There is no such thing as a fake reflection. The reflections we see in the mirror are what we truly look like, whether we like it or not. There are definitely good and bad reflections. A good reflection would be when we are awake, showered, made-up, dressed, and ready for the day. A bad reflection would be one that we see when we are sick or have just woken up. As Christians, we are supposed to be reflecting Jesus on a daily basis. We have good days and we have bad days. We have days where we do a great job in reflecting Jesus and we have days where we fail miserably. Thankfully there is grace to forgive us and help us face a new day.
Yesterday was Chick Fil A appreciation day as declared by Mike Huckabee on facebook. Thousands of people around the country came out to support the fast food restaurant amid a media storm over CEO Dan Cathy's comments about his support of traditional marriage. It seemed like a great day for evangelical Christians to support what they believe in. But, the mirror reflects a harsh reality.
The Huffington Post published an article that showed another side to this controversial event (you can read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-controversy-employees-speak-out_n_1729968.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=080212&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeaturePhoto&utm_term=Daily+Brief&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=2540044,b=facebook). The Huffington Post interviewed some workers of Chick Fil A who happen to be homosexual. Obviously they did not agree with the CEO's comments, but that was not the bigger issue. The bigger issue was what these employees had to listen to from the mouths of the supposed, passionate followers of Christ. For example, one employee had to hear this: "I support your company because your company hates the gays." It was not specified who said this quote to this particular employer, but I don't think that matters. This was supposed to be a rallying cry for the evangelical right, so it is probably safe to assume that the person who said this goes to a church with his or her family and probably claims to be an evangelical Christian.
Have we forgotten who Jesus was and what he did? Have we gone so far away from the Biblical Jesus? Whenever controversies like this one arise, we Christians pull out our swords like Peter in the garden and start cutting off every ear we can reach, defending our King (at least that's what we think we are doing). We fight for our rights and we fight to be right. We go to church on Sunday and read our Bibles, looking down on the Pharisees who just didn't get it. My question is, "Are we looking in the mirror?"
We look down on the Pharisees and religious leaders because we think that we are more righteous than they are and we know better. However, we are acting just like them! We are creating enemies out of our neighbors and Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors. If Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan today, I would not be surprised if he used a homosexual in the place of the Samaritan. If he did this, would we be shocked? Would we label Jesus as a heretic? if so, then we are showing our true reflection.
i am not saying that I have changed my stance on homosexuality and am embracing the lifestyle. I still hold to the Biblical view of marriage and I always will. I still know that the Bible speaks against the homosexual lifestyle as a sin just like it does lying, cheating, stealing, drunkenness, idolatry, lust, adultery, etc. What I am saying is that we need to understand who our enemies are, Satan and sin. Those are our enemies not other human beings. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor, period!
I was planning on eating at Chick Fil A yesterday and I am thankful that I did not. I want to lead people to Jesus not repel them. I want to love people because they are people not because they are like me. As Christians in this country we need to take a long hard look in the mirror because I think we will be surprised at what we see. We may think we are reflecting Jesus, but in reality we might be reflecting the Pharisees that we like to look down upon.
Jesus was passionate about people. The Pharisees were passionate about their religion. Jesus drew people near; the Pharisees burdened people. Homosexuals are not the enemy. They do not need our self-righteousness; they need Jesus. They need the new life that is found only in Jesus. They need to be loved and treated like human beings.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I love chicken!
The biggest news of the week is obviously Chick-fil-A. It is amazing the attention this business has received over the last few days. They have had at least two cities vow to never have their restaurants in their town again. Really? Have these people never eaten the sweet goodness of Chick-fil-A chicken? It's heavenly.
In all seriousness, many people have drawn battle lines over the comments of the CEO of this company. Christians are flocking (pun intended) to the side of Chick-Fil-A as though it were the new headquarters of evangelical Christianity. But, should we be surprised by this? Didn't Jesus say that the world will hate us? Didn't Paul tell Timothy that there will come a day when men will only hear what their itching ears want to hear?
