I am a subscriber to Imprimis, a conservative newsletter published by Hillsdale College, a privately funded college with traditional Christian values and insights. In the latest issue of Imprimis, Christopher Caldwell, Senior Fellow, The Claremont Institute Author, The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties, talks about the deepening partisan divide in this country (See https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/). In that article, Caldwell says that "American society today is divided by party and by ideology in a way it has perhaps not been since the Civil War." He then goes on to point to "strands" that have produced such a divide, including the Vietnam War, role of women, and the "emergency" Civil Rights Law of 1964 that has gone way off the original mark and is now used for every divide between Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal, Christian and non-Christian that we see today. For me to even quote or refer to Imprimis puts me in the "bigot" category, seemingly unable to carry on a civil discussion with people of opposing viewpoints.
I must, however, take exception to this caricature (or even reality to some). In my ongoing role as a retired pastor and a current church health consultant (for NCDAmerica), I am fully aware of several realities in this partisan divide that Caldwell and other conservatives portray. It is always easier to critique and analyze the problems rather than to do the hard work of curing or alleviating the problems. It is not that I disagree with the analysis, but I am reminded of taking a graduate course in a highly recognized seminary where I raised the theological question -- "If our understanding of the Bible is so 'air tight' why don't those on the other side ever deal with these arguments?" The answer from our professor was simple--"They never read our journals, never digest our books and never engage with us in any way." That is part of our problem today, isn't it? We don't really read or talk with one another, especially on opposing sides of the aisle. Caldwell and others like him are hardly ever read, and when they are read, they are dismissed as bigots, hate mongers, and so forth. So, my first point is, Why can't we honestly read one another? Why can't we really "hear" one another, not merely listen?
I am a Baby Boomer, a child of the late 1940s, a teenager of the 1960s, having seen America transform from the values of the 1950s to the radical ideas and concepts and precepts of the 1960s and later years. I have ministered through the raucous 1970s, the "me" generation of the 1980s, the economic tensions of the 1990s and the "new age" of the 2000s. I have spoken to and with people from every generation in those years. While perspectives and assumptions have radically changed, people hardly ever change. Fears of the 1960s are fears of the 2000s. Technological advancements have separated, not united us, and the beast we have launched with the internet of the 1970s has become all consuming and threatens to devour its children. It is not that we should go backwards, but are we really prepared to go forwards? The greatest needs of economic and job security, fairness, safety for us and our children, peace at home and abroad are still there, still behind all the rhetoric. It is not a matter of "civil rights," but rather a matter of human rights, of Constitutional rights, of being able to live and speak and exist freely as a society, not merely as isolated individuals.
So, here's a radical thought--get to know and listen to your neighbors, especially the ones who disagree with you, but have the same needs as you do. Engage in civil discussion, even when it seems hopelessly insane to do so. Reject the anger, vitriol, hatred, narrowness that often defines people. Agree to disagree. Prove that you are no bigot, no hate monger, but rather a follower of Jesus Christ who believes in his principles. Take the admonition of Paul to Timothy seriously -- "Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands." ( 2 Timothy 2:23-26. The Message)
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Why Some Churches Make It and Others Don't: Observations from a Church Consultant
“And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles… . Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8.1, 4) A small church in our town, decreasing in numbers, was assigned to a larger church in the same denomination as a “satellite” of that larger church. Another small church in a nearby town fights for survival. A starter church in upstate New York wonders if it will make it. And a church in a nearby city is on the verge of closing its doors. These are usually the types of churches and ministries that I as a church consultant get called in to analyze, help and offer coaching advice. And there are thousands of them across the country. Instead of asking the question of what went wrong with these ministries, the better question is how does the Word of God and the gospel of God spread successfully and fruitfully? I find some principles here in Acts.
Churches and ministries get too content where they are doing what they do. It is not that the church in Jerusalem was sinning against God, or not witnessing for God, or going the wrong way with God. They had become “cocooned” in the city, growing and even prospering in their cloistered environment. The gospel of Christ was shut up to that place and was not being spread about, as the resurrected Jesus had told the early apostles — “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.“ (Acts1.8) Acts 8:1 became the fulfillment of Acts 1:8. In general, God many times has to “force” churches or ministries to break out of their comfort zones for the spread of his Word.
Persecution grows the Church of God. There are a number of downsides to persecution, no doubt, but the great upside is that God often uses persecution, even violent persecution, to spread and grow his church. Spurgeon once said that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” What persecuted ministries and churches need to see is the future for what they are suffering. God’s cause is often advanced through tragedy and trouble in one place so that his Word and gospel can thrive in another place. While many churches and ministries in trouble want to shore up the walls and try to survive, they rather need to look beyond themselves to what God really wants for a region, a city, a nation or the world. What is God really saying? That Is the question that they must really answer and honestly answer. This is hard but necessary.
