Swamp Christianity

February 4th, 2010 No comments »

Swamp-Christianity Wide

This picture looks disgusting doesn’t it? It’s a section of swamp land that I often pass while running on a local nature trail. (I’m only showing it to make a point.)

Looking at this swamp while I was jogging recently got me thinking about what I’ll call “Swamp Christianity”.

Followers of Christ are instructed by Jesus to receive of his “living water” (John 4). However they aren’t supposed to let it stop with them. They are sent out  on mission to take that “water” to others preaching the gospel in both word and deed.

Unfortunately too many Christians focus so much on getting more for themselves, that in essence they become spiritual gluttons. They take no real action to meet the spiritual drought going on in their communities, neighborhoods or campuses, but continue to try to soak up more knowledge and more religious activity for themselves.

They are like those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7)

Just like a swamp, where water flows in but not out, these people stagnate in their faith. They don’t give-out the way that they need to in order to be truly healthy, and instead become a breeding ground for all kinds of unattractive things (ie. offense, rudeness, jealosy, spiritual pride).

Are you allowing the love of Christ and the spirit of God to flow through you, or are you a part of Swamp Christianity?

Biblical Stewardship and Greed

January 25th, 2010 No comments »

dollarsI am concerned that many people using the language of “stewardship” today are, in reality, operating out of greed. They mask their greed with a facade of spirituality.

In case I just shocked you by that statement, you should know that I do believe that the Bible has much to say about how we should handle our money, and I do believe there is great value in studying Biblical principles with respect to money. I have personally benefited from the widely popular and intensely practical teaching of Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University .

Many other organizations and speakers also provide the service of educating people to manage their finances more wisely and motivating them to do so. In our time of financial instability many people are eager to learn how they can make their dollars go further.

While I am all for earning a decent income, budgeting, saving and investing wisely as a “good steward”, I have a growing concern that some of those who have adopted the language of “stewardship” are in fact motivated and motivating others by greed.

Recently at an educational seminar I attended I heard many speakers invoke God in some way and try to give credit to the Bible for their teaching on personal finance. They talked about their involvement in charity work, and their desire to help people.  Yet one speaker flaunted pictures of his 40,000 square foot house, and another used pictures of luxury cars and speed boats to motivate people toward setting financial goals and achievement of those goals. In the end their teaching and references to God felt  hollow.

In the prosperous West there seems to be so much confusion about the Biblical view of money among those who even care about following a Biblical view. Some seem to think money itself is evil, instead of “the love of money“, while others appear to make success and wealth an identifying mark of genuine Christian faith.

Both views are unbiblical. (For a fully developed theology of possessions see Craig Blomberg’s Neither Poverty Nor Riches.)

Though it’s certainly not my place to draw fine lines for others about exactly “how much is too much”, I do think all Christians should be much more discerning and on guard against the sin of greed. Jesus emphatically warned us to “Watch out! Be on guard against all forms of greed.” (Luke 12:15)

Paul lists greed right along with sexual immorality as things the faithful Christian should avoid. In the New Testament epistles Paul makes reference to the evils of greed eight times and Peter mentions it three times! In Ephesians 5:3 Paul says, “among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” In my experience, I’ve heard this passage quoted many times as a warning against impurity and immorality, but I can’t remember of even one time I heard it referenced as a warning against greed!

Paul says that “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith”! (I Timothy 6:10) I fear that in our day, many unaware believers are being led astray in their eagerness to be rich. In doing so they begin serving a master other than Jesus. Instead of making much of Jesus, such behavior reveals to those around us what god we really serve.

In the end we should search our hearts as Christians, confess any secret sin of greed, and ask God to help us use the resources he entrusted to us in a way that most honors Him. May we say with Paul, “godliness with contentment is great gain”, and really mean it from the heart.

BreakThru40

January 12th, 2010 No comments »

All across the U.S. ENCM members and leaders will be spending the next forty days in prayer and fasting (January 11-February 19th).

We need God to bring spiritual revival to our own hearts and transformation to our campuses! We can never do it by merely our planning, organizing, strategizing and creativity. Without a work of God’s Spirit, it simply won’t happen!

