Ash Wednesday

What can I say? The Ash Wednesday service at Harvest Church was great. Actually, this was the very first time I had ever participated in such a service. It was a moving experience to acknowledge and recognize what Jesus did for us on the cross; however, it was also powerful to reflect on my own mortality. Roy Rogers told the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. Then everyone was invited to nail their names upon wooden crosses standing in the worship center. Each worshiper then knelt at the altar as a minister smeared ashes on their foreheads in the form of a cross. As the minister did this, he pronounced, "From ashes you came, to ashes you will return. Remember Jesus." If you have not already done so, now would be a great time to kneel, wherever you are, and reflect upon the death of Jesus and your own mortality.

Running from Culture

In his book, "An Unstoppable Force," Erwin Raphael McManus presents the following question for local Churches, "Is our Church a refuge for the world or from the world?" It has been my experience that many local congregations have become safe havens for their members. While they proclaim to be a light to the world, they are in practice places of refuge for people who want to hide from the realities of their culture. Many Christians view their places of worship as a medieval castle they can flee to and once safely inside they can raise the drawbridge to keep out their perceived enemy known as "The World." In this article, I will use M. Night Shyamalan's movie "The Village" as a metaphor to illustrate the Church's tendency to be a place of refuge from culture.

"The Village" is a thriller about a group of people who chose to separate themselves from modern society. Their decision was motivated by the horrible experiences each had with the evils of culture. A family member or loved one of each person in the group had been brutally murdered. In an attempt to live a life free of horrors, these people decided to move away from society to a remote place where they could be evil free. This is not much different from what many of our Churches have become. Instead of engaging our culture with the Gospel of Christ, we have tucked tail and ran. Our congregations have become monasteries catering to the needs of the Churched and setting itself up to be the enemy of the world while it should be a place offering refuge for the world. We have created our own subculture that has imprisoned the Gospel to the point that anyone living outside of our surreal reality finds it impossible to interpret it. The villagers were living a lifestyle that was hundreds of years outdated. Many Churches are guitly of the same by trying to bring back the "golden days" of the past and holding to tradition. Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it. We have become so focused on not being of the world to the point of no longer being in it. The result is the outright rejection of Jesus' command to "go" into the world.

In order to ensure their new way of life would continue, the group of village elders fabricated stories to keep their posterity in line. The stories were of monsters that lived in the surrounding woods of the village. They were referred to as "the people we do not speak of." Watchtowers were erected and people stood watch to warn the villagers of an intrusion of the imaginary foes. Even rituals of peace were offered to the monsters of the forbidden woods. And to top it all off, the elders of the village would dress as "the people we do not speak of" and roam the village at night to make their lies believable. Fear became the motivating factor to keep their surreal life intact. Once again, this is not at all unlike many of our Churches. Well intentioned Pastors have preached lies to their congregations in an attempt to keep it clean and unspotted. Many Christians have been taught to fear the world. They have been brainwashed into believing that contact with culture is sin. Legalism becomes dominant to keep members in check. Members of these Churches become afraid of society and forget that greater is the Spirit of God that dwells in them than the spirit of the world. Their image of Jesus is that of a strict judge that is out to only punish sin. Becoming like the Pharisees, they do not see how Jesus could associate Himself with prostitutes, drug addicts, and homosexuals. As a result, they never move out into the culture to redeem it and the individuals that occupy it.

As the drama of "The Village" unfolds, one of the leading characters, Lucious, is stabbed by a mentally challenged villager out of jealousy. The elders' worst nightmare is realized from the attempted murder; there is no true escape from evil. In spite of leaving modern society and creating the perfect community, the elders could not stop human nature. The very evil that had driven them into the woods and to create a life centered around deceit was not purged from their existence. Take an honest look at the congregations that have separated themselves from cuture, and you will find that sin can even reign inside their walls. Having successfully isolated themselves in their fortresses from evil, many Christians have become blind to their own sin. This blindness leads to one of the most repugnant sins of all, self-righteousness. Just recall the horror stories of these hermit Churches. Power struggles between deacons and the outright backstabbing of deacon wives have often been the playground of Satan. An isolation attempt from culture does not eradicate the sinful nature of man. Often, engagement with culture reminds us Christians just how much we are in need of God's grace keeping us in check with our own spirituality.

