What Must the Neighbors Think?

20 10 2011

Certainly don’t consider myself a poet by any stretch of the imagination! But here’s something that’s been on my heart… This is just my reflection on what type of Gospel witness it is for Pastors to leave churches every few years (or sooner).  Sometimes Pastors leave for greener pastures and sometimes they leave because they were “forced” to (whether by an actual firing or a group of people who will simply not follow).  Regardless the reason, what type of statement does this make to a lost and dying world?

What must the neighbors think?

To dwell near the Pastor’s home grants an interesting perception
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, the seasons come and go
And so do the tenants
Here today, gone tomorrow, they blow away like autumn leaves
Each one is the same
Arrival with the vigor and enthusiasm of Spring
Departure with the coldness of the coming Winter
The people do not change, what must the neighbors think?
What is this Gospel being proclaimed?  Where is its power?
What is this Christianity?
If this is the love of Jesus, why would we want a part?
The carousel preaches a sermon more impactful than the pulpit
Our church, our way and the Pastor will not stay,
What must the neighbors think?
He comes with lines all heard before
People, Promises, Programs
But Winter looms on the horizon. When the days begin to get dark he leaves.
Towards something better? Towards a new Spring.
What type of love is this? It cannot weather a storm.
The revolving door is a powerful evangelist.
What must the neighbors think? We want no part.
Bad actors in a bad play.
What is this Gospel? Where is its power?
As Pastors march in and out, we’ll continue our march…
Towards a Christless eternity


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How long should a church service be? Question 2

30 06 2011

The last several weeks we’ve been looking at the question “How long should a church service be?”  To get caught up to speed CLICK HERE.  Again, we are looking at the regular meeting of the local church that should be happening at least once every Lord’s Day (Sunday). 

Today we are looking at the question “What are church services for?”  We really won’t be getting into the “elements” of the service but rather just discuss the purpose of a regular gathering of Believers.  1st, let’s look at what Sundays are NOT for:

1. Entertainment: You are not the spectator.  The service will not be tailored to your specifications.  Hopefully though, many things will be “your preference”  although some things you may in humility need to count others as more significant. (see Phil. 2:1-11)

2. Country Club:  This is not an “out of college” fraternity or sorority.  It’s not the place we come to in order to socialize and make new friends or political alliances.  Yes, there will be some elements of “socializing” going on, but much more of that should be going on the rest of the week.

3. The God clinic:  It’s not the place you come to get your “shot” of God that should last you the rest of the week!

Previously, I’ve already discussed the question “Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?” Suffice it to say that attending regularly is something Christians should do, should want to do, and need to do.

I believe the Bible is clear that the two major purposes of the weekly gathering of believers are: 1. The Corporate Worship of God and 2. The Edification of Believers

1. The Corporate Worship of God: I say “corporate” worship of God because of course Sunday is not the only day we Worship the Lord!  It is however, usually the only day of the week the whole local Body comes together to worship God.  Jesus says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (see Mark 12:28-30).  I often hear Brothers and Sisters in Christ say “God is my #1 priority”.  Yet, some of these same people miss the regular gathering of the church for trivial matters.  How are we saying that God is our 1st priority if we miss gathering with the local body for something more important?  This is inconsistent.  Hebrews 10:25 is a command from Scripture.  Scripture is the command of God.  Disobeying Scripture is disobeying God.  “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15).

2. The Edification of Believers:  The synonym I’ll use for “Edification” is “building up”.  Again, just like Corporate Worship, we can’t undergo corporate edification without regularly gathering with the local body. Paul says “let all things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26). Does this mean everything has to be “positive” and “encouraging”? Certainly not, but it does mean everything must be done in truth with love (cf. Eph. 4:15).  I don’t want to go too much into the “elements” necessary to fulfill these purposes (which we will cover next week) but here I must mention that the only thing that will truly build us up is the Holy Spirit using the Word.  This means we sing the Word, we pray the Word, we preach the Word, and we live the Word.  I think if i were to use another term besides “edification” I might use “discipline”.  Sundays are part of the “discipline” of the Believer.  Now, this normally carries a negative connotation, but here we are talking about the formative discipline of Believers whereby they are “discipled” through the ministry of the Word.

