Jesus Called. He Wants His Church Back

As early as 50 AD, Christians had gotten away from knowing who Jesus really is. Our generation is no different.

In every decade we, as Americans, lost something important that we couldn't afford to lose:

In the 1950's, we lost innocence 
In the 1960's, we lost respect for authority 
In the 1970's, we lost love 
In the 1980's, we lost values 
In the 1990's, we lost faith 
In the 2000's, we lost security 
In the 2010's, we lost hope in the future 

 What can restore what we've lost? Only Jesus. Jesus gave us His name, His friendship, and a commission to accept responsibility for ourselves and for the world. When introduced to His words and ways we'll rediscover the Jesus who:

Wants His enemies won over, not wiped out 
Wants you to stop playing it safe 
Believed great things were possible no matter what things are like right now 
Was full of grace and truth 
Unleashed compassion 
Believed no one was too far from God to return to Him 
Came to seek and to save that which was lost 
Loves the church                                                                     

Pastor Ray Johnston shares the Jesus of the Bible and how we can be Christians without being jerks. He reveals how the radical message of the gospel calls us to love and serve not only our neighbors but our enemies as well. That’s the Jesus the American Church has missed and needs to meet.

Jesus' mission is clear—risk everything in order to take care of people, starting in our home, neighborhoods, cities, and those in need around the world. That's the Jesus the American Church has missed and needs to meet.

My review:

  The title of this book really intrigued me, and is the main reason I decided to review it. It sounded worth reading, and like something that would be relative to me.... and I was right on both counts.

  This is not a book slamming the church. The author does talk a lot about where our churches are failing, and what we are doing wrong; but it is not done in a malicious or mean way. I found his points very valid, and his solutions and advice very solid and Biblical.

 There is a lot packed into this book. There is what I mentioned already, but the author also discusses what can happen and what has happened when church is done right, when Christians actually let God use them.

 One of the most valuable chapters in my opinion, was the one titled "Stop thinking you don't matter". It is a great chapter on how God can use any Christian if they are willing and jump in with all they have.

  This book is very convicting. I found myself saying "ouch" more than once, and was praying as I read the book that God would help me in this area and that area, and that I wouldn't finish the book and not be changed. It made me want to do more, to be a better Christian, and to be used by God. I highly recommend this book. It is near the top of non-fiction books I have read lately.

About the author:

Ray Johnston has a rich, varied background as a speaker, writer, and founder of Thrive Communications and the Thrive Leadership Conference. Author of the bestselling book The Hope Quotient, he is the founding pastor of Bayside Church, one of the largest churches in the United States, with more than twelve thousand people. Ray has spoken to more than four million people over the last ten years and served on the board of trustees at Azusa Pacific University, his alma mater. Ray and his wife, Carol, have four adult children.


Jesus Called....... is available from Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for the review copy.

Lowering the standards on Christian fiction

I addressed this a bit on my other blog, and I have addressed the issue of cursing a few times already, but its been really bugging me.

There was a lot of discussion about a book that recently came out, My Stubborn Heart, by Becky Wade, published by Bethany House Publishers. There was a lot of dicussion on one blog - I can't remember it to link, and a newer Christian author, Mike Duran, blogged about it, actually thanking Bethany House "for dabbling in language and subject matter that is typically deemed taboo in Christian fiction circles." I wouldn't call the words she used curse words, but vulgar and inappropriate for a Christian book, and aren't words a Christian should be throwing around, even in a book. Duran's post really bugged me, and I commented either there or on the other blog that referenced him that he was basically saying "yeah for being vulgar! Yeah for offending people!" Oddly enough, the two books I have read by him contain nothing like the language he was cheering on. He writes for Charisma House, and I can't see them allowing it.

Other publishers have had worse words. Thomas Nelson led it, and Zondervan and Waterbook/Multnomah has joined the cursing bandwagon. I don't like to put in print any of the words, for someone would try to paint me as hypocrtical for sure, so let me get them across without saying them. These have appeared in Christian fiction:

1) The "d" word
2) The "s" word"
3) "King James Donkey"
4) Vulgar term for urinate
5) Hell, used as an expletive

Those are the worst, though Waterbrook topped that with a non-fiction book I just read. They had mutiple uses of the "f-word" abbreviated, but in a way that they may as well used it. Add "ing" to the word, take out the "uc", and that is what they used.

I am disturbed by this trend, and disturbed by those who defend it. I had a woman who claims to be a Christian admit she would have no issue with even the above word being used, and even sex scenes in Christian fiction. Really?! If we drag Christian fiction down that low, why even bother calling it that? Why even have it?

Adam Blumer, who though he only has one book under his belt, feels very strongly as I do. We had messaged back and forth some about the Becky Wade novel, and in an email to him, I asked this: "if these authors want to put cursing in their books, then why don't they just write secular?" He replied "Why not just write for secular? Because it's cool to be a Christian author who pushes the line and goes against convention." And I think he nails it. (Check out Adam's book, Fatal Illusions).

There are people who condemn and look down on Christian fiction. I have heard people refer to Christian novels in the same tone they would talk about some major sin of the day. And I'd like to briefly address that. Not all Christian ficion is equal. Some is just fluff. There is wide variety of Christian fiction: romance, suspense, historical, sci-fi - you name it, its there. Some just entertains, which there is nothing wrong with that. Some can encourage, inspire, even convict. There have been times in my life where I was struggling spiritually, and something I read in a Christian fiction book was a help to me. Jesus told stories often to make a point, so I think there is definite possibility of  Christian fiction book being a help.

That said, why not cursing in Christian books?

1) First off, Christians should not curse and use foul language. We are to be different. If we went around using curse words all the time, what kind of witness for Christ would we be? Not a very good one. Would you use that kind of language in front of your pastor and people from church? In front of your kids?

If there are words Christians should not use, and I think - I hope - we agree that there are - then why is it acceptable to put them in a book? If I let off with a string of profanity right here on my blog, would that make it ok since my mouth wasn't saying it? Of course not!!! And neither does it make it ok when it is in a book being spoken by a fictional character. It is still cursing, and it is still wrong.

One of the "pro-cursing" crowd on the one blog I mentioned, made the point that some words are offensive to some people and not others, trying to use the excuse its ok to use certain words, because not everyone is offended by the same words, and not everyone considers the same words to be vulgar and cursing. I replied and said if it is a word you wouldn't want your kid to blurt out in front of the pastor, or a word you wouldn't want certain people to hear you use, then it probably falls into the category of vulgar or cursing. It doesn't take rocket science to know what words are curse words and/or vulgar.

2) Christians are commanded in the Bible to not offend our brothers. Granted, this could be taken to extremes, but come on people..... cursing cannot be excused from this. It seriously boggles my mind that I have had Christian authors defend cursing in their books and not be apologetic at all about it, yet I have had non-Christians apologize for using those same words around me, and I never said a word. They knew I was a Christian, and knew I didn't talk like that.

3) It is tearing down the lines between secular and Christian fiction. If there is cursing in Christian fiction, and God forbid, sex scenes, which will be next - then why have Christian fiction at all? There should be differences between the two, and one difference is language. If there is no difference between secular and Christian, then why have Christian?

I never watched much TV, not having one after the age of 11, so maybe that is one reason this is a big issue to me. I haven't been as desensitized to it as people who watch a lot of TV. I don't know. Maybe that isn't the reason, but why are so many Christians ok with cursing in Christian books? I seriously don't get it.

One woman told me we should leave it up to the author. Maybe they have a reason for doing it, and its between them and God. I politely disagree. When I buy a Christian book, I expect certain things from it, and one is no cursing/vulgarity. It isn't just between them and God.

