Something the American church needs to hear!

Good piece, but it might not be so easy for many of us - mega-church types or not - to swallow:

Interestingly, church history shows an inverse ratio between dynamic church multiplication and preoccupation with buildings. Emphasis on buildings is generally linked with relatively slow growth or even decline.

Rapidly growing movements generally put little stress on buildings, tending toward pragmatism and flexibility, meeting wherever they can. The exception: If large subsidies are available, rapid church growth and focus on buildings may go together for a generation or two before the building-centeredness begins to sap church vitality. More

The Truth Will NOT Set You Free

John Wesley once said that religion did not consist in orthodoxy, or right opinions. Indeed, “A man may be orthodox in every point; he may not only espouse right opinions, but zealously defend them against all opposers….He may be almost as orthodox - as the devil, (though, indeed, not altogether; for every man errs in something; whereas we cannot well conceive him to hold any erroneous opinion,) and may, all the while, be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart.”

A bit of a shattering thought, that: “…a man may judge as accurately as the devil, and yet be as wicked as he.”

Truth will not set a person free. Truth, applied, will. Which is what Jesus meant when he articulated that famous verse from the Gospel of John: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Holding to the truth in the gospels apparently meant following Jesus to the lost, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, and the naked.

Too many would rather talk the truth, and correct all others’ theology, without first applying the truth to their families, to the needy in their communities, to the Christ-less masses around the world. And don’t get the impression this columnist thinks preaching of truth is unimportant, or that a strong, biblical statement of faith and the worldview that proceeds from it are not critical. Indeed, here is the statement of my own seminary and, here, of my denomination. Strong statements, both. And necessary.

But merely statement of truth is dangerous. Thomas Henry Huxley once said, “The great end of life is not knowledge, but action. What men need is as much knowledge as they can organize for action; give them more and it may become injurious. Some men are heavy and stupid from undigested learning.”

Interesting that the Hebrew word for “know,” yada, according to cholar Marvin Wilson embraced much more than information. Facts and orthodoxy were not enough; it also implied a response in the practical domain of life, in behavior and the morality that informed that behavior. In short, says Wilson, to “know” was to “do.” It went well beyond the cognitive domain. It meant to put truth in motion, to act.

The yada of Hebrew is first used, interestingly enough, of sexual relations: Adam encountered/experienced Eve (Gen. 4:1). At its most profound level this word expressed the desire of God that His people would know Him – not just intellectually, but in a much more intimate and experiential sense. They would experience their God – love Him, interact with Him, develop an intimacy with Him, and act on His behalf.

On the radio program I host, we recently discussed People’s “Most Beautiful People” issue. It is comprised of good-looking people from Hollywood, basically. But the question to my listening audience was this: Who are the people in our culture today that are beautiful, in a biblical sense? My own choice included Bruce Olson, of Bruchko fame – who traveled down to South America as a very young man with the gospel and became a missionary legend. Incredible book, beautiful man. I also offered the name Charles Colson, a man who is a brilliant thinker and writer but who is more at home in the prison sharing truth with men and women in need. Doers of the Word, both.

The older I get, the more I have started defining beauty and Christlike ministry in terms of “truth applied,” instead of simply “truth talk” and heresy-hunting. It seems to be consistent with the mind of Christ: “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Prayer for the renewal of evangelists

From PalmTreePundit:

I finished Answering God last night. I'm borrowing it from our public library, but I plan to buy my own copy. The entire book is excellent, but I'd buy it for the chapter on liturgy alone. Here's a peek:

These psalms that teach us to pray are, all of them, prayers of people gathered as a community before God in worship. Some of them most certainly originated in solitude, and all of them have been continued in solitude. But the form in which they come to us, the only form in which they come to us, and therefore in the way they serve as our school of prayer, they are the prayers of the community before God in worship. Prayer is fundamentally liturgical. Selah, untranslated and untranslatable, strewn through the Psalms, will not let us forget it. If its meaning is an enigma, its use is clear: Selah directed people who were together in prayer to do something or other together. Our prayer book, by the time we get our hands on it, has all these liturgical scribbles in the margins. Biblically, we are not provided with a single prayer for private devotions. The community in prayer, not the individual at prayer, is basic and primary. The Americanization of prayer has reversed this clear biblical (and human!) order. Individuals don't "make up" the community, they are produced by it. The Psalms return us to this beginning, this original matrix of humanity and spirituality.

