Should you preach ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you listen to preaching ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you worship in song ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you give financially ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you pray ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you encourage your fellow believers ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?
Should you count the offering ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives?

The answer is no.  You shouldn’t.  Churches can be emotionally dead, people can attend church each Sunday and live in ignorance of the Gospel or at least be distracted from it while they attend, people can give from wrong motivations, we can preach hypocritically, etc. We shouldn’t though.  The greatness and holiness of the God we worship and the grace and love poured out into our lives in Christ call for our genuine focused worship every day (not least every Sunday).

So how should we safeguard our corporate worship gatherings against such practices and attitudes?

Solution: only gather as a church once every 3 months. Let’s be honest- attending church each week is ritualistic.  People get more concerned about catching up with Sallie Joe in the foyer and going to eat afterwards than focusing on Christ.  It just becomes another thing we “do” if we attend each week, like the PTA or softball practice.  Why not wait for 3 months before meeting again?  It will keep church attendance (including giving, singing, preaching, praying, etc.) from becoming just another weekly ritual.  It will make that one day out of every 90 or so all the more special because we will appreciate it more having gone so long without it.  It is less hassle for everyone (imagining only needing volunteers for 4 days a year!) and cheaper.  It can also be well-planned, efficient, and orderly with that kind of preparation time.

Ok, I’m being facetious there.  That would be ridiculous.  For one, merely meeting once every three months wouldn’t solve the problems of spiritual apathy, hypocrisy, or mindless “routine” that we should avoid in our gatherings.  In fact, it may increase it judging from those we know who only attend at Christmas/Easter currently. Also, as followers of Jesus, we are commanded to gather, encourage one another, to “Let the message of Christ dwell among us”-aka Gospel remembrance, pray, worship through song and giving, meet regularly, etc. Attempting to avoid these sins by infrequently meeting would cause us to ignore so many other things we see commanded and find Christians doing in the New Testament.

So then, why  do we find that above solution adequate regarding the frequency of the Lord’s Supper?

Discuss.

And bonus credit to whoever can identify the source of the quote below without Google.

“Shame on the Christian church that she put it off to once a month and mar the first day of the week by depriving it of its glory in the meeting together for fellowship and breaking of bread and showing forth the death of Christ till he comes. They who once know the sweetness of each Lord’s day celebrating his supper, will not be content, I am sure, to put it off to less frequent seasons. Beloved, when the Holy Ghost is with us, ordinances are wells to the Christian, wells of rich comfort and of near communion.”

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We have a nomination for our next NAMB president:

PENSACOLA (FBW) – Louisville pastor Kevin Ezell has been nominated president of the North American Mission Board, search chairman Ted Traylor told Florida Baptist Witness today. Courtesy Photo The recommendation of Ezell, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville and immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference, will be considered Sept. 14 at a special called meeting. Ezell, 48, is the unanimous choice of the eight-person search committee. Trustee chairman Tim Dowdy, an ex officio member of the search committee, informed NAMB trustees of Ezell’s nomination in a letter sent via e-mail tonight. Yesterday, Dowdy announced the special called meeting in an e-mail to trustees.

No one asked me, but I don’t think they could have nominated a better man.  I am very confident that he will be voted in unanimously on September 14th.  This is great for the convention and its future.

From Denny Burk:

This is the happiest SBC news I’ve heard in a long time. I can’t imagine a better leader for NAMB. Pastor Kevin Ezell has been nominated to be the next President of the North American Mission Board (the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention). Jim Smith has the story here.

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Honestly, this is one of the best articles I have read in quite some time. Russell Moore nails it on the head in regards the influence Beck and those like him have on American Christianity:

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable.

Read the rest here.

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I have seen a lot of blog posts that continually question the future and direction of the SBC.  But sadly, I do not think I have ever seen an objective one.

They always go something like this:

1) Let’s look at this certain theological conviction that I disagree with (whether it be Calvinism, BI movement, or whatever).

2) Let’s look at the negative effect this conviction could have on the convention.

3) Let’s sure hope they never have their way.

