The Ministry of Preparation

Preparation. Every job requires it. Every boss expects it. Most everything in life depends upon it in order for things to run smoothly and properly. How much more should preparation be a part of the regular diet of followers of Christ, especially in terms of our service to a local church? I mean, we’re a part of something with eternal consequences. You wouldn’t show up for a lunch meeting with an important CEO unprepared. Nor should we show up to serve at our local church unprepared. Every weekend we’re waging war with a very real enemy for the souls of men and women who are hanging in the balance—men and women who have come to our church very possibly for the first time, expecting, hoping, longing to experience something genuine, real, authentic, and life-changing. No, perhaps they wouldn’t communicate their need that way (or maybe they would), but that’s really what their soul craves for.

It’s for this very reason that my brother Smooth, often reiterates to his team of volunteers that our goal is to eliminate as many distractions as possible. Because let’s face it: You may only get one shot with someone. Prime example: This Sunday is Easter. For many of those who will step foot in our church buildings, this will be the only time for the rest of the year that they come to church. So, we’ve got one shot. Not to impress. Not to put on a great show. But one shot to help eliminate as many distractions as possible to help point them to a relationship with their Creator God, Jesus Christ.

So, let me make my plea as a worship leader. Dudes and dudets in the praise band, when the weekend rolls around, you need to come as prepared as you possibly can—like you’re about to play for Simon Cowell. Only … you’re playing for Jesus Christ, so maybe even more prepared, eh? Memorize your music. Get it into your soul, so that when you’re on stage, you can let loose and not be bound to a sheet of paper. And let me tell you, as a worship leader, there’s no greater feeling of freedom to be able to lead your people, than when the band behind you is playing their supporting roll in the best possible way they can. The worship leader is then completely freed up to be able to focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing in the hearts of the congregation. On the other hand, when the band comes unprepared, the amount of energy it takes for the worship leader to try to correct mistakes and salvage the pieces is incredibly draining—to the point that the worship leading suffers. And again, we’re trying to eliminate as many distractions as possible for the sake of reaching lost men and women with the Gospel. So, please, don’t bring unnecessary stress on your worship leader by coming unprepared.

Tech crew, know what your cues are. Know when the lights need to dim. Know when the sound is too loud, or too soft, or when a guitar is too shrill. Know when a vocalist needs less cutting through the mix. Know when the camera needs to pan. Know when the stage needs to be well-lit, or less lit, etc. Take some initiative to prepare yourself. Most of the time, it’s the atmosphere itself that can be the defining factor in whether a person returns the next week to hear more of the life-changing Gospel message. Again, it’s not about perfection for the sake of it, it’s about eliminating as many distractions as possible, and creating an environment where the Holy Spirit is welcome and where people can connect with the Living God.

Now, I want to be fair here, but I don’t want to undermine everything I just said. There is a very real temptation to rely so heavily on our human devices, resources, cleverness, and efforts of persuasion that we completely stifle the work of the Holy Spirit among us. That is a fact. We can be so clever with our techniques, that we squash the working of the Holy Spirit. And that is a very real danger. However, there is a danger on both sides. We can also be so “Spirit-led” that we show up not knowing what songs we’re singing or what sermon we’re preaching because “we’re going to let the Spirit lead as He may.” No. That’s just plain laziness and stupidity. In fact, I had a seminary professor (one who was very in touch with the Spirit I might add) who posed a question in class one day. “Can’t the Holy Spirit guide you in your preparation just as much as He can in the moment?” he rhetorically asked. His point was well-received. Preparation is a ministry. Preparation involves hearing from the Spirit throughout the week—for the process of series-planning—for the planning of the worship—for the small group curriculum—for the children’s ministry lessons—etc. … you get the point.

Bottom line? Be in tune with the Spirit in your preparation. And you’ll be surprised at just how freeing it is, and how the distractions that were once present and stifling will begin to be eliminated as we work together as His body.

Self-Righteousness: The Silent Killer

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God." - Luke 11:42

Growing up in a pastor's home makes self-righteousness one of the easiest silent sins that a pastor's kid can come by. It's deadly. It's a killer.

A few weeks ago in our small group, we went around the room sharing with each other what Christ saved us from--what our life was like before we came to Christ, and how it is different after coming to saving faith in Him. My testimony is one of those that usually starts out like this:

"I grew up in a Christian home and was saved at a very early age. And there's not really a whole lot of bad stuff you can do when you're 7."

That's how I used to think about my testimony. I even verbalized it that way on many occasions. But it was in that moment of sharing with my small group that the light came on. The Lord began to reveal to me the depth of my depravity in terms of self-righteousness. And He showed me that I must consistently fight this beast within.

As a kid, I was so good at pointing the finger at other people (mostly figuratively and internally, but I had my moments) that I was oblivious to the four bloody fingers dripping of self-righteousness that were pointing right back at me. I was the kind of person that Christ constantly referred to as the "hypocrite." I was a Pharisee of a new day. Not the kind that wore long robes and turbans. No, my attire was more pristine, consisting of tight crotch-hugging jeans, salmon-colored Disney t-shirts three sizes too large, and an immovable hair-sprayed due with the Zack Morris wave providing a wall of protection around my skull.

