99 Balloons

Powerfully moving video on the gift from God of life!

A Little Bit of a Psalm

Here is the Scripture I will be preaching from this Christmas Sunday, December 21, 2008.

Psalm 61:1-5
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint ['overwhelmed' in KJV].
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
Selah
For You, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
(ESV)

Praise the Lord!

Achievement

Dedicated to all those Israelites out there that never got the credit for their hard work. Shame on you naughty Egyptians!

Do you have a pansy preacher?

This video is hilarious! My brother, Caleb, says he is going to adopt some of his preaching style.

Particularly the pulpit kicking and wiping spit off the mouth!

Memorial Roll & Mortgage Burning

Sunday morning, November 23, 2008, Thanksgiving Sunday.

Here are just a few of the things we gave thanks for:

Donna Lobb Hudson talks about God's faithfulness to her mother, Eula Lobb,

who was placed on the Memorial Roll of the Church of the Nazarene.

(from left to right: Rev. Bob Hudson, Donna Lobb Hudson,

Rodney Hadley, Ruthie Shuffett, & Pasor Jared Henry)

The Burning of the Mortgage!
(from left to right: Sammy Lobb, Michelle Young, Pastor Jared Henry, Rodney Hadley, Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, Mile Shuffett, Joe Shuffett, Josh Myers, Ruthie Shuffett, and Amanda Lobb)




What is left of the mortgage!
(from left to right: Matt Young, Rodney Hadley, Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, & Joe Shuffett)

Pastor Jared Henry

Trustees: Dwayne Lobb, Sammy Lobb, Mike Shuffett

Stewards: Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, Amanda Lobb (also church board secretary), Michelle Young

NYI President: Matt Young

NMI President: Rodney Hadley

Treasurer: Josh Myers

Joe Shuffett is the president of the local bank that the church had its mortgage through.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008 was the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We were to have our annual Thanksgiving potluck and all the normal things you do on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

This Sunday was different.

We had put Eula Lobb on the Memorial Roll of the Church of the Nazarene and were giving the certificate to her daughter and son-in-law Rev. Bob & Donna Hudson. They came up from Louisianna, where he pastors, to be there for the special service.

We were having a note burning as the church had finally got out of debt (for the first time in its history). Our treasurer brought the note and the president of the bank that we had our mortgage with was present.

We thanked God for His faithfulness in the life of our dear sister in Christ: Eula Lobb. We thanked God for His faithfulness to His church and His ministry through our church as he provided through inidividual's sacrificial giving and the sale of some recently purchased property for us to be debt free.

God moved in the worship service. Thanks be to God.

Sunday night was a continuation of just that. What a blessing it was as the course of the worship time was changed as people "interrupted" the order of things to praise God for answered prayer, special blessings, divine provision, God's faithfulness, and much more.

We thanked God. I preached briefly about remembering all that God has done in our lives; specifically in our spiritual lives (He does much more than bless us with material things). I preached from one verse found in Exodus 20:24

"In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you." (ESV)

That He did in the evening service. As people testified to the grace and glory of our God, He blessed us with His presence.

We then participated in the Supper that the Lord instituted and remembered the sacrifice Jesus made for the world on the cross. Jesus said about it: "As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me."

That we did, and again, God blessed where His name was remembered!

Praise the Lord! Thank You Father!

Troubling at best...

In our Wednesday night Bible Study we discussed this just briefly and I made a statement that I would like to know who the reporter was so that I could contact the newspaper or tv station he worked for to let them know how disgusting this was; not only on a moral and ethical level, but also a professional level.

What am I talking about?

Click on this link to get the full story. (The unethical, immoral, and unprofessional reporter wrote this article.)

Click on this link to hear "the rest of the story" and get contact information for the reporter.

One encouraging thing about this story is the response of the church! He reigns!

What Brings Growth? (#2)

The only problem with this picture is that it may play to the self-centered idea that it is the responsibility of the church, pastor, Sunday school teacher, etc. to "feed" me. And, while they do share in a specific, scriptural responsibility, an individual's spiritual growth is not dumped solely on their spiritual instructors.

Quoting a Quote #3

"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!"

Isaiah
(Quoted from Isaiah 64:1-2 ESV)

Who Will Lose This Election?

Christians.

Not Obama or McCain, but Christians.

Have you noticed how little either one talks about anything pertaining to moral issues. For them the greatest moral issue is socialism vs capitalism or the state of the economy and taxes. Only short segments of the debates were devoted to anything close to moral issues and I believe they both fumbled the ball.

McCain, the stereotypical pick for a Christian, refuses to be firm or even clear about his stance and committment to ending abortion in our nation. It is especially troubling from one who claims to give "straight talk."

Obama, a professing Christian, is even more twisted in his approach. Obama says he is personally against abortion, but will fight to protect a "woman's right to choose." Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that the textbook definition of hypocrisy?

Biden and Palin haggle about the same old stuff that nobody really cares about with a short venture onto moral ground in their debate on the issue of homosexual marriage. Biden proclaimed that he was all for "same-sex couples" being allowed to visit in the hospital. What? Anybody can visit you in the hospital anyway. That's virtually like saying: "I am for homosexual marriage because if we prevent them from having this 'right' then we won't allow them to breathe." Give me a break.

Palin, a professing evangelical Christian, babbled on about how tolerant she was. See previous post.

Yeah, Christians have been sidelined in this election. God's values have been ignored by our politicians even though they incite His name in blessing everyone and talking about our nation. Too bad Christians are going to lose this election.

(Note: I never said God was going to lose. He isn't up for re-election this year... nor will he ever be up for re-election.)

What is a Christian?

Maybe a good Christian is an underwear model...

According to Miley Cyrus in this article.

Quote from the article: "'He's a really great Christian guy, which is awesome,' she added about the underwear model."

Who I am Voting for President of the United States...

Chuck Baldwin and Darrell Castle

They will be on the ballot in most states including my own state of KY.

They are running with the constitution party. Following this presidential election I am changing my party affliation to the constitution party.

Here is their website.

I can hear some saying already... "that is a wasted vote." Doubtful. In fact, I like an article that Chuck Baldwin wrote on the website that deals with that very issue. Here is a link to that article or you can watch the youtube video of the same article.

But that's just little old me.

The Greatest Sin of the Church?

I've heard a lot over the last few weeks from the church about tolerance. Since Clay Aiken and Ray Boltz have "come out" the church has been gushing about acceptance, tolerance, and love.

The idea is that if we really have the love of Christ within us we will love and accept people regardless of their sin. Usually that translates in a more pragmatic way into tolerating, accepting, and, in some cases, even loving their sins.

With the rise of the "emergent" movement (neo-liberals; aka 'cool' liberals) and the old fashion liberals still pushing their weight around in the church, the church in the United States has quickly come to a place of disregarding Biblical mandates and standards for our own more "evangelical" mandates and standards.

My concern is the damage it causes in the church both spiritually as well as other ways. For example...

1) A pastor of a Kentucky church recently admitted to having an affair with the church secretary. He was a younger pastor and had a wife who was pregnant. The church, from what I understand, allowed him to get up during a morning "worship" service and tell them he was sorry for "hurting people" (he did not repent of his action). He then stepped down as pastor. Certainly the church had to do some public relations damage control and everyone else in the community heard, and said, things like: "Nobody is perfect." "He's just human." "We love him anyway."

He left his wife and moved to another state with the secretary.

Now my point is this: while everyone tried to cover up for his sin and reaffirm their love, tolerance, and acceptance of him; what did that tell his wife? What was his young, pregnant wife thinking when the church, in essence, justified her adulterous husband's actions? What about the soon to be born child? What would he/she say when he/she gets old enough to hear someone say: well, the old pastor was "just human"?

Shame on the "church"! (Notice I love to use "" all the time?)

2) "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is too cliche. It is archaic and rarely realized! Compassion without accountability is not compassion, it is sinful acceptance and tolerance of sin!