I want to invite you to join in praying and seeking God with us. Even if you have never fasted before, do SOMETHING in faith. (Ideas: You could fast one meal a week, one day a week, or even fast something other than food, such as T.V.)

Each day of the week we will be focusing on a different prayer point:

Mondays: Desperation

Tuesdays: Compassion

Wednesdays: Evangelism

Thursdays: Family & Ministry Partners

Fridays: Campuses & Youth

Saturdays: Leaders

Sundays: Miracles

If you are on Facebook you can visit the Fan page to interact with others participating. Comment and let others know what God is doing in you during this time!

Let’s cry out to God together for breakthrough…He’s listening! 1 John 5:14-15

On Love and Dogs

December 15th, 2009 3 comments »
Riley

Riley

Growing up I was totally clueless about dogs. Like every other nine year old boy on the planet, I wanted a dog, but we never got one. My parents opted for a more low maintenance option. A cat.

When I got out on my own in college I briefly entertained the idea of getting a Pug. I had a romanticized idea about how great it would be to drive across America in my car and to have my faithful, furry companion there with me sticking his head out the window, enjoying the breeze as we drove off into the sunset. That never happened either.

Reality quickly set in and I realized that my lifestyle was not conducive to a dog. I went out of town too much, and wasn’t home enough when I was in town. In addition, finding an apartment is tough enough without the variable of owning a dog.

Fortunately I was also smart enough to know that reality probably would be much different from my daydreams. One thing I knew for sure: they seemed to bark a lot and sounded (not just from barking, but from other people) like a lot of work.

My wife, however, is the epitome of a dog-lover. After much heated debate discussing the “dog question” during our courtship process, she reluctantly agreed to a dog-free household… At least that’s how I remember it happening. She has a different take on that story.

A few months into our marriage she was missing having a dog around and began to say so…frequently. Though stone-walling her suggestion for the first few months, I eventually decided to say “yes” to her emotional requests and beautiful pleading eyes. So we drove to the animal shelter and got Riley.

It has been a sacrifice. In the early stages Riley barked all night and totally messed up my sleep on several occasions. She was the most adorable puppy at 2 months old and only 7 pounds, but she apparently also had a bladder the size of an acorn! She needed to pee about every 10 minutes (which wasn’t always outside the house, much to her owners chagrin!)

She went through an incredible chewing phase in which she seemed to destroy bone after bone, toy after toy, as well as the occasional piece of clothing that was accidentally left on the floor.

She proceeded into her digging stage. (We still have pot holes in the back yard.)

And from there into her pulling-the-coffee-grounds-out-of -the-trash-can phase…

And here we are 9 months later, into our dog owning experience.

My life has felt like a scene from Marley and Me on occasion, (and I am not as phlegmatic about our dog destroying stuff as that family was!) Nevertheless, I have been glad to show sacrificial love to my wife.

And, while I may regret saying this tomorrow when Riley does something destructive or irritating, I think the pooch is growing on me too.

Preaching John Wesley Style

December 10th, 2009 4 comments »

preach470This past Thursday night we had our last campus meeting of the fall semester. I was driving in just in time for the meeting after being out of town for a two day leadership conference in Jacksonville.

Before my arrival our student leaders had done a great job handling all the set up on their own in our usual meeting room in a classroom building. As we started the meeting, music was good, and attendance was not bad considering that final exams were right around the corner!

After the music and singing I got up to preach the message, but after only about a minute the fire alarm in the building started going off. This was really strange, and has never happened in all our years of meeting in this building, but though a little surprised we all exited the building. People who were in other meetings in the same building were also exiting with us, everyone having that slightly dazed look on their faces, and wondering why the alarm was going off.

On my long drive to the campus meeting earlier that evening I really felt that God wanted to do something significant at our meeting, and my heart was really stirred by the Holy Spirit. I had spent much time on the drive just quietly meditating on God, and in prayer. My heart was awake and eager to be used by God that night. However, the fire alarm seemed to have ruined everything.

