If you want to ‘meet’ God, you can where you are now. You don’t have to go anywhere to meet God. All you have to do is ask him, talk to him, pray.
Growing up without the money to buy the latest ‘trending’ this or that was a blessing. Although, growing up without the internet understanding ‘trending’ was also a blessing. Many of us have a brand whether we want one or not. But some in our culture push a brand on us. Think about Amazon, that’s a brand we are all familiar with. But what about our own brand? How do we promote our brand? What is our brand from? I know people who constantly promote this sports team to the point that’s all they talk about. One way to find someone’s brand is to look at their social media, if they have one. We know that employers look at our social media to see what we promote. That’s our brand.
In the 80’s or so we called this -brand- a reputation. But today Western Christianity culture has incorporated so much corporate/social media lingo into local churches, it makes more sense to call it your ‘brand.’
When children grow up, what brand do we give them? Do we push Starwars, Marvel, Barbie as their brand? As a side note, one side effect of pushing a brand on a child as they grow is, it might limit their own imagination, or affect their personality in a way that mimics the brand, and not something they learn on their own. But that’s a squirrel topic and not the thrust of this post.
And you don’t even have to claim ‘Christianity’ to have a brand. Atheists have a brand, Agnostics have a brand, Buddhists have a brand, we all have a brand.
What is our brand? Is it drinking alcohol, partying, YOLO, or is our brand something else? Good question. We can change brands as we grow as well. Maybe in our teen years our brand is ‘x’ and now it’s ‘z’. Then we look back at our early year brand and shake our heads. We grow up, our brand changes. Do fans of the University of Alabama have a brand… nope, I’d say they are a cult. Just kidding you lovely rabid Roll Tide people. Jesus loves you.
Well, an easy answer our brand should be Christ. But is it really? What is a good test? Here is one to think about. – Having been in conversations about Christian topics, I’m often intrigued as to the hero of the Christian conversations. Or when someone asks us if we are a Christian, is our response true to our brand or do we go off brand in our response.
Question: Are you a Christian.
Answer: Yes, I go to ‘X’ church.
Or is our answer, ‘yes’, I’m a Christian and I’d love to tell you why. I often see shirts, sunglasses, bumper stickers promoting a local church. That is their brand. That’s what they promote. That church is promoting itself. But is that what the church should be primarily first? Of course not.
So what about t-shirts with scripture? Well, that is also a brand. That promotes God’s word. What about our speech, that’s a brand as well. Does our speech promote Christ as followers of Christ, or is our speech ‘off-brand’ of Christ?
So what does it mean to be ‘on brand’? Well, it means that the message we are trying to convey is consistent with our outward efforts. Being on-brand means we are true to what we believe. You wouldn’t find a hamburger joint putting, time, money and effort into a commercial about lawn care. They would put money, time and effort into a message about hamburgers and why they have the best.
In the same way as Christ followers, what brand do we put time, money and effort into? Is our brand clear to folks as Christ followers? Or is our brand hidden as Christ followers. Again, one way to test what our brand is, is to look at someone’s social media. But we can also look at their lifestyle. Jesus calls this fruit. He also called this light and salt. As Christ followers, our brand is to be akin to Christ. The Christ found in God’s Word, not the Christ of our making, or even the Christ that our preacher talks about. We are to understand who Christ is from his Word.
A good self test is to examine our lives and see what we are willing to do without and what we are willing to give up. What’s left in that ultimate decision is our brand. Jesus requires us to forsake the world for him. That is the brand he wants us to walk out. I have seen people become quite vitriol in defending Disney, Halloween, even Starbucks, they’ve even included the ‘!’ mark. Is that their brand? Or are they just ‘off-brand’ for the moment.
“I. You are the Salt of the Earth. Matt. 5:13 Jesus in these verse sums up the collected truth of the eight principles of the B-attitudes.
A. What are the properties of salt? The Lord compares true believers with the properties of salt.
1. Salt is used to add favor to food. It has a taste all its own, utterly unlike anything else.
a. When mingled with foods it makes them taste good.
b. It brings out the natural favor of food.
