Let's Stop Planting Churches and Start Planting The Gospel (Acts 18-19)

I grew up "going to church." My dad was a preacher so I didn't really have much of a choice. It was a way of life. Our family life was intertwined with the lives of the "church folk" and for the most part I enjoyed the relationships and bonds we formed with those people. We moved about every four years or so which increased the flow of lives in and out of ours.

Church was our social circle. We did everything with friends and families from our church. We had meals together. Picnicked together. Hung out together. Went to ball games together. Virtually everything we did was in and around church activities or church friends.

Since I grew up in the church culture, I adopted the values of that culture. It shaped my thoughts, attitudes and even schedule. I was an adult before I ever saw "The Wizard of Oz," because it always came on a Sunday night during evening service. I never really understood what non-church goers thought, did or why they didn't go to church. I felt very comfortable only associating with my church folk. It was almost as if those "pagan" people might infect me with a horrible disease if I spent any time with them. I would get some sort of spiritual leprosy and become an outcast in my own community. After all, the Great Commission was about sending missionaries to Africa.

Unfortunately there are many today who carry the same mentality. They cut themselves off from the world, which God made and loves intensely by the way. They quote verses like "friendship with world is enmity with God" as proof for steering clear of any non-church goer. They don't want to be stained or corrupted by the world. Only the scripture also says to be in the world but not of it. Churches have built walled fortresses to keep the world out.

The mentality has been to create our church clubs where we talk about the evils of the world, hold our own celebrations, keep to ourselves,and virtually stick our heads in the sand. Our idea of reaching the lost has been to invite people to join the club. We develop programs and events to hopefully entice non-church goers to check us out. Our idea of being salt and light is to develop such attractional bait that we will lure people to us so we can hit them with the gospel message.

As I've been reading through Acts, I've notice that Paul and others didn't go to the various communities to plant churches. They went to plant the Gospel. That's a big difference! Peter didn't stand up on the day of Pentecost and announce that he and the other Apostles where planting a church. He preached to them Jesus. The church formed as the people responded to the Gospel. Jesus told Peter that He would build His church on the foundation that He was the Christ, the Deliverer, the Messiah.

If God's people are going to impact the world as He intended, then we must come back to our calling of proclaiming the Good News, of planting the Gospel wherever we go. Let's stop inviting people to "join the church" and start asking people to embrace Christ. Perhaps the church has lost its influence in the world today because we have been more focused on our clubs than on our mission. Salt is useless just sitting in the shaker. Bottom line, isn't our calling, in the words of my friend Dave Ferguson, simply "to help people find their way back to God?"

God I really enjoy the church culture. Sometimes I get so focused on church stuff that I forget your calling. I want to start being more effective at planting your Gospel. I'm done trying to plant the church. The church doesn't transform lives only you do! I just want to be a messenger of your Good News.

Has God Lost His Power? (2 Kings 4:42-44)

One of my favorite miracles that Jesus performed was the feeding of the five thousand. I think it is so cool how Jesus took the few loaves and fishes and fed so many with all those baskets full left over. Trying to picture how that went down in my mind stretches my imagination. How did He do it? Did He just keep breaking the loaves and it grow back? Did He just break it in half and start passing it out and as each person broke a piece off and passed it down did the loaves keep extending? And how did He do the fish? I can kind of see the bread but how do you break fish? Fish is flaky when cooked and I don't think Jesus was serving sushi. Besides the scripture doesn't mention anything about cubing or rolling the fish. I guess He could have made fish sandwiches but even that seems like it would take a lot time to prepare especially for five to as many as twenty thousand people. And you know that some where going to have seconds. The Bible does say that they had their fill.

This isn't the only time God performed this type of mass feeding miracle. Yes, there was another time Jesus fed three thousand. We also know that God fed the Israelites with manna and quail. But do you remember the time that God fed hundreds with only a few barley loaves through Elisha? You will find the account in 2 Kings 4. Jesus didn't just pull one out of his hat when He fed the five thousand. Of course what Jesus did was on a much grander scale, but the principle was the same. God took a few loaves and fed a mass of people.

