Pursue Godliness

"But you, O man of God, ...pursue godliness..." 1 Timothy 6:11

At Delta, we've spent the last several months systematically going through our Core Values...the non-negotiables that define us as a church. We've talked about Truth, Worship, Community, Mission, and began to look at Equipping this month. Scripture is clear that one of the main purposes for scripture (other than revealing God) is to equip people for a thing called 'godliness' - but what is that?

Godliness is the active presence of divine good in our lives.

Godliness is the day in day out, 24/7 proof that Jesus is transforming our lives. It encompasses everything about us - our relationships, our jobs, our families, our money, our recreation, and anything else you can think of. But the important thing about godliness is that it is active and it is good.

I emphasize the point about it being active and good because too many people, mainly old-school fundamentalists and the non-Christian, buy into the lie "moralism" instead of godliness. Moralism is the pursuit of ridding yourself of "sin" or "evil" or whatever else you want to call it. Let me illustrate.

If you walk up to Joe Schmo non-Christian on the street and ask them if they think they will go to heaven when they die (if they belive in heaven), they will most likely answer: "Yes. I'm a good person. I mean, I've never killed anybody or robbed a bank." Do you see how they defined their "goodness"? They defined goodness by the absence of major evil in their lives. You could ask a person who has attended the classic old-school fundamentalist church the question of "what is godliness?" and they will most likely answer: "Godliness is not watching R-rated movies, not listening to certain music, avoiding alcohol, smoking, & drugs, not going to certain food establishments, etc." Their definition of godliness was not exercising godly attributes, it was avoiding sin. They have gotten moralism confused with godliness.

Since godliness is the active presence of divine good, we need to look at passages like Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25) to see what a Spirit-infused godly life should look like. It is my persuasion that if we focus on pursuing godliness, the avoidance of sin will take care of itself. It doesn't work the other way around. Moralism will not result in godliness; it will only result in pride. But godliness will produce a divine morality - for as we focus on godly attrubutes like love, joy, peace, and patience, the sins we should be avoiding will not be enticing to us. Also, some "sins" that man makes main issues will be seen clearly as secondary issues (for example, moralism will tell you that alcohol is bad altogether, while godliness focuses on being filled with the Holy Spirit and not getting drunk (Ephesians 5:18)).

So let's make this very practical. Since we are to be trained and equipped for godliness, what areas of our lives do we need to be equipped in? You see, this is where Christianity comes to life. Christianity is not about 90 minutes on a Sunday morning. Christianity is how your life reflects Jesus is every area. So, think about where you feel you need to pursue godliness. Here are some areas to get your juices flowing:

Marriage. Sexuality. Parenting. Being a good neighbor. Choosing a career. Managing your money.

Please add your list in the comments. You can post anonymously. For further study on this subject of godliness, please read Ephesians 4:17-32.

Grace & peace,

Ryan

Lighten Up

OK, I've realized that the last couple of posts have been a little on the heavy side. And with the big ice/snow storm that came through Springfield last night and the damage it brought with it, I thought I'd just bring a little levity into the picture. So I began to think of things that I really like (I told you this was light). So here you go. Feel free to add your own list in the comments.

Favorite Sports Team: Chicago Bears

Favorite Athlete: Walter Payton

Favorite Pizza (Restaurant): Gino's East in Chicago

Favorite Pizza (store bought): Home Run Inn

Favorite Movie (Trilogy): Original Star Wars (when 'Star Wars' first came on HBO when I was a kid, I watched it 27 times in one month)

Favorite Food: (Tie) Babyback Ribs & BBQ Chicken Wings

Favorite Drink: hmmm...as far as pop goes, Wild Cherry Pepsi; other than that, a Black & Tan

Favorite Vacation Spot: Charleston, South Carolina (my birthplace!)

Favorite Band: U2

Favorite Coffee Place: Caribou Coffee (but a close second in Panera Bread since there's no Caribou's in Springfield, plus they have free refills...which in one sense doesn't matter because I've had to give up coffee for a while, so now I drink their Hot Green Tea with Honey)

Favorite Car: I really dig the Chrysler 300M and the new Dodge Charger

Favorite Website: Probaby my Fantasy Football league on Yahoo!, other than that, ESPN.com

Favorite Read: Now this is tough...the Bible is the default #1, but other than that, I like Michael Crichton novels and whatever is meeting my particular sermon need at the time...would it also be bad if I mentioned Harry Potter?

Favorite Pastor/Speaker to listen to: Ravi Zacharias is brilliant

Favorite Book of the Bible: Ephesians, hands down

Favorite Passage: Romans 12:1-2

Favorite Bible Character: (tie) David & Paul

Favorite Place in Springfield: either Washington Park or Big R (tongue firmly in cheek)

Favorite Place to Eat in Springfield: Holy Land Diner (thanks, Dave!)

Favorite Abe Lincoln Attraction in Springfield: I keep meaning to check one out...honest

Favorite Christmas Song: "Blue Christmas" by Elvis

Favorite Christmas Album: Harry Connick Jr.

Favorite Christmas Tradition: Cooking breakfast for my family

Favorite Christmas "Thing" in General: Seeing my kids unbelievably excited for their presents on Christmas morning

I should stop now. I am spending way too much time on this. It's reminding me of my youth ministry days when every year we would take a trip to either Six Flags or Cedar Point and while we were waiting in line for 3 hours for a 45 second ride, we would just list crap off like all day long. Praise God for church planting.

Stay warm, relax, and be thankful for the favorite things in your life...and spend time doing some of them.

Ryan

Pain

As a Pastor, I've often thought and fearfully prayed a line from U2's song "I Need Your Love" from the Rattle and Hum album which goes: "Like a preacher needs pain, I need your love." I remember my dad coming in my room one night somewhere around 1989. I had this album on (yes, album - as in 12" vinyl) and was talking with my dad about it. He picked up the record jacket and was reading through the lyrics, and came across this line and asked "What kind of pain does a preacher need?" My 16 year old brain was stumped.