So, in summary up to this point we’ve established that the “church service” is for Believers, and that it’s purpose is for Believers to corporately worship God and to edify one another.  Next week we’ll look at what elements must be present in our services to fulfill these purposes.


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How long should a church service be?

23 05 2011

Read another article this morning about the need for “1-hour” church services. This is something we’ve been wrestling with at FBC as we seek to bring honor and glory to Christ through our weekly gatherings.  So, how long should a church service be?

Right from the beginning we ask the wrong question.   Paul says “all things should be done decently and in order.”  In context he is talking about our regular gatherings so I do believe that it is important for leaders to spend time planning and preparing for Sunday morning services.  I am not advocating a “we don’t plan anything because we just get up there and let the Holy Spirit lead us” mentality.  Of course the Holy Spirit must lead us but that doesn’t give us the right to be lazy in planning our services.

But back to our question: How long should a church service be?  Why is this the wrong question? It is so far removed from the heart of the issue that it clouds the real issue.  It’s kind of like me asking this question: “How long should my doctor’s visit be?”  Well, there’s really no context for that question for someone to make an intellegent answer.  So, here are the questions that leaders must ask instead of the infamous “how long should our church services be?”:

1.  Who are the services for?- The lost? Believers? Some mixture in between?

2.  What are the services for?- Entertainment? Encouragement? Chastisement? Something else?

3.  After these two questions are answered then we must ask: What elements must be included in such a service so that it is geared towards the people it was intended for and meets the intent of what the services are for in the first place?

I think that the Bible is clear on these answers and in the next few weeks we will seek to answer them


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Memorizing Scripture in 2011

28 12 2010

“I just don’t have a good enough memory to memorize Scripture.”

That’s the excuse we often give ourselves, others, and God for why we don’t memorize Bible verses.  Think for a moment about the stuff you actually do have memorized… How many songs do you know by heart?  How many phone numbers could you dial right now without looking at your contact list?  How many movies can you quote line by line?

The point is, God gave us an amazing memorization capacity.  You CAN memorize verses!  Psalm 119:11 says

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

For many of us our “verse bank” has insufficient funds!  When we need to make a withdrawal to combat sin in our lives there just isn’t anything there to work with.  I would write a little more about the necessity for memorizing Scripture, but John Piper has an excellent read on this subject: CLICK HERE to read what he says.

I will admit to you this is something that I struggle with too.  We need to discipline ourselves to memorize God’s Word!  Will you challenge yourself to do so in 2011?

Below is a link to a challenge I’m taking in 2011- Memorizing the book of Philippians.  Beginning in February we’ll start a series on the book of Philippians here at FBC so if you are a member here, this would be a good challenge for you to take too!  If you don’t attend FBC DeWitt, then I still think this will be worth your time… Check it out below:

Partnering to Remember the book of Philippians

I also found this website: http://scripturetyper.com/ I have not really looked at it much yet, but it seems that it may be a neat resource to use in your effort to memorize passages of Scripture.


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How to Read through the Bible in 2011 (and why you should)

27 12 2010

One bite at a time.  That’s the answer to the old riddle, “How do you eat an elephant?”.  I think it’s also the answer for Christians when it comes to the question, “How can I read through the entire bible?”.  Ok, so I don’t think we want to pull a Jeremiah and literally eat the Word of God, but when it comes to reading through the entire Bible in 2011 here’s how you’ll do it: One verse at a time.

One verse at a time.  Why is that so important to remember?  I think some Christians look at their Bible and feel so overwhelmed by its size and content that they lose the battle to read it in its entirety before they even get started with Genesis 1:1. 

