ministry

Lies We Believe – Part 2

This is one that I’ve repeated in the past. Lies are funny. They become part of your psyche without a source sometimes. I can’t remember when or where I heard this, but it became part of my thinking. I don’t think I’m alone in being a person who subscribed to this or repeated this ideology.

Lie #2 – You can’t legislate morality

The truth is that we legislate morality all the time. It’s immoral to kill someone so there are these pesky little laws against murder. It’s immoral to steal things that aren’t yours, again it’s such a nuisance, but breaking and entering is against the law. Those are obvious instances, but we also get less obvious laws that legislate morality. For instance, how much you can drink and be in public. Laws against drinking and driving are obvious because of the inherit danger intoxicated drivers present to themselves and others around them. However, you also can’t be drunk in public. Most cities, all cities that I’m aware of, have some type of way of saying being overly drunk in a public space is immoral. Even if there is a place where such laws don’t exist people aren’t infuriated or shocked to find out that they exist. It’s pretty obvious that type of behavior is frowned upon.

Again, the point of all laws are that they are legislating something as good or bad, permissible or not permissible.

We can obviously see the error in a blanket statement like “you can’t legislate morality.” In one sense it’s true. You probably can’t pass a law that says no one can lust or be greedy. Those are the laws of God, enforced by a higher standard of morality, and legislated upon our hearts. We may not be able to legislate laws that dictate how a person feels or thinks, even speech is protected in our constitution. However, we legislate morality on behavior all the time.

My thought is that when people say “you can’t legislate morality” it’s really a different issue we are talking about. The real issue is who gets to determine what’s moral. Similar, the real question is where does our morality come from?

As Christians our standards of living and morality come from the Word of God. We know that the instructions of God are perfect.

“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The more God’s word is reflected in the earthly laws we establish in our nation the more blessed we will be. Most legal and judicial systems are shaped by Jude/Christian ethics. In fact, there is a major difference between societies that are shaped by these ethics versus those who aren’t. Using the wisdom of God’s word to influence earthly governance is powerfully effective in producing peace and prosperity. It’s not just Christians that are blessed, the entire nation is blessed when laws are closely aligned with God’s law.

“Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What makes a nation great is when people with godly values organize a civil society around the principles of God’s word. One of the lies that goes along with the idea of not being able to legislate morality is that we can’t enforce our views on the entire nation. Here’s the realization we need to have. Someone’s views are going to be inflicted on the entire nation and the only view that is to the benefit of saint and sinner alike is a biblical worldview. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. Rain in that instance is a symbol of something positive. The blessing of rain on the fields so harvest can come. There are millions of people who are experiencing the rain of God’s favor on our nation without acknowledging him simply because of our nation being organized around values and laws like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and just laws that create freedom for people to pursue their own individual purpose. It’s true that you can’t legislate a faith. We can’t mandate from the White House that everyone become a Christian. Even if we did and everyone complied that doesn’t mean everyone would be saved because that would be a condition of their hearts towards God and not an adherence to a law. We can’t legislate our faith, but we can and should legislate our morality. Certainly there should be a discussion around what morality should be legislated, but there should be no question that we can legislate morality.

Here’s some simple ways to overcome the lie:

1. Replace the lie with the truth. Everything we read, see, and hear on our social media feeds and favorite news outlets is someone pushing a narrative of what’s right and wrong. Replace the lie with the truth that we can and should legislate morality. With that understanding we need to realize that we aren’t superior in our attitude, but God’s word is superior to all other ideas. God’s word alone is truth and perfection.

2. We should vote our values. As Christians in a free country like the USA, which is a fairly rare phenomenon in the global history of Christianity, we should vote according to biblical values. We have the infrequent and rare opportunity to help shape the government we live under. It’s both a privilege and a responsibility. Our nation gives hope to believers in other nations in the world that perhaps their nation may one day be as free and prosperous as ours. Every blessing is a responsibility. Our responsibility is to continue the blessing of being a nation that was shaped by Christianity.

