DownshoreDrift

By heritage, birth, and address, I am a Southerner. I have only lived 3 years of my life outside of the South. I went to college at an SEC school (Miss. St., but am a huge LSU fan) and totally get college football. I love Southern cooking, Southern history, and fell in love with a Southern girl. All of my children have Southern accents. I am a distant relative of Robert E. Lee (but, aren't all Southerners?) and a direct descendent of 5 brothers who rode with the 17th Mississippi Calvary in the Civil War. I get misty eyed when I hear "Dixie," still emotionally regret that we couldn't get the job done at Gettysburg, and think that Sherman was quite the jerk for burning up the South on his march to the Atlantic. I am a Republican and am quite conservative politically. I love Elvis, blues, and pork bbq. I am a Southern Baptist and have been raised on white-hot, revivalist religion my whole life and I love the way that there is a major focus on children and family in the South.

I'm saying all of this to say that I get the Southern thing. I get the culture, the people, the values, and the expectations. I understand that we have this inferiority complex because we are the only Americans to have ever been defeated in war and occupied and we still can't get over it. The whole Civil War thing is transferred to discussions about whether SEC football is better than Big Ten football and we all cheer when Alabama beats Notre Dame or Florida beats Ohio St or we happen to attract a foreign auto plant. We always seem to have something to prove to ourselves and everyone else and it comes out through bragging about our accomplishments and an "everyone's out to get us" and, "they just don't understand" attitude. 

I also get that we have lots of problems. We have a pretty miserable track record on the race issue, and it seems to be something that we just want to put behind us instead of dealing with it in constructive ways. After the Civil Rights movement of the 1950's - 1970's, an uneasy truce has been brokered and everyone just wants to move on. But, are we making progress? Sometimes yes, other times, absolutely not. We also lead the nation in divorce, alcoholism, crime, incarceration per capita, and many other negative social indicators. On most national lists regarding education, income, healthcare, state government, etc., the bottom of the rankings are predictably filled by Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. A few years ago, there was a tax initiative in Alabama that was voted down. The purpose was to relieve the tax burden off the poor and bring more equity to the system, since there is little property or state income tax. The surplus was to go to state infrastructure and to education, both of which are woefully underfunded. The slogan of the opposition was "We're Taxed Enough!" Alabama is 50th in taxes paid by citizens in the U.S. Oh, and the opposition was led by the state's Christian Coalition on a "family values" platform.

Which leads me to my question: How is religion, particularly the Baptist faith, bringing change to the South? How is the South becoming more God fearing and righteous because of our presence? How are we making a difference? Have we become so enculturated that we are no longer able to bring change? It seems to me, from my experience here, that we are eaten up with materialism and a "live for the present" mentality. We have bought into the Suburban American Dream and we are lapping it up as quickly as possible. When I talk with most people about Jesus, they already claim to know Him or have prayed a prayer and are saved. But, their lives are no different and they don't see any need to connect with a church. Sunday's are spent at the lake with family. As long as people are "good" or "moral" we seem to have no problem with them, and we save our ire for liberals or Hollywood. I live in a state where 77% agreed with Roy Moore over the Ten Commandments, but only around 30% go to church. Why the disconnect?

I wonder if we have presented a gospel that is so based on personal experience and decision that we have led people away from a TRUE relationship with Jesus and into real danger? Have we inoculated people against the gospel by presenting them a "gospel" that so reinforces our culture that people see no real difference in us? And, I am not talking about the "sinful" Hollywood culture. I am just talking about the world system that we live in here in the South (make money, be happy, live a good life, have fun, protect yourself from "those kinds of people," be upwardly mobile, be independent, live for yourself, etc.). Are we capable of bringing about change in people's lives, in our communities, and in our region? What would revival really look like? What would happen if there was true racial reconciliation? What would happen if people who claimed to know God, but never gathered with His people, changed? What would happen if our churches started treating the epidemic of divorce in our communities as a real problem, instead of just glazing over it? What would happen if, instead of propping up much of Southern genteel society and culture, we actually began to confront some of our hypocrisies and inconsistencies?

I fear that we have lost our prophetic voice in our own land and it happened a long time ago. With a church on every corner, what would have happened if Southern Baptists had been convicted by Scripture and the Holy Spirit and had led the way on the race issue, instead of coming behind, kicking and screaming? Would the social rebellion of the 1960's have happened? Would we have lost our voice and had to have aligned ourselves with a political party to be listened to? Would be be trying to "take back America," or would we have ever lost it? There is a price to pay for being on the wrong side of history, especially on moral issues, and we are paying it now. Maybe the problem isn't with the news media, Hollywood, Gays, Democrats, or the Big Ten. Maybe the problem is with us. Maybe we have become so comfortable in our Southern, religious cocoon with our mega churches, conferences, Lifeway's, and Christian radio, that we have failed to realize that our influence for Christ has shrunk to negligible levels. Everyone thinks that they know Jesus, and when they look at us, they don't see a huge difference. So, why should they change? Why repent? We don't have a compelling answer, except that our theology is right and they had better believe it, or else.  It seems that the early church had a bit more going for them than that.

Maybe these are just some ramblings on a Friday afternoon. Admittedly, this is not a very well thought through essay, but more of a stream of consciousness type thing. But, as I continue to try to be a Christian and lead a church in the Deep South, I find that our cultural accomodation really hampers us from being the prophetic witness that God has called us to be. What will it take for revival to come? We desperately need it. Maybe we need to look at the cultural and spiritual rot in our own region before we wage Culture Wars against others.

What do you think? More later . . .   

Earlier today I received an email from a young lady regarding my Bonhoeffer post of this morning. It really touched me and she said that I could post it. I thought it might cause us all to think a little bit more deeply about the consequences of NOT being the type of community of believers that God calls us to be. I also thought it was quite prophetic as she calls us to look for the people around us instead of just looking out for ourselves. Here it is:

Alan,

                                  

I read today's blog.  I would've posted a comment, but the computer I'm working from won't allow it.  I wholeheartedly agree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer . . . But I'm frustrated.  I have experienced the need for church fellowship and true community for a long time.  I've said for many years that if I could, I would live in the church.  Unfortunately, it hasn't happened...  By "live in the church" I meant live in the community in which wish dreams are not a factor, grace is abundant, and like-mindedness and common goals are the norm.  I have inwardly begged to be a part of this type of community.  I have cried out to the people of the church to possess this type of mind-set.  I have NEEDED to feel like I could go to my Christian friends and tell them my struggles and hear real truth.  Yet I feel more comfortable going to non-Christian friends.  I have NEEDED to spend time with Christian people who know my life and faults and love me just the same.  Yet my non-Christian friends are more available and less judgemental.  I have NEEDED people to be all up in my business and pull things out of me for accountability purposes.  Yet my non-Christian friends pull things out of me, but have no truth to give me in return.  I have felt the sting of feeling like an outcast many times for sharing my life's history and current struggles with people of the church, not receiving the grace that I know God gives me.  I have experienced the frustration of seeing people on Sundays, smiling, laughing, singing, and praying and leaving not to hear a word from any of them until the next week.  All the while, I am crying inside, begging them to help me, be my friend, and tell me truth without judging my faults.  I KNOW my faults.  No one has to tell me that I'm doing something wrong.  I KNOW when I'm doing something wrong.  What I need is someone to hold me accountable to it and someone to pull things out of me and someone, ANYONE, to love me anyway.  I know the wish dream Mr. Bonhoeffer is talking about, and I have been aggravated.  I couldn't have written that excerpt better myself . . . .

                                                                      

. . . . I feel as if I come to church with a veil over my face, but not purposely.  I have nothing to hide.  I admit that I have faults.  I admit that I still do wrong.  I admit that I struggle in many, many areas and I struggle hard.  But I also admit that I love my Jesus just as much as any other believer. I admit that I would be among the lowest of the low without God's grace and love in my life.  And I admit that no matter what good or bad I do, or how the church changes or stays the same, I will ALWAYS have Christ in my heart.  So, I WISH everyone in the church knew me, cared to know me, and hear the things that I have to say.  But it seems some people would just rather live in their wish dream, get their business done with God, and go home to their earthly family.  They don't have time to get to know other people; they have their own lives to live. Or they would rather not hear that someone's life has been/is messed up; they have their own lives to worry about.

                                                                     

Perhaps I seem to be coming across as extremely negative and, again, I apologize.  I've just recently been in that place of need once again, so I'm extra frustrated with the church.  Don't get me wrong, I'll get over it.  I LOOOVE the church.  I don't know if I can ever express how much.  And I am not innocent of ever being part of any kind of wish dream community.  But I realize more and more how much change in all of us needs to be done. 

Thoughts? How can be we a type of community that really sees people the way they are and engages with their life in a way that helps them, instead of being communities that see people the way we wish they were and does not want to get our hands dirty? Sometimes, I feel like if anyone has a problem, they become a project to fix so the church is not defiled, rather than a person to love because God loved them first. What about you?

