Taking the time, time after time

This summer has been a bit of a whirlwind for me and my family. As soon as school let out in June I took my son to soccer camp for a week. When we returned, I had two days to prepare to preach my last sermons at the church I was serving before we packed up all of our belongings and moved to Wilmington, NC. Almost immediately we had family in town all the while trying to adjust to a new environment. From there it was youth camps, another soccer camp, registering our children for their new schools, enrolling our youngest in a new gymnastics program, celebrating a sweet sixteen birthday and then going to get her license, and then serving as the speaker at a week-long high school camp. Somewhere in the midst of all of that my wife and I carved out regular time for each other so that we wouldn't be tempted to wake up one day and ask each other, "Who are you?"

Time itself is such a funny thing - we can't actually create any more than we are given in a 24-hour day but we do have the opportunity to manage the time that we do have. If we don't manage our time, then it will be more than willing to manage us! As busy as our schedules can tend to be, there will always be those quiet(er) moments in the midst of our chaos where God seeks to grab our attention in an effort to refocus us and refresh our souls.

These are moments we cannot afford to miss.

As we watch our children grow up way too fast and struggle to believe that what seemed like yesterday was actually a few years ago, my wife and I often ask ourselves, "Where did all the time go?" If our lives were wrapped up in events and achievements then I am sure that a deep-seeded depression would have set in by now. But life is more that what we can personally accomplish or what kind of a name we can make for ourselves. Life is a beautiful journey filled with people and places that impact our every step.

That being the case, what are you doing with the time that you have? Allow me to suggest a few ideas that I believe will help you manage your time in such a way as to be fulfilling and fruitful:

• Spend time with God everyday. Read the Bible. Sit in the stillness of the sunrise or sunset and contemplate His majesty. Use the time that you are driving in your car to lift up prayers and praises to Him. Don't neglect attending a church on Sunday to connect with God and His people.
• Find a special place and go there often. Each morning I strive to enjoy my coffee and time with God or a good book on my screened porch. It's quiet, peaceful, and it also allows me to spend quality time with my wife and to gather my thoughts for the day.
• Don't neglect spending time with people. Chat with your neighbors, go to dinner with friends, visit your grandparents and ask them about their childhood, or enjoy game night with your family. Avoid the temptation to let people pass by because that is when opportunities to grow and invest in others will pass you by as well.
• Find something that you love and do it often. Since I moved to the coast and discovered stand up paddle boarding, I want to be on the water as much as I can. Even though this is not a daily thing, the times that I do go out fill my cup to the brim. We all have things that we are most passionate about. Those areas certainly deserve our time.
• Enjoy a good book. Books open up a whole new world to the imagination, that is if you are willing to invest in the time to read them. Put down your phone, turn off the TV, and get lost in a good book.
• Invite others to join you on errands or small tasks. Whenever I need to run to the store I usually take one of my kids along with me. Sure, I may bribe them with the promise of gum, but I have never regretted those extra moments away with them.

That's a pretty simple list, isn't it? And for the most part, engaging in those things shouldn't cause you to have to radically rearrange your schedule. In fact, once you organize your time for those activities and people that make you most come alive, you will find that including them more and more in your daily life becomes not only natural but essential. So stop making excuses and take the time because it's right there in front of you. 

Culture, Music, and Uncle Willie's Garage

There are a couple of preset buttons on the radio in my car that I never push. These radio stations have been pre-progammed by my kids and, if I were to push one of these buttons, I would be inundated with "today's hits," which would result in me vomiting violently and quite possibly totaling my car. As one who grew up in the 1970's, survived the 1980's, and rejoiced over the musical revolution of the 1990's, I simply cannot stomach much of what passes for new music today.

I had the pleasure of growing up in a time when music was made with real instruments being played by real people, not some digitized alt-recorded track that relies on computers to produce it. Yeah, I know, the electronic sounds of the 1980's want to refute my claim, but I don't count that as music. My first two real concerts were The Police and Bruce Springsteen, both of whom I saw when I was in middle school. My R.E.M. cassette tapes serenaded me to and from high school and I remember exactly where I was when Nirvana saved music in the early 1990's. THAT, my friends, is music!

I realize that not everyone agrees with my factual assessment of what is audibly pleasing, and that is okay. You can roll your eyes at me like my kids do. One of the wonderful aspects of music is that there are so many different varieties and genres from multiple eras that we all have something to choose from. What sounds beautiful to me might sound like dying hippos to you, and I would probably say the same about your music.

The interesting thing to me about so much of the music that I have listened to over the years is that I remember almost all of the words to the songs that I used to have in heavy rotation. Do you want to know something even more crazy? When I recall those lyrics, I truly don't know what half of them meant. Have you ever listened to R.E.M. and tried to figure out what Michael Stipe was saying? Good luck with that! Even the lyrics that do make sense have no real meaning to me - they are just words to songs that I can't seem to forget, even as I struggle to remember my kids' names and birth dates.

