The Gift of Relationship

I was getting ready to preach at one of the revivals in Zimbabwe and I asked my interpreter Max if they celebrate Christmas. He told me they did. I then asked him if it included gift giving. Again he told it did. I was surprised that gift giving was a part of their culture. I mean, with an unemployment rate of close to 85% what kind of gift can be given (That is the spoiled American side coming out in me).

He told me the gift may be a piece of clothing or something they could use for school. Sometimes the gift was bought, sometimes it was made but all the gifts had a purpose. The gift was usually something they needed. You mean there are no game systems, toys or ipods? (American side again)

We live in a culture where most of our gifts consist of things we want, not things we need. Think about your Christmas list does it consist of only things you wanted or are there some things you need.

Think about gift giving. Does it feel better to give someone something they need or something they want? Sometimes in our arrogance we stray from the list someone gives us to give them something we want to give them. We give them something we have always wanted but they could care less about. That gift usually ends up on a shelf or in a closet only to be regifted at a latter date. These gifts are not very relational gifts are they? Everytime it snows and I get my snowblower out I am thankful Barb and Fred got me a snow blower for Christmas last year. Since I could not get Rhonda to shovel the driveway the snow blower was something I needed.

Max went on to tell me that the best thing about Christmas was the family coming together. He said people love to see brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. This to him was the best thing about Christmas. Why? Because God has created us to long for those types of relationships. When you don't have wealth, you begin to cherish the things that matter most, Family and Friends. You know I have great memories of past Christmas' but very seldom remember the gifts I recieved. I do however remember the people. Some who are still with us and some who are not. I would much rather have the people who are no longer with us, then the gift they gave me at the time.

Christmas is about the gift of relationship. First, it is the story of a relational God who sent his Son to die for us so we can have an eternal relationship with Him. There is no greater gift. Then it is about the relationships God has given us here on this earth, our family and our friends. Yeah, we may give a gift or two, but what we really long for is the gift of relationship.

So even if you don't have a present to give someone, maybe you should at the very least contact those you care most about during the Christmas season. Sometimes those are the gifts that go a lot farther than the present which is wrapped and placed under a tree.

So, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone of my relatives and friend a Merry Christmas! I wish we could all be together. I know when Jesus comes again that will be possible, but until then MERRY CHRSITMAS!

Please Pray for the Bakers

We have entered into a new era of raising children. Eli just recently got his learners permit. He is driving now. Check out the videos of our journey to Walmart.

Zimbabwe Day 5

These two videos are a part of the journey to Mukazi. Mukazi is about 25 km from the homestead. It is in the Lower terrain of Zimbabwe which is the the driest and hottest region.

The people in this region of Zim were different from the people in some of the other villages. There was a nervousness that existed with our presence. It is an area that is closely watched by the government. After the revival one of the leaders of the area made it clear that what had happened that day was about Bible teaching.

The great thing about being here is that they want a church in their region. The team from Westerville took a small group to Mukazi to get permission from the leaders for people to come to the school. We took a larger team and did a VBS and a revival.

The school at Mukazi used to be the home of a white farmer. It sat on the top of a large hill that overlooked the plains. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We thought there were only going to be a couple hundred students but there were over five hundred. After I would teach the lesson I would tell the children they could ask me about anything. They would ask me about my family. One girl asked me how many children I had. I told her three and she followed up by asking why not 13 like families there. I asked them what they did when they got home from school. They responded with things like: gather fire wood, get water, clean or gather cattle.

The revival here was smaller because this is such a new region for the church. There were 29 decisions on this day. Again, God showed up in a big way as we took the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Below is a video of the children singing as a welcome.

Zimbabwe Day 4

We went to Chiremwaremwa on Tuesday. Don't ask me how to pronounce the name of this village, I do know it means "bat." So we can just call it the "bat village." We went to the school there and did Vacation Bible School. The video is from one of the classes singing before we did the lesson for the day.

After the Vacation Bible School we did another revival where 140 people made a decision to follow Jesus. It was another great day!

After the revival we went to the church in the village where they held a dedication service for the church and a new preacher. This was really cool because a little
over a year ago Rhonda and I bought a bike for Solomon to get to this village and get the church started. I have the name of this village written in the front of my Bible (which has been there for over a year) so that I would remember to pray for this church. It was awesome to get to sit in this dedication service.

This may have been one of the coolest things for me personally knowing that this was a place on the outer edges of the world I had committed to prayer. I can only thank God for this experience. Below are some pictures of the church.

Zimbabwe Day 3

Here is a video of the children singing at the school. The first is in the classroom and the second is in the courtyard of the buildings that house the classes.

Zimbabwe Day 3

We were in Neguve doing a Vacation Bible School which was followed by a revival. The video is a preacher in the area leading singing prior to Danny and me getting up and speaking about the church and the gift of grace. The music this day was awesome, both at the school and at the revival. As you can see the preacher leading the singing was very energetic. It was such a great day. These people really loved to sing and love God. After Danny and me spoke 195 people came forward to give their lives to Jesus. It was yet another overwhelming moment when God moved in a very powerful way. I loved being able to speak outside. I can only imagine what people in the village around us were thinking when they heard 700 plus people singing together. It is one of those times I thought about what it must have been like in the book of Acts when the first century church met where ever people would gather. What a testimony to how awesome the God is we serve.

Zimbabwe Day 2

I woke at 6:30 in the morning to singing. By the time I got my video camera they had stopped singing, but these women were walking through the village praying and singing. They would stop at different huts and pray. Then they headed for the church where we had a teaching time at 10 and then a church service at 11.

It was amazing to see these women committed enough to get up early and prepare for worship. The worship service was fun, there was a lot of energy in the singing. We took communion and they took up an offering. I was a little surprised they took up and offering considering the average income is about $1200 a year, but people still gave.

I got to preach that morning. It was really cool. I talked about the wondering cattle that are in the village. Since it is dry, people let their cattle (pronounced "kettle") wonder. At the end of the day they go and gather their cattle to come home. While I was talking about the wondering cattle we had a cow and some goats wonder by (we joked that it was my 3-d power point). I compared it to the lost sheep and lost coin. I challenged the church to go out and gather those who are wondering through the village without God.

During announcements after the message, a lady turned in an announcment about a lost goat she hoped people could help her find. I bet none of you have heard that announced in a church service before.

Later in the day I got to see the community gardens and the houses that are being built for the preachers. From there we went to the Moshoko Christian Hospital started by the Pruets in 1958. I will blog on this later.

Zimababwe Day One

After getting to the village at 5 am on Saturday Morning we unpacked and got to bed about 5:30am. We were up at 7:30 getting showers and eating breakfast. At about 9:30 we headed to the church where we were greeted by an enormous crowd of children. When I stepped off the bus children surrounded me wanting to shake my hand and say, "Hi, how are you?" It was an overwhelming experience.

During the children's event I was talking to Blessing (one of the young men helping with the Mushayamunda Trust)and he shared with me that 70-80 percent of the children in attendance were without a father and a mother. They may live with a relative, but they have no parents. Some of the children in the video walked up to 20 miles to be at the event.

There were about 2200 present that afternoon and at the end we offered a decision time where over 300 present made a decision to follow Jesus.

One of the highlight came later in the day when a 12 year old boy, who has nothing, came up to me and shook my hand. As he shook my hand he said, "Jesus loves you."

How can people who have so little understand the love of Christ? I believe it comes from having to trust Him for everything and seeing Him provide everyday.

Do you have Censorship?

This is the first blog about my trip to Zimbabwe. It was an awesome trip and I am thankful for all the people who prayed for our team while we were gone. I am also thankful for a church that supported my journey.

There is so much to share that is life changing, I will share some things this Sunday with some pictures and video.

We did Vacation Bible School at different villages throughout the week. We would go to a local school in a village where they would allow us to take time out of their regular day to share about God.

I was the one who told the Bible story for the VBS. After I was done I would tell the children they could ask me any question about my life they wanted. We were in the village of Mukazi. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. The school meets in what used to be the homestead of a white farmer. It sat on the top of a mountain that overlooked the plains. It was run down, with broken windows and dirty walls. It was obviously a magnificent home at one time.

Mukazi is in an area that is very oppressed by the government of Zimbabwe. When I asked the third grade class if they had any questions about the United States a girl asked me, "Do you have censorship in your country like we do?"

You have to be careful talking about politics in Zimbabwe, but obviously this third grade girl wanted to know about the freedom we have in the United States. The first answer which popped into my head was, "No." But I stopped and remembered where I was and answered, "Sometimes."