Religiosity and pharisaism was my deal. It was everything to me. I snubbed the down-and-out and less fortunate. I secretly criticized the "sinner" and thanked God that I was not like them. And yet, the whole time I was building up walls between myself and God. I had complete disregard for justice and the love of God. So much so that I had blinded myself to the blackness on the inside. I was just as wicked ... maybe more than those I considered to be far from God.

But thanks to the incredible grace of God, I am not what I used to be. Though the struggle of pharisaism is constant and continuous, I am grateful for His grace that is forever faithful, forever constant, and forever jealous for my love, affection and solidarity.

Christ has redeemed me from self-righteousness. What has He redeemed you from?

Why I Don't Have an iPhone, and Why My Life is Better Because of It

I just came across a great article by Chris Haw, a writer for Relevant Magazine and co-author of Jesus For President with Shane Claiborne. The article is called "Just a Phone?" (you can read it here on p. 27) and in it he explains why he has held out this long in refusing to purchase an iPhone. He lists some compelling reasons.

He explains that "for many, the iPhone easily answers this: the problem with the world is lack of information and entertainment, and the Internet conveniently (and slickly) located in one's pocket is the sacrament of the eschatological answer."

He goes on to reference Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, a Catholic theologian who explains that "in the least, the Christian should often be a late or slow adopter. They should not be magnetized by the hype. Many technologies are not created out of a genuine need but a profit motive. These inventions are followed by advertisers telling us what we need--and they just happen to have it on sale! And these technologies often harry us with promises of how they are solutions to our problems."

Haw's article has made me think about my own reasons for not purchasing on iPhone. And as I processed this article, I came up with four reasons of my own:

#1 - I can't afford it!

#2 - I know my own proclivity and preoccupation with fluff and time-wasting activities, and the iPhone would be one more tool in the belt of idleness, futility and vanity. (For this reason I have, up to this point, also refused to involve myself in Twitter, though I'm quickly discovering that Facebook's status function accomplishes the same purpose. Furthermore, to think that people really care about what we're doing at every possible moment only fuels the narcissitic flame that is enveloping our culture. God help us! If you can convince me of any redeeming value for Twitter, I'm listening, but I've yet to discover it.)

#3 - I also know my inclination toward idolatry. God knows I already struggle with checking out Craigslist multiple times a day to see if there are any great deals on guitars, guitar pedals and music gear. I don't need another gadget to capture territory in my heart. Nor do I need to listen to the lies of the advertisers telling me that I have a particular need and void in my life that I didn't know existed in the first place and can only be filled by the iPhone.

#4 - Finally, there's the instant gratification factor. And I don't even need to say anything about how internet pornography has grown exponentially with the onslaught of the iPhone. Porn in the pocket. How convenient. Why should I willingly submit myself to yet another temptation when I'm already bombarded on every side?

At this point, you iPhone users are already organizing yourselves in haste ready to burn me at the stake. But before you do that, you need to know my heart. Am I only picking on the iPhone? ... Of course! ... No, I'm kidding. I've made the application in my own heart in areas not involving the iPhone. And I encourage you to do the same. Make the application to whatever gadgets or ideologies have taken up some area of residency in your heart. What is it that you think you need? What is it that you just have to have?

I've heard numerous people in my circle of friends speak of how they need an iPhone. And it makes me laugh inside. No, it actually makes me sad. Especially when I spend a few hours with them and in the course of that small amount of time, I rarely see their face because it's buried in their phone. That's sad. That might be idolatry. Or is it just multi-tasking? You make the call. (no pun intended)

Graduations, Splits and Suffering

We're in Orlando, Florida this weekend to support my brother-in-law, Andrew Litke, as he graduates from Reformed Theological Seminary. Consequently, my brother, Jared, also graduates from seminary (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) in Wake Forest, NC. I'm proud of these 2 guys. They're both men of God and they're seeking to follow His leadership for their family, ministry, and life. Way to go guys!

As is common in our family gatherings, conversations regarding theological ideas seem to rise to the surface frequently. This afternoon the issue was denominational schisms and points of division. Our conclusion? Most of them are superficial and completely non-essential. Though undoubtedly there have been theological issues such as the inerrancy of Scripture that have rightly divided us and have rightly warranted a separation, the majority are petty and superfluous.

With a tone of sarcasm and yet seriousness at the same time, one of Andrew's friends spoke up and said, "What we need in this country is a good dose of persecution!" And I think he's right. Our generation knows little, if not nothing of what it means to suffer for the cause of Christ. And without question, persecution among believers has been the great equalizer throughout generations and cultures, bridging ... no, eliminating the ridiculous barriers that we erect under the guise of faithfulness to the call. Again, sometimes faithful commitment to orthodoxy has been the case (i.e. the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago, or the Baptist resurgence 30 years ago). But most of the time, they've been merely a front for a misguided commitment to an apparent calling, but what is, in reality, one of the pinnacles of religious self-centeredness and pharisaism.

Ironically, this week I'm reading a compilation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's sermons, letters and writings called Meditations on the Cross. One excerpt regarding suffering and persecution deserves to be quoted here for some much-needed food for thought. He says,

It is infinitely easier to suffer in obedience to a human order than in the freedom of one's own, personal, responsible deed. It is infinitely easier to suffer in company than alone. It is infinitely easier to suffer publicly and with honor than out of the public eye and in disgrace. It is infinitely easier to suffer through the engagement of one's physical being than through the Spirit. Christ suffered in freedom, alone, and out of the public eye and in disgrace, in body and soul, and likewise subsequently many Christians along with him.

