Teach

Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In this very well known and even frequently quoted scripture Jesus is speaking to His disciples (the believers, the “Christians”, those of faith, most likely YOU). And what did He say? If you will allow me the liberty to embellish a bit, I think I can make it pop!

“Listen gang, I am the guy with all the authority, it was given to me from my Dad, God, the big man Himself… so stop sitting around getting spiritually fat and GO MAKE DISCIPLES yo! Baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Also, there is no way I can do all the teaching to reach the whole world and everyone in it, so you need to TEACH. And listen, I am with you, so don’t worry about a thing!” (Timmy's Revised Translation)

One challenge I have observed in my 31 years as a Christian is it is easy for us to become narcissistic; which basically means “self-centered”… *we come to church asking what’s in it for me, what are you going to teach me, how is this church going to bless me, what activities do you have for me, what classes do you have for me? A better question for us to ask is - what can I do for this church?

“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country” – J.F. Kennedy

*Obviously the church will need to be an over-all fit for you… (style, philosophy, core doctrine, mission & vision, etc.) once you have decided it's a fit, jump in and contribute to it becoming a great church!

God's Heart

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

I just returned from a meeting with a dozen local pastors; Gary Kendall who pastors Indian Creek Community Church, Pastor Ron from New Journey Church, Pastor Greg from Southwoods Christian Church, Adam Hamilton from Church of the Resurrection, Matt from Westside Community Church, and a few others I did not get a chance to talk to personally.

What I love and appreciate is the heart of each pastor to fulfill their specific God-given Mission for their church.

When I reflect on the body of Christ (the church) there is one thing, if I can be honest here, that is lacking… well actually two things; true maturity and love. Both these go hand in hand… when you are truly mature it’s visible through our love walk.

When people talk about going deeper in their Christian walk that can mean a million different things for a million people… for the Catholic it’s more prayers and liturgical stuff, for the Pentecostal it means more passionate praise and worship and gifts of the spirit operating (manifesting) in a service, for the Baptist it means more in-depth verse by verse Bible teaching… on and on it goes. All that to say… what DEEPER means to Jesus, and should mean to us, is MORE LOVE for God and each other! Period.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this a lot… he was constantly trying to get people to LOVE one another… especially within the body of Christ. I mean seriously, if you consider yourself a Christian YOU of all people need to love and appreciate everyone and their spiritual journey without judgment.

So what breaks God’s heart? Anything not done in LOVE!

Eve

When did legalism begin?

We can go all the way back to the Garden; the place it all began. Genesis 3:1-3 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”

Now Eve, is that really what God said? Let’s look at what God actually said, Genesis 2:15-17 “The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Interesting, Eve ADDED to what God said. God just said to NOT EAT of it; He didn’t say you couldn’t touch it.

Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die.”

Part of what legalism is - is ADDING to scripture, making a law or rule with something God didn’t actually say. Drinking alcohol is one example. Nowhere in scripture are we forbidden to drink alcohol, but some religious organizations (and people) have condemned the consumption of alcohol. And their argument is somewhat legitimate, but still wrong. They often say, “Well nothing good can come of it… or the end result is drunkenness and orgies… ” Well, okay… I know a lot of people who drink and have never been drunk, nor have they engaged in an orgy.

That argument just completely falls a part when you apply it to other things that are sin in excess. For example gluttony; if I apply their argument then I must quit eating, because I could over-eat and become fluffy, and dance naked in Target.

Don't Run

As many of you know I love to read, and I have read many wonderful books over the years, but right now I am reading a book that I would have to say is up in the TOP 5 greatest books I’ve ever read list. It’s entitled, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero.

Over the last 5 years as a pastor I have been amazed, hurt, surprised and confused by long time Christians and their immaturity. They know the Word, they Tithe, they Serve, they Love Jesus yet there is something missing. (Disclaimer: I am in no way slamming or condemning or criticizing… I am simply stating a fact). They spiritualize away conflict, they hide their brokenness behind spiritual practices, they judge other people’s spiritual journey, and they deny the past’s impact on their present lives and their faith is somehow challenged when someone disagrees with them.

I have asked myself and others; what is the deal? Well I have found the answer in this book! The author Peter Scazzero says, “I truly believe the greatest gift we can give the world is our true self living in loving union with God. In fact, how can we affirm other people’s unique identities when we don’t affirm our own? Can we really love our neighbors well without loving ourselves?”

Bottom line is you can not be truly Mature Spiritually unless you are Mature Emotionally. And to be Emotionally Mature takes a lot of inward reflection, tough conversations which to be honest is difficult sometimes. It will cause many emotions to rise up within you… but the end result is worth it! But for some people it is just easier to run.

Don’t run!

Grace

Sometimes I think we Christians forget that we are all (every church) a part of the body of Christ. Some are the pinky, some are the knee, others the arms, and yet others the feet. But we are all doing our part to reach people for Christ.

