LeaderLines: “Making an Impact: Our Prayers”

We’re taking several editions of LeaderLines to look at the actions and attitudes that can make a powerful impact on the people around you. Last week we looked at the impact of your passion. Today we’re going to look at the impact your prayer life can make on the lives of your lost friends and relatives. In 1 Timothy 2:1-8 (Msg), we read:

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. . . . He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us--Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth. Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray--not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.

According to 1 Timothy 2, there are 5 things that have to be in place in order for your prayers to make an impact in those lives.

First, you must maintain the right priority. Verse 1 says, “The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. . . .”

There’s an old saying among prayer giants: “There are a lot of things you should do after you’ve prayed; there’s not a thing you can do until you’ve prayed.” There are many things that can and should be done after you’ve begun praying for your lost acquaintances, but there’s not a thing you can do until you’ve begun praying for them.

Second, you must have the right perspective. Verse 4 goes on to say, “He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned.”

Note two words. First, note the word “saved.” That is the perspective the Bible provides on our greatest need--we need to be “saved.” People choke on that word today, even in church. To say that people need to be saved implies that people who have not received Christ are lost, and that makes some of us uncomfortable. We’d much rather say that they’re on their own spiritual path and all roads ultimately lead to God and each world religion is just another way of looking at God and our friends are “spiritual in their own way.” I’ve heard all those statements. Could it be that you’ve never prayed for those you know at work or in your family because you no longer believe that people without Christ are in trouble and need to be rescued?

Now, note that word “everyone”--God wants “everyone saved.” Isn’t it refreshing to read in Scripture that God wants everyone saved? We have to admit that we are indifferent toward some of people around us--in fact, we have to admit that sometimes we’re indifferent toward all of the people around us. But not God. Rest assured that the moment you start praying for lost people, God will bend down toward you with intense interest in what you have to say.

Third, you must know the right solution. Once you have the right perspective that those around you without Christ are lost, you need to have the right answer to their problem. Verses 5 and 6 say, “There’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us--Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free.”

The cross was God’s way of laying a bridge across that deep ditch of sin separating us from God. Christ offered himself in exchange for us, he put himself in our place and took on the penalty we deserved for the ways we’ve rebelled against God. When you bow in prayer for lost people, it should be with the hope and the expectation that those you know will come to the same conclusions about the cross that you have come to. You need to know the right solution.

Fourth, you must hold to the right hope. The passage in 1 Tim. 2 continues: “Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.”

Literally verse 6 ends with the assurance that the story of the cross will be “testified in the right time.” I like the way Eugene Peterson translates that phrase: “Eventually the news is going to get out.” Isn’t that a great phrase! Only those who really believe that and expect that and anticipate that are those who will see any impact from their prayers. Each time we end our prayer and get into the business of life, we should look for the ways God is responding to our prayer, drawing the people we’ve prayed for into a relationship with him.

Fifth, you must be the right person. The Scripture section concludes with this word: “Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray--not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.”

It’s interesting that he says he wants men to pray. In the text, the word “mostly” is connected with the word “men,” not the word “pray.” In other words, you don’t read it, “What I want mostly is for men to pray" but you read it, “What I want mostly is for men to pray.”

The Bible does not limit the work of prayer to men, of course. Notice the characteristics we all ought to have in prayer. First, he says the hands we lift up to God in prayer should be holy hands. In other words, our relationship to God should be right. Second, he turns from our relationship with God to our relationship with each other and says our hands should be united hands if we want effective prayers. He says when we pray we should be free from anger and resentment.

So, make a list of the lost people you know and then ask--

“Do I have the right priority? Am I really committed to and dependent on prayer?”

“Do I have the right perspective? Do I really believe people without Christ are lost? Do I really believe that God wants everyone to hear the good news?”

“Do I have the right solution? Do I really believe the cross is the only bridge that unites us to God?”

“Do I have the right hope? Do I look expectantly for my prayer to be answered?”

“Am I the right person? In my relationship to you, Lord, and in my relationship to others, do I have anything that could hinder my prayers?”

______________________________________
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: “Summer Sunday Fun Day FAQ”

Join your Hillcrest Family this weekend for “Summer Sunday Fun Day”! To get you ready, here are some answers to “Frequently Asked Questions.”