As the movie climaxes, the elders' realize their survival depends on going back to the society they left to get Lucious the needed medications he needs in order to live. Lucious' fiance is sent into the "towns", and she returns with the proper medicines. In the same way, the Church can not continue into the future without engaging culture. The Church must have a missional mindset. Our mission is to lead our communities to Christ and redeem culture. In order to do this, we must do more than evangelize. The Church must see herself as a community of missionaries. Missionaries get engrossed in the culture. They learn it and live among it. Many missionaries to foreign countries have been known to wear the clothing and hairstyles of the people they were trying to reach. In like manner, we are missionaries to our communities. We can not effectively reach them without becoming as them, or at the very least, we must appreciate their ethos and understand their metanarratives. The Church is one generation away to being exstinct. It is our responsiblity to engage culture so the Kingdom of God can be advanced through His Church.

Even after obtaining medicines that saved Lucious' life, the elders were still adamant about mantaining their surreal life. Is this not often also true of the Church? Many times the Lord draws people from the culture into our local Churches and instead of acknowledging the opportunity for new life the Church systematically conforms these new believers to its subculture. Within a short amount of time, new believers have lost total contact with the culture they once were apart. The consequence is evident. An opportunity to redeem culture is lost and the Church slips further away from its surrounding community. It seems as though congregations are more concerned about winning people over to their subculture instead of bringing people to Christ and training them to reach others in their context. Being open to culture is vital to the growth, maturity, and advancement of the Church. There is absolutely no way around it.

"The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:2-3).

Sin of Authenticity: Being Real can be a Real Sin

I published this on facebook, but I figured I would post it here as well.

There is a new buzz word in the Church that needs a bit of clarification. That word is authenticity. Encouragement to be real is popular in many growing Churches especially those that call themselves postmodern. Being genuine is believed to be helpful in building true community in the Church. After all, a faith that in superficial is repugnant to everyone, believer and unbeliever alike. However, if authenticity is not properly explained it can be taken as a license to sin.

Romans chapter three makes it very plain that we are sinners who are naturally inclined toward sin. Being real is often seen as an excuse to avoid repentance and confession of sin. The beginning of Romans tells us that the human race persisted in being themselves by succumbing to their sinful desires. As a result, God turned them over to their sinful nature to do exactly as they pleased.

Mark Driscoll in his book "Radical Reformission" writes, "This tragic fact has conveniently been ignored by many emerging church leaders ministering in the postmodern pandemonium. The list of young pastors who have been known to be fired from ministry for fornicating, committing adultery, frequenting strip clubs, and getting drunk is troubling. When confronted one such pastor weakly argued that he was being authentic and muttered some misquote of Scripture about not judging people. As we work among cultures that value realness, we must not forget that the kingdom first values repentance" (p 167).

This explains why Jesus commanded that we are to deny ourselves and to take up the cross. Actually, the truth of the matter is that we are to be as Jesus. We are to forsake everything and follow Him. Crucifying the flesh and its desires should be on our priority list.

When making authenticity a value of high priority, we must clarify exactly what we mean. First, the motivation to be real is often the rejection of the "holier-than-thou" attitude. Everyone is repelled by self-righteousness, and no one wants to be around someone that's judgmental. However, we must understand that being gung-ho about genuineness often leads to self-righteousness because the person becomes proud in her authenticity and believes she is fine the way she is while becoming blind to her need of repentance. Secondly, the value of being real is supposed to keep us honest about our humaness. But once again, being truly honest about our humaness brings us to repentance. We should not be enslaved to habitual sin for the sake of being real, genuine, or authentic. Thirdly, rejecting superficiality is believed to help build community because it encourages us to accept one another as-is. I mean it does seem completely logical that since we are all one big hunk of sinful flesh saved by grace we should be completely acceptable of everyone and their shortcomings. While it is loving to accept someone as-is, it is also equally hateful not to be truthful with them about repentance. Authenticity should not trap us into being blind to sin in our own lives or the lives of those we are in community with.

So, what is a correct understanding of authenticity? When we encourage people to be authentic, we first want them to be as Christ. Next, Christ is truth and is truthful, so someone who is being real is being truthful and living by the truth. They are not deceiving themselves or others. They are completely honest about their sins, but they are also repentant of them and are being transformed into the image of Christ daily. A truly authentic person is not just transparent. They are also progressing in their walk with Christ. A lack of Christlike fruit and the absence of victory over habitual sin is actually a sign of a faith that is superficial and not authentic. Thirdly, a person that is living by Christlike authenticity is discovering their God given gifts and purpose and using them to advance the Kingdom of God. A Christ follower that is progressing in their gifts and ministry is learning to be truly genuine, and they are becoming who God created them to be; a unique individual that is a vital organ of the living organism, the Church of Jesus Christ, by walking as Christ would walk if He were in their shoes. Finally, real authenticity as God intended it to be is a life marked by denying one's self, following Christ and His commands no matter the circumstance, and serving and loving our neighbors.

