Rick Ianniello

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

willard on transformation

Dallas Willard on clear objectives:

Special experiences, faithfulness to the church, correct doctrine, and external conformity to the teachings of Jesus all come along as appropriate, more or less automatically, when the inner self is transformed. But they do not produce such a transformation.

The human heart must be plowed much more deeply. Thus these four emphases are good in their place, and even necessary when rightly understood. But when taken as primary objectives, they only burden souls and make significant Christlikeness extremely difficult, if not impossible. With respect to these four emphases, we need to say loudly and repeatedly, to everyone concerned, "You cannot build your house on the rock in this way.

The first objective in discipleship then is "to bring apprentices to the point where they dearly love and constantly delight in that heavenly Father made real to earth in Jesus and are quite certain that there is no catch, no limit, to the goodness of His intentions or to His power to carry them out."

1 Jn 1.5, "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

When the mind is filled with this great and beautiful God, the "natural" response, once all "inward" hindrances are removed, will be to do "everything I have told you to do."

How do we accomplish this?

St. Thomas Aquinas .., "love is born of an earnest consideration of the object loved." And "love follows knowledge. Love is an emotional response aroused in the will by visions of the good. Contrary to what is often said, love is never blind, though it may not see rightly. It cannot exist without some vision of the beloved.

As teachers we therefore bring the lovely thing - in this case, God - before the dicsiple as fully and as forcibly as possible, putting our best efforts into it.

We need to help others taste and see that the Lord is good - help them draw close and to linger in His presence.

The second objective is to remove our automatic responses against the Kingdom of God. That is to "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." We need to free apprentices from domination, of enslavement, to their old habitual patterns of thought, feeling, and action.

We need to provide training that leads to doing. That doing is the work of the Kingdom as opposed to the work of our former way of life. This is difficult for the church today since too many have erred to either limiting their concept of the Kingdom to "life after death" or jumping into "victory" in all things at all times (i.e., Word of Faith kind of stuff). Neither of these is life in the Kingdom as Jesus modeled and taught us.

willard on discipleship

More wisdom from Dallas Willard on discipleship.

... we are ... disciples in discipleship making. We learn from Jesus how to make disciples as He did. ... this involves proclaiming, manifesting, and teaching the Kingdom of God. ... It is only a matter of appropriately informing people about Jesus and His Kingdom and helping them, through prayer and guidance, to make a decision.

The issue is that the church in general seems to have a weak hold on what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. Because of that we do not make disciples of Jesus and His Kingdom, we fall into the consumer/client model of teaching, training, etc.. In the end, we are often fail in this and then when we are successful, we train people to the wrong target.

We need to create genuine disciples within the community. Only then does the church becomes the visible people of God.

Our goal is "to enable people to become disciples we must change whatever it is in their actual belief system that bars confidence in Jesus as Master of the Universe." Dallas Willard

As Jesus said, "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand". He's saying turn complete from you old way of thinking and take on all that He embodied relative to the Kingdom.

For us that looks like:

living in a community of love and unity
living a life as servants - preferring others
demonstrating signs and wonders as the Father directs

I'm convinced that we need proclamation of the Gospel as well as demonstration in all three of the above points. This will provide the information for the rationale decision to come to Christ as well as the emotional (or whatever word best fits here) motivation, i.e., the significant emotional event to prompt us to that decision.

Without that "one-two punch", leaders are constantly working against the actual beliefs of the people we are trying to lead.

Friday, September 01, 2006

rap is crap .... ?

... and for those of you that don't realize that a lot of rap is crap, read this.

aussie brothels and gas

I taught a class in Bangkok this week. There were some folks from Australia in it and I thought it was extremely timely that I came across this article. It made for a great icebreaker. It seems that some of the "working gals" in Australia are offering rebates for gas (petrol, fuel) at the pump.

This supports my prejudice that it is truckers that frequent brothels.

iTunes movies

Oh man ... there's no way I'll be able to be a good financial steward now ... iTunes is moving to sell full length movies.

church downsizing

Mega-church downsizes, cuts non-essential members

WINSTON-SALEM — Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the life of the church" — or worship elsewhere.

In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, bellwether mega-church Faith Community of Winston-Salem has asked "non-participating members" to stop attending.

"When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal," he says. [read more]

dever on relevance

Mark Dever just made an excellent post on T4G entitled Relevance. The entire article is worth a read but here are a few phrases that really jumped out at me.

None of us ever have a complete understanding of the Gospel, but we must have a clear idea of what the basics of our message are, and we must be clear in our expression of them. If there is a likely misunderstanding, we should address it.

I completely agree. Too many parade about as if to have an exhaustive understanding of the Gospel. I've read many criticisms by those people toward those that are willing to admit we do not and cannot fully comprehend the fullness of this Good News. On the other hand, I'm embarrassed, angered, etc. by those calling themselves Christian but cannot/will not explain the Gospel is clear and simple terms.

Clarity with the claims of Christ certainly will include the translation of the Gospel into words that our hearer understands, but it doesn’t necessarily mean translating it into words that our hearer will like. Too often advocates of relevant evangelism verge over into being advocates of irrelevant non-evangelism. A gospel which in no way offends the sinner has not been understood.

Wow!! The anti-relevance crowd amazes me with their arrogance yet much worse, a gospel which is neither a stumbling block or foolishness to anyone is no Gospel at all.

Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2. He wanted to be relevant. But that relevance gave his words more bite, not less.

Amen. If people do not understand our message because of our presentation, then no decision is required or, they are duped into thinking they are on the "right side" of the problem facing them. But when the reality of sin is clearly presented in a way that hits home, that is going to sting. Followed by the opportunity of redemption, the hearer will make a decision.

As a side note, I'd carry this concept beyond that of "evangelism". I often teach small group leaders that the small group should be safe yet not comfortable. I think that is true of the entire Christian community. We need to know that we are among people that care for us and will bring healing to our wounds. People that will edify and protect. At the same time, we need to constantly consider how to spur each other on in the faith - confronting sins, presenting "God sized" challenges, and the like.

In my search for a new church family and over the years, I have sadly found far too many fellowships where there is much more comfort than I'm comfortable with.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

fantasy church

New fantasy church game ... must see it here.

what is a disciple

"... a disciple ... is simply someone who has decided to be with another person ... in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is." And regarding what Jesus did, "He lives in the Kingdom of God, and He applies that Kingdom for the good of others and even makes it possible for them to enter it for themselves." - Dallas Willard

So as Jesus' disciples, this is what we ultimately do. We live Kingdom lives. People around us are effected by the power of the Kingdom. And thereby the Holy Spirit causes some of those around us to enter the Kingdom as well.

How did Jesus make disciplines? Proclaim the Kingdom. Manifest the Kingdom. And teach the Kingdom.

