Christmas Is Stupid 2

Last year I bloviated about Christmas. For the fun of it I will post it again as it still reflects my general feelings toward Christmas:

Call me scrooge, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, or your favorite Christmas villain of all time. I don't care. Christmas just gets in the way most of the time anyway. I have things to do, messages to preach, and money I would rather spend on myself (at least I would get what I wanted that way). bah humbug!!!

What is it with Christmas? Why did I see Christmas lights up before Halloween this year? I can't even have thanksgiving (a truly great holiday) without it being ruined by Christmas music and images of Santa in lights. Going to Target or Walmart only makes things worse with their mass marketing of a holiday that doesn't even resemble the real Christmas story.

I am no longer safe!! I must hibernate until New Years!!

Maybe this seems a little over the top, but why do we have to sing the same songs every year. Isn't there any new Christmas songs we can do? If someone sings Joy to the World, Jingle Bells, or Rudoph the Red Nosed Rain Deer one more time I might fall into a great big depression. Maybe they should have open season of deer with red noses!!

Let's be real, Christmas isn't about Jesus anymore, it's about companies mass marketing to kids so they can bug there parents about the latest and greatest toy until mommy and daddy spend the kids college fund in order to get it for them (that makes a lot of sense, "my kid isn't very edumacated, but she had great toys growing up!!"). Besides if you buy your kids a BB Gun you might get put in jail for child abuse. If Christmas were about Jesus there wouldn't be all this pressure to buy, buy, buy!!!!!!

I have had enough, I am boycotting Christmas this year(when my wife and kids aren't around). I am not decorating (until my 8 year old and my 2 year old tell me to). I am definitely not going to watch any Christmas movies (really, I won't do that, they can watch without me...... Ok, maybe one of the Tim Allen movies because they are sort of funny.) I guess that means I am going to have to stay away from every store on the face of the planet and stop listening to the radio, but I think I can do that (thank BP for pay at the pump).

OK, I need to go drink some coffee before I loose it (I am not putting candy canes or some kind of Christmas spice in it either!!!!!!!!) I can't even get a normal mocha at the local coffee shop, it has to be a HOHO Mocha or FALALatte (talk about messing with people who have dyslexia, there should be a law against stuff like that).

Historical Background and the Text

One of the lessons I learned while attending Northwestern Bible College here in Minnesota (Northwestern can make the check payable to John Byrne) is how to accurately exegete the meaning of Scripture. I learned that historical context can play an important role in understanding a particular text properly. That said, there is a limit to how much historical context can help. Because of this, very intelligent and well meaning teachers have come to poor conclusions. Let me explain.

In Ephesians 1:11 Paul uses the term predestined. I talked to another pastor recently who held a more Armenian perspective and he said Paul was a Palestinian Jew so he was referring not to individuals, but the church as a whole. I don't want to make this post about predestination, rather I am simply suggesting that it is easy to fall back on historical background when we don't like what the text says. Because Palestinian Jews tend to think more in groups does not mean they never think in terms of individuals. We must go to the text and make sure we understand what was being said there. Just because a person grew up in a certain area or something was common in a certain culture does not mean that we should necessarily interpret an author in that manner.

Historical background can add depth and meaning to our understanding of scripture. What it can't do is undermine the text itself. If someone wants to make an argument for predestination being directed toward the church and not the individual, fine, just don't over use historical background or culture to change the meaning of the text.

Dangerous Toys or Stupid People

The fact that there is a site called "Toy Safety" is bad enough, but they have come up with a list of the ten most dangerous toys of 2007. I thought it would be prudent of me to pass on their message and offer a few comments of my own. Here is the list:

• Aqua Dots
• This toy is dangerous because the dots could be swallowed and possible cause a child to choke. When I was a kid I didn't mess around with little dots, I chose much larger things to choke on like pennies, quarters, and anything else I could fit in my mouth like food. Actually I choked on food more than anything else. What terrible parents I had allowing me to eat food that had not been pureed in a blender first!!!! Of course if your child were to confuse Aqua Dots with a bag of potato chips the chemicals on the coating of the dots could become toxic. WOW, that is terrible. Perhaps we should only allow our kids to play with edible toys.
• Go Diago Go Rescue Boat
• Who knew a rescue boat could kill you or put in harms way!! This is great, what kind of message are we sending our kids. "Johny don't play with the rescue boat, you could die!!!" Of course the lead paint is what does the harm (there we go eating toys again, don't worry this toy is too large to choke on) The good news about the knowledge we have gained regarding lead paint is that we can now explain what happened to the Baby Boomer generation. (no offense)
• Sticky Stones
• These magnetic stones can cause severe damage!! WHATCH OUT!!! Here we go, I bet you can guess what the problem with this toy is....yep, don't eat em. Just be thankful the rocks outside are not magnetic or your kids could die from them too.
• Jack Sparrow's Spinning Daggar
• Just remember it is all fun and games until someone ____________________. Yep, can you believe the manufacturer of this toy does not warn buyers that an eye could be poked out with the dagger. HMMMMMMMMMM I don't even know what to say. Evidently we are all so stupid that we can't figure out a dagger could poke an eye out.
• Dora The Explorer Lamp
• Of course this dangerous toy isn't even a toy, it's a lamp. Yep, this lamp could burn your house down. I guess you should use candles instead.
• Lil "Giddy Up" Horses
  
• DON'T EAT THE HORSE!!
• Spider Man 3 Goblin Sword
• Another sword, but don't worry you won't get your eye poked out, you will just have series facial injuries. Besides if you give this to your kids they will quit playing swords with the sticks in the yard.
• Hip Hoppa
• This toy for six year olds doesn't have any warnings telling them to put on a helmet, elbow pads, or knee pads. I am just glad my six year old reads all the warning labels on a package before ripping into to to play with her new toy.
  
• B'Loonies Party Pack
• This toy is made with flammable chemicals. The good news, it is only dangerous when your kids are playing with matches.
• My Little Baby Born
• You might want to teach your kid not to put things in their mouth. I know, it requires actual parenting, but you can do it!!
• Rubber Band Shooter
• Now this is a great toy!!! Every kid should learn early in life how to shoot rubber bands accurately. This is important because we don't want our kids to miss the kid in the front row of the class room and accidentally hit the teacher. This would lead to such dangerous activities as writing sentences or receiving spankings from parents. RUBBER BANDS ARE NOT TOYS, THEY ARE WEAPONS AND SHOULD BE RESPECTED AS SUCH!!

I didn't realize the world was so dangerous. I have to go slide food under the door so my kids can eat. I have them locked in there safety room right now with no dangerous toys of any kind to play with. Don't worry, I only let them play with plastic (biodegradable) bags, natural sticks and non-magnetic stones. My kids are safe, are yours?

How Long Will It Be?

Recently congress has seen fit to take valuable time they should be spending debating some important issue regarding our liberties or the defense of our country and instead censer Rush Limbaugh. I don't know what you think of Rush, and honestly I don't care. This is not intended to be an apology (not the sorry kind) on behalf of Rush. Instead I want to pose a much more important question. When is this going to happen to a pastor for something he says in his own church or on the radio?
It is appalling that congress should take time to debate the words of a private citizen. It is not their role and it should not be. This kind of action is terrible and will eventually lean on our own liberties. You remember the first amendment don't you? It guarantees the freedom of speech. Even if you think Rush is an arrogant jerk who doesn't know up from down this kind of action by congress is still ridiculous and wrong!!
The consequence of setting this kind of precedent is severe. Our government should not be spending time condemning the free speech of private citizens. If this kind of action can be taken against Rush, why not John Piper, John MacArthur, or your pastor? What is stopping congress from becoming the "free speech" police?

I

Gospel Base Aplogetics

I have been working on something for some time, and I had an opportunity to try it out the other day. I want to share the idea (in a limited way) and suggest a new approach to apologetics that I think is better than anything I have seen (I am not trying to blow my own horn, I stole the idea from a great book called the Bible).

The idea is simple, perhaps so simple it has been overlooked by a lot of people. It starts with the gospel as a story. This is not new, there are many people, groups, and organizations that have begun to share the gospel in a narrative way. I want to thank them, they have done me a favor. The gospel is the primary story and message of the church. It is laid out in all of the Bible!! It starts at the beginning and ends, (you guessed it) at the end. In other words the gospel story starts with creation and ends with a brand new creation (new heavens and earth).

As I began to process the story it seemed to me there was another aspect of the gospel story that was missing. It was a more complete understanding of who God is. I know this sounds like it would take an hour just to explain the story, but what if we were able to tell the gospel story in a narrative way and still focus on the primary characteristics of who God is?

