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steven-furtick

Sincere Apologies to Steven Furtick

I do not personally know Steven Furtick and he will likely never read this post.  But I’m apologizing just the same.

Steven Furtick is the pastor and founder of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. It’s the kind of church that many people love to hate.  Smoke, lights, highly produced worship, topical sermons and a preacher dressed in designer clothes.  Even “worse”, it’s a mega church that became mega seemingly overnight.  No one hates success more than Christians.  After all, if they have grown in numbers so quickly and dramatically then they must have done it in a way that violates scripture or at least causes Jesus to shake his head with dissaproval, right?  Certainly they cheated somehow!

I must admit that I’ve discovered some of this sentiment in my own heart this week and I’ve got to kill it before it grows.

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477 days ago /  Tagged: , , 4

Alan Hirsch – The Forgotten Ways

These are some seriously challenging and compelling thoughts on church life and cultural engagement.  You may disagree with some of what he says, but you have to at least grapple with the concepts.  This is all worth watching.

 

What did you think?

Let’s discuss in the comments.

485 days ago /  Tagged: , , , , , 0

Hokey Pokey for Jesus

What are we to make of this?

I grew up in a reformed charismatic church.  I pastor a reformed charismatic church.  I’ve seen some crazy things.  A lot of what I see here, I can completely relate to and affirm.  Laying on of hands, speaking on tongues, joy in worship, etc.  I get it, and I see Biblical precedent for it as well.

But the Hokey Pokey?  It’s hard to know what to say, isn’t it?

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489 days ago /  Tagged: , , 1
bishop-long

Scandalous Pastors

Great.  Another pastor scandal.  Bishop Eddie Long in Atlanta, Georgia has been accused of sexual misconduct.  Along with that accusation comes the criticisms of his lavish lifestyle.  I don’t know if he is innocent or guilty.  I dearly hope he is innocent.  I’m just really tired of hearing these stories.  I can’t be the only one.

What bothers me is that Christian pastors have a reputation because of these kinds of stories.  We can all name the fallen ones.  Haggard, Bentley, Swaggart, and on and on. We’ve seen the charlatans on television selling Jesus like a commodity that can be bought and sold as long as the price is right.  We’ve seen them selling healings to the sick, prosperity to the poor, and false promises to the hopeless.  Each story adding to the public perception that pastors cannot be trusted when the door is closed and no one is watching.

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500 days ago /  Tagged: , , 1

What Kind of Church Do You Want?

I need to repent of trying to replace the power of the Holy Spirit with pragmatism.

So do you.

We need to drop our excuses about why we don’t see miracles and the kind of community that is modeled in Acts 2. We need to stop making cynical and tired excuses about why we don’t “give beyond our means” like in 2 Corinthians 8. We need get dissatisfied with the status quo.

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634 days ago /  Tagged: , , 0

Excellence or Authenticity?

I’ve written a lot about the importance of excellence in the Church on this blog before.  I believe it’s important to do things in a way that communicates that we value what we are doing, we value those we are ministering to, and most of all we value the God we are worshiping.  However, I also believe that there is a higher ideal that we must pursue without forsaking excellence.

Authenticity.

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712 days ago /  Tagged: , , , , 0

Patience and Prayer

A quote from my wise father-in-law:

Have you ever noticed in Scripture that Jesus, even though He revolutionized the whole world with just 3 year’s worth of public ministry, never seemed liked He was in a hurry? He waited 30 years before He even revealed Himself publicly. Then, after His very public baptism and affirmation with an audible voice from heaven, He disappeared for another 40 days.

After Jesus’ incredible ascension into heaven, His disciples didn’t immediately run around telling everyone, they went to Jerusalem and waited like Jesus had told them to (finally they were listening). Then, after an extended time in which they “joined together constantly in prayer,” God moved, and just like that 3000 people got saved.

His timing, manner and method will be perfect, be it fast or slow. [We should] take things one step at a time with Jesus’ earthly ministry and the early church’s start as our pattern. They understood that prayer is the work and everything else is the result of the work.

What are you struggling to “take one step at a time” with right now?

1004 days ago /  Tagged: , , 0
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