This may come as a surprise to some- but I’m a skeptic. It must be the Simon Cowell in me.

The upside of this is I can typically spot when someone (or something) is genuine.

The flip side of this is I can also spot when someone (or something) isn’t.

It seems I’m constantly finding dishonesty, slants, biases, agendas, and exaggerations in various places. From the news I watch, the books I read, and the stories I hear. Even things in my own life.

I’m not sure if a follower of Christ, who is planting a church, is supposed to admit that- but it’s the truth. I have difficulty taking much of anything at face value.

Our beliefs or experiences may be genuine- but our beliefs or experiences may not be right. That’s why we need something to base it on beyond our own thoughts, opinions, passions, emotions, and experiences.

Thank God for the Bible.

When I hear about signs, wonders, healings, miracles, revivals, movements, teachings, and other spiritual matters- I don’t automatically bite. BUT- I don’t automatically discount it either. I do what we all should do- discern it.

Here is how I discern whether or not something is from God or not:

Check the Bible. (Does the Bible speak for or against this?)
If it’s not biblical, It’s not a God-thing.

Examine the motivation. (Is this man-centered or Jesus-centered? Who gets the glory?)
If Jesus is central and glorified, this could be from God. If not, beware!

Look for real change. (Is there evidence?)
If it’s biblical, Jesus is central and glorified, then it’s likely someone (or something) has changed. A heart, a mind, a body, a life, a family, a city, a country, a world.

I do believe that God still moves. I’ve seen lives changed- including my own. But it’s wise to be discerning about spiritual matters. It can be messy, confusing, weird, counterfeit, and deceptive.

God is a good God of order. Thankfully he’s given us some cautions, wisdom, and guidance in Scripture to help us navigate the waters of spirituality.

Mark 13:21-22
“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible.”

Matthew 7:15
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves”

1 John 4:1
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Romans 16:17-18
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

2 Peter 2:1-3
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”

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Mark Driscoll, one of the pastors at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, answered this question on the doctrine of election:

“If humans are so utterly sinful that we can’t even choose Jesus what right does He have to judge us? If we cannot choose good then isn’t judgment against us unjust?”

His response is one one of the clearest explanations I’ve ever heard.

See also:
Romans 9
Ephesians 1:3-11
John 10:27
Romans 11:5-7
Mark 13:20
Matthew 24:31

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A great video featuring words from the brilliant theologian, Dr. R.C. Sproul.

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I read a story titled, “Jesus Made Me Puke” on RollingStone.com that disturbs me on so many levels.

The premise of the story is the reporter, Matt Taibbi, wanted to get an inside look at the “Christian right.” Rather than going to a mainline church, he decides to go to the fringe by attending a hyper-charismatic “weekend encounter” in Texas. This retreat was designed to “set people free” in some sort of tongues-a-thon where supposedly demons are cast out and people are healed from whatever is ailing them. The reporter masquerades as Matt Collins, a guy who’s dad was a drunken, abusive circus clown (chuckle) and plays the role all weekend. He then recounted his adventure in this Rolling Stone piece.

I will say that this “weekend encounter” sounds like a bunch of malarkey and it does not represent the majority of Christians. But to pass it off as representative is just cheap reporting. I’ve been known to poke fun at the yo-yo’s on TBN who slap foreheads, sit on thrones, and constantly ask for money. But Taiabbi clearly has an agenda and he found the right target to support it.

The story is not surprising. It is, however, embarrassing and reinforces the perceptions many people have about Christians. That we’re politically-driven, anti-everything, unintelligent nut jobs that barely resemble Christ. Regardless of whether it’s true for you and I- it’s a real perception that we need to acknowledge.

If we are truly following Jesus, then we should be known for love. And there are many great Christ Followers who bring a little bit of heaven on earth that never get reported in Rolling Stone. Which is too bad because that would be a great story and would, if nothing else, represent who we’re trying to be like- Jesus.

In the midst of this slanted piece, there was some humorous, outrageous, and some sad-but-true observations.

Here are a handful:

“The more you shout out praising the Lord, singing along to those awful acoustic tunes, telling people how blessed you feel and so on, the more a sort of mechanical Christian skin starts to grow all over your real self.”

“When most Americans think of the Christian right, they think of scenes from television — great halls full of perfectly groomed people in pale suits and light-colored dresses, smiling and happy and full of the Holy Spirit, robotically singing hymns at the behest of some squeaky-clean pastor with a baritone voice and impossible hair.”

“Fortenberry [the preacher] then started in on a rant against science and against scientific explanations for cycles of sin. ‘Take homosexuals,’ he said. ‘Every single homosexual is a sexual-abuse victim. They are not born. They are created — by pedophiles.’ The crowd swallowed that one whole. One thing about this world: Once a preacher says it, it’s true.”

“I told my nephew to look around the house,” Fortenberry continued. “I said, ‘Do you have a copy of Harry Potter?’ And he said yes. And I said, ‘That’s your problem.’ So I told him to go get that copy of that book, tear it in half and throw it out the window. So he does it, and guess what? Both of those kids stood up completely recovered, just like that.”

“In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I cast out the demon of the intellect!” Fortenberry continued. “In the name of Jesus, I cast out the demon of anal fissures!”