It appears, as I read these posts, that the people always fretting about “what if they(whoever they disagree with) ever take over the convention- what horrible consequences that could have!” are usually the people who are most out of touch with the convention.

My advice: when you start reading a post that tries addressing a specific theological belief they disagree with and the future of the SBC in the same post- laugh and move on.

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A couple—husband and wife—are deeply in love with each other and with Jesus.  They also love children, very much.  One Sunday at church they hear the testimony of another couple who flew thousands of miles to a foreign country to adopt a little girl.  The couple in the pew sits in awe and gives each other a look, silently saying what is on their hearts.

They begin the process, fill out paperwork, and spend thousands of dollars.  Some months later they find themselves flying across the ocean to a foreign country.  They are taken to an orphanage in a part of the city where bricks crumble and windows are boarded.  The orphanage fares no better.  Winter air seeps in through holes in the wall and cracks in the ceiling.  The fire burning in the corner provides hardly any heat.

In a makeshift crib lay an infant boy.  His clothes and blankets are dirty, as is his face.  And his skin is stretched tight against his bone.  The couple is moved to compassion at the sight of this child in his squalor.  More paperwork.  Interviews.  Money.  Finally, they arrive home with the child cradled in their arms.  They clean him, and dress him in nice clothes.  They give him a bed that is strong and secure.  They give him a new home, a new family, and a new name.

They don’t wait until this child can make a choice.  They don’t ask his opinion, after all how could he respond?  Out of their gracious and unconditional love, they choose him to be theirs and take him into their home.

They speak to him and feed him milk.  They tell him how much they love him.  He is their son.  The child grows and soon learns to walk and to talk.  He calls out their names…mommy, daddy…and smiles.  He loves them, because they first loved him…

Is it a perfect anecdote to describe what God has done for us?  Of course not (as if we could create a perfect story)… but it’s what my mind returns to when I think of God’s amazing love, his unconditional election, and his irresistible grace in saving us from the squalor and helplessness of us in our sins!

And I think it fits the language of scripture: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’  The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:14-16)

The debate over the doctrines of Calvinism has been going on for centuries among various godly men and women, and I can almost guarantee that won’t change anytime soon.  This is just my own attempt to positively add to the discussion by framing a couple of the doctrines in language that I don’t think we typically hear (or at least I’ve never seen elsewhere!).

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I was doing a little research last night about Pastor Appreciation Month. It turns out this unofficial holiday is better known as “Clergy Appreciation Day” or “Clergy Appreciation Month.”

No Wikipedia page = more work.

I found some clues on the Hallmark website. Notably the holiday only dates back to 1992 and is always celebrated on the second Sunday in October. They first sold cards for pastor’s appreciation in 2002.

I found another helpful post on Leading from the Heart, a UMC blog written by Rev. Laurie Haller. She had this blockquote from the Sept./Oct. 1996 issue of the Saturday Evening Post related the origins of Clergy Appreciation Day.

“In 1992, layperson Jerry Frear, Jr., was brainstorming with church colleagues about how they might be of help to their minister when he glanced at a calendar and noticed that it was almost Groundhog Day. ‘I thought, if they have a day for groundhogs, there ought to be a day for the 375,000 clergy people in America.’ Frear says. So…for the last seven years the second Sunday in October has been set aside to show appreciation for our clergy.”

From there I verified this information on the Christian Standard website.

No the weird part: This same Jerry Frear, Jr. went to prison for defrauding investors in his dot-com startup.  Now he writes and trains churches on becoming missional. You can read about that here. You can also find him on Linkedin and on blogger.

The best part is from his bio on his blogger.

I’ve served as a pastor for 13 years. 15 years ago my wife and I co-founded Clergy Appreciation Day. We have served pastors and churches with help for their ministries for over 16 years and have helped or impacted over 5,000 pastors and churches. It’s my deepest desire to be part of movement that helps the church become the kingdom builder it needs to be. I love to speak, teach and train on the future church and missional ministry.

