Temptation Avoidance

I was reading a blog in response to the pastor who told his church to delete their Facebook accounts to avoid affairs only to then be found having had an affair. One line in the blog caught my attention, “Couples should take steps to build trust and eliminate unnecessary temptations, while still recognizing the individuality of the two people involved.” The quote is true but it also highlights faulty thinking about sanctification. We tend to think about sanctification only in terms of temptation avoidance.

While avoidance of temptation is part of the sanctification process, I think we tend to focus too much on the wrong thing with that perspective. It seems the goal of sanctification in our walks with God is to be moving toward something better. If our focus is always “avoiding the trouble spots” we will find, and often fall, into trouble spots. However if our focus is to deepen our passions for Christ and the things that are closer to God’s heart, our taste and desire for this world will change. While there will still be temptation, it will not be as appealing.

Our hearts follow what we treasure. I think this is why Christ was always challenging his followers in regards to their heart. If our hearts are pursuing Christ, we will still sin but we will be moving in a much better direction than if we are just avoiding temptations.

A Lesson for Christian Design

Christians need to so think like this!!!!

The Divine Commodity

Skye Jethani, in The Divine Commodity, does a great job of critically looking at the way churches behave in our consumerist culture and how it impacts the faith of those in our churches. This is worth reading no matter your church size. While critical, it is not discouraging.

Painter in a Savage Land

Painter in a Savage Land the story of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and his role in the New World during the middle 1500s. Harvey does a great job of sharing the story of this almost lost figure in the context of the politics, religion, and culture of the time. It was also enlightening to see the impact of pictures to communicate about the Americas and the native inhabitants to Europe.

The Church Awakening

If you have followed Swindoll's life and writing you will find this to be a book close to his heart. In The Church Awakening, Swindoll's passion for the Word of God comes through on every page. He begins by arguing that the church needs to rediscover it's essentials: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. He then argues that the Word of God and it's exposition has lost it's place in most church gatherings. This has lead to an erosion and loss of the church's effectiveness.

Swindoll shares the struggles he has had in his ministry and life. He also shares from his experience at Stoenbriar Community Church. He is always a wealth of illustrations and stories. I am thankful for his challenge Swindoll brings for the church.

Swindoll has always been committed to teaching the Bible. I agree Biblical exposition is crucial to the gathering. But I also think the church's full practice must be defined and held accountable to the same exposition. It is not just enough for the Bible to rightfully be taught but the church must be the full manifestation of what is there. Not that any church is perfect, that is why all the letters to the churches are in the Bible. But I know that one reason that churches are not awake is because of a unwillingness to apply what they already know.

>We're Coming!

>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsF-tq2VLd4&fs=1&hl=en_US]

We're Coming!

>This interview with Wright talks about the rise of modern Gnosticism. It also demonstrates how what we believe about Christ directly impacts how we spend our time here and now in regards to this world.

This interview with Wright talks about the rise of modern Gnosticism. It also demonstrates how what we believe about Christ directly impacts how we spend our time here and now in regards to this world.

>"To put it in 19th-century terms, many evangelicals have tried to do the Lord’s work in the world’s way. Take for example the way the Religious Right has demonized the enemy and appealed to our fears. Well, Scripture tells us repeatedly to have no fear. And one of the most distinctive teachings of our Lord is that we, as His followers, are to love our enemies. I think the Religious Right has been sub-Christian in that sense. Moreover, they’ve fallen a long way from the great example of people like William Wilberforce, who fought furiously against slavery, but always with humility, grace, and remarkable love for the enemies who vilified him. "

Os Guinness

This article is worth your time!

America's Need for a Civil Public Square: Our Conversation With Os Guinness

"To put it in 19th-century terms, many evangelicals have tried to do the Lord’s work in the world’s way. Take for example the way the Religious Right has demonized the enemy and appealed to our fears. Well, Scripture tells us repeatedly to have no fear. And one of the most distinctive teachings of our Lord is that we, as His followers, are to love our enemies. I think the Religious Right has been sub-Christian in that sense. Moreover, they’ve fallen a long way from the great example of people like William Wilberforce, who fought furiously against slavery, but always with humility, grace, and remarkable love for the enemies who vilified him. "

Os Guinness

This article is worth your time!

