Where is the Grace? An introduction to Grace hoarding

Rob Bell, prominent pastor, “Rock star of Christianity”, inspiration to hundreds of thousands of Christians around the world, is releasing a new book. Within its pages, he writes of a concept that is known by many Christian leaders as the heretical view of Universalism. (There is no way our all loving God would send anyone to Hell)

When that story broke, I was on Twitter. I watched some very prominent church leaders, whom I respect greatly, literally attack Bell in front of millions right there on a major social network. Phrases like, “Goodbye Rob Bell” came rolling across my screen. Naturally, my first reaction to what is clearly false teaching, was to join in. But, I suddenly had this very sick feeling deep within my gut. Where is Grace in this? If I bash Rob for his beliefs, but don’t love him in his mess, how would he change?

Where is the Grace?

When I think about grace, I think of redemption, restoration, and freedom. What comes to mind for you? Grace is something I need more and more of on a daily basis.

See, the church is the Bride of Christ. He gave His life for us; He showed us Grace. What does He get from us in return? His will is that we would forgive as He forgave us, to liberate the hearts of the lost with unconditional Grace. Instead, we are judgmental finger-pointers who go against His will and can’t even love and forgive other Christians. Then, we turn around and give Him the sloppy seconds of ourselves and halfheartedly serve Him while hoarding as much of His Grace for ourselves as possible. We use His grace like a lifeboat to save ourselves from sinking and refuse to pull others onboard. Then we wonder why His blessing isn’t on us. He wants to know where His Grace is.

Before we can look at where Grace is, we need to know what Grace is. Or better yet, what Grace isn’t.

See, Grace isn’t forgiveness, well not forgiveness alone. You can’t just say I forgive you and have displayed Grace. Forgiveness is usually something that is either expected or forced when it is displayed alone. Grace is an action that is deeper than forgiveness. It involves forgiveness filled with and reinforced by an unending, selfless love. Unconditional Love. Love that has no expectations or pre-conceived notions tagged on as well. And while that kind of love is really nice to receive, it can be painful, ugly, gut wrenching, and nearly impossible to give away.

It is much easier to cut ties with those who hurt us than to love them despite their mess. It is also un-Christian.

Herein lies the big dilemma. The world is watching Christians with a magnifying glass. I doubt that they would say we are practicing what we preach when it comes to Grace. This Rob Bell situation is the perfect example; the entire world saw him publicly proclaim his opinion. They then saw prominent Christian leaders and ordinary “plain Joe” Christians alike, viciously attack him for being a “heretic.” I firmly believe that Rob Bell does need to be held accountable for his actions, he can't call himself one thing and then teach the doctrines of another. His teaching needs to be addressed, but not in a publicly hostile way, and not without considering Grace in every move. Exactly what kind of message does it send to non-Christians when we attack our own so openly? When I put myself in their shoes, it isn’t a very big stretch for me to start not liking Christians either…

But wait there’s more! It’s not just non-Christians who are watching. New believers who are "baby Christians" are following our examples too. Many of these new Christians are susceptible to outside influences on all sides. Their non-Christian friends are still a part of their lives, they are striving to be more like their new Christian brothers and sisters (us), and they are hopefully reading their Bibles with a passion for God’s will.

These three sources of influence are sending three very different messages to these new believers. The outside voice of non-Christians is questioning their every move, the Bible is showing them God’s radical grace and forgiveness for them, and finally there’s us.

I’m not saying that all Christians don’t show this grace; I’m simply saying a lot of the time in my own life I just don’t show the radical, life changing grace God calls me to. If this is the case for me, I know I’m not alone, and our examples of grace-hoarding can cause non-Christians, young believers, and anyone else skeptical of Christianity, to be turned off to our message of grace, love, and peace. Can we really blame them?

Obviously, we have a problem on our hands. Grace is a drink of cool water on a hot day, one that you and I are willing to chug glass after glass of, but when it comes to sharing it with others, we’d rather fill up a glass with sand and watch our enemies choke and sputter. It’s time for a change. It’s time for radical Grace.

Your comments are always welcome.

Jp

Upcoming Blog Series

Do you have a story of radical, freedom inducing Grace? Do you have a part of your history that was once dark and painful, yet God's Grace transformed you and your mess? I need your stories.