Taking risks for God always costs. But they are necessary risks for the spread of the gospel. The leader Stephen was stoned to death because he took a risk in preaching the truth to jealous Jews wanting to destroy followers of the Way. Philip and others took a risk by spreading the gospel message to places that the Jews had regarded as “forbidden” territories, as “unclean” places filled with “sinners.” The message of the Cross is for ALL people everywhere, not just the receptive, the trained, the “clean” and the “deserving.” This is why God’s Word must go to prisons and prisoners, not merely those locked up, but those caught up in the prison houses of their addictions and fears and deviant lifestyles. Not everyone of these will be saved, no doubt, but God’s destiny and plan for the gospel will be secured. The hard question for the churches and ministries cited in the opening paragraph is, Are you willing to die so that others may succeed with the Word of God and the gospel of his grace?
There is no magic church growth pill. In working with over 130 churches of various sizes and denominational backgrounds and in different places, the conclusion I have reached is that there is no one "formula" for growth and church health. Some churches simply seem to have the right "mix" of people, place, vision and calling from God to succeed. Others do not. It is not that the others are sinning against God or making grievous errors in judgment or goal setting or vision casting. The right "mix" simply is not there. And, that does not necessarily mean they have failed or come short of what God wants for them. Most of the time the sense and definition of "church" forbids real growth and healthy change. Sometimes the way the church started and gathered people forbids their continual growth. Every church has its imperfections and needs, no doubt, but there are a lot of congregations where the "mix" of people and agendas and hopes and dreams simply do not favor healthy church growth. And I believe sometimes God has a certain calling and place and ministry for a church that prohibits what we would cite as "normal" growth and development patterns. There is no magic pill for church growth and development.
The Church in Acts grew and prospered, but not every local congregation had the same story of growth and health. Take a hard look at the churches cited in the opening chapters of Revelation. Most of these congregations did in fact disappear from the church scene. Indeed, they had different needs and problems and challenges to overcome. Many did not make it. That never means the Church (capital "C") has failed in its mission from God. The main or central question for your church or ministry is, What does God want from us? Taking a hard and close and biblically satisfying look at that question will tell you how to proceed from where you are now.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why? — A RESPONSE
"Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why?" is a recent (Sep 26, 2019) Atlantic article written by staff writer Derek Thompson on the rise of the "nones" (non-affiliated religious people) since the 1990s. He cites a sociology and religion professor, Christian Smith, from the University of Notre Dame for the reasons for this upward tick in this sector of society and religion. Professor Smith has come up with several reasons for the rise, with the three main ones being three historical events: the association of the Republican Party with the Christian right, the end of the Cold War, and 9/11.
Many "nones" are young adults disenchanted with the identification of organized, evangelical religion with the Republican Party. "Smith said it’s possible that young liberals and loosely affiliated Christians first registered their aversion to the Christian right in the early 1990s, after a decade of observing its powerful role in conservative politics." Additionally, the ending of the Cold War with atheistic Communism, adding fuel to the "nones" declaration of being unaffiliated with organized, evangelical Christianity and the Church. Finally, the attacks of 9/11 by radicalized Islamic terrorists made all fundamentalist religion suspect to the "nones." These and a few other incentives gave spectacular rise to the "nones" since the 1990s.
I find, however, this analysis wanting and shallow. It fails to recognize the inherently destructive tendencies of secular humanism in our American and Western European societies, societies that have discarded biblical religion and its standards for no religion and the moral decay of ethical standards. Abortion, same-sex marriage, the rise of the LGBTQ community, the rejection of ordained authority and the skepticism of the institutional Church have added fuel to the "nones" insistence of being "spiritual" but not institutionally religious. They have thrown out "the baby with the bathwater," so to speak.
To the post-modern, post-truth age, there is no absolute truth, no binding ethics, no unwavering morality that cannot be challenged and then discarded. This has been well documented by Christian theologians and philosophers for decades now. We live, as Leonard Sweet would say, in a "cut-flower society," with no rooting and only a dim residue of Christian values and morés. This drives the heart throb of many "nones." They can therefore be "spiritual" without being biblical. They can own God without knowing the biblical God. They can practice in-house religion without attending the community of religion.
The deeper problem has always been a failure of the conservative, evangelical Christian Church to offer a thoroughly thought out and biblically supported Christ centered world and life view on everything--from work to politics, from school to play. We have lost the truth that all vocations are God-callings to be served for God and under God's Word. Work has lost its foundational Christian ethos. Colleges have lost their Christian roots, opting for the secularism of an anti-God academic snobbery. Consequently, the "nones" have seen the Church fail them at defining and describing what real biblical Christianity is all about.
"Nones" cannot be reached by contemporary, hiphop music and Christian-light messages aimed to secure their interest in the Church once again. Many are finding their way back to solid, orthodox liturgy and biblical exposition where the Bible is studied, analyzed, explained and applied to their lives. The "old ways" are proving to be the "good ways" back to God and the Bible.
I know these factors to be true from having a forty plus year experience as a pastor and a church health consultant for the latter twenty of those years. Working with many churches, large and small, and many different kinds of people professing faith in Christ, including young adults, I have found the above factors to be more of an explanation than Smith has given in his analysis of the "nones."