We could never do in our schools what we were doing in Zimbabwe. The impact that was made for the kingdom in Zimbabwe in that week were amazing. I wonder what it would be like if we had the same freedom in the schools here that they have in Zimbabwe.

Christianity in Decline

When I logged on to the Internet this morning the headline on my homepage stated that 25% of the world is now Muslim. Below the headline there was another headline discussing the decline of Christianity (you can read it here

Here are a couple statements from the Fox News article by Bruce Feller:

"In the coming months, America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims."

"The number of Christians has declined 12% since 1990, and is now 76%, the lowest percentage in American History."

"The growth of non-believers has come largely from men. Twenty percent of men express no religious affiliation."

"Young People are fleeing faith. Nearly a quarter of Americans in their 20's profess no organized religion."

"Americans are interested in God, but they don't think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God."

When is "the" church going to pay attention to what is happening in our culture? When are we going to really take seriously our call to make disciples instead of just growing a church? People are growing farther and farther from God and the church does not seem to get it.

What are your thoughts? I would love to here them.

Down at the River

On Monday morning I had the opportunity to walk into the chilled waters of the Kent River, not to fish, but to baptize Lori. As a baby her parents had her baptized, which is a tribute to them because of their desire to see her grow up knowing Jesus. After a few years of praying about being immersed, Lori decided this is something she wanted to do and I got to participate.

Lori did not want to be baptized in the traditional setting. She decided that she wanted to do it outside in a more natural setting. So she picked a place on the Kent River. It was awesome for several reasons. First, it was a place in which God provided the setting and the water. Maybe this was the more traditional setting. In the book of Acts they used whatever water was available at the time. This baptism took me back in time when baptism was not just a ritual, but had a deeper meaning.

Another reason this was meaningful was because of the public witness. While we were praying a group of people were walking on a nearby path. They stopped and asked if they could watch. Think about it. We make baptism a closed event for the most part. We may invite people to come to church when someone gets baptized. But the witnesses are mostly believers. But outside there are no barriers as to who may witness the story of Jesus' death burial and resurrection. I'm thinking we should baptize people in public places more often. What a perfect way to take the church out to the culture. Which is the goal of becoming a missional church.

Finally, whenever someone is immersed and united with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection it just tells the greatest story of all time. Remember when you were a child and you had your parents read the same story every night? It never got old. This story does not get old either. The story of what Jesus did for us never gets old because it's personal. This story includes you and me. This story is about how Jesus loved us enough that he paid our penalty of sin so we can be with him forever.

It really does not matter where the story is told. The important thing is that the story is told. Thanks Lori for letting me share in that story with you on Monday.

KSP Reggie McNeal

Last Thursday we (the leadership team) went down to Columbus for a Kingdom Synergy Partnership (KSP) meeting. It was a pretty exciting day. A new network was formed to plant another church in Cleveland and a Network from Kentucky wants to fully fund another plant in Cleveland. For a city that was once lacking in Restoration churches it is getting ready to have four. Wow! What an impact for the kingdom in a city that desperately needs some resurrection.

We also had the privilege to listen to Reggie McNeal. Reggie McNeal is a church consultant that really has a pulse on the shifts churches need to make in order to become God led. He really stressed the importance of changing the scorecard. Typically the churches scorecard looks at attendance of church activities as success. That the destination for people is the church, not Jesus or the abundant life.

Jesus came to give people life both physical and eternal. We have the tendency see the church as the destination when the Biblical truth is that Jesus is the destination.

As church leaders we need to determine what our scorecard is going to look like. For example, Northwest could decide that their scorecard is going to include church planting. So we decide how many church plants we are going to be involved in over the next ten years. We may decide we are going to bring some life to a low income housing area, which can change the complexion of our city.

The idea is to take the church to the streets rather than asking people to go to church. The destination becomes Jesus, not the church. The truth of this strategy is that the church will begin to grow as it focuses on bringing Jesus to the world.

Bricks for the Preachers House

Here are a couple photos I recieved today of the men making bricks for the preachers house I was talking about yesterday. They need 15000 for each house.

Preacher's House

When I go to Zimbabwe next month one of the things our team is going to do is work on a house for the preacher at a new church plant. I just recieved a list of some of the things we need to raise money for in order to build this house. I am posting part of the list and asking if you would like to contribute you can send a check made out to "Northwest Ave. Church of Christ." Send it to Northwest, c/o Scott Baker, 737 Northwest Ave., Tallmadge, Ohio, 44278. When you send the check, make sure you mark what it is you want to purchase for the house. The total cost to build a house in Zimbabwe is . . . are you ready for this? . . . anywhere from $5122 to $6422, depending on the type of roofing.

Here is part of the list of the items needed which will be purchased in Zimbabwe:

68 50lb. cement bags @ $10 a bag
30 litres of exterior undercoat @ $3 a litre
40 litres of exterior paint finish @ $3 a litre
40 litres of interior undercoat @ $3 a litre
60 litres of interior paint @ $3 a litre
10 litres of Roof & Stoep black @ $3 a litre
3 windows @ $55 a window
3 windows @ $65 a window
2 windows @ $75 a window
2 door frames @ $90 each
3 door frames @ $45 each
3 flash doors @ $25 each
1 stable door @ $55
1 hardwood door @ $50
2 B.I.C. doors @ $20 each
1 Wash hand basin @ $110
1 single stainless steel sink @ $65
10 rafters @ $20 each
3 Wall plates @ $20 each
10 brandering @ $5 each

And by the way, it is going to take 15000 farm bricks that the villagers are going to mould.

If you can help please try to get it in by Oct. 4

Christianity is Messed Up

Christianity is messed up. I hesitate saying this because by definition Christianity is about following Christ. So some could say (and I am sure they will) that I am saying following Christ is messed up. That's not what I am saying. What I am saying is the religion of Christianity is messed up.

Why? Because we have stopped following Christ. There, I said it! We have gotten away from studying the Bible to gain better understanding. We would rather hold on to traditions and interpretations by man rather than seeing what God says. When we do hear something that is different than what we believe we are in the habit of saying things like: "Well that's your interpretation," "I don't believe that," or "That's wrong."

I was in a discussion just recently with someone about a certain topic. I quoted a Bible verse to a question that really speaks for itself. The person said, "Why do you always go to that verse?" The reason is because God's word spells it out quite clearly.

My question is if there is something in the Bible that does not line up with what you believe, "Why aren't you trying to figure out why it does not line up?" Our pride will not let us examine it because we may have to admit we are wrong. I would rather admit that I was wrong than live in wrongness all my life. And you know what, I have been wrong many times.

But there is one thing I will do. In my pursuit to live like Jesus I will study the Bible striving to get as close as I can to the way Jesus would want me to live. Even if I have to challenge what I have always been taught growing up in the Restoration Movement, the independent Christian church/church or Christ. My great grandfather was a preacher and my grandfather was an elder in the church of Christ. They would disagree with a lot of what I believe from the Bible.

I blame my dad. He taught me to study for myself and challenge in places that do not line up with the Bible. But I thank my dad because I have a better understanding of who Jesus wants me to be rather than what the church I grew up in wants me to be. I learn stuff all the time that is different from what I use to believe and every time I do, I seem to grow a little closer to Jesus.

Why Can't We Just Be A Church?

Growing up in a the Independent Church of Christ/Christian church has been a blessing and a curse. It has been a blessing because I am a part of the Restoration Movement. A movement which truly started out to restore the church to first century form. A movement which strives to drop man made creeds and get back to Jesus. It strives to simplify Christianity rather than complicate it with so many divisions. It tries to make it easy for people to follow Jesus rather than have a bunch of man made traditional hoops for people to jump through to become a member of a specific church or denomination.

The curse is that it is hard to explain to people that we are nondenominational. When people see a title like Church of Christ or Christian church they assume there is a loyalty to a bigger organization. It is the Restoration Movements fault though. When you read early documents written in the Restoration Movement they will refer to the church as: Christian church or church of Christ. Notice that the word "church" is not capitalized. Why is that? Because the goal of the Restoration Movement was to be a "church" that followed Christ. It was never meant to be a title. The goal was to just be a "church" that followed Jesus. When we started capitalizing the word "church" we started to give the perception we were a denomination.

The hope is that we get back to the basic intention of the Restoration Movement. It is the hope that we just get back to following Jesus rather than man made creeds whether they are written out or just understood.