Willard's "spin" on John 14.26;

Jesus knew that genuine understanding of the Kingdom had not yet developed in them. He was counting upon their memory of what and how He had taught - along with the assistance of the paracletos, the helper who would be with them later in a special way - to foster their abilities to teach as He taught after He was gone.

... after the "parables of the kingdom" given in Matthew 13, Jesus gives His hearers a general instruction about how to teach: "When, therefore, a 'Bible scholar' becomes a disciple to the Kingdom of the Heavens, he is like a householder who can produce from his store things old and new" (Mt 13:52). Think of all the things one collects in one's house by living in the same place for a long period of time. The Kingdom disciple teaches from his or her storehouse of personal experiences of God's rule in the commonplace events of real life.

I was in a small group recently and they were sharing reasons why they don't "witness". Often the discussion was around fear of offending and that type of thing. I had to offer that for me, it simply seems that I do not often enough realize the power of the Kingdom in my own life and therefore fail to have it overflow into the lives of those around me.

As Jesus taught in Mt 13, we must recognize the value of the the Kingdom. And then, as implied in Lk 9.62, having recognized that value, we are not suited to it if we then look back. We must press forward with all we are for our King.

Monday, August 28, 2006

holy power

From Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy.

"The engulfment came upon them - with quite racket, right out of that sky into which only ten days earlier they had seen Jesus disappear. Peter then stood at the heart of the Jewish world and reinterpreted the call that G0d had anciently placed upon the Jewish people to be a light and a blessing to all nations. 'The promise of living in a holy power other than ourselves,' he said, 'was not just for the little group of disciples at the time. It was also to all the people of Jerusalem, as well as to their children, and to others no matter how far away, as the Lord draws them to Himself.'" (Acts 2.39)

The Kingdom of God is here. We must turn completely from our old way of thinking and acting and live lives worthy of who He is and what He has done for us. In all that we say and do we must be ambassadors of the King.

While I firmly believe this includes "signs and wonders", it flows from an inner life of right living by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Ro 14.17) The outward signs are only right when overflowing from a God empowered inner-self.

"So the Kingdom of the Heavens, from the practical point of view in which we all must live, is simply our experience of Jesus' continual interaction with us in history and throughout the days, hours, and moments of our earthly existence." - Willard

Saturday, August 26, 2006

obese bishop

I'm in Tokyo right now but managed some time to read an article by Todd Rhodes ... Methodists have installed an obese Bishop.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

travel

The blogging has been slow - sorry. My wife's parents are here. We have not seen them in 1.5 years and I'd like to spend some time with them. It's good to see them.

My father-in-law is a real nice guy and he's getting a lot of little projects done around the house - the typical things that need to be done when you move into a new place.

Tomorrow I take off for Bangkok and then Manila. It should be fun but unfortunately it is too long. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done over the next couple of weeks but I intend to get back to it once I return.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

eye fi - internet porn

don't ask how I found this one ...

Technorati Tags: humor, internet porn

go. love. live.

We visited Northstar Vineyard again and were again pleased (we presume God was also pleased). The mission statement is "go. love. live." That is, to go to the missing, to love the marginalized, and to live as God's kids. That seems like something I can buy into.

The sermon was on the topic of worry. Where there is worry, there cannot be worship.

Mt 6.25a, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, ..." Here Jesus gives us a command of perspective. We are to live in confidence because we know who we are and where we are going - but we know that only because we can know who put us here and that He is taking us somewhere.

God is Sovereign. he is ultimately in control of all things. Some want to hold on to "free will". I want to live in the freedom that comes from knowing that He is orchestrating all things.

We are to seek first the Kingdom of God! The Kingdom which is here and yet coming. We live for His Kingdom and we do that one day and one moment at time. We do not worry for tomorrow.

A couple of lines from the closing songs ...

"Forever You will always be our God on High, the Lord in me ..."

"You're my Prince of Peace and I will live for You ..."

supper of the lord

One of their practices of Northstar Vineyard (at least based on our two visits) is to celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly. I really like that. Plus it's consistent with the Westminster Divines;

The Communion, or Supper of the Lord, is frequently to be celebrated; but how often, may be considered and determined by the ministers, and other church-governors of each congregation, as they shall find most convenient for the comfort and edification of the people committed to their charge. And, when it shall be administered, we judge it convenient to be done after the morning sermon.

Where this sacrament cannot with convenience be frequently administered, it is requisite that publick warning be given the sabbath-day before the administration thereof: and that either then, or on some day of that week, something concerning that ordinance, and the due preparation thereunto, and participation thereof, be taught; that, by the diligent use of all means sanctified of God to that end, both in publick and private, all may come better prepared to that heavenly feast.

And Westminster Confession 21:5;

Westminster Confession 21:5. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching , and conscionable hearing of the word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as also the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: besides religious oaths and vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgiving upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in a holy and religious manner.

And in my self-serving way, also Acts 20:7, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight."

Anyway - just a brief note to say "I like it."

Technorati Tags: Lord's Supper

david watson

Steve Addison continues to come up quotes from the past that inspire and help keep our spiritual compass right.

The asthma persisted, so that I slept badly each night; my legs, ankles and feet blew up like balloons; and my abdomen grew at an astonishing rate until I looked like a pregnant woman. . . My arms and shoulders withered into mere skin and bones. . . I looked more dead than alive.

However God has been far from inactive in my life. At about one a.m. . . . I had a bad asthma attack. In my helplessness I cried out to God to speak to me. I’m not very good at listening to God, but between one and three a.m. God spoke to me so powerfully and painfully that I have never felt so broken before him. . .
He showed me that all my preaching, writing and other ministry was absolutely nothing compared to my love relationship with him. . .

God also showed me that my ‘love’ for him meant nothing unless I was truly able to love from my heart my brother or sisiter in Christ. As the Lord put various names into my mind I began to write letters to about twelve people asking for forgiveness for hurting them. . . It was the most painful pruning and purging I can remember in my entire Christian life. . .

Whatever else is happening to me physically, God is working deeply in my life. His challenge to me can be summed up in three words: ‘Seek my face.’ I am not now clinging to physical life (although I still believe that God can heal and wants to heal); but I am clinging to the Lord. I am ready to go and be with Christ for ever. That would be literally heaven. But I am equally ready to stay, if that is what God wants.

‘Father, not my will but yours be done.’ In that position of security I have experienced once again his perfect love, a love that casts out all fear.

These were the last written words of David Watson (Anglican church leader and author) after an "intense time of prayer for healing" with friend John Wimber and others.

Technorati Tags: John Wimber, David Watson, healing

Friday, August 18, 2006

discipleship v. debate

Phillip Way posts an excellent piece on the difference between discipleship and debate.

Discipleship is the process whereby we obey the Great Commission and teach disciples all that Christ has commanded (Matt 28:18-20). It is teaching and being an example, but it is also a reciprocal relationship where both parties teach and learn.

...

Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” ... What is it to “sharpen?” The word means to cause to grow sharp or keen. So as iron will cause another piece of iron to grow sharp, able to cut or pierce, so too a man can sharpen the countenance of his friend. ... we notice from the text is that a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. The sharpening, the removal of rough edges, the refinement, the growth in grace that results from diligent discipleship occurs between friends. In the Body of Christ we see that much is required of us as we relate to one another. Fellowship, an act of worship toward God and an act of love and service towards each other, finds us in a loving, deep, and even spiritually intimate relationship with our “friends.”

I am fortunate to have a lot of friends interested in sharpening me.

Technorati Tags: discipleship

Thursday, August 17, 2006

piper's righteousness

Randy "no-blog" continues to send me interesting stuff. Soon I will have to stop reacting in hopes that he gets his own.

He recently sent me this quote from John Piper:

Do you see why I would spend weeks of my sabbatical laboring to understand why so many teachers in the church today are replacing the righteousness that Christ has in himself with the righteousness that Christ creates in us as the basis for our justification? People who trust in the righteousness that God has worked in them for the basis of their acceptance and acquittal and justification do not go down to their house justified. People who really believe that the righteousness that God helps them do in this life is a sufficient basis for their justification, Jesus says, will not be justified. Bethlehem, this is serious. We are not justified by the righteousness that Christ works in us, but by the righteousness that Christ is for us.

The question is, "is Piper on track or is he splitting hairs?"

Piper is on track. Initially I thought it was semantics but Piper is right. We must understand the immensity of Christ's righteousness and in that and that alone put our trust. Our righteousness is only that which flows out of His. And worse, the moment we focus on our righteousness, we sin.

Our salvation is based on works - but it is His works not ours that matters. If we are filled with Him, we will act out His righteousness in our works. If not, we will become proud, we will fail, we will burn out, etc..

We need to keep our eyes squarely on the author and finisher of our faith.

Technorati Tags: John Piper, righteousness

awaken joy

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

Far too often I have pushed information that unfortunately did not lead to joy in anything. I think I do a fair job of sharing information. I think the thing I lack is creating the hunger for that information.

As I think about that in terms of spiritual development, that's why stories are so valuable. Or more accurately said, that is why we need to live spiritual lives - so that our actions and subsequently our stories cause people to hunger for the Spirit within.

Technorati Tags: Albert Einstein

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

wimber on pain

Steve Addison just posted this excellent quote from John Wimber. Almost 10 years since his death, Wimber is still making a positive impact on me.

Don’t be afraid of pain. All my life I’ve been afraid of pain. But pain’s not so bad. I’ve been in the valley and it’s not so bad. In fact the view is wonderful. You never get to see Jesus quite as well as you do in the valley.
It isn’t prosperity that gives you the complete, the indepth, the intimate view of Jesus. It’s pain. It’s in the midst of pain, it’s in the midst of heartbreak, it’s in the midst of the rendering of relationships, its in the midst of tragic circumstances that you get the heart of God revealed to you.

So don’t be afraid of pain. If God’s allowed it he’ll have purpose in it. . . I love and know my Savior today more than I have ever known him. And I am now 31 years in the Lord. I’m so grateful for cancer. I’m so grateful that I went through it. Because I could never have known Jesus the way I now know him. And frankly I could never have known my wife the way I now know her.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

sorry

Sorry - I've been gone a long time and unfortunately, this is just a test post. I'm trying to work out the new Mac world, our stuff from Germany arrived yesterday (and still unloading today), and now I'm giving ecto a trial run.

On the upside, we had a change to visit what seemed to be a great church Sunday. NorthStar Vineyard Community Church seems like a great group of people. Most of them are 20-30 somethings but Barb and I are still trying to pass as younger.

We liked it because while the "message" format was very much storytelling, the stories were of life experiences that flowed from Biblical living and were used to add application to Biblical teaching as opposed to what we saw at some other churches where the Bible was simply referenced as the speaker told of how to be a better person.

We'll see how it goes. I have to get back to unpacking. I just wanted to give this ecto thing a quick test.

Technorati Tags: ecto, family

Sunday, August 06, 2006

paul and barnabas and vcc

Today we visited VCC again - there is so much potential there but the sermons continue to leave us empty. The message was entitled, "Difficult Co-workers". The first half was a funny video demonstrating poor workplace behavior followed by 4 secular "tips" to better deal with difficult co-workers.

fix the problem, not the person
find the good qualities in a difficult co-worker
refuse to let a toxic co-worker poison you
make sure you're not the difficult co-worker

Well done but I'm expecting to gather with other believers to hear the word of the apostles. But then the speaker did a turn around. He did a great job of telling the story of Paul and Barnabas.

After a few days ... Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're doing."

Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia ... [Acts 15.36-41, The Message]

[Paul said] ... bring Mark with you; he'll be my right-hand man ... [2 Tim 4.11, The Message]

The speaker really brought the story to life. Too bad he spent the first half of his time with the other stuff. He could have started the message with this story instead. Then could have showed us how it is the Kingdom of God and only that, that worked in Paul (or us) to effect this drastic change of heart. Or he could have used Scripture to reveal to us how God is glorified as He works within us to bring relational healing. Or any number of other spins.

Net, we're not satisfied but we think we need to check out their small groups, seminars, youth ministries, etc.. I know a little of the history of this community and I want to believe that somewhere there is something that runs deeper than what we are seeing in the celebration services.

Friday, August 04, 2006

specialized ministries

Randy "No-Blog" just wrote to me saying, "I'm listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon on women. During the sermon he gets to talking about how parents have given up being parents. He said that we have daycare centers to take care of small children, schools to take care of older children, and churches to lead them to Christ. He said they don't have youth pastors at their church. When people ask why they don't have youth pastors, he says they do--they are called Mom & Dad."

I like that and I'm good with the concept in general. Clearly we err to substituting the youth pastor for parent. But I do not think it is necessary to eliminate the role. The role as well as the ministry should be kept in perspective. Too often we make too much of these ministries but overall, youth ministries, women's ministries, men's ministries, etc. could have a useful purpose.

As those that know me can attest, I think these ministries can be very good for bridge activities (i.e., outreach) and they can help with people that culturally expect these things. The key is that they remember their focus and flow people into the community of believers overall. Unfortunately most people that run these see the ministry itself as the goal and try to become all things to those that fit the target demographic. No good!

With that said, small groups are different. They are "wholistic" communities within the community design to do in the personal space what the larger community does in the public space.

As a final comment relating back to Randy's note, I once heard a person request our pastor to consider renting some space to expand our ability to provide foodstuff to the needy. The pastor's response was classic. He asked her how large her pantry at home was. Then he asked her roughly how many families she thought attended our church. He then multiplied both figures and asked her if she thought that would be enough space - end of conversation.