This is a phenomenon that is not unique to just popular music - we do it all the time with Christian music as well. The Christian music industry has evolved over the decades just as popular music has. While I am eternally grateful that the ancient hymns of the faith are still sung with regularity and fervency, I am even more thankful that we have moved past the over-synthesized sounds of the 1980's that made my ears want to bleed (sorry Michael W. Smith - I still see you as pioneer but those neon shirts and those keyboards...). Whether you listen to contemporary Christian radio or playlists of modern worship songs on your phone, you know the words and can sing them by heart, which is a good thing. I love that so many gifted artists have set God's word to music, for in listening to and singing those songs it better helps me to hide God's word in my heart.

Except for when that is not the case.

You see, it is just as easy for us to mindlessly sing the words to songs that were written for the glory of God while not even really knowing what we are singing. Think about it. You may feel embarrassed admitting that you can recall all the lyrics to songs by the Chainsmokers or Ariana Grande, yet knowing all the lyrics to songs that glorify God but having no clue what those words truly mean is pretty embarrassing too.

I realize this may sound harsh and maybe it should be. Perhaps it's time that we take more seriously all aspects of our expressions of faith and not just the ones that we label as more formal during our Sunday morning gatherings. When you are riding in the car or listening in your headphones to Hillsong United, trying desperately to sound like Taya Smith when she sings Oceans but failing miserably, are you worshiping God or simply singing words that you have come to know by heart?

The fact that our expressions of worship, especially through music, have kept up with the pace of culture is something that excites me. I believe that Christians are called to engage and transform culture, not simply oppose and battle it. When Christian artists are creating music that actually sounds like it was produced in a modern studio and not Uncle Willie's garage, we all win.

I love music and I often listen to music just for the sake of the sound and quality of it, and that is perfectly fine. But if my goal is to use music as means to worship my God and my King, then absently reciting lyrics that hold no real meaning for me contradicts my intention to do just that. That is no different than knowing all the words to the songs on the radio that add no real value to my life. The same can be said of other artistic and cultural expressions of our faith. Culture can be great as well as the music that it spawns. Let's be diligent to pursue the WHO of our worship as we dive into the mediums of our worship expressions.

Living the other six

Growing up in a Christian home, church on Sundays was not just something that we did. It was something that served to define who we were. I have fond memories of attending Sunday school classes where I learned about Moses crossing the Red Sea, Daniel and the lion's den, and Jesus healing sick people all from the magic of the flannel graph board. The pain of sitting beside my grandfather on those impossibly hard wooden pews was dulled by hearing his rich baritone voice singing those beautiful old hymns. Those were simple, good times, but they served to give me a spiritual foundation that I have never forgotten.

As I grew older and eventually left home, going to church shifted from something I had to do as a child under my parents' authority to something I could choose to do. As a young man who was entering the ministry, continuing to attend church was a no-brainer for me - why would I NOT want to go? Yet at the same time, I began to notice traits within me bubbling to the surface that up until that point I had never really noticed before, particularly the slick ways that I could play the part of good church-going young man on Sundays while living a less-than-holy way during the week. Instead of simply going to church, I had begun "showing" for church.

If you are a follower of Jesus or grew up going to church, this is not a foreign concept to you. We've all heard preachers exhort us to live out our faith on Monday through Saturday, "Because Sunday is coming!" And the term "Sunday Christian" needs no real explanation. Yes, it's easy to live righteously when all eyes are on you - especially the preacher's eyes who see you sitting on the back row!

I am pretty sure that for the early Christians, this idea of struggling to live out their faith in Jesus on the other six days of the week made no sense to them. After all, their lives were in danger every day because of their faith and choosing to follow Jesus was an all-or-none proposition for them. Yet even then not everyone got it.

In Jesus' day, many of the Jewish religious leaders were not too thrilled about His ministry and His claims to be the Son of God. These were the guys on the fringe whose devotion to religious ritual had effectively numbed them to the reality of true faith. So when they saw all that Jesus was doing in the communities around them - healing the sick, bringing hope to the hopeless, and bringing truth to the lost - it drove them nuts.

One guy in particular, a leader in a local synagogue, became the poster child for the religious idiocy. We find his story in Luke 13:10-17 and it goes something like this: Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath, a day on which the Jewish people believed that no work should be done (the definition of "work" was rather dicey at times). Enter the synagogue leader. He can't believe what he is seeing. No, he's not overwhelmed at the amazing miracle from Jesus that he has just witnessed. Instead, he's ticked off that Jesus chooses the Sabbath of all days to do the work of God. Boiling over with anger, this synagogue leader asks, "Can't you do your amazing works on one of the other six days of the week instead of the Sabbath?" Now I don't know about you, but if I was face-to-face with Jesus I'm pretty sure I could find a better question to ask of Him!

Unbeknownst to him, our synagogue leader friend has flipped the script and turned the tables on US by asking Jesus this ridiculous question. Put in another context for our enjoyment, he might be asking all of us, "I see your devotion on your days of worship. But what are YOU doing the other six days of the week that are pointing others to Jesus and creating a stir in your community?" It was obvious that Jesus taught amazing truths and performed incredible works everyday of the week. His disciples were known to follow suit. Can the same be said about us?

