Christmas is Stupid

This has become somewhat of a tradition. Here it is for the third year in a row (with some minor edits):


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? Thank God and some musicians I have finally found some. If someone sings Joy to the World one more time I might fall into a great big depression (so much for Joy)

Let's be real, Christmas isn't about Jesus anymore, it is 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 educated, but she had great toys growing up!!"). If Christmas were about Jesus there wouldn't be all this pressure to buy, buy, buy!!!!!! Buying a gift for someone you love is one thing, but being told you are going to a party and you "need" to bring a gift is a little much. What if I can't afford it?

I have had enough, I am boycotting Christmas this year(when my wife and kids aren't around). I am not decorating (until my 9 year old tells 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!!!!!!!!)

(For those of you who are upset I love the Christ of Christmas, it's everything else that gets me)

Three Year Old Christian

I know it sounds crazy, I have a three year old. He is well, he is three. Last night he threw the most severe tantrum I have seen his throw. Today he asked mommy why she was doing devotions and after some explaining and trying not to put words in his mouth he decided that he needed to ask Jesus to come into his heart.

Does he understand? I don't know, but as a daddy I want one thing more than anything. I want my family to be a family that follows Jesus. So I am excited about his decision, and I am going to continue over the years to help him understand the decision he made. If he didn't get it (which is very possible, maybe even likely) I pray he will some day soon and the decision then will be the same.

Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

It seems like every presidential election I get asked whether a particular candidate is THE anti-christ. Let me start by saying I do not believe Obama is that guy (or gal to be fair). Jesus talked about there being many "anti-christs" not just one. Some people believe there will be one that will bring a false peace to the world, I am not so sure. In the end Obama is just another guy!! He has no special powers except for the ability to stutter through a speech and convince people that he is a great orator in spite of his odd pauses. Great orator or not I am fearful.
He will bring change in many areas, my fear is that they are all the wrong ones. Unborn babies will continue to die, and perhaps even those who are born alive (survivors of abortion) may be in danger. This is truly sad, and even tragic! As I sit here and write this on November 4th 2008 I have a hard time writing any more. Of all the issues the issue of abortion is by far the most significant. I don't want to use inflammatory language, but abortion is in my opinion murder except for the case where the mothers life is in danger.
Foreign policy is one thing, even the socialistic ideas can be debated, but abortion, abortion is what it is. We are destroying what is human and we are doing intentionally with premeditation. Take my guns, take my money, force me to have whatever health care you want, but please do not kill the babies of America.
I hope I am wrong, but I can see a day coming where we will be forbidden to preach certain parts of the Bible because they are offensive. Our free speech will be taken away, and perhaps we will become an America the founding fathers would not even recognize. In the end I am a citizen of heaven before I am a citizen of the United States of America. This life I live here will end, but my eternal life will be in heaven with Jesus and I believe with all of those aborted babies.
Whatever happens I am committed to living for Jesus and raising a family that lives for Jesus. I am proud of my daughter for the her performance at the talent show. I am proud of her desire to tell her friends about Jesus and I hope my son will follow in his big sisters footsteps. I will encourage them to speak the truth even if it becomes illegal to do so, and the day I am forbidden to preach any passage of scripture is the day I begin my plans to do that very thing. I don't want my kids to rebel against God, but if they need to rebel against the laws of man in order to follow God, then so be it.
Ok, now I need to put things in perspective for my sake and yours. There have been terrible men in power throughout history. It is my opinion that Obama will be bad for our country, but he is no Hitler, Nero, or even a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is just wrong on some very important issues.
Though I do not understand their motivations, I know several godly people who voted for this man. I wish the outcome was different. It is not. I will worship Jesus and live in America.

What's Offensive?

Yesterday my wife was told that Catrina would not be able to sing "Jesus Loves Me" with her ventriloquist doll for the talent show. She had worked on a whole bit that included this song. I should tell you that originally she basically wanted to get up and simply share the gospel. My wife helped her figure out a little better way to tell people how much Jesus means to her. For the record neither my wife nor I suggested that she do this. We simply helped her prepare knowing that this might happen.

