Book Review: Counterfeit Gods

I know that this is my fourth book review in a row, but I intend to write a couple more before this break is over. As I stated before I've had a lot of free time to read over this holiday break and it has been extremely beneficial. I've been able to open my mind to some principles and concepts that I haven't really meditated on before. This book was no exception.

The last book review I wrote was on Tim Keller's The Prodigal God, which, I must reiterate, was an incredibly insightful book. I decided to read more Keller right away with Counterfeit Gods and I am going to read his third book The Reason for God before I move on to another author. Keller did not disappoint when it came to this book. If anything, this book may have been better than the last one. He has an amazing ability to take simple concepts that you have heard in church all your life and explain them in a way that you have never heard before. In this book he takes on the issue of idols in our everyday life and expounds upon it in a way that I have never even thought of. He addresses the three big idols: Money, Sex, and Power and shows how dangerous and integrated they are in our everyday lives. He addresses the ways in which idols can sneak into every area of our life, especially in the presumed "Christian" areas. Most importantly, he offers the only resolution there is to these intensely dangerous idols.

Probably the most innovative idea that he presented was how these idols are simply the gods that we serve. Now don't get me wrong, I've hear this before, but Keller defines it better than I've ever heard. He explains why it becomes our gods rather than just stating that as a fact. He explains how we deify and demonize things into absolutes that cannot handle that type of definition.

Once again I am forced to recommend this book. It is an absolute must-read. It will help you understand your walk in a clearer way. The best thing about Keller's writing is that he has an uncanny ability to strip you of any presumptive opinions you had about your own personal walk with God and convict you of the lack thereof. Through his writing he is able to break down those outer walls and make you realize what your true intentions are in your Christian walk and then helps you resolve it. This was an amazing book and I highly recommend that you read it.

Book Review: The Prodigal God

This is the my third book review in a row and hopefully I will continue this pattern. The book I just recently finished was The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. I'm already halfway through another book by Keller and I have no intention to stop. I actually got the opportunity almost a year ago to hear Keller speak at his current pastorate: Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is possibly the top authority on ministry to postmoderns. His approach thus far is genius to say the least.

One of the best things that Tim Keller does is that he takes rudimentary truths and stories that you have always heard, given you have a mild Christian background, and he expounds upon them to a point that you have never heard of before. In the literature of his that I have read so far, he does an amazing job by not going over your head with difficult concepts, which is much appreciated. There are two things that I really appreciate about his writing. The first is that he is very systematic in his approach. He starts at the beginning of a subject, passage, or concept and just simply works his way through it systematically. This makes whatever the subject matter is very easy to understand. The second thing that I really appreciated was his peculiar use of sources. Now this might sound weird at first, but the more I thought about it, it made a lot of sense. Keller would use sources like a verse from the musical Oklahoma, a lyric from Flannery O'Connor, or a quote from Nietzsche. On the outside this may seem a bit odd, but after seeing how he handles it I thought it was pure genius. He is addressing of people of all different types of status, nationality, and stage in life, and with that comes a demand to speak directly to these people. Keller does not disappoint, he is able to take sources from all different mediums to prove a central point.

Now on to the subject matter of the book. As you may have guessed Keller talks about "The Parable of The Prodigal Son", which he appropriately renames "The Parable of the Two Lost Sons". He takes this parable that we have heard over and over again and complete breaks down any preconceived notions you may have had about it, and then builds a new picture of what Christ meant through it. Now, I don't want to give too much away because I think it would be a great benefit for everyone to read it. This is what I will tell you: this book will make you look at the Christian faith in a entirely different way. It will help you understand why certain believers do one thing, while others work on the other end of the spectrum. Keller subtly redefines a lot of concepts that we have all taken for granted. I'll leave you with a very simple quote that I read in the book that I hope will wet your appetite to read it. He is writing about how Christianity isn't the same as religious moralism.

He writes "Religion: 'I obey--therefore I am accepted by God.' The gospel: 'I am accepted by God through what Christ has done--therefore I obey'".

Book Review: In Real Time

If any of you have lived in Nashville for any amount of time, there may be a good chance that you have at least heard of the young adult ministry called Kairos. It is a twenty-something ministry that is held out at Brentwood Baptist and is lead by their Senior pastor there, Mike Glenn. This ministry seems to have exploded overnight. It is huge and its still growing. Young adults from all over the Nashville flock to Brentwood Baptist on Tuesday (and now Thursday) night to hear "Uncle Mike" exegete the Scripture with immense practicality. This has stirred the interests of church growth theorists everywhere. Thus, Mike Glenn wrote a book on it and this is it.

