Pick a side and stay there

Today we had a very interesting conversation while mixing cement by hand in Mexico. Franc and I were talking about the need for men to step it up in the church and be men, not just fixtures or doormats or silent partners. As we talked our partner in mixing Jaime came back out from hauling a wheelbarrow of concrete inside. He heard us and didn't speak up at first, you see, he doesn't go to church and has not for some time. I don't know how long, maybe 4 years, maybe 10.

When Jaime finally spoke we listened attentively to hear what he had to say. He said that men in the church need to live the same lifestyle outside the church doors as they do inside the church doors. He even made a physical movement to show how they need to not straddle a fence and live one way, not two ways. Hypocrisy is what he was referring to, not just the normal sin we deal with in life, but blatant hypocrisy. We've all seen it and it is never attractive. Some of my darkest memories of youth group were the kids who talked very spiritual in youth group and the night before partied like heathens.

What Jaime said brought out a verse from Revelation, where Jesus is telling the church to be either hot towards him or cold, but not lukewarm or tepid. Franc quoted the verse in Spanish, I couldn't even though I tried. Wow! There we were, an American missionary, a young Mexican pastor from Chiapas, Mexico, and a Mexican man who had become disgruntled by the hypocrisy, yet was willing to openly share and not condemn.

Pick a side, Jesus or the world. If it were only that simple, people would be flocking to churches and begging to come in and see what this Jesus' stuff is all about. If we lived as salt and light, the world would want what we have, they would follow us around and wonder what we are up to. Too bad it isn't true, they could care less most times.

Let's give them something to wonder about men. Let's live bold lives filled with integrity and walk in faith so that others will scratch their heads and try to 'get' us. Let's live with faith and courage and leave doubt and fear in the past. Let's get excited about something more important than the Super Bowl touchdown or the March Madness tourney breakdowns.

Well, that's all. I have to go rest my muscles from the concrete mixing. Pick a side....

A Quiet God?

Does God still speak to us today? Does the Lord send impressions, dreams, etc. to His people in our times? Or do we have a quiet God?

Most of my Christian life I have struggled with this, wanting to know if God does still speak today and how I can know when it is Him speaking and not me, or the burrito I ate, or the devil. There are times when I sense that I should act in some way or go in some direction. Sometimes I do and the outcome is a huge blessing, I am almost 100% sure it was an impression from the Lord. It is not always a pretty situation when I do.

Once I felt a strong urge to turn away from my original destination and go instead to visit a friend I had not seen in years. I was very puzzled, but I drove to his office. When I arrived at his office his wife was in tears and the whole place had a black cloud hanging over it. As I went back to speak with my friend he unveiled a sad story that his business would close on that very day. I was shocked. I had heard nothing of this at all and had no idea. As he shared more details of the way it had shut down I was even more shocked. After some time I asked if I could pray for him and it was very emotional. After that day I vowed to God that I would pray for my friend and his family.

This whole scene was setup simply by an impression in my spirit that I should turn right down a road going to my friend's office and visit him. I believe it was of God, because my friend needed someone to be a friend, love him, and pray for him that day, and to follow up on him as well.

This is one simple story of mine. I could share quite a few more. Sometimes they are not so dramatic, some are even more powerful. You may think this above story was not such a big deal, however, if you had been there in the office that day and seen the tears in his wife's eyes and heard the pain in his voice my guess is you would think this story is a big deal. It's a deal of God placing me in a place with a friend in need.

I know sometimes Christians get some very strange or weird impressions, dreams and even visions. Some of them perhaps are from God, some maybe from their own minds and spirits and some could possibly be from the devil. I have had a few of those too. I have had a few very bizarre dreams when I knew it was not of God, but a satanic attack. I have had a few that I have thought were of God, but later realized maybe it was of my own will because I was so fixated on something or some pursuit and my vivid imagination pulled it out.

Just because some Christians tell of very bizarre impressions and dreams we should not dismiss all of them. The Bible has something to say about all this, good research yet to be done on this and a lot of digging has been done by a few writers.

A friend and fellow missionary has written some things on discerning how to listen to God. His name is Seth Barnes and he is the director of a mission organization called Adventures in Missions or AIM. There website is www.adventures.org. You should check some of his writings out if you are interested in this subject.

