Live.Awake

What Kind of Church Do You Want?

// May 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Church Life

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.

I want the church that Jesus is building, not the church of my imagination or your imagination. I want a church that infuriates the Pharisees and religiously comfortable. I want a church that rebukes with holy rage those that would use the gospel and the Church to make themselves rich and glorify their name over the name of Christ. I want a church that is a haven of mercy for the lost and the broken. I want a church that calls the prodigal home to repent before a loving, merciful, and holy God. I want a church that refuses to give an inch on Biblical truth even in the face of extreme cultural pressure do so, but still manages to proclaim a grace-filled gospel that can overcome every sin, every addiction, and every sickness. I want a church full of disciples that freely share each other’s burdens to such an extent that outsiders look at us in disbelief because they see relationships that reach beyond mere human charity and reflect something divine from the heart of Christ. I want a church that not only preaches, and lives, the gospel with wise and persuasive words but demonstrates the reality of the gospel with signs, wonders, miracles, and power.

Pragmatism cannot bring about this kind of church. The application of good marketing principles, operations strategies, and cultural savvy has never, will never, cannot ever build this kind of church.

We need the Holy Spirit to come. We need Acts 2 to reach ahead into 2010 and set us ablaze with the kind of zeal and power that can once again revive a stale and religiously comfortable Bride. We need God’s holiness and God’s love to collide in our hearts with such a force that it destroys every trace of ambivalence in us about whether or not Jesus is worth giving up every bit of the empty and momentary comforts of this life.

What kind of church do you want?

In order to become the kind of church that breaks free from the church model wars and the worship wars and the culture wars, ad nauseum to become something like what we see in Acts 2, then we need a move of the Holy Spirit. We need a visitation from God that is on scale with Pentecost. I say we wait and pray for just that.

It’s “upper room” time, Church.

Enjoy What Makes Life Beautiful

// March 8th, 2010 // 8 Comments » // Christian Living

I preached on keeping the Sabbath this weekend and studying the topic was a loud reminder to me of the importance of getting off the crazy carnival ride we’re on most of the time to take a breath.  The importance of weekly rest goes all the way back to creation and the nature and character of God.  God stopped to take in and enjoy all that He had done during the first 6 days of creation.  His greatness didn’t diminish when He rested.  His glory doesn’t come only from doing but also from His being.

I think most Americans are taught the opposite.  A strong work ethic is equated with never having to rest.  Taking time for solitude, reflection, and rest makes us feel a little guilty, even apologetic.  That’s insane!  God made us with finite amounts of emotional and physical energy.  Rest is a necessary part of life and serves to remind us of our weakness and dependence on God to supply our needs.

The point of Sabbath goes back to the cross and Jesus.  You are reminded that you are accepted not because of what you DO but because of what Jesus DID. Your value doesn’t diminish because you are not “doing”.

Maybe you need to take some time off where you are completely unavailable so that you can discover that the universe did not tear in half because, lo and behold, the world and all that is in it does not revolve around you and your god-like abilities to hold it together.

Unplug from the collective.  Get out, smell some unprocessed air, find solitude, find friends, reconnect with all the things that make your life beautiful.

Didn’t Enjoy a Christian Movie? Permission Granted.

// January 11th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Christian Living, Movies

I have a staggering confession to make.  I didn’t enjoy the movie Fireproof.  I wasn’t entertained or particularly moved by it.  I didn’t cry.  That’s saying a lot because I recently got misty-eyed at the end of a re-run episode of Full House.  Kirk Cameron didn’t revolutionize my marriage or inspire me to become a fire chief who makes good chili and inspires his men to be soft-spoken and wear dockers pants.  However, his idea of pounding the outside trash can with a bat is a good one that I plan to implement soon.  Looked like fun.  But, seriously, if my house was on fire and Mike Seaver showed up to lead the effort in saving my cigar collection from smoking itself, I would be more than a little concerned.  I’d probably ask him to call in a favor to Kurt Russell for assistance.

“Didn’t this movie come out a while ago?  Why are you talking about it now?”  Everyone that has asked me if I liked the movie has gotten some kind of awkward response like, “I thought it was pretty good.  I mean, it could have been a lot better but considering how this church gave up so much and all those volunteers worked so hard, it’s amazing.”

Sigh.  It’s taken me this long to get up the gumption to come out of the closet on this.

You see, the problem is that I watched the extras on the DVD.  You know, all the behind the scenes footage of regular church folk praying before each scene in the movie, volunteering their time, believing in the project, eating Chick-fil-A, doing morning devotionals, all while Third Day plays softly in the background.  It’s touching.  In fact, I was far more moved by the behind the scenes stuff than I was by anything in the movie itself.  But then I was confused.  The rules of criticism are different between a movie you pay for, and ministry you receive.  Is it ok for me to say that I really didn’t like a Christian movie?

Y E S !

If movies made by Christians are going to get better, they need to be held to the same critique as other films in the marketplace.  They need to be treated the same.  In my opinion, it’s patronizing to the good people that made the movie to pat the movie on the head and say, “For a Christian, you’re ok.  Bless your heart.”

Now, I know that many people really liked it.  They say that Kirk is a sexy-in-a-christian-kind-of-way male lead.  They found the plot riveting.  MANY MANY people say that it (and the accompanying devotional study) helped their marriages.  That’s awesome.  I’m not saying we should NOT like Christian movies.  That would be like someone saying that all Ninja movies are bad.  That would be crazy because any time throwing stars are involved, great entertainment is sure to follow.

Now THAT’s an idea.  A christian ninja movie.  Does James Caviezel know karate?  I bet he’s available.

Humble Confidence and the Bottomless Pit

// September 20th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Christian Living

A pastor’s life is a trip from extreme to extreme, from glowing praise to vitriolic criticism with very little in between.  I thought I didn’t care what people thought of me.  If God is for me, right?

Come to find out, I do care what people think.  I want people to like me, I like how it makes me feel.

Nobody sets out to care more about what people think than what God thinks.  Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “Hey, I think I’ll let other people define me today.”  Yet, one of the most difficult things to avoid in life is the gaping pitfall of living for the approval of others instead of the approval of Jesus.  It’s deeply satisfying to be appreciated.  It’s also deeply painful being misunderstood.  It touches a need in all of us to be known.  Not only to be known, but to be known and approved of.

The problem is, this need is bottomless.  Fathomless.  You can plumb the depths of it all your life and still never feel as though you’ve been filled.  You can please everyone, perform impeccably, never let anyone down, yet still you will feel the need to gather just one more enamored fan to yourself.

Recently I’ve lost some fans.  In the process of trying to please God, I displeased others.  Amazingly enough, I’ve survived it.

This need in all of us is a bottomless pit that only Jesus can fill.  Only your Creator can tell you what you’re worth.  No one else gets to vote.  Not you.  Not anyone.  The One that made you, determined your shape and your future, also determines your value.  Your value is dependent on Him, not on you.

I think once we see this, once we learn to love Him and fear Him , we can begin to live freely.  Only then can we cut away the shackles of futile attempts to fill the bottomless pit.

We can take risks without fearing the mess it always makes.

We can speak without fearing the inevitable pain of being misunderstood.

We can commit to change without fearing the blowback.

We can be both humble and confident at the same time.

Swinging for the Fences

// August 31st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Christian Living

I’ve had several conversations lately with people, including myself (yes, I totally talk to myself) that find themselves in moments of decision.  Each had a different, risky decision to make and were looking for advice on what to do.

In these kinds of situations I tend to begin with thinking through the pros and cons, analyzing the situation from a logical perspective and going with the decision that will cause me (or the one I’m advising) the least amount of pain.  The problem with this way of making decisions is that it assumes that the best decision is always the least painful one.  We all know that this is a really poor assumption.  Read the story of Joseph, Abraham, David, even Jesus.

I think the real and better question is “what is faith?” and “how do I have it in this situation?”.  I think it’s easy to just analyze the situation, anticipate all the variables, stick a wet finger in the wind and then timidly proceed hoping you made the right call.  I think this is the way most of us live.

What really ends up happening is, in our silly pride, we try to take control of our universe and end up frozen in indecision.  We freeze because it never takes us long to find out that we are incapable of making a perfect decision, and if the results depend on the perfection of the decision and the perfection of the execution then it’s a lost cause.  We get paralyzed by our own inability to foresee and control the future.  So we do nothing, or wait for life to decide for us which always takes us down the path of least resistance.  The path of least resistance leads to mediocrity at best and at worst utter misery.

I see a different way in the Bible.  I see God calling people to take action, swiftly, decisively, and confidently.  I see faith being defined in terms of action not in terms of the quality of the decision or the emotion of the moment.  Not to be mistaken for impulsiveness, but rather a clear response to the outrageous promises of God.  I see God using people that never bunt at the ball, but rather swing for the fences every time the ball comes their way.

I have discovered from personal experience that this creates some messes.  Sometimes serious ones.  It’s not that we do not learn from our messes, and the next time around try to make a better swing.  Humble people learn from their missed swings.  However, I’m more convinced now than ever that staying in the dugout is the worst mistake any of us can make. (pardon me while I beat this baseball analogy to death…)

So, take this as an encouragement.  Whatever you do, swing for the fence.  Humbly learn from your mistakes, but never mistake humility for an unwillingness to take risks and make messes.  Never allow yourself to become paralyzed with indecision because both paths appear too risky or the cost of failure is too great.