WHEN DOES THE CHURCH STOP BEING ABOUT YOU?

It was real interesting to run into a well educated missionary from San Diego in the middle of the food court in Des Moines, IA of all places when we're getting hit by a large winter storm. Really, there's not many reasons anyone from San Diego should be in Des Moines, IA this time of year. I of course asked this gentleman why he was here and told me he was speaking at a local conference. I then asked him what he does for a living. He went on to tell me he was a missionary. INTERESTING. "I'm a pastor", I said. And we ended up talking for a couple of hours. I asked him what was the greatest obstacle to today's missionaries and what was it that kept us from spreading to gospel more rapidly. He began to tell me his views and I was at the same time confirming them with my experiences and all the stories I've read about and seen. It seems as though we like to fit every Christian into our worldview. For us to more effectively spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ and see the gospel actualize into another culture we must first put off any preconception that "we've got it right." We have to desire above all else, understand that the gospel message is seeking to be lived out and expressed in multiple languages, values, art forms, traditions, etc. And the way we do church isn't "THE WAY." The only "WAY" is Jesus Christ and He is transcendent to all cultures. The largest obstacle the gets in the way of the American church today and it's efforts in achieving it's imperative of "GO," is the worldview that life is about having fun. Through David's (the missionary I met in the mall) experiences and times of living in multiple cultures, he's been able to gain a great deal of objectivity to the American culture and way of life. He glaringly noticed upon returning to the states the value of people describing their experiences in life as either "fun" or "okay." Anything that was worth while to an American was "so fun. You ought to try it." And he realized the there was a hidden core value within our society that if something does not serve us or fit within our agenda then it was not fruitful or worth our time. The one thing David expressed to me when he teaches at seminars is the idea that if we are Christ followers, then we must first get the idea out of ourselves that the chief end in life is our entertainment. I pointed out Piper's theology of Christian Hedonism and he echoed that but even went further to say that that outlook of Hedonism isn't always achieved. There are times in the Christ followers life that the chief end isn't pleasure or fun but another Piper theological idea of "GOD'S GLORY." Our heart must be to glorify God. To work to achieve His work in our lives through this world. Our work is to love Him while loving others, serving the world and baptizing all peoples in the trinity for forgiveness of sin and the gifts of heaven and the Holy Spirit. And as we do this, and mature as Christ followers, our "Preferences" become less and less important. As we mature as Christ followers, we understand more and more that why we gather is to go. Who we gather for is Christ and the purpose is His mission to reach those who aren't here yet. And if that is true then the things that we do and the ways we present ourselves to the culture must have relevancy to them, sometimes at the expense of our Preferences. Our favorite genre of music, our favorite songs, our style of service, the frequency at which we have pot lucks, the way we take communion, etc. As we mature, we must become more and more vocal to represent those on the outside than those on the inside. BUT what I see all too frequently is just the opposite. As people "get older" as opposed to "maturing," they utilize this pseudo maturing which is really called "aging," to posture themselves in getting a firmer vote on what happens on the weekends and with our budget. And at times will threaten their allegiance to the church if they don't get their way. I find this sad but all too familiar. And until we have a generation of people willing to model this to our children and those we hand the baton off to, we will continue to perpetuate this idea of "ME CHURCH." My hope is that we will not be that type of church and at the end of the day, have no sacred cows or produce any type of ministry that becomes more important than the chief end. I just have a feeling that it's going to take quite a bit of conflict to guard the church from "ME CHURCH." The problem is that you can look down the road and see someone else doing it and that's how you do church. The church is based around it's people that are already there. That's just how you do church. Monkey see, monkey do. No challenging the process. Heaven forbid you do something different. My prayer is that we would have a group of people that get lit up with the gospel message realizing that the majority of churches aren't what we are, and we are different. The scary and dangerous thing about all of this is that these churches with the mentality of "my preferences" are sprouting up in the name of being culturally relevant but still maintain the heart of "what I prefer." The type of church Jesus calls us to be is way deeper than what we can program or sing through our worship. It's deeper than the sermon development and the government of church. It's in the heart of why you even exist. David and I came to a mutual conclusion on this also; that he nor I or any other leader can control this. It is only by the shear mercy of God that he would humble/break/melt the hearts of His people to the point that they no longer care if their preferences came through in the weekend service. That their sole hearts passion is to see God move and more people saved. That they yearn to be a part of something bigger themselves and be men and women after God's heart. God will have to initiate this. I am seeking the Lord in seeing this happen. As far as it is up to me, WE WILL BE A CHURCH THAT JESUS CALLS US TO BE.

I've got a question for those who chose to read all the way down here. At what point does the church cease to be about you? When do you stop being the target? OR does that ever happen?

Valentines Day; What's the Point?

I’ve been considering Valentine’s Day recently. I've seen a few posts on the topic of Valentine’s Day that make me cringe. I see posts that go one way and seem to idolize an individual & the holiday OR people altogether reject the notion of celebrating Valentine’s Day at all. I myself traditionally have found Valentine’s Day to be a bit idolatrous & a waste. It's always seemed odd to me to feel pressured by culture and consumerism to buy inordinate amounts of goodies and presents for a person on ONE day out of the whole year and then it's over in regards to celebrating your love for one another. I’ve witnessed the dynamic of husbands scurrying to buy the perfect gift for their wife in an effort to make up for all the stuff they have or haven’t done throughout the year. That hasn't seemed right to me and therefore my outlook on Valentine’s Day has over time evolved into the way it is. However, this year as I grow in my understanding of life and my love for Bree, I find Valentine’s Day as a great opportunity to celebrate the FIRST act of love initiated by God in creating humanity in His image. Secondly, I celebrate Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, which ultimately enables us to have a relationship with God, further enabling us to LOVE more purely our spouses and significant others. Without Christ we would not be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the way we are meant to. After all, isn’t Valentine’s Day a holiday to celebrate love? It’s love that is our focus, not people. It’s misunderstood as that since it is people we eventually pour our love out towards. BUT, we’ve lost our focus by excluding the most important factor in that love. I know without a doubt, if it weren't for Jesus and His grace in our marriage, Bree and I would not be where we are today. Jesus has sustained us in our marriage. And it hasn't been that He's empowered us to just "survive" but He's enabled us to "thrive." I encourage all of you to recognize Jesus and His love for you on this Valentine’s Day. AND men, I encourage you to recognize that Christ has called you to love your wives as Christ loves His church, laying down His pride, personal gain, glory on earth, & ultimately His life for you and me (Ephesians 5:25-33). It is by His example; men have something to shoot for on Valentine’s Day. I say celebrate Valentine’s Day! But temper your direct affections towards another human being and remember it is Christ who holds all of our relationships together in true LOVE. Celebrate your common love for Jesus and by that draw closer to each other. Find ways this Valentine’s Day to proclaim your love for Jesus as well as your spouse. Find ways that, together, you can celebrate, look back and remember what Christ has done in your marriage over the past year and maybe set some God-sized goals together for your marriage this next year. Make a goal to have a date once a month. Men, make a goal to buy your wife a flower or flowers once a month with some encouraging Bible Verses attached with a card. Women, make a goal to write your husband notes of encouragement with scripture on it once a week or month. Set some visions together for what you will do throughout this next year to celebrate your love for one another & children through Christ, and also set some individual goals that your spouse doesn't know about. Hopefully this will give you a reason to celebrate Valentines this year that can honor the true meaning of LOVE.