2. It is also a preservative. When added to other substances it preserves them from corruption.”
When asked if we are Christian, what is our first foot forward. Do we respond with what church we go to? Do we change the subject? Does our brand even represent Christ in a way that someone would ask the question? What is our brand? Are we honest with ourselves about our brand? Are we on or off brand? How close is our brand to Christ? That takes prayer and examination, and understanding who Christ is in his Word. Because their are so many brands of Christianity, some on Brand with Christ and some not. Our brand in Christ has to be founded in his unchanging Word. So again, what is our brand?
If we are asking that question, we might have a problem already. The Bible teaches that our lives are not our own as Christ followers. It should never be our brand. We don’t develop or own our own brand, just as we don’t own our own lives as Christ followers. That’s for those who hate Christ, they ‘control’ their lives. A better question to ask is, “how do I get closer and closer to what Christ teaches?” How can his brand become mine?
For it was Jesus who gives us hope, who died on a cross for our sins, saved us from an eternal Hell. Making his brand our brand should be easy. However we struggle with our greed, our selfishness, life gets busy and we forget about Christ, having a sinful nature warring against our desire. We should pray to God that he will help us put to death our desire for ourselves and in that we make his brand our brand. We become salt, we become light because he shines, he seasons our life and encounters with other. I pray that we all stay on His brand.
————————–
Steven Davis is a well done preacher’s kid, musician, media producer, learning apologetic writer.
#apologetics #experiencegod #experiencepurpose #theheightschurch #experiencefreedom #makingadifference #blogging #Christianblogger #saltlight
As usual, Jesus would sit down and teach his disciples about the mission and vision he had for them. So on a bright sunny day, Jesus sat down to teach.
However, the process for each meeting was becoming pretty complicated because, after every survey, his disciples came up with more ideas on how to improve their experience. For example, logs were very hard to sit on, so during the last meeting, Jesus snapped his fingers and POOF, stadium seating appeared, with cup holders even.
As Jesus hurriedly made preparations for the meeting today, He noticed the sun was shining, so he snapped his fingers and POOF, the clouds came and dimmed the bright light. Realizing that most of his disciples didn’t like the heat, except James of course, Jesus decided to cause a cool breeze to come. After all, majority opinion rules ya know. But after all that, something was still bothering Jesus, and then he noticed it. The place was just a tad dull. So just like last time, Jesus snapped his fingers, and POOF, he colored the rocks. But, to increase the pleasing look of this setting, he made each rock change color. Jesus knew his disciples would appreciate his effort in sheperding their comfort.
It was time for the meeting. This was going to be a tough meeting. Typically Jesus would teach from an annual list of subjects from the survey, but today, God the father had directed Jesus to give the disciples a specific message. And Jesus was pretty nervous about it because it wasn’t something that would make them happy and he didn’t know if any of the disciples would leave him.
Each disciple sat down in their usual seats. Jesus was ready to start the meeting but noticed a few of his disciples were still getting coffee. And yes, Jesus had provided that two years ago for the meetings due to popular demand.
Just as Jesus was about to speak, he realized Judas Matthew and Philip were giving him unhappy looks. And then Jesus remembered that he forgot the music. So Jesus snapped his fingers and POOF, four angels dressed in the latest robe styles, started singing their seven random Jesus-like words. They sang this over and over and over. But the disciples were happy because it was a catchy tune.
Well, now was the time. Jesus had an important message from God the Father he needed to tell the disciples. Jesus looked at the disciples then he looked at the piece of paper his father had given him. Beginning to sweat even more, he wondered how could he tell his disciples this terrible news? Pausing for what seemed like hours, he looked at the paper in his hand and back at the disciples. Back and forth he struggled to say the words written.
Just then, Jesus came up with a great idea. As long as it looked like he was reading his father’s words, the disciples would not know the difference. After all, it was a direct revelation and his disciples didn’t have a bible to reference.
Jesus then said to his disciples; “When you go out into the communities, make sure you help everyone you can. I’m going to give you all the power to do anything you can think of. Remember it’s important to fit in, so don’t do anything to upset the people you are with. Remember, love is all you need.
And with that, Jesus put the paper in his pocket, and ended the meeting. As each disciple left, he gave them a neckless with a wooden cross on it as a gift for coming. Because Jesus told them, that they would have to bear the cross. He knew the gift would help them have good vibes from the service.