The point of this post is not to judge anyone’s relationship with Christ because their sins became public. (Rom 3:23 says we all suck.) I’m just wondering how you make sense of all this?

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When I first heard of the mosque being built at Ground Zero in New York City, I questioned the wisdom of choosing that site.  It wasn’t till conversations got heated, reheated, and burned to a crisp that I began to truly make up my mind about it all.  I fluctuated between sympathies to one side, and “how dare they” to the other.

Some say it’s a matter of sensitivity to those who lost loved ones on 9-11 that the Muslim Mosque should choose another site.  I empathize, I truly do.  I have difficulty in sharing what I believe is more important.  As a Christian, I think, it is because of the sensitivity to the entire subject matter–Islam versus ”whatever”–that I cannot remain silent.  To me, it is not about compassion for those who lost loved ones, nor is it the freedom of religion to build a mosque near Ground-Zero in New York City.

This is about Jesus.  It is about opening doors, building foundations to share the Gospel.  Muslims do not know what (or Who) we know.  They don’t know Jesus.  Muslims who practice their faith trust in their own goodness to get them to heaven.  We trust in the righteousness of Christ.  When we show them we do not want them around, we cannot show them Jesus.  When we condemn them for what they think and believe, we cannot begin to reach them.  Can we?

The mad-men who flew jetliners into the Twin Towers on 9-ll, are no more examples of rational worshiping moderate Muslims, than Timothy McVeigh is an example of rational, worshiping born-again evangelical Christians.  To say that American Muslims who practice the Islamic faith cannot build a mosque two blocks from Ground-Zero would be the same as saying, to them, that American Christians who practice their faith in Christ could not build a church near the Oklahoma City site that Timothy McVeigh bombed because McVeigh claimed to be a Christian.

Our argument might be, ”That’s ludicrous! Just because Timothy McVeigh claimed to be a Christian doesn’t mean he practiced Christianity.  Christians do not condone what he did in Oklahoma City.  We want to build our church there to act as a open-door to show love and life–not hate and violence.”

Is our argument any stronger than the Muslims who want to build a Mosque in New York?  Is it any weaker?

I’m more concerned about what the words of Christians today are saying to Muslims as this controversy gains more and more attention, and the debates get louder and louder.  Does continued anger and hatred for those who bombed the Twin Towers do anything to further the Gospel message to those who practice Islamic faith today?

We do not worship a prophet as they do.  We worship God Incarnate–Jesus Christ.  What message are we sending by lumping all Muslims into the same group as the 9-11 terrorists?  Are we making it easier to reach them with the Truth of Christ by blaming all Muslims for what a few have done and do?  Or are we making it harder?

Perhaps we should stop throwing stones at the Mosque, and begin reaching for building blocks.  Let them build their mosque.  Then, let someone (the SBC?) build a church and Cafe Court next door and invite them all in to worship and dinner afterwards.  I’m just weighing in on a topic I find as opportune for the Great Commission.  What are your thoughts?  selahV

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This was originally posted at Modern March

Unless you live under a rock, you have seen the latest news on the Proposition 8 case. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that Proposition 8 violates the constitution, a ruling that could potentially overturn the California voters’ decision that same-sex marriage should remain illegal.

Expectedly, Judge Walker’s decision has flared much debate over the issue of homosexuality. Many Christians, though not all, have been up in arms for years over the idea that same-sex marriage will be made legal nationally, and decisions like this could propel that concern to a reality. It is not outlandish to presume that if votes can be motioned to essentially be counted void, it’s only a matter of time before the federal process of voting will be undermined under the pressure of protesting nationwide. In fact, we may already be there.

Furthermore, the ruling states that Proposition 8 is nothing more than the brainchild of the “private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples,” attributing this to such groups as conservative Christianity, and says that such a view has no place in law. To put it bluntly, this ruling insinuates that Christians should have no right of conscience to discuss or debate their concerns or beliefs. Never mind the fact that 44 states have specific laws that establish marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It is also ironic that the “private moral view” of Judge Walker allows him to impose on law. These loopholes make a mockery of the voting system.

