come from this." but I think that the God I worship isn't on his throne confused and defeated.  The bible reminds us that, whether we believe it or not, the devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.  He has taken some chunks out of me in the past and I'm sure he hasn't left you unscathed. But God gives us the assurance that whatever Satan intends for evil God will use for the good. Does that bring comfort to those who mourn?  Likely not, at least not now. Did it bring comfort to the sisters of Lazarus or to the Apostles grieving at the foot of the cross?  Likely not.  Never the less, it is true and when we are in rough seas we have to cling to a life ring and the life ring we  cling to is the truth.  The truth isn't a what, it's a who. It is Christ.

I could write a book here and I have to be brief (maybe a book is on the horizon) but I want to touch on three things here.  

1) Why?  Why did this happen?

2) How?  How could God allow this to happen?

3) What?  So, what are you (we) going to do about it?

Why?

Exactly why we will never know but it's clear that there was a moment (likely building up over time) of despair.  A moment when it seemed like there was no way out, no end in sight to the pain, no hope.  Seems hard to believe in a young man with such a great family, with great athletic talent, a loving church family, and a bright academic future but ultimately none of that will hold you up if your head and your heart are in pain.  Trust me, I've been down that road. I had all of those things and more but when the road seemed like a dead end, I found myself contemplating the same thing.  I wanted out.

Yesterday, I wanted to find something in the Word of God that would address this because my words will always fall woefully short and when I opened the Bible these words seemed like a answer to my plea:

Isaiah chapter 40:28-31

"Do you not know? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will sore on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Youths growing tired and weary.  Young men stumbling and falling. Seems like a growing trend today.  I don't want to aim the answer to the "why?" directly at this particular instance because only God knows the answer but ultimately when someone grows weary enough they have the potential to not only stumble but maybe even fall.  When our hope lies in something other than God we will always be let down.  When we put our hope in a job, a relationship, money, our talents, or anything else we will always fall short.  If we put all of our weight on one of those things and it comes out from under us we may fall.  The bible says that Jesus is the rock on which we must stand and everything else is sinking sand.  We are in a spiritual battle here friends!  This isn't just a social or psychological issue.  Ephesians 6 reminds us that we battle not flesh and blood but "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  Our battle then has to be spiritual in nature and we can't just go at this from a worldly point of view. Dr. Phil can't fix this.

How?

How could God allow this?  This is, again, the topic of a 300 page book but there is one answer that seems solid.  God loves us enough to allow us free will.  God gives us a choice.  Many choices.  Love requires the ability to choose.  I have made many really bad choices and, as I said earlier, I nearly made the same choice Stephen did.  In the Book of Deuteronomy Moses writes these words:

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life . . ."

Sometimes we choose wrong. We live in a fallen world.  

What?

What are we going to do about it?  I think this is the only question of the three that we can answer satisfactorily and I think it is the place where something good can come from this.  We can use religion as a bandage and a tool of consolation but if Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, if he conquered death at the cross, if those who believe will rise to everlasting life then it seems like we need to do all we can do to lead people to him.  When we cling to Jesus there is always hope.  That includes those of us who grieve today.  When we know him death loses its sting.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  "Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15)

Am I satisfied with this post? Nope.  But I know that death isn't the victor and is not the final word.  I know that God is ALWAYS in control even when the sea wants to swallow us whole.  I know that I will not rest as long as our young people cling to the world and live in hopelessness.  I know that many will have things to say here and I welcome you to do the same.  If you have been touched personally by this horrible thing I want to say "I am so very sorry"  If you are reading this from somewhere else in the world please pray fervently for Stephen's family and friends.  I will do the same.

In Christ (our blessed hope),

David