Listening to God should be something Christians make every effort to do daily. It should not be some pursuit we only leave to the holy ones or monks or some other Christians. I honestly believe God wants to speak to us and walk with us in every day life. The question is, 'Are we listening?'

Post Valentine´s Day, Roses or Nada

This is mainly for the guys out there. Guys, well, how was Valentine´s Day? Did you give in and go buy that bouquet of flowers or that dozen roses? Or did you go big and pick out a ring or necklace? Or did you spring for a nice dinner and a babysitter, if kids are in the equation?

Or did you rebel against cultural peer pressure and do nothing for your lady? That's okay, just remember there are 364 other days in the year to buy her roses or take her out to eat. And you better do it sooner or later, or else....there are 364 days in the year for her to remind you of the not gift she received for Valentine's Day.

I'm not going to brag about the roses I bought or the letter I wrote for her or anything like that. That would be wrong.

Seriously though, we have been married 25 years as of March 17 and I have done some dumb things and messed up on some Valentine Days, birthdays, and anniversaries. I have dropped the ball my share of times. However, I do my best to make up for it, sometimes it works and sometimes the couch is my bed more than one night. Sometimes outside the house.

Here's the deal. When we mess up guys we need to make an effort to reconcile and seek forgiveness. Sometimes it ain't easy. I remember a birthday a long, long time ago that I bombed on. I still get a gentle reminder of that. But easy smeasy. We should be men and make a strong attempt at setting things right. If we want to stay married, or together, we should make an attempt. Or if we want to live in harmony and peace we should seek peace and reconciliation, whether we were the one in the wrong or not. Pride, who needs it? Pride ain't worth much if you are alone. Better to swallow your pride a hundred times and live in peace with a woman you love than be proud and eating alone. I know pride too. I have my share of it. I would gladly give it all away, but for some reason the human side in me likes for pride to hang around

I hope Valentine´s Day was a good day and a time to rekindle your affection for your girl. If not, remember, there are 364 other days in the year.

Quit Snoring Please!

I don't know about anyone else's wife, but my wife doesn't like snoring. She even says it awakes her sometimes. I can't believe it. Actually I can, because I have been on enough youth retreats with fellow snorers to know that there is nothing worse than a chain saw revving at full throttle whilst ye seeketh to sleepeth. Joey Musick and Jim Smith once performed a snoring duet for out whole room years ago in the Great Smokey Mountains. It was simply...horrible!

So my question today is why do we allow snoring Christians to continue to rip off the horrendous melodies so often and never protest or wake them up so they will halt the noise? I am not referring to those occasions when a friend or family member gets a little drowsy in a church service. That is not even that bad a thing to me. I used to love to sleep in church when I was a kid, so peaceful, so quiet, so calm. Man, I'm getting sleepy right now.

What I am referring to is the insane snoring so many Christians participate in the realm of spiritual things. There is a deafening slumber of so many Christians in the United States as related to the spiritual realm. We are in a comatose state. Dead to the world in two ways, spiritually and intellectually. I will only tackle one area today, spiritual slumber.

Do we really think that we can thrive and succeed in the world today without acknowledging the spiritual struggle that is raging behind the scenes? I mean, come on. Have we not read the Bible lately and seen this incredibly awesome adventure on the other side of things?

Could we flip over to the Old Testament and look into the antics of David, Joseph, Moses, and Job just to name a few? Can you say there is no such thing as a battle for souls after reading the first 2 chapters of Job, let alone the whole book? Are we that sleepy?

So, if we do acknowledge the spiritual realm how do we live in both worlds, physical and spiritual without losing our minds? Well, we aren't succeeding at this too well by just focusing on the physical are we? Look at the mental health business, it's very good these days and getting better. Honestly, I know I get depressed when I only look at the physical side of life. I have had two episodes of what I think were mild depression, both times all I could see was this world, physical, and how bad things were. Both times I struggled to word a prayer and many, many times I could hardly pick up the Bible and read it.

Tell me that was not a spiritual battle. There were days when I slept more than I should have and wept for little stuff. Call it what you like, I would like to call it major spiritual battle for my soul, mind, and heart. When you work 5 different jobs within the span of one year and can't seem to find contentment in any of them, what do you call that? Especially after working one job for over 10 years and loving it thoroughly.

So, my challenge today is for Christians to wake up and quit snoring. Quit sleeping through this spiritual struggle that is waging right before your closed eyes. Grab hold of yourself, your spouse, your child, your friend, your fellow Christian and wake up!