Wouldn't it be ridiculous for my pinky to grip, complain and gossip to the other fingers and say, "hey guys... the knees are missing it, they aren't as good as we fingers... they can't pick the nose, they can't grab things... the knees are wrong, and we fingers are right... nah, nah, nah! (I just flashed back to elementary school)


Funny illustration I know... but isn't this what we do in the church world sometimes? We compare one church to another.... when in reality each church has a specific calling and it's as different as a finger is to a knee... neither better or worse, wrong or right, just a different part of the body. All churches serve a purpose in God's kingdom... when we are gracious we see this.

I personally as a pastor appreciate every church, especially every church here in Olathe... and I for sure support and appreciate every pastor here!

Life Church, Indian Creek Community Church, Olathe Bible Church, Church of the Harvest, Pathway, Journey Church, All the Baptist churches, All the Methodist churches, all the Catholic Churches, All the charismatic & Pentecostal churches... Episcopalian, Lutheran, and on and on it goes… I have missed some I am sure... but all have their place in the community, and in the Body of Christ, and the sooner we grow up and realize it the better!

Grace to you!

Legalism vs. Grace - pt 2

Q: So why is legalism so dangerous?

Many reasons; but rather then me telling you why I personally think it's nasty, let’s look at what the Apostle Paul says about it.

1) Legalism is dangerous because it is and outward attempt to look spiritual. Galatians 2:6 “…God does not judge by external appearances.”

2) Legalism makes the death and life of Jesus meaningless. Galatians 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if *righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

*Notice Paul uses the word “righteousness” here… if living right could get us in God’s good graces, then who needs Jesus. But, when you do accept God’s grace through Jesus you ARE righteous, which then leads you to right living.

3) Legalism holds us in chains… its bondage. Galatians 3:23 “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.”

4) Legalism actually draws us AWAY from Christ, and His grace. Galatians 5:4 “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

I will continue this Legalism vs. Grace later...

Legalism vs. Grace - pt 1

The book of Galatians is a profound letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a group of Christians who had become legalistic… a group of Christians who had become more concerned with living according to the law than living in the freedom that Christ provides.

We must remember that among the first Christians were Jewish leaders who were meticulous law keepers, so you can feel the contention as you read the book… Paul tackles it head on because the true Gospel message is one of GRACE through FAITH in Christ alone!

Galatians 3:1 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”

Pt 2 Why Legalism is so dangerous?

Feelings

I was having a recent conversation with someone and we were discussing the whole thing of “feelings”; can you trust your feelings, should you be honest about your feelings, and ultimately what are we to do with our feelings?

All great questions that aren’t always easy to answer, especially when the circumstances that surround our feelings can be a tad fuzzy. Though I did share some thoughts on - what we are to do with our feelings?

This person had mentioned she had to be honest about her feelings, and she couldn’t fake it… to which I challenged, “feelings can be fickle, and you can’t always trust your feelings. And I do believe we should be honest about our feelings, but we should not further support, encourage and empower our feelings, especially if our feelings aren't right.”

I am sure you are like me, and have had feelings that if acted on would cause many problems. Why did you (or me) not act on those feelings? Because if we did our spouse would have killed us, right?! Ha! Because there are times in our life that we don’t always FEEL it. We don’t feel like doing what’s right, but I believe with every fiber in my being that doing what is right is always right. Period! No matter the fuzziness that may surround the ordeal or the circumstances that may cloud the situation, when we have the opportunity to do the right thing, DO IT! It’s what Jesus did!

Peace!

Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Church Planting

This blog entry is more for those who are serving in leadership at a church i.e. Pastors, Staff, Volunteer leaders, etc.

I’ve only been in ministry for 20 years, and 11 years of that has been fulltime, and only 5 years of that has been as lead pastor guy, so my knowledge is limited. Though I am learning that you can have all the right “programs” and do all the “right” or “cool” things… music jams, dramas, video, fancy programs, creative ooz, multi-site video campus and on and on… but if you aren’t doing it from a right heart, it’s bull dukie!

Nothing wrong with all those things… we do many of them, BUT most important should be a heart to really reach people and help them grow in their faith.

I relate it to the “works” mentality… that says if I can just do enough GOOD things, God will love me! But the reality is that God loves you, even before we ever acknowledge Him He sent Jesus to die for us!

The “work” we do in Church ministry should be an outflow of the love we have as individuals for Christ. We should do it because we LOVE people, not because we want to GROW a church.

Go and love God, and each other… this will make the world a better place.

Stand Out

The Bible talks about being "separate from the world..." and I think that applies in many ways, but one way in particular is with our attitude.

Thankfully I work in a very happy place, with happy people, but many people I talk to say their place of employment in very unhappy.

Here are some questions to ask yourself on a daily basis to keep your thoughts going in the right direction:

• What are 5 things I am thankful right now?
• What are 5 of my positive traits?
• What are my top 5 achievements?
• Who are the 5 people who love me no matter what?
• What are 5 things I am looking forward to in the next 30 days?
  

Here are the questions you SHOULD quit asking yourself:

• What are the 5 things that make my life stink right now?
• What are my bad traits?
• What are my 5 biggest mistakes?
• What 5 people hate me, or want to see me fail?
• What are the 5 things I am dreading in the next 30 days

It reminds me of when The Apostle Peter didn’t like what Jesus said about His coming death… and said…

Mark 8:33 "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

The challenge for all of us is to have the "things of God in mind".