To clear up confusion

I think my blogs and the words of my mouth may look and sound like I am very critical of my church and of others. If you read these words, you may think that I paint with a broad stroke and probably failed coloring in elementary school. I in fact love to color but am not so good at painting so please excuse my mess.



First of all, many of my comments are reflective of...
1) my experiences,
2) the media I listen to, and
3) the people I talk to

Second, I would like to think that my opinions are normative, that is, imply the way things should be done. Many of my statements are negative (and this needs to be worked on) so one should infer the normative goal is the opposite of the negative statements. For example, if I would say "the Gospel message is not being taught" one should infer that the normative message is that the Gospel message must be taught, it should be so clear that it is being taught, and people clearly realize that it is of value.



Though I wish I knew and understood more, I understand enough that God is the one true God and that he is chiefly about protecting and increasing his Glory! This God is apart of the Holy Trinity, including Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin, was sinless, became sin and died on a cross to be resurrected and now sits at the right hand of the Father. That the third member of the Trinity is the Holy Ghost and I believe he lives inside of me and every other person who has Faith in Jesus Christ. I believe the Holy Scriptures are infallible and complete Word of God and that they are Truth. I believe that the Church is Jesus' bride as described in the scriptures and that we, as believers, are to find our place in this body of believers. I believe there is an enemy that seeks to steal God's Glory and destroy the Church. I believe that he hotly pursues me and eagerly desires to see me fall and to steal the Glory of the Father, defaming what he has created and bought on the Cross. I believe that I will not be snatched up by this enemy for, having my life and eternity hid with Christ, nothing can separate me from Jesus Christ and an eternity with him. I believe this world is fallen but that it is very much loved and very much in play. I believe that the Father loves this world, everyone who lives in it and that salvation is available for all who would turn and call upon the Father's name and welcome Him into their hearts. I believe this is not something that can be forced onto those who are hostile and that it is in fact God himself who is the giver of the Gift of Faith.

Some of these things may be off and I pray and hope that it will be the Holy Spirit at work through his quiet Voice or his loud Word to correct me in his timing. I could have chose any number of recognized creeds but this is mine — for now. There are many things I still don't know but this won't stop me from having faith in the things I do know, chiefly that I am loved by the Father and that I love Him. I was lost and now I am found. I still struggle with many things in my life but I have strength and can find a measure of freedom because He has given me both — truly all that I will ever need.

The message is Love, Truth, Hope, Redemption, Freedom. This world needs the Truth of the Word of God, this world needs Jesus Christ! Our churches need to be bastions of teaching and preaching, of discipleship and the like. The world is a very, very dark place and we need to be lights. We are not lights by lowering our standards and succumbing to the world, by thinking that getting people in the door is what really matters. Our standard, our hope is so much higher and more simple than just getting people to "hear" the message. We simply need to do what the Spirit leads us to do. That's it. The Spirit will soften our hearts to have the mind and heart of Christ, the voice of Christ, the love of Christ and as this happens, we must be obedient to move as led. Church is where we are taught and where we worship God. Church is not (necessarily) where we try to make Christ and Christian living and community look attractive to those in the world who are hungry. We've got to teach people how to fish, not just feed them for today (with idols).

I say this clearly, there is a purpose for the Church, for a small group, for friendships, for life, for relationship with Christ, for one's view and relationship with one's self and they are all to bring Glory to the Father. They also have individual purposes and we must make sure that these purposes are not ignored or forgotten. The church needs to fulfill its role as one that proclaims the Gospel, worships God, and is a source of correct doctrine and corrective teaching, one who exercises discipline and builds disciples. Our performance metric is not a matter of size but rather whether or not we are acheving our core mission.

In this age, the church needs correction and let us not be so proud, arrogant or ignorant that ignore the call for reform. Though I should not be the one to apply it, I pray God raises up someone who will, a modern-day Paul who can tell them to expel the immoral brother and false teaching while encouraging the Church draw near to Christ and be true to its callings. My friends, the call is urgent as false teachings are here and persecution is coming. Believe me brothers and sisters, clouds and dark days are on the horizon. Though our destinys' are hid with Christ, there is still the potential for much pain and suffering, for ungrounded believers to be washed away, for whole denominations to be slide into obscurity, or worse, collaborate with the enemy. You have been warned.

we need pastors who will preach and teach...

Cornerstone Café

This winter has been unseasonably snowy. Though it was late arriving, there has been at least some snow on the ground for more than two weeks now, a rarity in central or western Ohio. Today, more snow. Tomorrow, lots more snow.... Though I got a couple of disc golf games in this winter, I guess I won't get any more for a while.

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I was happy to hear that our pastor finally did a sermon regarding homosexuality and the church. I have not heard this message yet but a lack of teaching on such matters has been frustrating. This is surely one of the “issues” facing the church today. Some churches are splitting over it. For others, it can be devisive or unifying. What’s key here is that the Bible speaks to this issue as it speaks to many other issues.

