Thursday, June 28, 2007

What have we made of Christianity?

Warning: Opinionated ramblings ahead.

If you were to ask someone outside the church how they recognize someone as a Christian, what do you think they would say? I know, because I recently asked quite a few people (some Christian and some non-Christian) "What is a Christian?"

Lots of Christians may be pleased with the responses I received. Most everyone answered that a Christian was someone who didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't curse, etc. Basically people have begun to identify Christians by what we dont do.

Does that bother anyone else?

Somewhere along the line Christians stopped being identified by what we do do, and started being identified by the things that we abstain from. As usual, I have a theory about this.

The early church wasn't nearly as concerned with personal lifestyle boundaries as they were about going outside the church and winning souls for Christ. And wouldn't you know it, the greatest growth in the history of the Church occurred during a time when most "congregations" didn't even have a building to meet in! The Church was a missional entity, whose sole purpose was to expand the Kingdom. That was the primary goal of the church.

As a Church today, we still think that sounds good and we even claim it as our goal- but how realistic is that claim? It seems to me that as Christians we have become MUCH more concerned with making sure we stay within the boundaries of the Law than we are with going out and making a difference in our communities. What's the purpose?

Great! You don't drink, smoke, or curse... but tell me, what DO you do? Imagine standing before the great throne of judgment, and having God himself tell you to present your case for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. You reply, "Well God, you're going to be very impressed! I didn't work on Sundays. I didn't curse. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke or do drugs. I wasn't mean to people." I imagine that God would respond with the top line of this paragraph: " OK, but what did you actually do for me?"

I believe we have made the mistake of creating our own little Christian subculture. We become a Christian and then eventually move our entire lives into this "bubble" of the Christian subculture. Our friends from church become our closest (and sometimes only) friends that we spend time with. We spend all of our free time at church events with other Christians. We wear Christian t-shirts and listen to Christian music. Our cars are peppered with metallic fish and bumpers with pithy Christian sayings on them. We withdraw ourselves from the culture around us and become enveloped in our Christian subculture.

Is this the example that Jesus gave us? In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, we read that the Pharisees grumbling that "this man receives sinners, and eats with them." Where we seem to be content with sitting in the church waiting for the lost to enter, Christ seemed to be more enamored with becoming a part of the culture and ministering to people where they are. He ate with sinners! He went to feasts and even wedding with (gasp) drinking! But it is in those settings that we read about some of the greatest moments in his ministry. We seem to be too disgusted with the world around us to enter into with anything but disdain. Christ entered into the culture around him with the love of the Father.

In the church, we make huge deals of mission trips. Why is that? Because it's one of the only times of the year that we actually do Christian service outside of the church walls! This is what bothers me.

On Sunday mornings before church, ESPN usually airs "outdoorsy" type shows. I love watching the old men do flyfishing, because they do not fish from the bank, a boat, or a pier. These guys stand out in the middle of the lake and fish with water coming up to their waists. That's the kind of church we should be! We can't keep fishing from the bank! We need to be as Christ and get out in the middle of the lake if we want to do some real fishing.

I've probably written too much to even understand what my original point was, but here is my wish for the Church. That we reorganize ourselves in such a way that when people are asked what a Christian is, they start listing the good that we do in the world instead of listing everything that we don't do. Secondly, let's break out of our Christian subculture every now and then and associate ourselves with those that need Christ the most. Remember the words of Christ from Matthew chapter nine- "It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick..."

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Evan Almighty

I wasn't a huge fan of "Bruce Almighty," but I have to tell you- I absolutely loved "Evan Almighty." Great, great movie.

You should run, not walk, to go check it out.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Ah, the life of a pastor...

Is there any better or more romantic way to spend your 2 year wedding anniversary than helping out with VBS all day at the church? Methinks not.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Teen camp and an aching heart.

This past Monday through Friday, my teens and I attended our district's summer teen camp. Overall, we had a fantastic time. If you forget about the food, you would have a hard time finding anything negative about the way camp was run this year.

Attention, youth pastors and camp directors---One of our speakers' name was Scott Regester. This guy was absolutely phenomenal. If you have any need for a speaker, look him up. He lives in Oklahoma, so how hard could it be to find him?

I took a group of 17. On the last night, the speaker asked which teenagers felt that God may be leading them into the ministry some day. 6 of my teens went forward. It is always incredibly moving to see teens in your ministry willing to answer God's call on their lives.

Here's the main event that affected me this year: It seems that every year at camp, there is some sequence of events that absolutely humbles me. This year, it started before we could even load up the vans to leave for camp. I had a girl who was signed up for camp drop out at the last second because she was sick. Her payment was nonrefundable, so I scrambled to find someone to take her place. Eventually, the girlfriend of a guy in my group was able to take the last spot.

I should have known that there was a greater plan than mine, with the way that events unfolded to get this girl to camp. Little did I know how much this girl needed to feel loved.

One night this girl and I were talking, and I asked her what her home life was like. She immediately started crying and told me that the last 12 months have been the worst in her life. What she then told me absolutely broke my heart.

About a year ago, this girl was raped by a complete stranger and got pregnant. The person who did this was never caught. Her pregnancy ultimately ended in a miscarriage. Her mother, who is an alcoholic, hasn't been around for much. Most every day, this girl comes home to an empty house, where she has to also play the role of mom for her 10 year old brother. She cooks all the meals. She helps him with his homework. She puts him to bed. She can't remember the last time she went out with friends, because she always chooses to stay home so her brother doesn't have to be lonely. When her mom is home, she tells her daughter that she's worthless, ugly, fat, and stupid. In my opinion she is none of these things.

Here is a 15 year old girl who has been forced to deal with more tragedy in a year, than I have known my entire life. Not only that, but she is having to force herself to be strong for the sake of her brother.

The theme of our camp was simple- "Used." How are you going to let God use you? The girl made some huge decisions this week, and is convinced that God is going to use her to tough her family. She knows it will not be easy, but she seems to be very determined.

Please join me in prayer for her.