WalChurch?

I was just wondering since a lot of people visit Wal-Mart and Walgreens when they need stuff, how about planting a WalChurch? Maybe we could even offer staple items in the church bookstore (milk, bread, Twinkies, etc.) for convenience sake. With the coffee bar, we could offer hotdogs & hamburgers and how about an ice cream cone for dessert? I’ve heard people say that they could actually live at a Wal-Mart, so why not make it easy for people to hang out at WalChurch? “WalChurch…”get what you need for today and for eternity”. Just saying.

CBS (Coffee Bar Scale)

Recently I was required to write a posting for school that created a classification system for Christians. Using a scale that would resonate with our modern culture, I devised the Coffee Bar Scale for assessing Christians. The classification system for Christians is based on John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (NKJV).

Assuming that we are talking about Christians, they would be classed based on their level of love for God and for each other. To make it user friendly, I would employ the CBS (Coffee Bar Scale) when describing a Christian.

CBS

Short: Short on love for God and man (small or very little indication)

Tall: moderate expression of love (born in church, but no growth)

Grande: Strong evidence of love for God and man (tithe giver, volunteers, consistent quiet time)

Venti: Pastor, missionary or Bible college professor (sacrificial service to God and man).

What’s your scale?

How Great is Our God

Mind and Mouth

I remember preaching a series one time on finances and encouraging the people to set up a budget and to be wise with their income. At lunch, my wife asked me, “so when are we going to set up a budget?” My smart aleck response was, “I keep it in my head!” Her response, “I can’t respect you when you preach something that you’re not living yourself” That left a mark!

In my devotion, I’ve been reading through for the second time a great book by James R. Beck, Jesus & Personality Theory. In a chapter entitled “Be Trustworthy” Beck quotes St. Jerome when he wrote about the integrity needed by the clergy “…A teacher fond of good living may fill his own stomach and the discourse on the benefits of fasting; even a robber can possibly accuse others of greed; but in a priest of Christ mind and mouth should be in harmony”.

You can’t get any clearer than that. Don’t preach one thing and live another. Live what you preach…preach ONLY what you live. “nuff said!”

Sex on TV linked to teen pregnancies…REALLY?

I know…this starts out very sarcastic, but really. Let me say up front that I am not a prude. I’ve been told by my kids that I am a very hip dad (I even have a Facebook page!).

But it’s amazing to me that there is such ignorance concerning the media’s strategy to desensitize and to jade the minds of teenagers and children.

This study interviewed over 2000 teenagers during a three year period. Why did it take a scientific study to bring us this startling information? Having teenagers myself and having been in youth ministry for years, this “new revelation” is more of a “duuh!” moment.

The marketing pros have known this for years. Ever watch some of the ads on almost any network, cable channel, MTV, VH1, even Disney!? How about the Internet, video games, and magazines?

There are rampant sexual messages everywhere. The media has saturated the minds of our youth like never before with the message of “no consequence sex”.

Pastors have been preaching this for years. You are what you digest. If you consume enough of the filth that is presented as entertainment, you will begin to think and act accordingly.

Let me say this to pastors and youth pastors: KEEP PREACHING WHAT’S RIGHT! Don’t grow weary fighting the good fight.

Here’s a quote from this article: Study: Sex on TV linked to pregnancies

“Sitcoms like ‘Friends’ contain plenty of positive messages about consequence-free sex”.

Did you catch that? A “positive message” about consequence-free sex. In other words, this show, among others, implies that it’s a positive thing to have casual sex and you shouldn't’t feel guilty about it.

Here’s another quote that is astounding to me:

“We were surprised to find this link,” said Anita Chandra, the study’s lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization.

What? Really? Surprised to find this link? This is a behavioral scientist that made this astounding remark. What has she been studying before, the behavior of bovine?

Is it surprising that teenagers have yet to form concrete morals and values and that their standards are still somewhat fluid? Again, maybe I take it for granted that I have had the opportunity to observe teenager behavior close up.

This is a greater call to parents to be involved in their children’s lives. Along with the onslaught of nastiness, there are also a lot of resources today to assist parents. Pastors, youth pastors, and counselors, just to name a few.

But it takes a commitment from people who love these teenagers to invest time and energy.

If you don't help them construct their morals, someone else will!

"Yada, Yada"

I don’t know if you’re a fan of Seinfeld, but one of the funniest episodes involved the use of the phrase “yada, yada”. Used in this context, it was meant to condense the story or gloss over the details of the story. “I was going to the store and ‘yada, yada’, I ended up spending $100 dollars”. I don’t know if the writers knew the Hebrew translation or not, but there’s more to ‘yada’ for you and me than just a placeholder in conversation.

It seems one of the most reoccurring situations that church planters/pastors find themselves in is the need to know the direction of God. Whether it’s where a church plant should be located, the name of the new church, or even the color scheme/logo of the new ministry. It would be helpful if God, in His mercy, would just hit us over the head with the correct answer. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us) God designed things so that we would seek a relationship with Him and not just use Him as a Magic Eight Ball when we need an answer.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

According to the Spirit Filled Life Bible (NKJV), two words stand out in this passage that will shed light on hearing God when things are muddy for us.

• “ways” (Hebrew: derek), this word indicates “a road, a course” and suggests a specific opportunity that a person may encounter on a recurring basis such as each new day that we wake up. This passage suggests that in all our “days” we should acknowledge God.
  
• The other word of significance here is “acknowledge” (Hebrew: yada’), this is translated “know, know by observation, or firsthand experience”. The highest level of yada’ is in “direct, intimate contact” such as is experienced in marriage.
  

To pull it all together, if we will in all our days maintain ‘yada’ (intimate contact with God), then God promises to direct our paths toward His life-giving answer. If you find yourself struggling to know the will or direction of God, it means that you’re trying to work it out yourself without the benefit of God’s intimate direction. Spend some quality time with Him, and ‘yada, yada’ you’ll find that things run a lot smoother.

What Would Jesus Ask?

I love this clip and at the same time it makes me sad when I think about how most churches react when a genuine seeker shows up. I hope that people like this will continue to ask questions about God.