WorldconneX is a ministry that I became aware of about a year and a half ago and I get their e-newsletter. The one this month had some really incredible stuff in it concerning mobilization for mission through the ordinary people of your church. We have been exploring these concepts in our church for a couple of years now and we are seeing some fruit beginning to emerge. Check out these excellent articles if you are interested in how ordinary believers in Christ can transform nations using their skills, gifts, abilities, and professional platforms in a world that has become MUCH smaller due to technology and globalization.

Churches Thinking From the "Inside Out."

"Missions" Is Dead.

This type of thinking is really influencing the way I see God's Mission in the 21st Century. Everything is changing. Is it possible that we have moved from a society model of missions in the 19th century, to a convention model of missions in the 20th century, to a local church, affinity model of missions in the 21st century? We are probably not moving to a clean break from one to another, but a combination of all three working together. What do you think?

Last week at the Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit, I engaged in a bit of argumentation that is a bit unusual regarding the continuation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it has come to make perfect sense to me.  In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12:4-8, Paul tells us that we are all one body, the body of Christ. The body is made up of different parts and each part needs the other. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" and the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" (1 Cor. 12:21).  In both passages, the idea of the body is related to the discussion on spiritual gifts. Clearly from context we can conclude that the members of the body operate as the one body of Christ when each member uses his/her spiritual gifts. The body analogy does not make any sense apart from this perspective if we consider the context.

Now, if I lose my eye, hand, or leg, I am considered deformed, right? I am considered to be incomplete and not able to fully do what I was created/intended to do. If I lose my leg, I might still be able to live, breathe, think, make jokes, cook, and drive a car, but I will not be able to run as fast as before, climb mountains as well as before, or be as strong. When attempting those things, I have to compensate by being stronger in other areas, or I just sit around and remember the good old days when I used to run fast.

God has given us spiritual gifts to make us strong and he intends that we keep them till the end. "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church" (1 Cor. 14:26). That sounds like a command to me. What about 1 Corinthians 1:7?  "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."  (See Also Ephesians 4:11-16). We know from 1 Corinthians 12-14 that the main purpose of spiritual gifts is for the building up of the church.   So, doesn't it make sense that a lack of spiritual gifts would result in a weakened church? Hmmm. What is the state of the church today? Strong or weak? Could it be that we have neglected or abandoned some of the gifts that God has given us in favor of others that are more presentable and seem easier to manage?

Again, if I am missing part of my body, I am considered deformed or unhealthy. It doesn't mean that I am worthless or that I am loved less. It just means that I am not all I could have been if I had been healthy. I am blind in my right eye, and because of that, I was not able to serve in the military like I wanted to. I also have trouble with baseball, ping pong, tennis, raquetball, and night driving because I have no depth perception. I can't see a 3-D movie. Now, I have compensated and can still play those sports and drive at night, but it isn't what it could have been. I am aware of my limitations. I don't think less of myself and I don't think that God loves me less. But, I sure wish I had that eye. One day, I will.

Could the church be that way? Could we have lost some of the gifts that God wanted us to have to be strong? Except, He didn't take them away, we just quit using them and they atrophied. Or, we ran off the people who tried to use their gifts in certain ways because it didn't make sense to those who were not gifted that way. This goes way beyond tongues, miracles, and healings. It goes to the very heart of church life in the West. If all of the people with certain gift are run off, or if they are told that their gifts cannot function or don't exist, then what are you left with?  It kind of becomes like a half put togehter Mr. Potato Head doll. You have an eye here, an ear there, a mouth and an arm. But, it doesn't quite work correctly.

So, where could we have overcompensated? One area is in an overemphasis on the pastoral and preaching offices/gifts in church life. In some churches, everything seems to revolve around the pastor. I fully believe in Biblical church leadership, but I don't see the pastor being the only one in the church who is supposed to function the way we often see. Yet, he sometimes overfunctions and the result is a weak church. "Each one" is to contribute and bring something, remember?

Not all gifts are for the purpose of building up the church, at least directly. 1 Cor. 14:12 says, "Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church."  Paul is clearly saying here, I believe, that there are gifts that do not build up the church, otherwise he would not have shown the contrast here. Some build up the user, while others build up the church. The gifts that build up the church are greater (1 Cor. 12:31; 14:1-5), but it does not mean that the lesser gifts are not important as well. Some have said that gifts like speaking in tongues are invalid because they do not build up the church, but instead, they seem to build up/strengthen the user of the gift (1 Cor. 14:4).  Is it wrong to build yourself up in your faith and become strong in the Lord? The Bible doesn't seem to think so (Jude 20; Colossians 2:6-7; Ephesians 6:10).  Don't things like prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and ministry make us strong in the Lord? Then, should it not also stand to reason that exercising our spiritual gifts makes us strong as well? If I am strong, then the whole Body is strong. When I work out my biceps, it makes them strong, but it also strengthens and equips my whole body. So, personal strength is not mutually exclusive of corporate strength, but rather, it aids it.

Is the SBC headed for atrophy? What about our local churches? Will we run off people who exercise gifts of the Spirit that God tells us not to forbid (1 Cor. 14:39)?  Will we put more stock in our traditions and church histories than the clear reading of the text of Scripture? Will we continue to hobble along, overemphasing some parts of the body because we have cut off other parts that were given for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7)?  Just because we don't understand how all of this works does not mean that we should insult the grace of our Heavenly Father who graciously gives us all things. Some say that He gave gifts to the church when she was born, only to remove those gifts within a few decades. I think that Scripture says that without all of the gifts the church would be deformed, crippled, and weakened. I believe that it also says that God, the great gift giver, does not change and is not arbitrary:

16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. - James 1:16-18.

We will be taking a HUGE step toward answering some of these questions this week with the report from the IMB Ad Hoc Committees regarding their review of the new private prayer language and baptism policies (Wade Burleson writes about this upcoming meeting HERE). I pray that these unbiblical policies will be overturned. I pray for a day when we will embrace what God has given us without prejudice. I have written and prayed for the past year and a half to see these policies overturned because I believe that they hamper the Body of Christ and keep her from being all that God intended for her to be. I am a pastor of the church of Jesus Christ, not just my local church, and my desire is to see all of God's people strong and fit for works of service. I pray that we will walk on two legs, with two strong arms, and with a strong heart beating within us empowered by the Holy Spirit and fulfilling God's purpose for us in this generation. This current struggle within the IMB and SBC is soon to be over for all intents and purposes. But, the struggle for the advancement of the Kingdom, the making of disciples, and the strengthening of the church will not end until Jesus returns. May we take the lessons that we have learned here and use them as fuel and sustenance for greater battles with the Real Enemy of our Souls as time unfolds. And, no matter what happens, may God be glorified.

Grace and Peace

The Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit was a wonderful experience. I want to join with others in saying that Dwight McKissic, the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX, is a prince among men. He was generous, gracious, and humble at all times. Regularly during our conversations, he would ask me what I thought about things.  That was amazing to me and very humbling as well. Most pastors of 2,000 member churches that I have met are wonderful men, but they are not often interested in the opinions of a 32 year old pastor of a 250 member church. That's the SBC that I've known, anyway.  We base so much on rank, influence, and what someone can do for us, or how interesting they are to us. Rarely, do we look for the value in each person. I really feel that Pastor McKissic does that and he was really an example to me. His assistant, Veronica Griffin, did an incredible job as the conference organizer. She really knew what she was doing, no doubt. Thanks Veronica for all of your hard work!

Overall, the conference went well. I especially enjoyed spending time with Dr. Sam Storms. He is a brilliant man with a passion for God and His glory. I was especially encouraged by his message on Saturday night where he laid out a perspective regarding the idea that Jesus ministered and lived by the same Holy Spirit that we do. The power that was in Jesus in now in us. The implications that he drew from that were remarkable.

I enjoyed meeting and spending some time with those who were representing a semi-cessationist view, Bart Barber and Robin Foster. Robin has a very sincere and gentle heart and it is obvious that He loves the Lord and seeks to honor Jesus in everthing he does. Bart is very intelligent and did a great job with his presentation. He and I have vigorously debated issues in the blogosphere over the past 6 months or so, but those debates have always been respectful, enjoyable, and challenging. He is no less in person. I am sharper theologically for having tangled with Bart and I am grateful that both he and Robin are in the SBC.

I also spent time with Wade Burleson, Ben Cole, Art Rogers, Jason Epps, Daniel Brymer, Bob Cleveland, Paul Burleson, Debbie Kaufman, Alyce Lee, Boyd Luter, and Dorcas Hawker. Dorcas has the best notes anywhere on the conference, if you want to read them HERE, HERE, and HERE).  UPDATE: She also has a synopsis of ALL the relevant posts and news articles HERE. Check it out. Wade has a great synopsis of the Sunday worship service HERE and a summary of Dr. Sam Storms Saturday morning presentation HERE.  I know that I missed some people, but it was a wonderful time.

