This morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, I was listening to the TV in the background. It just happened to be on The Hour of Power...Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral program. I've never been a fan of Schuller...he always seemed to promote Christianized Humanism (is that really possible?).
Anyway, Dr. Schuller was actually present to introduce the guest speaker. It was someone I admire a great deal, who really seems to have a great grasp on leadership, spiritual or otherwise. Dr. Schuller, in his introduction, proceeded to list all the credentials of this man. He listed 3 or 4 degrees, having pastored several churches, written several books which have sold over 16 million copies, bestseller lists, etc. As I listened, I slowly felt my stomach turn. Nausea started to set in as this man was being lauded and Jesus had yet to even be mentioned.
Degrees are very fine accomplishments...I must admit, I have none. I have a very good friend, more like a brother, who has a couple of degrees. Very informed man, well read and a great communicator, but I happen to know that most of his talent and knowledge are found in the Holy Spirit being his source, rather than the halls of academia.
Am I saying that academic accomplishments are worthless? Far from it. I know that I would rather have a doctor of considerable education rather than one with only the requisite education. But let's be honest, in the arena of spirituality, a person who's knowledge, passion and giftedness are a direct result of being filled with the Holy Spirit...I'll take the Spirit-filled man over the academician any day!!!
When I think about the 1st Century church and it's shepherds and evangelists, I just wonder what university they attended? Oh, I forgot, they didn't attend a university. Yes, Paul had an education...he was a disciple of one of the most revered rabbi's within Judaism, Gamaliel. But, the majority of the apostles were men without reputation, other than they were "uneducated men". Their qualifying mark of distinction was recognized even by those who hated them..."they (the enemies of the apostles) took note that they (the apostles) had been with Jesus".
May that always be the mark of distinction for me; that if I impact anyone for Christ, that it be recognized as a Gift from Heaven rather than my own accomplishments.
Think about it.
11/24/08
11/20/08
All Over The Map
The subject line, "All Over the Map" is a phrase some may not be familiar with, but is probably pretty self-explanatory. It means to cover a lot area, to be rather broad. In light of today's theological climate within Christianity, I'm all over the map.
I am:
emergent - Open to change and God wanting to do a new thing. This doesn't mean that God no longer operates within "traditional church"...but, with that being said, the "traditional church" way has hindered Him to a great degree by putting Him in a box and making Him predictable. God is stable and the same yesterday, today and forever, but He is anything BUT predictable.
missional - The belief that all Christians (not just "professional missionaries & clergy") should be involved in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. For too long the "traditional church" has been the "pastor's church". This is a result of a mindset that comes from a person being paid to do something. This idea is that, if they get paid to do it, they must be better at doing it...this is not only logically wrong, but Scripturally wrong. I have a friend who is an incredible business man. Very successful and unafraid to try new ventures. He has no formal training or schooling whatsoever. Training is not a bad thing, but it is not the only thing.
evangelical - A rather broad definition is: a Christian theological view emphasizing personal faith and the authority of the Bible. This is by no means an exaustive definition because then you need to look at "what is personal faith?" and "how encompassing is the authority of the Bible?" My personal view on these two criterion is probably even MORE stringent than most who consider themselves evangelical.
As with any labels, they don't nearly say enough, yet at the same time, they can say too much. This depends on the knowledge of the person using or hearing these terms. For instance, there is a man who comes into our bookstore who seems to think that the "emergent church" will be the downfall of Christianity. I couldn't disagree more. Greater movements with armed soldiers have tried and failed miserably. There are those who label themselves "emergent", (who, quite honestly need to rethink why they even bother with Christianity anyway) who seek to change the Biblical model for being a follower of Jesus for what they "feel" to be right. This would be a Christianized Relativism...this is NOT a Jesus mindset...sorry if this offends you.
I give these perspectives and use the labels to give some of you an idea of where I am. I actually wear no nametag, no label other than I am a follower of Jesus. The apostle Paul warned about wearing a label. He mentions "Apollos-ism" and "Cephas-ites" and "Paul-ists" and points to Jesus as the eraser of these labels...Jesus Christ ALONE is our leader. No pope, prelate, priest or pastor other than Him...period.
So, in looking at how I am "all over the map", I find that I am in Christ's territory; I am well within the borders of His Kingdom, where all roads lead to Him. If I were outside His Country, there are roads that appear to lead to the same place, but they are detours and, sometimes outright wrong roads that lead to hell. The Bible tells us that there are ways that seem right to a person but they lead to destruction.