#satire #progressivechristianity #progressives
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[a] 4 Simon the Zealot,[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’[c] 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics[e] or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[f] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[g] those of his household.
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[h] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
About the author: Steven Davis is an over cooked preacher’s kid, musician, former social worker and media producer.
Too many progressive and seeker friendly churches put the emphasis on the wrong things. All the while running over people who Christ called us to love. As you will see below, if you don’t fit the mission, look out! The church bus is coming for you.
To my reader who may not know Christ as your personal savior. My hope is that in reading the following post, you’ll know what to look for in a church fellowship. As Christ followers, we are called to love you. You won’t find perfect people, but you can find a Christ fellowship that shows Christ’s love to each other. And that love starts with a true understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So look for the Gospel being presented, open your Bible and trust Christ to be your savior. But beware, there are places that call themselves churches that do not show the love of Christ. They may have a good show, but don’t preach the forgiveness of sins which is the starting point for understanding the Love of Christ. Instead, they concentrate on dopamine experiences entertaining and pleasing the flesh. This blog post will hopefully provide you with tips on finding a good church family and staying away from the destructive ones.
In the end when our lives are done, we will know that humans will always fail us. But with our faith in Jesus, the real Jesus, you have hope for now and eternity. Trust Christ.
And to my reader who knows Christ, the Bible is clear. We are to love God and love others. We are to make disciples. That is it. However, the challenge today is many churches mega or small are not fulfilling the law of God. Nor are they making disciples instead they are making minions or cult followers maybe; but not Christian Disciples.
Romans16:17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
“There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill Bus and by God’s Grace it’ll be a mountain by the time we’re done. You either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus. Those are the options. But the bus ain’t gonna stop.” – Pastor Mark Driscoll” A statement he made to a conference room full of pastors.
Being raised a preacher’s kid, I have witnessed all kinds of disgusting behavior in the name of God. The above statement is one of those most vile I have heard. Mark Driscoll pastored over 14,000 people in 5 states, and this was his approach to representing Christ? A former megachurch star, Mark Driscoll left the church he co-founded after allegations he plagiarized his books and bullied people who worked for him. You can learn more from the podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. If only this was an isolated incident. But it is not. Many mega church pastors like Mark take on a cult like image; church vision and culture is god because it increase numbers. And anything goes to get people in the seats, make them happy, and have them give money. Cynical? Yes. True? Absolutely.
At the root of Driscoll’s and other mega, and mega wannabe pastors’ methodology is something called Vision Casting. Vision Casting churches have what some consider a cult like structure. I would call it corporate methodologies. As you hear from Driscoll in the video above, people were to do as he said or get thrown off the bus and run over. It is eerily similar to a corporation. You have someone at the top, the CEO for example, he or she casts the vision for the corporation. It is expected that everyone will sign on with that vision, and those who do not serve the vision will find themselves moved out of their positions or fired right out. Either way, it is the corporation’s way or the highway. People are what they are, subjective employees.
With the rise of seeker-friendly and progressive churches, one thing many have in common is a move away from teaching Biblical doctrine. Instead, they are centered around an experience at church, and the cult like vision casting leader who is responsible for growing the church. And how is that done? By providing what people want to experience. Consider Mega Church Pastor Joel Osteen, he would make a good motivational speaker, but his sermons lack significant contextual Biblical foundation. Sin is called mistakes, and God’s power is replaced with a narcissistic doctrine such as the ‘little god’s’ doctrine. Many churches have found out that if you feed people’s narcissism and call it Christianity, that will fill the seats for sure. This method produces many mega churches that are often centered around the vision caster. I recently read an article about Ron Carpenter leaving his church. The article described many of his congregants as ‘spiritual orphans.’ I call that the Cult of Church Worship
Church vision casting, or the idea that God gives each local church their own vision has no foundation in the Bible and is grandiose narcissism. Jesus gave us one ‘vision’ if you will, one command that applies to all local churches;
Or this example from Steven Fertick’s church Elevation. Such a nice cartoon to indoctrinate children to follow a man.
Matthew 28:16-2016 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they [a]worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you [b]always, even unto [c]the end of the world.
There can be only one goal of the church. That’s it, that is the only ‘vision’ or direction that each Christian church has. To say a local church as a specific vision that another church doesn’t implies that God has spoken to that church something contrary to what Jesus said in Matthew 28.
