The Devil and Your Money

Here's a fresh, funny take on the economy and how Satan uses money to distract us from God.  It is from Craig Groeschel at www.lifechurch.tv. This is an easy watch and has some powerful truths.  Enjoy! 

More than any other time in our lives, the economy has dipped to new levels and is causing mass fear worldwide.  When things get bad around us, we need to focus even more intently on what the Word of God says.

Does this cause you to look at $ differently? 

Of Water & Spirit

Yesterday evening we had the opportunity to attend an amazing baptism experience hosted by Kaleo, a college student mobilization ministry www.stumo.org. We were invited by my wife’s cousins (shout out to Haven, Haley & Mikka), to witness the dedication of several lives to God. There were probably about a hundred gathered to witness this special identification with Christ. 

I know, I know, what’s the big hoopla?  I hear you, I’ve personally witnessed many baptisms over the years and although each one is special in its own way, this one had the flavor of a real celebration!

For one, it was held on the beach in the Gulf of Mexico in Destin, FL.  In terms of natural settings, not much better a place to commit your life to Jesus in the midst of God’s wonderful creation. 

More than the setting though, was the spirit of celebration in which it was held.  It felt more like a beach party than a religious ritual.  So refreshing was seeing all of the young lives that had been given to the Lord and the resultant joy that ran rampant in the crowd. Before and after each dunk in the ocean, there were shouts of joy, tears of happiness and claps of thanksgiving and praise. 

I couldn’t help but think of how it must have been when John the Baptist was baptizing all those folks (including Jesus) in the Jordan River [see Matthew 3:11-17].  I can only imagine how it was back then, especially with the Son of the Living God present.  What a wonderful time!  This experience yesterday helped me to see baptism and its purpose in a whole new way.   

Thanks Kaleo for building ‘em up and sending ‘em out!  It was awesome to see so many college students dedicating and preparing themselves to carry the gospel to this lost world.    

Oh and the best part?  Nobody wore waders!

Drowning in Doubt?

WARNING: Sitting in the boat may be more dangerous than walking on the water.

When I was a kid, one of my greatest fears was drowning. I couldn’t think of a worse way to die. My perception was that drowning in water was a slow, painful, mind- numbing process that would wreak long-term suffering on its victim.

Sometimes life can feel like we’re drowning. Drowning in our past, our present or worse yet, our future. Truth be told, we tend to live in periods other than the present and our thoughts of back and forward can paralyze us with fear of the unknown. This binds us to seek comfort in the present status of known conditions, proven to lead us down paths to stagnation.

We think we’re safe and sound in the present, but potential exists to miss out on the great things God has in store for us when we choose to trust in our own self-controlled destiny.

Jesus taught us not to fear though. When we trust in him, we give up control of our lives, building our faith and foundation upon the One who holds the key to life. Many are familiar with the story of Peter getting out of the boat and walking towards Christ on the water (Matthew 14:28-33). I’ve often thought of how weak Peter’s faith was as he began to sink as he walked towards Jesus. But wait. He did get out of the boat and follow Jesus’ command. He did take that initial step of faith, when everything in his being pointed to the contrary. He did fail in the short term, but at least he was filled with hope that it indeed was Jesus and he did trust that God was in control.

Many times, we don’t step out in faith. Maybe because it’s not logical, or someone’s telling us that it’s impossible or an adversary is whispering doubt in our ear. Whatever the cause, we drown ourselves in doubt when we stay put in situations that call for our own plans and actions to advance.

Growth means we’re being challenged more and more to trust in God and His power and authority in our lives. This process is scary, but as we walk in faith, Jesus delivers on His promises to us. Let’s not get comfortable and recline in the seats of our boats, when the God of this universe calls us out!

Are there things in your life that keep you seated in doubt? Why not get up and trust Him to carry you through the transitions that may be holding you back?

Church in a People (God in Us)

This is the final part of the “What is Church” series of posts. We’ve looked at several different aspects of what a church could be, in the form of the question “Church in a _______?” Challenging the conventional wisdom of church being just in a church building or locale, we’ve asked if church could be in a lot of other places that maybe aren’t so generally accepted or recognized.

Now mind you, I realize that there are many different forms, styles and types of local churches that are an important part of Christ-centered community. And in no way does the intent of this series look to undermine the critical importance of the local church. These are a part of our heritage and faith. In fact, I believe the local church is the hope of our world and the most effective way to gather and assemble groups of proximate Christians to achieve the great commission (Matt. 28:19-20).

When you study the Greek word “Ekklesia”, which represents the modern translation of “church”, we see that it literally means an “assembly” or “congregation” that are “called out or forth” as Christ followers. We can conclude that the church is a bunch of people both corporately (worldwide) and locally (in our cities and communities) in organized groups that are living out the calling of God on their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

It’s within these church contexts though, that we can turn a beautiful, spiritual institution God created into something that’s its not meant to be. The following man-made things can become competitive and divide us if we're not extra careful:

• Styles or formats of service
• Praise and worship music
• Belief sets (biblical intepretation differences on small issues)
  
• Allocation of resources (money, time, people, etc.)
• Culture and tradition (how it's always been)
  
• Human power (including control and authority)
  
• Names (yes what we call it)

When we put an unhealthy emphasis on any of these, we divide the unified power (see Ephesians 4) we have TOGETHER in Christ and short circuit our ability to be all that we are called out as a church to be.

I think of what Jesus said to that Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:4-26). After some “religious” small talk that the woman interjected after Jesus reminded her of her lack of ability to quench her own thirst (via many failed relationships with men), Jesus spoke what it really means to worship God. He said that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” and that “God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” It wasn’t that the Samaritans or Jews were worshipping or “doing church” in wrong ways, it's just that Jesus is the only way. When we make man-made stuff out to be superior to God, the spiritual act of worship (Rom. 12:1) as his living body departs us.

