Cost Equals Value

The other night I took my kids to a "dollar" cinema to see one of the latest offering of animated movies. The last time I took my kids to a movie it was at a "regular" theater. The first thing I noticed about the dollar theater was the large price difference - which was nice. The second thing I noticed got me thinking of things of a more eternal nature. When we got seated in the theater I noticed that it was not very full - which wasn't surprising as I've seldom ever been in a packed out discount theater. But what I wasn't counting on is the vast number of people that came in after the movie started. The number of late comers was at least equivalent to the number who were early. One family even came in at least forty-five minutes after the movie started (I know because they plopped down right next to me). It dawned on me that you never see that at a full priced theater and the reason why? It has to be price. When folks pay more for something, they value it more. When something costs you something, there is more emotional investment in making sure you're there on time and get your choice of seat.

Now fast forward to Sunday morning at your church. Notice how many people are late and how many of those are habitually so.

We value things that cost us something.

I'll let you do the math.


The Truth:

"Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” 2 Sam. 24:24.

"Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'" Luke 9:23.

Your Last Day

Millions of people worldwide were saddened yesterday at the passing of Steve Irwin, a man better known as "The crocodile hunter". The cause of death for this man who routinely handled deadly snakes and ravenous crocodiles was perhaps as shocking as anything. He died after being stung by a stingray while filming for his show off the coast of Australia. Expert's say that human deaths attributed to stingrays are extremely rare, and Steve died only because the barb just so happened to puncture his heart.

Often death comes as a surprise. I'm sure when Steve Irwin awoke yesterday morning and kissed his wife and kids he never dreamed it would be for the last time.

Sad events like this always remind me of the uncertainty of life. Even though in the very back of our minds we know that last day is coming for us, we do not know when and seldom will know how it will happen. James 4:14 says: "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

I believe planning for that day begins right now. I'm not suggesting that we live with this morbid thought floating around in our heads, in fact that would be wrong, but I am suggesting that we live our lives as one prepared for that finality. Here's my personal checklist for living a prepared life:

1. Make sure you tell your family you love them every single day. And don't just tell them, show them. Hug and kiss your children, speak encouraging, uplifting words to them every single day. Give affirmation to your spouse as often as you can. Compliment your loved ones - look for positive things to say. The world is full of negativity; don't let that come out of your mouth.

2. Make sure you live each day to the fullest for God's glory. The old saying goes, "One life on earth will soon be past - only what's done for God will last." Every day we have been given is a gift from the God who gave us our life, so go for God with all of your heart. Remember Jesus said we should love God with all of our "heart, soul, mind and strength."

3. Don't procrastinate. I once heard that "Tomorrow is a day found only on a fool's calendar". That truth has always stuck in my heart. You've no doubt heard the Latin phrase 'carpe diem' that literally means, "pluck the day", but is usually stated as "seize the day". Every day should be "plucked" and lived to the fullest.

4. Important things always come first. A Christian's priority list should look something like this: God, spouse, children, everything else. Don't allow the urgent to rule your life - make sure you rule it. Similarly, don' t allow your calendar to control you - you control it.

Seize the day!

Hybrid Christianity

In biology the term hybrid often refers to the offspring of two different species, or of two different genera. The end result is not always better and many times the offspring is sterile, unable to reproduce any fruit after it's kind. There may well be another type of hybrid roaming the earth today, the hybrid Christian. The species has blended a little truth with some deception and sadly thinks that they are OK. They have in fact created a God in their minds that does not exist and has no power to save them.

Paul, in 1 Corinthian speaks about this topic. He calls this hybrid - "carnal". Carnal Christians are those who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. They make the claim, but do not deliver the goods. They use grace as an excuse for sin rather than knowing grace as the power of God to overcome sin.

The Bible says to remain carnal has dire results:

Romans 8:6-8 says: "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

In Paul's day, people were claiming to know Christ but continuing on in sinful lifestyles. Not much has changed today. People say all the time that because they are a certain denomination or because they are in a certain church it's OK to do certain sin, because their church, they say, has no problem with it. The lead singer of the rock band, Blink 182, said at one point that he was a Christian – but he added something to the effect, “I’m the type that drinks and party’s and uses foul language.”

The Bible says:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

That’s a huge deception in our culture for that 'type' of Christian doesn't exist. Biblically, there is only one kind of Christian, and that's the kind with a surrendered life to Christ and whose actions, words, deeds, practices and habits reflect Jesus Christ. Hybrid Christianity is turning the world off of Christianity because it's unable to produce fruit because it's sterile (having a form of godliness but lacking its power).

Perhaps we need a better understanding of what the grace of God is.

