Everybody and their mother is writing about how disappointed they are in the Australian who lied about having terminal cancer to add a little more emotional flavor to his song “Healer.” We did this song two weeks ago and we are doing it again this Sunday so I thought I would throw my half a cent into the mix.

The words of the song are still accurate. God can heal any affliction and nothing is impossible for Him.

I believe everyone has something they need God to heal including being a compulsive liar.

If the devil himself wrote the song, God could and probably would still use it to bring glory to His name.

My only question is this: when I do sing this song again (which I am going to do because I believe it is powerful and needs to be sung), will the people in the audience who know about the person who wrote it be able to get beyond it to worship God the way He deserves to be worshiped?

I deeply believe Christian leaders are and should be held to a higher standard. Not for the people who will judge but for those that need an authentic example. But I’m sure that every song we have every sung was written by an author who has a long list of faults and every worship leader that has ever existed has made poor decisions that reflect negatively on his/her character and integrity.

When you hear this song the next time, how will you respond?

Alright…my 3 life goals are pretty generic and general. And I know that good goals must be measurable and attainable. So these are my more immediate specific goals (though they are still fairly generic):

1. Have 10 chapters of Psalms memorized by the end of August.
2. Memorize James and Philippians (the whole books) by the end of the year.
3. Write a song every week for the rest of the year.
4. Practice my guitar at least an hour a day and have 30 new guitar solos proficient and memorized by the end of the year.
5. Complete the goals I set for myself January 1 by the end of the year (actually not doing to bad).

What are your goals?

I hate the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" because it takes away from the more important question "are you doing what God has called you to do?" I know God says He will give us the desires of our heart but I believe it is only because he shapes and defines the desires we so selfishly think we made for ourselves.

3 things I believe I am called to do and therefore have made my life goals:

1. Be a Bible scholar
2. Be an authentic God worshiper
3. Use my gifts to bring Him glory

I love Johnny hunt. And I am so proud he is the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Though I believe the denomination thing as a whole is on the way out, there is not a human being I admire and respect more nor do I believe has the passion and ability to lead change and help a struggle group understand the current trends. Go get ‘em Pastor Johnny. Jamie and I are praying strong for your family, your ministry, your success, and bunch of willing hearts.

YES!!! Until relatively recently (i.e. around the Reformation) the only way laymen (and laywomen) could get their dose of Scripture was to have it read to them. I believe there is something to be said to be literal “hearers of the word” as James discusses in his opening chapter. I’ve read the Bible cover to cover 3 times, the New Testament I don’t even know how many times, carious books even more times, and other passages, chapters, and verses even more times. I love reading the Bible - but I have also always enjoyed hearing it read. Whether it be on Sunday morning or in a Bible study, having to listen has motivated me to pay closer attention to what is being said.

Now, that is me. And some of that probably has to do with the fact my mind wanders as I read. I will have read three chapters before I realize I had been daydreaming about something some verse a while back triggered in my imagination and will have to go back and read it all again hoping my mind does trail off again. Which it usually does. Something about having stories read to me allows my mind to be transported to the setting being read. It actually tames my imagination like ti creates a playpen for it to play in.

Anyway, no offense to James Earl Jones, but I’ve gotten my hands on some of the more updated audio bibles and I am so impressed. There are two versions out now that are incredible. The Bible Experience (TNIV) is the entire Bible where as the Word of Promise (NKJV) is only the New Testament. If you are looking for something to make the Scriptures just come alive and speak to you like you didn’t think possible, I highly recommend downloading either one of these (I’m listening to the Word of Promise right now), finding some solitude, sticking some headphones in your iPod, and be moved by God’s word being spoken into to you. It is amazing!

The short catch up for those who don’t know what this post is about is as follows. After Easter, my pastor and some others on staff used some terminology to reference those in our church who made a public profession to turn their life over to Christ that made some strong opinions turn and take notice. Instead of instantly finding joy in the hope of a number of converts, they questioned the sincerity of each person’s commitment to follow our Lord and Savior, opined our church’s “arrogance” to “count” them as “saved,” and affirmed the need to wait a few years to see if the commitments actually stick. As you can imagine, some people in my church got defensive and an online argument ensued. I put my two cents in on two comments and later found out I was declared “the only Oak Leafer…who was consistently able to maintain a Christian tone and biblical conversation. ” So, my tenacious nature led me to feel like I needed to respond to them in some way.