However, there is always hope to recover the "nones." Real authentic Christianity preached and practiced in our churches will help. Ridding ourselves of cultural Christianity and the hypocrisy that it spawns will also help. This is more than staffing food kitchens or providing homeless shelters where they are needed. This is good, but not enough to capture the "nones." We must once again offer captivating, encompassing Christ centered Christianity for them, wherever they call "church." The way ahead is hard, but truly worthwhile, especially for a generation that want to know God, the real, authentic God of the Bible.
Many "nones" are young adults disenchanted with the identification of organized, evangelical religion with the Republican Party. "Smith said it’s possible that young liberals and loosely affiliated Christians first registered their aversion to the Christian right in the early 1990s, after a decade of observing its powerful role in conservative politics." Additionally, the ending of the Cold War with atheistic Communism, adding fuel to the "nones" declaration of being unaffiliated with organized, evangelical Christianity and the Church. Finally, the attacks of 9/11 by radicalized Islamic terrorists made all fundamentalist religion suspect to the "nones." These and a few other incentives gave spectacular rise to the "nones" since the 1990s.
I find, however, this analysis wanting and shallow. It fails to recognize the inherently destructive tendencies of secular humanism in our American and Western European societies, societies that have discarded biblical religion and its standards for no religion and the moral decay of ethical standards. Abortion, same-sex marriage, the rise of the LGBTQ community, the rejection of ordained authority and the skepticism of the institutional Church have added fuel to the "nones" insistence of being "spiritual" but not institutionally religious. They have thrown out "the baby with the bathwater," so to speak.
To the post-modern, post-truth age, there is no absolute truth, no binding ethics, no unwavering morality that cannot be challenged and then discarded. This has been well documented by Christian theologians and philosophers for decades now. We live, as Leonard Sweet would say, in a "cut-flower society," with no rooting and only a dim residue of Christian values and morés. This drives the heart throb of many "nones." They can therefore be "spiritual" without being biblical. They can own God without knowing the biblical God. They can practice in-house religion without attending the community of religion.
The deeper problem has always been a failure of the conservative, evangelical Christian Church to offer a thoroughly thought out and biblically supported Christ centered world and life view on everything--from work to politics, from school to play. We have lost the truth that all vocations are God-callings to be served for God and under God's Word. Work has lost its foundational Christian ethos. Colleges have lost their Christian roots, opting for the secularism of an anti-God academic snobbery. Consequently, the "nones" have seen the Church fail them at defining and describing what real biblical Christianity is all about.
"Nones" cannot be reached by contemporary, hiphop music and Christian-light messages aimed to secure their interest in the Church once again. Many are finding their way back to solid, orthodox liturgy and biblical exposition where the Bible is studied, analyzed, explained and applied to their lives. The "old ways" are proving to be the "good ways" back to God and the Bible.
I know these factors to be true from having a forty plus year experience as a pastor and a church health consultant for the latter twenty of those years. Working with many churches, large and small, and many different kinds of people professing faith in Christ, including young adults, I have found the above factors to be more of an explanation than Smith has given in his analysis of the "nones."
However, there is always hope to recover the "nones." Real authentic Christianity preached and practiced in our churches will help. Ridding ourselves of cultural Christianity and the hypocrisy that it spawns will also help. This is more than staffing food kitchens or providing homeless shelters where they are needed. This is good, but not enough to capture the "nones." We must once again offer captivating, encompassing Christ centered Christianity for them, wherever they call "church." The way ahead is hard, but truly worthwhile, especially for a generation that want to know God, the real, authentic God of the Bible.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Blurring the Lines
During the week of July 5, 2017, President Donald Trump make an impassioned speech to the Polish people in the historic Krasinski Square, in the heart of Warsaw, Poland. Among other things, the President said, "The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out, 'We want God.'" (Quoted in God and Donald Trump, by Stephen E. Strang, p. 142) All we heard from the liberal Washington Post was that this was a "dark and provocative address with nationalist overtones." It is no secret that most of the national media and TV and movie people "hate" Donald Trump. They are still smarting from an election they want to call rigged by the Russians and refuse to give evangelical conservatives the voice they deserve on national politics, policies and platforms. From their point of view, we are all bigots, homophobes, hate-mongers and out of step with most of America. What is more disturbing to me, however, is that many church-going, decent, fair minded American people believe the same thing about evangelical, Bible-believing Christians. What is going on?
What is going on is a massive seismic shift in traditional, Bible-based values. The authority of Scriptures has been so eroded, denied and ignored over the past several decades that it has been relegated to a past, pre-enlightenment era of thinking and doing. The obvious traditional definition of marriage, for instance, between one man and one woman is being systematically replaced by same-sex marriage partnerships and alliances. And we are told that all of this is fair, just, needed and reflective of America of today. Anything less, or "biblical," is out of step, old fashioned, and inimical to true freedom and discovery. And current and coming hate-speech legislation will make it a crime to publicly speak against anti-biblical practices and habits. High level, Supreme Court cases are being brought to bear against Bible-centered businesses and business practices. Either we go with the flow, or we will be forced out of business, out of our neighborhoods and even out of our churches. If you don't believe me, watch and learn. But, why is this happening, and can't people see it?