In my upcoming blog series, "Where is the Grace?", I will be using stories of normal, everyday people like you and I who have had their lives flipped upside down by radical Grace. I need stories of God's grace, other people showing you Grace, or just sweet delicious forgiveness. No story is too big or too small.

If you feel like your story could be useful for this new series, send me an email with your story and I will use the ones I can to help illustrate the power of God's life-giving, freedom inducing Grace. These stories will be completely confidential unless otherwise specified. I do hope you'll at least consider sending in your story.

phatbeatspepper@gmail.com

I hope to hear from you soon!

Jp.

Discipleship and the Church Part III

In our study of Titus 2 in the last blog, we covered the question of what true discipleship is supposed to look like in the Church and how there is a great disconnect between the generations within the walls of our churches. We saw how we have to counteract this by overcoming our own pride and selfishness and humbly approaching one another in Love in order to walk together through the hardships and pain of life.

Now we must shift from the question, “What is the problem?” to what all of these blogs have been leading up to. “Discipleship can only be accomplished if we start it ourselves and ask God to multiply our efforts, change lives around us, and eventually the whole church.”

Before I go any further, let me say I am no expert on any of this. You and I are walking together through some things God has put on my heart, things I don’t fully have a handle on. I am convicted that we, the church, are putting too much time and effort into programs and campaigns that, while good, don’t fully carry out the plan of discipleship in the church. But that isn’t the problem; the problem is that we, the people of the church, are buying into it.

Small groups, for instance, are great for fellowship and sharing a meal, but small groups can be dangerous too. American churchgoers and leaders alike have bought into the idea that small groups are where all the discipleship is supposed to take place within the church. There is a huge downside to “small group fellowship.” Christians’ lives need accountability and vulnerability that cannot grow in the small group setting.

Just look at how many types of small groups there are in the typical church: young singles, young married couples with no kids, young married couples with kids, college groups, seniors groups, middle aged married, middle aged with kids, middle aged singles, young professionals, the “empty nesters” older married couples group, the list goes on and on. Here lies the first problem with small groups.

By design, small groups are used to create an environment for new members of the church to become acclimated with a group of people from the same walk of life that they are in. Pick an age group, kids or no kids, and a group that is moving in the same direction you are, professionals, college, single, ect.

This segregated approach to small groups, whether intentional or unintentional, prevents the first step in discipleship from taking place. Older men and women guiding younger men and women cannot happen if the young people and their elders are in two different small groups. If you are only surrounding yourself with people of your age group who share the similar walk of life that you have, it isn’t possible for you to be discipled or disciple others. In other words, you can’t learn for your elders if they aren’t in your group, nor can you disciple those who are younger than you, if you’re not in their groups.

I am not saying that to find a group of people your age to enjoy fellowship with is a bad thing. I am saying that discipleship cannot be successfully accomplished in a small group setting alone.

The biggest and most influential change that can be made to small groups is, a change in leadership over each group. You can’t expect any substantial growth to come of a group of young married couples if other young married couples are leading them. If you are looking for a leader to guide a young married couples’ small group, place a Godly, older married couple, with many years of marriage experience, over that group. This will allow that older couple to plug into the lives of those young couples in the critical early phases of their marriages. In the same way, those older married couples should have access to a small group led by an “empty nester” married couple.

Secondly, it is imperative that there isn’t a rotation of people within each small group. So many times, I see small groups of people that seem to change on a near monthly basis. Accountability, vulnerability, and spiritual growth, are nearly impossible in a setting where faces change regularly. It is going to be very difficult for a husband and wife to open up to their group about their marriage problems or struggles they are having if there are constantly new couples being added to the group. There won’t be a chance for people to move from small talk and surface level conversation into the deep healing waters of vulnerability and accountability in unfamiliar settings with unfamiliar people.

Those two changes alone will drastically transform the spiritual growth within any church’s small group ministry. But, what if your church isn’t open to changing the way their discipleship program works? What if they don’t see eye to eye with you? What can be done to approach leadership on these matters?

It is very easy to see things that you feel are wrong with your church, and lash out at leadership, spread rumors, and talk down about leadership to others instead of approaching the problem head on. This is gossip. It is sin, and God will hold those who feel the need to run to gossip over a Godly approach accountable for their actions. It is wrong to “reach out” and speak to others about your opinions in the name of God’s will, and not go straight to Church leadership. One of the quickest and easiest ways Satan can cause division and disruption in the Church is through well intended Christians who try to solve problems they see in leadership by not going through the proper channels or even consulting God’s will before doing so.

