Message and Method Madness!!

A friend of mine is working on a sermon about our message and methods, and how often we get the cart before the horse by matching the wrong test to the wrong subject (can you imagine answering your Algebra test with your Science answers?).

One of the main points he wants to bring out is that our message is to be tested by orthodoxy (is it right doctrinally) and our method is to be tested by success (does it work). He believes that the switching of the two leads to much complications, heresy, and problems in our churches. When you test your message by “does it work” verses orthodoxy, or if you test your method by orthodoxy you come into all kinds of problems.

The admitted problem, though, is that there seems to be some methods that simply aren’t right (even thought they work). How then do we gauge this? I know I haven’t given you a lot to go on but anyone reading this who has any thoughts, please share away! And, if I am not asking the right questions(s) then ask your own in the “comments” section, and we’ll try to work through them.

A Lesson In Love

Herald Times Article for the Inspiration Today column

My feet are so nasty! Whose isn’t, you might be thinking, but seriously, mine are bad. The bottoms of my feet are so dry and crusty; they’re like pizza crust that has been sitting out for week! Makes me glad we don’t practice foot-washing like they did in Jesus’ day. In Jesus’ day they traveled primarily by foot, and the roads were dirty and dusty, and sometimes you even squashed a little manure between your toes along the way. So when you would arrive at a guest’s home, the lowliest of servants would take a towel, a basin of water, and would wash your feet clean and dry them off. Who’d want to be that guy?

In John’s writing of Jesus’ life (called The Gospel of John) he records for us that Jesus himself took a towel and a basin of water and went and washed all of his disciples feet! Can you image such an act? The God of the universe scrubbing dirt and manure off of someone’s feet!

After he did this, Jesus sat down and asked them, “Do you know what I just did? You call me Master and Lord, and you do rightly, because I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example, that you should do to each other what I have done to you.” (John 13:12-15) Jesus in essence told them that how he stooped down to serve them, they should serve each other. Jesus then goes on to give them a new commandment (of which the foot-washing example illustrates); “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know you are my disciples if you love one another like I have loved you.” (John 13:34-35)

Do you realize that this isn’t just some nice Bible story that is teaching us that we should serve one another? It is so much more than that! Think about this: whose feet did Jesus wash? Judas’! The man who would betray him to be murdered that very night! The man who John records for us as having “Satan filling his heart”. Jesus washed the foot of a demon possessed, murdering thief! But, wait that’s not all; who else was there? Peter, Simon Peter, the one who would by nights end deny Jesus three times (John 13:38). One of the Gospel accounts tell us that Peter would deny he even knew Jesus with cursing and swearing (“I never knew that *blank**blank* Jesus!”). Jesus stooped down and served them both! Nobody is beneath the love and service of Jesus. That means, then, that he also loved them both! Nobody is too bad for him to love, and serve! How could you be worse than Judas? When the Bible says, “God is love,” this is what it means.

What that means then is as followers of Christ we don’t get the right to hold back our love and service to those who don’t deserve it. If anyone didn’t deserve Jesus’ love it was Judas and Peter. When your husband ticks you off, you don’t have the right to hold out of him. When your boss mistreats you, and doesn’t respect you, you don’t have the right to stop giving him 100% of your effort. When people abuse you, miss treat you, lie to you, steal from you, causes your divorce, whatever, your response is to love them and serve them, like Jesus did. When we do this, the whole world will know we are his disciples. When we do this we show the whole world, and each other, who Jesus us!

Who do you need to show Jesus to today?

The Beer Drinking Calvinist

Herald Times Article for the Inspiration Today column
(I wouldn’t mind your thoughts)

So much of the objective truth we say we believe really is subjective isn’t it? What you believe is true is determined by what you believe is true not what is true. For instance, I used to believe that drinking alcohol was wrong, even a sin. Giving it the “sin” label meant that I believed the Bible said it was wrong to drink alcohol. The Bible doesn’t say that, though…we say it. Many people believe that it does, though, and are willing to leave a church that teaches what the Bible does say; it’s okay to consume alcoholic beverages.