Why can't we just be a church?

Blast from the Past

Last night I was watching my normal evening line-up on Fox News when the phone rang. I answered it and a guy asked if this was the Scott Baker from Salem, Virginia. When I confirmed to him it was he said, "This may be a blast from the past, but do you remember Darryl A." I knew who he was immediately. We sat by each other in home room at Salem High School. He had played tackle on the offensive line that I was the center.

He is now living in Oklahoma and tracked down my number through a mutual friend that I have on facebook. This friend we have in common told Darryl where I lived and he tracked me down. I know some people do not like facebook, but this is a reason that the social network is amazing and can be life changing.

Darryl called me because he has two sons in the military. One of them is in Iraq and the other is headed to Afghanistan. He called me to see if I would pray for them. We prayed on the phone together and then we talked for a little while. Darryl proceeded to tell me about his life after high school. He told me he had made some bad choices in his life. It turned out to almost be a confessional. I was able to talk to him about Jesus, how much Jesus loves him and grace.

It has been 26 years since he has talked to me. We really weren't the closes friends when we were in school. We knew each other but never really hung out. He tracked me down he said because he always knew I was a man of God (I know some would beg to differ). What a compliment. You never know who is paying attention as you try to walk with God.

I would like for everyone who reads this to pray for Darryl and his two sons: Preston and Mark. Pray that the boys will be protected and that Darryl will be healed spiritually and physically. Then pray for some Darryl's from your past.

Conversation with a Hindu (4)

Last night I had a conversation with my Hindu friend. He has invited me to go to a meditation class he leads next week. This led into a discussion on prayer. I told him if I were to go, I would take that time to focus on God. I would take the time to pray and listen to God.

He explained to me the idea of meditation. That the goal was to remove your thoughts from the conscious (10% of the brain we use) and move to the subconscious part of our mind. He said the deeper we get into our subconscious the closer we get to becoming one with god (meaning we become god).

Here is the thing though, I learned something about prayer. Many times we pray intellectually. What I mean by that is we pray within the 10% of our brain we use to reason. There is something to be said of clearing our minds of our thoughts and focusing on God. Paul tells us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions" (Ephesians 6:18). I am not saying we need to go into a subconscious state of mind(there is a danger in relying on our subconsciousness to lead us), but we do need to clear our minds of fleshly things so we can engage in a authentic conversation with God rather than a surface conversation.

The second thing we talked about was Jesus. The enlightened master my friend is a disciple of speaks of Jesus as an enlightened master. My friend would consider Jesus as an enlightened master as well. My Hindu friend said that his perception of Christianity is that it is anti-christ.

Why would he say such a thing? He has studied the teachings and life of Jesus. As a matter of fact he knows the Bible pretty well for not being a follower. So he looks at the life of Jesus and compares it to the lives of those who profess to be Christians and sees two different lifestyles.

We can be angry that he would say such a thing and react in one of two ways. 1) We could blow off his statement and not believe it, continuing to live our life the way we always have. 2) We could listen to what he says, look at the life of Jesus and examine ourselves to see if we really are following Jesus. The Bible tells us, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I believe we all need to examine ourselves to see how we are doing when it comes to following Jesus. The problem is we will most likely need to make some life adjustments. We may need to take some unpopular stances within our church. We may be seen as a radical or revolutionary. If this is the case chances are you are on your way to following Jesus.

Preparing for Zimbabwe

I am preparing to go to Zimbabwe this fall. I will be traveling with Pinedale Christian Church in Winston Salem, North Carolina. A good friend of mine from college, Danny Spainhour will be leading the trip. I am going to be doing some leadership training and preaching in a new village they are going to plant a church. We have already purchased transportation (a bike) and the preacher (Solomom) is ready to go.

I am trying to raise $1500 for the trip. Anything I raise over that will go to help purchase nutritional drink for children and malaria tablets. If you can help send a check made out to Northwest Ave Church of Christ. You can send it to:

Northwest Church, c/o Scott Baker, 737 Northwest Ave., Tallmadge, Ohio 44278.

I have attached a video I just received that shows some of the nutritional drink Northwest purchased from it's Christmas offering. If you have any questions about the trip feel free to ask.

I'm Back

I am back in the office after a long but moving week. I spoke at Velocity, the church plant we have partnered with other churches to start. What an experience. The church is 15 weeks old and already has about 160 people coming regularly. The worship was fantastic. The people who serve are amazing. They have already had close to if not more than 15 baptisms. What a fabulous Sunday morning experience.

Then I had the privilege to be a part of a Bill Bondurant's funeral. There are two people through my life that I would say have walked with God. Bill was one of them. He is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. His children all spoke at the funeral which really allowed people to see the kind of man Bill was. I know where he is right now, but it will be difficult not having this servant around, he was a very special man.

Finally, I just got back from Basketball camp at Round Lake (our Christian Camp). It was one of the best weeks of camp I have been a part of. The students were awesome. They really took the theme to heart--"Pay the Price." Coop and Palmer did another fantastic job putting the week together.

Next, I prepare to go to Zimbabwe in Oct. Please pray for our trip and the new church we will be starting while we are there.

What's Missing?

Everyday over the last week I have passed a sign a couple times a day. The sign reads, "Amazing Vacation Church School" and then gives a date. Growing up in the church I am very familiar with what is typically known as "Vacation Bible School." Many of you have been to a VBS, most churches do them some don't.

This sign struck me because something was missing. I had never seen a heard of anything called Vacation Church School. So what do you learn at VCS? Do you learn the history of the church going back to the apostles and early church fathers, working your way through the Reformation until you get to the modern church? Or do you learn how to behave at church? Maybe it is about church etiquette. What do you learn at VCS?

When I try to figure out what Church School is I come to the conclusion I have no idea. I do however know what's missing. The Bible is missing. No this does amaze me, but I don;t think that is what they mean by "Amazing Vacation Church School. This "church" which is putting on VCS happens to be a Unity church. They believe in more than just the Bible. They accept other religion's thoughts and philosophies. Which is fine, they have every right to do so. But it is so confusing when a group tries to be a church without the Bible.

The reason I know this, is because I know of churches that place more emphasis on things out side the Bible than the Bible itself. When this happens, it is hard to see the church as anything other than a club that meets once a week. There are some churches that do Vacation Bible School and the only motivation for the VBS is to see how many kids they can get to come. They might as well call their summer event a Vacation Church School also, because the motivation has little to do in teaching kids the Bible.

Now here is my question. Can a church really call itself a church if the Bible is not at the foundation of it's existence? Let me know what you think.

Loving God

I read a quote yesterday that has stuck with me. I am reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" and he said, "When I look at my relationship with God as a chore, a sacrifice, then I am getting the glory--not God."

Those who go into full-time ministry have a tendency to look at what they do as a sacrifice and a chore. While there are sacrifices that take place let's be honest, we need to drop the martyr syndrome here. I am guilty of this. That's why this quote stuck with me over the last day.

Those who are not in full-time ministry this quote applies to you also. I am going to say something that a lot of people will disagree with, even some professors I have had in college. Why do we have to show all this appreciation to volunteers for their service in the church? There was a time appreciation was not shown and there was not a problem with getting volunteers, people just served. Don't get me wrong I think it's good to show appreciation to volunteers, the problem comes when those who serve expect it and get upset when they don't get recognized for their good deed.

When we expect recognition it's a sign of a shallow relationship with God. A relationship that is based on personal incentives. Our attitude should be the same as the apostles who considered it a privaledge to be beaten up for the sake of Christ. Our motivation to serve becomes love not reward or a self pity party.

Maybe this is one of the problems with the church today, it is filled with people who decided when they are willing to make a sacrifice and when they are going to live an independent life from God. Good thing this was not the attitude of Jesus.

Conversaton with a Hindu (3)

I met with my Hindu friend last night. We are going to set up a time to go eat Indian Food together. I want him to show me what to order. There is nothing like sharing a meal together.

Last night we talked about Genesis, particularly Adam, Eve and the fall. When Ram got there he said he wanted to talk about Genesis. I saw this as a moment of God's providence because I too was feeling led to talk about Genesis.

He asked me about the forbidden tree, the tree of "knowledge." He wanted me to define "knowledge." I knew where he was going because in the Hindu way of life, knowledge is important. There is a point in which we reach a level of enlightenment. I believe this is true in Christianity as well. Although our points of enlightenment are different.