Sundays are a special time for Christians because it is the one day of the week where we can all intentionally gather for corporate worship and celebration of Jesus. We should never overlook these times of assembly and should come expectant to hear from God and give back to Him all of the worth that is due Him. But we should all realize that church on Sunday is not the time that we gather to impress God or each other with our personal notions of holiness and piety. Sunday gatherings (or whenever you gather as a body of Christ followers) are for God to be worshiped, not for us to ring the bell of our own self-proclaimed spiritual awesomeness.

The true call of the follower of Jesus is to live for him daily. It's nice to gather once a week with a bunch of people who think and believe as you do. Yet it's far more urgent that we live this faith in Jesus the other six days of the week so that the world around us can see just how great and worthy our Jesus truly is.

Passion 2017

For several years now I've been able to go as an adult leader to the Passion Conferences in Atlanta. Having returned today, my mind is swirling with all sorts of thoughts, images, and mental tiredness that affects old guys like me when they go non-stop for almost three days. I realize that I am probably getting too old to keep doing this but I simply can't help myself.

If you have never experienced something like the Passion Conferences, then a brief blog post like this is probably not going to amount to the much more than the first few pieces of a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. But it's just too difficult to not make at least a meager attempt to recap some of the more memorable moments for me.

Imagine yourself sitting in a room surrounded by around 60,000 other adults young and old who want one thing - to know God in a more intimate way. And I'm not just talking about experiencing warm and fuzzy "Yes, Jesus loves me" kind of tingles; I'm talking about a passionate desire to know God on a deeper level than ever before. To breathe Him into your lungs. To see His work manifest in the world around you. To want Him more than anything else. This is what I walked into when I stepped into the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta on Monday night.

As someone who has been involved with student ministry for a couple of decades, I've experienced my share of trendy events where there is a lot of glitter and glitz but very little substance. Passion isn't like that. Yes, the production level is top notch and the music is about as professional and "tight" as you can imagine, but that is not what it's all about. Those things are avenues to open the heart and mind all the more so that God can fill it with Himself.

John Piper. Francis Chan. Christine Caine. Levi Lusko. Louie Giglio. Beth Moore. Chris Tomlin. Christy Nockles. Matt Redman. Passion Band. Hillsong United. All of these men and women come together to lead and teach through music and the study of God's word and life experiences that captivate the souls of all in attendance. It's not some weird hypnotic effect. Rather, it's interactions with real people who love God with everything they have whose sole aim is to lead this generation of college students to also love God with a reckless abandon. There are no gimmicks, just God.

Being one who is one score removed from being the age of most the participants, it would be easy for me to sit back with arms crossed and marvel at what God is doing in the lives of these students. However, that isn't what happens. Instead, I find myself captivated by what I am hearing and seeing, the spectacle of much being made of God. In return, I am drawn in as well and my soul is well-watered. I leave inspired, encouraged, connected, focused.

Eventually my days as a participant at Passion are going to come to an end. Each year, thousands of men and women my age come to Passion as "door holders," volunteers who selflessly and tirelessly serve to make sure that every aspect of these three days flows without interruption. I see myself in that role sooner than later. But for now, I am grateful to be a part of this movement of God as it flows and picks up momentum, showing no signs of slowing down or fizzling out. Thank you, Passion, for allowing an old guy like me to share in the joy of what you do.

Come let us adore...us?

The Christmas season is fully upon us and everywhere you look there is magic - and gaudy decorations - in the air. Black Friday shopping still exists, but the internet has now cornered the market for savings and Amazon has this whole one-click shopping thing mastered.

If you consider yourself a Christian or even just a slightly religious person, then you understand that Christmas is more than just being in the spirit of giving or a holiday that gets the kids out of school for a couple of weeks. Christmas is about Jesus, because it is that time of year when we recognize His birth, His coming into the world as the Messiah to save us from our sins and to bring the hope of eternal life.

Now more than ever we realize that a large portion of our culture does not celebrate Christmas for those reasons. Honestly, I have no problem with that at all because no matter how the rest of the world chooses to acknowledge what Christmas is about, I know that it is about Jesus and I get the chance to share that truth with others. I know the history of Christmas - December 25 is a day selected by the early church to celebrate and recognize the birth of the coming King and that we really don't know when Jesus was actually born. Not that this takes away from our celebration of Him, it just helps to understand the background. I mean, we celebrate Jesus everyday, right?

And let's be honest for a minute. There are many Christians out there who get a little too territorial when it comes to Christmas. What do I mean? Think about it - they wage a version of holy war if department store workers say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"; town councils are angrily assaulted if a nativity scene is not allowed on public property; and don't even think about denying them the right to wear their Christmas sweaters and vests to work (That last one I kind of make up, but to be honest, have you seen some of those sweaters? I wish they were banned!).

