Category Archives: Faith
Jesus is the Bridge
Reply
The human church was never established to be a bridge to God that we should boast of our abilities. On the other hand, Jesus: his birth, life ,death and resurrection is the bridge to God. Its arrogance to believe we can rise to that act of Christ. No, we are not the bridge brothers and sisters, we are at best road signs pointing to His bridge. #humility
Selling Tickets to Jesus: Church Special Event Programs and the Pay for Access Dilemma
It’s that time again, time for churches to have Christmas plays and programs. It is the time of year to proclaim the birth of mankind’s only hope. The birth of Jesus. As followers of the Christ, our hope is we can deliver a message to the masses.
The Catalyst
Driving down the road, I’m always impressed with the special event signage beside church meetings. ‘Come to our Christmas program!’ ‘Special Easter Service!” ‘Purchase Tickets online by going to www….’ Selling tickets. Those words always bother me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-fund raising. I love a good church BBQ event. The church needs funds sometimes, and there’s little Biblically challenging about church folk raising money. But selling tickets to an evangelical event? Why not free?
Here are a few thoughts on the matter and why church meetings who sell tickets to hear the message of Jesus is a misguided idea.
The Capitalistic Church
It costs money to put on a production. Therefore, the church meeting has to recoup those costs. What better way to do it, than the commerce exchange of money for goods and services provided. Our American culture is used to paying for stuff eh? We even do it with on thumb at lightning speeds on our phones. So it’s just normal for people to expect a cost for something.
The church meeting and money is referenced throughout the Bible. Here are a few examples, both in the New Testament. This is not an exhaustive list.
Example 1: In Acts 4:32, we find the New Testament Church established and each ‘member’ of the local church meeting brought items to the church so no one would go without, the needs being met.
Example 2: In John 2, we are reminded that Jesus drove out the money changers who had contaminated the temple with greed. People were paying for access. And while the temple practices were established prior to Jesus being born, the misappropriation of money was one reason Jesus drove the money changers out.
When Jesus taught on the mountainside, what was the reaction of the disciples?
Mathew 14:15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
So the disciples, human solution for the problem was to send the people away to buy food. Jesus instead, used this to provide a miracle for people. What didn’t happen was for the disciples charge admission to cover the cost of the meeting. Consequently charging for access to hearing Jesus’ message. We don’t find even Judas as the mountain gate taking up money for access to Jesus’ message.
Selling access to the message of Jesus, What are the consequences of selling tickets:
- One thing it does is limit who can come. Money can be challenging for families, especially those who may have more than financial challenges. Purchasing a ticket can be prohibitive, attending the program at church then becomes a luxury cost for folks. So if it comes down to basic monthly costs for a family, some families will see it as a tall order to attend. And I’m sure most churches would waive the ticket cost if a family asked. But would they ask, or would they look at their budget, and choose not to come.
- Selling tickets also screens out those who have to take an extra step to call or purchase online. Instead of just showing up as those who did with Jesus during his public ministry. Do people driving by vinyl signs really grasp the steps to buy tickets? I sure don’t.
- Selling tickets also gives the community the wrong impression, one that the local church is in the business of selling faith. Churches already have a social reputation of being for profit. In Christendom, there have been plenty of faith actors that constantly ask for money, some even offering a blessing if you purchase their book. Shameful. And while a local church may have good intent for a Christmas play, selling access to Jesus is a community reputation we should fight against.
What is to be said then when planning large church programs? How does the church seek to cover costs by charging admission? What does that do? One line of thought is, if the church, the core church, can’t or won’t support an special program, then maybe the program isn’t necessary. Or maybe the core church can come up with the funds internally to provide for the program. But selling tickets to support a program begs the question, ‘is that program needed.’ And if so, why look outside the church? Good question.
We have to consider the example in Acts. The ‘flock’ invested in the local church so needs could be provided for. It may be very challenging to translate that into selling community access to a program about Jesus.
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, well-done preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
God does nothing reckless – Never has, never will
Is God’s Love Reckless?
Having grown up playing music in church from bluegrass to Third Day covers, I’ve always loved worship music in church. I’ve played with and have heard various talents as well. Worship in church became such a important part of the move of God over the past decades. Many churches have included modern worship in addition to hymns, and some have gone full into songs written by modern artists from a variety of sources.
One such song became super popular written by Cory Asbury. It was a song entitled, ‘Reckless Love.’ It was wildly popular. When I heard it the first thing I thought about was the word ‘reckless.’ In Cory Asbury’s explanation of his word use, he mentions that he is not saying that God is reckless, but God’s love is.
The words from the song are:
“O, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
O, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, you give yourself away
O, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah”
Responding to the controversial lyrics, Cory Asbury explains on his Facebook page like this.
“When I use the phrase, “the reckless love of God”, I’m not saying that God Himself is reckless. I am, however, saying that the way He loves, is in many regards, quite so.” Cory Asbury explains.