Place Your Stones Where Your Kids Can Get To Them

In continuing my journey through the Scriptures, this morning I read a passage in the book of Joshua that gripped me in a new way. In Joshua 4, the Israelites had just come under new leadership after Moses' death. The Lord had instructed Moses to make Joshua first in command of His people. In doing so, one of Joshua's first acts was to lead the people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land (incidentally, not unlike one of Moses' first tasks in leading the people across the Red Sea). So God completely cut off the downstream flow of the river, firming up the ground for their footing--just as solid as if it were concrete (Joshua 3:16-17).

Once they were through, Joshua instructed 12 men, one from each of the 12 tribes, to take stones (and we're not talking skipping stones--they were more likely boulders) from the middle of the river and place them in a pile at their former campsite. This act of piling up stones, seen commonly throughout the Old Testament, is often referred to as an "ebenezer" or "stone of remembrance"--a symbolic act for the purpose of helping the people remember the faithfulness of God at certain times and points in history. But what struck me today in a fresh way was one of the more specific and primary purposes of these memorial stones.

Joshua explained, "When your children ask their fathers in the future, 'What is the meaning of these stones?' you should tell your children, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'" (Joshua 4:21-22)

Here's what I noticed today: One of the primary purposes of the stones was to act as a teaching agent for their children. They were to be a teaching tool for parents to share with their children how God had been faithful to them at specific points in time. I think I've long understood the general idea of these memorial stones. After all, every time I get the opportunity to lead the hymn "Come Thou Fount" I usually take the chance to explain the context of the line in verse two that says, "Here I raise my ebenezer, hither by Thy help I've come." But for some reason I overlooked this very important purpose of the stones--that they were intended to be a tangible teaching symbol for their children--as a means of declaring the greatness and faithfulness of God to their sons and daughters--as a teaching agent for their kids.

So I began to ask myself: What teaching agents do I have at my disposal to begin teaching my kids about the faithfulness of God? How good of a job am I doing in sharing with my children how God has been faithful in the past so that they can be confident of His faithfulness in an uncertain future? And how do I take this idea of the memorial stone and apply it very practically in our family life?

Tasha and I are still trying to figure out what that means for our family. At the very least, I think it means having some very tangible expressions of those reminders placed throughout our house--whether its through journal entries that we share with them of times when we witnessed the faithfulness of God. Or whether its through a photo book that we periodically show them of times when God heard and answered our prayers. Or whether its through the simple act of sharing personal family stories of God's grace and favor.

We're still figuring out the best ways to share with our children, and I would encourage you to do the same. But regardless of how we do it, the most important thing is simply that we share.

Prelude to Sundays

I started something new last night.  One of my closest friends, Ben Brammer, a pastor in Oklahoma City, and I began a weekly phone prayer time together on Saturday nights before our busy Sundays.  One of Ben's mentors, Charles Lyons, the pastor of Armitage Church in inner-city Chicago who has practiced this for many years, encouraged him to do the same.  So, we began last night.  It's not a long drawn-out thing, but we just take a few minutes to talk and find out the direction we're headed for the next day, and then we take turns praying for each other.  I love it.  And I know I'm gonna look forward to it every week.  So, I'll offer the same challenge here on my blog.  Find a weekly prayer partner--especially those of you in some type of ministry position.  Take advantage of the awesome privilege we have to pray for each other.  You won't regret it.

Holy Spirit Power

I just finished a classic work by Charles Spurgeon--a series of sermons on the work, the ministry and the person of the Holy Spirit compiled together to make up Holy Spirit Power.  It's a great read.  I love reading Spurgeon's material.  His writing and preaching style of the mid-1800s was not as polished and charasmatic as many of his predecessors, but his content was next to none, rivaling even Puritan scholars.  Holy Spirit Power is full of little bite-size takeaways that I know I'll be using in future talks and teaching sessions.  Here are a few that resonated with me:

• "God does not give a fresh revelation, but He rivets the old one ... He brings a fresh lamp to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture ... There is enough in the Bible for you to live on forever." (p. 21)
  
• "There is not a minister living who can win a man's heart by himself. He can win his ears and make them listen, and he can win his eyes and fix them upon him. He can win his attention, but the heart is very slippery." (p. 42)
• "The grassiest paths and the most bewitching are the farthest away from right. The most enticing are those which are garnished with improper truths." (p. 66)
• "I am persuaded that wherever there is a real work of grace in any soul, it begins with a pulling down. The Holy Ghost does not build on the old foundation." (p. 91)
• " 'The words (of Scripture) are not inspired,' some say. If we have no inspiration in the words, we have got an intangible inspiration that oozes away between our fingers and leaves nothing behind." (p. 152)
• "God's truth is safe, and we must be perfectly willing to be forgotten, derided, slandered, or anything else that men please. The cause is safe, and the King is on the throne. Hallelujah! Blessed be His name!" (p. 168)

That last bullet point is how Spurgeon concludes the book.  And that one statement, "we must be perfectly willing to be forgotten, derided and slandered," hit me like a ton of bricks.  He's exactly right.  But that's not a statement that tickles too many ears.  That's not a statement that we want to hear, especially in this present age--the age of pride and Twitter.  (And I'm preaching to myself here)  In an effort to feel like our lives matter to people, we put it all out there, whether it's through our Facebook status, our blog, or whatever new pride-inducing social networking tool that comes along.  And in a desperate attempt to keep our name alive, we participate in this never-ending game--a game we play to help people remember who we are--a game we play to make us feel important--a game we play that we might not be forgotten.  But Spurgeon says, "we must be willing to be forgotten" so that Christ can be remembered.  It's His cause that matters.  Not ours.  

