Manufacturing Church

My good friend Scott Hunter of Marriage On Fire ministries recently put this link out on Facebook. I watched it and had a good laugh until it struck me how close to the truth this video really is. Can church become so manufactured that God is nowhere to be found? I believe we all know the answer to that question. And the reason we know is because all of us have worshiped before with less than our whole heart.

How many times have we, as church leaders, dropped this week's songs and sermon into a familiar template without even thinking to ask, "Does God want something different this Sunday?" I appreciate these guys highlighting a danger that every church faces - substituting an experience for God.

Please don't misunderstand. If a church has a nice building . . . great. If a church has cutting edge technology . . . fantastic. There is nothing wrong with having a top notch music program and you can be so progressive as to broadcast a hologram of yourself preaching to 100 satellite campuses, at the same time. I get it. But if God is not there then what's the point? When the pastor preaches, it better be "Thus says the Lord" and not a psyco-babble sermon. When the musicians play and sing, their offering must be in spirit and truth if they want God to be pleased with it.

Watch the video. Have a good laugh. Then do your best not to go there.

CAP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RJBd8zE48A

The Real Deal

A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Adrian Rogers. We were both standing in line outside The White House - waiting to be let in for The National Day of Prayer gathering. He just walked up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Adrian Rogers," or something just like that. It was so surreal.

I told him I was a pastor and he asked, "What kind of church do you pastor?" Knowing that this man preached to tens of thousands every week, I humbly said, "A small one." He laughed, hugged my arm and introduced me to the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. I will never forget how genuinely kind Dr. Rogers was to me personally. He made this small-time minister feel at ease in the midst of spiritual giants.

Since then I've had the opportunity to talk to others who knew Adrian Rogers personally and confirmed that he was the real deal. He always took time for people and never looked past them when they were speaking. While pastoring a great church he never saw himself as anything more than a humble servant to a great God.

This morning I went to lwf.org and listened to one of Dr. Roger's messages, The Sin That Lost A War, while working out on my elliptical. Every Christian should hear this message for sure, but I would especially recommend it for the men. If you are concerned about the legacy you are leaving for your family, please take the time to listen to this sermon - proclaimed by one of God's finest pulpiteers. You won't be disappointed.

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Our Purpose for Living

If happiness and fulfillment were based only upon having our needs met then there should be a lot more happy people in this world. However, we all know of people who are financially well off – yet are not happy. They are living lives of stress and worry.

I heard of one husband who said to his wife, “Why are you always worrying? It doesn’t do any good?” His wife said, “Oh yes it does. Ninety percent of the things I worry about never happen, so it must be working.” Sound familiar?

As I mentioned in my last post, we worry about whether our needs will be met but there might be a greater worry that Jesus eludes to in Matthew 6:33 - a life lived without purpose. Like Solomon, many of today's Christians have sampled everything the world has to offer and come up empty. They desire a life filled with purpose and meaning, but are looking in the wrong places.

Jesus says that our physical needs will be taken care of as our spiritual purpose is fixed. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness . . . then all these things will be added to us. The word first gives the thought of that which is before, prominent and best. The children of God are wandering around searching for meaning and purpose and the whole time, God is saying, "I am your purpose. I am your meaning. I am what is best." You cannot have a greater purpose than living for His Kingdom and righteousness.

So what does it mean to seek His Kingdom? It is to recognize God's reign and live with a passion of bringing people into God's family. Seeking His righteousness means to look for in hopes of obtaining. It is not saying that we will attain God's level of righteousness, but God has called us to be holy as He is holy.

The Lord wants us to focus on the spiritual purpose He has designed for us and when we do . . . some astounding things will happen.

• God will meet our physical needs.
• We'll live a life of fulfillment since we now have a purpose to live for.
  
• There will be a peace that comes from knowing that God is pleased with us, because we have made His priorities our priorities.

God's blessings are always on the pathway of service. They almost never come when we live only for ourselves. Live for the King and His Kingdom.

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Do You Know That God Knows?