So we are to believe that God’s love is like the broken glass above. It just happens at random from an act of God? So God who created the heaven’s and earth with such precision, flings His love out there like a hand grenade?
The song actually created a controversy in Christian circles, some defending the song, and some against it.
“Hey Steven,
Thank you for your email. Jennifer works really hard to tie each song into the theme of worship for the day. I hear your concerns but for us this song really worked well with our service. As for the word reckless, one of the definitions is to move forward without regard to consequences. For Jennifer and I we felt that described Jesus perfectly when he faced the religious leaders of his day and political leaders of his day and did not care about the consequences. I hear your concerns and we will speak about this with Jennifer.
Pastor John”
This is an response I received from the campus pastor who I wrote asking questions about the song’s use in worship. (with names changed of course.) I was really surprised to hear the song since the head pastor speaks strictly from the Word. Standing during worship, I could only think of the flawed theology from the song.
So when I kept hearing the song still played in church, I really was challenged to find it theologically correct. I kept thinking, nothing about scripture describes anything about God as reckless. In fact, the Bible describes God as someone of order, someone who doesn’t do anything recklessly. So why defend the idea that God is ‘reckless?’
When I Googled “define: reckless” ,I couldn’t quite find the definition my campus pastor found, but found this specific definition of reckless, Merriam Webster’s defines it as:
Reckless 1: marked by lack of proper caution : careless of consequences
As human beings we were given language by God. Language is one way God speaks to us and we speak to each other. We as Americans stop at stop signs and go on green lights. We say, “hello” and typically that means, “Hi.” A greeting. We have words and symbols that are etched in our social discourse. And those are generally set. And yes, I’m sure there are those who say hello, and mean goodbye. With our culture, anything is probable.
When I hear the word reckless, I instantly think of reckless drivers. I think of something done in malice. Reckless homicide is another. Both of which are defined by an act that is out of control and ignores risk. God is very far from my mind when I hear the word reckless. It really is a simple word to act association.
So what do we do with the defense that God’s love can appear reckless to us. We have to put the conversation or order of understanding in the correct position. If God’s love to us truly appears ‘reckless’, then it is our lack of understanding and comprehension of God’s love that is at issue, not God’s Love. To put it plainly, the deficiency or failure of human beings is what may, for some, make God’s love appear reckless. So to fix the song, we would say that God’s love appears reckless to us because we do not understand the ways of God. But that doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Isaiah 55:8-9 Common English Bible (CEB)
8 My plans aren’t your plans,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my plans than your plans.Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 New Century Version (NCV)
16 I tried to understand all that happens on earth. I saw how busy people are, working day and night and hardly ever sleeping. 17 I also saw all that God has done. Nobody can understand what God does here on earth. No matter how hard people try to understand it, they cannot. Even if wise people say they understand, they cannot; no one can really understand it.
So what are we to say to the defense of God’s Love appearing as reckless. It may appear reckless to some people, but it’s not because God’s love is reckless, but it is because of our inability to understand the ways of God. That is our weakness not a descriptive blueprint of God’s Love that we can point to.
So why continue playing the song? Why not change the words? Why be more comfortable with the lack of scriptural basis for the description? I have no idea. Do people still use the song because it’s popular? Maybe. The email response I got from reaching out to my campus pastor left me thinking that the campus pastor and worship pastor knew better than I did, especially since there was a definition of the word reckless that fit what they were thinking. My only response to that is, we shouldn’t live according to the dictionary, but God’s Word.
Ephesians 1:3-6 Common English Bible (CEB)
Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. 4 God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world. 5 God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan 6 and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves.
So can we say God’s love is reckless? No we can’t, there is no scriptural basis for the description. Can we say God’s Love appears reckless to some, maybe, but it’s not because His love is in fact – reckless. It is our weakness and lack of understanding.
Final thoughts:
Some questions to ask are:
Are we so ignorant that we just don’t know better? I would venture that it is not this reason since there were many modern authorities that had concerns about the use of the word ‘reckless.’
Do we worship the song? Because we know in church, there is pastor worship. Is this a case of song worship?
Are there songs like this that are flawed theologically? Should we screen songs through the filter of scripture?
Are we so arrogant that we think we can define the attributes of God better than His written word can? In other words, can we use words to describe attributes of God that we can’t support in scripture?
So why live with the division this song has caused and continues to cause?
We are flawed individuals, the church has had a myriad of controversies over the years. Why would a Christian leader add to those pains? Why not choose the Christian Body and change the words? I have no idea.
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, well-done preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
References:
Divided worship services at church: How multiple church services hurt your church
How multiple church services hurt your church
I grew up going to one church service on Sunday morning, one on Sunday night, and one on Wednesday. When someone got married in the church, everyone was invited to the wedding. And singing Bible songs in Children’s Church. We were one big family. Everyone knew everyone else, except for visitors, so we would have Family day at the park.