As I type, a young child, perhaps 5, just walked into the room making noises and looking at the artwork on the wall. He comes over to my table and looks at the artwork behind me. At one point, his head is behind my gray 466 PPC G3 clamshell and I can only see his eyes peering at the artwork. I duck my head so I can’t see him but I don’t think he notices. Then, I raise my head and he is looking at me and comes closer. Though my view is obstructed, I think he’s pushing the back of my screen down toward my hands with his nose. I try to save this document not knowing what might happen next.

“What is your name?” I ask. He looks at me yet does not respond.
“My name is Eric, what is your name little boy?”
“My name is Asher,” he says drawing out his name.
With a serious, adult voice that could be mistaken for Rich Nathan, I asked “Asher, where is your mother?” Two other twenty somethings working at another table watching this unfold start to giggle. Then, Asher’s mom comes into the room.
“Are you bothering these people Asher? . . . Look, see they’re working with their laptops and everything. . . . Let us not distract them,” she says as they leave the room.

Yes, the Bible speaks to many issues and one could say, it speaks to all issues.

A young man who goes to our church needed a place to stay and my roommate invited him to stay the night at our house. Last night, as we entertained him, it was then that I heard that Nathan had taught about homosexuality in the church that night. This man proceeded to tell me about an online forum that he had participated in, offering his opinions about how we should not judge and that we should simply love people and that Jesus will help them figure it out. The truth is that this man did not know what he was talking about and, ironically sought his information from those of an online forum, not the scriptures or at least the teaching of his pastor. My roommate and I discussed this issue at length, giving what we hope would be a fair take at what the scriptures say on the matter, the whole matter.

And though I may be tempted to expound upon these conclusions (about homosexual Christians) at some point, I am concerned about the fact that this man could not figure these things out for himself. He has not received a sufficient amount of teaching to help him understand such an issue for himself. He may think that he has but it was clear that he had not. Certainly this is not his fault and I would not wish to blame but rather to make observations.

Our church and in fact many churches do not teach the full, unadulterated gospel and scriptures because, perhaps, they are afraid to offend. Paul says the gospel is offensive and yet these churches pride themselves as being places where those who are interested in Christ or at least spirituality (or perhaps young, attractive Christian singles) can find a comfortable environment to find what they’re looking for. Their hope is to reel people in and make them feel like they are a part of the church, desire the church, and eventually find Jesus. In other words, we want them here and we hope they just sort of figure it out.

There is teaching, but it is at times focused to simply move people across the line, to help them fall in love with the idea. Things have gotten better recently but at times, the teaching can seem to have the consistency of whole milk, maybe a milk shake. I guess there's a concern that we may offend those who are test driving what it may be like to be a part of a Christian community. We can't acknowledge that it's hard and, at times, undesirable to be a Christian. Today, we can't acknowledge that being a Christian is more than just a way we act, talk, and look while we're at church. More than a rep we get by looking like we've got our act together, looking like God's really moving through us, looking like we're able to get our shit together essentially on our own.

Though the gospel may be taught, serious matters are only approached in talks and only written down on Statement’s of Faith. Though the Gospel and some truth is preached, other gospels are present including the gospel of self-righteousness, the gospel of equity, and the gospel of prosperity. Teachers need to refute these, teachers need to correct — especially in large churches that are amorphous and lack the kind of committed community of disciples needed to allow discipleship to happen and to preserve believers of the one, true Gospel. We must not be afraid to offend. The Gospel is what it is and though some will disagree with it, we are not to try to make it more, um, palatable. We must not cave in by trying to make the Church and Gospel look attractive, hiding doctrine and other issues that may turn people off. To cave in here is to be dishonest to those we share the Good News with, and more importantly shows a lack of fear of God and Truth! This is an offense!

No, we should not cave in. We believe the Truth and Truth is not negotiable! Certainly new people should be welcome and encouraged to pursue Jesus but this is not like selling a used car. We preach and proclaim the Gospel, some will accept it and some will turn away. God is not only in the midst of this but he is the one who gives the gift of faith to those around us, it is his work and we are to move as he leads and try not to get in the way.

Additionally, being up front with people, i.e. sharing what we believe and engaging them, is important. Getting lots of people to just hang around doesn't really seem like a good goal. In other words, attendance should not be the performance metric used to rate the effectiveness of the church. People come to church for lots of reasons and we should not placate any of these motivations with the exception of those who actually want to know Jesus. Should we teach anything less than the Gospel and Truth, we are sinning against them. We should not be afraid to be who we are, passionate believers who believe and teach a message that brings hope but results in persecution.

In our love, we should be hospitable, welcoming, graceful, charitable, and more but it is not love if we do not preach truth, love with truth, pray with truth. To do less is not to love. We think we are helping to reach the lost but if it is not done in love, we will be trying to reach people with not the Gospel but something less. Of course, we won’t figure this out if it isn’t taught and the chances of that happening are slim should we think that our teaching is supposed to be an evangelism tool rather than the time we take to allow a pastor to help teach us the word and correct false teaching. In my opinion, good teaching reaches all and most importantly, teaches and corrects the congregation toward a more accurate, more biblical view of Jesus and the Gospel. Believers can go evangelize on their own time, and stop expecting that this is solely the job of the pastor.

O' Lord, would you grant thee a wife!

