My five year old daughter's new favorite movie (this week) is the Heffalump Movie. She wacthes it every day. I mean, every day. A few days ago we snuggled in the Lazy Boy - and I watched it! The story is of a baby Heffalump who has escaped from Heffalump Hallow - located in the hundred acre wood. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Roo and Rabbit strike out to capture a Heffalump. Although they have never seen one - they are all scared of Heffalumps. They all have an idea of what one looks like. They are agree on one thing - they are to be feared!
Little Roo "captures" the baby Heffalump. They become the best of friends. Roo wants to take him to meet all his friends in the hundred acre wood. "Lumpy" doesn't want to go. That is the part of the hundred acre wood that Heffalumps avoid. After all, there are scary things that live there. Lumpy goes on to describe Rabbit, Tigger and Pooh - as scary creatures! "I can't go there, its too scary." Roo convinces him that it is "safe" to go with him.
In the end, they both discover the other to be friendly. They were scared for nothing. Because they met each other - fear gave way to friendship; knowldege won over suspicion.
Without realizing it, Disney has given us a great parable about us and those "other" churches. We all have an idea of what they "look" like. We don't go near their activities - we've been told to avoid them.
I just tell you from experience - I was happy that I left my neck of the theological woods to meet new friends. I hope you do as well.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
prayer retreat
Went to the third annual Prayer Summit here in Salt Lake. It was a great time - six hours of prayer. One year we had a guy from California, who is known for a prayer ministry, to come and lead us in prayer. Last year, six of us lead each hour on a different theme. This year - no leader, no theme, no program - just let the day of prayer unfold as the Spirit directed. It was our best year!
What I like about this - we don't study prayer; we just pray. Out of the whole city - we had 25 or so to gather. We had a great variety - foursquare, Christian Missionary Alliance, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Great Commission Churches, Presbyterian, Conversative Baptist, Friends Church (quaker), Vineyard, Chrisitan Church and myself. For over an hour, we prayed over each other. I'm already looking forward to next year.
It made me wonder. What if a free, all expense trip on a private jet to Palm Springs, including one night at a five star resort, free golf on a PGA course, was offered to the lucky winning pastor in Salt Lake -- I wonder how many who couldn't make it to our day of prayer - could have cleared their calendar for such a trip?
Does such an event happen in your city? Do the ministers ever get together just to pray for their city and each other?
What I like about this - we don't study prayer; we just pray. Out of the whole city - we had 25 or so to gather. We had a great variety - foursquare, Christian Missionary Alliance, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Great Commission Churches, Presbyterian, Conversative Baptist, Friends Church (quaker), Vineyard, Chrisitan Church and myself. For over an hour, we prayed over each other. I'm already looking forward to next year.
It made me wonder. What if a free, all expense trip on a private jet to Palm Springs, including one night at a five star resort, free golf on a PGA course, was offered to the lucky winning pastor in Salt Lake -- I wonder how many who couldn't make it to our day of prayer - could have cleared their calendar for such a trip?
Does such an event happen in your city? Do the ministers ever get together just to pray for their city and each other?
Monday, May 23, 2005
Scandal #4, Cheap Grace vs. Whole Grace.
So why this scandal? Sider asks, and what can we do about it? We must do more that cringe and cry at the huge gap between Biblical vision and contemporary evangelical practice. We must beg God to show us what to do to make things better.
Close to this problem, Sider says, is a cluster of unbiblical ideas and practices that amount to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace". Cheap grace results when we reduce the gospel to forgiveness of sins; limit salvation to personal fire insurance against hell; misunderstand persons primarily souls; grasp only about half of what the Bible says about sin, embrace the individualism, materialism, and relativism of our current culture; lack a biblical understanding and practice of the church, and fail to teach a Biblical world view.
George Barna decries our "costless faith" concluding that we have made it too easy to be "born again". Sider goes on to say, "I am convinced that at the heart of our problem is one sided, unbiblical, reductionist understanding of the gospel and salvation. Too many evangelicals in too many ways give the impression that the really important part of the gospel is forgiveness of sins. If we just repeat a formula and say we want Jesus to forgive our sins, we are Christians. Notice, however, how this can so easily lead to cheap grace. If all there is to accepting the gospel is receiving the forgiveness of sins, one can accept the gospel, become a Christian, and then go on living the same adulterous, materialistic, racist life that one lived before. Salvation becomes, not a life-transforming experinece that reorients every corner of life, but a one-way ticket to heaven, and one can live like hell until one gets there." Justification and sanctification are both central parts of the biblical teaching on the gospel and salvation. To overstate the importance of the one is to run the danger of neglecting the other."
My thoughts: As a wise man said in our congregation a few years ago, "The problem with the church today is that we have too many Chrisitans, and not enough disciples."