In 2 Kings 4 there was a famine in the land. A farmer had brought the first of his harvest as an offering to God, giving it to the prophet Elisha. Seeing the need of the people, Elisha ordered that the loaves be given to the hungry mass. His servant freaked out. I'm sure he was thinking, "Do you know what will happen if I show up with a few loaves in front of that hungry mob? It will be pandemonium! People will be fighting over them. A riot could break out. You take them out there!" Obviously that's only my speculation. But being a keen observer of typical human behavior, I doubt that I am too far off.

Jesus was keenly aware of God's patterns throughout biblical history. He often quoted scripture to explain or challenge His listeners. I don't know if Jesus said anything to His followers that day reminding them of the time when Elisha fed the hungry masses, but I know it was in His mind. Jesus throughout His ministry demonstrated faith in God for His disciples based on the past actions of God portrayed in biblical history. It's a lesson for us. As we read and study and meditate on God's Word, we should look for and trust in His principles. If God could and would part the Red Sea and let His children cross on dry land in the past, why couldn't or wouldn't He today? Has God's power diminished? Is He weaker today than He was back then? Does He care less about people today than He did in Moses' or Elisha's or Jesus' day? Does He love us less today? Is He less interested in a relationship with us today than He was with those living in biblical times?

God, why do I have the tendency to minimize your power? Why do I often read the stories of your interaction with your people in the Bible and discount your involvement today? Where's my faith? Have I just brought you down to a philosophy of life? Do I even believe you're real? I want to see your power in my life! I want to have the faith of Elisha. I want to hear your voice. I want to be known as a man of God and not just a spouter a life philosophy. I want to see lives changed through your power. I want to see your miracles.

Need Some Refreshment? (2 Kings 3)

Why is it that many people never acknowledge God or turn to him until they're in trouble? And then when tragedy or a difficulty comes their way they blame God or cry out wondering why God would let something like this happen. Why is it that even self proclaimed followers of Christ chose to live however they want throughout the week without a thought for God? Some have referred to this phenomena as "practical atheism," living as if God doesn't really exist. I think it is more like "practical deism," God exists but He has left us alone to figure everything out.

Routines of life seem to take over the most well meaning of people. Our perspective shifts from focusing on God to day to day stuff. Somehow God just gets left out of the picture. For some that's purposeful. For some it's not. No matter the intent it still happens. Then when trouble seizes us panic or depression or at least major frustration occurs. But it seems like it's not until despair hit us that we turn and cry out to God.

That's exactly where King Joram was in 2 Kings 3. He convinces King Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against Moab. In their attempt to be coy, they plan on sneaking up on Moab catching them by surprise. However after 7 days through the wilderness without water, King Joram starts to panic and he reaches the desperation phase. Luckily King Jehoshaphat has the wisdom to go seek out the prophet Elisha. Elisha's first response is to blow them off telling them that they should go seek advice and help from their pagan gods since King Joram worshiped them all the time. But because of the faith of King Jehoshaphat Elisha helped them.

God provided for the armies of Israel and Judah by filling the dry barren wilderness with pools and streams of water without making it rain. No storms, no flooding, just the welling up of water from the ground in ample supply. Not only did God do that for them, He also gave them an easy victory over Moab.

There's nothing like a cool drink when you are thoroughly parched. The image here in this text describes what God can bring to our parched lives. We try to do life ignoring or simply without acknowledging God's desire to be actively involved in our daily lives and then wonder why we're exhausted, stressed out or why things are going awry. We're thirsty and we need God's Spirit to well up within us. We need His "living water." We need to draw from His well spring, His life spring.

Here's the good news! Even though we've ignored Him intentionally or unintentionally in the past, God is always willing to satisfy our thirst, to step into our lives when we humble ourselves before Him and turn to Him.

God, life gets so crazy sometimes. I don't mean to leave you out, it just kind of happens. I want to drink from your well of life. I want your living water. Pour out Your Spirit on me. Fill my cup, my life with your presence.

Messin' with Sasquatch (1 Kings 22)

There's a series of commercials that air usually during certain sporting events hawking a brand of beef jerky. They all revolve around the theme, "Messin' with Sasquatch." Each of the episodes revolve around usually male characters trying to trick or play a practical joke on the mythical man-beast character of Sasquatch. The ads generally portray the characters as smart and fun loving and the more powerful Sasquatch as lacking intelligence or simply naive. The end results are always the same, the much stronger Sasquatch kicking the butts of the practical jokers.