The final word is no in yet, as we have not heard from the principal. Still I am anticipating the phone call sometime today or maybe Monday. Evidently singing "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so" is offensive. I wonder if the same assertion would be made if it was sung, "Fred loves me so this I know for MySpace tells me so"? I know there are all kinds of assumptions because Jesus is a religious figure. Catrina is not asking them to ask Jesus into their heart or anything like that, she just wants to tell people how important Jesus is to her.

My guess is this will not be a huge issue and this will be settled quickly. I also am pretty sure that she will be allowed to do her bit. Never the less, this is one of those moments where daddy's earn all those hugs and kisses they get from their daughters.

Politics and faith

Does it matter? It seems Christians have a tendency to go from one extreme to the other when it comes to politics. Some think it doesn't matter. What difference is one vote going to make? Still others would die on a hill for their particular issue or candidate.
Politics is important. Whether we like it or not they make decisions regarding the life of unborn children, how much of our own money we can keep, decisions about war and so on. What should scare you is that these are often the same politicians who will sometimes flat out lie to us. That makes the decisions even more difficult.
No matter who is in power Jesus is still our savior and peoples souls are more important than the condition of our country. I will go to the poles and I will vote for what is apparently the lesser of two evils. I will trust God and hope for the best.

Be an evangelist

Being a parent is hard enough, but passionately desiring to see your daughter and your son grow up to be servants of Christ is even harder. How do you handle a situation where your child is planning on doing something that will probably cause some waves, but it is a good thing to do?
My daughter is apparently an evangelist. Of this I am proud!! Still I am a little nervous. She is planning to tell people about Jesus at the school talent show using her ventriloquism. She was simply going to have her dummy (Carlos I think) tell everyone about Jesus. My wife is helping her do it in a more humorous way. Either way she is trying out for the talent show on Wednesday.
How do I handle this? I encourage her, and I get ready for battle. Satan can not be happy with this. To be honest, there is a part of me that hopes there will be a fight. I can't help but think that God would use that kind of a fight for His glory.
Well, let's just wait and see.

Some of you have been wondering...

So what is the protesting all about? Recently we started construction on the new parking lot we will be using until the Youth Center addition to the church is built. Unfortunately there are a lot of prairie dogs in the field where the parking lot is going. We (the church) has tried repeatedly to find a new home for these animals, unfortunately we can't take them out of Jefferson County and no one seems to want them inside Jefferson County. Because of this we basically have no choice but to simply go ahead with the construction and hope they (the dogs) simply decide to move.

Some neighbors are very, very concerned about the future of these little prairie dogs. Because of that the neighbors decided to picket our church. There were signs that read "Thou shalt not kill" and those kinds of things.

In the end we are simply more concerned about growing the kingdom of God and helping people that we are about prairie dogs. This whole deal made the evening news on Friday night and the protesters were picketing this morning. Of Course they also had a sign on one of their cars that said, "Residents Parking Only". Evidently we can't build the parking lot and we can't park on the streets hmmmm

To check out the news story you can go here

Finding Jesus When Life Hurts

There are very few sure things in life, but there are a few. One of them is that life will end. Sooner or later. When it is sooner things hurt!! When it is later and expected it still hurts.

Recently the family at The Rock of Southwest lost one of there best, Ryan Roberts. I did not know him well though I have spoken with him a couple times. By all accounts he was a man of God. He was young and his future was bright. He has gone to be with Jesus, for that I envy him.

His family and friends are still here and are hurting. I have not lost a brother, son, or fiance before and I can not imagine the difficulty those who have are facing. Still there is some solace when times are hard and life is hard, it is found in Jesus who is our refuge, our strength, our deliverer, our friend, and our savior. The old hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" was written by a man who experienced great sorrow in his life. For all of those who are experiencing loss or difficulty in life I encourage you to read the story behind that hymn here.