This is where the apologetics part comes in. Over the last several decades apologetics focused on good solid research, numbers of manuscripts, archaeological finds, etc... Thanks to amazing guys like Josh McDowel, Norman Geisler, J.P. Morland and others we have had a wealth of important information to help us defend and proclaim the good news. Unfortunately many of these guys are, well, smarter than the rest of us. They have devoted their lives to studying these things. For the rest of us we need something a little simpler. In my experience most people don't really want empirical evidence as much as they want good answers to the most obvious philosophical questions in life. Above all people want to understand a loving God who allows evil in the world.

Most of the time people don't accept the free gift of salvation because they don't understand who God is. They don't understand the gospel as a complete story. So how does this work??

I don't want to give this away, because I am considering publishing the idea in book form and possibly in a video curriculum form as well. What if you could share the gospel story (an over view of the whole thing) using characteristics of God (like Justice, love, mercy, righteousness, etc...) in five minutes? What if at the same time you did this you were able to answer the most common questions people have by simply going back to the story and the characteristics of God?

That is the general concept. I did this with my neighbor just two weeks ago. He was going through a tough time so he knocked on my door. He interrupted my dinner plans with my family and then took my ear for the next hour. I shared the gospel with him as the answer to the questions he had. He asked the most common question about evil and a loving God with the precursor that no one had been able to answer that question in a satisfactory manner. I went back to the gospel story and the characteristics of God and explained why evil things happen. He looked at me in amazement and said, "no one has been able to answer that question, until now!"

The Greatest Nation and The Christian Faith

I love the U.S. I believe it is the greatest nation ever to exist on this planet apart from perhaps the nation of Israel when it was a true theocracy. I want to hang on to this nation as it was established as long as I can. Still I am under no illusions. This great nation will likely not be great forever. Its greatness may last another 5 years or maybe another 500 years. However long it lasts I will enjoy it. But what of my faith? Is my faith connected to my country? Should it be?

Sometimes I struggle with this, there is definitely some dissonance regarding my citizenship in the U.S. and the kingdom of God. I love Jesus first and foremost, but I find myself wanting to engage in political conversations more than spiritual ones. Maybe this is because I think politics are easier to talk about than spiritual things. I often find myself dealing with this conflict between my role as a pastor and my political convictions. In reality the two cannot be completely separated.

I don't stand up and preach politics even during presidential elections. A lot of the times I avoid making any kind of statements from the pulpit. Still there are a lot of political issues that should be heavily influenced by the convictions of our faith and a Biblical worldview. I don't want those who tend to have more liberal political views to be offended because my views tend to be more conservative. Yet it is hard for me to understand how people who believe and value God's word can come to conclusions that are different from mine (in certain areas).

So what am I to do? I don't know. I guess I will continue to stumble along trying to be mindful of what is appropriate in different situations. I will probably stick my foot in my mouth a few times, but oh well.

Basic Economics

I never took an economics course in school, not in high school and not in college. Still, I managed to understand what the economy was all about. Basically your provide a service or good and you get paid based on what the market says your service or product is worth. This seems so basic, yet so many students are graduating from high school without this basic understanding.

In my part time job at caribou coffee I work with young kids ranging from 16-22. Most of them seem to think the job they have been hired to do is somehow owed to them. This is a significant problem in our culture there are too many students who think they are some how "above" working at McDonald's or some other fast food joint. The ones that do work there don't seem to have a work ethic that has any kind of integrity. They punch in before they are ready to work and they punch out 10 minutes after they are finished with work. Once punched in they insist on standing around until someone tells them to do something.

I don't know if there is a point to this entry outside of complaining. Thanks for reading.

Gambling and the Bible

I have always been told that gambling is bad, that God hates gambling, and that gambling leads to poverty. I have listened to preachers (ones I highly respect) do gymnastics from behind the pulpit in an attempt to show that gambling is a sin. After all of this I remain unconvinced. I will admit that gambling can lead to poverty and that excess gambling is certainly sinful. Of course eating too much is also sin, so let's be careful where we go with the excess argument.

If I am to be honest, and I am, I must admit that I like to play a friendly game of poker from time to time. I also play fantasy football (I am not convinced that belongs under the label of gambling). As far as I can recall, that is the extent of my gambling exploits. Of course I haven't played poker in long time. So what is this post?

This is an invitation to convince me. I want to be convinced that gambling is a sin, but there are some parameters.

• If your argument references the effect of gambling too much on society I probably already agree with it. That does not make moderate gambling sinful.
• If you argument is scriptural it is more likely to be considered.
• If you argument is based on what you like or don't like I will remain unconvinced.
• Last, if your argument is a story about someone you know or simply a story you heard somewhere it will likely be disregarded.
• In the end the best arguments are Biblical and logical.

Scared to Disagree

I work at Caribou Coffee part time. For the most part I enjoy the job. I like talking to people and the coffee is pretty good too. Recently, however, I was informed that there are several people who don't like to work with me because I like to debate. I have to admit, I like to debate and have important conversations.

When I heard this I wasn't sure what to think, for most of my life I have been well liked by those I am around. Over the past several years I have become more bold in talking to people about controversial issues. I like to talk about them because there have been too many times where I have left important things unsaid. It seems like most people don't like to talk with people about things where they might disagree. Instead they would rather go through life ignorant and blissful. They have opinions simply because someone somewhere told them something was true. They arrive at these opinions and hold on to them strongly without ever questioning their validity. They don't really think about things as much as they feel about things.

So what now? This is tricky because for the most part I have a reputation based on only a few select conversations. I also have this reputation because I have allegedly said certain things that in reality I never said. Some of them were said by the person I was talking to and then attributed to me. First, I am not going to stop having these conversations, they are important ones and I would rather place questions in other peoples minds about important issues than be liked. Second, I am going to listen carefully not to their words, but to there emotions. This is going to be hard. Our world is full of thin skinned people. Unfortunately the only way our society will ever learn to have conversations about difficult issues is by having them. It's a lot like building up calluses when you are learning to play guitar.

When You Don't Know Your Lost

I like the outdoors. Last year I loaded my pack and headed into the Rocky Mountains. There is a place called lost creek that has some really cool rock formations. I thought it would be a great place to get lost from the world and perhaps focus on Christ with more intensity than normal.

Unfortunately I started later than I had planned on. As I was heading into the mountains I had to travel a few miles before I could reach the place where I was planning on camping. You need to understand that while I am not in horrible shape, I am not in good shape either. Add that to the altitude (8-10,000 feet above my home in Minnesota) and I was going to struggle with the climbing and falling. I actually had to stop walking sometimes just to take a drink. I couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. I was prepared for this with the exception of the late start. I had to push my pace more than I had planned. About half way to my camp site I believed I was heading in the wrong direction. I looked at my GPS and it appeared that I was not headed toward the way point that marked the camp site. Not convinced, I took out my map and compared the coordinates. I appeared to be on the trail, but there was no doubt that I was heading away from my water source (lost creek) and up the mountain. After a while I started to think that I was going to just find a place to set up my tent and probably become dehydrated (I had used the water that I brought with). In the end the trail took a sharp turn to the south and it lead me right to the camp site.

I wasn't lost, but thought I was. I have had the opposite happen as well. There have been times in the woods where I thought I knew exactly where I was going, but I would later find out that I was wrong. The difference between these two things is significant. In the first situation you are looking for help and making plans for the worst. When the best happens it is simply a relief. In the latter situation you are not making plans for the worst because there is no need. Then the worst happens, you simply become lost, lost, and desperately lost without even knowing it. When you realize how lost you are you panic maybe even run trying to backtrack to where you need to be.

Though these circumstances are real, they also paint a nice picture of where many people are in this world. Many people are lost and don't know it. They invoke the name of Jesus (Can you Say Michael Vick) or Allah or "God" without having any idea that they are lost. They believe they are on the right path and headed in the right direction. It's hard to save someone who doesn't believe they are in danger. I believe this is the situation most Americans are in. They think they are "saved" but in reality they are lost. When a person is lost without realizing it they simply become more lost. This creates a difficult situation for the church. How do we reach people who don't even know they are lost? I think there is a rather simple answer, but this answer means giving up a lot of the "seeker sensitive" ways of our past and putting aside much of the politically correct speech of our day. The answer? Preach the gospel always everywhere, even to people who you think already know Jesus.

Getting Pulled Over For DWI

Usually when I get pulled over it is for speeding (it doesn't happen that often, but it has happened on occasion). This time was different, I guess I was pulled over for DWI. I have to admit this was a new experience for me.

I guess at this point I should offer up some kind of explanation. I actually was pulled over for an "illegal lane change." The truth is the cops were pulling everyone they could over for the purpose of catching drunk drivers.

