Jesus in Church

Productive Church

2010-03-11T09:55:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I wonder if the church feels like it has to have a product to market. What I mean is this, do we feel like if we are going to get people to come to church we have to have something that will attract them? What got me to thinking about this is the amount of pastors and staff that is expected to “produce” numbers. And so under the pressure of producing numbers, how many try to market a product?

The Bible tells us that there is nothing attractive about Jesus (Isaiah 53:2). I mean think about it for a minute, why would someone be attracted to a Man who call us to crucify ourselves, live for others and live a radical life of sacrifice? There is nothing attractive about that. If anything the Bible teaches us that the world will push back against Christianity.

But we have to produce people in church if we are going to be successful by the world’s standards. So what we do is one of two things, we either compromise the truth of Jesus and water it down to make Him look like a magician who will give us whatever we want if we just speak the right words (now that will produce numbers!) or we scare people into thinking that we have what they need and so they should come to church so satisfy an angry God. Either way we are marketing something.

So we get in this quandary in our church, Jesus in not attractive to the world, but we need people in the church, so to get people in the church we need a product to market, we can either market a wrong theology that makes Jesus more palatable, or we can market “salvation”. Either way is wrong.

Jesus said very clearly in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” WOW! Here is a new church growth strategy, what would happen if we let Jesus draw the people? I think what would happen is God would have His way with the church. But see this takes trust, what if Jesus only calls 20 or 10 or 5 to that church, what if that is what Jesus has in store for that church? Are we willing to accept that?

Jesus defined success in the Kingdom of God as one sinner who repents. There are not number limitations, there is no need for catchy campaigns to get more people to come, all we need is to trust Jesus, do what He called us to do and let Him grow the church.

Division

2010-02-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

I was watching the news yesterday for just a minute, and there was an argument between a democrat and a republican over the health care reform of our president. And as I sat there watching it, I started wondering what other countries must think of us when they sit and watch us bicker back and forth over such issues. It seems that we cannot get along, even amongst ourselves. I sat back and my heart hurt for our country, because we are so divided. And then I thought about the church.

Why is it that we cannot get along in the church? And why is it that there is so much animosity, and competition in the church? Just a couple of weeks ago I sent out an email to forty or fifty pastors about a mission I am doing in Uganda, thinking that I could get some help from some of them, thinking that some of them would be interested in helping with that mission, and I have not even received a “no thanks”. That hurts my heart.

Now I am not slamming those pastors, not even close, because I don’t think I do enough to help other churches, so please don’t think that, but what hurts me so bad is where and why have we gotten so divided? I mean look around at all the denominations and you will see that we do not stand united. And then I think about our public witness, and I think about what an unbeliever must see from the outside looking in.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Wise words I would say, because what is happening, is just like our country seems to be crumbling, so does the church seem to be crumbling. Our salt seems to be loosing its saltiness. And people that do not believe are on the outside looking in and they must think we are a joke because we cannot even get along amongst ourselves. How can we tell them we love them when we don’t even love each other?

One of the prayers that Jesus prayed was for us to be one even as He and the Father are one, and we are far from being one. Let us strive for unity for the sake of Christ, let us strive to let the world see us, not as Baptist or Methodist, or Presbyterian, but let them see us as Christians, bound together, setting aside doctrinal differences to see the world changed to the glory of God and His Kingdom!

A Quote

2010-02-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a quote I received from a friend that was written in response to the Ted Haggard scandal. I hope you enjoy. It is pure truth.

“I heard someone say that assumption is the lowest form of knowledge. Take any person, find the darkest secret in their life, blow it up out of all proportion, assume the worst, publicize it to the world on every news outlet, define their name by that act and you have successfully eliminated them from meaningful participation in public life. Take the same person, discover their greatest sin, surround them with mercy and compassion, assume the best, protect them from exploitation, walk them through pain to hope to renewal to restoration and you have successfully preserved and enhanced their influence and public impact. In the latter case the failure frames their life message, in the former case they become a by-word and a mockery. The latter is redemptive, the former demonic.”

Shooting the Wounded

2010-02-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

The reason I started this blog was to work out some of my thoughts about Jesus and the church. And what I want to ask myself is what would Jesus think about most of the churches that are started in His name? Now please don’t think that I am bashing the Bride of Christ, not at all! And I think that there are many churches that are doing a great job, but I also think Jesus is progressively changing His church. With that being said i want to think about something.

Why do you think the church wants to shoot the wounded? What I mean by that is why, when someone sins or gets in an unfortunate situation such as divorce, do we sometimes make those people feel second rate and therefore drive them away? And even if they are self imposing feeling that way on themselves, why would the Church even come to mind when they feel judged? The church should be the most un-judgmental place in the world! But I have a theory.

God's grace and forgiveness are one hundred percent free. And we, as humans, have no idea what it means to receive something free. We feel like there should always be a price. We are taught from a very young age that things that are free should be looked at with suspicion. So with this in mind I read the prodigal son. If you are not familiar with that story go and read it real quick, Luke 15:11-31.

Now, let me set some things in place for us. In this story, 1) God is the Father, 2) Both sons are sons. What I mean is one is not a son and the other is, in other words they represent two saved believers. 3) The younger son represents a Christian person who wonders away from God. 4) The older son represents someone who has been in church all their life and never strayed. They are equally sons, and equally entitled to be with their dad.

Okay, younger son squanders his wealth on liquor and wild women, while older son stays home and works. Younger son comes to an end of himself, goes back and dad does not even blink an eye! He never asks the younger son to pay the money back, he does not “demote” him to a lesser son; no he brings the younger son right back in, and throws a party! And this infuriates the older son.

The reason why the older son is so mad is twofold, first he has been dedicated, working and right there for his dad all the time and by God he has earned everything he has. Second, he feels like the younger son must pay for what he has done. Anything else is letting him off scot free.

Now lets apply this, the Dad is God, like I said, the younger son is a wayward Christian that has made a mess of themselves, and the older son is the hardworking church folk that are in the church. We have to understand some things to apply this so work with me. First, no one, and I mean no one, deserves to be in God’s family. So when we try to rate sin we cannot, sin is sin. Next, there is more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner that repents than ninety nine righteous that do not need to repent (see Luke 15:7). And finally if we feel like people should be punished for their sins over and beyond what God requires, we belittle the Cross and say it was not enough, and we miss out on the party that is being thrown in Heaven.

The church is supposed to be a safe place. A place where it is okay to be not okay. People need to feel like they can come to us and not be okay and still feel the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers them. It is my prayer that we can embody this truth and be Jesus to the world.

PS. Please share these blogs with all your friends.

Church is for sinners

2010-02-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

One of the things that sticks with me the most is how churches seem to be more about how moral we can make people than how much more like Jesus we can make them. What I mean is this, we have seen the moral life that Jesus lived and so we make rules that say, "Dont drink, dont chew or date girls that do", but then the church becomes more like the morality police who want to make sure that people are acting as they should. So people get beat up from the pulpit to the point where they realize that a standard is being set that they could never live up to so they give up all together.

What if, though, church were a place where it is okay that you dont have it all together? What if pastors taught sin in its totality along side of grace? What if people left our churches every week realizing that they are sinners, and that they are hopless, but there is hope in the cross?

As I have studied the life of Jesus I become more and more convinced that the reason He went to the down and out of His culture is because those are the people who knew they needed help. Someone who, in their mind, think they have it all together has no need for a savior, however, someone who knows that they are broken and sinful can come to the realization that the only hope they have for salvation is Jesus.

That is the Gospel