Dear Career Church Hopper

There is a post that circulates the web every so often that I think truly applies to college students – especially those here in Norman, OK. Today most students have grown up in a culture where you can get what you want when you want and if you don’t like something you just skip to the next part.

I truly believe this has invaded how we go about getting plugged into churches. It has invaded it in the since that more often than not – we don’t get involved – we just keep jumping around looking for the next best thing – and this breaks my heart!!!

I think the below post does a great job of illustrating some great points for students to consider when plugging into a church while away at college. Find a place and plug into community.

Here’s the post:

I met you again on Sunday, the same person smiling at me through a different face, telling me that you’ve been shopping for churches for months now, and that darn it, you “just can’t find one (you) like.”

The music’s too rocky at this one, you said; the preachers too boring at that one. The latest one might make the cut, though, at the very least, you could get your teaching from this church and your worship from that one.

I’m sure we’ll run into each other again, but before we do, I’d like to suggest some things you could perhaps think about before you move on to the next church, as I’m sure you will, whether this weekend or next year:

⁃ Christ didn’t bleed for the Church so you could treat your search for one like an episode of Survivor, deciding who to vote off the island this week.

⁃ The Church was not commissioned by Christ to meet your needs. You ARE the Church, and you’ve been commissioned to meet the needs of the world through the Church! Plugin and get involved in taking Christ to your community!

⁃ Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25). Quit treating his bride like a Jesus buffet where you can pick and choose what you like, hedging your bets against the pain and sacrifice of making a commitment. Find one – commit and love well!

⁃ Per scripture’s instructions to use your gifts in service to the Body of Christ — and its lack of instruction to search for a church that scratches you where you itch — you might want to consider what the Church you’re visiting needs from you, rather than the other way around.

- If you only want to hear things you already know and agree with, save your Sundays and talk to yourself in the bathroom mirror.

___________________

My heart is not to bash but to encourage you to find a community and connect where your roots grow deep (Psalm 1). Find a church where you will be fed, allowed to serve, and allow you to grow in this unique time called college so that you will be prepared for what lies next!

Filed under: Church, Culture

Here comes the bride…

Read this in a book recently – it’s greatness!

Once upon a time a beautiful wedding was about to take place. The people who were invited were all buzzing with anticipation. All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had assumed their positions, the candles had been lit, the music was playing, the groom was in place and joy was the dominant mood in the room.

THEN the doors open and the BRIDE began her walk towards her husband…and that is when the trouble began.

Some people actually took their focus off of the BRIDE and began to discuss whether or not the people in the room had been chosen for invitation…or if they had merely accepted an invitation. Little groups began to discuss and debate this issue, thus ignoring the BRIDE.

Other’s began to complain about the music the BRIDE was walking in step with. They put their personal preferences in place of what the BRIDE had chosen for that particular day. And the ones not offended by the music…they could not quit complaining about the color of the carpet. Little groups of dissension began to develop all over the room. Their focus was not on the BRIDE. Some people actually began to get up and leave because, when the BRIDE walked by, she didn’t take the time to sit down with each of them and ask their opinion about the wedding that was taking place.

Some people began to say, “I’m just not sure about this. There are really a lot of people here at this wedding. It’s huge! I prefer smaller weddings. The BRIDE should not have invited so many people.”

Some people began to criticize the fact that there were people at the wedding that they didn’t think should be there. They weren’t “dressed up,” and so their focus shifted from the beauty of the BRIDE to their own self righteousness and the fact that they “looked nicer.”

For some it just wasn’t that good of an experience…

But for others…they just couldn’t stop smiling…

They knew they wouldn’t have even been able to walk in the doors were it not for the invitation of the BRIDE and GROOM.

They could not stop focusing on the beauty of the BRIDE…each step she took was intentional and brought her closer and closer to the GROOM. And those who were actually focused on her somehow felt like they were taking that journey as well.