Today, many churches strive to grow larger and larger. To accommodate space requirements, churches will often divide their worship services into an early service, later service, even off-site services.
The Catalyst
Each time I drive by a church and see the words, ‘Traditional Service and Contemporary services’ I often wonder why. I wonder what the-traditional people think of the-contemporary people?
We went to a church that had three services. The first Traditional Service was at 8:00 a.m. , then a Contemporary service was at 9:30 a.m. then another Traditional Service at 11:00 a.m. So the pastor would dress up for the first service, dress down for the second, and then dress back up for the third. Tie on, tie off, tie back on. So the shifts were traditional-contemporary-traditional. They also had two other church meetings that ported in the pastor’s live message at the contemporary service. So five total services on one Sunday from one pastor and ‘main church.’ Whew. I’m tired.
There are reasons churches do multiple services, here are two;
- There are just too man people for their building.
- Pick a good growth plan, and grow grow grow. It’s what church growth is all about. You plant a church, do demographic studies and cater your church to that demographic so you grow it as big as you can. So at some point, you have too many people for the main service location. The dilemma is too many people, so to keep growing, a second worship service is a way to go. Or is it?
- It is strictly a cultural concern.
- You have a thousand folks in your church. And half of them don’t like loud music, they like hymnals instead. This generation can’t really connect with the worship service direction, so you have to do something to please the unhappy folk. Or do you?
- So what to do, you split the congregation by offering both traditional services and contemporary services. That makes everyone happy right? But should our happiness drive church decisions? Unfortunately, it does too often. Otherwise, we take their marbles and go to a different sandbox, right? Sounds a lot like a consumer mentality doesn’t it?
What is lost with multiple worship services;
1. Support:
When we segregate a church meeting, we put up barriers to opportunities for support. As a church family, we are to be there for each other. But how are we to support someone if we never meet them? While somewhat silly, an example goes like this. Ms. Smith goes to the early service, but Ms. Jones goes to the later service. Ms. Smith is going through a horrible life experience and it just happens to be what Ms. Jones went through last year. If they never meet, there’s no opportunity for Ms. Jones to support Ms. Smith.
And of course, God can bring them together. But if the church meeting structure is such that they are kept from each other, then how will they meet? Some would say community or small groups are the way. Regarding Small or Community Groups;
Small Group Story: My wife and I sat in our home as a fellow church goer lamented to us about an experience with the small groups at church we all attended. She went to a community group and felt like a fish out of water. As she continued to describe the small group demographics, she realized she was twenty or so senior to most people at the group. She then mentioned at some point it was suggested to her that a different community group might fit her better. One that fit her age. She was still upset about it when she talked to us. It was sad to hear how hurt she was, a sense of rejection from a part of church that is supposed to be supportive.
2. Mentoring:
As people age, their physical, financial, and emotional challenges increase with the loss of spouses, income, and family members. When Jesus helped those in need, they were the marginalized of society. When churches segregate one generation from another, people lose an opportunity to sit under the same roof with those who may have dealt with the same issues we deal with as younger folk. In other words, each segregated generation worships in a vacuum, and younger church folk never learn from those older church members.
The church should celebrate those church members who have advanced their faith as much as they have in age. In other words, we should learn from those who have gone before us. Instead, with today’s post-post modern church, the goals are numeric growth and structural segregation based on demographics. In other words, we put these people here because they are all ‘this.’
Instead, should we not have one family that can learn from each other, young and old?
What is Gained from Multiple Worship Services
1. Leadership Weighted Identity:
A church should never take on the identity of its leadership. The identity of a church meeting should resemble Christ. So how is a church meeting with three different demographic or numeric services to resemble Christ? Pastor worship is a real phenomenon in church. Most churches that have multiple services handle the main message a couple of ways. When we went to the traditional-contemporary-traditional church, there were actually two other church meeting branches that watched the live video feed of the pastor’s message during the ‘contemporary’ service. Which meant, the worship of the other two church meeting branches had to time the end of worship so they could see the live feed of the ‘main message.’ Worship had to end on this particular time so the live feed of the Pastor’s message could stay on schedule.
The Defense of multiple worship services:
- Our church does so much in the community because of the number of people that go there. It is unquestionable that churches with more resources have a larger reach. Is there inherently anything wrong with a large church service because of numbers, probably not. Does a church get so large that people feel like a number? Yes. Does a church get so large that the church takes on the personality of the leadership because they are the key figures in the church meeting? Yes.
- We have many programs that get people programmed into our church. ‘We have this group, that meeting, that ministry and so on.’ ‘And that’s how we make our large church smaller.’ But is this a method that resembles a business? Using a massive volunteer base to supplement a large infrastructure with only the leadership being paid salaries is odd logic and akin to a corporate methodology to maintain the multiple of processes.
What to think about.