Then there is the whole Christmas time celebrations, especially the ones sponsored at church. I grew up going to Christmas cantatas and have wonderful memories of the music and the festivities that I witnessed over the years. Who knew that Mary could sing so well after having a baby with no epidural? The way that the stage at church can be rearranged to look like a barn complete with live animals is amazing and some of those set designs look like they came from Hollywood. Lighting candles with the house lights out completes the "Silent Night" effect. Don't forget all of the decorations! The Christmas lights and the big Frazier fir tree (because those are the best), complete with miles of garland, add a beautiful finishing touch.

We wouldn't dare dream of celebrating Christmas any other way. Besides, this is how we've been doing it for years and years. Yet in the midst of all of this celebrating and decorating and singing and giving, it seems as if we have lost some of our focus on what Christmas is really about. And it is more than just a manger scene that we recreate on stage - this is about the Messiah, the Son of God, whose soul purpose for coming into this world was to die a grizzly death because that was the only way to pay for our filthy sinfulness. 

Looking on social media sites, I see so many pictures and videos of Christmas plays and musicals complete with virtual back-slaps for what an amazing job we all did on them this year. I shudder to think how much money our churches are pouring into these productions! And yes, let us celebrate together with music and festivities, but let us also make sure that we are so very careful that we aren't too excited about how amazing we are in the midst of trying to point people to who Jesus is.

The big danger when we celebrate Christmas in extravagant ways is that we invite others to come and adore US instead of Jesus. We fight to "Keep Christ in Christmas" (as if anyone could actually steal His name away) and we strive to have the biggest and best Christmas show ever without realizing that all of this may actually do very little in pointing people to the object of our celebration.

I don't want you to read this and think that I am going all Scrooge on you or that I am trying to dictate how you celebrate. But I do want you to sincerely evaluate what your focus is on this time of year. Perhaps you and your family can discover an Advent reading plan from the Bible that you can read together each day. Or maybe you can choose to give some gifts this year as a family to worthy causes instead of wrapping another present for under the tree. Whatever you choose to do, strive for your focus to be on Jesus.

And if you know others who don't care about all of that, love them just the same. They aren't doing Christmas "wrong," they just aren't seeing it for what it truly is. Maybe they are observing Christmas as a reaction to how so many of us have tried to make it an agenda and not as a time to worship. Remember, it is Christmas, not Christm-US.

 

Jesus was a Deadhead?

This weekend was a community — a real, true community — coming together in celebration of life. In celebration of music, of friendship, of happiness, of dance — of spirit, peace, and love. With a deep respect for all that came before, a profound acceptance for what’s happening now, and a shared optimism that everything will be okay.

When you read that above paragraph, did you think you were perhaps reading about a weekend worship retreat or an incredible youth camp experience from a spiritually moved teenager? If you did, then you are wrong. Dead wrong.

That paragraph is actually an excerpt of a blog post written by a Grateful Dead fan and it captures her experience at the Dead's farewell concert series in Chicago July 3-6. Let me go ahead and say that while I appreciate the Grateful Dead's music, I would hardly consider myself much of a fan, let alone a celebrated Deadhead. But reading the entire post by this fan got me thinking: How come Christians aren't this excited and captivated by their experience with Jesus?

After all, Jesus' teachings were filled with the themes of loving your neighbor, community, and peace. If you read the book of Acts you will find that the early Christian church was all about looking out for each other and loving their community. A close look at today's Christians and the churches we attend looks more like a heated county commissioner's meeting than it does the body of Christ.

I have lots of friends who don't go to church and have no desire to do so. Over the years as I've carried on conversations with them, only a few have actually expressed a problem with God or Jesus. Instead, their distaste for the Christian faith has everything to do with those people who claim to be followers of Christ but live contrary to His teachings. Makes me wonder how many believers actually take the teachings of Jesus in the Bible to heart or if they even know what Jesus taught.

I realize that it's dangerous to make blanket statements about people and the last thing I want anyone to think is that I'm Throwing Stones at my brothers and sisters. I'm also not saying that Jesus wore Birkenstock's and tie dye shirts. The Grateful Dead music scene hardly points one to salvation through faith in Christ. And while Dead fans do espouse an ethic of love, peace, being nice, and doing the right thing, I've yet to hear any Deadhead explain clearly to me the finer points of Sola scriptura, Sola fide, Sola gratia, Solus Christus, or Soli Deo gloria.

Yet in a weird, groovy kind of way the Grateful Dead and their fans sort of get it. And many Christians, myself included, often seem to be left in a Dark Hollow when it comes to the expression of true love and community that is supposed to under gird our faith in Jesus. Imagine the Ripple that Christians could leave in this world if what we said we believed about Jesus was actually evident in our daily lives.

Excuse me while I vomit my thoughts on your computer screen

Sometimes you just gotta write it all down while it's fresh in your head, kind of like a mind vomit that hits the computer keys. Here it is. My apologies to those who involuntarily retch at the mention or thought of vomit.

Passion 2015
I have had the absolute joy of attending the Passion conferences now for several years. What started out as a chaperoned trip of college kids to Atlanta, GA, in 2007 has now turned into a much anticipated yearly event that I hate to miss. Yes, it's geared toward 18-25 year olds, but someone has to take them so why not me, right?