The difference between this book and most church/ministry growth books that you'll read is that Mike Glenn does not focus on the specifics too much. He makes a huge emphasis on the principles that they use and how to approach the people. He does not discuss the intimate details of the program. His reason for this is that he doesn't think it has anything to do with the little specifics. He feels that if you were to look too much at the specifics that it wouldn't make sense in another context. That is the exact meaning of their ministry: Kairos, which is Greek for "a unique moment in time". He feels that this ministry is just the right thing at the right time to accomplish the right goal.

There were a handful of things that really jumped out at me from this book. He made a lot of valid points about ministering to postmoderns. He talked about how this generation, because of the disintegration of the American family, has problems with any type of relationship. It takes them a long time to build that trust with individuals, especially when it comes to people in authority like pastors. He also made a great point about how pastors expect to be treated like professionals: making appointments with people, scheduling with people and so on. He said the problem with this is that this generation doesn't look at pastors as professionals because of how clergy have been portrayed in popular media. One of the great things about this book is that between chapters he takes you through a "Kairos guided prayer". He shows you the way he leads this congregation through prayer each night and how it effectively leads them into worship.

In short, he makes a lot of great points concerning the ministry of postmodern young adults. It is one of the better books that I have read on the subject. He expounds upon a lot of great truths that I have not thought about. I highly recommend this book, especially to those in the ministry or that are seeking to be in the ministry. There are some things in this book that we all have to address, whether we want to or not.

Book Review: The Bravehearted Gospel

Since it is Christmas break I have had a lot of free time on my hands. Thankfully, I have been able to discipline myself to get a lot of reading done that I have been putting off. I have a handful of books that I still desire to finish before break is over in two weeks, but I have been able to knock out a good amount so far. With that said, I thought it may be beneficial to write book reviews on the books that I finish. Let me put forth a disclaimer though: I am by no means the Ebert and Roeper of the Christian book genre. I just wish to offer my opinion on these books and maybe encourage you to read them if you find it applicable. With that said, here's the first review:

I recently read through Eric Ludy's book The Bravehearted Gospel. Let me preface by saying: I think this is a book that every Christian man living in this generation needs to read. I will get to why in a second. Ludy deals without a ton of pressing issues in this relatively small book. The main premise for this book is that the Body of Christ has been emasculated. Now I may warn you, he takes a long time to warm up. He spends the first couple of chapters of the book preparing you for what he wants to talk about and he does it very carefully, but once he is done with that, he just takes off.

Now this book does not claim to be a scholarly book by any means. Eric Ludy is not a prestigious clergy member, to my knowledge he has not earned a doctorate, but he deals with some heavy issues quite adequately. He talks about how the American church has lost it's masculine side. He goes on to explain that the contemporary church has focused so much on love, hope and tolerance, that it has lost it's view of truth completely. This is definitely a truth that should make our ears ring. Ludy does a great job of dealing with issues like relative interpretation of the Bible, over-tolerance of sin among believers, and what he calls "metrotheism", while at the same time laying a great foundation for Biblical Christianity through ancient believers. It is a great call to go ad fontes as it were. He echos the cries of the martyrs to challenge today's church. I have yet to read anyone that deals with Biblical masculinity better than Eric Ludy. He knows how to touch the heart of man and stir it to action. I challenge you to read this book. I am not an emotional guy when I read, but there were parts where I wanted to cry during this book because I was so moved.

Let me give you an excerpt that I was reading when I was on a plane on my way to Miami.

"Doubt barks, 'This isn't true, this can't be true, this whole Christian thing is a lie!' But the miniature, ever-growing Athanasius within us cries out, 'Here I stand!' Hollywood scoffs, 'Your faith is hollow. It's based upon mythologies and fables!' But the miniature, ever-growing Luther within us cries out, 'Here I stand!' Our friends mock, 'This is just a phase you're going through. One day you will see this whole Christian thing for what it is - a mere psychological elixir!' But the miniature, ever-growing Wilberforce within us cries out, 'Here I stand!' Even the modern church chimes in: 'Now, be careful not to expect too much from God in this life. Otherwise you will end up disappointed and disillusioned and forsake your faith altogether.' But the miniature, ever-growing Jesus Christ within us cries out 'Here I stand!'"

When I read that on the plane. I wanted to jump out of my seat grab all those willing and storm the gates of Hell. This is a powerful book that will challenge the way you live your Christian life.

I dare you to read it.