I explained to him I have often wondered why God placed a tree in the garden, pointed it out and said "don't eat the fruit from this tree." It is like telling a child not to play with something. The child probably wouldn't have messed with "whatever," if you had not drawn attention to it. I told him that the purpose of the tree was to provide a way for man to "choose" to follow God with "free will."

But there is another part to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We have to understand good and evil in order to truly be enlightened to God's love for people. This enlightenment revolves around grace. Grace is the point of enlightenment for a Christian. It goes beyond just using the word "grace." It's the point in which we realize we do not deserve God's love, we can not buy God's love and we can not earn God's love. God freely gives us grace because of our condition due to sin. It is freeing when we realize we are no longer bound by a law system.

Another thing I am finding out about the Hindu way of life is that they are trying to achieve a point where they become one with God. So are we as Christians aren't we? Now it is a much different way of thinking than Christianity, but the goal is the same. I asked Ram how do you reach the goal of being one with God? He told me this is where meditation becomes important.

I told him Christians desire oneness with God also. Our oneness though is an eternal relationship with God, in His presence. This oneness comes through grace. Our grace comes only through Jesus. We have to believe in Jesus, who did not deserve to die. He chose to die and pay our penalty for sin. He was buired and resurrected. All of which happened so our penalty could be paid in full.

At one point in the conversation he did say he believed in Jesus. I need to talk to him further on that comment. Next time he is going to talk about the importance of meditation for a Hindu and how that brings us into oneness the Brahman. I am going to talk about becoming one with Jesus' death, burial and Resurrection through Christian baptism. Which again tells the story of Grace.

Keep praying God leads this discussion. Less of me, more of God.

Tax Collectors and Prostitutes

I was reading in Matthew 21 this morning and something Jesus said caught my attention: "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you" (Matthew 21:31).

Who is the "you?" Because whoever it is, tax collectors and prostitutes have a better place in the kingdom of God. Right now I do not have much good to say about our tax collectors in the United States and I completely understand why the Bible puts them in the same class as prostitutes. This still doesn't answer the "you" question though.

Who is the "you?" "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them" (Matthew 21:45). The "you" are religious people. Not just religious people, but pious religious people. People who just don't get it.

The "you" are those who are unwilling to follow Jesus. They prefer to stay focused on what they know and are not easily persuaded. They are people who just want to go to church, not be the church. They have wrapped themselves around tradition, rituals and the law. They may talk about grace, but they don't live by grace.

Jesus also says about the "you" and their refusal to buy in, "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from "you" and given to people who will produce fruit" (Matthew 21:43). Wow! If you are not going to follow the way of the Father, the kingdom of God will be passed on to those who will follow. In this case, he is talking about tax collectors and prostitutes who surrender themselves to the mission of God, giving up the ways of their past.

While we as the church keep looking at the tax collectors and prostitutes of the world with judgement, God is using them to advance His kingdom.

Francis Chan asks this question in "Crazy Love" (I read this this morning also), "I wonder how many church doors God wants to shut today?"

How does God look at "you?" Is it the same way Jesus looked at the most pious and religious or is it like the tax collectors and prostitutes?

Conversation with a Hindu (2)

Tuesday evening I spent some time with a new friend,Ram (pronounced Rahm). He is from India working in the United States until the end of the year. He shared with me the Hindu's understanding of Heaven and Hell. It was quite interesting listening to the concepts of Eastern Religion.

The great thing about Ram is his willingness to listen to me talk about Jesus. He's not anti-Jesus, he sees Jesus as one of the great masters (teachers). The thing he does not want to talk about is religion. He has shared with me on several occasions that Hinduism isn't a religion, it is a way of life. That's alright with me, because I believe that Christianity isn't a religion, it is a way of life. We both agree that religion has produced so pretty bad and inauthentic results.

The reason I bring this part of our discussion up is that it is so important for Christ followers to see our relationship with Jesus as a way of life. Ram explained to me people who live east of the Sindhu River in Pakistan are known as Hindu. Hindu defines a specific location and people group like those who live in European countries are known as European. There are certain lifestyles that label someone a European.

To be know as a Christian is not about being a part of a religion, it is an identity based one how you live. When Christ followers were first called Christians, it had nothing to do with how religious they were, they were identified as being people who followed Jesus.

Here is a question? How would you be identified based on how you live?

Conversation with a Hindu

I am in the middle of a series called, "Things I wish Jesus Never Said." We have been looking at some tough and maybe controversial things that Jesus said when he walked this earth. Literally you could probably do several years of teachings of things you wish Jesus never said.

For what I am about to tell you it is important to tell you that the sign in front of the church simply gives the title of our series, not the topic of the day. This past Sunday the teaching was on: "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The issue we are addressing is whether Christianity is the only way to God or not. According to Jesus' statement here, Christianity is the only way.

According to a report put out by "religion.pewforum" 65% of self-identified Christians believe people can obtain eternal life through a non-Christian belief system. (Read more at Ed Stetzers blog)(Check out the May 11, 2009 entry)

Sundays teaching was not about bashing other world religions, it was about teaching why Christianity was unique compared to other world religions. I even shared some of the world religions I personally thought promoted a positive message, minus the hope of salvation through grace of course.

At the end of the second service a man walked in and sat down for the last 15 minutes of the service. I could tell he was from India right away. My first thought was, "Who called this man after first service to come and confront me on the teaching of the day." I prayed he would not stand up and make a scene when I was done.

After closing prayer I was looking for this man to explain to him what the message was about. He was looking for me as well. We went to my office and spent the next 30 minutes talking about the Hindu way of life. We are meeting again tonight to talk further. He wants to know more about Christianity.

There are a couple things amazing about this encounter: 1) He came because of the sign, 2) He is only in the United States until the end of the year and 3) He wants to know more about Christianity.

Pray that I can share with him the hope that only comes through Jesus. That what I say describes a lifestyle, not a religion.

I know the Spirit is involved, because of all days he chooses to show up, the teaching is on the difference between Christianity and other religions. I am excited to see what God does with this conversation.

God of Power

Last night we didn't get to go fishing in the evening. We were not able to experience God's peace. God showed up with power last evening. We had a massive storm move through. Same spot different result. We all sat on the back porch which overlooks the lake. It rained so hard the mountain range which creates a beautiful back drop disappeared.

The great thing about a storm on Smith Mountain Lake is that you are in the mountains and the clouds seem so low you could reach out an touch them. The lightening looks like it is dancing on the water as it bolts from the sky.

In Noah's day two things happened. It rained for the first time and it was the start of the boating industry. When it rains as hard as it did last night, it can be frightening. If it rained that hard in Noah's day they had to be in awe and fearful at the same time.

Proverbs tells us that the beginning of all knowledge is the fear of God. When you see the power of God like we saw the power of God last night, it brings upon a person a healthy fear of God's power.

I am glad I serve a God who is both peaceful and powerful.

God of Peace

Right before dark last night I took the boys fishing out on Smith Mountain Lake. We had planned to go earlier but a summer storm moved through. When we went out, there was nobody on the lake. Just two hours before the lake had white caps on it, now it was calm. We were at the base of the mountain and it was so quiet and peaceful.

I love these moments when you are away from everything and you are able to soak in what God created. Even though you feel like you are alone you're not. God is everywhere, especially in the quietness. I kept pointing out to the boys how quiet it was. One of them pointed out the sun set off to the west as it came across the lake. In the stillness and quietness of the world it is hard not to experience God's presence.

I wonder what it was like for Adam and Eve living in the garden with the God of peace all around them. How could they desire more than what they had and eat from the only tree God told them not to eat from? They took what God had given them for granted. They stopped looking around and seeing God. They began to look at what they did not have instead of all that they had. And in that moment they lost it all.

On the lake, I could not stop looking at everything around me. I love the peacefulness of God. I can't wait to go out again this evening to experience His peace. I just hope we catch a few fish. But if we don't, it doesn't matter I got to fish with my heavenly Father.

Survival (Part 2)

I left off yesterday talking about adaptive leadership. Today I want to go further in the thoughts of yesterday. As I continued my blog reading I went to Ed Stetzer's blog. I read Stetzer's blog because he interviews great church leaders, has a lot of research on what is happening within Christianity and has a grasp on the missional church. He wrote a blog about a discussion he had for USA Today about "Is there one way to heaven?" (Read the article here). If you read the article be sure to read the comments that follow.

I was amazed at the number of Christians who think there is more than one way to get to heaven. Could this be one of the reasons so few people go to church on a given Sunday? For the adaptive leader this is just another brutal fact in our culture when it comes to Christianity and the church.