The Power of a Simple Message

Tonight I finished a week of speaking to Senior High students at Big Sandy Camp. I had an amazing time speaking to these students, hanging out with them, and getting to know a few of them. I have spoken at camps, retreats, and conferences all over the place, but this week I learned something new. Actually it isn't entirely new.

My ego is fragile. I don't mean I am offended easily or that I have a tendency towards low self esteem. Actually I mean exactly the opposite. My ego tends to be too big and I have to work at keeping it in check (please don't help me). After I spoke the first couple of times I started to think pretty highly of myself. It was before I spoke for the third time that I realized what was happening. I had gotten the kids to laugh by telling some crazy stories. Some of them had even began to tell me how funny I was or how I have a way with words. Usually I don't hear that until the end of the week. It started to go to my head.

I realized what was happening and I realized that I needed humility. Before I spoke for the third time I began to pray that God would help me to be humble. All of the messages went pretty well this week, but after that third message I didn't seem to struggle with things going to my head as much. I realized something really important. I could make the students laugh the entire time, but if I didn't give them the word of God it wouldn't matter. The message wasn't laughter, it was the Gospel.

Over and over again I worked to help students see and understand the significance of the Gospel. In the end it wasn't the laughter that saved the students, it was the Gospel. It was deep but simple theological truths like, imputation, propitiation, hypo-static union, incarnation, atonement, redemption, and resurrection. The message these big words carry with them boiled down to simply truths is what saved some of these students and challenged others to further their faith or rededicate there lives to Christ.

God may have used the talent He gave me to be funny for His glory and to accomplish His purpose, but even the talent was given to me from Him anyway. We saw several students accept Christ for the first time tonight, and we saw even more make significant decisions regarding their already existing relationship with Christ. Praise God!!!

Dark Knight

The Dark Knight was an interesting movie. I definitely do not recommend taking young students to see this movie. Even some 13 and 14 year olds may not be ready for the kind of violence that is at times simply alluded to. I had to turn my head a couple times because of where I thought they were going to go. They didn't go to those places, but the illusion was almost too much. There are some lessons to learn in this movie:

• First, there are difficult moral decisions to make in life. Especially in leadership. Like it or not those decisions have consequences both good and bad.
  
• Second, anyone who wants to do something good especially if it is significant will be attacked for doing so.
• To quote another movie, "no sacrifice, no victory" (Great gpa Witwiki) Leaders will have to sacrifice for the greater good! The greater good is always to someone else's benefit and not to ours.
• Money is most often not the answer to the problems people face (Bruce Wayne often suffered because of his fortunes).
• In the end the good guy might win, but it is not without paying a price.
  
• There is no rest for those who chose to fight evil because evil never rests.

Perhaps the most intense point that can be taken from this film is that man is much more capable of evil than of good. The Joker is not about money or power, instead he just wants to "see the world burn" as Alfred puts it. This is so true of man in his sinful state. The part that is missing is the story of redemption. This is a story of evil fighting good and good fighting evil. The story of Jesus is about evil fighting good while good seeks to redeem evil. Jesus came to turn those who are evil towards a good God, not to simply destroy evil. Gotham needs more than a symbol, it needs a savior. Man doesn't need a good example, man needs a savior who can redeem, reconcile, and atone for man's evil.

The Dark Knight is Dark, but it is worth seeing.

I Believe in Free Will

My theology should be described as reformed or Calvinistic. I and others who believe in the five points of Calvinism:

• Total Depravity
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints

are often accused of belittling free will. Or sometimes those who appose Calvinism set up free will as if it is apposed to the five points previously listed. It dawned on me today that one of the reasons I believe these five things to be true is because I also believe in free will. Free will is not apposed to these five points in any way. I don't believe it is, and I don't think Calvin did either (read Freedom and Bondage of the Will by Calvin).

In reality it is the very fact that people have a free will tainted by sin that requires God to chose in His wisdom, according to His will and according to His pleasure to extend an irresistible grace. If He did not every person would chose (according to their own will) to resist God. No one would be saved and everyone would go to Hell. It seems much more loving, merciful, and kind for God to save at least some.

