Words in Red

This Sunday I begin a new series called "Words in Red." It's one that's been brewing in my mind for a while. The idea is to simply preach the teachings of Christ. No visiting the book of Acts. No cross referencing the Epistles. Just the Gospels. The pure and simple words of Jesus. Nothing else. To prepare, myself and our shepherds read through the words in red with the task of identifying the topics that are important to Jesus. So far I've learned two interesting lessons:

1. There are some issues that are constantly taught/discussed in the church, but Jesus never addressed them.
2. There are some issues that are rarely, if ever, taught/discussed in the church, but Jesus had a lot to say about them.

An example for #1. Music. This continues to be a major issue in the church (at least in our fellowship of churches). I continually see articles and sermons either for or against music. Yet, Jesus never once mentioned it. He also didn't have a lot to say about other worship issues we spend way too much time on.

An example for #2. The Second Coming. When is the last time you've heard a sermon about the Second Coming in the churches of Christ? (And the ones railing against the Left Behind series don't count.) I never see anything about the Second Coming. Yet, Jesus had quite a bit to say about it. And some of its not much clearer than Revelation.

Fall!!

Yesterday I felt a slight hint of fall in the air. Just a slight one. It was right around 7:30 pm. Lilly and I were in the woods for the first time this year. We were looking for squirrels but ending up shooting at Coke cans. It was Lilly's first time to shoot a real gun. She was a little scared at first until I convinced her that .22s don't kick. It was just about at the last light of the day that I felt that hint of fall. Maybe it was the feel of dry leaves under our feet. Maybe it was the faint smell of gunpowder. Maybe it was that little breeze kicking up right after sundown. Whatever it was it got me longing for fall to get here! Fall is easily my favorite time of the year. Among a few of the reasons...squirrel season, dove season, bow season, muzzleloader season, gun season and a healthy dose of football for the off weeks. So what's your favorite time of year?

Making Him in Our Image?

One of the things I like to do in my sermon prep (especially with passages I've preached before) is read what preachers from other fellowships have to say. They usually bring a different perspective to the text. I don't always agree but they get me thinking. This week I ran across some thoughts from a Wesleyan minister concerning Luke 7:36ff, which is my text for Sunday. In the story, Simon (a Pharisee) is taken aback by the fact Jesus allows a woman (most likely a prostitute) to touch him. He concludes that Jesus must not be a prophet otherwise he would know "what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner." He writes...

People do that today. They say, “Well, obviously, Jesus would not go to dances or Jesus would not go to the liquor store or Jesus would not be out and around where sinners are or Jesus would not vote liberal or Jesus would not vote at all or Jesus would hate gays or Jesus would leave liberal churches or…” Well, maybe some of that is true and maybe some of it isn’t, but the point is, we assume we know what Jesus would do. We quote Scriptures backing our positions up. Well, I must say, Simon backed himself up with Scriptures too. He would have been able to quote the passages that say that holy people should stay away from unholy things. And what happens is that we make Jesus against the same things we’re against. We make Him in our own images. We call it looking more and more like Him, and really we make Him more and more like us.

Is There a Divine Message in the Heat?

The heat wave's got everybody talking. The environmentalist's are talking about global warming, the farmer's about low crop yields, the school administrator's about limiting sports practice times. Now it looks like the preachers are getting warmed up (no pun intended). Our church receives 5 or 6 church bulletins a week. I've noticed a little trend in the preacher's article. The last two have suggested (one subtly, one overtly) that God is sending a message to us through the oppressive heat. The message being "if you think this is bad, just wait until you get to hell!" Both comments reminded me of how easily we take common occurrences and turn them into "signs" or "messages" from God.

For example, you will often hear churches or ministry leaders say one of the following..."We must be doing something right because because God is really blessing our church" or "We must be doing something right because Satan is really attacking our church." Notice that regardless of whether good things or bad things are happening the conclusion is the same-we're doing it right. Apparently God's blessing and Satan's curse lead to the same us to the same conclusion. Perhaps things are just going good or perhaps things are just going bad or perhaps its just hot. Does God have to be sending messages to us in everything?? I don't mean to sound like a deist. Just thinking aloud.

Down 4

A quick update. Two weeks ago I wrote about my quest to drop 20 pounds. This morning I was down 4. I have to give credit to the running because the eating habits have been slow to change. I finally had a good steady week of running. I was able to run 5 out of 7 days and logged 19 miles. The heat is brutal but it's probably speeding up the weight loss. I've also got in some great time on the ipod. Recently I've been listening to That's Not in My American History Book and sermons from Andy Stanley.

Mega or Mini?

Which is best? The mega-church (1,000-10,000 members) or the mini-church (50-100 members)? Both have their positives. Mega-churches have tremendous resources in both people and finances. They're well-staffed with a plethora of specialized ministries and they're usually very serious about reaching people for Jesus. Most also have great worship and Biblical teaching (despite rumors to the contrary). Mini-churches have a closeness and family atmosphere that's tough to keep when you grow past 100 members. They can more readily meet personal needs and can quickly establish connections with others. They can also have great worship and Biblical teaching (despite rumors to the contrary). So which is best? If you were planting a new church what would your end goal be? To have over 1,000 members or to just create a solid faith community of 100 or less? Or maybe a better question. If you're an established church of around 300 members what should your strategy for growth be? Growing bigger yourself or planting new churches?