Do you want to know why I believe Passion to be one of the greatest things going out there for this generation? First, it's not really a conference or even a get together - it's a movement. This is why it makes it so hard to describe to people what you experienced once you return home from a Passion event. Nowhere have I seen so many young adults who intentionally gather for the purpose of exalting Jesus as high as they can. Yes, great music comes from Passion conferences and many inspiring speakers are there, but they are merely the catalysts for what God does in the hearts and lives of those in attendance during those few days together.

Another reason I think Passion is so great is because it comes without a gimmick. I do believe there is a theme for each year they hold the event, but it's not pushed on you like some door-to-door salesman trying to sell you a vacuum. The leaders of Passion don't have as their #1 goal some slick slogan or mantra they want you to adopt for your life. Rather, they strive to push you to fulfill the desire for glorifying God that He has already planted in your heart. You leave an event like Passion already knowing what you need to do, but you are now more inspired than ever to get it done. Looks like I'll be booking more tickets for 2016.

Prayer
I'm someone who does not care much for New Year's resolutions. If you adopt them for yourselves then I think that's awesome and you have my full support, but as for me, it's never been an endeavor that has really born much fruit. Instead, I truly hope that when the need for change confronts me face-to-face, then I will make every effort to move in a different direction from that point forward instead of waiting for some set starting point to begin.

And believe me, I have been faced with a least one area in my life that desperately needs to change, and that is in the arena of prayer. Reading the Bible and other books of personal interest is something that I am pretty good at. I simply love to read. Those of you who know me also know that I love to talk and I'm pretty good at that as well. Probably too good. But when it comes to communicating with God through prayer, I typically suck a lemon on that one.

Maybe it's because I'm slightly ADD (seriously, I do believe that I am), but when it comes to prayer my attention span is about as long as Shaquille O'neal's music career. Lack of focus, a million thoughts assailing my brain, and constant self-imposed distractions are my downfall. So I've decided that some necessary changes are in order and the lengths to which I have gone to enhance my prayer life are radical and outlandish. Do you want to know what I am doing to be more diligent in prayer? I am writing my prayer requests down.

All sarcasm aside, I know that this is not some mind-boggling idea. In fact, many of you have probably had prayer journals where you log all of issues for prayer that God has placed on your heart over the years. Well, I am happy to say that I have now joined your ranks. And do you know what? It's amazing! How cool is it that my attention is now focused more on God now that I have more of a plan of what I desire to bring to Him in prayer? And so far it's working smashingly well.

Prayerlessness is not one of those sins that I want to be found guilty of. How can I neglect this precious time with God, His personal invitation to me (and to you) to commune with Him on an intimate level? Perhaps prayer is like one of those foods like oysters that don't appear appealing on the outside but once you taste it you simply can't get enough. Right now I am signing up for the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Don't cheer for Jesus. Follow Him.

The most significant time of the year has arrived: College Football season. Just in case you doubt that claim, consider these facts for a moment:

• For the 2013 College Football season, the average attendance for FBS games was 45,815 per game. That's more people than live in 98% of towns in America (I don't know if that percentage is actually true, but it sounds pretty good).
• Almost 50,000,000 people attend College Football games each year. That's 50 million. That doesn't even come close to the number of people who watch the games on TV. 
• The University of Michigan football stadium has a capacity of 110,000 but you can cram 115,000 in it if you want to. That makes this stadium the 236th largest city in America.

Numbers don't lie. Americans love their college football and follow their teams with a passion. Fans will drive long distances to sit on horribly uncomfortable bleachers in horrific weather to shout themselves hoarse for college players who they will never meet in hopes that they can push a piece of leather across a white stripe more than the other team's eleven players. That's just nuts, but we love our college football.

Did you know that each year after the Auburn/Alabama football game there is at least one homicide attributed directly to the outcome of that game? Usually it's a fan of the winning team that gets shot or stabbed as a result of being a little too obnoxious about his team's big victory, but nonetheless that's pretty nuts too. Some teams' followers are just so hardcore.

And then there are followers of Jesus. You can count them every Sunday morning as pull into the parking lots of churches across America and file into their regular seats in the worship center. No car flags or fanfare, although many of them dress a little bit nicer for the occasion and will refrain from any unwholesome language during the hour or so during which the service takes place. At many churches you might get called a name like "brother" and usually side hugs abound. On any given Sunday morning it's not too hard to spot someone who looks to be a follower of Jesus.

Sad thing is, it's getting harder to identify followers of Jesus on Monday through Saturday.

I can't tell you how many college football fans I see on a daily basis, and I don't even live in SEC country where it's against the law to NOT cheer for your team. Whether it's car flags, bumper stickers or car magnets, logo t-shirts, or just the constant verbal bravado that I hear, it's not hard to spot a college football fan.

Yet every day I see Christians who look and act just like everyone else, myself included. Our style and choice of dress doesn't set us apart and our words don't give away the fact that we know Jesus at all.

