My new favorite website

A friend of mine showed me this website, where you can search for any musical artist and it will search the web for any free mp3.  It’s a great place to find new artist that you’ve never heard before, preview their music, read about who they are (from blogs) and download their music for free.

Enjoy

Justifying, Rationalizing, and Contextualizing Your Faith Away

I have become painfully aware of how much I question away what’s in the Bible.  Wrestling with scripture is great, and part of the growth process, but questioning its “original intent” has left me paralyzed all too often.

In Bible Universities and Seminaries across the world, we are taught that in order to understand what the Bible means “correctly,” we need to look at the original intent of the author, his culture, his readers, the language it was written, and so forth.  Most of the time I agree with the use of this process known as exegesis.  However, recently I’ve become aware at how justifying, rationalizing, and contextualizing takes so much away from the faith we are called to have.  So many scripture, when looked at in plain black & white seem so ridiculous, even irrational.  What I have been challenging myself with is this: when I come across scripture that says to do something, then to just do it.  I don’t want to go back and do the exegesis because all too often I find myself rationalizing it away saying, “it doesn’t work in this time and in this culture.”

Here are just a few examples:

• When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Luke 18:18-25 (esp. vv 22)

• There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.  Acts 4:32-37 (esp. vv 34)

• Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.  Romans 13:8

• Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  Matthew 28:18-20

• If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also… Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Luke 6:27-31 (esp. vv. 29,30)

• Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

• Do everything without complaining or arguing Philippians 2:14

• Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27

Now, I comprehend that some of these scriptures are direct commands to specific people and therefore may not be direct commands to me… but does that mean that we should not do them anyway?  And I certainly don’t always endorse using this method for teaching people or a congregation, but for life transformation to happen in me, its something I need to do often.

Here’s something you know instinctively. You can memorize every bit of cereal box information about ingredients and nutritional value. But for that cereal to do you any good, you have to pour it out, top it with milk or cream, and eat it.  Eugene Peterson says it’s the same with the Bible. “This is a book to be experienced, savored, dallied over. If we’re always studying something, then we’re going to miss it,” he says.  Read here or here about Lectio Divina, a form of scripture reading that is far more conducive for life transformation and not as much about information.

My friend Sarah says this, “It seems to me that rationalizing and justifying our actions is what makes Christianity a sub-culture rather than a counter culture.”

Christian Small Groups

What do you think, are Small Groups “cutting it”?  Or is there more to relationships that we are currently experiencing?  Love to hear your comments and suggestions…

Love’s Origin

There are many parts of the NT that speak directly of having fellowship and love for one another; not just friendship, but something deeper.  How do we get to that “something deeper”?  In the Greek, the word fellowship is koinonia, which is so closely akin to an intimacy that married couples share through intercourse.  Fellowship = intimacy.

In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul speaks to the fact that one must first have that intimacy with Christ and the Holy Spirit (which is one in the same).  “… if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, … then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”  All of the intimacy that comes from being like-minded, same love and with one spirit and purpose must originate from our relationship with the Spirit.  Paul continues that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition, vain conceit, and not having my own best interest, but others first.

There is no other way for us to be others-focussed unless our love originates from God himself.  When we enter into intimacy/fellowship with Christ, then we are able to love others… no matter who they are or where they are from.  We see the love that Jesus has for them, because Jesus himself is loving through us.

Dated Material… or never should have been made?

I was cleaning off a bookshelf in my office and came across some old Small Group curriculum.  Classics!

These are three videos by the old Acquire The Fire conferences with Ron Luce:

• How To Get Your Parents To Do What You Want
• How To Date God
• How To Be A Real Man

There was also a book that’s called, Christian Men Who Hate Women.

These are real classics!  I haven’t actually seen any of the videos, which are only offered on VHS, and I’m not a Christian Man who hates Women — so I haven’t dove into any of it.  But judging the book and video by its title…

Does this stuff still fly?

