What are you doing to accomplish Romans 15:20-21?

As I opened God’s Word this morning I couldn’t help but be moved by Paul’s motivation to take the gospel to those who have never heard about Jesus.  Many of us may think that the time has long passed where people groups do not know about Jesus.  We would be sadly mistaken if we thought that.  Approximately one third of the world’s population is considered unreached with the gospel.  Seventy percent of Asians have never heard about Jesus.

As I read Romans 15:20-21 I could not help but feel conviction from the Holy Spirit.  I ask you to read those verses and decide what God may be leading you to do.

Churches and Japanese Steakhouses

I recently made my first trip to a Japanese Steakhouse.  I have to say that it was quite the experience.  The chef flipped his utensils, created large flames, caught shrimp tails in his hat, and performed all sorts of impressive tricks.  As I watched him cook my food I could not help but think if all that show was necessary.  In fact, my wife asked me, “Why doesn’t he just cook the food?”

As I waited for my meal, my mind drifted to the similarities between the Hibachi and the church of Jesus Christ.  How often do we put on a song and dance, full of impressive tricks, yet we are missing the most important part?  We are not called to impress, we are called to carry out the mission left for us by our Lord.

After all was said and done at the Japanese steakhouse, I was certainly full.  I had never seen quite a cooking display before.  However, it was certainly not the best steak I’ve ever had  (although it wasn’t bad).  The question at hand for me that night was, “What do you value more, the show or the substance?”  I believe that is the question for the modern church as well.

Muslim First, American Second?

I watched a news report this morning about the Ft. Hood shooter, Army Major Nidal Hasan.  In that report, a colleague of Major Hasan’s commented his concern that Major Hasan frequently commented he was a Muslim first and an American second.  I believe there is reason to be concerned about that declaration, but the reason I am concerned may surprise you.

Am I concerned that a man would put his relationship with his god above that of his country?  Absolutely not!  In fact, I consider myself a Christian first and an American second.  My concern is not over the fact that he is devoted to his religion more than his country, but to the religion he is devoted.

I believe any one who is seriously devoted to Jesus must be loyal to Him above everything else, including the United States of America.  Make no mistake, I have great pride in my country.  I consider myself a patriotic man with great love for the stars and stripes.  I have great devotion to mother liberty, but none greater than to the One by whose stripes I am healed.

Multi-site Churches: What does the New Testament Say?

I recently watched a video of mulit-site discussion held at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  One of the questions that continually came up was, “What does the New Testament say about multi-site churches?”  As I thought about that, the answer that came to me was, “Nothing.”  Then I asked myself, “What does the New Testament say the church meeting place, structure, building, congregational size, should look like?”  The answer, “Nothing.”

The only thing we can glean from Scripture in regard to these questions is the examples we have.  The examples we have are the Jerusalem church and the churches planted by the early believers and apostles.  The Jerusalem church appeared to meet as a whole, which made sense because they were the first and only New Testament Christians.  The manner in which the church plants met is not as clear.  It does appear however, that the church plants did communicate with each other, minster to each other, and were sometimes under the leadership of a single individual.

With that said, I think we need to realize that the churches we have in the New Testament were very unique.  They faced different situations than we did, most obvious that they were the only churches!  I think rather than try to make sense of the little information we have about church meeting structure in the New Testament, we should focus on what we know the New Testament teaches about the church.

Here are some commands for the church that the New Testament lays out:

1. The church is holy and belongs to the Lord.  The church is the bride of Christ and should seek to remain pure and undefiled as such.

2. The church is made up of regenerate sons and daughters of God who are a collective family under the headship of God.  This family is to love and serve each other, and love and serve others.

3. The church is to be led by servant leaders under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  This would include pastors and/or elders.

4. The church is to hold its members accountable to holiness, edification, cooperation, and unity.

5. The church is charged with the mission of reaching lost people with the gospel.  The church is God’s method of taking the message of redemption to the nations, there is no alternative.

6. The church is to proclaim the unaltered Word of God as revealed in Scripture.  The central focus of God’s Word proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ.  The church should base everything on that message.

These responsibilities (as well as others) are what the church is clearly commanded to do in Scripture.  I say we focus on doing these things.  If you believe your congregation best accomplishes this through a single location, by all means do so.  If you believe multi-site is the most faithful way to accomplish these mandates, go for it.  If you feel that planting many small churches best fulfills this task, plant away.  The point is to not lose sight of what God has clearly called us to do.  Let’s do it, and do it faithfully!