3) Even non-Christians get it. I was talking to a friend of mine who doesn't claim to be a Christian and its evident by their life. I was talking about the language in this one Christian book I had read. They were shocked. "That was in a Christian book?! You're kidding!" This person was truly shocked and said it shouldn't be in there. If a non-Christian gets that, why can't Christians?

There are probably other reasons people smarter than me could come up with, but those are a couple I came up with.

A while back I read and reviewed a book by Susan May Warren, Sons of Thunder. It had one use of the "d-word", and my sister and I both sent her a polite email about it. She replied and said that was the word her character would have used, and she wanted to stay true to his character. I thought this  - and think I replied to her - "so if he was the kind of guy to say the "f-word", would you have used it? Authors are creative, and can get across what kind of person the character is without him actually using the word.

Some time before I read the above book, I read a novel by Noel Hynd (Zondervan Publishing). It was suspense and centered around the FBI. Great plot and writing, but...... it had several language issues. What most people could classify as cursing. I remember the "d-word" and "King James Donkey", and there was one or two others, used more than once. I sent him a polite email. He replied that you cannot write that kind of novel without using that kind of language. You.Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. (Then he should stick to secular!) I have read a lot of that kind of book that didn't use that kind of language. Maybe Mr. Hynd needs to meet Bob Hamer. Bob is a former FBI agent who has written two great Christian books about an FBI agent. And guess what....... no cursing. Wow. If a real, live, former FBI agent can do it, then I would wager a guess that even Mr. Hynd can do it. He just doesn't want to, and doesn't care. That was the last book I read by Noel Hynd.

I've thought a lot about this issue of Christians being different from the world/non-Christians. Nothing is wrong anymore. Even sexual sins are accepted by some churches and Christians, so I guess it should be no surprise that Christians would defend cursing.

This statement will go not go over well. I know we are not to judge, but the same Bible also says people will be known by their fruits. If a person claimed to be a Christian, and was continually cursing around other Christians, and when confronted about it being offensive, just kept doing it...... what would we think of their Christianity? Really - what would we think? So if a person who claims to be a Christian author and publisher keeps cursing in their books, and when confronted and told it is offensive, and they keep doing it........ well, fill in the blanks.

To condemn sinful and un-Christian behavior can get you labeled narrow-minded by even other Christians (check out Mike Duran's blog, he infers that). And that is sad. So I am sure I will get that label.

Just think, not that many years ago, people on TV and radio got bleeped out for the same words that are appearing in Christian novels. Wow, what wonderful progress. Can we honestly think that is ok, and even worse, like Mike Duran, cheer on profanity?

I've thrown this idea out before, but doubt it will happen, but if Christian publishers and authors are going to insist on putting vulgar language and cursing in their books, then I suggest a couple of ideas:

1) Put a notice on the back of the book. Something like "This book contains some language that could be offensive to some people"

2) Make a special imprint for books that contain that kind of language, and market it as such.

Sound dumb? I don't think so. We rate movies, why not books?

In closing, I'd like to share something Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, had on his blog. They are standards for their books. I commented once and said I don't think cursing in their books line up with the standards. He didn't agree, nor did I think he liked the comment. Read them and see what you think...... with the standards he outlines, should not their books - and all Christian books - be held to a higher standard, language-wise, and others?

It can also be found here.
"At Thomas Nelson, we often refer to ourselves as “a Christian content company.” However, we understand our identity as a Christian content provider in a very different way than most of our competitors.

Like them, we want all of our messages to be delivered from the perspective of a Christian worldview. This is the foundation of our content program. However, unlike many of them, our communicators are free to explore any subject they wish.

Yes, we publish content and host conferences on spiritual and devotional themes. This is part of life and, from our perspective, the most important part. But it is not the only part.We also deliver content that deals with the other aspects of life: business, culture, politics, entertainment, etiquette, cooking, family, etc. And, of course, we publish fiction. Lots of it! No topic is off limits, provided it comes from a Christian worldview, is executed well, and has commercial value. (We are, after all, a commercial content provider.)

Theologically, our vision flows from our conviction that God is sovereign. He doesn’t preside over part of the world (the “religious sphere”), leaving the rest autonomous (the “secular sphere”). No, He rules over all of it. Ultimately, there is no secular/sacred dichotomy. Because God is the Creator and ruler over all, any field of human inquiry can be explored—and sanctified.

To say it another way, all truth is God’s truth. Some of the content we distribute will beexplicitly Christian (mentioning the name “Jesus” or citing specific Bible verses); other content will be implicitly Christian (never referencing anything spiritual). Both are acceptable and appropriate, depending on the communicator’s purpose and audience. The important thing is that the content flow out of a Christian worldview.

And that necessarily begins with the communicator. As a result, our standards focus on the content originator. This doesn’t mean that the content is unimportant. Quite the contrary. But it does reflect our belief that content flows out of a worldview and, ultimately, out of a writer or speaker’s heart (cf. Matthew 12:34, 35). To say it another way, we want to align ourselves with people who share our vision, our mission, and our values. “How can two walk together unless they agree” (Amos 3:3)? This is where it starts.

Specifically, we want to publish and promote:

1. Communicators who profess a personal faith in Jesus Christ. We want to work with people who are willing to say, “I am a Christian.” We do not try to judge their profession or assess the validity of their faith. Only God knows their hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). Nevertheless, we want to work with communicators who claim to be Christians and are not ashamed of it.
2. Communicators who embrace the central truths of historic Christianity.Such ancient documents as the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are simply convenient summaries of these truths and nearly all Christians can agree on them. Beyond these basic truths, we want to allow latitude—and even disagreement!—on non-core doctrines.
3. Communicators who seek to live according to the standards of biblical morality. We do not expect perfection. We acknowledge that all Christians—even Christian communicators—fall short of God’s standards. But we want to promote communicators who are committed to living in obedience to God’s revealed will. We want to promote communicators who “walk the talk.”

Beyond these standards, there is freedom. Philippians 4:8 provides the inspiration for an expansive content program. It says,

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Notice the word whatever. It is repeated six times and then followed by the word anything.Based on this verse, we believe that Christians are free to think, write, or speak about anything—whatever they want!—provided it meets eight minimal criteria:

1. It must be true. This means that it must be authentic and must correspond to reality. We want to promote content that embraces reality as God created it, not content that “sugar coats” reality or tries to make reality something it is not.
2. It must be noble. This means that it must raise us up and make us more like God. The opposite is to debase or degrade. We want to promote content that ultimately motivates people and calls forth their best qualities.
3. It must be just. This means it must be righteous or consistent with the commandments of God. It also means it must be fair. We want to promote content that promotes righteousness and godly living. By the way, this doesn’t mean that novels can’t have evil characters. (There are plenty of them in God’s story.) But it does mean that in the end righteousness is rewarded and evil punished—if not in this life, the next.
4. It must be pure. This means it must be chaste, modest, clean. We want to promote content that promotes holiness and offers a necessary corrective to current trends to sexualize everything. This does not mean that we are opposed to sex, of course. But we want to make sure that our content advocates a view of sex that is consistent with Christian morality.
5. It is lovely. This means it must be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. We want to publish communicators who are committed to beautiful writing and speaking. Bothwhat is said and how it is said are important. Beauty is not a means to an end. It is an end in itself, because it reflects the beauty of the Creator.
6. It is of good report. This means it must be commendable or of high reputation. Again, the emphasis is on that which represents the best, that which anyone could read or hear and agree that it is well-written or well-spoken.
7. It is virtuous. This means it must affirm behavior which is consistent with the highest values. Values that don’t manifest themselves in behavior are merely platitudes. We want to promote content that challenges people to live lives of moral excellence and virtue.
8. It is praiseworthy. This means it must be worthy of recommendation; something you can personally endorse. At the end of the day, we want to promote content we are proud of, books or conferences that we are willing to recommend to a family member or friend with the confidence that they will wowed and grateful that they took the time to enjoy it.