Saving Sex Slaves

I have an incredible community group, and I couldn’t be happier with the heart each of them has for loving God and loving people.  Every Thursday, the guys from our group get together just to take things a little deeper.  A few weeks ago, we started discussion about how trying to take our community group into being much more outward focused – and not just in theory or “being open to it,” but actually doing something that made a difference to someone/something outside of ourselves.

Each of the guys in the group went back to our wives and talked about this and then with the entire group.  We decided to commit an additional 5% of our income to a ministry need, in addition to our current tithe.  We committed ourselves for a three month trial period, and then we’d reassess after the three months.  We had prayed and talked about how we wanted our little money to go a long way, and so we probably wouldn’t give to something like a Habitat for Humanity or American Red Cross, and although they do good stuff – we wanted to really see our gift have a substantial impact on someone/something.  Anyway, just as these conversations happened and we started to pray about who our gift would go to, my wife, Jen, received an email from a ministry that her mom is very much involved in called The Rapha House, where young girls are rescued from the sex traffic industry in Cambodia.

We’re losing the lease on the halfway house where we operate our vocational training and reintegration programs at Rapha House.  And if these programs go away, our girls won’t be able to take their last step to freedom.  We need your help.  And we need it soon.

This November our lease expires on this property in town. And the landlord has indicated that he intends on selling the building.

We would buy it, if the price were right. But he knows that American money is behind this ministry. So the price we were quoted was more than double what the property is worth! We passed on the offer.

Now we’re afraid that our rent will skyrocket in November. Or possibly, the property will be sold from underneath us. This would be a major setback to this vital ministry program. So we’re acting now and asking for your help.

Think what this vocational training program means to our girls. We’ve been there when some of them have taken their first steps to freedom as they passed through the gates of our safehouse. Imagine what goes through their minds when they come to us. People have promised them so much before, and they’ve found those promises to be nothing but lies. Then we come along and tell them that they’ll be safe with us. They can have their own beds. And we’ll teach them how to get started in a new life. But if we can’t stand by them until they take their last step to freedom will they trust what we say? We won’t risk disappointing these girls. But we can’t keep this promise without your help.

You, our generous donors, have made it possible for us to purchase our safehouse—the first step to freedom. Now we’re asking you to help us buy our own building for our vocational training program—the last step to freedom for these girls.

During our last trip to Cambodia, we walked through a building that would be perfect for our vocational training facility. It’s brand new and as big if not bigger than our current location. It sits adjacent to a new market that’s being built in town. And it’s HALF THE PRICE of what the owner of our existing building is asking!

We can’t purchase this or any other property without your help. To buy something like this is a cash deal, no mortgages are offered. So we need to raise at least $210,000 before November in order to buy a building for our vocational training program. Yes, that’s a lot of money; but we serve a big God who works in a big way through people of faith.

Our little community was able to raise just over $2000 towards this ministry, and while I know that The Rapha House isn’t what everyone is called to do, we are tremendously grateful that we are able to come along side this incredible ministry and help out in a big way.  We’re committed to praying, and whatever else God would have us do.

It’s Closing In On Me

Spring time in most of the world is accompanied by a tremendous amount of growth, both literal and symbolic.  Trees grow rampant.  People suffering from seasonal depression begin to see light at the end of the tunnel with more and more sunshine.  Families spend more time outside, basking in the much needed Vitamin D and a new tan.  For the most part, people welcome the spring.

I have a hard time welcoming this season.  The growth, for me, particularly in the South, is too much.  The trees bloom overnight and create an umbrella-like canopy.  The bushes close in on my windows.  The grass in the fields grow taller and taller, leaving all too much room for my imagination to fill in what lies lurking beneath.

I feel claustrophobic during the spring.  Literally and symbolically.

A few weeks ago I learned that I “score” high on the Spiritual Discipline of Simplicity.  I’m a minimalist.  I don’t like a lot of stuff, I don’t like having to manage material good, I don’t like the time and energy wasted on keeping my things in any sort of order.  I know many people who like to put something in every corner of their home.  They make a bare room into a home.  But for those of you that have been to my house, you’ll see how, for me, a bare room represents clarity of mind.

For many, the life of simplicity isn’t given much thought.  Some limit their spending on possessions because of issues of justice, and all the more for those who have been to an impoverished country.  But I’m finding more and more that the less clutter I allow into my life, I am able to draw closer to the mind and Spirit of Christ.  I’m intentional about wanting less.  The desire for more is crippling (1 Tim. 6:6-10).

Throughout the ages, there have been groups of people who take this to the extreme and vow to live a life of poverty, or solitude so as to be single minded.  It is true, simplicity is a virtue.  But I don’t necessarily think that having possessions is bad, or that one can’t draw closer to the mind of Christ while having possessions.

I see the benefit to having an abundance of trees and vegitation around us.  I mean, they sustain the eco system and particularly provide oxygen to all land animals (humans included).  But I guess I still prefer places like the deserts out west or the mile high city where not much grows.  I like being able to see long distances.  Being able to see what’s in front of me.  Being able to know whats around the corner.  And, especially, not having to manage the problem of “too much.”

The Cost of Discipleship… with a new twist!

From time to time, I seem to be hit with a subject from several different angles.  Often it takes a few weeks for me to recognize how they all fit together, but undoubtedly, in this instance, I need help sorting through it all.

My good friend, and pastor, Alan gives out daily devotionals every Christmas as an encouragement to constantly be challenged in our lives.  It always works.  This past year, we were given a book of compilation writings of Aiden Tozer (1897), the “twentieth-century prophet.”  Tozer’s entry for March 23rd reads like this -

Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done but by how much I could have done.  In God’s sight my giving is measured not by how much I have given but by how much I could have given and how much I had left after I made my gift.  The needs of the world and my total ability to minister to those needs decided the worth of my service.

At the heart of Tozer’s entry is that it really doesn’t matter how much we give, we’ll be judged on how much we could have given and we didn’t.  Or that we’ll be judged at how much we give to things that don’t need to be given to.  Is it possible that we can give so much (time, energy, prayer, creativity, and money) and have it be for all the wrong things, all in the name of Jesus?

This brings me to my next challenging read.  I have to give a preemptive apology to this quote because this article has not been published yet, and therefore I don’t want to spill the beans on its entirety and give the title nor the author’s name away.  You may disagree with my logic, but just note that this quote wasn’t written by me but it is still very reputable in it’s facts.  “WCT” is a very thorough examination of the state of the Church and its annual, worldwide distribution of $270 billion to Christian Causes.  WCT is a book of almost a thousand pages called “World Christian Trends: Interpreting the Annual Christian Mega Census.”  This quote is from an article based on the thousand page WCT book, not from the book itself.

The WCT research reveals that 97% of all worldwide Christian resources (i.e., money earmarked for Christian causes) are used to minister to those who are both wealthy and/or already Christian. In fact, only one third of one percent (three cents of every ten dollars) of the annual $270 billion raised worldwide for all Christian causes goes to reach those who have never heard of Jesus Christ. Many of these are among the more than one billion people who live on less than a dollar a day, who follow false religions such as Islam and Hinduism.   They are the world’s least educated and most malnourished, with the world’s highest infant mortality rate. And yet research shows that they are the most receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ—as much as 700 times more receptive than people in some of the world’s wealthiest and most developed nations…  WCT’s research shows that it costs 700 times less in resources to reach this group for Christ, or $2,000 to $3,000 per decision in developing/third world nations–meaning not just a raised hand, but a public profession of faith by baptism. Compare this to the $1.5 million each in the West, $2 million each in Europe up to $3 million it costs to reach each person in Japan.