3. Spread the Gospel. The gospel is simply the good news of Jesus, the kingdom of God, and salvation. Keep shining the light, keep sharing the truth of God’s word, don’t lose your voice. Recognize that we have been called to a leadership role as ambassadors of Christ to our society.

Lies We Believe – Part 1

Today we begin a voyage, a journey if you will, to the heart of statements that have found a home in our thinking. The problem is that these statements, beliefs, or general understandings may not be true. We live in a world of narrative and spin. Everyday through social media and being in constant connection to the media outlets of our day we are bombarded with narrative. It’s important to understand the power of narrative because narrative isn’t something you see, it’s not anything you can touch, but it subtly shapes the world we live in. We hear things, believe them, act upon our beliefs, and slowly begin to create a world that aligns with the narratives we believe. That’s why there is such a strong push to control what people hear and have access to. Whoever controls the narrative in some ways has the ability to begin to shape the world. Which brings me to the point of this series of articles. There are false narratives that are affecting the beliefs of people who then are acting or sometimes worse, taking no action, because of wrong beliefs shaped by these false narratives.

For our first narrative I would like to discuss the phrase Christian Nationalism.

Lie #1 – Christian Nationalism is a Threat to our Nation

I have to admit that I was unfamiliar with the phrase “Christian Nationalism” until recently. I’m thinking that I became familiar with the phrase within the past 2-3 years. I may have known the phrase longer, but over the past couple of years it has gained much more prominence in our national narrative. There are entire books dedicated to the phrase Christian Nationalism. My first perception of Christian Nationalism was a negative one. Probably because the popular narrative around this phrase is extremely negative. Over time as I began to assess this phrase it caused me to reassess my feelings toward it. In all honesty I had to admit that my feelings were being shaped by a narrative, but not by understanding from God’s word. As I began to research and study not what culture says, but what God’s word says it reframed my view on the phrase Christian Nationalism.

First, let’s define a nationalist which is where the term nationalism comes from. A nationalist is someone who supports the freedom of their nation from other nations and has a strong interest in the activity and interest of the nation. In other words, most everyone who has ever voted or participated in someway in our nation is a nationalist. Secondly, if you are a Christian aka someone who follows Jesus, and believes the Bible to be the truth of the Word of God you are a Christian Nationalist. You are also a great threat to our country in the popular thought on Christian Nationalism. My point in defining this is to say that roughly 80% of our nation identifies as a Christian and my feeling is the majority of them vote. Whether or not we vote our Christian values is a topic for another day, but what it means is the majority of our nation is people who identify as Christians who are engaged in activity of our nation. Recently President Joe Biden caused a bit of a stir when he said of our military personnel serving in Afghanistan that they had answered the call to go and serve. In making this statement he quoted the prophet Isaiah and used the scripture “here I am Lord, send me.” People took issue with this because certainly it wasn’t the context that Isaiah was referring to. However, I personally don’t believe he was way off base. For many people serving in the military they may have felt it was a call of God on their life. I believe serving in our military is a noble calling and one to be celebrated. So what was taking place when a President quoted a Bible verse talking about people serving in the military. It was Christian Nationalism.

Here’s my observation from pondering the national discourse that takes place around this topic.

People tend to only have a problem with Christian Nationalism when it conflicts with their political activism.

Everyone is fine using the Bible when they feel it aligns with their political views. If someone needs to pull a Bible verse to support their political views then it’s completely appropriate to do so. However, if you use the Bible to conflict one of their other political beliefs the cry back is Christian Nationalism and you are a threat to the democracy. It’s ironic, but many people who are negative towards Christian Nationalism come from a standpoint of being a Christian and being engaged in the political activity of our nation. In other words, they are being a Christian Nationalist while condemning others for being a Christian Nationalist.

