As I prepare to move away from my Spiritual children there has been a very clear picture sitting in my brain. I am going to speak very frankly about occurances in ministry because the only person I feel like I might offend is the wolf himself. As I'll point out I think we've been too kind for too long to this sneaky pack.
In ministry, lots of people want to tell you what you should be doing to do ministry "right". Many of the ideas that people brought to us had very little to do with reaching the lost and much to do with creating an appearance of success. One particular person made our lives miserable for a short time. So as we prepared to "go home" to my little country church to minister, I began to worry about who would take care of our sheep.
This person repeatedly came up to Nic and told him exactly how to reach people as if we could have never done ministry without him. He started treating his suggestions as nonnegotiables. He began using speech such as, "I'm part of the church so that means you work for me." He would frequently exert power and authority that he didn't actually have. Wolf Red Flag #1: Assigning himself/herself power.
We responded saying that we'd pray over his suggestions and seek the Lord as to whether or not he would have us to start any of those things. In the meanwhile, we asked he and his wife (who had a lot to say as well) to pray about whether they should volunteer their time to be a part of making a difference in the lives of teenagers and see first hand what the ministry might need. After praying we added a few more game/hang out nights since we tend to focus on the more serious side of things. We definitely did fun things but adding more would only build relationships as long as we didn't sacrifice Gospel-centeredness to do so. We tried to follow up with this couple to no avail.
Soon after, we heard from our head Pastor that they had met with him to bring their complaints. (Keep in mind that this couple has no children old enough to be in the youth group.) After hearing their issues with our "performance" our Pastor just told us to make sure we were meeting the congregants needs and assumed they'd go away. Wolf Red Flag #2: A wolf will not stop until he/she has caused distruction.
We noticed this person still acting suspiciously but we weren't sure what he was up to. We would soon find out that he had contacted several board members to complain about the same performance inadequacies he felt we had and tacked on some issues he had with our appearance and (are you ready for this) that he didn't like one of my facebook posts! We would have never known, except that several board members in he hit one that had the courage to come to us. He boldly (and clearly, YAYYY!) listed all of the things the wolf was unhappy with. We explained our process of praying over things, that we'd tried to follow up and of course easily dismissed his other nitpicky issues. That conversation took place on a friday. When we showed up for church on Sunday he shook Nic's hand and simply said, "You're good to go, thank you for serving." Wolf Red Flag #3: Kill or be killed.
Since this couple would no longer be a problem for us, I had kind of forgotten about them. But as we prepared to leave God game me the MOST CLEAR IMAGE, it's amazing. I'm not really an artist but I finally told my husband I was going to have to draw it just to get it out of my head. All I could see was that same guy with the hide of a sheep draped over his body like a Native hunter would wear a wolf hide to scare buffalo. God was reminding me that although someone was strong of to subdue the wolf, no one had the leadership skills and strength it took to shoot him.
Often in today's church culture, we can't even shoot the wolves without a disguise. So when they are clever enough to come in sheep's clothing, maybe even with lambs in tow, we feed, water and strengthen them to our own injury. The longer they hang around, the more people trust and accept them and the more damage is does to the flock with they eventually do either get shot or destroy it all together.
Why am I sharing this with all of you? This is why:
Have you ever had someone surprise you as deceptive after you'd known them for a long time? What might you do now to remain aware that the enemy wants to use people you know to seek, kill and destroy?
And will you join me in praying for our Spiritual leaders to have discernment and strength to see and shoot the wolves that would try and trap their sheep?
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Friday, March 9, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Why You Should Read Leviticus...
I have never been one to read the entire Bible every year. I've read the whole thing a few times and find daily Bible Study and prayer vital to walking this path with strength. But a while back, a friend of mine asked me to help her get all the way through it (not necessarily in a year) for her first time. So, I did her a favor and developed a reading plan that alternates between Old and New Testament books with particular emphasis on spacing out the "hard to get through" books of the Old Testament.
At a large family dinner, I was discussing how it's difficult to read 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles even with short NT books between them because they recount the same rulers twice, with slightly different purposes. One of our relatives perked up and said she just skips the "genealogies and stuff". While this isn't the first time I'd heard this, I still hadn't come up with a good response or reason for thinking they're still important to actually read (not skip, skim or daydream through), so that's what I've set out to do today.
The first reason that comes to mind is that, well, they are still the Word of the Living God. Although reading a story twice or trying to keep up with (confusing) genealogies can be trying, the fact is it's still in there. I really don't think that anything God says or deems important should be ignored.