The reason we have content standards is because we want to be faithful to Christ as we fulfill His call on our lives. And we also want our customers to be able to trust us. We want people to have confidence that our products are consistent with a Christian worldview, are created by people who profess to be Christians and are striving to walk the talk, regardless of the subject matter they may be addressing."

Christians On the Bench

Anyone who knows me very well,  knows that I am not only disinterested in sports, I despise sports in general, but putting that aside, imagine going with me to a ball game. We get there to find the stadium filled. The visiting team is in the outfield, but nothing is happening. I look around, and finally spy the home team. They are all sitting on the benches by the dugout. Some are reading, some have laptops, some are on their cell phones, but none appear interested in the game they are supposed to be playing. The coach is going from player to player, spending a few minutes with each before going on to the next. I'm curious as to what is going on, so I wander down to get a closer look. I arrive in time to hear him speaking to one of the players......

Coach: "Come on John. Go bat, please!"
John: "I'm too busy Coach. My plate is too full."

The coach moves on.
Coach: "Mike, will you take a turn at batting?"
Mike: "I'd rather not, Coach. But I promise I will pray for the game!"
The coach moves on to the next player.
Coach: "Bill, will you please go bat?"
Bill: "Coach, I think you are doing an excellent job at coaching, but me, bat? Nah. Go ask Paul to bat. He is better at it than me. And here is $20 to help with the game."

And down the row of players the coach goes, asking, begging, only to be met with excuse after excuse. No one will bat.

Sounds dumb. As much as I dislike sports, even I think a team like that should be fired and thrown out. But isn't that like so many of we Christians? Oh, we will pray for the services, for the pastor, for the Sunday School, and those who teach. We will toss some money into the offering plate, but don't expect us to sacrifice our money, our time, to step out of our comfort zone.

I read a book this past week that really impressed me and moved me. Passion to Action. It is a book I received to read and post a review, which I did here. It is a true story of a family who decided they didn't want to sit on the bench. The Locken family. They sold their house and most of their possessions, bought a RV and travel all over the country helping where they can. Handing out Bibles, helping serve in soup kitchens. All sorts of things, with all sorts of people. These people are really serving God and living out His Word to those they meet. Check out their website at passiontoaction.org.

Now obviously, we cannot all sell our homes and travel the country in an RV, but are we willing to do something for God where we are? To use our talents in our church? I am afraid too many of us want to sit on the bench - or pew - and do nothing.

I went to a baseball game at the beginning of this post. Now lets go to my church. Let me set the scene. At the end of last year, my Sunday School teacher handed out a paper with what we would be studying this year. He wanted volunteers to teach lessons and/or suggestions for people we would like to teach them. I dove in whole hearted and wrote so many that I had more than there were lines for.

Here we are at the end of September, and no one that I listed has spoken in Sunday School class, nor are they listed to. I asked my SS teacher a couple of weeks ago about it. He did ask some, who all said "no." And some he didn't bother asking, for he knew they'd say "no."

There was one person in particular I was wondering about. Let's call him Dan. I asked "Did you ask Dan?" Yes, he was asked, but was "too busy." I used to think highly of Dan, and this will sound judgmental, but hey...so what. Dan has a hobby, shall we say. He spends a lot of money and time on it. He travels all over the US doing this hobby. He talks about it all the time. And there is nothing wrong with this hobby, but if we are too busy to teach a Sunday School lesson, but have time for trips for a hobby, then what is the deal?! Sad thing is, "Dan" is very talented. Should have been a preacher. I firmly believe that if he was given a Sunday School class full of young boys, he would make a difference in their lives. But......... he is "too busy."

There are a lot of Dans in the church. We are all too happy to pray for the pastor, the missionaries, put money into the offering, but we don't want to sacrifice. We want our time, most of our money, our dreams, our desires. Let someone else carry the load. Don't ask us to do anything that will take us out of our groove. Put the average Christian up against the Loeken family, and we'd be sadly lacking. Here is a family who is out there living in a RV because they wanted to do more for God. Sound fun? Sure, but read their book and you will see it isn't all fun and games, but God is blessing them for what they are doing.

I fear the average Christian forgets what it is all about. There is a quote from the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens that has been on my mind lately. It is from the scene were Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley:

One of the most moving statements in this Christmas tale is by Marley's Ghost when despairing over "life's opportunities misused." Scrooge, trembling with fear and beginning to share in Marley's guilt, says: "But you were always a good man of business, Jacob." Upon which the Ghost cried out in anguish:


"Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"


The Great Commission isn't just for the missionary on the foreign field. It isn't just for the people working in the streets of the USA. It is for all Christians. We should be seeking ways to work for God, even if it is just in our local church. Who knows what a change could be made in our own churches if people would let God use them and their talents, but everyone is "busy."
 
I can honestly say I haven't said "no" to much I was asked to do in the church, and the times I did say "no" was because at the time I was asked, I wasn't where I needed to be spiritually. And there may be others like me, but most of the time, people are just too busy, or don't want to step out of our comfort zone.
 
But what if Jesus had been "too busy" to come to earth to die for us? What if He hadn't wanted to step out of His comfort zone? And if you think hanging on a cross with nails through His hands and feet and a crown of thorns on His head wasn't out of His comfort zone, then you are delusional.
 
We may not know til we get to Heaven - and maybe not even then - what our actions and influence has done here on earth and what our in actions and refusals to be used have not accomplished. If you are asked to speak in a Sunday School class, it might be you that God is planning on reaching that one person. And your refusal to speak might mean he won't be reached. Far fetched? I don't think so.
 
So should we always say "yes" to anything we are asked to do in church? Not necessarily. For one thing, if we always say "yes" we will get asked to do everything. For another, we may not be capable. For instance, me sing a solo? Wow. That would clear out the church! But we should be more willing, and less prone to just say "no."

Someone has said that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. If we prayed and sought God's will, we'd all be surprised at what we could do with His help.


Too busy? I'm sure Satan laughs with glee when Christians use that worn out response. For the busier we are, the less we will do for God, and Satan wins another round.


There is a song that says when we get to Heaven, we will wish we had done more. I don't know if we will have any regrets when we step through those pearly gates, but if we do, none of us are going to wish we had spent more time on us and our desires. No, we will wish we had done more to help our fellow man. Done more to reach out to our neighbor, co-worker, even the person in the pew across from us at church.
   
We aren't on this earth to play and work. Those are important, but we must not forget why we are here: To do God's will, live for Him, make it to Heaven, and take as many people with us as we can..... for that is all we can take to Heaven - people.

The Society Bible

I rarely have an original or profound thought, but this thought has been on my mind for a while, so I thought I'd blog about it. You may not agree with me on all - or any of my examples, but they are my examples - and I am in no means equating all of them - they are all areas where even people outside of the church held a standard of belief on that changed, and then the church for the most part has followed along.

Where do we get our basis for right and wrong? If you are a Christian, you would say the Bible and/or God. But do we really? It seems even the most conservative among us depend on society for what is right and wrong. Oh, for a while the church will take a stand, but eventually the church and Christians tag along or cave in. What am I talking about? Glad you asked! Here are my examples - and there are plenty more, but here are a few:

1) Language. There was a day not all that long ago when people were bleeped on the radio and/or TV for saying certain words. That list has shortened to just a few, and a lot of stations allow it all. Now, we have Christians using the same words people used to be bleeped out on. One of my pet peeves is Christian authors and publishers allowing curse words in Christian books. Whoever said it was ok to do that? It was wrong and would have been a major issue even 10 years ago. Society became more accepting of cursing and the church is following along. I have had Christians defend curse words in Christian books - that is beyond my level of understanding.

2) Clothing. There was a day in America where only one type of women dressed in extremely revealing outfits. It was considered indecency to dress in certain ways. Pants were a man's clothing. Christians and non-Christians alike adhered to standards of modesty. A woman who wore pants was looked on like I would be if I walked down the street in a dress - well, even that is accepted by some.

Now, people wear less clothing than the average underwear. There is no difference between what men and women wear. You're looked on with scorn by even most Christians if you think women should dress like women and men like men, and that there should be a limit on how much skin is shown. So who changed that? Society changed. Women's lib came in. They said they wanted to dress like men, have men's jobs, have men's haircuts, and the church followed along.

(Not a popular belief, but yeah - I believe women should wear skirts. I have heard all of the arguments, but still believe that way. I am not saying anyone has to agree - this was just an example - and I am not saying you are not a Christian if you are a woman and wear pants - so don't go there!)

3) Abortion. There was a day when abortion was considered wrong and murder of a baby - which it still is. But, women's lib and society changed that. Now even some Christians defend the murder of innocent babies and it is considered normal and ok by millions of people.

4) Sundays. The Blue Law. It used to be upheld in the US. Businesses were not allowed to be open on Sundays. Even people who didn't go to church didn't do much on Sundays.

Now, even Christians do everything on Sundays. It is like any other day, other than getting a little but of church in the morning. You even have Christian businesses forcing employees to work on Sunday. (i.e. Family Christian Stores)

5) Sex. A lot can be said here. Sex used to be whispered about. Now, it is shouted and we are bombarded daily with images and filth. TV shows things that would have been banned when I was a kid. There was a day when it was scandalous to show a couple in the same bed, fully clothed - look at what we have now.

There was a day that homosexuality was considered wrong and not normal. And there is such a thing as homophobia and persecuting someone for being gay, but now.... that lifestyle is heralded as great and and normal. It is shoved down people's throats and has become a political issue and tool. Even churches and denominations are accepting and defending it. Did the Bible change? Did God change His mind? No. Society accepted it.

There have been societies and civilizations in the past - and in the modern day - that accepted pedophilia as normal. Cannibalism. And other things we still find wrong and deplorable.

But what if those things become accepted in America. Not possible? Oh I wouldn't say that. There is a move on by some to normalize pedophilia - call it "minor-attracted people." They want to take it out of the list of abnormal behaviors.

There is an organization called NAMBLA - North American Man-Boy Love Association. Yeah. They are actually allowed to exist. Free speech and all that. Thing is, morality is a slippery slope.

The day will very likely come in America when the elderly and handicapped will be euthanized. Not possible here? Oh yes it is. Even the most conservative among us have become desensitized to abortion. All it will take is for the right people to be in the right place at the right time and euthanasia will begin.

And we Christians keep marching along, slowly being desensitized into accepting and then practicing the very things we used to believe were wrong according to the Bible.

There was a day when we took the Bible at face value. If it said - or inferred - that something was wrong, we didn't do it. But now, the world has changed so much, it approves of things that no one approved of years ago, so we Christians have changed our beliefs and lifestyles to blend in more. We try to get around verses in the Bible. Make excuses. "That was meant for back then." "That was just meant for the Romans, or that one church Paul was writing to."

Is there any limit to what the world and society will accept and do that the church will not do the same? I would have thought homosexuality would be one of those limits, but more and more churches are accepting it and promoting it - so are there any limits?

Christ said we were to be in the world but not of the world, but is there any difference anymore? We dress like the world, look like the world, listen to the same music, watch the same stuff, talk like them...... where is the separation?

I asked a simple question on facebook a while back, and wow... I got attacked by Christians for it. So much for peace and love! I simply said I had noticed a lot of Christians seem to listen to far more secular music than Christian, and wondered why that was - but that is another example.

And yeah, appearances aren't everything, but has the church in trying to not be too in-your-face, and in trying not to appear intolerant or hateful, have allowed too much, have just been a few steps behind the world in how we live and what we accept? I fear it is so.

Do we have true standards and beliefs of what is right and wrong, or do they depend on society and the world? Do they depend on how desensitized we become, or how many of our family and friends change their ideas and beliefs, or even on our church? If that is all our belief system is built on, we will change and tag along with the world, our family and friends, and church when they all change their beliefs.

There is a great song the group 4Him recorded some years ago, The Basics of Life. That is what we need to do. Take out the Bible and block out what people say verses mean or do not mean and seek what God has to say about it.

Feel free to comment - but don't attack me for my views on one of the examples - I won't publish your comment if you aren't nice. :-) I have tried my best to get across in words what I have been thinking, and hope I did a half-decent job of it.

And in closing, if something was wrong yesterday, why is it ok today? Who gets to make that decision?

She just walked away

There is a young lady who has attended our church for some time, was even the church secretary for a while, and she did a great job of it. She hadn't been at church for a while, and we assumed she was going somewhere else, but wasn't sure. I considered her a friend, so I was wondering what was up. My sister commented on her facebook profile and said she had been missing her in church, so I commented likewise. She replied and thanked us, and said she had moved and was going to church closer her work. I replied and asked where she had moved to, and that we should have had a going away party. She didn't reply, so I went back a few days later to follow up, and she was gone - not just from my friends list, as I thought at first, but from facebook completely. I texted her a few times - nada.

I asked around on facebook, and no one knew anything. I messaged her best friend, who replied she had moved and was going elsewhere to church - uh, I knew that already, not very helpful. She also said this young lady doesn't text - at least that explained the no replies.

On Saturday, I decided to call the errant one. To be honest, it was a weird conversation. She seemed cool and evasive. She had moved and was going to church closer her job. (Yeah, I knew that already!) I don't do well with evasive tactics, so I asked where. She had moved to a small town very close to Salem, Ohio where our church is and where she had been living. How close? 7 miles. About 13 minutes. That is closer than I live to my church. I replied that I had assumed she moved far away.  I commented about her disappearing off the face of the earth - and facebook. Told her people are wondering what happened to her on there. She said she needs to finish her graduate work so will probably keep a low profile for a couple of years. The rest of the conversation was very stilted and awkward, she was trying to get off the phone, and I was taken aback. I ended with saying I wasn't trying to pry, but if I quit church and no one followed up, I'd feel badly.

I' still left with questions. Why did she leave so abruptly, and why does she need to cut off all of her friends? And why is the only person who she seems to be in contact with, the one person who isn't the best influence on her spiritually?

What are we to do when someone quits church abruptly? Should we call, email? If I quit, I'd feel badly if no one missed me enough to check up on me, yet by the cool reception I got from someone I thought was a friend, it evidently wasn't appreciated that I did just that.

The church is supposed to be a family - brothers and sisters and all that - though I'd like to trade in a lot of mine - so when someone walks away, shouldn't we care? Shouldn't we follow up? And to be blunt - if the one who walks away is truly a Christian, should their response be cool and stilted?

King James, the black book, and change

First, some background:

My church has two hymnals and a chorus book. One hymnal, the one used the most, is Worship In Song, Lillenas Publishing, 1972. It has a lot of familiar hymns and some newer ones from the 20th century. The other hymnal is the Wesleyan Methodist Hymnal, 1910 - I call it the "black book". It is black. It has a lot of older songs, the majority unfamiliar. I don't like it. To be fair, it may be more the tunes than the words. Regardless, I groan inwardly when we sing from it, which is not often.

This past week, I posted something I thought was humorous on facebook: one of my favorite Southern Gospel groups, the Talley Trio, just released a new CD. I was listening to it, and when track #10 came on, I said to myself "man, that sounds like a song from the black book!" Just for kicks, on Sunday I looked in the index of the black book.... and the song was there! I of course was amused.

Anyway, a lady from my church took offense to my not liking this hymnal and posted a few things about it - long comments, lots of words in all-caps, telling me among other things that if I didn't like the singing at my church, maybe I needed a "heart check." I was annoyed at first, later amused. I deleted the whole conversation while thinking "wow, I'm glad liking or disliking a certain hymnal does not depend on one's salvation!"

This got me to thinking, which can be a dangerous thing. And led to me to some interesting thoughts - at least to me. I did a bit of research to make sure I was right, and I was. Or am.

I want to talk about Isaac Watts. He was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", as he was the first prolific and popular English hymn writer, credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in active use today and have been translated into many languages.

Until he began writing hymns, the singing in churches revolved around Psalms. That is what they sang in churches. Then comes along Isaac with his new thing: hymns that he wrote. One would imagine that he faced some opposition, and one would be correct. He faced a lot. How dare someone come up with something different, newer than what they had been singing! And singing from the Bible, no less!

We are on the other side of history and cannot imagine just singing the Psalms now. Not that there is anything wrong with that. We cheer for Isaac Watts and pity those people who fought the arrival of hymns.

More of that later. Let us take a trip back in history even further, to 1611. Up to that time, people were reading other versions of the Bible. There were Bibles before 1611, though some people seem to think otherwise. There were actually two official translation of the Bible into English. Then comes along King James, a wicked king, who commissioned yet another Bible. The one we know as The King James version.

There are many people who live and die by the KJV. That is fine. What is not fine is the closed-mindedness (is that a word?!) of these same people who consider any other version heresy and will not even consider using another. Not even the New King James which pretty much updates the language, using words like "you", instead of "thou", and doing away with outdated words such as "lovest".

There is no proof that the King James Version is any more reliable and ordained by God, than the New King James Version, The New International Version, The New Living, or more. Are all translations right on? Maybe not. There is one that uses neutral pronouns when referring to God, instead of "He". Definitely wrong, but just because something is newer than we are used to, does not make it bad. And just because something is old, does not make it better. And to be fair, just because something is new does not make it better or good.

Someone said the cry of the dying church is "but we never did it that way before!" Granted, some churches get "too new and modern". Some focus on entertainment, rather than worship. But there is room for improvement in any church. None are exempt from improvement, no matter what they think.

Back to music...... I have heard some praise and worship songs that I wondered why on earth the writer bothered, but I've thought that about some hymns also. It doesn't hurt a church to use some newer songs. Sure, some protest and almost view it as heretical, but that is what they thought about hymns in Isaac Watt's day.

God cannot be put into a box. Neither can worship. Not every new song or method needs to be used, but if we would welcome some of the new, we might be surprised at the outcome. Try a different translation. You might find something new in the Bible you never noticed. Something might make more sense, stand out more. Try some newer songs. God might minister to you through them.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but the ways of reading about Him and singing about Him are not. If the church had had their way, we would all still be singing Psalms in church. No "Amazing Grace"or "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". No "Because He Lives", no "Family of God." I would guess that even the most conservative among us would admit that the hymns have added much to our worship over the years, and have ministered and convicted us. So is it that much of a stretch to say that newer songs can do that? I think not.

Something I would like, is for my church to buy a newer hymnal. Much newer. Put the old black hymnals aside and bring some newer songs into the service. Keep the Worship In Song Hymnal as the main hymnal, and use the newer hymnal occasionally. Who knows what it could add to the service. But knowing my church as I know it, that is about as likely as the pews being exchanged for reclining seats with footrests and a beverage holder.......

Is the old bad? No, but neither is the new. And no, one's salvation does not depend on liking or disliking any hymnal or style of singing. And change isn't always bad. Often it is good and necessary.

And lastly... the only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions.

Threatened by Hell.....

"The Lord just impressed on me that for someone in this service, it will be their last chance to come to an altar and pray."

Ever been in a church service where something like that was said? I have been - more than once. I was raised in a very conservative church - and still attend one - and have been in many revival services and camp meetings where the preachers thrived on telling horror stories to get people to the altar.

There is the one that was a favorite for a while about a man that stole some kind of chemical from his job that when it came into contact with water, would burst into flames. He was using it to impress some buddies and got careless. The chemical got all over him - and water. His body kept bursting into flames no matter what the doctors did - for his sweat kept triggering the chemical. They eventually had to peel his skin off to stop it. It made a lovely story to impress the horrors of Hell upon the listeners.

There were others. Stories of people who didn't go to the altar and were mowed down by a car when they stepped out of the church. OK, not that bad, but almost.

I am reading a book right now that a good friend of mine suggested I read - or more like it, bugged me until I bought it. :-) The book is He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobson. I have read three chapters so far, and it is definitely a book I need to read. The third chapter is where I got the title of this blog post: Threatened by Hell. Even before I read it, I was having similar thoughts as to what he wrote, and have made comments about it on my blog before.

Looking back over my life, all too many of my trips to the altar were because I was scared into going. Sure, I may have felt conviction and God's urging to go, but what would usually result in my going was a scary story told by the minister.

Sad to say, most of my life, I have tried to be a Christian to escape Hell - and to make my family happy. Never have I served God out of love for Him, or because He loved me. Is it any wonder I am so messed up?!

There are a lot of people who would say it doesn't matter how you get people to the altar, as long as they go - but is that really true? Can people truly have a relationship with God if they have been scared into it? Going back to the book I mentioned, the author used this illustration: of telling someone you know that you'd enjoy spending more time with them and becoming better friends. Then adding - "and if you don't, I will hunt you down and torture you." What kind of friendship would that be? Or to take it another direction, asking someone to marry you and tell them if they refuse, you will torture them beyond imagination. They might marry you, but what kind of marriage would that be? (That one was my idea!)

Sound absurd? Maybe, but is it any more absurd than scaring someone into a relationship with God? A relationship where you feel if you digress in the least that God is waiting to throw you into Hell? Is that really going to work? Maybe for some people.

I might be wrong, but I would wager a guess that a lot of the people who are scared into going to the altar and pray do not get a lasting relationship with God. And given some time, they have gone back to where they were in the first place. That happened to me. Over and over again.

How much better if people came to pray because they felt and believed that God loved them. No matter what they have done - or will do.

There are churches that tell you that you can live as you want, and go to Heaven. That its all covered. Their God is so loving that He overlooks all sins and welcomes you into Heaven.

I think there needs to be balance. Yes, God is a God of judgment, and maybe that needs to be pointed out occasionally, but He is also a God of love, and that is what will truly win people to Him. That is what needs to be the basis of any relationship, including the one with God.

The author of the book I mentioned made an interesting point in the same chapter about hell: If the only reason I'm even responding to Him is to serve my own self-interest and escape a fiery eternity in hell, am I really loving Him, or myself? Good question. And I would say it is the latter.

Jesus Himself told some scary stories - the rich man in hell wanting Lazarus to bring him a drop of water, the wedding guest without a wedding garment.... but He told many more that weren't like that.

So, any thoughts? Is it a bad thing to scare people to the altar? Should we have many messages on hell?