I was pleased with my presentation on "Defining and Defending Continualism," and am proud to say that my presentation was the shortest in the entire conference at 35 minutes (members of my church will be shocked to hear that, I know!).  I had prepared for a 50 minute presentation, but Pastor McKissic leaned back and asked if I could cut it to a half hour because we were running short of time and things had gotten backed up. Ugh. The previous speakers had all gone a bit over, and while individually it wasn't a major deal, collectively it made the difference. I definitely wanted to be respectful of his instructions, so I started scrambling to figure out what I needed to jettison. My presentation would not make sense if sections were missing, I thought, so I decided to stick with the whole thing, but not elaborate much on each point - just let it speak for itself. I think that I was to the point, but I know that there is much more that I would have like to have said and I am sure that I left some with confusion. So, even though it felt hurried and incomplete, I trust that God used it to do His work.

My thoughts on this subject have been enumerated on my Holy Spirit posts in November, 2006 (click on Holy Spirit in Categories and move down - 4 posts). But, a couple of things seemed to jump out:

1. Dr. Sam Storms and I were asked to defend the Continualist position. Bart Barber and Robin Foster were asked to defend the Cessationist position. Unless they got more detailed instructions that we got, the results were very interesting. Without collusion, Dr. Storms and I both defended the idea that all of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are for today, including speaking in tongues. We each talked about tongues, but they were minor parts of our presentations, as they should be. Bart and Robin both focused on tongues almost exclusively. Again, they might have had more detailed instructions, but I wonder if they did that because the main issue for many cessationists or semi-cessationists is tongues? To me, tongues are not the big deal - they are just one of many gifts.  For others, including the trustees of the IMB, it seems to be THE issue. That was educational.
2. Some people expressed surprise at my statements that no one got saved from hearing anyone speak in tongues in the Book of Acts. No one. Anywhere. In Acts 2, the 120 spoke in tongues giving praise to God, and the people heard them in their own language. The result was confusion as they asked, "What does this mean?" Peter explained it for them by clearly preaching the gospel and 3,000 were added to their number that day. In Acts 10, those in Cornelius' house spoke in tongues AFTER they heard the gospel and the Holy Spirit fell upon them. If these were intelligible human languages given for evangelisitc purposes, then what language was it? They were all Samaritans there, and at that point, they were all believers. In Acts 19, the disciples of John the Baptist, likewise, spoke in tongues and prophesied AFTER the Holy Spirit came upon them. Again, they all spoke the same language and had already believed. No evangelistic emphasis there. And, if they spoke in other human languages, what were they? Was there an interpreter? What was the purpose, since they all already spoke the same language?

I imagine that I'll go to my grave before I get satisfactory answers to those questions. In my opinion, whether your argument is from history or from theological gymnastics based on some Bible verses, you do not have much of a leg to stand upon if you stand in the cessationist quicksand. I had everyone stand up at the beginning and I read around 15 passages to them recounting God's miraculous works in the New Testament. I could have read way more, as there are over 150 passages in Scripture showing us the miraculous works of God through His people. Are we to believe that this work is over? If so, I don't think that I could believe anything that Scripture says about God. Perhaps some can, but that would basically be impossible for me. It is becoming that closely connected to the character and work of the Lord for me. But, while it is a big deal to me, I continue to reiterate that it is not something that I want to divide over. I fully respect and desire to work with any other believers who have different positions than I do on this issue. There are more important things that we should be focusing on!

Well, as I stated before, the conference was well done. I didn't agree with everything that every speaker said (on both sides), but I did agree with the gracious spirit of all who participated. May we have many more days like these.

UPDATE:  Robin Foster has put much of his paper online HERE. We engaged in healthy discussion over his points. Jason Epps debated Robin's paper HERE point by point. He provided an excellent analysis of the subjunctive mood of the Greek that Robin uses to buttress his point in the comment section of his post. It is definitely worth checking out for those who are interested in the minutae of this debate. Excellent.

I leave this morning for the Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit at Cornerstone Baptist Church pastored by Dwight McKissic. This promises to be a really interesting and well attended conference - Wade Burleson says that there are over 600 registered participants - Wow. that's a lot for a weekend conference. I am looking forward to it. As I stated earlier, I will be participating in a panel discussion, and I will later be presenting on "Defining and Defending the Continualist Position." As I have prepared (yes, I've prepared), for this, I have found it to be a challenging task. It is so easy to get in the weeds on issues like this, think you have to respond to every argument, and proof text your way through it. During my preparation I found that I was reacting to criticism and just trying to answer questions. It was frustrating. There is SO MUCH information on this topic, that it is difficult to narrow it down and figure out what the most important thing is.

But, I feel that clarity has come and I am excited about what I am presenting. On some levels, it will be a bit different from arguments I've made in the past and on other levels, it will be familiar. I'll share more with you after I get back, so check back on Monday for my observations from the conference. I appreciate your prayers and hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Grace and Peace

Last week, I wrote a post regarding how 91% of Americans believe in God, 82% consider themselves Christians, but only 18-25% are regular church attenders. We talked about why that might be and I got some great responses. You can read the original post HERE.  The most enlightening response that I received was not in my comments section, but from a friend of mine who is trying to decide for himself about Christianity, church involvement, and his relationship with God. We've talked about this some over the past couple of months and I thought that his perspective was really important to consider.  I asked him if I could post his email, and he said "yes." He wanted to remain anonymous, but he reads my blog regularly, so keep that in mind when you comment. Here it is:

I read your blog about why only a small percentage of so-called
Christians actually participate in the church. I'm not brave enough to
offer my opinion in your forum, and it was time to touch base with you
anyway, so I sent it thru here.  In my opinion, a lot of it is
jadedness.  This was true in my case, and still is, though I know
without a "church" to be a part of, its very hard to keep your focus
away from the worldly views.  I've seen and read so many cases of
so-called "reborn or saved" christians being guilty of the "do as I say
don't do as I do" routine; of not loving and serving others they way
Jesus loved and served me and you.  In addition, I see people that claim
they are on-fire for God and this and that, but I don't see the
difference on how they live their lives to how I live mine.  Yes, they
talk about God more than I do, but their actions do not reflect their
words/beliefs.  Where's the humility, patience, and love Jesus showed to
everyone?  We unbelievers or non-church goers ask "We all seem, or at
least try, to be doing good things and believing in God, why should I go
and be an active participant in the church?  Besides it's just a place
for bible thumpers that constantly tells everyone that they're going to
heaven, and everyone else is going to hell, to gather"

Again, this is just my opinion, so please do not take offense.  It was
hard for me to come to your church at first, and not worry I'll be
judged unfit and found out I'm really not a strong believer.  Not
because of what you're church does, because of what I've experienced
before.  In the past when you walk in, it was "you need to do this and
that", and it seems almost automatic and pre-scripted.  Salvation is a
life-changing decision, and it needs a heart-changing to fully accept
that it's there for the taking.  It shouldn't be like "welcome to
quickie mart, thank you come again" type of decision-making.

However, thanks to you, ______, and her family as well, I've learned not
to be forced to make quick decisions about my faith, and not just make
it because someone else wants you to make it.  To WANT to be saved, not
just be goaded into salvation.  I'm still afraid to jump, but I've
learned that I don't have to work so hard anymore because Jesus has
already done the work for me.

My questions are that how can I really know if I have the Holy Spirit in
me, or what this "heart" knowledge of Christ is?  Everyone I see that's
talking about having it doesn't seem to be doing anything else different
from what I'm doing now.  I've asked for Christ to open my heart and my
ears but I don't have this insatiable thirst everyone claims they have.

So what's wrong?

Happy Easter

I'm glad that my friend is taking his time and is fully thinking about the ramifications of such a life changing event as salvation. Maybe a big part of our problem is that we make the salvation experience into a 1-2-3-4 step process that actually messes with the work that God wants to do. Maybe we're seeing a whole lot of spiritual births gone wrong, and we are not telling people the full story. I'm learning a lot about my own faith by watching my friend struggle with his. I'm wondering if I take it as seriously as he is and I live it out the way I should. I'm wondering if I truly count the cost, or if I've become so comfortable in my Christian bubble that there is no cost any longer. I mean, I am a pastor, after all, and I get paid to believe these things, right? That was a joke, but some people do think that way. As long as I don't start thinking that way, then I'm alright. But, my point is, I need to make sure that what I am doing is sincere, from my heart, worth something, and is costing me something. I need to make sure that I am not just following the formula of the Christian culture around me. And, I need to make sure that I am always looking to Jesus and pointing others to Him instead of to myself.

So, that's what I've learned from the struggle that my friend is going through. It is a struggle that I share, even though I am in a little bit of a different place than he is. Some things are settled for me that are not yet settled for him, but that doesn't mean that I need to stop changing and play it safe. May God continue to change me every day because I have not arrived yet. But, that is why I need a Savior. Still.

Newsweek says that 91% of Americans believe in God and 82% consider themselves affiliated with Christianity. Read the article HERE. At the same time, as I reported last year, only 18% of Americans are in church on a given Sunday, and only 25% have been to church 3 out of the last 8 Sundays. That's a huge discrepancy! So, it appears that when talking with most Americans about spiritual things, we are not dealing with a problem of outright unbelief, at least in what they say, but rather, we are dealing with a problem related to practice. Although to be accurate, only 8% of Americans fit the bill of what Barna calls 9 Point Evangelicals (basically people who believe and practice basic evangelical doctrines). 