If there is a problem that we see in church leadership, there are important steps that must be taken before we even think of approaching them. Skip any one of these steps and surely failure will be the only result. God does not honor those who don’t honor Him in any situation.

Step one in preparing to talk to leadership is to right yourself with God. Jesus tells a parable of the man who tried to get the spec out of his friend’s eye while not addressing the tree branch lodged in his own. This is what Jesus was talking about! If you are not in a place of humility and brokenness before our living God; if I am not in a place of humility and brokenness before our Holy and Honorable God, than what business do I have correcting another believer?

Step two in preparing to talk to leadership is to pray over leadership and the problem. This does not just mean praying about what to say to an individual, but whether or not it is God’s will for you to open your mouth at all. Our own selfishness often times overshadows our discernment of God’s will. This shows both lack of spiritual discipline and a lack of attention to God’s will and purpose. When we take it upon ourselves to speak when it isn’t our place or God’s will, we are acting in sin with good intensions. Pray, therefore, and seek God’s will. Ask Him if you are only supposed to pray or if you are to speak to someone about a problem.

Step three in preparing to speak to leadership is to speak to leadership and leadership only. There is no commentary needed for this point. If you need to talk to leadership about a problem, talk to them and not everyone you know that’s not leadership, period. It’s called gossip and it’s a sin, and sin keeps you from being right with God, which is addressed in step one.

I will say this one more time: Know your place. If it is not your place to speak then shut up, you won't just make the problem worse, you will destroy your integrity and your right standing with God. Trust God for the "problems" you see. Don't get caught up in the emotions surrounding an issue within the church. Remember God's word:

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Pray for your leadership, ask God to move in your church. Act always in patience and love. Did I say Pray?

So there it is, Discipleship and the Church go hand in hand, but as we have discussed, the American Church has slowly drifted away from this concept. In Discipleship and the Church Part I, we looked at what discipleship is and how much different it is in the states, as opposed to elsewhere in the World. In Part II, we discussed who’s responsibility discipleship is and who is to be held accountable for discipling others. Now in this last installment, we have looked at some changes that can be made to better facilitate discipleship and growth within the church, and lastly the three major steps in preparing ourselves to talk with Church leadership should discipleship not be at the forefront of the church.

My prayer is that you will see these blogs for what they are, my own thoughts and ideas and not necessarily the “right” answer for the church. God has really put this on my heart that the church in the U.S. is missing out on a huge harvest in our own back yards because we are the lazy, fat, idolatry riddled portion on His church. Because we aren’t discipling the way we need to, people are falling through the cracks and not being raised to think with wisdom on the things of Christ. Then, because we are losing so many people to lack of discipleship, we throw lights, sound systems, and a stylish worship leader/pastor combo in front of our church in the name of “relevance” and still lose people right out the front door. It is time that we, the church, take a stand for Discipleship, roll up our sleeves, and plug into the dirty, sinful, hurting lives of those around us and bring the light of Christ to them, instead of making a place for them to come to us.

I hope you will consider joining me for the next blog series I’m doing writing called: “Where is the Grace?” We are going to take a few entries to look at the way that we, as Christians, seem to hoard Grace for ourselves but are slow to give it away to anyone else. We use God's Grace as a lifeboat to save ourselves from sinking and refuse to pull others onboard. Christians have grown accustomed to hoarding Grace. What is our lack of Grace doing to help a hurting world or is it killing our message of hope and forgiveness to a dying and sinful world?

As always, your comments are welcome, thanks for reading!

Jp

Discipleship and the Church Part II

In the next part of this blog, I want to unpack whose responsibility it is to right this situation within the church. It is not the job of the Senior Pastor alone, nor is it the church staff’s job; rather it is the responsibility of every single member of the church.

In the last blog entry, we looked at the situation in the American church regarding discipleship, or the lack there of, as compared to the time and dedication put into other pursuits. We talked about how, in many cases, it has become the norm for the church to chase after becoming “relevant” to lost people, but how it does so in a way that causes people to become distracted from The Gospel and its power to change lives, the very thing that is relevant to everyone.