Number two: reading the entire Bible, including the "boring stuff", helps us to grasp a smidgen of how ridiculously amazing and complex God's plan of redemption was/is. When you read that the Saviour (if you're new to Bella Red, i like to spell things the British way sometimes:) was to come from the stump of Jesse, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. That is, until you connect Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob then to Joseph and Israel's captivity in Egypt which brings you to Moses and eventually you'd get to Ruth and Boaz who had Obed who fathered Jesse who fathered King David. Then when you read about Israel's actions after that, you'd realize that Isaiah called it a stump because God had to cut back His people so far that His own son was the only shoot remaining, the Righteous Branch, that could rescue them.
I encourage you to make the time you spend in parts of the Bible you're tempted to skip as much fun as possible. When I was reading the early books I looked into the places that the Israelites traveled and what lies there today. I took an interest in the traditions and festivals and thought about why God instituted them. Once, I made unleavened bread for a small group of believers and we got together on Good Friday, watched the Mars Hill movie on the events of that evening and we took communion together. It was a beautiful time and the bread and wine made it feel super-legit!
Thirdly, it's pretty darn good proof! Not that we should need it, but you can look at secular accounts and find people and occurrences from the Bible listed there. It is so neat to see the facts in God's word confirmed through other ancient texts! This includes events such as the flood, the tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you researched every encounter Israel had with another culture, you would find that many of those cultures record those events as well! This confirms that God's people, Israel, are a very ancient nation and have been roaming and living in that land for ages! I have also heard of a few secular texts that recorded that Israel was quite protected, blessed or even that their God must have been very real and powerful.
Okay, so now that we've had this discussion, are there any parts of the Bible you will read differently? Are there any passages or parts you think you'd like to go back and do more research (Biblical or otherwise) on?
*Please be careful when you search for Biblical information produced by people. Christian or not, we're all human and can make mistakes. When looking at secular resources, use extreme caution and discernment!
At a large family dinner, I was discussing how it's difficult to read 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles even with short NT books between them because they recount the same rulers twice, with slightly different purposes. One of our relatives perked up and said she just skips the "genealogies and stuff". While this isn't the first time I'd heard this, I still hadn't come up with a good response or reason for thinking they're still important to actually read (not skip, skim or daydream through), so that's what I've set out to do today.
The first reason that comes to mind is that, well, they are still the Word of the Living God. Although reading a story twice or trying to keep up with (confusing) genealogies can be trying, the fact is it's still in there. I really don't think that anything God says or deems important should be ignored.
Number two: reading the entire Bible, including the "boring stuff", helps us to grasp a smidgen of how ridiculously amazing and complex God's plan of redemption was/is. When you read that the Saviour (if you're new to Bella Red, i like to spell things the British way sometimes:) was to come from the stump of Jesse, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. That is, until you connect Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob then to Joseph and Israel's captivity in Egypt which brings you to Moses and eventually you'd get to Ruth and Boaz who had Obed who fathered Jesse who fathered King David. Then when you read about Israel's actions after that, you'd realize that Isaiah called it a stump because God had to cut back His people so far that His own son was the only shoot remaining, the Righteous Branch, that could rescue them.
I encourage you to make the time you spend in parts of the Bible you're tempted to skip as much fun as possible. When I was reading the early books I looked into the places that the Israelites traveled and what lies there today. I took an interest in the traditions and festivals and thought about why God instituted them. Once, I made unleavened bread for a small group of believers and we got together on Good Friday, watched the Mars Hill movie on the events of that evening and we took communion together. It was a beautiful time and the bread and wine made it feel super-legit!
Thirdly, it's pretty darn good proof! Not that we should need it, but you can look at secular accounts and find people and occurrences from the Bible listed there. It is so neat to see the facts in God's word confirmed through other ancient texts! This includes events such as the flood, the tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you researched every encounter Israel had with another culture, you would find that many of those cultures record those events as well! This confirms that God's people, Israel, are a very ancient nation and have been roaming and living in that land for ages! I have also heard of a few secular texts that recorded that Israel was quite protected, blessed or even that their God must have been very real and powerful.
Okay, so now that we've had this discussion, are there any parts of the Bible you will read differently? Are there any passages or parts you think you'd like to go back and do more research (Biblical or otherwise) on?
*Please be careful when you search for Biblical information produced by people. Christian or not, we're all human and can make mistakes. When looking at secular resources, use extreme caution and discernment!
Friday, February 10, 2012
The Shepherd and the Sheep; Who's Failing Who?
Have you ever moved? As an adult, has your career or other circumstance ever required you to pack up and start over somewhere else? My husband and I bought another house (in the same city as our old house) last year. Being a military brat, it was my first household move without a (paid-for) truck full of guys who come and stuff your junk into boxes, load it on a truck and reverse the process at the other end. I look back and chuckle, but it was mildly traumatic for me when my well-meaning father-in-law unexpectedly backed his truck up to my house and announced that he and his employees were there to help.
