Like Pulling Teeth

Last week I went to the orthodontist to have a tooth extracted. Believe it or not, it was a baby tooth that did not have a permanent tooth underneath - so it just sat there for all these years. Before the extraction, I asked my tormentor if the tooth really had to come out. The pain I experienced a couple of days before had subsided a little, so maybe pulling it was unnecessary. He told me that I could deal with the problem now with minimal pain, or come back later when it would be excruciating. I opted for minimal pain. Problems are a lot like a bad tooth. If you deal with them quickly, there will be discomfort but soon things begin to heal. If you wait too long, problems never go away - they always get worse. It may seem like there is peace for awhile but the infection is still there under the surface, ready to come back with a vengeance. Are you putting off dealing with something because you know there will be conflict? Are you resisting having a talk with that person who really needs it? Don't! In the end you are only prolonging their handicap. Deal with it now and learn whatever lessons God has for you. It may be like pulling teeth, but trust me, you'll be glad you did.

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Faking It

I believe God is leading our church into greater depths of authenticity, which is why we are starting our Fake message series this Sunday. Over the next several weeks we will be taking a hard look at things in society that are fake - religion, friends and finances. But perhaps the most difficult thing that we will examine is the fakeness found in ourselves. As I see it, this is what is missing in our churches today. How could that ragtag band of believers in Acts 2 stay in prayer for ten days waiting on the Holy Spirit? Where did that passion come from? I believe it came out of the authenticity of their relationship with Jesus. We are living in the last days and there should be a sense of urgency in the church about reaching lost people with the gospel. But we will never have a corporate sense of urgency in our churches if individual members (and pastors) are not willing to find what's fake in their lives and trade it for truth. Don't be fake!

When you have time, read Matthew 7:21-23

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Stress Test

We recently had a problem with an outdoor faucet and had to call in the experts. Our plumber replaced the faulty faucet and inserted a gauge to test the water pressure. When he turned the water on, a greater problem was revealed. There was a split in the copper pipe that wouldn't have been caught if pressure had not been applied. So pressure is a good thing. Pressure helps to reveal where the flaws are. It works for copper pipes and for personal character. God allows us to live in seasons of pressure because he is forming us into the image of His Son. And while we might not be able to control an atmosphere of pressure, we can control the handle of the spigot. We can examine our own physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health, and control what we'll allow to come into our lives each day. If my batteries are charged-up, I can loosen the handle to take on a little more. If I'm feeling drained, I can tighten it. Of course there are emergencies that are beyond a person's control, but most of the time we have the ability to choose. Wayne Cordeiro said it this way - ". . . no one will monitor your energy level or your personal and emotional health." He said that, "One day when you lie in the hospital, suffering from fatigue and stress, they (friends, family, church members) will say, "Why, he should have taken better care of himself!" This is not just true for pastors, but for everyone. So watch the gauges, and be sure to allow more things into your life that strengthen you, rather than drain you. My visit from the plummer was not cheap, but it certainly costs less than a stay in the local hospital.

When you have time, read 1 Corinthian 10:13

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The Hero Inside

I was reading my new Collide magazine yesterday and came across an interesting article on why we tend to love the antiheroes of today. You might be asking, "Craig, what is an antihero?" An antihero is a severely flawed individual who is the main character or hero of a story. We find ourselves cheering for them even if we would never want to be them. The reason people exchange their heroes for antiheroes is because many of their heroes are flawless. We cannot relate to Superman because he is perfect. He has no real problems. But all of us, living in the real world, have real problems. So we gravitate to characters who have human failings and hope for some redemption to take place in their lives. The problem is, if they ever get that redemption and change for the better - we probably won't like them anymore. If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, in a way, you are an antihero. I don't mean this negatively. We all have our weaknesses because of the sin nature inside of us. But Christ also dwells in us and because of Him, we can do heroic things. We can make a difference in this world, not just for time, but for eternity.

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Throwing the Box Away

The message of the gospel should never change, but the methods we use to deliver that message should be ever-changing. The longer I pastor, the more I am convinced that the church today looks very little like the one we see in the book of Acts. We have created a religious box and put God inside - at least the god conceived in our minds. The one true God cannot be contained by our traditions. At Kingdom, we are thinking outside the box and I love it. On Wednesday nights, some of our small groups are meeting in area cafes for Bible study and fellowship. Parents can drop their kids off at the church and be at their life group within five minutes. Having so many cafes nearby allows us to take our faith outside the sanctuary walls and into the community. Most churches doing small groups meet in homes, and that's cool, but studying God's Word in Starbucks or Caribou Coffee is just awesome. As the culture changes, it will become increasingly necessary to think outside the box - or just throw the box away. Churches cannot continue to do things the way they've always been done. If we foster a take it or leave it attitude, unchurched people will just leave it. If we are going to go backwards in our thinking, let's go all the way back to the beginning when all the church had was Jesus and the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. Let us remember that the simple growth plan for the first church was an emphasis on God's Word, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer (Acts 2:41-47). Let's start there and ask God what what he wants the church to look like today.

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I'll Walk Right Beside You

My son is growing up. He used to want me to carry him. He used to want to hold my hand. Now he wants to do everything himself. I guess that's OK. I certainly don't want him living in my basement at 30, with no job, playing video games in his underwear. Yesterday we were out at a store and I said, "Son, hold daddy's hand." To which he said, "I'll walk right beside you daddy." Of course that lasted all of 15 seconds before I had to call to him again. When my son got too far ahead, or lagged to far behind, I would ask him to hold my hand and he would repeat his new declaration of independence. Finally, when Joshua said, "I'll walk right beside you daddy," I answered, "Are you really going to walk right beside me?" It was then that it hit me. How often do we promise God that we will walk right beside Him, only to run too far ahead, or lag too far behind? Walking with God means just that - walking with Him. When we get ahead of God, our best plans are disastrous. When we fall behind, we miss out on what God is doing all around us. The best place we can possibly be is walking right beside our God.

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