“The whole thing — the demonic expulsions, the trading of miraculous wives’ tales, the crazy End Times theology based on dire predictions that come and go uneventfully once a year or so — it’s all a con that is done with the consent of the conned. Which is what gives it strength. If everybody agrees to believe, it is real.”

Read the story and let me know what you think.

I also recommend the book “unChristian” which deals with these perceptions and how we can go about changing them.

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What do you think of this? It’s based on the book by Matt Smay and Hugh Halter. I haven’t read it yet but the video is thought-provoking.

Check it out and let me know what you think the message is.

Filed under: Christianity, Church Planting, books, church | 2 Comments

One of the coolest blogs out there today is Stuff Christians Like written by Jon.  Awesome stuff that just cracks me up.  If you can’t laugh at some of this stuff (and yourself) then I feel sorry for you.

Jon straight-up, unapologetically ripped off the idea from Stuff White People Like- which is also funny.

Here are some examples- even a few that are directed me:

• #3- Reading “love is patient” at your wedding
• #11- Thomas Kinkade
•  #46- Super, Happy, Shiny Christian Radio
• #47- Rooting for secret Christians on American Idol
• #108- Not knowing how to hold hands
• #116- Using “let me pray about it” as a synonym for “no”
• #125- The mandatory youth minister goatee
• #135- Dave Ramsey
• #142- Gloria Estefan’s song, “Coming Out of the Dark”
• #145- Weird Christian Dating Sites
• #147- Trust Falls
• #149- Boycotting Stuff

Check out the blog for explanations of these and many other funny ones.

What would you add?

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I was invited by to speak at the First Church of God in Rapid City by their pastor, Jacob Jurado. I really like his heart and am glad to have connected with him. They were gracious to me even though I went nearly an hour and probably said a few things that rocked the boat.

I spoke on how Christians are to be missionaries in our culture. I preached expositionally (verse-by-verse) through John 4:1-42 -where Jesus’ path crossed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and how that changed everything. Here are some highlights:

• “Verse 1-2 tells us that the Pharisees kept score between who was baptizing more- John the Baptist or Jesus’ disciples. The Pharisees didn’t get that John and Jesus’ disciples were on the same team. Funny how religious people still do this today. “
• “I don’t want to go to Heaven because I’m afraid of hell. I want to go to Heaven because I love Jesus.”
• “Only God changes hearts.”
• “Too many of us think we’re the Holy Spirit because we seem to think it’s our job is to convict people of their sin.”
• “Scratch beneath the surface of Rapid City and you’ll see people hurting, marriages falling apart, people without direction, men addicted to porn. And that’s just the people in church.”
• “Samaritans had a mixed bag of religion including the a belief in the first 5 books of the Bible. But it was tangled in some other pagan religions. Not unlike today when many in America have some hybrid religious system where Jesus, Oprah, and Ghandi are all prophets.”
• “Jesus crossed barriers. What barriers should we cross to reach people?
• “Are we too good to sit in the smoking section?”
• “Don’t sell Jesus like you would Mary Kay.”
• “Being a missionary doesn’t mean handing out tracts, slapping on a bumper sticker, or wearing a Christian t-shirt. It means loving people no matter what. Even if it takes 5 months, 5 years, or 50 years before they come to Jesus.”
• “Jesus loves to use people who are screwed up like this Samaritan woman. It’s all over the Bible. That gives me hope because I’ve screwed up a lot.”
• “Jesus chose this moment to reveal that worship wasn’t about a time or a place; on a Saturday or Sunday; on a mountain or in a building. It was anywhere, anytime, 24/7.”
• “Our cause should be Christ and our reputation should be love.”
• “Who are you in this story? If you see yourself as someone other than the Samaritan woman, you may have a self-righteousness issue.”
• “You’ve never experienced grace unless you’ve been able to see and admit just how messy you really are.”
• “Who are the Samaritans in our city? Where do they hang out? Would Jesus be there with them? Are we?”
• “If your aim in life is to be comfortable- just know that’s not God’s aim for your life.”
• “Do we share the same heartbeat as Jesus? To seek and save those who are lost. Even in the mess?”
• “What’s at stake if we don’t? Do we even care?”
• “My passion is to hear other people say their version of verse 42- ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’”

I tried to be a good guest but I think I said, “sucks” a few times and “pull your pants up” another. Hopefully I wasn’t too offensive.

I believe the message was recorded- but I guess it may have been cut off at some point. If/when it’s available- I’ll post a link to it on my blog.

Thanks again Jacob for your invitation to speak and your kindness towards me. It was a different crowd than what I’m used to but overall a really good experience.

Filed under: Christianity, Jesus, church | 2 Comments

First of all, Idol Gives Back, is incredible. It really is. No child- anywhere- should be without food and even more- without hope. It’s great to see such a huge platform being used for good.

If that wasn’t enough, the show concluded with the contestants singing “Shout to the Lord.” Are you freakin’ kidding me? That blew me away. Didn’t they get the memo that you’re not supposed to do stuff like that on national television?

What Idol has done is what the church should be doing. Being “recklessly compassionate” (thanks Josh) and inspiring others to do the same.

I would have loved to see some churches as major sponsors and partners along with all of the companies listed. Maybe next year. If nothing else, churches can begin to impact the cities where they are. One life at a time. And it starts with you and me.

Awesome! Kudos American Idol.

Donate

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“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

- 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

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