Three things we need to know about the church

Church is a dirty word sometimes.

In fact there are many places in our culture where you could scream the f-word without a second glance and say "church" and get a dirty look. More interesting is that the reaction to "Jesus" and the reaction to the church would not necessarily be the same, proving the misconception that is engrained into our society.

Here are three facts that might help guide our understanding of what church truly is.

1. Church is Us: The church is not a building, the church is not an event, and the church is not an activity. The church is people who are in life changing relationships with Christ and with each other. Local churches are simply singular expressions of this over arching truth. A local church is a group of people in life changing relationships with Christ and each other who align with a certain calling and commit to accomplishing that in their community. There are many variations of local churches, because there are many types of people that need to be reached. Hate denominations? don't. They are proof that God is more concerned with reaching people from any walk of life than He is with all of us getting it right.
2. Church is Messy: Why? Because you and I are in it. Of coarse the church is full of hypocrites, fake people, and judgmental jerks. It's also full of addicts, pervs, bad parents, good people, and killers. That is not proof of it's irrelevancy, it is proof of God's overwhelming grace and free new beginnings.
3. Church is Essential: Because relationships are essential. God made Adam with everything he could ever want including personal, physical access to God, but he still said "it is not good for him to be alone." We need each other to learn, to remain accountable, to bear our burdens, I could go on. The easiest way to ensure that your faith won't last is to try to do it alone. But let this be noted- Sunday morning worship is an event, not church. It is an event that provides worship for a community, the gospel for those unreached, teaching for the body, and a catalyst of shared experience for deep relationships to be formed. Sunday morning (or whatever time your church meets as a large group) is essential as well, but Sunday morning doesn't cut it. Showing up on Sunday morning simply means that we attend a social event, not that we are part of the church. Life changing relationships are the point.

**Hanging out with Christians also does not constitute being part of a church. It  only means you spend time with people who are part of the global church. The local church is our lifeline. Hanging out with likeminded people is good, being a part of a gathering with a mission, well founded teaching, and empowering structure is necessary. This is why from the beginning there were men in charge of the giving; there was a council of leaders; Paul appointed pastors, apostles, teachers, and other roles; and guiding structure was put into place. The local church is a manifestation of the global church that empowers people with like callings to make maximum impact on their communities and the world. 

Value

Where we find value is the most influential aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the most observable aspect of our lives. 

Where we find value is the singular aspect of our lives that will attract people to Christ or distract people from him. 

There is a story in scripture about a young man who was very wealthy. He was rich. He was young. He was a ruler. Hence the name of the story- "The Rich Young Ruler." Basically this guy was hooked up. 

Our boy, henceforth referred to as the RYR, asks Jesus a very telling question: "How do I inherit eternal life?" Besides enlightening us to the fact that he was probably a trust fund baby it reveals something more telling. The RYR believed in Christ as the key to eternal life. He came to Jesus asking him about salvation. Reading on we see that this guy not only asked the right questions, he followed all of the laws. He was a good guy, and rich. (where my single ladies at?) 

But Jesus pressed further. The following statement from Jesus is often used by pastors and extremists used to tell Christians that in order to follow him we should sell everything we have... because that's what Jesus said.... But that's not the heart of the passage. Jesus was asking this man what he really valued. 

Jesus looked at this man and said "You believe I can give you eternal life. Good. Do you believe it enough to invest in it? How much do you really value what I have to offer?"

The RYR walked away very disheartened because his values did not match up with his belief. He came to Jesus seeking eternal life - something more valuable than anything he owned. But it became very obvious that this man did not see enough value in Christ to sacrifice his safety net. 

The question I've been asking myself lately is "does my life look like I actually value Christ?" As Christians we claim that Christ is the answer to eternal life, the hope of the world, and the only way to have peace and joy, but do our lives prove that we value that? Or do they reveal that church is cool, but we should probably not invest everything there just in case? 

Few people would buy stock in a company if they knew the CEO or employees didn't invest there. Few people will be die hard fans of a team that doesn't play like it values winning. Many people will trust in anything that someone is willing to risk everything for. 