Then I had an epiphany. I thought maybe I could just preach my message not only to the students who were at our campus ministry meeting, but to all the students from the entire building who had come outside, which was about twice as many as were in our meeting alone! (I even saw the Student Government President and Vice President there outside.) Fear immediately came into my mind with thoughts of how I may potentially get into trouble, or of what accusations could be made against me, but my wife (who seemed to know what I was thinking) encouraged me to preach “John Wesley style”, and so I went for it!

I tried to shout out to the crowd to get everyone’s attention who was outside in front of the building. I went on to proclaim the Gospel message explaining Lordship and the need for repentance from sin, and urging them to receive Jesus Christ, who is our only hope. (Ephesians 2:12)

Though some looked at me with puzzeled looks on their faces, when I gave a call to repentance of sin over a dozen responded!

Glory be to God for granting me the grace to preach with boldness, as I ought to preach. (Acts 4:31) It was good to be faithful and not give in to fear in that moment of great opportunity. Thanks to all of you who pray for me and for this ministry to reach the younger generation with the Gospel!

The Whole Church, Reaching the Whole World, With the Whole Gospel

November 27th, 2009 No comments »

In this short clip Steve Moore shares a very helpful perspective on what it means for the whole church, to reach the whole world, with the whole Gospel.

On reaching the “whole world” Steve rightly points out that “everyone has the same need for God, but not everyone has the same access to the Gospel“.

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Lausanne Movement History

November 19th, 2009 No comments »

In 1974 under the leadership of Billy Graham church leaders from virtually every evangelical denomination and virtually every country in the world gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The purpose of this massive gathering was to serve as a sort of congress for Christian leaders who could determine how the church, in all its various organizations and denominations, could better work together to accomplish the Great Commission. This global conference on global evangelization was the beginning of the Lausanne movement.

In October, 2010 there will be a Lausanne gathering of 4,000 leaders from all over the world, but this time in Cape Town, South Africa. The hope is that this will be more than just a one-time meeting, but that God willing, it will be a catalytic event in the life of the church – drawing leaders together in purposeful prayer, humble repentance, strategic dialogue and decisive action.

Please pray that God would bring the right people to the table at this gathering, and that our generation would do it’s part to advance the whole Gospel to the whole world! If you know someone who you think may be a good candidate to participate in this global congress be sure to submit their name to the Lausanne organization. For other a list of other ways to participate in this important event visit the Lausanne website.

This brief video shows the history of Lausanne:

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The Trouble with Bitterness

November 6th, 2009 2 comments »

roots I believe God wants us to experience secure, fulfilling, and lasting relationships.

However, because of sin relationships are damaged and destroyed.

I’m always amazed at how devastating relational trauma can be for a person. Some of the most intense pain is not broken bones or physical pain at all, but emotional pain caused by fractured relationships.

Sadly, this terrible pain is all too commonly compounded by a response of rebellion, bitterness or unforgiveness.

Many situations involving offense and bitterness remind me of those commercials advertising pharmaceuticals that show peaceful scenery and smiling people and promise to help with one issue but may cause “caughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, diarrhea, depression …. etc.” (all in the fine print at the bottom of the screen.)

Bitterness and unforgiveness are like that. They seem promising, even attractive in our hurt but in the end they are even more devastating than the initial offense.

Hebrews 12:15 says “see to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many”.

Bitterness not only hurts you, it can cause serious pain trouble in the lives of those around you.

Jesus is the key to healing our relational issues with people and with God. Through him our relationship with God can be restored. As we receive God’s love, we are then able to forgive and love others.

Don’t allow bitterness to poison you any more. Choose to forgive. Let go of your bitterness. You’ll be glad you did.

Two Years Ago Today…

November 3rd, 2009 No comments »

Two years ago today I asked Katie to marry me. Thankfully, she said “yes” and made me the happiest man in the world! It sure has been a great adventure since then.

Here is the picture we took a few minutes after I popped the big question.

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Campus Harvest 2009 Recap Video

October 27th, 2009 No comments »

Check out the recap video from the Campus Harvest 2009 conference and if you’re a college student make plans to attend this year’s student ministry conference March 26-27th. I’ve been told that online early registration should be up and running soon on the Campus Harvest website.

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