The answers are more complicated than a straight "yes" or "no." There are national, state and local influences that are determined to excise any biblical references or allusions to right and wrong. This is an intentional, deterministic anti-God league of people and powers that desire to denigrate and deny any God-oriented witness and safeguards to the fabric of society and life in general. This is planned, promoted and deviously initiated in our schools, courts and political arenas. It is all done under the guise of love and fairness to all without prejudice. But what is done is very prejudicial to those who believe and want to live out biblical values and priorities. This is a first obvious line of attack.
A second line of attack is promulgated by people who think they are correcting the ship of fairness. They have seen fundamentalist organizations and churches and Christian ministries who have operated out of meanness, narrowness and a spirit of being always against something and someone. They have witnessed Planned Parenthood center marches, tracts and even bombings. They have seen blood-red hatred in the eyes of zealots and fanatics who identify themselves with Bible-believing faith stances. They merely want to do the right thing and be protective of people of different belief systems and faith stances, or no faith stance at all. They want a society where all is love and warmth and personal freedom. Anything that limits absolute personal freedom is to be discarded and legislated against. They believe they are doing society a favor.
A third line of anti-biblical thinking and action is undertaken by those who are confused by a society seemingly divided into opposites. They want nice people with nice stories and non-confrontational agendas to go to school with and be their neighbors, grocery and gasoline clerks and helpers. Whatever they can do to foster a "gentler, kinder America" is what they want. Instead of the rule of law, they want a rule of love and tolerance. So, when the national news media generates a story of children raising money for a local Planned Parenthood or a gay couple who has fallen on hard times, this is Oh, so nice and lovely. This is what we should be doing, they think, especially against those Christians who want to cause division and disruption. Live and let live is their motto. These folks, unfortunately, have forgotten the old story of the frog in the kettle, who while sitting in a slowly increasingly heated kettle was eventually boiled to death. Our society is being boiled to death.
The solution is and always has been justice with love, or love with justice. As a theologian I have had to deal over the years with the false dichotomy of a God of wrath versus a God of love, or an angry God of the Old Testament versus the gentle God of love of the New. This is a false division of Scripture and a flagrant misreading of the nature and character of God. We have a just and righteous God of love. The same God who revealed himself to Moses and the ancient nation of Israel has not changed or been replaced by a new God -- “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6, 7) Ignoring or seeking to replace or recast this God means doing away with Him. We can have the rule of law with the blessings of love and fairness and kindness. It is not and never has been, either/or.
What is going on is a massive seismic shift in traditional, Bible-based values. The authority of Scriptures has been so eroded, denied and ignored over the past several decades that it has been relegated to a past, pre-enlightenment era of thinking and doing. The obvious traditional definition of marriage, for instance, between one man and one woman is being systematically replaced by same-sex marriage partnerships and alliances. And we are told that all of this is fair, just, needed and reflective of America of today. Anything less, or "biblical," is out of step, old fashioned, and inimical to true freedom and discovery. And current and coming hate-speech legislation will make it a crime to publicly speak against anti-biblical practices and habits. High level, Supreme Court cases are being brought to bear against Bible-centered businesses and business practices. Either we go with the flow, or we will be forced out of business, out of our neighborhoods and even out of our churches. If you don't believe me, watch and learn. But, why is this happening, and can't people see it?
The answers are more complicated than a straight "yes" or "no." There are national, state and local influences that are determined to excise any biblical references or allusions to right and wrong. This is an intentional, deterministic anti-God league of people and powers that desire to denigrate and deny any God-oriented witness and safeguards to the fabric of society and life in general. This is planned, promoted and deviously initiated in our schools, courts and political arenas. It is all done under the guise of love and fairness to all without prejudice. But what is done is very prejudicial to those who believe and want to live out biblical values and priorities. This is a first obvious line of attack.
A second line of attack is promulgated by people who think they are correcting the ship of fairness. They have seen fundamentalist organizations and churches and Christian ministries who have operated out of meanness, narrowness and a spirit of being always against something and someone. They have witnessed Planned Parenthood center marches, tracts and even bombings. They have seen blood-red hatred in the eyes of zealots and fanatics who identify themselves with Bible-believing faith stances. They merely want to do the right thing and be protective of people of different belief systems and faith stances, or no faith stance at all. They want a society where all is love and warmth and personal freedom. Anything that limits absolute personal freedom is to be discarded and legislated against. They believe they are doing society a favor.
A third line of anti-biblical thinking and action is undertaken by those who are confused by a society seemingly divided into opposites. They want nice people with nice stories and non-confrontational agendas to go to school with and be their neighbors, grocery and gasoline clerks and helpers. Whatever they can do to foster a "gentler, kinder America" is what they want. Instead of the rule of law, they want a rule of love and tolerance. So, when the national news media generates a story of children raising money for a local Planned Parenthood or a gay couple who has fallen on hard times, this is Oh, so nice and lovely. This is what we should be doing, they think, especially against those Christians who want to cause division and disruption. Live and let live is their motto. These folks, unfortunately, have forgotten the old story of the frog in the kettle, who while sitting in a slowly increasingly heated kettle was eventually boiled to death. Our society is being boiled to death.
