LeaderLines: "Making an Impact: Our Passion"

Someone once admitted, “My get-up-and-go got-up-and-went.” And then he added, “And I want it back.”

Maybe that’s something you would have to admit as a leader: You want back the passion you once had for Christ’s way of life.

Across the next several editions of LeaderLines, we’re going to look at the actions and attitudes that can make a powerful impact on the people around you. Our series begins today with a look at the impact of your passion.

Baruch can help us here, although he shows up in only one verse of one chapter of one book of the Bible.

We find Baruch’s one-verse history in Nehemiah 3. You probably know the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah showed up in Jerusalem decades after Jerusalem had been destroyed. When the people started to return back from Babylonian exile, it grieved Nehemiah that the walls around Jerusalem had not been rebuilt--the people’s pride and their protection hinged on getting those walls finished.

The third chapter of the book is a chronicle of all those who re-built the wall. It’s one of those sections that a lot of people skim in their daily devotional readings because it’s simply a list of names and what portion of the wall they built. And right in the middle of that list, we read about Baruch:

“Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section,
from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.”
Did you catch that word “zealously”? That ingriues me. In fact, I once brought a sermon on Baruch built around that one little word. Expect that sermon at Hillcrest one day.

“Zealously”: In this long list of who repaired which section, we get the report that one man did his work “zealously.” It was as if Nehemiah felt the need to pause in his chronicling long enough to point out the drive and the energy of this one man. You can look throughout the rest of your Bible and find nothing else about Baruch son of Zabbai. But if there was only one thing people remembered about you, wouldn’t you want it to be this?

Over and over again the Scriptures tell us to be people of passion:

1 Pet. 1:22, “love each other deeply.”

Acts 12:5, the church was “earnestly praying for him”

Eph. 4:3, “make every effort to keep the unity.”

2 Cor. 8:7, “to excel in this grace of giving.”

Rom. 12:8, “let him govern diligently.”

1 Cor. 12:31, “earnestly desire the greater gifts.”

Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us and purify us so that he would have a people “eager to do good works.”

So, Baruch is a good example for us to follow. If nothing else we’ve done is ever remembered, at least let us be known as people of passion and energy.

If you need help in this area, here’s a little project. It won’t take long. Draw a simple circle on a sheet of paper, no bigger than a quarter. Print the word “TUIT” inside the circle. Then, cut it out and save it. Put it in a safe place and try not to lose it. Better yet, make a few spares and keep them around. Carry one in your pocket and put another on the refrigerator so you will always have one at hand.

Why? Because this little circle will become the answer to all your problems!

You see, so many have said, “I know I need to start serving at church, and I one day I will when I get a round tuit.” Others have said, “I’ll lose that weight or break that habit when I get a round tuit.” Maybe you’re one of those who have said, “I know I should start a daily devotional time or witness to my friend, but I never seem to get a round tuit.”

It’s time the passion for serving God returned to our lives. And with your “round tuit,” everything can change!
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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: “Here I Am”

I first heard the song in a mall. Faintly above the din of shoppers’ voices, I heard the voice of Emmylou Harris on the mall speakers--

I am standing by the river
I will be standing here forever
Though you're on the other side
My face you still can see
Why won't you look at me?

Here I am . . .
Here I am . . .

I stopped and got out of the flow of shoppers to hear more. Clearly, this wasn’t a typical love song. I was hearing God calling out to Adam and Eve--and their progeny:

I am in the blood of your heart
The breath of your lungs
Why do you run for cover?
You are from the dirt of the earth
And the kiss of my mouth
I have always been your lover.

Here I am . . .
Here I am . . .

I looked around the mall sure that someone else was hearing this, too. But the crowds shuffled by unmindful of the call. While they gazed in shop windows, licked dripping ice cream cones, talked to each other or messaged on their phones, the appeal continued:

I am the promise never broken
And my arms are ever open
In this harbor calm and still
I will wait until
Until you come to me

Here I am . . .
Here I am . . .

“I'm not a particularly religious person,” Harris wrote about her song. “But I thought, ‘What must God be feeling when people just completely ignore Him?’” She says that her musician friend, Julie Miller, inspired her to write the song. Miller is a committed Christian and former Austinite.

Of course, mall music isn’t meant to arrest shoppers’ attention. I normally don’t catch the music played in the background at a shopping center, either. But that day at the mall, as I looked around at people oblivious to this love song that had captured my attention--God’s love song to his children--well, the whole experience took on a powerful symbolism.

Each believer has a story of how they heard that divine call above the noise and distractions of their lives. We heard God say “Return to me!” and we gratefully responded.

Let me know the story of your return, or let me know how I can help you make that trip! And listen to the Emmylou Harris song, “Here I Am,” at this week’s “Song of the Week” at my weblog.
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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 900 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday July 29

Most people agree that adultery is wrong, but sometimes I’m asked if the Bible really has anything to say against premarital sex. This John Thomas article is an excellent and brief answer to the question.


