Those Aren't Skid Marks!

Ever had someone accuse you of leaving skid marks? Until this morning, unless you were my wife, my answer would have been "no", but I guess I can't say that anymore.

As I pulled my Harley Davidson into the church parking lot after eating an incredible burger at our local bowling alley, I realized that I had been followed. A large man, probably somewhere in his 40's or early 50's, driving an old Ford truck, came to a stop in front of me and proceeded to jump out of his vehicle and start giving me a verbal smack-down.

This lovely man pointed to some black marks in the parking space I had parked my bike in, and with a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket almost falling out, he began his loud tirade. He asked if I was the 'pastor'. He then spoke of how he often drove by our church and saw my motorcycle... and those black 'skid marks'. He described his disgust with how I could call myself a pastor and still feel as though it were okay to burn rubber (which is apparently against the laws of Missouri AND the law of God - Leviticus 14:40 perhaps?). He described how he had talked with "many other Christians" about my appalling behavior and that he was just waiting for a time when he could see me and confront me with my 'sin'. He stated that of all the people he's spoken with, none of them would ever consider attending a church where the pastor acted as hypocritical as I did.

When this gentleman finished, I asked if I could say just one thing in my defense... to which he gave a loud sigh, crossed his arms, pursed his lips and then an affirming nod. I pointed to the 'skid marks' he had been referring to and explained how they were, in fact, lines of black paint. I personally had painted those lines to cover some red paint stripes that had been left by the power company when they came and marked our parking lot to identify where the power lines were under the pavement. I described how, even if I wanted to 'burn rubber', I'm too much of a novice to even know how.

He walked over to the lines, bent down and rubbed them with his fingers... as if not believing me. He then said, "Well... I guess I can see the red lines under there after all." He then stood up, outstretched his hand and said, "Well, I'm a Christian and I attend -------- ------ Church and just felt that someone had to say something. Guess I was wrong about the skid marks. That sure is a heck of a bike you got there though!" Without any type of apology he got in his truck and drove off.

He left so quickly, he actually left a bit of a tire mark on our parking lot. Just kidding... but that would have been freakin' hillarious... and awesome!

Anyway... my daily reading today included Psalm 70, which ironically says:

"O God, hasten to deliver me; O Lord, hasten to my help! Let those be ashamed and humiliated who seek my life; Let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in my hurt. Let those be turned back because of their shame who say, 'Aha, aha!'
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, 'Let God be magnified.' But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my Deliverer; O Lord, do not delay."

My Bible calls this a 'Psalm of David' and if that's true, I was just wondering if David was ever accused of leaving 'skid marks'? I so appreciate being able to pick up my Bible and instead of finding some archaic book full of non-relevant stories that in no-way apply to where I'm living, I find something that absolutely blows my face off every time!

Like David, I am kinda feeling "afflicted and needy" today, yet if I'm seeking God I can rejoice and be glad - I can say, "Let God be magnified". You see, my life... and my happiness... are not determined by the actions of others, but by the actions of me. In the darkest of situations, when accusations are flying and we are faced with people talking behind our back in horrible ways, the ONLY thing that really matters... is Jesus.

So, let God be magnified. He's the Deliverer. He's the love of my life. And only He can take the skid marks of my life and make them inconsequential.

What Is A Healthy Church?

I'm part of a Young Emerging Leaders group that is mostly made up of pastors and youth pastors. They've asked me to be a point person and to write a blog about 'HEALTHY CHURCHES'. The following is my latest entry to that site:

Measuring a church's health is a subject that there are numerous books and blogs written about and one that every leader should be constantly concerned with. In other words, "Is our church body healthy?" should be a question that all pastoral leadership is asking on a regular basis. At our church we've done everything from handing out surveys to asking the so-called-experts to come in and give us their opinions. Each has been a way of measuring our success in fleshing out the call God has commissioned us with. However, with all the information that is available, I think it is super important to differentiate between Church Health and Church Growth. I, for one, do not believe they are the same thing.

I often wonder what Jesus would say to the modern church growth experts? He sure didn’t seem to care about thinning the crowds. Remember that time He spoke about how everyone had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” and almost everybody bolted?

Sometimes the crowd thins and people you thought were with you... and in it forever,... leave. And sometimes when they do… they will call you painful names.

Those of us that know, love, and have studied Jesus see that most of what He did was not only radical, but controversial. Yet, was the church He was building – you know, the one that the gates of Hell wouldn’t be able to take down – healthy? Of course it was. So then, what exactly does a ‘healthy church’ look like?