When Jesus ministered on Earth, crowds followed him from town to town. What we don’t find in his ministry is the segregation of ‘the flock’ by age or any other demographic for that matter. Jesus and His message was for everyone. He fashioned His message to reach the masses. He didn’t have hymnals for this service and loud contemporary music at another.
So what should our churches look like? What is the solution to overcrowding? Should our message thereby church service be relevant and designed for everyone? That is what Jesus showed us. Are our multiple services done to grow numbers? Do we grow numbers while sacrificing what a church meeting or service should be about? Are we a number in a crowd when we attend large churches? Is the pastor so far removed from the flock that he is unreachable? Is the church so large that the biggest personality, is the pastor?
Should multiple services be based on demographics? I would offer that it is one of the most damaging choices a church can make. Quintessentially it creates two churches, one full of this demographic, and one of this other one. The traditional-contemporary-traditional church we went to was like that. Sometimes we overslept and went to the later traditional church. Other than a few leaders such as the pastor and associate pastor, everyone was different, they had a choir, organist, and completely different order of service. And yes church pews. And yet, they were only down the hall from the location for the ‘middle contemporary’ service.
What should a church meeting do when they grow so much there’s no room? Good question. If the solution is multiple services, then how is church support, mentoring and identity addressed? Does it not make more sense to take a branch of the church to maintain support and mentoring across the church meeting’s demographic? Our church meetings should be for the masses.
Overcrowding is a good thing. What we do with it, is the question. Of course, it’s cheaper to have multiple services than build a gigantic building or establish another church. But maybe it’s more the case that we need smaller churches than a gigantic one shuffling people in and out on a set schedule. Maybe we should return to the focus of the Acts church, and that’s supporting each other.
And we should never be so arrogant in church work that we don’t question our methods. We are, after all, imperfect people, therefore our actions are bound to be less than pristine. So we should be open about our imperfections, and humble about changing course with humility.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————–
About the author: Steven Davis is an over-cooked preachers kid, recovering social worker, musician, media producer, and writer.
From Origin to Redemption – Understanding Christianity
To Understand Christianity;
- You have to understand the origin of man, Genesis 1:27
- To understand the purpose of man. Ephesians 5:1
- To understand the fall of man. Genisis 3
- To understand the redemption of man. John 3:16-17
- To understand the hope for man. John 6:40
- To understand the judgment of man. Matthew 25
Steven Davis is a recovering social worker, overcooked preacher’s kid, musician, and media producer.
The Consumer Christian – When our Consumer Mind and Christ Meet.
Investment vs. Spending
Probably one of the more lighthearted scenes from the movie Robocop (1987) is a scene with this guy who had the tagline is, ‘I’d buy that for a dollar.’ He just says it over and over to ad nauseam. He looks appears to be sweating, hyperventilating and quite possibly had too much caffeine that day.
A lot of the world’s countries have some form of capitalism. And in America, we can claim the throne for being the most consumer-driven country on the planet. China, however, is catching up.
According to the magazine Business Insider, here are some things people spend money on;
One eBay user paid $3,000 for an imaginary friend
Britney Spears’ used pregnancy test was sold on eBay for $5,001.
Nicholas Cage bought a pyramid-shaped tomb so he can be buried like an Egyptian king.
A crazy fan bought Justin Timberlake’s partially-eaten french toast.
Yep, that’s crazy money.
When Christians spend money, what should be our approach? After all, isn’t money just a means to an end? Or is it the end. What about the means? One of the times Jesus talks about money is in the parable of the talents (or large amounts of gold.)
Matthew 25:14-30 English Standard Version (ESV)
The highly programmed church that seeks to program for the desires of everyone runs the risk of programing out what the church was established for, reaching lost sheep and loving on those in need. It should never be our intent to compete with the world in programatic provisions since the church has Jesus. So there’s no need for a trampoline park at church.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[c] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
So what was the point? One point from this parable was, the master expected the money or resources given to each servant to be used wisely; to have a return beyond the initial value. The servant that didn’t invest wisely was cast out. That servant was found to be in the wrong.
You mean there is right and wrong? Yep. When the master chastised the evil servant, it was because the servant didn’t meet the expectation. Which was for money to be used in a way that the master got a return. In other words, their money wasn’t their own to use as they wanted. It had rules.
The Ownership Mentality vs. a Lease Agreement with God
Whose money is anyway? There are 120 verses in the Bible about money. So God felt it important to include it since He knew we would struggle with it. Some say money is power, and in some ways, it could be seen that way. The power to buy something or someone, the power to influence another, and the power to achieve a goal.
So whose money is it anyway? Maybe money is something we lease from God, and not own. A lease with conditions.
When I leased my truck, I was told I could only drive it a certain number of miles, and after three years I was to return the truck in good condition and with the allowed number miles. Rules. So while, not a perfect parallel, we could think of money as a lease. At least that’s one way to look at it.