So, let’s jump right in. Who’s job is it to disciple others? Matthew 28 shows us that everyone who is a follower of Christ must be a disciple. So, what does that look like on an individual level? Let’s explore Paul’s letter to Titus in the New Testament and view the way he instructed Titus to lead the Church. It gives very clear guidelines for the people who are to be in church leadership, and it has a message for every man, woman, and young person in the church. I encourage you to read Titus before reading this next blog, and then we will walk together through Titus, focusing mostly on Chapter 2, beginning with a look at women in the church, then men, and then slaves.

Women in the Church: “Teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.” Titus 2:3-5

Older women are to honor God; they can’t talk bad about others. This is difficult for everyone, but we all know that lady, or group of ladies,(every church has them) that are constant gossips. It’s human nature to talk bad about others. A new juicy rumor arises: someone has gone off the reservation and committed one of the “bad sins,” and we all feel the need to bring that person to ruins before we even know what really happened.

Paul saw this happening in his time, and he knew it had no place in the church then, just like it has no place in the church now. He is making sure that Titus understands that no good can come of it. So, Paul’s instruction is for Titus to guide the older women in the Church at Crete to spend their time investing in the younger women and teach them the values of being a Godly woman.

I have found the woman I want to marry in Jennifer. She is amazing. While she may have a pretty good idea of what a Godly wife looks like, in order to best serve me as a Godly wife, she needs older women with a great deal of marriage experience to rise up and talk with her, guide her, and walk with her, through the challenges and hardships she has never thought of that will arise in our marriage. This is the job of women in the Church! Paul is showing Titus that, in order to strengthen the marriages and relationships within the church, older women must instruct and guide younger women to “love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.”

So, just to be clear, it is the job of the older women, not the pastor, in the church to raise up and instruct the younger women to live lives that glorify God. What does this look like today? Well, this is a relatively broad spectrum that spans many different ideas… Simply put, since gossiping is already out, instead of talking bad about the younger women in our churches, it is the job of our older women to step in and walk beside these younger girls, teaching them with humility and gentleness, the ways that please God as well as addressing serious issues every woman faces. These include: Dressing appropriately, learning to love their mates like the church is supposed to love Christ, seeking a Holy household for their marriages, and dealing with the day in day out struggles of the everyday woman. On the flip side of that, younger women cannot write off what the older women say, but instead, must listen and take to heart the counsel of Godly women. This is of great importance!

Men in the Church: “Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.” Titus 2:2 and 6-7

When I read this, the first thing I see is that respect is earned, not pre-existing. This is important, because in our culture today, men seem to walk with a sense of entitlement; they almost demand to be respected. However, this is not the case! A man can be active in the church and still live in a way that dishonors God and is not respectable. It is through his actions and day to day life that the respect will come.

Paul is instructing Titus to teach the men in Crete the virtue of self-control. Men, let’s be honest. This is probably the single hardest thing for us to do. Self-control is more than just keeping our anger in check. This means keeping tabs on our lust, our desire for power, our greed, our sexual temptation, discipline to stay in God’s word, making right decisions, honoring our wives, and instructing younger men even when we don’t want to. Self-control is impossibly hard. And yet, that which we see as so difficult is exactly what we are to pursue wholeheartedly. What a list!

Older men are to lead and guide younger men, teaching them to desire and value wisdom, to value and pursue a sound Faith, and to have patience. Older men must instruct younger men to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. (Eph 5:25-27)

Younger men, listen to a fellow young man when I say that this is of the utmost importance… Listen and absorb as much as you possibly can from these older men. Life will be so much easier if you will step out of your pride and humble yourself enough that you can learn to love these times of discipleship. Lose the pride that is so deeply ingrained in our rebellious hearts, throw yourself headfirst into their wisdom, and ask all the questions you can think of.

My life has forever been impacted by the time I have spent under Godly men like Chris Estes and my Father. When I was growing up, I began a struggle with a pornography addiction. It has been a long, difficult battle over the years in which I have come in and out of dark times in my addiction. Now, with my relationship with Jennifer heading toward marriage, it is more crucial than ever that I seek this wise counsel from these men, learning to flee from that which can ruin me, as I try to become more like Christ so that our marriage will flourish rather than end in disaster. These men have experiences in life that I have not yet walked through. My time learning from them, in the past, now, and in the future, will prove to be the most valuable tools I have had access to in my spiritual growth. Older men, see this as a testament to the power that comes from Godly men instructing younger men in the ways of Christ.