So, why is there such a large difference in what Americans say they believe and in what they do? Why do so many Americans say that they are Christians, but so few are actively involved in church? My last couple of posts focused on the devotional and experiential aspects of our Christian lives, and I definitely feel that our churches are lacking in this area. But, what do you feel it will take to reconnect a nation that has a memory and basic acceptance of Jesus Christ with a practice of actively following Him in relationship with other believers in a local church? With so many people who have a head knowledge of God, how do we help them find a relationship with Him?

Side Question: If you are one of those who believe in God and consider yourself a Christian, but you do not go to church, I would love to hear why. Or, if you do not consider yourself a Christian, I'd love to hear why as well. All answers will be respected and they would be really helpful. 

Dearth: noun; lack, a scarcity of something.

I am not implying that we do not have enough "American Christianity," but that, regarding what we have, it is lacking something.  I know, I know. Just about every book you read on the present state of the church starts with, "10 Reasons Why the Church is Dying," or, "We're Losing Our Nation for God," or, "Everything's Falling Apart and It's Probably Your Fault." It's a great hook that Christian writers use to get you to read their book. They start with several chapters about what is wrong with the church, culture, theology, or you, and after you have gazed at the horizon from the top of their particular soap box, they then guide you through the shelves of their solution oriented merchandise. In about 250 pages they have identified the problem and have properly led you to their tidy fixes. Authors, pastors, and speakers are constantly hawking their magic potions to restore our marriages, churches, witness, and effectiveness in a myriad of areas. I am regularly being told how I should be doing more in every area, what I should do to help my church to grow, how I can be a better person, and how I can solve all my problems. When Scripture is used, it is used to show me what is possible and how far away I am from that goal. Again, the opening chapters tell me what the problem is, and the latter chapters point me to the solution. Well, I know that there is a problem, and I don't need Dr. So and So's book for $17.95 to tell me so. But, sometimes the search for solutions IS the problem.

I understand that the methods these authors and speakers use are basic rules of rhetoric and they are how we have learned to advance our arguments. These tactics also seek to asuage the nagging feeling within us that there is something not right by comforting us with a simple diagnosis and prescription for the problem. Dr. Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary sought to do the same thing for us regarding the problems in the SBC when he gave us "The Eight Theological Essentials for Southern Baptists in the 21st Century." Here they are:

1. The non-negotiable of a regenerate Church (John 3; Rom. 3; 2 Cor. 5; Gal. 3)
2. The essential nature of believers baptism by immersion with a biblical appreciation for its significance. (Matt. 28; Acts, Rom. 6)
3. The recovery of the lost jewels of church discipline and genuine disciple-making as essential marks of the Church.
4. The emphasis and practice of a genuinely Word-based ministry (2 Tim. 4:1-5)
5. The vision for a faithful and authentic biblical ecclesiology (Acts. 2; Eph. 4; Pastorals)
6. The continued nurturing of a fervent missionary and evangelistic passion that is wedded to a healthy and robust theology (1 Thess. 1; Eph. 4:11-16; Jude 3-4; Rev. 5)
7. The teaching and preaching of a 1st century biblical model for church planting (Acts 17)
8. The wisdom to look back and remember who we were so that as we move forward we will not forget who we are

These points are elaborated upon on Tom Ascol's blog. Don't get me wrong, I think that these are all great things and I am fully in favor of them. We need to faithfully practice all 8 of these points, because they are right and Biblical. But, the implication, whether it is intentional by the speaker or not, is that these steps will fix our problems.  And underlying all of our best intentions, methods, and approaches to life and ministry, the question must be asked from time to time: Why are we doing all of this?

Over time, I've come to believe that our motives are almost always mixed. I feel like that to be properly understood here I have to give a thousand qualifiers, like, "We should do evangelism," or "Happy marriages are important." But, I'm going to just save some time and skip it. I am fundamentally beginning to believe that what lies behind much of our effort and energy to be holy, have a great marriage, build a great church or a powerful evangelistic ministry, take our nation for Christ, and have revival is a profound insecurity and desire to have things our way so that we will be satisfied, safe, and justified in our "rightness." At least that is much of what I see in the South. In that, we are not much different from the Pharisees of old.

The Pharisees during Jesus' day were all about purity and separation. They wanted Israel to be holy and to completely obey the Law. The idea of blasphemy or idolatry or Law breaking was anathema to them, and they fully prosecuted anyone who got close to doing so. But, lying behind their pious intentions was a blatant fear that God was going to punish them and a belief that if they did everything right, then their autonomy as a nation from the Romans would be restored. The lesson that they learned from the Babylonian Captivity was that worshipping idols causes you to lose your nation and become slaves, therefore, you should not worship idols. But, the greater commandments such as loving God and others were lost upon them because their primary focus was their own security, safety, and happiness. I think that it is often the same with us.

Do we really focus so much on evangelism and missions because our hearts are broken for the lost and God's love is pulsing through us, or because we want to see our churches full so that we'll feel better about ourselves and our success, and so that we can have confidence that God is pleased with us and is blessing our ministry? I've been in churches where everyone was excited and really worshipping God when there were a lot of people there, but when the crowd was low, everyone was depressed. Why is that? I think that large crowds and a big following for our ministries make us feel like we are significant and like God is pleased with us. As if there were not other ways that we could know that (Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.").

In Dr. Akin's Eight Points, I see no mention of Jesus or relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."  - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Paul pretty much lays out the impetus and power behind his ministry. Yet, I have NEVER heard that text proclaimed as a truth that we need to focus on. Is it too difficult to focus on and fall in love with Jesus? Is it too difficult to have a passion for God be our focus? Do we tell people to ONLY preach Christ crucified? What does that mean? What if our ministries ended up like the prophets of old, or even like Jesus' when he died on the Cross? We are so focused on size, results, power, and effectiveness that we have forgotten what it is to truly walk with the Lord. People are not coming to our churches because we have nothing to offer them. If a walk with the Lord is described by most preachers, it is generally described in terms of what sins we are not to committ, rather than in a positive nature of having our hearts filled with the wonders of God. If trouble comes, there is an immediate fear that we have done something wrong, rather than an understanding that this world is difficult, sin plagued, and full of death and we happen to live in it. We will suffer, but we have a Savior! We are giving people a Christianity that is focused on our needs, happiness, and contentment, while training ministers to put their faith in methods, structures, and right behaviors as though we could call down God's blessing through our effort and ability, instead of through a dependence upon the Spirit's power. Are we broken over our self-sufficiency? Are we yearning for God and the pleasure of His presence? Are we broken over the lostness and emptiness of the people around us? What are the motives that lie behind our actions?

As we near Easter, I have been thinking a lot about the Pharisees and the Jews of Jesus' day. And, I have realized that I am just like them at times. I have tried to use God to get my way, gain significance, and be happy and fulfilled. I have wanted Him to bless what I am doing and I get my worth from revelling in that blessing. I have often wanted to be first in relationships and the Kingdom, instead of following Jesus' words when he said, "For he who is the least among you all - he is the greatest" (Luke 9:48). But, God will not be used - He will only be worshipped. He will tear everything out of us that we have relied upon Him for, until we only desire Him. He is not our "God in a box," that we can bring out whenever we want something and so that our lives will be alright and our churches will function properly. He is God and there is none like Him.

The dearth of American Christianity is that the Jesus of Bible is rarely seen. The power of the Gospel that transforms selfish sinners into selfless saints has been exchanged for easy steps to Heaven and Your Best Life Now. And, this is even true in our very conservative churches that focus on expository preaching and church discipline if those things are just a means to some other end besides Christ. We desperately need Jesus, yet we always seem to run to something else that is good, but is one degree off of The Center. Over time, that one degree takes us miles away, and we wonder why we are so parched, weak, and worn out. The answer is not found in a new method, strategy, or blessing, but in returning to a place of affection and dependence upon our Savior for everything, with His glory as our desire and a sacrificial love for others as our activity. Colossians 1:17 says, "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Do we really believe that?

I know that I've been preaching in this post, and few of you have probably read this far (I understand that I broke most of the rules for blogs by writing a really long post). Fewer still will leave comments because we rarely take time to process such things. But, I want to encourage each one of us (I think I write more for myself to have the right focus than anything else) to focus on Jesus, live for His glory, and really think about what it means for us to be the least amongst the brothers, to suffer and join in with others who are suffering, and to take the worst seat and to be a servant to all. That might be considered to be a given, but it is a given that we rarely talk about anymore in our desire for effectiveness, happiness, and growth. So, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12:2,3).

What do you think? Better yet, what will you do?

Apparently, blogs are now 10 years old. I've been reading them for about 5 years now, with Andrew Jones being the one who inspired me to get started. I knew Andrew about 10 years ago in San Francisco and lost touch with him. I was thinking about him one day, and did a web search on his name to see if anything came up. From that, I stumbled into the world of TallSkinnyKiwi. From there, I started following his blog roll and met a whole bunch of other bloggers from around the world who were doing incredible things in ministry and writing about it. I first heard about all of the IMB issues from Andrew who had a link to a post by Marty Duren about it. That was around 16 months ago, and I've met a ton of people in baptist life through this as well.