Church in America

A few more statistics...

• In the last 10 years the US population has grown by 24,000,000 people (+11.4%) while church membership in the US has declined by 4,500,000 people (-9.5%).
• Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional two percent of the population over the past fifty years.
• Half of all churches last year did not add one new member through "conversion growth."
• No county in America has a greater percentage of churched persons today than a decade ago.
• In 1900 there were 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1950 there were 17. In 1996 there were 11.
• We lose 72 churches per week and gain 24. That's a net loss of 48 churches each week.
• North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing and the United States has become the largest "post-Christian" nation in the world.

God bless the church planters.

Church Attendance

I realize that church attendance doesn't equal faith in Jesus, but I find these statistics alarming. They were compiled by the Maury Baptist Association...

• Of the 6 billion people in the world today, 5 billion do not attend church and approximately 1.7 billion have never heard the gospel.
• Of the 300 million people in the United States, 160 million do not attend church and US has become the third largest "unchurched" nation in the world.
• Of the 5.6 million people in Tennessee, 4.5 million do not attend church and over 3 million claim no religious affiliation.
• Of the 69,500 people in Maury County, 54,000 do not attend church (that's 78%!) and over 35,000 claim no religious affiliation.

The Three Legged Stool

Last night we had parent orientation at Zion. To describe the role of the school in a child's life they used the analogy of a three legged stool. They said there are three main support beams that lift up a child--school, church, and home. Each beam is needed and important. Together, they reinforce and support the faith of our children. Apart, the whole thing tumbles. They also made it clear that they represent just one of those beams. They are not the church or the home, they are just the school. As such they play an important role in the life of a child, but they don't play the only role. And they don't try to dictate how the others should play thier role. In other words, they don't try to influence church doctrine and/or alter parenting practices. I think that's the right approach. Too many schools (both public and private) have blurred the boundaries by trying to exert influence in areas that have traditionally been reserved for the church or the home.

20 Pounds in 153 Days

Whenever I need a little motivation to exercise I visit my friend Shump's blog. In the last year he's gone from the body of a defensive tackle to that of a running back (sorry for the analogy, too much of ESPN's preseason coverage on the brain). Last week I was reading his latest post and he mentioned a goal of getting under 200 pounds. "Wait a minute," I thought, "That's my weight!" Realizing that Shump was on the verge of passing me I immediately visited
halhigdon.com and resurrected a training plan. I now have 153 days to lose 20 pounds.

Why 20 pounds? Because that's what I'll need to comfortably fit in a pair of size 34 jeans. By comfortable I mean without sucking in my stomach or leaving the top button undone and covering it with the belt buckle. Why 153 days? Because that's the date I must wear those jeans in front of the congregation. At the beginning of this year I stood before the church with a pair of size 34 jeans in my hands. My message was on "Resolutions" and I talked about how fitting into those jeans had been my New Year's resolution for the past 5 years. I also talked about how this year I was finally going to do it! We're now past the mid-point of the year and I only weigh one pound lighter than I did on that Sunday. It's time to get serious! Between Shump's posts and the potential for public humiliation I hope to find the motivation to make it happen. We'll see. I've never lost weight during hunting season and it's just four weeks away! I'll keep you updated.

Carrots & Truth

This is from the Orange Conference. It's directed to children's ministers and youth ministers, but I think it has a broader application...

Do you ever feel like you're trying to get kids to eat their carrots? Let's be honest. Week after week, you coax children or teenagers to listen to what you're saying because you know it's "good for them." Maybe you even try to coerce them to come to your Bible study by saying, "You need to do this because its healthy for you spiritually." Funny thing about carrots--for centuries they were not a very popular food. That may have been due to their color. Up until the 16th century, carrots were grown in a variety of hues: red, black, yellow, purple and even while. That's right. There were no orange carrots until the 17th century when some Dutch growers in Holland were feeling patriotic. In honor of their king, William of Orange, they married some yellow and red carrots to produce our modern day orange carrots. Surely, there must have been some orange carrot skeptics in the beginning. They were probably overheard saying things like, "These can't be true carrots," "Carrots are just not supposed to be fun," or "Those are not the kind of carrots my parents ate." Nevertheless, the color of carrots changed forever. Ask Bugs Bunny. Here's an important note: Changing the color of carrots did not alter the fundamental nature of the carrot. In other words, orange carrots were just as nutritious as black carrots. The only real difference between the two was simply that more people were willing to eat orange carrots.

So if you knew more kids or students would swallow what you teach if you packaged it differently, would you? Would you color it orange if more kids would listen? Now before you start using phrases like "watering down the truth" or "not deep enough," just remember you can change the color of something without compromising its nature. It doesn't mean you weaken your message just because you focus on what the audience needs. The principle is clear. If you want more people to eat carrots, then change the color. If you want more students to listen to what is true, change how you present it.

It's okay to communicate in a way that's fun.

It's smart to use language they can understand.

It's responsible to believe that how you teach the truth may determine whether or not it's actually heard.

So it really makes sense to do whatever you can to impress a generation with what's really true. Even if it means using a little cheese dip--if it will make them carrot lovers, then do it! Or you can keep trying to convince kids to eat strange-colored carrots and wonder why they grow up and never develop an appetite for what's healthy.