The Bible saying it is okay is objective truth. The Bible does not say drinking is a sin. You believing that drinking is a sin is subjective; you have determined what is true based upon what you want to be true. Therefore, the majority of people’s claims to be “Bible-believers” are false; rather they are skilled Bible reinterpreters, subjecting the objective to their whims.

To say that you are a “Bible-believing” Christian, or to purport that the “Bible is the only rule and guide” for your life means that you have to be willing to accept what it says is true rather than what you want to be true. Doing this is the essence of submission to God and dependence upon God. Not doing it is the height of independence, or sin. You have put your word above God’s. Or worse, you have twisted what God’s word has said to make it your words.

We need to wake up and realize that this is one of the major reasons many people don’t want to become “Bible-believing” Christians. Why should they, when all we do is make the Bible say what we want? For example:

Bible-believing Christian (BBC): “I don’t drink alcohol or believe in election because the Bible says drinking is a sin, and doesn’t teach election!”

Non-Christian (NC): “But didn’t Jesus drink wine, and didn’t he say only his sheep, which were given to him of the Father, would receive eternal life?”

BBC: “No, what he made and drank was grape juice, and he didn’t mean that when he said exactly that about election, what he meant was…”

NC: “But, wait…why did they call him a ‘drunkard’ if all he drank was grape juice, and you mean to tell me that he clearly didn’t mean what he plainly said?”

BBC: “Well, no…I don’t believe he meant what he said there…”

I had a man preach to our church one Sunday and ignorantly say, “There are these ‘Christians’ who believe God has chosen…well, I don’t even see that word in my Bible!” He’s right. He didn’t see it in his Bible, but it is in THE Bible. The word is mentioned 28 times in the New Testament alone (elect-16 times, election – 6, etc). These same types have also slandered me in public, and in private, calling me a “Calvinist” (meant, by them, as derogatory; I doubt they even know what it means). Of course, why wouldn’t they, their Bible doesn’t say anything about slandering…

Cheers!

Books I Am Reading

Following in the footsteps of several blogs I have read lately, I thought it met to tell you what I am reading.

Planting Churches in a Postmodern Age by Ed Stetzer
I heard so many good reviews on this book that I needed to check it out. I found it to be a great help in understanding the difference between postmodern philosophy and postmoder culture. If I was going to plant a church I would use his book diligently as a reference tool.

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
I am working my way slowly through this book (I borrowed it from a pastor friend) and am enjoying it. Time well spent. My whole outlook on God has changed as a result of meditating on what Manning says about the Abba’s love, mercy and grace. Powerful. I bought two copies, one to keep and one to loan out on a continual basis…

Visioneering by Andy Stanley
Andy Stanley is the son of famous preacher Charles Stanley. I was turned on to him in a forum, and that day listened to several of his messages, and decided I wanted to read his book. Andy is slowly moving up the man-crush scale…

On the Wings of the Morning by Jay Wimberly
This is a series of devotional messages by Dr. Jay Wimberly that were given to me by a friend. I have been using them in my morning meditations and have not been found wanting. Very challenging and very eye opening. Thank you, Kenny for giving them to me.

No Drums Allowed

A Story of The Freedom of Maturity & Biblical Thinking

When I first became a Christian I was under the impression that Rock-n-roll was of the devil. In fact, I believed that to become a Christian, I had to give it up. Mind you, nobody told me this, but it was the impression that I got from going to my girl-friends Baptist church. I have a distant memory of the pastor at that time telling me he was a huge KISS fan until he became a Christian. He said he didn’t have to stop liking music he just had to change the music he liked. He now listens to classical. Quite a change!

Because of those early impressions I believed that to be the case for me. I could still like music as a Christian; just the music that I really hated. So, I threw away my massive collection of rock tapes, cd’s and videos, and started listening to the local classical channel and some hymns on tape. I seriously had to force myself to like them. It just wasn’t my style of music. Honestly, I didn’t mind some of the hymns, cause I was learning them in church, but I just couldn’t get the gumption up to put them in the tape deck. I convinced myself it was a spiritual battle.

Anyway, as I started to grow in Christ I had the opportunity to share my testimony in many places and with many people, and the more I did it the more I realized that my drastic changes were exonerated as great things by these Christians; I was lifted to a celebrity status – God had done a great work! I didn’t listen to rock anymore! I think it fueled the fire. Don’t get me wrong, God had done a great work, and is perfecting it, but not in the sense that I was being viewed as.

Pretty soon I began to talk to my rocker buds about how rock music was Satanic. It was crazy. When I would have those conversations it would be almost like an out of body experience. Seriously. I would be looking at myself as I was talking and saying to myself, “You don’t even buy that. Remember when you used to make fun of the idiots that told you your music to Satan?” I was at the edge of the cliff, so-to-speak.

Then I fell off…

I began to talk about drums being bad. Any music with drums, especially “rock beats” were not “Christian”. Wow. How the mighty had fallen.

During that time I had several events that I was informed were “backsliding”. I would get these overwhelming urges (probably from the devil) to listen to rock, so I would hit the “scan” button and catch snippets of my “old” music. Pretty soon I was listening to it when I was out of town. Then I actually bought a rock tape again. The guilt and shame was a heavy burden. I ended up (a couple times) throwing them out the window as I was driving down the road; only months later buy them again.

Then I moved to Texas were I was finishing up some seminary (cemetery?). My pastor talked to me about speaking about “CCM” music. I was burdened, because our music leader would sing specials with a drum beat in the background, and I would have to get up and leave. How could he do that! So I preached it, brother! I preached about he “evils” of CCM music, drums, rock beats, Satan in the sound box, you name it I nailed it. I still have copies of the tapes if you want them (a good friend of mine just listened to one, which is why I am writing about it; it’s been on my mind).

Those days in Texas were terrible. I couldn’t function right. I couldn’t see past this guys sin (the one who used the drum beats). I had a hard time working with him (we worked together). I would talk about it with my pastor – and he agreed, but did nothing! I didn’t understand it. It was miserable living out my days as a legalistic, preference-oriented Christian. That was my problem. I couldn’t see past my preferences. Or, I couldn’t see that what I was really convicted about were actually just preferences, and it was okay for others to not see it or practice it the same way.

The reality is I was IMMATURE as a believer. Oh, preached, taught, administrated a growing Sunday school, was the Children’s church director, and was working on a Master’s degree from Seminary, but I was immature. I was never taught how to think through these things from a Biblical perspective.

I believe I think rightly now about these things from a Biblical perspective. Doing so has changed my practice. Because of these I now see the redemptive value in things. Because of this I don’t get so up tight (or at all) about Christians who listen to all sorts of music (unless the message is garbage!)…even if it has drums!

Biblical thinking is a very freeing thing.

Giddy like a school girl!

The books I ordered just arived…ah, what an addiction to have! I blame my former pastor, Jack Green for it. That was one of the main things he instilled in me: READ! A Lot! He had over 10,000 books in his personal library. He told me once that some times his kids barely had food because he bought books. I’m not there yet…*someone hold me accountable!*

In the box was…

- Visioneering by Andy Stanley
“the best book on vision I’ve seen.” – Dr. Bruce Wilkinson

- Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age by Ed Stretzer

- Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

I have never read the first two, but Ragamuffin has been on my bedside stand for the past week or two, and can I say it is probably in the top 5 of the most challenging books I have ever read. Wow. I ordered two copies because I want to load one out to the leaders in my church, one at a time and see what they think. Wow.

Oh, yeah. I also got The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence free. One of my favorite words, “free”.