Consume Church?

I used to leave church and the conversation would go like this: Hey honey, “What did you think of church today?” The response followed: “I liked the message” or “It was too hot in the Worship Center” or “They played my song… I loved the music selection today” or “They have too many hymns” or “they don’t have enough hymns.” I'm sure you've had that experience too.... right?

We can evaluate our experience on Sunday morning by what we got out of it. We’ve submitted to the consumer mindset that says its all about me and what I can consume. I think somewhere in that conversation we’ve horribly missed the mark. 

It is my personal conviction that the primary purpose for the church gathering on Sunday is not what we can get, but what we can give. And I believe that’s in-line with the Bible. I believe our call is to evaluate how much we’ve been able to “one-another” at church. Did you know there are over 65 references to “one-another” in the NT alone?

Here are just a few:

John 13:14

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

John 13:34

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Romans 12:10

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 14:13

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

2 Corinthians 13:11

[ Final Greetings ] Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

            Instead of evaluating our experience by what we get, we should evaluate our experience by how much we were able to pray for someone who is hurting, rejoice with someone that is rejoicing, mourning with someone who is grieving, care for someone who needs help, serve someone who needs assistance, share Christ with someone who needs hope. Lets leave and ask the question; “were you able to encourage someone today?” This is the call of each and every believer and not just the paid pastors.

            The one-anothers are so important because I can listen to some world-class preachers on the inter-webs, and I can worship on a mountain top with awesome music, but the one thing I cannot do by myself is encourage someone or be encouraged. And this only can happen if the entirety of the body is engaged. Its not up to a paid pastor. It's up to you.

I love you... but not your wife?

Imagine you went up to your good friend and said,

“Dude…. You’re awesome, but your wife. I just can’t stand her. I mean seriously, she’s super-lame.” 

I imagine you wouldn’t be good friends much longer. The quickest way to tick of a dude is to mess with his woman. But how many times do we bad-mouth the Jesus’ bride and act as if Jesus doesn’t even care? Do you think he will idly stand by while others bad-mouth his bride? 

The Church, according to Eph 5:25-33 is the bride of Christ. You can’t claim to love Jesus, but not love his bride- the church. Well…. I suppose you could, but you don’t know Jesus very well.

Eph 5 tells us that Jesus loves (agape) the church just as a husband would love his wife. As a matter of fact, his love for the church is so strong that, as men, we are supposed to model how we love our wives by how Jesus loves the church. It’s the standard. When it comes to loving his wife, there’s no one better than Jesus.

It’s easy to criticize the church- pointing out its blemishes, scars, abuses, moral failures, and hypocrisy. But really… finding fault with someone else doesn’t really take a lot of courage. “It takes no courage to criticize” to quote Anton Ego in Ratatouille. Yet many “Christians” join the chorus on blasting the church; particularly my generation and younger (born after 1980). They must not know Jesus as well as they thought. In doing so, I believe they grieve the heart of God.

I’m not submitting that we ignore problems. That’s naïveté. There has been way to much pain inflicted by the hands of people who claimed to be a Christ follower. But that’s a commentary on the individual, not the church. I'm submitting we need to acknowledge those problems, pursue growth, engage in solutions all while rejecting the sin of cynicism. Cynicism says that evil has had the loudest laugh and the last word. It says that God really isn’t in control of his church and that it’s beyond hope. Do you really believe that Jesus is not in control of his church? Do you believe that evil has triumphed- particularly over the church?

Repent. I did. I had to repent of cynicism toward the church. God showed me just a fraction of how much he loves His Church, and it was enough for me to say “I’m all in!” How bout you? Do you engage in solutions, or withdraw from the fight? Are you a critic who sits in the bleachers with their arms crossed, or are you a player on the field?

Questions and Crickets....

I've been putting my friends and family on the spot in the last 48 hours. In almost all cases, I get crickets. It was one of those questions that you don't mean to be rhetorical, but it can come across as if it was.

The question is this: What's the first thing you tell a new believer? Lets say you are sitting across the table from someone and they just made a decision to follow Christ. "In Jesus name we pray, amen." .... and they open their eyes. What do you say to them next? Reallly....What would you tell them. (Insert sound of crickets here) What is the next step for a new believer in Christ. I mean, what is the very next thing they should think or believe or do.? (More crickets)



I had the privilege of leading a new friend to Christ on Wednesday. It was awesome. I was pumped all day long. But I found myself soon in that place of anxiety:

 ... Stink... now what do I say? I want to get them started on the right path. If I mess up they could be set on a path to legalism or a permissive lifestyle. Neither of which are good. What to say... what to say....

Do you tell them a list of things they should not do? After all... they are Christians now and should act a certain way. Stop smoking! Don't party! (Col 2:20-23)

Or maybe they should get a list of things they should do. Read your bible, pray, go to church, fast, tithe.... You know, all the spiritual disciplines- (the things that us long-term Christians are not even that good at doing). After all, the song we all learned in church as a kid said: "Read the Bible pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow. "

Here's what I told them. Well... I didn't tell 'em. Jesus did. And it was a good reminder to myself, that this is what the Christian walk is really all about. Abide in the vine.

John 15

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

There's a ton to dive into in this passage. What strikes me is that includes both a passive and active sense of abiding.

Passive: It is the vine that does the growing in us. We don't do it in ourselves. No amount of effort will see that we grow and produce fruit. I'll have to politely disagree with that children's song- the spiritual disciplines don't make us grow. They may be a tool to help us abide- but according to John 15, the vine makes us grow- not our efforts.

Active: We have to actively abide in the vine. We have a part to play. We have to submit ourselves to the vine. Don't fight against it. When He says to do something... follow.

I am reminded that in all of our Christian practices, it boils down to just that: Abide in the vine. 

God's on your team!

Think of all the things we give money to. We'll give money to our schools. We'll give money to Political Action Committees. We'll give money to charities. Each time we give, we are making a statement about the trustworthiness of the person we are giving money to. We are trusting that they money will get a better return on the investment- be it a soccer club, politician or a stock broker. (I get a little antsy giving money to someone who is called a "broke-er".) 

Malachi 3:10 as well as Proverbs 3:9 both tell us a principle- that giving to God is a great investment. We are taking a step of faith- knowing that God is trustworthy with our funds.  When we give to the Lord, we are inviting God onto our financial team. He is getting in the game. 

Think about it, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10). Do you think that it will be too much for him to take care of you?

 Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.