So I’ve been hearing a repeating message lately, and when that happens, I start to wonder if it’s God talking. Either way, I’m paying attention. The message is this: whatever happened to Christian community? I’ve heard this question asked 3 times in the past 5 days from three different people. The first time was last week talking to someone from our church. She had visited another church in Nebraska (I think), and experienced such warmth from the congregation–she could tell that they truly loved one another and enjoyed being around each other. She immediately felt welcomed and among family. The second time was this past Sunday after church. A new couple visited our church for the first time, and they were questioning why people (Christians) out here in Colorado don’t like to hang out together. It seems that if anyone has free time, they whisk their family away to the mountains or something along those lines. Whatever happened to Christians getting together for a fun time? They were reminiscing about their church back from the midwest that was much more communal, where it was fun to be around each other. Ironically, their church back in Chicagoland was the same church I attended when I lived back there. That was pretty cool! The third time I heard this was today at a video deposition–the court reporter. I found out she was a Christian, but hasn’t been able to find a church in the area where she senses real community. They had great community at their church when they lived in Hawaii, but here it’s another story. She and her husband have found plenty of churches in Colorado that “preach the Word” or are “Spirit-led,” but none where they felt that the people just enjoyed each other. I’ve decided that it’s just the culture “out West.” I’ve lived in three different American cultures so far: midwest, deep south, and now the west. Each is different. In the deep south, everyone gets into your business. In the west, everyone leaves you alone. Neither equals community. I grew up as a child in the midwest, so I can’t really judge it objectively. After all, children/youth tend to be very communal. So out of...

No, this isn’t a post on Calvinism or predestination. Instead, I’m referring to the recent election we had in the U.S. I was surprised by the level of surprise voiced by evangelical Christians after the results of the election came in. Whether on the news, or friends via Facebook, or the comments I heard audibly–Christians were upset, shocked, and perplexed. This perplexed me. And it shocked me. And it made me upset. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, it seems to me that Christians are living under a rock. We don’t seem to have a realistic pulse on the attitudes and opinions of our culture. In addition, we think that our opinions should hold more weight than the opinions of others–and that we can somehow force our convictions on the rest of society. Reality check: now that Obama is elected, gay marriage is legal in a few states, etc…the country is NOT now going to hell. Reality is, our country was going to hell well before this election. And it has little to do with who is in power or what legislation is passed. Regardless, these election results shouldn’t be surprising, unless you have your head in the sand. Second, it seems to me that Christians should NOT place their hope in politics, but in the Gospel. Politicians and laws have very little power. The Gospel, however, is the very power of God unto salvation. Even if you so convinced that our government is becoming more and more anti-Christ…well, that’s when the Gospel thrives! Those Christians who are afraid that our country is now on a downward spiral–wake up! This is true for the whole world and has always been true since the beginning of human history. The problem doesn’t rest with politicians or policies or government, the problem lies with Christians. If our country is going to hell, it’s because we aren’t making disciples. Let’s look at a few facts. What do you think is the percentage of American Christians who have made even one disciple for Christ? (I’m stealing the definition for “disciple” from a recent simulcast I attended. Disciple = someone who makes disciples for Christ.) So, using that definition of a disciple, how many...

Let me preface what I’m about to say by stating that I believe salvation does indeed come in a moment of time, when a person repents and believes in Christ. At that very moment, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of them, and as a result they are made holy and have become a new creation. It isn’t based on works, but it comes by faith on the basis of God’s grace. However, we have often taken this core teaching of the Gospel to an end that really is an end. And that end is destruction; not salvation. We often teach that if you come down the altar, say a prayer of repentance, and profess Christ, you are saved. Not necessarily true. We all know that to become a Christian, one needs to do two things: repent and believe in Jesus. Yet are those things “once-and-done”? Clearly not. By definition, to repent means that you change directions. To say that you turn around toward God at one instant in time, and then turn back to the world for the rest of your life–how is that repentance? That is fake repentance. Or to say that at one moment in time, you decided to trust Jesus to save you, but you don’t trust Him with your day-to-day life–how is that really trusting Jesus? To put it another way, 1 John 3:23 says, “This is His commandment, that we 1) believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and 2) love one another, just as He commanded us.” Does that mean that we can simply, at one moment in time, love some given individual, and then go on living selfishly, and thus say we have fulfilled this obligation? Surely not! If that is the case, how can we say that we can “believe in Jesus” in such a way? The problem with once-and-done salvation isn’t that it leaves out works–it actually promotes works! It turns salvation into merely a momentary human decision (works!) instead of salvation being a genuine, inward change that is brought about by God. Salvation happens when a person’s heart is gripped by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that they must let go of the life...