Getting along

I found out something recently that bothers me. There is a church near me filled with people who split off from my church and other similar churches to make this one. Someone who attends there made the statement that in their Bible studies, they mostly discuss why they aren't of a certain denomination anymore. When I heard that, I said two things. First off - "Bitter much?" Second: "too bad they don't discuss why they aren't sinners anymore - would be more profitable." But really - how profitable is it to keep rehashing why they don't like my church/denomination. One of them had - and as far as I know, still has, a website where he spews vitrol, lies, and hateful comments about my denomination and its leaders. Really? Is that Christian?

I have gone through two church splits in my life. The first was when I was a teenager. I remember feeling hurt and confused. People I thought highly of just up and left because they couldn't get along with the pastor. All these years later, I still don't get it. The issue seemed so small and dumb.

Fast forward to a few years ago, my current church. I was living in Indiana, but it still affected me. The people involved sent vicious emails out trying to tear good men down. They sent them to try to recruit people to their cause. Even though I was 400 miles away, I was fair game. They ended up leaving the church and taking several people with them. They were suing my denomination over the sale of a church they didn't even attend. Their membership was going to be pulled - made sense to me, they were suing us! - so they left, and took as many people with them as possible.

It happens all of the time, all across the world, across denominations. People splitting off from others. Well, I have some thoughts that I said all of that to get to, so here goes.

Ever notice when something like that happens, the unhappy party takes several people with them? Why is that? Because they belly ache, talk, complain, etc to anyone who lends a sympathetic ear. That is wrong. If they are going to leave, they need to go quietly without trying to drag others with them. I am not naive enough to believe that everyone who is a Christian is going to get along 100% with everyone - but isn't that what God wants?

And if we are committed to God, committed to loving everyone as He asks us to, then why don't we quietly leave, instead of stirring up as much trouble as we can, and pulling as many people with us when we go? And after we do leave, why can't we shut our mouths and quit putting down the church or denomaination we left?!

Unfortunately in the day we live in, people who claim to be Christians have some issues. Selfishness, pride, the desire to have our own way. We aren't interested in just going to church to worship. We want to be seen and heard. We want power. We want our own way.

I could be wrong on this, but I don't think I am - if a church was filled with true Christians who wanted to please God more than anything else, who loved their brothers and sisters in the church as God commands us to - I don't believe there would be church splits. Sure, there would still be people changing churches - personalities come into it, and churches are all different. What you like in a church might be the opposite of what I like in a church - though I am not sure what that is anymore.

So are the splinters wrong, un-Christian? I think most of the time they are. It depends on the attitude of the heart, their actions, and how they leave. We left a church once. The church my parents grew up in. The church I grew up in. The pastor is a hypocritical jerk. We tried to resolve it, but when the preacher is mad at you and preaching directly at you from the pulpit, and any effort to talk to him is met by a cold rebuff - it is time to leave, so leave we did - and quietly. All these years later, I view him with disgust, but not bitterness. I don't talk about him - well, guess I am here a bit - but what is the sense in that? Let it go.

I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, nor am I any John Wesley. I don't set myself up as a paragon of virtue. If you read this and start thinking that I think I am Mr Perect - how wrong you are. But.... I am disillusioned with the church and Christians in general. The day may come where I don't go to church at all. Bad idea? Maybe - but who says you can't home church. Yeah, yeah - I know - "forsake not the assembling, etc, etc." But people say that is because we need to be around other Christians for encouragement, etc. Well guess what - that ain't happening - I'd get as much encouragement at home, but I digress....

Back to my point: I think we get too caught up in what we want out of church, instead of focusing on what God wants. You want a less conservative church? What if He doesn't. You want a stricter church? What if He wants you where you are. You want a bigger church? A more lively church? You want offices, to be seen up front, and the list goes on. If we were honest, how many of us really seek God's will and spend thought on what God wants for us at church? Oh, we may claim to, and pull our self righteous robes around us - but do we really? Do we go to church to worship God, or are we going for other reasons?

I have been pretty outspoken about my unhappiness with my church. Oh, nothing to cause a split over - though if I left, it would be alone. No trying to drag people with me..... I have had people urge me to look elsewhere - and I may some day, but to be honest - I think I expect too much out of church and God's people. Maybe we all do. Thing is, I'm not sure at this point in my life that there is a church I'd be truly happy in. I have too much going on inside right now for one thing, and for another.... as bad as this sounds, I am not sure there is a church I'd agree with 100%. I don't agree with mine 100%, but I agree with enough to stay.

We tend to box God in. We think this demomination or that one has it totally wrong, and the people there couldn't possibly be true Christians, but God can meet people anywhere, and He can make people happy anywhere - if we let Him.

I think so many church problems - and even marriage problems - would dissolve if people sought God and His will above all else, and laid aside their selfish desires and wishes. Yeah, maybe even me. And yes, people would still change churches and denominations - we are human after all, but if the selfishness was gone, the desire to have our own way, I think there would be a lot less of that, and I truly believe there wouldn't be church splits. But what do I know. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed......

And I know I have been rough on church splitters and splinters, but I do believe there wouldn't be so many people leave with the perpetrators if there was no gossip and taking sides going on. And when they leave, they should keep their mouth shut, and quit being so angry and bitter.

And I am sure I offended people in the church that I used as an example, but hey, your actions led to my blog post, so get over it.

And yes, there have been people I have confidence in who have left in church splits...and I still have confidence in some of them, but have to wonder if it was God's will.
The perfect church does not exist, nor the perfect denomination, but if we seek God with all our heart, seek His will above all else, and love our Christian brothers and sisters..... it might be as close to perfect as a church could be in this sinful world.

Are we equipped... and do we want to be? And revisiting the masquerade party

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article a man wrote who had lived a pretty messed up life. He is now a Christian, but he makes the case that the church is not equipped to deal with certain sins. Too many pastors are not equipped to deal with some of the sins nowadays.

Our churches are filled with perfect people. No one has any real battles. Oh, they may have trouble paying the bills, their kids may be far from God, but they have no horrible, besetting sin to deal with. Or do they? I am more and more convinced that no matter what church you attend, Baptist, Catholic, Methdodist, or the Church of   the Pious, Holy, and untra-Perfect - there are people sitting in the pews battling bad stuff. Stuff beyond the desire to cheat on your income tax or slap Nancy Pelosi til her ears fall off...

What would we do if:
A drug addict becomes a Christian and begins attending our church, still battling his addictions

An alcoholic becomes a Christian and starts attending our church, still battling the desire to drink

A prostitute becomes a Christian and starts attending our church, still battling her sexual addictions

A gay or lesbian becomes a Christian and starts attending our church - or worse, doesn't become a Christian and starts attending our church

An ex-con becomes a Christian and starts attending our church

Someone with AIDS starts attending our church.

     Now...... what if the person sitting in the pew behind you suddenly came to you and admitted to one of the above?

Sad to say, most of us would have no clue how to help or counsel people in these situations. Too many of us would pull our self-righteous robes around us, move to the other side of the church, and at best... pat them on the shoulder, tell them we would be praying for them, and mouth one of the biggest platitudes in the church "Just pray and trust God." And the person dies a little more on the inside.

So, is this guy right? Should we be training our people more to on how to handle this stuff? Do we want to? Do they want to deal with it? Until the church does more love in action, until we admit there are problems and make it easier for people to step forward and ask for help, no one is going to seek help anyway - few at best.

A while back, I blogged about wearing masks as Christians. Comparing church to going to a masquerade ball, I called for the taking off of masks. (If you want to read that, go here.) I said that to preface my talking about my next visit to the masquerade party. This one was on a smaller scale.....

I stepped through the doors into the masquerade party. This one was much smaller than the other I had attended. The other had close to 250 people, whereas this one only had 25-30 people. I felt priveleged to have been invited. Making sure my mask was on just right, I found my seat and sat back to enjoy the party.