I believe the church needs to embrace it’s role as being both fully committed to the principles of Christianity and also very active in the activity and direction of our nation. One of the last things Jesus told his followers to do was to play a role in discipling the nations.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s 3 reasons we should live out our Christianity on the national scene:

1. There is no place of spiritual neutrality.

We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. If you turn the lights off darkness takes over. We need to recognize that we have a leadership role in the world. We are to bring Jesus to the world and advance the kingdom of God in every sphere of influence in society. If Christians abandon or surrender different segments of society those places don’t stay spiritually neutral. If we abandon politics governments don’t become this magically utopian space where people get treated fairly and everyone gets a unicorn. They become a space filled with darkness, authoritarianism, and an uncontrolled thirst for more power. The Bible makes everything better. Christianity makes everything better. God’s kingdom advancing into every sector of society makes everything better. Let’s assume our leadership role in the world and advance the principles of God’s kingdom in our nation. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. People who aren’t even followers of Jesus get blessed when the righteous are leading our nation. It’s not true when you reverse the scenario. People are very vocal against Christians taking positions of prominence and power. That’s because the enemy hates to lose. Let’s remember we are on the winning side and walk with confidence.

2. There is a battle for territory.

Everyone looks to government because it is the highest form of power and authority on earth. As Christians we should look a little higher. There is a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light. We are called to be representatives and ambassadors of Christ on the earth. Not to belabor the point, but how much of a failure is it if there are no ambassadors and representatives of Christ in our national leadership? Jesus didn’t come to overthrow the governments of the world. There will be a day when the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ. However, I believe most people have a flaw in their theology. It’s true Jesus didn’t come to overthrow the Roman Empire, but evidently he did come to influence it and take it over. I can say that confidently because that’s exactly what Christianity and the early church did. Governments without the influence of Christianity are dark, very dark entities. We need to represent well the kingdom of King Jesus within the government of our nation.

3. We speak truth to power

The Bible, among other things, is basically prophets and preachers speaking truth to the world in which they lived. In some instances it was to audiences who were receptive and in some instances it was a tearful prophet like Jeremiah speaking to an audience that didn’t want to hear it. I think we’ve lost a little bit of our moxie. Let’s rediscover the conviction of saying “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Let’s rediscover our prophetic edge to speak the truth in love to the world we are called to serve. Here’s an understanding many believers need to receive. We’re the good guys. Is the church perfect? Certainly not, but do we have the truth of God’s word? Yes, yes we do. Is the truths of Christianity superior to any other belief system? Yes, yes they are. The nation is better when the church finds its voice. Not to speak down to people, belittle them, or even to heap condemnation on them. The church needs to find its voice to lift our nation by lifting up the principles of God’s word.

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. You are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. And I would also say, it should not be hidden.

5 Things I’m Feeling Right Now – Part 5

5. There will be a revival and refinement of doctrine

It’s very interesting to see the ever shifting and changing nature of the world’s values. People are being canceled today because of things they said only a few years ago. What they said, posted, or recorded was socially acceptable only a handful of years ago, but now its egregious enough to cause people to experience public rebuke. The winds of change are blowing fiercely.

The world will always be the world I suppose. The problem in my mind isn’t necessarily that the world is changing it’s values and beliefs, it’s that it’s trying to take the church with it. That’s where I believe my last item on my 5 things I’m feeling right now comes into play. I believe the silver lining of the world shifting so violently in it’s core beliefs will create a point of clear definition between what the world believes and what the church believes.

This isn’t a new phenomenon for the church. Evidently it was a challenge for the early church as well. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus something that has incredible application in our world today.

“so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We are living in an age when people are strong emotionally, but weak mentally. The value system of the world we live in has elevated feelings to the level of truth. If you feel it then it must be the truth. I’ve seen this even creep into Christianity. You can shame or guilt people into supporting almost any cause if you just say, “but I thought Christians were supposed to be loving.” The unpardonable sin in today’s modern church isn’t grieving the Holy Spirit, it’s being thought of as unkind. I believe we should be strong in our compassion and love for people. However, I think we should be mentally tough as well. To put it another way, our compassion shouldn’t outweigh our wisdom. I think of the words of Jesus when he said to be as harmless as doves, but as shrewd as a serpent. When someone is strong emotionally, but weak mentally the enemy can jerk them around anytime he chooses. All he has to do is move them emotionally and they will be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Over the past couple of years many believers have lost their way by simply getting involved in causes that felt just or compassionate to them, but those causes weren’t doctrinally truthful or biblical ideas of justice. When Satan came to tempt Jesus he chose the opportune moment of when Jesus hadn’t eaten for 40 days. It was a chance for Satan to catch Jesus in a weak and vulnerable moment. Satan tried everything he could to play to Jesus’ emotions, but each time Jesus responded with “it is written.” Jesus may have been emotionally vulnerable, but he was mentally strong. The truth of God’s word outweighed any emotional vulnerability he may have had. We need to fortify our mind. The wisdom of the book of Proverbs tells us that a person that can’t rule their spirit is like a city with no walls. We are vulnerable to being attacked when we are strong emotionally and weak mentally. Fortify your mind with God’s word so you can rule your spirit.

Here’s a few practical ways I believe you can fortify your mind.

1. Faithful church attendance – In the context of what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4 it is the work of Pastors and Teachers that equip people. That work is a variety of things, but one of the main things is sitting under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. I’ve always believed the writer of Hebrews when he said to “not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” However, it’s more clear today than ever that we need to be faithful to gather together to hear the Word of God.

2. Personal study of God’s word – A phrase I’ve come back to frequently lately is what Paul told TImothy and that was to “Study to show yourself approved.” We need to study the word of God to discover what in our lives is approved or disapproved. Every thought, every belief, every action, every cause. Before I let it stay in my life the question needs to be “is it approved by the Word of God.”

3. Using trusted resources – Do your research. For the love of everything holy dig on social media accounts before you like, share, follow, and consume the content. Is the resource trying to advance a cause or the kingdom? Is it Jesus centered? Is it Bible based? Is it connected to or promoting of the local church? Is it attacking the church and church leaders or is it there to serve the church and church leaders? Those are just some general questions to ask before trusting a resource. One resource I highly recommend is an app called TheosU. It’s a subscription based platform with tons of helpful resources. It is something you pay for, but I believe you should invest in your faith. We invest into so many other things, but there is nothing more valuable than your faith in Christ.

Fortify your mind. Don’t get blown about by every wind of doctrine. That’s the wrap on 5 Things I’m Feeling Right Now. Next up is a series on “Lies I’ve Believed.” I’m excited to talk about somethings that I have been told and many people have been told that just simply aren’t true. In the meantime I would love to hear your thoughts on the “5 things.” Drop a comment. It would also mean so much if you shared this resource with your friends.

5 Things I’m Feeling Right Now – Part 4

4. Church and Pastors will become more politically involved

First of all let me state that I don’t think this is the desire of most pastors. Most pastors have avoided politics like a plague. Like a plague. That used to seem like such an antiquated saying until recently. The general idea of the non political sentiment was that politics was something out in the world, but shouldn’t be brought into the church. Politics separated people and the church was the umbrella that was big enough to bring us all together. I think most pastors just wanted to reach people regardless of their political persuasions. Certainly you didn’t want people to feel like they needed to join a political party to feel at home in your church or feel like they needed to join a political party and then maybe they could find salvation in Jesus.

The heart behind this was that most pastors don’t want to create boundaries where boundaries don’t need to exist. Jesus said the Pharisees “shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” by creating manmade boundaries. In another place Jesus said they “taught for doctrine the commandments of men.” I believe politics have been viewed through that lens in the church world for a long time. Let’s don’t create boundaries for people coming into the Kingdom of Heaven that God didn’t create and let’s not teach good ole American values as doctrine. I’ll get to my main thought in just a moment, but one of the problems with that thought is that much of our nations laws were shaped by Judeo Christian values. In other words things like personal freedom and personal responsibility are kingdom principals. When they are espoused by Christians and this is rather mind blowing, but, even when they are espoused by non Christians it still brings blessing. The principals of the word of God lift a nation and society.

The reason I believe that churches and pastors will become more political isn’t because the church is becoming more political, but because the world is.

To say it another way. Sometimes you pick a fight and sometimes a fight picks you.

This isn’t a fight many would have chosen, but it is the fight that has chosen us. The world around us has turned political. Watching a football game is now political, watching a movie or tv show is now political, watching a freaking commercial is now political. Going to school. Political. Going to College. POLITICAL. Going to work sadly for many people has become political.

I’ve always said that ministry felt like you were constantly tap dancing through a political mine field. One wrong move, one false step, say one thing wrong and boom! The world was turning more and more political, but in 2020 it became a run away train that lost its brakes. Everything is now political. There is a reason behind this that I will write about at a future date.

As culture rampages down the tracks of politics it is picking a fight with the church. Opening the Bible is now political. Reading a verse that says God created them male and female. Political. Reading a verse that says you were shaped in your mother’s womb. Political. Reading a verse that tells children to honor your Father and your Mother. Political. These aren’t even the hard sayings of scripture.

Everything that God does and everything that God allows is moving his plan, purpose, and story of redemption forward.

This is from the paraphrase version of the Bible:

At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” Ephesians 1:20-23 MSG

God’s focus is on his church, his kingdom, and his people. Everything God does or allows is for the betterment, enlargement, judgment, correction, or purification of his Bride, the Church. You can’t ignore where we are in this moment in history

Obviously God is using these historical moments to position, reposition, and I believe ultimately enlarge his Church and Kingdom.

My encouragement is to boldly and clearly embrace the moment. Everything that is happening in the world right now is for the betterment and purification of his Church. It must be so frustrating for the enemy to have so much influence. It feels like the enemy is influencing government, media, education, entertainment, big tech, and big business. You would think the whole world would have been led astray, but it’s not. It must be frustrating for the enemy to have so much influence and so many resources and yet Pastors behind their pulpits are literally pushing back the gates of hell with the preaching of the Gospel.

The church isn’t losing ground. It’s gaining identity. We will be stronger, better, larger, and have more influence when our battle is over. The war will continue until Jesus ends it. Our job is to fight the good fight of faith even if we didn’t pick the fight.

5 Things I’m Feeling Right Now

As the title might imply this will be a series of posts that are based on things that I’m feeling. Please note the title isn’t “5 things I”m certain of right now.” These are things that have been rolling around in my heart and mind for quite sometime. Maybe that’s me hedging my bets, taking the cowards way out, or being insecure. You can judge me accordingly, but the title is an honest assessment of what I’m working out in my own personal thoughts. These will also probably be lengthy. Heck, this introduction is longer than most blogs and I haven’t even gotten to what I want to say just yet. If you are looking for brevity this probably isn’t the place, but I do have somethings in my heart that I hope you will engage, ponder, and possibly dialogue with me.

Here’s the first thing I’m feeling:

1. Excellence Matters More Than Ever Before

One of the most popular illustrations the Bible uses to describe people is sheep. From the Old Testament to the New Testament the gathering of people and even the idea of an isolated person getting lost or scattered brings multiple uses of the illustration. We are the sheep of his pastures. Leaders are often referred to as shepherds, and God self describes himself as our Great Shepherd. It’s almost a little insulting when you consider the IQ level of sheep. They aren’t known as the brightest or most intelligent of the animal kingdom. The point of the illustration probably isn’t to insult our intelligence, but to highlight the flock mentality of people. Sheep function best when gathered and flocked together under the faithful care of a leader known as a shepherd. This may surprise you or even shock you, but I’m not a shepherd by vocation. So this is where I will direct our thoughts more to a spiritual application versus an actual study of sheep and their innate habits.