Does my Bible collect dust, or does is look like I believe it is the word of my God? Am I engaged in my church like it's the body of Jesus Christ on earth, or do I attend it with about the same intrigue as I attend the movie every Friday? Does my spending look like my money could further the Kingdom of Heaven, or does it look like it could help me out just in case my faith doesn't?

The secret to church growth, sharing the gospel with friends, missions work, and life is finding our value in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people see that our Savior and our church are valuable enough for us to truly invest in- without a backup plan - they will wonder and want the value that we have. When they see that we value status, stability, decor, or music genres more than our Savior or the people He wants to save they will be turned off to everything we claim. 

We claim to believe in an almighty God, where we find value will prove it. 

The Millionth blog about the VMA's (why Miley might not be as bad as we thought)

You're probably tired of reading about the VMA's.

I am.

Plus this blog is weeks late, and what I'm about to say isn't new.

There is something disturbingly wrong with the way culture has responded to the Miley Cyrus incident. Miley's performance was pretty gross. No way around that.

But it was also not very different from what millions of other young people her age have done in an attempt to gain attention,  earn respect, and prove independence. The primary difference between her and the rest of college aged America is that there are no video camera's documenting our awful decisions. Even if there were no one knows our name or cares enough to tweet mean things about it. 

Yes what Miley did was wrong and nauseating. Yes, she should be prayed for. Yes, it looks like she's on a pretty dangerous -yet strangely familiar- path. I'm not defending her actions, I'm simply saying that I see myself in her. 

I've done some stuff that I really wish I wouldn't have. I've tried to prove I was grown up in ways that completely proved the opposite. I get it. I'm not saying that all college students go off the deep end freshman year, and I'm DEFINITELY not saying it's okay. I'm just saying what she did really isn't that shocking. 

What is shocking is that Robin Thicke is allowed to be on stage with a young girl, or within a hundred yards of a young girl. His actions were disgusting, demeaning, and unacceptable. As far as I'm concerned he took advantage of a young girl who was trying to find her identity and then used her mistakes for his own pleasure. Sounds a lot like date rape. 

But few people are blogging or tweeting or using sermon illustrations about him. I think it's because then men of my generation are straight up wusses. Calling him out means we have to quit listening to his catchy songs, asking our girlfriends to make exceptions, and talking about girls like we talk about cars and football. It means we've got to man-the-heck-up!

What gives me the right to say this? nothing. 

My past is full of stories where I was no better than Robin Thicke. The only thing that allowed me to marry the most beautiful woman ever and finally live a life dedicated to purity is the grace of Jesus Christ. But that grace is what we must stand in. The grace that takes people like us and turns them into people like Christ. Through that grace we need to set the bar higher for the men of our generation. We need to say that objectifying women simply isn't acceptable. We need to agree that women are made in God's image and should be treated as holy. 

We need to pray for Robin Thicke. We need to seek God that he would realize his need of Christ's love. We need to not allow this egregious example of the state of our culture to be acceptable and unnoticed any longer.

How would you respond to Robin Thicke?

How will you take a stand?

4 Leadership Lessons from Collide

This past weekend I had the opportunity and privilege of helping lead a large event in Sioux Falls, SD. The event was a blast, God proved himself in a mighty way by bringing at least 30 people to himself, and a youth movement was catalyzed in our city. This weekend I was exhausted and empty, but completely in awe of Jesus. There are lots of things I could write about as lessons from these last few months of planning, but I'll stop with these four that stand out.

1. Clearly Communicate Vision: It is absolutely imperative to know why we are doing what we are doing. Decide the vision from the get go. Make it clear, concise, and measurable. Cut out everything that does not directly accomplish the vision. If there is not a clear reason that guides the whole event toward the vision for each individual piece then that piece is unnecessary and distracting.
2. Stress Isn't Worth It: In the end stress only clouds our judgement and causes us to not be able to enjoy the thing we are stressing out about. Worry less, worship more. As Christian leaders we are doing things that we firmly believe are from God. If God calls us to it and equips us for it then God is also responsible for it. That does not mean we should be lazy, it simply means we should not freak out over something that isn't even ours.
3. Rest is Essential: It's impossible to not stress if we are running on empty. It doesn't matter how busy we are we HAVE to put in time to rest and recover before, during, and after whatever it is we are leading. When the leader are tired and stressed they lead tired and stressed.
4. God Always Goes Big: Big to God is just sometimes very different than big to us. We could be thinking that big means thousands in attendance, but God could mean big as in connections across the country and initiation of movements... or He could mean big as in small. In the end God does what He knows is best and if we are serving Him we can trust in that. 

Redemption and Gift Cards

I love gift cards. A gift card is like free money. Some people think that a gift card is a thoughtless gift, as if someone doesn't even know you well enough to buy you a good gift.

I'm pretty okay with that.

All you have to know is that I generally like the outdoors, music, or food and you can make me happy.

Where it gets bad is when someone doesn't even know me well enough to get me a decent gift card. Like the very nice people who got "my wife and I" a bed bath and beyond gift card. My wife is very thankful for the present you got her.

The idea of redemption is spoken of throughout scripture. Christians sing about it and preach about it, but I think it's one of those big words that remain vaguely defined for us. I think that because it was true for me for quite a while. So I put my college degree to use and did some biblical research.

I realized, to my dismay, that the word for "redemption" in the original language doesn't have some sort of crazy beautiful hidden meaning that can't be uncovered in english. (Pastors like it when there are cool hidden meanings cause it makes us sound smart.) It just means "redeem" or "ransom."

Like a gift card. A gift card is something that you redeem. Why? Because it has value. Like a coupon or a discount code. It has value, but that value is of no use until it is used for what it was designed for.

That is redemption. God looks at us and sees value. He sees something that is of great use, something that can do good. Something that is worth it. But He knows that it will never be of use until it is connected with what you were made for- Himself.

Sin has broken us, it has separated us from what we were made for. Until we are brought back to relationship with Christ we are like Wal Mart gift cards at Best Buy- useless.

But Christ redeems us and brings out the value that is locked inside us and unreachable. That value is the image of God himself- who we are made for.

Galatians 4:4-7
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b]6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

3 Reasons to Pray Boldly

Let me tell you a quick story. I've been a student ministry pastor for about a year now. When I began ministry I felt a distinct word from God that we needed to have a baptism service in about 6 months. We put it on the calendar and started preparing for the service. With the word about the service came the unshakable feeling that we needed to plan to Baptize 10 people, and we need to make that number known. Now 10 people may not seem like a bold number but for a smaller youth group in a highly churched culture 10 people is a big number. I was scared. Less scared and more concerned about my image really, because I knew that when we started proclaiming 10 people and only got 5 I was going to look dumb. You probably know where this story is going, but I'll tell you any way. Up until the week of the baptism we had about 6 people in line. We spent 6 months planning and advertising and got 6, and then the week of the service 3 more people added. I thought "9 is close enough. That's basically 10. Praise the Lord." The day of the Baptism our lead pastor stopped me at church and told me that one more person had called to sign up and we had 10 people.

Since that day God has been pushing me to approach him boldly, to ask him for greater things. The fact is that God is concerned with our tiny requests, but He is powerful for the bold requests. Most of us, myself very much included, ask God for things and then do everything we can to bail God out. We make sure that what we asked for either will happen or doesn't matter. After all the creator of the universe needs us to give him an excuse... I think God is calling his people, church leaders and church members, to start praying risky prayers.

1. We Have His Heart: Scripture is full of passages in which it becomes clear that God loves to do good for His people. He is our Father. If human, broken, messed up fathers can love giving good things to their kids how much more does the perfect God in whose image they were made love giving good gifts to his kids. We have his heart because his heart is for us. In Hebrews 4 we are instructed to approach the throne of grace with boldness because we have an intercessor, Jesus, who understands everything we need.
2. We Are Aligned With His Heart: God calls us to his mission in the world by his power through his love. Why in the world do we timidly pray about him accomplishing through us what He has already told us He desires to accomplish through us? It is not God's heart to give each follower a great retirement plan, but it is his heart for each follower to leave a significant impact on the people they can reach. Why do we nervously ask God for power to show His love? Why do we humbly ask to change our schools, workplaces, or families? That is God's heart and mission! He already wants to. Ask Him like you know the Almighty God wants to change your city.
3. He's Huge: He's God and he loves us more than we could ever understand. He has all resources at his disposal but we ask him for 200 bucks to pay the rent like it's going to drain his checkbook. Approach boldly because your God cares for you. He is growing you and teaching you. He desires your good. He doesn't usually answer exactly the way we thought He should, but He does answer.

Last thing- Boldness is not arrogance. It's not claiming what you think you've earned or deserve. It's reaching out to Jesus who died to prove to you just how dedicated he is to you. We need to start praying bold prayers to see the kingdom of heaven break into our lives and overtake our world. 

Homosexuality: How Do Christians deal with the issue?

Lets begin with a bit of clarity. The issue of homosexuality is more than a sin issue. It's more than a morality issue. It's more than a right or wrong issue.

It's a human issue.

It's a human issue because we are dealing with human beings.

Human beings are innately sexual creatures. We've been so since the beginning. In fact one of the first things we were commanded to do was be fruitful and multiply. Then theres the song of solomon. Which makes the point unavoidable. When we talk about homosexuality we are not talking about an issue, an epidemic, or a choice. We're talking about human beings who, like all human beings, find there sexual tendency closely linked to their identity. It's part of our brokenness. Sexuality was directly affected by the fall. Our sexuality instantly brought shame when sin entered the world, and anything shameful is hidden, and anything hidden is easily confused.

That being said no straight person defines their self by "heterosexuality." We call ourselves firemen or musicians, or we say we're married or love our dog.
If we don't make our sexual orientation our greatest divider for those who call themselves straight, why should it be the primary definer of someone who considers him or herself gay?

By allowing homosexuality to be the buzz word of identity and the pinnacle of "sinful culture" we have perpetuated to people that need the love of Christ that it is their sexuality that defines them instead of their creator. When we start with sexuality instead of humanity we will always end at depravity instead of the image of God. It has nothing to do with homosexuality being sin, it has to do with homosexuals being humans. When we attack homosexuality we are reinforcing that identity is sexuality, then telling people that their identity is detestable to God.

So we need to stop.

We need to learn the power of our words.

We need to stop dealing with the issue of homosexuality and start dealing with the issue of introducing people to Jesus. People. All people. All are loved. All can be forgiven. All can be redeemed. None have to do it on their own. None have to do it first.

Does that mean homosexuals can be Christians?

well... yes.

Does that mean gossips can be Christians?

yes.

The good thing is that it also means you and I can be Christians.

When struggling with a sin disqualifies a person from being a Christian I'm out. So are you.

Temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted. That means being tempted to look at porn isn't sin. That means having an attraction toward porn isn't sin. That means having the attraction to a member of the same sex isn't sin. Acting on it is.

But lets be real. David had an affair and killed a guy to cover it up. He was a man after God's own heart and wrote most of the Psalms. The cross of Christ is more powerful than any human issue.
But for some reason we think that homosexuality is going to tear apart the church? No. There is no sin, no struggle, no human issue that is greater than our God or more powerful than his cross.
That deserves an amen.

The more we worry about homosexuality instead of worrying about people meeting Jesus the farther we tear the wound.

Sin cannot keep us from his love. Accept him and trust him first. He'll deal with the sin as we grow close to him. It won't be easy. But it also won't be a losing battle.

Helping people enter into and grow in a relationship with him is the only issue Christians need to worry about. We do that by loving them, serving them, telling them, accepting them, befriending them, discipling them.

Yes, homosexuality is sin. That is an unavoidable truth in scripture, but there are a lot of sins in scripture. None of them define someone more than how much Christ loves them. Sin has never kept God from pursuing, accepting, forgiving, and THEN changing humans. The first step is Jesus. The middle steps are Jesus. The last step is Jesus. Worry about Jesus. He's the only one who can take care of any sin.