I was confused if I was having a road side eye test or simply being checked to see if I had been drinking. The officer (who was polite) asked where I was coming from and I was coming from a sports bar where we had our fantasy football draft. He then asked my how many alcoholic beverages I drank. This was after he noticed my bloodshot eyes. He must have thought I was the worlds biggest liar when I told him I had not had any alcohol. Either that or he didn't hear me the first three times I said I didn't have any alcohol.

Still I had to do the "touch the top of the pen" test. Apparently that is a little harder than it looks. Yes, I missed by about a quarter inch. If you think it is easy, your try it. My wife missed it by about the same amount when I did the test with her and she didn't have any lights flashing in her face.

Finally I was given a Breathalyzer test. I guess I passed or failed depending on what you mean by pass or fail.

Fortunately they weren't interested in writing tickets, they just wanted to catch people who were driving under the influence.

Where Is The Catholic Leadership????????

This is completely insane!!! A catholic Priest suggesting that Christians call God Allah is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. What is worse is the Priest on Hannity and Colmes is actually suggesting that this guy has a point.

It has become very trendy of late to buy into universalism. Christians who demand that Jesus is the only way and that the 10 Commandments actually mean something will be persecuted. You will be seen as intolerant and mean spirited. Just remember Jesus suffered first. It is an honor to be persecuted for doing Good ( 1 Peter 3). Perhaps we should embrace labels of intolerance and mean spirited, it will give them fewer names to call us.

Is Hell Really That Bad?

Fire and brimstone, sulfur, suffering... When I was in High School I was trying to witness to this guy and convince him that hell was bad and heaven was good. Once I convinced him he was going to hell ( it took all of 10 seconds to do that) he simply looked at me and said, "At least I will be with all my friends, why would I want to go to heaven?"

I guess hell isn't that bad after all. At least it doesn't seem that bad...except for that fire and burning thing.

Hell is one of those things that people don't seem to want to talk about. It seems they would prefer to just ignore it. Really, no one has really seen hell, there isn't any video footage available, and texting a real description of it seems a little difficult as well. Maybe it is just a curse word and nothing more.

What is my point? My point is this, if hell is real, then we better start acting like it because a lot of people are on their way there. If it is not, then morality itself is unnecessary. What is the point of even worrying about what is good?

Generational Sins Are They Real? Part deux

The comments left regarding the previous post on this subject have motivated me to leave another post on the same subject. Let me be clear, it would be ridiculous to think that the actions we take in life will not impact our children, their children, and so on. Generational sin, however, is often understood as something more then simply cause and effect.

The fact that children of divorced parents are far more likely to get divorced themselves or that abused children tend to become abusers is not evidence for generational sin, at least not good evidence. This is evidence of some kind of cause and effect. That does not mean it is a spiritual cause and effect. Attitudes and actions are seen and understood by kids and when they grow up they often follow those same patterns because it is what they know.

As I stated in my first post, there are more scriptures that speak about "generational sin." because they were brought up in the comments area I want to make a couple observations. First, Leviticus 26:34-45. This passage in a broader context is about simply disobeying God and how He will respond. God as Father tells His children if they disobey they will be punished by God. In other words this is not the work of a demon or Satan. I think these verses are likely talking about a cause and effect. Starting in Verse 40 confession and repentance is seen as a way to overcome the circumstances or punishment of God. In essence it is God who changes His attitude toward Israel. God keeps His covenant. This is consistent with Exodus 20 where the way to overcome this is by loving God (see the first post). Deuteronomy 28:58ff seems to be consistent with God doing the action and punishing Israel.

Let me be clear. If there is such a thing as a generational curse or generational sin especially as it is understood by many deliverance ministries these cannot be used to support that theology. I love hearing of stories where people come to Jesus and overcome oppression or even demonic possession. This is not an argument against the viability of Satan working, but it is a challenge to how we understand these things.

I will leave the demon possession and oppression argument for another post. Before we go down that road we need to find some kind of Biblical text that supports these curses (generational curses) being the action of Satan and not that of God. Certainly demons and Satan are real and at work, that is not the point.

This theology of generational curses has caught on because it allows people to blame someone or something besides themselves. It allows the believer to blame Satan or their parents for what they are doing. It alleviates themselves, in some sense, of any kind of responsibility of past actions. Forgive me for suggesting this, but is almost like purchasing an indulgence for past sins.

Stories are great, but it is important to remember that scripture helps understand our experiences not the other way around.

Generational Sins, are they real?

Some of you have already written me off for even asking the question. I think questions are good and this one is especially good. I have been taught repeatedly that generational curses are real, but that they can be broken. I am not convinced that they are real and even if they are, I am not sure what makes us believe they can be broken. Let me explain:

Now I know some of you are already quoting certain passages in you mind (or at least portions of them) and thinking I am some kind of heretic. Before we go too far let me quote a little scripture as well. Let me start with John 9. In this story the disciples ask Jesus why a certain man was blind from birth. Was it because of his own sin? That doesn't seem possible since he was born that way. Or was it his parents sin? Jesus repudiates this. Now I will admit that Jesus did not deny the existence of such a curse, but it is clear that the disciples wanted to apply Exodus 20:5 in an inappropriate way and Jesus stopped them. There is another scripture, Ezekiel 18:1-5. It seems this passage clearly repudiates the generation sin concept.

Let's consider Exodus 20. First, I am not going to pretend I have this verse all figured out, but I think just a few observations will cast significant doubt on the theology of generational sins. The broader context is of course the 10 commandments and the laws of God. Verses 4-6 are speaking specifically about idol worship. It is appropriate for us to limit this passage to this one commandment. If it was intended to apply to all the commandments it would be found after the ten commandments or as part of some kind of summary statement. It does not appear that is the case here. There is also an emphasis on the feelings these people have toward God. either they hate God and there is a curse, or they love God and He loves them back. Either way it is God who is doing the action.

Last, what makes anyone think there is a way to nullify this "curse?" If it is God doing the "visiting" how can anyone stop Him? Why would they want to? If there was a way to overcome this generational sin wouldn't it be mentioned somewhere in scripture? It seems that if there is a way to fight this generational thing it is by simply loving God.

Perhaps we should be careful about our application of this concept! Actually we may want to abandoned the more popular application all together.

Attending a Funeral 2

Funerals are always senseless. There is no good reason to have a funeral, only unfortunate ones. Still funerals can be redemptive. In my last post I vented about the sadness that I needed to proclaim regarding the death of my friends 2 hour old son. In some ways it made me want to punch God in the face. Of course we all know how short that fight would be.

In spite of how difficult funerals are, there are some funerals that can be a celebration. Those funerals tend to be in memory of people who have followed Christ and lived a long and full life. These funerals often follow the death of a person who was not expected to live much longer. Part of what makes these funerals a celebration is the eternal position of a person who knew Christ.

There is one more thing that redeems the value of a funeral. It is a simple and obvious thing, it is the gospel!! A funeral, especially one like this, must be used as an opportunity to understand the state of man, the need for a savior, and an opportunity to follow that savior. With out sin nature funerals are not necessary, death would be a fictional idea. Without a savior eternal death is the destiny of every person. Without salvation eternal life cannot be had. Every person must be confronted with this truth. It seems to me that the senseless death of a baby who was tucked in for the first and last time at his own funeral is the perfect place for this kind of proclamation.

The gospel gives us understanding, peace in a difficult time, and eternal salvation. Any pastor who does not proclaim this truth at a funeral is not worth his salt!!

The Funeral Part 1

Funerals are a part of life, at least attending them is a part of life. Still the one I attended yesterday was particularly difficult. This funeral was for a child, a baby. This baby was born too early, he didn't have lungs that were developed enough to survive. The parents are friends of ours whom we love dearly. I respect and honor their strength.

I would not have been so strong, I would have been a wreck. My wife tells me I am a passionate person, I would never describe myself this way, but perhaps she is right. At this funeral the pastor put the normal spin on it. He said things like, "we are celebrating a homecoming for this baby" and "he (the baby) is in the arms of Jesus." We (I should say they, I couldn't muster the strength to sing) sang songs about children and how Jesus loved them or how they are such a great blessing. The normal passages about heaven and the time Jesus' spent with children were read. It was suppose to be this happy time, this celebration. I could not do it. I was not happy and could not convince myself to be happy.

Baby's are not suppose to die. Children are suppose to outlive their children. That baby may have "gone home," but he went home too soon. Why can't we just be mad at God once and a while? I am mad at God for allowing my friends to go through this. If it was my child, I would be absolutely furious. I wouldn't sing happy songs, I would probably go into a deep depression. Why does everything in Christianity have to be happy? How does an untimely death like this bring joy? This isn't a blessing, it is part of the curse!! It is the sinfulness of man and the curse that resulted from the sin of Adam and Eve that causes these kind of things. We need to take a look at how we deal with these things. Two hours, that is all the parents had, two hours...two stinkin' hours. What is so great about that? The first time the baby was ever tucked in it was at the funeral. His dad never played catch, and his mom never had the opportunity to change a dirty diaper or get up at 1:30 AM to feed him. There is nothing great or even good about this!

