Is Jesus a Christian?

Rubel Shelly's new book says he liked Jesus before he was a Christian but he also says that Jesus was the original Christian? Was Jesus a Christian? How about Paul and Jesus disciples? Church history tells us that the Romans named these early followers of Jesus "Christians" which was an insulting derogatory name. I quess you could say the name stuck. We also know in the Bible they were first called Christians in Antioch. These early followers of Jesus were called all kinds of names. Was Jesus really starting a new religion or was he simply reforming the Jewish faith? There are many provocative questions we could ask but here is another one that Shelly asks. Would Jesus join your church? Would he? Is God a Christian? Desmond Tuto's new book title asked this one. Good question!

Breakout Churches

I am beginning to see a mustard seed transformation. It may be small but the ramifications of it are great. What is it? In the local church I serve in, they are breaking out to helping and loving and serving the poor, the down and out, the hurting, the sick, and the dying. In the midst of crises a whole new group of people are coming into God's church.

I am also seeing a whole new move of God happening where churches in this area will be coming together to minister to people on the streets. Churches are breaking out of the sanctuary and onto the streets! What happens in all this is yet to be seen but we worship such a great God that God already knows what's coming even if we don't.

What do you see God doing in your area? Are there churches in your area that are breakout churches?

The Church On the Way to God or the Church in God's Way?

LORD, SAVE US FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS - A bumper Sticker

Rubel Shelly provocative book "I knew Jesus Before He was a Christian . . . And I liked him Better Then" captures the feelings of many within the church, the unchurched, and the de-churched. So many Christians today want to cop out and say, "Don't look at me, look to Jesus." But the Apostle Paul said, "Follow Me as I follow Christ." We are either imitators of God or we are not!

I was at a restraunt today and my son said, "Look at that man's shirt Dad." His shirt said, "Christ or Hell." My son asked me as a young Christian what's up with that? Well, I told him there is a difference between being a witness for Christ and advertising for Christ. Secondly I told him one way to take it is the man was saying he was a Christian and others were going to Hell. But the main thing I told my son was Jesus never told sinners they were going to Hell. He told that to religious leaders!. Somehow we have turned Christ into the great condemner of the world rather than the great Savior of the world. Something to think about!

Wow! New Life In Christ!

"GOD IS SO FAR AHEAD OF US THAT WE DON'T HAVE A CLUE!" - Joe Bergeron

I have a wonderful friend of mine who does jail ministry. He is coming back today from Alabama after helping with the tornado victims over there for the past week! Today I baptized one woman and eight men in jail. If the angels in heaven rejoice over one person then they must really be rejoicing today over the nine.

I was with my friend Gary Dyer and after we were done baptizing the men, we all could sense the powerful presence of God in the room. One man by the name of Jon started preaching to the other men like a John the Baptist. Gary and I just stood there amazed at this holy moment together. Jon started crying over those who do not know Jesus and then he really began to weep over his wife. His wife was in another county in prison and he just wanted her to know Jesus like he knew Jesus now. I asked what town the prison was in and he told me Greensburg. I told Jon I would try to contact a minister over there this week and see what I could find out and if there was some kind of prison ministry going on over there?

I took Gary to Mcdonald's because we both felt like golden arch people after the spiritual high we both were on at the moment. During that fifteen minutes we were there, a church bus pulled up. It was from Greensburg Wesleyan Church. I could not believe it! I asked if the minister was with this lady's group and he was! He told me about the ministry over there to the prison and he would make sure somebody would be talking to Jon's wife this week!

This Wednesday I will see Jon at our county jail. All I can say is Jon is going to be blown away again!

Has anything happened lately where God was so far ahead of you that you were blown away?

He Who Sits In the heavens Shall Laugh

KISS THE SON, LEAST HE BE ANGRY - Psalm 2:12

I often think of the resurrection of Jesus as God having the last laugh. And for those who follow God's Son Jesus, there is the beautiful laughter of the redeemed. But Scripture usually shows the laughter of God as a mocking laugh at the wicked. Who are the wicked? We usually think of somebody else who is an outsider and "we" of course are "insiders." But isn't God's Word written for His people? Are not the wicked often those who have a stake or claim on God?

This week is Vacation Bible School and I love working with children and youth. But I can't help thinking about the contrast of what I am doing from another church in what they are doing in regards to VBS. One of my friends is struggling as a VBS director? Well, it's bad enough that a new youth pastor is trying to micro-mangage her. But what I find distrubing and no laughing matter is how they are refusing to not allow certain people in the church to help with VBS. One girl wrote a word on facebook which most people use in their every day language. She was brought before the Elders for church discipline. Another young man was asked not to help with VBS after he was given permission prior because earlier this year, he got in trouble over a substance abuse issue. He was told he was not a Christian and he was not welcomed to help with VBS.