If ‘Vision Casters’ like Mark Driscoll and others were honest, they would just say what they really mean, ‘this is how I’m going to run the church, all of you work for me paid or free, and I’m going to do what I want, and if you don’t like it, hit the road.’ But it is much more manipulative to say ‘I have a vision for the church that God gave me.’ That implies a direct revelation from God, for a specific group of people. Something that is not supported in scripture.
Jesus being a micro pastor.
Matthew 20: 24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Number 1: In today’s self indulgent culture, we are in it for ourselves. So why would we listen to a church leader who talked about serving, and actually showed us what serving is? Well, because we don’t want to serve ourselves. We’d much rather go to church, get what we can out of it, and feel better about ourselves. Jesus tells us in Matthew 20 that he himself came to serve. This is what we as laity (regular folk) and church leaders should exemplify. In other words, the laity is not the servants and the church leadership the masters. We are to serve each other. But that requires us to be aware of our sinful flesh. We are no good people at birth. Even Jesus said that only his Father is good.
Number 2: This is related to number 1, but we like our idols. We want to believe in someone tangible. Someone who feeds our narcissism. That’s what you see from Mark Driscoll, for him to be so abusive and have such a large following, he was feeding people what they want and was in ministry much longer than he should have been. But as you see with Mark, when the gods people hold onto fall, there is devastating damage. I’m so glad I don’t put any faith in any human. They are imperfect just like me. They are sinners like me. And one day they will die like me.
Number 3. And the final reason church people don’t love is, they have a false sense of who Christ is. They believe the fairy tails learned growing up and don’t understand that Jesus came with one purpose, to save those who believe, this was his Father’s will. Luke 22:42. Even Jesus did his Father’s will. If we would read our bible, we would see that Christ came to serve, and tells us to do the same. I once heard someone say, ‘church is not about you.’ While I see what they are trying to say, I would disagree. Church is about you loving God and others. Saying it’s not about you does nothing but insult people. Words matter.
Love as Jesus explains it: In Luke 10, Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan helping the man in the ditch who was robbed and beaten. A man asked Jesus what it took to inherit eternal life? “27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’c and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’d” I think we have that love of self perfect eh?
There is so much we could exposit from this story, but one key point is Jesus said ‘Go and do likewise.’ Go and do what? Help those in need.
Matthew 7: 15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
My mom told me that we are fruit inspectors. So in church, it’s pretty easy. Those who do not love, choose to rule, dominate, and disregard the sheep as merely bodies instead of serving and protecting the sheep, they are wolves. Strong? Yep. So about that fruit.
Galations 5:
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
-But we can’t know the fruit of the Spirit if we are not -producing- it ourselves. If we are selfish, if we misuse people, and are led by our flesh, we are on the wrong side of Jesus. –
Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
3Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
For those like Mark Driscoll, save he repent of his sins, God’s judgement will be upon him. And to the same extent, those in our local churches who sow for greed, how cause the church to scater instead of ‘feeding’ the sheep, this judgement is theirs as well.
Body Parts
My friend reminded me the other day that as Evangelicals, we love 1 Corinthians 12 but will skip right over most of it to talk about what we get out of it; Vs. 27, “First are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers and so on.” But in my lifetime of going to church, I can not remember hearing a message about what comes before in verses 12 – 24.
One Body with Many Parts
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
Revelation 2:1–29
English Standard VersionTo the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ehim who holds the seven stars in his right hand, fwho walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 g“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but hhave tested those iwho call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up jfor my name’s sake, and you khave not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned lthe love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do mthe works you did at first. If not, nI will come to you and remove your lamp-stand from its place, unless you repent
When Paul visited the church in Ephesus, he spent time teaching Christ, love for each other and warning the Ephesians to beware of false teachers, idolatry which Ephesus had plenty. So why does Revelation 2:2-5 criticize the church at Ephesus? This church while working hard to preserve doctrine had lost their love for one another. Throughout Paul’s teaching, he continues what Jesus taught us, and that was to love other. If we are to love our enemies and pray for them. Matthew 5: 43-48
Alternative analogy: The Goats
There seems to be a theme eh? One of my favorite songs from Christian Singer Song writer Keith Green is “the Sheep and the Goats”
He said it best. There isn’t a way for me to improve on it.