We need to stop looking to the organization to provide what we as individuals, families, small groups, etc. should be doing as a natural outflow of our worship toward God.

it's just like christmas

It's just like Christmas around here - well, except for the thousand degree temperature and 300% humidity. Today my blog moved up to "wiggly worm" in the Truth Laid Bear tracking - very prestigious, only 19800 blogs ahead of me. This is far better than my technorati ranking of 151350 - so I'm sticking with the former if anyone asks.

Then, as if that wasn't good enough, my first ebay purchase arrived today. I picked up a legal copy of PhotoShop CS2. Yes, I'm finally doing it. I've been convicted (by God not the US courts) and I'm moving to 100% legal software. So I've moved from the dark ages by getting on board with ebay and I'm now ok in the sight of God. Wow! Can it get better?

Yes! It gets better. I also received 3 (that's right 3) HP PhotoSmart C3180 printers. Why? Because with my order of 3 (yes that's right, 3!) MacBook Pro's I get a rebate equal to the price of the printers so why not?

So that's the big news, we got two of the three MacBooks in. All three are the 17" 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo with 7200 rpm 100GB hard drives. Two are for Angela and Isaiah so I left them at 1GB of memory but I put mine at 2GB - 'cause I'm the Dad. Mine hasn't arrived yet because it is so special - well, that's what I'm telling myself.

Isaiah will run his alongside a 19" VGA monitor we had, Angela will use a 17" and I went with the 23" Mac Cinema HD Display.

Now we just need to figure out how to run all this stuff. Until then, I will continue to plug away on my Dell Latitude ...

passion of christ versus the ballad of ricky bobby

Gibson Controversy Prompts Pastor to Refocus Message
by David at Horn+Swoggled

The controversy over Mel Gibson's drunken tirade has prompted a pastor in Louisville to stop talking so much about the events depicted in Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ."

David reports that this pastor is considering focusing more on movies such as The Ballad of Ricky Bobby because it "shows a family sitting down to pray, and that's pretty good Christian values. Plus, it will be nice to think about something light-hearted for a while, instead of all that blood." [more]

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

human life is about god

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name ..." Mt 6.9

Dallas Willard - "Human life is not about human life. Nothing will go right until the greatness and goodness of its source and governor is adequately grasped. His very name is then held in the highest possible regard. Until that is so, the human compass will always be pointing in the wrong direction, and individual lives as well as history as a whole will suffer from constant and fluctuating disorientation" [The Divine Conspiracy, p. 259]

God's name must be honored - until then our world will remain out of whack. His honor and glory is our primary concern. Our sense of reality is not correct.

I look forward to seeing Him face to face in all of His glory.

sunday school options

The latest LarkNews is out. Here is one of the headlines ...

Nurseries offer first-class option

"People want choices of service," says pastor Ron Jacobs. "If we can offer 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. worship times, why not first class and economy class Sunday school?"

"We want to open our doors to everyone in the community," he says. "Some people expect a higher level of service. If that will bring them to the gospel, I'm for it."

Monday, July 31, 2006

leadership development

Steve Addison provides some simple points from "Des" for leadership development.

If you’re in ministry and you’re not growing leaders, you’re not doing your job.
If you grow leaders and give them away the ministry will take care of itself.
You grow leaders on the job. High demands and lots of belief in them. Room to succeed and room to fail.
Create the right context and workers will be banging on your door trying to get in.
If Jesus was running your movement, guys like Des would be his right hand men. Read the gospels.
Des is smart but there is no way guys like him would make it through most denominational systems of training. They don’t like sitting still.
Leadership development is as much about character as it is about knowledge and skills.

I say "AMEN" to all of them.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

4 way test

I picked this up from an article by Mike McLoughlin ...

Herbert J. Taylor was a Christian Business man, who influenced his generation with the gospel. He penned the Four Way Test as an ethical standard for communication in business. It is excellent wisdom for Christian bloggers. It asks four questions of all we think, say and do. For Christian bloggers, the test needs to be applied to what they write.

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

I think this is excellent advice for those interested in upholding truth in a world where the only absolute truth lies in Scripture. As we spur each other on toward Christ-likeness and confront those that stand against His truth, we would do well to keep these principles in mind.

Read here for McLoughlin's complete article.

Friday, July 28, 2006

hip-hop worship

From Newsweek:

Hip-hop services are popping up all over. Lawndale Community Church in Chicago packs the house with its rap-inspired version. The leaders of Minneapolis's Sanctuary Covenant Church do hip-hop services six times a year to boost youth attendance. In Tampa, the Rev. Tommy Kyllonen's Crossover Community Church gained 10 times as many congregants when it started using hip-hop in youth outreach programs. Holder has developed "The Hip Hop Prayer Book," inspired by the Book of Common Prayer, which he wrote with help from dozens of rappers, musicians and poets. Here's their version of the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing. / He allows me to chill. /He keeps me from being heated /and allows me to breathe easy. /He guides my life so that I can /represent and give shout outs in His name. / And even though I walk through the hood of death, /I don't back down, for You have my back. / The fact that He has me /covered allows me to chill. / He provides me with back-up/In front of player-haters, / and I know that I am a baller and life will be phat. / I fall back in the Lord's crib for the rest of my life. [more]

I herd dat ...

Thursday, July 27, 2006

the nickel trick

If you are a billiards fan, this one is for you.

Monday, July 24, 2006

more laughter

Since I'm not a fan of the "holy laughter" movement I hate to keep doing this but I think the "anti-laughter" crowd continues to miss the contradiction in their thinking. I sense that Pyromaniacs is their blog of choice and Charles Spurgeon is their "gold standard". This Spurgeon quote just appeared in Pyromaniacs.

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

I have often read in Scripture of the holy laughter of Abraham, when he fell upon his face and laughed; but I do not know that I ever experienced that laughter till a few evenings ago, When this text came home to me with such sacred power as literally to cause me to laugh.

I had been looking it through, looking at its original meaning, and trying to fathom it, till at last I got hold of it this way: "My grace," says Jesus, "is sufficient for thee, "and it looked almost as if it were meant to ridicule my unbelief: for surely the grace of such a one as my Lord Jesus is indeed sufficient for so insignificant a being as I am ...

Sounds like not only did Spurgeon do a bit of laughing but he saw it as "Scriptural".

Sunday, July 23, 2006

life's greatest aim

Todd Pierce delivered another good message today at Mason Vineyard Church entitled Life's Greatest Aim. This sermon served as an overview for an upcoming series on the topic of love.

The Priority of Love

Without love, all we say is ineffective (1 Co 13.1, Ep 4.15).
Without love, all we know is incomplete (1 Co 13.2, 8.1). "Knowledge gives a big head while love gives a big heart."
Without love, all we believe is insufficient(1 Co 13.2, Gal 5.6).
Without love, all we give is insignificant (1 Co 13.3). "You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving."
Without love, all we accomplish is inadequate (1 Co 13.3).

The Practice of Love

Love is an action; it is more than a feeling, it is something we do (1 Co 13.4-5). A demonstration is more than an inclination. As described in John 13, having loved his own, Jesus demonstrated love by then serving them and ultimately giving His life.
Love is a choice (1 Co 13.6-8).