When Jesus came, he came in Spirit (John 3:5-8) and when we believe in Emmanuel, He is in us. Yes church is God in us. Nothing more, nothing less. We are the people of God, a holy nation. What a wonderful gift that is made available to us through God’s loving grace. Let’s praise Him who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ! So as the church, let’s let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, since as members of ONE body we were called to peace. Thankful I am for the church.

Church in a Coffee House?

You knew it was coming.  How could I leave out the epicenter of meeting places?  Not to mention, caffeine is the one of the few socially accepted and approved drugs (that I know of).  And I figured that a blog titled “Church in a Crack House” probably wouldn’t generate any positive vibes, so I went with the more politically correct substance.  J/K of course…lighten up!

But seriously, there’s arguably as much community shared in coffee shops than actual church buildings themselves.  Many of the newer, hipper churches have actually cut to the chase and put coffee shops right in the building, thus eliminating the need to go offsite for the experience.  Good stuff.

Not too sure why people hang in cafes, other than coffee has a way of stimulating (OK I said it) conversations and the atmospheres are generally cool.  Throw in some free wi-fi, a couch and it’s a perfect social storm to be caught in.

Personally, I’ve experienced plenty of encouragement in and around the local shops including personal and group meetings, community outreach events, bible studies and prayer.  Yes, I’ve shared more about God in coffee shops than any other venue hands down. Sure it has an obvious cultural tie to it (who doesn’t love Starbucks?), but when you’re experiencing God and growing closer to Him through building relationships with others, I can’t think of a more relevant gathering point. 

Essentially, it’s designed to be comfortable and relaxed, thus creating an environment where you can be yourself.  Herein lies a lesson to be learned by some of our more formal gatherings.  Taking ourselves too seriously can get us in trouble sometimes.  So have a cup o Joe and get to know your neighbors better.  There’s a Kingdom building aspect of networking and we are blessed when get to know each other through spending some informal time together.  And when people let their guards down, opportunities arise for the church to be the church! 

Here’s a challenge for next week:  Pick a person whom you don’t particularly like or whom you may have had conflict in the past that damaged your relationship….and ask them to go have a cup of coffee with you.  Pray that God would use the meeting to heal that relationship and see what happens. 

Church in a Bar?

Hold those stones!!! I’m not Stephen, and you’re not the final judge. I’m just an obscure writer asking some taboo questions about the paradigm of church. I know, I know, it sounds sacrilegious, but maybe that’s a good thing. Questions that cause us to look deeper into who we are as believers in Jesus Christ and to step outside of our methodic comfort zones, help us to grow in God’s Spirit.

Rob Bell once spoke of the lack of separation between our physical and spiritual lives (or selves) in one of his NOOMA videos. His point was that we are who we are in God and our “church life” and our “secular life” are really one in the same even though we may not choose to lump them together mentally.

Sometimes we make a distinction between things we do for God and things we do for ourselves. Think about how you act around people and ask yourself a few questions:

• Do you behave the same at church as you do with your friends on a weekend night out?
• Do you use the same words around everyone, no matter the venue or occasion?
• Do you listen to and sing the same songs during the week as you do on Sunday morning?
• Do you do good deeds around your “regular” friends as often as your “church” friends?
  

If you answered “no” to anyone of these; why not? You see when we pretend to be something different “at church” than what we really are the rest of the week, we’re being religious. We’re up for an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Deceiver.” This speaks to the position of church NOT being a place, an event or even a set of behavior modifications.

So back on point. Can you have church in a bar? If you initially said no, then consider this. Jesus hung out with sinners. He wasn’t hangin’ with all the religious know-it-alls of the day. He wanted to be around the people who were in the worst shape and had need for God in their lives. Check out Mark 2:15-17 here. Healthy folks don’t need a doctor, sick ones do. Where can you find sick folks? Well, a lot of places, but bars tend to have a steady supply of those looking for something to fill a void. And where better to be the church? Thoughts?

Church in a Sub Shop?

It can’t be! Could there actually be true Christian community, Godly worship and Brotherly fellowship in a sandwich shop??? I mean how could God possibly show up in the same venue as a greasy philly cheesesteak? Can we eat and worship God at the same time? So many questions, so little time.

Let me start by saying I’ve personally seen some magnificent things of God go down (or up?) in the local sub shop. Don’t believe me? I’ve witnessed some amazing loving interaction, elders praying over flock, ministries birthed, Godly partnerships formed, burdens shared, profound prayers offered up to heaven and servants unite in the name of Christ.

Whether it was Lenny’s in West Memphis, Stoby’s in Conway, Quizno’s in Little Rock or Subway in Marion, those meat and bread joints have churned out some awesome gatherings of the church!

But is it church? Hmmm, it begs to assume (by my brain’s traditional side) that it isn’t, but hold on. Could it be that “church” is simply an assembly or gathering of believers in Jesus Christ? Do we overbake it sometimes to fit into our mold of reasoning? Is it “not” church if there’s not an opening prayer, announcements, worship songs, a sermon, communion and closing prayer? Was church supposed to be a periodic event with certain processions and of particular structure?

You see, church is more than a physical container. It’s a spiritual body, created by Christ to glorify God the Father. God lives in us, which is His body. He dwells in us (1 John 3:24), by His Spirit and power, not by the holdings of man-made parameters. He loves His body just like a young man loves his bride.

In us he dwells.
For us he died.
To Him we are called.

So if I’m eating a footlong ham and cheese in a restaurant in the middle of Arkansas with another Brother (who by the way may be eating a veggie sub), are we “in” church? Maybe one of these shops should make a new 6-footer called the “Ekklesian!” Thoughts?