In a spiritual sense sheep gather where they are cared for and protected. We, people and not sheep, it’s 2021 so I felt compelled to clarify. We tend to go where we are valued, loved, cared for and protected. You could say we herd where we are heard. We gather where there is an acceptance placed on us. For this reason I believe excellence is a virtue that will win the day. Something happened during the height of the Global Pandemic. In the name of safety extreme inconveniences were placed on people. I live in Southwest Florida where the temperature consistently hovers around the same temp as Satan’s radiator. During the height of the pandemic it wasn’t unusual seeing people standing in line before being allowed in a store to make a purchase like they were in line at Disney awaiting a thrill ride on Space Mountain. Sweating profusely while they waited. Many, many rules were placed on people. I have no explanation for this, but many stores and restaurants seemed dirty and unkempt. Most likely that was due to being short staffed, but it also feels like its more than that. Recently my family and I took a day to experiment with a situation. I was on hold with an airline that I have been loyal to for many years. We stayed on hold for as long as we possibly could. It became a family event as I had to frequently respond to text messages and return phone calls from a family members phone. We took turns holding the phone and listening to the hold music and intermittent messages about how valuable I was and how important my call was to them. We made it over 5 hours and never got anyone on the phone before finally having to surrender to defeat and end the call. I had so much time invested a little piece of my heart broke off when my son hit the button to end the call.

Here’s why I think excellence matters like never before. It feels like people aren’t being cared for. Whether it’s being judged harshly at their work place for what should be private and personal decisions. Being misinformed, sometimes it seems intentionally, by political or health leaders. Even companies and stores whose revenue is generated from customers and customer service have no problem placing burdens on people spending their hard earned cash with them.

My suspicion is that we’re losing our value of people. Which is why I believe the Bible uses terms like sheep and shepherds. Gathering people and caring for them is how God wants us to value one another. Excellence plays a role in this because excellence is how we honor God, but it’s how we care for people. Excellence is our practical expression of love for people. In other words, we don’t just say we love you. We show it by having a clean campus, a well orchestrated service, a safe and orderly kids ministry and the list could go on and on. Excellence comes from understanding your worth, the value of what you do, and the value of who you do it for. Ultimately all church is an expression of worship to Jesus so obviously we want to do our best. In addition, we need to see the value in the sheep God is sending our way. People are lost, broken, hurting, confused, fearful, lonely, and many times taken for granted.

Excellence shows that we care for people. Our attention to excellence shows that we see and value people. Excellence shows that we don’t take people for granted.

Gathering is important. It’s actually more than important, it’s vital. We are compared to sheep because like sheep we gather. Even people who are anti community and anti society will form a community and society to be anti community and anti social with. Let’s care for the flock with diligence. Caring for the spiritual needs, but also the practical needs of people. I really feel like the role of a shepherd in these days is to make sure people don’t feel like a burden or a problem. Let’s see the value in people. For church it’s far more than “customer service” it’s shepherding well the broken and hurting of our world. I truly believe the sheep will gather where shepherds care for and protect them.

Stay connected for the second thing I’m feeling in this season.

Excellence Matters

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I saw this sign while I was driving down the road the other day and it reminded me of an important leadership principle. It’s important to note that I wholeheartedly believe the message that is written on this sign. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus is God. I believe with all of my heart that everyone should confess their sins and repent to Jesus Christ. Also, I believe everyone should love Jesus Christ with their heart, mind, and soul. In fact, I have dedicated and given my life to preaching this exact message. So why would I shudder and be filled with dread when my life’s message is being displayed for thousands of people to see as they drive along a busy highway? Because excellence matters. Scriptures clearly teach that we are God’s ambassadors here on earth. In other words, we are his representation to the world. How we go about proclaiming our message and doing ministry is setting people’s perception of God’s eternal kingdom. The materials we use, the methodology we use, and the attitude we exhibit are all conveying a message. I never want a poorly conveyed message to cause people to miss the majesty of our Lord and King. I used to teach a leadership lesson called Brown Bag Christianity. Sometimes we are guilty of taking the most priceless and precious gift imaginable, and presenting it to people in something as unappealing as a brown bag. Or perhaps a plywood sign and some spray paint.