I have often been frustrated at modern-day sermons not bringing conviction. Part of my focus as a pastor has been to NOT be one of those guys who tries to please people when preaching, but instead tells the truth of Scripture, even though they are hard truths to hear. Yet, I think there is a danger in trying to preach with conviction. Why try to be convicting? After all, truth itself is convicting. Preachers don’t need to try to be convicting if we simply preach what Scripture says. Truth naturally brings conviction. I think I try to be convicting, because I want people to respond to Jesus. Some people fear the negative results of conviction (i.e. people getting offended), so they try to water down the truth in hopes of having more people respond favorably to Jesus. I know this is not correct. This distorts God’s message in hopes of getting people to respond–the ends do not justify the means. Yet, trying to be convicting is just as bad. It shows a lack of faith in God to do the work himself. The truth is, when God’s truth is simply proclaimed as it is, unaltered, it must bring conviction on everyone who hears it. The truth naturally does this. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone will respond favorably to the truth. We all have a choice to surrender to God’s conviction, or to resist it. Granted, that makes it tempting for a preacher to try to make things more convicting, attempting to make it harder for the hearer to resist and convincing them to give in to God. I don’t think that attempting to make a message more convicting has greater results than simply preaching the truth as is. Instead, it just has the potential of getting both the speaker and the listener frustrated. We cannot step in and do the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it is deeply frustrating when you know the Holy Spirit is convicting people, and yet they seem to be resisting at every point. I need to learn that at this point, my hands are tied. I must continue to pray for such people. Little else helps. Often, when I’m crafting...

And Christ will shine on you! What a promise from Ephesians 5:14! I don’t know if any denominations use this verse in their liturgies, but if not, they should! I’ve already got a tune written out on how it would be sung by the congregation every Sunday. And who knows, perhaps people would heed the words and listen to the sermon! 🙂 While the American church is largely in a comatose state, there is the magnificent exception. Those small pockets of people in our congregations who are alive and well! Ah, what a breath of fresh air! These are the people who prove that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, and that the Holy Spirit is a real gift to the church! It seems most churches, no matter how dead or decaying they may be, have one or two people like this. It’s probably the biggest reason why those churches have not yet closed their doors. These people are like God’s best-kept secret agents in His kingdom. Every church I’ve attended has had at least one of these people. I’ve often imagined…what would it look like to assemble all of these people together in worship, in evangelism, in discipleship, in fellowship…? Of course, the answer to that question is easy: it would look like the bride of Christ! Not just by name only, but in truth. Sometimes it is hard to be such a person in the midst of a comatose church. You easily become discouraged by what you see around you. Or more accurately, what you don’t see around you. You wonder, “Where is the passion for Jesus here? Why is no one else jumping in with both feet into Christ’s mission?” Discouragement turns to resentment. “Why do I give my life for Christ–for His church–for His mission, and those to whom I serve just eat it all up and want to consume more, yet they are unwilling to serve others themselves?” No, I’m not talking from personal experience, ha! The problem is, when we get into this kind of mindset, we have been derailed. Now we are feeling pride by comparing ourselves to others. Pride is not attractive. It is butt ugly. So we are no...

When a patient is in ICU, what family and friends want more than anything else is hope. With that in mind, there IS hope for the comatose church. But that hope isn’t in better models for doing church. Or improved leadership training. Or more money for hiring better-talented staff and starting up new programs/ministries. None of those things can revive what is almost dead. The only thing that can revive us isn’t a thing, but a Person. In Ezekiel 37, God shows the prophet Ezekiel a valley full of dry, dead bones and asks him if they can be made alive again. A person with no hope would say, “Nope.” An idiot, or a person who doesn’t fully understand the circumstances would say, “Sure, just give them some medicine!” But Ezekiel answers smartly, “God, only you know the answer to that question.” Truth is, outside of God doing anything, there is absolutely no hope for those bones. Can/will God do anything with those bones? Well, we can’t speak or make promises for God, but here’s what we CAN do: we can trust and obey God. The only hope for a comatose church is for its leaders to stop pretending things are better than they are, to stop denying the reality of the situation by trying this program or that program, or seeking answers from church leadership summits or growth seminars, but to also not give up hope and throw in the towel when they see the magnitude of the situation–but instead for these leaders to be willing to earnestly seek God, and then to trust God and obey Him. Because our only hope is for God to do something miraculous. And it’s very risky/scary to trust God for a miracle. We leaders want to be able to do something to fix the situation. It’s scary to place things into God’s hands and trust/hope in Him. But when your loved one is in ICU, you have no other options. Even the strongest skeptics are earnestly praying to God in that moment. God tells Ezekiel to do a bold thing: preach to the dry bones. Can you imagine following these orders? “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry...