I recently asked my wife what her thoughts were about doing the whole “Santa thing” when we have children.  She immediately thought I was anti-Santa in my asking; (which was true).  If I am honest, I am somewhat hesitant to celebrate Christmas with Santa. 

Why?

MIND YOUR BUSINESS!  (Thats a joke.)  I didnt grow up in the Church.  I had a pseudo-Catholic upbringing, which mostly involved attending mass on Christmas and Easter.  I went to some Catechism classes in my preteen years and I had no clue about Jesus until I was 15.  So when my parents told me that Santa was really my Dad… after a few beers… I quickly made the jump that if Santa was all a hoax, then the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Chuck Norris was all a sham as well.  It was a sad day.  But I recovered. 

My observation now is that I can see where kids could do the same thing with Jesus.  I think 7 year old Jake (meaning myself as a 7 year old.) would probably ask, “So if Santa isn’t real, why should I believe you when you say that Jesus is real?”  Seriously, if you were lying for the past 7 years about Santa, then why should I believe you that you arent lying to me about Jesus.  And if Jesus tells us not to lie… what the crap were you doing for the last 7 years??? and how is that right?!?!?

Ok, maybe 7 year old me wouldn’t question ethics or say “what the crap!”  But I think we all can see the arugement here.

So what is the alternative?  Am I suggesting that we take Santa out of Christmas???  YES!  Why is that such an issue?  We could retrace the history of Saint Nicolas, but why?  Why not make much of Christ?  Give me a convincing arugement to that question and I might see your point.

Francis Chan in a recent magazine issue talked about what it would be like if we were stranded on a desert island and had nothing but the bible to start a church.

What would you do if you were in this situation?  I have been asking myself this question today.  I am going to reflect in a series of  posts to become my working thought process as I pray and filter through this question.

5.  We would sing the Scriptures.
This isnt a new concept.  However, its a needed on in some regard.  I would challenge our community to move from their old songs of preference and creatively construct new songs for the Community of the Island to sing and express their collective hearts to God. 

Chances are that the island we are on is unlike the place we are from.  Therefore, why would we try the same methodogy in this new place?  Why would we ”do” church the same way we did in East Tennessee or wherever you are from.  Its time to contextualize the culture and understand what would help us better minister to the natives and communicate our hearts to God in this new context we have been called to.

When Paul is in Mars Hill, he observes the culture that is present in Athens.  He notices that he is among people who have no clue who God is.  They have the innate desire to worship something, but they do not know who or what they should worship.  Paul sees an alter to: An Unknown God.  I love how Paul doesn’t condemn their ignorance.  Many well-intentioned believers would have called these well-educated people morons.  Paul makes this opportunity count and states that he is going to proclaim to them who this God is.  What would you do?  Make the King of Glory known?  Or insult their ignorance?  Pray that God gives us the eyes to see how to make Him known.

from Church Leadership — Blogs, Pictures, and more on WordPress by Bob Wagner

“Being a Christian will be hard, and if you are
going to commit to being a real Christian it
may be the hardest thing you will ever do.”

The church is so worried about upsetting someone and losing members that it bends over backwards to make people happy. Jesus told us to make disciples, not make happy people. He said that following Him would be tough. He said we would be persecuted and would endure trials and tribulations and He said we would come under attack for His namesake. When did He say we were going to be happy? He said the road was narrow and not easy and that we should weigh the cost. As a matter of fact Jesus said that if we weren’t willing to pick up our cross we couldn’t even call ourselves His disciple.

Does any of this sound like; “Come to Jesus and be happy?” Should we tell people that are struggling that all they have to do is come to church and everything will be Okay? Come on folks, get real and tell the truth. People go to church and still have junk happen to them. Being a Christian will be hard, and if you are going to commit to being a real Christian it may be the hardest thing you will ever do. Jesus said it would be hard, but He also promised that He would be there for us and He promised us that if we followed Him it would be worth it! Stop telling people that their life will become better if they would just come to church because when the trials come, and they will come; these people will leave as quickly as they came.