This brings me to my situation which I am still waiting to see how it all plays out. One young man got into trouble and it was even on the evening news. He has reached out to me and I have reached back to him. He has been my right hand man this week and I am believing God will reshape this man more and more into the image of His Son.

At the end of the day, maybe some think God will be laughing at me? Maybe God is laughing at this other church in the way they treat sinners which sounds very familiar to what Jesus observed by some of the religious establishment in his day?

All I know is we all bettter be kissing Jesus or we might find behind God's laughter a holy and righteous anger!

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

TRUTH HAS A WAY OF UNFOLDING UPON YOU WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOOKING FOR IT!
Many years ago I read Robert Fulghum delightful book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." Since then I have seen the play which brought back so many found memories. Even though there is so much to agree with Fulgrum about kindergarden and learning, I would have to say that everything I am leanring now and need to know is in the first book of the Bible. Read Genesis and not books about Genesis which are legion. So here is one of my favorite Fulghum quotes from his book:

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death.

Who Is Your Enemy?

Jesus is coming back to find faith on the earth? What will this faith look like? Well, one reminder of the kind of faith Jesus calls us to comes from a quote in Thomas Merton's "Seeds Of Contemplation." His words challenges and humbles me:

"Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is a savage because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage? Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels you are afraid of him? And perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving him he would no longer be your enemy? Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is an enemy of God just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he fears you because he can find nothing in you of God's love and God's kindness and God's patience and mercy and understanding of the weakness of men. Do not be too quick to condemn the man who longer believes in God. For it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and sensuality and selfishness that has killed his faith."

It's Sunday and Jesus Is Already Here

Has anyone ever noticed when they invite newcomers to a church that it's like, "Here's your one shot. If it's a slow day, off sermon, the Spirit was not really moving" then it's just too bad." Actually, I try to tell the many people who are church hopping these days, you need to visit a church for a month or more to see how things really are. Just showing up on one Sunday may not truly represent how that church is on other Sundays. And worship is about what you bring, not simply what you get or "feel" from the worship experience.

Not all Sunday Worship experiences are equal. But I will have to say, today was Sunday and Jesus was already waiting for us and it was a good day to worship God and be with His people. I saw a half a dozen people share a testimony on how they saw God working in their lives. I saw three new families who came in response to our congregation simply loving them and serving them. I even saw one lady get delivered from a bad spirit (her words) by the end of the service.
We had one group of people going to Alabama to help tornado victims. God is not only alive and well on planet earth but God is still reaching, touching, healing, and rescuing people all around us. Have you seen God at work around you recently?

Are There Horses In Heaven?

I remember when I was a young man, a little girl asked me if her dog that just died would be in heaven? I remember God gave me this wonderful answer at that time to give her but unfortunately I have forgotten it!

So here is my new question. Are there horses in heaven? I know the standard reply is heaven is for people and not for animals but are we really sure about that? Who says? Because so many people in the church are either simply not following Jesus or following a Jesus made in their own image, I want to ask will your Jesus be in heaven? Is the Jesus your following the one who sacrificed everything and calls you to do the same. Is the Jesus you are following reshaping you for heaven now rather than you hoping to get in by the skin of your teeth (if teeth have skin?).

And here is another Jesus question since He is the one who told us to love our enemies. Will our enemies be in heaven? We may think our enemies deserve hell but Jesus is laying across the threshold of Hell and people have to walk over him to get there. Are we helping our enemies see Jesus in us? Are we showing them that heaven is for them too?

So coming back to the question, are there horses in heaven? I for one sure hope so. Doesn't the Bible say Jesus is coming back to earth from heaven riding a horse? All I know is the Bible also says there are going to be a lot of surprises in heaven. And maybe the biggest surprise will be not only that God wants to bring a little of heaven to earth through you, but God also wants to bring heaven to earth when heaven and earth become one. Or as another Bible verse says, "there will be a new heaven and a new earth."

So maybe, just maybe, if there are horses on earth and heaven is coming to earth, the horses will find some new grazing pastures and wide open beautiful fields where they can run totally free.

Faith Talks Anyone?

HAPPY IS THE MONK WHO VIEWS THE WELFARE AND PROGRESS OF ALL MEN WITH AS MUCH JOY AS IT WERE HIS OWN - Evagrius Ponticus

I love my kids! Did I tell you I love my kids? One of the most important spiritual development things my wife Sandy and I do as parents is periodically sit down and have faith talks with our children. It is here that we pray together, listen to each others concerns and life issues, and talk about how our faith in Christ interacts with our life concerns.

If there is one thing disciples of Jesus and Jesus followers need today are a whole lot more spiritual conversations. Not only have most families missed this but especially many in the church have done the same. One of the great classics of western spirituality for fifteen hundred years has been John Cassian's "The Conferences." This ancient conversation was all about how to be a monk and live a holy life before God. Don't we need more new monks today? Where is the concern for holiness among God's people today?