The Permanence of Love

Love is eternal (1 Co 13.7-8).
Love is a lifestyle (Jn 13.34-35). Jesus turned the familiar phrase "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" into "do unto others as I have done unto you".

Now let's go love.

messin' with mission

New Mission Statement Calls for Better Mission Statement by David

A church in Georgia has finished work on a new mission statement that calls for more scrutiny of the church's mission. Real People Church pledges to "annually review this mission statement to more effectively communicate Real People's vision for the future." [more]

Saturday, July 22, 2006

messin' with sasquatch

Friday, July 21, 2006

some negative warren stuff

Jollyblogger, David Wayne, just posted on Rick Warren's involvement with the Synagogue 3000 Network. I agree with Wayne, in that a Christian, particularly a pastor, shouldn't help a member of another religion be a better member of that religion. While we ought to help all those in times of need, we should not help the other religion prosper.

Warren clearly stated that he was not there to preach Jesus at these meetings.

Wayne then theorizes that rather than becoming all things to all men that some might be won to Jesus, Warren is content to be all things to all men. Our intent ought to be to do that to bring the Gospel. Making a bridge to others is not the goal, it is to bring them the Good News of Christ Jesus.

more anti-emergent

Steve Camp posts more from Gary Gilley. If this is accurate and in context, I can align with the heresy charge. My concern continues to be whether or not these are in context. I believe the earlier stuff I read from Gilley was out of context. I found him to be very unfair in his criticism. However this article seems more clearly condemning.

I still wonder what the EC guys intend in these statements. As an example, McLaren states, "Does a little dose of Buddhism thrown into a belief system somehow kill off the Christian part? My Buddhist cousin, except for her unfortunate inability to embrace Jesus, is a better “Christian” (based on Jesus’ descriptions of what a Christian does) than almost every Christian I know. If we are using Matthew 26 as a guide, she’d be a sheep; and almost every Christian I know personally would be a goat." This seems to be about how to live the Christian life not about whether or not the cousin is really a Christian while not embracing Christ.

Using Gilley's approach, Christ would have also failed because of the dishonest manager story.

I think the EC guys need to be less ambiguous - especially in prepared statements/writings.

Again, I don't have a strong need to support the EC bunch but the things I have read and listened to (in context) were nothing like the stuff Gilley is coming up with. Everything Gilley has said are things that should concern us and most of what I have read from EC folks makes me nervous (in the sense of the ambiguity) but I think we need to be very careful to represent the real beliefs of those we accuse. As a Vineyard guy, perhaps I am overly sensitive to this but I have been the target of many accusations by people that simply did not understand what was being said or done.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

christians and squares

"We are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope." - He 3.6b

Something is a square if it is a plane figure with four equal sides. It doesn't become a square because of that. Rather it has the four equal sides because it is a square.

We do not become His house by holding fast. Rather because we are His house, we will hold fast. You can know if we are His house by our holding fast.

In fact, we are partakers in the heavenly call and in Christ if we hold fast (He 3.1, 14). We are not partakers of God's house if we make some public decision, walk down a church aisle, etc.. We can only know we are partakers if we hold fast - and the implication of course is if we are not holding fast, then we are not partakers in His house.

Also note the sequence. Because we are His, we hold fast. We do not become His because we hold fast. He must first make us His and because He has done that, we are then able to hold fast. If He does not enable us, then we cannot hold fast ... we have no hope.

Decisions to accept Christ's forgiveness and submit to His leadership are real to the degree that they beget perseverance. To the degree that they do not beget perseverance, they are false. Living the Christian life is what is important. Christian life is hell or heaven. It is not about an act or decision in a point of time.

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." - He 13.20-21

You cannot persevere. Rather He preserves you. Without the power of God changing our heart, we can make many decisions and even do many "right" things, but in the end, our heart is hard and we fail. If we are partakers, His power will change us into His likeness.

Israel is a picture of this. They made the decision. They left Pharaoh and the land of Egypt. But in the end, they were hard of heart and in His wrath, God did not permit them to enter the promised land.

We do not need to adjust our behavior. We need to have our hearts adjusted. It is only then that our behavior will really change.

The application for me is when I find that I am dissatisfied with the things of God. It is in those times that I need to read Hebrews and allow God to change my heart. When I cry out for manna and God provides it but then I cry out because I don't like that either, there is something in my heart that needs fixing. The solution is not for me to try to change the things around me but for God to change the things within me.

anti-emergent

Calvary Chapel has made a formal statement against the Emergent Church (movement, conversation). Here are the issues:

That Jesus is not the only way by which one might be saved. It seems that they are postulating a broader gate and a broader path to heaven, a sort of "all roads lead to heaven." That good people by every religious persuasion may be received into heaven. We feel that this goes against the plain teaching of the Scriptures and negates the need of the cross for the expiation of our sins. Paul wrote of those men in his letter to the Philippians and called them enemies of the cross of Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father but by Me." This is not relative truth, but absolute truth.
The soft peddling of hell as the destiny for those who reject the salvation offered through Jesus Christ. There are suggestions of universalism in their teaching, that all will ultimately be saved.
We have difficulty in their touchy-feely relating to God. Where the experience of certain feelings become the criteria for truth rather than the word of God.
We have great problems with the use of icons to give them a sense of God or the presence of God. If they want to have a tie with the historicity of the church, why not go back to the church in Acts, which seems to be devoid of incense, candles, robes etc., but was filled with the Spirit.
We do not believe that we should seek to make sinners feel safe and comfortable in church. Is it right for me to speak comfortable words to a man who is going to hell unless he turns from his sin? If I fail to warn him of the consequences of his sin, and he dies and goes to hell, will God require his blood at my hand? When is godly sorrow and conviction of sin such a wrong thing?
Should we seek to condone what God has condemned, such as the homosexual lifestyle? Should we tell them that their problem is a genetic disorder rather than a blatant sin that God condemns over and over in the Bible? How long before they tell us that they have discovered that rapists, pedophiles, and adulterers have a genetic disorder and need to be understood rather than condemned?
Should we look to Eastern religions with their practices of meditation through Yoga and special breathing techniques or repeating a mantra to hear God speak to us? If this is needed to enhance our communication with God, why do you suppose that God did not give us implicit instructions in the Scriptures to give us methods to hear His voice? Is it the position of my body or my heart that helps me to communicate with Him?
The great confusion that exists in the divergent positions of the Emergent Church results from their challenging the final authority of the Scriptures. When you no longer have a final authority, then everyone's ideas become as valid as the next person's, and it cannot help but end in total confusion and contradictions.

Except for the fourth point, I can agree with all of the concerns listed. However, I'm not sure is if these charges are applicable to the Emergent Church.

