The God Infusion

The book caught my eye. When I am in the local bookstore, I often check out the best-sellers shelf. Not only do I look for something that I might want to read, I want to know what everyone else is reading as well. The book I saw concerned me. It had a quasi-shiny silver cover with a simple, unambiguous title. Written by Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion details the rants and raves of a militant atheist against organized religion. It was one that I really didn’t want to read. But I felt obligated to know why such a book would be attractive to so may people. So I went home and ordered it off the Internet.

While I could rant and rave about the audacity of Dawkins’ premise that a belief in God is dangerous, there is something more that disheartened me. Perhaps we as Christians see atheists such as Dawkins as misinformed, or perhaps as never hearing the Truth. But what most concerns me is that Dawkins knows exactly what he is denying. He lucidly describes the gospel in his book and then says it is bunk.  He has heard the Truth, and he knowledgably denies it.

While reading the book, the words of Christ came to mind. If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. The book did get me down a little. But it also inspired me. God chose us out of the world. Yet we are also to love others and do everything we can to share Christ with anyone who will listen. It may take several times before a person truly hears the gospel. When they finally do hear the Truth for the first time, it will set them free.

Tomorrow my church wants to set people free. We will be hitting the neighborhoods with our annual outreach Saturday, bringing a bag of goodies to everyone with information about our church as well as the gospel message. We hope to overcome any God delusion with a God infusion. After all, we know the victory is ours; we simply have to fight the battle. We are praying that the Spirit goes before us. I know that my Lord can defeat any doubts brought about by a book, best-seller or not, because the Word is the Incarnate Truth, able to conquer all.

Praying in a Zero-Sum World

God will humble you in an extraordinary ways. He can take your worldly trophies and smash them to dust. My pride crumbles more in nursing homes than in any other place. As a pastor I try to visit from time to time church members who no longer can take good care of themselves. I have a few people in my church spiritually gifted with encouragement, and they usually accompany me.
 
I recently stopped by a couple of nursing homes with Tom. I always balk at the outside door, pausing to look and the green button you press to enter. The debate of whether to turn back or go in occurs every time in my head. But God always pushes me through the door.
 
On this trip Tom and I were going to visit a man who had failed in his attempt to commit suicide, an elderly lady on dialysis three times a week, and another lady so crippled with arthritis she can barely move. I prepare myself for these visits and do everything I can to bring joy to the lives of those where joy can be so absent.
 
But God works in His own way. For it is I that usually come away with a better perspective on the joy of life.
 
As we were walking through the halls, Tom asked me, “Why do you think God let’s people live like this? How come He doesn’t take His children home?”
 
I didn’t have an answer for him then. I would by the time we were done seeing people.
 
It seems that living in this world can be a zero-sum endeavor at times. People gain only at the expense of others. Riches are won because another loses. The primary concern is to get what’s yours first and leave leftovers for the rest. It’s the way our commodity markets work, and the way gambling works – it’s called ‘playing in a zero-sum game.’ I think people sometimes carry it over into their personal lives as well.
 
Tom’s main concern was the church members we were visiting seemed to be losing, that God had passed them over in life’s lotto winnings.
 
Visiting Plina, an elderly lady who is the type of biblical scholar I aim to be someday, would change both our minds.
 
We talked with her for some time about the church, what was going on, and my vision as her pastor. She told me the story of how several ladies in the church had started a quilting club. They spent hours a week making quilts. They would then sell them and pool the money. With this money from selling quilts, they were able to buy a large steeple for the church and pay to have it raised on the roof. It was a simple story of endurance and faithfulness.
 
“You want to know what I do now?” she asked.
 
Tom and I looked at each other; given her condition we were both afraid to ask.
 
“I pray,” she retorted without us prompting her. “I pray for you and you.” She pointed her curved fingers at both of us.
 
The following Sunday I preached from Philippians 4, not because I was inspired by Plina. But rather because I was simply preaching through the book. Below is the text:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
 
God is not a zero-sum god. His grace is sufficient for all. His joy is overflowing. His love is infinite. And I now pray for the peace that Plina holds in her heart so dearly.

The Right Now Plan

My wife and I are fundamentally different. Insightful to you all, yes I know. But beyond the obvious differences, we think differently. Nowhere is this difference more obvious than in our car rides together. I’m usually driving because I’m a control freak. She’s gracious enough to let me – given our driving records (hers is impeccable; mine pushes the envelope of being insurable), she should probably be the one behind the wheel.

While driving we have these long periods of silence as both of us are in thought. After about 5 minutes without chatter, I typically feel the need to ask her what is on her mind. Today was no different. We were on our way back from the park, and a few minutes without conversation passed. I asked what she was thinking.

“How hungry I am, and whether I’m going to wear my white top or my blue top to the restaurant tonight,” she replied. “What were you thinking about?”

“The next ten years of budgeting our finances and how I am going to get into that Ph.D. program,” I answered.

She and I laughed. She’s usually in the here and now. I’m always thinking way ahead. She’s action-oriented around what needs to be done today. I’m visionary for the next twenty years. Perhaps such is the reason that we make a good team.

On the most recent Grey’s Anatomy (don’t ask… my wife makes me watch it), the doctors vying for the Chief position are all asked for their plan for the hospital. Many have a “ten year plan.” But the one doctor that presents a “right now plan” is the one who most impresses the hiring board.

There is a lot of hoopla surrounding vision statements and long-term planning at churches. It seems to be a hot topic. And, for the most part, such planning is a healthy approach to shepherding the church body.

But for every ten-year strategic vision there also needs to be a here and now plan. While great vision is required to guide the church into the future, everyday soldiers are needed to fulfill the immediate needs and mission of the church.

One of my personal struggles as a pastor is having an eye for the here and now. I can have church far-sightedness at times, seeing the future but being fuzzy on tomorrow. The church certainly needs more visionaries, but vision will never be accomplished without the day-by-day work.

I can’t tell you how many times church members have surprised me. I walk into a room on Monday and see it has been painted over the weekend. My secretary tells me that ‘so-and-so’ came in and just did it. I look around the corner and see new garbage cans. I’m told that ‘so-and-so’ put them in. Every Wednesday tables just appear magically in our fellowship hall for Bible study. When I come in on Thursday morning, they are put away so our day school can use the room. Every now and then, someone will come into my office with a phone number. “I won them to the Lord on Monday, pastor. Will you give them a call?”

I praise God for these faithful servants living in the here and now. For without them, God’s will could not be accomplished. And without them, the vision for the church would only be a daydream.

The Simple Easter Idea that Worked

I must reluctantly admit that my associate pastor is a genius. Since he is a
University of Tennessee fan (his office is a hideous and unsanctified shade of orange), it pains me to say it. But he truly is a man of great ideas.
 
At our staff meeting a couple of weeks ago, I was making the challenge that we needed a big victory for our Easter Service. We were trying to figure out the best way to reach not only the Christmas and Easter crowd, but also those in our community who never step foot inside a church.
 
We had mulled over a few ideas when Travis spurted out, “Why don’t we have a Kids of the Kingdom presentation that morning?”
 
After discussing a myriad of complex plans to reach outward into the community (including mailouts, advertising, phone calling, etc), this idea seemed too simple to work. But the idea was great because of its simplicity.
 
Our Kids of the Kingdom ministry at the church is a pre-school occurring on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Most of the kids’ families in the program do not have a church home. What Travis wanted to do was force them to be in church on Easter Sunday by having their kids perform a musical that morning before our regular Easter service.
 
So we got together a list of all the families with kids in the pre-school that didn’t have a church home and asked them if they wanted to have a program that day. The vast majority were excited about their kids performing at our church on Easter Sunday. Moms, Dads, Grandmas, and Grandpas all said that they would be there.
 
Today I had to write a letter to the entire church body saying that we may run out of space because of all the guests who have committed to be at our church for their kid’s presentation. I am asking my members to give up their regular seats and parking spaces. The church is buzzing about the large crowd of unchurched folks who plan on attending.
 
While we as a church still have many things on which we need to work, this simple idea looks like it will be a huge success. Will these people all stick around for our regular Easter service? We don’t know. But at least they will hear a gospel presentation during the Kids of the Kingdom musical. At a bare minimum, unchurched people will be setting foot inside a church sanctuary.
 