On seeing several criminals being led to the scaffold in the 16th century, English Protestant martyr John Bradford remarked, 'There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.'

We still say that today – except for the grace of God, there go I. What does that mean? It means I was on that path to hell, but a Power that is higher than I called the Grace of God came down and changed me – and now I’m eternally grateful because I’m not the man I used to be. I don't live in the sin I used to - because of grace! You see grace is the power to overcome sin – not an excuse to co-exist with it.

You smell like the sheep

Every 'sheep herder' or shepherd carries with him or her, the distinct smell of the sheep in which they care for. That's because they are intricately involved in their care and feeding. If a certain sheep was stuck or in danger, the shepherd would go put his arms around the frightened animal and rescue it. In Jesus' time, shepherds would bring their flocks together at night and build a pen around them for safety. There would be four or five different flocks inside of one pen. How did they sort them out? Easily. The next morning the shepherds would gather at the opening of the pen and as the sheep came out the shepherds would call to them. Every sheep recognized the voice of its shepherd and would automatically follow his voice. The sheep literally knew the voice of the one who took care of them.

We know that Jesus is the Great Shepherd. But we also use the term 'shepherd' for another person today: A pastor. I believe the greatest compliment that any pastor (shepherd) could ever receive is, "Pastor, you smell like the sheep." This has nothing to do with the olfactory sense mind you. But it's a statement that says, "Pastor thank you for being there for me - thank you for taking care of me - thank you for not be untouchable and unreachable - thank you for being a genuine friend." In the sports world have you ever heard of a "player's coach"? Well we need more "player's pastors", "sheep's shepherds" if you will.

What I would love to see today is the end of the professional minister. Those who care for a flock only because they love the pedestal of praise or who only care about the problems of the sheep when they're 'on the clock'. These are the ministers who insist that a pastor should never have close friends within his own congregation. How truly sad. Perhaps it's time that we stop giving credentials to those merely looking for recognition or a paycheck. Title and position seekers need not apply. To be an under shepherd for the Great Shepherd means that we have to smell like the sheep. Isn't that how Jesus smelled?

The Missing Books of The Bible

I've spent a little time recently reading the Gnostic Gospels, aka, the missing books of the Bible. After having read them, I now know why they were missing. They are the most non-sensical, moronic ramblings that make absolutely no sense that I've ever subjected my eyes to. Check out my "Duh-Vinci" blog below for some honest to goodness quotes from the Gnostics. I honestly believe that whoever wrote them (by the way, they are erroneously named after disciples and other real Bible characters who had nothing to do with writing them - mainly because they were long dead before these books were ever written) must have been snorting mushrooms and licking toads and then sat down to write on the 'deeper meanings of life'. If you ever hear from anyone that these writings reveal more about Jesus, or give us greater insight into Christianity, you may safely write them off. The Gnostic Gospels make Nostradamus look like William Shakespeare.
There is clearly a difference between Holy Spirit anointed revelation (The Bible) and incoherent babbling. The more we learn about the Bible and how we got it, the more obvious it becomes that God has truly preserved His Word through the course of history. That's not surprising because Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Matthew 24:35.

Thanks, Mom

Mother's Day is a great time of year. A day we set aside to thank our mom's for all that they do and have done for us. As I ponder my mom's importance, I think back to a mom that was a praying mom. Her prayer life was very active, especially when my father was driving us anywhere. I remember when we'd get in a tight traffic close call, my mom would pray. She would usually call out to the Lord, and say my dad's name at the same time. It would usually come out something like, "Lord...Towner!" This caused me to grow up thinking my dad was somehow a part of the British Royal Family. Good thing God was able to discern my mother's intent when she prayed in those moments. It's funny the things that you tend to remember about your own personal "wonder years". Memories of seeing my mom on her knees by her bed crying out to God and my father with his Bible open on his lap sitting in his favorite chair. These images are emblazoned on my mind. Images that greatly impacted me and helped shape the man I am today. A Godly mother provides the critical moral compass to her children and her prayers are more valuable than we could know.

So mom, thanks. We appreciate all of your love and your prayers and we rise up today to call you blessed.

May they burn my bones

Long before Luther made his famous stand at the Council of Worms, there was a man named John Wycliffe that blazed the trail for Reformation. In the 1380’s Wycliffe produced the first hand written copies of the Bible in English, which was considered blatant heresy by the Catholic Church. With the help of his followers, called the Lollards, and his assistant Purvey, and many other faithful scribes, Wycliffe produced dozens of English language manuscript copies of the scriptures. This along with his stand against the false doctrine of the church and his belief in the absolute authority of the Scripture placed him at great odds against the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.