3) The suffering innocents... who cares for them? Who cares about the wife and family of the man who suddenly "discovers he has always been gay"? Even the church of today applauds the fact that he has "come to grip with who he really is." Who cares about the people that really suffer from the sins of those who are so readily & quickly being accepted?

I'm not arguing for "one strike you're out" mentality when it comes to Christians and sin, but why do we so quickly "restore" people in sin? (I'm talking about restoration without confrontation of the sin.) It seems we enjoy ignoring and eventually accepting it... or at least find that it is much easier than rebuking it as God's Word tells us to do.

We're slow to restore the usher who steal money from the offering plate... wait... we don't ever let them take up the offering again! (Query: Is complete restoration here on earth possible or even plausible?)

We're slow to restore the child rapist... wait... we never let them in the nursery again.

Maybe the drunkards and drug addicts shouldn't be paraded around as a jewel when they get "saved." Maybe, like everyone else in sin, they should be ashamed that they caused so much harm to a holy God and His creation. (Side Note: I think we need more testimonies in the church, but too often I feel like people are almost proud of the grotesque sin they have committed in their past, rather than ashamed of it.)

I realize this maybe isn't the most popular kind of post, but I just want to evaluate what I believe could be our greatest sin in the church today... because we are embracing sin while driving away the innocents suffering from that sin. (Greed, pride, slander, etc. could also be applied here.)

I have little to no tolerance for people seeking help from the church just to get themselves out of their own sinful jam.

So you're going to jail for beating your wife? I am more interested in ministering to your wife first... then, when you are ready for true/real repentance, we'll talk.

So your company is folding because you are embezzling money? I am more interested in ministering to those whose money you have embezzled first... then you.

So your sexual immorality is causing your spouse to leave you, I'm more interested in ministering to your spouse first... then you.

So you lied in a criminal court case, I'm more interested in ministering to those to whom you have attempted to do a great injustice to first... then you.

(Yes, I know, we're all guilty of sin... just not those sins.)

We've stopped talking about gossip in the church... we'd rather talk about abortion. We've stopped talking about divorce in the church... we'd rather talk about homosexual marriage. We've stopped talking about "little white lies"... we'd rather talk about drug addicts.

What do you think?

A New Arrival...

Hannah has come home!

She already knows how to cry, eat, squirm, and get rid of the waste products from eating! She is such a fast learner!

Here are a few pictures:


Mommy and Hannah at the hospital.

Daddy and Hannah at the hospital.

Daddy, Mommy, & Hannah in the recovery room following the c-section.

Daddy, Mommy, Jacob, & Hannah in the hospital... the whole family!

Quoting a Quote #2

"Christianity does not consist of mere desires to do good deeds. Desires that do not result in action are not virtuous...The most wicked man on earth may have strong desires for holiness. He may clearly see that holiness is the only means of happiness. And the minute he understands that holiness is a means of happiness, he naturally desires it...[but ultimately]...This is [only] practical atheism."

Charles Finney
(quoted from 'Experiencing Revival')

What brings growth?

$700 Billion!?

That is a lot of money. Thank you politicians, congress, and Mr. President: you have brought us salvation for only 700 billion dollars!?

It won't help anything.

I wonder when we will 'get it' as a nation?

9/11; Katrina; Troubled Economy

There's a song titled: "People Need the Lord."

Money won't do it! Democrats won't do it! Republicans won't do it! (And certainly not those "green" party folks.)

Oh well, I guess I'll keep paying my taxes and help pay for the 700 billion dollar bailout while greed continue to run havoc with our economy.

Good thing I'm a citizen of heaven; a country that will never pass away.

Relevant? ...not really!

In our never ending move to be "relevant" in our world, I wonder if the church isn't as corny as the poor souls in this video.

Of particular interest are the following lyrics from the song in the you tube video below...

"He [Jesus] taught me how to praise my God and still play rock-n-roll."

"He is like a Mounty, he always gets his man and he'll zap you anyway he can... ZAP."

"He loves me when I waste me time by writing silly songs."

I wonder if 'cutting edge ministry' isn't the silliest thing going yesterday!

Quoting a Quote #1

"The church began with these men [disciples] in the ‘upper room' agonizing– and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah, brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!"

Leonard Ravenhill
(quoted from ‘Why Revival Tarries')

Ray Boltz is gay!?

I came across an interesting article that dealt with Ray Boltz's "struggle" with his sexuality. It is presented in a fictitious conversation Ray has with God.

Here's the link. It's worth a read.

Top Heavy

The International Church of the Nazarene will be celebrating its centennial on October 5, 2008. God has worked through the Church of the Nazarene to spread the message of Entire Sanctification around the world. I am glad that I am an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene.

That said, I would like to note not only the Church of the Nazarene, but many denominations move toward more hierarchy. Denominations, and local churches, tend to become top heavy.

Let's look at individual local churches first. In a small, church that is just large enough to have a full time senior pastor, the focus is on the people that make up the congregation. In other words, the pastor is focused on shepherding and caring for the people of that particular congregation. But as a small church grows and eventually becomes a large church, the emphasis on the people slowly transitions to the pastor. In other words, rather than the pastor serving the people, there is a subtle move toward the people "idolizing" and/or propping up the pastor. This is more true in non-denominational churches.

Yes, I realize I am making large generalizations here.

The beginning of most denominations seems to be a grass roots movement of the people. There are individuals who are fueling the churches, not the bureaucracy or hierarchy. But as the denomination grows and it moves into the second, third, and fourth generation of the denomination, it begins to get top heavy.

For example, many district leaders, while they may not say it, view the local church more as a cash flow instrument to help fund the district ministries. Early in the life of the Church of the Nazarene there were no "district ministries." (Church planting wasn't viewed as the responsibility of the district, but of the local churches, for one example.)

The district and general church administration and hierarchy were formed to empower, encourage, and equip the individual local churches. I wonder, have we lost that?

In 100 short years of our own history have we made dramatic changes in our polity without actually changing the wording of the manual?

Maybe one reason for the transition to a "top heavy" way of going about things is because local churches leading the way is to static and undependable. A bigger, more financed, hierarchy has more control and stability.... or does it?

Just a minority worldview.

Obama, Palin, Politics and Little 'Ole Me

McCain or Obama?

I got an e-mail the other day... again... from someone that said Obama was a Muslim. If he is, he isn't a very good one.

I got an e-mail the other day that said McCain was a Christian. If you believe that I've got a few acres on Venus I can sell you.

As a Christian approaching politics you certainly have to make priorities among moral issues. For example, while I believe God has placed us here to take care of creation, the issue of abortion (life vs. death) diminshes the glitz of my greenness.

At what point does a Christian refuse to vote for the "lesser of two evils." (By the way, is that in any shape or form Biblical?) That just sounds too much like compromise.

"But we'll lose the election if everyone started voting third party." Who will lose? God? I don't think so.

Long after Obama or McCain have taken their last breath here on Earth, God will still be King of Kings. Of that I am sure.

For most Christian voters McCain has been eclipsed by Sarah Palin. I must admit that while she is much more appealing a candidate than McCain she is not going to draw my "evangelical vote." Because she won't be president, she'll be vice president.

So what does the vice-president do? Wait around for the president to die so that they can be president. That's it! (Technically there are a few responsibilities like baby sitting in the senate or something.)

Who will I vote for? A Republican or Democrat? I'm going to vote for the only person I have confidence is really a Christian.

Mike Huckabee. (By the way, someone tell him to stop speaking for McCain.)

Church, Economy, Politics, Alcohol, and UFO's

Okay, the title was just to get your attention.

I was discussing an issue with someone not too long ago when I was asked: "What do you [the church I am a part of] do for this community?"

My response was: "We're [the church] trying to get see lost people born-again."

To which that person said: "That's it!?...the lost, born-again?"

So I must ask: What effect does someone being born-again have on the community at large?

There is a pesimistic side of me that bemoans the lack of transformation in the lives of people who claim to have "received" Christ.

What is the function of the church? Is it really relevant? Does it matter? Sure, as a pastor and Christian (pastors aren't always Christians... I can name some) I would say yes it does matter, but does it really?