My 33 year old brain is no longer stumped. Since that day in 1989, I've finished high school, college, moved more times than I care for, had a number of different jobs, gotten married, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our 4th child next Spring. I've also logged about 15 years of church ministry (10 vocationally) in which I've seen marriages fall apart, friendships fail, leaders fall and churches split. I've walked through and counselled people who are infertle, who are angry, whose children have run away from home, students that have been neglected, abused, and abuse themselves. For every victory a person celebrates in life, you can count on a list of about a dozen painful moments that are there as well. This is exactly why "a preacher needs pain": because life is full of pain, people are full of pain, and a preacher (pastor) needs to have experienced pain to identify, empathize with, and model how to deal with pain in life.

You see, if my life was pain-free, how could I possibly minister to hurting people? This doesn't mean that I like going through pain, but I know it's accomplishing a few purposes. First, it glorifies God. I believe everything happens for God's glory, whether good or bad. This is a hard pill to swallow, but in the end it's the only pill that makes sense. I'll post on this topic sometime in the near future. Second, it keeps me humble and dependant on God. Naturally, I'm pretty prideful and self-reliant. God knows this. God also knows that this is not a good thing. Sure, it has its benefits sometimes, but left to myself for too long, I'll screw something up. So God brings difficulty into my life to make sure I'm keeping Him #1 and to grow in my faith. Third, my pain will help somebody else. This is the heart of 2 Corinthians 1 where Paul expounds on the reason that we experience the good and bad in life is to bless somebody else by either rejoicing with them and magnifying the good in their life, or walking through the pain with them to make the bad in life more bearable.

I write this mainly because of 2 painful experiences that I am faced with right now. One is a pretty mild discomfort, and one is very painful on the hurt scale. The first has to do with a house we own. I'm in one of my favorite cafe's in Michigan right now writing this...but I live in Illinois, right? Right. Our house in Michigan still hasn't sold after being on the market for 6 months. Not even one offer. So, the family is up here gathering up the rest of our things to bring with us to Illinois as we prepare for the winter. Not a huge pain, but very uncomfortable. It's keeping us from fully being in Illinois and puts financial strain on us. But, the good in it is that I've been able to talk with other people who are in the same situation we're in, waiting for a house to sell. We commiserate together. It makes it more bearable. The difficult situation is a conversation I just had with one of my former students in a previous ministry I oversaw. She's trying to make sense in her life of a painful divorce that her parents are going through. The pain and confusion in her eyes saddens my soul. I have no real words to bring comfort to her...words won't do the trick anyway. She needs (and thankfully has) people to gather around her, feel with her, listen to her, and love her through this extremely painful time. But what can I identify with her on? These things: betrayal...disappointment...hurt...shock... confusion...the list could go on. In the end, I pray for her, hug her, and tell her to hang in there...and do my best to stay away from pithy statements like "God's going to work everything out" because she doesn't need that right now.

I just encourage you to not enjoy pain in your life, but at least welcome it and realize that it really isn't about you. God is reminding you of him, trying to get your attention to trust him a little more, and wants you to share your journey, your story, with others who will need to hear it so they can have some hope.

Grace & peace,

Ryan

Fear

Fear. I didn't really plan on writing about fear just because it's Halloween today, but God showed me some things as I was reading the Word this morning, and 2 & 2 just began to add up.

I stayed up later than I should've last night, since I know I need to get good rest, and also because my 15-month old, Aiden, has been sick and the probability of him waking up in the middle of the night is pretty high (and guess who has middle of the night duty in my house? yup, that's me). And even if he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night, he's an early bird and will usually wake up between 6-6:30am. I haven't willingly woken up at that hour since I was in high school and went in early to work out. Anyway, every cable channel in the world has been playing 'scary' movies the last couple weeks in preparation of celebrating Halloween. As I was flipping through the channels and going back and forth between Sportscenter and whatever else was on, I believe it was Spike TV that was playing the movie "Hellraiser" - the one with the Pinhead character. I kept it on for a little while simply out of nostalgia. When I was in high school, an old youth leader of mine and I watched Hellraiser once. Yeah, that's right - a church youth leader and myself were watching Hellraiser. Go figure. I'm not sure if I thought it was scary then, but it sure wasn't scary now. It was more comical than anything. The horror movie industry has made a strong comeback in the last decade or so. The "Scream", "Final Destination, and "Saw" movies have really gotten people (teenagers & college students mainly) into the theaters screaming and jumping in their seats all over again.

So I'm thinking about fear. People like to be scared in the movies. But people also live in fear and out of fear more than they would admit. People are fearful of commitment, their boss at work, letting their family down, or not being successful at whatever they do - be it sports, school, career, etc. I lump myself into this with everybody else. Confession time: I'm fearful of failing with this church plant...specifically, I'm fearful of me being the one to screw it up. Upwards of 80% of church plants fail (meaning, by year 3 they are not self-sufficient by means of finances & government, and are not seeing non-believers become Christians). That statistic scares me, because it's mostly the planter's fault. He either falls morally, financially, doesn't set the right tone, gets off-focus, and builds the church more around himself than Jesus. And it's real easy to do that.

So it hit me this morning that I am being motivated more out of my fear of failing than out of fear of God. Basically, I'm more focused on me than God. When this happens, life has way more ups & downs (with the downs winning) because that's what I am. But God is unchanging, steady, holy, perfect - all the time. When I live out of my own fear, I become irritable, short-tempered, and impatient (just ask my wife). I'm also unsure and paranoid. Sounds like fun, huh? It really sucks.

So here's what I read this morning that turned the light to all of this: "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." -Psalm 96:1-6.