What are you doing that furthers His cause?

A Universal Back-Stabbing

I've never noticed until yesterday the severity of the disciples' betrayal of their Lord in the last hours of His life--and not just the severity of their betrayal, but the universal scope of their betrayal. Each of the disciples broke the heart of their master in some way in those final hours. Matthew 26 illustrates this for us.

1. A Disappointment - vv. 40-46 - His disciples kept falling asleep in the garden instead of praying and keeping watch.
2. A Betrayal - v. 49 - Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of the sanhedrin for 30 pieces of silver.
3. A Desertion - v. 56 - "...Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." - Following Judas' betrayal, the rest of the disciples scattered. They deserted Him.
4. A Denial - vv. 69-75 - Peter denied that He knew Jesus three times to people he didn't know.

This same group that had shared their last meal together and sang hymns together (v. 30) all betrayed their Lord in one way or another only moments later. From this one chapter there is this escalating scale of betrayal culminating with Peter denying Jesus three times and the rooster acting as the capstone, the final note of this tragedy.

Lord, as I think about how You were so badly mistreated by Your closest friends in those last hours of Your life before the cross, my pride wants to ask,

"How in the world could Jesus' friends have acted this way only moments before Your death? Why? What would drive them to such a low?"

And yet, if I'm honest with myself I have to acknowledge that I would have done the very same things--or even worse. I would have disappointed You by falling asleep instead of praying. I would have betrayed You for money. I would have deserted You, fled the scene, and run toward safety. And I would have denied that I knew You--at least three times--maybe more if given the chance.

I know that about myself because I've already done them--some in my heart--some in public. I'm quick to point the finger at the disciples and quick to ignore ... the four pointing back at me? No. The middle one that I've got raised in the air as a rebel to a cause already lost. In this case, the lost cause being this sense of self-righteous entitlement--a battle I'll never win because I'm entitled to nothing, save Hell itself! So why do I go kicking and screaming when all You want is my surrender?--the white flag--to give it all over to You.

O Lord, forgive me. It was I who disappointed, betrayed, deserted, and denied You. And then it was I who stripped, cursed at, beat, stabbed, mocked and nailed you to a cross leaving You for dead. Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for it was I who murdered You.

One Thing

Haven't checked e-mail or blogged in almost 2 weeks. And boy was it good! Good to be back though. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and joyous new year.

Here's one thing I believe God wants do this year in my life:

• Take my prayer life to another level - Lately I've been reading alot about prayer. I'm reading the greats like E.M. Bounds and most recently Pete Greig of the 24-7 Prayer Movement started in England. And I'm being shaken to the core. I'm realizing that my daily conversation with the God who loves me immeasurably is pathetically small, de-evolutionizing into merely an honorable mention in my day-to-day walk. And I believe that God is saddened by this recent trend. But I also believe that He is waiting expectantly and with a heart full of hope that this trend is soon going to change. Thank You, Lord. May it be so. AMEN.
  

What about you? What does God want to do in your life this year?

Pay Attention

Sometimes events or circumstances happen in our lives that make us question certain things. They make us question our loyalty. Our calling. Our mission. Our purpose. Our motivation. Our sense of direction. And sometimes it's good, I think, to allow those events or circumstances to drive us to reevaluate where we are. To reevaluate everything we know to be true about who we are. For Christ-followers committed to Jesus, we know that the core of who we are and the foundation upon which our lives are built can never be shaken. And that's reassuring, to be sure, especially in light of the world in which we live--with its craziness, insecurities, madness and endless pursuit of happiness, purpose and fulfillment.

But for Christ-followers, a different type of challenge or questioning can occur. Challenges that cause us not to reevaluate what we believe to be true about God necessarily, but challenges that cause us to examine who we are in light of Christ--in light of who He is--in light of His character--the things we know, with certainty based on His Word, to be true of Him.

For example, I know that God is good. I normally wouldn't doubt that. But let's suppose that due to the economic crisis I lose everything. My house. My car. My savings. My kids' college fund (what little there is--sorry guys!). Certainly, things have changed in my life. But I can be sure that God hasn't changed. I know intuitively, from the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and cognitively, from the testimony of Scripture, that God is good. He's still good. He hasn't change. My circumstances have changed, but He remains the same. The challenge comes, however, in my ability to process what has happened. Though I know that God is good, my experience might tell me otherwise. But let's say my experience loses the battle, and I walk away still saying, "God is good." A challenge still remains. The challenge then looks more like these questions: "What have I done wrong? What is there in my life that might be causing this misfortune? What's wrong with me? What am I missing? When did I miss God's will? When did I misunderstand Him?"

To be fair, sometimes these questions are legitimate. Sometimes it really is us who have walked away from the Lord, or who have dropped the ball somewhere along the way and the consequences for our actions have caught up with us. But let's suppose that's not the case. Then where are we left? We are left in the same position we've always been left in. The position that cries out from deep within us, "God is good. He's still on His throne. And He still loves me, no matter what my circumstances tell me." If we can be resolved to say that God hasn't moved, and to the best of our knowledge, in good conscience, neither have we, we can rest fully assured in God's sovereign providential plan that He will complete the good work He started in You (Phil. 1:6). That His plans for us are to prosper us and give us a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11).

I'll tell you where the challenge has been for me lately. Ready? The issue of calling. Things have happened lately that have caused me, well ... not to doubt necessarily my calling, but to question certain things. Issues concerning God's timing. Issues concerning His perfect plan for me--for my family. Not a nagging thing, like a toothache or a PMSing bank clerk--but more like a constant awareness, like the beeping of a pedestrian crosswalk sign making you aware that your time to cross is almost up. Sort of like that. Not annoying. Just there. And not completely sure why.

But then this morning I read a verse that seemed to be straight from the Lord. I've been working slowly through Colossians--finished it up this morning. It's an obscure verse found at the very end of the book. If you're not careful you can miss it. I have before until today.

It says, "And tell Archippus, 'Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.'" (Colossians 4:17)

Who's Archippus? No one knows. An obscure Pauline reference. But it doesn't matter. The point? Pay attention to your ministry! The ministry you have received from the Lord. Why? So you can accomplish it. So you can finish strong. So you can receive the reward. So you can rest assured that God hasn't forgotten you or forsaken you. That He is the One who equipped you and has given this ministry to you. So go for it! Pay attention to it! Do it! I needed that today. Maybe you need it to.

Thoughts on the Election

This is a little late coming, but better late than never. I frequently visit J.D. Greear's blog, a pastor in the RDU area. He doesn't know me, but we have many mutual friends, went to the same school, etc. So, I value his opinion. He's a man of God and preaches the truth of God's Word without apology. His thoughts on the election are exactly mine and he can say it way more eloquently than I. Check it out here. Then check out John Piper's thoughts as well in this video. A plethora of great thoughts comin' atchya.

Skills

This verse really spoke to me this morning. "...Sing praises with a skillful psalm." (Psalm 47:7) And I was reminded of the duty that we have as Christian musicians, worship leaders, etc. to sing skillful psalms to the Lord--to give Him our best--not give Him our leftovers--but give Him the firstfruits of our talents, of our songs, of our worship. It should be our duty, our joy, our desire and the expectation of the body of Christ to sing with skillful songs. Certainly and primarily they must come from the overflow of our hearts and be Spirit-driven, Scripture-saturated, and Gospel-centered; but they must also be done skillfully. They must be crafted in such a way as to reflect and express quality, passion, beauty, and excellence, all of which flow from God Himself.

The obvious question becomes: "What is the standard for something being 'skillful?'" I love what Paul Baloche and Mia Fieldes said during the Integrity Conference last week that applies to this. They said that there is nothing wrong with anyone being a learner or a novice or a beginner when it comes to leading worship. The problem comes when you're not moving forward. The problem comes if you're staying there. If you're not moving on. If you're not giving yourself to study, training and practice, seeking to become better. And really, that applies to anything we do in life. If we ever get to the point where we think we have arrived in song-writing or preaching or teaching or Biblical understanding or whatever the case may be ... then we have a problem. But let's make it our goal to bring glory to God in whatever we set our hands to do and to do so with the skill that God has given us while being careful to foster and grow that skill as good stewards.

Will You Be Busy?

Last Friday I spent the morning at Rainy's preschool enjoying "Donuts with Dad." I'm amazed at how fast my little princess is growing up. And I'm reminded almost daily at how quickly our time on this earth passes--that I am just a vapor. My prayer lately has echoed the Psalmist, "Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how frail I am." (Psalm 39:4). I want every moment of my life to count for His kingdom. I want to redeem the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). I want to spend quality time with my kids and I want them to know that I love them and care about them. And when I'm spending time with them, I want them to know that I am all theirs during that time. That mentally I am not somewhere else thinking about the list of things I need to get done.

Yesterday I had lunch with a Pastor friend whom I greatly respect. He told me that he took his family of 6 camping a few weeks ago. When they arrived at the campsite, his oldest son asked him, "Dad, are you going to be busy this weekend?" In other words, "Are you bringing work with you, or will you be here both physically and mentally?" He told me that in that moment he turned his phone off and never turned it back on the entire weekend.

And why shouldn't we live that way? Because our time is short. Our families are our number one priority--not ministry. And they need us. They need us dads to be there for them both physically and mentally. So, dads, are you with me?

7 Years and Still Blind

I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I’m sure you do too. I was just walking into my 9:00 Exodus Book Study class at North Greenville College. Dr. Pete Wilbanks gave us the news about the attacks on the Twin Towers, we prayed, and then he dismissed class. My Dad was in Brazil on a mission trip. All international flights shut down to and from the US. He was stuck.

Confusion. Betrayal. Anger. Unbelief. Fear. Uncertainty. The whole gamut of emotions ran through every ounce of my being. The feeling of powerlessness was stifling. As the news unfolded throughout the day, the images we saw forever changed the landscape, make-up and temperament of America. Church doors flew open for around-the-clock prayer. The Sunday after 9.11, pews were packed with people who had not stepped foot in a church in years, perhaps ever. In the midst of the tragedy, there were glimmers of hope for a country that had in many ways turned her back on God. There was the prevailing feeling, at least among most Christian evangelicals, that these events would soon act as a catalyst to bring America back to Christ. But you know what happened.