Men, pride is the enemy’s number one tool against discipleship. Don’t let your “manliness” blind you from the fact that we are all in desperate need of God’s plan for our growth, and have far too much to learn to allow our pride to distract us from it.

Slaves/Volunteers in the Church

So, as you can see, there is a clear model for discipleship for men and women, both young and old, within the church. Now what about this “slave” business? I hear you saying. “we don’t have slaves anymore…” Well, I disagree. As humorous as this sounds, if you have ever been a volunteer in a church, you have felt like a slave before, I can assure you of that. So, in the context of volunteers, let’s look at what the Bible says about slaves.

“Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.”

So, these are the guidelines for slaves/volunteers simply put: Obey leadership. When they ask you to do something, don’t complain or interject your opinion unless it’s asked for. Don’t argue with leadership when you’re asked to do something, and don’t steal from your position. Instead, be trustworthy; don’t allow your attitude or opinions to overshadow your willingness to serve. Remember that volunteers have the largest impact on a church, more than any other position. They directly affect how attractive or unattractive the Gospel truly is to others.

Volunteering is difficult. Giving of your time and effort to accomplish a common goal is not easy. But so many times volunteers get burnt out. They work really hard for a month or two, and then opinions of how things could be done differently usually run rampant. Under certain circumstances this is ok, but for the most part, when conflict arises in the church, it is due to opinionated people spreading around their own selfishness without going through the proper channels.

Volunteers have a unique view of the church: they are close enough to leadership to see the regular goings on of the leaders in the church but are not normal churchgoers anymore who simply attend. Because of this, in some unhealthy church situations, volunteers feel the need to speak up or take action against church leadership. This is wrong. The decay rate on church volunteers is dreadfully high because when disagreements arise, when conflict or even exhaustion come, they simply quit.

So what’s the deal? Why is there such a stressed situation within the American church when it comes to volunteers? It all boils down to a lack of the Gospel being applied to volunteering. See, the Gospel explains to us that we don’t volunteer to help the church function. That is only a byproduct of our real goal, which is to please God by serving His church. When we change our mindset from, “Where can I serve, how can I get to a place where I can interject my ideas to better the church?” to, “How can I serve God wholeheartedly, with humility, and follow His will for my service in the church?”, then it changes our goal from us, to God. This is what Christianity is all about anyway!

As a final word on volunteers, I would like to point out that it isn’t the Pastor, the church staff, or even the members that make a church appealing to outsiders, it’s the volunteers. “Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.” Volunteers drastically affect the validity and impact that the Gospel has within the church. If you have a bad attitude, the Gospel is poorly reflected upon, and if you serve God with your time and do your best, the Gospel thrives.

So then, what it all boils down to is this. The church is an amazing place to be. God is using the church to accomplish His plan for all of us. But, His plan will not be carried out to its full potential without the men and women of our churches getting out of our comfortable chairs, rolling up our sleeves, and plugging into the messy, difficult, sometimes painful process of living life with our fellow believers. Not socializing, not pretending to be something we’re not. It takes an older man or woman plugging in, one on one, with a younger man or a younger woman, teaching them about their life experiences, sharing their faith, sharing examples of the pitfalls of early Christian life, and giving guidance. It also takes younger generations of young men and young women getting plugged in with older men and women and sitting under their counsel, listening, learning, and applying the lessons they learn.

Both the older and younger men and women must realize this: Discipleship does not work if there is pride in the way of instruction.

For older men and women to have doubt of their relevance to a younger generation is understandable. There will be differences between the two, but an attitude of pride or preconceived notions of how you will be received have no place in this process. Ask God to humble you, to get rid of your pride and acknowledge the power God has to break down the walls of confusion and misunderstanding so that you can find common ground on which to build your relationship. Avoid scolding or criticizing without establishing a solid relationship, and then correct them in their behavior with humility and a sincere heart.

To the older men and women reading this blog: My prayer is that you will look into your own life, think of that one young person in your life that seems to need guidance or has just come into the faith. I hope you will pray first about developing a relationship with them, and second that you will ask God to prepare your heart for the lessons you will teach and be taught. Remember, most importantly, this is not about you and not about the person you are discipling; this is about obedience to the command of Jesus to train those around you.