America's Need for a Civil Public Square: Our Conversation With Os Guinness

>How long will we turn away?

>This is difficult to watch because of the content but also because the community of Christ is not speaking up more for those who are used!

How long will we turn away?

This is difficult to watch because of the content but also because the community of Christ is not speaking up more for those who are used!

>SBC, Great Commission Resurgence, and the Great Commission

>I took some time this week to check in on the Southern Baptist Convention via live streaming. I knew that one of the issues that would be discussed was the Great Commission Task Force Final Report. I had read the report and was excited to see some of the ideas and thoughts behind it. While I am glad for the voice and direction of the report, I am afraid that the churches of the SBC are missing the heartbeat of the Great Commission while at the same time being passionate for its results.

One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.

This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.

Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.

I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:

• Do the systems and structures complement the work that the Spirit wants to do in the believer’s life or work against that work?
• Are we actively asking those who join us to follow in a deeper relationship which the god of self is being put to death?
• Are we actively engaging the needs of those around us where the world must stand up and give a response?

The world may hate us but there must come a time where our service to the needy and hurt can no longer allow them to ignore us or call us irrelevant. If we follow Christ, we should receive persecution. But we will also see a trail of those who did not know Him following us to Him. We must follow fully and allow Him to then fulfill His mission.

SBC, Great Commission Resurgence, and the Great Commission

I took some time this week to check in on the Southern Baptist Convention via live streaming. I knew that one of the issues that would be discussed was the Great Commission Task Force Final Report. I had read the report and was excited to see some of the ideas and thoughts behind it. While I am glad for the voice and direction of the report, I am afraid that the churches of the SBC are missing the heartbeat of the Great Commission while at the same time being passionate for its results.

One of the things that Southern Baptists are passionate about is helping those who don’t know Christ to meet Him. The history of missions and evangelistic effort in the convention bears this out. Even with the constancy of the heartbeat there seems to be a lack of growth of those who trust Christ and a lack of churches growing through involvement from men and women who have recently trusted Christ.

This is also compounded by the fact that statistically the lives of people in Southern Baptist churches look relatively similar to those of their neighbors who don’t know Christ or attend services of other faith practices. The magnifying glass gets put on the Southern Baptist Convention by the world even sharper when it states positions publicly which the majority of its attendees either don’t agree with or don’t practice in their everyday life. It seems the problem of the convention and its churches is not one of passion for those who don’t know Christ but an inability to help a majority of those who have met Him follow Him.

Every church should have a percentage of their congregation that are not practicing their faith well. We all grow at different rates and through different means. I also believe that growth best happens in our relationship with Christ as we seek to obey Him through fulfilling His mission in our spheres of influence and in this world. We should always have non- and nominal believers among us. But I think as we have focused on certain cultural issues, we have forgotten that personal growth leads to those outward manifestations. Rather than focusing on the cultural hot button issues I wonder if the Spirit is asking us to remind our members of His work of manifesting His fruit in each person’s life.

I am thankful for The Great Commission Task Force and their work. I see wisdom in their recommendation. My desire is for the Southern Baptists to realize that the heartbeat of God’s heart for the lost can only be maintained by those who are growing in a constantly maturing faith in Christ. That is where we as local pastors must do a better job at looking at what we are expecting of our people. We need to ask questions like:

• Do the systems and structures complement the work that the Spirit wants to do in the believer’s life or work against that work?
• Are we actively asking those who join us to follow in a deeper relationship which the god of self is being put to death?
• Are we actively engaging the needs of those around us where the world must stand up and give a response?

The world may hate us but there must come a time where our service to the needy and hurt can no longer allow them to ignore us or call us irrelevant. If we follow Christ, we should receive persecution. But we will also see a trail of those who did not know Him following us to Him. We must follow fully and allow Him to then fulfill His mission.