Our nation is full of churches. There are churches on every corner! But our society continues to make the wide sweeping spiral downward morally. Something has to give!

The church is suppose to be the called out. That's how it is literally translated from Greek. The church is suppose to be the body of Christ; described as such by the apostle Paul. So what was Christ about? He told Nicodemus I've come to seek and save the lost.

SIDE NOTE: For all the tele-evangelists out there: That doesn't mean he came to make humans rich. For all the social justice over-emphasized crowd: That doesn't mean he came to erradicate poverty. Whoa, I stumbled upon something there... tele-evangelist and 'wacky' social justice folks have similar theology. (My lawyer told me to add this clause: I am for social justice and using media to communicate the Gospel.)

But I must ask myself: where is a New Testament church?

Liturigical worship? Yeah, remember at Pentecost where they all dressed up in funny garments and put on crazy hats, then read prayers while chanting about Mary, then mumbled incoherently while performing some other rituals. You remember now... 3000 people got saved.

No, it must have been more relevant than that. Yeah, I remember now. At Pentecost, Peter preached on four steps to financial freedom, how to have a 'marvelous marriage,' and "Your best life now." Then 3000 people were born again (even though nothing was said about repentance).

Well, maybe it was more punk than that. Everyone in the upper room wasn't actually praying. In all actuality they were getting tattoos, piercings, and practicing for the 'rock' concert. They had people drive Harley's (donkeys named Harley) across the 'stage.' 3000 people were head-banging during the concert so they assume that 3000 people were saved.

So, back to the original question: Is all you do is lead people to Christ?

Yes, but that's all that really matters. A Real God brings Real Change in Real People.

What does revival look like?

Maybe if I could actually answer that question I would not be posting on a blog, but publishing a best-selling book.

Back on March 1-5, 2008 we had a revival that was just that. It was revival, renewing, and refreshing. It was unbelievable. Our church is still feeling the positive effects of what happened in that particular series of services. Certainly there were some who, following the week of services, reverted back to the same sub-standard Christian life they had before, but as a whole the church took a leap forward in a intimacy with God. There are individuals in the community that still talk about that revival.

The church as a whole and individuals of the church have definitely faced difficult times since the beginning of March. Physical, financial, stress, temptation, trial, and more seemed to be magnified following what God had accomplished in the life of the Greensburg Church of the Nazarene.

Then we approached Green River Camp Meeting 2008. I must admit that my expectations where that we would have a series of service similar to those we had in March except that they would be more intense and far reaching in our church and community.

It did not happen that way.

Instead, the church went through a purification process. The evangelist came pretty near preaching a message like you would read in the New Testament (specifically a typical sermon by John the Baptist... Luke 3:7). Some of it was near scathing and at times I sat in bewilderment the faithful core was attacked for lukewarmness, spiritual callousness, apathy toward spiritual matters, or outright sinfulness.

I must admit that there were a few times that I was discouraged as well as completely confused spiritually as to what was going on. I remember praying during the week of camp meeting on a number of occasions in which I asked God to show me whether I need to stop the services, the evangelist, the worry, or my own doubts.

I stopped worrying.

I continued to test the spirits throughout the services and found that consistently there was an oppressive "spirit" about the service. Resistance seemed to reign.

The thing is, people were changed. Yes, some sinners were saved. Yes, there were a few Christians who were sanctified through and through. But the most dramatic changes have been observed following the revival. Individuals committing to being in the presence of the Lord. People I have never seen in church at a Wednesday night Bible study, save something special, have started to come. Couples, families, individuals, singles, etc. are starting to come every service.

There is an enthusiasm in the church from people have never been enthused to be in church before. I am hearing new people talk about what God is doing in their lives that I have never heard talk about such things before.


Real change.

As I continue to try to put together what exactly happened during camp meeting, I hope that I never miss what God is trying to do like I did that time.

What does revival look like? Emotion, feelings, hard decisions, sacrifices, & surrender.

Who knows what revival looks like; I just know what it looks like to see people moving forward spiritually.

Green River Camp Meeting 2008

Tomorrow, Aug. 31, is the beginning of Green River Camp Meeting 2008. (It is August 31st- September 4th.)

Services will be held here in Greensburg, KY at the Legion Park underneath the pavilion.

Rev. Kenny Greenway, from North Carolina is the evangelist and Rev. Jason Coulter, a pastor from Stanford, KY is the song evangelist.

Service times are Sunday 10:00am and 5:00pm and Monday through Thursday at 6:00pm nightly. (All service times are central time.)

Pray for these revival services as we are seeking an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is the desperate need of our churches, our community, our nation, and the world!

The three churches sponsoring the Green River Camp Meeting are the Buffalo Church of the Nazarene, Greensburg Church of the Nazarene, and Summersville Church of the Nazarene.

The Emergent Movement Distrurbs me!

For background on my post, you will have to go to this webpage on Emergent Village.com.

Oprah, who appears to be attempting to start her own religion flooded with the same old humanistic new age mumbo jumbo through the teachings of Eckhart Tolle the author of "A New Earth."

Tolle apparantly had a "spiritual experience" (along with every other David Koresh; Jesus-wanna-be) that changed his life for the good.

What troubles me is not that there is a new wack-o (and that is the technical label) running around spouting off new religious beliefs, but that Christians are now trying to glean truth from falsehood.

Now some may argue that it can be beneficial to sit at the feet of Tolle as Jenell Paris does in the article linked to above, by trying to say it would be something similar to sitting through a biology class taught by an atheist. Truth is truth they might say.

Well, I certainly agree (and I doubt any emergent would bank to hard on the statement 'truth is truth') that truth is truth, but my point is simply this: while truth is truth, falsehood is still falsehood. In other words while you might learn in biology the process of photosynthesis (truth) you might also learn about evolution (no, I'm not interested in debating this issue, just stay focussed with me) which is false. Easily distinguised.

However, what Tolle is teaching is not some true & some false. His whole religion is based upon a lie... namely that Jesus Christ is not the way, the truth, and the life and anyone can get to God, enlightment, heaven, nirvana, etc. anyway they please.

Lets get back to some Deuteronomy 13:1-3; Matthew 5:19; and Matthew 7:15!

I think it's called Universalism. Get ready church, it will seek to lead more people away from the absolute truth that is Christ!

A Mine Field...

Here is some fodder for any antagonist out there. I would only ask that you come up with a creative, original, or never-before-heard-by-me argument against the following passages of Scripture.

Long-haired men.
1 Corinthians 11:14-15 "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering."

Buying and Selling on Sunday.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Tattoos.
Leviticus 19:28 "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord."

Smoking. Gluttony. Tanning Beds. (And anything else that is obviously harmful to our physical bodies).
1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"

Immodesty.
1 Timothy 2:9 "...likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire..."

Okay, fire away!

(All Scripture is from the ESV because I am not cool enough to use "The Message.")

How to Make a Relevant Pastor Blog...

The full context of this list can be found at this website. The following is taken directly from the website linked to, it is in no way original thought of my own (of course nothing ever is if you think about it).

1) Show others that you are not afraid to be open and transparent with your love life. That makes you seem "real". Talk about your wife in gushy glowing terms, like you can't wait to get home to see her every single day. Blog about how you always call her at lunch just to blow kisses in her general direction. Blog about every last thing that you do for her that's nice (ie: how you buy her flowers every Friday, etc.). Seekers will really look up to this and will want to convert to Christianity in order to get a better love life like yours.

2) Share with your readers what Rock concerts you've been to recently. When seekers find out that they don't have to give up their U2, Bon Jovi , and INXS - they will realize that Christianity is not such a big step after all. In fact, maybe they'll feel like they can even invite you (their pastor) to some cool (wild) parties.

3) Refer to everybody in your church as a "dude". And for all 37 pastors that work for you, on your hand-picked staff, refer to them in your blog posts as "my boy". So a proper sentence on your blog might be constructed like this: "My boy Justin and I are taking a few dudes to the U2 concert next week". If you have no fear of God whatsoever, you can do what I've seen in the seeker blogs, and also refer to the Lord Jesus Christ as "a dude" as well.

