As Pastor Brett was preaching last Sunday regarding contextualization, this YouTube video came to mind from last summer. Don't click on it yet. Read the rest of this entry first. I like to think I am pretty open minded (while still holding to my convictions), but to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what I thought of this prayer. But as I think about it - and looked into the background - maybe it wasn't so bad. Think about and consider:
First - give NASCAR credit. Do the NBA, NFL, MLB or any other big sports invite a pastor to come and pray before the event takes place? Not any that I'm aware of.
Second - Does God have humor? I think about some of the "animal books" I read and looked through with my kids when they were little. Some of those animals were really funny looking.
Third - Humor in the Bible? Well, there was a talking donkey. I'm sorry. That is pretty funny. I also have a book by Elton Trueblood called The Humor of Christ.
Fourth - Did Jesus make non-Christians smile (and laugh)? I'm guessing He did.
Fifth - What would you pray at the race track? Pastor Joe Nelms had prayer there before and he wanted to make an impact on people. Yes, I understand that we pray to the God of all creation. The Almighty God. But, Pastor Nelms was truly (by his own admission) trying to be like the first century apostle and become "all things to all men".
Sixth - This isn't church. It's not a worship service. Think context. Do you pray the same kind of prayer with 5 year olds that you would in your small group, Sunday School class or in your own devotional time? No.
Seventh - In order to reach the lost and get their attention, what are we willing to do? Try something different? Endure criticism?
Eighth - When Jesus addressed the Father, He called Him "Abba", meaning "daddy" - a pretty affectionate and not real formal term.
Ninth - Giving thanks. We do it all the time when we pray. We may question some of the things that Pastor Nelms thanks God for, but I bet some third world Christians would stand in bewilderment at some of the things we thank (and ask) God for.
Tenth - "Boogity Boogity Boogity". This is a famous phrase that racer Darrell Waltrip uses ("Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let's go racing boys!"). Didn't the Apostle Paul use cultural celebrities from his era in an effort to reach those for Christ when he preached on Mars Hill? Paul is referring to the rock star type people that everyone knew of.
Eleventh - Thanking God for his "smokin' hot wife". Uffda. Well, actually, when you think about it - that's pretty biblical. Was she embarrassed? Maybe a little. Was she affirmed? Yes. Was she valued? Yes. Did she feel loved? How could she not! Whether she's hot or not - he thinks she is. That's the bottom line and he's not afraid to tell the world. Way to go pastor.
Well, I've probably stirred the pot with this entry. But, please, consider what it may take to reach others with the Good News. Steve Sorenson mentioned to me last Sunday that some of the guys in his mens group are taking a day a week to pray and fast for the "100 lives" to come to Christ in 2012. They're doing something!
CrossPoint Elders
Dan, Greg, Brian, Duane, Pastor Brett, Lee, Tom, Pat, Todd
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Transformation vs. Information
I am often teased by my friends because I frequently refer to podcasts or blogs that I have listened to or read. The teasing is all in good fun, but it is a reminder to me that with all that I might take in through my thick head, it isn't much use if it doesn't soften my heart.
As I continue thru the Lenten season - "giving up certain things" - I have been reminded that it is not so much a change of habits that God is after, but a change of heart. I need to allow Him to mold me, rather than me mold myself. I think God is more interested in what I am becoming (transformation), than in what I currently am. To do that, I need to listen - really listen. And then do what He says.
As I continue thru the Lenten season - "giving up certain things" - I have been reminded that it is not so much a change of habits that God is after, but a change of heart. I need to allow Him to mold me, rather than me mold myself. I think God is more interested in what I am becoming (transformation), than in what I currently am. To do that, I need to listen - really listen. And then do what He says.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Water Cooler Witnessing
OK, so that was kind of a hokey title to a post. Sounds a little 1980-ish. Sorry. But, I am looking forward to Sean & Jill's class on Incarnational Living. I know they like to use culture to engage people in spiritual conversation and so to that end, here are a few movies to consider (I feel like I'm playing Michael Meved).
1) Courageous. You're probably all aware of this. Good story line. Acting leaves a little to be desired. It's kind of like preaching to the choir though. I would guess that out of the people that saw it (and now rent it), an extremely high percentage are Christians.
2) The Vow. This movie is not a Christian movie. But - the story is. If you go the the Amazon website, you will see that Kim and Krickitt Carpetner (the people they based the movie on) had a strong faith in Christ that brought them through this tragic event. So, this "non-Christian" movie has something to talk about.
3) October Baby comes out March 23rd. I'm not sure where this movie will shake out on the "outreach dial". It will probably lean more towards Courageous. But, I still think it will be interesting and it has one of my American Idol favorite guys - Chris Sligh - playing a part. (He can sing. Can he act? We'll find out!)