I blogged for sporadically for a little over a year with a Blogger account I started in November of 2004, but then decided to upgrade on December 31, 2005 with my present site hosted by Typepad.  Some people like to link to a bunch of different things and write short journal entries about what they are doing. Some of the blogs that started in this little mircoburst called the Baptist Blogosphere have basically written about Baptist issues. While I've written quite a bit about the Baptist controversy, my blogging is more essay oriented (once I start writing on a subject I have trouble stopping), and I really want to write about where I see God working, or how we can best join in with Him. It has been a great creative outlet for me and I've thoroughly enjoyed the people that I've met, the prayers we've received for our son, Caelan, and the ways I've grown and been sharpened.

Basically, I want my writing to be redemptive in nature and to ultimately focus on Jesus Christ and our ever changing relationship with Him through our daily lives and experiences. How has your blogging changed over time and where do you see it headed in the future? I'd really love to hear from you, even if you only comment. What has been helpful to you in this? What have you learned? What can we do better?

Our church has finally paid off our mortgage (we had it for years!) and we have formed a building team to help us explore what kind of building we can build that would meet our needs as well as enable us to minister to our community. We don't want the building to be just for us. Our only classrooms are in 3 old trailers that were used when we bought them almost two decades ago. They are literally falling apart and have to be replaced. While we pray and work toward a plan regarding our future building, I have been really paying attention to what other churches are doing in this area and I am trying to learn from them. I don't really know how to do this, but I so appreciate the faithful witness of so many churches that trust God and step out in faith to His glory. Some churches are doing some great things by being wise stewards of God's resources and are building functional buildings that meet a variety of needs at the same time. I applaud the vast majority of churches that have done it and are doing it right. Sometimes buildings are necessary, and as much as we do not like to invest a ton of money in them, once your church has some land and a building, you kind of have to keep going with it, or sell it all and move to a local high school. When you build, you have to be really careful to make sure that you aren't just begging your people for money, but they know that you are building a building for Kingdom purposes, instead of your own gain.

But, some churches are not doing it right, in my opinion. Many churches hire outside fundraising companies to come in and raise money from the people, regardless of their economic state and with little reference to vision, mission, or Scripture. It can often border on becoming immoral and unethical (did I mention that these companies get a percentage of the money raised?). Over the weekend, I read some literature from a church in the midst of a building campaign. Obviously, I won't state the name of the church, but it is a large one. This is clearly from a fund raising company that the church has contracted with, but it is shocking to me.

In the introductory paragraph of a letter that gave "Creative Ways to Give to the Campaign Without Taking a Second Job," they tried to disarm the people by saying, "Many people hear a phrase like 'Not Equal Gifts, but Equal Sacrifices' and say, 'If they only knew how little money I have, or 'I'm giving all I can, I can't give anymore,' or 'I'm single, going to school, and I'm in debt up to my ears; I can't give much,' or 'I'm a single parent and I can barely feed my kids. There's no way I can give to the campaign.' (emphasis mine) Believe me, we understand the concerns and empathize with you. That is why we have come up with a list of creative ways to give that you may have overlooked. Each one requires sacrifice on your part, but like King David said, 'I will not offer up to the Lord anything that costs me nothing!' "

Here are some of their ideas:

• Skip a meal each week as a family. Missing one meal a week at an average of $20 per family to devote to prayer or fasting is $3,120 over a three-year period.
• Commit your income tax refund check to the Lord for the three year period.
• Commit an estimated raise in salary to the Lord for the next three years.
• Adjust your vacations. For one or more of the years, do something close and inexpensive like day hikes, picnics, or take a three day vacation instead of a week and save on the airfare and hotel costs. This can save $1,000 to $2,000 easily.
• Continue a bill payment. If you will be paying off a car or school loan in the next year, commit to continue to "pay the bill" by redirecting the money to the stewardship campaign after the bill is paid off. A $100 payment per month over three years is $3,600.

There were other ideas like increase a dollar per week, clip coupons, drink only water in restaurants, don't go to movies in the theatre, but wait for them to come out on video, get rid of your cable, quit drinking Starbucks, put off major purchases and give the money to the building campaign instead, etc. Most of those weren't bad ideas, but here is my issue with all of this: The letter says that it is targeting people who are in debt and can barely afford to feed their kids. Maybe those folks do have extra money that they do not realize, but should we really be going to folks and giving financial counseling just so the church can build a new building? This is why most discussions about stewardship in churches are really a thinly veiled stab at fundraising, instead of really equipping people to be stewards of their resources for Kingdom impact.

How about going to the single mom who barely has money to feed her kids and helping her get on a budget so that she CAN feed her kids and take care of them a little better than she has been able to, instead of telling her children to skip a meal? How about going to the single person in school and in debt up to their ears and helping them find extra money to pay off their debt and give to others in need? I don't have a major problem with going to people who have money and are blowing it on themselves and challenging them to help the church build a building, but are you seriously going to tell a struggling young family to give their raises for three years to the church building fund? To keep paying a bill to the church? To forego a decent vacation after you work hard 60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, and you want to spend some quality time with your family?

If we're going to call people to sacrifice like that, how about if we consider the starving in Africa or those who are dying from preventable diseases? What about the persecuted church or indigenous church planters who are skipping meals because they have to, not because they want to? I understand the need for new buildings at times (our church needs one, remember?), that we should all sacrifice for such things, that the money has to come from somewhere, and that early Christians gave out of their poverty, but does this strike anyone else as a bit crass? When the building is built and the pledges roll in, will the church that is flowing with money help that struggling single mom put food on the table? In some circumstances, perhaps, but I think that there must be a better way. How is this much different from the TV preachers fund raising gimmicks?

I know that sacrifice is necessary, and as Americans, we are not used to it. But, what if we go about it by calling people to sacrifice for the local and global expanse of the Kingdom? How about if we use our resources to care for the poor and the hurting? If a new building is a tool to do those things, then great, and I'm not saying that churches who build buildings don't do these other things. But, we really need to think about what kind of message we're sending when it appears as though we are asking poor single mothers who don't know where money for food is coming from to fund our building programs in this way.

And, this is all coming from a pastor of a church who is entering into a building program. I know that quite a few people in my church are going to read this, but you can't sacrifice who you are as a church to build a building. Either it gets done the right way, or it doesn't get done. I have a problem with the approach of a lot of churches, but I guess that I am really writing this as a marker to remind myself of where not to go with our people. The heart can be deceitful and wicked, and I don't want to pretend like I am immune to this type of behavior. But I just think that if we are doing God's work, we don't have to plead and squeeze nickels out of our folks. I have to believe that God will speak to their hearts because it is right and they will obey because they love the Lord, if it is God's will that the church build a building. I have to believe that it can still work like Scripture says, so that our people "excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving." - 2 Cor. 8:7.

I'm really not trying to be hard on churches who go this route. But, I can just tell you how a letter like this would hit me if I got it in the mail from my pastor. I would feel like he and the church leadership couldn't give a rip about me and they had no idea what daily life was like. I would also lose all motivation to give to the building program. But, maybe that's just me. Am I alone? What do you think?

I thought I'd write a fairly personal post for a change of pace. This has been an eventful week. Emotions have run the gamut of extreme joy to severe pain and sorrow, and everything in between. In a way, this week was nothing unusual. At the same time, it was rather extraordinary, because of the people I met and the things I got to do. God be praised.

• Saturday: travelled back from the Baptist Identity Conference with C.B. Scott and Bob Cleveland. We had some amazing conversation on the way. I enjoyed seeing and spending time with friends and fellow bloggers, Marty Duren, Art Rogers, Ben Cole, Timmy Brister, Steve McCoy, Joe Thorn, Wes Kenney, Tom Ascol, and Dwight McKissic. I have been shaped and challenged by men like these through this incredible blogging experience and it is always good to meet and hang out some with the people behind the blogs that are changing the face of the SBC, in one way or another. Plus, the speakers were great as well. If the tone of the conference is where the SBC is headed, we are going to be alright. It also caused me to see that the depth of the controversy in Baptist life is so great and so complex, that I would be well served to back off from it on my blog so that I can refocus on other things that are more positive and redemptive for the time being. It has been a refreshing decision. I will still write on baptist issues from time to time, but no where near as much as in the past (and everyone said, "Amen!"). But, for a good synopsis of a post that I was going to write in response to the Smith article on Charismatics and Baptists, but never got around to, PLEASE read this by David Rogers, IMB missionary to Spain. I couldn't have said it better in a million years.
• Sunday: What an amazing day! I filled in for a Sunday School class on Job and taught through Job 19-22. Then, I preached on Matthew 8 & 9, about the Authority of Christ. God really seemed to move in a powerful way and we had a significant time of ministry for some folks in our church, as well. In other news, we paid off our mortgage! Around 18 years ago, our church took out a loan to build our current sanctuary. As of January 2006, we still owed $153,000. At our current pace of payment, it would take around 4 years to pay it off. We desperately need more space, so it is time to build again. Well, over the past 3 months, we saw the last $90,000 paid off, with the last $20,000 coming from someone outside our church who just wanted to bless us! We needed about $2,100 on Sunday to finish it, so we took a special offering and brought in that amount and more! Praise God! We are now debt free! God has provided in amazing ways! We have drafted a building team in anticipation of this day, and they have started their work of leading us into building a new building. This will be an adventure. I'll give updates and ask for lots of advice as time goes by!
• Monday: I spent the day with a lady in our church and her daughter as we buried her parents. On Thursday of the previous week, I got a phone call that both of her parents had died tragically in a car wreck. There was much obvious grieving, but I saw God work in their lives as they experienced His presence and faithfully looked to Him. God was so gracious to them to give them strength and help them to grieve while He provided amazing comfort. I was asked to share the gospel at the funeral and it was a really interesting experience. The couple who passed away were in their 70's and 80's and were leaders in the Pentecostal Fire Baptized Holiness Church. So, the funeral was held at one of that denomination's churches, outside, in a camp meeting environment. There were hundreds of people there. I don't think that many of them were particularly crazy about a Baptist preacher speaking, but I faithfully shared the gospel anyway. What a day. Please pray for this family, that God would continue to give them strength and comfort and carry them through this tragedy.