But wait.... what is this? Their idea of fun was to pick at me, criticize me. I started to sink into my seat, but then remembered.... I had my mask on. They didn't know I was there. I checked to make sure it was still covering my face, and sat in misery as the class gleefully attacked me, said the nastiest things about me.

As I sat there fighting the urge to slip out - afraid to draw attention to myself and  they would know it was me - the tears started. I kept my head down and kept brushing them away as they slipped from under my mask. No one seemed to notice, to my relief. And on they went. A knife through the heart here, a punch to the gut here. Thank God I had my mask on so they wouldn't know the target of their hateful comments was sitting there in their midst.

My mind went back to when I first started wearing my mask. Somewhere in my teens. By the time I was in college, it was a regular fixture. I'd cringe in the corner as my fellow college mates would make snide, hateful remarks, or jokes, which were as bad..... never noticing that the target of their remarks was standing in the same room, sometimes right by them..... and the punches kept coming.

The time in church came to mind when a friend of mine leaned up and made a horrible comment about me that crushed me. It hurt for a long time. The knife went deep and felt like it was still there. But again, I had my mask on, so he never knew it was me he made the comment to....

The party was ending. I walked out, my heart heavier than it had been, dying quite a bit more on the inside. Everyone else gathered their righteous robes around them, thanking God that they weren't like me.

Now again, this was no literal masquerade party - and I wasn't wearing a physical rubber or plastic mask. Neither were the people speaking literally about me, Mark Buzard. They were talking about what is under the mask I wear. What and who I am. And it was a Sunday School class where they were discussing what I call my cross. My secret. My silent burden.

I raise some valid points though. The church is ill-equipped to deal with anything outside of  a gossip or jealously issue. We do sit back in our righteous robes, looking down our noses at the people who do the really bad stuff. No, we don't stand on the street corner like the Pharisee in the Bible, thanking God that we aren't like the drunk, the homosexual, the adulterer, the pornography addict - but we may as well. We are doing it on the inside where God sees.

Its time the church stops shooting the wounded. Its time we realized there are hurting people in our church - in our own families, but we are so hateful, so judgemental, and so non-caring, that they may never find the courage to seek the help they need, so they sit in the pew, silently suffering, dying just a little more each service they sit through. How do I know? Because that is who I am.

So back to my orginal point.... do we need to be training our pastors and laypeople to deal with the "bad stuff." Yes, but first there needs to be a major change in those people before they can - or want - to help the hurting in our churches.

Note:After reading this blog post, a friend shared this link - worth reading.

My perfect church

Note: This post is partially in fun. There is no perfect church, and I know everything can't be 100% what we want in a church. Some of my ideas are serious, and I may throw in some just to be goofy. So what would my perfect church be like?
1) Friendly and caring

2) No cliques

3) lots of back seats

4) No acapella singing. Ever.

5) No Wesleyan Methodist hymnal. Ever. Absolutely.

6) No "focus" on certain age groups, but a focus on all

7) An actual Bible study - with books to go through and discussion

8) Valet parking

9) Wise spending of money

10) Lazy boys to sit in (ok - that was a joke in case someone can't pick up on that - also the valet parking, but not going to explain all of them..)

11) Decent lenthed messages - we have that. A note here, who does any preacher think he is who goes on for an hour and longer - I don't want to hear that...

12) A good blend of music - hymns, choruses, slow, fast

13) An earlier Sunday evening service. When I lived in Indiana, church started at 6 pm. No Bible study, no youth pampering... I mean focus - it was great.

14) More reverance. I weary of all of the noisy loudmouths hanging out in the vestibule between services while we are entering the worship service. The doors between the sanctuary and vestibule should NEVER have to be closed - its church moron - shut your pie hole and go sit down. (that one was no joke)

15) Hand santizer for after you shake a bunch of hands......

16) Live streaming so we can stay home and watch in our pjs. (again, joking)

17) More input from we people in the pews, and less decision making by a handful of people and the pastor

18) Candy - not fair that they get it in children's church and we don't.... ;-)

19) No more standing to sing. I can sing as well, or better, sitting down.

20) An ATM in the vestibule

21) More variety

22) No more missionary prayer meetings... or advance notice so some of us can stay home....

23) Using more people with talents. We have too many talented people sitting on their butts who won't teach a class, be in the cantata, nada. (This excludes me as I have no talents)

24) Voting on some stuff allowed for non-members - we attend there too, we should have a voice

25) Punctuality. There is no good reason why anyone should be consistently late for church. Occasionally? Yes, but it should be rare. If you are on time for your job, does not God deserve the same? Obviously not - church must not be as important....

26) Bottled water instead of a water fountain that has mediocre water

27) If there has to be reading course books, pick some interesting ones. I have a lot of suggestions :-)

28) More of an actual family in the church - we talk about the family of God, but truth be told, most of the people in the church don't really care about anyone else outside of their clique and family

29) Drink holders for those lazy boys

30) Bigger cups for communion

Ok, thats enough for now :-)

Transforming Church in Rural America by Shannon O' Dell

Book description:
Without meaningful change, thousands of rural churches won’t survive the next decade. *A vital guide for every deacon, elder, and pastor wanting to bring their rural church back to the business of changing lives *No-cost solutions for staffing challenges, upgrading the worship, and generating teams of volunteers *Innovative strategies for growth through transformed lives, relevance in meeting needs, and creating active evangelism in your community



If you aren’t transforming lives, then the church has no impact. Pastor Shannon O’Dell reveals the need for relevancy and shares a powerful mission for rural churches in reaching the unchurched and lost in their communities. Now, learn the strategies and biblical guidance that turned a church of 30 into a multi-campus church of several thousand with a national and global outreach. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches which give God the very best!


Learn to add VALUE to your ministry goals: Vision, Attitude, Leadership, Understanding, and Excellence. Discover how your marriage reflects the state of your faith and your relationship with God.

My review:
I have been extremely unhappy with my church of late, so this book caught my eye since it talks about transforming churches.

It was an interesting read. The author shares how he went from a handful of people in a small church of 31 people, to 2000, plus other outreaches of the church. Now I know size isn't everything, but as he points out in the book, if we aren't growing, there is something wrong.

In addition to sharing how their church changed and grew, he also shares a lot of ideas how to transform churches, reach people, and what to focus on in the church. This is a great book for especially leaders in the church, but also for lay people who want their church to change and need ideas on where to start.

Transforming Church In Rural America is available from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

 

Breaking the chains

The Bible talks about it - being set free. Preachers preach it, often referring to the chains of sin being broken. We sing songs about it. But are the chains always broken? Does God always deliver 100%? To show where I'm going, I will make up a couple of illustrations......

Martha starts smoking at age 13. She becomes a Christian at age 35. She wants to quit, but after 22 years, it is hard. She gives in every once in a while, when the desire is too great. She sees others who have been instantly delivered of the habit, but for her, she struggles with it for the rest of her life. Have her chains of sin been completely broken? If so, then why do cigarettes still hold power over her?

John was exposed to pornography at an early age. By the time he reaches adulthood, it has him bound firm. He becomes a Christian, but still has to fight the draw daily. He has to drive different routes to work to avoid the adult bookstore, and his mind is still filled with countless images. Occasionally, the draw gets too powerful, and he gives in, only to hate himself afterwards. Have his chains been truly broken, and if so, why can't he completely escape the power of pornography.

Michael grew up feeling different from all of the other boys. He realized in his teens that he was attracted to guys, not women, and he begins years of anonymous sexual encounters with other men. He meets Christ and turns his life over to him, but daily he has to fight his attractions and lust for the same sex. Has he truly been set free? Are his chains gone?