As Christians, we have to be careful to not get caught up in the political battle that has arisen out these innocent comments (nowhere did he say in the interview that he was anti-gay). This man was giving an opinion. He holds to the Biblical view of marriage. Our country is going down a dangerous path. Morality is a thin piece of glass that is threatening to break at a given moment. The values that we once held dear are being replaced by new values. Values at one time were universal. For the most part, the country valued the same things. However, over the last few years, values have shifted from universal to individualistic. The same values are no longer universally held by all. The problems that will soon arise out of this will be vast and difficult to overcome. So, what is the Christian response to this?
We respond just like Dan Cathy did when he was asked his opinion on marriage. We respond with boldness, courage, and sincerity. We need to know what we believe first and that is becoming more and more difficult even under the umbrella of Christianity. We respond with the Gospel. We respond with the truth of God's Word. We look at the way the world is going and see it as a bad omen or a pit of despair. But, have we thought that it may be exactly the way God wants it to go?
Think about it this way: if values become more and more subjective, meaning the individual person defines what their values are, then no one particular group can be prosecuted for their individual beliefs. This can be dangerous, but it can present opportunities for the spread of the Gospel like never before. Dan Cathy took advantage of an opportunity that was presented to him. He and his company are facing a lot of heat for it, but the old saying is true, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." The Gospel is becoming national news. Everyone knows that Chick-Fil-A is a company that was founded by a Christian. The more this story goes to press, the more exposure the Gospel gets, directly or indirectly.
So, instead of getting upset and drawing the battle lines, let us pray for opportunities that God may give us through this story. You may read this and think this is overly optimistic and you would be right. The reason I am overly optimistic is because I believe in a big God who is bigger than this. I believe in a big God who is bigger than the marriage debate. I believe in a big God who knows exactly what he is doing and His plan will not be stopped by anything or anyone. So, while we wait for His plan to fully unfold, let us speak the Gospel boldly and courageously. Let us pray for and take advantage of opportunities God may give us. Let us express how much we love Chick-Fil-A chicken and see where the conversation goes.
In all seriousness, many people have drawn battle lines over the comments of the CEO of this company. Christians are flocking (pun intended) to the side of Chick-Fil-A as though it were the new headquarters of evangelical Christianity. But, should we be surprised by this? Didn't Jesus say that the world will hate us? Didn't Paul tell Timothy that there will come a day when men will only hear what their itching ears want to hear?
As Christians, we have to be careful to not get caught up in the political battle that has arisen out these innocent comments (nowhere did he say in the interview that he was anti-gay). This man was giving an opinion. He holds to the Biblical view of marriage. Our country is going down a dangerous path. Morality is a thin piece of glass that is threatening to break at a given moment. The values that we once held dear are being replaced by new values. Values at one time were universal. For the most part, the country valued the same things. However, over the last few years, values have shifted from universal to individualistic. The same values are no longer universally held by all. The problems that will soon arise out of this will be vast and difficult to overcome. So, what is the Christian response to this?
We respond just like Dan Cathy did when he was asked his opinion on marriage. We respond with boldness, courage, and sincerity. We need to know what we believe first and that is becoming more and more difficult even under the umbrella of Christianity. We respond with the Gospel. We respond with the truth of God's Word. We look at the way the world is going and see it as a bad omen or a pit of despair. But, have we thought that it may be exactly the way God wants it to go?
Think about it this way: if values become more and more subjective, meaning the individual person defines what their values are, then no one particular group can be prosecuted for their individual beliefs. This can be dangerous, but it can present opportunities for the spread of the Gospel like never before. Dan Cathy took advantage of an opportunity that was presented to him. He and his company are facing a lot of heat for it, but the old saying is true, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." The Gospel is becoming national news. Everyone knows that Chick-Fil-A is a company that was founded by a Christian. The more this story goes to press, the more exposure the Gospel gets, directly or indirectly.