Matt (my friend) showed amazing strength. I would have been out of my mind. There needs to be a place for anger, for depression, for sadness, for crying, for all of this stuff. We don't have to be happy all the time!!

Bikini Car Wash

A few weeks ago we (www.wechurch.com) had a free car wash for people in our community to get their cars washed. It was great, we had a good time and made some good connections in the community. The week before our car wash was an interesting week. I saw a few other car washes and talked to several people about the car wash we were going to do. Now, let me explain the title.

One week before our car wash I was driving to a local archery shop where I was unexpectedly and suddenly distracted by what at first glance appeared to be a topless girl waving a sign. It turned out she was not topless, but here and several other HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS were wearing bikinis. There was no shortage of cars to be washed and a fair amount of honking. For the record my car remained dirty. A couple days before our car wash I was inviting a guy at the pizza place I frequent to bring his car to get washed. After inviting him he asked if there would be girls wearing bikinis. So, whats the significance?

Let me see if I can make the significance clear. If my daughter was fully and modestly dressed at a car wash where the other girls were selling their bodies for a school fundraiser she would be removed from the car wash. Our culture has become so inundated with sex that parents (probably some of them claim to know Jesus) allow their daughters to parade around in bikinis next to a busy highway. Am I so naive that somehow I have missed this progression to an all out sex crazed world? No, for the most part I have seen this happen in most areas of life. I was naive enough to think that some parents actually cared about how their daughters were looked at.

What will this post accomplish? Probably not much. Still this is a call to any parent who calls themselves a Christian to begin protecting their children. This is a call to stand up to culture. This means standing up to coaches, other parents, and maybe even school boards. This means being willing to say what no one else will. This means being popular is insignificant and unimportant. I am of course assuming that the parents who read this have emotionally moved beyond the popularity contest of high school. I am also assuming that you are more concerned about teaching your kids to do what is right than you are about whether they have a date for their Senior Prom.

If you read this and think that I am some insane parent who has clearly gone off the deep end, you might be right. Even if that is true, it is impossible to read scripture and believe that kind of behavior is acceptable.

To Spank or not to Spank?

Spanking used to be a given, it was part of culture. I was spanked a lot. Actually I was spanked lots and lots. I was spanked by my parents, grandparents, aunts, principle, and probably a few others along the way. I was spanked with belts, spoons, hands, sticks, hangers, and probably some other objects I don't recall. I say all of that without feeling like I was abused or unjustly punished. Sometimes I wonder if the spankings were in some way therapeutic for my parents. I deserved most of them. I only recall one time when I was spanked for something I didn't do. Still with all of that I wonder if spanking is all it's "cracked" up to be.

There have been studies done that say kids who are spanked are more aggressive. At first that might sound alarming, but it raises a couple of questions. First, is aggressiveness bad? I wonder if our culture has determined aggressiveness to be bad because our society has become a little wimpy in general. Second, were these kids aggressive because they were spanked or were they spanked because they were over aggressive? Perhaps we cannot answer that question, but I think it rightly casts some doubt about those studies. I am not sure these studies are very helpful.

I have two kids who are very, very different. My daughter has been spanked, but not frequently. We may have been able to raise her without spanking her because she is sensitive. Still the spanking is more of an emotional encounter with her. I may have spanked her a couple times where it hurt, the rest of the times it was almost symbolic. Most of the time she is crying before the spanking even starts. We have a hug and talk about what happened after the spanking is over. Wow, that doesn't sound abusive. My son is two. He has my personality (go back and read about my spankings). The other day I spanked him hard enough that my hand tingled just a little bit. It was enough to sting him just a touch. He didn't cry, he hardly flinched to be honest. He looked at me and laughed!! This has happened on a couple of occasions. Once I spanked him and he thought I was playing with him. Perhaps this is the best argument against spanking.

I may continue to spank my son on occasion, but my wife and I are exploring other discipline options that may be more effective. He doesn't like to sit still, so time outs might work. I never thought I would use time outs, but if it works it works.

Kids are different, they need different approaches. Maybe it is not whether spanking is right or wrong, but determining what works.

Ten Ways to Know You are Spirit Led!!

Do you want to be Spirit Led? I used to wish I was Spirit Led!! Now with the help of Spirit Led: Ten Techniques in Becoming Spirit Led I have accomplished my goal. I am now 100% Spirit Led 100% of the time. You too can accomplish this great and spiritual feat. Start by evaluating yourself based on the 10 descriptions:

1. You see people and instantly know how SPIRITUAL they are.


2. You receive IM's from God while you are not online. TTYL God!!


3. You are occasionally transported from one location to another at the Spirits direction (Beam me up Scottie!)


4. You don't need your Bible to hear from God


5. When you read your Bible you don't have to open the cover


6. When you talk to people you regularly use terms like "God Told Me" or "I Feel God Leading Me To..."


7. You raise your hands when you worship


8. You have occasionally knelt while singing or praying


9. You no longer have sinful thoughts of any kind


10. You have already attained complete and total righteousness and are an expert on Sanctification since you have already accomplished it.

Send angry emails to youraheretic@spirit-led.God

American Idol & Hosea

It's amazing isn't it. I never thought of it before this moment, but the title of America's favorite reality show is about worship. What good is an idol if you don't worship it? Ironically I don't think most Americans worship the singers, although I am sure there are some who do. Maybe the American Idol has nothing to do with singing at all. Israel (or as Hosea like to call them Ephraim) made idols in their day. They did it with their hands. You might say it was like going to a craft show only the craft was little gods. America has created another kind of god.

During the time of Hosea the chosen people of God had begun worshiping Idols. Undoubtedly many of these same people attended worship gatherings on a weekly basis. Certainly they believed they were worshiping Yahweh. Yet if you entered their house or watched them the rest of the week you would certainly see the worship of idols. They did not see it as idolatry because they were simply worshiping the same god in different forms and using different methods.

Today in America our idol worship has become much more sophisticated. We don't generally worship wooden carvings or golden calves. We worship a god made in the image of man. We look at God and instead of seeking out Him we seek to change Him into something else. We want God to be a god that we like, one we can control, or one we can understand. The American Idol is one of the mind. These people who worship this false god are found all over the place. Many of them are found in the temple (church) worshiping on Sunday mornings. They believe they are worshiping Yahweh. They think they are worshiping Jesus the God-Man! In reality they are worshiping idols created by their own mind.

As seen continually throughout the book of Hosea the answer is first to see the error (exegetical preaching would help in this area) and then to repent. WOW, that is a little too Old Testament for me...wait, I guess the New Testament isn't really that much different. I guess Jesus demanded worship as the only way to the father. There is also that one passage that says something like there is only one name by which men can be saved. Hmmmm.

The idols in America are pervasive and found everywhere. Perhaps what hurts most to God is not that people worship idols, but that they confuse Him for someone else. Let me illustrate, I once went to a wedding where one of my former students was getting married. I knew the family well. I don't often where a suit (most people are shocked when they hear that I own one). As I was going through the greeting line the mother of the bride, whom I know well, did not recognize me. She thought I was from the grooms side of the family. Potentially that could hurt. This mom was embarrassed and apologized profusely (all is forgiven of course). This is the same kind of thing that happens with God. We have created this image in our mind, but it does not resemble the real thing. When we see the real thing we are confused, we realize we have been worshiping something that is not real.

Should We Preach About Election?

I have to admit that I have gone through a transition. I have flipped and flopped on this. I have been all over the map, been on both sides of the fence, and even tried to walk on top of it for a while. Unfortunately my balance isn't that good. It seems like such a weird question, but I want you to stop and consider for a moment when the last time you heard a preacher deal with this issue in an unapologetic way.



If you are like most people and you don't go to John Piper's church then you probably couldn't remember the last time that happened. I don't know if that means your church is bad if you can't remember a sermon on election, maybe you were gone that week. Still it is a fair question.



Why do I even bring this up? The reason is simple, if we believe in the word of God it is hard to avoid such doctrines. It doesn't really matter how you understand this word. Scripture brings the issue up many times (Romans 8; Ephesians 1; 1 Peter 1; etc...). You might be thinking this is not a very practical thing to preach on. My first inclination is to agree, but then why does Scripture bring it up? Perhaps a closer look at these passages will reveal the importance of understanding this Biblical doctrine. For example a closer look at 1 Peter 1:1-2 might encourage Christians who question how God could possibly save someone like them.