Is it possible we have gotten so caught up in church growth and being seeker sensitive that we have failed to promote even the basics of the gospel?

Reading Stetzer here reminded me that I needed to finish a study we are doing as a staff. It is a small group study written by Stetzer called "Sent." Currently we are having all our life groups go through the study. This study is kicking our butt! I have never done a study that asks some of the most thought provoking questions about some of the things we take for granted. If you want to order a copy go here.

I finished the last section after reading Stetzer's blog. In the last section he pointed out that 56% of people think about their eternal destiny. Another current reality for the adaptive leader. This is an opportunity to engage people in a discussion about their eternal destiny. But, as Stetzer points out, this goes beyond inviting people to church. He says, "Sure, it's easier to tell people to come to church and live a good life, but that's not the gospel. . . To share Christ, we have to go beyond formulas that fit on napkins."

This is another challenge for the adaptive leader and adaptive Christ followers. It requires leaders and the people they lead to develop authentic relationships with other people. At some point in the relationship the opportunity may arise (don't force the issue) to talk about eternal destiny.

We have moved beyond just teaching people to bring people to church. We need to lead be to be the church everywhere they go and with everyone they meet. Stetzer sums it up like this, "What, after all, are missional churches except gatherings of missional individuals?"

The sad reality of all this is that all we are talkning about here is living and being the church that is described in Acts. It is not something new, it is something we have got to get back to doing. Then the church (gathering of missional individuals) will begin to reach people and answer their questions about their eternal destiny.

So let's all commit to living missional lives, Loving God, Loving People and being authentic in our relationships to both.

Adapting in order to Survive

I usually take a morning a week and read through blogs of people I think have something to say about the missional church, connecting with people and just life in general. This morning was the morning I chose to catch up on some blog reading. Here is where it led me:

I started with Vince Antonucci's blog . I love his blog because he really has a way of looking at scripture and has a heart for reaching lost people. Vince is currently starting a church on the Vegas strip. I can't wait for the stories that emerge from that journey. Anyway he posted a map of the number of people who go to church on a given weekend from 2000 (view map).

What I learned from this map is there is a lot of work to do. I Ohio there are only 20.3% of the population that attend church on a given weekend. Two things: 1) As a church we need to see the need for us to become more missional and 2) We need to continue to be involved in church planting (the most effective way of reaching lost people).

Next I read Alan Hirsch's blog. Alan Hirsch has a real grasp on the church and the decline it is in world wide. He is committed to helping churches find their way again. Two of his books, "The Forgotten Ways" and "ReJesus" should be read by every church leader. This morning two of his blog posts made me think about the role of a leader in the church. It is a four part post summarizing his thoughts on a book called "Surfing the Edge of Chaos." It is about adaptive leadership and how adaptive leadership can create a church with "spiritual energy."

He quotes a law of cybernetics (I had to look this one up) called the "Law of Requisite Variety." This law states, ". . . that the survival of any organism depends on its capacity to cultivate (not just tolerate) variety in its internal structure. Failure to do so results in the inability to cope successfully with 'variety' when it is introduced from an external source."

It simply means there are external factors that effect an organization or organism. The ability to adapt to the external factors will determine the rate of survival. The role of an adaptive leader is to disturb the organization enough so that it has to adapt to it's surroundings.

Combine this thought with the chart from Vince Antonucci and we see the need for the church to adapt in order for it to survive. There is a problem that we need to address and as church leaders we need to cultivate variety into our internal structure. This is when we begin to become a missional church.

Any thoughts?

(to be continued)

Blue or White Collar Jesus?

I was driving in the car the other day and heard a discussion about blue collar workers and white collar workers. I had never really thought about it before but when we study the life of Jesus where would he fall, blue or white collar?

To answer this question we really need to understand what is meant by the term blue collar and white collar. A white collar worker is a person who is in the work force in the role of management or administration. Blue collar workers would be more manual labor. White collar workers would have more of a formal education. Blue collar would be more skilled labor.

So, what would Jesus be, white collar or blue collar? Without any formal education Jesus worked a trade as a carpenter. In religious circles he was far from the upper management team. He was more of a common worker within his Father's line of work. He did not tell people what they were to do while sitting back and watching to see if the tasks were carried out. He worked on the ground level showing people how to serve at a very high level.

I would say Jesus was more of a blue collar worker in the business of the Father. On the other hand, the religious leaders were carrying themselves as upper management. They touted their formal education and made those who were a part of the organization walk a narrow path.

This very easily carries over to today and the church. We have become a movement made up of mostly white collar workers. We come together and worship touting our formal church education. We look down on those who have not had the same church background as ourselves. We do this even though Jesus taught us to live as blue collar workers in His kingdom.

Jesus lived as a labor worker in the kingdom. If Jesus lived that way shouldn't we? Or do we like the status of being a white collar Christian with all its perks?

If Jesus worked in the kingdom as a blue collar worker, that is good enough for me. It is time we stop touting our formal church education and start to do the labor required to build His kingdom. Even if we have to get our hands dirty.

Any thoughts?

Which Flavor is the Best?

I always have a hard time when I go to a Ice Cream place like "Graeters," "Handles" or "Cold Stone Creamery." I can never decide which flavor is the best. Sometimes I get lucky and I am craving a certain kind of ice Cream, other times I am at loss as to what I need. There are times I feel adventurous and will try something new. Usually I choose something with berries or nuts in it because that is my favorite.

What about church? What flavor is the best? In our culture today there are so many different flavors to choose from that it is confusing for people. The questions that come up are: "Does it have contemporary music or traditional?" "Is the 'dress code' dress-up, casual or it doesn't matter?" "Is there a lot of multi-media or not?" "Do they have Sunday School or ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship)?" "Is it a megachurch or is it a small family type of church?"

While all these are questions may matter when it comes to preference, these are not the right questions? These questions do not make a church a church. There is one thing for certain. When I go and get ice cream, which I do not do very often, I sometimes decide I am going to be healthy. I will get sugar free or fat-free. Every time, I am never satisfied. Why? Because it is not real ice cream.

Whoever invented ice cream never intended it to be free from sugar and heavy cream (thus the name ice "cream"). Anything else is just an impostor. When God created the church he had something very specific in mind. The church would be a body of believers who: 1) Were in love with Jesus and His mission, 2) Loved people who were far from God, 3) Lead those who were far from God into a relationship with Jesus, 4) Lead people to be more like Jesus in every part of their life, and 5) Lead people to lead others far from God into a relationship with Jesus.

There are other things like authentic community, prayer and service. My point is, when we look at churches we judge the flavor on things that really don't matter. The most important thing when it comes to the best flavor of church is that it is fulfilling the mission of a church, that it is a real church. Any time I have gotten ice cream and it is real ice cream I have never been disappointed.

Is Taking Ten Ibuprofen Bad?

Not if they're Junior Strength. I had this horrible headache this morning after our staff meeting. So on our way to lunch we stopped by the store to get some ibuprofen. I ran in and grab the generic brand off the shelf without looking at the package. While walking out the store I began to open the ibuprofen.

Hmmm. "These are rather large for me to swallow," I thought to myself. Then I read the word chewable. No problem other than they taste horrible. I had hoped they would taste like baby aspirin when I was a kid. No such luck. So I took the normal three when I have a headache of that magnitude.

After I choked those three down I read a little further on the bottle, "Junior Strength." Crap! I haven't been the size of a junior since I was in first grade. So I looked on the back of the bottle- "72-95 lbs., three tablets." I can't remember the last time I weighed under 100 lbs. So I had to do the math. So I rounded it off and took an even ten.

The good thing is that my headache is gone.

The lesson learned, other than reading the bottle before you purchase, is a quote I have on my white board:

"It is more important that we do the right things than we do things right." Dave Browning

I love being in the Woods

I went Turkey Hunting for a little while this morning. This is the last week of Spring Gobbler season in Ohio. While I still haven't "caught anything," as our student minister puts it, I have enjoyed being in the woods.

if you have never done it, you need to try it. Even if you don't hunt. But you have to go before the sun comes up. It is incredible to hear the woods wake up in the morning. The birds start chirping, you hear the rustling of leaves as squirrels and chipmunks begin their day. The dew is still on the grass. No gobbles this morning though.

I did see ten deer. They are fun to watch. They could smell me, but could not see me. They looked hard, but never knew where I was.

You know, God is awesome! A morning in the woods, by yourself, with God . . . Life is good!