Caelan Update: Caelan continues to do well as he takes his treatments every Monday in Birmingham. He is now 18 months old and, according to the latest scans, the cancer has not returned! Praise God! He is still going in for weekly treatments, but he only has 6 more treatments left. We started this whole thing almost a year ago and were facing 48 treatments, surgery, and a very difficult road. God has been faithful, however, and has brought us through it so far. Caelan is weak, often cranky, doesn't eat or sleep well, and is very small for his age. His color is sometimes bad, and he has lost most of his hair. Chemotherapy stinks. But, God is using it to save his life, and for that, we rejoice. At the same time, he is incredibly fiesty and stubborn. He doesn't take anything off anybody and he's as tough as nails. He'll wrestle his older brothers to the ground and give them a good beating as well. He's one of a kind, that's for sure. What a blessing!

• Tuesday: The day started EARLY with two hospital visits for church members who were experiencing surgery before 7am at different hospitals. I grabbed some breakfast at a local restaurant and studied Scripture. Then, I went into the office to try and catch up on all that I had missed over the last several days. There was a good deal to catch up on. Our church has grown from an average attendance of around 175 last fall, to an average attendance of around 230-240 so far this year. Most of those folks are in their 20's and 30's with lots of kids. So, there is always stuff to do. I had lunch with our elders and we talked about pastoral and leadership issues in the church. Those guys are a pleasure to serve with, no doubt. That evening, I took my son to his Upwards basketball practice where we had a father-son game. He had 10 points and around 12 rebounds. The kids beat the Dads, something like 46-14, but I did dunk it once (on the six foot goal!). Man, those 5 and 6 year olds can play! After that, I went to a meeting at a restaurant with John and Bill to make plans for our upcoming trip to India. We were there until late and I was weary.
• Wednesday: I stayed home in the morning, but met Greg and Glen, the co-chairs of our building team for lunch downtown. We worked on a strategy for how we are to move forward. These guys are amazing, and have already put a lot of work into this. They are top notch professionals in their fields, and they are bringing those abilities to this task as well. I can't wait to see what God is going to do through all of this. I then went back to the office for the afternoon, where I worked on a number of things and prepared for the Wednesday Night Bible Study. We are going through The Mind of Christ by T.W. Hunt. It has been an incredible study and Wednesday night was no different. God is really using it to speak to people in a deep way about their relationship with him. I am co-teaching it with an older, Godly man, who has been blessed with unusual insight into God's ways and character. We are seeing a lot of growth in the lives of the people going through the study. I am growing as well.
• Thursday: Engaged in office work, study, and an elongated staff meeting with our administrative staff, since I will be gone for two weeks. This was the calmest day of my week, and I was able to focus on a few necessary things. That evening, my wife and I met with the folks whose house we have been trying to buy for the past month and watched the deal fall through. The home inspector said that the house needed a new roof, a special roof, because of the low pitch of the roof on the house. A $16,000 roof. Oh well. We'll keep looking.
• Friday:  I'm off on Fridays. My 7 year old daughter, Ashtyn, had a lead role in a school play, where she played a clown fish who felt rejected because she told bad jokes and wasn't really that funny. The play was about all different kinds of fish in the sea, and how they all are unique and learned to be friends, despite their differences. She had a whole bunch of lines and did an awesome job. I am so proud of her. She goes to a magnet school in our city, and we are praying that our son, Peyton, gets in as well. He had his interview on Wednesday of this week, so we are hoping. We spent the rest of the day taking care of different things, and then had dinner with a really awesome family that just started attending our church last month. We hung out with them until way too late and talked about everything under the sun. We had a great time.
• Saturday: Today was a lot of fun. This morning, I took Ashtyn to her ice skating lessons and then, the whole family showed up for Peyton's last basketball game of the year. He played really hard, and I was so proud of him when he went diving head first for a loose ball. I love that! When we returned home, I wrestled with my boys on the floor for a good long while (Kieran, my 3 year old, is a real firecracker - he loves jumping all over me and his older brother, Peyton - It's great!). After that, we were all pretty tired from a hectic week, and rested during the afternoon, before we returned for Peyton's Upwards Basketball Awards ceremony this evening. We saw a woman spin 10 basketballs at one time, and then share the gospel! She was pretty talented. We participated in Upwards at a local megachurch, but folks from our church were all over the place. Three of the teams were coached by people from our little church. It was great to see those guys participating with the larger Christian community in our city.

All in all, it was an eventful week. Of course, I didn't mention the diaper changing, baths given, meals prepared, phone calls, errands run, conversations, and other things. I just scratched the surface. Sometimes, it is good to sit back and reflect on the things that you've been involved with on a daily basis. Overall, my week focused more intensely on my church and family than outside things, mostly because I will be gone to India for the next two weeks. But, this exercise was helpful because it causes me to ask some questions: Where did I see God move? How did I experience His presence? How did I interact with others? What do I need to change? How much time did I spend with the Lord and did it make any difference in my daily life? How much time did I spend with my family? Others? While I ministered to people within my church, I realize that I didn't share the gospel with anyone this week. I was tired a lot. I didn't pray as much as I should have. I was pretty discouraged about some things at times. But, I praise God for His faithfulness and grace. I pray that I will continue to grow in Him and learn to depend upon Him more and more. As I look back, I am grateful for all that happened this week.

Tomorrow we take Communion as a church. I preach about Jesus. In two days, I go to India for almost two weeks. I'll miss my wife and children terribly, but I am excited about what God has in store for us!

Several years ago, I had the privilege of developing a relationship with Jay Lorenzen. He is the Associate National Director, Training and Development for Campus Crusade for Christ's Military Ministry.  He's also probably one of the sharpest missional minds in the Western Evangelical world. That is not hyperbole. He is a voracious reader with amazing ability to synthesize information into discernable applications and he is also an excellent teacher. I attended his Gettysburg Leadership Conference a few years ago where he takes a small group through the three days of the battle in real time, and with the Bible, applies leadership lessons for ministry. It's probably the best conference I've ever been to.

Jay also blogs at Onmovements.com, where he writes about what it takes to build a missional disciplemaking movement. Here is an excerpt (Update: This is actually a quote on Jay's blog that is taken from Eric Swanson, a friend of Jay's):

Lately I’ve been finding myself saying to others, “As difficult as it is to surf, it is far easier to catch a wave than to cause a wave.” My point is that we need to be aware of the big things God is doing in the world and get in on them.

God has a plan. Recently I was talking with Reggie McNeal (The Present Future). Reggie made this metaphoric observation.

“I doubt that God went to bed last night thinking about how many people you had in your church. Most likely he went to bed last night thinking about the two billion people that live on less than a dollar a day or the 30,000 people who died because they didn’t have clean water or about human traficking or the genocide in Africa.”

When God wants to act, if the church is not paying attention, he will raise up whom he will…who have his full attention to bring forth his agenda in the world. Sometimes it is a Cyrus or an Artexerses or Nebuchadnezzar. Sometimes it is a Bono, a Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet . . .

In the November 13, 2006 Newsweek, Michael Gerson writes “I’ve asked young evangelicals on campuses from Wheaton to Harvard, who they view as their model of Christian activism. Their answer is nearly unanimous: Bono.” (p. 40) A couple weeks ago I was with a bunch of Campus Crusade leaders who were working on establishing spiritual movements on every campus in the northeast region of the country (1/5 of all US college students).

Perhaps the wave that God is causing is what we should pay attention to. Instead of thinking how we can get Crusade staff to bring their students to a certain beach project we should be thinking how to mobilize all the student groups on one campus to go to Africa and sink 20 water wells. It’s not so much about wringing our hands, consuming ourselves about growing our campus groups from 60 to 80 (remember Reggie’s words) but how can catalyze the students on campus to change the world.

