Category: Christianity (Page 14 of 23)

Why the Independent Christian doesn’t Exist

April 15, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Independence  Maybe the truly handicapped people are the ones that don’t need God as much.” – Joni Eareckson Tada, The God I Love: A Lifetime of Walking with Jesus

Nothing is more precious in our culture than independence. We see it in every part of our society. We tout it because, ‘Merica. We encourage our young people to find it and tell them that when they do they’ll have what they need to find their voice. We export it, like South America exports coffee, and we do it on the backs of the fighting young to third-world countries that may never understand the sweetness of it. When we talk about attaining the “American Dream” it’s founded on the idea that you must first achieve independence; from your personal freedom and ability to “decide for yourself” to financial freedom, it’s all grounded in finding independence. Author Marcelle Hinkson said it like this, “When you are independent you learn strategies of self empowerment.” And that’s what we learn to want; to give authority and power to MYSELF so that I can achieve the things I want. 

Independence isn’t a bad thing. I’m glad we won independence as a nation. When we help another country achieve their independence, it’s a good thing. If we desire our kids to have heathy lives, marriages and families, then they need to grow up, move away from their parents basement and become independent. So, independence in and of itself is a good thing. But, in America at least, it has seeped its way into Christianity.

There are a few areas where independence doesn’t work so great; one of those is marriage (that’s a whole other blog, but quick side note, individuality is important, independence is contrary to the actual purpose of marriage.) and another is Christianity. It amazes me how many people become Christians and attempt to live out their faith independent of others. It amazes me more that no other Christian tells them that that’s wrong. Independence is not only incompatible with a Christian life, it contradicts it. Christianity is the confession that you’ve tried to do life on your own and that it’s too much. It’s literally the surrender of self empowerment to the sweetness of divine power. Christianity is dependence. 

People don’t like to think they’re dependent on anyone else. It’s scary to not be in control. People let us down and aren’t to be trusted with our most vulnerable areas of life. Theirs a belief that if you can’t control your life then you’re weak. Because Christianity is surrendering control, society views it as the religion of the weak, as a “crutch” for the weak minded. John Piper has a great sermon where he talks about that. He talks about crutches generally being a good thing, except when used to describe Christianity and who eventually realizes they need a crutch. You can read or listen to it HERE. Regardless what your feelings are about becoming a Christian, if you’re already a Christian, you’re called to live a life of dependence, not independence.

Jesus said, of Himself, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[a] does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.” He also said, “I and the Father are one.” If Jesus acknowledged His inability to operate outside of God the Father, where did we get the idea that we can operate outside of Him. I’ve heard lots of Christians say things like, “God and I have an understanding.” Uh, no you don’t. If your understanding is that you are weak and He is strong and apart from Him you can do nothing. Then ok, you have a pretty good understanding. If it’s that apart from Him you can do nothing, then I have the same understanding. Other than that, there is no, “I don’t go to church (or participate in Christian community) because God and I have an understanding.” or “I knows I believe in Him, so I don’t need to go to a building to prove it.” Any “understanding” that resembles anything close to those ideas, is not an understanding with God. Those are excuses; whether built out of the intent to not have to fully engage with God or the fear of full surrender, they’re still excuses.

If the excuses are fear based, I fully understand. Surrender isn’t usually viewed as a good thing and definitely not an easy thing. But surrender inside of Christianity isn’t about giving up whatever perceived “freedom” we think we have. Surrendering to Jesus is about giving up the need to try harder. We give up trying to be a “better” person. We give up the need to “fix” ourselves. Surrendering to Christ is the surrendering to rest, not the giving up of rights. Surrendering in Christianity doesn’t mean abandoning who you are; it’s entering into the fullness of who you’re meant to be. 


If you hold onto the notion that you’re an independent Christian and ideas like you don’t need community, going to church “just isn’t for you,” or you and God “have an understanding” then you’re not living the Christ following Christianity described in the Bible and that Jesus laid the foundation for. Independence and Christianity do not exist inside of the same space. There’s one body and one Spirit and we are called to interdependent unity within both. Jesus said, “…whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…” The only way to interpret that is dependency. That’s my understanding with God.

The ONLY “right” way to do church.

April 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Right WayThere’s only one way to do church. That’s right, you read that correctly; only one way. And, because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to tell you what that right way is. But first let me say, it is definitely NOT the way that “traditional” institutional Sunday service focused church is doing it. I’m talking about all those churches like Saddleback, Mars Hill, New Spring, National Community Church, The Village Church and all of those similar to that model; big or small. It is also definitely NOT all those small community based churches, and that includes organic home churches, like SOMA, 1Body, and all the ones that I can’t mention because they’re so small they don’t have a webpage to link. None of them are doing it the right way. On the other hand, all of them could be doing it the right way.

You may be asking, “So, what’s the “right” way then?” I’ll get to that in a second, but first I need to clarify something and establish something else.

Clarifying: This post is NOT intended to dig at or cut down how any church is “doing” church. The model doesn’t matter and I’ll make that point in a minute. This post is also NOT intended to say that institutional church is doing it wrong. I grew up and met Jesus in “big” church. If not for going on Sundays and hearing the word preached, I’m not sitting here typing this.

Establishing: I want to be honest about where this post is coming from. Let me start by saying that I recently, with my wife and two long-time friends, started a small gospel centered community, all volunteer based neighborhood church. There are anywhere between 10 and 15 attenders (and that includes a lot of kids). So, my heart is for small church with big celebration. With that said, over the last few weeks I’ve heard and read a number of “institutional” church leaders, some from fairly large churches with decent influence, speak out about the topic that there is no “right” way to do church. A few of those posts/videos seemed really defensive and some even a little abrasive. Again, to to be honest, I’m not sure where this defensiveness is coming from. I follow a number of bloggers (both in large and small church settings) and I rarely see posts from organic/small/house church leaders that suggest that they have the “right” way to do church and big church is wrong or bad. What I do see is small church leaders sharing the call and vision that God has placed in their heart. I see them beckoning to those that are not in gospel community to come and join. I see them trumpeting God’s vision for church, for them, the same way I see large church leaders do it every Sunday. This post is not meant to put those leaders on blast. It’s meant to shed some light, reframe perspective and hopefully show the ability and necessity to be unified in one body and one Spirit.

It’s easy to point out what others are doing wrong. We can look at an individual, program or organization and see the little flaws that may be hurting them, whether they know or acknowledge them or not. Sometimes that’s good. If you’re a part of that organization, have earned a trusted voice there and have a heart for the vision and mission, “fresh eyes” are often welcomed. But, if you’re outside of that organization, aren’t trusted or don’t care about the vision, then voicing what you see is likely not helpful and will typically be taken as criticism for the sake of being a jerk and will often be disregarded. It’s also easier to make it seem like what you’re doing is better or right, if you can point out others’ errors. If that’s what you’re doing, then chances are you don’t actually believe what you’re doing is right or good. That’s what’s been happening in the Church.

Lots of big and small church leaders have written books or blogs about the “right” way to “do” church. Some of them point out all of the “wrong” stuff that the other is doing. I haven’t spoken to most of those leaders, but I imagine that the ones that point out what other churches are doing wrong and then counter with how they’re way is right, don’t really believe, deep in their heart, that they are really called to it. Or at the least, they haven’t spent time allowing God to cultivate the call in them.

As I mentioned, I’m part of a team that just started a small neighborhood church. It’s the culminated call of years of God’s cultivation and the beginning of His pruning and harvesting. I have journals, upon journals with writings about what church could look like, outside of the larger institutional model and different than the organic house church model. The vision God has planted in my heart falls somewhere in between those two models. But, I believe in it. I believe in that call and vision. And because I believe in it, I write about it and I plan to write about it a lot more. In that writing I always try to take care to not say either side is doing church wrong. Like I said, without institutional church, I’m not here. It’s never been about anyone doing church “right” or “wrong”. It’s about doing church the way that you feel God calling YOU to do church. Ultimately I don’t care how you do church as long as you do church. Realistically I’d like every Christian to understand what it means that we are church, but I’ll settle for doing church together in the mean time. What I, and many others, write isn’t an accusation toward big church “doing it wrong.”

My articles like Rethinking the Churches Front Door and It’s Not Your Pastor’s Job are not indications that I think institutional/big church models are wrong in the model they’re using or the work they’re doing. What it does mean is that I’m pursuing Jesus in a way that honors the call and vision that God has placed in my heart. It means that I believe in what God has invited me, and many others, to be a part of. It means that God has shown me that it works; both through my life and in the lives of others that I’ve been a part of. It means that God has revealed to me that there are people that neither traditional Sunday service focused church, nor simple organic home church will ever reach, but that this model will. It means that I know there are people that we will never reach with this model of church and I thank God that there are traditional Sunday service focused churches and simple organic home churches to do that. It means that I’m writing for those that God may be prompting to do something different or fresh.

My writing, and likely many others that are writing about the vision God has given them for church, is not a call to abandon the way that God has called you to be a part of or “do” church. It isn’t the antithesis of your model of church; it’s complimentary to it. It’s intended to be a different part of the same body. When you act offended at the notion that God may have shown someone else another way, you’re telling that part that they’re unnecessary. But “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you…’” I’ve heard so many pastors and leaders in traditional Sunday service focused churches say something to the effect of, “Our way isn’t the best or only way to do church, it’s a way and it’s the way that God has called us to.” If that’s a true statement, then the words directed at other churches should be ones of encouragement and building up.

The only way to do church is to answer the call to the community that God has placed in you. As long as it’s biblical and Jesus centered, you’ve got THE way to do church. Chances are, all of us have some aspect of church wrong. But, as long as we’re in a community of believers who’s sole purpose it to glorify and worship God, then you’re doing church “right.” Your full “rock” style band leading worship is no more wrong than your single guitar and djembe. Jesus said, the world will know we are his by our love for each other. Maybe we start by not being defensive toward one another and recognizing that we’re all doing the same work, His.

What are some ways that we can be unified as one body?

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If they’re an abomination, you are too.