Inspiring Day @ KSP

Several years ago a friend of mine asked if Northwest would be a part of a dream of his. The dream was(is) to make it hard to go to hell in the state of Ohio. The idea is to create networks of churches that will partner together with Stadia to plant 50 churches in the next 10 years. Today we determined we are currently in year 3. There are 7 plants that are either in the works or have birthed and the network for the
8th is being developed.

The stories that are coming from the churches that have currently been started are amazing.

The first, Momentum Christian Church, led by Dan Smith taught us about the kingdom today. For years churches have been territorial, not Momentum. They have sent about 30 people to be a part of the second church plant, Velocity which is in it's 6th week. Not only that, but Momentum announced today it was ready to commit $50,000 to a new church plant in Cleveland. Momentum is only 3 years old.

Second, Scott Pugh from Velocity spoke about Jesus an how he said if we want to be great we need to learn how to serve others. This is a major part of Velocity's DNA. As a matter of fact Scott did not begin his report by telling everyone how many people were at Velocity in it's 5th week (which was 190). He started by talking about how Velocity was becoming a great church by serving the community. When Velocity speaks of "service" they are not talking about what happens on Sunday morning. Serving others is so much of Velocity's DNA that every staff person is required to serve in some way one hour a week.

Finally, there was a report given of a inner city church in Canton. There were two stories of homeless people desiring to give. One guy wanted to put money in an offering. The other bought a bag of food to feed someone who was in need. Rivertree Christian has partnered to see this church happen. Greg Nettle pointed out that when you see homeless people give sacrificially it makes you more accountable as to how you spend your yearly budget as a church staff person.

Wow! What a day of stories about God. How He moves when people are obedient to the leading of the Spirit. People who are far from God are coming to know Him. This just confirms in my spirit that church planting can change the world. Spend some time praying for Momentum, Velocity and Kingdom Synergy Partnership. For people who are far from God and for church planters that can make an impact wherever God may lead them.

Authentic Family Community

I was in Wayside, West Virginia for a few days last week. It is Spring Gobbler season and I always try to get away for a few days to hunt at the farm. I did not stay at our place. We are still cleaning from a furnace problem a few years back. I stayed with my great uncle and aunt.

This is one of the things I love about my dads side of the family. There is a closeness that goes beyond generations. I discovered the reason why this last week. My grandmother was one of 10 children, one of them is the uncle I stayed with. Their family placed a high emphasis on education. I found out that all of them were teachers at some point in their life.

Here is the amazing thing though. Aunt Emma, once she was out of college, helped pay for her next sibling down to go to college. Then once they were out they began helping other siblings pay for college. This family grew up putting a high emphasis on being a family that works together.

The Houchins family, while not perfect (I could tell you some stories), did live with an understanding that they were not individuals. They lived not just for themselves but for each other. If anyone had a need they were there to help each other out. This culture that existed in their home is why they were and are so close to each other.

Look, I know there are other families that are like this, but I do not think it is normal today. Maybe that is why it is so amazing to me.

Here is the thing, this family operated by the same principles that we find in the book of Acts when the early church is described. They had everything in common, there were no needy among them and they met together regularly.

What if we really began to apply these principles to the church? How about your own family?

Maybe we would become what God intended for us to be. Maybe the church would reclaim it's identity. And maybe our families would be transformed into something that would create lasting memories. Churches and families doing life together, what could be better than that?

How to Create a Movement

I often read Seth Godin's Blog. It has a lot of short but insightful posts. I read one a couple weeks ago called "First, ten." You can read it yourself here.

Although, it is insightful, it's not ground breaking. Jesus did it, but he started with twelve which ended up to be eleven until they added another and it was back to twelve again. The fact is it does work if . . . the "first, ten" are sold out to the cause. Whether the concept is right or wrong, good or bad, it works if there is buy in.

The success of blogs rely on the idea. Jesus began a movement. Amway built an international company. We are in a War on Terror fighting against radicals who use the tactic to their advantage. The secularist movement is growing. The church in China is exploding because of the concept. But what about the church in America? How are we doing with the "first, ten?" Some do well, but most don't.

Godin points out "you can no longer market to the anonymous masses. They're not anonymous and they're not masses. You can only market to people who are willing participants." The truth is, the American church is still stuck in marketing to the anonymous masses. In the process we have lost the Rabbi's comission to make disciples.

So how can we change the American church and create a movement that sweeps our nation and the world? It is simple. If you believe with all your heart in Jesus, find ten people who as Godin says, "trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you... Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win."

The challenge is on . . . pick your "first, ten."

Miss California went for "The" Crown

Miss California set the example for every follower of Jesus. The example is to stand up for your values and beliefs even if it may cost you an earthly crown. I was thinking about what she did at the Miss America Pageant and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 came to mind:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners (or beauty pageant contestants) run (or walk down the runway), but only one gets the prize. Everyone who competes in the games (or pageant) goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last (one for a year in this case); but we (Christ followers) do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly (or walk like a contestant without good posture); I do not fight like a man beating the air (or answer a question without being honest). No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Miss California, thanks for being honest and standing up for what you believe. Thanks for representing the state of California, where a majority of the people believe the same way you do (as well as most of the country). You said the same thing Barack Obama said in an interview with Rick Warren. You stood up for the definition of marriage that has lasted since the existence of man and woman.

Most of all you stood by what God ordained from the beginning. You stood for absolute truth.

You did it in a very loving way, not condemning those who may oppose your view or the homosexual community.

Thanks for being real, honest and authentic. Even though you may have lost something you have been training for your whole life, you took a stand for something more important and something you will have for eternity.

You seized the day and took advantage of the position you were in to make a difference.

This reminds me of another woman who went through a beauty pageant of sorts. Esther was found to be the most beautiful woman by the king. She became his wife and this was said about her later when there was an attack being levied against God's people: "And who knows but that you have come to this position for such a time as this?"

Miss California, maybe it was God's providence for you to be in such a position as this so that you could stand for God's kingdom. Thanks for seizing the moment.

Are we a Christian Nation?

There has been a lot of talk lately after President Obama said we are not a Christian Nation during a speech in Turkey. Personally, I think he was trying to say something quite different than what some on the "right" are making it out to be. He is speaking in a country which does not tolerate any other religion other than Muslim. I believe the point he was trying to make is that in the United States a person has the freedom to whatever religion. He just said it poorly.

Regardless, it has made me think about the United States being a Christian Nation. I am not sure I want the world to look at us as a Christian Nation. Think about the consequences of being known as a Christian Nation by the world.

The world sees what comes out of the United States from leaders, media and Hollywood that are not of the highest moral standard. Then the world hears us call the United States a Christian Nation. The perception of Christianity the world gets from the U.S. is a false description of what Jesus calls us to be.

The perception of Christianity may look like this to the rest of the world based on what they see coming out of the United States:

Christians Pursue wealth at any cost allowing greed to drive them to the point of corruption and enormous dept. Christians are pro-homosexuality, pro-choice and pro-sexual promiscuity. Christians are arrogant and self-seeking. Christianity has no boundaries-"believe what you want to believe because there are no absolute truths." Christianity is about power and prestige and very self-promoting.

So, do we really want to be known as a Christian Nation?

Only if it looks like Jesus. Being a Christian or Christian Nation is more than just making that proclamation. The first time the word "Christian" was used it carried a lot of meaning. It described people who followed the way of Jesus. It did not describe a religion or people who went to church. It was descriptive of the people who made up the church.

Instead of self-proclaiming ourselves or our nation as Christian, let's start living like Jesus and the description will follow.

I'm Not Worthy

When going to Kentucky Christian College I grew to dislike Ohio State Football. It had nothing to do with them not being good, it was the fans. The arogance was unbearable. I got tired of hearing that Ohio State was the "Mecca" of College Football.

My dislike grew into a dislike for Ohio. I remember making the statement that I would never live in in Ohio nor marry anyone from Ohio. Now look at me. I not only married someone from Ohio, I live in Ohio and my children have all been born in Ohio. Is this some sick joke from God, me being sentenced to Ohio? Or is Ohio in such a desperate situation it needs missionaries?

Now, I have crossed the threshold that I have lived in Ohio longer than any other state. Great.

Last Saturday I got to experience something every true Ohio State fan would love to experience. I would say I am sorry, but I'm not because it was awesome! As a true college football fan, I was like me in a Krispy Kreme donut shop.