There's nothing quite like the thrill of being at a college football game. The anticipation at kickoff, the choreographed cheers from thousands of people, the euphoria of a touchdown. And then you can't help but talk about the game for several days after, recounting every score and big play that you saw. Man, that game literally changed your life!

The church service was great this past Sunday - the music was worshipful, the fellowship sweet, and the message challenging. But for some reason, you don't seem to have much interest in talking about your experience on Monday with your friends and co-workers. Jesus, the object of your Sunday worship, doesn't seem to be much of game changer for you the rest of the week..

Why is it so easy for us to follow our favorite sports team and cheer for them as if our lives depended on it, yet we can't seem to maintain enough spiritual momentum after Sunday to even acknowledge that we know Jesus? Jesus could care less if you are a fan of His. He's looking for followers.

Sorry if this assessment seems harsh, but then again I'm not sorry. When it comes to matters of faith, many Christians have gotten their lives so out of balance that their relationship with Jesus looks more like a casual acquaintance on Facebook as opposed to the life-saving, soul-changing gift from God that it is.

To quote Kyle Idleman: We have settled on becoming mere fans of Jesus instead of being truly committed followers of Him. And that's not okay. People are so afraid of having to give up stuff or miss out on something that they simply stop trying. Sure, they wear the title of "follower of Christ" but that's about it. Jesus didn't come and die to make you happy. He came and died to give you life. That's worth following.

The Gospel + Something Else = Wrong Answer

In the spring of 1989 I plunged head first into the Greek system at Wake Forest University by joining a fraternity. True to what you may have been led to believe on TV or in books, many fraternities indeed ARE as crazy as you think, and my fraternity was on that list. Not all the fun that we had was destructive and evil - I have some really great memories and still keep up with some pretty awesome guys - but for the most part debauchery was the primary goal.

Now as a kid raised in a conservative Southern Baptist church, hedonism and Sunday school don't mix together too well. I knew all too well the lessons from the Bible and the truth that lay behind them, yet they were not enough to keep me from wanting to run to the dark side for a time and enjoy all of it's guilty pleasures. Was I properly taught the Scriptures? If I were truly saved, would I have gone down this wayward path? What went wrong?

You see, the Bible teaching that I received growing up was first rate and I would not trade it for the world. The problem that I encountered from many well-meaning Christians - and what many in Christian culture face as well - were all the "extras" that get pinned on the message of the gospel. Unlike the bonus features on a DVD or the hidden scene at the end of a the movie credits, these extras do not allow us to understand the greater extent of the gospel. In fact, they usually push us farther away.

The apostle Paul lived and ministered during a time when Christianity was beginning to explode in the Jewish and Gentile world in Asia Minor (the region including modern day Turkey). As he traveled throughout those countries, Paul would plant and oversee dozens of churches which were filled with new Christians, many of whom came from Jewish backgrounds. It was difficult for those new believers at times to forget all of the rituals and rules that they had to obey when they were followers of Judaism, and it was especially challenging for these new followers of Christ to believe that they no longer had to rely on the Jewish law for their salvation.

In his letters to the believers in Galatia and Colossae, Paul saw the need to address the issue that many were holding to: In order to be a Christian, you had to have the gospel + something else. For those churches that Paul was investing in, they had fallen into the trap that this "something else" they had to abide by was the ritual of circumcision. If they were to be considered true Christians then they MUST be circumcised. We often do the same thing today, although I'm glad it's not circumcision!

You fill in the blank with whatever "something else" you've been told that you have to do in order to be a "proper" Christian: Wear a coat and tie on Sunday, read a certain version of the Bible, avoid alcohol at all costs, sing to a certain type of music in worship, etc. Do you see how reckless and foolish this is? What if you fail at one of these? Does that mean you are aren't truly saved? Let me tell you why this perspective is truly dangerous: When we try to add anything to the gospel, then we are essentially telling Jesus that His cross was not enough. There has to be something that WE add to it in order to make our salvation secure. How ridiculous! How arrogant!

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul addresses this issue head-on:

Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore stand firm and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery...For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love...For you were called to freedom, brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. (Galatians 5:1, 6, 13)

The gospel + something else is always the wrong answer. It's slavery because it adds to the gospel the impossibility that you have something that you can bring to bolster what Jesus did on the cross. In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul gives us this stern warning:

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Those people who try to be part of our spiritual upbringing by adding extra rules and regulations mean well but all they do is blur the lines between holiness and legalism. During my fraternity days I found that I could not live up to all of the extra spiritual expectations put on me by many well-meaning men and women, so I quit trying. It wasn't until a college pastor from my home church offered to walk alongside of me and extend to me a fresh perspective of God's grace that I began to walk out of darkness of that spiritual jungle.

The gospel is all that we need. If there was anything else that we had to bring to the table, then Jesus would not have bothered to go to the cross. And while almost every single Christian that I know believes this, most still live as if all those "extras" are essential if they are to be accepted by God. Indeed we are called to live holy and pure lives, not so that we can strengthen the salvation we have in Christ but rather as an expression of love and obedience to the One who has saved us.