Well, here we ago again.
My husband and I are in the middle of an interesting transition (which you can read about here) to another church. I have to mention that this isn't just any church, it's the church I grew up in (or the closest thing to it for a moving military kid). One of the many (many, many) things on my mind through this whole process is the "career" of pastor. I've written about the responsibilities of the pastor before, but the way the job plays out in the life of todays clergymen (and women) and in our culture gives rise to concerns in my insides.
Several years ago, when my husband was offered the job as youth pastor at our current church, one of his mentors told him (who knows where he got this stat) that the average youth pastor stays at a church for only three years. That's not even long enough to see the freshmen graduate much less mentor junior high students successfully into adulthood. Nic and I have always been appalled by the frequent church-hopping that happens in our city, but pastors only staying for three years?
Nic and I have always considered ourselves "lifers" - we assume that we will be at the church God has brought us to for life unless God very clearly tells us otherwise. Attendance in any given body of believers should be considered carefully and faithfully. If conflict arises, resolve it. If sin arises, deal with it in grace and repentance. If you're "not happy with" some of the goings on, you remind yourself that church isn't about you and do what you think you need to to ensure that Jesus' body is honoring Him. I don't say this from a position of a perfect track-record, but I do say it from experience.
While the average Western Christian's view on commitment to a particular church is saddening, the cultural effect on the Western Pastor is even more disheartening. With the development of denominational networks and church job websites, a seminary graduate can climb the ladder in no time. Wait. What?
Therein lies our problem. Let's play a little fill in the blanks game here... Most young people graduate from Bible School and make their ___ (5, 10, 20) year career plan. [problem #1: needing a plan. As Francis Chan puts it, God didn't give Abraham a 5 year, much less a 20 year plan when he told him to pack up and move to a new land and that he'd become the father of nations.] Said student might think to themselves, I'll put applications in to be a/an ________ (children's, worship, youth, associate, small groups, interim, other?) pastor at a _________ (smaller, rural, less known, average, springboard) type church. [problems #2 & #3: The position and body one serves in cannot be seen as mere stepping stones on the path to career success] After I get some experience under my belt, I'll start looking at ______ (bigger, cooler, more trendy, more relevant, more Biblical, well-known, higher-paying) churches or a/an ______ (preaching pastor, head pastor, evangelist, traveling speaker) job that I really want. [problem #4: a pastor seriously wrongs their sheep when he even subconsciously considers them a bullet point on his resumé.]
First of all, pastoring is a calling. And no body of believers is a mere springboard for one person's career success. If a pastor doesn't think he is called to minister to young people, why would he think he has the right to take a job doing just that "in the meantime"? Doing a job God didn't design you for seems like a really quick way to get burnt out fast to me! Similarly, I find it interesting that exponentially more pastors are apparently "called" to wealthier and urban churches. If we measure by the number of clergy and their calling, it would appear that God cares very little about the communities and churches in less-hip or poorer areas. Thankfully, the Bible shows us that God's heart is for the marginalized. In fact, most of Jesus' ministry on this earth was focused on the blue-collar, poor and marginalized. It looks to me as if we need to reevaluate the term calling.
Secondly, I think we have shorted both pastors and congregations in the way we have defined their roles. Burn out often happens when a pastor doesn't pastor his family. This is his first ministry. Every pastor's wife and child knows their are time when we have to wait. But ensuring that he has time to spiritually attend to his family is the duty of the pastor. So where does the congregation fit it? Expectations. A church should expect their pastor to take time for his family in order for him to qualify to be their minister (see 1 Tim 2). Their expectations of him should be his best in home and ministry and the give-and-take (aka hard work and grace) that this entails. Also, the congregation should be expected to do their part. A great many pastors and youth pastors tucker out because they run like mad trying to fulfill all of the duties of the church. Instead, each believer should serve and grow in the unique gifts that God has given them. When we all pitch in, a pastor can help us grow (his job as shepherd) and ensure that we (the church as a whole) function to glorify God and further His Kingdom. (Eph 4 & 5, Rom 12, 1 Cor 12)
So now I ask you...how do you view commitment to a church? Why do you think Pastors move to new jobs (in or out of ministry) so quickly?
Well, here we ago again.
My husband and I are in the middle of an interesting transition (which you can read about here) to another church. I have to mention that this isn't just any church, it's the church I grew up in (or the closest thing to it for a moving military kid). One of the many (many, many) things on my mind through this whole process is the "career" of pastor. I've written about the responsibilities of the pastor before, but the way the job plays out in the life of todays clergymen (and women) and in our culture gives rise to concerns in my insides.