Independance Day and Taxes

I want to warn you, this will get a little political.

On this fourth of July we went out to breakfast with my dad (John Sr.) our kids and my niece. I took this opportunity to talk to my daughter about Independence Day. She did really well. She remembered that this day celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence (http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html). This declaration identifies many truths including the proper role of government (found also in Romans 13). Let us remember the signers of the Declaration as heroes who have protected us from tyranny.

Let us also remember that this tyranny was primarily exercised through taxes without representation. Today we have representation in the form of senators and state representatives. This great country is ours, not theirs. These senators are in Washington on our behalf. When they take our money it is because we let them, when they use that money for fund abortion it is because we let them, when they use that money in irresponsible ways it is because we let them. It is irresponsible for the citizens of the united states to ignore government. There are many issues that require our attention in November, but there is none more important than taxes. I say this because it is money that gives power, it is money that supports programs, and it is money that motivates. There is a reason that Jesus spent as much time talking about money as he did.

Every time the people give up more of their money to government they give up more of their freedom and more of their power. God forbid that we should give up our money and our power because we are too lazy to take care of ourselves.

However you decide to vote this fall make sure it is an educated vote. Don't skip voting and then complain that the government is not doing well. Pay attention, read the declaration of independence, the constitution, and maybe even a little history so that you understand where we have come from.

Finally Settling Down

For the past 6 months or so my family has been in transition. It finally looks like things are going to settle down for us. We have gone from closing the church plant to doing construction for my in-laws to doing decks to doing siding to finally now finding a good student ministries position. We also spent significant time living with my in-laws and my parents in Florida. We rented out our house and became technically homeless.

Well it looks like we are headed to Littleton, CO. I will be the student ministries pastor for a church called "The Rock of Southwest." While I am excited about the opportunity and the future, I will also miss my friends in MN. Just a little longer until we have a home again and just a little longer until income is regular and predictable.

Who fills the supporting role?

I love to watch movies, I love to see the stories that are told. What is funny is I can usually remember who the main star is of the movie I have seen, but I can rarely remember even one of the supporting actors. I certainly can't remember the characters with smaller parts.

If you see a Tom Cruz, Jackie Chan, Chris Rock, or (God Forbid) something with Hannah Montana in it you remember the stars. You don't remember the actors who died quickly, didn't have speaking parts, or walked by in the background. If this was not the case stars wouldn't get $20,000,000 for a movie.

In Redemptive history there have been many supporting actors. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Peter, Paul, etc... There have also been those who have been mentioned in Scripture in those passages we all skip over when we read through the Bible. There are those who have been mentioned only by number like those who were praying in Acts 1 (120). Then there is us...

What is funny is we get this idea that we are the center of the story Jesus died FOR US, God created US, Jesus will come back FOR US... When in reality the center of the story is God. We exist for HIS pleasure and HIS will. Our faith story isn't really about us at all, it is about God. It would be good of us to remember that Jesus didn't come so that we could live an easy life, be rich, famous, and successful. Jesus came because we couldn't do anything to save ourselves from our self indulgent sin nature. Jesus died and rose from the dead for us, but the story isn't us, it is the death and resurrection. Next time we share our testimony or faith story it would be good of us to spend less time talking about how wonderful we are now that we know Jesus and instead talk about the lead person, Jesus and what He did.

Pestering Christians

I got my hair cut today. I have an interview on Monday, so I thought I would make myself presentable (insert joke here). There is something you should know about me, I hate getting my hair cut. It just seems like a waist of time. I don't like sitting still, and I don't like trying to have a conversation with someone I barely know. Most of the time I don't know them at all.

It alway come up. When you don't know someone very well they always ask what you do. I am an honest and straightforward kind of person, so I always just say, "I'm a pastor" somewhat begrudgingly. The reason I say it that way is because I know what is coming next. The next thing the hair cutter is going to do is tell me what a great Christian they are. They want me to know how Holy they are as if I had something to do with whether they go to heaven. During my in depth study of all the hair people I have ever come in contact with I have not found one who is not a Christian.

