What is your authority?

Authority seems to have become taboo in our culture. No one wants to sit under it and everyone wants to have it. Regardless of whether or not we want to acknowledge it, we all sit under some form of authority. Now I am not talking here of the reality that we all sit under the authority of God, though this is true and one day this will be made known. No, rather I am speaking of the authority on which we all base our views, our beliefs and convictions, our actions, our likes and dislikes. As we grow and form these areas of our life, we are all forming theme based around the authority of our life in that area. So the question is, what is our authority. This authority can take on many different forms.

For some, their authority comes from their emotions. They base their beliefs, their interest, their worldview around the emotions that these things invoke. If something stirs up inside of us a feeling of joy and happiness, well then it must be right. Life decisions, world-views even thoughts of God are based around their emotions and feelings and how they want things to be. Emotions are not bad, in fact they are good as they are given us from God. However, emotions are not meant to be our guiding force in life or our authority. The problem with this authority is it deceives you. Your emotions change from situation to situation. What may seem like certain truth and lead you to a strong conviction in one situation will lead you into changing your mind when the variables of a situation change. You base moral decisions and convictions based on the situation rather than truth.

Others find their authority based on experience. Often this view of authority is based largely around pragmatism. If I have experienced something in the past and it produced positive results, then it must be right. Views of right and wrong, good and bad, and even most beliefs and convictions are based around has it produced results. The problem is, everything that produces results is not by default right. This method also is deceiving and shifting. What happens when this "truth" no longer produces results, is it no longer a truth to which we are to hold? What if something that is counter opposite to this result producing truth or worldview also produces results or shows evidence that it "works?" Are they both true and worthy though they are opposed to one another?

For others, their authority comes from their logic or intellect. They analyze every situation and evaluate it to see if it logically adds up, and if it makes sense, then it is true and they will hold to it, but if it doesn't it must be rejected. If I am honest, I struggle with falling into this category. This sounds good on the surface, but this only works if the persons intellect and mindset is based around a logical set of truths and values by which to judge. If the persons intellect is based on faulty information, or worse, no information just their own wisdom, then what they conclude will also be skewed. Also, there are many very intelligent, educated people who diametrically disagree on any number of issues, so still this gives us no set standard of authority, but rather a shifting changing authority that is based on each persons thoughts.

The main problem with all of these authorities is that they make the individual the ultimate authority. It's the person's emotions, or experience or intellect that becomes the basis by which all things are judged. People cling to these authorities because it gives us a sense of control. If emotions, or experience or intellect are the authority, then ultimately I can shape right and wrong, my worldview, even my views of God to be exactly like I want them to be. This is dangerous and does not lead to truth that is absolute, but rather a truth that is weak and relative.

Rather, truth and authority must be set around something that is absolute and unchanging. Something that comes from the ultimate standard of truth, this being God. God is the source of all truth. He is to be the ultimate molder of our worldview. And He has not left who He is up to our imagination. He has revealed all these things through the Holy Scriptures. It is the scripture that is "breathed out by God and profitable" (2 Timothy 3:16). It is through His word, the Bible, that God has revealed the truth of morality, the truth of who He is and how one is reconciled to Him through Christ alone. It is through Scripture that God has laid out the truth of His bride the church and how she is to function and be lead. It is through His word that He has made known to us the ultimate authority on all these things. So the questions now becomes, will we submit these lesser authorities (our emotions, experience/pragmatism, and intellect) to the ultimate authority of Scripture? Will we allow the truths of Scripture to guide our emotions, not our emotions the truths of Scripture? Will we seek out of what the Bible teaches about our experiences and whether this thing or world view that "works" actually lines up with who God is and what He has revealed? Will we allow our intellects and worldviews to be shaped by the truth of God's word, not the things of this world? Will the Bible be the ultimate authority in our lives as believers, as it is intended to be, or will it simply become a slave to these other authorities that we have established?

Worship or behavior modification?

