Some interesting stats from the book The American Church In Crisis by David T. Olson…(not that this is accurate but…)

1) Less than 20% of Americans regularly attend church – half of what the pollsters report. There are approximately 330,000 churches in America; out of those churches approximately 17.7% (52 million) of Americans attend church on an average Sunday.

2) American church attendance is steadily declining.
• Evangelical 9.2%
• Catholic 5.5%
• Mainline 3.1%

3) Only one state is outpacing its population growth. Hawaii.

4) Mid-sized churches are shrinking; the smallest and largest churches are growing.
• Churches under 50 and over 2,000 are growing
• Average attendance of Protestant church: 124
• 1,250 mega-churches in America/one emerges every three days

5) Established churches, 40-190 years old – are, on average, declining. New church starts reach more people better, faster, cheaper than existing churches.

6) The increase in churches is only ¼ of what’s needed to keep up with population growth.
• 3,000 churches close every year
• 3,800 new church starts survived
• Net annual gain: 800 new churches
• Net annual gain needed to keep up with population growth:10,000 new churches

7) In 2050, the percentage of the U.S. population attending church will be almost half of what it was in 1990.
• US Population in 1990: 248 million/20.4% church attendance
• US Population in 2050: 520 million/11.7% church attendance

I recently asked a friend of mine named Titus “What is the Gospel?”

He replied “The Gospel message  is that Jesus loved me so much that he came to this earth, wrapped himself in flesh, lived a perfect life, and died for me.

Sounds correct, right?

What if that’s only partially correct?

Lately I’ve begun to think that this way of telling the Gospel is only partially accurate and completely man centered. When reading the scripture, we have to determine whether it is primarily about God’s relationship to man or man’s relationship to God. I vote we go with God’s relationship to man.

I like what Mark Driscoll says:

“There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types want to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelation, Jesus is a pride fighter with a tattoo down his leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity.”

Perhaps a more accurate picture of the Gospel is that Jesus died for God the Father so that you and I could be the beneficiaries of His grace and mercy.

When we say that “Jesus died for me…” we are exhibiting our pursuit of becoming our own God. Throughout scripture, this theme arises that Jesus does everything for the glory of His Father.  If Jesus does everything for the glory of His Father, His death was also for the sake of His Father.

The Father has this enormous wrath that has to be poured out. And when we say that “Jesus died for me,” we downplay the wrathfulness in the character of God, an attribute that we dare not under communicate. If we do, we paint God as less than fully just and more human than divine.

May God be lifted high, our opinions of Him squashed, and our proclamation of His word of highest importance.

Truth is Immortal!!

Here are a few scraps from my journal throughout the week.

In the Great Commission, Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all nations…” He didn’t say “Go and pray that the nations become followers of Jesus…” The difference between “making” and “praying that” is where I’m at right now.

The greatest form of evangelism is church planting. If this is true, (Question) why don’t we just pour our life’s energy into dying churches? (Answer) It’s easier to give birth then it is to raise the dead.

I’ll probably choke on the scraps before I get to the main course…

Calling is hammered out on the anvil of time. The closer I get to graduation, the more anxious I seem to become. It’s not because I’m unsure what the future will hold but rather the opposite. I wouldn’t say that I’m anxious but there is definitely a form of anticipation on my part. I would not be as bold to say that I feel called to plant a church just quite yet but I also haven’t ruled that possibility out. Just entertaining this idea is so incredibly humbling and I wouldn’t dare go into such an endeavor completely blind. Seeking the Lord and praying about this is heavy on my heart and mind.

Here’s a video I found interesting…

The only way I know to deal with the lies of the enemy is to shine biblical truth onto the darkness of the words/lies of Satan. Just as English is my native tongue, scripture tells us that the Devil’s native tongue is lies. Satan is fluent in the language of lying. It is for this reason that followers of Christ need to become expert translators of this seemingly unfamiliar language. I use the word “seemingly” because I know it is within each of us to speak Satan’s native language (lies) from time to time due to our depravity which has a unique way of granting us unwanted abilities that paint us more in the image of our adversary than our creator…Christ.

Unfortunately for us, our enemy feeds off the cravings our souls thirst for.