4) Whenever you go to a Rock concert, tell your blog audience how much better your church's Rock worship band is than the Rock band that you just paid to see. Say things like this: "Bon Jovi was cool, but my boys in our worship team Rock!". Also, don't be afraid to talk about how your church's half-million dollar sound system "rocks" ($?).

5) Put lots of pictures of yourself on your blog, especially ones of you "relating" with seekers, but make sure you are wearing jeans and a long untucked shirt. That's what everybody wears, so even if you happen to be 60 years old, show them that you can dress just like them, like a teenager. Then they'll be less afraid to come to church.

6) Use the following words as much as possible, because they really have an enticing effect on other seeker pastors. Then they will read your blog a lot, and perhaps one day they'll ask you to have your own conference to teach them about "your vision". The words are: Leadership, Connecting, Unchurched, Goals, Relevance, Buzz, and Vision.

7) Whatever you do, don't kill your blog by saying words like the following. Not only will you turn-off the seekers, but other relevant-pastors will see that you are not cutting edge and will stop reading your blog. Those words are: Doctrine, Theology, Elders and Deacons, Bible Commentaries (oops some of these are two words), Hermeneutics, or any of those kinds of things that pastors have cared about for centuries.

8) Talk a lot about the TV shows that you watch. Tell your readers how disappointed you were when certain shows ended differently than you expected. Mention how you watch TV with your wife.

9) If you bring up scripture on your blog, keep it short and sweet, perhaps give your "life verse" or maybe mention a verse that talks about "vision", but be sure to quote from The Message. It will often give a completely different meaning than any of the other bible translations, but the important thing is that people will be able to understand what it's saying.

10) Stay upbeat! I can't stress this enough. Christians are always supposed to be happy, and seekers will fuel off of your enthusiasm. It's contagious you know. Even if your dog dies, stay upbeat about it. Remember, even if you are not a very inspirational person, people will think you are, just because you are so enthusiastic.

11) Link to the right people. If you have all of the "cool pastors" in your blog roll, people will think that you too are cool. So be sure your blog has links to Perry, Gary, Tony, Andy, Mark, Ed , and Todd. Talk about those guys a lot in your blog posts, and make it sound like you are best buddies with them by using that familiar "my man" prefix when you refer to them by name.

12) You need to be prepared for anyone who might leave a negative comment on your blog that would seem to question "your vision". Those ruin the whole upbeat enthusiasm thing. The way to handle these is to cover-up any biblical points that they made, by citing the number of baptisms you had last month. Ask them how many baptisms their church had. Show them that "numbers" are the end-all indicator of ministry success, and try to make them feel less successful if they don't produce as many numbers as you do. That might discourage them from arguing with you. If they persist by questioning your obsession with numbers, remind them that "numbers are people" and "we count because we care" etc.

13) Your blog posts should be evenly distributed in this manner: 50% of them should talk about the EXCITING things your church is doing and how unique and innovative your approach to ministry is, 40% of them should be humor, and 10% should talk about your personal life (upcoming vacations, your entertainment preferences , the cold you just got over, your kids birthdays, etc.). Don't get too 'heavy' by talking a lot about things you gleaned out of the bible study time that you were able to squeeze in this week.

A Divided Church #4

This might be the last of this "series" on things that cause division in churches.

The fourth is: Local/Denominational Standards & Theology

Liberals and post-modern types that hate any kind of standards may be cheering right now, but wait, it's not what you think.

My point is: Don't try to change the church! Why is it someone can start going to a church or join a denomination and believe they have a responsibility to change their local church. If it was good enough for you to start attending, then why is it not good enough to remain as it was when you found it?

I am not saying that local churches should be resistant to all change. I am talking specifically about local & denominational standards and theology.

If a local church has a corporate conviction on something and I am in the minority then I need to get use to it! Adapt. And if I cannot adapt, then I need to move on to a different church where I can more easily adapt. Conflict and division come when there is a small minority of people in the church who wish to overthrow the corporate conviction.

For example, there is a conviction in a local church that no one should wear shorts in a worship service and I, as a Christian, don't agree. I have three options: (1) adapt to the corporate decision of the local church (2) leave the church or (3) cause division in the church by persisting in wearing shorts to worship services.

Of course we all feel that the change that "I" would institute would be best for the congregation as a whole even though they do not yet know it or are not currently aware of that truth.

But please, do not try to change the theology or local/denominational standards of a church! It's just what we have decided to stand on! It's who we are and if you want to be part of the church, at the very least you will have to tolerate that.

If you are of the Calvinist persuasion do not try to change the church I go to. We just do not believe in that. (And I won't try to change your church either.)

If you speak in tongues, do not try to get our church to accept your definition of the gifts of tongues.

I wouldn't go to a Catholic church and try to get them to skip communion. I wouldn't go to a Baptist church and try to get them to baptize by sprinkling. I wouldn't go to Pentecostal church and try to get them to stop "speaking in tongues."

I'm not going to go into an Episcopal Church and try to convince them not to ordain homosexuals... well, yeah I would, but that is a black/white, wrong/right, light/dark, moral/immoral issue!

Anyway...

What is effective ministry?

Go into any Christian book store and walk into the pastor's section and you will be inundated with book after book about the same thing, but described in different ways.

"Effective Ministry"
"Relevant Ministry"
"Powerful Ministry"
"Exciting Ministry"
"Passionate Ministry"

Those all sound like book titles to me. (The funny thing about it is that you can drop the word 'ministry' and add 'worship' and you have a whole new set of books. Then you can drop the word 'worship' and add 'prayer' and get another set of book titles.)

But I am talking about ministry right now...

What confuses me is the purpose of some "outreach," "witnessing," and/or "ministry" events.

For example, how effective is it to simply walk into a restaurant and wipe off all their tables and then leave? Or a ministry I heard about recently where a church rented a gas station for a few hours and simply gave away free gas? Or what about the ever relevant "free car wash" ministry?

I fear the church has resorted to a kind of social welfare mentality in it's ministry! A youth group, not too long ago, decided to witness for Jesus be simply handing out bottles of water to people at some kind of community gathering.

I really like the one I heard about where a group went to a mall and decided to "be friendly" to people coming and going. (They didn't tell anyone about Jesus, but one in the group almost smiled a man into conviction.)

Our local Green County Ministerial Association operates (at enormous expense) a local food pantry and bill paying for those struggling financially. These two functions are the two primary purpose of the Green County Ministerial Association. While I think they are two very positive things in our community I wonder how effective they are at making a difference in eternity?

I wonder if we're not really saying: "Let us help feed you and keep your electric on as you go on your way to Hell."

A Divided Church #3

Adjective Churches

This is a third major category of thing that brings division in church today.

Think about how often we tell about a church by describing it as a "black" church or "charismatic" church. If it is predominantly made up of a minority group we will label it that way. (Hispanic church, Korean church, etc.)

We also often reference a church by the average income level of those who attend. This can especially be seen in a small town or rural setting. Everyone knows where the "rich" church is located and where the "poor" church is located.

We also describe churches as "urban," "suburban," or "rural."

Obviously the previous are adjectives to the noun: church, but I think the problem arises when we hold more tightly to the adjective (descriptors) than we do the noun (church). For example, if we are a part of a "Hispanic" church and we may be prone to reject non-Hispanics in light of the fact they take away our identiy as a "Hispanic" church. We may reject rich people in favor of holding to our goal of being a "homeless/poor" mission church. We may reject people who could change our adjective. (Interesting topic of a possible future blog would be about rejecting people because they would change our noun... church.)

At our KY District Assembly last week the General Superintendent, Dr. Warrick, preached about claiming to be a Christian teacher. The problem, he said, was that we need to be a teaching Christian rather than a Christian teacher. Now, you could say that is all semantics, or you could recognize that the noun is different and the noun is the foundation the adjective rests upon. The noun is what is most important!

For the record, I think it is great to be a Cuban church, a redneck church, a holiness church, an upper-middle class church, or any other kind of church. The problem arises when we value our adjective (descriptor) over our noun (church). That brings division!