Don't Waste Your Life

Christ's Call to Follow in His Footsteps

Tour-De-Burrito

Friends, I have yet to write a lighthearted blog post. Every post up until now has been about virtues, heavy topics and calls of duty; all of which need to be addressed and talked about. But this, my fellow food connoisseurs, is the epiphany that me any a great friend of mine had just the other day: Tour-De-Burrito. It isn't to far from it's counterpart in France. That one deals with bikes, this one with burritos. We are talking a five day gauntlet in which a group of friends goes to decide which burrito restaurant reigns supreme. Each day for five days we are going to go to a different burrito establishment and enjoy the spoils thereof. We intend on eating the same type of burrito at each place as to judge which one is the best. Which one will be crowned the king of burritos? These are the restaurants in the running:

Qdoba

Moe's

Chipotle

Baja Burrito

Blue Coast Burrito

Maybe you don't know me very well, but I love burritos. It is a love that borders slightly on obsession. I enjoy nothing more than eating a heavy, delicious burrito everyday of my life. There's just something about it. I can't put my finger on it, but it has to be innately good. I hope that you can share in my love for burritos.

So we're looking for a group of people to go with us. There is a facebook group that you can join named appropriately: Tour-De-Burrito. Join it. We hope to make this a good time of fellowship. Let me know if you're interested. If you're not able to take part in it, I would love to hear your opinion on these places or burritos in general. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me and tell me your thoughts.

Manly Courage

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point" - C.S. Lewis

Courage. It sounds like one of those chivalrous attributes that went away along with courtesy and compassion. That might not be too far from the truth. Courage is one of those man characteristics. I don't know about you but I often create a dichotomy between virtues that a man should have and virtues that a woman should have. Courage lays on the side of masculinity. I don't mean to say that woman aren't courageous. There are woman all throughout history that have been far more courageous than any man. I do mean to say that men need to be courageous. It is an attribute that all real men should have. What does it mean to be courageous? Does it mean doing something stupid when no one else does? Of course not. But courage does single people out. Not everyone is courageous. This world is filled with many a coward. Being courageous does often mean that you are going to do something that other people are not.

Being courageous means being a leader. It means standing up for what is true, right and pure in the world, even when its not easy or comfortable. It means fighting. There is a reason soldiers are courageous. It is because they fought for what is right. But true courage isn't applied to fighting wars or standing up against bullies. Real courage is demonstrated in every aspect of life. As Lewis says, it really is the form of every virtue at the testing point. It is when your principles and your beliefs are tested and you stand your ground. In the movie "Braveheart", William Wallace says this, "Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it."

I give you the same challenge. I speak primarily to the men. Be courageous. Stand up for what is true. Never back down.

Work Hard

James 2:14-26 (ESV)

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

This is War

The Road to Hell

"Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

If you known me for any amount of time, it comes as no surprise that I think very highly of C.S. Lewis. I do have to admit that being fond of C.S. Lewis often seems like the popular intellectual Christian thing to do. I am not exception to that stereotype, but for good reason. He was a prolific writer and a intellectual giant. Although he was a literary genius, I am not writing this post about him (Maybe at a later date when I can not stand the temptation any longer). I wanted to just expound upon my favorite quote from one his great books The Screwtape Letters. As quoted above Screwtape, a demon, is writing to his nephew, a fellow demon, in encouragement to detour his assigned Christian. Now this quote is found about halfway through the book, but it hit me hard. Let me lay it in context for you. Screwtape is enlightening Wormwood on many different ways in which to trip up his assingment. It seems to reach it's apex in this very quote. Screwtape says that Murder is not better than cards if cards will do the trick. He is insisting that it doesn't take a "large" sin in order to condemn us to hell.

That's what I wanted to talk about in this post. The Road to Hell. C.S. Lewis is right. It is a gentle slope, that is soft underfoot and it does not have sudden turnings or signposts. That is separates us from God and how we are drawn away from Him. It is not the big events that tear us apart, it is the little things all along the way that slowly separate us.

So what do we do about it? We need to protect ourselves from this. Although it sounds cliche, a battle like this is daily. The only way in which we can continue to strengthen this relationship is to be diligent each and every day to seek God with our whole heart. It really is the little things that will lead us away from Him thus we must guard ourselves from them. Seek holiness in every aspect of your life.

Thinking Theologically About Adoption

The Weaker Vessel

1 Peter 3:7 (ESV): "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."

Once again, as always, I was doing my devotions reading through 1 Peter a few times. A book like 1 Peter I try to read through a few times in one sitting because of the brevity of the book. As we should all do when reading the Scriptures I was seeking to mine out the precious jewels that the Bible has for us to find. This verse in the 3rd chapter of the book stuck out like a sore thumb. To truly expound upon this verse I am going to have to talk to men (and I do not use that term flippantly).