>From Death to Life

>My wife and I have great conversations on I-20. It happens because it is one of the few times we have uninterrupted moments to talk. It is through those uninterrupted times we will finally get to conversations beyond managing life to the deeper desires and dreams we have for our lives.

On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.

She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.

It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.

God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.

From Death to Life

My wife and I have great conversations on I-20. It happens because it is one of the few times we have uninterrupted moments to talk. It is through those uninterrupted times we will finally get to conversations beyond managing life to the deeper desires and dreams we have for our lives.

On our recent return trip, I broached a topic that I had wanted to talk about for a while. I knew it would not be easy but I also knew it would be well worth it after the fact. It centered on my desire to go back to school to pursue a doctorate.

She knew this was a desire I have had from other conversations. As I got into the conversation I remembered praying to God that He would let it go well. It went great! But it did not go the way I wanted. Through tears, a dream I had died.

It did not die because of lack of support or understanding. It died because, as my wife does so well in my life, truth came into focus. My dream was about chasing prestige and approval rather than anything else. It was painful to let go. It had been my little god for a while. But it was time to face the fact that it needed to be put to death. It did not die easily. It had been my focus and the object of my affection. But in the light of truth, the simplicity of its idolatry came to light.

God did not just remove the idol but replaced it with something better. The more we talked, the more I began to get a clearer picture of how giftedness, desire, and dreams might come together. It did not smooth away all the pain but it helped to provide hope and clarity to the process. It will be fun to see this new dream find its expression.

>Hanging on too long

>I have just moved offices. One of the down sides to my new place is I am missing some file cabinet space. This moved me to go through my files and see what I needed to keep and what I could file in the trash.

I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.

What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?

Hanging on too long

I have just moved offices. One of the down sides to my new place is I am missing some file cabinet space. This moved me to go through my files and see what I needed to keep and what I could file in the trash.

I was amazed at the amount of stuff I did not need. There were files I had not used in 3 years. I kept thinking I will use this one day. I finally realized that I will not use it and it is time to unload it.

What is in your life that you are hanging on to thinking you will use it? Are you waiting too long to get rid of it? What is is costing you to hang on to that stuff?

>Comments on Creation and Creationism

>Helpful comments about creation.

Comments on Creation and Creationism

Helpful comments about creation.

The League of the Militant Godless had done their work too well. In the names of reason, science, and liberty they had proved, rather effectively, that good societies need God to survive and that when you have murdered him, staved him, silenced him, denied him to the children, and erased his festivals and his memory, you have a gap that cannot indefinitely be filled by any human , nor anything made by human hands.

from The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens

How Great Leaders Lead

Great Video on Education

Dan Meyer is talking about Math but I was thinking it has application for other educational arenas.

A New Kind of Christianity

I am thankful for McLaren and his book A New Kind of Christianity. While I completely disagree with his conclusions and even some of his reasoning, I am thankful for his critic and struggle to manifest the Christ follower life in a holistic expression. I wish we had more authors that were as hon...est and open with their faith journey. The problem is that we a so quick to label and discredit so we don’t have to deal with the issues that are raised. I am better for reading this book not because it changed my theology but because it forced me to deal with short comings in my practice. Which I guess is actually changing my theology.

Taking a Break

I am at a point where I better understand God's wisdom in providing times of rest and reflection for His people. I am getting away for a week and I am also going to try and get unplugged. I have not had this kind of feeling in a long time. But I am aware of it now. I am looking forward to seeing what God has for me to see and learn as I take a break.

Dangerous Word

Words have power. Words meaning also change over time. It starts in small ways and then as the change continues the meaning can morph in ways never imagined at the beginning.

One of the most dangerous words is “church”. No matter how many pastors seek to reclaim it usage to refer to the people and not the building or organization, it is a word whose meaning has changed. The danger in the word is that these new meanings have less to do with people who are being changed in a world needing to see this changed lived out and more about organizations or objects to be protected and preserved.

It maybe time for a new word for those who follow Christ together.

Creativity, Humanity, and God's Image

This was a great video to watch and I think has great a great word for all of us who desire for God to be manifested in our lives. While not coming from a Christian Worldview per say, I think it has God's truth all in it. Make sure to watch it all.