I know Satan fights us where we are weakest, and he knows where to strike, when to strike. I also know the Bible says that there is no temptation that God can deliver us from..... but why doesn't he take away the desires that are wrong, whether they be for cigarettes, drugs, sex, pornography? Must we suffer and struggle for the rest of our lives?

I have my own battle, my own struggle.... I just can't relate to the chains broken idea, for I feel like they never have been broken. It may be a poor way to put it, but in my mind, I have put it this way: I feel I am chained ina  cage. God forgives me and opens the cage so I can get out, but leaves the chains on me to deal with. Truth be told, I have wondered at times if I ever have actually become a Christian, yet feel that I have...... but why doesn't God seem to deliver 100%? And does anyone else feel this way?

Tithing......

I've been thinking about tithing lately, so I decided to blog about it and see if I can get any comments.

As far as I know, tithing is only mentioned in the Old Testament. I could be wrong on that. Jesus does say in the NT to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's.... so the argument could be made that He is referring to the tithe. I'm not out to argue whether to tithe or not. It does seem even the most conservative of churches pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to follow or reason away, especially when it comes to the Old Testament, but whether or not tithing is only Old Testament, I am going with the premise that yes, we are to tithe one tenth to God - plus offerings.

What I want to get at, is where to tithe. If I remember right, the one verse says to bring your tithes into the storehouse. So where is the storehouse? Ask pretty much any preacher and they will say where you are getting "fed". Spiritually of course - your church. Of course they would say that - think they want your money going somewhere else? ;-)

When those verses were written, there wasn't a church. There was the tabernacle. And only one tabernacle..... so of course the tithe went there. Enter the New Testament and the Church. Back then there were no denominations, and probably far less churches than we have nowadays. We can assume tithe was paid into the church, but it was used for more than to pay the pastor and the bills. It was used to take care of widows and orphans.

But what if God doesn't care where our tithes go? As long as it is used for Him? I have some blogger friends, Craig & Heather, who go to a church where it is practiced that you put your tithe where you feel God wants you to put it. In the church, to missionaries, to someone having financial difficulties. Scriptural? Maybe so. I find it hard to believe that God just wants our tithe to go toward padded pews, new hymnbooks, refreshments for the youth gathering, etc.

I know I criticize my church a lot, but hey, it is my church. Better than criticizing yours. :-) I am going to go out on a limb here, and someone from my church may saw it off. So here goes....

What if you feel your church spends money unwisely? My church furnishes a house for the pastor to live in and pays all bills that comes along with the house. We had a decent house, but we did need more room. A wise thing would have been to build on...... but no, we purchased land and built a large, expensive house. A house that costs a lot more to heat, cool, etc. And don't get me wrong.... I want the pastor to have a nice place, but we went majorly into debt to build what is almost a mansion.... was that truly a wise investment of God's money?

Exhibit B: every year we get someone in to have our vacation Bible school. We pay them around $1000.00 for the week, as I understand - and that is all well and good. Meanwhile, everyone too old for the VBS, ages 13-? meet at the pastor's and different people from church speak eacj night on different topics. Something that has worked out well. This year, they got someone to come and do the whole week. So we paid around $1000 for the kid's VBS worker, and I'd guess $1000.00 for the youth speaker..... my church runs around 220-250, and we aren't exactly running over with cash....

The main reason the above bothers me is this: Take a trip with me about 2 1/2 hours east of me to a small place called Hillsdale, PA. My little sister and her husband pastor a small country church there, running in the 40's and 50's most Sundays. They did get someone to come for their VBS, but couldn't afford to pay someone for the whole week, so they did 3 days instead of 5. That made me sad, and when I see what my church spends on VBS, especially this year, it makes me wonder...... do we have our priorities where they should be? Instead of wasteful spending, shouldn't we be sending money to smaller churches that need it? Instead of building mansions and getting more speakers than we need?

And what is wrong with sending our tithe where it is needed more? Granted, it is God's money, not ours, but I don't want it used wastefully. The argument could be made that if everyone sent their tithe elsewhere, the church would collapse in financial ruin. Maybe. Maybe not. If people sought God's will, I believe it would all even out. Sure, my church might not be able to throw out $2000 for a week of VBS, but so what. Maybe churches would be more careful how they spend money if they had a little less.

I think we need to look at the bigger picture. It IS God's money, and I seriously doubt He cares if we give our tithe where it is needed more, instead of dropping it in the offering plate at our church. Here is a scenario to put it in perspective: Say my church takes in $500,000 a month in tithes alone - doubt it is that high, but I'm sure it is more than needed for normal expenses..... Would God be happier if that money was used on unnecessary ways, or put where it is needed - for a need outside of the church.

I believe Christianity in general has slipped far from what God intended. We are so shallow, selfish, self-absorbed, busy. Most of us are too caught up by the world we live in to listen to what God is saying to us, too busy to seek His will. We want a fast food, drive through religion..... but what if God wants something different with us? With our money? What if His will isn't always for our tithe to go in the offering plate at church, but go instead to hurting needing people, or even to smaller churches that are struggling financially?

In closing, I only used my church as an example because it is the one I am familiar with. I am sure there are churches guilty of even more wasteful and selfish spending.

Meanwhile, I am strongly considering sending my tithe to a small country church in Hillsdale, PA. It could be what God wants.

The Christian "F" word....And the family of God

I saw reference made to this on John Acuff on his site, Stuff Christians Like. I mentioned it in a blog post I did a few days ago, but decided to blog about it a bit.

So what is the Christain "F" word? It is "fine." It even has 4 letters. We all use it. Someone asks us how we are doing, and we say "fine." Even if we are not. There are a couple of reasons for doing so: We know the person just asked us a greeting, we know that they don't really want to know how we are REALLY doing, or we feel that they don't care.

What would happen if we were honest? I'm afraid in most cases, the person would run the other way. "Uh, I see Susie Smith and I really need to talk to her. Keep encouraged!"

Can you imagine if we said any of the following: "Not too good. I am really discouraged and feel like giving up, I am having an affair, I just lost my job, I am struggling with homosexuality and don't know where to turn, I am addicted to porn, my husband has been hitting me." Be honest, we don't want to hear that. We don't want to deal with it.

And it may not always be because we don't care. We are too busy. We have our famlies, our jobs, our little circle of friends, emails, facebook. And the list goes on. We don't have time for people. We don't have time for our "brothers and sisters" in the church. If we were honest, most of the people in our church are mere aquaintances, not a brother or sister. If someone does dare admit a problem, we pat them on the back, tell them to keep encouraged and/or we will be praying for them, and off we dash to something or someone more important.

Ernie Haase and Signature Sound have a song I really like, "We Need Each Other." Here are a few lines that stand out to me:
"Cuz if one of us is hurting none of us have peace

And if one of us is bound then none of us are free"

"Reach out and take my hand, I need your strength to stand

We're not alone in this world, we need each other
I am a part of you, you are a part of me
No longer strangers we're sisters and brothers
We need each other"

And then there is the timeless Gaither song:

"You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,

It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.

Chorus
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God"

But is the song really true? If one has a heartache, do we really share the tears?

Back in the early days of the church, as I understand, it was pretty much "What's mine, is yours." Christians lived close to each other and took care of each other. How far we have come.

What if we really cared about our Christian brothers and sisters? As much as we are about our biological brothers and sisters? What if we asked someone how they were doing, and really wanted to know, no mattter how bad the reply?

I believe the Church has strayed far from what God intended it to be. Not just in this area, but in other areas.

So how are you doing? Really doing?