4) Blue Like Jazz. BLJ comes out April 13th. This one will be interesting. I am fairly certain that many Christians will not like it, because it is too edgy. I heard they backed it off from an R rating to a PG13. But - I do think a movie like this can give us a fantastic opportunity to dialogue with people about faith. Will Christians take advantage of that or criticize the makers of the movie? That remains to be seen. I do think a movie like this has much more of a chance to penetrate the general culture compared to a movie like Courageous however.
So, that's my two-cents. I don't claim to be much of a movie critic, so please don't shoot me. Just throwing this out there. :-)
1) Courageous. You're probably all aware of this. Good story line. Acting leaves a little to be desired. It's kind of like preaching to the choir though. I would guess that out of the people that saw it (and now rent it), an extremely high percentage are Christians.
2) The Vow. This movie is not a Christian movie. But - the story is. If you go the the Amazon website, you will see that Kim and Krickitt Carpetner (the people they based the movie on) had a strong faith in Christ that brought them through this tragic event. So, this "non-Christian" movie has something to talk about.
3) October Baby comes out March 23rd. I'm not sure where this movie will shake out on the "outreach dial". It will probably lean more towards Courageous. But, I still think it will be interesting and it has one of my American Idol favorite guys - Chris Sligh - playing a part. (He can sing. Can he act? We'll find out!)
4) Blue Like Jazz. BLJ comes out April 13th. This one will be interesting. I am fairly certain that many Christians will not like it, because it is too edgy. I heard they backed it off from an R rating to a PG13. But - I do think a movie like this can give us a fantastic opportunity to dialogue with people about faith. Will Christians take advantage of that or criticize the makers of the movie? That remains to be seen. I do think a movie like this has much more of a chance to penetrate the general culture compared to a movie like Courageous however.
So, that's my two-cents. I don't claim to be much of a movie critic, so please don't shoot me. Just throwing this out there. :-)
Monday, March 12, 2012
All Sins Are The Same. Really?
I've believe I have mentioned before, that God seems to use "coincidences" to drive a point home to me. By coincidences I mean God reminds me multiple times over a short period of time about a particular issue that He must want me to recognize or grasp.
The other Monday, I opened the elder meeting with some thoughts from the book of Jonah. In the ensuing discussion, Pastor Brett mentioned he was going to begin a series from Jonah. After Pastor Brett's first sermon on Jonah this past Sunday, I happened to pick up a book called Stuff Christians Like (it's a little collection of satirical blogs about things us Christians say and do - pretty funny actually) by Jonathan Acuff. I just happened to open to a section called "Pretending We Believe All Sins Are Equal". In it, Jonathan writes that we feel righteous just saying that phrase. He notes that it's easy to think sins are equal when someone in your small group admits they don't love their enemies enough. But what about if someone admits having three abortions? He jokingly portrays God up in heaven saying; "On no, Martin had an affair. Oh wait! It was just an emotional affair, not a physical affair. Phew! That was a close one." (See Matthew 5:27-30)
I had skimmed thru a book by Tullian Tchividgian I read this past year about Jonah, and he had a line in there that said; "This is important because our every tendency to ignore God is always a result of our downplaying the size and significance of our sin, of God’s grace, and of God’s mission." (My underline.)
Just like Jonah, it's easy to create a little caste system for ourselves - I'm a little better than the next guy (although I'm pretty sure the Bible tells us that ALL have sinned...) I don't measure my sins against God's Word. I measure them against what I see others doing - just like Jonah. Holiness is then not measured by God's standard, it gets measured by mine - and that's wrong.
And so, I continue to pray during this Lent Season for God to continue to speak to me (multiple times apparently!) and teach me to be humble before Him. That's easy to do if I use His standard not mine!
The other Monday, I opened the elder meeting with some thoughts from the book of Jonah. In the ensuing discussion, Pastor Brett mentioned he was going to begin a series from Jonah. After Pastor Brett's first sermon on Jonah this past Sunday, I happened to pick up a book called Stuff Christians Like (it's a little collection of satirical blogs about things us Christians say and do - pretty funny actually) by Jonathan Acuff. I just happened to open to a section called "Pretending We Believe All Sins Are Equal". In it, Jonathan writes that we feel righteous just saying that phrase. He notes that it's easy to think sins are equal when someone in your small group admits they don't love their enemies enough. But what about if someone admits having three abortions? He jokingly portrays God up in heaven saying; "On no, Martin had an affair. Oh wait! It was just an emotional affair, not a physical affair. Phew! That was a close one." (See Matthew 5:27-30)
I had skimmed thru a book by Tullian Tchividgian I read this past year about Jonah, and he had a line in there that said; "This is important because our every tendency to ignore God is always a result of our downplaying the size and significance of our sin, of God’s grace, and of God’s mission." (My underline.)
Just like Jonah, it's easy to create a little caste system for ourselves - I'm a little better than the next guy (although I'm pretty sure the Bible tells us that ALL have sinned...) I don't measure my sins against God's Word. I measure them against what I see others doing - just like Jonah. Holiness is then not measured by God's standard, it gets measured by mine - and that's wrong.
And so, I continue to pray during this Lent Season for God to continue to speak to me (multiple times apparently!) and teach me to be humble before Him. That's easy to do if I use His standard not mine!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Neither/nor
I recently heard a young pastor give an introduction to a sermon he was about to give regarding God calling Jeremiah to preach. He remembered the last time he had preached on this passage because he had marked the date in his Bible. He also remembered being told at that date, that Cliff Barrows was in the audience. He realized that this was a guy who had led the singing at Billy Graham Crusades and had listened to Billy preach for 50 years! Knowing this, the pastor commented that; "Suddenly, I didn't feel like I could preach on this passage."
He went on to talk about the ways we often view ourselves. Either we're not good enough for God to use or two, God's lucky to have us on His team. Both views are wrong. In both instances our focus is wrong. We're looking at ourselves. We're not either/or. We're neither/nor!
I thought about how, when my kids were little, we'd go to the playground and walk around the wood timbers that were used to keep all the sand or pea gravel in. If I looked down at my feet, I didn't usually fair so well. I'd fall to the right or the left ("into the alligators"). But, if I took my eyes off myself (my feet) and looked forward, I could go much farther. Hebrews 12:2 comes to mind. I need to fix my eyes on Jesus.
How easy it is to look at myself - either as good or bad. This is just another great reminder during this Lenten Season of where our focus needs to be.
He went on to talk about the ways we often view ourselves. Either we're not good enough for God to use or two, God's lucky to have us on His team. Both views are wrong. In both instances our focus is wrong. We're looking at ourselves. We're not either/or. We're neither/nor!
I thought about how, when my kids were little, we'd go to the playground and walk around the wood timbers that were used to keep all the sand or pea gravel in. If I looked down at my feet, I didn't usually fair so well. I'd fall to the right or the left ("into the alligators"). But, if I took my eyes off myself (my feet) and looked forward, I could go much farther. Hebrews 12:2 comes to mind. I need to fix my eyes on Jesus.
How easy it is to look at myself - either as good or bad. This is just another great reminder during this Lenten Season of where our focus needs to be.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
100 in 2012
A more serious post (compared to the previous). Here is a portion of a prayer written by Scotty Smith. May this be the prayer for us here at CrossPoint:
Jesus, in light of who you are and what you’ve already accomplished on our behalf, how can we not leap for joy? How can we not be moved to pray with great hope for our churches, communities, and cities?
We need renewal and we need revival, Jesus. We need you to send your Spirit to stir us up. We long for a contagious gospel renewal to break out in our local congregations.
We long for substantiated rumors of your transforming presence to run through our cities. We long to have the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the religious and the irreligious, the washed and the unwashed, the found and the lost, the unrighteous and the self-righteous come together to hear, believe, and live the gospel.
Why not us, Jesus, and why not now? We’re tired of playing church. We’re weary of the traditions of men supplanting the passions of our God. We’re bored with ourselves and we’re boring to our communities. We’re done with fighting with each other for little ecclesiastical cookies when a Wedding Feast is in front of us. Magnify your name in our midst and in this hour. So we pray, in your most majestic and merciful name. Amen.
Jesus, in light of who you are and what you’ve already accomplished on our behalf, how can we not leap for joy? How can we not be moved to pray with great hope for our churches, communities, and cities?
We need renewal and we need revival, Jesus. We need you to send your Spirit to stir us up. We long for a contagious gospel renewal to break out in our local congregations.
We long for substantiated rumors of your transforming presence to run through our cities. We long to have the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the religious and the irreligious, the washed and the unwashed, the found and the lost, the unrighteous and the self-righteous come together to hear, believe, and live the gospel.
Why not us, Jesus, and why not now? We’re tired of playing church. We’re weary of the traditions of men supplanting the passions of our God. We’re bored with ourselves and we’re boring to our communities. We’re done with fighting with each other for little ecclesiastical cookies when a Wedding Feast is in front of us. Magnify your name in our midst and in this hour. So we pray, in your most majestic and merciful name. Amen.
Monday, March 5, 2012
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