The solution is and always has been justice with love, or love with justice. As a theologian I have had to deal over the years with the false dichotomy of a God of wrath versus a God of love, or an angry God of the Old Testament versus the gentle God of love of the New. This is a false division of Scripture and a flagrant misreading of the nature and character of God. We have a just and righteous God of love. The same God who revealed himself to Moses and the ancient nation of Israel has not changed or been replaced by a new God -- “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6, 7) Ignoring or seeking to replace or recast this God means doing away with Him. We can have the rule of law with the blessings of love and fairness and kindness. It is not and never has been, either/or.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Reformation in Our Day
Reformation in our day. This month marks a big deal in the history of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, namely its 500th Anniversary. A number of writers and bloggers and Facebook fans have posted Reformation type articles and reminders. This may be seen as another addition, though I hope it stirs some to positive and enduring action for the next 500 years, if God so wills.
Reformation must begin in the Church and in God's people, Christ-followers by name and brand. Quite some time ago, the apologist Francis Schaeffer posited that we stand before a "watching world," and that if our behaviors do not radically change, there would be nothing inviting for unbelievers to transfer their allegiances. Many others have followed suit, and we have had "radical" Christianity preached and taught from many pulpits and in many quarters. Yet, the culture and world remain essentially unchanged and unchallenged, not so much by our words, as by our actions and attitudes. The Apostle Peter wrote, "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17) Pontification about what should be done, or not done, without transformed lives doing what should be done, or not done, does little to change or challenge the current atmosphere. We gain nothing by shouting louder than our opponents, or arguing with them better, or writing more books about the truth. Our post-post-Christian (not a typo) world has seen Christians and their churches come and go with very little cultural transformation or impact. I know this because as semi-retired from active pastoral ministry, I have coached and mentored numbers of churches and Christian leaders and followers, and have found the same judgment about Christianity's impact from them.
We must get back to Reformation basics--Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, God's glory Alone. Saying these phrases, even in their Latin formulations, does not mean we actually follow them. Scripture Alone, but we have "added" to the Scriptures by our own admission, not in adding actual verses to the Bible, but in summarizing and tweaking them to fit our conceptions of leadership, or fellowship, or Christian theology and philosophy. Anybody can make the Bible say anything they want it to say. What has happened to serious study of the Scriptures, to contextual and careful biblical exposition and development? Many churches do not even bother to reference a verse or two in their Sunday morning presentations, and these are self-proclaimed Bible churches. We have used and re-used the word relevancy so much that it has become our new Bible.
Christ Alone has become stories about Jesus, rather than the solid teachings of Jesus, both positive and negative in our world. We love John 3:16--"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life,"--but we stay away from John 3:36 -- "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." We especially abhor Romans 1, and ignore its stern warnings about sexual immorality of various sorts and people making their own gods to follow and worship. Until we get away from the "nice" Jesus, the "innocuous" Jesus, the "harmless" Jesus, we shall never know Christ Alone. And it is Christ Alone that can and will save us, not a mishmash of Jesus plus other "good" religions. The Cross and the Resurrection must frame our stories and sermons and writings. Christ must once again become the center point of what we teach and believe and follow.
Reformation must begin in the Church and in God's people, Christ-followers by name and brand. Quite some time ago, the apologist Francis Schaeffer posited that we stand before a "watching world," and that if our behaviors do not radically change, there would be nothing inviting for unbelievers to transfer their allegiances. Many others have followed suit, and we have had "radical" Christianity preached and taught from many pulpits and in many quarters. Yet, the culture and world remain essentially unchanged and unchallenged, not so much by our words, as by our actions and attitudes. The Apostle Peter wrote, "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17) Pontification about what should be done, or not done, without transformed lives doing what should be done, or not done, does little to change or challenge the current atmosphere. We gain nothing by shouting louder than our opponents, or arguing with them better, or writing more books about the truth. Our post-post-Christian (not a typo) world has seen Christians and their churches come and go with very little cultural transformation or impact. I know this because as semi-retired from active pastoral ministry, I have coached and mentored numbers of churches and Christian leaders and followers, and have found the same judgment about Christianity's impact from them.
We must get back to Reformation basics--Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, God's glory Alone. Saying these phrases, even in their Latin formulations, does not mean we actually follow them. Scripture Alone, but we have "added" to the Scriptures by our own admission, not in adding actual verses to the Bible, but in summarizing and tweaking them to fit our conceptions of leadership, or fellowship, or Christian theology and philosophy. Anybody can make the Bible say anything they want it to say. What has happened to serious study of the Scriptures, to contextual and careful biblical exposition and development? Many churches do not even bother to reference a verse or two in their Sunday morning presentations, and these are self-proclaimed Bible churches. We have used and re-used the word relevancy so much that it has become our new Bible.