As soon as some semblance of stability and structure was reintroduced, the American dream based on secular humanism and extreme individualism reared its ugly head once again. America no longer needed God. He was the crutch to get her through the initial pain and shock, but He was no longer needed. He was no longer necessary. America was dealing with her enemies. America was standing on her own two feet. America was her own counselor, her own defense, her own support system. God was obsolete.

This vicious cycle is repeated throughout history—both biblical and non-biblical history. A nation turns from God. Tragedy strikes. The nation seeks God again. God brings healing and restoration. The nation no longer needs God. Over and over. It’s a cycle that seems to always divorce itself from lessons learned, thus they are never really learned. Only flirted with. Only petted and stroked on the surface. But they never take root.

There’s another mistake that happens, though. And it happens by those who call themselves followers of Christ. The mistake is this: While hastily pointing out the sins and errors of a nation, the church of Christ becomes blind to her own sin. This, perhaps more than any other reason, is why the Lord burned such a passion in my heart to write the songs that make up our new worship album, “The Healing.” At first glance, the record seems to be an indictment against the culture in which we live—the fact that we need the healing hand of God in our nation and in our land. But as you probe deeper, hopefully this message will come through even louder: We need revival, healing, and spiritual awakening in the church. We, the bride of Christ, need to return to our first love. A love that we’ve lost many times because we’ve been too preoccupied with pointing the finger at a lost world, instead of pointing them to the God who loves them. Here’s what the insert to our new CD says about the purpose of this album:

“In a culture that is becoming increasingly apathetic and antagonistic to the message of the Gospel, how quickly and easily it is to fall victim to the sin of point-the-fingerism. Sometimes a preoccupation with the darkness surrounding us blinds us to our own darkness. And though unquestionably the darkness that surrounds must be penetrated by the light of the Gospel, unless our own sin is first confronted we are rendered useless and pathetic in the advancement of God’s Kingdom here on earth. The ground is fallow in America. But so is it equally fallow in our churches. So is it equally fallow in our own hearts much of the time. Hosea desperately begged God’s people to “break up your untilled ground. It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and sends righteousness on you like rain.” (Hosea 10:12) If there was one plea for this album, that would be it—to break up your untilled ground. Allow the Holy Spirit of God access to the dark pits of heinous anarchy in your soul that stand in forward opposition to the coming King of Kings. And allow Him to clean you out. Allow Him to heal and soften the dry and hardened ground—that salvation may spring forth—that righteousness may rain down. And when that happens, we can stand as a unified, collective body of Christ holding high His royal banner proclaiming with urgency the soon return of our High King. Our prayer is that this album will be a catalyst to drive you to your knees in repentance, to help stand you up with arms held high in surrender, and to move you out to the frontlines of the battle.”

May we, as Christ’s bride, return to our first love so that we may have the legitimacy and the non-hypocritical voice to speak the truth of the gospel to a lost world. Amen.

Boundaries - Part 2

When it comes to sexual boundaries, there is no effort too drastic and no endeavor too absurd for those of us seeking to live a life of holiness. There just isn't. When I used to work construction, I was fed this line almost daily, "You can window shop, just don't buy anything." That's the biggest load I've ever heard. Because it always begins with a look. Sometimes innocently enough. But it always begins there. So, no length is too great to go to live a life of holiness and purity before God.

Even as I write this, I'm sure I'll be bombarded by the enemy in this very area later this week, maybe even later today. It never fails. When I'm challenging others or challenging myself in a particular area, the enemy usually hits hardest in that area just a short while later. Just to see if I'm truly living what I preach. That's scary. But that's okay. I'd rather live scared to death knowing that one unholy mistake could ruin my testimony, my family, and everything I stand for, than to think that I've got it together and then fall in that very area. When Tasha and I lived in Greenville, SC, my pastor told us one time about a friend of his who had experienced moral failure in ministry. The man told my pastor these profound words:

"It only takes one step to cross the line, but it takes a lifetime to get back across."
That coming from a man who destroyed everything he had worked his entire life to build in a few moments of insanity.

But here's the tendency: We think that because we haven't physically drank from another well, that our water is clean and uncontaminated. But the opposite is just as true. That's why Jesus explained to the Pharisees that adultery of the heart is just as heinous. Because it starts in the heart. That's why guarding our hearts is so important. Which brings me to the third boundary.

3. Avoid Even the Smallest Compromise

Romans 13:14 says,

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires."

"Make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires." Wow! See, when it comes right down to it, we make plans. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we make plans to enter into sexual sin. We often say that we didn't plan to sin, but in reality we did plan it. Through the small things that we let creep into our lives. By not flipping the channel when the Victoria's Secret commercial comes on. By not refusing to open the e-mail that is so obviously suspect because of it's subject title. It's these small compromises that become the plans to satisfying the fleshly desires.

Men, this is why it is vitally important to give our wives full-access into our hearts and minds. They need to be able to ask us straight up if we've had any struggles lately. We need to let our wives look through our Guitar Center and ESPN magazines before we get to them to tear out the half-naked ladies. And we need to have real accountability in our lives. We need to have men in our lives asking us the tough questions. Not just skimming the surface, but asking the questions that clean out the real dirt from under our fingernails. Finding out what time of the day, and what places during the day present the greatest struggle, and then removing ourselves from those times and places.