“What is The Dark Knight’s near-fanatical audience responding to? To Heath Ledger's Joker, of course. Mr. Ledger's character has clearly touched some national nerve. . . . We know that Mr. Ledger died of an overdose of prescription drugs after a period of insomnia and acute depression. What we see on the screen in The Dark Knight -- as we are plunged into a netherworld that provides no escape from its brutal realities -- may well be a projection of Mr. Ledger's inner torment as he tried to fight those afflictions: a portrait of a Method actor who could not keep a proper distance from his role, an artist who stared too long into the abyss and saw a twisted, drug-addled death mask staring back at him. (This past weekend, Christian Bale was arrested then released on bail following charges of assault from his mother and sister; The Dark Knight must present one heck of an abyss.) We know enough about how involved actors can be in their roles to see that this idea is not far-fetched. Does that make The Dark Knight a $180 million-plus snuff film?” (“Too Far From Escapism” in the WSJ)


“Watching this depiction of an actor playing Jesus on the cross, it just hit me, harder than I'd ever been hit before. If that was really the son of God, and he really died for me, then I felt compelled to get on my knees and worship him.” Read this fascinating WSJ account of Bobby Jindal’s conversion from Hinduism to (Catholic) Christianity. Jindal is governor of Louisiana and a talk-about prospect for John McCain’s running mate.


Speaking at TED in 1998, Rev. Billy Graham marvels at technology's power to improve lives and change the world -- but says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Christ. A legendary talk from TED's archives. Watch this talk.


A single friend of mine turned down a date with a Times Roman font. She said he wasn’t her type.


Good Luck Comes to An End: A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 3-foot-long sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a central Indiana cemetery. Katherine Gunther, 36, of Lebanon, pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery, police said. Gunther said she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. (Story. HT: Best of the Web Today)


“Obama, reflecting the mainstream Democratic view, simply wants to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. Two years ago, it was because the war was lost. Now, we are told, it is to save Afghanistan. The reasons change, but the conclusion is always the same. Out of Iraq. Banish the very memory. Leave as small and insignificant a residual force as possible. And no long-term bases. McCain, like President Bush, envisions the U.S. seizing the fruits of victory of a bloody and costly war by establishing an extensive strategic relationship that would not only make the new Iraq a strong ally in the war on terror but would also provide the U.S. with the infrastructure and freedom of action to project American power regionally, as do U.S. forces in Germany, Japan and South Korea” (Charles Krauthammer, explaining why Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed enthusiasm for an Obama presidency).


Time magazine reported on the prayer Obama wrote and stuffed into the crevices at Jerusalem’s Western Wall: “Obama didn't pray for an election victory, a lottery win to help pay for his campaign, or for his Republican rival Senator John McCain to be felled by lightning or a pecadillo. On the contrary; his prayer hints at the struggle within, how Obama is seeking divine guidance to surmount the obstacles that lie ahead of him in his lonely, awesome challenge to become the next president of the United States. On hotel stationary, he penned the following prayer, according to Maariv, which ran a photo of the note: ‘Lord, protect my family and me,’ Obama wrote. ‘Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.’”


UPS driver’s body transported to the gravesite via UPS.


In Christianity Today’s “Good Question” column, James Beverly answers the following question from a reader: “Popular spiritual author and Oprah favorite Eckhart Tolle quotes Jesus a lot. Is he a Christian?” His answer is here. I wrote about this earlier, and you can also find my sermon on this topic (“The Church of Oprah”) on the sermons page at Hillcrest Online.


In “A New Day for Apologetics,” Troy Anderson, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, says that people young and old are flocking to hear--and be changed by--winsome arguments for the Christian faith.

Song of the Week: Emmylou Harris' "Here I Am"

In "Here I Am," Emmylou Harris pictures God calling out to Adam and Eve--and their progeny. From the 2003 project, Stumble into Grace--


I am standing by the river
I will be standing here forever
Though you're on the other side
My face you still can see
Why won't you look at me?

Here I am . . .

I am searching thru the canyon
It is your name that I am calling
Though you're so far away
I know you hear my plea
Why won't you answer me?

Here I am . . .

I am in the blood of your heart
The breath of your lungs
Why do you run for cover?
You are from the dirt of the earth
And the kiss of my mouth
I have always been your lover.

Here I am . . .

I am the promise never broken
And my arms are ever open
In this harbor calm and still
I will wait until
Until you come to me

Here I am . . .

LeaderLines: “What is Our Church’s Attitude Toward Seekers?”

A church will fall into one of four categories in its attitude toward spiritual seekers.

I know . . . I know. The word “seeker” has fallen out of fashion like an old tie. Believe me, I’m tempted to drop the word because it’s been so derided in some circles. Then again, when I read Bible texts such as Acts 15:17 and Acts 17:27, I remember I’m in good company when I try to identify those in my community who seek God.

So, where does our church fall in our relation to seekers? Can you identify your Sunday School class or Common Ground group in the following taxonomy? How about your own approach to non-believers?

Seeker-Hostile: Church groups with this mindset view non-believers as a threat. Most in this mindset, of course, would say that individual believers must be kind to non-believers and look for ways to share the gospel. But they would insist that corporate life of the church is no place to involve a non-believer. Therefore, the study topics, conversations, and even jokes in the Bible study classes or worship services create an environment hostile to a seeker’s questions or objections.

Seeker-Indifferent: Church groups with this mindset are indifferent to the concerns and questions that non-believers have of the faith. They believe the job of the church is simply to provide Bible studies and activities that meet the needs of believers. Churches that are seeker-indifferent may have evangelistic activities and support mission causes, and they may encourage the individual members to witness to non-believers. But it simply doesn’t occur to these churches that they have a responsibility to engage the concerns and questions of spiritual explorers.

Seeker-Sensitive: Church groups with this mindset focus on building believers while connecting with the seekers that believers bring with them. In one sense, the aim of worship services and Bible study groups in these churches is the same as it is in seeker-indifferent churches: the church exists to build a strong community of believers. But seeker-sensitive churches pursue this goal with sensitivity to non-believers who have begun to be attracted to the faith through their friendship with believers.