Amen!
Close to this problem, Sider says, is a cluster of unbiblical ideas and practices that amount to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace". Cheap grace results when we reduce the gospel to forgiveness of sins; limit salvation to personal fire insurance against hell; misunderstand persons primarily souls; grasp only about half of what the Bible says about sin, embrace the individualism, materialism, and relativism of our current culture; lack a biblical understanding and practice of the church, and fail to teach a Biblical world view.
George Barna decries our "costless faith" concluding that we have made it too easy to be "born again". Sider goes on to say, "I am convinced that at the heart of our problem is one sided, unbiblical, reductionist understanding of the gospel and salvation. Too many evangelicals in too many ways give the impression that the really important part of the gospel is forgiveness of sins. If we just repeat a formula and say we want Jesus to forgive our sins, we are Christians. Notice, however, how this can so easily lead to cheap grace. If all there is to accepting the gospel is receiving the forgiveness of sins, one can accept the gospel, become a Christian, and then go on living the same adulterous, materialistic, racist life that one lived before. Salvation becomes, not a life-transforming experinece that reorients every corner of life, but a one-way ticket to heaven, and one can live like hell until one gets there." Justification and sanctification are both central parts of the biblical teaching on the gospel and salvation. To overstate the importance of the one is to run the danger of neglecting the other."
My thoughts: As a wise man said in our congregation a few years ago, "The problem with the church today is that we have too many Chrisitans, and not enough disciples."
Amen!
Scandal, part 3
Sider goes on to say:
Jesus knew that his followers would live so differently from the surrounding society that the world would hate them (John 15:19). Today, unfortuntely, many people despise Christians, not for their unswerving obedience to Christ, but because of the hypocritical disconnect between Jesus' teaching and actions.
Jesus was ruthless with the materialists of his day who loved their money more than G0d. He denounced lukewarm folk who wanted both to worship God and practice sin.
ACTS: The picture of the first Chrisitans presented in the book of Acts is one of astonishing love and joyous fellowship. Dramatic economic sharing was the norm (acts 2:44,45). These early Christians were not perfect. Acts 6 describes how the Hebrew leadership neglected widows from the Greek speaking minority. They appointed seven deacons (their Greek names indicate they are all from Greek-speaking miniority! What was the result of this prompt correction of racial and economic discrimination? The last verse of the story says, "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly." (6:7) Again, integrity and obedience in the body of Christ have powerful and evangelistic results.
My (randy) questions: Do our churches today have that kind of integrity? Do our leaders have that kind of boldness to deal with problems in a proactive way - instead of ignoring things - wishing they would just take care of themselves? I've seen far too often, and I'm sure that you have too.
ROMANS: Sider comments, "What an incredible picture of the way that faith in Christ transforms and sanctifies broken lives. If Paul is evn close to being right about what it means to be a Christian, one can only weep at the scandalous behavior of Christians today.
FIRST & SECOND CORINTHIANS: These two letters remind us not to romanticize the early church. Paul's response, however, is not lower the standards to accommodate their failures, but rather to demand repentance and holy living.
Well, we don't have the time to outline every book of the New Testament - Sider points out the call to holiness that runs throught the NT. Sider ends with the chapter on the Biblical vision with this quote -"We have seen the stunning contrast between what Jesus and the early church said and did and what so many evangelicals do today. Hopefully that contrast will drive us to our knees, first to repent and then to ask God to help us understand the causes of this scandalous failure and the steps we can take to correct it.
Amen.
Jesus knew that his followers would live so differently from the surrounding society that the world would hate them (John 15:19). Today, unfortuntely, many people despise Christians, not for their unswerving obedience to Christ, but because of the hypocritical disconnect between Jesus' teaching and actions.
Jesus was ruthless with the materialists of his day who loved their money more than G0d. He denounced lukewarm folk who wanted both to worship God and practice sin.
ACTS: The picture of the first Chrisitans presented in the book of Acts is one of astonishing love and joyous fellowship. Dramatic economic sharing was the norm (acts 2:44,45). These early Christians were not perfect. Acts 6 describes how the Hebrew leadership neglected widows from the Greek speaking minority. They appointed seven deacons (their Greek names indicate they are all from Greek-speaking miniority! What was the result of this prompt correction of racial and economic discrimination? The last verse of the story says, "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly." (6:7) Again, integrity and obedience in the body of Christ have powerful and evangelistic results.
My (randy) questions: Do our churches today have that kind of integrity? Do our leaders have that kind of boldness to deal with problems in a proactive way - instead of ignoring things - wishing they would just take care of themselves? I've seen far too often, and I'm sure that you have too.