For the young generation of believers, this means you absolutely have to understand that these older men and women are not here to get on to you or scold you for the things they disagree with you on, but to help you understand that they have been your age and do know what goes on in your head. No, not all problems you face have been faced by this older generation, but nine times out of ten, they have indeed been in very similar circumstances. Do not write off what is said as being irrelevant to you if you don’t understand it; instead ask questions. I’ll say it again: ask questions. This is so important.

My prayer is that you will look into your own life and think of that one older person in your life that has that wisdom and a rock solid faith you so strongly desire, and that you will pray for God to give you an opportunity to ask them for guidance. Pray for humility and seek God’s will for who will guide you. Don’t choose someone you think is “hip” or “cool,” but look at the fruit of their relationship with God. Then talk to them, ask them if they would consider investing their time in you and take a notebook, you’re going to need it.

In the final installment of Discipleship in the Church, the focus will be on some specifics. It is a fantastic concept, discipleship, and it seems like a great plan, one on one learning and guidance. But what if your church is in the dangerous place where there is little or no connection between younger and older generations? What if this concept of Discipleship isn’t taking a Biblical approach in your Church? What if leadership has decided that small groups are enough and that they are going to accomplish this discipleship role in your church? What can we do? What can we change to make this discipleship mindset a reality within the American Church?

It all starts with getting ourselves to a place of Holiness with God and having a humility in our hearts that is genuine, and that’s what we’ll be talking about next.

Thanks for reading; your comments are always welcome!

Jp

The Church and Discipleship (Part I)

The Church is an amazing thing. It is one of the oldest “societies” in the world. It is living and breathing and moving and has been for a very long time. Founded on the Savior of the World, called to go in His name and proclaim the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth, the Church has the single greatest purpose of any group of people ever. It is the most powerful thing in existence… There’s just one problem. It’s full of some of the most complacent, hard-hearted, and lost people in the world. Don’t believe me? Let’s compare the church in America to the example of the church outside of the United States, especially in places like China and Africa.

Before I go any further, let me say that I have very limited knowledge of the Church outside of the United States, because I haven’t studied it in depth. However, I feel like I know enough to assess the differences between church here as opposed to church there. The “Westernized American” Church is the focus of this blog, and here’s why. Unlike anywhere else in the World, here, we have freedom of religion. No one questions us when we build a Church and hold a block party in our neighborhood, and why should they? We’re free. Yet with little opposition, comes a level of comfort that makes for a very lax and complacent group of people. Contrast this to the church in China: though illegal, with death or imprisonment a real possibility, Christianity is more on fire than ever. In Africa, with threats of Muslim oppression and witch doctors running rampant, the Church is growing more rapidly than just about anywhere else. So what’s the difference between our American Churches and the oppressed churches overseas? Boiled down to just one word, I think the church in foreign lands is hungry for a saving Gospel.

Hunger.

The American Church isn’t hungry for the Gospel like the foreign Church is. But you say, “Josh my church is plenty hungry for the Gospel.” I’m not bold enough, nor would I ever say that all churches everywhere in America aren’t hungry for the Gospel. Please don’t confuse what I’m saying. I am simply making the observation that in many Churches there are those who are “on fire” for the Gospel, and then there are those I talked about in my last blog, who are “check-box” Christians. We have all been the “Check-box” Christian before. I know I have.

See, Americans are spoiled. Instead of the Church educating people about the dangers of falling into the American lifestyle, it’s bought into it. Pastors are living in enormous houses, driving expensive cars, and living very wealthy lifestyles. This in turn is encouraging their congregations to follow suit. Sermons turn into pep talks instead of long hard looks into God’s word for instruction. Many times the Bible takes its place referenced at the beginning of a sermon, and then the Pastor’s opinions take center stage. Sadly, due to a lack of sound theological training, many Church members don’t notice this at all! They are fed the same thing week after week, checking their happy little boxes, and moving on down their happy little way. Meanwhile, in reality, God’s heart is breaking because His children, whom He gave His Son for, are essentially building up for themselves a “Golden Calf” church experience (See Exodus 32). We have all of the flashy, exciting, “relevant” things about worship, learning, and a “Christian walk”, without digging in and finding out who our real God is…

So, what’s the problem? What is causing the Church to throw itself at the pursuit of being “relevant” to a modern culture instead of falling back on the truth of the Gospel and its relevance to any situation? Satan. The father of lies spends all of his time here on earth causing as much confusion and disagreement as possible, especially within the church, and he is very good at what he does. Division is the name of his game. He swoops in and causes us to focus on things that seem extremely important at the time, but in the end only distract us from what is really needed in the church.

