Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

After yesterday's random ramble (I'm not entirely sure where I was planning on going when I started that, but it finished somewhere else entirely!), here are some important thoughts on community... First off, community is one of the basic principles of life, but particularly of the Christ-follower's life. If one follows Jesus, they are in community. In fact, Jesus established a community we like to call "the church." The church is otherwise known as the body of Christ, but is more known today as hypocritical, anti-gay, too political, out of touch/date (code for irrelevant!), judgmental, and more [read Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnamon's book UnChristian to learn more]. Now, each of those critiques is honest, important, and something we need to deal with. If not, we (meaning all of us) will render God's community as something devoid of power and very much the irrelevant antique some think it is!). Let's start with the first: hypocritical. I know w...

So we had a great discussion last night in the church van about this topic, and the state of many Christians in general, after our See You After the Pole rally. Each of the previous posts will come in here too, but this could almost stand on its own as we finish up this discussion today. When we speak about purity, the important thing to remember is that it encompasses so much more than sex. Leviticus told us that we should (MUST) "be holy, because I, your God, am holy." It's not a bummer of a rule, instead its the best thing that we can imagine. Think about the person you are closest to in this world. Do you tend to think alike and do most of the same things? If not, do you wish you did more where you were of one heart/mind? The simplest way to explain God's requirement that we be holy, comes down to our relationship with Him. Sin creates distance in that relationship and divides us. God, who loves us so incredibly, hates that and so should we. Most time...

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in an odd B-movie remake of the body snatchers? It happens to me occasionally, as I'll see myself do something stupid and not stop myself from doing it winding up looking at myself like, "What the heck was that all about?" Better yet, I find myself acting the part when I should really just be me. A pastor used to say it was "Shifting into 'Rev'" and was just part of the job for us as ministers because we couldn't always be the man for the job and sometimes needed to be that man when we couldn't otherwise. However, Casting Crowns hits the nail on the head in their song about churches: we're all too often just perfect plastic people with our perfect plastic steeples when people are hurting and dying without Jesus outside the doors. How can we justify our hypocrisy when we try to hide our brokenness? Why can't we be who Jesus called us to be? Can we effectively minister without our broken, sinful...

After a great weekend of master's classes and the Frequency conference at Indiana Wesleyan University, I am thinking, a lot! I am going to deviate from thinking about what it means to be a Christ follower into what it means to "minister" and what a "ministry" really is. Ministry is a broad term, covering anything someone does in the name of Christ (minister means to give aid not someone who is of the clergy, that's something we associate to it, not the original meaning!). So in theory, feeding someone who is hungry is a ministry (particularly as we fit both contexts, the idea of doing something in Jesus' name and the "professional" idea of someone who does things for the church) especially as it was something Jesus told us to do? However, should there ever be separation between the "professional" idea of ministry and the actual process of giving aid? I think not, but we've made it so. Is there a place for preaching? Yes. Is...

After reading more and thinking a lot, I keep wondering what it really means to be a Christian. If you haven't read it, check out the book "UnChristian" by David Kinnaman. It's a must read for those in ministry and for anyone with a heart to reach people who are disconnected. The book is based on research from people who are NOT Christians on their perspectives of the "church." The results are pretty scary, but there isn't anything uncorrectable or fatal there. The things he lists include: judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, too political, sheltered, and focused only on "saving" people. Each of those rebukes is true. Partially because the church isn't a homogeneous group, but mainly because it's true! People are turned off by us not being real or by putting on a persona. To quote DC Talk (yes, I am a child of the 80-90's): "The single biggest cause of atheism today are Christians who confess Jesus at church the...

Have you ever heard people make the statement, "Well, I just have problems with God..."? That statement is typically followed by a critique of the church or of Christianity in general. Some of the critiques are very real, others are lame, some illogical and some plain mean. But, I'll endeavor to show how some of those critiques play out and explain the how's and why's so you'll be equipped to deal with them in this and the next few posts. First is the biggest complaint against the church and Christianity: hypocrisy. How often have you heard someone say, "I don't go to church because of all the hypocrites."? I hear it regularly and am SO tempted to answer in a very mean-spirited way by saying, "Well come anyways, we could always use one more." But, that's just not nice and is plain mean. However, there are reasons and there are answers. The reason is simple: people look in the doors of the church and see people they know acti...