So...emergents, missional folks, evangelicals...measure what you believe and what you do by the only source we have...the Bible. As far as what you currently believe, I would encourage you to...
Think about it.
I am:
emergent - Open to change and God wanting to do a new thing. This doesn't mean that God no longer operates within "traditional church"...but, with that being said, the "traditional church" way has hindered Him to a great degree by putting Him in a box and making Him predictable. God is stable and the same yesterday, today and forever, but He is anything BUT predictable.
missional - The belief that all Christians (not just "professional missionaries & clergy") should be involved in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. For too long the "traditional church" has been the "pastor's church". This is a result of a mindset that comes from a person being paid to do something. This idea is that, if they get paid to do it, they must be better at doing it...this is not only logically wrong, but Scripturally wrong. I have a friend who is an incredible business man. Very successful and unafraid to try new ventures. He has no formal training or schooling whatsoever. Training is not a bad thing, but it is not the only thing.
evangelical - A rather broad definition is: a Christian theological view emphasizing personal faith and the authority of the Bible. This is by no means an exaustive definition because then you need to look at "what is personal faith?" and "how encompassing is the authority of the Bible?" My personal view on these two criterion is probably even MORE stringent than most who consider themselves evangelical.
As with any labels, they don't nearly say enough, yet at the same time, they can say too much. This depends on the knowledge of the person using or hearing these terms. For instance, there is a man who comes into our bookstore who seems to think that the "emergent church" will be the downfall of Christianity. I couldn't disagree more. Greater movements with armed soldiers have tried and failed miserably. There are those who label themselves "emergent", (who, quite honestly need to rethink why they even bother with Christianity anyway) who seek to change the Biblical model for being a follower of Jesus for what they "feel" to be right. This would be a Christianized Relativism...this is NOT a Jesus mindset...sorry if this offends you.
I give these perspectives and use the labels to give some of you an idea of where I am. I actually wear no nametag, no label other than I am a follower of Jesus. The apostle Paul warned about wearing a label. He mentions "Apollos-ism" and "Cephas-ites" and "Paul-ists" and points to Jesus as the eraser of these labels...Jesus Christ ALONE is our leader. No pope, prelate, priest or pastor other than Him...period.
So, in looking at how I am "all over the map", I find that I am in Christ's territory; I am well within the borders of His Kingdom, where all roads lead to Him. If I were outside His Country, there are roads that appear to lead to the same place, but they are detours and, sometimes outright wrong roads that lead to hell. The Bible tells us that there are ways that seem right to a person but they lead to destruction.
So...emergents, missional folks, evangelicals...measure what you believe and what you do by the only source we have...the Bible. As far as what you currently believe, I would encourage you to...
Think about it.
11/18/08
Black Holes in the Laboratory
This morning on the way to work, I was listening to the news on the radio. They were talking about a machine that scientists have come up with that can create a "black hole".
First of all, is this something we want to do? What little we know about the phenomenon, I'd say we need to avoid being near one.
Secondly, after what I heard about it...there is no need for any concern.
It was said that they are studying a "black hole" that has been created by this machine. It has all the characteristics of a "black hole" except...it has no graviational pull.
WHAAAAT THE.....???????
This gravitational pull is one of the main characteristics of a "black hole"...if not the PRIMARY ONE. This is like saying, "We are going to study sea turtles but we're going to use a cat instead."
This is yet one more incidence of science gone awry...actually, just further evidence that we cannot always trust science for answers. If they have used spurious research methods on this...what about the ones we don't know about? I would encourage you to...
Think about it.
First of all, is this something we want to do? What little we know about the phenomenon, I'd say we need to avoid being near one.
Secondly, after what I heard about it...there is no need for any concern.
It was said that they are studying a "black hole" that has been created by this machine. It has all the characteristics of a "black hole" except...it has no graviational pull.
WHAAAAT THE.....???????
This gravitational pull is one of the main characteristics of a "black hole"...if not the PRIMARY ONE. This is like saying, "We are going to study sea turtles but we're going to use a cat instead."
This is yet one more incidence of science gone awry...actually, just further evidence that we cannot always trust science for answers. If they have used spurious research methods on this...what about the ones we don't know about? I would encourage you to...
Think about it.
11/5/08
What is Wealth For?