Having always attended and served in your typical SBC church, the issues of music style and ways we worship always seem to be a recurring conversation that takes place.  And if you are thinking that this is going to be a post promoting one side or the other, you are wrong.  Sorry to disappoint you.  The issue at hand is not the style of music that is sung or not sung as the church gathers for corporate worship,rather the heart of the people doing the "worshiping."  It seems we are more treating the symptoms and leading people to appear as if they are worshiping rather than treating the core issue and leading people into true worship.  If a person is truly not worshiping, it has nothing to do with the style of music being played )with the exceptions of screamo music, music so heavily distorted I can't understand anything, and the old lady playing the upright piano that has not been tuned in 3 decades playing every song the same tempo to make it even more irritating) rather it is, for the most part, the persons low view of the God toward whom the worship is directed.  However, when I have these conversations with people it seems they are more concerned with getting people to perform certain actions, i.e clap/raise their hands, smile, or like newer upbeat music.  Do not misunderstand me, these things are not bad, but these should simply be the outpourings of true worship not mistaken for being true worship.

In Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for appearing righteous on the outside yet remaing unclean on the inside.  I fear that when it comes to this issue, and many others in the church, we are producing people who sit in a pew and perform certain actions we want them to perform, appear righteous and worshipful, yet have no true worship and affection for God in them.

The key to changing a lifeless and worshipless congregation is not to get them to clap or raise their hands or smile when they sing praise songs.  Likewise, the key to getting the younger generation to truly worship is not to do away with hymns and sings cool and trendy praise songs.  Hymns are great and so are contemporary worship songs (well there are some in both categories that need to be done away with, but that is a different post.)  We as pastors, worship leaders, and believers in the church hungry to see the church be the vibrant bride of Christ must not mistake getting people to sing a certain style song or to perform certain actions in the midst of their singing as the key to getting the church to worship.  John Piper has said "You can't praise what you don't prize."  They key to leading a church to be a congregation of true worshipers is to get them to prize the resurrected Christ above all else.  To see God as Isaiah did, high and lifted up.  If we make much of the resurrected Savior and lead people to His glory and splendor, we will not need to sing a certain type of song or coerce them to performing actions, rather simply sing the truth of who He is and what He has done for us in Christ Jesus and worship will come in light of the truth of who He is.

Phantom of the Opera or the local church?

As much as I love a good western or war movie, if I'm honest I love the occasional musical as well.  The other night Jess and I were having an at home date night and decided to watch The Phantom of the Opera, which I must say is one of my favorites.  As I was watching there was one scene in particular that reminded me of how the local church acts at times.  No, this is not a reference to how there is often one or group in the church who would rather see the place burn down than operate differently than they think it should.  The scene to which I am referring is the scene during the party where everyone starts singing the song "Masquerade."  The lyrics of this song I fear ring true in the minds of church goers as they hang around the "church friends" or prepare to attend the corporate worship gathering on Sunday morning.  Some of the lyrics that stood out to me were:

Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you!

and

Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!

I am concerned as I serve in the church that the members of the congregations which we attend, and at times even I myself, sing this song inadvertently every time we gather as the church.  We come to church and we hide behind our smiles and every time someone ask us how we are we say some cheesy Christian answer like "I'm blessed" or the generic "I'm fine" when in reality we are facing something horrible or we are struggling in sin or just plain having a bad day.  But we dare not let our mask down, for after all, if people knew who we really were there is no way they would still love us.  This is one of the major problems I see facing the church today, especially in the south.  We are so fake in our love for one another and in our relationships that we just stay behind our mask, and so when new people come, they feel they have to get their own mask if they are going to fit into a place where everyone seems to have it together.

No wonder people are sitting in their sins and stagnant in their relationship with God and with their Christian brethren, because if they cry out for help their facade will be exposed.  If we are the church are truly going to display the gospel of Christ and effectively walk along side our brothers and sisters in Christ and reach this community, we have to throw down our mask and be real and genuine and make ourselves vulnerable.  After all is the gospel not about a God who loves us and died for us in spite of our sin and offers us forgiveness and sanctification through Christ Jesus?  Why then does the church relate to each other in a way that says unless you have everything together you are not welcome here.  What if we dared to truly be the church in this?  To truly open up to one another and share ones burdens with the body.  What if we were open and honest about our struggles in our relationship about God and our sins with which we struggle and stopped acting as if we have everything together.  Would this not make God look more glorious?  Would this not display to the world His unconditional love through Christ?  If we are truly going to be the church we have to start with this, being in genuine community with one another through an open, transparent relationship.

Church, it is time we left the Masquerade party and starting being real with one another.  Let us love one another through the lens of the gospel and not the lens of false religion.