And here's the key to this verse in Romans: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." If we are wearing Christ, we make it that much harder to plan out our sin. It's hard to make plans for sin when we are wearing the bearer of our sin. It's hard to bring Jesus into our little cohort of sin planning. And it's harder to draw up sin maps when we are conscious that Jesus is there the whole time. So, men, (and women too) let's wear Christ. Let's put on Christ and avoid even the smallest compromise.

Boundaries - Part 1

Today I was reminded, as God often has to with me, about the destructive nature and devastating dangers of pornography. As I was studying Scripture today, there were several verses that I ruminated upon as I reminded myself of the boundaries that I've placed in my life. Here are a few of them:

1. Guard Your Heart

These words were often spoken to me by my Dad before leaving for a date, before heading off to college, before anything ... "Guard your heart, son!" he would say. And that has stuck with me. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life." Why? Because it is the source of life. That's pretty heavy. But what does it mean exactly to guard your heart? Obviously, we're not talking about a real flesh-and-blood battle requiring the safe-keeping of our blood-pumping muscle behind steel and chain mail. Not exactly. But, there is a battle involved. It's a battle for our spirits. For our purity. For our families. So, what does it mean? Well, Proverbs goes on to say,

25 Let your eyes look forward;
fix your gaze straight ahead.

26 Carefully consider the path for your feet,
and all your ways will be established.

Here's at least one thing that it means:

2. Bounce Your Eyes

One of the most practical principles I have ever garnished from any book on purity was this principle spelled out in Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker. The principle was this: Bounce Your Eyes! Simply put: Move them off of anything that takes your mind down the wrong path, down the gutter, down the alley of mental adultery. Do it! Move them! And move them now! Keep them moving if you have to. Proverbs says, "Let your eyes look forward." This is a very literal thing for me when I go to the mall with Tasha (which, by the way, is about as frequent having our septic tank sucked clean). But when we do venture out there, eyes straight ahead is the key.

Guys, you know what I'm talking about. For men who are seeking to live godly lives, it means that we don't graze the mags at the checkout. And we don't surf Google images with questionable search words that we know are going to pull up garbage. We just don't do it. And we also don't use the excuse that "it's not porn!" Yes, it is. Soft. Hard. Rare. Well Done. Whatever you want to call it. It all draws our attention off of Christ and quite literally moves them onto images and ideas completely antithetical to all that He is about.

Wow, this is turning into a thesis and a quite a soap box. But only because I need to be reminded of it myself all the time. I'll finish this tomorrow as I draw on a few other verses of Scripture that have challenged the heck out of me today.

How Tragedy Brings Glory to God

Yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Having grown up thirty minutes from Blacksburg, VA it hit close to home for me last year. One of my friends, Matthew Church, was supposed to be in the class where Cho opened fire, but he slept through his alarm and missed class.

Continue to pray for the families that experienced loss in ways beyond what I could ever fathom or imagine.

Though I would never pretend to have all the answers to life's tragedies, I'm thankful that there is a God who understands. He understands how it feels to lose His only Son to tragedy, to the wicked, murderous hand of psychotic executioners, much like Cho. Still, when tragedy strikes close to home it begs the question, "How could God possibly allow something like this to happen?" So, many choose to discount the idea of a loving, all-powerful God as nothing more than a fairytale or children's bedtime story. Where is God when disaster comes? Where is God when Katrina lands a deadly blow? Where is God when a tsunami wipes out enough people to populate several countries? Same place He's always been.

But the critics cry foul and choose instead to deny God--a copout, simplistic approach, to be brutally honest. The Bible calls them fools. At the risk of sounding trite and simplistic myself, I like the Psalmist's approach. In Psalm 148:7-8 the writer explains that life's disasters actually give testimony to the greatness of God. He says,

"Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths.
Fire and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling His word."

How could California wild fires and Hurricane Katrinas be good things? They fulfill His word. Somehow in the providence of God, they fulfill His word. They give testimony to His greatness. They praise Him through and by disaster. I don't know how exactly, but they do. They praise Him over all the earth. They bring attention to His greatness. They act as neon signs that read, "Look at God! Look how amazing He is!" And somehow in the midst of the flickering, fluorescent catastrophe of events, God's power is put on display. He receives more glory and more praise than He would have otherwise.

Truth and Truth-Tellers Part 2

When the stakes are high and in our favor, we want things to be a certain way, we want words to have a specific meaning, we want to claim a higher standard beyond our own. But when the deck is stacked against us, suddenly words can fluctuate. Meaning can change. Truth becomes relative. Subjective. A matter of preference and opinion. We see this type contradiction lived out to no end.

For example: A man claims that there is no absolute truth or standard to which he must answer and to which he must give an account. His car gets jacked. He’s livid. He suddenly wants to appeal to a higher standard, a standard of truth to which he can stake his claim that he’s been done wrong. That he’s been violated. But he contradicts himself. In normal life he indirectly submits to a standard of truth, though he wouldn’t admit it. But when he verbalizes his belief, whether in the academic world or simply in conversation, he denies the reality of the absolute truth to which he acquiesces in normal life. He lives a life of contradiction, and apparently it’s no problem for him. It’s only when he’s backed into a corner that he might even consider living this contradiction.

But most people won’t admit it. Or if they do, they don’t care anyway because the pragmatism that has guided their contradicting journey thus far presents little difficulty for them. They don’t mind living a contradiction as long as no one shoves it in their face all the time—“keep your truth to yourself” they might say. Maybe, at times, truth does exist for this person. Sometimes it doesn’t. It exists when it’s beneficial. And beneficial, subjective truth is the mentality that plagues our culture.

Do people genuinely not care that they live this contradiction? Are they blind to it? Are they immune to it? Yes. All of the above, I think. Romans 1 says that they, no, we do a good job of suppressing the truth through our wickedness. And I think that we can suppress it so much that we begin to build up indestructible, impenetrable walls around our truth-seeking heart. This is the cultural milieu that we find ourselves bathing in. It’s in this culture that Christ has placed us, His children, and by no accident. We must be truth-bearers and truth-tellers. That doesn’t mean that we point fingers of condemnation and judgment like the big-hair televangelists of another generation, bless their sweet hearts. But nor does that mean that we smile and say that everything is fine and that God wants to bless you with financial greatness and perfect health. Neither is valid. Neither is the mission to which we’re called.

Here’s the mission: ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ.

Eph 4:15 (HCSB)

And here’s the mission: ¹⁵ but set apart the ^• Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. ¹⁶ However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame.

1 Peter 3:15-16 (HCSB)

And here’s the mission: ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling and arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. ¹⁶ Hold firmly the message of life …

Phil 2:14-16 (HCSB)

So let’s shine as stars in the world. Let’s speak the truth in love. Let’s give a defense for our faith to people that ask with gentleness and respect, without grumbling or arguing. Let’s be faultless in this crooked world. This is the mission. This is the task. To a world lost without Christ in the middle of contradicting beliefs, we must shine the truth of the Gospel and allow it to light the path, penetrate the cold hearts, reveal the truth and expose the contradiction.

To whom can you be a truth-teller this week?

Truth and Truth-Tellers Part 1

It’s been all over the news the last couple of days. It has consumed the airwaves, the morning shows, and the late night comedy routines. You can read about it here. What did Hillary Clinton actually experience when she visited Bosnia so many years ago? Was she, in fact, under sniper fire when she landed on the tarmac as she recently claimed? Was she delusional? Was she having a little too much fun on Air Force One just moments before she landed? Was she simply mistaken about the details? She says that she “misspoke” because she was tired and exhausted during that particular press conference. But can one “misspeak” on multiple occasions and the excuse still be legitimate? If you know me that well at all, you probably know that I care very little for the world of politics (although I do take seriously Romans 13), and you can probably tell that this is simply a great lead-in for me to broach the subject at hand. You got me. But there is something serious going on within the landscape and framework of America, exemplified perfectly through Clinton's little charade this week, that can't be overstated.

I find it ironic that the very week this news breaks, I am reading Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias. (What? You don't see the irony? No, I haven't been visiting my pot-rolling neighbor's house. You'll catch the irony in a moment. Visit Tasha's blog here if you are totally in the dark concerning the marijuana comments I just made. After you read it, give us your advice. But that's another issue for another blog post.) Ravi writes concerning the issue of truth and it’s relevance in the public square. He argues that individual ethics and personal and subjective feelings have replaced the notion of absolute truth, a fact easily verified by simply turning on the evening news. In illustrating how far our society has come from embracing the notion of unchanging truth, Ravi revisits the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. (Hence, the irony to which I earlier referred.) He says:

In our moral contradiction, an amazing cultural mood was uncovered. The president’s famous line that “it all depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is,” sent reporters scampering onto the streets with the question of the century: “Do words have a fixed meaning, or may we give them any meaning we choose?”(What could encroach upon itself more than purveyors of words inquiring if words have any meaning, while using words to ask the question?)

To the utter “surprise” of the surveyors, most people seemed to agree that words can sometimes mean different things to different people, assuming, of course, that there was no equivocation in meaning as the question was posed and the answer given.

That prompted the next question: “Is morality an absolute or a private matter?” The overwhelming response came back that morality is a private matter. These two questions became the lead-in on a CNN news report. First, that words only have personal meaning. Second, that morality is a private matter. Ironically, the third item on the news was that the United States had just issued a stern warning to Saddam Hussein that if he did not stop playing word games with the nuclear inspection teams we would start bombing Iraq.

Suddenly, words did matter. We would not let Saddam write his own dictionary. We would not let him live by his own ethic, but we could let each of our citizens determine the meaning of the words they used and insist that our morality is no one else’s business (pp. 116-117).

Words do matter. Truth does exist. Tomorrow I’ll expound on our responsibility as followers of Christ (Truth-tellers) in a world that lives like truth is dead.

Family Holy Week Part 4

On Thursday night during our devotion time, the kids sat down in the living room floor long enough for me to read a portion of John 13, the night before Jesus went to the cross. The event? When Jesus washed His disciples' feet. The purpose? To show that He came to serve, and to be the servant of all. Footwashing was a humbling act, performed only by slaves. Yet, Jesus did it. Jesus stooped down to wash the grimy feet of His disciples. He demonstrated the heart of a servant. The servant King. That's who Jesus was. That's who Jesus is.

To reinforce the Word to our kids, we wet a rag and took turns washing each other's feet. They loved it. Whether it entirely clicked for them or not, I can't be sure, but for all intents and purposes, at least we had clean feet before bedtime. It was a pretty cool moment in the life of our family, one that we won't soon forget.

(Ahhh!!!! ... I shoulda known better. My NCAA bracket is blown. I had Duke going all the way! What was I thinking?!)