I'm not really sure of the implication of the commercial to the product, but it sure reminded of the way many arrogant leaders viewed and treated God in the Old Testament. Take King Ahab for instance. Instead of humbling himself before God and fearing Him, he treated God as almost bumbling idiot. Ahab seems to think of himself as superior in intellect and sophistication to God. Although he doesn't try to pull a chair out from under God in physical sense, as portrayed in one of the commercials, Ahab does try to pull throne out from under God.

In 1st Kings 22, King Ahab invites King Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against the Areameans. Jehoshaphat agrees on conditions that the prophets guarantee victory for them. All the prophets but one, Macaiah, tell Ahab that he will have victory. Macaiah tells Ahab that if goes to war against the Areameans that he will be killed. Ahab is so angry that he has Macaiah arrested and thrown into prison and put on bread and water and then Ahab heads off to war.

To hedge his bet, Ahab disguises himself as just regular soldier and has Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes. As the battle ensues, the enemy come after whom they believe to be King Ahab. When they discover that it wasn't Ahab, the battle is enjoined. During the fighting, an arrow from the bow of an enemy archer is randomly launched. It strikes Ahab between the joints of his army. Ahab dies later that day as a result of the wound and his army is routed. Random shot? Lucky Shot? Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

Many today have the same arrogance as Ahab. They think that they can ignore the teachings of God and avoid the consequences. They think God's commands are archaic, out dated, irrelevant in today's world or society. "We are much more sophisticated today and God's teachings are old fashion." They live the way they want to live, trivializing the truths of God. They view God as almost a benevolent benefactor who is out of touch with today's world. He maybe powerful, but He's a little naive. Messin' with Sasquatch.

 

I'm not saying that God is a mean, angry, powerful pontificate ready to squash anyone who crosses him. I am saying that there are consequences to not following God's truths.  God is interested in our well being, our relationships, our marriages. He wants the best for us, for us to experience a healthy life, an abundant life. To ignore his truths, his teachings is a detriment to us and the world we live in. God's truths are TRUE! When we choose not to follow them, we crash and burn.

God, forgive my arrogance. Forgive me when I ignore or trivialize or manipulate your teachings to accommodate me. In the words of the psalmist, I love your precepts. I want to hide your truths in my heart. They are a light, a guide to my path. I want to follow your ways. Guide me today, each day.

I Want the Good Life (Ps. 128:1-6)

Everyone wants the "good life." That probably means different things to different people. For some that's riches. To others it means notoriety or fame or position. Still others it might mean a life without stress and worry, not necessarily filthy rich but comfortable. That would include good jobs, nice home with all the modern conveniences and creature comforts, relatively new vehicles, a couple of kids doing well in school and whatever extra circular activities they have chosen. Good neighborhood with great neighbors. Life going smooth with no hiccups.

Psalm 128 paints the picture of what I would consider the good life. Dad has a good and secure job in which things are going great. His wife is fulfilled and happy with her home and life position. The kids are healthy and growing and doing well. Meal times are enjoyable as the family gathers round the dining table each evening. Life couldn't get any better than this. The psalmist goes on to talk about a long healthy life in a community that is prosperous.

That sounds good to me. That's the life I want! So where is this place and how do I get it? The psalmist does add this caveat, those who have a deep relationship with God and follow His ways enjoy these things. He's not saying accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and all your problems will disappear. What he is saying that living by the principles and precepts laid out by God will lead to the happiest most content form of life.

Following God's principles for finance are going to keep you out devastating debt. Following God's principles for business will keep your company strong. Following God's principles for relationships enhances all your interactions. Following God's principles for marital relations will maintain a healthy vibrant marriage and sex life. Following God's principles for raising kids leads to bright, healthy, obedient, solid children. Following God's principles in how you treat neighbors, strangers, and even enemies transforms those relationships. Follow God's principles on eating leads to a long healthy life. Following God's principles on drinking will keep you out of trouble. Following God's principles for our community and poor and widows and orphans ensures a prosperous society.

Do I believe that we could live in this utopian society? Probably not. Somehow our selfish human nature always gets in the way. However, I do believe that pursuing God and his precepts would bring our world, our country, our community, our workplace, our neighborhood, our home, our dining table, our marriage a whole lot closer. God desires for us to live a full, abundant life, free from many of the worries of this world. By following Him and His truths we can minimize the pain and damage and destruction we face in life and maximize the "good life."

God, the good life sure sounds good to me. I would love to live in world with the least amount of headaches. I want to enjoy each day. I want to enjoy my life and family and wife until I die an old man. I want to experience your blessings, your prosperity. I want healthy long-lasting relationships. I want to live in a wonderful, gracious, caring and prosperous community. I know all that starts with me pursuing you. Transform me, Father, as I seek you and your ways. Let me be a catalyst for my family and neighbors to pursue you as well.

Whatever Happened to Wisdom? (1 Kings 3:3-15)

If there is a commodity missing among today's political leaders it seems to be wisdom. As I pen these lines another political leader is caught in a scandal involving poor judgment at best if not outright lewd behavior. The phrase, "What was he thinking?" comes immediately to mind. I imagine things are going to get a lot worse for him in coming days, and rightly so.

With scandal after scandal happening, many sexual, among today's political and world influential leaders, it shows an enormous deficit of wisdom. Otherwise intelligent people just making unwise, immoral, decisions in their lives should give us all cause to worry about the direction of our world. Sometimes it seems like the inmates are running the asylum. World banking and monetary leaders, presidential candidates, prime ministers, members of congress all demonstrating a lack of practical wisdom paints the picture of a world run amok.

When young Solomon took the throne from his father, David, he knew that he was green as a gourd. The enormity of the task of ruling the most powerful nation on earth at the time no doubt overwhelmed him. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon knew that job was bigger than he was and so he turned to God as his father had done. God rewarded Solomon by offering him anything he wished. Solomon chose wisdom or understanding in governing his people. God granted him his wish and gave him the bonus of riches and long life.

Wow, that's refreshing, a leader who wanted wisdom above everything else. You mean you can rule/lead without pollsters, marketing, image consultants and PR teams? Unheard of! No one can get elected, appointed, etc. these days asking for wisdom can they? Did I mention, lost commodity?

But to be honest, is there a really a cry for wise leaders among us? Is wisdom something that we hold up as a desirable value these days? Have we just fallen into the trap of just listening for what our itching ears want to hear? We blame our politicians and banking CEO's for the economic mess we're in as a country. But isn't it true that our own lack of wisdom has led to the housing and banking meltdown? We have lusted after things so much we have failed to exercise practical financial wisdom. Outgo cannot exceed income. The numbers will eventually catch up to us. You spend more than you make and eventually things will come to a screeching halt. Doesn't work for us individually, it's not going to work for us as a country.

Our poor execution of wisdom effects every aspect of daily and personal life. Don't exercise wisdom and you will eventually have to pay the price. It's true in our relationships, family life, business life, and personal life. Too often our own selfish desires and impulsiveness and sense of entitlement override our wisdom meter and we find ourselves digging out of a mess of our own creation.


I am sure that if I was in Solomon's shoes I would have asked for wisdom too. There was a lot pressure following a dad who was known as the greatest king of all time. Those were mighty big shoes to fill, especially when you never faced off against a giant with only a sling let alone conquer your neighboring enemy nations in routing victories.  But as I look at my own life, I have to say there's a lot out there to handle. I'm not sure that I'm bright enough to deal with all the stuff I've got to deal with. I may not be making decisions that will determine the direction of a country or effect world trends, but I sure need God's wisdom in my day to day life. Perhaps the wisest thing that I could do would be to do the very thing that Solomon did at the beginning of his reign and that is to pursue God and ask for His wisdom as I begin each day.


God, I confess that I'm not that bright. I don't have all understanding or all knowledge or all anything. I need your wisdom in my life. I need your wisdom as a husband and father and even son. I need your wisdom in my finances. I need your wisdom in my personal life. I need your wisdom as a pastor and as a friend. I need you wisdom in the simple day to day things of life. Lord, I'm asking for your wisdom today.