I think we all tend to overcomplicate (myself definitely included). But the gospel isn’t complicated. Our churches shouldn’t be complicated. The Easter story isn’t complex. And sometimes simple is the best way to go.
 
Every church is unique with people of differing gifts. What is your church doing for Easter? Are you praying through it? Are there any other simple ideas out there that are working?

The Crisis Point

My little brother is getting married in June. In fact, there are three brothers in the family and all of us will have gotten married within 12 months of each other. Art was married last June. I was married in December. Jess, the baby, is the last to go this June. Honestly, it’s kinda weird to see my littlest brother grow up.

My brothers and I look somewhat alike, but we all have very different personalities. I can be a bit more controlling. Art is more laid back. And Jess is a bit more daring. Jess is the one who knocked out his front teeth, roots and all, sliding on grandma’s freshly polished wood floor. Jess is the one who shattered his arm on a large oak sledding headfirst down seminary hill. And Jess is the one who managed to get his head stuck in a wrought iron fence at Disney World.

To this day, my family and I don’t quite understand how he got his large melon into such a tight space. He had been peering at his next choice for a thrill ride, but I guess he peered a bit too far. The two bars caught him in a head-size Chinese finger trap. It was definitely a crisis moment for my five year-old brother. I think the entire park heard his high-octane wailing for help.

The church is stuck as well. But the crisis is obviously much larger than the one my brother was in. The church has reached a crisis point, and I am not sure how many local bodies are truly crying to God for help. In my own denomination, 11,740 churches reported zero or one baptism last year. And 55% of churches within my denomination have baptized no youth (12-17 year-olds) in a year.

Like my brother, I bet a lot of these churches aren’t quite sure how they arrived at this point. But it takes a crisis to prompt revival. God will break, tear, and wound his church in order to bring about a revival.

I only pray that God will use this crisis point to turn his church back towards himself. But we must be on our faces praying earnestly for such to happen. Have any of you experienced a revival of hearts in your church? If so, what prompted it and how did God work?

To Go Door-to-Door or Not?

I had something happen to me for the first time since being at my church. I was out visiting some folks, and I came to the last person on my list. This person was a prospect and I had not called beforehand, but I figured I would stop by and say hello. We keep contact with those that are interested in our church. And we take notes on a prospect sheet that enable us as a church to know how much and when we contact them. The last note from a few months back said they were friendly and open to hearing about our church.

Besides, I had my secret weapon with me as well. His name is Jim. Jim is an older gentleman whose copious amounts of energy are barely tolerable. But he’s a great servant of the church, and he loves nothing more than to share his faith…with anyone.

I figured this visit would be congenial. I was wrong. Three milliseconds after saying I was from a church I was recovering from the ringing in my ears from the sound of a door being slammed forcefully in my face.

I looked at Jim, who was accompanying me. He shrugged his shoulders, halfway smiled, and said, “Sometimes they go that way. Let’s see if we can find someone else to talk to.”

When I got back to my office after outreach, I wondered how effective door-to-door evangelism and church visitation are in our current culture. So I did a little research in Internet hinterland. What I came upon interested me.

Apparently, when knocking on doors, people are more open to an invitation to church than to the gospel message. And a good number of people regardless of age are open to church invitations.

But the good news is limited. Only 39% of those who rarely, if ever, go to church are open to door-to-door invitations. So, the ones who are least receptive are the ones that we want to reach.

At our next outreach meeting Jim asked me if I wanted to go door-to-door with him again. Trying to quell his enthusiasm a bit, I told him that only 39% of people may be interested in what we have to say.

He cocked his head and smiled.

“You mean to tell me that at least 4 out of 10 people are actually going to listen to what we have to say?!”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Well, what are we waiting on? Let’s get out there and tell some people about Jesus!”

That evening Jim knocked on six doors. He met a Jehovah’s Witness, four unchurched folks, and one churchgoer. He shared the gospel message twice.

Perhaps the glass really is half full.

What do you think? Have any of you experienced success with door-to-door evangelism? Should you call ahead of time? These are issues with which my church is currently wrestling. What is your insight?