As men we often look at passages throughout the Bible that deal with marriage and the such and focus on the subordination of women and the elitism (or so we think) of masculinity. Somehow we have got it in our minds that for a truly "biblical" marriage/relationship that we are suppose to be some radical dictator and that woman are suppose to obey our every whimper. This is very much NOT the case. You are suppose to be leaders; but for you to be a true leader you yourself must follow Christ in the way in which you have been called. There are no dictators in a biblical relationship, only followers of Christ. We like to quote Ephesians 5:22 without taking any responsibilities for the rest of the passage.

This brings me to this gem of a verse in 1 Peter. As Peter is writing here, he refers to women as the weaker vessel and how as men, we must live with them and guide them in a way accordingly. Instantly, our male egos are boosted knowing that we are sequentially the "stronger" vessel. Now put your male ego in check. I sat for a while and meditated on this verse and this is what I came up with. What are things around us that are weaker? I started making a short list. Things like silk, fine china, ornate glasses, etc. See a pattern here? I started to realize that the things in our life that are "weaker" are far more precious then those things that we look at as "stronger". There is so much more value in silk then say, a tough piece of rope.

So what are the implications? Since women are the weaker vessel, thus much more precious then us, we need to treat them as such. Treat the women around you like they are precious and valuable, because they are. Treat your wife or your girlfriend like they are priceless, because they are. They may be "weaker", but that is only because they are far more priceless then us and need to be cherished and treated with care. So men, do so accordingly.

Be True

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV)

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

What Does It Mean To Think Theologically?

I Never Knew You

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

Disclaimer: I have no original thought unto myself. All the witticisms, bright ideas, or revolutionary concepts that I post on here are only products of books I read, lectures I hear, or conversations that I have the privileged to take part in. This revelation, without exception, is the product of a in depth conversation I had with a good friend just recently.

So me and my dear friend were discussing this passage just the other day. I've always had a very uneasy feeling about this passage. Maybe I'm the only one, but when I've read this passage before and it says "depart from me; I never knew you", I always thought that was just a harsh way of God telling us to be gone. I thought in fewer words that God was simply telling us "You didn't do what you were suppose to, I'm forgetting ever knowing you". Now I might have had a very staunch interpretation of this, but I think I was wrong.

Let me explain. I think I missed the point completely. I mean I think I completely and utterly missed the entire meaning of the passage. This passage has nothing to do with works. Obviously. The first part of the passage talks about doing all sorts of works in the name of Christ, but it doesn't mean anything. I think the emphasis of the entire passage lays in the words "I never knew you". See, these people that did all these great works in the name of Christ, they never knew Him. They never sought to have a personal relationship with Him. It was never their intention to grow closer to God and get to know Him intimately. God wasn't telling them to depart from Him because they weren't doing the right things, works had nothing to do with it, it was because they never sought a relationship with Him at all.

It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we accomplish anything for His Kingdom. Let us start getting to know Christ in a deeper relationship with Him.

Does God Exist?

I don't know how true this video is. But whether or not it has anything to do with the philosophy of Albert Einstein, it brings up a great argument for the existence of God. Now this is an age old argument that has been laid out, but I thought this was a refreshing video to watch to bring it to life again.

What's Your Creed?

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

And of all things visible and invisible:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,

Begotten of his Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light,

Very God of very God,

Begotten, not made,

Being of one substance with the Father,

By whom all things were made;

Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven,

And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,

And was made man,

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered and was buried,

And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,

And ascended into heaven,

And sitteth on the right hand of the Father.

And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead:

Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost,

The Lord and giver of life,

Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,

Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified,

Who spake by the Prophets.

And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

And I look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the life of the world to come.

Amen.

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

the third day he rose from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

What's your Creed?

The Impossible Commandment

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." - John 13:34 (ESV)

In doing my daily devotions a while back I ran across this verse. To be honest, I didn't really know what to do with it. It didn't sit well with me at all. I became very frustrated with this short verse, because frankly, I thought it was an impossible commandment to keep. Let me fill you in on the two points that I struggled with and the conclusion I was forced to come to.