Leadership, Pride, Confidence and Humility (2 Sam. 24)

No one is perfect! Even the best of leaders make mistakes. Some of those mistakes cost them personally, professionally and can even involve the fate, well being or even the lives of others. I have definitely made my fair share of mistakes in my own life and most certainly as a leader. In my latest ministry, planting a new church, many of my decisions turned out to be monumental mistakes from location sites to personnel. It has cost the church significantly and me personally.

I have been intrigued studying the history of various military leaders and their battles. Conditions, motivation, timing, intuition, savvy, courage, risk, arrogance, planning, resources, opportunity and much more all seem to play a part in the success or failure of a campaign. Bad decisions or miscalculations often had devastating effects that cost the lives of hundreds if not thousands and changed the course of history.

The same could be said of various political and business leaders. The decisions made by these leaders have either made or broken a country or company. Collins, in his book, "Good to Great," listed several companies who's practices and leadership decisions made them great, lasting and profitable. But some of those very companies have tanked or failed in the latest economic downturn. Even some of the brightest leaders can crash and burn.

King David sure made his share of mistakes. Sometimes with all the success, leaders can become a little over confident and some can get down right cocky. Pride has a way of blinding our weaknesses. Overwhelming success can lead to a sense of entitlement which generally leads to dumb, erroneous decisions. Just ask Tiger Woods or Jim Tressel about their recent falls from grace.

One of the very basic things that David forgot was who was really in charge. David had had so much success as a military leader that he grew to find his confidence in his military might. That misplaced confidence cost him and his people dearly. In 2 Samuel 24, David decided to take a census to virtually gauge his power. A census seems like something every commander would do to measure his resources before heading off to battle. Only David wasn't heading off to battle, he was just flexing his muscles and patting himself on the back.

God wasn't very pleased with David and after David confessed his sin, God gave him three choices for punishment. Three years of famine and three months of foreign invaders didn't appeal to David, so he decided on three days of plague. None of the options seem very appealing to me. Over 70,000 people died as a result of the plague. But at that point, David had had enough (as had God) and stepped up to the plate. He offered his own life if God would stop the killing spree of his people. He had made a monumental mistake that cost his people, individuals, families an enormous price.

The prophet Gad told David to build an altar and make sacrifices to the Lord. But when he got to the place that Gad had instructed him, the man who owned the property offered it and his oxen to David for free. But David refused and paid well above market price for both the land and the sacrifices. He stated that he would not offer a sacrifice to the Lord that would cost him nothing. That's leadership! That's integrity! He took ownership of his mistake and dropped the entitlement attitude. It cost him something. It had already cost others plenty. It would have cost his kingdom and his people a whole lot more had David ignored or tried to cover up his sin. David had been down the entitlement path once before and learned the pain of cover up. This time he rose to the occasion by humbling himself, a tough thing for very successful and powerful leaders.

God, too often I feel like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7. The very thing want to do I find myself doing the opposite. Recently it seems that I've made more judgment mistakes than Carter has liver pills. It's humbling. But I know Lord, that humbling myself before you is exactly where you want me. I need to be in a constant state of dependence on you. You said that when we humble ourselves before you, You will lift us up. My confidence is in you Lord, not myself. Direct my steps. Guide me in your path. I'll trust you to supply my needs.

2 Sam. 22 (Contentious Relationships)

I was reflecting on the life of David today. He seems to lead a life of contention. From virtually the time we meet him he's contending against someone or some thing. He confesses that he's fought off lions and bears in his duties as a shepherd. He apparently had lots of practice with his sling because it only took him one stone to bring down Goliath. As the youngest he had to endure the berating by his older brothers. That relationship is never so evident than when David shows up on the battlefield to bring supplies to his older brothers who are with the Israelite army. I'm guessing the whole anointing thing with Samuel didn't sit well with his older siblings.

Of course one of his most famous confrontations was with the giant Goliath. David the shepherd boy took nothing from the well seasoned behemoth. David could trash talk with the best of them. But he also backed it up. Goliath ended up dead and the Philistine army fled.