Homosexual Marriage...

I don't think I need to say anything more than this video does.

A Divided Church #2

Worship Wars

This is the second major thing that divides many churches today. It is sadly ironic that those two words ('worship' and 'war') are in the same sentence describing one thing.

It is most often divided into two sides: (1) traditional and (2) contemporary.

Although to really spice it up you can divide into a number of other categories...
(3) liturgical
(4) emergent (they have their own style?)

I could go on, but I am trying to make a point. An individual's personal preference is just that... a preference. In other words there is no God ordained style. Or is there?

We accept a Pentecostal style along with a United Methodist style (they are pretty diverse) along with a Presbyterian style worship. Where do we draw the line with appropriate worship, if we draw it at all?

John 4 tells the story of Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. When Christ begins to deal with her about her sinful lifestyle she wants to change the subject to: worship wars!

John 4:19-20 "The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.'" (ESV)

Her issue did not have so much to do with style as it did physical location, but it was still a "worship war" issue.

Choose sides! Do you like hymns or choruses? Do you like responsive readings or testimonies? Do you like bright, well lit sanctuaries or dark, mellow coffee houses?

We so quickly get off on the wrong issue. Jesus brought the Samaritan woman back to the real issue in John 4:21-24 "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (ESV)

The true worshipers of God will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth (not style or preference)!

The Emerger and the Road Crossing...

Not my own, but definitely worth adopting and modifying. For lack of time, I'll just give you a link to their list. (As always, I do not endorse the whole blog.)

Here is the list titled: Why did the Emergent Chicken Cross the Road?

Here is the list titled: Top Ten Reasons Why the Emerger Didn't Cross the Road?


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"Nazarenes Are Fanatics!"

There is a new couple that have recently started coming to our church. They didn't come because they saw the church name on a billboard, received a mailing, went to our slick website (we don't have one), saw an ad in the paper about our new seats with cup-holders (we don't have any), or saw the impressive architecture of the church building (it is impressive though). They came because someone in our church invited them.

Now, while the concept of individuals inviting other individuals to church is a relatively novel idea, that isn't what I'm blogging about today. I want to blog about what the husband told me after having been at church two or three Sundays.

He said that when he was younger his grandfather told him, without explanation that "Nazarenes are fanatics!" That had stuck with him throughout his life and now as his age, I would guess, approaches the late fifties he still remembered the words of his grandfather and remained a little suspicious about the "Nazarenes."

The individual from our church who invited him was persistent and he eventually came. What troubled me was that (my memory is a little hazy at this point) he either implied or said out-right that we were not fanatics so he would continue to come.

Fanaticism is valued in everything but our faith in Jesus Christ. You can be an environmental fanatic and live in a tree for three years and people will celebrate your bravery & convictions, but if you refuse to buy or sell on Sunday because of what God says in the ten commandments people think you are loony!

You can take your shirt off and paint yourself varying colors and scream like fire ants are in your pants and people talk about your 'spirit' and 'enthusiasm.' But if you refuse to slander and gossip about your co-worker or neighbor people will say you are self-righteous & judgemental.

You can immerse yourself in Hollywood and keep track of the 'stars,' read the tabloids, and watch every television show, movie, and/or documentary produced by the haven of sin called the entertainment industry. But if you decide your life might be more whole and holy by not having a satellite dish or cable running into your home you might just be treated like you have three eyes!

I am convinced that the devil doesn't care if you are religious as long as you aren't real. He doesn't care if you go to church as long as you don't take to heart what the preacher says. He doesn't care if you read your Bible as long as you don't live it out.

I believe Nazarenes need to get back to their fanaticism! I am a Nazarene that is a fanatic!

Post-Rapture E-Mails...

You need to read this article and sign-up! (There may be a hint of sarcasm in there.)

If you sign up, you won't have to witness to anybody here on earth, just wait until Jesus comes back and let the computer do it for you!

A Divided Church #1

Acts 2:1 "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." (ESV)

Allow me a moment of commentary on the verse. It seems there is a redundancy when the Bible says "they were all together in one place." If people are in one place, then they are obviously 'all together.' It would seem that something else is being said here. The KJV maybe says it better: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."

There was a unity of purpose in the upper room. Yes, there had been times when the disciples had argued about who was the greatest, but this time was not one of them. They were "on the same page" now!

That unity, I believe, was an essential ingredient in the Holy Spirit coming upon the believers. Allow me a series of posts on some of the things that bring division in the local church (as apposed to the universal church).

#1 Age

Why does the church always set up the youth against the older Christians?

Older folks so often attack youth as less than what they were. The youth are viewed as the problem of the church of today. They are accused of compromising, liberalizing, and just plain turning the church over to the devil.

For any older Christians who are reading, has it ever occurred to you that maybe it is your fault this is happening, if in fact all the accusations are true? I mean, you raised them or you raised their parents? You are not an innocent bystander, but an active participant in what the next generation will be like.

Since I am still fairly young, 27, I would like to argue that every generation has bad fruit, but it also has some good fruit. (I'd like to believe I am some good fruit!)

On the other side of the coin, young people so often attack the older Christians. They are spiritually dead, don't want change, refuse to do anything, don't know how to worship, along with other accusations are the words that encompass the finger pointing.

I wonder what the church of Jesus Christ did before 1980 when my generation began to come on the scene? When the older generation was a little younger how did it ever survive without our long hair, guitars, "Jesus tattoos," and 'Christian' rap? Poor folks never realized how upset God was that people wore ties to church, played the organ for worship, and actually preached from the Bible!? (Now we preach from movies.)

For any younger Christians that may be reading, has it ever occurred to you that some of the older Christians might be.... right? Maybe instead of ignorance, stubbornness, or legalism, that is wisdom speaking when they don't think we should open up a Starbucks in the foyer of the church!

Maybe my generation needs to realize that we are simply a link on a long chain called the church... our responsibility is to hold tight to the truth in our hour.

Some of the greatest lessons in life that I have learned have come from some of the oldest members of churches to which I have been a part. Sure, some older folks are "set in their ways" for the sake of ignorance, but certainly not all (or even most).

What if the young and old could come together and be the church? We might just have another Pentecost!

I'm Pro-Denominational!

That's right, I'm all for them! That certainly isn't a popular stance right now, but mine none the less.

Keith Drury dealt with this in his blog with 7 advantages of a denomination. However, his has more to do with why a preacher might choose to be in a denomination. My reasoning has more to do with local churches (including the local pastor) and more general reasons why denominations are a positive thing for the church!

1) Accountability: A local church can get off track sometimes; pragmatically, theologically, and even morally. A denomination holds the local church & pastor accountable for how they do what they do (orthopraxy), what they believe (orthodoxy), and their moral integrity. This is positive thing although it can easily be trumped if an immoral or heretical pastor leaves the denomination he/she is a part of and starts his/her own non-denominational church!

2) Combined Resources: A local church is often hard pressed to support a full-time pastor, not to mention a missionary to go to the other side of the world. But if one local church joins with all the other churches in the denomination they can! (Christian education, printing Christian literature, etc could also be included here.)

3) Super-pastors welcome, but not necessary: While it can happen within denominations it seems that the idolization of pastors is less frequent. Yes it can happen to some degree, but it usually does not. Most of the famous pastor's names that you could come up with are probably non-denominational. Most "star pastors" are non-denominational, maybe because they prefer to be uninhibited or unaccountable to the larger church. Denominations have a tendency to care less about individual "star" pastors and more about the purpose of the church being fulfilled.

4) Unity: While the word denomination has to do with dividing, in reality the most divisive Christians are the "non-denominational" or "independent" churches. While I'm not a big fan of radical ecumenism (because of it's tendency to water down and push toward liberalism) I do believe in Christian unity. A non-denominational church is really a denomination of only one church.

Yes there are some negative aspects I suppose...

1) Organization requires administration: Some denominational leaders do nothing more than fulfilling administrative functions. (Although administration is listed as one of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28.)

