Are we over-thinking the church?

What if God never made the church in the way we think of it in it's present state? Is the "stage atmosphere" that we see in today's church the same format that existed in the early church? I'm not advocating chaos, and no order, but I often wonder how God sees the things that we would consider a "church service"? Are the essential elements of church (ie. worship, prayer, communion, the word) just building blocks and we are free to construct the order, style and length according to the needs of a particular body of believers? Is it helpful to rearrange those elements frequently so that the elements themselves do not become the idolatrous pattern that people perceive to be the way that we earn God's favor or blessing? To keep a grace centered church, that understands that it is not about works of righteousness that we have done, is it essential to dismantle the paradigm of worship to keep them from clinging to processes? These are the questions that I wrestle with as a pastor much of the time. Does God want less formality and more normality? Is formality a thin veil that hides our imperfections and keeps us from coming to God like we are? Has church, in the business style model that we see, become the next newest "fig leaf?" Do we hide behind formality because we are afraid that God will not receive the offering of ourselves apart from some ritual that makes us feel like we have checked off a checklist?

Jesus said in John 4:23-24 "... true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth"

The word "truth" used here in this text is Strong's # 227 in the Greek. It literally means without concealing. The question from this woman at the well is essentially," What is the correct way and place to worship? Is it here in our worship house or there in theirs? Is it their way or ours?" Jesus responds by saying the Father is seeking those that will worship Him with the inner man (in spirit), and without hiding behind anything (in truth)? Is it possible that we have made the search for truth more about academics and less about coming to Him as we really are? Are we hiding behind our systems, policies, and methodologies? Does God desire something more real and natural, something that looks a little more like real life?

What if church service is supposed to look like life and not like a ceremony? Could we as a culture indoctrinated and raised with a ceremonious church service get past that concept? What if, what we know as church had never come into existence and all we had was people that were Christ followers? What would it look like if they got together and there was no blueprint for what to do? What would a natural, spontaneous time of fellowship look like?

In the past I have made the incorrect assumption that the church in the book of Acts had no preconceived ideas of what to do in organizing a worship get together. The truth is that they had two working models of what it means to gather together in worship. The one they pulled from what they saw before Christ came. The second example they had after they had walked for 3 1/2 years with Jesus. In the first model, man became the center. In the latter God Himself was the center. Are pastors (myself included) more concerned about making a name and reputation for themselves? Or are we willing to be made of no reputation, an environment where there are no "superstar" Christians in order that Christ might be the superstar.

What do you think?

The Gates Of Hell!

The last three weeks at our little church has been a great for me. I have been so refreshed in going over the simplicity of the gospel with our church.

Week 1:
We did a study of the "The Power Of The Gospel" in which we talked about the fact that the gospel does not need to be played up to make it more effective, or played down to make it not offensive, but played out as we share what God has done for us. We just need to proclaim the news of what He has done and..... Nothing else

Week 2:
We talked about "The Way We Share The Gospel". If we share from having been affected by the gospel ourselves it changes the way that we share. When we have daily come to the cross in need of God's grace, then we share from a place of humility and compassion.

Week 3:
We talked about "Why We Share The Gospel". In a word. Hell. The gospel doesn't just give us a better life. It is the only hope of salvation for a world that is condemned already.

Summation:
There are many difficulties in reaching out to the community that we live in. We can't expect that the world is going to walk through our church doors, fall on their knees, and ask us if we know Jesus. As a result, the typical forms of evangelism can often leave people feeling tricked because unbelievers show up for the "goodie" (concert, turkey giveaway, toy drive, etc...) and then realize that they have been hoodwinked like some sort of timeshare gimmick. As a result we are often pedaling the gospel with salesmanship rather than proclaiming the gospel in sincerity. Evangelism is often better received from someone you personally know, and in an environment where you don't feel like you were tricked or trapped. In other words evangelism should begin with the church going to the people that they already know and love and happen in a place where they don't feel like they are being targeted to sign up to be a part of an organization or club. We decided at CCF that the best way we could reach our community with the gospel is to give our people a platform and environment where they could share the gospel with their loved ones. So we handed out envelopes with cash amounts in them that were for they express purpose of taking someone they already know out to lunch or coffee and sharing the love of Jesus Christ with them!! In the coming weeks we will see what God does with those who used His resources wisely! Getting sixty people to walk into our church to hear the gospel would be next to impossible (apart from God) but the sixty or so people that took an envelope this Sunday will be reaching out to sixty plus people in our community with the gospel!!! May God fill their words with His power!

There are squatters (those who wait to be attacked) and there are soldiers (those storming the gates of hell!) Which one are you?