Several years ago, when my husband was offered the job as youth pastor at our current church, one of his mentors told him (who knows where he got this stat) that the average youth pastor stays at a church for only three years. That's not even long enough to see the freshmen graduate much less mentor junior high students successfully into adulthood. Nic and I have always been appalled by the frequent church-hopping that happens in our city, but pastors only staying for three years?
Nic and I have always considered ourselves "lifers" - we assume that we will be at the church God has brought us to for life unless God very clearly tells us otherwise. Attendance in any given body of believers should be considered carefully and faithfully. If conflict arises, resolve it. If sin arises, deal with it in grace and repentance. If you're "not happy with" some of the goings on, you remind yourself that church isn't about you and do what you think you need to to ensure that Jesus' body is honoring Him. I don't say this from a position of a perfect track-record, but I do say it from experience.
While the average Western Christian's view on commitment to a particular church is saddening, the cultural effect on the Western Pastor is even more disheartening. With the development of denominational networks and church job websites, a seminary graduate can climb the ladder in no time. Wait. What?
Therein lies our problem. Let's play a little fill in the blanks game here... Most young people graduate from Bible School and make their ___ (5, 10, 20) year career plan. [problem #1: needing a plan. As Francis Chan puts it, God didn't give Abraham a 5 year, much less a 20 year plan when he told him to pack up and move to a new land and that he'd become the father of nations.] Said student might think to themselves, I'll put applications in to be a/an ________ (children's, worship, youth, associate, small groups, interim, other?) pastor at a _________ (smaller, rural, less known, average, springboard) type church. [problems #2 & #3: The position and body one serves in cannot be seen as mere stepping stones on the path to career success] After I get some experience under my belt, I'll start looking at ______ (bigger, cooler, more trendy, more relevant, more Biblical, well-known, higher-paying) churches or a/an ______ (preaching pastor, head pastor, evangelist, traveling speaker) job that I really want. [problem #4: a pastor seriously wrongs their sheep when he even subconsciously considers them a bullet point on his resumé.]
First of all, pastoring is a calling. And no body of believers is a mere springboard for one person's career success. If a pastor doesn't think he is called to minister to young people, why would he think he has the right to take a job doing just that "in the meantime"? Doing a job God didn't design you for seems like a really quick way to get burnt out fast to me! Similarly, I find it interesting that exponentially more pastors are apparently "called" to wealthier and urban churches. If we measure by the number of clergy and their calling, it would appear that God cares very little about the communities and churches in less-hip or poorer areas. Thankfully, the Bible shows us that God's heart is for the marginalized. In fact, most of Jesus' ministry on this earth was focused on the blue-collar, poor and marginalized. It looks to me as if we need to reevaluate the term calling.
Secondly, I think we have shorted both pastors and congregations in the way we have defined their roles. Burn out often happens when a pastor doesn't pastor his family. This is his first ministry. Every pastor's wife and child knows their are time when we have to wait. But ensuring that he has time to spiritually attend to his family is the duty of the pastor. So where does the congregation fit it? Expectations. A church should expect their pastor to take time for his family in order for him to qualify to be their minister (see 1 Tim 2). Their expectations of him should be his best in home and ministry and the give-and-take (aka hard work and grace) that this entails. Also, the congregation should be expected to do their part. A great many pastors and youth pastors tucker out because they run like mad trying to fulfill all of the duties of the church. Instead, each believer should serve and grow in the unique gifts that God has given them. When we all pitch in, a pastor can help us grow (his job as shepherd) and ensure that we (the church as a whole) function to glorify God and further His Kingdom. (Eph 4 & 5, Rom 12, 1 Cor 12)
So now I ask you...how do you view commitment to a church? Why do you think Pastors move to new jobs (in or out of ministry) so quickly?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Latest musings, while have a wifi connection, on rest and work.
I have recently read Pilgrim's Progress for the first time. As I read, I couldn't help but feel like John Bunyan was such a genius. The story of a man named Christian who meets with all kinds of people, temptations and trials on his journey through the narrow gate, on the straight path to God's Holy City is an allegory that rings true on so many levels.
At face value, the story is so enjoyable! As Christian meets and hears of people such as Legality, Faithful, Talkative and Atheist I found myself rooting for him inside like it was a Steelers vs. Cowboys Superbowl. Add the fact that he woefully left his wife and sons who would take no notice of their sin and the story tugs on the heart strings like crazy!
Also, almost anyone can relate to the symbolism in the story. I think even an unbeliever could gain much from the way Bunyan lays out the representation of the issues in this world. People, towns and paths all have a name that makes clear both what it's like in the story and what it represents.