When I read this, my thoughts were probably similar to that of yours right about now.  On average, it costs $1.5 million to win one single individual to Christ in America!  Now, keep in mind, it’s not that we literally spend $1.5 million on an individual and then suddenly they become a Jesus follower, but when you break down the amount of money that America raises and spends on ministry and you divide that by the number of new confessions/conversions in a year in America, the figures show we spend about $1.5 million to bring that person to faith.  We are spending an overwhelming majority of our money on people who are 1) already Christian and 2) have a whole lot of money already and 3) live in an over Christian-saturated world.

So, bring this back to the Tozer quote.  Is it possible that we as a Church and as individuals are doing a commendable thing by giving as much as we do… but that we are spending it all on stuff that doesn’t make a huge difference in the world?  Is it not that we are going to be held accountable for what we give to, but that we will be held accountable for what we didn’t give to?

At what point are things like multi-million dollar buildings and several thousands of dollars in lights and sound equipment and decoration a problem?  We spend the majority of our money brought in to minister to those who already know Jesus and who don’t need more money poured into them, all in the name of “making disciples”.  This would all be great if the disciple were in turn pouring into other people who are not already believers.

Now, please hear me out.  I know I’m missing something in my logic.  I just need help figuring it out.  I understand that there are needs for a place to congregate – and that takes money.  I understand that it takes money to pour into ministering.  I understand that all the money brought in isn’t for “no purpose at all.”  But I need help sorting through the question, “How much money does it take to raise up a disciple.”

The Dangers of Easter

I came across this article and I found it really interesting.  There are dangers that church’s fall into when it comes to the build up for Easter.  But there’s also a growing reality that these tactics don’t work.  I’m actually quite happy with how we are handling this in challenging the church to build relationships to influence people and not trying to be “showy” and trying to woo the Easter church-gower into coming to our circus.

What are your thoughts…?

This article was written by Bob Hyatt and published here.

As we journey through Lent toward Easter, I want to be mindful of the dangers that surround this season and threaten the soul of a community and the soul of a pastor.

What danger? The temptation to bait and switch.

Every year I need to remind myself that Easter is not a marketing opportunity. The resurrection of the Son of God is not an opportunity to market our programs or build “my” church, even under the guise of concern for lost.

And as I feel the pressure to create a winning, life-changing sermon for those who may only come this one time a year, I especially have to remember: It’s not about me. (Please wait a minute while I repeat that to myself a few times.) Why? Because heaven forbid we should ever do community in such a way that communicates that our main avenue for people coming to Christ is hearing the Gospel preached from the mouth of one person, rather than hearing it preached from the mouths (and lives) of the whole community. If, in your community, more people are becoming Christians on Sunday than during the rest of the week, I think you may have a problem.

Times like Easter and Christmas are dangerous for us because we begin to see them as something different from what they really are for the life of a community. This is where a more robust engagement with the Christian calendar really helps. It focuses our communal life on the events of the life of Christ all year around, and keeps us from seeing “two big outreach event Sundays!” every year in Christmas and Easter.

Yes, a lot of people come to a Sunday service once or twice a year, and they are more likely to come on Easter than just about any other time. And yes, the Holy Spirit is amazing, drawing people to Himself even through our goofy Easter pageants and songs (or our smoke machines and laser shows, if that’s your thing).

The danger in giving in to the impulse to do something radically different, humongously big and special at these times is what we communicate both to our community and those we are inviting to become a part of our community. What we subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) communicate to our people is that their job is to invite people who are not in our churches to come on Easter Sunday morning so that the pastor and the drama team and the worship guy and (possibly) the Holy Spirit can take a whack at them.

I know that’s overstating, but believe me—I’ve been there. And that’s what “event evangelism” and “big” Sundays communicate, I think. Regardless of what we teach about reaching out to others, what we say through our Sunday Show actions communicates that it’s not the job of the average person to introduce people to Jesus. Leave it to the pros with the degrees and the training and the gifts.