This Sunday I will be continuing my message series Escape to Generous City, and will be dealing with the subject of worry - the nemesis of generosity. In Matthew chapter 6, there is a very interesting phrase that the Lord Jesus imparts to us in verse 32, "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Did you get that? God knows what we need. Now to make it personal, say it to yourself, "God knows what I need." This seems elementary but I assure you it is not, because to the degree that we believe v.32 is true, reveals the depth of our faith in God's ability to provide for our needs.

Now we think we need a lot of things. And if I don’t get what I think I need then I'm forced to make a determination. Either God wants me to have it but is testing my prayer life and patience, or He doesn’t believe it is a genuine need in my life.

And that is what we have a hard time accepting.

The truth is, if it’s not something associated with our livelihood (food, clothing and shelter) then it really isn’t a need – but a want.

How many of us pray for God to give us something we think we need, and when He doesn’t, take matters into our own hands? How many of us say to God with our actions, “God, I really needed it and you weren’t moving fast enough (I know how busy you are) so I just went ahead and took care of it. If you would still like to help then please send money so I can pay the credit card bill when it comes.”

I think it happens all the time and that is why Christians, who should be the most content people on the planet, are mired in constant worry and stress. And because of this . . .

• They are living with bills they were never meant to have
• They are living with material things that they were never meant to have but are now responsible for. When you own something . . . it own you as well.

As long as the Christian remains tangled in a web of worry, he cannot escape to Generous City. God never promised to give us everything we wanted, but He did promise to supply all our needs. And perhaps our greatest need of all is to be reminded occasionally that God is keenly aware (more than we are) at every moment of exactly what we need.

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Happiness or Joy?

Which one do you want - happiness or joy? You might ask, "Aren't they the same?" Actually they are not. Adrian Rogers says that happiness is based upon happenings. In other words, happiness is fleeting because it is dependent upon circumstances. Is the sun shining today? Is there money in the bank? Am I excelling at my job? Do I have a good relationship with my spouse? Are my kids getting good grades? Does the car need repairs? Do I need to lose weight? Am I getting enough exercise? You get the idea.

We could spend hours asking questions about every area of life and probably end up depressed. However, joy is not dependent on happenings - but on our relationship with God. It might be rainy outside (and it is at the time of this writing), you might be living from paycheck to paycheck, you might be stalled in your job, you might be desperately in need of a date night with your spouse, the kids are getting Cs, the car needs new brakes, you need to lose ten pounds and can't seem to find time to exercise - but there are some things you are doing right.

You are spending time with God each day, in His Word and in prayer. You are seeking to please God in how you live your life. You are not perfect, but when you make mistakes you quickly ask for forgiveness and believe God grants it based on 1 John 1:9. You are more concerned about what God thinks than what other people think about you. You recognize that your self worth is not determined by your appearance, education, social status, position, possessions or bank account - but by God Almighty.

Isn't it interesting that the Macedonians, who were living in abject poverty (2 Corinthians 8), were able to give to the Christians in Jerusalem - and do it with abundant joy in their hearts. I'm sure it did not make them happy to be poor, but the Macedonians loved God so much that their joy overcame circumstances that would devastate most people. God meant all the world to them.

And by the way, if you ever doubt how much you mean to God, don't forget that the Lord of all things had you in His mind and heart before you were ever created. The God that has universes to drip from His fingertips thought on you and ultimately gave His only Son to die for you. When we can remember God's love for us, and see our relationship with Him as our sanctuary, then we too can abide in abundant joy.

So if you can be happy then do it. And if you can have joy and happiness at the same time . . . that's a win-win. But if you must strive for one then strive for joy and more times than not, you will find happiness as well.

