911 and two questions for the church!

Last week, when I was preaching, I mentioned that it is human nature for us to ask why God allowed 911 to happen? While reading today I came across this paragraph, that made me think more on this. At the end of my reading, my question was not "Why did God allow this to happen?" but "As God's people, did we do what we should of and pointed people to Jesus?" 

A case in point is the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. This tragic event that has changed AMerica in so many ways raises two strategic questions that the church must consider. First, how did the people that the churches are trying to reach (the target) respond to this event? And second, how did the church respond to the people? The answer to the first question is that a number of people who had never attended or had stopped attending church were in church the following Sunday morning. A Gallup poll reported that 47 percent of adults surveyed September 21-22, 2001, said that they had attended church or synagogue the previous week. This number was the highest since the 1950’s. The Barna Research Group reported that 48 percent of adults surveyed in ate October and early November of 2001 said they had attended  church service in the last week compared with 42 percent polled earlier between late July and early August. Barna also noted an increase in concern about the future. In November, 82 percent of the adults Barna surveyed said they were concerned about the future compared to 73 percent in August. Barna added that the population segment that expressed the most concern was adults thirty-five and younger, among whom nearly nine out of ten expressed their concern. Again, the latter represent not only the future of our nation but the future of our churches. Social scientists and analysts have discovered that most people turn to religion in times of national crisis and instability. Few evangelical Christians doubt that God used the attacks on September, 11 to wake up Americans in general and the churches in particular to people’s need for God and the church’s role in helping them connect with him. People responded to the crisis as we might expect. Did the church use the opportunity to connect with them for the Savior? 

What we discover is that the church wasn't ready for this tragic event. Like so many others, it was caught by surprise. Unlike so many others, such as fireman, policemen, and the Red Cross, as well as many average citizens, it failed to react it failed to react well. It didn't use the tragedy stratigically for spiritual advantage. The church must learn to respond quickly to traumatic experiences and make a difference. We might argue that emergency-oriented organizations like the New York Fire and Police Departments as well as the Red Cross are prepared for such disasters. Whether or not the church is in decline, it is vital that it becomes an emergency-oriented organization as well. (Aubrey Malphurs)

Welcome to Jurassic Park Denomination! Home of the soon to be extinct church...

A visit to some churches is like a step back in time. If a young person in the early twenty-first century wants to know how they did church in America back in the early to mid-twentieth century, all he or she has to do is visit an established, traditional church in the community. 

Messer compares attending a typical church to experiencing a time warp similar to that found in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park “Welcome to Jurassic Park Denomination. You are now entering the lost world of the prehistoric past. Our tour begins in the board library. Here we notice two rare species. First the board member always pushing for more exegetical sermons form the Old Testament, the bron-Torah-saurus. Next to him you can see this creature’s rival, the board member who likes lighter sermons, the tricertopical. On the right you can see the board member who loves to study the end times, velocirapture. Next, we proceed to the church kitchen. Here we find a board member who loves grazing at potlucks, socials, and outdoor picnics, the barbequesaurus. 

The real problem lie in the church’s methodology or how it “does church,” reflected in its particular church model. So many in our churches are convinced that we must conduct church the way we’ve always done it. As one old-time (the traditionsaurus) puts it, “If the organ and the great hymns of the faith were good enough for Jesus and Paul, they must  be good enough for us!” 

Bill Easum writes: “Like the dinosaur, they [churches] have a voracious appetite. Much of their time, energy, and money is spent on foraging for food, so that little time is left to feed the unchurched...Food is everywhere. But many refuse to change their methods and structures to minister to people where they are in ways they can understand. Like the dinosaur, their necks are too stiff or their eyes too nearsighted.” 

Easum concludes: “Congregations must deal with their stiff necks or their nearsightedness, or go the way of the dinosaur. Some congregations will wake up in time to deal effectively with their situations. Their necks will be softened and their eyesight will be corrected. We call this refocusing or revitalizing the church. Others will wake up, but it will be too late. However, too many will never wake up and will simply pass from the scene like the dinosaur.

Text is from Malphur's book, A New Kind of Church

Have it your way

Who slogan is "Have it your way"? If you said Burger King, you are correct. In a world today, that statement is so true. Our current culture mixed with our human nature; seems to shout this as being the most important thing. We are selfish people!