Christ Alone has become stories about Jesus, rather than the solid teachings of Jesus, both positive and negative in our world. We love John 3:16--"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life,"--but we stay away from John 3:36 -- "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." We especially abhor Romans 1, and ignore its stern warnings about sexual immorality of various sorts and people making their own gods to follow and worship. Until we get away from the "nice" Jesus, the "innocuous" Jesus, the "harmless" Jesus, we shall never know Christ Alone. And it is Christ Alone that can and will save us, not a mishmash of Jesus plus other "good" religions. The Cross and the Resurrection must frame our stories and sermons and writings. Christ must once again become the center point of what we teach and believe and follow.
Grace Alone and Faith Alone have been substituted by doing the best we can to please God. Sad to say, but many Christians and Christian churches have substituted a form of "works" plus faith for the successful and Spirit filled believer. The rules have overcome salvation by grace through faith alone. I am teaching a course on the Letter to the Romans in a Bible based church, only to hear class members bemoan the fact that they have never heard this teaching in the church's public ministry. That is not to say that it was never there, but it has been eclipsed by other "relevant" topics over the years. The sovereignty of God's grace rarely gets a hearing in today's larger churches. And if so, it is shuttled to the side in an obscure small group or sparsely attended class. We need to return to Grace Alone and Faith Alone to have Reformation in our day.
God's Glory Alone is an unknown quantity in our day as well. Many do not even know what it means to "glorify God" in everything we say and do and think. It is a mystical, airy thing floating in the theological stratosphere with no earthly relevance. To glorify God means to have the "weightiness" of God's Word, God's character, God's values informing and impacting our own. It means a world-and-life viewpoint that informs and transforms our work, our play, our schooling, and our lives. Barna Associates have pointed out in survey after survey that over 90% of modern day Christians have little to no idea of a wholistic, 9-5, Sunday to Saturday, 24/7 faith life in Christ. People are not taught to glorify God, and when told to do so, have no idea what that means to the Christian truck driver, or waitress, or stockbroker, or politician, or schoolteacher. We have divorced faith from real life in so many ways that Sunday rarely bleeds over into Monday through Saturday.
So, on this 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, let us commit ourselves to real reformation, in our schools, our businesses, our recreation and our lives. Let us bravely and courageously adhere to and follow those brave Reformers, many of whom gave their lives for the Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone and to God's Glory Alone. May the next 500 years find us faithful to a true Reformation.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
What About Trump?
What about President Trump? I have delayed offering my little piece of comments until he was past his 100 days in office and until we could see a pattern emerging. I am no politician and do not write for a political cause or party or platform. I am not part of a political think tank and resist being identified or pigeon-holed, though I am certain this post will be seen that way. I write out of a conservative, evangelical Christian perspective, though have many friends on all sides of the political perspectives. Another thing is that I did not vote for Mr. Trump, nor for Hillary Clinton, in the last Presidential election for personal, convictional reasons, rather than a particular political point of view. So, what about President Trump?
People either love or hate the President. There are many on the left who simply despise the President. This is obvious and tragic, I believe. They are out to get Mr. Trump impeached for criminal activity of some sort. This has been plainly intimated by many on the political left. And this no doubt applies to some conservative Christians. Believers should read and re-read Romans 13 in the Bible for how we should be acting toward and thinking about officials of the state. They are due our honor, obedience and service. After all, the Apostle was speaking of the Roman Empire and its Caesars. As far as I know, the President has not asked us to violate any biblical mandates. In fact, he has worked to uphold some biblical perspectives and premises. Whether or not we agree or disagree with Mr. Trump, he is the President and is due our respect.
President Trump is anti-Establishment. I went to college in the 1960s. Remember those days? Anti-establishtarianism was rampant and strident in those days, certainly on my college campus and across the nation. The moral standards of the 1950s were being attacked and challenged. Anti-establishment people have always faced ridicule and fearful rhetoric by establishment types. My guess is that many older people on the left today marched, smoked whatever, and rallied against the moral order of earlier days and years. They should understand and even appreciate the anti-establishment stance of this President. Or, have we forgotten our sit-ins and rallies and work to shed the rules of the establishment then?
President Trump is a maverick. His Tweets and actions prove it. He is not suave, sophisticated, patient, or "presidential," whatever images that evokes. He is caustic, impetuous, anti-media and likes to shake things up. But this is the man we elected to be the President. Some may challenge that statement and contend that the election was somehow rigged by the Russians, and that the people were deceived or duped into electing a "bad apple." But he was elected, none the less, by our system of government. But we don't know how to deal with mavericks in the Washington establishment, do we? We therefore get frustrated, angry, upset and put out by this President. What did you expect?! If you think we are a Christian, moral nation, wake up! We have been increasingly secularized since the 1960s, and our biblical values and moral codes have been, and are being, trashed by many. If we expect the President to act "like a Christian," we have been living in a time capsule or are just naive.