Jesus gave very clear instruction on what the Church was supposed to be about. He laid it out for the disciples in Matthew 28 as we saw in my last blog. (http://joshuapeppersblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-changes-continued.html) Discipleship, personally training, one on one with other members of the church as well as those who are lost, is how we are to approach Church. With Satan diagnosed as the source of the problem, we can attack back with Biblical training and instruction. It’s hard to fully grasp how it can work so well and yet be so simple. Look again at the church overseas, growing like wildfire. There are no big stage designs or fancy worship leaders, props or big sound systems. There is only The Gospel! The Gospel changes lives. The Gospel shapes leaders. The Gospel convicts sinners. The Gospel gives hope to everyone! The Gospel saves us from Sin, and that is Good News!

People of God, why are we trading in the simple message of the Gospel for a complicated, flashy, and in the end false, view of what Church is? Church doesn't exist to serve its members. In fact, it's quite the opposite; we exist for Christ, for His purpose, and for His church. When we finally grasp that, we will truly become "relevant" to a lost generation, because we will no longer feel the need to impress, but all of us will be compelled to serve.

Please, do not get me wrong. Let me be very clear. I do not have a problem with lights or a great worship band (I’m in the one at my Church). What I am opposed to is too much emphasis being put into the lights and band and props, without enough focus being put on discipling the members of the church and the growth of a congregation toward more Godly lives.

In the next part of this blog, Discipleship and the Church Part II, I want to unpack whose responsibility it is to right this situation within the church. It does not fall on your senior Pastor alone, nor is it the Church staff; rather it is the responsibility of every single member of the church. We will explore Paul’s letter to Titus in the New Testament and view the way he instructed Titus to lead the Church. It gives very clear guidelines for the people who are to be in church leadership, and it has a message for every man, woman, and young person in the church. I encourage you to read Titus before reading my next blog, and then we will walk together through Titus, passing over the first part of Chapter 1 and focusing mostly on Chapter 2, especially the end of this chapter.

My prayer is that this blog will help us all, myself included, gain knowledge of His word, and together take back the church for God’s glory. It’s time that the Church awakens to find itself strong and vibrant, carrying with it a relevant word for a lost and dying world in need of the Savior we call our King!

Thanks for reading; please comment and share your thoughts!

I hope you’ll join me for part two!

Jp

Blog Changes Continued.

This blog IS NOT about bashing the church, it is not about tearing down the direction our Churches are going, it is to remind us all, that God started His Church and told us plainly in Scripture how to make it work!

Have you ever gotten out of bed one morning and felt restless for no reason? Like something bad is about to or has already happened? Like you forgot something really important? Even worse, you wake up and that feeling is a reality and you HAVE forgotten something of great importance? I hate the feeling that I get when that happens, that twisted knot of gross, sickening, overpowering muck right in the center of my chest. It makes me want to scream. Can you identify?

It’s funny how the human mind and our emotions are tied together. Our thoughts and realizations generate real sickness over an idea. Do you get the picture I’m painting? Some of you are reminded to the point of actually feeling that gross feeling right now.

Now, when was the last time you felt that gross sick feeling for the things God is sick about? Many times we are sick because we have forgotten a birthday or anniversary. In my case I usually feel that overwhelming sickness when I wake up and have slept through my first two classes of the day. (Horrible feeling by the way…) Yet so many times, I read my Bible and see a rebellious people that God is longing to romance, and instead of it breaking my heart, instead of me seeing the message in that Scripture for me, I check off my, “I’m a good Christian for doing my quiet time” box, and move on with my day… Oh how we have missed it.

