Jesus Freak

I've never wanted to be "weird".  In fact I really wanted to portray to people that you don't have to be "weird" to follow Christ.  But as I look at the scriptures, there are a whole lot of crazy people.

The apostle Paul was crazy.  In fact he writes in 2 Corinthians 5, "If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God....".

Peter was crazy.  The things he did, the things he said, the way he lived.  I'm sure people thought he was a little on the "weird" side.

And how about Jesus?  Was he concerned about his image?  Did he try to teach that you can be "normal" and still follow him?  Or was he about a total life commitment that the world would see as "weird"?  I think we know the answer.

I think real, authentic passion for Christ is going to appear "different" to our world, and even to our church.  We rarely see it truly lived out like the scriptures seem to show, in fact I think we have sort of religionized (I'm aware this isn't in the dictionary) the gospel as a whole.  "Just raise your hand to give your life to Christ, and repeat this prayer after me - then you will be saved!"  Maybe now we expect that they quit drinking, swearing, and try to be a "good person".  But is this how it's supposed to work?

Mark Twain was quoted saying, "The church is a bunch of good people trying to teach good people how to be good people."  But this is the gospel.

The gospel is about a life change, it's about passion, it's about purpose and a new way to live.  And that will seem "weird" to our world but I also think that this will seem "weird" even to our church.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow  - Isaiah 1:17

Cape Town

I'm in the middle of a book called, "The Hole in Our Gospel" and came to a part that I had to share.  The chapter was written about this town in South Africa called "Cape Town".

Here's a short clip:
"Cape Town is one of the few places in the world where the worst imaginable poverty and the most opulent wealth live together, sometimes just 50 yards apart.  The "haves" live in gated communities adorned with security cameras.  The "have-nots" peer from their tin huts as Mercedes and BMW's from another world pass them by.  How can the rich and the middle class live like this, forced to see the stark contrast between themselves and the desperately poor every single day?  They do exactly what you and I do:  they ignore them."

It's easy for us to ignore the world we live in.  We don't see it every day, we aren't face to face with the child who will die tomorrow, we haven't lost a family member to AIDS.  But whether we're face to face with this stuff, or in "another world", to do nothing is to blatantly ignore the people that God has called us to help.

Mother Teresa

Her story challenges me.  This woman was amazing.  She won awards, raised money, became famous and a hero.  But her life wasn't about any of that.  She was about God, and God is about people, so she was about people.  Hurting people, hungry people, sick people, dying people.  What she gave up, how she lived, what she endured, the difference she made.

I struggle to live one day, like she lived her entire life.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world" - Mother Teresa

Prayer Questions

Do we really believe that prayer works?  Do we really believe that by praying for our kids, that it actually accomplishes something, that it actually keeps them safer of helps them in some way?  Do we really believe that things change when we pray?

Then why is it so hard for so many to do?

As Christians, we often will talk about the importance of talking to God, but when it comes down to actually putting in the time, we pretty much stink.  And I don't mean to make it sound like I'm pointing fingers at others, because there is definately a 2x4 in my eye when it comes to this subject.

We say that prayer changes things, but if we really believed this, wouldn't we do a better job of making it a priority in our lives?

Couldn't help but sharing

Who says Jesus isn't funny:

Mark 6:10  And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there."

Noise

It's amazing to me how "noisy" my life can get.  So much going on at every moment of my day.  Things to get done, people to talk to, books to read, emails that need replying.  Much of it productive stuff.  But when do I leave time for silence?

Psalms 4:4 Search your hearts and be silent
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God
Luke 5:6 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed

Do I leave time to withdraw?  Do I ever find time to just shut up and get away?  Do I wonder why I struggle to hear God's voice as much as I'd like?  Is there just too much "noise"?

1 Kings 19:11-12  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Growth

It's a no brainer that if you want to get better at something, you have to put in the time.  I think of athletics - you don't just wake up able to shoot the 3, it takes thousands of shots in your driveway.  Larry Bird was known to shoot 1,000 free throws a day, and whala, he shot 90% for his career.  Same could be said for musicians, artists, public speakers, etc.  If you want to grow or improve in these areas, you have to put in the time.

Why does it seem so difficult to "put in the time" when talking about our relationship with God?  It's a constant battle to spend time doing something that we claim is important to us.  Do we really not care if we grow?  Do we really believe that prayer and the scriptures will change our lives?  Is it important to us enough to find time?

"73% of churchgoers fail to read their Bibles 1 time a week outside of church." - Barna Group

Goals

I've never been a big "new year's resolution" guy, but I very much value goals.  I know that might sound like the same thing, but for me resolutions never seem to happen and goals help me stay focused.  So I thought I'd list out a few goals for 2011.  I understand that this is a public blog and I use it more as a journal, but here we go.

Personal:
Read - I need to be reading books, helps me stay on track
Go - Poverty trip to Africa, already in the works but something I feel strongly about doing this year
Give - I want to move farther away from the "American Dream" and be more in tune with God.  Also want to Sponsor 2 more children
Vision - Take time away to hear God and get direction
Grow - Duh, but specifically in my leadership, prayer life, and preaching

Church:
Grow - Average attendance up by 50 people by next January
Discipleship - Get our butt in gear in this area.  See people excited about personal growth and connecting with others
Staff - Add a full time pastor
Video - Sermon videos online and playing on public TV
Poverty - Church would come face to face with poverty and have to do something
Missions - up our missions giving by $300/month
Pray - Bring a culture of prayer to our church

A Mother's Request

I was reading out of Matthew this morning, where the mother of 2 of the disciples kneels before Jesus and asks him for something.  What she wants is simple:  for her 2 sons to have seats next to Jesus in his kingdom.  The rest of the disciples find out about this and are indignant.