A friend of mine, Greg G. is a recruiter for OSU Football. I have come to a conclusion he is trying to convert me to become an Ohio State Football fan. I have to admit, it is much easier with a coaches like Tressel and Greg who have a tremendous ammount of integrity and a strong belief in God. I actully will cheer for OSU against most teams. Growing up in Virginia, I will always stay loyal to the Hookies of VT.

The things I saw and experienced were incredible. I got my picture taken with my hand on one of the Heisman Trophies Archie Griffin recieved. I got to see the team rooms where the teams meet with the coaches. I got to go into the locker room both in the Woody Hayes center and at the Horseshoe. One of the most amazing things I got to see was a chalk board that Woody Hayes was outlining a book that was never written. I got to see the weight room, the players lounge and spend some time throwing football at the Horseshoe with my boys.

If I was a recruit-- I would have to say, "I'm going to Ohio State!" What a place with such a rich tradition. A place that honors the acheivements of its players in such a way they are never forgotten. A place that does not need the approval of others, a place that stands on it's own accomplishments. This was one of my top three sports experiences and I never saw a game played. I walked on hallowed ground. I am not Worthy.

Loving Dennis Rodman

Don't laugh or judge me, but I got hooked on Celebrity Apprentice a couple weeks ago. I even DVR it (I can't believe I just said that). This past week Dennis Rodman was the project manager. A lot of you are turned off by Dennis Rodman because of his radical look and take on life ( I am not a fan either). I have to admit, he is different, but he is still a person, a child of God.

I know a lot of the reality shows are edited to get the story they are looking for and I know they did the same with this episode, but it got really intense in the board room. Jesse James, confronted Dennis Rodman about his drinking problem.

The show took a turn, it became less about the show and more about a person who has a serious problem. It became as Joan Rivers said an intervention. The women's team agreed with everything that was said about Rodman.

His defense turned to the fact that he was a great athlete and had won five championships. Herschel Walker said that is the past, what matters is today. Who are you today is all that matters.

The point of me blogging about this today is that some times we have to look past our initial judgements of a person to love them. We have to see people where theymay be struggling and have the courageous love to tell them the truth about themselves.

Sometimes we have to realize that what we are doing at the moment, needs to be redirected in order to love people (looking past the show, to a person who has a problem).

I am going to embed the last 9 minutes of the episode. I hesitated doing so because there is some language that may offend some. I am asking you to look past it to learn a valuable lesson on loving people. Then let me know what you think.

What a great time of Year!

It's started! The NCAA Mens basketball Tournament! I love it!

My Final Four: Lousiville, UConn, Carolina and Duke.

Finals: Carolina over Louisville in one of the best finals of all time!

What's your picks?

The Biggest Enemy

I am reading a book right now called "Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement." It is written by a Jewish atheist who travels around the country spending time with various Christian Movements. As a secularist, the author, Lauren Sandler tries to expose a movement, made up of many movements, that is threat to the secularist movement.

I think she tries to reveal what is wrong with Christianity, pointing to some pretty messed up versions of Christianity. There are times I have cringed while reading her descriptions of some Christian movements. Then there are times, she has been really moved by the authenticity of some of the people she has met. Like Sandler, the thing I am finding out is that authenticity makes the difference when living as a representative of Jesus.

One of the groups she spends time with is a Christian Hip Hop band named Goodside. One of the guys involved with Goodside is Gaudscent. He told Sandler this, "The biggest enemy to Christianity is the misrepresentation of Christianity."

Think about that statement for a while and ask yourself this question, "How do I misrepresent Jesus as a follower and what are the consequneces of that misrepresentation?"

Wandering Sheep

Staying with the idea of the lost sheep of Israel, I want look at Matthew 18. Everyone tries to position themselves to be in a place of power and influence. We see it in our government, we see it in our families and we see it in the church. So it is not unusual to see it among Jesus' disciples.

Jesus' disciples ask him this question, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" I am not sure what answer they were really looking for, but I think they were surprised by the eventual answer. Maybe they looked at the religious system with all its prestige and thought that was normal. Those closes to Jesus would be considered the greatest. Maybe they were jockeying for position amongst themselves.

Regardless of what they were looking for Jesus called to a child and had him stand among the disciples. Jesus then said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

I don't believe this story is about children.

Place yourself in that childs position. The child comes and stands among thirteen adult men. It would be a pretty intimidating position. Mature men standing over a small child. And Jesus then says, you need to be like this child. You need to put yourself in a place of humility, not thinking to highly of yourself.

When a child is standing in a crowd of adults, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle. When I take Seth, my soon to be nine year old to a Cavs game, it has to be intimidating walking through the crowd. He can not see over everybody, people can not see him very well and it is hard for him to discern where we are headed. When we are at that game, Seth, Cole or Eli get the greatest attention in my kingdom.

In the church, we sometimes carry an attitude about us. We see ourselves as spiritually mature, having this great knowledge. When a person who is not as mature as us, physically and spiritually, we often times stand over them like the twelve who stood over this child. We get caught up in our mature conversations, talking about the business of the church. As we talk, we show our biblical knowledge, posturing for the highest position, because that is what it is all about. Sometimes this posturing has to do with the longevity of being a member of this particular institution.

I mean, that's what it is all about isn't it?

Church Planting: Zimbabwe Style

Last summer our family invested $100 in a new bike. The bike has been delivered to Zimbabwe! I am so pumped to see this picture! This bike will be used to start a new church in the Chiremwaremwa (I can't pronounce it either) area of Zimbabwe. An initial investment $100 will go a long way in this part of the world. There are people who long for the gospel and the story of Jesus. In such a hopeless part of the world, this bike will bring hope to people who desperately need hope.


This is a picture of Solomon who is the lead planter. He will use it to travel to the Chiremwaremwa area teaching people about Jesus. People who have been asking to know more about Jesus. As Derek (my friend from Zimbabwe) said in an email, "As you can see he is overjoyed." He is not overjoyed because he has a new bike, he is overjoyed because now he gets to experience the joy of seeing people know Jesus.
Please pray for Solomon and the Chiremwaremwa area. You know the enemy will do all he can to discourage this servant of God.

If you want to know how you can get involved in supporting this church plant in Zimbabwe let me know in a comment. It will take about $60-80 a month to support Solomon and his mission to tell people about Jesus.

Lost Sheep of Israel

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field'" (Matthew 9:36-37).

Keep in mind how Matthew described the people Jesus saw, "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." When I read that I think of people wandering looking for a place to settle. The people Jesus is looking at are people who have become disenfranchised from Judaism. They have been harassed because they are not devout followers of Judaism. They are helpless because the most religious have harassed them to the point they feel like God is so far away.

Maybe they are believers in God, but not sold out to the institution. The yoke has become so heavy they feel like there is no way they can live up to the standards placed upon them by the most religious. They live their daily lives believing, but not participating in the religion of the day. Jesus looked upon them and had compassion on them. He includes them in the harvest that is plentiful. He is looking for workers to go into this harvest field, giving them hope in God.

Matthew 10 starts with Jesus gathering his disciples and sending them out with instructions to gather the wandering sheep. The instructions begin with Jesus saying, "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6).

Who are these "lost sheep of Israel"? They are the same people Jesus has compassion on, the "harassed and helpless." Those who are not a part of the religious institution. The religious leaders call them sinners, "people of the land." Jesus calls them important worth leaving the ninety-nine to go after the one (Matthew 18:10-14).

How does this apply today? After reading books like "Revolution" (Barna), "Essential Church" (Rainer), "They Like Jesus but not the Church" (Kimball) and others, there are people who believe but are tired of the institution. I am hesitant to call them lost because they believe, but they are wandering looking for something authentic, something real.

Look, I am not trying to bash the church here, I have been a part of the institution all my life. I love the church. But as church leaders we have to admit there is something really wrong with the institutional church. We have become more like the religious leaders in Jesus' day than Jesus himself. The caution for every church, even new churches, is to be careful not to become an institution. This seems to be the tendency of every church at some point in its life.

Jesus changed his strategy during the last part of his ministry on earth. He was trying to build something that would last. So he instructed his disciples to go after a harvest that had the most potential of producing a large crop. It was not the most religious. It was not the Gentiles, those who were farthest from God. He went after the sheep who were wandering. People who knew God and wanted a relationship with God. People who were harassed by the institution.

As church leaders we need to change or strategy. Churches are in decline because of our unwillingness to change our strategy. The strategy Jesus instructs his disciples to have is the same strategy that would work best today in our culture. We need to leave the ninety-nine and pursue the lost sheep of the church.