In conclusion, our main priority is to be transformed into the mage of Christ. Learning to be as our Master is the only real, genuine, and truthful way to be authentic. "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21 NKJV).

New Believers' Class

Tonight was our third session of the New Believers' Class at Harvest Church (http://www.harvestdothan.com/). This is a study that last six weeks, and I teach it 3 to 4 times a years. It is included as one of our Spiritual Maturity Classes as class 101. We have four foundational classes at Harvest. They are: class 101, New Believers'; class 201, Growing in Christ; class 301 Walking in the Spirit; and class 401, Finding your Gifts and Ministry. We encourage everyone who attends Harvest to go through this series of classes. Why? Because we believe in spiritual maturity at Harvest, and we desire that everyone grows closer to Christ and learns to live a victorious Christian life. Anyway, it is an absolute blessing to be able to teach the New Believers' Class. It is actually a class that teaches the way of salvation as taught and preached by John Wesley. We cover topics such as: the Trinity, Original Sin, Prevenient Grace, Converting Grace, Sanctifying Grace, Christian Perfection, Christian Disciplines, the Church, and Glorification. It is a privilege to be able to lead others into a deeper understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus!

Singles' Appreciation Night

Our Singles' Appreciation Night at Harvest went great! God met us with His Spirit as He always does. Worship was awesome. Alan Watson led us in acoustic worship. He done a fantastic job. After worship, I preached a message on dating, and then we had a time of fellowship just before watching Second Hand Lions. We also had popcorn and refreshments. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. God is truly good!

If I were a Poet

If I were a poet, what would I say?

Would I speak alot about nothing,

or a little about everything?

Would I write of love's rapture,

or how hate the heart of men can capture?

Would I speak against war,
and ask, "What is it good for?"

Or Would I promote peace,

and ask for every prisoners' release?

Would I warn of man's demise,

and seek with all to compromise?

Would I be bold against prejudice,

and seek for all colors to have justice?

Or would it unknowingly be my fate,

to encourage others to do what I hate?

Would I let fear rain on my parade,

and cower to expose humanity's charade?

Would I even have the courage,

to speak so much and not be discouraged?

Could I stand and yell please,

find a cure for all disease?

And would I my bank account plunder,

if it would wipe out world hunger?

Would I even dare to write,

for a world movement to ignite?

Could I even take up my pen,

and ask God to forgive the world's sin?

So I ask, "What would I say,if I were a poet?"

by Brian Turner

The Perfect Minister

I ran across this during my reading, and I just had to share it.

After hundreds of years, a model preacher has been found to suit everyone. He preaches exactly 20 minutes and then sits down. He condemns sins but never hurts anyone.

He works from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in every type of work from preaching to custodial services. He makes $60.00 a week, wears good clothes, buys books regularly, has a nice family, drives a good car and give $30:00 a week to the church. He also stands ready to contribute to every good work that comes along.

He is 26 years old and has been preaching for 30 years. He is tall and short, thin and heavyset, and handsome. He has one brown eye and one blue; hair parted in the middle; left side, dark and straight; the right side, brown and wavy.

He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all this time with older folk. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work.

He makes 15 calls a day on the church members, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, and is never out of his office.

As I pondered upon this perfect minister, it struck me! This is a description of Pastor Mike Shroades. If you do not know who Pastor Mike Shroades is, well, you are missing out on the perfect minister. Check out his blog here: www.mikeshroades.blogspot.com.

I love you Mikey Mike.

Love In Action

I just wanted to write and say how awesome it is to be a part of Love In Action Ministries. Ken and Martha Tuck are the bomb. We had a great board meeting tonight, and I know God is doing, and will continue to do, some really tremendous things through LIA. The homeless, marginalized, and poor are close to the heart of God, and they should be close to our hearts as well. It is such a privilege to be ministering with such a great group of people. You all know who you are. God bless you all!

"Understanding poverty in all its dimensions (economic, political, cultural, physical, and spiritual), Wesley took the command of Jesus, to minister to and live with the poor, with utter seriousness. For Wesleyans, aiding the poor means making them more capable to fulfill their God-given gifts; it does not mean making them dependent. Simply giving money, however, important, will not release people from poverty unless the other dimensions of poverty are addressed. This means, of course, that the systems causing impoverished conditions must be changed. But it also means that disciples of Christ must be intimately related to the poor so that the poor can be fully brought into life-giving community. One of the most distinctive aspects of Wesley's teaching was that, while one cannot earn one's salvation, one's experience of the joy of salvation is to be found in the midst of what God is doing in and with the poor" (The Wesley Study Bible, p. 247).