First, this is a commandment. Far, far to often in our Christian lives, we read a commandment in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, and we treat it as a word of wisdom or sage advice. I'm not quite sure where the word commandment was lost in translation, but it hasn't changed in definition. It is still a command. If we agree to be followers of Jesus Christ then we are obligated to follow the commands that He gives us. Christ reminds us that if we love Him then we will follow his commandments. Because our faithfulness an obedience we show our love to him. Even though this can be very hard at times to follow, this isn't the section of the verse that I wrestled with. The latter part of the verse I couldn't understand for the longest time. Christ says to love one another: just as I have loved you. Let me repeat that: love one another: just as I have loved you. How in the world are we suppose to love one another as Christ has loved us? His love is immeasurable and divine. There is no way possible for us to ever be able to love one another in the same way Christ has loved us. It is simply: impossible.

So how are we ever to fulfill this commandment? I dwelt on this for the longest time. I couldn't understand why Christ would ever give us a commandment that we could never achieve. Then it hit me. We can't fulfill this commandment; at least not by ourselves with the love we have. We need to show Christ's love through us. That is exactly how we love one another the way Christ loves us. That is the only way we can fulfill the commandment. No way through ourselves but by Christ through us. By allowing Christ's love to show through us we actually can love one another: just as He loved us.

No, Mr. President.

Post-Modernism and The Emergent Church

Spiritually Starving

Ask anyone, I love food. There are few things that make me more content then sitting down to the table and eating a hearty meal. There is just something about sitting with friends and filling that endless cavity that they call a stomach. I'm a big guy and I can put back a lot of food. Many times I find myself complaining that "I am starving". I think it goes without saying that this might be a slight exaggeration. Never have I came to the point of near death or malnutrition because of the lack of food in my life. I've always had plenty to eat, many times far too much. We do know however, that if we go without food long enough we will die. It's a simple scientific fact, our bodies need food to continue running. No food, then we're done.

How often do we apply that to our spiritual lives? All throughout scripture we see Christ and the Word of God described as bread or living water. It says in John 6: 35 "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." Then again in Matthew 4:4 "But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" That's quite clear. Christ and the Bible are our spiritual nutrients. If we can't live our physical lives without physical food then how do we expect to live our spiritual lives without spiritual food? Somehow we have it in our minds that we can live a healthy spiritual life without ever filling ourselves with spiritual nutrients. That doesn't make sense.

I recently just started reading a small book called REFUEL by Doug Fields. In the book he makes a list of things that are effected in his life when he isn't saturated in the word. I thought it was a very concise, appropriate list. So here it is:

• I'm more selfish with my time
• I'm impatient
• I lack compassion for those who are hurting
• I'm more vulnerable to temptation
• I begin to act like I deserve certain things
• I'm short with people
• I'm disobedient
• I feel distant from God
• I'm cynical
• I find it more difficult to make good decisions
• My insecurities are more prevelent
• I begin to look to others to fill voids that I know only God can fill
• I'm critical - in speech as well as thought
  

We begin to fall apart when we don't get our spiritual food. How can we live our spiritual lives with out the nutrients thereof? We can't.

John 4: 10-15 reads "Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

Telling People About Jesus

Although this clip is quite humorous, there is some rational truth to this. Sometimes us as Christians we try every trend or fad concerning evangelism that we can get our hands on. We implement different methodology and strategies all to reach the same goal: share the unending love of Christ. Often we try the most pragmatic strategy we have. Using a five phase monologue or a multi-colored bracelet.

I wonder if we're doing it wrong. What if we just shared what was on our hearts? If Christ has truly and miraculously changed our lives, wouldn't we want to to share what has happened? Maybe I'm wrong, but maybe I'm right. I challenge you that next time God opens an opportunity for you to witness to someone that you just share sincerely what God has done in your life and His life-changing love that He has for every single person.

True Love

Romans 8: 37-39

"37No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What is Truth?

Webster's Dictionary defines truth as:

Truth\, n.; pl. Truths. [OE. treuthe, trouthe, treowpe, AS. tre['o]w?. See True; cf. Troth, Betroth.

1. The quality or being true; as:
(a) Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been; or shall be.
(b) Conformity to rule; exactness; close correspondence with an example, mood, object of imitation, or the like. Plows, to go true, depend much on the truth of the ironwork. --Mortimer.
(c) Fidelity; constancy; steadfastness; faithfulness. Alas! they had been friends in youth, But whispering tongues can poison truth. --Coleridge.
(d) The practice of speaking what is true; freedom from falsehood; veracity.

If this will not suffice, it must appear That malice bears down truth. --Shak.

2. That which is true or certain concerning any matter or subject, or generally on all subjects; real state of things; fact; verity; reality.

Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor. --Zech. viii. 16.
I long to know the truth here of at large. --Shak.
The truth depends on, or is only arrived at by, a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material. --Coleridge.