Then I found myself take in another step deeper. This is where I began to feel like John Bunyan was a super-genius. As your read this allegory and pay attention to the initial symbolism, you begin to recognize that there is a gargantuan (I just found out this is a real word, so cool) amount of theology AND you can start applying it to your life. One would be hard pressed to find a type of person, trial or temptation that the author didn't include in either the first or second part of Pilgrim's Progress.
One of the first ones that stuck out to me was an arbor that the Lord had placed midway up a long steep hill. Christian made the mistake of falling asleep there instead of taking his rest and getting back to work. I immediately realized that God has given me arbors such as this, much like Jesus' places of desolation while He walked this earth. He has given me the mountains where I feel his arms around me so well, the church in which I grew up, and Seattle where Mars Hill and the city fit me so well. My temptation is to emotionally or physically sot in those places and never leave. But I realized that Jesus called me to different work for now and those places are not for living; they're for rejuvenation.
I encourage you to read the book and see how much God can speak to you through it. Honestly I think the reason Pilgrim's Progress is so great is because of the abundance of doctrine and theology in it. When a book contains so much of God's Words applied so well, how could you go wrong.
Secondly, I encourage you to look at your life? Are you sedentary where you should be hard at work? Are you working when you should be allowing the Lord the refresh you? Stop and praise Him for your blessings and then focus on what He wants you to do for Him? In what ways should you be working on furthering His Kingdom?
I hope you can learn from both Christian's and my struggle with complacency and avoid the discontent what both myself and this fictional character experienced.
<3
At face value, the story is so enjoyable! As Christian meets and hears of people such as Legality, Faithful, Talkative and Atheist I found myself rooting for him inside like it was a Steelers vs. Cowboys Superbowl. Add the fact that he woefully left his wife and sons who would take no notice of their sin and the story tugs on the heart strings like crazy!
Also, almost anyone can relate to the symbolism in the story. I think even an unbeliever could gain much from the way Bunyan lays out the representation of the issues in this world. People, towns and paths all have a name that makes clear both what it's like in the story and what it represents.
Then I found myself take in another step deeper. This is where I began to feel like John Bunyan was a super-genius. As your read this allegory and pay attention to the initial symbolism, you begin to recognize that there is a gargantuan (I just found out this is a real word, so cool) amount of theology AND you can start applying it to your life. One would be hard pressed to find a type of person, trial or temptation that the author didn't include in either the first or second part of Pilgrim's Progress.
One of the first ones that stuck out to me was an arbor that the Lord had placed midway up a long steep hill. Christian made the mistake of falling asleep there instead of taking his rest and getting back to work. I immediately realized that God has given me arbors such as this, much like Jesus' places of desolation while He walked this earth. He has given me the mountains where I feel his arms around me so well, the church in which I grew up, and Seattle where Mars Hill and the city fit me so well. My temptation is to emotionally or physically sot in those places and never leave. But I realized that Jesus called me to different work for now and those places are not for living; they're for rejuvenation.
I encourage you to read the book and see how much God can speak to you through it. Honestly I think the reason Pilgrim's Progress is so great is because of the abundance of doctrine and theology in it. When a book contains so much of God's Words applied so well, how could you go wrong.
Secondly, I encourage you to look at your life? Are you sedentary where you should be hard at work? Are you working when you should be allowing the Lord the refresh you? Stop and praise Him for your blessings and then focus on what He wants you to do for Him? In what ways should you be working on furthering His Kingdom?
I hope you can learn from both Christian's and my struggle with complacency and avoid the discontent what both myself and this fictional character experienced.
<3
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Word IS Beautiful
In our attempts to draw on the u saved, today's Western Church has spent a large percentage of their resources on presentation. I don't mean presentation in an evangelistic sense. I'm talking about aesthetics, promotion and other additional elements to preaching the Word.
As the years go by, the amount of money spent on such things has grown and continues to grow like crazy. I'm very alarmed by the results of these efforts. The number of Bible-believing Christians in American is plummeting. I took broadly accepted statistics on the success rate of youth ministry and applied it to the city I live in. In our town of 60,000 people, based on the number of students in youth groups at evangelical churches: we will statistically only make a lifelong change in the lives of fifty of them, at most.
What happens when this generation of young people are the parents, community leaders and the ones responsible for the religious beliefs of the following generation? Even if there are one hundred people in that generation that believe and try to pass the Gogspel on to their kids, what will this city look like in several decades. Frightening.
My point is, obiously dressing up the the Word of God doesn't work; neither does dulling it down or fluffing it up.