So, instead of getting upset and drawing the battle lines, let us pray for opportunities that God may give us through this story. You may read this and think this is overly optimistic and you would be right. The reason I am overly optimistic is because I believe in a big God who is bigger than this. I believe in a big God who is bigger than the marriage debate. I believe in a big God who knows exactly what he is doing and His plan will not be stopped by anything or anyone. So, while we wait for His plan to fully unfold, let us speak the Gospel boldly and courageously. Let us pray for and take advantage of opportunities God may give us. Let us express how much we love Chick-Fil-A chicken and see where the conversation goes.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Global thinking versus local focus
Last night I watched the 20/20 special on heaven. It was interesting to see the many different perspectives on the afterlife. But, that is not the focus of this blog. The last few specials like this I have watched have always included Joel Osteen as the face of evangelical Christianity today. Barbara Walters talked to him about heaven and he did a pretty good job of laying out what the Scriptures say about getting to heaven and that it is only through Jesus Christ. However, one of the things he said that I had a problem with is that God wants us to experience heaven on this earth now. That is the whole basis of his teaching and preaching. He teaches that God wants the best for us and that he is on our side. He avoids the topics of sin, suffering, sacrifice, etc. I wonder what he would say to Pastor Nadarkhani who has been in prison for over 1,000 days and faces the death penalty for having faith in and preaching Christ. Would he still have the same message to Christians in Africa who have their churches burned? Would he still teach that message to Christians in India who are attacked by Hindu extremists? Now, I am not trying to bad mouth Joel Osteen. He is obviously having an effect on a lot of people's lives around this world. But, his message is a reflection of American Christianity's view. We have a tendency to think that God is on our side and He wants the best for us. He wants to give us so many things. There are people who go to church every Sunday expecting things from God. Our focus needs to change. We need to start thinking more globally with our message rather than having just a local focus.
We live in a bubble. Our country has so many great things about it, one of those being freedom. We have so many freedoms. We have the freedom to go to our local church every Sunday, worship God through Jesus Christ, and leave to go back to our homes without the threat of being arrested or killed. Sure, our church buildings may get vandalized every now and then, but rarely are they burned to the ground. Sure, we may have someone playing a tambourine too wildly, but rarely do we have extremists walk in with machine guns, opening fire on the congregation. We need to start rethinking the message we preach and teach because we are only a small part of the Church. We are not the end-all-be-all of Christianity in this world. Our brothers and sisters around this world face death for following Christ. So, to say that God wants us to experience heaven on this earth is really not that accurate and is not an accurate picture of the Church today. If that were true, then I would not want to go to heaven because heaven would include shootings, church burnings, persecution, death, etc.
In our adult Sunday School this past year, we did a study by Ray Vanderlan. In this study he was talking about the Church and Paul's view of it. Paul had a global view of the Church, just like all the apostles did. Ray was teaching about suffering and he said that when Paul said that when a part suffered, the whole body suffered. In America, I think we read this verse with our local congregation in mind and that's it. We need to expand our horizons and perspectives. Ray viewed Paul's teaching globally. He taught that when a brother or sister in Christ suffered in Africa, we should be suffering with him or her. We should feel it because he or she is part of the Body of Christ.
We need to move away from the feel-good Christianity that is being taught too much. Not to say that God does not want to bless and will not bless us; the Bible clearly teaches that He does and will. However, we need to think about the message we are proclaiming. Jesus said that we would have trouble in this world. This is not our home; we are just passing through. As we are passing through, we will go through hardships and pain. We are called to sacrifice and even to suffer for the sake of Jesus (II Timothy 2:3; 3:12).
Our message needs to keep in mind our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ. To teach that we have our best life now is forgetting those who suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus came to give us life and life to the full, but not to experience heaven on earth. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for the name of Jesus; let us not forget their sacrifice by thinking locally.
We live in a bubble. Our country has so many great things about it, one of those being freedom. We have so many freedoms. We have the freedom to go to our local church every Sunday, worship God through Jesus Christ, and leave to go back to our homes without the threat of being arrested or killed. Sure, our church buildings may get vandalized every now and then, but rarely are they burned to the ground. Sure, we may have someone playing a tambourine too wildly, but rarely do we have extremists walk in with machine guns, opening fire on the congregation. We need to start rethinking the message we preach and teach because we are only a small part of the Church. We are not the end-all-be-all of Christianity in this world. Our brothers and sisters around this world face death for following Christ. So, to say that God wants us to experience heaven on this earth is really not that accurate and is not an accurate picture of the Church today. If that were true, then I would not want to go to heaven because heaven would include shootings, church burnings, persecution, death, etc.