Far worse, the church has become accustomed to this same “check-box” mindset. We, including myself on a near weekly basis, file into church at our designated times, go to our predetermined seating, drink our customary two cups of coffee (1 cream 2 sugars), settle in for a few entertaining songs (but not too loud), listen to the sermon (but only sort of because I was texting during that last point, and before that I was checking my Regions app to make sure I could afford lunch today, after I tithe… Heck, many of us don’t even tithe!). Church has become part of the routine. For Christians, Church IS the routine. Christianity is our routine. However, we couldn’t be further from the truth! Christianity is the single farthest thing from a routine life ever to exist in Heaven or here on earth, and we have missed it. We have watered down our walk into a society of people who gather weekly and pat each other on the back, tell ourselves that we’re doing the right things, and in the process, facilitating within ourselves the cancer that is making us irrelevant to the lost people of the world. Slap onto that a catchy Christian t-shirt, and you’ve got the Westernized American Church. Have we forgotten that Christianity is a call to GO and to SERVE and to DISCIPLE? For some DEATH will take them early as they push the Gospel to new heights around the world. Christian means “Little Christ”. When did we quit telling people that all of His disciples except one, died for His cause?

Yet, God is God. He wasn’t caught of guard by this series of events. He knew they were coming, knew that we would miss the mark, and yet He STILL uses our broken down mess we call church to change lives in our communities, in our states, in our country, and around the World! Hallelujah! We are not hopeless, we can change. God will renew what He started in us! This blog IS NOT about bashing the church. It is not about tearing down the direction our churches are going. It is, rather, to remind us all, that God started His Church and told us plainly in Scripture how to make it work!

Just like you can’t build a model airplane without the directions, if the Church relies on the ideas of leadership without taking into account what God has for His church, the results will be just as useless as an incomplete model. But, thankfully, there are directions for the church… And it all starts with one single command:

Matthew 28:18-20:

“Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Jesus is laying out the plan for how knowledge of Him is to be passed on. It’s not some long drawn out eight tiered plan for a ten year spread of the good news. It’s actually about as simple as it gets. You, an individual follower of Christ, have been given all authority through Christ Jesus to GO and disciple others, teaching them all the things you have learned of Christ.

My friend, this is what it is all about: God came to earth as a man, died for us so that we can live, and then when He left, He gave us all of that power through Him. The only thing He demands of us in return is our love of Him and our willingness to serve Him wholeheartedly.

Now, as we unpack this more, I want to discuss what real discipleship looks like, how it works in the modern church, and how it will affect us if we will make a stand for the Gospel as the chief purpose of the Church. We will also discuss how the Church has become sick, getting caught up in an attempt to be relevant, and in some cases completely abandoning the call to disciple in the process. Remembering always that God is still in charge, not going anywhere, and enthroned above all to rule forever!

Join me as we take a look at the Great Commission and what it means for the Church! More to come!

Thanks for Reading,

Josh

New purpose, new topic, same Gospel.

First of all, if you read my blog on a regular basis, thank you. You are too kind. I pray that the few blogs I wrote on Biblical manhood have helped you in some way, shape, or form. However God has been doing some serious work in my life, in my heart. I waited to blog again until the new year and now I feel more direction than ever before. A new focus has been placed within me, a new goal.

God is good. He is faithful. He is also full of surprises and changes. In my new post soon to be released, I will discuss with you the new changes my blog is about to undergo. No longer will I be ranting a raving about my opinions on Biblical manhood for that is far too much of a distraction from the thing God has put nearest to my heart, Discipleship. It will be the new focus of this blog, making disciples in the context that Jesus gave in Matthew. We will unpack Matthew 28:18-20, looking at what it means for Christians as individuals and also as the Church.

God has put it on my heart to make Discipleship the number one thing I talk about, it is the very thing Jesus told us to do as His followers, and it is the one thing the westernized "American" church has messed up. Instead of telling people that the Church needs fixing and that we have to get going ASAP, I have to get going and change ASAP. Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I feel that that quote hits the nail on the head. If Josh Pepper wants to see change in the Church, HE has to BE the change in the church. Ghandi also said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." It's high time we change our image as Christians and it all starts with discipleship. But we'll unpack this down the road.

So, stay tuned, I don't know what God wants for this blog but I promise to you my readers that I will not blog until I feel God has put something in me to say. If you, like me, are tired of being a part of an Americanized Church that has lost it's focus, walking away from discipleship, and trading it for comfort, be the change.

In order to change the way others think, we must change the way we think.

The Gospel has to take it's place once again ahead of all other things in our lives.

The Me's and I's and My's in this blog are going to have to disappear.

Jesus and His purpose, has to become first.

Pray.

Jp