by Tim | Apr 17, 2010 | God, Our Culture, The Church World, The Gospel |
In the first post on this subject a week or so ago, I made the case that the Gospel doesn’t have any real power unless there is faith. Today, the point I want to make is that the Gospel doesn’t have any real power unless there is weakness. Does this mean that Christianity or the Gospel is a crutch for the weak? In a sense, yes. I think you could say that. Most people use that phrase as if it is a derogatory statement. They are implying that us weak people need something like the Gospel, but they are not weak like us. To someone who sees themselves strong, or a self-made person, the Gospel is not needed or desired. Is it possible to build a successful life without the Gospel? Is it possible to have meaning and purpose in life without the Gospel? Is it possible to build a successful church without the Gospel? Yes, yes, and yes. Jesus even says that we can build our house on the rock or sand. Both can be built, but which one will last? Both will stand for quite some time. It’s not until the time of testing comes that one will fall. Some people’s house (not built on the sand) will endure their entire life on earth, and will only fall when the test of eternity comes. Jesus says everyone will be salted with fire (Mark 9:49). In that moment, will what you’ve built last in eternity? Many of those who have built on something other than the Gospel feel quite secure with what they have. The Gospel then is...
by Tim | Apr 16, 2010 | God, My World |
It’s the day after taxes were due, and we’re ok for now. That shouldn’t be the case, but it is. When I resigned my part-time job in January, I had nothing lined up to fill the loss of income. Before my resignation, we were already living month to month, with very little wiggle room to adjust our budget. A few times, in fact, we had to borrow from the money we had set aside for taxes to pay for gas in the car or buy groceries for the week. This was the few months before I resigned. Regardless, we had felt a peace two months earlier (November) to resign, which was a little daunting to us on a financial level for many reasons.. First, Christmas was coming up, which was going to be a hard hit for us. Second, income taxes were going to be due in April, and we didn’t have nearly enough resources set aside for what we estimated our taxes to be (I am self-employed, so instead of a nice refund check this time of years, it’s a honkin’ check to the IRS instead). Third, our yearly homeowner’s association dues were due in March. Fourthly, we later found out in December/January that we were expecting another child, which although is a great joy, also introduces further financial strain for the next nine months and beyond. And then there’s all the unexpected stuff that you can’t budget for, but seems to pop up at the most inopportune times. It was our hope that the two months between November and January would give us time to locate supplemental...
by Tim | Apr 11, 2010 | God, Our Culture, The Church World, The Gospel |
I don’t think it does. I think it may once have had power, but largely it’s fizzling out. I think church growth experts out there recognize this. Simply sharing, spreading, teaching, exploring, reviewing, singing, articulating, living out the Gospel is largely ineffective. It is not enough to draw in droves of new people, and it is not enough to keep existing people from moving on. That’s because the Gospel holds no real power—unless it is met with faith. Without faith, the Gospel is powerless. It is just a theory among other theories to explain the human condition. Not only this, but it is a very distasteful theory. It describes the human condition as literally on a road to hell itself, and that we are all lost sinners. And it only offers one way out–a conversion that ends in utter selflessness where God gets His way, not me. More than this, the necessary, prescribed conversion is specific with regards to Whom you must turn to and what you must turn from. Make no mistake that indeed turning to Him requires turning away from everything else. Syncretism is not allowed. You cannot serve two masters. Sin is clearly spelled out, as is the way of holiness. He wants all of me. Without faith, this is too demanding for the masses. It is too intolerant of other people’s opinions. It is not relevant within today’s sensibilities. In other words, church leaders are recognizing Jesus was right all along—we have lost our first love. It has grown cold. We are lukewarm at best. Indeed, while the Gospel is becoming distasteful to us, Jesus...
by Tim | Apr 9, 2010 | My World, Youth Ministry |
H2O, the youth group at Wellspring Worship Center, invited me to speak this past Wednesday night. What a great youth group! Not so sure about the youth pastor, though… Actually Josh is a great friend of mine, and I appreciated him and his group inviting me. Josh, you guys have an awesome youth ministry! I was touched by the passion for God coming from the youth and the leaders. I had a blast–I hope everyone else did as well. When I arrived, I learned they made this video in honor of me, and I am honored to share it with you and the rest of the world. You guys are hilarious–and even somewhat talented in some twisted kind of way… This Wednesday, I’ll be speaking at Valley View Baptist Church youth group! I feel like a traveling evangelist. Now I just need a TV gospel show that takes old people’s money. Until then, enjoy this quality piece of...
by Tim | Apr 8, 2010 | My World |
That’s right–our third child due to arrive September 1 will be a girl, as confirmed by today’s ultrasound! I project that the estrogen levels at home these upcoming years will be quite a force for me to reckon with–I covet everyone’s prayers! 🙂 We don’t have a name picked out yet, so we are open to all suggestions! We received a DVD of today’s ultrasound that includes the determination of gender and the ability to listen to the heartbeat, among other things. So without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, enjoy nine tantalizing minutes of baby movements and ultrasound tech...