April 10, 2015 / / 2 Comments

MovieAbominationIndiana’s recent passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law has reignited the discussion about how Christians should approach the LGBTQ community. Not that it was dying or ever went away, but the volume of the discussion definitely rises and falls. Right now, it’s at a 10 (I use 10 because when our kids turn the surround sound in our basement up to 10, we get to enjoy whatever they’re watching from the comfort of our living room, upstairs). With that, no matter where you turn, whether you want to participate or not, you’re bombarded with 8,000 different points of view. I have mine and I added to the conversation with a number of blogs. As I’ve read through many of the articles, and their comments, written by those Christians supporting the new law and exerting their “rights,” it isn’t uncommon to see scripture quoted to hold up the argument against homosexuality for “religious freedom” sake.

One of the most common verses of scripture is Leviticus 20:13. It says,

“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

aedFirst, thankfully most Christians don’t focus on the second part of that verse. Some whack-jobs do, but they aren’t Christian. Most Christians tend to focus on the word abomination and use that as the basis of their argument. It is true that the bible says that; can’t argue with it. This article isn’t intended to prove or disprove whether Christians use that scripture appropriately, but regardless, I do not think that word means what you think it means. As a quick side note, I found a great word study article that lends some clarity to the Hebrew word that was used in that passage, and 103 other passages, and gives the probably interpretation of that word. Here’s the LINK. Instead of trying to convince my fellow Christians that the word, “abomination” shouldn’t be the crux (or involved at all) of any argument against people in the LGBT community, I’d like to level the playing field a little. Here’s how; if they’re an abomination, many of us are too.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says,

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

There it is. There are six, no seven things that the Lord views as an abomination; which by the way, homosexuality isn’t listed here, and the ones that are listed here are actually listed in other places, as sin, in the bible. And, King Solomon, noted as the wises man to ever live, wrote this. So let’s go through the list.

1. Haughty eyes: If you’ve ever looked down on someone with an arrogant attitude, that’s an abomination to God. Pride is a sin and is the starting point for a whole host of other sins. Let’s be honest, a lot of Christians view others’ sin like this when comparing it to their own. If you’ve ever felt or treated someone as if you were better, or less sinful, than them; abomination.

2. A lying tongue: If you’ve ever lied, even a little white lie to your kids because you were too tired to take them to the park, that’s an abomination to God. If you say you haven’t, you just committed an abomination.

3. Hands that shed innocent blood: Any ex-con that’s doing (or did) time for murder, whether it was planned or accidental, has committed an abomination. That’s an easy one for most all of us to agree with. If you agree with that… haughty eyes.

4. A heart that devises wicked plans: This is subjective, but if you’ve ever made plans to call into work and lie about being sick to go to a sporting event (or anything), that covers two things on the list, so you’ve committed a double abomination. Or if you’ve ever planned to cheat someone out of something, that’s an abomination to God.

5. Feet that make haste to run to evil: If you’ve ever excitedly gotten ready and rushed off to a night with the guys/girls, in which you knew you were going to be drinking to excess, that’s an abomination to God. Drunkenness is a sin and if you gleefully run off to join in that, you’ve committed an abomination just by simply going.

6. A false witness who breathes out lies: Man, God really hates lying enough that He put it on the list twice. Maybe it’s because the devil if “the father of lies” and he and God don’t see eye to eye. But I digress, if you’ve lied about someone else, for any reason, you’ve committed an abomination. There’s no way around it, lying is an abomination; end of story.

7. One who sows discord among brothers: If you’ve ever created disharmony within your family or your church, you’ve committed an abomination. This could include, but is not limited to, gossip, not agreeing with you pastor, being part of a church split, doing something to upset someone and causing a fight, lying about someone else, being rude or arrogant, being prideful, theres a ton more, but you get the point, you’ve committed an abomination.

For most of us that should level the ground at the foot of the cross. If it doesn’t, you’ve just committed an abomination. Here’s what I want to point out more than anything else. Nowhere in either of those scriptures does God call the person an abomination. Leviticus says, “have committed an abomination” and Proverbs says, “things…that are an abomination.” Both of those passages of scripture are directed at acts, not people. Whether or not you believe homosexuality is a sin, calling the person an abomination is not only hurtful, it’s possibly the most hateful and damaging thing you can say. You’re telling them that they shouldn’t exist. That’s not true, because God made them; He made all of us the same, with the same need, Him.

We are not called to call out what we perceive as sinful in others’ life. When we approach others with that agenda, it doesn’t follow the Apostle Peter’s direction to share our hope with gentleness and respect. Maybe we go to God and start dealing with our own issues, first. Maybe we pay less attention to what we think is a more egregious sin and figure out where calling out others’ sin is really coming from. Is it from a deep desire for them to know the same love of Jesus that you enjoy? Or is it because it’s easier to tell others what’s wrong with them, then dealing with what’s wrong in us? If it’s the first, the word abomination should never cross your lips and you should ask God to remove it from your mind. There are far better ways to communicate others’ need for Jesus and share the radically intense love He gives. Maybe one of those ways is that you bake them a cake.

What are some ways to communicate Jesus’ love to others, with gentleness and respect?

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