Simply put, this is a debate that includes conservative Christians but is not at all limited to Christian thought. We are not alone in the outrage at Judge Walker’s ruling. In light of this, how should Christians in particular react to this news and to homosexuality in general?

With Biblical Conviction

It is our right, nay, our duty to respond with concern about the legalization of same-sex marriage. Biblically, marriage is specifically reserved for one man and one woman as created by God and reflects Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Scripture describes homosexuality as “dishonorable,” “shameless,” and “contrary to nature” (Romans 1:26-27). So, in the eyes of the Christian, there is no such thing as same-sex marriage because that would make Christ and His Church dishonorable, shameless, and contrary to nature.

Culture argues that Christians are merely imposing their bigoted religious convictions on America, but this is not the case with law-making in a pluralistic democracy. Laws in a system of government like ours do not come to pass because of a consensus worldview; rather, they come to pass when multiple worldviews converge in agreement that something is normal for societal health. So to be fair, this is not just a Christian argument, cultures and religions for all of time have agreed that same-sex relations are not normal. There are not enough Christians to overpower the government in a way that bans same-sex marriage. Many atheists and Buddhists and post-modernists alike disagree with same-sex marriage and this is why these laws exist.

As Christians being “in the world but not of it,” we are called to place God’s authority higher than the world’s while simultaneously living under the authority of those God has placed over us. We have the ability to vote, to voice our opinions, and to hold court in the presence of these authorities and that is where we can best try to defend our convictions in a system that will not allow us to dictatorially control it.

With Biblical Compassion

There is a tension that Christians are in the middle of when dealing with the Bible and the government. There are times when a law is passed or a President makes a bold statement that does not align with Scripture. As with abortion, same-sex marriage may be a controversial topic that becomes a national, legal, regular way of life in America. The appropriate response is not hate and venom. The folks at Westboro spew enough hate for the rest of us.

Instead, let us focus on compassion towards homosexuals as this process plays out. We should not condone their actions or bow to Walker and those who support same-sex marriage, but we should love them and pray for them. Homosexuals have souls, just like alcoholics, wife-beaters, gossipers, hypocrites, and you with any multitude of sins that attack you daily. Homosexuality is not its own separate level of sin. I don’t remember seeing in Scripture where God gives a list of sins that He’s more cool with than others. You are no better than they are, you have your own God-hating sin and so do I. You have been saved by grace and this should cause you to have grace for others, not elitism.

Brothers and sisters, this is nothing new. The apostles were no less at odds with their culture and governing authorities than we are today. As they did, we should make God’s name known even more powerfully through the preaching of the Word, through constant Gospel-centered joy in the face of obstacles, and through prayer for those who need a Savior.

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I was feeling rowdy this morning, so I left a comment over on this helpful post by Ed Stetzer. Then I realized that blog is a little boring and wanted to set you commenting animals loose. Besides, I think they just deleted my comment anyway! That kind of controlled discussion always raises my blood pressure.

He was listing the factors that might keep younger leaders away from the SBC annual meetings. Here’s what I said.

Thanks for the helpful post and I see myself in a few of your reasons. Here are two more that you can’t say:

6. The brand value of SBC is beyond zero and now far into the negative.

7. Our missions model is simply outdated and encourages waste at almost every level.

That’s just the way I’ve been looking at things lately.

What do you think keeps young billy goats away from the Sacred Hill?

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The firestorm from yesterday really needs it’s own post. Here is a little direction for your ranting:

• The 2007 SBC Resolution ON PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE was a good start, but this only came about after critics went after our denomination. It raised awareness, but is anyone more safe because of it?
• Most SBC churches are still in denial and think it could never happen to them.
• All SBC churches are independent, but that doesn’t absolve denominational leaders from their role as leaders. They do have influence to make things better. We should talk about failure to use that influence for good.
• The goal must be making our churches the safest place in the world – not just passing blame or trying to refute (unfair) criticism. The “I hate abusers” posture doesn’t really help, prevention is the only win in this situation.

Please throw in a few constructive ideas!

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