Matt's note: The Psalms are one good way to a renewed prayer life. I use several everyday and our church prays through one per week (out of the lectionary) at our prayer meeting using... Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication in whatever Psalm we find ourself in. It refreshes the soul. People who share Jesus will find this helpful.

Mohler hits evangelicalism hard...

Listen

Much of what is presented in many pulpits--and marketed by flashy television preachers--bears little resemblance to this simple message. Instead, sinners are told to seek after riches, material blessings, vibrant health, and earthly rewards. Salvation is packaged as a product to be hawked on the airwaves and sold at a discount. The notion of salvation from sin and judgment is entirely missing from this scenario. Instead, salvation is presented as a gift of self-enhancement.

On the theological left, the Gospel had long ago been transformed into a social and political message of liberation from oppression. Now, among some who consider themselves evangelicals, the Gospel of Christ has been reduced to a form of self-expression or therapy. Salvation is promised as the answer to low self-esteem and emptiness. Gone is any notion of a holy God who offers salvation from sin and its eternal penalty.

InTheFight for Abortion?

WorldMagBlog

American Life League's National Pro-life T-shirt Day is tomorrow. ALL is encouraging pro-lifers across the country to wear t-shirts with pro-life messages to put forth a "strong and determined voice for the babies." In the past, participating pro-life students have taken heat for wearing pro-life shirts to school, even facing the threat of detention from school administrators, but ALL director of youth outreach Erik Whittington reminds students, "There is absolutely nothing illegal about wearing a pro-life T-shirt to any public school."

OK - but their is nothing particularly helpful about it either. How about this. Tuck your T-shirts in your drawer and actually do something. Get in the fight. Go to an abortion clinic and talk some folks out of abortion. Go to a CPC and compassionately help some women through their "crisis." Do pro-life. Don't just wear it.

Amazing the things we fight for back from the frontlines. Get on the front. That is where consequential lives are found.

Baptist Says 'False Gospel' Leaves Multitudes 'Sealed in Unbelief'

Once saved, always saved...maybe?

Multitudes have been misled or given a false assurance of a salvation they never had by ministers preaching the wrong gospel, author and speaker Voddie Baucham said April 14 at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

These ministers strip the Gospel of sin and repentance, depicting instead a "warm, fuzzy" Jesus that is foreign to scripture, said Bauchman, an adjunct professor at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and a D.Min. graduate of Southeastern.

Baucham, who preached from I Corinthians 15 at the Wake Forest, N.C., campus, said false representations of the Gospel seek to manipulate people, often with humor, rather than call them to repentance and faith in Christ.

"You can make a good living if you know how to manipulate crowds," Baucham said. But such "ministry" has left countless individuals "sealed in unbelief." More

Baptisms - Quotes to stimulate thought

Find 'em here

Creative, but does it lose something by not being connected with a local church?

There is a growing number of creative ministries targeting social groups, including the youth. One such ministry is Head of the Lakes, Youth For Christ, which bought an indoor skateboard arena to outreach to the neighborhood's children. More

Someone asked...

"So - what are you doing, Matt?"

Precious little, I suspect.

But...since someone called me into public accountability for my actions (I suspect, more for my standing with Rick Warren) I will fill you in on my relatively weak work for the kingdom. I don't, by the way, think I am particularly effective in what the Lord has opened the doors for me to do. But, here is what that is:

- my family (beautiful wife, six homeschooled children) helped plant a church four years ago of which I am the pastor...

- I have been a sidewalk counselor out at one of Mississippi's abortion clinics for years. God blesses our once-a-week group with a saved life each outing on average.

- I have done prison ministry for years, and am now the chaplain out at the main detention facility in our county. Thank the Lord for weekly conversions (and frequently a bunch of them because of the excellent God-enabled evangelists in our crowd!) Also starting some discipleship follow-up.

- I am part of a regular ministry to the sick and elderly in a nursing home

- I try to take the congregation and students that are in my classes at the seminary out to these places of need while teaching them from pulpit/lectern about the vital elements of a cutting edge orthopraxis.

- I am a contributing columnist on the op-ed page of our state-wide daily and have a radio talk show that is on about fifteen stations across state.

- and I also try to do some work on the mission field (typically Africa) on a yearly basis.

To be honest, all of this amounts to a hilarious life. The Lord has brought me abundance and joy.