God is a big, glorious, majestic God. He is to be loved, worshipped, respected, and yes, feared above all gods. There is nothing wrong with fearing God. Think back to the story of the Exodus...the plagues that he sent, the pillar or fire & smoke, and the parting of the Red Sea (which crashed down upon the Egyptians)...this was a God to be feared. But when I begin to live out of fear of failing, disappointing people, or whatever else, that thing then becomes my "little g" god instead of the "big G" God. It becomes an idol, and the scripture above calls is "worthless" - because it is. It brings no worth to my life...remember my list I mentioned earlier? The only thing it brings to my life is irritation, impatience, uncertainty, and paranoia. But living in fear of the true God will bring peace, patience, wisdom, focus, and confidence.

What fear are you living in? Fear that you bring on yourself or that man puts on you? Or fear of the one true and living God? I'm doing some repenting today, and I invite you to join me. Meditate on Psalm 96 to help you.

Peace,

Ryan

Read Some Good Books

OK, I know this is a pretty weak blog as far as a devotional goes. But, at the same time, I would be remiss to not ever point you to some people who are just plain smarter than me. So, with that in mind, grab a cup of coffee or tea, put on some jazz or classical music, sit in your favorite chair, and begin reading. If it's impossible for you to get something to drink or find good music, just take a book into the bathroom with you - that works too!

Check out these titles:

• "Revolution Within" by Dwight Edwards
• "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning
• "Simply Christian" by NT Wright
• "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg
• "Jesus Among Other gods" by Ravi Zacharias
• "God Is the Gospel" by John Piper
• "The Radical Reformission" by Mark Driscoll

That'll do for now. I'll put out a new list of books and maybe movies and websites that I think you'd enjoy. Until then, happy reading!

Ryan

Grow Up

One of the greatest things in my life are my kids. Hannah is 8, Ellie is 7, Aiden is 1, and #4 will be here in March. We went out to dinner as a family the other night and at one point I just watched my kids. I was utterly amazed at them. How beautiful they are, how intelligent they are, how unique they are, and different from each other they are. It's amazing to think back to when they were born and how helpless they were, and now (at least the girls) they can do pretty much whatever they want. We give them quarters and they go play video games. They go up to the buffet and pick out their own pizza. They help feed their little brother. They win these temporary tattoos and put them on all by themselves. My little babies are growing up like crazy.

But they still are babies...they still are young and naive and very impressionable. They remind me of this oak tree that's in my front yard. Yeah, it's an oak and will be an incredibly strong tree when it reaches maturity, but right now it's only about 12 feet tall and the trunk is only 6 inches around. In fact, it's leaves have already begun to turn, and it's not even October yet. Because of its youth, it's more sensitive to its environment and "sways with the wind."

New or young Christians face the same struggles as the young oak tree. Unbelievable potential, but still very impressionable in the here and now. Same goes with our young church. We have unbelievable potential, but we need to be careful now because we're impressionable to changes in our environment. Because of this, more mature Christians have to watch out for the young believers and help them grow...which is exactly what Jesus did with the disciples and Paul did with his churches. As the pastor of Delta, I need to protect my young church and nurture it towards healthy growth.

Where are you? Are you a mature believer or a young believer? Have you been a Christ-follower for a long time, but haven't really matured in your faith? Too often we put age and maturity on equal planes, but just because you have years under your belt doesn't mean that you are mature. I know a number of people who are 50 or older and still act like junior high school students, both emotionally and spiritually.

The only way to really grow is to first just be honest with where you're at. Find someone you respect and loves you, be honest with them, and ask for their help. Submit yourself to God's authority, practice spiritual disciplines, covenant with the community of believers. As Paul says often, you may need to have a diet full of milk right now, but don't ever forget that you are destined to eat steak.

Grace for the journey...

Ryan

What is truth?

One of the benchmarks of today's postmodern/post-Christian culture is the idea of "all truth is relative." In a spiritual light, it's OK to say that all roads lead to heaven, but as soon as you claim to have the only way, then the gloves come off and it's a heavy weight fight. Admittedly, this idea of moral relativism did get shaken quite a bit five years ago when a bunch of people from the Middle East flew planes into our buildings in the name of their truth. Suddenly, people in America were forced to deal with that some "truth" just isn't right, and maybe all roads don't lead to heaven.

One of my favorite movie scenes is from A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise had Jack Nicholson on the witness stand in the courtroom and demanded the truth from him. Jack comes forcefully back with the line: "Truth? You want truth? You can't handle the truth!" People do have a difficult time when it comes to facing the truth...whether it's the truth about themselves, the truth about the state of our world, or the truth about Jesus. And I believe this difficulty comes from the fact that when you are faced with truth, it demands change on your part...a change in how your think, live, believe, relate, work...whatever...truth demands change.

Jesus had a conversation with Pontius Pilate in John 18 during his trials before he was crucified. Jesus proclaims that He is in fact a King, and everyone who is on the side of truth listens to him. Upon hearing that, Pilate says "What is truth?" So really, this question of truth isn't simply a "postmodern" condition...it's a question that has been asked and sought after for ages.

As a Christ-follower, I believe that there is an absolute truth. There is a Source for all that we know, see, experience, and feel. And since there is a Source for everything, there is a specific order and specific pathway that has been set up by the Source for us human beings to know the Source.

This Source that I speak of is the Eternal God. And God has specifically revealed himself (note: not proven himself...God does not have to "prove" anything; that's why he's God) in two ways: 1) through is Word, the Bible; and 2) through His incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ.

Through the Bible, we are able to find truth...truth about God and life and how our life can be lived as it was intended by God's design. We can search the lives of those who have gone before us to find strength and comfort. It is our roadmap, our instruction book, our recovery guide, our true north for living.