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
Well, that pretty much settles it. Nothing belongs to us. So if it is God’s money, then what does He expect from our money lease? A return is something that God can use. In the parable, the servant did wrong and did not meet the master’s expectations.
The Danger of a Consumer Mentality and the Church Meeting
One danger of being so consumer-driven instead of investment-driven is the danger of greed. If as followers of the Christ, we only use our money for our pleasure, for our self-worth, then we are serving ourselves and not God. Because we are driven by self.
Monday through Friday, we are spending money on ourselves, but Sunday it’s time to give God His take. Or at least that’s the danger of being so consumer-driven and trying to follow Christ. What we walk into the church meeting the same way we walk into the store looking for shoes or jeans? If we don’t like something during the service, our attitude may affect what we give in the offering plate. Right? On the flip side, we love our church meeting because we are entertained. The lights, the cameras, the music, and those funny jokes the leadership tells, those are all good reasons to give. It’s always fun to go to church, never a problem. Our kids have a lot of fun, go on trips, have pizza every meeting. So that’s money well spent. Right? Either way it’s a self driven mentality.
But God doesn’t need our money. That is correct. But our money, just like our time, just like our words, shows God what is in our heart. Just like the servant that hid his talent, that showed he wasn’t obedient to his Master.
What about other investments?
“Matthew 6:24 Common English Bible (CEB)
24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Growing up as a preacher’s kid, you hear a lot of church folk complain about your Dad. Sometimes they’d fuss and gripe right in front of us, no matter how young we were. It was impossible not to catch the collateral grief people aimed at your Dad. And no other subject caused church folk to become uncomfortable more than the subject of money. When my dad would speak on money you could watch people’s demeanor change, faces frown.
All the Marbles
Some churches we pastored had a few people that were considered the pillars of the church. Which often meant, they gave most of the money to the church budget. So making them upset was risking the churches financial stability. And if you think I’m joking, I assure you I am not. Money was the power to influence, and if they couldn’t influence, several of them would just leave. Take their marbles money and go somewhere else. Unfortunately, it was the sheep trying to influence the shepherd. After all, they felt the money was theirs right?
So the subject of money is like playing with dynamite for a church leader. Some church folk consider the pastor or church leader talking about money, ‘meddling.’ In other words, none of anyone’s business. After all, it’s our life, and yes, it’s our money. At least that’s what the consumer Christian may feel. Sure, I’m a Christian, but I’m a consumer -first-. But nothing in Biblical Scripture gives us absolute authority over our money.
The Tithing Mentality
We give ten percent to God and the rest of our money we can do what we want with. I’ve heard that actual statement. The Tithing mentality would lead us to believe that after the ten percent, we are free to do anything we want with the rest without any consideration to God. But that’s not supported by scripture.
Meddling
Ready?
1 Corinthians 10:31 New International Version (NIV)
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
So what did the master expect? An investment he would approve of. So if whatever we do, do it for the glory of God. That is the -return- He expects for our monetary investment. So what is the glory of God. It is an investment that we will not worry about when we have to answer for it.
2 Corinthians 5:10 Common English Bible (CEB)
10 We all must appear before Christ in court so that each person can be paid back for the things that were done while in the body, whether they were good or bad.
It really is that simple. We will answer to Christ for everything we do on earth. Should we buy that? Is that going to glorify God? Is the investment coming back as something that points back to God? That can be very tough to figure out. Money bounces all over the planet, so it’s pretty impossible to say the ten bucks at a store isn’t going to fund one of the workers purchasing drugs after they get paid. But there are closer to home ways we can determine if the money God gives us is going to a cause, person(s) or entity that either is neutral towards Christ or not-adverse. However, there are places, businesses, and entities that are hostile to Christ, and it is with that knowledge we have to ask ourselves, is this a good investment. Why are we spending that money? 
I know what you’re thinking. Yep, it’s true, Jesus hung out with sinners, but he never sinned. Which means Christ’s investments on earth were not contrary to God’s will for him.
Today, in a fallen world, it can be very difficult to spend money that won’t be reused for purposes that are contrary to God.
What are optional expenses? What are those things we need to live? It’s one of the few thoughtful considerations from which we can have some sanity in trying to figure out what to invest money in. And much of our investment should be covered in our prayers. We should ask God about life, which includes money.
So do I have a list of who to spend money with and who to boycott? Can we do a Vulcan Mind Meld to implant the list of God approved businesses? Nope. Should we consider how we spend the money God gave us to invest? Are there questionable investments that won’t bring us closer to God’s purpose in our lives? Should we always remember that one day the Master is going to come and demand an account for our investment? That’s how I read the Bible.
Steven Davis is a recovering social worker, overcooked preacher’s kid, musician, and media producer.
The Christian Selfie – As followers of the Christ, what are we to say about selfies?
The Christian Selfie
sel·fie /ˈselfē/ noun INFORMAL a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.
I Love Me! Look at Me!
As followers of the Christ, what are we to say about selfies?