2) Necessity of a human hierarchy is susceptible to infiltration of worldly & sinful ways of operating. By necessity there is a polity, even of an individual local church, but as that infrastructure grows and more administrative things are necessary so too can the susceptibility of corruption of that polity grow. If there is a polity, it will not be long before there will be a corrupt politician.

3) Nepotism. (Although it could be argued that it would be more rampant in a non-denominational church. Joel Olsteen replaced his father.)

4) There is sometimes a call to allegiance to the denomination rather than the Savior. So an attitude of exclusivity may develop (that is: no other denomination will make it to heaven).

Let me stray from the subject for a moment...

What is interesting about the non-denominational church in general is that some of the larger churches are forming denominations while maintaining their non-denominational title! It's not cool to be part of a denomination so they are re-labeling! For example lifechurch.tv calls it "networking" (a loose congregational style denomination using similar material) and "uniting" (almost a cult like adherence through video sermons from the "mother church").

They have re-packaged denominations in such a way that they are cool!

If you are going to a non-denominational church I would encourage you to ask the following questions to your pastor or pastoral staff:

1) Where did you come from? Was it a denomination? Why did you leave a denomination? Why are you part of a non-denominational church?

2) What are the beliefs/doctrine of the local church?

Denominations will come out of this fight in the end. They will weather the fad and "emerge" (I really hate to use that word) from the fray. Why? Because they have structure, stability, and stamina.

As for me, I'll be part of a denomination!

Just a little bit busy!

I have been tied up the last month and a half or so with the alcohol referendum in Green County. As director of Concerned Citizens Against Alcohol I have learned a lot about human nature, Christian compromise, and the church's silence on issues. Many things have troubled me about this whole "campaign."

Hopefully my schedule will start to get back to normal now.

The election was held on Tuesday, May 20 and the final vote in the South Greensburg Precinct was 178 voting 'no' and 163 voting 'yes' on the sale of alcohol in Greensburg. (You can read more details about the election at the Green River Sun's website.) That was a margin of only 15 votes that the sale of alcohol was defeated.

Maybe I'll blog over some of the things I've learned soon.

And so much for posting a sermon a week on my other blog!

Alcohol Issue in Green County, KY

A group of people from the community that I live in have formed Concerned Citizens Against Alcohol (CCAA).

CCAA has started a blog which you can find here.

Continue to be in prayer for our community as we fight the destructive influence of alcohol in our small town.

Why "Post-Moderns" and "Emergents" won't last...

Come on, does anyone actually believe these kinds of folks will be around in forty years?

They'll grow up, hopefully wise up, and get a life!

No, seriously.

They are actually just a little over forty years too late for their movement, it really began in the 'free love' sixties.

Here is what it boils down to:

1) They hate established Christianity. They believe everything must change. They believe that for the last 2000 years everyone has got it wrong. But they have received the revelation.

2) They hate decent Christian folks. They believe you have to look like some wanna-be rock star to really love Jesus.

3) They hate Biblical terminology. They would rather make up their own cooler, hipper words to talk about God.

4) They hate church. More specifically, church services. They don't like to be preached to like all the prophets through out the whole Bible did. They'd rather be "in conversation."

5) They hate holiness. They want to dilute it into leaving an extra dollar in tip at the local coffee shop or carrying an old lady's groceries out to her car. Holiness is in some morbid (yes, I do mean morbid) way linked to becoming a vegetarian (their form of entire consecration) and voting for Barrack Obama (who is part of a cult, not a Christian church).

6) Well, you get the point...

That kind of stuff, it just won't last. I don't look forward to it, but I guess I'll have to weather this one for the next twenty years or so. (Post-moderns hate when you call their fad a fad.)

Man, they must all be haters. (Post-moderns hate it when you lump large groups of people together and make blanket statements outside of a proper narrative perspective.)

Interesting Blog Posts and a New Idea...

While I may agree with most of the following posts, I do not necessarily agree with everything in the blog. If you want to know what I think, you have to ask me.

On Membership

I Like Old Fashioned Holiness Folks (I am definitely on board with this one.)

Green is the new Pro-Life


Also, I am going to attempt to post an outline version of at least one sermon a week. (Excluding time limitations.) I will post them here at my other blog.

Guest Editorial Article on Alcohol...

The following is in the Tuesday, April 14, edition of the local newspaper: The Green River Sun. The vote on making our county wet (or, more technically, 'moist') is May 20th. Please pray for our community and specifically the one precinct (South Greensburg Precinct) that can vote on this issue.

Here's the article that I wrote for the paper:

Alcohol: The problem, not the solution!

If you would ask a typical individual in Green County what they value most they may respond with the answer: spouse, children, friendship, or faith. Most would not respond with the answer money or economy. As we approach the vote coming up about the sale of alcohol, we need to start asking ourselves two questions: (1) What is most important to us here in Green County? (2) In what direction do we want to see our community go?

Proponents of alcohol sales in our county, and other counties, have long touted the "economic benefits" of selling alcohol. For some it is a "magic pill" that will transform Greensburg into an economic ‘utopia.' If you view economic benefit to the community as a single restaurant making money, then you might be correct. If you view economic benefit more holistically and include police force costs, incarceration costs, and damage to public/private property is there really an overall economic benefit for our community? Let me be clear: Selling Alcohol in our community will not solve any of our problems, only create many new ones!

But, what if it did? What if our city's budget crisis was resolved through the sale of alcohol? (I do not believe it would, but let us hypothesize for a moment.) We would still have to ask: Is it worth all the side-effects? Alcohol is not without its share of accompanying problems. Alcohol has been directly responsible for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of children. Alcohol has destroyed marriages and broken families. Alcohol has led to college and high school drop-outs. Alcohol has killed both the drunk and the innocent. Alcohol always, even one glass, impairs the drinker.

I guess the real question we have to ask ourselves when we vote on whether or not to legalize the sell of alcohol in our community is this: Do we value the possibility of a dollar more than the lives of our family, neighbors, peers, and fellow Green Countians?

If the almighty dollar is more important to us than the lives of our children, teenagers, families, neighbors, et cetera; then why stop at selling it by the drink? Why stop with just the social evil we call alcohol? Why not push through legislation that would allow us to sell marijuana? Why not put a casino on the Green River down at Legion Park? Why not push to legalize prostitution (that will bring ‘tourism')? Why not implement a process of euthanasia since the elderly are costing our community too much money? Why not open up an abortion clinic for those parents who cannot really afford to raise a child? Could we not say a baby's death will save us some money? Can we see the end to the thought process that is driving the sell of alcohol?

Since I have lived in this great county, my wife and I have started our family. We chose not to begin a family in Nashville for a host of reasons including, but not limited to, the prevalence and availability of alcohol. I have been proud to see our community be involved in "Project Graduation" and other programs to prevent any kind of substance abuse, but I am now perplexed at our hypocrisy in fighting this social evil and then proposing to sell it in our city!

What do we really want our community to be? Sixty-seven counties in our state are wet or moist and only fifty-three are dry. I think we should offer something here in Greensburg that very few other places have: a family-friendly community. Why do we not build a community on the great people that live here? I hope that Green County will continue to be a safe place to raise a family.

For that reason, among many, I cannot see why anyone would want to put a dollar before the people of our community. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances in the South Greensburg Precinct, please, vote ‘No' on May 20, 2008 for every one's benefit!

"It's not about you."

Okay, we hear those words all the time in the church but do we actually live them out or even remotely believe them in the church.

Allow me to give some examples of when we really do believe it is about us...

1) Music in the church. How many times have you heard the following: "I didn't like the music this morning." "I just can't worship with the organ/drums/etc." "I don't know why we sing out of a hymn book/ off the wall." "I like choruses/ hymns." Has anyone ever stopped to ask what God would like to hear? I mean, it is worship of God... right? Or maybe its more about our self-gratification. Can everyone please just worship?