Learn your rules, you'd better learn your rules!!!

I have a confession to make, I love the tv show "The Office."  And while I am confessing this bit of information, I will make another confession, Dwight K. Schrute is my favorite character on the show.  There is a scene (in clip below) where Dwight talks about learning his rules as a child.



While this is funny, the thought hits me as I watch this, how many Christian parents raise their children in the same way.  Now of course we would never tell our children they will get eaten in their sleep, well at least most of us, but how often do we still use fear, especially fear of rejection and loss of love, to manipulate our children's behavior to meet our standard.  I fear, and in fact I see evidence to support this is true, that many children are raised in a way that they view God as one who loves them or rejects them based on their goodness.  And what troubles me even more is they get this from the picture of God that they get from their parents.  This view of God completely destroys the beauty of the gospel.  The gospel is that God loves us in spite of our rebellion through the righteousness of Christ.  God doesn't love us based on how well we "learn our rules" but rather based on the righteousness of Christ imparted to us.  Are we raising "godly" children who live a life in fear of rejection if they do not meet a standard?  Or are we raising  a generation of students engulfed with the love of God through the work of Christ Jesus?  We must strive as parents to display the gospel to our children in how we raise them, not behavior modified religion.

Who gets the glory?

Over the past few days I have spent some time reading through Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia.  While I was reading yesterday, there was a verse I read, one I have read many times before that stuck out to me and made me think: Think about my life, my ministry, my witness to the lost.

In chapter 1 Paul is writing of his conversion experience in verses 11-24, and in verse 24 he writes, "And they glorified God because of me."  As Paul was changed, God was glorified.  If you read back through the preceding verses, there is only one person performing the verbs that are taking place in Paul's conversion, and that is God.    It was God who set Paul apart, God who called him by His grace and God how was pleased to reveal His Son. And this is no different for anyone who is saved in Christ Jesus.

Paul never got past his radical depravity and his glorious salvation.  As Paul recounted his conversion, as the people in Paul's life saw his changed life, and as Paul proclaimed the gospel of Christ, there was one thing that prevailed; this being the God's glorious grace towards him.  As I read this my mind immediately began to think through my life and my ministry.  Who gets the glory?  As I tell of my conversion, am I the main character?  Am I the one who figured it out?  Am I the one who just decided to turn over a new leaf?  Or is God the main character?  Is God the one that gets full credit for my salvation, or is He simply a supporting role?  And beyond this, what gospel am I preaching?  Am I preaching a gospel that revolves around the mercy and grace of a glorious God, or am I preaching a gospel that downplays our sinfulness and teaches just cleaning up our act?

As we look at our lives as believers, our witness to the lost world, we must keep the glory of God at the center.  We must cling to the truth of the gospel, and daily live in the truth that it is simply through the mercy and goodness of God that we are saved and live in a way that people, as they see our lives and hear our story, glorify God because of us.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1  Corinthians 10:31 ESV

What Kind of Men are We Raising?

This morning, while I was getting ready, I was listening to the popular sports talk radio program "Mike and Mike in the Morning" as is my custom.  This morning the conversation came up about the amount of time their assistants spent playing video games every week.  This particular man, who is grown, married, and has a full-time job, played an average of 20 hours of video games every week.  Later in the show people were emailing justifying this amount of time or more being spent by grown men every week playing video games.  As I was listening to this, I began to think about if this is the kind of men we are raising in the church.  As I look around, I sadly have to conclude for the most part it is.  Maybe it's not video games  (though often it is), but it seems we have created a culture of boys who never grow up and truly become men.  Do not misunderstand me, I am not speaking against playing video games or having fun, but I am speaking against a culture in the church that grows men who sit around and play war/fantasy video games for hours on end, and never step up to the plate to join in on the battle for the gospel and for their families.  We seem to have created an atmosphere of adolescence and complacency in men, to the point that they never put on their big boy pants and become the men that God is calling them to become.

As I reflected upon this, the challenge became two-fold for me.  First, am I striving to become  a man who is truly a man, sold out for the gospel and is strong in leading my family, or am I still a boy caught up in video games and model cars.  Am I leaving behind the childish things and striving for maturity, or am I staying back in a state of immaturity where it is nice and comfortable.  Secondly, what kind of men ma I building up in ministry?  Are we as a church creating an atmosphere that allows men to sit by idly on the sidelines playing games, or are we creating an atmosphere that demands men step up to the plate and be leaders.

Men, which describes you?  Are you truly stepping up to the plate and seeking to become a true man of the gospel?  Fathers, are you raising up men, or boys who sit by and watch others take charge while they simply play games?  If, in the mission of God we are truly going to have an impact , it is imperative that we be men, and raise a generation of men.  So put down your Xbox controller and step up to the plate.

What is the World Coming To?

This past Sunday, May 30, there was a shooting at the local Target that shook this community.  A man walked into the store and shot an employee of the store and then turned the gun on himself.  This is something that people in this community knew happened in the world, but was something we never thought would happen in our town.  Since this time I have heard many people discussing the tragic events that took place, and normally the conversation turns to a statement like "What is this world coming to?" or "Nowhere is safe anymore."  While there is no denying that evil is everywhere and that crime  around us is a reality, I think that the meaning of these questions and statements go deeper than they may appear on the surface.  Often the tone of these statements and the conversation that surrounds them implies that the communicator has the understanding that if people would just act like they did in the "good old days" then everything would be right in the world.  After thinking about this the past few days the question has come to me, what should the church's answer be to the growing reality of depravity around us?

The Wrong Answer

First I want to expose the answer that is normally given for the erroneous statement that it is.  If one looks at the strategies, programs and sermons that are often given in church, one could easily be led to believe that the answer to the problems in the world is simply good morality.  From the mindset that if people would simply clean up their act and live like they were supposed to, to how to live a better life sermons that pervade today's pulpits, it seems that churches are convinced that a change in morality will cure the problems that face the world today.  Proclaiming morality will at best mask the symptoms, but it will never cure the disease.  Solving the problems of evil in the world today by teaching morality is like trying to cure emphysema with a cough drop.  When looking at the issues in the world around her, the church cannot believe that lie that people just simply need better morality.

The Cure:

So what is the answer?  The church cannot ignore the issues in the world around her, nor can she successfully seclude herself from the world and remain oblivious to the needs that exist.  However, if the church is going to be effective in addressing the affects of the disease of sin that is so prevalent around her, she must administer the right cure.  So what is this cure?  Quite simply, it is the message of the gospel.  It is proclaiming Christ and Him crucified in every message and to every person.  It is realizing that the problem is not bad morality, but sin that has separated us from the Creator God and led us into death. The world is not going to change by changing itself, rather true change will only come through an encounter with the Living God through the cross of Christ Jesus.  This is what we must proclaim as a church, this must be our remedy, for it is the only remedy with any affect.

We must rexamine the way we look at the world.  As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:16 we must no longer see people "according to the flesh" but view them as people made Imago Dei who are seperated from a Holy God and in need of a Savior, not a behavior change.  Proclaim Christ and the new life that is in Him, not good behavior.

Are you a good one or a bad one?

The other day I was having a conversation with a family friend from out of town and we were discussing a church that her son was attneding but had recently moved from.  In the conversation I made a comment about some theological issues I had with some of the beliefs in that church and she responded "Well I don't worry about that theological stuff."  What?  How is that possible?  After having this coversation a saying that I have heard multiple times in the classroom at SEBTS kept running through my mind; "We are all theologians, the question is whether we are a good one or a bad one."

So often I fear this is the mindset of most people sitting in the pews on Sunday morning.  They know absolutely nothing about God, and seem to have no desire to.  They think it is the job of the pastor to know all that stuff, all they have to do is show up.  So often we claim to love God, claim to have faith in Him, yet we walk around completely ignorant as to who He really is.  So often we are more content to keep this made up image of God in our minds than to apply the effort to study and to learn who He really is. 

What if we as Christians took the reality seriously that we are all theologians and sought to be good ones.  Will we put forth the discipline and time it takes to honestly seek the Lord for who He is?  We are all theologians, my question to you is, what kind are you?

Membership at a Distance?