Last spring Crusade mobilized 15,000 students (believers and non-believers) to work on the gulf coast. These shoulder to shoulder relationships spawned a hundred thousand unlikely conversations about Jesus. This was our “proof of concept.” If Bono is universally admired by believers and unbelievers alike, why not show up on campus sporting (RED) gear, identifying like-minded people and planting (RED) groups or ONE groups or Bono groups or U2 groups on campus and mobilize students for a global agenda sponsored by local businesses?

Leaders can keep the spiritual agenda on the front burner and invite students to meet God through service to others (Matthew 25–”When you did it to the least you were doing it to me.”) It is then the job of believers to help their friends interpret what they are experiencing as they give themselves to people on the margin. There is a groundswell of students that want their lives to count for something. We can be a catalyst (like we did around Katrina) and give leadership to fulfill that desire for purpose. It is always better to be in the business of satisfying demand rather than trying to create demand. Students don’t want to be on the sidelines. They want a piece of the action.

Now, can you imagine movements everywhere on every campus where students are making a global, spiritual and material difference? Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

Okay. Chew on that for a few minutes. Jay always challenges me to think differently about things, and after I listen to him for a few minutes expound on really complex concepts, what he is saying seems obvious to me and I wonder why I never thought of it myself. That is the mark of a great teacher. You should really begin reading him. Outstanding stuff.

Also, Alan Hirsch is fairly new to the blogosphere. Many have read his revolutionary book, The Shaping of Things to Come with Michael Frost. He now has a blog called, The Forgotten Ways. He has a book out by the same title. He is really insightful and asks some wonderful questions.

One recent post (A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Question) on comparisons between the growth of the early church and the underground church in China has really gotten me thinking.  He asks how both churches grew so rapidly in such miserable conditions. I personally think that persecution and God's sovereign work were the primary factors, obviously. Many groups have experience persecution and did not grow. Many groups have experienced a visitation of God that petered out over time. But, when you combine God's presence, with persecution, and a people who have nothing but Him, spiritual explosions tend to take place. I don't think we are going to see the awakening that we long for in America until we fall on our face, cry out to the Lord, and throw off all the other things we are so dependent upon. We are so prideful and arrogant, we shut off the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and ministries. Prayer is obviously a key, but we spend far more time focusing on other things.

Track with Alan as he helps us understand how God is working around the world and how He can work in our lives as well.

The last thinker/leader I encourage you to check out today is Bob Roberts, founder of Glocalnet (global and local transformation). I met Bob at the Intersection Conference last year in Seattle, WA, put on by Global Spectrum.  He is the founding pastor of a truly Glocal church that has helped plant churches all over the world and is now involved in the discipling of nations. He has been connected with Thom Wolf/Carol Davis for years, so his thoughts are very familiar to me. Bob is interested in helping believers interact with what God is doing around the world through globalization. He teaches that believers should be leading innovators in the connection of the world and that the gospel is the transformative force to bring the change that people really want. More than a thinker, Roberts is a doer. Keep up with his travels and thoughts, and you'll be the better for it.

Each year during the Christmas season, as a church, we try and focus on what the season is really all about. It is so easy to get caught up in busyness, commercialism, and selfishness. Christmas is not about family, friends, presents, or fun!!! Christmas is about the Incarnation of Christ and how God became Immanuel, God with us. What does it mean for Christ to have come? He heralded the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, where all things would be made new and we would live by a new ethic and system of living. We are aliens and strangers in this world and we are to live to God, and not the false gods of our culture.

This past weekend, we did that as a church.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas of each year, we engage in something called A Time to Serve. I heard about a church in Colorado who does this, and we ripped off the idea. Basically, we design 8-10 service projects for people in our church to engage in, from helping with a parent’s morning out, to buying things for a needy family, to working on houses, to volunteering at a mission.

This past Saturday, we had a team go out and volunteer at the Salvation Army to sort canned goods, and another team went to a local Wal Mart to wrap presents for people. Both projects got a really great response and it was a way for our folks to truly be Jesus in our community. We experienced the joy of teamwork and of giving ourselves away to bless others. When the group was wrapping presents, they kept encountering people that could not believe that there was no catch or cost. Nope, we were just doing it because we loved them and Jesus loved them. What a blessing. I am so proud of our church.

I got a call this week from a reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser, our local newspaper. After already being misquoted in the Dallas Morning News, I was a little hesitant to be interviewed. But, this was for an entirely different reason. Someone in our congregation thought that what is going to happen Sunday night is newsworthy, and I guess it is. We have invited Family Life Bible Fellowship, a predominately black church, to join us for our annual Christmas party, the Christmas Extravaganza. The reporter thought that this was interesting, because it is rare to see black and white churches working together this way. He asked me if I thought that was significant.

Well, I guess it is. But, it shouldn't be. And, Pastor Slater and I are not doing this because we are tying to prove some type of racial unity point. We're doing it because we're friends. We've come together before and it just seemed like it would be fun. Unity is much easier when you are actually in relationship with someone, instead of it being contrived.

When I think about the difficulties that we addressed at the Roundtable discussion in Arlington on Tuesday, and I think about this event coming on Sunday, I understand more and more that I am not unified with others just because we have Baptist on our name. As a matter of fact, if there is no relationship, it doesn't matter what your name is - we're probably not going to be real effective working together. Unity first comes from being a like minded believer in Christ. Secondly, it comes from love. Thirdly, it comes from being in relationship. You have to be friends to trust one another and work together. This has been one of the benefits of the blogs: it has been a forum for building relationships and friendships with other pastors that I never would have met otherwise.

Perhaps our racial problems in the U.S. have more to do with a lack of friendship and understanding, than anything else.

Perhaps our family problems have more to do with a lack of time spent together in mutually edifying relationships and friendships, than anything else. The same can be said for many of the problems in our churches.

Perhaps the problems in the SBC have far more to do with the fact that we don't have strong relationships, than it does with a lack of giving to the Cooperative Program.

Christ is the basis for our unity. Nothing else. If you are in Christ, you are my brother. You are my friend. And, because He lives in me, sacrificial love is there for even my enemies. During the Christmas season, lets try and share that love with family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and even enemies. Maybe God will surprise all of us!

I've been out of pocket the last few days with a lot of pretty incredible things going on. We baptized two on Sunday, and one of them was my 7 year old daughter! She received Christ about two years ago, but we wanted to wait for her to really understand what was going on. She has shown an incedible amount of growth, spiritual awareness, and maturity and is bearing a great deal of fruit. She is a sweet girl who LOVES Jesus, and I am so excited to see God working in her life.  My wife and I are very blessed!

On Monday, I travelled north to participate in a pastor's prayer summit with over 20 pastors from the Montgomery & Selma areas. It was an amazing time. For over two days, we prayed, spent time with God alone, worshipped, and fellowshipped. There is no agenda and no speaker - it is just a time of prayer. God's presence moved mightily, ministered refreshment to us, and bonded us together. The awesome thing is that of the 25 or so, there were 12 denominations represented and it was evenly split between black and white. We took communion together Monday night and it was so amazing. I felt as if I was in the upper room.  God was present. What an incredible experience!  We were able to come together because Jesus was our focus. We gathered around the cross and sought after our Father in Heaven. I honestly felt more connected to these brothers who are so hungry for the Lord, even though we come from different backgrounds, than I sometimes do with people in my own denomination who supposedly agree with me doctrinally. Doctrine is wonderful, but if it doesn't transform the heart, then it is useless. But, I digress.

This weekend is our Ordained to Ordinary Conference with Dr. Thom Wolf. I hope to get another post up about that today . . .

When I saw this article last month in Outreach Magazine, I knew that I would write about it as soon as it went online. Ed Stetzer declares that we should possibly appeal to the celebrity factor in our culture by helping create superstar pastors in Can Mega Be Missional (HT: Todd Littleton). Here's his perspective:

Our culture craves "celebrity"—just glance at any grocery store checkout stand or TV show. Recently, Len Sweet, one of the leading voices on culture and the Church, challenged me that Americans' love affair with celebrities could and should be seen as a mission opportunity. Len is convinced that if the culture desires celebrities, then it will create celebrities, even in Christendom.

You don't have to look far to identify pastors who've reached celebrity status—dynamic individuals leading large numbers of people, selling thousands of books and booking weekly dates as conference speakers.

For many of you, this section will make you cringe (I cringed while writing it), but like it or not, the obvious desire to "celebritize" the Gospel presentation is everywhere—sports, music, even Hollywood. It seems that every celebrity who becomes a Christian is soon giving testimonies across America (can anyone say "Kirk Cameron"?). For better or for worse, people do listen to celebrities. Perhaps it's a Christian practice because it's a cultural reality (and yes, like every cultural practice it needs to be examined in the light of Scripture, but that is another article).

It's not an accident that every megachurch on the Top 100 lists in this issue is known locally, regionally or nationally for charismatic leadership, gifted communication and almost always, a well-known leader. Most megachurch leaders possess the abilities to inspire those around them to achieve great things and seem to have an innate talent to speak in a way that reaches through the chaos in people's lives. As a church grows to mega status, these leaders also gain a platform of notoriety, becoming "celebrities"—and possibly widening the window for more people to hear the Gospel.