Deep-fried worship

The Dixie Classic Fair used to be the one event that I anxiously anticipated every year. It's not nearly as big as the State Fair in Raleigh, NC, but when the Dixie Classic rolled into Winston-Salem every fall, I made sure that I had saved up a little bit of cash and had purged my system with a semi-fast so that I could indulge in as much fried decadence as my body could take. No one had to tell me to go the fair - I knew it was coming and it was where I wanted to be.

When the fair came to town, one thing I did not expect to see was the fair workers at my front door. I mean, they were busy getting the rides ready and their tents and booths set up. Why would they come to my house to see me? I knew where the big show was going to be so it was up to me to make the time to go. They were the attraction, I was the spectator.

Oh my, did I just describe many churches today?

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I think it is great that we have so many different modes of worship expression in our churches today. Sure, there are many things that are over the top that make me cringe, but no more so than the stale and dead liturgies that plague many of our houses of worship. My concern is not so much with the stylistic methodology of worship but rather with the mission of the church.

When we pride ourselves in our worship services and believe that what we've got going is good enough to fill the seats, we have betrayed the purpose of our assembling together. When Jesus charged His church to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), this was not an invitation to merely come and see. Our worship gatherings are not to be a show or a spectacle - they are the avenue by which the body of Christ assembles for biblical instruction, corporate worship, prayer, fellowship, and mutual giving (Acts 2:41-47). I prefer an energetic and engaging style of worship, yet it is important to remember that our worship services are a means, not the end.

Far too many leave a service on Sunday morning coming off the high of the wow factor. The pastor "brought it", the music was "on point", the atmosphere was "electric", and now it's time to go an take a nap after beating the crowds to Chili's so that we can process what it is that we've just seen and heard. It's almost like we leave on Sundays with a worship hangover, much like that feeling you get when you leave the fair after having one too many deep fried Oreo's. The big question that needs to invade your brain is this: Did you leave changed and challenged by the gospel? If so, then you will do more than process what you have seen and heard - you will be unable to escape the reality of what the gospel compels of you.

The goal of the church is not for others to simply come and see. It is for us to go and live and tell. The gospel does not invite you to gather into special groups once a week so that you can indulge in self-absorbed Christianity. No, the gospel compels us to live out the expression of grace that has transformed us through the cross of Jesus. Most lost people will not come to our church gatherings to see or hear this. The world is unimpressed (and maybe a bit amused) at our flashy church services that cater only to the believer. Thus we are the ones who must show up on their door steps to announce that the kingdom of God is here, that the gospel is life-changing and satisfying.



 

Not another church blog

Resistance is futile. If you troll social media sites for only 5 minutes a day you will see them. These pithy articles written by well-educated and well-meaning men and women who genuinely are concerned about the church and therefore blog about the church with endless lists of reasons why this generation or that generation is no longer going to church and what the church can do to fix the church. Don't get me wrong - I, too, have a burden for God's church and I see a lot that I find distasteful and counterproductive - but I don't know if I can handle reading another blog post about it. So I guess it's time to write one of my own.

Before I begin, let me preface my remarks this way - I am no expert on the church. My experience in local churches has spanned decades now but in no way am I a guru on all things church. I have not read most of the books written on the church that are out there and I miss out on most of the church growth conference and seminars that come to town. Yet I love the church, the bride of Christ, and I have been called to serve within God's church. And like you, I want to see the church flourish.

Without going into a history lesson on what the church is, I want to begin with a passage of Scripture in the New Testament that I believe serves as the catalyst for beginning the conversation on the church. Acts 2:41-47 describes in great details the actions and attitudes of a group of Christ followers who regularly assembled themselves together in the wake of Jesus' ascension back into heaven. Look at how their gathering was described:

• They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers (vs.42)
• All the believers were together and had everything in common (vs.44)
• They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need (vs.45)
• Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They at their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people. (vs.46-47a)
• And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved. (vs.47b)

That's quite a list! These words are more than a template by which we follow to design our churches - they describe the church itself. There is no outline for style preferences or buildings. Here you find no lists of why Millenials no longer are attending church or how to increase attendance/relevancy/space in an ever-changing culture or the newest evangelism program that meets on Sunday afternoons. What you do find is people who love Jesus living out their love for Him in ways that are so intentional that God is messing up everyone who comes into contact with them.

This church is serious about the word of God and prayer. Fellowship with each other is a priority. They not only sought to meet the physical needs of those within their church but they also were compelled to sacrifice their own belonging so that others could flourish (this is much more than passing a plate or taking up a love offering). They possesses a genuine joy that only comes from God and were content with where they were and with what God had given to them. They were changed by the gospel of Jesus and are now living out that gospel in their everyday lives. As a result, God blessed them and greatly multiplied their numbers.

Honestly, I cannot add anything to that list. Yes, cultural contexts are different from nation to nation, but the truth of these words are timeless. I also cannot give definitive answers as to why certain groups are no longer attending church or why one style of worship is more effective for reaching our world than another. But I do know what I see in Scripture - the church being the church. Absent are all these church strategies that seem to dominate so much of our focus these days.