"My way" is even in the church, I am noticing it more and more. "My way" is rooted deeply into our churches, and the way we run our churches. "My way" is the reason that people jump church to church; because they are looking for that perfect church that meets "my" needs and wants. "My way" is why church fight after church fight break out because people want to do it their way, and they don't care who they run over to get there. "My way" "My way" "My way"

I have learned many times in ministry, my way normally doesn't work. I will try numerous things, and when my bag of tricks is out; I tend to look to God. Which is what I should have done in the first place! In fact, isn't that what we should all be doing! Throw out the "My way" and bring in "God's way"! 

"God's way" would stop people from jumping around to different churches and get plugged in with their present church and be part of what God is doing in that church! "God's way" would stop the fights within the church and grow the unity of the church! "God's way" would be a church doing God's things, than doing man things! "God's way" "God's way" "God's way"

It starts with one that is searching for God's way, will you be that person? or will you keep having it your way?

Why God did this happen???

This question has been said by myself many times. I believe many times it is in our human nature to lash out at something or someone; and many times it is God! But why do we? Ever think of this?

Why did God allow 911? Why did God allow that person to have cancer, she had so much potential? Why did God allow Hurricane Katrina to take so many lives? Why did God even put a tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, if He is all good? Why didn't God stop that Forrest fire or mud slide in the Midwest? Why does God not intervene against injustice? Why did God take that child, he was only seven?

Maybe you are like me and have pondered a question similar. These questions I don't believe are wrong, I believe they are valid questions. They are at the core of human nature to ask; but asking is not the issue, it is the blame game that is wrong.

Have you ever observed many of our stories and movies? Most start with the characters of the story, doing great and then all of the sudden a villain enters the picture. For instance: In Red Riding Hood, it is the Big Bad Wolf. In the Wizard of Oz; it's the Wicked Witch of the West. In Gotham, there is a guy who paint his face and causes havoc; the Joker. In Star Wars, he has a breathing problem and is one of the darkest villains; Darth Vader. You see many times our stories and movies have villains. Why? Because God's story has a villain.

Think about it. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 From the beginning of God's story we find that: He is the main character of His story! He is the main director of His story! He is the main writer of His story!

God created a perfect earth and He cast two main characters to take care of it; Adam and Eve. Everything was going great, until chapter three, and then it happens. The villain enters the scene, the Bible calls him the serpent and we know that it is the devil or Satan. He enters God's story for one purpose and that is to taint God's story! He coaxes Eve to break God's rule and helps man to turn his back against God. It is the same today! You feel lonely and abandoned, and you hear that voice saying you're not good enough. There is an enemy, there has always been an enemy and there will always will be till God puts him away for eternity! But yet, when something goes wrong; we don't blame the villain or even take responsibility of our own actions. We blame God, the main character of His story that we are just a part of! Why I ask you?

Here is a random thought of mine. A few years back I dislocated my ankle. My foot should have been horizontal but it popped out and was more vertical! It was gross. When I was in the emergence room, I made a deal with myself to treat every doctor, every nurse and every hospital staff member with kindness and love. I knew that these people were there for one purpose and that was to make me better! Now many times; these people are yelled at, cursed at, and hated. Why? All they are doing is trying to help the person. But yet many times we find the truth in the statement "Hurt people hurt people." Now, take God and His story. He is trying to be part of our lives, love us, help us; and what do we do many times? Lash out at Him, curse at Him, hate Him, turn our backs on Him. It tends to be our human nature, but yet as Christians it should not be part of our new creation! 

Will we ever be able to answer the question why did God allow this to happen? Most likely not; but at the same time, we are in no position to blame it on God. We need to realize that there is an enemy, that continues to attempt to taint God's story. We have our own responsibility to control our actions. And because we all fall in the middle of God's big story; we are just a small part of that. Ecclesiastes is correct when it mentions that we cannot even fathom God's story from the beginning to the end! So ask the question "Why did this happen?" Even if need be ask "Why God did you allow this to happen?" But let us never come to a place where we start blaming God for things we will never understand!

"Epic: Living a Story Worth Telling"

Think about that statement...Living a Story Worth Telling

I shared with the teenagers that their decisions of today and what they do with their time; will reflect on the stories they share in the future. They will be stories that will be shared with their future spouse, their kids, and their grandkids. If they get in trouble with the law, it will be shared with their future bosses and reflect their character. If they serve the community and are out trying to make a difference; that also will share about their character with their future bosses. What we choose to do with today; will be part of our story tomorrow. Are you living today in the way that you want to tell tomorrow?

(The current youth series from Life Church that we are using with our youth!)