We must always remember that God’s Kingdom is completely, even ridiculously, upside down! Jesus’ philosophy so many times seemed to be the “less is more” strategy. Remember in Luke 21 when the little, old lady put two cents into the offering bucket? Compared to the massive amounts being put in by the rich, hers seemed like nothing. Yet, Jesus says that she “put in more than all of them”. What?!? That makes NO sense! I’m not too old to remember learning in one of my math classes that two cents is less than thousands of dollars. Remember those ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ signs. Well, in every economy in the world two cents is ‘less than’ the thousands of dollars being placed in by the rich folks… except, of course, in Jesus’ economy. In Jesus’ upside down way of thinking, ‘less is more’. Wow.

Can you believe how easy it is to find a list of churches on the internet that are ranked? If you don’t believe me, just Google it yourself. There are people that want to rank churches according to size, and popular opinion. Crazy. Aren’t these the same churches that worship that Guy who said that the “first will be last”?

So again, what exactly determines church health?

I believe when a church is being sensitive to God’s voice and radically obeying it, no matter what He’s saying, then they will be healthy. Unfortunately, we would rather be given a formula – a process – a new program. The problem with that is that what God is doing here in Liberty, Missouri may be drastically different than what He’s up to in your neck of the woods. Don’t get me wrong, obviously the Message stays the same, but the methods must change. Those ‘methods’ are what I’m talking about.

Oftentimes, how you say something means more than what you say.

How is God wanting you to say what He’s asked you to say? Are you still trying to speak in yesterday’s lingo? Are you making the Message of the ages… boring? Are you coasting by with sermons that worked ten years ago, but aren’t at all fresh for the generation of people who are ravenously hungry for the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Do you relate perfectly with the faithful who consistently pay their tithes and show up on the weekends, but totally lost touch with anyone outside of the ‘already Christian’?

What was Jesus doing? What types of people was He relating to? What would He be doing if He were accepting your pay check and doing your job? The answers to those questions are what is going to make your church, and my church, healthy.

Listen, I'm all about sharing new ideas with one another. However, as we are sharing ideas, may we never forget that we MUST be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is leading US to do in OUR LOCAL CHURCHES. May we never feel lame because someone else's church is larger or cooler than ours. May we never think that because we plug in some program that we're all of a sudden going to be healthy. And may we never forget that awesome conversation that Peter and Jesus had right after all the crowds thinned - "You do not want to go away also, do you?" asked Jesus. "Lord, where else are we supposed to go. You have the words of eternal life. We believe that You are the Holy One of God."

In the midst of lots and lots of words, may we never stop being sensitive to the One who has the words of eternal life. God bless.

Early Morning Revelation

I couldn't sleep last night. At least, not as much as I wanted to. Thoughts of our Saturday night service at Desperation Church last night, and the two services that we'll have today kept zipping through my noggin. I finally just got up, showered, shaved, and went out riding (my motorcycle). It was about 5am and around 40 degrees out. Yikes, was it cold! I'm dreading the day, which is coming way too soon, when I'll have to pack it away for the winter.

I ended up at Starbucks. One vinti carmel latte-breve' with an extra shot, and five chapters read in Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" later... and I was ready to head to the church.

I realize that I sorta like getting up early.

I like watching the sun rise,

while sipping coffee

and feeding my spirit good stuff.

I'm liking this Francis Chan guy. I agree with so much of what he's writing.
Perhaps the following stuck out to me the most today as I read:

• "I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering."

Wow... there's some light reading for ya. Nice way to start the day, especially when I will be preaching twice today to this "American Church" of which he's speaking, and of which I am a part.

I want to be a man... a pastor of an 'American Church'... that takes the words of Christ seriously. I live in fear that I won't. I live in fear that I'll cave to what 'men' think, rather than live in such a way that all that truly matters is what God thinks... and desires of me.

It can be hard when so many are willing and able to voice their opinions... whether they be approvals or disapprovals.

So,... I just walked into my office... opened up my Bible... and read this:
"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets" (Luke 6:26).

Now, with warm tears streaming down my still-frozen cheeks, all I can say is:

"Jesus,... thanks for saying that".

Culturally RELEVANT

Philippians 3:12 - "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own."

I love that Paul, this 'hero' of most of us that are followers of the 'Way', stresses that he is not 'already perfect' - he is still involved in the struggles of life in a fallen world and hence he still sins. Obviously he hasn't realized the full embodiment of his future hope, yet he proudly and boldly states, "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own". There is a balance of faith and works, of God's call and the believer's response, here that is really cool.