2) Service Formats. I like how the "cool" churches have a service for every kind of worship. Contemporary Worship Service. Traditional Worship Service. Liturgical Worship Service. Emergent "get wigged out over candles and low lighting" Worship Service. Then they call them "cool" names to make everybody feel even "cooler" about them. "Come to the torch and experience God in a new way." "Come casual to the refuge where we might bump into God." I hope I'll stumble upon some 'new' way to experience God some day soon... I'll call the new service "Spirit Grace Fellowship Community of Jesus Followers on a mission to save mother earth!"... wait, that one has already been taken.

3) "I am not being fed." or "I am not getting anything out of the service." Okay, this is reminiscent of infantile behaviour! If you are not being fed, maybe you need to use your fork and put the food in your mouth. It certainly is not because it is not there. Do we honestly think the preacher's job is to bottle feed us forever? Come on!

4) "I like your sermon, preacher." My goal is not to maintain popularity through my preaching, but approval from the heavenly father.

I could go on, but the reality is pastor's and churches are guilty of it too. They market themselves to Christians. "We offer nursery, children's church, youth meeting, young married couple classes, litter clean up ecstasy, biker Sunday, blah, blah, blah."

What if we just said: We worship God with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength... come and join us if you want to give Him all the glory..... ...... nah, Christians wouldn't be interested would they?

Not to mention the fact that I think most preachers and churches spend most of their outreach time trying to reach members of the church down the street rather than lost and dying souls!

But, if you don't want to think about this, just smile and nod your head when you hear someone say with a bit of shallowness: "It's not about you."

Ten Shekels and a Shirt

This is a link to a sermon preached by Paris Reidhead entitled: Ten Shekels and a Shirt.

It will be a bit of a read, but it is a powerful sermon!

It will probably take less time to read it than it would to listen to it, but you may want to do both after you read over it. (You can right click and save as on each link below.)

Manuscript

Audio

Hope this is beneficial!

That's called heresy...

Some folks that use television as there mode of choice to communicate "the Gospel" are making my job a little harder. Sometimes what it means to be a pastor in America today involves more re-education than it does evangelism!

I hope the following video makes you as angry as it does me.



Less I pick only on television nuts, I will at least make you privy to some more heresy by the post-moderns at this link.

Revival, Renewal, & Refreshing...

Our scheduled revival services ended on Wednesday, March 5. I sent a mass e-mail out to many describing some of what occurred, but wanted to put it on the blog as well. I know it will be a long post, but it is worth it:

God has been moving! Folks are getting saved, sanctified through & through, and getting serious about their spiritual lives! Some long time church-goers are finding out what it means to be Christians! For example: Sunday Morning the altars were full with folks desperate for revival! Then the front pews filled, then steps to the platform, then two deep at the altar. Yes, many were the "same ole folks at the altar," but many were people that I was surprised to see... weeping for God to do something in their lives! A lot of folks were those who claimed to be "Christian" in a generic sense, but really found the Lord during revival!

Sunday evening the evangelist was preaching about the anointing of God on Jesus when he was here on earth (LUKE 4) and I heard a lady, I had met one other time, sobbing and sniffling behind me. I thought: "As soon as he gives the altar call she is going to go down to the altar." I was wrong though. About ten minutes into his sermon the evangelist said something like: "Do we really want sinners to be in these seats so that they can hear the good news? What if a prostitute sat right here? [pointing to a pew] What if a thief sat here? What if a homosexual sat here? What if a liar here? What if a crack addict sat here? What if a gossip sat there?"

I was sitting on the very front pew next to the keyboard/organ. The young lady (about 25-30 years old) is still crying in the pew behind me and a few minutes after the evangelist says the above she leans up and says crying into my ear: "I am the prostitute he was talking about! [I turned around in my pew, no doubt with a surprised look on my face.] I am the crack whore he was talking about!" The evangelist is in the middle of his sermon still!

I said: "Well, let's get down to the altar!" She gets up and walks all the way over to the other side of the pulpit (the evangelist was walking around a lot) and waves her arms in front of him and says: "I want to be free, I want to be free!" (Something the evangelist had asked: "Do you really want to be free from the yoke of sin?") I caught up to her and said: "Well, kneel down at the altar and we'll pray for that."

She gets on her knees and is weeping loudly! Bro. Rod Walley from Summersville Church of the Nazarene church comes up and lays hands on her along with a couple of other ladies from our church. Then we start praying and the evangelist goes on preaching for a minute or two then stops and comes over and prays for her.

Then another lady that comes to church sometimes on Sunday mornings (she is 69 years old) comes running down to the altar practically screaming: "I want to be free too!" I start praying for her. By this time the congregation begins to break out praising the Lord. Some quiet folks start shouting! Others start in, some saying 'amen' or 'praise the Lord' and stuff like that. Others just praised the Lord through tears, uplifted hands, or humbly bowing! Then the 69 year old lady lifts her hands up and says "Thank you Lord, I need you!" And goes back to praying at the altar.

Then another young lady (around 20) from the Summersville Church of the Nazarene (they had dismissed service to come over Sunday night) goes to the altar and the evangelist, who had tried to start preaching again finally gives up. He leads everyone, without instrument, in 'How Great Thou Art' while others gather around the altar to pray. People are worshipping God all over the sanctuary! People that I have never seen raise their hands, were raising their hands in praise to the Lord! Then the evangelist asked some of the first ones to come to the altar to tell what God had done for them. That set everybody to praising the Lord, clapping, shouting, crying etc. all over again!

Then the evangelist, while some are still praying around the altar, asks folks to raise their hands if they want to be set free. I think God was moving in such a powerful way there, that just about everybody raised their hands, just because, whether they were free or not, they wanted God to do something for them! Then the evangelist asks a few more things and hands me the handheld wireless microphone before leaving the sanctuary. I asked the choir to come and sing the choir special they had sang earlier in the service: "There is a Fountain" (not the hymn). Then praise to God erupted again.

Bro. Rod Walley, started shouting, which set the whole place into an uproar (in a positive spiritual way). The song leader, trying to lead the choir, finally gave up and just stood on the platform, arms raised to the Lord, crying. The evangelist starts shouting and praising God in the fellowship hall (he told me later that he couldn't stand the power of God in the sanctuary. He said: "I almost preached my head off, God was there in such a powerful way."). I started shouting along with all kinds of others throughout the congregation. Some were just crying. Some people were sitting, some were standing, some had hands raised, some had their face in their hands weeping, some were under conviction, a few were even kind of scared about what was going on, others were just overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. After the choir finished, or at least the CD accompaniment, I talked briefly about real revival being life changing so that it was not a single event, but a way of life. I prayed and we dismissed that service.

I left church Sunday evening and there were still some there praying or I think that they were really just trying to soak in what had just happened. I don't think I have ever been in a service where the power of God was more real! And I have been in some good services in my time! Anyway, the service went about an hour and forty five minutes. I wanted to end, so people would be hungry for more. (I've been in too many services were a preacher(s) just kept drawing it out so that eventually even God left, and I didn't want to do that!)

Monday night at the end of the sermon, the evangelist just asked those who had something they needed to repent of to stand up. This was while the congregation was sitting and there was no music. There was dead silence for a few moments before people all over the sanctuary started standing up. There were probably 15 to 20 people standing (some red in the face). The evangelist said: "Now, just come from where you are down to the altar and God will hear your prayer." They came, and then others, who were not standing, started coming too!

What a blessing! When God is on the scene it is only good things that happen. There is no doubt about it, many still need the Lord! But the good news continues to be that these victories are no isolated events, but a part of the plan of salvation God fulfilled through the death & resurrection of His Son!

Send a great revival, Lord, and start the work in me.

Jesus Take the Wheel

The Wool Has Been Pulled!

1 John 4:1 (ESV) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."

I would like to propose 10 indications you may have had the wool pulled over your eyes when it comes to tele-evangelists!

1) You own all the books written by Joel Osteen as well as T.D. Jake's movie.

2) You bought 'miracle' spring water, a chart that will help you figure out the date that Jesus is coming back, a splinter from 'the cross of Christ,' dirt from Israel, or a paper prayer cloth from a smiling face on television.

3) You still think Jimmy Swaggart was framed!