In our adult Sunday School this past year, we did a study by Ray Vanderlan. In this study he was talking about the Church and Paul's view of it. Paul had a global view of the Church, just like all the apostles did. Ray was teaching about suffering and he said that when Paul said that when a part suffered, the whole body suffered. In America, I think we read this verse with our local congregation in mind and that's it. We need to expand our horizons and perspectives. Ray viewed Paul's teaching globally. He taught that when a brother or sister in Christ suffered in Africa, we should be suffering with him or her. We should feel it because he or she is part of the Body of Christ.
We need to move away from the feel-good Christianity that is being taught too much. Not to say that God does not want to bless and will not bless us; the Bible clearly teaches that He does and will. However, we need to think about the message we are proclaiming. Jesus said that we would have trouble in this world. This is not our home; we are just passing through. As we are passing through, we will go through hardships and pain. We are called to sacrifice and even to suffer for the sake of Jesus (II Timothy 2:3; 3:12).
Our message needs to keep in mind our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ. To teach that we have our best life now is forgetting those who suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus came to give us life and life to the full, but not to experience heaven on earth. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for the name of Jesus; let us not forget their sacrifice by thinking locally.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Conformed or transformed?
Next week our country celebrates the fourth of July. It is our Independence Day. This is the day we celebrate our forefathers taking the initiative to fight for our country's freedom. This is the day when our country was completely transformed. We went from 13 colonies that submitted to the royal crown to 13 independent states that were transformed to start a new journey of freedom and independence.
Living in Massachusetts, I have gained a greater appreciation of this because I live in one of the birthplaces of independence. It makes me stop and reflect on the country as we know it today and the church's place in that free country. We still enjoy our freedoms; sometimes I think we enjoy them a little too much and those freedoms are taken advantage of. The church has certainly enjoyed the freedom independence has brought it over the last 230+ years. The church has played a vital role in the shaping of our country. But, as I look at the church and its place in this independent nation today, does it look transformed?
We live in a very skeptical culture. The younger generations are asking more questions about things that were supposed to be set in stone for ages. People want to see tangible evidence that something is real. Faith is hard to believe anymore. We are products of the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution; therefore, we want evidence before we declare something real. This is where I think the church is failing. For too long we have taken for granted the fact that people are growing up with an inherent knowledge of the things of God, the Bible, and the Church. We have assumed for too long that people are born into a Christian home and raised according to the Bible. This is a failure because we have ceased to show the transforming power of Jesus. We have started to conform to the ways of the world. Didn't Paul warn us about this in Romans 12:2?
People today need to see transformation not conformity. They don't want to see another institution that looks just like all the others. They want to see an institution that is made up of people who have been transformed by the living God.
Most of our time is spent focusing on Sunday morning. That is what we build towards throughout the week. We do our things during the week, barely survive, and hope to get refilled Sunday morning so that we can do the same routine all over again on Monday. Is this what Jesus suffered and died on the cross for? Is this why he rose from the dead? So that we could go through the same routines, empty ourselves from stress, and go to the religious gas station on Sunday because our gas light came on Saturday night?
Paul says in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." Do you hear the words of Paul screaming at us from centuries ago? We are a new creation! We have been transformed through Christ. This is what people need to see. They don't want to see a bunch of Christians dragging themselves to church on Sunday because they feel obligated to go. They want to see the transforming work of Jesus in our lives on a DAILY basis! They need to see this. They need to know that Jesus is real and is still transforming lives today. They need to know that he is not a religious relic. They need to know that he is the living God who is seated on his throne waiting for his time to return.
Our colonial ancestors won independence. People could not touch independence, but they could see independence because they saw the transformation in their new country. People cannot touch Jesus, but they can see him through his transformed followers. Let us celebrate our independence this week by showing we have been changed, the old has gone and the new has come.