Seeker-Targeted: Church groups with this mindset direct everything they do toward reaching the non-believing world with the gospel. The music, the sermon topics, the approach to Bible-study . . . it’s all done with the aim of catching the attention of non-believers and persuading them to embrace the gospel truth.

I want us to be a seeker-sensitive church. I do not believe that we should ignore non-believers as we conduct our worship services, but neither do I believe that the main reason for a worship service is to connect with non-believers. At Hillcrest, worship services exist to build believers, but they also exist to connect with earnest seekers that believers bring with them. I believe we should be a place where people find and follow Jesus together--that’s a nice summary of our mission.

Among several of the speakers and writers I enjoy, the word for this kind of church is “missional,” and maybe I should keep up with the times by adopting the new label. Still, whether a church is labeled “seeker-sensitive” or “missional” isn’t nearly as important as whether the church deserves the label! Let’s make sure that what we do as Hillcrest leaders will contribute to the salvation of spiritual seekers in our community.

Winning Ways: “The Privileged Planet”

It seems that someone went to a lot of trouble to get the universe ready for us.

On Wednesday, July 30, come learn more about that fascinating subject with the one-hour documentary called “The Privileged Planet.”

Scientists have identified more than a hundred parameters required for life to develop, and more are being discovered. If any of these constants, values and relationships in nature had been even slightly different, you and I would not be around to comment on them. “The Privileged Planet” will introduce you to a few of these parameters.

I believe a careful study of the natural world can start rather than stifle a search for God. The Apostle Paul warned that humanity has ignored the evidence for God available in the natural world, though it has been “clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:18-20). A decision to quit ignoring this evidence can launch your spiritual search.

That’s where “The Privileged Planet” comes in. Produced by the Discovery Institute and narrated by John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lord of the Rings), this 1-hour documentary will open your eyes to the evidence for a universe designed for human life.

Thankfully, there is a growing body of credentialed scientists speaking in the language of their various fields to show from the natural world that there is evidence for God. Most of us, however, come to the same conclusion in more intuitive ways.

For example, a medical doctor once told his story of how his agnosticism broke down while he held his newborn daughter. Such moments are reverent, as any parent will admit. The baby lay sleeping in her physician-father’s arms, and he was admiring the little wonder. Her tiny ear caught his attention, and he marveled at its intricacy--the way it was curved to catch sounds and direct them to the protected eardrum. He knew that inside there were microscopic hairs that would interpret the sounds to the brain. The moment overwhelmed him and the realization broke in: “There must be an intelligent power behind the universe.” At that point, he had not drawn any conclusions about Christ (that came later); but he quit suppressing the truth about the existence of God.

Maybe “The Privileged Planet” will have that effect on you. Bring a friend to this special screening in the Hillcrest auditorium at 6:30pm, July 30.
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Links to Your World, Tuesday July 22

"The Rev. Jim Siegel of Round Rock usually starts his discussion with teens by asking them what they think they can wear all the time that will protect them from pregnancies and STDs. 'The usual answer from them is a condom,' he said. 'We say, 'No, it's actually your pants.' " (from the July 14 edition of the Austin-American Statesman. I was in the Caribbean when this story went to print, so I'm featuring it this week. Jim is our minister to students at Hillcrest.)


Randall James is the Texas Banking Commissioner and a member at Hillcrest. He was featured on local news channels last week, calming fears of banking instability. Pray for Randall during this stressful time.


“My Reformed friend, can you move among other Christian groups and really enjoy them? Do you admire them? Even if you disagree with them in some ways, do you learn from them? What is the emotional tilt of your heart – toward them or away from them? . . . Take your Reformed theology to a deeper level. Let it reduce you to Jesus only. Let it humble you. Let this gracious doctrine make you a fun person to be around. The proof that we are Reformed will be all the wonderful Christians we discover around us who are not Reformed. Amazing people. Heroic people. Blood-bought people. People with whom we are eternally one – in Christ alone.” (Ray Ortlund, “Truly Reformed”)


“Girls Gone Wild?” Not in these families, according to the NY Times.


“Murphy’s Law” was coined by a Baylor alum. Who knew?


5 Creative Ways to Teach Your Kids About Faith


“Democrat Barack Obama may have wanted to sound reasonable on the issue of abortion during a recent interview with Relevant Magazine, but legal experts say his statements conflict with both his current positions and his past actions on the issue. The interview with the Christian magazine has caused a stir in both the pro-choice community -- which has expressed concern about the interview -- and the pro-life community, which has responded by saying Obama is being (to put it mildly) disingenuous.” (Michael Foust)


The Steven Segal Emotion Chart.


“John Lennon famously claimed the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, even predicting that Christianity would ‘vanish and shrink.’ But 28 years after his death, in an interview being broadcast for the first time, he claims that on the contrary, he hoped to encourage people to focus on the Christian faith.” (From “Bigger than Jesus? The Beatles were a Christian band” in London’s Telegraph).


You can’t tell me that an Aussie editor didn’t have a little fun with this headline: “Mormons Make Missionary Position Clear.”


London’s Independent writes: “Christian protests may leave Philip Pullman's trilogy as one of a kind.” Protesters tanked the trilogy? Nah. How about the real reason: few cared to see the film. I thought the film was well done, but it failed at the box office. Had it sold tickets, no amount of protest would have stopped the trilogy from being completed. My take on the book series on the eve of the film premier here and here.