Book Review: The Me I Want to Be

John Ortberg does a great job of communicating the joy and desire God has when we find the life He want for us. It is an easy and encouraging read. That is not to say it does not challenge you to take steps of faith and to seek to grow in obedience to God. The Me I Want to Be would be a great group study.

Closing the Doors

My life is committed professionally and personally to the growth and development of the church (both little “c” and big “C”). Because of that, it might seem counter intuitive that I would be passionate about closing the doors one Sunday out of the year. The church where I worship and serve has done this for the last two years and will do it again this year. It is part of our “Go and Be” weekend that we don’t hold regular scheduled worship gatherings as part of the weekend but instead focus on being out in the community serving.

My passion for this stems from both an organizational and educational perspective. It is an organizational challenge to plan, prepare, and mobilize to be closed on Sunday. There are real financial issues of not having a time of offering. What about the people who are new to the community or maybe trying church for the first time and they see that our doors are closed? The issue is that we don’t just want to close the doors but open up service opportunities. Those opportunities remind us that we are the church and the church is at its best when is engaged in the community serving.

From personal, educational, and teaching perspective, some of the best lessons I have experienced come from giving practical application to ideas or principles. The principle that the church is not the building comes alive when we see the doors locked and God’s people still gathering in service. I love explaining to my children why today is different from every other Sunday…much like on Easter, Christmas, Good Friday, or any other special moment in the life of the church.

Closing our doors helps us to create a conversation that is desperately needed in the life of church culture. It is largely symbolic but symbols are important. If you don’t believe that try removing a cross or a steeple or an American flag. Symbols communicate powerfully what is important. For the other 51 weeks in the practice of gathering together, we meet at the same place and for all practical purposes do the same thing. The rest of the world moves along pleased for us to practice what we believe in our places of “worship.” But what happens when those places or worship move into their backyards, their business, their schools, their homes, their hurts. Just maybe we will begin understand on a deeper level what Romans 12: 1-2 means when it says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Book Review: The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything is a revealing read. David Dark will make you think! It was not an easy book to get through. The difficulty comes because Dark is so challenging on many levels. This book challenged me in healthy ways professionally and personally. Dark moves between modern cultural icons and classic works of literature with such easy it can create cultural whiplash. It is that connection of ideas from such various sources that leads clarity in his presentation. I am sorry that this book has not gotten more attention in the circles I follow. It would be healthy for the church to wrestle with the questions that Dark raises.

One Atheist Journey

Peter Hitchens Author Interview--The Rage Against God from Gorilla Poet Productions on Vimeo.

Something to Think About...

Saying "Goodbye" and We Never Said "Hello"

About two years ago, I started following Michael Spencer online through Internet Monk. He wrote with an honesty about his faith and life that communicated deeply with me. I found a resonance with him and the way he communicated. There were times I would laugh and cry as I read his blog. I felt connected to him in a small way though we had never met.

Micheal is now in the last stages of his battle with cancer. It was a quick thief. Through following him and his story, I have seen the power of asking questions, being open about struggle, and the call to follow, at times, without understanding. Micheal has pointed me back to the person of Christ time and time again. I am grateful that we will both get to meet Him.

Endurance

Endurance is simply going one more step.

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

A Review of Family Driven Faith

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs I can imagine. There are challenges from your children, the world around us, and even our own personal baggage. This is true for all parents but for parents who value faith and their spiritual perspective the challenge takes on added dimensions.

Baucham, in Family Driven Faith, seeks to help parents who desire to foster their children’s faith and life direction. Throughout the book, he lays out an argument for the primary discipleship to take place in the home. He then builds on the argument that in order for the worldview to be solidified in the life of the child then all education (religious and non-religious) must mirror the home as the primary arena of discipleship. This belief has been personally practiced by Baucham and his family often at great personal cost.

I had some challenges with how Baucham’s belief leads to practice. Not because I disagree with the premise that discipleship should take place in the home, but on the connection to lifestyle choices. I believe God calls families to raise children in many different ways from family to family, from culture to culture. I do think that God has also given some universal principles to help us raise children that will be practiced differently from culture to culture, family to family.