The Wrap.
The story of Mark Driscoll is sadly being repeated over and over again in churches today. Church folk are looked at as employees, things to be used for vision caster’s purpose. I’ve seen it over and over.
I personally struggle to understand why God would add folks to an unloving church. God is God and he can do what he wants. Psalm 115:3 But hopefully the wolves show us how much more we need to love each other, support each other, and do as God; count the weakest as the most necessary. Hopefully we recognize that we are to serve, to love, not to be served. Just as Christ did.
A final thought on 1 Corinthians
So if we continue on in Corinthians, we come to the passage more people are familiar with;
1 Corinthians 13:1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, a but have not love, I gain nothing.
Or to put it in todays vernacular
If I go to church and don’t have love, I’m a seat warmer.
If I am positioned to shepherd over people in church and don’t have love, I’m just a boss.
If my church serves coffee, but doesn’t have love, then it’s a Starbucks knock off.
If we have great programs at church, but don’t have love, then we are just a Moose Lodge.
And if we have the best entertainment with all the fog, silly light shows, and best music and have not Love, then we really should pay 10 bucks at the door and expect popcorn.
About the author: Steven Davis is a overcooked preacher’s kid, musician, former social worker and media producer.
References:
The Bible
outrage
n.
An act of extreme violence or viciousness.
I’m reminded of a story, where for no fault of their own, a person was killed. It was senseless without any reason. Only God knows what actually happened, but from all accounts, the victim did nothing to instigate the violence. So while the tragedy was the loss of life, it was aggravated as there was no obvious reason for the loss of human life. Outrageous right?
As a follower of Christ, I’m daily reminded of the millions of babies murdered through abortion around the world. Again, it’s senseless, no rational person would kill a baby. But we have a culture that calls it a ‘choice’ and ignores the science of human development. Of course, there’s going to be outrage, especially by Christ-followers. Abortion is one of the great sins of America and the world. So what can be done? Since abortion was socially accepted through Roe vs. Wade, there have been numerous approaches to stopping abortion, many in the name of Christ. There are legislative actions, sit-ins, prayers, pro-life counseling, marches all to promote life and speak against the act of killing babies in the womb. There has also been violence against those who perform abortions. Outrageous right?
As Christ-followers, when we see injustice or acts that we perceive as outrageous, what do we do? We can often feel helpless because of tragedy can seem so large. Why in the world doesn’t God stop it!? That in and of itself can be a reason to be angry.
So, what does the Bible say about anger?
Ephesians 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. 26“Be angry, yet do not sin.”dDo not let the sun set upon your anger, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
We are human. We are also fallen, meaning born of sin and separated from God. Those two facts leave us with a lot of human emotion, a lot of it not so bad, but some not so good. Including anger which can turn into outrage. We become angry. And often that comes from feeling helpless, sad, or being offended. What is our example as Christ-followers?
We can look at Jesus when he was betrayed.
Matthew 26:53Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
Jesus knew that coming to earth was to go through a gruesome death, being betrayed and crucified by the very people he loved. He knew the pain was coming but did he take out his anger on us? Instead he endured all of it for us. #hallelujah
As for us, we can’t even get past someone’s comment that somehow offends us, instead, we lash out. Often more than not we fail to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. If someone offends us, what is our response? We’ve all seen those on social media that curse, ‘yell with CAPS’ at the smallest offense. Or we’ve lashed out at someone only to regret it later. Or maybe we rant about the injustice without ever pointing to God when given a chance. In a world of tragedy, injustice, and pain, it can be challenging not to become angry, even outraged. And sometimes, we can be full of judgment with little to no grace or understanding.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
This is a cornerstone scripture on how we should appear to the world. We are to be salt and light. We are to stand out. So how does this relate to anger or outrage for that matter?
Good question. So let’s examine our first example; a senseless murder. It is and should be common for Christ-followers to be angered about such an action. But what should be different about us vs non-Christ followers? How are we to stand out in our anger. Because angry we are going to be. But if we as Christ-followers are just angry in the same fashion as those who don’t follow Christ, how are we Salt or Light?
Our difference is in vs. 16, our light should shine so others see God and praise Him. So if we are just a part of an angry mob, on social media or otherwise, how does that point people to God in Heaven. It doesn’t. If on the other hand, we are being ‘salty,’ meaning ultimately use our anger to mention God, point to God, and putting our testimony on display during our anger, then we are being angry and not sinning.
The biggest risk though is to turn our anger into something that doesn’t glorify God. Take the second example; abortion. There is nothing righteous about it. We should speak out about God’s mercy for those who have had abortions, and speak against the progressive abortion industry. These are ways that we can take our anger and point to God. God is the ultimate giver of life. The damage comes when we don’t live a life or express a mantra that wraps our verbal anger in the compassion of Christ which points to God by default.
Anger is a big problem for humanity. There is so much harm that comes from unchecked anger. As Christ-followers, we risk losing focus on God and putting ourselves first by becoming angry in unhealthy ways. One question to ask is, if someone calls me on my anger, how will I point to God? If we can’t answer that question, then we should do a lot of praying asking God what to do with that thing that we are angry about.
One of the greatest roads anger can lead to is hate. And that’s something we know God prohibits. We are to love, we are to have compassion, we are not to compromise, but we always point past ourselves to God. So when we have anger, we have to slow our roll before we arrive at hate.
As Christ-followers we have to understand that in all things we are to point to God because he is the judge for humanity, we are just salt and light. We shouldn’t downplay or disregard our anger, as it’s an emotion we have to live with. Whether it be a disappointment in our own lives, something external, an offense by someone, a social injustice, or something else; we can remain Christ-followers and still acknowledge God in all things, even our anger. We just have to point to Him. Be angry and sin not.
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, over-cooked preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
It hurts the cause of Christ when Christians attack each other. It shows we have lost focus on our mission, which is to make disciples. Verbal discourse in the church is a good thing. But in Luke 6:37 when Jesus says; Do not judge. Jesus gives us a warning about judging others.
So why do it? Why use words to judge other Christ-followers? Good question. Why do we justify attacking one another?
James 4, we are commanded not to slander each other. It’s that simple. Nothing in the Bible or Christiandom gives us a right to slander other followers of Christ.
Christians attacking other Christians is the worst possible witness to a lost world. When we judge other Christians, especially in public or on social media, we take the place of God. We actually create the justification for it and believe we have a throne to do so. But we don’t.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to other Christians because of division in the church. Christians attacking other Christians is a poison. It shows that we as Christians lack a single focus, we don’t practice what we preach.
Colossians 4:5-6 “5Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
If we are to speak with grace to non-believers, then how much more should be to fellow believers?
In Matthew 10, Jesus tells us that we as sheep will be in the midst of wolves. When Christians attack other Christians, we are no longer sheep, but wolves. We have crossed over to the ‘other-side’ condemning one another.
So what should we do? We should treat each other with kindness and not judge. It really is that clear. When we as Christ-followers attack each other, we damage our witness. Because a lost world is watching, they look for any reason to go ‘Ah HA!’ They look for any reason to say, there’s no difference between the followers of Christ and any other group.
So we have to resist the temptation to judge other Christians. We instead should be in one accord, one focus, and that is showing the love of Christ. We are called to make disciples, not judge one another.
A good self-question to ask is: ” is what I’m about to say lift that person up?”
But another question to ask is: is what I’m about to say, hurt that person, does it hurt their witness? If it doesn’t, then why say it? Why condemn?
We are all guilty of judging one another. I’ve had to pray for flying off at the mouth about others. Increasingly, God has put on my heart a burden to be part of the body in a way that lifts up, exhorts, and doesn’t condemn. We should all ask forgiveness for our behavior.
It’s not a stretch to believe that our negative words towards one another could cause someone to resist following Christ. And that should be a sobering thought that we as Christ-followers should pay attention to each and every time we open our mouths.
Remember, when Christians judge each other, both lose. But moreover, the loss is our witness. We have something now in common with non-believers, we have become wolves.
____________________________
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, well-done preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
References:
Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Romans 2:1
You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
James 4:11
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the Law and judges it. And if you judge the Law, you are not a practitioner of the Law, but a judge of it.
1 Corinthians 12:26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Ephesians 4:1-4