They could not wait to embrace the BRIDE…to thank her for the invitation. They weren’t concerned with the BRIDE recognizing them and “their needs,” they knew that this day just wasn’t about them.

They enjoyed everything about the experience, knowing that something larger than them was taking place.

They were so excited that so many people were involved in this experience…and their hearts actually ached for those who they knew needed to be caught up in that moment.

They knew they were guests and not the person of honor…that the BRIDE and GROOM were to be the center of attention…and that brought them great delight.

Once upon a time this took place; in fact, it took place all over the world…today. The church is the BRIDE of Christ…she’s beautiful, she’s breathtaking…and when she walks step by step to get closer to her GROOM…there is NOTHING that compares to that on the planet…nothing.

Those that want to make the BRIDE all about themselves and argue and dispute about aspects of the ceremony itself will never fully appreciate all that is happening…and therefore miss out on so much.

BUT…those who are just happy to be there…the ones that get JOY when the BRIDE takes another step, the ones who want as many people as possible to be there and participate in the great celebration that will soon be taking place…the ones who understand that the ceremony taking place isn’t about them and their needs…the ones who can’t quite focusing on the BEAUTY of the BRIDE…

They are the ones who get the most out of the ceremony. They are the ones who truly experience joy on a level seldom found by self seekers. They are the ones who are FULL of appreciation, understanding that attendance to the wedding wouldn’t even be possible had they not received the invitation. They are the ones who immediately run out and try their best to get others to come before the BRIDE makes it all the way down the aisle (she is getting closer, you know!)

Here comes the BRIDE–she’s breathtaking, and despite mankind’s attempt to blemish her…she’s still here. Governments and nations will pass away…but the BRIDE will still take step by step, closing the distance of time in regards to the Great Wedding Feast. She’ll be taunted and jeered…she’ll be misrepresented by bad television preachers…she’ll be misquoted and abused…but in the end we will all stand in awe at her beauty and, in that moment, fully understand and appreciate the life is about so much more than getting our needs met and everyone knowing everyone.

Here comes the BRIDE…is your focus on her?

Filed under: Church, Culture

Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller…

I came across this post from John Piper the other day and it knocked it out of the park for me. I truly do hope that the Gospel gets bigger as I age and not smaller – great to pray through!!

Here’s the post:

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

* grace gets bigger;

* Christ gets greater;

* his death gets more wonderful;

* his resurrection gets more astonishing;

* the work of the Spirit gets mightier;

* the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;

* its global extent gets wider;

* your own sin gets uglier;

* the devil gets more evil;

* the gospel’s roots in eternity go deeper;

* its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;

* and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won’t. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel…. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

You can read it HERE too!

Filed under: Church, Personal, Religous

Great Cartoon Illustration.

I think this cartoon hits the nail on the head. It amazes me how blind we are to our own issues. We all carry baggage – it may be invisible but it’s there and we carry it. And…I think this is why we aren’t running around like lunatics sharing the grace of Christ because we haven’t been unhinged from the baggage in our own lives.

What’s the baggage in your life that you haven’t turned over? What’s keeping you from laying it at the cross? Why do you keeping picking it back up after laying it down?

Filed under: Church

Don’t pray enough? Have a web service pray for you!

I’m a little late rolling this guy out – he caught caught behind some other blog posts but…

I came across this article first covered over at TechCrunch and essentially it is a website for “digital prayers”

You essentially pay informationageprayer.com to pray for you.

Here’s the info from their site:

Information Age Prayer is a subscription service utilizing a computer with text-to-speech capability to incant your prayers each day. It gives you the satisfaction of knowing that your prayers will always be said even if you wake up late, or forget.

We use state of the art text to speech synthesizers to voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying. Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen.

At Information Age Prayer we think our service should be used like a prayer supplement, to extend and strengthen a subscriber’s connection with God. Traditional prayer is an integral part of this connection and should never be forgone, even after signing up.

You can subscribe for yourself, or you can purchase a subscription as a gift to friends or family.