Jesus tells us “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
So what about Selfies? Why do we do it? Is it a way we share, or is it a way to get attention? Is it a way for us to boast about ‘us?’ What could possibly be wrong with them? Selfies bring people together right! It’s a way to stay in touch. What did Christ do when the attention was on him? In Mark 10, when someone called Christ ‘good,’ Jesus responded that no one is good except God his Father. When someone calls us good, do we point to God? Do we say, we have no ability to boast, and give God credit for us? Like most social behavior, the Christ-follower is to resemble the life of Christ.
So what about selfies?
“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
-Matthew 23:2-12
Matthew 6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Beyond the Selfie
What is behind the selfie? Are selfies an expression of pride? Maybe. Is the rest of our life self-centered as well? Or do we think about other’s more than ourselves as Christ directs us to in Matthew 23? Do we act with pride in other areas of our lives? Or does our speech and actions express Christian humility? If our social media is full of self-pride instead, then our selfies are a continuation of a self-serving life and serve only to boast about us.
None of us are superhuman. If we are ‘awesome’ ‘great’ ‘successful’, we are only because God lets us be. Psalm 144:4 says that man is like a breath on this earth. Our life is temporal.
So are selfies bad? I venture that all depends on our motive and to whom we genually are boasting about not only online, but in real life as well.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Steven Davis is a recovering social worker, well-done preacher’s kid, musician, and media producer.
It is God who adds to the church, not church marketing
I recently received an invitation to a church in our area. It was a very nice postcard that told me a lot of info about the church. It even had a little map of where the church is located. And then I saw it, the part that read, ‘Bring this card for a free gift.’ It was the one piece of info that didn’t fit. I really liked the card, and may even swing by there, but not because I want a free gift. And not to belabor the point or beat it to death, but shouldn’t it be Christ and his message, the one sustaining Hope for our lives that draws people to church? I have no idea what the free gift is, but I can only imagine it’s a welcome packet. But my mind instantly goes to the proverbial used car salesman that sends out a coupon for a hundred bucks off a car that is already a hundred dollars too much – gimmick. Is it the consumer mentality of church folk that requires church meetings to give out gifts so we’ll show up. Since I’m not a non-believer, I can’t really know what a free gift would impress on me. No idea.
The Standard
“Acts 2:47 With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
In the book of Acts, when the church family met from house to house, breaking bread, people were saved and this is how God added numbers to His church. What’s interesting about this scripture is the ‘method’ if you will that Acts presents. It was a fellowship of people in their own houses that connected the church to new folk and increased the numbers in the church. This is more of a humble approach that is people-to-people and not one person to many.
As the church flock, we think it’s only the pastor’s job to get more people in the church. We interact as consumers of church stuff.
In large part, this is a by-product of the spectator church. Folk go to church once or twice a week, pay something in the offering plate (or not) and then go on about their week knowing they’ve paid their dues. Just like traffic court (not confessing I have any experience with traffic court), people go because they feel they have to go, they spend an hour or more a week, then they go on about their week. We think the pastor is a superhero with multiple selves that can do it all. So we don’t invite anyone to church, because after all, the pastor is getting paid, that’s his job eh? Our job is to attend. Or at least that’s what the spectator church is all about. And when the pastor asks for help, we immediately catalog all the things we have to do every week, and we just don’t have time for midweek church stuff. We are super busy.
The world is searching for one thing, Hope. And it’s more than fellowship because the bars have fellowship covered. There’s little in terms of entertainment or fellowship the church meeting can compete with. The difference in the church meeting fellowship is Message. A message of Jesus Christ and his salvation. That is the only difference between church meeting fellowship and let’s say a Moose Lodge.
So what should the church look like? If we take away from Acts that it is regular folk to connect other folks with the message of Jesus, then a humble fellowship where we realize that we are willing to help each other is closer to the church in Acts than a bunch of people sitting in seats once a week.
About the author: Steven Davis is well-done preacher’s kid, recovering social worker, musician, and media producer.
The Cult of Church Worship
Do you worship your church leadership? Don’t think so? Here’s how to find out.
Does your church team photo look like this? I’ve seen these photos on church websites (minus the hugging) promoting the church leadership and I always wonder what are they promoting? I almost went to a church that had a leadership picture like this on their website (minus the hugging.) But I kept looking at that leadership picture. And don’t get me wrong, everyone was smiling, everyone’s makeup was spot on, they even had coordinated outfits. But what I didn’t see was any significant diversity, not age or race. And this church wasn’t in a non-diverse location. I’m sure there were plenty of non-twenty-early-thirties somethings around. But the leadership wasn’t made up of any of them. So again, I asked myself, what are they promoting? Good question.
When Lebron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, the residents of Cleveland didn’t react well. There were riots over Lebron leaving the town and even a man set himself on fire with Lebron’s jersey on. After all, Lebron promised Cleveland a championship, but he didn’t deliver. So fans were obviously upset about him leaving and expressed their disappointment with anger and violence. The person Cleveland fans worshiped, ‘King James’, was leaving for another team.