What is the point? Christians can be so annoying. Some Christians lose all their people skills when they begin to talk about Christianity. When we begin to talk about Jesus or Christianity, it is essential that we take time to listen, hear where the other person is coming from, what they really believe. We need to ask more questions and make fewer statements.

Maybe this has more to do with me and hating hair cuts than it has to do with anything else, but the lesson seems to fit.

Role Confusion

I was recently asked a question regarding Jesus and politics. The question went something like this, "Would Jesus be a Socialist?" This is not a question that can simply be dismissed, nor can it be assumed the answer is a resounding yes. Without too much depth I think we can come to some important conclusions about this subject.

Many believe that since Jesus was so concerned about helping the poor or less fortunate that government programs which do these things are Biblical. It is true that Jesus was concerned about the poor as He was all people. It is also true that He sometimes chastised people for their lack of concern. There is one ingredient that must not be overlooked. Jesus did not attempt to change the government, instead he was concerned about people's heart. When Jesus commanded the Rich Young Ruler to give what he had to the poor it was not because Jesus believed the man had too much money and it wasn't fair. Instead Jesus told him to give what he had to the poor because the rich man valued his possessions too much. Jesus was not suggesting that the man be forced to give what he had to the poor rather that he willingly and joyfully give what he had. This is consistent with Paul's exhortation to be joyful givers.

In the past few years I have seen many people make what I believe is a significant mistake regarding the role of government in helping the poor or those who have had misfortune. Jesus teaching about compassion and love towards those who are less fortunate in some way is for the church, not the government. The government does not promote joyful and compassionate giving, it promotes forced and resentful redistribution of wealth. I don't want to dive too far into the political side of things, but it seems to me that forced compassion is no compassion at all.

When we allow the government to begin taking on these roles, we diminish the opportunity the church has to fill this very role. We take away ministry opportunities, and perhaps even opportunities to share the gospel. We make it easy for the church to become complacent. Some times a "good thing" or a "good program" in the wrong place or for the wrong motivation becomes less than good. Role confusion is not a small matter, it is actually very significant.

My New, Old Youth Group Picture

Last night was one of the coolest nights I have had in a long time. My pastor from when I was in High School was having a retirement party. He has served that church for 27 years. Not only was it fun to see him, it was also fun to see my youth pastor. I haven't seen him for almost 13 years. I was also able to see some great friends from back in the day. The day when things were simple, no internet, DVD's, very few people had cell phones (certainly not teenagers), and our idea of Instant Messaging was talking on the phone for 3 hours. No I have to check my email, keep up on texting, check facebook,

In many ways this blog entry is a tribute to those friends. They had a larger influence than they know. Youth group was my place of refuge!! Life offered me many challenges and the influence youth group had on me was significant. I would love to list names, but I am afraid I would forget someone. In the end some of them were influential in my decision to go into the ministry.

Thanks to everyone, keep serving God.

Winning is Everything

In the interest of full discloser, I am, by nature, a very competitive person. Over the years my competitive nature has gotten the best of me more times than I can count. My tendency is towards competition. To be honest, I hate it that I am not the best at everything I do, I have had to come to terms with this since there are probably people who are better than me at almost everything (I have come to terms by living in denial). Still the saying, "winning isn't everything" should be forbidden. Sure, we can and should learn from losing but we should never play to lose. It seems ridiculous to do anything without the intention of winning. Why start a business if you plan on going bankrupt? Why play a game if you plan on losing or simply don't care? There are times when winning isn't everything, like in a back yard volleyball game, but there are other times when winning is everything! And I really do mean everything. There are times when losing means death, or worse yet someone else's death. There are times when losing is the worst possible outcome. This is true for our soldiers who face death in a very real way, this is true for our police, our fire fighters, and it is definitely true when it comes to Jesus.

I coached little league baseball a couple years ago. I have to admit, I wasn't out to win the league championship. For a guy who has embarrassed himself by yelling at a few umps (only to apologize for my sinful actions later) at softball games this is quite and admission. Still, there was something more important for me to accomplish. I wanted to help these kids become better ball players even if they lost. I wanted them to enjoy the game, and I wanted them to learn what it meant to work hard for something. Winning wasn't everything. For the record we did win our share of games, but more importantly we learned to enjoy baseball. I might point out that this is the exception rather than the rule. There is a spiritual application to this train of thought.

Too often we look at Jesus like we look at 7 year olds playing baseball. Sure, we want them to win, but if we are honest we realize there are more important things in life than winning a little league baseball game at the age of 7. We treat church like its little league, we don't play to win, we play to feel good. Church and Christianity in this sense has been feminized (please don't send me angry emails ladies, I know some of you are very competative it is simply a generalization). The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9 that we are to run the race like we want to win!! The church isn't little league, and it isn't a back yard volleyball game. The church, Jesus, God, the Kingdom of God is the major leagues!! Anything less than winning the world series isn't enough. Jesus didn't send us into the world to make disciples when we have time or when we feel like it. He sent us with a goal to be accomplished, a battle to fight, and a victory to win. He gave us the task of making disciples of all nations starting in our own back yards. This isn't a joke and I promise both God and Satan are keeping score.

It is time we stopped trying to make everyone feel good. It is time we drew the proverbial line in the sand to find out who is really fighting to win and who is just taking batting practice. Spring training is over. It's time to stop playing for fun and start playing to win!!

Misconceptions about Calvinism

Predestination...that word evokes such emotion and it is almost entirely viewed as a word owned by those who call themselves Calvinists even though it is a biblical word. The funny thing about this word is the assumptions immediately made upon its utterance. The other funny thing is that many Calvinists would not consider this the primary doctrine on which everything else rests.

I am somewhat of an odd duck, I have attended one college where one of the proponents of open theism taught the theology classes (I had John Sanders for a few classes), later I attended Northwestern Bible in St. Paul and then I ended up in a denomination where reformed theology is pretty rare. Ironically I still ended up in the Reformed, Calvinist camp. Before you try to figure all of that out, let me say that Calvinism and Reformed theology has been given a bad rap!!

With the exception of the hyper, over the edge, lunatic fringe Calvinism does not diminish thing like evangelism and missions. Actually if you look at the history of Calvinist pastors you will find people who are passionate about evangelism and mission. Calvin and his ministry in Geneva was responsible for planting over 2,000 churches in a seven year period. Spurgeon was passionate about winning souls for Christ and wrote a book about that passion, Edwards preached the gospel and propitiation with fire, George Whitefield (his name should be enough), and currently John Piper. What is the thrust of this evangelistic passion? If God predestined why don't we sit back and share an O'douls (non-alcoholic beer)? The answer is rather simply; the glory of God.

Evangelism should never be motivated by our need to fill the pews, put down great statistics in the annual report, to show God how good we are doing, or (dare I say it) even save someones soul. Instead we should be motivate by the opportunity we have to bring Glory to God by being about God's mission. We must love God, love others, and make disciples out of reverence for the God who created us, loved use, died for us, rose from the dead for us, and now wants to work through us. Those who say Calvinists are not passionate about evangelism simply do not understand what motivates Calvinists, not do they understand what drives the theology of Calvinism. It may be simplistic to say it is God's Glory that drives Calvinism, but if you had to chose one thing, that would be it.

Calvinism is not about election, although that plays a role, it is about seeing the sovereignty of God and worshiping Him. It is about seeing the love of God and being amazed by it. It is about essentially God. It is about seeing the depravity of man against the Mercy given us by God. It is in essence about passionate love for the God that saw fit to go to the cross and satisfy the penalty of sin on behalf of those who believe.

Calvinism is more than TULIP, it is about passionate love of the God who saves!

