Thinking Out Loud About...The Method

Warning: this blog is going to sound Pharisaical.  I'm trying my best to stay away from legalism, but I'm concerned about the methods by which the Gospel is being delivered.  John 6:2, "And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick."  That's a sad commentary.  Here was the Son of God, and the people were more excited about the miracles that he was doing. 

The Church has become a mall.  It's a place we go for goods and services.  We look for the thing we need most at whatever stage in life we find ourselves.  If we have children, we look for the best children's ministry, or if we have teens, we look for the best youth ministry.  Millennial Generation is looking for relationship.  We are a culture without fathers and mothers.  I'm finding, in my church, that Millennials are responding to the Church's availability of loving adults. 

Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  Where is our commitment to loving one another?  Love requires relationship.  If we're not together, then how can we truly demonstrate love?  And, let's be honest, on most Sundays, we're sitting next to strangers.  We're herded in like cattle (maybe some of us are "chreasters" - those who only attend church on Christmas and Easter), and shuffled out in less than sixty minutes. 

A mega church pastor got himself in trouble for calling people who attend small churches selfish, because his church provided the exciting programs that hold the attention of children and youth.  Sadly, statistics are bearing out a different story.  We're losing 80% of our youth when they graduate and attend college.  The size of the church doesn't matter.  What I think children and youth need is the love of caring adults.  They get enough media throughout the week; they need interaction with real flesh and blood people on Sundays. 

The goal of many church services is to evoke a certain feeling.  But we all know that feelings can't be trusted.  What we need is the faithful truth of God's Word to carry us through those times when our feelings fail us.  What inspires us to worship when we don't feel like it?  What will help us make it when we don't feel God is there?  What helps us endure through difficult times?  There's nothing wrong with feelings; feelings were created by God.  But with all of the Bible's dedication to letting us know who we are in Christ, the spiritual gifts we have been given, and all that Jesus has done for us, why do we settle for something that is less than?  

 Thinking Out Loud Podcast The Method

Thinking Out Loud About...The Message

What are people hearing in the Church today, and does it match the message of Jesus?  I've found that there have been a few times in the ministry that I've come across something that isn't quite right, but I can't quite put a finger on it.  A great deal of the teaching we hear in the Church is bothersome to me.  I think I've finally figured it out.  The problem: most of the preaching we hear is about us.  At the heart of the most preaching is advice on how I can become a better me.  You'll hear sermon titles like this: "Five ways to become happier."  "Three ways to save for retirement."  "How to have a happy marriage."  Is there anything wrong with this?  Of course not.  The problem is not the message but how the message is delivered. 

Christianity is a supernatural religion.  It teaches that there is a world of the supernatural.  What do we ever do in the Church that is rooted in that idea?  If the Church stops growing we institute a remodeling plan, we hire more staff, or we change our message.  We always seem to look for our own solutions.  We rarely think about a supernatural solution to a natural problem.  How about instead trying prayer, fasting, or sharing our faith. 

There is a greater issue: dying to self.  It is our lack of understanding of the Gospel itself that is the problem.  We are dead in our sins, but God offers us new life in Christ.  Jesus spoke repeatedly about his own death and issued the call for anyone who wanted to be his disciple to also lay down their life.  This is where the Gospel begin; "we are dead in our trespasses and sins."  We are not good, we are not wise, and we cannot see.  That's what today's preaching is missing. 

Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  The Bible teaches that the Christian life is a death.  It also teaches that the Christian life is a rebirth.  John 3:5, "Unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God."  John was a replay of Genesis.  Both begin with the words, "In the beginning."  The first creation was flawed; the 2nd creation is perfect.  Jesus said, "Behold, I make all things new."  2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation…"  Literally! 

Christianity is not safe.  C. S. Lewis said in his book The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, "Aslan is not safe, but he is good."  What did he mean by that?  Jesus is not safe, because he will meddle in every area of your life.  But it's worth it.  As far as today's preaching goes, I ask the following questions:  Where is the sacrifice?  What about dying to self?  Does the preaching inspire us to the pursuit of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?  Is there a call to die to self at the core of the messages we're hearing?  

Thinking Out Loud About Podcast The Message