by Tim | Apr 2, 2010 | God, The Gospel |
Today was such a horrible day in human history–the day we killed and executed God. If there is anything humans have ever done that would make us deserving of eternal hell, today fits the bill. If anyone needs proof that we are really a depraved people, the fact that we would kill the Son of God, the One who gave us life in creation and gives eternal life freely, demonstrates just how far we have fallen. Humanity cannot say that this day was a good day for our species. It is a paradox that the very event that makes us most deserving of hell is the event that must have happened to free us from it. Who can understand the mind of the Lord? How unsearchable are his ways! I believe God shows us through the cross that salvation cannot come by how moral we are. Salvation came through the most wicked event imaginable. How about for God? Was this a good day for him? He watched as the sons of men willfully and cheerfully destroyed his most precious gift to us. He painfully lost the only son He has ever begotten. God loved the world so much that He gave away his only begotten son. And that’s the only reason why we can call today “good.” Today happened out of God’s love for humanity and to restore all things to himself. As devastating as it was, it was happening for a wonderful purpose obscured to us. Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t understand until after it all had happened. This was something only Jesus and His Father fully understood....
by Tim | Mar 31, 2010 | God, My World |
In a previous post about two months ago, I shared my struggle with holding out for God to come through, instead of complaining or worrying. I contemplated the possibility that throwing one’s hands in the air, giving up, losing faith, or doubting God might be the better approach, even if God rebukes me. That is, if He then comes through like He did for the Israelites when He provided water from a rock, or when Jesus calmed the storm for the disciples. Two months later, my perspective has changed a bit. God still hasn’t come through like I had hoped. My condition hasn’t changed. Yet, my thought now is–well, I’ve made it this far without supernatural water or without the supernatural calming of the storm…perhaps somehow this is where I need to be. If things indeed don’t change, that would mean things get tougher, of course, not better. But this week, I am reflecting on Christ’s last week. It was coming down to the wire. He knew He was about to face His greatest challenge yet. He had lived a life of perfection, resisting temptation all along even when it was tough, always doing the Father’s will. And now He must face the cross, and He prays, “If it is possible to let this cup pass from me, please let it be. But not my will, but yours be done.” And then, interestingly, Jesus says that He could call down legions of angels to rescue Him from the impending cross, but He was choosing to do God’s will instead (Matthew 26:53-54). This prompts an intriguing thought for me: Is...
by Tim | Mar 28, 2010 | God, The Church World, Worship |
I find myself torn between two worlds–I grew up Pentecostal, and while I see the value in expressive worship, something is missing there. It’s like everyone is coming into the same room to have their own personal worship time with God. Everyone else is just there to give them a bigger personal worship experience. And most recently, I’ve been in the Methodist world for the past eight years. Methodists like liturgy, not expressiveness. It’s like everyone is coming together to recite the same thing every Sunday, but are we connecting with God? When I try to converse with Pentecostals about my frustration with their worship services, they think I’m being picky, because everyone is “getting into it,” so what’s the big deal? They’re all connecting with God, right? But my problem is, we’re not doing it together. The only way we’re doing it together is that everyone else at the same time is having their own personal worship experience. They would say, “Isn’t that what it means to be doing it together?” The best way I can describe how this feels is this: It’s like everyone meeting together in the same computer lab to be on Facebook at the same time. Sure, we’re all on Facebook at the same time, but we’re not really doing anything meaningful with one another. I know it’s not that extreme, but that’s often how I feel in Pentecostal worship services. Everyone is pretty much locking themselves away, trying to not let anyone else distract them, so they can have some sort of personal experience with God. I wanna say, “Didn’t Jesus say to...
by Tim | Mar 27, 2010 | God, My World |
Had a great time with extended family celebrating Rachel’s third birthday today. I can remember when Naomi turned three, and I thought she was becoming a “big girl.” Is she really turning seven this year? I’m very grateful to have such a wonderful family. The best wife and the two most delightful children in the world. No matter what life throws our way, it is always good to have days that remind you of the most important things. As important as my family is, they must be second-place to God. I’ve been reminded recently that we are not guaranteed to always have our families with us, as difficult as that scenario may sound. While today was a great day indeed, I remind myself that even if I didn’t have my family, I would still have Jesus. This is something I am always learning. Could I find joy if I lost everything but Christ? I try to avoid considering that reality, for fear that I might just have to face such a drastic loss at some point. I think about people around the world and throughout history who were separated from their family through persecution because of the cause of Christ. How did they manage sitting in a jail cell all alone for the remainder of their life? Did the rest of the family still cling to Christ after they watched their father/husband burned to death in front of their eyes? How? I realize how weak my faith is in comparison. I’m proud of who Rachel is becoming, even though the things she thinks make her such a “big girl”...
by Tim | Mar 23, 2010 | My World, The Church World, Youth Ministry |
I heard something great on the radio yesterday. The guy was talking about how us parents don’t effectively discipline our kids–except that he said he doesn’t like the word “discipline,” because it brings up the imagery of simply reward and punishment. Instead, he says it’s our job as parents to disciple our kids (same root word). He thinks that word better connotates the role and responsibility of parents. I agree with him. Over the years of serving as a youth pastor or being involved in youth ministry, I’ve realized that the vast majority of them do not know much of the faith by the time they reach youth group–even if they’ve grown up in Christian homes. For example, if I were to ask the average youth person, “Name me three things about the guy Abraham in the Bible,” they wouldn’t be able to do it. And Abraham isn’t a nobody in the Bible–he’s the father of the faith. The more I contemplated this, the more I realized that this was probably true for the vast majority of parents in the church too. The reason why their kids didn’t know Abraham is that their parents didn’t know who he was either. Or in some instances, the parents knew it but didn’t fully realize their role as disciple-makers. Instead, I think many parents and churches abdicate their responsibility to mentor children and youth, and simply dump that responsibility on the children/youth pastor. When I shared these ideas with Genesis, my former church, I was excited that they embraced the idea of addressing this problem and changing it. I drafted a proposal...