UnChristian

I don't often do book review, but I thought in this case I would. The book UnChristian has been selling like crazy. Perhaps most recently to me. Out of five stars I give the book three, but more important than the rating is the reasoning behind the rating.

This book comes out of the Barna Group which has been a very helpful group in understanding culture overall. Their research is very good and well done. Still I find it curious how much credence pastors and others give to them. It is not that I think their research is inaccurate or that they do a poor job. Instead it is the fact that each community tends to have a culture of its own. Too often we assume that the cultural movement we see on a national level is exactly what we will see in our own communities. This is often not the case. Still the research is helpful as a starting point when seeking to understand the culture we live in. I think if you were to ask the Barna Group they would agree with this approach. With this in mind let's take a look at what the book has to offer.

UnChrsitan is a book about perceptions, the perceptions of Christianity from the perspective of those on the "Outside" of Christianity. Understanding these perceptions is important if the church is going to effectively reach "Outsiders." I find it funny that in the beginning David Kinnaman (one of the authors) points out the difficulties "outsiders" have with the terms the church uses to speak about them. He mentions terms like: seekers, lost, pagans, and so on. He makes the point that these terms are considered to be mildly derogatory by "outsiders." this book would be almost impossible to write if there were not some kind of term used in reference to those outside of Christianity, so he does what he must and creates a new term to say the exact same thing. Perhaps I would have done the same thing, but without berating Christians for using the the other terms. It seems he is doing the same thing he cautioned us from doing. Still we should be careful about how we speak and what kind of labels we use. In the end labels are still necessary and people don't like to be labeled. That will always be the case.

The second thing this book does is describe how busters and mosaics (16-29 year olds specifically) view Christians. These are the terms: Hypocritical, Anti-Homosexual, Judgemental, too involved with politics, Old Fashioned, Insensitive to others, Boring, Not accepting of others faith, Confusing. I don't want to take all of these on one by one, so I won't. I will make some observations about how all of these things are dealt with.

• There are several parts of this book where the authors seem to buy into the perception of the "outsiders" as if their perceptions is accurate. The perception itself may be real, but that does not mean it represents reality. This does not negate the need for the church to understand where "outsiders" are coming from, nor does it mean we should automatically assume the church is in the wrong. It does mean we should evaluate the best way to communicate the truth in the cultural context we minister in. We should consider the possible perceptions people have when we are attempting to communicate the truth.
• Some of the perceptions like Anti-Homosexual, Not accepting of others faith, and so on are actually accurate perceptions in some respects. Of course Scripture is clear regarding these issues. We must not back off of the positions. Instead we need to understand that these perceptions exist and work hard to explain our position accurately with love and tenderness.
• This book does a great job of helping us understand how Christians are viewed by "Outsiders," but I don't think all of the suggestions it makes are helpful. Some of them are very good others really aren't that good. When it comes to this part of the book read with caution.
  
• Law and Grace. This book makes light of the need for a proper understanding of Law and Grace. Too many churches have been preaching self help, wealth, and health. Those things are all law and no grace. We should preach morality, but never apart from grace. We should be clear about God's standards, but we must also be clear that those standards are only attainable through imputation of righteousness. In the end it turns out that if the church is actually preaching a proper understanding of the gospel many of these perceptions are dealt with. The church too often preaches all law and rarely grace.

This book was helpful in some respects. I would recommend reading it and considering ways to change the poor perceptions while at the same time becoming more proficient at explaining the gospel in terms of law and grace. Read with caution, but do read!

Child Dedication as a Paradigm for ministry

I don't know if I can remember all the child dedications I have seen or done for others. On those days the sanctuary is usually full with family and extended family. There is an energy in the room, almost as if a star had been born, the cameras are flashing people leaning out into the isles to take pictures of the beautiful baby. If your lucky the baby makes some noise (not the screaming kid kind) when it is held up for everyone to see. The energy is high!!