I’ve been thinking about what I want to say to these guys and have been preparing an intelligent response to some of their points I disagree with theologically, but have decided to not say much at all. I started my 1500 character reply to the last post I made on their site and never submitted it. I have a document on my computer right now with 65 scriptural references (I stopped searching after a while) I believe support the doctrine I hold dear to my heart. I’ve gone back and looked over notes from previous discussions I’ve had on similar topics and realized how much time I was spending building up a defense to a fellow believer instead of one for a soul that does not yet believe. So I put it all away and just went back to reading my Bible for the love of the Word.

What is the point? None of them are going to change their mind and I’m not going to change mine. Why? Every time I return to scripture to make sure what I have studied over and over again is what the Bible is teaching, I come out on the same side. I can only imagine they do the same. Is the Bible teaching two different theology’s? No, man just has different opinions. I’ve read all the verse they’ve quoted and many others and their great debating discipline and good points still do not completely line up with what I personally find the Scriptures to be teaching. Does that make me right and them wrong? No, but it is hard for me to agree with someone when I’m reading the same Bible and yet coming to a different conclusion. This whole scenario does, however, support my theory that all good theological arguments always end up being about Calvinism vs Armenianism (to use those terms rather stereotypically).

Furthermore, I have not been called by God to sway to opinions of fellow believers who are much more intelligent than me and have much more time on their hands to spend hours every day reading up on those who believe differently than they do and then create time delayed conversations through comments on blogs that end up going no where. If I ever met one of the people who follow the site or Jim B. and Chad V. themselves, I would be more than happy to have a conversation. I guess I just not educated or disciplined enough to handle multiple points, questions, angles, and reasoning from a large group of people who obviously would not agree with me. Too much scrolling up and down and trying to remember who I responded to and what was last thing said and finding quotes and so on and so on. I’ve spent many hours in atheist chat rooms and other such sites driven by comments and even similar style discussion boards in seminary. In my humble opinion, it is just not an very enjoyable form of intellectual conversation.

All that to say, I do not disagree with most their arguments. Many of the replies and comments are welled supported by Scripture and have a lot of validity. In fact, I strongly agree that theology has taken a back seat in modern churches to style and comfort. That is why I vigorously fight for the education and independent spiritual development of believers. However, I find the umbrella by which much of their platform falls under is based a skewed perspective that does not fit the overarching character of God and purpose of his creation that is clearly outlined from Genesis to Revelation (I’m sure I’ll get plenty of comments about that one). Back to the other hand, many good points were made and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to reprieve myself from my duties and spend as much time as needed to answer the few comments that give me concern. Nevertheless, I must pull back the reins and keep myself on track to the responsibilities God has laid before me in this stage of my journey. I am sure some day soon I will have a chance to review the arguments made and answer with careful wisdom and dsicernment. Or I can just be a little patient as I am sure they will all surface again. They always do.

I love a good debate and have been entertained today reading the banter between Old Truth and my pastor.

But who am I to get involved, right? I’m just the lowly Creative Arts Pastor. My musical skills and limited limited knowledge of FCP should be all anyone expects from me, right? Punctuality and focus during meetings is supposed to be a weakness because I’m one of those “artsy” types, right? (uhh…let’s forget that last question)

Well, I like to think I am supposed to be a bit more than that. I work in a church - no - I lead in a church and their are lost people and starving believers all around me and it is my duty - nah - my calling to always be ready to give a defense (1 Peter 3:15 in case you taking notes) and Scripturally founded answers to life’s most difficult questions - especially those that pertain to one’s eternal salvation.

Anyway, in my humble corner of the internet, I don’t get to many of those outspoken radicals who love to speak their mind but rarely ever open or change it. Maybe it is because I write about boring tech stuff and life happenings instead of topics that get Christians bashing Christians to come out from behind the bushes ad start waving their finger.