“What age range is this designed for?” This is a churchwide event. Our college minister and her husband are coordinating the event, but that doesn’t mean it’s just for college students and young adults. We’ll have games and activities for all ages, kids through senior adults. Here’s a chance for you to mix-n-mingle with folks you don’t normally see.

“Where is the Fun Day?” It will be held at the Hillcrest MPC. The outdoor events will take place on the Anderson High School fields.

“When is the Fun Day?” From 4-8pm this Sunday, August 10. We hope you can stay for the whole thing, but we’ll publish an event schedule if you need to pick and choose what part of the Fun Day to attend.

“What games and activities will be held?” Think of this as an old-fashioned “Field Day.” We’ll have washers, volleyball, horseshoes, dominoes, and softball. We’ll have sack races, egg tosses, 3-leg races, and “couples kickball.”

“With these record-breaking temperatures we’ve been having, won’t it be too hot for a Fun Day?” We’ll be next door on the fields at Anderson High School for some of the events, but many of our events will be held inside the air-conditioned Hillcrest MPC. Also, we’ll have plenty of drinks and watermelon to keep you cool.

“Will there be a meal?” We will break for supper at 5pm. We will provide drinks, but you are responsible to bring your own meal for you and your family. This is not “pot luck,” but you may want to bring enough so you can invite someone to sit with you for your meal.

“What about ice cream? There’s got to be ice cream at a summer Fun Day!” Absolutely! We’ll provide the ice cream and all the fixin’s for sundaes. Check the schedule this Sunday to find out when the Sundae Bar will be open!

“Will Herb make a fool of himself in the egg toss?” There’s no guarantee, but it’s likely that every staff member will have our Kodak moments!

I hope to see you at this event! School starts in just a few weeks, so let’s close out the summer in a big way! If you have any questions or want to help in some way, please call the church office this week!
_______________________________
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 August 5

Number of 100 degree days almost tops record. Austin hasn't been this hot for this long since 1925. Come on Edouard . . . .


“When you’ve been pitched head first into hell, you just write about it.” (Alexander Solzhenitsyn, regarding his work as an author. The Nobel prize winner’s death over the weekend showed up as a story on the front-page, top of the fold, in the Statesman. Albert Mohler lets you know why Solzhenitsyn was so important. Also, read his oft-quoted 1978 Harvard commencement address here. It’s still relevant 30 years later.)


The New Republic's cover story on the shifting demographics of urban centers—with wealthy suburbanites moving inward, immigrants and the poor relocating to the outskirts—provides a glimpse of what could be a major change in the American landscape.


“Dear Father, would you erase all these worries from my heart and add them to your to-do list instead?” (“Making a to-do list for God,” in Saturday’s Statesman)


“Target panic, as the condition is known, causes crack shots to suddenly lose control of their bows and their composure. Mysteriously, sufferers start releasing the bow the instant they see the target, sabotaging any chance of a gold-medal shot. Others freeze up and cannot release at all.” (“The Secret Curse of Expert Archers”)


“Yeah, I don't agree with Barack Obama on the Iraq war or on 65-70 percent of his policy positions, but something's got to give. . . . We, the Republican Party, are not worthy and do not deserve another four years. Under President Bush we've betrayed every principle we've stood for as a national party -- fiscal responsibility and discipline, limited government and a foreign policy guided by realism and coalition building. Competence and integrity have no ideology. Obama in '08.” (Why Robert Caron, a Republican, is voting for Obama)


That Gives Me an Idea . . . : “Though he publicly refers to the Worldwide Web as the ‘Worldwide Waste’ and e-mail as ‘sin-mail,’ in his home office is a bank of computer screens with more than 170 bookmarked sites — personal web pages, blogs, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, Flickr and more. Each week Alton surfs the sites for hours to find evidence of questionable behavior by people in his church. He jots offenses down and incorporates them into his Sunday sermons.” (“MySpace gives pastor ‘prophetic’ edge”)


“Several recent experiments have shown that people respond to pictures of eyes by altering their behavior in subtle ways, even when they haven’t consciously noticed the eyes are there.” (“Feel the Eyes Upon You,” NY Times)


“Along with 15 colleagues and a reporter, Mrs. Ramirez, a social worker at the facility, put on distorting glasses to blur her vision; stuffed cotton balls in her ears to reduce her hearing, and in her nose to dampen her sense of smell; and put on latex gloves with adhesive bands around the knuckles to impede her manual dexterity. Everyone put kernels of corn in their shoes to approximate the aches that come from losing fatty tissue. They had become, in other words, virtual members of the 5.3 million Americans age 85 and older, the nation’s fastest-growing age group.” (“Simulating Age 85, With Lessons on Offering Care”)


How do you bring the Gospel into conversations with neighbors in a natural way? Joe Thorn suggests 8 topics that can naturally connect to the Christian faith.


100 Things to Do During a Money Free Weekend.


Every new dad should read “The Parking Lot Rules,” and moms will find the article useful, too.


Strange Bedroom Furniture.


Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir has released his “ultimate family DVD list,” compiled from readers’ suggestions. See if you agree with his list, and get some good suggestions for family viewing this summer.


Maybe your “birds and bees” talk with your sons hasn’t gone far enough. In this Reader’s Digest article, a man’s Stage 4 throat cancer was caused by HPV contracted years ago.


Deann Alford of Christianity Today presents and discusses her photos taken in preparation for the latest cover story on NASCAR:

Song of the Week: Carney's "Testify"

If Led Zeppelin led worship for Louie Giglio's Passion Conferences, it would sound like Reeve Carney singing "Testify":

I don't want to have to learn the hard way

I don't want to fall along the side

While I keep on running out this good race

I will testify

I just want to listen to your heartbeat

Tell your people, Lord, you're still alive

There ain't nothing sweeter than your mercy

I will testify

That its all for you

I don't want to keep on living my way

I don't want to keep believing lies

I don't want to wait until its too late

I will testify

I just want to listen to your heartbeat

Tell your people, Lord, you're still alive

There ain't nothing sweeter than your mercy

I will testify

That's its all for you

The Anchor Course Has Been Wordled

A friend introduced me to Wordle, a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. Here's a word cloud from all 277 pages of The Anchor Course:


You can also view a larger image by clicking here.

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!
___________________________________________
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.
___________________________________
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.
_______________________________________

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”!
_____________________________
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.)
_______________________________________
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!

__________________________________

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.)

______________________________
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.

_______________________________________

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:

LeaderLines: “Who Stole My Church?”

Lifeway asked me to write a book review for their Let’s Worship magazine. I’m sharing it with LeaderLines readers. Stop by our church library to check out a copy of the book.

Tom
_________________

“All I know is that someone stole my church and I’d like to get it back.”

That was the frustrated outburst of Yvonne Padula, a fictional character in Gordon MacDonald’s newest book, Who Stole My Church? What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century (released in January 2008).

Anyone who has tried to introduce change in an established church--and anyone who has struggled to accept such changes--will identify with MacDonald’s insights. Drawing on forty years of pastoral experience, MacDonald said he wanted to help longtime church members understand “why many things about the way we have made church work must change and reflect new realities.” Conversely, he also hopes that younger generations of church leaders can be more sensitive to the resistance that their changes bring.

The book was written as a narrative instead of a “how to” manual. MacDonald created an imaginary church in New England and populated it with fictional characters from the “Builder” and “Boomer” generations who became frustrated over the changes that younger leaders made to their church. MacDonald imagines what he would do as their pastor to help them navigate the changes. Most of the book’s chapters describe the weekly meetings that the pastor set up with his frustrated church members, and the topics they covered in those meetings.

Those who struggle with changes in their church will benefit from “overhearing” the conversations in these meetings. MacDonald introduced his fictional church members to transitions in church music, characteristics of younger generations, and adaptations required for evangelizing, among other subjects.

At the same time, those who introduce changes to their church will benefit from the book as well. In his story, MacDonald demonstrates a pastoral quality that is too often disregarded by church leaders in the midst of change. Either from insensitivity or defensiveness to the criticisms against our changes, we aren’t always willing to listen, be patient, and walk with those who struggle. MacDonald imagines himself tolerantly listening to the complaints of the fictional characters resistant to the changes, and he provides them with training to help them gain a fresh perspective on the issues.

Despite the pastoral investment and the group’s slow adoption of the changes, not every character gets on board. One man eventually leaves with a dramatic flair of hostility that, sadly, most pastors will recognize. Most of the characters in the book, however, eventually work through the process of change and gain a new appreciation for their church.

Discussion questions are included in the book for those who may want to take a group through the same process of discovery as MacDonald and his fictional church.
________________________________
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: “What If God Responds?”

If you consider yourself a seeker after God, you should seriously consider if you’re ready to meet the God you say you want to know.

I remember an experience on a fishing trip from many years ago. I must have been only 9 or 10 when it happened, but I still re-member how weak my knees got and how hard my heart pounded.

My uncle had baited my line and dropped it over the railing of a walkway that ran along a Gulf coast causeway in Pensacola, Florida. The bridge had been decommissioned for anything but foot traffic, and it was a rickety old thing. The wooden planks were weather-beaten and rough under my bare feet, and the whole contraption shuddered with every footfall. My uncle had walked ahead of me, trolling his line over the handrail as he went. Soon he was a hundred yards away, and it was quiet enough to hear the rhythmic slapping of the seawater upon the pylons twenty feet below.

Little boys love to “go fishing” but they can quickly get bored without any action on the line. I had fallen into that bored state, dully letting my bait sway upon the surface of the rolling swells.

Suddenly, a huge fish emerged from the murky waters and shot toward my line. Fearing that such a magnificent fish would pull me off that old wooden walkway and into the wild, deep sea far below, I panicked and yanked my line out of the water. The fish disappeared into the deep as quickly as it had appeared, and I was left alone again with unsteady legs and a thumping heart.

While many of the people I’ve talked to are on a sincere spiritual search, others merely “troll” for God. They have no anticipation of finding what they say they’re searching for. If God’s presence actually welled up from out of the mysterious deep, they would abandon their search for fear of being pulled away and overwhelmed.

In your spiritual search, it’s important to settle the question of what kind of “fisherman” you are. What will you do when what you’ve been searching for actually responds?

Tom

P.S. Thank you for you kind comments about last Sunday’s message, “The Church of Oprah.” If you missed it or want to review it, you can pick up a CD this Sunday or listen online at www.HillcrestAustin.org/sermons.

Links to Your World, Tuesday June 24

Will advocates of gay rights stop at demanding that homosexual unions be recognized by the State, or will they demand that private citizens and religious organizations be punished for failing to get on board, too? NPR presented an important piece on this last week. Chilling stuff. Maggie Gallagher and Marc Stern also provided some interesting comments on the concern.


William Saletan of Slate predicts that parents will soon have a chance to abort based on tests that predict homosexual orientation much like parents who now abort based on gender selection. Now that will become an interesting cultural clash among liberals: Will prochoice forces soon meet one choice they will prohibit?


A Spanking Might Beat Ritalin.


“Promises of chastity don't seem to sway the screaming girl-fans, of course, it just makes them scream harder because boys-who-wait seem even dreamier than boys-who-don't, from the look of things for the Jonas brothers.” (story)


Eric Gorsky of the Washington Times reports on young leaders in Southern Baptist Convention churches.


“Plants have a secret social life.”


If you need a ransom note for your upcoming kidnapping, someone created a free online Ransom Note Generator just for you.


Hilarious headlines, ads, and classifieds.


Here's a 7-1/2 minute interview with Adrian Warnock and Ed Stetzer. Ed says there are two different camps in the evangelical world today: the 'theologically minded' and the 'evangelistically effective'. Many see these streams as mutually exclusive. But according to Ed, 'he wants it all'. Good stuff, as usual with Stetzer:

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epbis3kugW8

LeaderLines: “When Leaders Pray, Week Eight”

Today we’ll wrap up an eight-week series in LeaderLines. We’ve been going through some of the prayers the Apostle Paul expressed for his people in his letters. These prayers can serve as a valuable guide in your own prayers.

But in Ephesians 6:19-20, the man who prayed for others asked others to pray for him:

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Just a sentence earlier he had written, “Always keep on praying for all the saints.” Now he says, “Pray also for me.” He seems to be saying that every Christian needs to be on someone’s prayer list, but every prayer list ought to include someone’s pastor.

Ephesians 6 isn’t the only place he asked for Christians to pray for him:

In 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 he writes, “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.”

In Colossians 4:3-4, he writes almost the same thing that he writes in Ephesians 6: “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:25 he says simply, “Brothers, pray for us.”