And don’t forget to check out their plug for children:

If your children don’t pray anymore sign them up for one of the many daily prayers available for each religion (click categories at the left). You may also want to have a prayer said for them directly. The prayer for children is the cheapest Information Age Prayer service at only $1.99 a Month. Pray for a child here.

Please tell me that I am dreaming – why do we do this to ourselves????

Filed under: Church, Random, Religous

Christianity in America?

Unfortunately – I think this is true for more Americans than not…

At some point you are going to have to wake up and realize that church is not about you – it’s about being connected to the body of believers – the bridegroom of Jesus Christ.

Filed under: Church

Creating Communities of Grace

Just saw this over at the resurgence blog and I thought it was well put…

1. Make the connections



We need to teach, speak, sing, and pray grace. But we also need to make connections for people. We can believe in justification by faith for the final day, but doubt justification by faith for the next day. On a Monday morning in the workplace we are still trying to prove ourselves, to find identity in our achievements.

2. Welcome the mess



Welcome messy people. Don’t suppress conflict. Don’t hide problems.

3. Stop pretending



Don’t hide your own problems. You’ll need to exercise some discretion: let everyone know you struggle and let some people know what you struggle with.

4. Stop performing



Don’t put on a show. Don’t push people to perform, to produce results, to get it right all the time. Give people permission to fail. We’ve realized, for example, that polished Bible studies and articulate prayers disenfranchise semi-literate people.

5. Eat and drink with broken people



Jesus eats and drinks with sinners. It’s a powerful expression of community. We think we’re enacting grace if we run projects for the poor, but we’re only halfway there. We still act from a position of superiority, proclaiming that we are able and they are unable. The dynamic is totally different when we eat together. We meet as equals, share together, affirm one another, enjoy one another.

6. Give people time to change



How long did it take for you to become perfectly like Jesus? Of course, you’re still changing. There seem to be some sins we’re prepared to work on over a lifetime, but others where we demand instant change. Why is this? The answer, of course, is that we want people to be respectable. We don’t want a messy community.

7. Focus on the heart



All too often we focus on the behaviors we would like someone to stop or start. But Jesus says our behavior comes from the heart (Mark 7:20-23). Our focus needs to be on the heart. Our job is help people find joy in Christ.

_____________________

I really loved the parts on “making connections,” “welcoming people,” and “stop pretending” for several reasons:

I love being intentional about making connections – I really believe that we all long to be part of something – especially in the younger generation – why do you think social networking is skyrocketing the way it is – people want to connect and hopefully they will find opportunity to connect within Christian community.

I loved the part on welcoming the mess because these are the people that if we are honest – we kinda cringe when they show up but God loves them and we should love them and stop thinking about how different they are for us! Instead – focus on how God has uniquely created each of us differently to fulfill different roles in the body – what role do they potentially have in the future?

And lastly – I loved the stop pretending part. We have issues and hopefully if it is truly authentic Christian community we can share and be encouraged and supported through those various issues.

Though – I will say with caution that living by the “stop performing” and “stop pretending” mantras that this is not a license to continual sin with no intention of getting past it. We should be honest and we should be walking, growing, and living the grace of Christ through our lives instead of scripted lives and we can do this by not pretending and by not performing – it is a heart issue.

Good things – the post came from HERE if you are curious.

Filed under: Church, Religous

Thicken our Skin.

Lord, thicken our skin.

Not that we be less tender, but that we be less easily offended.

Take away our bent to self-pity.

Give us a passion for the truth that is stronger

than our inborn passion for being praised.

Forgive us, Father, for calling words unloving just because they were tough.

Forgive us for attributing malicious motives

to people when we don’t know their motives.

Help us to learn from Jesus

when to be tough and when to be tender.

Guard us from justifying merely human anger with the hard sayings of Jesus.

But don’t let us become so mushy that we can’t speak a firm word in season.

We marvel at the words of our Lord Jesus.

How unpredictable He was!

No one ever spoke like He did.