4) You do not believe Benny Hinn has a comb over.

5) You named your daughter Rexella (after Van Impe).

6) You have been slain in the spirit while watching Oral Roberts on television.

7) You have been prayed for while touching your television screen. -or- You believe Pat Robertson has actually called your name during his prayer time on "The 700 Club."

8) You quote Joyce Meyers more than Scripture.

9) You applied to be a "catcher" for Benny Hinn.

10) You said 'Amen!' when Robert H. Shuller said: "I don't think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition."

Any others?

Alcohol, Prostitution, Slavery, and Controversy...

The small town of Greensburg, KY has entered the alcohol debate. There is a push by some (as well as our neighbor: Campbellsville) to sell alcohol in the city limits, by the drink (I was not aware you could buy it any other way, but I think they distinguish between the glass and the can/bottle/keg). In Kentucky each county decides whether it will be dry, which means it is illegal to sell alcohol in the county, or wet, which means it is legal to sell alcohol in the county. Alcohol proponents have now found a new way to "ease" us into being a 'wet' county; it involves first being "moist."

"Moist" means that we sell alcohol only in restaurants by the drink. The argument always involves "the great economic benefits" that will solve all of our financial problems as we increase revenue through alcohol sales. It is the same argument, if I might add, that politicians used to bring the state of Kentucky (as well as many other states) to adopt the sale of lottery tickets. And now it is the same argument used by our present Governor BeShears to push through legislation allowing Casinos in Kentucky. (I wonder how long it will take them to use that argument for legalized prostitution and euthanasia...)

Some of the more "progressive" "churches" in Greensburg and Campbellsville seem to be taking one of two stands on the issue of alcohol sales by the drink: (1) looking the other way or (2) attempting to rationalize a moderation view on alcohol.

While I have not been a pastor for very long (since the beginning of 2003), I cannot seem to understand, not only how a Christian would seek to justify a 'pro-sales' stance on alcohol, but how a pastor could support or even ignore such a proposal.

The Baptists are against it. Thank you, my once-saved-always-saved brothers and sisters!

I have been a pastor just long enough to do the funerals of two men who died as a direct result of alcohol consumption...

(1) Man in his upper 50's, got so drunk at a bar that he fell off his bar stool and busted his head on another bar stool. He went into a coma and died about three days later.

(2) Man in his early to mid 50's, who destroyed his liver as well as about every other major organ in his body (cigarettes probably added to the problem). I visited him two days before he died and tried to lead him to Christ after the doctor gave him eight days to live. It was to no avail. (When Satan deceives an individual all their life, what prevents that deception from continuing till they die?)

"But alcohol sales will bring more money into our small Kentucky county!" Maybe, just maybe poverty or lack of money isn't the problem. Maybe sin is the problem. Maybe the spiritual emptiness is the problem. Maybe the hopelessness, despair, heart-ache, and destruction sin brings is the problem.

Alcohol has never strengthened a marriage, brought a family together, saved a life, educated a child, lowered the crime rate, healed the sick, lowered the poverty rate, or lowered the unemployment rate.

On the other hand it has broken up marriages, destroyed families, killed (both drunkards and the innocent), led to child abuse (physically, mentally, sexually, etc.), increased the crime rate, caused sickness, increased poverty, and increased unemployment.

How much is a dollar worth compared to an eternal soul?

And do not get me started on the self-centered Christians who seek to establish their "right" to drink socially. (To them: Crucify the desires of the flesh!)

Let me make a few more points:

(1)Slavery proponents - quoted Scripture to claim that slavery within certain boundaries was okay
Alcohol proponents - quote Scripture to claim that alcohol consumption within certain boundaries is okay

(2)Slavery proponents - claimed some slave owners were sinful because of their abuse of slaves
Alcohol proponents - claim some alcohol-users are sinful because of their abuse of alcohol

(3)Slavery proponents - touted their 'right' to own slaves
Alcohol proponents - tout their 'right' to drink alcohol

Is my view legalistic? No, I think walking the fine line between sobriety and drunkenness in alcohol consumption that we like to call moderation is legalism. So what about you: To drink or not to drink?

But whatever happens in Greensburg, the church will continue to point the world to Christ.

A Real Live Tele-Evangelist...

Just as dangerous as the post-modern/emergent group is the tele-evangelist. Although the tele-evangelists have been around a little bit longer.

You might be a tele-evangelists if...

1) You have ever had face cramps from all that smiling.

2) You write books like: "Your Best Life Now" or "8 Steps to Create the Life You Want."

3) You 'slay' people at your services.

4) You spent more than $10,000 for a commode.

5) Your last name is Popoff, Van Impe, or Dollar.

6) You have predicted the exact date of Jesus return at least twice.

7) You have been involved in sexual misconduct, drug addictions, financial fraud/embezzelment, or blatant deception but still have "your ministry."

8) You own a private jet, more than one mansion, and at least five BMWs, Mercedes, or Rolls-Royces.

9) You employ 'catchers' for your worship services.

10) You wear more jewelry than Mr. T and all white suits. (For female evangelists: You wear more stuff on your face than is used to paint the local water tower and sound like a man if a viewer closes his/her eyes.)

...You know what is really scary? A lot of the above characteristics could also be in a list of cult leader characteristics!

But you can think on that.

Too Hard on Emergents...

Okay, I'll admit it: I have been a little hard on emergent & post-modern types. So in favor of equal opportunity sarcasm I have broadened.

Catch the following youtube.com videos...

Seeker-Sensitive Mega Church Pastor

...and...

Really, Really Bad Preacher

An Emergent Preacher... (Part 2 of 2)

Again, please make allowance for my emergent sarcasm.

Here are 10 more indications that you might be an emergent pastor.

1) You have ten pairs of sandals, but only one neck-tie.

2) You are 'self-ordained.'

3) Your website links to PETA, Green Peace, Democratic Party, Obama for President, and Religious Tolerance.

4) You believe your church needs to hire a 'pastor of the dance,' 'water color pastor,' and one living in sin (so that he/she can relate to people).

5) You believe you are the first person (besides Brian McLaren & Rob Bell) to actually understand what God really wants us to be.

6) You only have one service a week (probably at an odd time or day) and encourage people to 'fellowship' the rest of the time.

7) You believe that some people going to your church are Christians and do not even know it.

8) You had a vision that included a cameo by Donald Miller.

9) You would recommend reading Velvet Elvis or Everything Must Change before anything in the New Testament (too much archaic language).

10) You have used incense, candles, bells, cotton balls, backpacks, and a long wooden staff in the same 'worship service,' but no Bible.

Revival...

We are moving toward revival at our church. Actually, it is already here. Unscheduled, but definitely not unwelcome. God's presence is what we are desperate for!

March 1-5 we will be having special services with EverPraise from Trevecca Nazarene University (on Saturday & Sunday) and our evangelist will be Rev. Scott Ferguson who will be preaching Sunday through Wednesday.

Pray for our services during this time.

An Emergent Preacher... (Part 1 of 2)

Allow me an opportunity again for some emergent sarcasm.

10 indicators you may be an emergent pastor...

1) While preaching you have many 'dramatic' pauses while you think of a way to say something in a way that it will not offend anyone.

2) Your list of 'sermon topics' looks similar to that of Whole Foods Market's.

3) You believe churches that disagree with you are in a vast conspiracy to cover up true Christianity.

4) You would rather not be called pastor, reverend, brother/sister, or preacher. (Things like 'fellow follower of Jesus,' 'companion on the journey of life,' and 'seeker of unknowable truth' are preferred as alternatives.)

5) You are a guy with unkept hair and old used clothing, but you have the coolest pair of glasses around and a MP3 player that can do more things than your parent's entire entertainment system.

6) You are rejected more by Christians than sinners. (Although you do not really believe in sinners... you call them pre-Christians or even post-Christians.)

7) Your Internet homepage is either Nooma, Brian McLaren's homepage, or Emergent Village.

8) You preached a sermon series on recycling.

9) You often begin sermon illustrations with: "The other day while I was drinking a beer..."

10) What's a sermon?