Tell people the truth; tell them that they may still have sickness, loss and pain, that they may still have hard times and come across people that are downright mean, even inside the church. But also tell them that through Jesus they will be able to find comfort, hope and peace beyond all understanding when they go through those hard times. Tell them that if they go to church they will find support and others who will help them through those times. Tell them that when they learn and follow Gods word that He will not only teach and equip them to get through this life, He will also prepare them for the next. Yes, by all means tell people all the great things the church and God will do for them, but don’t tell them they will be happy. Our constitution tells us that we have the right to pursue happiness; the bible however tells us to pursue love;
(1 Cor. 14:1) and it also tells us that God is love (1 John 4:16).

Tell your people that if they pursue God, joy will follow. His joy that makes our joy complete.

Churches that care more about upsetting someone than telling them the truth often compromise God’s word. They allow sin to be in leadership and they often ignore, lower, or even remove the expectations of their membership. They do not hold people accountable for their actions, and they do not rebuke or discipline their sheep for fear of upsetting them. The results are often a church filled with spiritually immature people who call themselves Christians by name but are far from being Christ-like.

The bible tells us we are our brother’s keeper and that we should do our best to help them turn from their sin and become more like Jesus. If we allow people to stay spiritually immature and in a sinful lifestyle, we are not only weakening the body of Christ, we are setting them up for hard times. Not to mention the consequences they will receive when they meet Jesus.

If we are honest, use the word of God, tell people the truth and ask them to weigh the cost, we may have fewer people attending our churches, but we will have stronger, more effective soldiers. Soldiers don’t leave because things get rough and they don’t bail out on their church at the first sign of conflict. Why? Because they understand that they are there to become equipped and to fight the enemy. They know they joined the Army of God, not some “Christian Feel Good Society.”

Churches need to be honest with your people and tell them what is expected of them. Tell them that they will come under spiritual attack, tell them that if they are not willing to train and become equipped to come up against spiritual darkness that they will get wounded. Tell them that God says to let your yes be yes and your no be no and that we shouldn’t make a vow if we are not willing to keep it. Tell them that if you pick up your cross you will most likely get splinters. Talk about praying without ceasing and fasting. Talk about evangelizing, missions and what a martyr is and then tell them that you will be there to help train and equip them and then make sure that you have programs in place to do so.

Let them know what Jesus said about being lukewarm and denying him before men. Remind them the wages of sin is death, but through Christ and Christ alone we can defeat death. Teach them about the spirit of God who will empower us and help us overcome the schemes of the enemy. In other words, teach them to weigh the cost before making the commitment. Teach them the truth about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Many churches make becoming a disciple of Jesus sound like it’s the latest fad and an easy thing to do. While it is an honor and seeing what God can do for you and through you is awesome, being a disciple has never been something I have taken lightly. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard pastors and youth pastors and well-intentioned people tell those who are miserable that if they want a great life, they need to become a disciple of Jesus. I just wonder which disciple they are referring to when they say this. Maybe they are referring to James who was stoned to death; or the other James who was beheaded or maybe they mean Andrew, Bartholomew, Phillip or Simon who were crucified. Maybe the are referring to Peter who was crucified upside down or maybe they mean Thomas or Matthew who were speared to death. Maybe it is Matthias or Judas who were also stoned to death, or last but not least, they may have meant for us to die of old age in exile like John.

Churches wonder why so many people come to church, accept Christ and then never really join the ranks and become active. It’s because they focus more of their efforts and resources into making the church a nice, fun and entertaining place to go than they do on building strong Christians.

What if our Military used our formulas for creating soldiers, how serious would they take their training? How equipped do you think they would be?

“Come to boot camp and be happy soldier! Don’t worry about going to the Middle East, don’t worry about the terrorists, God will protect you. All you have to do is repeat this little prayer after me and if you don’t feel like coming to training, its no big deal just come when you feel like it.”

Folks please stop deceiving the body of Christ. The enemy is putting guns into the hands of children and what are some of our churches doing? Handing out coffee and donuts to keep people interested.