I am all for a practical approach to God's word, but I start with the idea that all of scripture is practical. Isn't that the point of 2 Timothy 3:16?

Kids only need one mom!!

This post is not about homosexuality, it is not even about moms. Instead it is about dads being dads.

I heard a statistic about the amount of time dads spend with there kids on a daily basis. Of course the statistic was used to show how dads in our society are horible at being parents. Time magazine published an article basically taking a shot at dads as well. According to this article human dads stink because they don't spend 90% of there time with the kids. If you think I am exagerating read the article. You might also want to notice how many of the researchers mentioned are male. All the research and statistics in the world will not help people to understand what being a dad is all about.

Being a dad is a lot more than spending time with the kids. Just think if dads spent 90% of their time with the kids someone else would have to go out and find a way to pay the bills. I guess if we did that then a bunch of male researches could get together and blast moms for not spending more time with the kids. Frankly I am sick of the immunization of the role of fatherhood.

I don't have the dad thing figured out, I am learning on the job. I mess up on a regular basis. Sometimes I am too nurturing (that is rarely the case, but it does occasionally happen), more often I am not nurturing enough. Still if both mom and dad were always comforting and never helped their kids develop things like toughness then we would end up with a bunch of really confused, wimpy, and even sissy kids. Don't get me wrong there is a balance, but the balance is different for mom and it should be. Real men cry, but they cry different than women and about different things. Real men may be "secure" in their "feminine" side, but I am more concerned about them being secure in their manly side. I honestly don't care if they are comfortable wearing pink or crying in public.

A good dad will spend time with the kids, but I am not sure how much. A good dad will more importantly show his kids what it is to have priorities right. Sometimes that may mean spending time doing things that take him away from the family. A good dad will not try to be mom. He will realize that mom can't teach some lessons to the kids as well as dad. He will also realize the reverse is true. Moms are not generally good at teaching their kids to be tough, they need help from dad. Moms may be in a better position to teach love and compassion, but they are probably not the best ones to teach their kids how to be appropriately competitive.

Dads, be a dad, and be a good one, but don't try to be mom!!

Are You A Concealed Carry Christian?

In most states it is legal, once you have jumped through the appropriate hoops, to carry a concealed weapon (usually a gun). Recently there was a shooting not too far from my house (the shooting took place in Coon Rapids) between an officer and a civilian who was carrying a gun. In spite of how this blog entry has started it is not necessarily about guns, but instead about being armed in another way.

The entire concept of concealed carry is keeping the weapon concealed. In other words people who have a permit walk around armed but the people around them don't know they are armed. Simply put, the concealment gives the armed citizen the ability to better defend themselves because an attacker would not know they are armed. Smart people (in my opinion) would not advertise the fact that they have a permit or carry a weapon. It would defeat the purpose.

Christianity is different, it is not a concealed carry religion. Still I would argue that many Christians live in such a way. They may not completely conceal their faith, they may tell people they carry, but they are afraid to bring out the weapon. People should not carry a weapon if they don't know how to use it or if they are unwilling to use it. I might suggest the same is true of Christianity. It is the responsibility of every Christian to seek out training that would help them use the weaponry God has given them to accomplish God's purpose. Not only must they know how, but they must practice in real life situations.

What kind of Christian are you?

Citizens of Two Worlds

It seems there has been a negative reaction to "The Religious Right" by other Christians over the past several years. In some ways this attack is very much warranted, still we must be careful what we wish for.

The religious right has been on the anti-gay, anti-abortion war path for some time. It seems they would rather put a bumper sticker on their car that says, "Abortion is murder!" rather than tell their neighbor about Jesus. It seems that the religious right is more concerned about legislating morality than changing hearts.

Still it is a Godly thing to fight abortion and to promote Biblical marriage (1 man 1 woman till death). It is a good thing to desire our country to be moral. Those are Godly things!!

So what? Perhaps we should put our bumper stickers away. Maybe we should do everything we can to support those things which are Biblical and moral, but we should do that from a non-Biblical perspective rather then shoving the Bible down peoples throats. We must first be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and second citizens of whatever country we are in.

Let's change people minds about Jesus first and everything else second.

Lessons From Chris Angel

I know Chris Angel has been around a long time, but it wasn't until today that I watched any of his shows. I have to admit he is pretty amazing!! I saw him walk on water, walk through glass, and escape from a watery grave. All of those were pretty amazing to watch. Still the most intriguing thing I saw was the hypnotisms.

Chris attempted (and pretty much succeeded) in hypnotising a room full of people. Part of the show was Chris and his staff talking about how people are hypnotized. Apparently a person can be hypnotised by smell, sound, visuals, etc...

The reason I found this to be so intriguing is simple. Let me explain:

• If a person does not want to by hypnotized it is apparently impossible to hypnotise them. For the person who wants to be hypnotized it is apparently pretty easy to do so.
• It is also interesting to note that some people who were standing when this happened seem to fall to the ground as if they suddenly fell asleep.
• People also seemed to be open to suggestion during that time as well.

As I was watching it dawned on me that people who are desperately searching for a "spiritual" experience ore desperately want to be healed could be easily hypnotized. They would also be open to the suggestion that what they desperately wanted is true. Hmmm

Honoring The Faithful

Memorial Day is around the corner and we should remember those who have fought for our country. Still there are others we should remember as well. We should remember those who have come before us spiritually. I want to take this post to honor one who has deeply impacted my life.

My Grandpa is the person who has influenced me spiritually as much as anyone. I have had the opportunity to be with him and my grandma (who has also influenced me greatly) this past week and still he challenges me and encourages me. It has been his love for God, his desire to handle God's word rightly, and honor God with his life that has inspired me.

G'pa & G'ma, I love you and I want you to know how much you have influenced me.

Flying With Kids

Not long ago I heard about a family that was asked to get off an airplane because they refused to make their kid behave. Recently my family and I flew to Florida for vacation and Council (a national event for the C&MA). I was a little nervous about how my 22 month old boy would do.

He runs everywhere he goes climbs everything he can (at about 18 months I found him sitting on the kitchen table once and on one other occasion celebrating his accent to the peak of Mt. Bunk Bed). He doesn't sit still (except for Jeff Gordan and the other Nascar drivers) and the thought of asking him to sit still on an airplane for 1 & 2 hours on the same day was rather frightening. I thought for sure we would be the next family to dawn a poster for bad parenting. Sometimes I feel bad for parents because America has created a culture where punishment (especially physical punishment) is frowned upon and sometimes viewed as abuse. In this same culture we expect kids to behave when in public. We expect parents who don't discipline to some how find a way to control their kids when they do go into public places. There is nothing more irritating than going to a nice dinner with your wife and having some spoiled little kid screaming at his parents because he doesn't like the macaroni and cheese.

Our kids are pretty well behaved (although we are still working on tantrums with the boy). Still I wasn't sure if I could get away with spanking my boy on an airplane if I needed to do so. Fortunately it all worked out well, even the extra half an hour we spent on the Ground in Chicago. No spankings, only a tiny bit of crying, and Joash (my boy) loved the take off and landing. Of course it helped that he slept almost the entire flight from Chicago to Orlando.

I'll Say It If No One Else Will

It seems like no one really wants to say what is on every one's mind. The war on terror is essentially a war on Islam. I hate to say it, but Islam seems to breed terrorists. I know there are peace loving Muslims and most of them are not terrorists. Still after authorities stopped the attack on Fort Dix it seems the fight is broader than just organized terror groups.

These men were Muslims and they were terrorists, but they had no organizational connection to Bin Laden or any other terrorist groups. Yes they were radical, but radical seems to be in vogue with too many Muslims. This is a religious war between everyone who is not Muslim and those who claim to fight on behalf of Allah.

I am not blaming all Muslims for what some of them are doing. Still I rarely hear peace loving Muslims going after these Radical Muslims. If there are so many good Muslims then I would like to challenge them with these words: "All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing." (Author Unknown) I fully support our president and our troops, but I do wonder if this war can be won if we do not know who our enemy really is. Perhaps we will win in Iraq, but the war on terror may last beyond this generation.

Why do Arminians Pray?

Some people don't like to debate theology. I think that is unfortunate. If that is you then don't read this post. I think theology is important and should be debated.

So often those who hold to an Armenian understanding of Scripture will point to evangelism and simply say, "why should we evangelise if God predestined?" This is a question of ignorance as the answer is simple and biblical. That said I must propose a similar question to those who hold a classical Armenian perspective. Why pray?

If we are going to claim that man has a libertarian free will then how can we expect God to intervene? If God intervenes and changes a persons mind then that person's free will no longer exists.