What Would You Do If . . . ?

BEWARE WHEN YOU FIGHT A DRAGON, LEST YOU BECOME A DRAGON
- Friedrich Nietzsche

I confess I am an unashamed obsessive-compulsive 1950's sci-fi addict. What is really strange is I don't even believe in UFO's, extraterrestials, and the like. But I love the genre and the stories they tell. One 1950's sci-fi movie I have missed that I really want to see some day is "The 27th Day" starring Gene Berry. Since "War of the Worlds" has been one of my all time favorite movies, I would love to see this one with Gene Berry in it as well.

The plot of this movie is aliens give ordinary people (five to be exact) a box of capsules that are capable of killing millions. If humanity can refrain from using these weapons of mass destruction, after 27 days, earth will be saved or spared.

This all reminds me of debates among Christians concerning just war theories, nuclear weapons as deterents, and why Christians at times must use violence, even torture terrorists these days if it gets positive results. One influential Christian theologian in my life has been John H. Yoder. Yoder taught me how the politics of Jesus are often in conflict with the politics of the world and how violence and deadly force is not the way of the gospel of Jesus.

One of the ways this plays out is for people to ask trick questions like "What would you do if . . . and then fill in the blank with some impossible situation where one has to use deadly force for any kind of resolution to take place. So I going to ask my own what if questions. What if Jesus calls you to die, would you kill someone else to keep that from happening? What if you layed down your life for someone else rather than picking up the sword or gun (or put in your favorite deadly weapon of choice you prefer). What if Christians sacrificed everything for the kingdom rather than trying to hold onto what little of this world's property they have left? What if . . . ?

What in Hell Do You Want?

IT IS UNWISE FOR CHRISTIANS TO CLAIM ANY KNOWLEDGE OF EITHER THE FURNITURE OF HEAVEN OR OF THE TEMPERATURE OF HELL - Reinhold Neibuhr


There are many new discussions today concerning heaven and hell. Will both be forever? Are either our final destinations? There is a frenzy of books being published in response to Rob Bell's book "Love Wins." Rob believes in heaven and hell so what is all the concern about? Two points Bell raises is the possibilities that Hell is not forever (and one wonders is heaven forever then?) and will God's love win in the end so that all end up in heaven in the end? The early church father Origen held up his own possibilities in the second century for a blessed hope that all of creation and God's creatures are redeemed in the final end. So what Bell is doing is really not different or new. It just so happens that he is a mega-church pastor and mega-church pastors are scrutinized and put on a pedestal more than others these days.

Whether people agree with Bell or not, I am reminded of knocking on a man's door and he asked me a question I did not want to answer at that time. He asked, "What in Hell do you want?" I know he was asking me a different kind of question but I want to answer it in a very concrete way (even if concrete is not stylish these days). What in Hell do I want? Nothing! I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing that the Devil has to offer that is better than God. Nothing! The only power Satan has over us is the power we give him.

So to Rob Bell's question, "Does God get what He wants?" All I can answer and say "Yes God does to those who say yes to Him."

Healing Through Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN OPTION

There are many followers of Jesus today who walk around and wonder why everything seems to go wrong in their life. Why does it seem like I am cursed or I am so oppressed all the time? There may be many factors and reasons for what is going on, but under the surface, one that is rarely looked at is the issue of buried resentment, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Someone hurt me and now I am withholding forgiveness is some way to punish the offender. But the person we punish the most is ourselves when we do this.

I was speaking to a woman recently who was in the process of dying that needed to let some things go. When she did, she experienced such a release of peace and fulfillment. She said to me, "Why did I hang on to this stuff for so long if I only knew that the person I was going to set free through forgiveness was myself!"

Why do we hang on to stuff for so long? Is there someone you need to extend mercy and forgiveness too?

They Just Don't Get it!

IT WOULD SEEM STRANGE THAT CHRISTIANITY SHOULD HAVE COME INTO THE WORLD JUST TO RECEIVE AND EXPLANATION - Soren Kierkegaard


Man: I want scientific proof, self-evident truths to know whether God, the Bible, or Christianity is real or not.

God: I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am not a concept, idea, worldview, or rationally proven argument.

Man: I just need better reasons to follow you God. If Christian scholars were more persuasive or logical in their presentations, maybe I would not have so much doubt and might believe in you more.

God: If you love me, you would do what I say.

Man: Why can't you accept me for who I am and make my life happy now. How can I buy into something when there is so much, pain, suffering, and bad in the world.

God: I so loved you that I sent my only Son into the world to take all the violence, bad, and pain. Suffering is not the enemy but something I can bring great testing and perseverance of strong character.

Man: If you would just speak, show up, stand in front of me and wave your arms. Give me a big sign or an indesputable miracle, maybe then I could volunteer some of my time for you.

God: You just don't get it!