“If we are going to become Christian’s let’s become the strongest and most effective Christians we can! Not the happiest and fattest!”

from YSBlog by Len Evans

Andy Stanley knows about leadership. He writes about it, he speaks about it and more importantly he lives it. Though Andy spoke about leadership, the underlying principle that he shared is transferrable to each of us, living in uncertain times with our trustworthy God Here are a few of my notes:

When you face uncertainty, it’s normal. It’s not that you missed your calling. When everything is predictable, there is no need for leadership. God is the with us in of our uncertainty. God is in control amidst our uncertainty. God leverages our uncertainty for his glory.

The 2 key points in dealing with uncertainty are clarity and flexibility.

Clarity

Clarity trumps uncertainty every time. This is when you have to be most clear and most assured of what the direction of your organization is. The person who brings the greatest clarity in times of uncertainty is seen as and functions as the leader. What has God called you to do? What has God called you to do in your community? Andy shared that during a difficult time at Northpoint he had to clarify what they were about and it was “We wanted to create a church that unchurched people loved to attend.” Their mission was never to keep the families that were leaving. It was to keep doing what God had called them to do. In times of uncertainty, you return to the one thing that you know. What is your one thing that you know? If you don’t know what it is, you are in trouble.

Flexibility

Plans Change Vision stays the Same!
Here’s the hill we will die on (Vision) here’s how we will get there (plans).
“Marry your vision, just fool around with your plan.” –Andy Stanley
This is a very complex time to be in ministry. We have to extraordinarily flexible in how we do ministry but we must never, never give up on the vision that we are about.
Be Stubborn with your vision and be flexible with your plans.
You have to be honest with your leaders. Communicate honestly and openly with your people. You must learn how to authentically communicate

2. Leadership is not about making decisions on your own. It’s about standing up and owning the decisions that you and your team make. We need the grace to know what God has called me to do. The grace to lead people through uncertainty. ~~~~

Francis Chan in a recent magazine issue talked about what it would be like if we were stranded on a desert island and had nothing but the bible to start a church.

What would you do if you were in this situation?  I have been asking myself this question today.  I am going to reflect in a series of  posts to become my working thought process as I pray and filter through this question.

4.  We would get off the Island.
This sounds like we’re are breaking the rules a bit.  However, most churches (whether they are aware of it or not…) live like they are on a deserted Island. 

Jesus prays, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
(John 17:14-18)

Jesus’ heart for us is that we would remain in the world, but would live in the reality that we are not of the world.  However, the reality is that much of the Church is of the world and isnt in it.  Ed Stetzer states in many of his books (Comeback Churches & Sent; being a few) that the Church is to look similar to the world but live deferently; and yet, we are completely backwards.  We live like the world and look different.  If I were stranded on a desert island and had nothing but the bible to start a church, I would make disciples… and those disciple would have a missional DNA because much of our discussions would be:  How do we get off this island and get back into the world. 

As a minister, I constantly feel convicted about being bubblized in a christian sub-culture.  I love the Church, I love my brothers and sisters; but “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”(Matt. 9:12).  The challenge I have been feeling these past weeks has been to escape.  To get off the island.  My great escape means leaving the office for things like Sermon prep.  How cool would it be to be interupted at Panera or Starbucks by people asking me what I am reading/writing.  Or even better, me asking someone what they think.  “Hey, I am about to tell a bunch of Church people that they are sinners, what do you think?”  …   …   …  ”Yes, I might want to take an application for employment with me…” 

Its time for the Church to leave the Island.

Here’s 3 things to on:

1. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world:  Because the world isnt our home.
   Heaven should a present reality to the Church because thats where  our citizenship resides (Philippians 3:20).
2. We will not be of the world:  When the Church is accountable.
   Here is a quick tib bit I got from TheNines earlier this month:  1 John 1 states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  If we confess our sins to God, we will be forgiven.  But then look at what James says: ”Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”  If we confess our sins to one another, we will be healed.  Believers have a personal relationship with God through Christ.  However, they also have a shared relationship with God in Biblical Community.  Confess your sins to God and you will be forgiven.  Confess your sins to one another and you will be healed.
3. We called to be in the world, but not of the world:  Therefore, the Church must decide what to do in the meantime.
   The Kingdom of God is already here, but not yet.  Jesus inagurated the Kingdom, but it will not fully be here until He returns.  Therefore, the people of God must decide what they will do in the meantime.  Many have decided to merely sit on their blessed assurance and wait.  However, Pau; tells us that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.  Which is our last thought: 

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (New International Version)
¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

What will you do in the meantime?