The ceremony itself is short and to the point. There is a passage read dealing with children and the importance of bringing the child up in a Godly manner. The parents are asked if they will bring the child up in a Godly way and then near the end of the ceremony the congregants and the extended family are asked if they will do the same. Of course everyone says they will, but we all know that will likely not happen.

Don't get me wrong, not every person in the room will be needed, but maybe, just maybe if we took that part of the ceremony a little more serious we would have a more significant impact on the students as they grow into adults. Emmy E. Werner from the University of California Davis did a study following a group of kids from a very poor area and found that the most significant predictor of resiliency for kids was the influence of an adult outside of the nuclear family.

This is not to downplay the significance of the nuclear family!! I would never do that; however, perhaps it is time for the church to operate as an extended family and take those child dedications seriously. This is not just a children's ministry or youth ministry thing, it is a church ministry thing.

Read the Dead Guys

The older I get, the older the books I read get. I am going to do something rare and recommend a book, but before I do I want to suggest something else. Read the dead guys!!

So much of the time we are flooded with books to read. If I read every book recommended to me I would have to read a book every day for the rest of my life. That doesn't even count the books I see in the book store that I would like to pick up. The problem is you never know what you are going to get. So here is my suggestion, read the dead guys!!

The thing about reading the dead guys is this, they have been tested. There is a reason the names Spurgeon, Calvin, Boice, Luther, Augustine, Tozer, C. S. Lewis, and so on have so much meaning. Their writing has stood the test of time. They will say something significant in their writings. Besides the test of time, you sound so much smarter when you quote dead guys as apposed to quoting the latest author on a particular topic. I have been amazed at how culturally relevant these guys are. It almost seems like human nature doesn't change...hmmmm

Alright, here is the book recommendation. Spurgeon wrote this little book called Come Ye Children aka Spiritual Parenting. This book is a small treasure!! It is excelent for children's workers and youth workers alike. As a parent it contains some excelent advice. Pick this book up for under ten bucks and read it. After you are done reading that book, pick up the book I contributed to Youth Ministry Lemonade @ www.pjs-web.net. (can you say shameless plug?)

Ultimate Fighting and Christianity

I am going to come out of the closet, I am an Ultimate Fighting fan. I like to watch these guys fight. On occasion I have struggled with this. Is ultimate fighting wrong? Two guys get into a ring or octagon, as the case may be, with intentions of beating the other person into submission.

When I say that I pause for just a moment. There are rules in ultimate fighting. These rules are in place both to help determine a winner and for the safety of the fighters. I can't find anything in scripture that says this kind of behavior as wrong. Paul refers to the games, which included forms of fighting, as a metaphor for the Christian life in 1 Corinthians 9. He doesn't seem to demean them in any way as he does that. Certainly the Gladiator games were immoral because they were fighting to the death. Scripture is clear about that. But these games are more like wrestling or boxing.

I have tried to be honest about the activities that take place in ultimate fighting. What is ironic is a number of these guys who participate are Christians. I don't mean the believe in God, I mean they love Jesus and are actively following Him. This doesn't mean Ultimate fighting is moral, but it does lend some credence to the idea that it might be.

This leads to another question. If ultimate fighting or MMA is wrong, then I wonder if Boxing or wrestling is wrong as well. Certainly these sports have a similar goal.

For the time being I have come to the conclusion that ultimate fighting is NOT morally wrong. I am open to being persuaded otherwise, but to this point I cannot find anything in Scripture that would suggest it is wrong.

What Evangelism Isn't

There is more evangelism methods, books, and seminars than I can shake a stick at. Heck I even have my own method of evangelism. In the end evangelism is only one thing, it is telling sinners who need to repent and be forgiven the true story of Jesus death and resurrection. The gospel is the atonement, it is the cross, it is the resurrection.

I have noticed that my story doesn't supply forgiveness, it is only an example of it. My story doesn't supply atonement, it is only about how I have received it. My story doesn't have any of the things in it necessary for it to be the gospel.

Christianity Today has published part of mark Dever's book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. It echo's this concern that I have had for some time, check it out.