3. A true thing; a verified fact; a true statement or proposition; an established principle, fixed law, or the like; as, the great truths of morals.

Even so our boasting . . . is found a truth. --2 Cor. vii. 14.

4. Righteousness; true religion.

Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. --John i. 17.
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. --John xvii. 17.

In a turh, in reality; in fact. Of a truth, in reality; certainly. To do truth, to practice what God commands.

He that doeth truth cometh to the light. --John iii. 21 .

John 18: 37, 38 says:

"Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"..."

Jesus said himself, "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life..." So I ask you as Pilate asked Christ, what is truth? In what do we find complete and absolute truth? In this postmodern culture, where all truth is relative (thus dead), how does one find what is truly true? Do we believe the truth? No word is used more in the New Testament then the Koine Greek word for truth: αλήθεια (aletheia). By any consideration, we know that God's truth is vitally important to our Christian life. The centrality of the Bible is the truth of the gospel. Truth is integral to our spiritual life. There are countless references that I can post here that focus on truth, the truth of the gospel, the truth of God, the truth of Scripture, the truth of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We have vetoed our inborn desire to seek The Truth in our day-to-day lives and have settled for opinions that are relative to ourself. As Christians we stand upon The Truth as our foundation. But if we don't have truth then what do we have? Answer: lies.

Addressing The Problem of Evil

It's all in the Cape

I love superheros. I may or may not have a slight obsession with superheros. I love superheros. Superheros are amazing. Did I mention that I love superheros? You may have noticed the subtle superhero theme of this blog that I tried to implement in the most acute way possible. So if you don't know already: I love superheros. In my mind there is nothing that better represents what is more true and pure than what a real superhero will stand for. They fight for what is right and true, no matter who is against them. They can be facing the eve of the destruction of a the entire earth and they will still fight for truth, justice and the American way. I want to be like that. I want to be someone, who in the face of the greatest danger known to man, I will still hold to what is right.

This brings me to "the cape". What exactly does a cape do? I asked a congregation of teenagers this just the other day. I received answers ranging from "a fashion statement" all the way to "it's more aerodynamic". Well I am here to tell you what a cape really does. It does: nothing. As far as I can tell a cape really has no purpose. It looks nice and all, possibly holds the insignia of the infamous superhero, but for all intensive purposes, it does nothing. But for some reason, when I dawn a cheesy cape that a young child would wear, I feel invincible. I feel like I am a real life superhero. I feel like I could stop bullets with my chest (lets not test that theory). I feel like I am standing up for what is true and right in the world.

I think inside each of us is the desire to be a superhero. We want the power to do what is good in the world. I think a lot of us just feel that we don't have the means to do so. We feel we are powerless to stand up to "the forces of evil". Well that simply is not true. We have power through Christ to do so. We may not be able to jump buildings in a single bound, be more powerful than a locomotive or run faster than a bullet, but we do have power through Christ to do amazing things. He gives us the courage, passion, desire and raw power to do amazing things for Him. Everything that is true, pure, good and right in the world is exactly what Christ has set for us. We can be superheros. We can do amazing things as long as we allow God to use us any way He sees fit. Let us all surrender to His cause and be amazing heroes of the faith.

Ministering to Armadillos

Continuing on my journey across the Midwest going from church camp to to church camp I am learning a lot about ministry. I have had the amazing opportunity at a few of these camps to be the evangelist. At others I am a cabin counselor and at others I just represent the Bible College. No matter what I am doing I get the chance to invest into the lives of these young people. It is greatest thing in the world!

The issue I wanted to discuss in this short blog is youth ministry. Now I by no means am a expert on this subject. I've never taken a class at college that pertains to it and I have only a mild amount of experience in the field. But I have realized one thing: ministering to teenagers is like ministering to armadillos. I have to admit, I stole this saying from a friend who directed this last camp, but he was right. It is exactly like ministering to armadillos. Just like armadillos, teenagers have a very thick outer coating by which they guard themselves with. They don't like to let people in and they are quick to put up their walls to protect themselves. But just like a armadillo they have a soft inside. It may be hard to break through that tough exterior of a teenager, but I am convinced by what I have seen the past few weeks that every teenager has a tender interior.

This gives me hope for the future of the church. These young people in our churches today are going to leading our churches tomorrow (if they aren't already doing it now). They may be hard to crack, but once they are, I am convinced that each and everyone of them has a heart to do what is right and pure.