This creates further problems. If God "foreknows" everything especially a person's decision regarding salvation and then you pray and God intervenes and the friend changes his mind and accepts the free gift of salvation what did God foreknow? Did God foreknow that you would pray? If He did then did you really have a choice in the matter? If you are just so convincing in your presentation of the gospel that convince that person to accept Christ then how could God have known that that person would accept Christ? If that person has libertarian free will then they could have chosen to reject Christ just as easily. If that is the case then how could God foreknow?

It seems to me the Arminian must make a decision to believe that God did not foreknow, at least in the sense classic Arminianism suggests or they must come to a different understanding of free will and predestination.

Are You Really Free?

Everyone wants to be free from something. Christians want to be free from the bondage of sin, people in general want to be free from oppression, and I want to be free to do the work of God. Unfortunately that freedom is at risk. I want Muslims, JW's, and Mormans to all be free to evangelize people to their religion and to stand up for what they believe good morals are!!

Unfortunately we have elected a bunch of thought police to congress. They are once again interested in punishing people for what they think rather than what they do. There are a bunch of maniacs communicating stupid messages, but they are free to make fools of themselves. The thought police in Washington are moving down a road that could eventually outlaw communicating any kind of moral message at all. Read this!!

Driscolls Banned Video

Mark Driscoll may not be your favorite person in the world, but this church planting video he put together is flat out inspiring. Of course it was banned from a church planting conference (click here for the story).

No matter what you think about this guys theology he is by far the most inspiring preacher and teacher I have ever listened to. I bet he sounds a lot like Paul did when he preached. He doesn't mince words he just tells it like it is!!!!!

Here is the video.

HER Church

This shouldn't be a surprise, but I am still a little dumbfounded. I don't even know where to start. I guess the first question I have about www.herchurch.org is what kind of self respecting man would attend such a church.

The name of the web site alone should be enough to run off a real man (there I go making judgements about people I have never met). Of course after actually visiting the web site it turns out my judgements were right on. Of course I am probably sexist. In reality it appears, based on the pictures I saw, that people of the male gender actually do attend this "church."

I wish this site were some kind of joke, but it is not. The underlying issues is serious. There are a lot of weird churches out there, but this is an ELCA church. I know the ELCA is having some problems on many levels, but this is ridiculous. Luther would be horrified by a church like this claiming to somehow be associated with his teachings.

A friend of mine is a lead pastor at an ELCA church not far from us. I know him and his theology well. He believes in the Bible and loves God.

I bring this up for two reasons. First, those in the ELCA who still believe in the God of the Bible need our prayers. Second, we must draw lines in the sand. This second part is difficult. Our culture tells us we must be accepting and loving towards everyone no matter what they believe. Sometime we really need to follow the example of Jesus and call snakes, snakes and vipers, vipers.

Carbon Credits, Indulgences, & an Inconvenient Truth

With the earth warming and man running around destroying everything it seems there is a simple solution. The solution is Carbon Credits (hereafter called indulgences). Rather than actually doing something to limit the "Carbon Foot Print" of mankind we can simply write a check to Al Gore or whoever it is that is planting trees in an effort to "offset" the treasure chest of grace in our favor.

Whatever you think about Global warming let's be honest. Those who are running around spreading this inconvenient message would have been great Catholic Priests back in the day. Not only do they want live High on the Hog (whatever that means), but they want to make everyone else pay for it. They are just like the Pharisees praying on the corner. They live in extravagant houses that take lots of energy to heat and light while flying around in their private jets, but don't worry!!! They purchase Carbon Credits so everything will be OK!!

So Here is my idea. When the offering gets low just hit your congregation up for a few indulgences. I guess it's not a new idea, but it is being recycled in politics. I say keep your money and spend it on a hybrid car that can't pass emissions.

Speaking as a Former Fetus...

What a great title!! I wish it was original with me. Sometimes perspective is everything and this title alone gives us perspective on the infanticide that has been taking place in America since Roe v. Wade. Thank God for at least 5 sane minds on the Supreme Court!!

Click on the Title to see the article that originally used this title.

Is Scripture Sufficient for Faith and Practice??

I have to be honest, the title of this post is worded very carefully to make a specific point. Evangelicalism and certainly the Alliance holds to a very high view of scripture. We believe it is the word of God, but do we really believe it is sufficient?

Think about this for a minute. When God speaks His word is infallible and authoritative, right? So no matter who God speaks to or in what circumstances His word is perfect and never mistaken. If that is true then when God gives someone a message that message is as authoritative and infallible as scripture itself. WOW that scares me a little bit.

I wonder if many Christians who claim God has spoken to them really want to continue to claim that kind of a word from God. It seems to me that would create all kinds of theological problems. If Scripture is sufficient for faith and practice, then why do we need additional messages from God?

Should We Vote for a Morman?

The presidential election is a long ways off, but it isn't too early to start asking ourselves some tough questions. As a Christian I believe that if Mit Romney was to die his eternal destiny would not include entering the pearly gates. Should that really stop me from voting for Mr. Romney?

Who knows what will happen between now and November of 2008, we may not ever have an opportunity to chose Mit Romney that Tuesday. Still for those who take part in primaries it is a valid question. What if it was between Rudy and Mit or Newt and Mit? I don't know at this moment what I would do. I do know that Mit's eternal destiny will not influence my decision and I don't think it should influence yours either. Let me explain:

First, let's keep things in perspective. We are not asking him to be our spiritual leader. This is not ancient Egypt or some other place that will anoint him as some kind of spiritual leader. President Bush is not and should not be our spiritual leader. As president his role will not be to propagate Mormonism and the American public along with the main stream media would not allow him to do that.

Second, when is the last time (prior to "W") that you considered a person's eternal destiny as a factor when deciding who to vote for? If you are like me you have probably never given it much thought. If our current president was an Atheist I would have still voted for him.

Third, Romney's values and belief's closely match those of a Christian worldview. We do not live in a theocracy.

I don't know who I will vote for in the primaries or in November 2008. Whatever your political views or criteria for choosing who you will vote for that persons eternal destiny would not be part of the decision making process.

A Copy Cat Already?

A student in St. Johns County Florida was arrested for a plot to kill 100 students.

Things We Shouldn't Know

I am as curious as anyone about the state of mind the shooter had at Va Tech. I want to know what caused him to do such a horrible thing. I watched the video on TV because of my curiosity. Still I am not so sure it was good for me to see it. Perhaps this is the very kind of thing that should be voluntarily edited.

The networks have the right to do whatever they want with it. It was given to them. That said these networks will not even show a fan running out onto a football field. They won't do that because they do not want to encourage others to do it. Shouldn't the same logic be applied here? Showing this kind of behavior benefits no one. There is no upside it is disturbing.

Someone running out onto a football field or baseball field is pretty insignificant (and really stupid), but 32 people dead is not. This shooter referenced his idols (those who perpetrated Columbine) on this video. In essence this was a copy cat shooting. Instead of simply saying this guy was mentally ill (a case that could easily be made without the video of him with guns) we provide food for the sharks. This guy became famous in his death! That is what he wanted and we gave it to him. Now we have told any wanna be mass murderers that they too will become famous in their death if they do something like this.

We would have been better off not seeing these disturbing videos and not hearing the disturbing audio.

Nice job networks, way to show some self discipline!!

Jumping on the Gun Law Bandwagon

I hate to say it, but my mom was right again. Before I elaborate on what exactly she was right about let me make some things clear. Guns scare me. I love hunting and I enjoy shooting guns of all kinds. Still I have witnessed guns going off accidentally. Fortunately care was being taken and the gun was pointed in a safe direction! The only thing that got hit was the dirt. Of course one of my brothers accidentally shot his middle toe off with a deer rifle while deer hunting. Fortunately no deer were harmed in the incident.

Last year a student at Virginia Tech got in trouble for legally carrying a concealed hand gun to class. He had a permit to carry the weapon and was not breaking any law by doing so. Virginia Tech evidently believed a gun free zone was the best way to keep students safe. I wonder if we would be talking about this tragedy in the same way had VT decided to allow students who went through the necessary applications and training to acquire such a permit to carry on campus?

The thought of incompetent or unqualified people carrying around a hand gun scares the living daylights out of me. Still I continue to think about what my mom said, "if we outlaw guns only the outlaws will have guns!" It turns out in the gun free zone VT had created that adage was true. I guess mom is smarter than I thought.

Christianity and the Fairness Doctrine

I don't care what your political views are! Actually I do, but not for the moment. Whether you are liberal or conservative this is a big deal. The Fairness Doctrine (some of you may remember this idea from the mid 80's) is making a comeback. Basically this doctrine says if you propagate a conservative view you MUST also provide a liberal view on public airways. The reverse is also true.