I take exception with the fourth point because while the wording makes it sound scary, I think we need to be careful when discussing religious symbols. Our lives are filled with symbols. I haven't seen a gathering of Christians yet that didn't include them (Calvary Chapel included). I'm not sure that they are inherently wrong. It seems the issue is more about what is behind the symbols. That is, what is in the heart of the person using them. Therefore, as it is written, I couldn't say using "icons to give them a sense of God or the presence of God" is absolutely wrong.

But more than that, I wonder how many of the points listed would an Emergent Church guy say, "yep, that describes me"? Any insight?

Sunday, July 16, 2006

prayer and reigning

As a Calvinist, I am often asked, "why bother to pray since things will be as God wants anyway?" Here is an excellent piece by Dallas Willard from The Divine Conspiracy. I love his link between our role in praying and in reigning and how all of this works with the role of the church in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer as kingdom praying is an arrangement explicitly instituted by God in order that we as individuals may count, and count for much, as we learn step by step how to govern, to reign with him in his kingdom. To enter and to learn this reign is what gives the individual life its intended significance. This high calling also explains why prayer frequently requires much effort, continuous effort, and on some matters possibly years and years of effort. Prayer is, above all, a means of forming character. It combines freedom and power with service and love. What God gets out of our lives - and indeed, what we get out of our lives - is simply the person we become. It is God's intention that we should grow into the kind of person he could empower to do what we want to do. Then we are ready to "reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 22:5).

Reign is no doubt wording that is a little too grand for the contemporary mind, though what it refers to is what everyone actually pursues in life. We have been trained to think of "reigning" as exclusionary of others. But in the heart of the divine conspiracy, it just means to be free and powerful in the creation and governance of what is good. In the life of prayer we are training for, we reign in harmonious union with the infinite power of God.

And a major element in this training is experience in waiting for God to move, not leaping ahead and taking things into our own hands. Out of this waiting experience there comes a form of character that is priceless before God, a character that can be empowered to do as one chooses. This explains why James says that patience in trials will make us "fully functional" (teleion), "perfect" (1:4).

Time to go pray now ...

holy laughter

I commented on a recent Purgatorio post entitled, "Who's laughing now?" I found it challenging since most of the antagonists were against the "movement" because it is disorderly and of course God is not a god of disorder. While I am not a proponent of this movement and question the theology of many involved in it, I am amazed at how closed and angry some people can be regarding this.

I think it is not proper that they define for all what is and is not orderly. I am also surprised at their lack of openness to expressing joy. Dallas Willard (who I would guess is also not a supporter of the movement but open to physical expression of what God is doing) said;

No wonder, then, that laughter is so good for our health. It is even a symbol of redemption, for there is no greater incongruity in all creation than redemption. When deliverance comes, "we are like those who dream: our mouth filled with laughter, our tongue with shouts of joy" (Ps 126.1-2)

Thus Abraham fell on the ground laughing when told by God that he, a one-hundred-year-old man, would have child by ninety-year-old Sarah (Ge 17.17). Later Sarah herself laughed at the same "joke" (18.12-15). God specified to Abraham that the child of promise would be named "Laughter". Isaac mean "Laughter." "Your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Laughter, and I will establish my covenant with him" (Ge 17.19). Was this a penalty imposed upon them because they laughed? Hardly. Rather, it was a perpetual reminder that God breaks through. What joy they had when little Laughter came into their home and as he grew to become a young man!

Again, I am not trying to propagate the movement. I'm trying to say that there are times when God breaks in and we will respond with joy manifesting itself in laughter - just as there will also be times of repentance and tears. Throughout the Bible God does things that results in behavior that others find offensive.

I would think those that are against holy laughter would find better arguments than the disorder and can't laugh angles.

Lord, let my joy be full!

Saturday, July 15, 2006

new mac/pc video

Don't watch if you don't like crude language. Oh, and don't watch if you havent' seen the official Mac v. PC ads.

Friday, July 14, 2006

axis is axed

Leadership Blog: Out of Ur, just posted an interesting article on the demise of Willow Creek's Next-Gen ministry. The author asserts:

... if the changes in culture are bigger than merely generational styles, it is absurd to think that creating a different aesthetic environment and changing the music is really being missional. To be missional to a cultural population that is different in more than age, means looking at everything through a different lens. It means looking at community differently, spiritual formation, evangelism, membership, leadership, communication all through the lens of the new culture and bringing the gospel to them in the unique way that connects to them as any missionary would. This means that the whole culture of a church will change, not just what happens in a worship gathering. That is why only changing the worship gathering is not the answer.

This is why so many worship gatherings launched within a church last only 3-5 years. Very few last any longer than that. They end up imploding because if the new worship gathering is truly rethinking everything as a missionary would to a different culture, then the new ministry with different values struggles to squeeze into the existing church structure's cultural form of ministry. Because the power lies with the senior leadership, the decisions are made from top to bottom, and the alternative worship gatherings are not at the top.

I agree however I would expand this. In one community, we wrestled with how to deal with the segment of our congregation whose native language wasn't English. I was against creating a non-English community within our community. The above rationale is one of the reasons.

On the other hand, if the goal is to plant a church into that other culture, than I think the above arguments fail. I think we should nurture new communities as much as we can and when the value conflict becomes significant, it is time for the new group to move on with the blessing of the "mother church".

Because Willow Creek wasn't intending to plant a church for youth and we weren't prepared to plant a non-English speaking church, it makes sense to not have these kinds of programs. I would only attempt them with the intent to develop and release a new community to minister to the new culture.

Comments?

Thursday, July 13, 2006

and god said: let's have some light, mate

I for one had no idea there was an Aussie Bible. If you are as ignorant as I, here's an excerpt - I'm sure you will want to run out and get one now.

There was this sheila who came across a snake-in-the-grass with all the cunning of a con man. The snake asked her why she didn't just grab lunch off the tree in her garden.

God, she said, had told her she'd be dead meat if her fruit salad came from that tree, but the snake told her she wouldn't die. So she took a good squiz and then a bite and passed the fruit on to her bloke. Right then and there, they'd realised what they'd done and felt starkers.

What's next? A British Bible? That would make some chuffed.

Technorati Tags: Bible, current events

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

what makes good preaching?

David from Horn+swoggled provided a comment to one of my posts. This is so good it should not remained buried in comments. He got this from Todd Wilken's show on KFUO in St. Louis.

Count the number of times Christ is mentioned. He is often absent.
Make note of whether Jesus is the object or subject of the verbs. Is He doing the action, or are we?
If He is the subject of the verbs, note what verbs Jesus is doing. Is he saving and forgiving? Or is he encouraging and modeling behavior?

It's amazing how hard it is to find a sermon from a popular preacher who actually preaches the Gospel that Christ forgives sins.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

social message

Church this morning was good and bad. Good in the sense that it was very well done. The message was clear, easy to remember, and had application. The people warm and friendly. When I asked my family what they thought they all rated it very high.