Through the person of Jesus Christ, we are able to find Someone who lived a life as God intended. We find that Jesus experienced everything we do from joys to sorrows, to being misuderstood and rejected. Jesus provides for us a model to pattern ourselves after. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, the prototype of a Spirit-filled & led life, totally surrendered to the will of God.

We can't argue that there aren't basic rights and wrongs...we all know there are. So, in a sense, we do all know that there is truth. It's my desire that people begin engage the truth with the minds, their hears, and in their living. And this truth is ultimately found through God's Word and in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Sirens for the City

My new city & home, Springfield, has had a pretty rough six months in regards to the weather. A couple tornaoes ripped through parts of the city last March, and then about six weeks ago got nailed again with the hurricane-type storms that hit the midwest.

One thing that happened during the first tornadoes was that a lot of the warning sirens were destroyed, and the city is now in the middle of putting up new, louder, and significantly more sirens in the city. The article can be read here: http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/94523.asp

So it got me thinking about my new church plant. In a sense, we're like the new sirens that are going up. We have a vision of permeating throughout the city to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to be loud about it. We want to reach new areas and people. We want people to be saved from eternal destruction.

Sadly, there are some churches that are like the old sirens. Their ability to proclaim the Gospel has been reduced to a whisper. They have trouble keeping up with changing culture around them. One big storm could come along and take them out.

I have a vision for these older, godly churches. My vision for them is about investing their remaining life, energy, and resources into newer, younger churches with fresh vision and energy to reach Springfield for Jesus. It includes the godly saints in these churches providing much needed direction and mentoring for the younger saints (like Titus 2 encourages churches to do). What better way for chuches with a rich history of winning souls for Jesus to continue their legacy?

What this will take is the younger churches to not be so cocky & arrogant, and to see the value in the saints that have gone before us. This will take the older saints to not be so resistant to change and to just hold onto what they've had for so long, but to be open to new methods of reaching people who need Jesus. It's about being inter-dependant on each other, and not making silly "generational" wars over things like music and engaging non-believers on their own turf.

So, I would like to encourage you younger saints to find an older saint and get to know them and see the tremendous value they could be in your life. I also encourage the older saints to seek out younger saints and look past the outward generational differences and see their hearts who want to love people like Jesus did. And I encourage all us to meditate on Titus 2 this week as well.

Grace & peace,

Ryan

Sheep and Goats and the Least of These

A funny thing happened when I was at the fair...

I know, that sounds like a bad intro to an even worse joke, but I really did go to the Illinois State Fair this past Monday, and something funny struck me. Ha.

My family and I were leaving the 'Conservation Corner' and were heading toward the animal barns. Then it hit me. The goat barns were on my left and the sheep barns were on my right. Spooky religious imagery going on. Anyway, it got me thinking about sheep, goats, and what Jesus had to say about them. When I looked up the passage, I was struck with conviction about my life. Here's the passage out of Matthew 25:

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Living out the Gospel isn't about "sharing your faith" verbally all the time. It really, really is about showing extreme kindness and hospitality, even to people you don't know (because as scripture says, you can entertain angels unaware). My wife and I were out on a date last week and were walking around downtown Springfield. We both noticed a homeless woman lying on a bench by the library and wondered aloud if that was "her bench". But that's it. We didn't go buy her a sandwich or a cup of coffee. We kept our distance.

I feel like a goat. I acted like a goat. I didn't live out the Gospel and love my Savior.

I pray that you and I both take advantage of serving the poor and needy as the opportunity arises; heck, we can even create the opportunities. And as we do that, we live out what the Lord's brother, James, wrote of having "true religion" (James 1:27)...really living out the Gospel.

May we all be more sheep-like.

Ryan

Jesus, with Thy Church Abide

Thomas Pollock (1836-1896) was a hymnist in England who wrote a number of hymns during his life. Ironically, he was a committee member for "Hymns Ancient and Modern" (remember, this was mid-1800's! wasn't everything ancient? I guess not for them.). At our Core Team Meeting this past week, our worship leader Phil lead us with one of Pollock's hymns that struck such a deep chord in me. The hymn is a prayer of suplication to Jesus to be the true Senior Pastor of the Church and that the church would fully live out her mission. I encourage you to reflect deeply on these words:

Jesus with Thy Church Abide

Jesus, with Thy church abide;
Be her savior, Lord, and Guide,
While on earth her faith is tried:
We beseech Thee, hear us, We beseech Thee, hear us.

Keep her life and doctrine pure;
Grant her patience to endure,
Trusting in Thy promise sure: We beseech Thee, hear us,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

May she one in doctrine be,
One in truth and charity,
Winning all to faith in Thee:
We beseech Thee, hear us, We beseech Thee, hear us.

May she guide the poor and blind, S
eek the lost until she find
And the brokenhearted bind:
We beseech Thee, hear us, We beseech Thee, hear us.

Amen.

Pummeled for Jesus

How sinful are you? How much faith and trust in God do you really have?

I know those are big, difficult, scary questions, but if you haven't really dealt with those yet and you really want to 100% surrender your life Jesus, those questions will be answered.

I'm in the midst of answering them right now. That may seem odd, me being a pastor (and church planter); but this time in my life is having really wrestle with those questions. I think I have tons of faith. I mean, I quit my steady job in Michigan where I made decent money, had a house, and lead a couple ministries that were really getting some good feet on the ground. Then God calls me to this church planting thing, and I quit my job, move my family, and exercise a big amount of faith in God to take care of us. But we're in a place where our house hasn't sold in Michigan, I can't seem to find good work to support my family, and funds in our new church plant are getting dangerously low. Then there's the stress of moving, doing round trips to Michigan three times in two weeks, and trying to maintain a healthy marriage and family life, while trying to assimilate into a new community.

So as I've been exercising a lot of faith on the outside, inside I've been pretty ticked off with God...wondering when in the world he'll do his part and sell the house and have at least 1 company from 25 call back of the resume's I've sent out.

But then I heard someone teaching some scripture that pretty much shook me back to reality. Check this out from 2 Corinthians 4:

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Yeah, I hard-pressed, feeling struck down, perplexed...all those things. But I'm still here. I'm not crushed or abandoned or destroyed. I thought I was at a point of total surrender, but I'm not. God is lovingly pressing on me, pressing sin out of me. God is growing me through pain...it just has to happen that way sometimes. Even though it feels like death is at work in me, Jesus' life is really what's working itself out in me.

If you really want to grow and become more like Jesus, it will hurt. A lot. Being a Christ-follower is the most difficult thing in the world, because you have to face yourself and all the depravity of your sin. But remember that God thinks the world of me and you...we are his masterpieces...he loves us despite of our sin. And he will bring us through extremely difficult times so we change and look more like his Son, who did in fact suffer death for us.

May you grasp not only the depth of your sin, but hold tightly to the height, the depth, the breadth, and the width of God's gracious love for you. May you have endurance for the journey and may you have an unchartable amount of faith in the One who loves you.

Grace & peace,

Ryan

Just Jesus

Some people try to sum up the book of Hebrews as simply "Jesus is better than everything else" which is true, but not as applicable as God would perhaps desire for us. I think Hebrews also decontructs empty religion and attacks our idolatry. Here's what the first four verses of Hebrews share with us:

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

These verses tell us that Jesus:

• Is the heir of all things
• Creator of all things
• Is the radiance of God
• Exact representation of God's nature
• Upholds the entire universe
• Purified us of sin
• Sits at the right hand of the Father, in all power

Take time to reflect on the supremecy of Christ in your own life. Is he really your Lord and Leader? Is he really #1? Do you really revolve your life around His word? Are you really transforming into his character more and more?

Be honest with God and with some close Christian friends with where you're at. Only by being honest will you be able to take captive the areas of your life where Christ doesn't rule and reign and then move on to grow closer to Him and become more like Him.

I'm praying for you.

Ryan

Father Abraham

I grew up in the church going to Sunday School and my share of VBS's. During this time in my childhood, I learned a song called 'Father Abraham'. It went like this:

Father Abraham had many sons; many sons had father Abraham
And I am one of them, and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord
(and then you'd continue to sing this verse adding in different body movements until you looked like you were having a seizure)

But the story of Abraham now has new meaning for me. This past Sunday evening at about 10:15pm I finally arrived in Springfield, Il to plant a new church called Delta (greek meaning "change"). My family and I packed up our belongings, left Michigan, and are without some minor things like health insurance, a home, or a paying job. All we're really going on is that God has called us to the city of Springfield to reach people who are far from God, disallusioned with His church, and be an instrument of change for the city.

Here's what we know about Abraham: when we first meet him, his name is Abram; he grew up in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans (a stone's throw from Babylon); his dad, Terah, worshipped false gods (Joshua 24:2) so Abram grew up that way as well; he had a lot of cash; and, he had a propencity for lying. So, he doesn't sound like the greatest guy in the world, but what we see over and over again in scripture is God taking screwed up, pagan, loser people and making them a missionary, which is exactly what he did with Abram.

Genesis 12:1 says: "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you." God worked as a missionary by going to this pagan guy called Abram, revealing Himself to him, and brought Abram into relationship with Him. He told Abram to leave everything that he knew behind to go and build a nation for God. God asked the incredible, and got an incredible response:

Genesis 12:4: "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him." Simple obedience to the God of the Universe.

When God says go, you go. Things like houses selling, health insurance, and jobs are important things, but in light of God asking you (and me) to do something, they really aren't that important. Our obedience is the important thing.

Jesus perfectly embodies this as well. The Father sent him to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus then sent his disciples into the world to seek the lost and point them toward a saving relationship with Jesus. We also are to go into our world to seek the lost and point them to Jesus.

So this devotional isn't just about me and my family going to Springfield and build a church. This is about all of us. If you're reading this and not a Christ-follower, God may be calling you into a relationship with him just like he did with Abram. If God truly is calling you, you must respond because he will not stop pursuing you. If you're reading this and you are a Christ-follower, are you living out your calling as a missionary to your world? Are you engaging lost people with the living Gospel? Are you showing kindness and hospitality? Do you serve people? Do you take advantage of opportunities to talk about Jesus?

Abram became Abraham, founded the nation of Israel, and through his faith in God, has spiritual descendants that outnumber the stars in the sky and the grains of sand by the seashore (Hebrews 11). It is Abraham's example that I am following, and that you are also called to follow. It begins with obedience, continues through faith, and will find its fruition through changed lives of people and crowns to lay down at Jesus' feet.

Grace and peace,

Ryan

Educational Worship

First, allow me to apologize for getting a couple weeks behind. Life has been more than a little crazy with a lot of travelling, packing a house, looking for work and a new home, really big trees falling in my backyard, and the like. But one good thing is that I've been able to be inspired for a lot of good material that I'll be posting here over the next few weeks.

If there's one thing that will for certain cause division in the church, it's worship. Music is such a personal preference, and people usually carry those preferences over to the church. Sadly, it results in people valuing their personal preferences and agendas way ahead of glorifying God and allowing musicians and artists in the church to fully express their God-given creativity. My stomach turns every time I hear a church describe themselves with "contemporary worship" or "traditional worship" or having "blended worship." What the bible does mandate and encourage is to "sing a new song" (Psalm 40), praise God with every musical expression possible (Psalm 150), use different forms of music (pslams, hymns, spiritual songs; Ephesians 5), and finally, make a lot of noise while you do it (Psalm 47).