He's right: I'm cringing. Personally, I think he goes too far here. I think that celebrity worship is an idol in contemporary America. I don't think we do anyone any favors by bringing that aspect into our evangelism and discipleship. I don't think that we should appeal to the baser aspects of our nature - the fallout down the road is pretty severe. This blending of our culture's idols with Christianity is called syncretism, and it is very dangerous for the future spiritual health of anyone who takes part in it.

We are a different people and should be holy in our lifestyles and our methods. I can probably attract a crowd doing a million different things. Our problem is not that we don't have a lot of ideas, but rather, that we do not have spiritual power to convict hearts. Not to mention what the whole celebrity thing does to the pastor in question. Marty at SBC Outpost is chronicling that pretty well right now.

Should we use celebrity pastors to reach more people? Do you see any dangers in that approach? Am I off base? Again, Todd Littleton has opened this discussion as well.  I'm all for relating to our culture and being missional, but I don't buy this. It seems like at this point, we stoop too low. What do you think?

The other day, while reading Bernard Lewis' The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror, I ran across a very interesting passage. Lewis credits Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), an Egyptian, as being a key figure in the development of radical Islamic attitudes. According to Lewis, he "became a leading idealogue of Muslim fundamentalism and an active member of the fundamentalist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood."  Upon further research, I became aware that Hamas, in Palestine, is a part of this group.

Wikipedia has this to say about the influence of Qutb:

Qutb has been interpreted, particularly in some parts of the Western media, as an intellectual precursor to various Islamic fundamentalist movements of the 1980s to the present, including the notorious international organization Al-Qaeda. In this view, Qutb is argued to be a theoretical foundation of Islamic extremism. One can find some ideological connections between Qutb's thought and radical fundamentalist groups. These include Qutb's advocacy of an Islamic theocracy as the only legitimate state, his justification of jihad in the conflict against non-Islamic governments, and his uncompromising opposition to Western culture and values.

It is widely known that Qutb's brother, Muhammad Qutb, moved to Saudi Arabia where he became a professor of Islamic Studies. One of Muhammad Qutb's students and an ardent follower was Ayman Zawahiri, who later became the mentor of Osama bin Laden.

So, obviously, Qutb was something of a founding father of Islamic Fundamentalism and terror groups. But, what's interesting is that Qutb spent two years in the United States (1948-1950) where he received a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Nothern Colorado. During that time he was greatly affected by American culture, and his revulsion regarding the promiscuity and rampant materialism that he found here prompted his turn toward radical Islam.

Lewis picks up our narrative concerning what shocked Qutb the most about American culture on pages 77-79:

As I stated in my last post, the reason that I started this blog is to chronicle where I see God working in my life, through normal everyday events, and sometimes even through really huge things. I have noticed that there is quite a bit of controversy always going on in the blogosphere, however. Whenever I write a post on something negative or controversial, I tend to get more comments and hits.  I've seen this on other blogs as well. I'm really starting to think through this and am coming to some conclusions about what I post about.  What if we used our blogs to give praise to God more than to criticize others? What if we used our blogs to talk about the wonderful things that God has done more than to talk about how much we disagree with other people? I'm all for truth and pointing out right and wrong, and I'll do it as much as the next guy. Sometimes, we really should. But, if we are not careful, we can become pretty negative about things. As a discipline, it is really important that we CHOOSE to praise God at all times (Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near Philippians 4:4-5).

So, God is near! Let's be gentle with one another. Let's spend more time praising God than picking things apart or complaining. What do you have to praise God for? Where have you seen God working? Why do you have joy? Let's give God praise!

UPDATE: You know, after rereading my post, I realized that I spent 2/3 of it complaining about the blogosphere and not giving God praise! It is so deceptive. So, I praise God today for my wife and children. I praise Him for His incredible blessings. I turn 32 today, and I thank Him for giving me a good life and for saving me 24 years ago (actually before time began). I praise God for a church that is hungry for the Lord, loves one another, and truly wants to make a difference in the world. I praise God that He is healing my son Caelan of cancer. I praise Him that He is gracious and forgiving and does not keep of record of wrongs (who could stand?).  I thank Him for His care and the beauty I see in the world. I have so many things to praise God for and am glad that I don't have to wait until Thanksgiving Day to do it! 

I really see God working in my church in giving them a heart for the lost and for discipleship. I see people developing a heart for worship. We just had about 20% of our church go on mission trips the last couple of weeks - I see God continuing to give us a heart for the nations. I see God working in our families, our marriages, and giving us a hunger for Him. God is working everywhere!

I'm going to work on a massive post, or series of posts for posterities sake re: my time in Greensboro, NC for the SBC Annual Meeting, what happened, the role of bloggers and new forms of communication and their implications for ministry, and other observations. I've got some pictures and thoughts from my side trip to Asheville, NC on my way home yesterday, too. Interesting. So, that's coming in the next few days when I can carve out some time (taking Bobby Welch's advice bloggers!)

In the mean time, here are some great articles about what God is doing at Angola prison, the state penitentary in Louisiana.  You really have to read this! It was so encouraging to see how God is working in a very dark place through men we would give up on, and also through the Christian witness of the warden. If you ever wanted to see an example of people making a difference for Christ, check out these articles, Set Free in Angola Prison, and Violence to Peace: A Conversation With Burl Cain (he is the warden of the prison). This is amazing. Praise God!

What about your life? How might God use you, right where you are to change the world? His Spirit lives within you. Pray about how you can publicly give praise to God for what he has done in your life and how you can bring His light into a dark place. Sometimes, all people need to see is the joy of the Lord upon a believer in Jesus. What they definitely need to hear is the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. May God give us His power.

Being a Southern Baptist (I'm a follower of Jesus first, and am pastor of a Southern Baptist church), we talk a lot about sharing the good news of Jesus with people. We spend a lot of time talking about the effectiveness of our churches, how to do ministry, and about the politics of our denomination.  The Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is next week in Greensboro, NC and I am going. Starting Monday, I hope to be blogging live from the convention throughout the day until Wednesday about what I experience there. I want to do human interest stories, so check in regularly to learn about what really happens at one of these meetings behind the scenes! It promises to be very interesting as there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding many issues.

How Many People Actually Go To Church in America?  You've Got to Check This Out!!!

I ran across an article in Outreach Magazine about the state of the church in America that really puts things into perspective called The American Church in Crisis. While many researchers peg regular church attendance at around 40%, new studies have come out that show that only around 18% of Americans are in church on a given Sunday, and only around 25% attend 3 out of 8 Sundays.  Check out your state on these maps and graphs concerning actual church attendance per state and throughout the nation:  American Church in Crisis Slides.  This is actually what I have been thinking for years and never could understand the research that had church attendance so high.  By the way, Montgomery, AL is around 32%, better than the national average, but that still means that 200,000 people in our metro area are not connected to a body of believers. Does that awaken us at all?

Check Out 7 STARTLING FACTS: AN UP CLOSE LOOK AT CHURCH ATTENDANCE IN AMERICA:

<----- (Random Megachurch) In an age of megachurches, church growth, everyone's identity being based on how large your church is, numbers comparison, and publicity for any and every reason, it is great to see a church that has a different focus.

Steve McCoy has a post concerning Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC that I mentioned the other day.   The post is about Redeemer's publicity policies focus on NOT drawing attention to their ministry through the media.  Here are a few policies that are of particular interest:

As a result of a series of unpleasant experiences, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has forged the following media policy:

We do not provide interviews or participate in stories; we do not desire publicity that will raise our profile. This policy exists for these reasons:

1. Anything that raises Redeemer's profile pulls Christians out of their own churches to visit or join us. This is a bad neighbor policy; the City needs many different churches, not one big mega-church, something we are going to great pains to avoid becoming.

2. If Redeemer becomes a “Christian tourist destination," our limited seating will be filled with those who already believe in Jesus, leaving no room for genuine seekers. We are already turning people away at one service, and seating is tight at others. Therefore, we do not want any publicity that would fill our seats with curious believers.

3. Redeemer would prefer that seekers come as the result of relationship (i.e., they are accompanying a friend who is then available to discuss things with them following the service.) To come into a church like Redeemer is not an easy thing, and although publicity might result in a few non-believer walk-ins, we would prefer there to be none at all.

In an time when churches are hoping, praying, and selling their soul to attract visitors from ANYWHERE, including other churches, it is incredible to see a church that is actually trying to not gain publicity to attract other Christians.  I really admire this.  Admittedly, Redeemer has become a huge church that has several thousand attenders, but I think that it is great the way that they are trying to stay on task: reaching people for Christ.  Item #4 on this list has to do with staying away from political issues as well, so I think that they are trying to keep the main thing the main thing and not get sidetracked or stereotyped according to certain hot button issues.  May we be at peace enough with ourselves and God's purpose for us to not look for publicity or man's praise, but find our worth from God alone. If we are faithful and He gives us a large ministry or small, we should feel the same and worship Him alone.  Maybe this was not the point of the article, but it is what it made me think of.