BUT - I always have to make things more complicated. The message was about marriage. Throughout it the speaker referenced Scripture. But I use the word "speaker" over "preacher" intentionally. As said, the message was about marriage referencing the Gospel as opposed to the Gospel referencing marriage.

The point was how we can build better relationships. A message that could have been told by any good counselor. In this case it would be a Christian counselor since Scripture was mentioned. But He didn't talk about the power of God to change our lives use marriage as an application of that. This is what I would expect from a preacher.

Bottom line, I'm disappointed. There may be some offsetting positives in the balance of the church but I think we will look at other communities before we try to dig deeper there.

abc, 123, baby, you and me

The weird gets weirder - there's too much for me to comment on here so I'll just post for your enjoyment ...

Michael Jackson wants to move to Ireland because he wants to meet leprechauns.

The eccentric star, who has been residing in Bahrain since being acquitted of child sex charges last year, reportedly arrived in County Cork last week to search for a new home.

Jackson is said to be hoping to move him and his three children, Prince Michael, nine, Paris, eight, and Prince Michael II, four, into a Celtic castle in the scenic country.

According to Californian psychic Randa Starr, the 'Billie Jean' singer has always been interested in Ireland because he is fascinated by fairies and leprechauns - a type of treasure hording elf associated with Irish mythology.

Starr said: "Michael is a very spiritual person and considered a move to Ireland years ago. It doesn't surprise me that he is attracted to Ireland again. He once thought of it as a spiritual place for his rebirth. He has a very keen interest in fairies, myths and leprechauns which fit in with that."

Jackson's spokeswoman has confirmed he is in Ireland "on personal business" but has so far refused to comment on whether he is house-hunting.

drink beer

Steve Addison posted on the Heart of a Founder: Martin Luther.

The quote from History of the Christian Church, Volume VII. Modern Christianity. The German Reformation that I will use as my guide today is:

Summa summarum," said Luther, "I will preach, speak, write, but I will force no one; for faith must be voluntary. Take me as an example. I stood up against the Pope, indulgences, and all papists, but without violence or uproar. I only urged, preached, and declared God’s Word, nothing else. And yet while I was asleep, or drinking Wittenberg beer with my Philip Melanchthon and Amsdorf, the Word inflicted greater injury on popery than prince or emperor ever did. I did nothing, the Word did every thing. Had I appealed to force, all Germany might have been deluged with blood; yea, I might have kindled a conflict at Worms, so that the Emperor would not have been safe. But what would have been the result? Ruin and desolation of body and soul. I therefore kept quiet, and gave the Word free course through the world. Do you know what the Devil thinks when he sees men use violence to propagate the gospel? He sits with folded arms behind the fire of hell, and says with malignant looks and frightful grin: ’Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game! Let them go on; I shall reap the benefit. I delight in it.’ But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he shudders and shakes for fear. The Word is almighty, and takes captive the hearts.

Seems that later today I should drink a little beer and let the Word do its work.

On a serious note, the point is that we are to allow the Gospel to work through us to do its work. It is far more powerful than our human manipulation. Luther continues:

Do you know what the Devil thinks when he sees men use violence to propagate the gospel? He sits with folded arms behind the fire of hell, and says with malignant looks and frightful grin: ’Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game! Let them go on; I shall reap the benefit. I delight in it.’ But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he shudders and shakes for fear. The Word is almighty, and takes captive the hearts.

general stuff

Here's a personal message from Jesus.

That message has inspired me go buy the new ESV "to do" Bible.

We will visit VCC (the larger Vineyard Church in Cinci) today.

As of yesterday all phones are working, I'm learning to work the voice mail system, our internet (T5 - wireless is limiting me to 54.0 Mbps but when I plug into the ethernet, I'm looking at twice that) is hooked up, our television cable is in, and the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 is all set-up.

Friday, July 07, 2006

style in ministry

Vince pointed me to some interesting video clips promoting John Piper's upcoming conference titled, "Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World". Of particular interest is Mark Driscoll's Style in Ministry.

This was timely since I just commented on a paper titled "The Emerging Church". I found the author of this paper had made some excellent critiques but unfortunately he missed the point of those he was critiquing.

For example, the author takes issue with this Brian McLaren quote, "Although I don't hope all Buddhists will become (cultural) Christians, I do hope all who feel so called will become Buddhist followers of Jesus; I believe they should be given that opportunity and invitation. I don't hope all Jews or Hindus will become members of the Christian religion. But I do hope all who feel so called will become Jewish or Hindu followers of Jesus."

He tells us that this makes it clear that the emergent community is not in the Kingdom of God nor the church. Interesting. I can see how he gets there if he ignores the word "cultural" and its implication in the quoted text but since it is in there, I'm not sure why he would.

McLaren is rightfully saying that cultures are shaped by religions and people can come to Christ in the context of their culture. He did not say they can be both followers of Buddha and of Jesus. I can remain a cultural baby boomer and follow Christ while someone else can be a cultural cowboy and also follow Christ.

I liked how Driscoll mentioned this same concept in the video; one can remain a cultural "Seattlite" and still be a Christian.

The author makes a similar mistake regarding a Rob Bell quote; "For Jesus, the question wasn't how do I get into Heaven? but how do I bring heaven here? ... The goal isn't escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to. And God is remaking us into the kind of people who can do this kind of work."

Depending on context, this can be untrue or it can be a very powerful Biblical truth. Jesus brought the Kingdom of God to the Jewish world. The Church is now doing the same to all nations. This notion is aligned with a recent Pyromaniacs post. The Pyromaniac post's only shortcoming was its limited scope. The power of God breaks into all areas of our lives and is not limited to spiritual redemption. God is demonstrating His power over all effects of the fall.

Ok - I've drifted. The point is that God is not pulling us out of our culture. He is crashing into it with His Kingdom. He is changing lives and then working through them to transform the culture from within. We have too many great Bible teachers fighting this notion.

filled with the spirit rap

This is just too good ... pump up the volume and get ready to praise the Lord!

faith versus science

Scientific Claims Destroy Youth Pastor's Faith

A popular longtime youth minister from Dallas has left the church, disillusioned by conflicting claims of science and Christianity. Jimmy Wilson said he became athiest after a teen informed him that it does, indeed, take more than a spark to get a fire going. [more]

The David at Horn+swoggled out did himself again. This is not only hilarious, it also shows how silly our bumper sticker approaches are. We must stop dumbing down the Gospel.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

sisters lose second coming cover

I just couldn't resist this one ...

Sisters lose second coming cover

Insurers have withdrawn the cover on their virginity taken out by three sisters in the event of the second coming of Christ. Essex-based Britishinsurance.com confirmed it had provided the £1m policy, but said it was reviewed on Thursday following complaints.

The cover was meant to pay for the cost of bringing up Christ if one of them has a virgin birth.