Living in Massachusetts, I have gained a greater appreciation of this because I live in one of the birthplaces of independence. It makes me stop and reflect on the country as we know it today and the church's place in that free country. We still enjoy our freedoms; sometimes I think we enjoy them a little too much and those freedoms are taken advantage of. The church has certainly enjoyed the freedom independence has brought it over the last 230+ years. The church has played a vital role in the shaping of our country. But, as I look at the church and its place in this independent nation today, does it look transformed?
We live in a very skeptical culture. The younger generations are asking more questions about things that were supposed to be set in stone for ages. People want to see tangible evidence that something is real. Faith is hard to believe anymore. We are products of the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution; therefore, we want evidence before we declare something real. This is where I think the church is failing. For too long we have taken for granted the fact that people are growing up with an inherent knowledge of the things of God, the Bible, and the Church. We have assumed for too long that people are born into a Christian home and raised according to the Bible. This is a failure because we have ceased to show the transforming power of Jesus. We have started to conform to the ways of the world. Didn't Paul warn us about this in Romans 12:2?
People today need to see transformation not conformity. They don't want to see another institution that looks just like all the others. They want to see an institution that is made up of people who have been transformed by the living God.
Most of our time is spent focusing on Sunday morning. That is what we build towards throughout the week. We do our things during the week, barely survive, and hope to get refilled Sunday morning so that we can do the same routine all over again on Monday. Is this what Jesus suffered and died on the cross for? Is this why he rose from the dead? So that we could go through the same routines, empty ourselves from stress, and go to the religious gas station on Sunday because our gas light came on Saturday night?
Paul says in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." Do you hear the words of Paul screaming at us from centuries ago? We are a new creation! We have been transformed through Christ. This is what people need to see. They don't want to see a bunch of Christians dragging themselves to church on Sunday because they feel obligated to go. They want to see the transforming work of Jesus in our lives on a DAILY basis! They need to see this. They need to know that Jesus is real and is still transforming lives today. They need to know that he is not a religious relic. They need to know that he is the living God who is seated on his throne waiting for his time to return.
Our colonial ancestors won independence. People could not touch independence, but they could see independence because they saw the transformation in their new country. People cannot touch Jesus, but they can see him through his transformed followers. Let us celebrate our independence this week by showing we have been changed, the old has gone and the new has come.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Remembering
In lieu of Memorial Day, I am dedicating this blog entry to those who have given their lives for the sake of my freedom.
Recently, I traveled to Maryland for our annual conference of the Primitive Methodist Church. While on the plane, I sat next to an older gentlemen. I finally broke the ice and started a conversation with him mid-flight. His name was Charlie and he was a Vietnam veteran. It was interesting because my history class had just covered the Vietnam War in class the week previous. He told me a few stories of his time over there. One of the most interesting ones was the day President Johnson ordered a cease fire on North Vietnam. He was in South Vietnam when this happened and he told me that the South Vietnamese looked at them and said, "Why would your president do this to us?" It was heartbreaking to hear the story and you could tell it still affected him.
In my church is a man named Everett Smith. He served in World War II as a ball turret gunner for the Flying Fortresses. He flew six missions and the life expectancy for these gunners on mission was 25 minutes! He served towards the end of the war and served faithfully for our country.
The one thing that binds Charlie and Everett together is Jesus. These men sacrificed for our country I think in large part because they understood the sacrifice Jesus made for them. These men were devoted to their country, but more importantly they were devoted to their Savior. We don't understand sacrifice apart from the cross. The cross is the ultimate sacrifice because Jesus goes to war against sin, death, and Satan even though we did not act like they were our enemies. Jesus gave his life for his enemies. We all were his enemies and Jesus loved us too much to not die for us on the cross. He embraced the cross so that we could be free.
Thank you men and women for what you have done for our country and the freedom of others. This day is for you. Thank you Jesus for setting us free; may everyday be for you.