Don't Waste Your Pulpit

Putting God in a Box

This summer I have been traveling from church camp to church camp doing recruitment for the Bible College that I attend. I get a first-hand look at the strategies that different directors implore on their teenage attendees. So far I have seen a wide variety of approaches to teaching these young students. Many of the camps have a solid understanding that they only have these young people at this camp for a few days short of a week and that they need to teach them all that they can in that limited amount of time. This manifests itself as multiple Bible lessons each day and one or more services with a select speaker preaching.

It is amazing to see the vast contrast between the camps. Although there are some major differences in methodology, I have yet to be a camp that didn't efficiently reach their group of young people. But methodology and strategy isn't what I want to discuss in this small bit of stereo consciousness. I wanted to discuss a underlining theme that I have observed at each of these camps that has spoken deeply to my own heart. Every one of the speakers at these camps so far has challenged its campers to be radical workers for the Kingdom of God. They have exhorted their listeners to not put their Savior in a box and confine what He can do in their lives but rather let God do miraculous things in their lives.

This is a refreshing message to say the least. This past week was possibly the best example yet. While I was at a camp in Missouri this past week the speaker pointed out that the vast majority of prophets and workers for the Kingdom in both the Old and the New Testament were called as young men and women. People like Timothy and Samuel were called as young men. The Bible said that David was just a boy when he defeated Goliath. The list goes on and on. It was amazing to see these young girls and boys be attentive to the speaker and then seek to apply it in their own lives. They knew through the Word that God could use them and that all they had to do was surrender to His will in their lives.

I had the amazing opportunity and honor to pray with some young men this past week. Their prayer was simple: "I want to be a better witness for Christ". Although still young in their faith they had a good understanding of the implications of this prayer and what it would take for them to fulfill it. They made some great decisions this week and it was a blessing to see them take God out of the box that many of us put Him in. They wanted to see what God could do with their lives.

I got a call from those young guys on my way back to Nashville this morning. It hadn't been more than a few hours since camp had let out. They had led two people to Christ already and shared their faith with more than 10 people. Now I know that they were still on that spiritual high that we all have experienced from church camp, but I exhorted them and challenged them that even when things get difficult and down to cling to that promise that they made to God this past week. Pray for these young men and women that want to do God's work. I wish many of us would have the hearts that these young people have. That we would be willing to surrender it all to God in hope that He would use us to be workers for His Kingdom.

Zombie Faith

Over the past couple of months I've felt nulling feeling of complacement in my Christian life. It just seems that the older that I get and the more that I learn, the more I become less emotional over my faith. Sometimes it is hard for me to discern between over-emotionalism and God's true spirit in a service. I think a lot of the time I'm just being to critical and need to allow God's Holy Spirit work in me and through me. By meditating on all of this lately, this led me to think of a epidemic that has struck our culture: Zombie faith.

Obviously I am more guilty of this then anyone. I've been struggling with this line between coviction and mediocricy in my own life. Just like Johnny Cash, I've been walking that line. My questions to any one that is reading this is, where is that line? How much do we allow ourselves to become emotionally involved in a service and how much do we approach it purely intellectually?

I had a really good long talk with a great friend of mine today on the phone and we talked about this very subject. Luckily for me I have friends that are far smarter than myself who bring revelation into my life. We debated over this topic for sometime and synonomously came to the conclusion that if you have a true, real encouter with God, the Creator of Everyting, the Savior of the World, My Fortress, My True Shepherd, then won't you be emotional. Not to downplay the intellectual aspect of our faith, but if you have a true one on one encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, wouldn't there be at least a little bit of emotionalism that would be manifested?

I know too often in my own life, my faith has become that of a zombie's. I go through the movements without even thinking about it. I know what to say and when to say it. I know how to make my prayers sound spiritual. I know how to cite verses and talk theology. One thing I don't always know how to do is to be sincere. This is something I want to accomplish. I want my faith to be real and honest. I want it to be true and vital. I don't want to just go through the emotions. I want my faith to captivate my heart and my mind and envelop all of me. That is my prayer for my own life and I hope you will share in it with me.

What's Your World Look Like?

I've been back in Michigan this past week visiting the family and some old friends. During my time here I've had some rude awakenings concerning the condition of souls around me. Sometimes, while being at Bible College, I loose sight of how depraved and lost the world is. It seems that while I am at Bible College my view of the world can become somewhat jaded. I assume that the world's spiritual condition as a whole is much better than what it really is because everthing at school is good, respectively.