In other words, “You get ‘em to church, we’ll get ‘em to Jesus!” How empowering is that for people?

I would much prefer we both explicitly and implicitly communicate a model that includes befriending people; enfolding them into the rhythms of our lives; sharing the highs and lows (and how our faith informs those) with them; and integrating them into home groups, dinner times, and the big and small events of our lives. How natural would it be after all that love and enfolding that they become a part of our community, even before they believe? And when they believe, they believe because they’ve seen and tested the reality of a life of faith, as opposed to simply watching a special Sunday morning service where the band rocks extra hard and the pastor has a few more funny stories than normal.

Easter is dangerous because it’s here that the attractional model reaches its zenith—or maybe its nadir—every year, as thousands of churches try to do “something special” in the hopes that their people will invite others to come and be bait-n-switched into a relationship with Jesus. And we all see what other communities do and are tempted to compete in the misguided effort to keep up.

Yes, I said “bait-n-switch,” because that’s what it is. If we’re not careful, we could end up really disappointing some people. How? By “offering” them less on subsequent visits. Less pizzazz, less oomph. I’d be pretty disappointed if I got Cirque Du Soleil the first time I went to your church and the next week I got Phil and Ted’s Bargain Circus.

I was super impressed to see another church planter dial it down a couple of years ago after hearing about the disappointment of some people who came to Easter services one year and came back the next week to a completely different (and less exciting) show.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take advantage of increased visitor attendance and preach the Gospel and hope that God does something amazing in people’s lives. I’m just saying that if your strategy is to wait for someone to wander within range of your homiletical canon and then fire on them in hopes of scoring a hit, or worse yet, doing some cool things in the hopes that they might be lured within range, then I think there’s a better way. Less defined, less able to be controlled by the pastors, less likely to be bragged about at pastor’s conferences or to be written about in a book, but better—people loving people into your community and into relationship with Jesus.

It doesn’t take mailers, banners, lightshows, and lasers every week; just a bunch of loving, welcoming Christ followers. People who genuinely care. People who are seeking relationships with other people and sharing life with them. A competent all-community gathering where things work well, so as not to be a distraction from what God wants to do that morning, sure. But less of a focus on Sunday mornings as the center of community and more of a focus on the spiritually-forming life of the community that revolves around Jesus Himself.

And all of this is vital for us to think through at Easter because I remain convinced that what we win people with, we win them to.

Thy Kingdom Come

I’ve noticed that I’ve been pretty selfish lately, particularly with my time.  I’ve written about my love for solitude in previous posts, and I still think that solitude is essential for anyone who approaches relationships properly.  But time is easily disrupted for things that seem to be a big inconvenience.  Many of the spiritual saints write about how spiritual growth is never convenient, and so I guess this shouldn’t be of a surprise.  But there’s so much in life that I want to do, and much of it is quite simply totally selfish.  I don’t like it when I am told I have to do this or that, either for work or for family.

Is it entirely different when it is God telling me what I have to do?  I honestly try and be obedient, but often what I feel I’m compelled to do feels trivial (just being honest).  And so it didn’t surprise me when I reread this verse in the book of John (John 21:18-19).  Jesus says this, “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would die, but I think there’s a tremendous amount of wisdom found in this, particularly when I compare this with one of the most loved Psalms.

Psalm 23 reads, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me…”

I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that God would take me where I do not want to go (both spiritually and often literally).  But what surprises me is how much I fight it, even when I know that he is to take me by green pastures and quiet waters.  There’s a ton of room for discussion on what green pastures and still water is, but nonetheless where God wants to take me is probably better than where I want to go.  The one who dresses me and leads me where I do not want to go acutally has a much better plan for me than I could ever want for myself.

The wisdom I gleen from this most is what David so perfectly said at the beginning of the Psalm: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

Thy Kingdom Come, Lord.