One thing that many churches, pastors, and worship pastors/directors miss when it comes to corporate musical worship is the element of education and teaching. We can learn so much through music and lyrics to songs. Because of the rhythm, the beat, and the rhyming usually involved, it just sticks with us better. Back when I was a kid in the 70's & 80's, I totally looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons because I knew that in the midst of the cartoons, I would be able to watch "Schoolhouse Rocks!". I was able to enjoy the animation, and through the music and lyrics I was able to learn about nouns, the Preamble, the solar system, and multiplying by 2's. One of my great joys as an adult was when my wife bought me the complete volume of Schoolhouse Rocks! for my birthday. Now my kids are able to be familiar with Interplanet Janet and seeing Bill become a Law.

This whole thought of Educational Worship began a few weeks ago with my 7 year old, Ellie. We had previously been doing some Bible study together as a family, and the topic of Jesus' deity and the Trinity came up (I know, I know, I'm turning my 7 & 8 years old into theologians...but I'll put my kids up against most bible college students any day). So, I expained the Trinity (like any can do that!) as best I could so their 7 & 8 year old minds could understand it. Then a day or so later, we were all in the van going somewhere and we were listening to a recording of "All Creatures of our God and King" (written by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225, yeah, 800 years ago!) and this verse came up:

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son; and praise the Spirit, three-in-one

Ellie about flipped out of her seat yelling "I've got to tell you all something! That song explains EVERYTHING about God! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!" She was so excited, and so was I. Dawn and I just looked at each other and smiled and affirmed her learning.

We cannot afford to miss learning sound doctrine through worship music. The writers of hymns from hundreds of years ago really understood this. A lot of today's worship artists don't understand this. What I find most often in today's music is a very self-centered gospel that is designed to play on our emotions and cause us to "feel" close to God. Example:

Crucified, laid behind the stone; you lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, cast upon the ground; you took the fall
And thought of me above all

This has been one of the most popular worship songs in the last 5-6 years, but the whole theme of the song is about us and not God. Jesus was not thinking of me above all; Jesus was thinking about obeying his Father's will above all. We cannot allow our feelings to dictate our relationship with God. We cannot allow the Gospel to be about us.

Be on your toes when it comes to worship. Understand the power it has to teach, and be sure to put yourself under sound doctrine in the worship you listen to and participate in. Worship isn't about warm fuzzy feelings, worship is about proclaiming the worth and glory of God, manifested through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. So let's look at worship music as a whole, not defined by what century or decade it was written, let's sing new songs, let's use every available instrument at our disposal, and let's make it LOUD!

Soli deo gloria,

Ryan

For Better, For Worse...For God

One of my favorite things to do as pastor is to officiate weddings. Most everyone (except for the mother of the bride, usually) is in a great mood, happy, and ready to party afterward. I recently attended a wedding where the groom is from South Africa and about 20 family members and friends of his came over to Michigan for the wedding. I have to tell you, it was one of the most enjoyable receptions I've been at. First, they have some old, traditional wedding songs and dances (they do this thing called 'hooking'...one minute my wife was next to me, and a second later, she was 'hooked' back and forth from person to person to the other end of the dance floor (but don't worry, it wasn't dirty)...she came back to me and said, 'I have no idea how I got over there.') Another tradition they have is that the groom gives a speech thanking his family, his bride's family, and all of the guests; but during the whole speech all of his buddies sit down in front of him and heckle him the whole time. One song they sing is full of hope, thankfulness, and love that is very meaningful. I really appreciated the opportunity to experience a 'cross-cultural' wedding experience. At the same time I felt terrible for the U.S. because the greatest gift we've given to the wedding experience is 'The Chicken Dance.'

I've thought a lot about why people get married. With divorce rates so high (at or above 50% for both Christians and non-Christians), you've got to wonder why do it in the first place. For the non-believer, I think it comes down to having a cure for lonliness, wanting to be happy (thanks Tom Cruise, 'you complete me', too), financial benefits, social status, and residual values from our once-Christian nation. For the believer, though, I think getting married is about 1) expressing selfless love to another that you have deep care and commitment to (1 Corinthians 13); 2) living out the first community relationship God ordained (Genesis 2); 3) being able to live up to the full potential of biblical manhood and womanhood, which ultimately shapes us into becoming more like Christ (Proverbs 31 & Ephesians 5); and 4) making babies (Genesis 1:28) and then discipling those children to love Jesus in order to leave a spiritual heritage (Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78). Now there may be more or better reasons that come from someone smarter and more godly than me, but those came to my mind first.

I've also been talking with a number of people for a long time about why so many marriages struggle so much, especially those who have been married less than 10 years, or have been married numerous times. I believe that it is ultimately a spiritual issue. Unless you really love Jesus and begin to transform into his likeness, you have no hope for your marriage, much less your life in general. With that as the backdrop, I believe that the main issue is pure selfishness. We love ourselves so much, are more concerned with our happiness instead of the happiness of others, and will protect ourselves before anybody else. Marriage is about giving, not getting, and unless you are prepared to live a selfless life, you are unfit for marriage. The other issue is a two-parter, a man part and a woman part (and it's not about sex, either). The first pastor I worked under once told me that most marriages can be described as "little boys who marry their moms." Now that sounds either really stupid at first or really offensive, but let it sink in a little and I think you'll find it true. The man part with this is that a lot of guys just don't grow up. They still want to run around like hormone-charged 15 years olds, play their games, have their toys, and never really have any responsibility. The woman part with this is that a lot of girls just want to be in control. They want to call the shots, tell their man what to do and when, and prove that they can (and should) be in charge just because they think they should (thanks to a very non-biblical women's liberation movement).