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Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord

Last Sunday I spoke on Exodus 14 where Moses says in verse 13, ". . . Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." We get excited when we read this because we know what is coming next - the parting of the Red Sea. The problem is, the Israelites had no idea what form their salvation would take - only that they needed to stand still and trust God. Who could have imagined that God would part a sea for them? Only God - which leads me to this thought, "God doesn't always answer our prayers the way that we hope He will, but He does answer, and His answer is always right." Sometimes the sun still sets on your hopes and dreams. Sometimes the person you pray for never recovers. Sometimes the promotion you worked for is given to someone else. Sometimes the test comes back and it is cancer. Sometimes a good friend turns his/her back on you. Sometimes the bills are overwhelming and there are no additional funds to pay. I don't know what your crisis is, but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. If you are His child then He will answer your prayers. The question is not, "Will He answer?" The question is, "Will I trust Him, no matter what the answer is?" We must learn to trust Him because God rarely answers our prayers exactly as we think He should. Instead He grows our faith by answering in ways we would never have considered in a million years.

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A Pastor, Fireman and Superhero

"So Joshua, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Sometimes he will tell me that he wants to be a pastor. Other times he will say that he wants to be a fireman. Most recently, he informed the family that he has decided to be a superhero when he grows up. We're still waiting for the super powers to kick in. I don't know what Joshua will finally choose when he gets older, but I am thankful that all of his choices thus far are professions that involve helping others. I was reminding the church last Sunday that the pleasures of this life are fleeting and only leave us with temporary satisfaction. The greatest pleasure comes from serving others and knowing that you made a difference in their lives. I love Mark 8:35 which says, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." It would be awesome if my son became a preacher someday - if that is what God wants. I would be proud if the Lord led him to be a fireman. But the truth is, as long as we teach our children to love and serve God by loving and serving others, they will all grow up to be superheroes.

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Relationship, Not Religion

Our Starbucks group just finished Francis Chan's Crazy Love book and it was awesome. In the final chapter, Chan's barrage of truth is hard hitting and causes you to ask some intense questions of yourself. Here are a few of the lessons taught in chapter 10.

• God may want you to go overseas to be a missionary, or He may call you to be more of a missionary where you are now. If we have a right relationship with Jesus, we will be open to all possibilities.
  
• We often say that we can do "all things through Christ" but live and plan as though God doesn't exist.
• We say that we are waiting for God to reveal His calling on our life in order to avoid action. Chan asks, "Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of the television yesterday?" Ouch! Don't say that.
  
• If we want to experience God, then we must be willing to put ourselves in situations where we will fail unless God comes through.
• Remember to treat everyone you meet the same way you would treat Jesus.
• Ask yourself, "Would I rather have Jesus walking right beside me, or have the Holy Spirit living in me?"

Crazy Love is a great book because it draws its wisdom from the greatest of all books - the Bible. I would highly recommend it to any pastor, believing that if an entire church would read this book, and be open to change - it would totally transform that church. Here's hoping that you will all become crazy lovers of Jesus.

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Get That Ram!

Right now I'm reading through Genesis and just finished the story where God asked Abraham to offer Isaac. I can't even imagine how Abraham must have felt. His heart must have sunk when God asked him to give-up the most precious thing in his life. On top of that, Abraham had to journey for three days until God showed him where to offer the sacrifice. What was he thinking during those three days?

• Did I really hear God right? Maybe I was mistaken.
• Why would God want me to do this when He knows how long we waited for this promised child? Is He trying to torture me?
  
• What have I done wrong? This must be a judgment for some sin in my life.

Ultimately Abraham did as God commanded. He put away his doubts and acted on faith. Because Abraham demonstrated his total obedience, believing that God would keep His covenant, the Lord spared Isaac. But then an interesting thing happened . . .

Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son (Genesis 22:13).

God confirmed Abraham's faith by supplying the provision (a ram caught in a thicket), but the provision was not revealed until Abraham demonstrated his faith. And after the provision was revealed, Abraham still had to grab it and use it for the glory of God. God could have just revealed the ram beforehand, killed it, laid it on the altar to be sacrificed, and lit His own fire - but how would that have strengthened Abraham's faith? All I'm saying is that it's good to have our faith tested from time to time. It's good that God doesn't do everything for us. It's good that we have to wrestle the ram and offer the sacrifice. These experiences deepen our faith and increase our love for God. So the next time you experience a crisis of faith, trust the Lord to provide exactly what is needed for the situation. And once the provision is revealed, get that ram! Receive what God has given and use it for His glory.

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