The Bible is made up of 66 individual books, but it is also one grand story.  I’m not advising reading the Bible out of context or to zoom yourself in so closely to a single verse that you miss God’s amazing narrative.  What I am saying though is that the Bible is made up of books, and that the books are made up of chapters, and the chapters are made up of verses.  Keep this in mind as you plan to read through the Bible in 2011…

Do you really think it’s a must that Christians read through the entire Bible? What about all those genealogies? What about difficult books and passages?

What did Jesus say?   “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).

How about the author of Hebrews:  “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (4:12)

And then of course Paul: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16).

How can we live on every Word of God, if many of us haven’t even read every Word of God?  It’s amazing that we live in such a nation with such easy access to God’s Word and yet have become so ignorant as to what it says.

The goal is to not just read the Bible as a textbook.  Read it as Scripture! Read it for transformation!

So, what can you do? Start one verse at a time! Make a commitment right now to read through the Bible in its entirety in 2011.  Below are a few practical tips on how to do it, and some links to several Bible reading plans.

Tips:

1. Have a consistent time and place for Bible reading.  This is key!  Don’t just read when you find time, make time.

2. If you miss a day, or even a few days, don’t get discouraged.  Keep reading! One verse at a time!  And if you get to a day where you can read a little more to catch back up, do it.  And if you get to December 31, 2011 and you still have 1/4th of the Bible to read, just keep reading!  The goal is to read the whole Bible in 2011, and I hope you meet that goal, but the most important thing is that you do read through the entire Bible.  So, if it takes a little longer than a year for you, then so be it.

3. Pray.  Pray that God will open your heart to receive His Word.  Pray that He’ll give you the faith to apply His Word to your life.

4.  Don’t get discouraged about not being able to understand some passages.  I do believe that most of the BIble is pretty clear, but you will probably run across at least a few things that you may need to talk to a pastor about or consult some extra readings.  Don’t get bogged down on those passages, but don’t just dismiss them as incomprehensible either. (Sometimes a good study bible can help clear that up!  Here, here, here, and here are some I recommend).

Bible Reading Plans:

Bethlehem Baptist Bible Reading Plan (I used this in 2010.  You read a few chapters from different places in the Bible each day, and then have a few catch up days built-in at the end of each month).

Expository.org Bible Reading Plan (Similar to the plan above, but you’ll read the OT Chronologically)

OWNit365 Bible Reading Plan (This one’s pretty neat!  Gives you one day off each week. The other 6 days you’ll have 2 separate readings on your own, and one chapter to read with your family! Great way to begin Family Worship!)

Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading Plan (Probably not a plan for 1st time readers!  This plan is 10 chapters a day.  Click the link for more info.)

Create your own plan! The first time I read through the Bible I looked at the number of pages in my Bible and divided it by the time I wanted to finish reading.  So, if you want to read your bible in 365 days and it is 1075 pages you’ll need to read 3 pages a day (1075 divided by 365).

Also, if you haven’t heard about YouVersion, it’s worth checking out…

I hope you will commit to reading the entire Bible in 2011!


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Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?

8 12 2010

“Don’t be deceived: If u r able to go to church and don’t, u r either in sin or you’re not a Christian”

On November 30th 2010 I “retweeted” the above quote.  Since then I’ve had some questions and comments about this quote so I thought that I would write a little…

Where in the Bible does it say a Christian has to attend “church”? Aren’t we all the “Church?”
Yes the term church in the New Testament can mean the universal church.  It can also mean the church of a specific region. But also very specifically, it can (and does in many instances) mean the “local” church. Check out for example Philippians 1:1. Notice Paul addresses the Saints, Overseers, and Deacons of Philippi. He was writing to a local congregation that gathered regularly.

Secondly, think about church structure. There are Pastors, and deacons in churches. This is clearly taught in the New Testament. Hebrews 13:7 says “obey your leaders.”  Teachings and verses like this wouldn’t make sense if there was not a regularly gathered congregation.