A Review of Do Hard Things

A just finished Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.  It was a wonderful book.  It’s aimed at teenagers, yet I found it very helpful in my own life.  The overall message is for teenagers to rise above the low expectations set for them by the world, and challenge themselves to do hard things.  I highly recommend the book for people of all ages.

Here are a few highlights:

• “The truth is that all of us are susceptible to low expectations.  Once we have satisfied the minimum requirements, we tend to stop pushing ourselves.” pg. 39
• “We’ve noticed that the fence that keeps us from breaking out of our comfort zones is nearly always built of fear–fear of weakness, discomfort, failure, humiliation.  We’ve notice something else too: you can’t live by fear and live by faith at the same time.” pg. 69
• “Being considered a good teen only requires that we don’t do bad stuff like taking drugs, drinking, and partying.  But is it enough to be known for the negative things we don’t do, or should we also be known for the positive and difficult things that we do?” pg. 97
• “Every action, no matter how small, is defining our future harvest.  Small seeds can make big weeds, but they can also produce beautiful flowers or feed a nation.” pg. 139
• “Neither Wilberforce nor Luther could have stood against the evils and injustices of their times if they hadn’t first learned to stand against the evil in their own hearts and in the hearts of those around them.” pg. 163

A tween boy who is becoming a “girl”

I read an article this morning about a 12 year old boy who is undergoing surgery and hormone treatment to become a girl.  This article may incite some to anger, but really I feel saddened by this.  Let me be clear: I believe this is an abomination against God’s created order.  However, I also believe this young man may genuinely be confused about his sexual identity.

I am a firm believer that because of the fall of man (see first few chapter of the book of Genesis) all of creation is affected.  This includes even our bodies.  Some people’s bodies are even affected to the point that they are born with male and female organs (I’m not sure if that is the case with this young man).  I believe that those who are confused sexually are confused because of the effect that the sin nature has taken on their minds and bodies.  Make no mistake, this does not excuse our accountability for the actions we take.  If I do something, I am the one responsible for that act, and I alone.  But, I cannot help but feel compassion for this  young man.

Is this act upsetting to God?  Absolutely.  However, rather than just throw a fit about the lack of judgment from the parents involved in this scenario, or the sinful lifestyles of others stuck in sexual confusion, let’s also show compassion for those who are confused and misguided.  Our world is messed up.  People do things that are not right.  Let’s pray that God will not only heal their souls, but their minds as well.

A review of Raising the Bar by Alvin Reid

I just finished reading the book Raising the Bar by Dr. Alvin Reid.  I was impressed by Dr. Reid’s knowledge of church history and the impact of young people being used by God throughout the life of Christianity.  This book would benefit any parent, youth pastor, or pastor who is seeking to lead boys and girls to become godly men and women.

Here are a few highlights:

• “. . . youthful militants in the Middle East who, in the name of faith, are raised up with the hope of being suicide bombers.  To what, in the name of faith, do we raise our youth to aspire?”
• “We decry low academic standards in public schools, claiming that they teach to the lowest common denominator and are unaware that the majority of their students are capable of rising to an academic challenge,   Yet in our churches, we are guilty of the same low standards.”
• “The latest technology and research may be of some help but, when it comes to youth ministry, God must be the source of anything eternal.”
• “Many complain that prayer today has been taken out of public schools.  Buy how many of those who complain pray with their children in their homes?”
• “Youth do not hate preaching–they hate boring preaching.”
• Reid offers his own synopsis of the book of page 193:

1. Stop treating youth like children who are finishing childhood, and start rearing them like young adults moving into adulthood.
2. Reduce the segregation of youth from the life of the church.
3. Raise the bar in what we teach in terms of both biblical orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
4. Do more to strengthen the family.
5. Make a distinction between explicit biblical teaching and valid principles we can apply to this culture.
6. Prepare this new generation to take on the whole world.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has influence over a young person.

Three Musts When Segregating Students in Ministry

I’m in the middle of reading Raising the Bar by Dr. Alvin Reid.  Look for a full review soon.  Here now, from the book, are three steps we must take if we segregate students from others for local church student ministry.

1.  Those desiring to segregate the youth from the rest of the church should have a clear, biblically justifiable reason.

2. Limit segregation to those times when it’s absolutely necessary.

3.  Even when you have times of segregation, make sure a significant number of mature adults are involved.

Protection from the iPhone

I would recommend anyone who has an iPhone, or anyone whose child has an iPhone, to think hard about how they can protect their eyes and thoughts when using the iPhone.  Here is a helpful article from my friend in the ministry Brandon Shields.  Please check it out.  I personally use SafeEyes.

Being Unborn