Now listen, this has nothing to do with a poorly defined idea of submission or some stupid exaggerated idea of male dominance. It's really about living out the design that God has given us. Men and women, husbands and wives, are both made in the image of God and are co-equal positionally. Each have talents, gifts, skills, & abilities that don't make one better than another, but allow each to complement the other. The issue here is role and scope of responsibility. Just like with the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - all are co-equal in the Godhead, but each has a different role to play out.

So, please put yourself under the authority of God's Word and read through Genesis 1 & 2 and Ephesians 5. As you either prepare for marriage or are looking to strengthen your marriage, first ask yourself if you really do love Jesus, then ask God to point out the specific areas of selfishness in your life to rid yourself of those by giving more, and then, men: really ask yourself tough questions about your responsibility to sacrificially love your wives; and women: really ask yourself tough questions about your responsibility to biblically submit with respect to your husbands. And let's actually do this community thing right and get people who love Jesus in our lives to help us through it all; people who are willing to say hard things when needed, intervene when needed, pray always, and just pour out a lot of love often.

Everything for Jesus,

Ryan

The Shepherd

I find it rather amusing when people talk about Jesus simply being a 'good moral teacher'. Whenever I hear this, I know that the person has not accepted the full truth of scripture and all of Jesus' teaching; or they never have even read about Jesus' life and teachings in the Gospels.

I began reading through the Gospel of John awhile back. John is a pretty mystical guy and uses all sorts of codes and imagery when talking about Jesus. When you read John, you really get a sense of Jesus' holiness. But reading parts of John is a little freaky. In chapter 3, Jesus and Nicodemus talk about being born again and Nicodemus asks how in the world do you get back into your mother's womb - ugh. Then Jesus goes on in chapter 6 about having to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Again, ugh. But I'm not talking about spiritual regeneration or the Lord's Supper. I want to fast forward to chapter 10.

Jesus gives a very clear teaching in John 10 about Him being the Good Shepherd for his sheep. Check it out:

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."

Now there is a ton of important theological truths packed into these verses about salvation, sacrifice, and eternal security. But the main point I want to focus on is verse 30: 'I and the Father are one.'

You don't call someone a good moral teacher who calls himself God. You put those guys in padded rooms or they go camp out in Waco, Texas and get blown up. Either Jesus was a nutjob, or he's telling the truth. The rest of scripture and 2000 years of Christianity goes with the 'he's telling the truth' part.

This teaching that Jesus gives also echoes what God said through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 34:

11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

These are tremendous verses that should drive us to our knees in worship. By reading John 10 and Ezekiel 34, we find that: God (Jesus) seeks out and chooses his sheep, He cares for his sheep, He protects his sheep, He leads his sheep justly, and He sacrifices himself for His sheep. If that's the way God has promised to treat me, I find it a priviledge to be a dumb animal.

Serving the Shepherd,

Ryan

40...my prayer for today

Psalm 40

1I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

4Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust,who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

6Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

9I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! 12For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see;they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! 14Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life;let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt! 15Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"

16But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD!" 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

The Gift of Faith

I graduated high school in 1991. What this means is that I was fully immersed in a new sound of music: grunge. I sported a lot of flannel and wore hiking boots with shorts. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Smashing Pumpkins were the soundtrack for my life. I thought the movie "Singles" was the coolest movie ever, mainly because of the Seattle music scene backdrop of the movie (btw, Pearl Jam was Matt Dillon's band in the movie, 'Citizen Dick'). I recently bought the movie at Wal-Mart in their $5.50 DVD bin, and after not viewing the film for a good 10 years, all of my fond memories of the film were smashed because the film really isn't that good after all. But still a great soundtrack.

But there was another band/musician that caught my ear back in those days. His style was a very simple, raw, blues-based rock 'n roll. I recently pulled the CD out and put in my truck and was surprising able to sing along with most of the songs. The artist: Matthew Sweet. The CD: Girlfriend. What caught my ear yet again wasn't just straight forward rock of the album, but the song themes. With the title 'Girlfriend', he obviously talks a lot about relationships, with their ups and downs. But another strong theme is very spiritual one. One song, entitled "Evangeline" is about a girl who won't date him (or sleep with him, for that matter) because of her love and devotion to God. And one of my favorite tracks is #1, called "Divine Intervention." Here's the opening verse and chorus:

I don't know where I'm gonna live; Don't know if I'll find a place
I'll have to think about it some; That I do not wish to face
Guess I'm counting on His divine intervention

I can't tell you how much I identify with those lyrics. Currently, I have 5 days left at my ministry in Michigan. After that, no job (that pays at least). No paycheck. No place to live in Springfield, where God has called me to plant a church. No one to buy our house in Michigan. I guess I'm counting on His divine intervention.

At the same time, my faith in God has been growing like never before. Yeah, I'm concerned and am doing all I can to find work and raise support for our church, because I have a wife and 3 kids to take care of. But I'm not worried. Jesus says that worry is a sin (Matthew 6:25-34). I really believe and trust God to take care of us. He knows that our house needs to sell, that I need a job, that we need a place to live, and that my kids need to begin school the end of August. He knows the needs and the timeline. And I am confident that he will provide it all, as we live out Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

I say all that to talk about the gift of faith. There are many lists of spiritual gifts in scripture, like in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthains 12. And faith is one of those gifts. I also think that many people misunderstand spiritual gifts. They think that they own the gift. They think that since they took some kind of goofy spiritual gift inventory and identified their "top 3 gifts", that the list is static and carved in stone like the 10 commandments. I just don't think that's true. I do believe that God does wire us up a certain way and our personalities play into our gifts significantly. And I do believe that there are certain gifts that do stick with you strongly, like leadership, teaching, serving, etc. But where I disagree is that once you identify your gifts, that you will never really exhibit any others.