Recently, I traveled to Maryland for our annual conference of the Primitive Methodist Church. While on the plane, I sat next to an older gentlemen. I finally broke the ice and started a conversation with him mid-flight. His name was Charlie and he was a Vietnam veteran. It was interesting because my history class had just covered the Vietnam War in class the week previous. He told me a few stories of his time over there. One of the most interesting ones was the day President Johnson ordered a cease fire on North Vietnam. He was in South Vietnam when this happened and he told me that the South Vietnamese looked at them and said, "Why would your president do this to us?" It was heartbreaking to hear the story and you could tell it still affected him.
In my church is a man named Everett Smith. He served in World War II as a ball turret gunner for the Flying Fortresses. He flew six missions and the life expectancy for these gunners on mission was 25 minutes! He served towards the end of the war and served faithfully for our country.
The one thing that binds Charlie and Everett together is Jesus. These men sacrificed for our country I think in large part because they understood the sacrifice Jesus made for them. These men were devoted to their country, but more importantly they were devoted to their Savior. We don't understand sacrifice apart from the cross. The cross is the ultimate sacrifice because Jesus goes to war against sin, death, and Satan even though we did not act like they were our enemies. Jesus gave his life for his enemies. We all were his enemies and Jesus loved us too much to not die for us on the cross. He embraced the cross so that we could be free.
Thank you men and women for what you have done for our country and the freedom of others. This day is for you. Thank you Jesus for setting us free; may everyday be for you.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
How do we respond?
This week North Carolina voted to ban same-sex marriages in their state. This has sparked a lot of response even from the top two leaders of our country who have publicly stated their support for same-sex marriages. Homosexual marriage is such a polarizing issue and it seems to be our civil rights issue of the 21st century. It is even causing division within the church. Churches across the country are expressing their support of same-sex couples and their desire to wed while other churches are expressing their views against it. So, what is the right response as Christians?
I brought this issue up at Bible study last night and we had an interesting discussion. The one thing I noticed about the discussion is that it is very stressful and wearing on people, at least those in my church. There are so many different views on it, some are very informed views while others not so much. In our Bible study we are studying the book Master Plan of Evangelism to see how the Master evangelized his world. The one thing that is becoming more and more apparent for our present situation and time period is that we need to look more to how Jesus reached people.
We live in a day and age where absolute truth is absolutely obsolete. Morality is determined by the individual and sin is something that is outdated. Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago, this would not be the case. The first problem that the church is running into is that we have failed to address the issue of homosexuality in a correct way. We have deemed homosexuals as the enemy that needs to be conquered in order that they submit to the ways of the church. However, this is not how Jesus did things. A woman was caught in adultery as recorded in John's Gospel (John 8:1-11). The teachers of the law bring her to Jesus in order to trap him. They want to see what he will do with her. If he stones her, then he is condemning her and violating Roman law which did not allow the Jews to execute anyone and if he does not stone her, then he is violating God's law which stated that someone caught in adultery should be stoned. Jesus takes the third option: he does not condemn her at all. He looks at the teachers and says that if any one of them has not sinned then they can cast the first stone. In order to carry out the law, one must be clean. What these people had done was set this woman up. The Law says that both people involved must be stone (Leviticus 20:10), but they did not bring the man because they probably knew him. So, one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they dropped their stones and left. Jesus looks at the woman, does not condemn her, and tells her to leave her life of sin. This is the way the church should be approaching anyone, not just homosexuals. For too long, we have condemned first and tried to give grace later. The problem with that approach is that people will not feel worthy of grace. Jesus did the opposite. He showed grace first and then helped them see their sin. In order for grace to make sense, sin needs to be realized. Jesus was quick to love and slow to condemn. He even says in John 3:17, "He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
As the church, we have to stop labeling people. People are people. We are all in the same boat. We are all created in God's image no matter what lifestyle we are embracing. This is not to say that we condone our lifestyles that are against what God wants for us. This is to say that we should be quick to show love and grace and slow to condemn. As a pastor, I will continue to preach and teach against sin. That includes all sin from a white lie to any kind of sexual immorality whether it be heterosexual or homosexual. We live in a different world, but the one thing that never changes is that people want and need to be loved. This is how the Master did and this is how I want to do it.