In fact Wycliffe was so hated by the Catholic Church, that Pope Martin V had his bones dug up 44 years after he died to have them burned!

My initial thought on that is - how incredibly cool would that be? To be so effective for the Kingdom of God, and so hated by your enemies, they have to dig up your bones 44 years after you die and burn them?

What a wonderful legacy to leave behind for every true Believer. May our impact on this world be so great that the enemies of the cross would have to dig us up decades after our death to burn our bones!

Easter Thoughts

I'm deeply moved each year during this holy week as we again get a fresh reminder of the suffering that Jesus endured for each of us. I'm reminded again that it was my fingerprints on the whip that struck our Savior that day. My prints were on the hammer that drove the nails. These sobering facts always bring a freshness to my relationship with Jesus. This year I'm especially drawn to the scourging that Christ endured. It's interesting to me that a scourging was never usually given with any other punishment, but Jesus got that plus the crucifixion. The Romans actually never expected the prisoner to survive the scourging and in fact would try to wrap the tails of the whip around the abdomen of the victim in order to disembowel them. This way soldiers didn't have to stand out in the heat for hours while the victim died the slow suffocating death of crucifixion. So forty stripes save one were administered. Thirteen on the left shoulder - thirteen on the right shoulder - and 13 on the loins. The psalmist said:

Psalm 129:3 - "The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long."

I've no doubt that Mel Gibson's Passion, as graphic as it was, could not even do justice to what Jesus went through in that horrific 6 minutes of scourging.I certainly am not trying to downplay the importance of the cross, because that's where Jesus died for our sins and bought our salvation - but I believe the whipping post was just as powerful. At the whipping post He took those stripes that bring emotional and physical healing and deliverance:

Isaiah 53:5 - "But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our inquities; the chastisment of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Every stripe He took was for each sin we've ever committed. Somebody had to pay - and it was all laid on Him. Make's this weekend a whole lot more special.

Is Your Church Growing?

This is the million-dollar question that every pastor and many parishioners are asked about their church. Translated, that question means, “Are there more people attending your church now than when I asked you last time?” Depending on the particular Monday, or month of the year, this question can bring a lot of angst. No one wants to feel like the loser and say, “Well praise God, actually, we’ve lost a few people, and have less today than this time last year!” In the American church this seemingly has become the singular measuring stick of whether a church is healthy or not – “Is your church growing?” Don’t get me wrong; numerical growth is a wonderful thing. The problem is statistics tell us that at least 85% of all church numbers growth is transfer growth. Therefore some will gladly say that they are growing, but what they really mean is that they’ve merely added some “kingdom furniture” from another church. Also given the fact that the church has failed to gain an additional 2% of the population in the last 50 years (meaning we’re not even keeping our own children saved) glowing reports of American church growth can mostly be disregarded.

Believe me, my heart and prayer is that every church that preaches the true Gospel of Jesus Christ would grow large in every facet. But my question is – is it really right or even accurate to use numerical growth as a measuring stick for how healthy a church is?

I know the verse that is oft quoted justifying numbers as a measuring stick is Acts 2:47 – “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Certainly this shows what happens when a New Testament church is functioning in its proper capacity of preaching a Biblical Gospel - souls will be truly saved. But notice these numbers came from actual conversions – not from other churches.

My point is, this question of “Is your church growing” is only partially right. The correct version of this is “Is your church growing spiritually?”
If we are going to use the Bible as our measure (and correctly so) why stop at numerical growth? Let’s look at all the signs in the book of Acts of what a church should be. If your church is growing spiritually then are people in your church devoted to the Word of God? Are they given to prayer? Are the gifts of the Holy Spirit flowing in your church? Are they even welcome in your church? Are people being baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues? You see these are ALL indicators of whether a New Testament church is growing or not.

Since it’s the Holy Spirit who decides when we are saved (John 6:44), we truly don’t have control over numerical growth! Perhaps Jesus really meant what He said when He stated, “I will build my church…” (Matthew 16:18).

Author Os Guinness states: “…(there can be) an improper emphasis on the health of a church being judged according to unbelievers’ response to the gospel. Who, after all, is really giving the increase? Who is responsible for the response?” He goes on to say: “But theologically, (this) means the difference between the church growth as true faith and church growth as a form of streamlined humanistic engineering.”

Simply stated when we resort to marketing the church for the sake of numbers we have resorted to ‘humanistic engineering’ instead of New Testament Holy Spirit induced growth. Manipulating the growth of numbers through “marketing” appears to be unscriptural at best.

We do, however, have a hand in spiritual growth among our adherents. Our mandate from Christ Himself is not to produce numbers, but to produce quality disciples: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you...” Matthew 28:19-20.

Here’s a great test for any Pastor or Christian. Survey your congregation. Are people reading their Bibles more this year than last? Are more people showing up for your prayer meetings? Are more of your people sharing their faith in Jesus Christ? Are people in your congregation leaving sinful lifestyles and turning to Christ as a result of being a part of your church? Or do they continue to live in sin and attend week after week unchanged by your message?

Instead of saying, “Is your church growing”, perhaps we should greet each other with the language of the early revivalists, “Are you still burning for Jesus?” Are people in your church on fire for God? Are you? Am I?

Answer this my friends, and we will not be able to contain the numbers that come to our churches across this land.

Grassroots Christianity

Recently I read a powerful testimony of a Ukrainian physicist turned pastor and church planter in the Charisma Online Magazine. Valeriy Reshetinsky survived the horrific state persecution of the 70's and remembers the secret church meetings, beatings from state hired thugs and waiting five years just to get his own Bible. He also remembers a prophecy given back in those days about how communism was going to end in his Russian country and that someday the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be preached in stadiums across his homeland.

Valeriy has lived to see that day. He now pastors a 2,500 member church in Kiev that has mothered another 150 churches in the Ukraine.

His plea to Americans? He states, "Please don't allow the United States to become like Western Europe. Don't allow it to become secular. Please keep America a Christian nation."

That begs the question - how can we do that? How can we contribute to keeping America from slipping into the chasm of Godlessness the way Western Europe has? Well some would argue that we are there right now, but having visited Europe, I can assure you that we are not - not yet anyway. But we are heading down that same path for sure.

Here's what I believe we must do:

1. Pray. We still have the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." As we often say around here - if we don't pray we won't have anything. Only through prayer will things change.

2. Go Grass Roots. Each and every believer must be intent on reaching one life at a time. There is much nonsense being taught today about Christians taking over the government and institutions of higher learning, etc. This is both un-scriptural and non-productive. Jesus has called us to make disciples one life at a time. Until every Christian makes it their business to not only witness to unbelievers, but then disciple them we will never see a change in our nation.

3. Rely On The Holy Spirit. We don't need to hear the 'prophetic' voice today near as much as we need to get back to listening to the Third Person of the trinity. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. The Book of Acts is filled with stories of how the fledgling church grew and did the miraculous because they listened daily to the Spirit of God. Churches that would espouse themselves to be New Testament churches must begin to emphasize the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or we are in danger of not seeing the Fire of God passed down to the next generation. Jesus told us that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was primarily for the purpose of reaching the lost. It's time to toss human engineered growth and fall on our faces before a Holy God.

4. Love. After the greatest command of loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, Jesus gave us the second greatest commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. There are many ways to show the love of Jesus Christ in everyday living. Last week I was trying to get off of the highway and apparently got in the way of someone in a bigger hurry than I was. This guy pulled up beside me and gave me the 'business' for a moment. After he pulled past me I saw the Christian fish symbol on the back of his truck. I looked over at my twelve year old daughter who was sitting next to me and said, "Ni-ice". Glad it was me that saw that outburst and not someone who didn't yet know Jesus. Actions like that contribute to the belief of many that having Jesus makes no difference in your life. I still cling to a little theology I learned as a child, "If you're saved and you know then your life will surely show it..." We must move out of the zone of the typical, and begin to show the love of Jesus in greater measure to the world around us.

Let's resolve to make a difference today in our world!

The $148 Sandwich

Recently a London chef created the $148 sandwich. And I thought a grande latte at Starbucks was expensive. I couldn't help but wonder just who it is that buys an $148 sandwich? Granted I'm the type whose pocket change dictates whether I get a vente or a grande, but $148 for a sandwich? Despite the fresh lobe foie gras, black truffle mayonnaise, brie de meaux, rocket, red pepper and mustard confit, and other wonderful ingredients that I can't pronounce, I can't imagine a scenario that would lead me to purchase such extravagant cuisine. To me a sandwich is a sandwich. It's not to hard to mess one up. A couple slices of bread, your favorite meat, some cheese, lettuce, your favorite condiment and in the words of Emeril - bam - a sandwich.
In some strange way this is what a lot of churches do to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They turn it into a $148 dollar sandwich by making it so complex and complicated that it becomes unreachable and even undesirable. I've been at churches where their discipleship process was so complex that one could earn a degree in engineering with less difficulty. We need to get back to simplicity - because the Gospel is simple. Leading people into a practical relationship with Jesus Christ and a practical Biblical life growth plan. Over the years I've seen the church fail at this time and time again. That's why the church is looked at today by millions of spiritually hungry Americans as the $148 sandwich - a curious item for sure, but one that they would never actually partake in. Now pardon me while I go find a good dollar menu.

It Only Took 4 Minutes

You've no doubt heard the name Jason MacElwain. Jason is the high school senior from Rochester, New York who was the manager for his high school basketball team. While Jason loved basketball, he was never good enough to make his team, so he decided to be the team manager. At the teams' last home game, the coach decided to put Jason into the game. He wanted to show his appreciation to Jason for all of his hard work and dedication. What happened after that was simply unbelievable.

Jason entered the game with only four minutes to play and proceeded to hit 6 three-pointers and score 20 points in those final 240 seconds. An amazing feat on any level of basketball, even more amazing considering Jason has autism.

I must admit that watching the video of this high school boy playing the role of unlikely hero brought tears to my eyes. The student section in the gymnasium went crazy for Jason and carried him off the floor after the game was over.

I couldn't help but see the spiritual parallel of how God seems to use the most unlikely of people to accomplish great things. If you've ever felt unlikely like I have - that's good news for you and me!

1 Samuel 17 illustrates this beautifully by showing us that things weren't going so well for God's army as they lined up against the Philistine army. They were cowering in fear unable to meet the challenge of the behemoth named Goliath. That's when God went to His bullpen and brought in an unlikely hero in the form of a seventeen year old shepherd boy named David. Before he went out to meet Goliath, David makes a powerful statement of faith in verse 29, "Is there not a cause?" The rest, as they say, was history.

In a matter of moments God used a most unlikely person to win an unlikely victory. In a few seconds, everything was different. The outlook had changed. Men went from fear to celebration.

The truth is if we, like David, will be faithful to the Lord and trust Him no matter what - there is nothing that our God can't accomplish through us!

Relevant irrelevance

I recently read some statistics from Josh McDowell's book, The New Tolerance, that concerned me. He cites a study done that shows that:

* 57% of churched youth do not believe that an objective standard of truth exists.
* 53% of those who identify themselves as conservative Christians do not believe in absolute
truth.
* 84% of first year Christian college students cannot defend or explain their beliefs.
* 66% of those who say it is important to follow the teachings of the Bible reject moral absolutes.

Of course all Bible truth hinges on the doctrine of Divine Inspiration of Scripture. Everyone who believes in the Divine Inspiration of Scripture must then believe that the Bible is inherently and infallible (true and without error). Therefore if Christians believe this, then they must believe that the Bible is absolute truth.

Here lies the problem: If "conservative Christian" adults and "churched youth" don't believe in absolute truth, then they are in fact rejecting the very Bible and the very God they claim to believe in. Ever wonder why Christianity and so many Christians seem so weak in America?

This leads to the next question: Why would so many Christians embrace this false view and why would 84% of first year Christian college students not be able to defend their faith?

These facts present incriminating evidence that the church is not teaching Bible doctrine like it should. Why is that? The answer is simple. Many churches have a new boss. His name? Relevance. In many cases today, churches and ministers are so concerned about bowing at the altar of being relevant, that sound Biblical doctrine is being tossed aside. The new paradigm is preaching that which attracts the crowd by meeting the "felt needs" of the audience in order to build the crowd. While this may lead to happy group therapy sessions on Sunday morning, this has wreaked havoc on the Body of Christ - leading to Christians who neither know the Word of God nor solid Bible doctrines that will keep them living for God in tough times. They can, however, give you a scripture from the Message Bible about how God wants you to have a Coke and a smile while getting a pay raise at work. (The sarcasm font was on during that last sentence.)

Most "felt needs" preachers would agree with me in principle concerning lifting up Bible doctrines, but would add something like, "We merely preach a timeless message with modern methods." Apparently for 84% of our college students the "timeless message" is being lost in the "modern methods". One could even argue that if Jesus was concerned about being relevant to the culture He came to 2,000 years ago He would have come as a King on a throne or a high powered religious leader. Instead His truth and His reality that liberates sinners makes Him relevant - no side shows needed.

Truth, in and of itself, is relevant and doesn't need to be excused or apologized for - just upheld, proclaimed and declared without the "bait and switch" methods reminiscent of parents trying to sneak the healthy vegetables onto their child's dinner plate. Jesus said that knowing truth would set us free. God's truth, therefore, must be our primary objective.

If knowing God's Word and Bible doctrine isn't a value among Christians today, then the onus is on the person standing behind the pulpit to teach it's value. In the effort to be relevant, many in the church growth movement are actually becoming irrelevant - How ironic.