He is in a class by Himself.

We bow before Him and shut our mouths.

We are eager for Him to speak – and to speak any way He pleases.

We are the silent learners.

He is the sinless teacher.

We put our hands upon our mouths and take our place at His feet.

Do with us as You please, Father.

We are not Your judge, nor the judge of how Your Son speaks.

Have mercy on us – tough or tender – and lead us to Your everlasting joy.

In the name of Your Son, our Lord Jesus,

Amen.

- John Piper, from Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

Filed under: Church, Culture, Quotes, Reflection

Missional Ministry

I thought the fellas over at the swerve blog hit it out of the park with THIS post.

If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.

Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).

They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.

This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation.

* If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many.

* If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts—all in the name of Christ, the King, you will attract interest.

As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe.

_____

On a personal note I still get frustrated at times when the older generation knee jerks against these kind of statements. I think their fear is that by saying, “if your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many” means that we, the younger generation, are bucking doctrine, absolute truth, and core values to the curb but WE ARE NOT!

I firmly believe that my generation cares about doctrine and absolute truth because it’s the basis for what drives us to action – a desire to live out the truths that have been taught to us.

I just think the younger generation has come to a place where we say, “If we are going to do this – let’s go do it!”

I like it and it refreshes me.

Filed under: Church, Culture, Personal, Reflection, Religous

Punched in the Gut.

Brennan Manning punched me in the gut last night as I was re-reading Ruthless Trust.

Brennan wrote:

“The great weakness in the North American church at large, and certainly in my life, is our refusal to accept our brokenness. We hide it, evade it, gloss over it. We grab for the cosmetic kit and put on our virtuous face to make ourselves admirable to the public. Thus, we present to others a self that is spiritually together, superficially happy, and lacquered with a sense of self-depricating humor that passes for humility. The irony is that while I do not want anyone to know that I am judgemental, lazy, vulnerable, screwed up, and afraid, for fear of losing face, the face that I fear losing is the mask of the impostor, not my own.”

Filed under: Church, Personal, Quotes, Reflection, Religous

Whats wrong with us.

I openly admit that before you even get into this post that I have no answers but these thoughts have been plaguing me over the last couple of weeks as I have been digging into the Apostle Paul’s prayers throughout the New Testament.

So here goes…hold onto your seat:

• Why is it that churches in America compete with each other?
• Why are we happy when a church down the street doesn’t do well
• Why are we upset when a new church starts in our area?
• Why are we good at talking about each others flaws but not so good at helping and partnering with each other?
• Why do we not challenge the art of church hopping?
• Why do we let neighborhood churches die?

All tough questions and all questions that I wish I had the answer to. I firmly believe that as we begin to look at different churches within the same denominational context that we begin to see a more well rounded view of God. I think that’s a good thing. I also believe that as churches decide what their missions are we see different ways that God loves on the world – some churches are committed to local outreach, some churches are committed to global outreach, some churches are committed to poverty, some to those with handicaps – God loves all of that.

I wonder though – if churches have the same mission within the same proximity if partnership between the two could happen. Think of what you could accomplish with double the resources instead of each of the churches doing their own separate things.

I love Paul’s heart for the unified church.

Filed under: Church, Personal, Reflection

The Least of These.

I came across the below post somewhere at sometime but I’m not sure where it came from but I saved it for later reflecting – that time is now and hopefully you will reflect with me.

God is Shuffling Along

He didn’t lift his feet, he slid them, as if skating on the concrete sidewalk.

Maybe he was old, but I couldn’t tell because he looked like a cave man, and it’s hard to read a cave man’s age.

Eyes looked out from sunken pools in his head, down at the ground where he shuffled.

And wild, long hair stuck out from all directions on his head. Some of it was matted.

I don’t know if he had lips. His beard had crept up his cheekbones almost to his eyes and crawled back down his face, past his neck, until it disappeared into his ragged coat.

From behind the wildness he mumbled.