“Are you tired of country music stations that play a treasure one minute and trash the next? Or how about artists who try to cover all the bases on morally inconsistent CDs? Frustrating, isn't it? Fortunately, we now live in an era of digital downloads that lets us feast our ears on a hearty helping of homegrown values à la carte. To get you started, here's a playlist of 20 country songs you can feel good about” (Read “Pedal-Steel Progress”).


“He just transformed in amazing ways,” [Lee] Strobel says [of Evel Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil who died in November 2007. Knievel says Strobel’s book The Case for Christ was instrumental in his conversion from atheism to Christianity]. “I know his last interview was with a macho men's magazine, and he broke down crying, talking about his newfound relationship with Christ. He was so grateful. He knew he had lived a very immoral life and regretted that. He told me many times how he wished he could live his life over for God, and yet God reached down in his last days and dragged him into the kingdom. He was so overwhelmed by God's grace. Here was this macho daredevil who became this humble, loving, and sincere follower of Jesus. It was an amazing thing to behold.” (story)


God Is Not Dead Yet. How current philosophers argue for his existence. And check out the recommended reading list from this article.


Budgeting for Lazy People: Follow the advice from The Motley Fool.

Song of the Week: "Texas" by Chris Rea

Diane and I are back in Texas from our Caribbean break.  Here's Chris Rea's 1989 song about the Texas mystique:



Lyrics:

Warm winds blowing
Heating blue sky
And a road that goes forever
Been thinking 'bout it lately
Been watching some TV
Been looking all around me
At what has come to be
Been talking to my neighbour
And he agrees with me
It's all gone crazy
Well my wife returns from taking
My little girl to school
She's got beads of perspiration
As she tries to keep her cool
She says That mess it don't get no better
There's gonna come a day
Someone's gonna get killed out there
And I turn to her and say Texas
She says What?
I said Texas
She says What?
They've got big long road out there
Warm winds blowing
Heating blue sky
And a road that goes forever
I'm going to Texas
We got to get out of here
We got to get out of here
Well I got a little brother
Several meters high
Yea his built just like a quarterback
And he swears he'll testify
he says he's been to Texas
And that's the only place to be
Big steaks, big girls, no trouble there
That's the place for me
I'm going to Texas
I'm going to Texas
Watch me walking
Watch me walking

LeaderLines: “Three ‘Aches’ of Ministry, Part 3”

The Bible calls the Christian leader a “workman” (2 Timothy 2:15). There’s nothing elegant about the word. The Greek word didn’t refer to a CEO in French cuffs on the top floor of an office building. Instead, the word referred to a blue-collar grunt, a working stiff who wiped sweat and grime from the back of his neck.

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Paul discussed how hard it is to be a “workman” for God. He outlined three “aches” he got from ministry:

The headache of Christians who refused to mature (verses 1-2),
The backache of sacrificial efforts (verses 3-10), and
The heartache of rejected love (verses 11-13).

I’ve taken three editions of LeaderLines to talk about those aches. Across the last two weeks we’ve looked at verses 1-10. Now let’s look at how Paul described the heartache of rejected love in verses 11-13:

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

Oh my. Have you experienced this reality of ministry yet?

Paul clearly loved his Corinthian church members. He said he had spoken “freely” to them. The emotions run so high that he calls them by name—“Corinthians.” In all of Paul’s letters, in only 2 places other than here does he address his readers by name. It’s almost as if he’s trying to reach through his letter across the miles and draw them into a hug: “We have spoken freely to you, my Corinthians.”

In verse 12, he says he did not withhold his affection from them. With all the problems and the opposition in the Corinthian church, he was not going to allow anything to squeeze out his love for them.

But did the Corinthians reciprocate that love? Just the opposite. He let nothing drain out his love for them, but they were letting vicious rumors and false gossip crowd out their love for Paul.

Out of all the headaches and backaches that Paul described in verses 1-10, I expect it was the heartache of rejected love that was the most painful for him. His words in verses 11-13 are wrenching.

It’s hard work to keep loving unlovable people. It’s hard work to keep working with people who dislike you or—at best—are disinterested in you. Rejection hurts. Yet Christian ministry requires that we open wide our hearts time and time again despite the hurt that rejection brings.

The words of 2 Corinthians 6 that we’ve looked at in these 3 editions of LeaderLines are sobering, aren’t they! We must simply be prepared for hard work in Christian ministry. The headache of Christians who refuse to mature, the backache of sacrificial efforts, and the heartache of rejected love: these are the liabilities of kingdom employment.

But we can be sure that we’ll be more than compensated by the God we serve. Besides, the “retirement plan” for Christian ministry is “out of this world”!
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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: “Are You Ready?”

Years ago, I was idly channel-surfing and landed briefly on the game show, Family Feud. As host Ray Combs was getting acquainted with his contestants, he pointed to a lapel pin that one man was wearing. He asked, “What do those two question marks stand for?”

I immediately put the clicker down and sat up. I had a lapel pin just like it: a simple brown pin with two gold question marks. I used to wear it to start conversations like the one that had just started on national television.

“Well,” the contestant began, “The lapel pin represents the two most important questions anyone could ever ask you.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Combs joked, “But what are they?”

“The first one is, ‘If you died today, do you know for certain that you would be welcomed into heaven?’”

Combs laughed and said good-naturedly, “I’m not going to answer that on national TV!”

He continued to introduce the other contestants, but then suddenly returned to the man with the pin and said, “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the second question?”

“The second question is, ‘Suppose you were to die today and stand before God and he asked, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ What would you say?’”

Combs, a stand-up comedian, said, “Because I’m the host of Family Feud and everybody loves me!” The audience laughed, the applause sign came on, and the game began.

I wonder if Ray Combs thought any more about those two questions before his suicide a few years later. They really are two of the most important questions in life, because they center on what it takes to pass our biggest test.

The Bible tells us that one day we will stand before God as our life is reviewed. At that moment, we’ll be glad for a Savior: Jesus has already taken upon himself the punishment we deserved for our sins. We believe in the forgiveness of sins, and so we lift up the poet’s relieved praise (Psalms 130:3-4 CEV):


If you kept record of our sins, no one could last long.
But you forgive us, and so we will worship you.

Join with us this Sunday and let’s celebrate together what God has done for us at the cross! We meet at 9:30am and 10:45am.

(Note: The story of Ray Combs is taken from my book, The Anchor Course: Exploring Christianity Together. If you live in the Austin area, you can check out a copy for free at our church library. I will lead another small-group study of The Anchor Course in September.)
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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 900 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday July 15

The youth mission trip to Grand Cayman is over, but Diane and I stayed behind and we're taking a little vacation with friends on the island. So, I'll have more links next week. Until then, check these out:

"An evangelical vote for Obama requires a large mental adjustment: 'I like his views on poverty or torture or climate change, even though he cannot bring himself to oppose the most brutal form of abortion.' This may work for some, particularly more loosely affiliated evangelicals. But for most pro-life people, the protection of innocent life is not one issue among many, it is the most basic, foundational commitment of a just society. . . . In today's environment of discontent and reassessment, a Democratic presidential candidate might achieve a historic political breakthrough with religious voters. Obama has great advantages in this attempt -- except on the issue that matters most." (Read Michael Gerson, "A Tactical Leap of Faith")

I found this article absolutely fascinating. I never noticed how the line of Herods flows in Scripture.


James Choung has found a great new way to explain the gospel to college students. It's called "The Big Story." Christianity Today wrote about it, and you can learn more at Choung's website. Here is his explanation in two YouTube clips:



Part One:



Part Two:

Song of the Week: Joey Ryan's "Light On"

I recommended the sweet independent film, Bella, here.  Here's Joey Ryan's song from the film, "Light On." It's about friendship:



You can learn more about the soundtrack at this weblog.

LeaderLines: “Three ‘Aches’ of Ministry, Part 2”

Ministry ain’t for sissies. In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Paul outlines three “aches” he got from ministry:

The headache of Christians who refused to mature (verses 1-2),

The backache of sacrificial efforts (verses 3-10), and

The heartache of rejected love (verses 11-13).

I’m taking three editions of LeaderLines to talk about those aches. Last week we looked at how Paul described the headache of Christians who refused to mature. Now let’s look at the backache of sacrificial efforts. Paul describes this reality of ministry in verses 3-10:

We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

What sobering lines! It’s almost as if he was singing a hymn of Christian ministry in four stanzas:

Stanza One: The External Circumstances. In verses 4-5 he explained that as a Christian minister he endured certain external circumstances. He entitles his list “endurance” and then lays out 3 groups of 3:

“troubles, hardships, and distresses”

“beatings, imprisonments, and riots”

“hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger”

Stanza Two: The Inward Marks of Character. In verses 6-7, he moves from his outward troubles to his inward efforts at purity. As church workers, what we do either amplifies or drowns out what we say. Paul said he aimed for a ministry done . . .

. . . “in purity.” Our lives must be marked by integrity.

. . .“in knowledge.” We need to know our Bibles.

. . . “in patience.” We need to be patient with God, waiting on his timing, but we also need to be patient with others. The Greek word we translate “patience” is makrothumos. You can see the word “macro,” which means “long,” and “thumos,” which refers to “temperature.” So a patient person is long-tempered rather than short-tempered.

. . . “in kindness.”

. . . “in the Holy Spirit.” Why do we insist on “working for God”? We’d be so much more effective if we let God do his work through us.

. . . “in sincere love.” Our love for God should result in love for those we serve and lead.

. . . “in truthful speech.”

. . . “in the power of God.” Work hard in your ministry, but remember that it’s only as you do your ministry in the power of God that any abiding fruit develops.

Stanza Three: The Means and Circumstances. In verses 7-8 he describe the means and circumstances of good ministry.

First, the means: “with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and the left.” Paul was so dedicated to living a life that pleased God that both his right hand and his left hand were filled up with righteousness. In his left, his righteousness acted as shield to ward off attacks that people would make on his character. In his right hand, his upstanding life was like a sword to go on the offensive for ministry.

Second, the circumstances: “through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report.” Sometimes Paul received honor and approving recognition for his labors, and sometimes slander and false gossip undercut his ministry. But regardless of the circumstances, he pressed on.

Stanza Four: The Ironies. You know what an irony is: it’s when something achieves the oppose result that was intended. In verses 8-10, Paul listed off some ironies of ministry.

The first two ironies are somewhat sad:

“genuine, yet regarded as impostors.” Though he was sincere, some people looked on him as an imposter with impure motives behind the things he did.

“known, yet regarded as unknown.” Though he was known by God and cared for, many people did not respect his work or his lessons.

The last five ironies are sweeter:

“dying, and yet we live on.” As he put it in 2 Corinthians 4, though he was outwardly “wasting away” in hardship and persecution, inwardly he was being renewed day by day.

“beaten, and yet not killed.”

“sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” There was no circumstance severe enough, no setback devastating enough to make Paul lose confidence that God causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28).

“poor, yet making many rich.” His material possessions were meager but his message of salvation made many spiritually rich.

“having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” He had everything he needed through the gracious provision of a watchful God.

I’m humbled when I examine this list of the things Paul went through. To many of us, the work of God is little more than a hobby, something we do if we can squeeze it in between all our other projects. To Paul, expanding the kingdom of God was his very life; it consumed him to the point of fanaticism. The reality of coming judgment and the good news of Christ’s cross gave him an impetus that could not be snuffed out by any hardship that life or people could throw at him.

So, don’t be surprised when you face some tough times in church leadership. Until you and I endure the kind of things that Paul endured, we have no room for complaining!

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Grand Cayman: Places to Visit

In this week's "Winning Ways" I used Hell, the Grand Cayman tourist attraction, as an illustration. I was never a fan of Hell, but there are many many beautiful attractions to see on Grand Cayman. With so many people traveling to my former island on cruises out of Galveston, I am often asked the "must see" places there. Here's a short and incomplete list, but keep in mind that I've been away for 5 years, so details have likely changed since my life there:

• Stingray City. If you can only choose one stop (off a cruise ship, for example), make it this one. This is a sandbar in the middle of the North Sound, about 4-5 feet deep and sandy. Imagine a giant swimming pool. Stingrays come in for the squid that tour boats provide, and the tour operators will show you how to feed a stingray and hold one in your arms. Most tour operations will supply the snorkel gear for a stop at Coral Gardens, too. This is about 10-feet deep, over coral formations with colorful fish. You may even see a moray eel. The North Sound is protected by a barrier reef and so it is usually as smooth as lake water.
• The Turtle Farm. When I was on the island, the Turtle Farm had one of the largest gift shops. Grand Cayman was known for green sea turtles in years past. The Turtle Farm keeps the tradition alive. You will see turtles at all stages of existence, from eggs to babies to huge 4-and-5 feet "breeder" turtles.
• Pedro St. James. Also known as "Pedro's Castle." I'm a history fan, and this was one of the best ways for tourists to get acquainted with Cayman history. There's a show in the theater that will introduce you to Cayman's past, and the doors open up to allow you to walk on the beautiful grounds overlooking the Caribbean Sea to the south. There's a 3-story house on the grounds with many items of life in Cayman's past.
• Seven Mile Beach. Clear blue-green water gently lapping white sand: what more can I say? Swim out to Governor's Reef or Cemetery Reef from the beaches in front of these snorkel spots, or find covered picnic tables and public restrooms at Public Beach. You may also find the parasail operations along here, as well as jetskis and other watersport rentals.

Winning Ways: “Hell? No, We Won’t Go!”

As you read this, our youth mission trip to Grand Cayman should be half done. In addition to 8 hours a day teaching biblical skills and basketball drills to kids, we’ve scheduled some time for Caribbean fun, too.

One place that’s not on our list, though, is Hell.

Yep, there’s an actual spot on the map in Cayman called Hell. It’s an acre of black rock that looks like it’s been blasted with intense heat. There’s even a post office there where outgoing mail is postmarked from Hell. When I served as pastor in Grand Cayman, tourists always wanted to see Hell. So, I’d take them down Hell Road (which I always thought should have been named “Good Intentions,” but I digress). I’d always sigh as we pulled into the tacky tourist trap complete with a dude in the parking lot dressed in a red devil outfit and shops selling T-shirts branded with bad puns on divine punishment.

Yuck.

Really, I’m not humorless. It’s just that the more you read the Bible, the harder it is to make wisecracks about hell. The Bible says that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV). There is urgency in these words.

Death is an inevitable reality for us all, and after that comes the judgment, where some “will wake up to have life forever” while others “will wake up to find shame and disgrace forever” (Daniel 12:2 NCV).

But “shame and disgrace forever” does not have to be our future. Back in the 1920s in the U.S. Senate, an argument between senators became particularly ugly and one man told a colleague to go to hell. The astonished senator appealed for a sanction from Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who was presiding.

Coolidge, who had been idly leafing through a book, looked up and said to the offended senator, “I have been checking the rules manual, and you don't have to go.”

Indeed.

In the Apostles Creed, the believer celebrates: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” and therefore “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” It’s the truth of the one line that opens us up to the truth of the other line.

“I have set before you life and death,” God said. “Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NIV).

(Note: To learn more about the topic of heaven and hell, purchase a copy of my book, The Anchor Course: Exploring Christianity Together. If you live in the Austin area, you can check out a copy for free at our church library. I will lead another small-group study of The Anchor Course in September.)

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 900 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday July 8

My body could feed 16: How many cannibals can your body feed?


Find the lowest gas prices in your ZIP Code area.


"The real place where discussions of global warming belong is in the realm of belief, and particularly the motives for belief. I see three mutually compatible explanations."  Read Bret Stephens' three explanations in "Global Warming as Mass Neurosis."


At HollywoodJesus.com, learn about “pop culture from a spiritual point of view.”


SonScape was a wonderful retreat for Diane and me a few years ago. Learn about this ministry to ministers here.


Precept Austin is a great website for Bible study tools.