I was asked how I invite someone to the gospel:

Typically, I have them go nose down on the floor (prostrate) and call themselves "a dirty, rotten sinner" before we proceed to help them with a prayer of confession and reception of Christ in their hearts. Then we disciple them in the Ten Basic Steps of Campus Crusade or the 101-401 series by Rick Warren.

My biggest struggles with all this: not enough time to be both a first-rate scholar and activist but ... some writing has and will get done. God is blessing. Praise Him.

Any other questions about my life or how to minister effectively - I will try to answer best I can. Appreciate you!

Prison - increasingly the place for evangelists to be

The prison population - ready for harvest

While the U.S. crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, the government reports. More

Forget Warren - what are you doing?

Amidst the controversy on this blog and over at inthefight I am reminded of what D.L. Moody once supposedly asked a critic: "And what is it you are doing to evangelize the world."

Nothing. That was, apparently, her reply.

To which Moody was to have said, "I like my way of doing things better than your way of not doing things."

Evangelistically and on the front edges of human compassion - what is it you are doing? By His grace, how is His love flowing through you?

Where do I stand on Rick Warren?

A question: Where do you stand on Rick Warren? I can't really tell through your links and articles. People either love him or despise him, it seems.

Despise him? Why?

Here is a guy who, after seminary, looked for a relatively Christ-less place on the map and found the Saddleback Valley in California. He plants an innovative, purpose-driven church that wins thousands to Christ, plants a few dozen churches and writes a couple of best selling books that are used in seminary classes and sold in secular bookstores across the nation.

Despise him? Only if you are jealous. Or you have some kind of quibble with his use of technology, contemporary music and that he never buttons up for a church service.

Time for some of us to grow up and get over it.

Not that the guy is perfect. I am quite sure that he is not. And his being a Baptist gives him a slightly different theological construct than my own.

So - anybody who is within the orthodox Christian faith, wants to evangelize the unredeemed in his corner of the world, is passionate about church planting, fervent in his role concerning missions, is eager to share his secrets, and is apparently as humble a man of his popularity as can be expected to be and, joy of joys, has a happy marriage – well, that is a saint to be counted as a brother and a friend.

He is a man worth emulating and praising the Lord for.

And now this – for his mid-life crisis he has decided to start a massive new international initiative called PEACE. It is Warren’s plan to, in his words, “do the five things Jesus did while He was here on earth." It is an acronym that stands for

Plant churches,

Equip servant leaders,

Assist the poor,

Care for the sick and

Educate the next generation.

The emphasis calls for churches and small groups to adopt villages where lack of spiritual leadership and holiness, where disease and poverty have kept people from knowing the abundant life God wants for them.

My hunch – there will be some out there that will begin taking Warren to task for sliding off into the abyss of the social gospel or some such thing. And I am sure, having read his Bible adequately, Warren will lose no sleep over the criticism. For Jesus was about building his church, equipping the saints, and assisting the downtrodden and disenfranchised and making disciples (educated ones) for their future in the Lord.

“The world is my parish” John Wesley once said. And apparently, Warren with all the boldness God has gifted him with, thinks the same. That he could participate with Christ in bringing shalom to the world well beyond Saddleback isn’t a bad way to decide to spend a good chunk of the last half of your life.

Where do I stand on Rick Warren? With him.

Rick Warren Leads Through PEACE

(BP) - asking Christians to do what we are all supposed to be doing anyway.

Thousands of churches around the world will be setting out to eradicate five "giant problems" that oppress billions of people, Rick Warren told a crowd of 30,000 celebrating Saddleback Valley Community Church's 25th anniversary April 17 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

"Billions of people suffer each day from problems so big no government can solve them," said Warren, Saddleback's pastor. "The only thing big enough to solve the problems of spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, disease and ignorance is the network of millions of churches all around the world."

Saddleback Church celebrated its 25th anniversary by combining the congregation's usual six weekend services into a single gathering at the stadium south of Los Angeles. It was the first time in many years members of the church family had been able to assemble at the same time. The event included greetings to the congregation from President George Bush and evangelist Billy Graham and featured music from Michael W. Smith, Salvador and Tait.

Warren used the occasion to announce his vision of a spiritual awakening that would sweep the world as Christian churches tackle the problems that Jesus Himself confronted during His ministry.

