Category Archives: Church

Are We Faithful or Are We Drifting?

Doom, obstinate one,
the defiled one,
the violent city.
2 She listened to no voice;
she accepted no discipline.
She didn’t trust in the Lord,
nor did she draw near to her God.
3 The princes in her midst are roaring lions.
Her judges are wolves of the evening;
they leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless, men of treachery.
Her priests pollute that which is holy;
they do violence to the Instruction. (Zeph. 3:1-4, CEB)

As the American Church, we may need to pay close attention to this warning to Judah. Sometimes, if we will do ANY self-examination, we may find that we have become obstinate. The church on the “left” easily accuses the church on the “right” of being obstinate. And the favor is often returned. Yet… look inside. Perhaps there are times we are all obstinate in some way. We have failed to listen to God. We have failed because we are too busy talking and not caught up with listening any more.

We don’t trust God for alternate reasons. We are leaning on the public sector to be our supply… or we are leaning on rugged individualism. Both cases demonstrate a lack of trust in God.

And the spiritual leaders… Are we reckless? Do we care about people any more? It is a careful walk to be a pastor and spiritual leader in the Kingdom of God. We have to be able to see people. We have to be careful with the Word of God. Instruct people faithfully.

These words are harsh from Zephaniah. The easy thing to do is leave them in that era. Yet… we need to carefully hear those words once again. Do we TRUST God? Are we faithful to his Word?

Isn’t It Time to Leave Egypt?

4 You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. (Ex. 19:4, CEB)

There are so many thoughts, discussion, articles, etc., on the angst of the American Church. There are some I agree with, and some I don’t. There are certainly those who are so politicized that the only way for the church to return to Jesus seems to be to vote Republican or Democrat. (Ironically, neither side on THAT issue seems to think they’re being political.)

As I read Exodus again, I see the trouble in the church as well. I see it in my own life. As believers, we are having trouble seeing what God has delivered us from and what he is calling us to. 

We seem to forget that a loving God has called us to himself.  He has delivered us from the power of sin. Yet… we seem bent on wanting to go back to Egypt. We want to justify how we live because we like how we live. We fear change.

We think the shackles of the old life are actually gold bracelets.

We fear God’s direction and God’s best. We just don’t see it. So, we insist on justifying our own lifestyles and say, “Well, the God I know wants me to be happy,” or some other jibberish.

I am good at the excuses. I am good at avoiding God’s best. I don’t even need an excuse. I just avoid God’s best. And the shackles stay on.

As the church in America, isn’t it time to leave Egypt? Isn’t it time to quit glamorizing the motives and operational standards of this world and just admit that God may actually have our best in mind? Isn’t it time to lay down our selfish ambitions and think, “Well… maybe God DOES know what he’s doing?”

He has called us to himself. He has done all that is necessary for that to happen in our lives. The call is to trust him. We trust who we know. It is time to KNOW the Lord.

And get out of Egypt.

Could I Invite You to LOVE the Body of Christ?

1 Therefore, I have a request for the elders among you. (I ask this as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and as one who shares in the glory that is about to be revealed.) I urge the elders: 2 Like shepherds, tend the flock of God among you. Watch over it. Don’t shepherd because you must, but do it voluntarily for God. Don’t shepherd greedily, but do it eagerly. 3 Don’t shepherd by ruling over those entrusted to your care, but become examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4, CEB)

As pastors it is such a privilege to love people. It isn’t easy. It isn’t simple. But it is joy.

We need good healthy practices in our churches. We need to do “good business.” But we need to shepherd people. We need to care for them as pastors.

We need to watch over those we are called to care for with a sense of watchfulness. It is loving people so that we help them grow. We keep the enemy at bay. We pray over the church we have been privileged to watch over.

There are the peaks and the valleys. We celebrate the peaks. We weep in the valleys. As shepherds we rely on the strength of the Lord to carry people through those times.

We sit by bedsides as those we love struggle with health issues. We cheer on basketball teams our youth play on. We celebrate job promotions. We celebrate new births like they are our own kids.

Loving the Body wrings the emotions out of us at times, and we go the Shepherd who knows what that is all about.

As pastors, could I invite you to LOVE the Body of Christ? Don’t look to them to further your career. Look to them as ones precious in the sight of God. They are so precious the Lord called you to watch over them.

The Changing Face of Christianity

The Archbishop of Canterbury is resigning. Mark Stevens wants the job. I’d vote for him if I had a vote.

The issue with the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church is similar. The Catholic Church will face the selection of a new pope before too long, I’m sure. When Pope John Paul II died, they had the opportunity to step up to new realities, but declined. The Anglican Church is in the same position.

As Ross Douthat points out, the new reality is both churches are in decline in their “home turf” yet growing rapidly in other parts of the world. Maybe it’s time to step up and embrace that reality.

Not being Catholic or Anglican, I don’t get to make that call, or even have a voice in that call. It’s their communion. But when there is an opportunity to recognize the shift of the church’s base, why not make a fresh step? Both the Catholic and Anglican communions could embrace African leaders, where their churches are actually growing.