King Saul invites David into his palace, gives him one of his daughters for a wife, but because of David's prowess on the battlefield and his corresponding popularity with the people of Israel, Saul became insanely jealous. The contention was on as Saul tried to kill David numerous times, even sending his army after him.

So David had strained relationships with his brothers, his father-in-law and king and was hated by the Philistines and other neighboring nations. But that wasn't the end of his contentious encounters. His household dealt with constant turmoil, partly the result of his own sin with another man's wife. He has one son that rapes his sister. Another son who kills his rapist brother and then later overthrows his father's thrown. David has to do battle in which many lost their lives for him to reclaim his thrown. We also see that David got into with his wives on occasion as evidenced when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back into Jerusalem and David danced in an undignified manner much to his wife' chagrin.

It's no wonder that many of David's Psalms are about delivering him from his enemies. He sure seem to have a lot of them. David's biggest dream was to build the temple in Jerusalem, but God wouldn't let him because he had "too much blood on his hands." Yet in spite of all the contention in his life and broken relationships, David is the only guy in the Bible that's referred to as "a man after God's own heart."

David is considered the greatest king of Israel and the first messiah. It is through his lineage that the true Messiah came into the world. The greatest warrior king gives rise to the King of kings and Prince of Peace in Jesus. Jesus does bring peace and love and joy and harmony and restored relationships. But Jesus is also known as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He did spiritual battle with the Ruler of the Air and came out victorious for all of us. Jesus made it possible for us to have a lasting peace with our Heavenly Father and an inner peace with ourselves. By the way, David's life of contention brought about the greatest peace Israel has ever seen.

God, I know that a lot of my contentious relationships are brought on by my own selfishness. But I also have noted that any time I am pursuing your path for your people I experienced resistance, rejection and opposition. I've realized that we aren't contending against flesh and blood, but are engaged in a spiritual battle that will continue until you return. God, I don't want to be a contentious person, but I do want be a man after your own heart. Give me the strength and wisdom to always follow your precepts.

Everyone needs a Joab (2 Sam. 18-20)

As the oldest male in my family growing up I felt the responsibility to watch out for or protect if needed my younger brother and sister. I don't ever remember being told I had to do it by my parents. It just seemed like a natural thing to do. That isn't to say that I never tormented, teased or got into it with them, because I did. But as the older brother my instinct was to look after the younger ones. My guess is most older siblings assume that role.

Although David had plenty of older brothers, it doesn't appear that they did too much to look after him. In fact, the only real interaction we see that David has with his older brothers is somewhat contentious. They seem to treat him as an irritant or with disdain; that is before he slew Goliath. Once David became King of Israel, we don't really hear anything about his brothers or their relationship.

But David did have a brother, so to speak, who looked after him. Joab was a man of action. He was a military man and a man with some savvy. Joab did a lot of behind the scenes work. He eliminated many of David's enemies, including David's own son. He did the dirty work that was necessary for David to be successful. Not always a pleasant task, but someone had to do it. Joab protected David from himself at times, sometimes even going against David's direct orders. And there where times that Joab got in the face of his leader and friend, challenging him or confronting him or giving him a swift kick in the old behind.

Much of David's success could be attributed to the work of Joab. I would love to have a friend like Joab in my life; someone who was that loyal, who had my best interest at heart, who protected me, who cleaned up my messes, who kicked me in the seat of my pants when necessary, who encouraged me, who stood by me, who gave me great advice, who would literally go to war for me, who would protect me from myself.

According to the Bible, we have someone who sticks closer than a brother in Jesus. And Jesus promised us that he would send His Holy Spirit to be that Joab for us. For all of us in Christ, we have an advocate, a comforter, an advisor, a counselor, a guide, a protector in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is there to convict us when necessary. He won't make us do anything we choose not to do, but I can tell you from experience He can sure put the heat on. I may not have a person like Joab in my life who is flesh and blood, but I do have the Holy Spirit in me and with me. And I am so thankful for that!

God, I confess I would love to have a real flesh and blood person like Joab in my life; a partner, a comrade in arms, a loyal friend, a defender, and much more. But I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit whom you gave to me. Thanks for not leaving me to my own demise. I need the empowerment that only your Spirit can provide!