What, then, should we be saying and doing about our President? We should be praying for him and all the government officials at all levels, whether they are politically right or left or moderate or extreme. That's what my Bible tells me to do. Are you praying, I mean really praying, for President Trump? That God would so direct his actions and words and Tweets and decisions so that, as the Apostle says, we "may lead a peaceful and quite life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Timothy 2:1, 2). This doesn't mean we give up or give in to bad decisions or incorrect judgments, but it does mean we depend upon God at the end of the day to judge righteously and well. I am not tying my wagon to the President or Congress for that matter. But I sincerely plead with God for their lives and decisions.
People either love or hate the President. There are many on the left who simply despise the President. This is obvious and tragic, I believe. They are out to get Mr. Trump impeached for criminal activity of some sort. This has been plainly intimated by many on the political left. And this no doubt applies to some conservative Christians. Believers should read and re-read Romans 13 in the Bible for how we should be acting toward and thinking about officials of the state. They are due our honor, obedience and service. After all, the Apostle was speaking of the Roman Empire and its Caesars. As far as I know, the President has not asked us to violate any biblical mandates. In fact, he has worked to uphold some biblical perspectives and premises. Whether or not we agree or disagree with Mr. Trump, he is the President and is due our respect.
President Trump is anti-Establishment. I went to college in the 1960s. Remember those days? Anti-establishtarianism was rampant and strident in those days, certainly on my college campus and across the nation. The moral standards of the 1950s were being attacked and challenged. Anti-establishment people have always faced ridicule and fearful rhetoric by establishment types. My guess is that many older people on the left today marched, smoked whatever, and rallied against the moral order of earlier days and years. They should understand and even appreciate the anti-establishment stance of this President. Or, have we forgotten our sit-ins and rallies and work to shed the rules of the establishment then?
President Trump is a maverick. His Tweets and actions prove it. He is not suave, sophisticated, patient, or "presidential," whatever images that evokes. He is caustic, impetuous, anti-media and likes to shake things up. But this is the man we elected to be the President. Some may challenge that statement and contend that the election was somehow rigged by the Russians, and that the people were deceived or duped into electing a "bad apple." But he was elected, none the less, by our system of government. But we don't know how to deal with mavericks in the Washington establishment, do we? We therefore get frustrated, angry, upset and put out by this President. What did you expect?! If you think we are a Christian, moral nation, wake up! We have been increasingly secularized since the 1960s, and our biblical values and moral codes have been, and are being, trashed by many. If we expect the President to act "like a Christian," we have been living in a time capsule or are just naive.
What, then, should we be saying and doing about our President? We should be praying for him and all the government officials at all levels, whether they are politically right or left or moderate or extreme. That's what my Bible tells me to do. Are you praying, I mean really praying, for President Trump? That God would so direct his actions and words and Tweets and decisions so that, as the Apostle says, we "may lead a peaceful and quite life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Timothy 2:1, 2). This doesn't mean we give up or give in to bad decisions or incorrect judgments, but it does mean we depend upon God at the end of the day to judge righteously and well. I am not tying my wagon to the President or Congress for that matter. But I sincerely plead with God for their lives and decisions.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Church Growth 101: Some Things Work And Many Do Not
After forty years in active pastoral ministry, and seventeen years as a church health consultant and coach, having worked with larger and smaller churches, I have a church growth observation, especially for those starting out in church ministry. Some things work for church growth, while many do not. I have used most every evangelistic method ever produced over the years. A few have produced some church growth results. Most have not. The latest and greatest church growth program produces the same continuum of results. Churches can be event oriented, seeker targeted, seeker sensitive, assimilation driven places that see little significant growth. Most churches in America are a few hundred in worship attendance, if that. So, what's the problem and, more importantly, what is the solution?
There are numerous reasons why churches do not grow. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with location, except in a few depressed areas of the country. It also has little to do with decent, biblical teaching and preaching. In fact, church health statistics (from Natural Church Development, churchsmart.com) would say that churches with the most educated pastoral staff show the smallest growth overall. Some of this is due, no doubt, to a disdain for numbers among some pastors and denominations. They minister to the "chosen" people of God, the committed core of Christendom, and are out for church purity and distancing from the secular world. I am not making fun of these places of ministry, just observing them. But what about those churches and ministries really trying to grow and reach a larger audience for Christ and the gospel?
A misplaced dependence on methods or programming or events. This would be a first reason, I believe, for lack of church growth. People are not attracted, in the long run and to regular church attendance and involvement, because of programming and events. Slick and cool graphics and websites and presentations and catchy videos and production elements in services and other church venues do not, by and large, grow churches. I have been to a number of smaller churches where the very latest and best in technology is used, much to no avail in church growth results. Hundreds and even a few thousand can attend a weekend event at a church or ministry with little or no church growth happening. It's just a big production or event, and that is all. Some churches spend a lot of money on these elements supposedly to produce more people in the pews or chairs of the worship venue, and the result is just more money spent.
Attention to demographics and younger people is not the secret formula for church growth. Let's just read the latest George Barna statistics and do what his organization, or a similar organization, advises, and our church will grow. Not really. Most of the time you will simply displace the older generation paying for these ministry venues. Perhaps if we follow the latest Saddleback forty-day ministry and group programming, we will grow. Despite Rick Warren's glowing claims, many churches do not grow in the long run with such programming. In fact, I have coached churches which have tried every church-wide programming tool known to Saddleback, with little or even negative results. Warren would claim that they did not follow the "rules," but that is not true. If such "proven" methods do not work, then what does?
First, church growth is a God-ordained thing. God grows His Church, His way, with His timing, and His purposes. I do not believe that in the long run you can biblically grow a church, any church. God has to grant His blessing and anointing for such growth to occur. Otherwise, it will either not happen or it will be like a shooting star, a flame that burns itself out. Ask those who have seen their churches mushroom and grow. Most, if truthful, would have to say that the bottom line for such growth is that God has blessed them.
Then, it has to be the right people at the right place and the right time for growth to occur. Don't expect a highly charismatic preacher to grow your church. Don't depend on an awesome and gifted church staff to do the same. With God's sovereign blessing and timing, average pastors with less than stellar staff can grow a church. I read a leadership article quite some time ago about one of the largest and growing churches in America. The pastor frankly admitted he did not know why his church grew and continues to grow. He talked about just watching God work around him and many, many people came to his church and stayed and became involved. Andy Stanley might say his systems and expectations were the real reason for growth. I don't buy that. As important as they are, strong leadership, great systems, and high expectations still don't guarantee church growth.
Am I therefore pessimistic about church growth? No, just doggedly realistic and seasoned about the topic and discussions. Can your church grow? I don't know. It may or may not numerically grow. It may grow to a point and then plateau or subside. It might mushroom and grow beyond your wildest dreams or goals or vision. The key thing I do know is to seek God's will and God's blessing upon your ministry and your church. Do the right things at the right time and with the right people in place. While this will not guarantee church growth, it will be what is right to do. And, isn't that what God really expects of us?
There are numerous reasons why churches do not grow. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with location, except in a few depressed areas of the country. It also has little to do with decent, biblical teaching and preaching. In fact, church health statistics (from Natural Church Development, churchsmart.com) would say that churches with the most educated pastoral staff show the smallest growth overall. Some of this is due, no doubt, to a disdain for numbers among some pastors and denominations. They minister to the "chosen" people of God, the committed core of Christendom, and are out for church purity and distancing from the secular world. I am not making fun of these places of ministry, just observing them. But what about those churches and ministries really trying to grow and reach a larger audience for Christ and the gospel?
A misplaced dependence on methods or programming or events. This would be a first reason, I believe, for lack of church growth. People are not attracted, in the long run and to regular church attendance and involvement, because of programming and events. Slick and cool graphics and websites and presentations and catchy videos and production elements in services and other church venues do not, by and large, grow churches. I have been to a number of smaller churches where the very latest and best in technology is used, much to no avail in church growth results. Hundreds and even a few thousand can attend a weekend event at a church or ministry with little or no church growth happening. It's just a big production or event, and that is all. Some churches spend a lot of money on these elements supposedly to produce more people in the pews or chairs of the worship venue, and the result is just more money spent.
Attention to demographics and younger people is not the secret formula for church growth. Let's just read the latest George Barna statistics and do what his organization, or a similar organization, advises, and our church will grow. Not really. Most of the time you will simply displace the older generation paying for these ministry venues. Perhaps if we follow the latest Saddleback forty-day ministry and group programming, we will grow. Despite Rick Warren's glowing claims, many churches do not grow in the long run with such programming. In fact, I have coached churches which have tried every church-wide programming tool known to Saddleback, with little or even negative results. Warren would claim that they did not follow the "rules," but that is not true. If such "proven" methods do not work, then what does?
First, church growth is a God-ordained thing. God grows His Church, His way, with His timing, and His purposes. I do not believe that in the long run you can biblically grow a church, any church. God has to grant His blessing and anointing for such growth to occur. Otherwise, it will either not happen or it will be like a shooting star, a flame that burns itself out. Ask those who have seen their churches mushroom and grow. Most, if truthful, would have to say that the bottom line for such growth is that God has blessed them.
Then, it has to be the right people at the right place and the right time for growth to occur. Don't expect a highly charismatic preacher to grow your church. Don't depend on an awesome and gifted church staff to do the same. With God's sovereign blessing and timing, average pastors with less than stellar staff can grow a church. I read a leadership article quite some time ago about one of the largest and growing churches in America. The pastor frankly admitted he did not know why his church grew and continues to grow. He talked about just watching God work around him and many, many people came to his church and stayed and became involved. Andy Stanley might say his systems and expectations were the real reason for growth. I don't buy that. As important as they are, strong leadership, great systems, and high expectations still don't guarantee church growth.
Am I therefore pessimistic about church growth? No, just doggedly realistic and seasoned about the topic and discussions. Can your church grow? I don't know. It may or may not numerically grow. It may grow to a point and then plateau or subside. It might mushroom and grow beyond your wildest dreams or goals or vision. The key thing I do know is to seek God's will and God's blessing upon your ministry and your church. Do the right things at the right time and with the right people in place. While this will not guarantee church growth, it will be what is right to do. And, isn't that what God really expects of us?
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