Finding Jesus

My wife came home discouraged today. I was somewhat worried when she said that she needed to talk. Luckily, I was not culpable for her saddened state. But what she said did dampen my spirits. She had overheard a conversation at school between two teachers. They were discussing the documentary on the Jesus Tomb. Aired on the Discovery Channel this week, it ‘revealed’ that Jesus’ bones had been discovered. Erin and I had watched it together, and we quickly picked apart some of the contradictions. These teachers, however, did not have the foundation of Truth supporting their worldview.

Basically, the parley between the two gave credence to the work of the documentary. It is tempting to focus on the specific fallacies evident in the show, as many other credible academics have, revealing the irrelevant, sloppy, and misguided presuppositions. But my wife touched on something far greater.

“Honey,” she remarked, “those teachers are so incredibly lost, and this film only causes more disillusionment with them.”

It’s easy to get swept into the scientific banter about these types of documentaries. But the greater harm is the twinges of doubt they place in the minds of believers. The greater harm is the fuel they provide to the fire of cynics that so greatly influence post-modern pop culture.

As Erin and I talked about what she overheard, I was reminded of a man named Johnny. I was a total corporate greenie in a brand new city when Johnny stumbled across my path. My only connection to anything for me at the time was the local church that I had joined. I was part of a Bible study on Monday nights, partially because I wanted to dive deeper into the Word, partially because I was a bit lonely in a new city. It was on one of those Monday nights when Johnny listed into the church.

He was terribly drunk. But he clearly saw that we were the only ones in the church. So by default he assumed that we could help him. Johnny told us about the trials of his life. He had many. The Bible study group sobered him up through coffee and conversation, and we asked him what we could do to help.

“I need to find Jesus, or something,” he grumbled. He looked at me. I just so happened to be holding my Bible.

“You’re a preacher man.” He had noticed the Bible. “Why don’t you preach to me?”

I wish I could say that I eloquently presented the plan of salvation with utter spiritual maturity. Instead, I did the deer in the headlight stare back at him. My buddy nudged me.

“Ok, let’s see here.” I was buying time. And I did what many of us have done. I randomly opened my Bible and started reading. I think the passage was somewhere in one of the Chronicles – maybe not the greatest choice of passages for a halfway sober man down on his luck.

I was struggling with reading when he interrupted.

“That’s what I need! I need Jesus!”

I was dumbfounded.

That night, a group of struggling college-age guys led a random man to Christ.

Clearly, God was at work. False documentaries and skeptics will always be around to deceive the world. But the world will continue to search for Truth. Like Johnny, however, you won’t ever find Jesus. He finds you.

Four Cents: Why do churches get stuck?

In an attempt to open up the conversation a bit more, I am going to try something different with this blog. Once a month or so, I will pose a question relating to the health of the church. I will put in my two cents, you put in your two. The goal is to have much interaction and get people thinking about how our churches can attain better health.

Plateaued growth is a common description said of many churches. Indeed, entire denominations are in a state of decline. For example, the denomination that my church is a part of has only 22 out of 43,000 churches that meet the qualifications of a “standout” church. My church is not one of the 22, which only motivates me to dive deeper in prayer and petition God for a revival in our community.

What are the criteria of a standout church? These churches have been able to baptize at least 26 people per year for 10 consecutive years; have overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years; and have a membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1. Yes, those are high criteria, but only 22 churches met that level of excellence.

While each church has a set of unique characteristics that may explain why they are not winning more people to Christ, I see some overall trends that may add to the quagmire of mud in which our churches bog.

First and foremost is a lack of commitment to doctrinal Truth. Without a firm stance on that which is absolute, any growth that occurs within a church is on shaky ground. Second is a lack of unity with individual members of the body and lack of unity amongst churches at the denominational level. How can the body move forward to better health if each part is pushing in a different direction? Third is a dearth of prayer. Prayer is the foundation to any ministry within the church. Churches must be seeking God’s guidance in all they do. Fourth is a lack of leadership in the area of personal evangelism. The pastor must lead his church in evangelism. If he doesn’t do it, then few others will carry that torch. Fifth is a lack of relevancy in the community. If your church is not outwardly focused, then the country-club mentality sets in quite easily.

There’s my two cents. What are your two?