Prayers from your own heart and prayers from the mouths of others are a key to this struggle if we are to succeed and live well. The Word of God read, studied, meditated, memorized, and chewed on is crucial as well. Fellowship with other fellow strugglers cannot be dismissed as well. I know the church isn't what it should be. But Jesus says where 2 or 3 are gathered together in His name there He is, right there, standing with you. Almost forgot, worship both with others and just you and God is power packed. My guitar and I have banged out some pretty amazing worship services before our almighty God. So, what are we waiting on?

Quit Snoring, Please! Some of us are trying to live richer, deeper lives.

Calling all Men

My friend Martin and I have figured out most of the world's ills down here in Mexico while drinking a coke. Well, okay, maybe we've only solved one or two, but no one will listen to us. Maybe one of us should run for president of the US or Mexico. Or maybe not.

One thing we have figured out over the past 2 years and after having had many cokes. This is it. The church needs more strong men to come forward and live an example for others to follow. We need men who have commitment to Christ, who love their families, and who are not perfect, but authentic, real. We need men of prayer, men who can weather storms, men who don't quit.

We need men in places of leadership in the church, men who will teach, men who will serve in areas of their strength and in some areas that might stretch them. We need men to challenge each other, especially in the realm of leadership. We don't need any yesmen who say yes to every thing proposed just because the person presenting it had a nice, high tech presentation and appealed strongly to all involved. If it's a bad idea, say so. If it costs too much money, say so.

We need men who will struggle, wrestle in prayer over families in their neighborhood, at work, and in their church. Yes, wrestle, fight for other men and their families in prayer. We need men who will study the Word of God and dig in deep, not just wade in ankle deep with shallow Bible studies, but in depth , applying the whole Bible to life.

We need many good men to step up and be the example Christ desires and the example He lived.

The Church Today, followers or foreigners?

Would you say the church today is following closely in the footsteps of Christ? If your answer is 'yes', how would you back that up? Could you go to the Gospels and read what Christ said followers are supposed to look like and then say, 'That is exactly what our church is all about! Serving, loving, giving all for others, praying, sacrificing.'

Or would you say that in your experience the church is not so much about these sorts of things, but more focused in other areas? Years ago when the Willow Creek movement came about many jumped on board, and others cringed. Honestly, I cringed. I couldn't envision that what was being taught in Chicago was what was taught by Jesus in the Word. It just didn't match up.

So, does the experience you are having in the church you are involved in match up to what the Bible calls us to live?

If you read Matthew 25 there are some very poignant words that Jesus tells his would be followers to grab hold of, better known as 'the least of these'. What is so strange is that if we lay these and many other passages from the Gospels beside the church today in much of the United States we would have to say, it doesn't even come close. Why not?

Then we can hop over to the book of Acts and see more inconsistencies with the first century church and the church of today. Who's getting it right and who is not? Dare we venture to James 1 where the writer tells us what pure religion is, to care for orphans and widows, and not to act like those of the world?

I am not writing to vent, I am writing to challenge each Christian to seriously look into how their local church is operating and compare it to the New Testament. Then to pray and put into action what they see the New Testament church really is. If it is the same, then so be it. So live it. If it calls you to a radical life of faith and action, then so be it. So live it.

Tough times call for men, women and youth to act and not sit back. People all around the world, not just the United States are in a season where they are looking for someone to step forward in courage and lead, full of conviction and passion. We are looking for change, for a better way. If you don't believe this, look how President Obama won. He campaigned on one simple issue, change.

Change we can believe in. I don't believe one president can change the state of this country. Call me pessimestic or realistic. And I am not an anti Obama guy. I just have heard enough politicians promise the moon and give us a mud puddle instead.

Change we can believe in comes in the form of Christ being lived out as humble servants who care more about their neighbors and family than about their own selves. Crazy, right, just like Philippians 2. Christ was really crazy then.

Change in our churches can only come as one Christian at a time searches God's word empowered by the Holy Spirit and with much prayer. And then lives it out daily.

Salt, Light, or trash?

In a small section in Matthew 5, Jesus challenges his current and future followers to live as salt and light. What actually is he challenging his followers to do? These two terms have been used in sermons and lessons and talks over the past 2,000 years in a variety of ways and applications of how followers of Christ should live. However we define them in our daily lives as Christians we must not do one thing, forget them and neglect them to practice them.