In Acts 2 we see the church regularly gathering.  In Hebrews 10:25 we have a specific command to not forsake the times we meet together. Also,  in the New Testament world the idea of “being a Christian” and “not gathering together with the church” would not have made sense.  Now days we do have many “Christians” who claim to be adopted by God but don’t gather with His family. Now, I do agree that the church is NOT a building.  We should not say “I’m going to church today”.  We should say “I’m going to gather with the church today.”  But in our culture, “going to church” and “gathering with the church” have become synonymous, so I don’t think we’ll win that battle!

1 John 3:14 tells us that we know we have passed from death to life because we love the “brothers.”  This is not talking about cheap “I love you” with my words love either.  This means that we can’t truly love one another if we don’t ever see one another.

Now, is the church supposed to gather on a weekly basis? Several passages of Scripture not only indicate yes, but they also indicate what day!  Take for instance one of the first gathering of the disciples post-resurrection (cf. John 19-20).   Then we look in Acts and see the church gathering on the same day (Acts 20:7).  What day were they gathering? Sunday! The first day of the week- Sunday- the day Jesus rose from the grave.  See also 1 Cor. 16:2 where Paul instructs the church at Corinth to collect money on the 1st day of the week, and also notice in Revelation where John was shown many great wonders on the Lord’s Day (Sunday).

Paul instructs Timothy to “preach the word” and even tells him that one day people will still “gather” but with false teachers because they can’t take sound doctrine (cf. 2 Tim. 4:1-4). Another interesting verse is 1 Thess. 5:27 where Paul instructs the recipients of his letter to read that leader to all the brothers and sisters.  These things would be impossible without a time that the church regularly gathered.

Also, Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 14 talk about our spiritual gifts that we use when we are gathered.  What’s interesting about 1 Cor. 14 is that Paul goes on to detail for us some of the things that need to go on during worship together (1 Cor. 14:26-40).  The New Testament shows that God’s people gathered together in local congregations (that were led by Elders (Pastors)).  The Bible clearly commands God’s people to gather on a regular basis.

Finally, I’ll comment some more on Hebrews 10:24-25.  Just because you attend church does not mean you are actually fulfilling this commandment.  One may go to church and still be “forsaking” the assembly.  They may go to church begrudgingly or just for ulterior gains (power, political, etc.).  Also, one may be at home and not really be breaking the commandment given in these verses.  They may actually be unable to gather (sickness, unavoidable job situation, etc.).  The point is however, that the people of God desire to be with the people of God.  Those who are able, but don’t go to church are either living in sin, or not a Christian.


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Where are the men?

1 09 2010

The middle school in the town that our church is in recently started a Christian club called “Impact”.  The club meets every Tuesday during the 2nd half of lunch.  I am excited about this idea and glad to see some Jr. High kids taking the initiative on beginning this club!

After going to the meeting however, I am somewhat concerned…

There were 27 students at the meeting! I personally felt that was a great number. The problem? 20 of those students were girls and only 7 were boys.  That’s roughly a 3:1 ratio.  I know that it was only one meeting and that to cite those numbers as statistical fact would be unwise, but still it got me thinking… Why such a low number of boys?

I believe it’s because we are losing our MEN in the church! The same day I went to “Impact” I also went to another “meeting”.  This meeting was for the DeWitt Touchdown Club and it was held at the High School practice field.  There were about 20 or so men from our community that showed up to encourage the Jr. and Sr. high football teams.

I personally do like football and am a member of the touchdown club.  I think athletics can teach young men a lot.  HOWEVER, why is it so easy to get men to encourage boys to play a game, but not encourage them to serve the living God?  It’s because slowly, but surely we’ve allowed distored teachings of biblical manhood to enter our churches.

 Where are the men who God has called to love their wives and disciple their children?

It is hard for some of us in ministry to teach biblical manhood because we’ve never been taught it ourselves! Are you practicing and teaching biblical manhood? Search the Scriptures! They are not silent!

I conclude with another link from the Connecting Church and Home conference (8/20-8/21/2010)… This is general session 2, Dr. Randy Stinson speaking about Biblical Manhood (definitely worth your time!): CLICK HERE


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No time to disciple our kids?