So what would happen if we simply focused on loving God and loving people (Matthew 22:37-38)? I think we all see what God can and will do when we make our love for Him our single greatest focus and delight and satisfaction - And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved. This is not church growth; this is God's people living out their faith and God naturally expanding His kingdom as a result.

I'm feeling pretty good about where we're heading - my brief review of Passion 2014

The thumping I felt in my head was not a headache and it was not isolated to my head. My whole body was reverberating from the music that was blaring out of the speakers in this arena filled with over 20,000 young adults who were dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. And I was right in the mix with them.

Atlanta, GA, January 17-18 2014 will be one of those weekends that I will not soon forget. You see, on that weekend in Philips Arena, Passion came to town and changed everything. What is Passion? Passion is a conference for college students and young adults but it is also much more than that. I took my first group of students to a Passion conference in Atlanta in 2007 and this past conference was the third such one that I had the honor to attend.

Let me give you a brief background. Passion started in the 90's with the vision of a man named Louie Giglio who believed that college students could be the initiators of something big for God. What started as a concert in a field has morphed into movement, gaining steam over the years and expanding its reach to influence  students and young adults across the globe. Here is the nuts and bolts from the Passion website: ROOTED IN THE CONFESSION OF ISAIAH 26:8, PASSION EXISTS TO GLORIFY GOD BY UNITING STUDENTS IN WORSHIP, PRAYER AND JUSTICE FOR SPIRITUAL AWAKENING IN THIS GENERATION.

So when you come to a Passion conference you will find more than just music and great speakers, although there are plenty of those. Instead, you will be surrounded by young adults who are passionate about Jesus and making His name famous. Let me tell you a little bit more about the experience from an old guy's perspective.

First, there are the people, the young adults who assemble by the thousands from all over the country and the world. When you find yourself in a room with this many people who truly want to be there, you are surrounded by an electricity that is infectious. The energy, the love, the overall zeal to worship and glorify God is abundantly evident, and not to just to those in the arena.

A group of us were sitting in our hotel's lobby on Saturday evening, taking a brief Chick Fil A break before starting another session, when a woman in business dress approached me and my wife. She asked if we were part of this group of young people that had invaded all of downtown Atlanta, and we immediately assumed that she worked for the hotel and had a complaint to lobby against someone who looked old enough to be a chaperone. We told her that yes, we were with these students, but that also were staying at the hotel, hoping that if someone was wrong our hotel key cards might earn us a little bit of leniency. Her response was not what we expected.

This woman looked at us and said, "I have a t-shirt idea for your conference the next time you have it. Get a group picture on front of the shirt and have the words 'UP TO ALL GOOD' (as opposed to up to NO good) printed across the top of it!" She went on to say how overwhelmed she was about the overall vibe from these college students. No bathrooms were trashed, litter was put in its place, manners were being used, and love was being shown. When we told her that the reason these students appeared different to her was because of their love for Jesus, she smiled, said, "That is something to thank God for," and turned to walk away.

It is these students who are the focus of Passion. Yes, there are thousands of adult volunteers who arrive early and leave late who make the gathering possible, but it is the participants who drive it all. At the end of the last session on Saturday night, a call was issued for those to stand who were called to go to the nations with the gospel. Not to church work, not to serve in their communities, but to the nations where the gospel is all but absent. Hundreds of these young adults stood to their feet, arms outstretched, committing their lives with their tears so that others might know the love of Jesus. I have seen the future, and the future is now.

Then there is the music. Passion is known for its loud, driving, yet sincere songs of praise, and this weekend was no different. Passion City Church - founded by Louie Giglio and staffed by such artists as Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, and Christy Nockels - provides the "house band" for the worship. New songs are introduced amidst the singing of familiar ones that we already know how to sing until our voices are hoarse. Then, just when you think you can't sing anymore, Hillsong United takes the stage in the evening and pretty much melts your face off with more intense worship through song. Add to this David Crowder, Matt Redman, and other gifted worship leaders and you feel as if you are gathered amongst a who's who of Christian artists. However, none of this is pretentious for for show. These men and women have come themselves as worshipers to join us in the exultation of King Jesus.

Finally, there are the speakers. Passion packs back-to-back sessions together that would make any afflicted with ADD go bonkers. Normally, I can't focus long past 30 minutes without needing some kind of a breather, yet at Passion I find myself unable to move after hours of listening to inspired words from men and women who are have come to share the heart of God with us. Whether it's Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Christine Caine, or John Piper, every word that is shared is relevant to life and ministry and calling. I have never left more challenged and personally filled.

I could write more but I won't. Let me concluded by saying that I am incredibly optimistic about the future of the kingdom of God because I have seen in whose hands it lies. Go next year and experience it for yourself. I you are content with where you are in your life and if moving forward in with God's desire for you is not a desirous notion, then stay away from Passion! Because if you do go, there is a good chance it will wreck you and you will find yourself rejoicing King Jesus from the rubble.