If ever there was a point in history when the world needed salt and light, today is that day. Define these two words and what Jesus meant by them how you may, but do not do the worst thing of all, overlook them. Please figure them out and work them into your daily life.

John Stott said this in his book, Human Rights and Human Wrongs,

...Christians are fundamentally different from non Christians, or ought to be. Both images set the two communities apart. The world is dark, Jesus implied, but you are to be its light. The world is decaying, but you are to be its salt and hinder its decay.


The words 'ought to be' kind of jumped out at me when I read this passage. Christians ought be be different. Wow, that's putting it nicely. Are Christians different in their lifestyles, morals, and choices? Each Christian must answer that on his or her own, no one else can answer.

To go even further with this, what impact are we Christians making individually and collectively in our communities, states, and countries? Is our impact even being noticed?

Recently our new President was quoted as saying that a large part of our economic problem was caused by greed and corruption. So much truth was packed into this small statement of his. Everyday it seems we are hearing examples of corrupt dealings and greedy actions pulled off in secret. Would it be correct to say the United States needs more salt and light in dealing with the current economic holocaust? Or more exact in saying we need more people who are of the salt and light persuasion?

My question for each Christian is this, what are you doing to truly be salt and light in your community, state, country, and world? Are we making others thirsty for what Christ has or have we gone bland and tasteless, needing to be thrown out as Jesus says in Matthew 5?

Mission trips and questions

If you are looking for a good book to read that will make you think and scratch your brain. This is it. If you have any interest in how Christians are to be involved in the social ills of our world this will definitely be a great read for you. I am midway through it and have already scratched my brain more than once and said a few, 'amens', along the way.

If you think as a Christian you need not be concerned about social ills in our world, then wake up! If for one minute you believe the governments in our world are going to resolve and heal what ills the masses in our world, then you should pull your head out of the sand.

Maybe for me this book is so powerful because we see so much pain and suffering and want to do something to change or alleviate as much as possible. You cant help everyone, or you cant save everyone, for sure, however, if we make an effort and step outside our comfort zones, whatever that is, then we can alleviate some of the pain in the world.

The biggest step is the one out of your comfort zone. For some it is your career or school or home. For some Christians it is your church walls. What a novel idea for Christians to take what they learn on Sunday or Wednesday or Thursday and apply it in the city street to the homeless, or to an orphanage in a poor country, or to a school or university in a communist country like China. But I am getting ahead of myself. Start in the place where you are and do something to help someone who cannot return the favor and who may never step foot in a church building. Or who may turn their back on you and refuse your help in some way.

Can we tackle a very real sacred cow in the church? Could we stop thinking that mission trips and such are for the purpose of making us feel more spiritual and holy? I know, I did the same thing for years, until I finally realized God did not necessarily want me to return from a mission trip feeling a spiritual high. Sometimes, well, most times I came back from those trips emotionally broken and hurting for the families I met and the kids I fell in love with.

I'm not saying let's quit taking mission trips, maybe we need to thin out some of the people who are going on these trips. Make it tougher to go. Have an application process and make participants do an interview on why they desire to go and what they hope to see occur. Possibly have each participant do references and ask a series of thoughtful questions. Most mission organizations do this, but most churches simply post a list and everyone who gets their money and stuff together goes, regardless of their preparedness.

Maybe instead of allowing the ones who are not quite ready to go, instead have them raise money that will be given straight to the missionary. Kind of an offering. This money should not be used on the group's trip expenses, rather for the work of the missionary. For $200 a missionary friend I know could pay a pastor in Africa for 4 months. 4 months. I believe a national pastor could do much, much more good in 4 months than an unprepared mission trip attendee who doesnt even speak the language.

There is a group from a church we work with in Texas who actually tells teens they are not quite ready to go and asks them to wait. What a novel idea! Waiting and growing in the grace of the Lord is sometimes best. Especially in the area of mission trips.

Do we want more groups to go on mission trips? Yes, but more groups with members who are fully prepared and focused on God and His plans, ready to serve, sacrifice and even eat foods that you dont like and cannot pronounce and go to bathrooms that smell so awful you want to barf.

Smaller groups, better prepared, fully devoted to prayer, and with servants´ hearts is what we seek.