I started to disagree with this in college. Whenever I took a spiritual gifts test, the gift of administration always scored a 1 out of a possible 50. This means that calculators scare me. But this one time I took an inventory and my "gift of administration" came out #2! What was that about? Well, at the time, I was overseeing all the sessions for our annual youth conference, which included organizing multi-media, drama, worship, announcements, the speaker, etc. I had to be organized and be highly administrative or I would die. So, in God's mercy and care, he raised up the gift of administration with me for a time because His church needed it.

Same thing is happening now. He is raising up the gift of faith in me. And the reason He is is because I really need it. My family really needs it. I need a faith that is unshakable that will inspire others to completely trust God with everything...even in the face of risking everything that's stable and comfortable in life, like money and a place to live.

I think this doctrine of spiritual gifts is really important because it takes control out of our hands and rightfully puts it back in God's. After all, 1 Corinthians 12: 11 says this of spiritual gifts: "All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills." The gifts are the Spirit's, not ours. He will give as is needed, for his glory and for the betterment of the church.

So, I encourage you to risk something that's comfortable in your life, and give God the opportunity to do something in you that normally wouldn't happen. Allow yourself to be stretched and grown. And when you serve Jesus' church with whatever gift He's blessed you with, remember, it's all about giving back to God what's his anyway and really has nothing to do with you.

Soli Deo Gloria - Glory to God Alone,
Ryan

What sound is your doctrine?

My family is pretty musical. Many of us sing, and some of us play instruments. I guess I'm somewhat of an overachiever, since I do both. I lot of my time in ministry was also spent as a worship leader singing lead vocals and playing guitar or keyboards. Now I'm not bragging, since I know that I'm a marginal vocalist and instrumentalist. But I have a little ability and I've always tried to do my best with it and improve along the way.

One way I've improved is learning about music theory and instruments. A drummer friend of mine told me last week that you can actually "tune" drums to register a key signature like an A or E. I thought that was pretty cool. Even intruments as, um, 'primitive' as drums have some level of sophistication to them. You can adjust them so that they can be better in tune with the music being played by the rest of the band.

Now since I have this deep love for music, there are a variety of musical styles I enjoy...from rock to bluegrass to classical (still haven't found a place in my heart for hip-hop, though). And depending on my mood, I can put on whatever style I want. And that's a good thing.

But that is a bad thing when people do that to God. Too often people treat God like XM Radio and tune him to whatever they want to hear. Some people like the "Buddy Jesus" and will tune into a very liberal view of God, ignoring things like law, sin, and obedience. Some people like (or have had forced upon them) "Angry Jesus" and tune into a very conservative, narrow-minded view of God who wants nothing more than to squash sinners into oblivion. Still others like "Open Jesus" and tune into the Universalist Station where there is no right or wrong, sin, or heaven & hell. And of course, there are those who don't even turn the radio on.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

Jesus isn't XM Radio. He doesn't have options for whatever you want to believe. He is the (only) Way, the (only) Truth, and the (true) Life (John 14:6). What we need to do is to tune ourselves to the music God is playing and accept all of the dynamics, crescendos, diminuendos, breaks, and solos as the grand opus he is conducting. We need to accept that God is both love and justice. He does both discipline and show mercy. He does judge and forgive. We have to take it all, and not just pick and choose what we like or don't like. If we don't, we really aren't playing along with Him and His song. Instead, we become Jack Black from 'School of Rock' in the beginning of the movie who does crazy solos that don't fit, stage dives where nobody catches us, and ultimately get kicked out.

So please, tune yourself to good doctrine. Tune yourself to the whole of Scripture, the whole of God's character, and then have a great time playing in the band.

Grace & peace,
Ryan

Missing the Point

OK, this has been eating at me for quite awhile now. We all know about and have heard, read, or seen The DaVinci Code. We've also been exposed to all of the controversy surrounding it, and how our "Christian sub-culture" has produced anti-DaVinci books, flyers, curriculum, video series, etc. (just like they jumped on the "Passion of the Christ" bandwagon a couple years ago). Even churches have devoted entire Sunday morning services centered on disproving Dan Brown, former high school English teacher, and his novel chock full of bad theology.

Doesn't this miss the point here? Is "The DaVinci Code" really the problem? Do we need to waste our time and energy exegeting a novelist and his work of fiction for fear of what it may do to people? I read the book 4 years ago after it came out, without knowledge of what the content was. All I heard was that it was a bestseller, a thrilling mystery, and had to do with secrets in DaVinci's paintings. I saw the movie this past Monday, and thought it was decent, Tom Hanks was no where near his best, and felt that it came across as pretty fantastical. The book was much more "persuasive"; but film is the modern pulpit for our society and now instead of plowing through a 400+ page book over a week or so, 2 1/2 hours in a theater near you wraps it up neatly.

Here's what I'm getting at; what's really bothering me. Instead of our churches taking an opportunity to really equip and instruct people on how to identify and deal with false teaching and bad theology, we've made it a witch hunt against a guy and his work of fiction. We've missed the point. The point is to identify false teaching and deal with it in a godly way. There are many more destructive false teachers out there than Dan Brown and The DaVinci Code…so let’s not waste our time trashing him or the book/movie. And by all means let’s not use The DaVinci Code as an opportunity to huddle ourselves as Christians closer together in our little corner and point at how bad the world has gotten (oh yeah, and make some money while we’re at it). Instead, let’s simply identify the false teaching, avoid the useless arguments and engage in profitable discussions, and ultimately leave the judging and vengeance up to God like he told us to.

Here are some scriptures to read in light of this:
Matthew 7:15-23
2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15
1 Timothy 6:3-5
2 Peter 2:1-3
1 John 4:1-6

Grace & peace…Ryan

welcome

welcome to Delta Church's weekly devotional...Delta Church is a new faith community of Christ-followers in Springfield, Illinois...check back here weekly for thoughts on faith, family, and culture, posted by Delta's pastor...me, Ryan