I brought this issue up at Bible study last night and we had an interesting discussion. The one thing I noticed about the discussion is that it is very stressful and wearing on people, at least those in my church. There are so many different views on it, some are very informed views while others not so much. In our Bible study we are studying the book Master Plan of Evangelism to see how the Master evangelized his world. The one thing that is becoming more and more apparent for our present situation and time period is that we need to look more to how Jesus reached people.
We live in a day and age where absolute truth is absolutely obsolete. Morality is determined by the individual and sin is something that is outdated. Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago, this would not be the case. The first problem that the church is running into is that we have failed to address the issue of homosexuality in a correct way. We have deemed homosexuals as the enemy that needs to be conquered in order that they submit to the ways of the church. However, this is not how Jesus did things. A woman was caught in adultery as recorded in John's Gospel (John 8:1-11). The teachers of the law bring her to Jesus in order to trap him. They want to see what he will do with her. If he stones her, then he is condemning her and violating Roman law which did not allow the Jews to execute anyone and if he does not stone her, then he is violating God's law which stated that someone caught in adultery should be stoned. Jesus takes the third option: he does not condemn her at all. He looks at the teachers and says that if any one of them has not sinned then they can cast the first stone. In order to carry out the law, one must be clean. What these people had done was set this woman up. The Law says that both people involved must be stone (Leviticus 20:10), but they did not bring the man because they probably knew him. So, one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they dropped their stones and left. Jesus looks at the woman, does not condemn her, and tells her to leave her life of sin. This is the way the church should be approaching anyone, not just homosexuals. For too long, we have condemned first and tried to give grace later. The problem with that approach is that people will not feel worthy of grace. Jesus did the opposite. He showed grace first and then helped them see their sin. In order for grace to make sense, sin needs to be realized. Jesus was quick to love and slow to condemn. He even says in John 3:17, "He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
As the church, we have to stop labeling people. People are people. We are all in the same boat. We are all created in God's image no matter what lifestyle we are embracing. This is not to say that we condone our lifestyles that are against what God wants for us. This is to say that we should be quick to show love and grace and slow to condemn. As a pastor, I will continue to preach and teach against sin. That includes all sin from a white lie to any kind of sexual immorality whether it be heterosexual or homosexual. We live in a different world, but the one thing that never changes is that people want and need to be loved. This is how the Master did and this is how I want to do it.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Book Review of Think Christianly
Think Christianly by Jonathan Morrow is an a concise and insightful look at how to think and act like Christ in a culture that is constantly changing around us. In the first few chapters of the book, Morrow gives the context to why he wrote this book. We are at a crossroads with Christianity on one side and culture on the other, and as Christians, we have a choice to engage that culture or not. Morrow stresses that it is time to engage our culture because if we do not, then we will be serving ourselves into obscurity.
One interesting point he makes about engaging the culture focuses on the next generation and how to engage them. He identifies that the problems with the next generation are boredom and apathy, relational disconnection, and intellectual disengagement. The interesting point he makes to correct this is mentoring. Young people need mentoring. They need to have not just one person, but several people around them to help them grow in Christ. This is what engaging is all about. We have spent far too long focusing on the right programs and curriculum to drastically change America's youth for Christ. What we need to do is engage this culture. They are tired of curriculum and programs. They want person, one-on-one time with someone who has experienced life a little longer than they have.
The next part of the book focuses on preparing ourselves to engage the culture. He stresses that we need to be the Jesus the world needs us to be. This is a powerful message to the Church in America today because as a whole, we are not being the Jesus the world needs. We are being a Jesus that we want to be rather than what the world needs. Morrow stresses that we need to get ourselves right before God and make sure that we are walking consistently with Jesus. We need to be practicing spiritual disciplines not for the sake of being holier than thou, but for the sake of not compromising our witness for Christ and His kingdom. We need to be communicating a message to a lost world that the kingdom of God is here and now.
