I recently read an article in Leadership Journal that hit pretty close to home. The title of this article was “Ministry Mulligans”. At this time in my life (late 40′s) I have found myself wishing that life had a “startover button”. Ok, who said we can’t fantasize occasionally. The fact is that we don’t get any do-overs. The best we can do is learn from those who have travelled the path ahead of us, and humble ourselves under God’s hand, recieving His direction as well as His discipline. It made me wonder how many pastors out there are dealing with out of control stress levels, and are burnt out and feeling this way - just wishing there was such a thing as a “Ministry Mulligan”. (Read full article here )
The Slippery Slope To Paganism
I’m continuing to work through a series of thoughts on how the American Church has drifted away from its roots of historic, orthodox theology and become what we observe today. To use the term Paganism in conjunction with Christianity may seem a bit over the top to some of you. However, when you rightly understand what truly constitutes orthodox Christianity and its opposite (Paganism), you might be less inclined to disagree. Continue reading
The Basis For Christian Unity, pt.3
In a way that is far too similar to the medieval church, modern evangelicalism has learned to use the principle of unity to silence its critics. The Apostle Paul’s command to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) has been misapplied to mean that doctrinal discussions or debates are dangerous. Over the past 150 years in the American Church, the basis of unity has shifted more towards a common experience (being “born again”) which itself, has been reduced to what someone has done (like “asking Jesus into their heart” or “accepting Jesus as Savior”, or “surrendering their heart to Jesus”). In doing so, we base our fellowship and unity on slogans and ideas that cannot even be found in Scripture, but serve as signs that we are “insiders” who know the secret handshake. Continue reading
The Basis For Christian Unity, pt.2
Another common theme these days among Christians is “deeds not creeds”. This reflects the belief that an emphasis on doctrinal beliefs can be divisive and perhaps even counter-productive to the Church’s mission. It seems to be in vogue today to promote the belief that what unites us is mission and not theology. That has never been the case at any time in Church history. These 2 things cannot be mutually exclusive of each other. Time will prove that to allow this will be a serious and costly mistake. We must understand that it is not an either-or issue. We need both deeds AND creeds to remain true to what God had in mind when He birthed the Church. Continue reading
The Basis For Christian Unity, pt.1
How often have we heard the question raised in various Christian circles “why can’t we just love each other, regardless of what we believe?”. In most cases, such pleas are in some way, a call to unity. More subtle, underlying this may be a call away from a concern for doctrine. Now a call to unity is not necessarily a bad thing. However, to experience true Christian unity, there has to be some basis for that unity. Continue reading
Posted in American Church, Christian Life, Doctrinal Issues, Theology
Leave a comment
Giving The Church A Checkup
This post is part of a series introduced last month (click here for 1st post)
As we start a New Year, it is traditionally a time when people not only make resolutions, but many of them begin to think about scheduling a routine health check-up. In fact, I believe it is wise to periodically take assessment of every area of our life, getting a “check-up” if you will. Just as that is true of our health, finances, family, or career situations, I would suggest that it is equally true of the Church. With each local congregation in America being a part of a larger whole, we need to realize that collectively, the condition of our individual churches contributes in varying degrees to the condition of the Church as a whole (despite claims of autonomy, no church is an island to itself). Continue reading
Figuring Out The “Church Thing”
As I shared in my last post, I have struggled over the past few years, to come to some kind of understanding of “the Church thing”. By that I mean the typical form and function we observe here in the 21st century American Church. This would include the many styles, methods, functions, and even the “why” we do it. At the heart of my personal struggle with all this is the difficulty found in reconciling what we observe and experience today with what we read in Scripture and Church History – even from the days of the Reformers (Luther, Calvin, etc.). I can truly empathize with the many people out there who are struggling with this issue, and sensing that “there has to something we’re missing”. I believe that is, in fact, one way the Spirit is working today among God’s people. As I previously shared, Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s book was a major piece of the puzzle for me. In addition to that I want to share with my fellow pilgrims who are in that same wilderness, another very helpful resource. Continue reading
Posted in American Church, Christian Ministry, Ecclesiology
Leave a comment
Small Organic Churches: Are They Really Better?
One of the really good books I’ve read this past year was Kevin DeYoung’s Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion . I’ve wrestled through this whole issue for several years and finally in the past couple of years gotten over both my loathing of the highly over-organized traditional church, my disdain for the mega-church, and my lust for the “simplicity” of the small organic church. Regarding the latter, I have written about that in the past, here and here .
If you wanted to get some idea of just how much of a buzz there has been in recent years about the “Small Organic Church” concept, the Internet is loaded with all kinds of information (from weird ideas to credible, well-researched treatments of the subject). Continue reading
Posted in American Church, Ecclesiology, End Times
3 Comments
My Top Ten Books Read in 2010
I read alot of books in 2010, but the following is a list of the top 10 that I found most informative and helpful to me as a husband, father, pastor, and man attempting to follow Jesus.
1. Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God
2. Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church
3. Renewal for the Wounded Warrior: A Burnout Survival Guide for Believers
4. Toxic Churches: Restoration from Spiritual Abuse
5. Made in America: The Shaping of Modern American Evangelicalism
6. Sweethearts for a Lifetime: Making the Most of Your Marriage (Strength for Life)
7. A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship
8. The Love Dare
9. Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide
10. Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion
Honorable Mention:
Finally Alive
Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus)
Adrenaline and Stress: The Exciting New Breakthrough That Helps You Overcome Stress Damage
Pastors at Greater Risk
Do You Speak Christianese? Please Don’t
Have you ever noticed the lingo that flies around in some Christian circles? I challenge you, the next time you find yourself in a group of Christian people, step back and listen to the words and phrases that are used when the conversation shifts to “spiritual things”. Then imagine if you were a non-believer who had never been around church or people who go to church alot. I suspect that many of those poor people would be totally confused and want to get as far away from you and your Christian friends just as quick as they could. My “soapbox” is that we should be just as careful to “watch our speech” in regard to using “Christianese” , as we would be to make sure that no profanity slips out. Last time I checked, our mission is to be ambassadors for Christ – by communicating the gospel – NOT by sounding spiritual.
For the record, I find this issue kinda sad. I wish we Christians would just give it a rest (speaking Christianese). We need to learn to speak to non-believers in normal everyday language. But sometimes it is good to find humor in our silliness. It can be a good teacher in exposing our folly. Just in case you’ve never really thought about it, I came across a quite humorous video on J.D. Grearr’s blog. Check it out here.