I recently read the new book by Rob Bell, Jesus Wants To Save Christians. Great book...really thought provoking. It came as a result of the front page of the Minneapolis Star stating that a certain church had just added onto their physical facility with the cost being 20.5 million dollars. On the same front page it was stated that 1 in 5 were living WAY below the poverty line. Rob asked the question..."What's wrong with this picture?" I ask the same question.
I think about the role of the church in meeting people's needs and ask...is this really being done? If you are a homeless person, the church may reach out to you, but if you are a member of a particular congregation, and have fallen on hard times, you can pretty much forget it. I have told the story of a friend who attended a LARGE and WEALTHY church who refused to help him and his family. This church's Youth Group account has $30,000.00 in it...this is just the account for the Youth! That's a buttload of pizza and soda!
The 1st Century church was truly a family. The book of Acts states that they had "all things in common...and no one lacked for anything". The church of today is quick to hoard for itself piles of "gold and silver" but this is to it's own destruction...ultimately.
Financial blessings are to be shared with those who have not...but this is the role of the church, not the government. Yes, the govt. needs to protect and serve the people, but the people are to sustain the people...and this is exactly what the church is supposed to do.
The Body of Christ has been relegated to a wheelchair. Impotent, weak and ineffective. Why? Because she hasn't functioned in the areas that her Lord had prescribed almost 2,000 years ago. Check out Matthew 25 to see His "checklist".
I grow tired and weary of seeing firsthand and hearing secondhand, the lack of compassion the churches have. The church has laid up for itself, treasure on earth, where "moth & rust corrupt"...to the point that it will soon be too late to apply the resources to people's needs. They will find that one day they will be able to dump their cash on the streets and no one will even notice, because it will no longer be worth anything. They will be begging to spend their wealth on someone and there will be no one who will want their help.
If we look at Biblical persons of wealth, they either used their wealth to benefit others and were blessed over again or they used it selfishly and were miserable. Abraham, David, Solomon, Barnabas on the one hand...Lot, Laban, Nabal and the very same Solomon on the other hand.
Money is meant to be a tool; a means of acquiring things to help others. Yes, it is OK to have things for yourself and to enjoy the blessings of wealth...but not at the expense of others having NOTHING. Our ultimate example is Jesus Himself. See Philippians 2...as a result of reading this SERIOUSLY, I have changed my perspective on wealth and giving, immensely.
Think about it.
I think about the role of the church in meeting people's needs and ask...is this really being done? If you are a homeless person, the church may reach out to you, but if you are a member of a particular congregation, and have fallen on hard times, you can pretty much forget it. I have told the story of a friend who attended a LARGE and WEALTHY church who refused to help him and his family. This church's Youth Group account has $30,000.00 in it...this is just the account for the Youth! That's a buttload of pizza and soda!
The 1st Century church was truly a family. The book of Acts states that they had "all things in common...and no one lacked for anything". The church of today is quick to hoard for itself piles of "gold and silver" but this is to it's own destruction...ultimately.
Financial blessings are to be shared with those who have not...but this is the role of the church, not the government. Yes, the govt. needs to protect and serve the people, but the people are to sustain the people...and this is exactly what the church is supposed to do.
The Body of Christ has been relegated to a wheelchair. Impotent, weak and ineffective. Why? Because she hasn't functioned in the areas that her Lord had prescribed almost 2,000 years ago. Check out Matthew 25 to see His "checklist".
I grow tired and weary of seeing firsthand and hearing secondhand, the lack of compassion the churches have. The church has laid up for itself, treasure on earth, where "moth & rust corrupt"...to the point that it will soon be too late to apply the resources to people's needs. They will find that one day they will be able to dump their cash on the streets and no one will even notice, because it will no longer be worth anything. They will be begging to spend their wealth on someone and there will be no one who will want their help.
If we look at Biblical persons of wealth, they either used their wealth to benefit others and were blessed over again or they used it selfishly and were miserable. Abraham, David, Solomon, Barnabas on the one hand...Lot, Laban, Nabal and the very same Solomon on the other hand.
Money is meant to be a tool; a means of acquiring things to help others. Yes, it is OK to have things for yourself and to enjoy the blessings of wealth...but not at the expense of others having NOTHING. Our ultimate example is Jesus Himself. See Philippians 2...as a result of reading this SERIOUSLY, I have changed my perspective on wealth and giving, immensely.
Think about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)