At first this idea sounds good. You might be thinking, "hey this may allow my viewpoint to be heard by people who may not want to hear it, and that would be good!" Ya, you might be right about that, but is that really what you want? The opposite is also true. For the moment this doctrine is focused on political speech, but again what is good for the goose is good for the gander.............. OK, I don't know what that means but my grandma says it, so it must be good. I think it means that if this principal applies to political speech why wouldn't it apply to religious speech?

Imagine for a moment holding a church service in which you were preaching the gospel story (hopefully that is every Sunday) This service was going so good you thought an alter call might be appropriate. You had given a convincing presentation of the gospel story and there were many "unbelievers" attending that day. many people responded to the gospel, well say 15. What a day!!! Then when you were done a Muslim got up and pointed out all the flaws in your argument and presented the "Muslim gospel." If you think your services are long now, just wait!!

Of course this is crazy, it would never happen right! Don't be so sure. The right to free speech does not guarantee the right to be heard. We have to earn the right to be heard. That is as it should be. Examine the problems of preaching God's word in countries that do not allow free speech in a similar fashion to the United States. That should motivate you to pay attention to this political issue. Perhaps persecution is exactly what the church needs, but I would like to try without it.

The Culture of Entitlement and Laziness

In a society ruled by consumerism and ME, ME, MEness I am amazed at the lazy attitude so many teens and twenty somethings have toward their job. You would think those who demand so much of the world to revolve around them would understand something as simple as customer service.

No longer does anyone really need to be good at there job in order to keep it. All they have to do is show up on time and look busy most of the time. Never mind having any sort of competence. It seems so many people need a basic economics lesson. In other words: The company exist to make money, the customer consumes the product or service, so if the individuals who work for the company do a good job of providing the product or service the company makes more money and the employees make more money as well (if it is a good company).

I am sick of being ignored when I go to consume my product of choice and having to settle for a poor product. Certainly this is a parenting issue, but you would think in the many years most of these students spend in the school system they would find some time to explain the free market to students. I guess there is probably enough blame to go around to the employers as well. Of course lets not for the workers themselves.

All I ever hear from so many people is a bunch of whining and complaining, "I don't get paid enough, so I'm not going to work hard" (maybe that is why they don't get paid well), "I don't have health insurance" (as if that is somehow the companies fault. Work a little harder and maybe you will get some benefits, they aren't free for the company to provide so it is just like a pay raise), "I am not doing my job because I don't like it" (fine, go live in a homeless shelter and see if you like that!). The list seems endless!!

I have only two words for those people, MAN UP......That should work for the men at least.

For the women I have different words they are the same as "man up" except they are more gender sensitive. I would simply say them, but I am afraid that would be too direct for the ladies. I figure if I beat around the bush and imply the meaning women will understand more clearly what I am trying to say only they won't take any offense to it. Of course I am beginning to wonder if my choice of many words is really keeping me out of trouble. As with my wife I am afraid that in my attempt to be more considerate and gentle I have simply dug a deeper hole than if I had just come out and said what I was thinking.

Don't Mess With a Woman

I don't intend to make light of the issue, but if you think words are not powerful, think again. A pastor's wife in Tennessee decided enough was enough. Her husband evidently criticized her too much. Evidently divorce was not an option, but murder was.

This is a tragic story and it should remind us of several things starting with how powerful our words are and ending with our need to be real and honest regarding the troubles we face.

Click on the title to read the story.

A Life Without Hope

Growing up I learned about cars. I can find my way around a car and fix most problems. I know enough to avoid getting ripped off by crooked mechanics. I don't particularly like working on cars, but I am glad my dad taught me. In many ways I feel sympathy for those who don't know much about cars. When something goes wrong with their car they probably feel pretty hopeless. Many of them probably hope they don't get ripped off by a dishonest mechanic.

Many people feel a sense of hopelessness in life at some point. They will begin to ask questions about life and its meaning. Some give up on life. Some may not realize the hopeless life they are living!

What a privilege it is to be ambassadors of Christ! What a privilege to bring a message of hope to the world. The question is, "are we actually bringing a message of hope or are we simply relishing the fact that we have that message?"

It's The Churches Fault!

The "church" is the culprit of many things. It is the church that has, at times, done such things as support Hitler, performed witch hunts, used political power for unworthy causes, protected pedophiles, and probably other horrible things. When the church does perpetrate evil, it should be held accountable!

Many evils the church is given credit for perpetrating are not really the church's fault at all. In many circles the church is viewed as being harsh and judgmental. Sometimes it is, but more often than not it is more a perception than a reality. We all have stories about we have been judged or hurt by someone. I know I do. I am not convinced the church is nearly as judgmental as they have been made out to be.

I have experienced two things that I believe show this perception to be at least partially false. First, I have seen to many people with a guilty conscience claim judgmentalism when there wasn't any. I have watched people who have sin or some other kind of struggle claim people were talking behind their back, avoiding them, or judging them in some way when people didn't even know anything was going on.

Second, I have found that when people are brave enough to be honest about their struggles more often than not the church responds with love and a desire for restoration.

Maybe it (whatever it is) is not the fault of the church as much as the fault of fallen humanity in general. Maybe we should quit blaming the church for everything and simply do our best to practice biblical Christianity.

Where is the ressurection? A new question

For many years I was pretty much scared of the Old Testament. It intimidated me! Still does some times. It seems to depend more on the historical context than the New Testament. It also seems to require a better memory than God has given me. Still over the past few years I have developed a longing for the Old Testament and a better understanding of it. My theology has morphed and changed into a more complete (still needs a lot of work though) understanding of God's redemptive plan. As I have been preparing for Easter I decided to go to the O.T. After all that is pretty much what the apostles had to work with.

This has given me a new question. Where is the Resurrection? I don't mean in the New Testament. I am very familiar with all the evidence of the Resurrection of Christ. What is baffling me right now is the lack of a more specific prophecy regarding the Resurrection of Christ. The general theme of Resurrection appears in several passages like Ezekiel 37 and Daniel 12, but it is a general theme. God took time to accurately and specifically foretell a messiah and savior who would go to the cross and endure significant torture. God took time to foretell the birth of Christ in a pretty specific way, why not the Resurrection?

This isn't rhetorical, I would love some thoughts!!

What is the point of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday has long been a tradition of the church celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem only to be crucified only five days later. Really though what is the point? I don't think the church has done a good job of teaching the significance of this celebration. Sure, Zechariah will be quoted and this entry will be looked at as a fulfilment of prophecy, but is that really all there is? I don't think so!!

This event is in itself a prophecy, it is both a fulfilment and a prediction at the same time. It is the already not yet all in one event. It is a celebration of the person of Jesus, a proclamation of his identity, and a foretelling of what is to come. Jesus brought peace in a spiritual sense, but much of the Old Testament prophecy tells of a world peace Miss America couldn't even imagine. Even the text of Zechariah seems to intertwine both the near future and the distant future within only a few chapters.

So what is the point of Jesus riding this donkey on coats and palm leaves? My dispensational friends would tell you if the Jews would have simply accepted Jesus as their king he wouldn't have had to die a few days later. That is a short sighted theology in my opinion. Instead I would suggest that it is a foretelling of future hope found in the millennial kingdom. It foretells of a peace that follows the judgement of Israels enemies (Zech. 9:1-8). Jesus preached both a kingdom that is here and a kingdom to come. This makes sense if we truly understand Palm Sunday. The gospel story is not just one of the forgiveness of sins, but one of a coming kingdom where the king is righteous, just, and peaceful.

When we celebrate Palm Sunday this year let's remember it is not only a look back at what happened, but a look forward at what will happen. We should be thankful for both.

Who's on your IPOD?

My IPOD goes everywhere with me. This world of technology we live in is almost addicting. Still I love my IPOD. I can listen to anything in my library any time I want. My calendar, my contacts, my music, everything is right there. My IPOD is personal, if you were to get your hands on my IPOD there is a lot you would learn about me. For example:

• You would learn that I don't only listen to "Christian" music.
• You would find out I love to learn. I subscribe to several pod casts which include preaching from other churches, talk shows that deal with theology, and a lot more.
• You would find out that I love action movies (yes, I have several full length movies on my IPOD including: Gone in 60 seconds, I Robot, Gladiator, Constantine, and a few others.

In a world filled with technology the things we use say a lot about us, what does your IPOD, phone, PDA say about you?

Am I Raising a Redneck?

I love to watch football, basketball, the UFC, and almost any other sporting event. My son on the other hand is different. I can't even get him to sit still long enough to watch anything. There are only a couple of exceptions. His favorite movie isn't Veggie Tales or Blues Clues ( he will usually only watch about half of one of those movies). He will watch a John Deer movie we have. It isn't animated, and it really isn't even a story. Actually it is basically a documentary about John Deer Tractors. Not only will he sit still long enough to watch it one time, he will watch it multiple times in a row. His second favorite movie is "Cars."