But thats not the case. At all. If possible, it seems that the world is becoming increasingly depraved. Conditions are worsening and it is now our time to act as Christians. It is now more than ever, that I think it is important that we as Christians should know what we believe and why we believe it. We need to properly formulate our Worldview according to our faith. We cannot give into this concept of believing and not challenging our faith. It is imperative that we wrestle with our faith and mold it over in our mind daily. A faith not worth wrestiling with, in my opinion, is not worth having. As a Christian we need to do three things to properly solidfy our Worldview:

1. Know what you believe and why you believe it

2. Live out what you believe in your everday life through you daily actions

3. Be able to explain to others what you believe and why you believe it

It was late tonight that I had a long talk with three friends of mine. Two of these friends are presume are agnostic. They believed in some higher power, but they couldn't narrow down what they believed in and they were extremely sceptical of believing anything specifically. My other friend, I'm fairly sure, confesses to be a Christian, but is very pluristic in his beliefs. I sat down with these three men and debated with them for over an hour about theology and faith. It was enlightening and very intellectual to say the least. At the same time though, it was discouraging. It showed me how unprepared I am to answer some valid, tough questions that sceptics have. Thus, I have to challenge myself to learn more about my worldview.

So I ask you, what's you world look like? And why does it look like that?

Evangelistc vs. Missional

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIRtz0AjgLY

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago when I was in New York City to go to Redeemer Presbyterian Church and hear Pastor Tim Keller speak there. It was definitely one of the most intellectually based church services that I have ever been too. He addressed the concept of righteous anger and how it is to be applied in our culture today. It was by far the best exposition on righteous anger that I have ever heard. He has an innate ability take the paradoxes of scripture and shrouded truths that are often debated within theological circles and come up with simple logical answers to them. Obviously Dr. Keller can not and is not right on many facets of the Christian worldview, it is very interesting to see how he approaches different subjects. Some believe that Dr. Keller promotes an emerging view of the church in reference to our Postmodern era. I have not done enough research on it to give a valid account of whether he is or not. I do know that he seems to have a heart to reach the lost of this world and bring them to Christ.

While doing my daily rummage through the cross-section of young American that we call YouTube, I stumbled upon one of Dr. Kellers many short clips addressing problems of the current church. In this clip he describes a difference between Evangelistic and Missional that I have never considered before. I have always realized the failing practice of many churches to make Evangelism simply a appendage of the church and not the heart of it, where it should be. I agree with Dr. Keller in that we need to make the church of this era a missional church. The church's sole goal should be to reach the unregenerate for the Kingdom of God. If this vital aspect of our Christian life isn't the central part of the Christian body then we are destined to fail.

Is it evident that vast majority of our churches in America today view Evangelism as only a department of the Church. We have compartmentalized the works of the Kingdom into different "ministries" that the Church is to perform. It is not until we make the advance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the heart of the Church's work, that we see another Great Awakening.

This starts in the individual believer. Each believer needs to resolve to personally make their life a mission field. Then and only then will the masses seek repentance.

Capitalizing on Christ

One of my biggest frustrations with contemporary Christianity is this concept that we can better reach the lost through making Christianity, or Christ himself a product to be sold. This has hit every aspect of the Christian life. We have everything from cheesy Christian t-shirts to lollipops in the shape of crosses. Since when is our Lord and Savior on the same level as Coca-Cola and Tootsie Pops? I apologize if it seems that I'm blowing this out of proportion but it just seems to me that this concept fosters a dangerously shallow faith among believers.

Some of the worst cases that I've seen of this are shirts at your local Christian book store that instead of having Coca-Cola on a shirt it has Jesus Christ written in the same trademark way as that refreshing soft drink. What is this really promoting? Is it really a good witnessing tool or is it doing more harm than good? From a educated Christian perspective I see those t-shirts and say on one hand you have Coca-Cola and on the other you have Christ our Lord, being "sold" in the same way. We're equating our Savior with popular consumer products. Do you want Coke or Christ? Your choice.

I was flipping through the pages of a Oriental Trading Company catalog the other day with some friends, making fun about various products. While flipping through this endless cornucopia of useless products I stumbled upon "cross mints", which are pictured above. This was the pinnacle of my frustration. Have we really reached that shallow of a point in our faith? I cannot begin to tell you the frustration I feel when I dwell on these things. It is horrible that we've reached a point to now, where the cross that my Lord and Savior bleed and died upon for my sins is now made into a tiny mint that you can pop in your mouth to freshen your breath. We need to start taking our Christian walk more seriously. It is imperative that we allow our minds to be transformed in the way that would be glorifying to God.

We need to stop treating God as a product to be sold, but rather our Creator, Provider, Lord and Savior.