Here are three filter questions when considering conveying the message of Jesus Christ through a tangible material:

1. Would you use it in your own home? If you wouldn’t use it in your house, why would you use it in God’s house or any where else? I have been guilty of this, going cheap using the excuse “we are a church.” I’m all for being thrifty, and we will continue to do so, but keep in mind the overall message and not just the cost of the material.

2. Is it current? I don’t preach from a scroll anymore, but I preach the same message that was recorded on them 2000 years ago and beyond. It’s a simple concept, yesterday’s materials won’t reach today’s generation.

3. Does the material/method hinder or obscure the message? Let’s face it. Sometimes we are guilty of falling in love with our methods and making them primary over our message. Pastor John Siebeling once talked about changing his preaching style. He actually loved to preach and loved the way he preached, but it wasn’t effective. He changed his preaching style and saw many more people come to Christ through his ministry. He said, “I had to give up something I loved for something I loved more.”

Excellence Matters.

How To Be a Bad Church Member

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Ever wanted to set your church back and create an unhealthy culture? Here is a short list of things to do to:

1. Constantly point out what should be done, but never volunteer to actually do anything. (People with workable solutions and the desire to roll up their sleeves and get the job done are invaluable to a church)

2. Always be late for church services (Guests have determined whether or not they will come back within the first 7 minutes of visiting your church. When you arrive 15 minutes late they have already determined that you don’t care about your church so why should they)

3. Expect the best preaching, music, programs, and facilities, but don’t give or give very little and expect someone else to pay for it. (Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Its amazing how when you invest into your local church you become much more supportive and much less critical.)

4. Attend as inconsistently as possible. Try not to make more than 1 or 2 services a month. (The bible clearly commands church attendance in Hebrews 10:25. Its amazing that the reasons given are never about what we will receive if we go to church, but rather about what we can give when we go. You may not need to be there, but someone else needs you to be there. Go to church. Worship, support, encourage, uplift, welcome guests. You are needed every Sunday!)

5. Never invite your friends, family, and coworkers to church. They should have no idea where you go and what you do each and every Sunday. (Coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family members are all strategically placed into your life by God. Invest into your church and into their lives by inviting them to church.)

6. Talk about the people you attend church with instead of praying for them. (Attending church should mean we have a community of support to ensure spiritual growth and not a place to be criticized and judged harshly. We could all stay in the world and get that.)

7. Be as flaky as possible. When you do show up be sure to second guess what and how things are being done. Spend a lot of time at coffee shops discussing what’s wrong with the church and church leaders, but never be faithful enough to actually carry the heavy load of leading a ministry yourself. (It takes a lot of faithfulness to rise to leadership in a church. The people who show up the most usually end up carrying the biggest burden. When people who are uncommitted to sacrificially giving of their time show up sporadically to second guess what’s going on it discourages the leaders of your church. If someone else is doing it and you are not personally involved in it, try encouraging them instead of second guessing them.)

8. Play quiet as a mouse, still as a rock during church services. (When we worship it touches heaven. When we don’t it not only hinders what God is trying to do in our services, it also makes it difficult on the service leaders. Never underestimate the power of your involvement in worship and your support of the message. I believe not only will you be blessed, but you are also helping to create the atmosphere for people to be saved, healed, and restored in the Presence of God.)

9. Bring your kids into the service instead of the Children’s Ministry that volunteers have worked hard to prepare for. Because its your child the other people attending will really enjoy the noise and distraction. (Each week volunteers work hard and pray hard to be effective in ministering to children. I personally witness the frustration of our volunteers when parents opt to take their child into the service instead of supporting the ministry provided. Nothing in the service is geared towards your child’s age and they most likely will end up being bored and a distraction. Support your church’s Children’s Ministry by checking your child in each week. Also, the guests sitting nearby you will appreciate it as well.)

10. Never pray for your Pastor and the Leaders of your church. (Most people will never see the effort, passion, and even tears that are sown into a church by its leaders. Pray for your Pastor and other leaders of your church.)