Tonight I was looking up a church out of state for a trip I might possibly be making in a few months and noticed on their web page that they promoted people worshipped with them worldwide via the internet. They even had a testimony of someone from another state who moved and yet had been "worshipping" and "members" of this church for the past two years via the internet. Seeing this made me have to pose the question, is this really membership? Can someone truly be a member of a church via the internet when they are hours away? Is this truly beneficial to the "member" or does it simply look good for church statistics? Membership into the body of Christ was not intended to be done at our convenience or simply on our own terms. In order for us to truly be in communion with a church body, where we are held accountable and partake in the Lord's Supper and baptism and sit under the correct teaching of the Word, we must be present with the body. To me it degrades what it is to be the church and endangers the "members" if they are allowed to simply "worship" via the internet without truly being a part of the body. Not only is this dangerous for the "member" it is also dangerous for the pastor. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that the pastor is responsible for those under his care. It seems impossible to me for the pastor to ensure the spiritual growth, accountability, and discipline a member needs when they are only present via the world wide web. My advice to people who are "members" of a church in this way; get involved in a local church that teaches the word and you can truly be in fellowship with fellow believers in deep meaningful relationships. My advice to any pastors out there who have members who are hours, possibly states, away that are still claiming membership to your church, do the loving, shepherding thing and point them to a biblical church body in their area.

Is God's Desire Our Desire?

This morning I was listening to a recent chapel message from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary by Dr. Danny Akin looking at 1 Timothy 2:1-7. Upon hearing this message, one verse and theme of the message jumped out to me and caused me to dwell deeper into it. In verse 4 of 1 Timothy 2, Paul states that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth." It would be safe to say that the majority of Christians would back this statement and would even say that is their desire as well. Upon hearing this I was challenged and convicted with the question "Is this really my desire?" Do I honestly, truly desire that all men become saved? Do you? Before we can honestly answer that, we must first evaluate ourselves in some areas of our life to see if they match up with our "desire." The first aspect of our life is our we truly evangelizing those around us with the good news of the gospel? Are we seeking out opportunities to tell people of the truth of their sin and the grace and forgiveness that comes through Christ? Do we seek out people and take full advantage of our relationships and interactions with them in a way that says "My desire is for all people to be saved?" But there is also a second aspect of our life that we must look at, are we willing to give up all to see people saved, no matter who or where they are. Verse 4 states that God desires "all people to be saved." God doesn't just desire that people in your hometown, your school, or just in America be saved, but ALL people. This means that God's desire is for every person, regardless of race, location, or language to come to know Him and be saved through Christ. What we must truly grasp if our desire is to be that of God's is our role in people coming to salvation. We cannot save people, only God can do that, but we are the instruments that God has chosen to tell of His saving grace. Are we willing to give up everything, our hopes, dreams, careers, in order to take the gospel to all people that they may be saved. Are we willing to leave our comforts and our families to truly go? Does our life reflect that we truly "desire all people to be save," or does our life reflect that this is nothing more than a cliche phrase that we Christians like to use?

The Purpose of the Recession

As we enter this time of a financial recession we are all worried about what may be and wondering why this is happening. As believers we must trust in God and His Sovereignty, and seek His purpose in this. There is nothing better I can say than what John Piper said in his latest sermon. Here is the link to the message, I encourage you all to watch it.

What is the Recession For? John Piper

The Age of the Bachelor

My wife occasionally watches the popular TV show "The Bachelor" from time to time and when she does I watch it with her. The more I watch this show, the more I dislike it and what it reveals about our culture, and teaches about love and marriage. This show promotes that "love" is some emotion or feeling that you "fall" into and "fall" out of. It teaches that marriage is so nonchalant that you can chose the person you are going to marry by having an elimination challenge. This show is the epitome of how our culture views love and marriage. Love seems to be something we come in and out of frequently, and something that is solely based on what we want. Love and marriage are portrayed as something that should be catered to you and what the other person can give you. The entire message of this show seems to go against everything that the Bible teaches about love and marriage. These are not avenues for us to meet our desires, but rather an avenue to meet the needs of those we love. As Gary Thomas states in his book "Sacred Marriage," marriage is not so much for your happiness as it is for you holiness. Would we as Christians seek to find our view of love and marriage from God and not from the world, for as John says "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:9).

David Crowder

Last night my wife and I went to see David Crowder in concert in Greensboro. I have seen him multiple times in concert but last night was reminded of how great of a show he and his band put on. The combination of musicianship and authenticity are refreshing to see and here. It is nice to be at a concert and see an artist who is honestly there to glorify God and lead others to do the same more than he is to glorify himself. If you don't listen to David Crowder or have never seen him in concert I would encourage you to do so.