The quest for power, popularity, fame is such a natural draw for humans.  Our selfish nature surfaces regularly and we find ourselves once more "looking out for #1".

Then we have the way of Jesus.  "whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave"

Not an easy thing to do

Christians and Slavery

150 years ago, many Christians were coming up with excuses for why slavery was acceptable.  They were able to convince themselves that it was ok to take someone out of their home, their country, away from their family and make them a possession of someone else.  How in the world could they rationalize this?  How can this be acceptable even in a different culture?  To modern day America this is blatantly wrong, and anti God.  I mean, God cares about people, all people, not just the wealthy right?  "For God so loved the world".  The entire world.  It's almost as if they valued some people, loved some people, and cared about the well being of some people, and at the same time were able to convince themselves that it was in some way acceptable .  I think we would all agree that they were obviously in the wrong, and as Christians they were missing a big part of God's heart.  In a sense, there was this "hole" in their Christianity. 

In 150 years I wonder if Christians will look back at our culture with the same questions.  How can you have so much and do so little to truly help people in poverty?  How can you live in that house and drive that car, knowing that people are dying in need, and think that this is ok with God?  Have we convinced ourselves that how we live is acceptable?  I don't know

Fascinated with the Pharisees

I've always been fascinated with the Pharisees.  They were trying so hard to live how they thought they were supposed to live, but it turns out they were way off.  They were so consumed by following the "Law" - which let me remind you was the word of God, but as Jesus says at one time, "You're missing the more important things".

I was just reading Matthew 12 where Jesus heals the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees respond by "going out and conspiring against him, how to destroy him".  Jesus heals somebody and they go out and try to figure out how to get rid of him.

Jesus was changing everything that they knew of as truth.  How they lived, how they worshiped, how they understood God, they were being shown a different way to live for God - and they didn't like it.

I have to be careful not to assume that the Christianity that I've come to know as truth doesn't keep me from actually living the way God truly wants me to live.

"you give a tenth of your spices, but you're missing the more important things:  Justice, mercy, and faithfulness" - Matthew 23:23

Being hated

I work hard to be liked.  It's important to me that people like me, in fact I've found that it's hard be a pastor and lead people if they don't like you.  So I think....

I was reading in Matthew this evening where Jesus is talking to his disciples.  He's sending them out to the Jews in the surrounding towns and cities to heal people, and tell them that the messiah has come.  Doesn't sound that tough to me, but it's interesting that right in the middle of his little "speech", Jesus just throws out, "Oh by the way, you're going to be hated by everyone because of this".  Jesus knows that if the disciples do ministry the way it should be done, a whole lot of people aren't going to like it.

By working so hard to be liked and to make people happy, am I missing out on what God really wants me to do?

Too easy

A while back, the commercials for "Cheetos" always ended with this stupid tiger saying, "It ain't easy, being cheezy".  For some reason this got me thinking.


It's not hard for me to follow Christ and this concerns me.  When I look at the Biblical model of what being a Christan should look like, it ain't easy.  In fact it's interesting to look at some of the things that Jesus says.  Sometimes it seems like he's actually trying to convince people not to follow him.  Check out the end of Luke chapter 9.
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”


And this isn't the only example:
Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.


And what about how Jesus responds to the young rich guy who simply asks how to get to heaven:
Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”


Just repeating a prayer after the pastor to get "saved" just doesn't seem to cut it.


If it's easy to be a Christian, then I would question whether we are really doing this right.

Why me?

Why was I lucky enough to be born into middle class America?  I find myself thinking about poverty, and the amount of people in our world who were literally "born" into a lack of the basic needs to even survive. I bet the odds were against me, but still I was born into a family that was never in need.  I've never went a day without food (except for my choice), I use more clean water brushing my teeth, than a large part of our world can find in a day, and I live in a house that would be considered a mansion to most people in our world.

Why has God given me so much?

I find the answer is simple - so I can help people.

Not so that I can have a comfortable life with a big house and a nice car.  Not so I can spend lots of money on clothes and golfing.  God has given me income, education, and resources to make a difference in people's lives, to show Christ in a tangible way.

I hope I never forget this

Are we missing it?

As I study the New Testament, I can't help but feel like the American church doesn't quite line up w/ what I read.  We are so rich.  If your family makes $40,000 a year, you are in the richest 2% of the world.  So many children will go to bed tonight without eating, and we're eating twice as much as we need.  The amount of money that American's spend on ice cream in a year, is enough to meet the basic needs (food, water, basic sanitation) for the rest of our world.  And I could go on.

What do we do with scripture like this:
1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?.... Let us love with actions and in truth


1 Tim 6:9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction

1 Tim 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth..... command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share

Luke 18:25 How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

I get the idea that the "American Dream" isn't much what God had in mind

I'm not saying that we need to sell everything and live in a shed, but you can't win an argument that this is right and that we have "worked hard" and deserve what we have.

Sometimes I wonder what God thinks when He looks down and sees 6% of the world's population using 40% of it's resourses, and 1.1 billion people in our world that don't have access to even clean water to drink.  I think this troubles Him and it should trouble me.

God show me what to do

The journey

Over the last few months, God has really been challenging my thinking.  I can't help but feel like what I've always assumed is truth and how to follow Christ, is really just the beginning.  

I'm starting this "blog" for a few reasons.  First, is simply to help me organize my thoughts.  God has me on a journey, and I've found that if it's not put down on paper (or in this case a computer) it ends up being short lived.  Second, is to maybe bring someone along for the ride.  Just maybe, by God showing me things in my life that need to change, God will show you things as well.  I want to grow at whatever the cost.

"Our greatest fear as Christians should not be failure, but succeeding at things that don't really matter"

Starting a Blog

I'm not sure that I have anything special to say, but I thought I'd try out this blogging thing.