Take respect for instance, respect is the soul craving of every man that walks the earth. When a man feels respected, he will walk to the gates of hell with a damp washcloth for you. On the other hand, when a man feels disrespected, he will try to earn respect or sometimes even go to wherever he doesn’t have to work so hard to earn what his soul craves so intensely. This is the reason so many men become workaholics or cheat on their wives. I’m not making excuses, it’s sin. But the truth must come out of an understanding of scripture.

Likewise, love is the soul craving of a woman. Women naturally gravitate to the place where they feel most loved. Scripture paints this picture so vividly in Ephesians 5 where it says:

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

I’m just going to be honest here. Ephesians 5 has been used and abused by so many theological nutcases trying to advance their philosophical agendas that it makes me sick. God created male and female. Created DIFFERENT and DISTINCT but both in the image of God. Perhaps this doesn’t ring well with modern thought but then again, when did Jesus go with popular opinion? Ephesians 5 has been used to try and green light beating women. It has been used to excuse men from taking responsibility for all kinds of things. The truth is, this passage doesn’t excuse men from anything…rather it demands that men follow the example of Christ so that just as Christ gave up his life for his bride so a husband would give up his life for his wife. This passage speaks of sacrifice and death. This passage doesn’t request or imply anything. This passage says that if the marriage will work, if restoration will take place between the bride and bridegroom, it will be done under these certain conditions. If Christ were not crucified, the church would have no hope of ever being redeemed. Likewise, if a husband will not give up his life for his bride she will never be redeemed unto him.

Nowhere in scripture are wives told to love their husbands.

Here’s my conclusion based upon Ephesians 5…

Men have a role to live out and women have a response to live in. Men are called to lead sacrificially just as Christ gave up his life for his bride, the church; husbands are to lead by giving of themselves sacrificially in love to their wives. In response to the husband’s sacrificial servant leadership, the wife is to submit to his authority. I realize the word “submit” carries with it this huge stigma but let me ask the question that always comes to mind when I’m asked about this passage…

If a husband is serving his wife and loving her with the love of Christ…putting her needs above his own, placing her desires above his own, and sacrificing his will and his ways for her will and her ways…don’t you think that submitting to that kind of leadership would be a good place to live and do life?

Here’s the truth, submitting to a husband’s servant leadership is the sweetest blessing in the life of a bride. Likewise, the sweetest blessing in the life of a bridegroom is giving up his life for the sake of his bride.

Here is what’s going over and over again on the rotisserie grill of my mind…

Rotisserie #1

When I was in Philly, over Spring Break, a group of us had this running dialogue regarding Liberation Theology.

From liberationtheology.org:

Liberation theology is the effort to think clearly about the meaning of religious faith in the context of oppression, war, poverty, inequality and environmental destruction, and the effort to live a compassionate, courageous and life-sustaining response to those conditions, a response that both addresses the needs of those who are injured and oppressed, and also works to change the structures and ongoing processes of injury and oppression. Liberation theology varies greatly according to the culture in which it arises, but its underlying themes are immediately recognizable across the world: the transformation of everyday life through a new awakening of compassion, courage, truthfulness and justice.

Sounds painful…it was…but perhaps not why you think. I wasn’t frustrated because I disagree with liberation theology. I was frustrated because I saw how good intentions, by well meaning people, often get in the way of progress. Here is the scenario: my friend read this book Beyond God the Father, which I have ordered from Amazon and should be arriving by May 5^th, and through her reading came about many new ideas and questions regarding scriptural truth. I suppose her greatest question revolved around the role of women in the church.

Let me say that my frustration begins with myself and carries over when I see it in others. I’ve noticed it more and more in myself in the past few days since I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve started trying to work on it. Be patient…

Here’s what my problem looks like from an overview…

My nature as a man is to:

1) Recognize a problem

2) Analyze the problem

3) Evaluate what I know about the problem

4) Solve the problem

That’s the process I go through consciously or unconsciously…with most everything. Is this a problem? Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. In this case, I believe it was. My friend had legitimate questions. Notice I said questions (plural). The question she asked was linked to the role of women in the church. Ask that to church leaders and emphatically you will get a biblical response in the form of an answer…but the problem was that I don’t think she was looking for an answer. I think this seemingly insignificant difference reveals a deeper layer of truth about the difference between men and women than maybe even I want to admit.

You see, men were created to work. Much of our satisfaction in life derives from taking on a task, accomplishing the task, and then celebrating a job well done with those we love. That goes back to Adam.

In knowing this about the male species, it is no wonder that we heard her questions and regarded her questions as the problem so therefore, we went into full problem solving mode to provide a solution instead of being her sounding board.

It turned out that her question was responded to with 100% biblical truth from well meaning, kind hearted, gentle and respectful men but I fear that even speaking the truth in love wasn’t what she needed.

I think what would have worked better in this scenario is what I’ll call a “conversational apologetic.”

A conversational apologetic is where I embrace your questions, all of them…

Perhaps the reason I was so eager to solve her “problem” was because I knew, in the back of my mind, that if I let her speak her mind freely then I would have to respond to everything…so it was easier to just cut her off at one question that I was pretty confident I could answer relatively easily.

I regret that I did that. I regret countless conversations like that one because we could have gotten somewhere if I would have embraced her questions instead trying to solve her “problem.”

Rotisserie #2

I’ve got this holy dissatisfaction going on right now and I think it stems from having unmet expectations and a desire to be where I’m not. Probably doesn’t make sense to you but it’s true to my heart at the moment…

Rotisserie #3

I’ve been having some good conversations lately with some good friends…I’ll share later about a conversation I had about dating…

Randomness #1

When my ipod is on shuffle, I can’t make myself press the next button when Angels and Airwaves come on…they’re that amazing!!!

Randomness #2

I really enjoy strawberry smoothies. Made one tonight right before I sat down to write this.

Randomness #3

If you are still reading this…I’m impressed (smile)

Truth pierces my heart. Here’s a good message…

Here’s a story that helps me feel better about myself. Enjoy.

An Illinois dentist called a flagrant foul on Chicago Bulls’ mascot Benny the Bull on Monday, suing the team over a high-five gone awry. Dr. Don Kalant Sr. alleged he was sitting near courtside on Feb. 12 when he raised his arm to get a high-five from Barry Anderson, who portrays the exuberant mascot in a bright red fuzzy costume.

But Kalant, an oral surgeon, may now wish he had settled for a fist-bump instead. Instead of merely slapping Kalant’s palm, Anderson grabbed his arm as he fell forward, hyperextending Kalant’s arm and rupturing his biceps muscle, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Kalant stayed for the rest of the game but later had surgery and could miss as much as four months of work, Kasserman said. Kalant is seeking unspecified damages for medical bills, physical pain and lost earnings. The lawsuit claims Anderson was negligent in either “falling forward while grabbing a fan’s hand” or “running out of control” through the crowd according to the Chicago Tribune.

Source: Chicago Tribune

It’s stories like this that remind me that we live in a fallen world. I’m sorry that dude-bro snapped his arm in half but sometimes you laugh when you should cry. I suppose the moral of the story is that even men who dress up as bulls have to deal with “bull” just like the rest of us. Perhaps this is a good time to echo the words of Harlan Ellison who said “The two most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.”

I woke up Tuesday to the sound of heavy rain and earth quaking thunder. It seriously sounded like Umpa Lumpas were being beaten with those slap wrist bracelets from back in the day. (alright, bad analogy #45907) So it’s raining and thundering, the wind is blowing and leaves are flying, trees are howling, small children begin to take flight…you get the point. It was as if I was listening to a symphony and it was right at the pinnacle of their performance when…it just decides to stop. The wind dies down. The rain stops falling. Those flying kids came back to orbit- it was the calm after the storm. I wish I could tell you that everything returned to normal and that everything was alright to begin with but that’s just not so.

You see, I’ve been living at this house since August. In that time, I’ve had several occasions where I just stand and stare at this bush in our back yard. It’s never been particularly beautiful or eye catching. To be honest, I’ve often wondered why it was even there. This bush looks so helpless and out of place at our house. But after the rain and wind simmer down, this very bush is the only thing that has my attention. Something about it has captured my eyes. Obviously something about it captured my heart as well because this would be a pretty lame story to tell if I ended here.

I had always looked at the bush and seen the usual greenery with patches of brown and occasional colors but nothing too far fetched. It was just another bush on yet another piece of dirt mound. Well, after the wind had blown and the rain poured, this very bush stood strong with many of its beautifully bright reddish-pink peddles on the ground all around it. And for whatever reason, I can’t take my eyes off of this scene.