I pray o' Lord that you would grant me a wife. I pray that she first of all will be in love with you. That she will seek to worship, honor and glorify you! That she will look upon me with the eyes of Christ. I pray that she would be compassionate and full of grace. I also pray Father that she will be very intelligent: relationally, intellectually, and artistically. I pray she'd be a great conversationalist and that she would think the world of me, that she would adore me, that she would love me, that she would be faithful to me. I pray she'd be attractive both physically and spiritually. I pray that we have a few children (three) and that we live long, prosperous lives. I pray that you will use us to minister and to bring your Kingdom. I pray that we will be close to you and follow your leading, in good times and bad, through times of joy and times of pain, persecution, and questioning. I pray that we would have the mind of Christ and the heart of Christ and the grace and compassion and love, oh the love of Christ toward eachother, toward our children, toward the church and toward the world. I pray that you may permit us to suffer for the Kingdom, to live out of the words of Paul, "To live is Christ and to die is gain."

In preparation of this and for the rest of my days, Father, I eagerly pray and seek that you would remove from me the burdens of a narcissistic self, of lustful and evil bents, of desires of things that are not of you. O' Lord, would you deliver me from the deviancy that is wrecking my life, the Spirit of lawlessness in my heart — would you burn them out of me, would you purify me, heal me of these things. Father, help me choose you over wickedness throughout the day and night, from good days to bad — you've ordained all of them, all of the time, help me live a life that is God-honoring throughout all of it! Father, help me experience and hear from you, let me hear your sweet voice, feel your warm embrace. Ravish me O' Lord with your presence! Let me find your presence delicious and may my response be worshipful and give you the glory you have called me, your creation — your Adam, to steward! I pray O' Lord, O' Father, O' Daddy that you would bring blessing upon me and my house, I pray that we would be faithful with what you've given us today and I pray that you will get the Glory! Strip away everything else O' Lord, let there be nothing left but you Father, you Jesus. You are enough.

Discontent

Oh Lord, please be my light and my hope now. Please take from me my anger, my anguish, my judgment. Father, be my peace, by my joy.

I am surrounded by the stench of death and I am angstful. At this hour, I am upset. Like many, I have crazy student loans. I almost lost my job in the past month — that is an internship with a 30 minute commute that pays me a meager wage. By the grace of God, he provides for me and I should be more thankful.

I am judgmental though. In my financial state, I was forced and I willingly made decisions that were unwise — where others take advantage of me. As a result, I am angry and envious. In other matters, I continue to be under-compensated when I provide services to others. Oh I pray that God will make me a better steward and help me make the choices that I need to make. I pray that I may be more shrewd, more compassionate, and more wise. I pray for a way out of this cycle of debt and its bondage.

An open letter

Dear friends, I am wrong.

Perhaps for some of you, you already know this and are the patient and diligent in praying type — I am thankful for you. But last Wednesday, a friend of mine helped me understand that I am wrong.

I notice details and I am usually quite critical. In the past nine months, my attention had been directed toward my church. Things that I had noticed bothered me and my first response was to talk to others. Prideful and not worried about causing problems, I would speak to people about the things I noticed rather than to the pastors or leaders I had a problem with. Doing so caused division and I knew it and knew it was wrong. This concern for things at my church has grown to the point that I was feeling like I needed to leave my church, maybe my small group, etc.

Talking with a friend the other night, we worked through my problems. A feeling as if everything is messed up and as if things are wrong and as if I need to leave. When asked to give specific reasons why I feel the way I do, I provided some but through this discussion, it was very difficult to identify smoking guns. With the help of my friend, I think I am realizing that this very well could be the effect of demonic influences.

I don't like using such words so lightly but I've been told by others that Satan's toolbox usually includes using confusion in order to obscure Truth and seize an opportunity to use emotions to mess with us. This seems to be one of those cases. I need to be able to deal with the fact that others are sinful and that they are responsible before Jesus for their actions. Also, that Jesus is in control and he's take care of it. This is not to obscure my role or diminish how he may use me but I have not felt his leading to respond in any of the ways I have. So, yes, I am wrong.

I've written a good number of things over my life, some of them here. Those critical of my church need to be taken with a few grains of salt.

This being said, I am very much fearful of two false teachings. I'll coin these as Self-Righteousness gospel and the Justice gospel. Both are false teachings or theologies that are destroying our churches and both must be stopped. My friend assures me that we are not preaching either. I pray that he's right, that the line will be further established and that these false gospels will be exposed and that people will move away from them. But if anything is apparent now, it is that Satan wants us to just sit around, talk it up and become more divided.

In reality, we need to be pushing those around us to be seeking out the Father and relying on the Word to help us understand our time and our world. I don't want to be the judge — something that precludes me from experiencing the humility, grace, and Truth that come from Jesus. Knowing this, I also do not want my brothers and sisters to be led astray and I don't want my God to be dishonored or to have his glory stolen from him. The line is a tough one to see until one goes to far and though others say that I have yet to cross it, I believe I have and I am sorry. My speech should be honoring of my elders, I should take my concerns to the Father and to these elders.

That's all I've got for right now....