And as members of the Christ church, we often can take that same mentality to the church meeting. We have our own Lebrons, Michael Jordans, Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith’s at church. That one person who may be the reason we go to that church meeting.
In one
accord, Mold.When a church cast the team leadership from one mold, that leader is asking for one type of person to come to that church.
If we are to reach all people, then we can’t as a church, target certain groups for inclusion in our church meeting … Jesus said, go out into all the world. And that may require having church leadership that comes from the world we live in, not just the suburbs.
While visiting a local church, my wife and I were chatting up some church folk in the hallway. I asked their children’s pastor about the program for kids. She began describing the fun kids had during children’s church. Then she told me that children’s church was for grades kindergarten through third grade. I asked about kids ages four and was told those kids are in the nursery to play. Then two ladies standing nearby started telling us how wonderful the pastor was, that they were just ‘glued’ to his messages every Sunday. The pastor speaks very well continued one church lady. I said, ‘thank you,’ smiled politely and walked away ruminating on a couple of take-a-ways; 1) kids under the age of kindergarten don’t really need the message of Jesus and 2) the biggest thing this church has going is a great pastor who has great messages. While my thoughts were mildly sarcastic and somewhat inconsiderate, they did have some truth to them. But is that really what that church believes? That young kids don’t matter and the greatest thing about the church is the pastor? I doubt it, but if I wasn’t an over-seasoned-preachers-kid and instead was a non-Christian, those would have been my take-a-ways. Instead, I get it. They really like their pastor who is very popular. And their children’s program is really great, even though outdated. Because after all, if we know anything from the well-established science regarding the psychological and sociological development of children; learning, especially behavioral, happens at a very young age. So of course, children under the age of kindergarten can learn about Jesus and should be taught in their way at an age-appropriate method. But not at that church.
The Cult of Worship
In Living Colour a rock band from the 1980s and 90s had a hit called, Cult of Personality. Which while on a grander philosophical plane, talked about how people follow others based on personality. Here are some of the lyrics.
“Look in my eyes, what do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I’ve been everything you want to be
I’m the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I’m the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality”
Throughout human history, people have followed other people based on personality. In the church, we call it ‘charisma.’ Charisma is that ability or approach of a leader to connect emotionally with folk, to smile, to have a standout presence when in a room that is like a magnet for other people. So, when churches pick leaders, ministers, youth pastors, the personal trait of charisma is always important. Because it is important to connect with the church folk currently attending, but also connect with those who may visit. And in the grand scheme of church work, there’s nothing inherently non-biblical about having non-offensive church leaders or at least leaders that are non-offensive for the wrong reasons. The last thing the church body needs is a curt, abrasive, or intrusive personality. Or maybe it’s the first thing we need. Let’s examine scripture.
I like to start with Jesus and his approach because often in today’s church mainstream, Jesus has gotten a bad reputation. … The Jesus of scripture spoke the truth, got angry, was counter-cultural and lived a life of service ultimately dying on a cross in one of the most humiliating ways. And yet, it is that life that we are to use as a guide.
Let’s look at what Jesus said when asked about himself.
As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:17-18
Jesus points to his Father. If Jesus teaches us that God the Father is to be the focus of our attention, then why do we put it on others? When we go to church, do our leaders point to God as Jesus does, or is their charisma based on flair, hairstyle/color, the clothes they wear, etc. Do our church leaders reflect any or all attention to God?
Unfortunately, sometimes in today’s post-postmodern church, Jesus is portrayed as loving everyone, not offending anyone, and not representing the reason he came, which was to save man from sin. Why is that? In some churches, sin isn’t even mentioned. When is the last time your church leader spoke about the cross, sin, and forgiveness? If they do, be sure that someone, maybe even you or me, will get offended. At least that’s what some people call it. Biblically speaking, that offense is actually the Holy Spirit’s conviction or pointing out our sin telling us we need to change. That’s what Jesus does to us in the face of our sin, we get convicted spiritually because of our wrongdoing. That’s also what Jesus said while on earth. But today, if people get offended, they just leave the church. Like leaving a movie early because we don’t like the subject matter.
So if we can’t use personality as a draw for churchgoers, then what’s the solution to keep the church meeting popular? One solution is to take the focus off of God and put it on programs, great music, well-thought messages. And that requires church leaders to take the focus off God and put it on church leadership, have a popular leadership. Have lots of programs that rest on generating ‘likes’ if you will by leaders that are very popular. What did Jesus say about his mission? He came to divide, to separate, to cause people to be at odds with each other. That was his program. That goes against every happy-go-lucky-Jesus-loves and hugs-doesn’t offend post-postmodern church’s message on the planet. Our church meetings ought to a place of personal change, we shouldn’t be comfortable in our day to day lives. We should be challenged by church leaders at our church meeting to change. Church leaders should put the gospel first and not worry about losing personal popularity.