I can’t help but look at those peddles and wonder what could have been. I can’t help but look at those peddles and relate myself. Because, to be honest, I often feel like that bush looks. On the outside I’m doing fine but on the inside I’m having a funeral for all those peddles that just fell off me in the wind of the storm. It’s as if, with each dying peddle I say goodbye to what could have been. I suppose that’s just the pessimist in me.

For the optimist in me, it’s like saying goodbye so I can be introduced to the new peddles and begin to cultivate in the new what the old can no longer use. Yeah, I’m saying goodbye to the old to usher in the new.

Isaiah 40:6-8
6A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

February 14^th is almost upon us. For most it represents Valentines Day, the day where couples across the U.S celebrate their relationship and shower one another with tender love and affection. I’ll pause here. For me, February 14^th represents nothing more than the day before the real Holiday. You might be interested to know that February 15^th is also a “well known” holiday. It is called “Singles Awareness Day.” While Valentines Day has its origin from ancient Rome, Singles Awareness Day has its origin sometime around the 1600’s to the 1900’s from a single guy named Dustin Barnes from Mississippi State University.

Alright, so maybe that doesn’t help my argument.

While these days are separated by a mere second on the calendar, they couldn’t be any farther apart in our hearts. This is never more true than when you are single longing to be in a relationship. It’s natural to want to experience love first hand. Yeah sure, it’s good that he has her or she has him but when it comes to love we instinctually look out for our own selves first. It doesn’t seem to matter how strongly we are committed to giving ourselves away to the people around us, we naturally have this yearning that is implanted into our DNA when we are born where we need to know love in an intimate way, and for good reason- God created us this way.

Perhaps our view of love is skewed. I cannot begin to tell you how many people I have asked about love and they cannot give me any real answers. It doesn’t matter, Christian or not, married or single, young or old, White, Black or Hispanic, coffee drinkers or nonfat soy latte folk, the distinctions seem to make no difference. We, as people, seem to have a huge disconnection with love.

This may seem overly simplistic but I believe that Jesus taught us everything we need to know about love when He walked among us. Every aspect of His life pointed to His love for humanity but something that has captured my heart recently is the story of Thomas.

Jesus has already been crucified and now He is appearing to all of the Disciples. So this is where we pick up…

John 20:24-27
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” 26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas is a disciple but for whatever reason he is not with them when Jesus appears to them. Thomas is so bold as to doubt his very own Rabbi, the man who has invested His time and energy into teaching and instructing him in the ways of the Lord. All the other disciples bare witness to the fact that Jesus appeared to them but Thomas doubts even his beloved brothers, whom he is closest to on this earth, as they give their accounts. Thomas remains in his unbelief stating that he will not believe unless he can see the nail marks in his hands and put his finger where the nails were, and his hand into the side of Jesus.

In this passage, Thomas and Jesus portray love at its core. Love is linked to trust. Thomas told the other disciples that he wouldn’t “trust” or believe unless he could physically touch the scars of Jesus. In this respect, I am the same as Thomas. When I translate this into my walk through this earth it looks similar but with a twist. Love walks in when I show you my scars: my past relationships, my broken spirit, my trials and tribulations, my struggles and defeats, the things I’m proud of and the things I regret, the marks left from unmet expectations, my hopes and dreams, and even my feelings and emotions. Not only do I show you, I also invite you to touch my scars. I invite you into my most intimate part where you can see my struggles; where you can see my victories and defeats, the brightest light and the darkest dark of my soul and I say as Christ “put your finger here, see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.”

Now Thomas gets love, but the only reason he gets it is because Jesus was willing to bare His scars and invite him to touch the marks.

In the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Jesus invited Thomas to touch his scars and Thomas said he didn’t want to. That was a possibility for Jesus. Jesus knew that Thomas had the choice to reject His love and I walk around everyday with the same realization as Jesus- that if I open up and show someone my scars they have the choice to either touch them or reject me altogether. I wish I could tell you that every time I am face to face with this reality I have been brave and courageous but that wouldn’t be true. Unfortunately, love is in the baring of scars to one another but fortunately for us, love is in the baring of our scars to one another. You see, your scars are what make you unique. Your scars are what make you lovable. It’s when you invite someone to touch your scars and they step in and choose to embrace them with tenderness and care that love is birthed and life is enriched.

Love isn’t easy but it is worth the risk.