The next section of the book focuses on apologetics which is something that Christians in our country are desperately lacking skills in. Apologetics is simply giving an answer. It is a way to think logically and critically about the Christian faith in order that we may have an answer for the hope that we have (I Peter 3:15). He covers topics from the accuracy and validity of Scripture to homosexuality and even modern day research in genetics. Morrow does a great job with concisely presenting the issues and helping us think Christianly about them. He steers away from being religious by stressing that we need to stop getting made whenever we hear something negative about Jesus in the media. We need to take a deep breath and understand where the culture is coming from. We have to think differently about how we present the Gospel in a 21st century world. We are living in a time where truth is relative rather than absolute. We are living in a time where people are very bitter towards the church and have some very strong opinions towards it. We are living in a time where people are desperately searching for the truth, but all they are getting are more questions. Morrow says it's going to take time to evangelize in a 21st century world because we live in a world of skeptics. We need to take the time to be Jesus by being relational. We think that we can stay in our Christian bubble, do a few big events, sing our old hymns with our organ (not saying the organ is bad), preach the Gospel every Sunday, and people will flock to our buildings. This is how it may have worked 50 years ago, but this is not the way it will work today. Morrow stresses that we have to think deeply and apologetically about our faith so that we can better engage our skeptical, but truth-seeking culture.
Jonathan Morrow does an excellent job in this book. He keeps his topics short and concise to the point that anyone from a pastor to a lay person can pick this book up and glean from it. His writing style is very to the point and easy to read and understand. His work is scholarly without being over anyone's head. He gives great insight on being a Christian in all walks of life that you may encounter. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to Think Christianly.
One interesting point he makes about engaging the culture focuses on the next generation and how to engage them. He identifies that the problems with the next generation are boredom and apathy, relational disconnection, and intellectual disengagement. The interesting point he makes to correct this is mentoring. Young people need mentoring. They need to have not just one person, but several people around them to help them grow in Christ. This is what engaging is all about. We have spent far too long focusing on the right programs and curriculum to drastically change America's youth for Christ. What we need to do is engage this culture. They are tired of curriculum and programs. They want person, one-on-one time with someone who has experienced life a little longer than they have.
The next part of the book focuses on preparing ourselves to engage the culture. He stresses that we need to be the Jesus the world needs us to be. This is a powerful message to the Church in America today because as a whole, we are not being the Jesus the world needs. We are being a Jesus that we want to be rather than what the world needs. Morrow stresses that we need to get ourselves right before God and make sure that we are walking consistently with Jesus. We need to be practicing spiritual disciplines not for the sake of being holier than thou, but for the sake of not compromising our witness for Christ and His kingdom. We need to be communicating a message to a lost world that the kingdom of God is here and now.
The next section of the book focuses on apologetics which is something that Christians in our country are desperately lacking skills in. Apologetics is simply giving an answer. It is a way to think logically and critically about the Christian faith in order that we may have an answer for the hope that we have (I Peter 3:15). He covers topics from the accuracy and validity of Scripture to homosexuality and even modern day research in genetics. Morrow does a great job with concisely presenting the issues and helping us think Christianly about them. He steers away from being religious by stressing that we need to stop getting made whenever we hear something negative about Jesus in the media. We need to take a deep breath and understand where the culture is coming from. We have to think differently about how we present the Gospel in a 21st century world. We are living in a time where truth is relative rather than absolute. We are living in a time where people are very bitter towards the church and have some very strong opinions towards it. We are living in a time where people are desperately searching for the truth, but all they are getting are more questions. Morrow says it's going to take time to evangelize in a 21st century world because we live in a world of skeptics. We need to take the time to be Jesus by being relational. We think that we can stay in our Christian bubble, do a few big events, sing our old hymns with our organ (not saying the organ is bad), preach the Gospel every Sunday, and people will flock to our buildings. This is how it may have worked 50 years ago, but this is not the way it will work today. Morrow stresses that we have to think deeply and apologetically about our faith so that we can better engage our skeptical, but truth-seeking culture.
Jonathan Morrow does an excellent job in this book. He keeps his topics short and concise to the point that anyone from a pastor to a lay person can pick this book up and glean from it. His writing style is very to the point and easy to read and understand. His work is scholarly without being over anyone's head. He gives great insight on being a Christian in all walks of life that you may encounter. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to Think Christianly.
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