Today so much is made of being 'culturally relevant'. I'm a huge proponent of this - if we are so far behind what is happening in culture, then we risk losing the ability to speak Truth into any one's life. For example: To me, using a King James Version of the Bible when sharing the Good News of Jesus with someone is the equivalent of visiting Mexico and speaking in Russian! Our culture no longer uses that language, so to make the Gospel Message 'relevant', we've updated the language so that 'Truth' is understood. Another example might be the use of Godly lyrics in updated music styles. I believe that using a culturally relevant style of music to relay the same powerful 'Godly' Message will open up doors to a whole new generation hearing and coming to 'faith' in Christ (remember Romans 10:17?). A final example (and I have many more) would be the way a Christian dresses, or even their hair styles. If all the men have newscaster haircuts, wear ties, and clone themselves in the image of Billy Graham (...or any of the business men you see on Wall street who live for the almighty dollar and constantly cheat on their wives), and if all the women wear long dresses to the ground, skip the make-up, and competitively see how high they can stack their hair - is THAT what God desires? If a Christian man wears jeans and has a 'rock-star' hair-cut, or a Jesus-loving woman wears the latest brand of make-up... are they now in direct disobedience to God's Word, or are they now positioned "in the world" perfectly in order to share a Message that is definitely not "of the world"? I would say the latter.

Yet, there is an inherent danger to this line of thinking. Many Christians will say, "Michael, if you become so much like the world then you will become the opposite of what God has called you to be, namely a 'foreigner', 'pilgrim', 'alien'." This, in fact, is very true. However, we must always remember that the Christian, like Jesus, is both a friend and an enemy of the world. "Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God's enemy" (James 4:4). The world returns the favor by hating those who follow in the way of Jesus. Paul (in Ephesians 2:1-3) challenges us not only to turn away from our own sins, but also from following the "course of this world".

But what exactly is the "course of this world"? Isn't that really where the confusion lies?

David F. Wells, in his book Above All Pow'rs (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005 - page 23) would define it as "our embeddedness in culture at the point of its fallen horizons, false belief structures, and misdirected devotions - all of which are kept in place by the powers of darkness." Think about that statement, because it's pretty powerful.

God is not concerned with the way we look, that has always been man's concern. Even in the passages of the Bible where "dress" and "appearance" is spoken about, we see that those were extremely "culturally relevant" statements. In other words, in that culture, at that time, the men and women dressed like that and appeared that certain way. For a Believer to dress differently than "that culture" it would have been so drastically out of place that it would have caused a major distraction. As a matter of fact, an argument could be made that to appear drastically different than the culture would be inappropriate.

So what is right?
What is appropriate?

I think we should take Paul's lead (follow his example like he told us to in Philippians 3:17) and "press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own". We should just be ourselves. We should just be who God made us - unique individuals. I am not talking about copying the world and "embedding ourselves into the false beliefs and misdirected devotions" that others who do not have relationship with Father God are doing. I am saying that God is concerned with what is happening in our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). May we be concerned about that too. If being "culturally relevant" is what is needed, then may we be just that without compromising the fact that we are still "His own".

Lastly, some say that I only paint a picture of God as this Supreme, Loving, Forgiving and Gracious King of fools. To that I would say, you're just not listening. God is the King of Fools. That is true. That is why I love Him so... I'm a fool. He's my King. The Jesus we love and follow reaches down to the alienated and the dispossessed. He goes to the fringe and draws in the rejected. He lays gentle hands on the dirty and the ostracized. But He does not only touch and heal, He also instructs and warns. He tells the woman caught in adultery, "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). He tells the invalid by the pool, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you" (John 5:14).

Following Jesus is also hard-core, because He is hard core. He came on an invasive, dangerous, and unwelcome mission of mercy to come open and expose what was hidden in men's hearts (Luke 2:34-35), not ask them to read from the King James and abstain from dressing like a rock-star. His coming was not to be marked by peace and tranquility - He came to impose a test of absolute allegiance. He forced people into a divisive crisis of choice (Matthew 10:34-39). The peace He came to bring first triggered a war. He was on a guerrilla mission to infiltrate territory controlled by His enemy, raid his camp, and set the prisoners free (Mark 3:23-27; Luke 4:18).

May you and I, like Paul, realize that we aren't perfect but we are going to press on and make this thing authentically our own, because Christ Jesus made us His own. May we shout with a bold, confident joy at the dizzying delight of being chosen, of being welcomed in by our true Father and invited to sit with Him at the banquet table reserved for His friends.

But, as we celebrate how awesome all that is, may we never forget that the One who called us His own is Friend but also sovereign King - that He who gave everything up for us... calls us to give everything up for Him.