"The Scripture shows us that Jesus shared the Good News, trained leaders, helped the poor, cared for the sick and taught the children," Warren said. "Our P.E.A.C.E. plan will just do the five things Jesus did while He was here on earth."

P.E.A.C.E. is an acronym that stands for "Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick and Educate the next generation," Warren said. The emphasis calls for church-based small groups to adopt villages where spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, disease and ignorance keep people from experiencing the kind of life God wants them to have, he said.

Evangelism for the Non-evangelist

From Purpose Driven and Lee Strobel

At the turn of the first century the emperor Trajan issued a decree that all citizens of Rome must worship the pagan gods or face death, but not everyone obeyed his edict.

Word came to Trajan, as he traveled to Antioch, that the Bishop of Antioch -- a man named Ignatius -- openly defied his orders by refusing to worship anyone or anything but Jesus. Infuriated, the emperor ordered Ignatius arrested and taken back to Rome where he would be torn apart by lions.

As he traveled to Rome for execution, Ignatius re-examined everything he knew and believed. He wanted to separate hope from conviction. His search survives through seven letters he penned. Reading Ignatius’ letters we see the embodiment of 1 Corinthians 2:13 (NIV), “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”

Our proclamation to the unbelieving world must be truth.

We’ve been told that we live in a postmodern age where no one cares about truth, and all truth is relative. My own experience shows this is not the case. Before I came to Christ I was an atheist. Yet after my wife became a Christian and radically changed, I had no choice but to investigate God and the Bible. Two years later, I saw the torrent of evidence which would force me to exercise greater faith to remain an atheist. As one trained in journalism and law, I had to follow the truth.

Christ - boldly into the mosques...

This takes guts!

The president of a ministry dedicated to sharing the love of Christ with Muslims says Christians must not be afraid to go into mosques with the gospel. As a former Muslim, she is doing exactly that -- even though, under strict Islamic tenets, it could mean a death sentence. More

The Challenging Christ

Carol Iannone talks about a painting of Jesus she saw:

There is no halo of course, no artificial glow, no effeminate aspect, no gushing compassion, no indiscriminate forgiveness pouring forth in unconditional love. This was not the Jesus who, as one Episcopal bishop insisted, accepts us even in our "fat slobby selves." This Jesus is rather more challenging than comforting. This is a Christ with standards, I thought half jokingly, a Christ for conservatives!

A Christ who sized you up, maybe the way he sized up the chatty Samaritan woman at Jacob's well or the rich young man who thought so well of himself. Where are you now, viewer, he might be saying, what's going on in you, are you ready for me? What are you holding onto, what worthless baggage are you carrying so that you can't come my narrow way? You couldn't think of anything petty while in the purview of that calm, knowing, intelligent, and potentially redemptive gaze. Read the whole article

All part of the Good News

Read the whole article

Two studies released Wednesday are adding to the growing body of research that religion is good for your health.

A study of 68 Alzheimer's disease patients found that going to church and other religious activities slowed cognitive declines, Canadian researchers reported at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

And University of Chicago researchers reported that African Americans who strongly believe in God were less likely to be depressed than nonbelievers.

U. of C. psychologist John Cacioppo said belief in God appears to help African Americans overcome the alienation they feel as a result of racial discrimination.

Among whites, who are less likely to suffer discrimination, belief in God did not decrease depression.

Is Prayer Good for Your Health? A Critique of the Scientific Research

And along with the above item: this

I appreciate the Heritage Foundation - a top-shelf conservative think tank - doing things like this from time to time.

New wave of evangelism? Oh, my...

Let's hope not:

Along with ones saying "Got Jesus?" and "Fear God" are shirts declaring, "Satan Sucks," "My God can kick your god's butt," and "To Hell with the Devil."

The Evangelical Scandal - An Interview with Ron Sider

Here's some of his bad news:

Evangelical Christians and born-again Christians get divorced just as often, if not a little more, than the general population. And Barna has discovered that 90 percent of the born-again Christians who are divorced got divorced after they accepted Christ. On sexual promiscuity, we're probably doing a little better than the general population. Josh McDowell has estimated that maybe our evangelical youth are 10 percent better, Lord help us.

So at least it's a measurable difference.
Well it is measurable, although there's not so much hard [data] on that question as with some of the others. John Green, one of the best evangelical pollsters, says that about a third of all evangelicals say that premarital sex is okay. And about 15 percent say that adultery is okay.

Take the issue of racism. A Gallup study discovered that when they asked the question, "Do you object if a black neighbor moves in next door?" the least prejudiced were Catholics and non-evangelicals. The next group, in terms of prejudice, was mainline Protestants. Evangelicals and Southern Baptists were the worst.

Several studies find that physical and sexual abuse in theologically conservative homes is about the same as elsewhere. A large study of the Christian Reformed Church, a member of the nae, discovered that the frequency of physical and sexual abuse in this evangelical denomination was about the same as in the general population. One recent study, though, suggests that evangelical men who attend church regularly are less likely than the general population to commit domestic violence.

Materialism continues to be an incredible scandal. The average church member [from across the denominations] today gives about 2.6 percent of his or her income—a quarter of a tithe—to the church. Evangelicals used to be quite a lot better [in giving] than mainline denominations. But their giving has declined every year for several decades, and they're now getting very close to the norm. The average evangelical giving is about 4.2 percent—about two-fifths of a tithe.

Six percent of the "born-again" people tithe; nine percent of evangelicals do. Our income has gone up fabulously over the last 30-plus years. The average household income now in the U.S. is $42,000-plus. If the average American Christian tithed, we'd have another $143 billion. More

Holiness is "out there"

I wonder, sometimes, if we don’t prefer safety and comfort and quiet to a fault. A prominent youth minister once conducted an informal poll and began to ask those in ministry which they would prefer: a) a roller coaster life of incredible victorious highs as well as punishing defeats; a life of hilarious laughter as well as cheeks often hosting tears. Or, b) a calm life of relative normality, even-keeled and frequently sedate with few victorious highs but also few bruising defeats.

To the youth minister’s amazement, the vast majority of ministers chose “b”.

And yet the longer I live, and the more stories I read of the men and women of the Bible, the more I witness the glories of church history and the revivals of many parts of the world today, the more I am becoming assured that the life of holiness is option “a”.

Even when the prisoners sneer, or the prayed for dies, or the boyfriend punches you out at the abortion clinic or the students whine about the accountable life.

Even then, holiness is option “a”.

Why do so few people choose it?

Going too fast? Insight from William Booth

You're Going Too Fast, by William Booth

Can we go too fast, my comrades in saving souls? I will not attempt to answer that question. No soldier in the Salvation Army would ask such a question. It is an insult to the Bible–to the teachers of Christianity. I refuse to reply to it.

If anyone still wants a reply, let him ask the lost souls in Hell whose brothers and sisters are following them there. Let him go and ask the blood-washed throng in Heaven, whose eyes are wide open at last to the value of salvation. Let him anticipate the Judgment Day, and in spirit stand before the Throne and propose, if he dares, the question to God Almighty. I think from Hell, Heaven and the Great White Throne, the answer would come back; “More speed! Go faster!" If it should entail the stopping of legislature, pleasure, business, and all the employments and occupations of time, push forwards!

Hurry onwards! Save the world!

Barna: contend for transformation, not numbers

"One of the greatest challenges facing any ministry, no matter what its form is, has to do with what do you define as success," he says. "And we've got to break the [current] mold ... which says that success is about church attendance, and church budgets, and church programs, and church staff, and square footage and buildings.

"Jesus didn't die for any of that stuff. He died to see people's lives completely transformed so they try to be more like Him every moment of every day."

Bringing about such change in individual lives, he says, requires "aggressive" church leadership that is willing to take risks. "Effective leaders must spearhead a thoroughly conceived and highly targeted plan that runs a significant level of risk and promises attractive returns on people's investment of themselves," Barna says. "Merely tinkering with the existing system is a recipe for irrelevance and abandonment." More

Slam-Dunk quotes from C.T. Studd

Strong stuff.

"We shall go crusading for Christ. We have the men, the means, and the ways—steam and electricity and iron have leveled the lands and bridged the seas. The doors of the world have opened wide for us by our God. We pray and preach; we bow the knee; we receive; we administer the Holy Communion of the Passion of Christ; we recite the Creed triumphantly; we are optimists everyone; we shout ‘Onward Christian soldiers, marching on to war,’ and then? . . . and then? . . . we whisper, ‘I pray Thee have me excused!!!’ What glorious humbugs we are!’

Best way to evangelize a serious pagan

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More Women Go to Church Than Men ... and What to Do About It

Check it out, here. Do you agree?