I will not settle for spreading less than the True Word which is as sharp as any two edged sword. I feel uncomfortable at the thought of being responsible for trying to reach a generation with lights, a rock-band worship team that sings poetic but unmeaningful words and trendy graphics. I dread the thought of telling Him at His throne, "but I attracted hundreds of kids to the church building." Only to hear His answer, "but how many of them received My grace?" When I stand before my Judge, I long to see a row of my purple-haired peeps there with me and hear, "Well done."
In the scope of eternity, I cannot help but challenge people, including myself, to drop the act. In the book of Acts, the Lord added to their numbers. Can we please, I beg you, begin to truly rely on the Spirit to guide our steps in furthering the Kingdom?
As the years go by, the amount of money spent on such things has grown and continues to grow like crazy. I'm very alarmed by the results of these efforts. The number of Bible-believing Christians in American is plummeting. I took broadly accepted statistics on the success rate of youth ministry and applied it to the city I live in. In our town of 60,000 people, based on the number of students in youth groups at evangelical churches: we will statistically only make a lifelong change in the lives of fifty of them, at most.
What happens when this generation of young people are the parents, community leaders and the ones responsible for the religious beliefs of the following generation? Even if there are one hundred people in that generation that believe and try to pass the Gogspel on to their kids, what will this city look like in several decades. Frightening.
My point is, obiously dressing up the the Word of God doesn't work; neither does dulling it down or fluffing it up.
I will not settle for spreading less than the True Word which is as sharp as any two edged sword. I feel uncomfortable at the thought of being responsible for trying to reach a generation with lights, a rock-band worship team that sings poetic but unmeaningful words and trendy graphics. I dread the thought of telling Him at His throne, "but I attracted hundreds of kids to the church building." Only to hear His answer, "but how many of them received My grace?" When I stand before my Judge, I long to see a row of my purple-haired peeps there with me and hear, "Well done."
In the scope of eternity, I cannot help but challenge people, including myself, to drop the act. In the book of Acts, the Lord added to their numbers. Can we please, I beg you, begin to truly rely on the Spirit to guide our steps in furthering the Kingdom?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
One more false doctrine, thousands more deceived people.
I have been extremely hungry for God's Word lately. I, not of myself, have been digging way deep into the verses I've been reading. Not even so deep in interpretation but in the context, culture and geography. I feel super connected to what the Bible says when I can see where it took place on a map or read about the same details in a secular source. I don't need those things to believe it's true, but I do understand it better or I enjoy it more or something.
Anyways, I was tracking the Israelites exodus from Egypt when a Google ad on the side bar said this, "How Jesus REALLY Saves : Jesus saves, but not by 'washing away sins' or by 'appeasing the Father'".
I thought it was interesting so I took the bait. It leads to a website for the "New Church" which is founded on the Bible AND the writings of one Emanuel Swedenborg.
I'll get straight to the point. I have some issues with Swedenborg and his New Church. (I'm sure you didn't see that coming.) However, I'm a fan of the sandwich method; so let's start with something good.
+Swedenborg was way ahead of the trend. As I'll point out in a minute (okay maybe two), he preceded our post-modern universalist tendencies by a century or more. I know he had many predecessors, but it seems to me that people should make at least a little fuss over him considering the ruckus Rob Bell caused. So my positive peace of bread number one: trend setter.
Now for the meat, or my beef so to speak with Swedenborg. I briefly considered just copying some of the New Church doctrinal statements from the websites followed by the scripture it directly contradicts. But instead I'll just summarize and briefly address a couple of my findings:
-To begin with, they (the adherents to the New Church doctrines) believe that people become angels. In Job 38:4-7, then angels sang when God made the earth (before humans where made) and in Hebrews 2:7 Jesus was made lower than the angels when He became human. Even in Revelation, both angels and people are described worshipping God around His throne showing that in Heaven there will be both angels and humans, two separate kinds.
-They believe that everyone goes to heaven except those who choose hell, they don't think you have to believe in Jesus to have eternal life AND they don't believe God judges. Holy cow! Where do I start?! Let's go with John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (emphasis mine) ,1 John 5:12-13 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
+I think that's enough meat for today. I'm sure I've already lost a few peope. Positive piece of bread number two. Swedenborg and the New Church have something that sadly makes them very appealing to many people. In one of the explanations of what New Christianity is, they state that it makes sense because it's built on common sense. Congratulations folks! You've just tugged on the brain strings of many rational seekers. Unfortunately, human knowledge and reason on nothing worth putting faith in and it definitely can't save your soul. Why would you want to serve a god who is limited to the confines of you intellect?