When we reach the point of becoming an institution, protecting and sustaining the institution, people begin to wander.

More on this later.

Did He Call Her a Dog?

I was reading Matthew 15:21-28 last night and read a story I had read before. This time something really bothered me. A Canaanite woman came up to Jesus asking for him to have mercy on her. She had a daughter who was possessed by a demon.

Matthew records that Jesus "did not answer a word." He snubbed her, blew her off, he ignored her. I was amazed. Jesus usually acknowledges people who seek him out, it's in his character, right?

This woman persisted to the point that Jesus' disciples came up to him and asked him to do something about her. Jesus said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Wait, I thought he was sent for all mankind. He talked with the Samaritan woman, the centurion and others. What is going on here?

The woman throws herself at Jesus' feet and pleads with Jesus, "Lord, help me!"

Jesus said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." Did he just call her a dog? He is referring to all Gentiles here, but that includes this woman.

This is toward the end of Jesus' ministry while living among men. He has narrowed his focus and his strategy has changed. He spends the last months of his life trying to connect the lost sheep of Israel to the kingdom.

In Matthew 10:5-6 Jesus went to his twelve disciples and told them, "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." He has narrowed the people he wants to reach to only the lost sheep of Israel.

But something happened with this woman that changed his mind. After he called her a dog, she said, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." She plays along, accepts what he said and even uses the dog analogy. Then she says to Jesus, "All I want is a crumb Master."

She knew who she was talking with and knew that a crumb would be enough. That is some serious faith. She understood that all it took was faith as large as a mustard seed so she asked for a crumb.

Jesus was moved by her faith. He answered her saying, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." Even though he began to focus on the lost sheep of Israel, he was not going to ignore this person who had a complete understanding of the man Jesus.

Next post I will address the the idea of "the lost sheep of Israel.

Humble Yourself

I went to Walmart this morning, I had to get some socks. I put on my clown outfit minus the make up and I could not find my socks. So I had to buy some new ones. They were teal colored with a great big star on the calf. I found them in the women's section. They're hot!

So I went home put on my pants made from three 100 lb. rice bags, my sunflower shirt, my rainbow Mork suspenders and headed to a preschool. It is humbling when you drive through a Burger King to grab a quick lunch before you perform in "the outfit."

But when you walk in that room--the kids love you! I remember doing the clown stuff in Brooklyn, NY. I was a star. Hundreds of kids crowded around me calling out my name-- "Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!" Alright the name does not quite ring with stardom.

Fame leads to power and power leads to pride. Look at some of the Hollywood elite. They become famous and all of a sudden they think the have power to influence the culture. Then there are politicians. Their power has created a "we know better than you" attitude. Look at some of the religious leaders of our culture. They get crowds of people who come to listen to them and all of a sudden they become wrapped up in their own success.

As I was driving to get my socks, I was listening to Glen Beck. I hardly ever listen to him because success often leads to pride. He said something that might make me start listening though. If he really believes it, we all need to start listening to him.

He was talking about the state of our government with all this stimulus package stuff. Their is an arrogance in our government that is frightening. Pride has moved in and it has deep roots.

He said, "We should not pray that God humbles us (as a country). We need to humble ourselves."

Think about that for a moment. Do you really want God to humble you as a person, country or a church? How about a Pop culture star, politician or preacher, do you want God to humble you? I don't. That would scare the crap out of me!

When God humbled Nebuchadnezzar, he turned him in to a beast of the field who ate grass for seven years. I want no part of God bringing the conditions on me that force me to become humble. When God does the humbling life gets hard and it is usually for an extended time.

The Bible teaches that the responsibility to be humble is ours. "Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up" (James 4:10).

We have the responsibility to humble ourselves before God. The Hollywood elite need to realize it is God who gave them their talent. The politician needs to realize it was nothing they did to get elected, the Bible teaches that God has placed them in that position. It is not the preacher who has brought the success to the church, it is God who adds to the number daily those being saved.

God gives us a chance to humble ourselves, before he does the humbling. So ask yourself this question. Would you rather humble yourself or let God humble you?

Extreme Love that Only comes from God

This is a great parable on how we are to love people with the love of Christ.

Copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.nbcdfw.com/sports/football/A_Game_of_Hope_Dallas-Fort_Worth.html

You Aren't Swayed by Men

The religious leaders are attempting to trap Jesus in his words. They send their disciples to Jesus who preface their question to Him with the following description:

"We know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are" (Matthew 22:16).

They had watched Jesus enough to notice some awesome things about Him.

As much as they didn't like Him, they still saw a man who had deep values. He did not lie, he did not cheat, he was humble--the list could go on. He showed us as His followers how to live a life of integrity. Now the religious leaders were trying to use this against Him.

I was confused by the second thing they said about Him. "You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." They were always questioning Him and the way he interpreted the law. Is it possible they began to see a new way to live out the law? A way in which drew them closer to God? A way that was more relational with Yahweh and not bogged down by religious acts? The way God had intended it when he gave the law to Moses?

The last thing they said to Him impresses me the most. "You are not swayed by men, because you pay no attention who they are." This is where they thought they had Him. They buttered Him up, stroked His ego (as if he had an ego) and knowing he was His own man wanted to portray Him as rebel against the Roman Government (that's why they brought the Herodians with them).

The disciples of the Pharisees ask Jesus, "In your opinion, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Jesus asked for them to show Him a coin used for paying taxes. "Whose portrait is on the coin? And whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar." Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

They thought He would say, "There is no king but God." But Jesus' integrity and God's law would not allow it. As a man, Jesus is bound by the same principles we must live by. As a man, He would have to pay taxes to Caesar like everyone else and live by the law of the land.

So with this in mind how does the "not swayed by man" and "because you pay no attention to who they are" statement apply. The religious leaders are right in saying this about Jesus, but what does it mean. It means Jesus does not play favorites when it comes to having a relationship with Him.

One of the things the religious leaders could not get past was how Jesus did not give them the honor they thought was deserved. They saw themselves as being righteous before God and this righteousness gave them a special place. They were wrong. Jesus sees all people the same when it comes to righteousness. We are not righteous by our own doing. We are made righteous through our faith in Jesus.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of [our] sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known . . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus" (Romans 3:20-24).

I get tired of people who think I am "so righteous" because I am a minister. I am no different than anyone else. Ask my dad. Ask Rhonda. I know what she would say, "He gets skid marks on his underwear like every other man."

This description of Jesus is both humbling and promising for me. It reminds me that I am like everyone else. I am know different, for like you, I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The promise comes from knowing Jesus loves me regardless of the sin and that he died for me even though I am not perfect.

The lesson we take away is this: To live like Jesus we need to be people of integrity, people who teach the word of God in accordance with the truth and people who look at other people the same.

How are you doing? Are you following Jesus?

Why Does He Eat With Sinners?

Jesus was always accused of associating with sinners and tax collectors. In Matthew 9:11 and Mark 2:16 the religious leaders question Jesus' disciples. They asked, "Why does he eat with sinners and tax collectors?" They ask this question because it really bothered them. The law taught that these people were dirty, not physically, but spiritually. Associating with these people would make you unclean.

There are two things that sticks out to me in both of these accounts. The religious leaders approached the disciples with this question, not Jesus. Why? Is it possible they did not want to get close to Jesus because he was now considered unclean? Chew on that thought for a moment. No wonder these sinners and tax collectors did not want anything to do with religion.

And what about the disciples? The question asked did not include them. The religious leaders did not say, "Why do 'you' eat with sinners and tax collectors?" Were they just standing back and watching Jesus hang out with these outcasts? Maybe they were shocked as well. It was just so uncommon for a religious figure to mix and mingle with people who were so far from God.

Not much has changed has it? I have watched religious leaders criticize followers of Jesus for hanging out in places that are full of "sinners." It is becoming more common for Christians to create their own utopia society where they never hang out with people who are far from God.

But Jesus did it? Why did Jesus hang out with sinners and tax collectors?

Jesus hears the question and says:

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13)

Jesus went to the margins of society to find people who were far from God. He did not wait for them to come to Him. When he got there he showed them mercy by eating with them, talking with them and rubbing shoulders with them. This is something they had never experienced from anyone associated with Judaism.

Not only did Jesus show those far from God mercy, he showed religious leaders and his disciples how to love people who are far from God.

Here's a challenge to you. Start spending some time with people far from God. And if some Christian questions you and says, "Why do you hang out with people like that?" Simply answer:

"Because Jesus did it."