Parents need to let their faith find full manifestation inside and outside the home. There are many ways where children do not continue to follow Christ because of their parent’s failure to follow Christ. I believe Buacham is trying to manifest his walk with Christ in the home he leads.

The primary danger I see in Buacham’s method is that it can lead to cultural isolation. This is what we have seen in other faith communities who have followed Baucham’s suggested pattern. Both the Amish and the Mennonites have gone the route of cultural isolation to protect and cultivate worldview. Both have been successful in creating communities that hold to a specific worldview but with minimal impact on the world around them. While the faith formation of our children is not something to be gambled with, I am not sure that the solution being offered will help cultivate faith and fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Are you communicating are just talking?

While I was enjoying breakfast this morning with my wife at a restaurant, I noticed two men with Bibles open who appeared to be having a Bible study. One of them was talking fairly loud and seemed to be in control of the conversation. The longer I watched the table the more I noticed the other gentleman's attention drifting.

I wonder how many times I have been mentoring/leading a study and felt like it went great. Only to have the other person disengage. The priority is not just getting words out but in communicating with the other person. Sometimes that is done best by just listening.

Having more going on than you understand?

My computer is causing me all kinds of problems. There is nothing like have an great tool and not understanding it well enough to make it work the way it was designed to run. I think that is how most of us live our lives. We understand somethings but not the whole well enough. Even being in a relationship with God, we are not going to be able to understand it all. That is why we must trust Him.

Working Through Soreness

I ran two days ago. Yesterday, I played basketball. Today, my legs are killing me. I really don't want to use them. But I have noticed that if I do use them it helps the soreness to go away. I wonder if the same idea of working through the pain is part of the reason why God asks us to practice forgiveness towards those who have wronged us.

Bono and the Americian Church Attenders' Dream

I was listening to No Line on the Horizon this morning on the way to work. It hit me that for Americans who attend church Bono is the poster boy for what they want in their lives. I don't mean this as a slam against Bono but against the expectations and dreams of church attenders.

He is successful, rich, cool, and spiritual. It does not appear that the world hates him. He is able to meet with presidents and world leaders. The media applaud him and he has been recognized by his profession as one of the best of all time.

I think God has blessed Bono and I think that he for the most part has tried to be faithful with his blessing. The problem is that we in America think this is God's plan for all people. For many in American churches, we see Bono as a normative Christian experience rather than a special exception.

Where did Christ “go” after His death on the cross?

Last Sunday I ask the question, “Do you ever wonder where Christ went after He died?” This has implications for us in our expectations of where we will spend eternity and at what point will we begin to experience eternity. I am going to go through some background and then come back to the question.

It is my understanding that those who put their trust in Christ begin a relationship with Christ that will never end. In Ephesians 1:13-14 we are told, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” This verse highlights that once we place our faith in Christ the relationship is secure and the Holy Spirit is given as proof and promise of the security.

At death then, the relationship that was started in life does not end. Nor is it paused. John 6:47 states, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” Eternal life has the idea of a life that will never stop and in context it is life lived in right relationship with God that will never stop.

With this as the background, where did Jesus go after His death? It is my understanding that Jesus had perfect fellowship with the Father. As Jesus was on the cross, He commented, in Luke 23:43, to the criminal who moved toward Him in faith, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” I think it is safe to say that Jesus went into God’s presence immediately after death. So it is to for all who have faith in Christ.

The Wonder of It All

I am shocked that I am shocked. God always seems to know what He is doing but I am still amazed at the way it comes together. It might be the right Bible verse at the right time, or the right person, or the wrong thing happening that leads to something great. I think He likes showing that He is in control in the strangest ways.

What's Your Story? Donald Miller

Summer in the Hills - Guest Speaker, Donald Miller from Oak Hills Church on Vimeo.

Hello World!

This blog is a project for me. It is to be a place for me to craft my thoughts and chronicle my journey through life. I am not sure what shape it will take. I am looking forward to the process.