ROMANS: Sider comments, "What an incredible picture of the way that faith in Christ transforms and sanctifies broken lives. If Paul is evn close to being right about what it means to be a Christian, one can only weep at the scandalous behavior of Christians today.
FIRST & SECOND CORINTHIANS: These two letters remind us not to romanticize the early church. Paul's response, however, is not lower the standards to accommodate their failures, but rather to demand repentance and holy living.
Well, we don't have the time to outline every book of the New Testament - Sider points out the call to holiness that runs throught the NT. Sider ends with the chapter on the Biblical vision with this quote -"We have seen the stunning contrast between what Jesus and the early church said and did and what so many evangelicals do today. Hopefully that contrast will drive us to our knees, first to repent and then to ask God to help us understand the causes of this scandalous failure and the steps we can take to correct it.
Amen.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
scandal, part 2
Sider goes on to say - "Jesus called for costly obedience and radical discipleship. In spite of some glaring failures, the early Christians lived profoundly transformed lifestyles. The astonishing quality of their lives attracted people to Christ. Today, our hypocrisy often drives unbelievers away.
Jesus certainly welcomed and forgave sinners. Parable after parable makes this wondrously clear. But that does not mean Jesus expected these forgiven sinners to continue to sin. "Go and sin no more," Jesus told the adutlerous woman. Obedience is essential.
Jesus summoned his disciples to a costly obedience. (Mark 8:34-35).
Jesus expected his disciples to forgive others just as he had forgiven them.
Jesus knew that his followers would live so differently from the surrounding society that the world would hate them. (see John 15:19; John 17:14-19). Today, unfortunately, many people despise Christians, not for their unswerving obedience to Christ, but because of the hypocritical disconnect between Jesus' teaching and our actions.
Jesus was ruthless with the materialists of his day who loved their money more than God. Jesus denounced lukewarm folk who wanted both to worship God and practice sin. (Luke 12:22)
Jesus insisted that anyone who loves him "will obey my teaching" (John 14:23). But not on our own strength. It is only as we abide in Christ who is the vine that we branches can obey Christ and bear fruit. (John 15:5) How do we abide in Christ? Not just by believing in him, but also by obeying Him! (v.10)"
Again, I am stung by Sider's insights. We, as believers, are saved by grace. We are saved, not because of how good we are - but because of how good God is! However, this truth does not give us a license to dumb down the call to holy living. We need to be called back and reminded that we need to be salt and light. Anyone else struggle with this?
Next post: Sider will give us the Biblical vision of what our lives are to be, book by book, in the New Testament. I'll see you then.
Jesus certainly welcomed and forgave sinners. Parable after parable makes this wondrously clear. But that does not mean Jesus expected these forgiven sinners to continue to sin. "Go and sin no more," Jesus told the adutlerous woman. Obedience is essential.
Jesus summoned his disciples to a costly obedience. (Mark 8:34-35).
Jesus expected his disciples to forgive others just as he had forgiven them.
Jesus knew that his followers would live so differently from the surrounding society that the world would hate them. (see John 15:19; John 17:14-19). Today, unfortunately, many people despise Christians, not for their unswerving obedience to Christ, but because of the hypocritical disconnect between Jesus' teaching and our actions.
Jesus was ruthless with the materialists of his day who loved their money more than God. Jesus denounced lukewarm folk who wanted both to worship God and practice sin. (Luke 12:22)
Jesus insisted that anyone who loves him "will obey my teaching" (John 14:23). But not on our own strength. It is only as we abide in Christ who is the vine that we branches can obey Christ and bear fruit. (John 15:5) How do we abide in Christ? Not just by believing in him, but also by obeying Him! (v.10)"
Again, I am stung by Sider's insights. We, as believers, are saved by grace. We are saved, not because of how good we are - but because of how good God is! However, this truth does not give us a license to dumb down the call to holy living. We need to be called back and reminded that we need to be salt and light. Anyone else struggle with this?
Next post: Sider will give us the Biblical vision of what our lives are to be, book by book, in the New Testament. I'll see you then.
Friday, May 13, 2005
scandal of the evangelical Conscience
I've been reading the sobering book "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience" by Ronald J. Sider.
The book begins with this quote, "Evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general." (Michael Horton)
Sider goes on to quote site a study by George Barna who found that the percentage of born-again Christians who had experienced divorce was slightly higher than that of non-Christians.
In 1968, the average church member gave 3.1 per cent of their income- less than a third of a tithe (10%). That figure dropped every year through 1990 and then recovered somewhat in to 2.66%. Sider notes, "as we got richer and richer, evangelicals chose to spend more and more on themselves and give a smaller and smaller percentage to the church. Today, on the average, evangelicals in the US give about two-fifths of a tithe. "
What about pornography? Citing a recent survery in Leadership magazine, the percentage of Christian men involved in pornography is not much different than that of the unsaved.