-‘That popular youth program is awesome! Our church band is the best in town, the music is so memorable, our pastor tells some amazing jokes, did you know our pastor has a Ph.D.?’- And so on it goes. But what we should hear is; ‘people’s lives are being changed because our church loves on hurting folk. Did you hear how many people in need we are helping this month? I’m better because my life is challenged and changed each week. Let me tell you about Christ, I hear about him every week at church. Our leaders are so busy taking groups out to love on the elderly.’-
Big difference.
Spiritual equality
21 But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:21-24
We are all sinners. We are either still sinners and not following God, we are sinners saved by Grace and have turned from our sinful ways. But we are all sinners in need of saving, and as Paul points out, saving not by ourselves but through the grace of God. So why do we look up to those leaders in the church? Well, we’d like to think they’re perfect maybe. Or we hope they have an answer we are looking for. Or do we just like the way they look, sound, act. Whatever the reason we look up to them, they as leaders should be looking up to God in such a way that when we look at them, we see God. That comes from true humility and leaders always pointing to God for help and salvation in their messages, actions, methods, programs.
I often wonder about messages from pulpit that don’t directly explain how to reach to God for an answer. Back in the day, we call them altar calls. This is a special time after a sermon-message where everyone prays for help and those who need special prayer get a special prayer. Where did the altar call go? That’s probably another blog post all to itself, but suffice to say, if leaders who speak from the pulpit aren’t wrapping their messages up in a way for folk to have a connection with God, then what’s the point? If your church leader isn’t consistently and constantly pointing to God for everyone’s help, then the question arises, who is the focus? Who is the object for our help?
So the next time you see your church leader, remember, they are sinners just like everyone else. And they are either pointing you to God for help or pointing to themselves as the object for your affection.
But What about Billy Graham?
His personality and following, in the millions. Very true. And there have been countless patriarchs of the Way since Jesus that have had large followings. But about Billy Graham; his message followed one line of thought, salvation through Christ. His message always pointed to Christ, he always pointed to Christ. And God worked through the efforts of Billy Graham to bring millions to Christ. Billy Graham called for those to receive Christ at the end of his messages. So a large defacto following is not a symptom of a cult of personality or worship, it’s a large following. Today, Billy Graham has moved on from this life but his works are still here, his messages still watched, his following hasn’t fallen away, but kept moving on because Billy Graham followers, unlike Jim Jones’s followers, always knew it was about God and the message of Jesus through Salvation and the works of Billy Graham were ultimately the works of Christ.
So what is the Cult of Worship?
It’s easy to find with one mental exercise. Pick a leader in your church. If they were to leave y our church, would you go elsewhere? What about two leaders, what about the youth pastor? If they leave, will you stay? If your answer is ‘Yes’, then who is being worshiped? Throughout history, people have followed people. And the church is no different. When a pastor or other church leader leaves a physical church, some people love/worship him or her so much, they leave with him. It happens all the time. Certainly, there are good reasons people leave a church meeting group, heresy, God calling people elsewhere and so on. But what if God was actually the most important Person in all our churches. What if humility was the claim to fame for a church meeting leadership. What if people were so busy doing the work of Christ, that if a leader left, no one else did. Possible? A worthy goal and one that Jesus himself gave us. The disciples were sad when Jesus left, but he told them to go and continue working for God.
The Wrap
What is your/mine/a church focus all about? What is the draw for people to belong? The ‘pseudo-friends church team picture’ I saw at the church website left me out because I only saw a nondiverse twenties-early-thirties something team. I just kept thinking of the Friends image cast over and over. And good-intentioned people can do the wrong things for the right reasons. Like having a church leadership made up of one demographic can send the wrong message to anyone visiting or wanting to visit. In fact, there is nothing Biblically-based about it. Regarding diversity, Jesus chose his church leadership from a wide socio-economic base. And Jesus chose his company from even a wider range of demographics. So much that he was even socially maligned by the church for hanging out with the sinners of his day, something very unpopular in his day.
It’s unfortunate that we as human and Christians use our visual perception to choose where to go and not go to church, but that’s the way it is. We like this person, so we go there. We don’t like the way this person is dressed, so we don’t go to that church. Growing up, we had people leave our church meeting because the music minister’s wife wore too much makeup.
The Solution is to have the main focus not be the leaders themselves, but God’s works through that leadership. This is how we should live as well. Our trumpet in life should not be about ourselves, but Christ. Practice humility in the church that puts leaders on the back burner and the service, dependence, and worship to God at the forefront. This requires a radical refocusing of the ‘grand’ point of the church.
When the man focused on Jesus, Jesus pointed to his Father, why should we be so different.
Great video from John Christ
About the author:
Steven Davis is a long time well-seasoned-preachers kid, recovering social worker, musician, and media producer.