Francis Chan in a recent magazine issue talked about what it would be like if we were stranded on a desert island and had nothing but the bible to start a church.

What would you do if you were in this situation?  I have been asking myself this question today.  I am going to reflect in a series of  posts to become my working thought process as I pray and filter through this question.

3.  We would go Make Disciples to go Make Disciples to go Make Disciples.
As I re-read the first line of this post, I read this statement, “nothing but the bible.”  I love the Bible.  I want to follow God’s word in everything I do.  If there is something that I am doing that is not centered in Scripture, I want to repent.  However, there is one danger I see in this “nothing but the Bible” statement.  That danger is that we wont be able to see Discipleship outside of a Bible study.  That sounds heretical, but let me explain.  Jesus teaches His disciples in every teachable moment possible.  And given the title, “The Word made Flesh”  these teachable moments are authoritative statements recorded in the Gospels.  But what made these teachable moments work was that they weren’t moments in isolation.  We don’t see Jesus popping out of the bushes when moments of injustice happen and then see Him tell people why such injustice is wrong.  Jesus is doing life with His disciples.  And in doing life with them, He is doing something more much than just teaching.  He is:  Reproducing Himself.

Jesus’ final words to His friends were this:

Matthew 28:19-20 (New International Version)

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“Therefore go” is a present participle, which means you can better translate it to mean:  As you go.  As you go, make disciples.  As you do life, speak life into those around you.  We get the part about making disciples. Every Church I know desires to make disciples.  But the part that gets me is this:  teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  If Jesus is doing life with His disciples and He is doing such for the purpose of Reproducing Himself  in the people around Him.  Then in essence, He has just charged His sisciples to go and do them same.  “As you do life with people, pour into others as I have poured into you.”

The tragedy I see in churches right now is that we’ve lost how to do this.  When we speak of discipleship, we think we must have a Bible study or worse:  some 12 week study written by a religious expert intended to equip the Saints and make a publishing company a lot of money.  But what if people were doing life together?  What if the older were teaching the younger?  What if we were making disciples by doing life together?

Dont get me wrong, I believe that all discipleship must be rooted in Scripture.  But I also believe that Jesus did life with His followers for the purpose of Reproducing Himself in others, so that they could go and reproduce what Jesus poured in onto others.

Francis Chan in a recent magazine issue talked about what it would be like if we were stranded on a desert island and had nothing but the bible to start a church.

What would you do if you were in this situation?  I have been asking myself this question today.  I am going to reflect in a series of  posts to become my working thought process as I pray and filter through this question.

2.  We would Discuss the Bible.
Small groups are all over the place.  And thats a good thing.  I would argue that if you are a church without some form of small group ministry then your church may have health and growth (spiritual) issues.  Let me explain, the accounts of the first Christian community tell us this:

Acts 5:42 (New International Version)

⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ

For many years (more than I can count), the Church has been interested in asking people one question.  And although this question is of the utmost importance, I believe there is one that is equally important.  The one question we have been asking people is this:  “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”  A very important question.  However, I believe the next question we must ask, (and yes, I believe it carries just as much weight if we want to see people growing beyond the place of this first question.) but the next question is:  “Do you have a shared relationship with Jesus Christ?”  Or, are you living in Biblical community with other believers?  Jesus didn’t say, “when you meet with me ‘personally’ in my name, then I will be there.”  He said:

Matthew 18:20 (New International Version)

²⁰For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

If I was on an Island with a group of people and we only had the Bible, I would first challenge people to read the word and then we would take time to discuss what we are reading.  And through these reflections and discussions, I believe we will begin to piece together as a community, what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus in the context of where we have been placed.