I find many silarities between Mormonism and the followers of Swedenborg's writings. But I am deeply saddened by Swedenborgism for two reasons. One, the flesh wants to believe his bad doctrinal statements because they are so rational. And two, the heresies sound so close to the Truth that many could be easily deceived. Often it is a small phrase within a large paragraph that turns their whole position upside-down.
I'll close with this warning from God's Word, 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Anyways, I was tracking the Israelites exodus from Egypt when a Google ad on the side bar said this, "How Jesus REALLY Saves : Jesus saves, but not by 'washing away sins' or by 'appeasing the Father'".
I thought it was interesting so I took the bait. It leads to a website for the "New Church" which is founded on the Bible AND the writings of one Emanuel Swedenborg.
I'll get straight to the point. I have some issues with Swedenborg and his New Church. (I'm sure you didn't see that coming.) However, I'm a fan of the sandwich method; so let's start with something good.
+Swedenborg was way ahead of the trend. As I'll point out in a minute (okay maybe two), he preceded our post-modern universalist tendencies by a century or more. I know he had many predecessors, but it seems to me that people should make at least a little fuss over him considering the ruckus Rob Bell caused. So my positive peace of bread number one: trend setter.
Now for the meat, or my beef so to speak with Swedenborg. I briefly considered just copying some of the New Church doctrinal statements from the websites followed by the scripture it directly contradicts. But instead I'll just summarize and briefly address a couple of my findings:
-To begin with, they (the adherents to the New Church doctrines) believe that people become angels. In Job 38:4-7, then angels sang when God made the earth (before humans where made) and in Hebrews 2:7 Jesus was made lower than the angels when He became human. Even in Revelation, both angels and people are described worshipping God around His throne showing that in Heaven there will be both angels and humans, two separate kinds.
-They believe that everyone goes to heaven except those who choose hell, they don't think you have to believe in Jesus to have eternal life AND they don't believe God judges. Holy cow! Where do I start?! Let's go with John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (emphasis mine) ,1 John 5:12-13 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
+I think that's enough meat for today. I'm sure I've already lost a few peope. Positive piece of bread number two. Swedenborg and the New Church have something that sadly makes them very appealing to many people. In one of the explanations of what New Christianity is, they state that it makes sense because it's built on common sense. Congratulations folks! You've just tugged on the brain strings of many rational seekers. Unfortunately, human knowledge and reason on nothing worth putting faith in and it definitely can't save your soul. Why would you want to serve a god who is limited to the confines of you intellect?
I find many silarities between Mormonism and the followers of Swedenborg's writings. But I am deeply saddened by Swedenborgism for two reasons. One, the flesh wants to believe his bad doctrinal statements because they are so rational. And two, the heresies sound so close to the Truth that many could be easily deceived. Often it is a small phrase within a large paragraph that turns their whole position upside-down.
I'll close with this warning from God's Word, 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Jesus Was Culturally Relevant
Everyone wants everyone else to do church their way. If this weren't the case, we wouldn't have thousands upon thousands of denominations within the Christian church. There are divisions and subgroups within those denominations. Young people wouldn't be running off and planting unbalanced churches because the elders don't disciple or even seem to care about them and old churches wouldn't be dying off because they refuse to change the changeables to relate to the culture. We wouldn't have five churches on one block and still have unchurched, de-churched and hungry people across the street.
Doesn't anyone want to do church Jesus' way? As the Christ, Jesus was able to prune the functions of the church while He was on earth. I think He addressed each group's habits with one of three attitudes.
The first is toward those with a lazy form of religion that I like to call Checkmark Christanity. Because of the religious leaders of the time (which I address in the second category) many followers became adjusted to simply checking the requirements of being a good Jew off of their list. Giving? Check. Attending? Check. Eating correctly? Check. Cleanliness? Check. I see Checkmark Christians everywhere I look. This is why people shop for a church like it's their Friday night movie. Does it look good? Does it have people I'm attracted to in it? Will I feel good when I walk out? Will I get home at a reasonable hour? Will my kids like it? How much is it going to cost me? Are there food and drinks available? It's because they just need to check church off their list and they want it to be comfortable. Checkmark Christians want to pull up to the window to be served their God for the week so they can go back to their busy lives and give up as little of their time and energy as possible. A prime Bilical example is that if the Rich Ruler. In Luke 18 he asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. After establishing that he has a check in all of the boxes, Jesus asks him to make a sacrifice a show people some love. Unfortunately he is sad and unwilling. He was raised as a Checkmark Jew and the transition, or transformation rather into authentic Christian is to much for him.