In fact, he even regarded the prayers of others as a sort of partnership with him. He writes in Romans 15:30, “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”

There was something about intercessory prayer that actually created a partnership between Paul and the person who prayed for Paul. It’s true between you and me, too: You may not know the details of my work, and I may not know that you are even praying for me. But in the spiritual world there is a partnership between your prayers and my work.

What should you pray for when you pray for me? For my physical health? Yes, but there is something more important than that. For faith and emotional strength and the ability to fight back the demons of depression? Yes. For financial discipline? Yes. For moral purity? Yes, that too. For the stability of my home and the commitment to be a good husband and father? Yes, but there is something even more important than that. Paul said to his people: “Pray for me that words will be given to me and that boldness will be given to me.” I need those same things: I need God to give me the words and the courage to say exactly what God wants me to say.

First, he wanted words. He wanted to say exactly what God wanted him to say. The NASB and KJV translates it “utterance”—“Pray that I may be given utterance.” That’s an old-fashioned word that we don’t use much today, but it just might be the best way to help us understand what Paul was getting at. He had in mind more than just words--he wanted God to give him divine words. He wanted God to give him words that would convict and convince. He wanted otherworldly conversation. He wanted “utterance.”

So, when you pray for me, pray that words from God’s Word will be given to me. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Notice what he calls a person whose job is to correctly handle the word of truth. He calls that person a workman, a laborer, a hired hand, blue-collar worker, an ordinary grunt. Far from taking a pastor’s time in the Word and shoving it off into whatever spare time a pastor has left after the “real” work of ministry is done, Paul said, “Timothy, here is the real grunt work of ministry, here is where you should labor until you’re wiping grit and sweat from your brow like a plowboy: Timothy, do your best to be a workman who correctly handles the word of truth.”

I’ve spent time as a grunt on construction crews, and I’ve stocked warehouse shelves, and I’ve operated forklifts, and I’ve drawn pay as a plumber. But I can tell you that nothing exhausts the body and mind like extended study in God’s Word. You need to pray that I be given time to listen to no other voices but the voice of God as he speaks through the Scripture.

So pray that I might have the time to be a workman who correctly handles the word of truth. And pray that the time I spend with God’s Book will he productive times. Pray that during those times of study God will feed me and shape me and enliven me so that when I speak on Sundays or counsel in my office or offer leadership on the direction of this church--when I open my mouth to speak, it will be exactly what God wants me to say.

Second, he wanted courage. Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to pray not only that God would give Paul the words to speak but also that God would give Paul the courage to speak those words.

His concern for courage was so much on his mind, he mentions it twice--once in verse 19 and immediately again in verse 20. In verse 19 he says, “Pray . . . that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” Then in verse 20 the thought comes to his mind again: “Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

It’s hard to imagine Paul worried that he might lose courage in sharing the gospel, isn’t it? But anyone who seriously considers what is at stake has this concern. Chuck Colson wrote:

When I was a Marine lieutenant, I was conscious that I had fifty lives in my hands. I didn’t dare show it, but I was frightened. A 747 pilot knows that he is responsible for three hundred or more lives. But can there be anything more terrifying than to know that you are actually speaking for God—the holy, majestic ‘I Am’? Can there be any greater responsibility than to shepherd the church of God which Jesus purchased with His own blood? Even with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the charge is terrifying, considering our own frailty.

Pray that I will be given boldness to say exactly what God wants me to say—in the pulpit, one-on-one, and as I lead this church.

So, when you pray for your pastor, pray that he be given words and courage.

Several years ago, college football coach Bill McCartney began the phenomenal men’s movement called Promise Keepers. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Christian men pledged to keep seven vital promises, one of them being to honor and pray for their pastor. Pastors experienced powerful personal revival because Promise Keepers reminded Christian men to honor and pray for their pastors.

In a 1993 conference, Coach McCartney said to the men: “I see us going home to our churches and asking our pastors for permission, praying fervently for the favor of God, to stand before the congregation and say, ‘We’re going to start to lift up our pastor. We are going to stand in the gap for our preacher. We’re going to pray around the clock! We’re going to build this man up. We’re going to take him where he has never been before!’”

All around this nation churches were different when hundreds of thousands of men took up the coach’s challenge and prayed. Ephesians 6:19-20stands as instruction for every Christian, not just Promise Keepers. Like Paul asked his people, I ask you: “Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
_________________________
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.