26 08 2010

I’ve been reading a lot about family-equipping ministry lately and I would like to quote a paragraph written by David Prince in a book coming out soon entitled: Trained in the Fear of God edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones.

In this chapter Prince says this about families that don’t have time for “family worship and daily conversations about God”…

“What if you think you are too busy for such things? Then perhaps you should ask yourself: do you eat? do you provide meals for your family? If so, you have just admitted that physical food is more important to you than spiritual food.  Do you watch television? If so, then you have declared entertainment a higher priority than worship.  Do you partake in extracurricular activities? If so, you are saying that recreation is more important than your  children’s spiritual well-being.  Do you sleep? If so, you are telling your children that comfort has a higher priority than godliness.  These are dangerous messages to communicate to children.”

I really don’t have anything worthy to add to that.  Wow.  May we as parents reexamine our priorities and really think about the message we are sending our kids by what we say and do…


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5 iPhone Apps (FREE!)

25 08 2010

I’ve seen several blogs lately about different apps people are using for their iPhone.  I thought I’d weigh in on the topic and list 5 apps that I use on a regular basis.

The best thing about the apps below is that they are all free! These are in no particular order…

1. Ligonier Ministries App: I love this app! I was thinking today about how much I’ve learned just by listening to some of the solid teaching offered through this app.  Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

2. Acts 29 App:  This app is similar to the Ligonier app and is another great resource for listening to sermons and reading blogs about the Acts 29 church planting network. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

3. ESV Bible: I actually don’t use this one all the time since I usually am around a hard copy of the Scripture, BUT this app comes in real handy when you are out without your Bible. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

4. SBTS App: This is the app of my current school, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  With this app you can watch chapel services, get announcements, and read the blogs of some of the professors at the Seminary. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

5. Mars Hill (Mark Driscoll) App:  Another great app for listening to sermons.  This app, like the Ligonier and SBTS app, stays very current with its messages. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

BONUS APP! iReformed: I had to add this app as a bonus because it costs $0.99.  This app gives you access to the shorter and longer Westminster catechisms and the Heidelberg catechism.  It also gives you access to the Apostles’ Creed, the Westminster confession, as well as other creeds and confessions. Click the link above to read more and to get the app.

Hope one of those will come in handy and help grow you in Christ as they have helped me! God bless…


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Connecting Church and Home

23 08 2010

I plan on writing a more descriptive summary within the next week or so, but for now I just wanted to jot a few thoughts I had about the Connecting Church and Home conference held at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on August, 20-21 2010.

“There’s something of a tragedy in having to have a conference about connecting church and home…”  – Al Mohler

To me, this quote really helped to sum up the conference.  American evangelicalism has lost something in its current paradigms of youth and children’s ministry.  In the process of trying to gain more kids for the cause of Christ we have actually out thought ourselves!  We are in a desperate situation as it seems we are losing younger generations.

As a side note, I want to say, that even if we weren’t losing younger generations, we still must evaluate our current ministry models to make sure that they align with Scripture.

To have a conference about the need for connecting church and home is telling about where we are as churches.  We’ve spent so much time in children’s and youth ministries focusing on “what can attract students” that we have forgotten about “what can build lasting faith.”  And I know there are some solid children and youth ministers out there that are thinking “wait, I am trying to build lasting faith” or “I am discipling my students” etc.  Sorry, that just doesn’t cut it. 1 hr, 2 hrs, 8 hrs, a week is not enough for any youth pastor to make a difference in enough students’ lives to really make a difference!

Where are we missing it? HOME!  God’s design for discipleship of children (and teens) begins in the home.  (cf. Deut. 6, Eph. 6).  We’ve worked ourselves to death trying to come up with new methods and models for doing things when it’s already outlined in God’s Word!

I will write more about this later, but until that time, here are a couple of links that you can go to read notes from the Connecting Church and Home conference or watch video of the plenary sessions…

Video of the 4 Sessions
(the quote from above is in Dr. Mohler’s session at about 40 seconds)

Notes from the Conference


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