The second addresses laws that God the Father had set up for good reasons, but leaders had elaborated on them and over prioritized them to a point of making the rules themselves a religion. 'And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."' You can spot these overzealous modern day Pharisees most often doing great things. These people get anxious because in their pride they rely on themselves and their gifts to grow God's kingdom, and they're right! They can't do it! You'll find them frequently looking at attendance in their services and groups because they must "measure success". They have the hardest time relying on the grace of God and trusting for future grace! Pharisees however, are great accountability partners: they never let anyone get away with anything. Another way rules religiosity surfaces is through an unwillingness to separate the changeables from the non-negotiables. Compromise is not and should not be an option in areas that deal with Truth. Unfortunately, like the original pharisees, many of today's church members get stuck on how things are supposed to be done simply because that's the way it's been. Jesus Himself managed to be culturally relevant and we know He didn't distort the Word. Why can't today's leaders imitate that?! This encompasses a good portion of today's leaders and "devout" Christians. Sadly they breed a good number of baby Pharisees and even more Checkmark Christians who've been taught to just keep the overzealous "rules people" happy. When I struggle, I admit it's in this direction. I guess I'm one of those lucky people who had my fair share of influence by Pharisees. My frustration is always directed, however, at other Pharisees.
I think the third group and habit that Jesus addressed was the group who loved God and tried to do religion right but in their humanity still needed some guidance. Jesus' disciples had to grow in many areas: shame, pride, materialism, forgiveness and faith; just to name a few. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
No matter how we approach living out our faith, we'll never "do church" perfectly. But we put ourselves in a good spot when we remain humble and teachable. This way when the Spirit speaks to us, we are free to follow no matter what He asks. As long as we are loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves, we can be confident that we are following the Law! Do church the way God asks you to. Hold to the Scriptures and then don't worry about anything else!
Doesn't anyone want to do church Jesus' way? As the Christ, Jesus was able to prune the functions of the church while He was on earth. I think He addressed each group's habits with one of three attitudes.
The first is toward those with a lazy form of religion that I like to call Checkmark Christanity. Because of the religious leaders of the time (which I address in the second category) many followers became adjusted to simply checking the requirements of being a good Jew off of their list. Giving? Check. Attending? Check. Eating correctly? Check. Cleanliness? Check. I see Checkmark Christians everywhere I look. This is why people shop for a church like it's their Friday night movie. Does it look good? Does it have people I'm attracted to in it? Will I feel good when I walk out? Will I get home at a reasonable hour? Will my kids like it? How much is it going to cost me? Are there food and drinks available? It's because they just need to check church off their list and they want it to be comfortable. Checkmark Christians want to pull up to the window to be served their God for the week so they can go back to their busy lives and give up as little of their time and energy as possible. A prime Bilical example is that if the Rich Ruler. In Luke 18 he asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. After establishing that he has a check in all of the boxes, Jesus asks him to make a sacrifice a show people some love. Unfortunately he is sad and unwilling. He was raised as a Checkmark Jew and the transition, or transformation rather into authentic Christian is to much for him.
The second addresses laws that God the Father had set up for good reasons, but leaders had elaborated on them and over prioritized them to a point of making the rules themselves a religion. 'And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."' You can spot these overzealous modern day Pharisees most often doing great things. These people get anxious because in their pride they rely on themselves and their gifts to grow God's kingdom, and they're right! They can't do it! You'll find them frequently looking at attendance in their services and groups because they must "measure success". They have the hardest time relying on the grace of God and trusting for future grace! Pharisees however, are great accountability partners: they never let anyone get away with anything. Another way rules religiosity surfaces is through an unwillingness to separate the changeables from the non-negotiables. Compromise is not and should not be an option in areas that deal with Truth. Unfortunately, like the original pharisees, many of today's church members get stuck on how things are supposed to be done simply because that's the way it's been. Jesus Himself managed to be culturally relevant and we know He didn't distort the Word. Why can't today's leaders imitate that?! This encompasses a good portion of today's leaders and "devout" Christians. Sadly they breed a good number of baby Pharisees and even more Checkmark Christians who've been taught to just keep the overzealous "rules people" happy. When I struggle, I admit it's in this direction. I guess I'm one of those lucky people who had my fair share of influence by Pharisees. My frustration is always directed, however, at other Pharisees.
I think the third group and habit that Jesus addressed was the group who loved God and tried to do religion right but in their humanity still needed some guidance. Jesus' disciples had to grow in many areas: shame, pride, materialism, forgiveness and faith; just to name a few. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
No matter how we approach living out our faith, we'll never "do church" perfectly. But we put ourselves in a good spot when we remain humble and teachable. This way when the Spirit speaks to us, we are free to follow no matter what He asks. As long as we are loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves, we can be confident that we are following the Law! Do church the way God asks you to. Hold to the Scriptures and then don't worry about anything else!
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