There is really only one other thing he will sit still and watch. It is what we were watching when this picture was taken. It is Nascar. This leads me to question what kind of kid I am raising. Am I raising a Redneck? I guess I don't know the answer for sure. I do know I have become a little bit of a Nascar fan myself.

Redneck or not raising my children has become not just a passion for me, it is almost an obsession. I find myself questioning conventional wisdom when it comes to raising kids. Even many things that come from good, godly people who have raised good, godly kids. I have an 8 year old daughter and 19 month old boy. Every day I fear for their future and wonder what risks I will have to take in order to help them become people after God's own heart? What hard lessons they will have to learn? How many times will I have to watch them be hurt so they can learn the lessons they need to learn?

I wonder if this is how God sees us sometimes?

You're A Prostitute

Sorry if the title offended you... Actually, I take that back. I'm not sorry, but I would put myself in the same category. I have been preaching through the book of Hosea (we are on chapter 4). I love this book (except for the part where I am like Gomer).

This book has driven home the doctrine of depravity in a way that no other passage in scripture seems to. Every time I read it I begin to feel for Hosea and then quickly realize that Hosea represents God and I (along with Israel and the church) play the part of the prostitute wife. I still struggle with grasping the imagery in this book. It is not like looking at some picture or reading a great piece of literature. This life was actually lived by a prophet of God and in many ways continues to live in the relationship between God and the church today. WOW!!

Fortunately this book also drives home the faithfulness of God (Even when I am not) in spite of the whoring ways of Israel and the church (for those of you who think I am unfairly applying this to the church see Romans 9:23-26, Paul applies it to the church as well). God's love and mercy towards an ungrateful people bent on disrespect and even hatred toward a God who loves them intensely. You might say like a husband loves a wife, intimately and (hopefully) without fail.

Hosea may be the best story in the Bible other than Jesus himself (James Boice thinks so, and I agree) If you have not taken the time to study this book, please do so now.

By the way, you can listen to our pod casts if you want www.wechurch.com

I'm Not Against Anything

Today I met with a bunch of pastors in my area. One church has been having revival meetings. Of course revival meetings probably bring all different kinds of thoughts and emotions for people. These meetings are being portrayed as building the body and "unifying" in nature. I am all for revival as long as it doesn't mean I have to go brain dead in the process. Let me explain.

The "Revivalist" ( I was unaware that anyone could actually hold that kind of a title ) came and shared his heart. He was very humble. He seemed like a nice guy who had good motives. Let's be clear. I am going to critique his methods and and the conversation we had with the other pastors. I am not attacking him as a person or even questioning his spirituality. I am qualified to do neither.

First, let me say the among pastors there appears to be many who like to keep the peace, but few who are willing to actually see that we can have some disagreements about things, even strong disagreements. Why is that every time I disagree with another pastor there is always someone there to tell me we are actually saying the same thing? This happened several times today. I was not saying the same thing. Of course I could understand how this mistake could me made since this guy was trying so hard not offend anyone that he was actually doing a good job of offending everyone.

God is not the god of diversity (unless you are talking about skin color or ethnic background, that is what diversity meant in the past). God is not the god of the Muslim, Buddhist, and Jehovah Witness. He is the God of the Christian, the Christ follower. This guy ( I will not mention his name to protect him and myself ) said God is the god of diversity. Though this may be a difference in terminology, it is imperative that we understand diversity doesn't mean what it used to mean.

Being for Jesus is great, but when you are for Jesus and believe in his teachings you are by default against many things. This man said, "I am not against anything, I am just for Jesus!" We had a lively discussion regarding this issue and I appreciate his willingness to have that discussion without taking any kind of personal offense. It turns out, thanks to one of the other pastors there, that him and I agree (sort of). It is true (I think) that we agree that Jesus takes stands against sin in general. It is also true that both of us would rather not offend people unnecessarily. Unfortunately we very much disagree on the method we will use to avoid offending. He would rather avoid the issue all together and I would rather make my stance clear and let people know God loves them and has paid the penalty for their sin on the cross.

Unity does not mean putting doctrine aside. We can be united without worshiping under the same tent. Doctrinal differences can get in the way of some things, but they also serve a purpose. He pointed out that many Pentecostals are willing to participate in events that non-Pentecostals are putting on, but the opposite is not true. He is probably correct in his observation. There is a good reason for this. Sure it looks like it is hypocritical on the surface, but a closer look will reveal that it is not. Those who practice tongues in what I would say is a biblically inappropriate way or slay people in the spirit or use "prayer cloths" or "laugh in the spirit" or "bark in the spirit" can quickly become distractions rather then contributing to anything. This makes (at the very least) a very uncomfortable atmosphere for those who disagree with these practices. In the opposite situation our culture is used to people sitting quietly and listening or doing things like singing in a group (everyone was in choir at one point even if they were terrible). Even if someone doesn't sing it is hardly noticed.

I could probably go on, but I won't. Unity is over rated when it means I have to give up much of what I believe to be true just to get along. I would rather have clarity and have enemies than have a bunch of friends who have no idea what I believe.

The Dissillusioned Unchurched

I love Jesus, and I grew up with him. My life growing up was hard for a variety of reasons, but Jesus was always there. I can honestly say I don't really know much about life without him. It is for that reason I need some help.

I work (Caribou Coffee) with a lady in her mid 20's. She is primarily conservative in most of her beliefs (The Christian Right might even be proud), but she has no place for church in her life. Though she is conservative she doesn't like talking about politics (because of the name calling and all that jazz) she doesn't seem to want to talk about church or God either. She doesn't think church is really necessary (this may be true in some sense, but church is clearly important to God) and certainly doesn't think it is relevant (again this may be true in some cases).

My question is simple. How do I reach her? I have taught classes on evangelism and I am very capable of talking to people who either attend church (of some kind) but don't understand the gospel or they don't attend church at all but don't mind talking about God, church, Jesus, or whatever. I would love to hear your thoughts, leave a response.

The Book Is Done

A while ago I took some time off from the blog world to work on a couple of other projects. One of them was a Youth Ministry book called Youth Ministry Lemonade. The book is finished. I was one of ten authors including Kent Julian (The C&MA National Youth Director) and a bunch of great youth ministry veterans.

The book is great for youth pastors and volunteer staff. Each of these youth ministry veterans gives you a peak into some of the mistakes they have made (The lemons) and the lessons they have learned from them (the sweetener that makes the lemons lemonade). You can purchase this book on my web site: www.pjs-web.net. I will be updating the web site with more info in the near future.

Free To Hate?

I want to be free to hate. You should be free to hate me (of course I am such a great guy I don't know why you would). Pastor Phelps (Careful his site is hateful) should be able to hate whoever he wants to hate. Since when did it become a crime to hate anyway?

The truth is hate is a word with all kinds of violent connotations. We hear the word "hate" and we immediately think of racism or Pastor Phelps (by name or reputation). As Christian we often say things like, "God loves everyone" or "we should love our neighbor." Both of these statements and others have strong support from God's word. The truth is God does hate, scripture clearly supports that as well. For the record I think Pastor Phelps and his congregation are arrogant jerks who have believed a lot of lies.

The whole idea of legislating hate crimes was a mistake from the beginning. I don't know how, apart, from a persons own confession, hate can be proven. We already punish people for the crime itself, punishing them for what they were thinking or feeling while they commit a crime doesn't make any sense. Still "Hate Crime" laws have been passed over and over again.

Now there may be another one. This one (HR 254) may allow for pastors to be prosecuted for preaching an anti-gay message. I used to think we lived in a free country. I am not so sure anymore. Some pastors in other countries who have adopted similar laws have been prosecuted (including Canada). I don't know if we can stop these laws from eventually being passed (maybe we can stop them for a while). In the United States we have been spoiled, we have practiced Christianity with little to no persecution for most of our countries history. That time may be coming to an end.

Whatever the future holds no law can prevent hate, only the change that takes place in a person's heart because of the cross can stop hate.

A New Snow Blower

We have had a lot of snow recently. To be honest it's about time. I love the snow. Snow removal can be a little annoying, but at least I justified the space my snow blower was taking up in the garage. This year I got a new snow blower.

The New one isn't as powerful as the old one, but it will become more powerful the longer I have it. These particular snow blowers tend to become more powerful as time goes on, but a little harder to get started at the same time.

Some of my fondest memories as a kid are the hours spent removing snow with my brothers. Of course those really fond moments included removing the ice with an ice pick to make the driveway nice and clean. Boy I am glad those days are over.

Click Here to see the new snow blower.