I think he must have been saying, “Someone help me. God is in here somewhere, but no one can’t find him no more ‘cause he’s all crusted over and hid.”

God is Running Scared

Something was chasing him from up in the sky. Demons I guess.

He ran with a look of terror, and I thought in this heat that can’t be healthy because he’s old.

He was panting and sweating and grunting in terror.

He tripped, lost his balance and touched the ground with his hand. He didn’t fall, just stumbled and kept running.

Good thing, because I’ll bet those things in the sky chasing him might have caught up to him.

When he ran past I looked up to see what was terrifying him, trying to run him down so mercilessly.

Just blue skies. ‘Cept maybe those things from his memory. Demons from some war. Vietnam? Korea? Boyhood abuse?

I don’t know. But they had him running scared.He was too scared to talk, but I think he probably would have said, “Someone help me. God’s prints ha’ been swallowed up by all this fright and that terrible thing what happened to me long ago.”

Jesus Likes the Big Mac Value Meal

I once prayed walking to the McDonald’s in Santa Monica, “Jesus, I’d like to have supper with you.”

I stepped up to the counter to order and I saw him.

He was really skinny and ragged, but he did have that long hair, beard and mustache I had always imagined. Though I never imagined the body odor.

He was ordering just a cup of water.

“Would you like something other than water?” I asked.

“Sure.” He said. “I’ll have a Big Mac Value Meal. It’s number one.”

I knew this guy was Jesus because when we sat down to eat together he said right away, “You know, I’m sorta like Jesus. ‘The foxes have holes and the birds have nests but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head.”

I smiled.

“I have schizophrenia” he said, which is something I never knew about Jesus.

After dinner we tried to find him help, but it’s hard to help someone like that.

He’s alienated himself from everybody because he gets spooked by people easily.

“You can’t get close enough to see Jesus in me.” He says as he slips away, throwing me a suspicious glance. “He’s hidden here, and I don’t want no one to steal him.”

Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you mentally ill and shuffling or scared or hungry, and did not take care of you?’

Matthew 25:45 (NRSV)

Filed under: Church, Culture, Reflection, Religous, Social Action

Sink or Faucet?

There’s been a couple of repeated posts going around the “blogosphere” that have really got me thinking about myself and ministry along with how we reach and impact the world around us through the College Life ministry here at Wildwood Community Church.

The post is this:

Are you a sink or facet Christian?

“Sink Christians” view salvation like they would a sink. The water of salvation flows into the sink so that Christians can soak up all the benefits: eternal life, assurance in the present, strength in times of trial. Those who adopt this mindset concentrate solely on what the Bible says God has done and will do for them.

“Faucet Christians” view salvation differently. They look at the world as the sink and themselves as the faucet. The blessings of salvation flow to them in order to flow through them out to the wider world. They rightly see that the Bible describes salvation as something that God not only does for them, but also through them.

Which one are you?

Filed under: Church, Reflection, Religous

Fill us with the hope of glory.

O that God would come down even today

in the power of his Holy Spirit,

for the honor of his only Son,

and fill us with the hope of glory,

and break the bonds of wordliness

that bind the hands of love!

Amen.

- John Piper, “The Fruit of Hope: Love” – sermon, July 13, 1986

Filed under: Church, Reflection, Religous

A Cartoon with a Lot of truth…

Found this cartoon this morning – lot of truth being spoken by it.

Wonder how many times we get caught up in these ridiculous though patterns?

Grabbed it from HERE

Filed under: Church, Reflection, Religous

4 Shifts…

I recently streamed a conference via the internet (CRAZY!) where Rick McKinley was talking about four shifts that his church has made towards a more missional / incarnational community of faith. I thought they were pretty stellar – hence my sharing them with you!