For Who's Glory?

I was pondering the issue of rest yesterday in regards to taking a sabbath. Something hit me right between the eyes and I feel like it is worth sharing. God commands this day of rest for his people and also sets the example of resting Himself, even though He Himself is not tired. Why? As I thought of this in regards to my own labor (especially ministry) I suddenly realized that much of my identity is wrapped up in what I do. There is a part of us that feels value when we "do" something. We attain a certain level of worth by "doing" things. I wonder if taking a sabbath rest is partially about resting and partially about reorienting your life around who God is as opposed to who we are? Do people work themselves to death because they are seeking to be made valuable in the eyes of others or in their own eyes? As I talk to other pastors, I have noticed some of the same ideas coming up. On Mondays, many pastors feel like quitting their jobs and grabbing a nine-to-five somewhere else. This usually comes after a bombed teaching, disgruntled parishioner, or just an exhausting day where they find themselves weary. I wonder, would pastors still feel that way if so much of our identity was not wrapped up in what we do? Maybe the sabbath and vacations are more about us being reminded that when we step away from our activities and rest, the world continues to turn. Life still moves forward and in fact, we are not as important as we think... (wish) we are. Something about stepping back from our labor helps us to refocus our energy on things that do matter and things that will last. Things like our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with our families. When Jesus said ," the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath" it seems He meant what He said.

In the list of the ten commandments in Exodus 20 God gives the commandment to rest in verses 8-10. God couches the commandment to rest in the story of creation and the example set by Him from the beginning. He is saying essentially, "be like Me!" My identity is not in what I do but who I am.

In the list of commandments found in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God couches the commandment to rest in the fact that the children of Israel used to be slaves in Egypt. He says in verse 15, "and remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God hath brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." It is as if the Lord is saying, " your value as a human used to be determined by how hard you worked. But, I set you free from that. I want you to leave behind the slave-value system and embrace the glorious freedom of a God-centered value system." We have worth. Our worth is not based upon what we do or don't do. Our value scale is based upon what God has done in redeeming us. We have worth by the work of the cross and redemption. Even the word redemption should bring us to that word picture. Like an empty soda can that is trash to be discarded, we have "redemption value" to our manufacturer.

Heb 4:9-10 exhorts us, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."

Not an excuse to be lazy, but an exhortation to prioritize your life to be God centered and not self centered. What think ye?

The "High"-Jacking of Jesus

Jesus ‘Healed Using Cannabis’

Published

by

DrQuickbeam

on January 9, 2006

in Cannabis and Religion

.

Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.

The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called kaneh-bosem which has since been identified as cannabis extract, according to an article by Chris Bennett in the drugs magazine, High Times, entitled Was Jesus a Stoner? The incense used by Jesus in ceremonies also contained a cannabis extract, suggests Mr Bennett, who quotes scholars to back his claims.

“There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion,” Carl Ruck, professor of classical mythology at Boston University said.

Guardian UK

Referring to the existence of cannabis in anointing oils used in ceremonies, he added: “Obviously the easy availability and long-established tradition of cannabis in early Judaism _ would inevitably have included it in the [Christian] mixtures.”

Mr Bennett suggests those anointed with the oils used by Jesus were “literally drenched in this potent mixture _ Although most modern people choose to smoke or eat pot, when its active ingredients are transferred into an oil-based carrier, it can also be absorbed through the skin”.

Quoting the New Testament, Mr Bennett argues that Jesus anointed his disciples with the oil and encouraged them to do the same with other followers. This could have been responsible for healing eye and skin diseases referred to in the Gospels.

“If cannabis was one of the main ingredients of the ancient anointing oil _ and receiving this oil is what made Jesus the Christ and his followers Christians, then persecuting those who use cannabis could be considered anti-Christ,” Mr Bennett concludes.

It seems every nitwit out there has their own agenda on how to make a God of their own design. When you come from a personal perspective or preconceived bias that you can read just about anything you want into the story of Jesus and the bible. How do we guard against seeing the bible from only our perspective? What controls do we have to guard us from deception. This deception can come from without or within. It can be the gospel according to "Mr Bennet" or it can be the gospel according to Jeremy Nehf. What is the gospel according to God and how do we know that it is the true gospel? Are there any controls or does anyone with some half-baked new theory about the gospel have a leg to stand on?

All things are better in Koine!!

Saw this video on another guys blog and loved it so much I thought I'd share the Joy. Sorry it has been so long since a for real post. I'll get back into the swing of things and get some of the things I've been pondering posted soon. God bless for now!!!