When it comes to physical abuse in marriage - it seems that Christians are dead even with the general public, according to Side.
In 1990, the number of unmarried couples living together jumped higher in the Bible belt than in the nation as a whole. (In Arkansas = 125% higher!) In our sexual behavior, 26% of traditional evangelicals do not think that premartial sex is wrong.
Sider comments, "The contrast between contemporary Christians behavior and New Testament teaching and practice is stark. The extent of our scandalous failure today becomes clear only when we recall what Jesus expected and the early Christians experienced."
Let this soak in. This post will be continued . . .
The book begins with this quote, "Evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general." (Michael Horton)
Sider goes on to quote site a study by George Barna who found that the percentage of born-again Christians who had experienced divorce was slightly higher than that of non-Christians.
In 1968, the average church member gave 3.1 per cent of their income- less than a third of a tithe (10%). That figure dropped every year through 1990 and then recovered somewhat in to 2.66%. Sider notes, "as we got richer and richer, evangelicals chose to spend more and more on themselves and give a smaller and smaller percentage to the church. Today, on the average, evangelicals in the US give about two-fifths of a tithe. "
What about pornography? Citing a recent survery in Leadership magazine, the percentage of Christian men involved in pornography is not much different than that of the unsaved.
When it comes to physical abuse in marriage - it seems that Christians are dead even with the general public, according to Side.
In 1990, the number of unmarried couples living together jumped higher in the Bible belt than in the nation as a whole. (In Arkansas = 125% higher!) In our sexual behavior, 26% of traditional evangelicals do not think that premartial sex is wrong.
Sider comments, "The contrast between contemporary Christians behavior and New Testament teaching and practice is stark. The extent of our scandalous failure today becomes clear only when we recall what Jesus expected and the early Christians experienced."
Let this soak in. This post will be continued . . .
Monday, May 09, 2005
Questions
Is Steve Nash really the MVP of the NBA? Is there a more beautiful campus than Pepperdine University? Is there a more "scenery challenged"drive than the drive between Capser & Cheyenne, Wyoming? (I think the drive between El Paso and Van Horn is a close second). Anything better than a hot one at Krispy Kreme? Do camera phones really take good pictures? What did we do before cell phones? How can you possibly fill up the memory in an Ipod? Anything more boring than watching the NBA regular season? Any cooler T-Shirt than an In-And-Out Burger T-shirt?
Sunday, May 08, 2005
great time at Pepperdine
Had a great time at Pepperdine University at their annual Bible Lectureship. We took 16 from our congregation. A lot of fellowship. Ate seafood a few times!
Three days to hear some of the best teachers/preachers in our fellowship (churches of Christ) - great praise teams to lead inspiring times of worship - all with an ocean view. Doesn't get much better than that!
Took a little different track this year. Instead of just hearing the "big" names - as much as I love their sessions - I went to a lot of the "no name" teachers. You know - the ones at the small churches - the people you never hear about. My kind of folk. Heard some great stuff - and hopefully encouraged them as much as they encouraged me!
I loved the fact that some teachers/preachers came from the independent Christian Churches. I'm thankful to see more interaction with Churches of Christ and our sister congregations in the independent Christian churches.
Like always, it was great to put the finishing touch on a great week with hearing Psallo praise God as only they can.
I'm already looking forward to next year. Come and join me.
Three days to hear some of the best teachers/preachers in our fellowship (churches of Christ) - great praise teams to lead inspiring times of worship - all with an ocean view. Doesn't get much better than that!
Took a little different track this year. Instead of just hearing the "big" names - as much as I love their sessions - I went to a lot of the "no name" teachers. You know - the ones at the small churches - the people you never hear about. My kind of folk. Heard some great stuff - and hopefully encouraged them as much as they encouraged me!
I loved the fact that some teachers/preachers came from the independent Christian Churches. I'm thankful to see more interaction with Churches of Christ and our sister congregations in the independent Christian churches.
Like always, it was great to put the finishing touch on a great week with hearing Psallo praise God as only they can.
I'm already looking forward to next year. Come and join me.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Pepperdine week
This week I'll be at Pepperdine in Mailbu, CA for their annual lecturship. I'm looking forward to hearing stirring messages, challenging classes, inspiring times of worship-- combine all that with seeing old friends, eating great seafood, sitting at the beach during sunset and you've got the makings of an unforgetable week!
I'm especially excited that we have 15 of us going from Southside. Many are going for their first time. It will be fun to experience all this from their perspective!
I hope you have a blessed week. We'll see you back here next week.
I'm especially excited that we have 15 of us going from Southside. Many are going for their first time. It will be fun to experience all this from their perspective!
I hope you have a blessed week. We'll see you back here next week.
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