I would love to see this take place within College Life this semester and upcoming years…guess it starts with me…

Anyways, here are Ricks four shifts that he has got me thinking about:

1. From “how to” to “want to”

I think historically the church has taught people how to do a heck of a lot. That’s not the problem in my opinion. The problem is that even though most people know what to do they don’t want to do it. We need to help them make the shift from “how to” to “want to.” Hopefully as a community, we are continually revealing how Jesus moved through the New Testament, how he has called us to move in the present day, and then hopefully we can make the correct course correction with how we live our lives.

College Life is going to be heavy on service this semester – we are going with the them “something local, something regional, and something global.” So we are going to hopefully be involved with a safe house here in Norman, habitat for humanity in Oklahoma City, and Moscow mission trip at the end of the semester.

Hopefully by being involved and getting our hands dirty it will help us begin our transformation from “how to” to “want to”

2. From “coming to “going”

I love Sunday mornings. I love coming together as a body of Christ and worshiping together. I love seeing people. I love getting in the word together. I love Sundays. But…Michelle and I have really tried to shift from one day to a lifestyle of engagement. Throughout every day I have the opportunity to engage people…do I?

Some of this has to be done by:

Exposing the needs

Providing opportunities

Developing a lifestyle of engagement

A lot of people, myself included at times, say, “Oh…I went this year. I took two weeks off and served in Mexico or wherever.” But that’s not really going…Hopefully I can help college students begin to develop a habit of living a lifestyle of engagement so that when the leave this unique time in life they will be better equipped to be vessels wherever they are…

3. From “protection” to “proclamation” (words and deeds)

I won’t lie – I’ve been playing it safe a lot lately. But…is that what God has called me to?

Now hear me correctly, I am not saying God calls us to a life of recklessness or acting foolish – pretty sure the Bible speaks against this but I also believe that God is calling us all to go and do – all the time.

4. From “relevance” to “influence”

The “relevance” buzzword is pretty interesting to me. Relevance used to come by way of lights and sounds and glitz. It then transitioned to dark settings with candles and liturgies. But I like where Rick is going with this – forget relevance – lets try to be influential.

I truly believe that if the church is really being the church, as designed by God, then there has to be influence exerted.

——

Anyways…good stuff – I like a lot of what Rick has to say. Here’s a LINK to a book that Rick wrote not to long ago that I really like and struggle through – been through it three times. I will put a little bit of a disclaimer – there are plenty of conservative Christians that DO NOT like this book. However, I am not one of them.

Filed under: Church, Personal, Reflection, Religous

An Outreach Conversation with Jesus

I have a feeling that if we, the church, were to have a conversation with Christ about how we do outreach, it would go something like this:

Jesus: Listen, when you go into someone’s house, stay there until it’s time to leave. Don’t bring any food or clothes or anything. If the people don’t welcome you, then go outside the town and shake the dust off your feet.

Church: Well, we thought we’d just hand-out flyers. Put them on door knobs and all. Probably won’t even run into anyone. Figure we’ll knock it out in about three hours.

Jesus: What do you mean, flyers?

Church: You know, like, papyrus that says how you’re gonna be a the “gogue” this weekend.

Jesus: But what about the power and authority I gave you?

Church: We used it on graphic design

Jesus: On what?

Church: Nevermind…

Original posting came from HERE

Filed under: Church, Religous

10 Theological Issues…

I came across this post while Michelle and I were making the “Family Christmas tour” and flagged it for mentioning when I got back in the saddle…and…I’m back in the saddle…

While I am always a bit leery of guys writing lists about theological issues that the church will face in the future – I think this list is pretty balanced and worth having a look at.

I encounter the majority of these issues within different conversations with students throughout the year. How about you? What do you think about the list? Have a look….

And the original list was posted here but I thought this reposting was a good abbreviated version here.

Filed under: Church

Voice of Bonhoeffer

A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes … and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

Filed under: Church, Reflection, Religous

Nativity in a Bus Stop.

I came across this pic today over at the Plow blog and thought it was a cool depiction of what the manger scene could possibly look like today. I hope that I would give baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph a room in my house…I hope…

Filed under: Church, Reflection