An insurance company representative said, "The people were concerned about having sufficient funds if they immaculately conceived. It was for caring and bringing up the Christ. We sometimes get weird requests and this is the weirdest we have had." [more]

Gotta love those British birds ...

how to build a ship

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Reflecting on why so much seems to go wrong as our communities evolve into church organizations, this quote seems to get to the heart of the problem. We start off with lives being changed through the power of the Gospel. But many with us demand rules and structure and form. Since we want to be helpful, we call upon our natural skills to provide these. We create charters and organization charts and build great programs. These are not inherently bad but eventually we find that these are our focus. We lose site of our initial call.

Our community shifts from being of one heart centered around Christ to an organization built around programs. We become Pharisees. People lose their passion and what little desire remains is working against the wrong thing.

We need to return to the Gospel and allow the Spirit of God to cause men to "see the Kingdom of God". Then nothing we do can hold them back.

vbs revolt

Angry Children Strike Against VBS

Two dozen children walked out of vacation bible school at Peace Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Wednesday, citing what a spokesman called "poo-poo-head lessons."

The children had first expressed their displeasure after Monday night's puppet show, which featured the socked hands of Youth Pastor Jim Rodman talking to one another about God's love for kittens and puppies. Six-year-old Hailey Minton complained that Rodman's presentation fundamentally failed to convey the distinction between Law and Gospel.

"Mr. R. is neat," she said. "But he said puppies should love themselves a whole big bunch, so God would love them back. Don't he know puppies are sinners, too?"

Tuesday night's session turned sour, as well, when Rodman chose to have the children sing G-Double-O-D, Good!. Five-year-old Jimmy Perry said the song's blatant reliance on works righteousness has no place in a Christian curriculum.

"That song said if we do what's right, we'll go to heaven," he said. "Even Baby Sissy knows that's wrong!"

The children finally walked out on Wednesday night's session, when they were each given cucumbers, a bottle of glue, and some wiggly eyes, and told to build a replica of Larry from Veggie Tales.

"I thought we were going to learn about Jesus," said Perry. "This is stupid."

*** David at Horn+swoggled out did himself with this report ... visit the site for more irreverence and laughs. I like this one because it rings so true with what we often do with children and youth programming. My experience is that this approach is not needed.

On the flip side, "dumbing down" the Bible seems to be required for most adults. However we are wrong because we forget the power of the Holy Spirit to teach us and in our compromise, we lose truth.

"Coincidently", there are two great articles at Together for the Gospel on the topic of Biblical excellence in preaching. In Cross-Centered Relevance, C.J. Mahaney writes, "by following the example of Paul, let 'theology reign supreme' with the message of 'Jesus Christ and him crucified.'" And in Sabbatical Reading & Reflections, Mark Dever lists 15 warnings from John MacArthur against superficial preaching.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

do i need a savior?

We visited Mason Vineyard Church Sunday. The sermon by Todd Pierce related nicely to my recent post on what is a savior. In answer to Lois Lane’s statement, “The world doesn’t need a savior and neither do I”, Pierce gives us five good reasons why Lois is wrong.

Jesus saves us from our guilt into his grace (Jn 3.17; 8.10-11)
Jesus saves us from our darkness into his light (Jn 12.46; 9.39)
Jesus saves us from our emptiness into his satisfaction ( Jn 10.10, 4.14)
Jesus saves us from our religion into his relationship (He 9.10, Mk 10.21)
Jesus saves us from our fear into his freedom (He 2.14-15, Jn 11.25-26)

The key is that we do in fact need a savior and not just another example.

How I rejoice in God my Savior! – Lk 1.47 NLT

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

we're in cincinnati now

On a personal note, for those of you that know us, we made it to Cincinnati on Saturday fine. The trip was uneventful.

We are all pretty tired and are working to get adjusted to life in a new time zone. I managed to sleep until 5:00 this morning.

Our new house is nice and we have begun the process of breaking stuff.

Our phone, cable and internet access is now in so we can live life legal again. I occasionally "borrowed" some of my neighbor's unsecured wireless. Is that sin? I mean borrowing it. Not for him to have it unsecured. Shanon told me she is doing the same thing in her new place so I think it must not be sin.

I bought a Chevy Tahoe LTZ (very Tony Saprano-like) and Barb has picked up a Toyota RAV4 Limited. Today is focused on some furniture shopping and miscellaneous items.

more physical expressiveness

Bob Kauflin posted another in his series on Physical Expressiveness. In this latest post, he addresses the question, "are we really commanded to clap our hands?" The discussion is interesting but the application/challenge questions are excellent.

Assuming that God wants us to exalt Him with our bodies, what physical expressions of praise in Scripture do you think ARE appropriate in corporate worship? How do you distinguish between what’s appropriate and what’s not?
Do you think that all forms of physical expressiveness are natural, or that they can be learned?
Is there a possibility that your resistance to physical expression is more rooted in laziness, lack of understanding, or a craving for people’s respect? How do you know?
Is singing appropriate for worshipping God? If so, why not shouting? (Ps. 71:23; 81:1)
Are there any physical expressions of worship modeled or commanded in the Bible that you’ve never engaged in? If so, why not?

Regardless of where one comes out how to apply this "command", I find that most arguing against type of thing really struggle with the questions Kauflin so nicely outlined.

These can be applied to more than physical expression during worship. So many use the "God is not a god of disorder" rule. When the truth is they have narrowly defined order to fit their tradition and not that of the Bible or the majority of the world's population. I have seen this done with controversial topics such as method of prayer in worship, method of prayer for healing, talking in tongues, "holy laughter", etc..

I think there is much to be discussed in Scripture on these but often I find the discussion isn't of value because the other parties are arguing from their experiential base - which is ironic because the accusation is typically those that do these sorts of things are placing experience over Scriptural truth.

For me, I want to experience Scriptural truth.

Friday, June 30, 2006

stoooopid americans

I know my non-American friends will like to read this several different ways. Feel free to comment ...

"... are we really that frightened of somebody’s willingness to go out and be stupid? In the United States of America, you have a right to be stupid.” - John Kerry

Thursday, June 29, 2006

how does "getting saved" really work?

Here's the "post of the day" by Frank Turk at Pyromaniacs.

Jesus’ work is not a consequence of anything but God’s intervention to save men who will otherwise be lost.

You are not saved if you can now find your own way: you are saved if you are actually taken out of the way of danger. Standing outside a burning building and shouting the names of those trapped inside does not make one a savior; even running through the halls of that building shouting names and “follow me!” does not make you a savior: going into the flames, and breaking down the doors, and searching under the bed for the scared child who doesn’t know how to save herself, and then carrying her out through the flames makes you a savior. A savior is who who actually saves, who does the saving and has saved someone when it’s all over.

This one is worth reading.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

satriani

Wow - what can be said except "super colossal"!!! I have to say that while I enjoyed the Eric Clapton and Robert Cray show last month, Joe Satriani was out of this world! Simply an excellent concert.