So what can I talk about that I believe deeply in that will get other Christians mad enough to leave some quality, good conversation-starting comments on my site?

How about:

There is no such thing as Sasquatch

Or

We may not be the first or last of God’s creation projects (just the wording on this one might ruffle feathers)

Or even

No human being can know 100% that they are going to be accepted into heaven - or “saved” as the term is so flippantly tossed around these days.

Have fun

I read this article today from the Barna Group that statistically shows how bad a job the churches in America are doing. Bottom line, the vast majority of the younger generation polled in this three-year study have a dramatically negative perspective on Christians and the Christian church. So what are we going to do about it?

I came across a great 2 part article by Rick Warren on the effectiveness of Jesus’ ministry and how that relates to the worship environment created at your church for both believers and unbelievers. Here is the list in it’s short form:

1. Only believers can truly worship God. (I believe this - “truly” is key - John4-23-24)
2. You don’t need a building to worship God. (The success of various types of church plants all of the world is proof of this -as if you needed any)
3. There is no correct style of worship. (But everyone has particular taste even if “in spirit and truth” are the only prerequisites. What if we created environments that were eclectic collections of “styles?”)
4. While unbelievers can’t worship, they can watch believers worship. (I don’t like the phrase “can’t worship” because everyone always worships something. It is what they can and can’t truly worship that matters. I also believe this is point is only effective if #1 is taking place)
5. Worship is a powerful witness to unbelievers if God’s presence is felt and the message is understandable. (Yes!!!)
6. God expects us to be sensitive to the fears, hang-ups, and the needs of unbelievers when they are present in our worship services. (however, these people still know they are attending a church service so you don’t need to try to take that away from the equation)
7. Worship services do not have to be shallow to be evangelistic, and the message does not have to be compromised. It just has to be understandable. (Very good point. I understand the messages of SBC preachers that use big words they learned in seminary because I grew up in those churches and attended seminary. Many uneducated lost people I know lose the message in the educated jargon).
8. The needs of believers and unbelievers often overlap. (if you think about this for a second it is pretty deep - but very true)
9. It’s best to specialize your services according to purpose. (Yes!!!)
10. A service geared toward non-believers is meant to supplement personal evangelism, not replace it. (YES!!! Jesus went to people and people came to Him. He did not choose one or the other)
11. There is no standard way to design an evangelistic worship service. (this is a very hard thing for many to grasp)
12. It takes unselfish mature believers to offer an evangelistic worship service. This is the most important of all. (1 Corinthians 9:12)

If you haven’t read the story of King Hezekiah, I encourage you to do it today. I’ve been caught up studying about this guy in the midst of my “worship” study and can’t get past all learning about this man’s efforts to restore the will and work of God among his people. Now I promised myself I would not write ridiculously long posts anymore (mainly because of my wife and Gratto’s comments) so I’ll have to share my recent discoveries in short bursts of eye-pooping, energy-packed literary overloads.

Let’s start with a short background. If you’ve read 1 and 2 Chronicles, you know kings came and went regularly, began their reigns at various ages, and chose to either do what was right in the eyes of God or or quite the opposite. Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, chose the latter and made quite a mess of things in Judah. When he died, Hezekiah took his place at the age of 25 and immediately started fixing the idolatrous disaster his father had created.

25…wow. How often do you see leaders that young take hold of their ability and influence and change an entire culture? You might be surprised to know it happens all the time. In fact, I bet it happens to some extent in every generation. How old was Jesus? how old was Martin Luther King when people started listening? How old was Hitler when he wrote Mein Kampf Search your history books and you’ll see almost every major historical event was prompted by the efforts and/or actions of that generation’s younger leaders.

It is happening around us right now within the church. Young pastors and leaders are veering from traditional norms and promoting new and sometimes controversial church methodology they believe better communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to their generation. I would never say the previous generation’s church leaders have left mess we need to clean up like Hezekiah’s father left for him. It just begs the question, are you one that just follows the footsteps of your fathers or choose to make your own tracks in the sand?