Not that they will take that opportunity, but it is a refreshing thought.

To My Pastor Friends

13 Jesus went up on a mountain and called those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve and called them apostles. He appointed them to be with him, to be sent out to preach, 15 and to have authority to throw out demons. (Mark 3:13-15, CEB)

There is a sacredness to our calling. We can get caught up in the “stuff” of ministry. We can be consumed by the expectations of others.

As I spoke with a worship leader a couple of weeks ago, he stated the painfully obvious temptation: “We have to put rear ends in the seats.”

The expectations and the temptations are huge. Others are running “big numbers” and you may not be in your ministry. You might “have numbers” but the pressures don’t go away.

There are times we simply need to remember the call of our Lord. The call to pastor is sacred and we need to return to those holy moments in our lives. They are precious.

The first call of Jesus to the ones he would call apostles is this: be with him. The other stuff will come. Just be with him.

Get his agenda. He knows what he wants to do with his church. Your calling is precious to him. Rekindle that incredible love and joy you sensed when the Lord pointed to you and said, “Let’s do this.”

Be with him. There is no greater priority.

“Spiritual”… Not “Religious”

For those making that claim, my contention is that the best way to be “spiritual” is to understand where real spirituality is found.

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5, NIV)

We may think we know “spiritual.” But we don’t know a thing until we know spiritual. ;)

Passage and Thoughts Challenging Me Lately

11 He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we aren’t supposed to be infants any longer who can be tossed and blown around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the tricks people play to deliberately mislead others. 15 Instead, by speaking the truth with love, let’s grow in every way into Christ, 16 who is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does their part. (Eph. 4:11-12, CEB)

I need to get my mind wrapped around the call of ministry again. There are areas of ministry we are heading as a church where I need to clearly hear from God. We need to move in the power of the Spirit. Not our own power.

Pastors as Theologians

One of the topics I have wrestled with for quite some time is the idea of pastors as theologians, or theologians as pastors.

As a pastor, I have grown over the years in my ability to think theologically. I earned my Master’s 20 years after I finished my BA. I love pastoring.

What I have become more convinced of is the Church made the mistake centuries ago of separating the pastorate and the academy. We have a very tough time recovering from that drastic mistake. We now think that someone who is “intellectual” is destined for “academics,” and someone who isn’t quite that “intellectual” and more “practical” is therefore consigned to ministry.

Many great students I have talked to in recent years really feel that they want to pursue academic careers and will only reluctantly consider pastoring. It has reached a point where pastoring is something you get pulled into kicking and screaming, if you happen to love theology.

What I long for is a return of the two abilities. Brian over at Near Emmaus is processing the issue of the academy vs. the church and it is a very thoughtful post.

He quotes John Chrysostom, a great theologian and pastor. The earliest centuries of the Church, where the major discussion of the big foundational blocks of Christian theology were formed, were forged in the churches by pastors.

We need these gifts together again. I don’t think we’ll ever get away from having pure academics, but what we truly need to get away from is pastors who think, “I don’t need no stinkin’ ‘cemetery’ education!”

Lord, help us to think again. Think… with hearts on fire.

Blue Chips and Junk Bonds

David Brooks is one of my favorite columnists. This column discusses politics, but it reminds me of a conversation I had regarding ministry as well. Brooks’s contention is that liberals have allowed short term gains to cloud their vision for long term good.

The conversation I had regarding churches and ministry was much the same. American churches are investing in junk bonds instead of blue chips. We are going for “short term” gains that really mean nothing other than quick personal gain. We are doing things for the “quick pop” and not giving regard to long term results. Blue chip investing in the market would be looking to what is solid, what is long-term, what may sacrifice something up front to gain something later.

Junk bond investing tanked this economy. People invented investment tools made out of thin air that looked good inflated values and gave massive profits only to those who invented the smoke and mirrors then got out just in time.

Junk bond investing in the American church is trading off the long term gain of the Kingdom for the short term accolades that make us feel good, give us book deals, and allow us to speak on large stages.

Blue chip investing in the American church would be seeing the power of the Kingdom and insisting on the principles of the Kingdom to bring that power. Nothing short of that long term stability will do in blue chip ministry.

The Spirit of Generosity

A new survey going around Facebook shows that churches are more stingy than ever. It’s the kind of fodder we seem to like. For cynics, it’s just another bullet in the gun for them. For Christians, it’s yet another way to beat ourselves up.

For the church I pastor I want to say this survey is not the rule. For those in my church, I want to thank you from the depths of my heart. You are shining examples of what it means to care for the Body of Christ and reach out to the world. We have witnessed amazing miracles to help those in need.

We are also entering a time of emphasizing missions and I can happily report our missions giving is UP. This last year we increased our budget to missions through your faith promise giving. We even added a missionary. As we enter into this season of prayer and dreaming for missions, please do not let up. Let your generosity stay as a shining example to the world around us.

May this survey never be true of this church!