I'm off on a youth mission trip to Grand Cayman, so the "Links to Your World" are a little thin this week. Here's one more: If worship was like sports--

Song of the Week: "Killing the Blues" by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss

This duo has received a lot of positive buzz: Alison Krauss of Americana and bluegrass fame, and Robert Plant of Led Zepplin fame.  Here they are singing "Killing the Blues."  Oh, to find the weapon.



Lyrics:

Leaves were falling, just like embers,
In colors red and gold, they set us on fire
Burning just like a moonbeam in our eyes.

[Chorus:]
Somebody said they saw me, swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud, killing the blues.

Now I'm guilty of something...
I hope you never do
Because there is nothing
Sadder than losing yourself in love.

[Chorus]

Now you ask me just to leave you
To go out on my own
And get what I need to.
You want me to find what I already had.

[Chorus]

Of Rolling Stone and Flag Pins

So I'm sifting thru the mail and run across the latest cover of Rolling Stone (my eldest is a subscriber):


It will be interesting to see what the bloggers and pundits say about the presidential candidate grinning as he seems to glance down at his flag pin. In case you've missed the news item, Obama has begun to wear a flag pin after his response to a question last year about why he didn't wear an American flag lapel pin:

The truth is that right after 9/11 I had a pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.

I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism.

But now there it is on his chest, and Rolling Stone seems to have him grinning at his concession.

I remember some famous statement about a picture and a thousand words.

LeaderLines: “Three ‘Aches’ of Ministry, Part 1”

“Churches are like parking spaces,” a young pastor friend told me after a long period of looking for a new church.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” I said. “How are churches like parking spaces?”

He said, “The good ones are taken and the rest are all handicapped!”

In truth, the Apostle Paul never met a church that wasn’t “handicapped” in some way. The Galatian church was filled with legalism, the Thessalonian church had screwy notions of the Second Coming, the Philippian church endured self-centered members, and the Corinthian church was filled theological and ethical knots Paul had to untangle.

So why should those of us on staff and in lay ministry positions think church work is any different today?

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Paul outlines three “aches” he got from ministry:

• The headache of Christians who refused to mature (verses 1-2),
• The backache of sacrificial efforts (verses 3-10), and
• The heartache of rejected love (verses 11-13).

Across the next three editions of LeaderLines, I want to talk about those aches. Let’s begin with the first: Sometimes those of us in ministry experience the headache of Christians who refuse to mature. There’s a difference between growing up and just growing old, and Paul had to deal with the latter more often than the former. In the first two verses of 2 Corinthians 6, we catch our apostle urging the Corinthian Christians not to receive the grace of God in vain:

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.For he says,“In the time of my favor I heard you,and in the day of salvation I helped you.”I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

In reflecting on that text, some people have thought that Paul was urging unbelievers to receive the gospel. But the problem he wrote about was not unbelievers who had refused to receive the gospel; the problem was believers who seemed to have received the Gospel in vain. There had been no effective change in their lives; they had not let the Gospel produce the desired results.

There are four “desired results” that we can expect when a congregation lets the gospel do its great work in their lives. When these are not evident, church workers have to endure the “headache” of spiritual immaturity:

First, mature people honor the Lord of life. They trust God’s promise: “Those who honor me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30, NIV). So, they honor God with worship, prayer, stewardship, and lifestyle:

• They love to worship with other believers, rejoicing whenever the Word of God is preached and the Name of God is lifted up in praise.
• They have an active personal prayer life.
• They “honor the Lord with their wealth” in faithful stewardship (Proverbs 3:9).
• Their lifestyle reflects their awareness that they are Christ’s representatives.

Second, mature people invite their world to life. They build relationships with nonbelievers, patiently working with the prejudices and misconceptions that their friends have of Christ and his Church. They look for opportunities to invite those who are spiritually curious to join them in worship services (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). They communicate their faith to others, and eagerly take courses that will equip them to witness more effectively.

Third, mature people love the fellowship for life. The Bible says, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6, NIV). Just as we should build witnessing relationships with those outside the faith, we should improve our connections with those inside the faith. Many of the New Testament letters are filled with commands to sacrifice for each other, encourage each other, serve each other, tolerate each other’s idiosyncrasies, and forgive each other’s faults.

Fourth, mature people live the Word in life. The Bible says, “God chose you to be his people, so I urge you now to live the life to which God called you” (Ephesians 4:1, NCV). The Bible has guidance about money management, parenting, finding a marriage partner, getting along with others at work, and many other practical things. It is not enough simply to learn the facts of the Bible, but we need to put into practice the things we learn.

Honor. Invite. Love. Live. At Hillcrest we call this the H.I.L.L. of Christian discipleship.

But in the first two verses of 2 Corinthians 6, Paul wrote about people who seemed to have “received God’s grace in vain.” They didn’t exhibit the kind of results you would expect from people who had been gripped by divine grace.

If Paul faced it in the Corinthian church 2000 years ago, don’t be surprised to face it as a church worker today.

Of course, there are two operative phrases in that sentence: “don’t be surprised” and “face it.” On the one hand, church workers can’t be disillusioned when they see spiritual shallowness in the church. On the other hand, it’s not right to simply shrug our shoulders and resign ourselves to the immaturity that we find. We have to employ the same tools that Paul used to build people up: prayer, encouragement, patient teaching, and even authoritative reprimand.

It takes a lot of spiritual aspirin to put up with the headaches of Christians who have failed to mature. Ministry ain’t for sissies, and from what I read in 2 Corinthians 6, it’s always been like that. Next week we’ll look at verses 3-10 to discover the backache of sacrificial effort.

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by over 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: “Neighborhood Connections”

What lengths would you go to connect with your neighbors? How about sleeping on their living room floor for a night or two?

That’s what Peter Lovenheim decided to do, and he wrote about his project in the New York Times. A tragedy in a nearby house awakened him to the fact that he really didn’t know his neighbors that well. “Did I live in a community,” he asked himself, “or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate?”

He thought about the childhood sleepovers he used to have at friends’ houses and the insight into those families he gained, and that gave him an idea. He decided to ask his neighbors if he could bring his sleeping bag over to their houses and spend the night on their living room floor.

Of the 18 or so neighbors he asked, more than half said yes. “There was the recently married young couple, both working in business; the real estate agent and her two small children; the pathologist married to a pediatrician who specializes in autism.” And then there was a neighbor seriously ill with breast cancer. “My goal shifted: could we build a supportive community around her — in effect, patch together a real neighborhood?” People in the surrounding houses ended up taking turns driving her to doctors’ appointments and watching her children.

“Why is it,” Lovenheim asks, “that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?”

Good question.

I probably won’t go so far as to sleep on someone’s living room floor, but I’m slowly getting to know my neighbors. There’s Joe, a single man and former pro football player. There’s Russ and Kathy and their son: they’ve taken us out on their boat and tried to teach me how to stand up on a wakeboard. There’s Steve and Jean: we saw them frequently during the lacrosse games that our youngest sons played. I stood in the yard with a couple across the street to watch fireworks one night, and I’ve shared gardening tips with a empty-nester, but those relationships still need development. Today, I waved at a man who just bought a house near us: I’ll have to carve out some time to welcome him to the street.

How are you doing at connecting with those around you? Jesus commanded us to love God love our neighbors, adding, “There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30).

Links to Your World, Tuesday July 1

“It seems that ”sex in the suburbs” is a new trend among young Christian women. Is this the result of feminism breaching the church such that equality with men means sinning against men in the stereotypical ways that men have sinned against women? Is this the result of a divorce culture or women with unhealed “daddy issues?” I’ve been talking to ministry leaders from around the nation and many have noted the same trend. No one can seen to put their finger on the root of the problem. Are women reacting to fact that the evangelical church generally raises boys to be passive? While it’s true that passive, ”nice guys” make great boyfriends because they are often servile and easy manipulated, passive men become the sad husbands that many women eventually grow to resent.” (Anthony Bradley)


“Within the church, parents who readily discussed their struggles with toddler tantrums, mischievous children, or even rebellious teens find it more difficult to open up about adult children who make poor choices and stray from God’s plan. The topic brings pain, disappointment, guilt, and embarrassment. By the time children have reached adulthood, we expect them to embrace the values we’ve tried to convey. When their choices contradict the morals we’ve taught, we question our parenting. Not wanting others to think badly of our children, or of us, we resort to silence — and carry the burden of regret and feelings of failure alone.” (“When Wedding Bells Don’t Ring”)


“Many people throughout the years have criticized Saddleback for using seeker sensitive services. Being seeker sensitive is just about being polite. It’s thinking of people who don’t know Christ before yourself.” (Rick Warren, “Seven lessons from Paul on how to last in ministry”)


Read about our church member, Sherwood Moffett, and his latest trip to Japan with Austin-area high school students.


What Every American Should Know About the Middle East


I forgot to thank Eileen Flynn last week: the religion reporter for the Austin-American Statesman featured my sermon, “The Church of Oprah,” on her blog. Listen to “The Church of Oprah” here.


“Two men who converted from Islam to Christianity went on trial Wednesday on charges that they illegally promoted the Christian faith in Algeria.” (Washington Post story)


Reports on China:

“The next 30 years will be the age of the gospel.” Take 25 minutes to watch the PBS Frontline/World report, “Jesus in China” online. It’s in 2 segments, with 3 additional 2-minute segments from the journalist discussing the report. (And link to my “Jesus in Beijing” review)

Read the lengthy piece in the Chicago Tribune on Christianity’s rapid rise in China: “After centuries of foreign efforts to implant Christianity in China, today's Christian ascension is led not by missionaries but by evangelical citizens at home. Where Christianity once was confined largely to poor villages, it is now spreading into urban power centers with often tacit approval from the regime. It reaches into the most influential corners of Chinese life: Intellectuals disillusioned by the 1989 crackdown at Tiananmen Square are placing their loyalty in faith, not politics; tycoons fed up with corruption are seeking an ethical code; and Communist Party members are daring to argue that their faith does not put them at odds with the government.” This is a neat piece.

“The country's three decades of iron-fisted population planning coincided with a binge in sex-selective abortions (Chinese traditionally favor sons, who carry on the family line) and a rise, even as the country developed, in female infant mortality. After almost 30 years of the policy, China now has the largest gender imbalance in the world, with 37 million more men than women and almost 20 percent more newborn boys than girls nationwide. . . . The one-child policy was instituted in an attempt to hamper the wild growth of the Chinese population. But, in the process of plugging one hole, the government may have left another open. The coming boom in restless young men promises to overhaul Chinese society in some potentially scary ways.” (“No Country For Young Men,” in the New Republic)

Also, read my review of David Aikman's remarkable book Jesus in Beijing (from a September 2007 blog post).

This dude has chalked up the air miles. I’ll get in line with the other bloggers posting the best feel-good clip on YouTube: