In a sidebar Q & A section in the current issue of Christianity Today (July 2009, page 17) Sarah Pulliam asks Robert A. Schuller, son of Robert H. Schuller, about his plans after leaving (or being "evicted" as he puts it)the The Hour of Power and the Crystal Cathedral.
Here is Pulliam's last question concerning Schuller Jr.’s new television program with GodTube founder Chris Wyatt:
Q: Why are you leaving preaching?
A: I’ll probably have 5-10 minute messages throughout the program, but it won’t be sitting down with three points and a poem. Chris Wyatt resigned a month before I left the Cathedral because his investor told him they wanted to take God out of GodTube. Chris discovered through GodTube that nobody listens to preaching. People are interested in other ways to communicate the message, such as interviews as opposed to talking heads.
So, here is what has me shaking my head; Schuller Jr. is giving up on preaching because people don’t listen anymore.
What?
Since when do we fulfill our faith in Christ based on what other people like or don’t like? Since when do we start taking the temperature of the culture and then start taking apart out faith? I am all for understanding and engage culture, but not at the expense of the faith.
I am reminded of what God said to Ezekiel about declaring his message:
Ezekiel 2:4-7 4“I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5“As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6“And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. 7“But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
Didn’t Paul say something about preaching along these lines too? Oh yeah:
2 Timothy 4:2-4 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
(Scratch, scratch, scratch, Ooooo!)
We are to preach in season and out of season; when preaching is popular and unpopular, when liked or disliked, when good or bad, when we are ready or not, when people listen and when they don’t, when it is financially lucrative and when it is not. "Preach the word at all times," is Paul’s point.
I preach not because I am good at it, not because I like it (and I do) and certainly not for the benefits I get from it, but because I am called to preach so the “cross of Christ will not be made void” (1 Corinthians 1:17). I have tried to give up my calling to teach and preach. I wanted (and sometimes still want) to give up this impulse I have to teach and preach, but I can’t because it is not about me and it is not about you. It is all about God.
Funny thing is, a few questions earlier in the interview Pulliam asks Schuller Jr. about the theological differences between him and his dad. Schuller Jr. answers that their methods are different. His dad is “more into psychology” and he is “more into biblical teaching.”
Really? Did you miss these verses?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Taco Bell Church
Ecclesiastes 1:9
"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."
Taco Bell is the epitome of this verse. I don't think they have created anything new for their menu in years. Just about everything they serve has the same core ingredients: ground beef, refried beans, a tortilla of some sort, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Let it be their burritos or tacos or their tostadas, they all consist of the same ingredients.
I think church is the same way.
I have been to Baptist, Lutheran, emerging, charismatic, non-denominational, missional, Catholic and even biker/gang-banger churches.
These churches have meet in sanctuaries, warehouses, hotels, theaters, libraries, schools, old supermarkets and even pubs.
The people in these churches have been old, young, clean, dirty, poor, rich, single, married and every thing in between.
The size of these churches has been small (30-40 people), medium (200-300 people), large (500-700 people) and x-large (6000-7000 people).
However, they all consisted of the same core ingredients: music and songs, a teaching from the Bible, prayer, announcements and don't forget the offering! The basic elements found within these worship gatherings are identical. Oh, they may be arranged in different ways, called something new and maybe even have some spice thrown (dance, readings or drama), but in the end you are still consuming the same meal just in a different wrapper.
You can guess these churches have some what different theologies, but they all fall within the pale of orthodoxy.
So, what is it that truly makes one worship gathering different from the other choices on the menu?
I think has to do with intent, purpose or to be technical and snobbish-sounding, the philosophy of ministry.
It is not so much about ingredients that get mixed together, but what is the reason or point of a gathering being mixed with its particular ingredients.
Here is an example: What is the intent of having most of the musical worship front loaded before the teaching? Most would say to prepare our hearts and mind to be receptive to what is about to be taught.
What would be the intent of having most of the musical worship after the teaching? Most would say to offer a time for mediation and reflection on what has been taught?
What would the intent be if musical worship and teaching were interwoven throughout the entire gathering? Hmmm....
I think it is necessary to think through all the ingredients in a gathering to make sure they will add to and not detract from the purpose of worship. The same is true in the set up of the gathering in general.
By doing this we may find we replace some core ingredients with others not usually found in our recipe (interactive stations, silence, confession, dialogue, etc). This may open us up to us new and undiscovered ways of worshiping, expressing our faith and relating to God.
What is the purpose of a gathering? You decide.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Advice for Parents, Teachers, Leaders or Just About Anyone Else!
“You are a fool if you think the words out of your mouth are more powerful than the precedent you are setting with your life!”
-Matt Chandler
Ouch!!!!
-Matt Chandler
Ouch!!!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
What Have I Been Missing?
"The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation" - Dr. David Alan Black
During my years as a student in higher education, I had the privilege of studying with some amazing professors like Richard Rigsby, Haddon Robinson, David Alan Black, Rod Rosenbladt and D.A. Carson. All of these people are well educated with doctoral degrees and highly trained experts in their fields of study. One of my professors, John Bloom, even had 2 PhDs.!
After each course of study I usually found myself amazed at my professor’s insights into the understanding of the nature God, the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures. Even at the end of my time going to school (4 degrees later) I was still dumbfounded by the aspects of my own faith I had not explored, missed or did not understand. God used many of my professors to teach, challenge and show me a lot of what I did not know about him.
I can remember the day David Alan Black taught on Luke 15, and pointed out to the class there were not three parables in this chapter, but only one. It just happens to be the same parable told three different ways with the last, the Prodigal Son, being the most developed. Or when Donald Sunukjian taught that Mark 4:35-41 is not about how Jesus can calm the storms that arise in our lives. But, it is actually about spiritual warfare, because Jesus’ words, “Hush, be still” is the same word in Greek he speaks when casting out a demon in Mark 1:25! Or when D.A. Carson instructed us about how Matthew 4:1-11 isn’t about how to engage Satan in spiritual warfare by quoting Scripture, but is about how Jesus replayed the Hebrew people’s failure in their dessert wandering, but he got it right!
Wow, these thoughts were fascinating! Why is it that I never understood this prior? Why did it take a Ph.D professor to teach me these insights when I had grown up going to BIG church and Sunday School my whole life? What else have I not understood about my faith?
So, has the Holy Spirit dropped the ball with me and most of the church community? Do those with the time, intelligence and inclination have more spiritual insight than the rest of us just because they have pursued higher education? Should all pastors be required to get Ph.Ds, Th.D. or some combination of alphabet soup after their names in order to school the church at large in the finer points of our faith? Do we need to throw out the Reformation doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer? Do we need to recreate some higher class of spiritually elite (not priests, but professors; not shepherds, but scholars) to inform us about our God and his plan for our lives?
No. The answer to all of these is, “No.”
Through my time being taught by many amazingly gifted and godly members of academia, I think I have answered my own questions. It is because of their instruction I was able to settle on several ways the regular everyday Christians can experience amazingly profound insights about their faith:
1. Read the Bible -- We can't expect to know someone we never spend any time with, so why do we think we will know the Bible when we don’t spend time reading it?
2. Read more books of the Bible, than books about the Bible -- All too often we rely on other people to do the hard work of wrestling with the Bible because we don’t want to or don’t think we can. Like baby birds we expect others to chew our food for us. The majority of our seeking after God should be through his word, not through someone else’s understanding of his word. This is the difference between seeing the Grand Canyon or a priceless Rembrandt for yourself and having someone else describe it to you.
3. Read the whole Bible -- We simply cannot read portions of the Bible and expect to understand its entirety. We must read those hard to understand parts, those boring parts and those uncomfortable parts. If we would simply read the Bible, the whole Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22 we will begin to see Scripture unfold and reveal its worth as never before.
4. Read the Bible as story -- The Bible is a not textbook for a science or history class, even though it contains both elements. It is not a book of rules or a legal brief. The Bible is a story and it should be read as one. When we read the Bible, the whole Bible, we see character development, plot movement and the point-of-view of its ultimate Author, not to mention its climax and resolution.
5. Read the Bible expecting change not mastery -- Understanding Scripture is more than shoving bits and pieces of information into our already cluttered minds. Simply knowing facts and figures are not enough to constitute spiritual growth. The purpose of knowing the biblical story and appreciating its deep truth is to experience an inner transformation beyond what mere ink and paper or words in order can provide. The value in knowing Scripture is its ability to reveal the work of God through Jesus on our behalf. Embracing it as such will irrevocably change our lives.
If we faithfully implement the above suggestions will we be magically transformed into Professors of Biblical Studies? No. Will colleges and universities grant us honorary doctoral degrees? No. Will we fully comprehend all of God in all his wonder and mystery? No. But we will have a greater awareness of what God is trying to say to us through Scripture. We will be able to better see how our lives fit into God's plan and where he is moving all of history. Likewise we will be better equipped to teach others what we have learned.
During my years as a student in higher education, I had the privilege of studying with some amazing professors like Richard Rigsby, Haddon Robinson, David Alan Black, Rod Rosenbladt and D.A. Carson. All of these people are well educated with doctoral degrees and highly trained experts in their fields of study. One of my professors, John Bloom, even had 2 PhDs.!
After each course of study I usually found myself amazed at my professor’s insights into the understanding of the nature God, the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures. Even at the end of my time going to school (4 degrees later) I was still dumbfounded by the aspects of my own faith I had not explored, missed or did not understand. God used many of my professors to teach, challenge and show me a lot of what I did not know about him.
I can remember the day David Alan Black taught on Luke 15, and pointed out to the class there were not three parables in this chapter, but only one. It just happens to be the same parable told three different ways with the last, the Prodigal Son, being the most developed. Or when Donald Sunukjian taught that Mark 4:35-41 is not about how Jesus can calm the storms that arise in our lives. But, it is actually about spiritual warfare, because Jesus’ words, “Hush, be still” is the same word in Greek he speaks when casting out a demon in Mark 1:25! Or when D.A. Carson instructed us about how Matthew 4:1-11 isn’t about how to engage Satan in spiritual warfare by quoting Scripture, but is about how Jesus replayed the Hebrew people’s failure in their dessert wandering, but he got it right!
Wow, these thoughts were fascinating! Why is it that I never understood this prior? Why did it take a Ph.D professor to teach me these insights when I had grown up going to BIG church and Sunday School my whole life? What else have I not understood about my faith?
So, has the Holy Spirit dropped the ball with me and most of the church community? Do those with the time, intelligence and inclination have more spiritual insight than the rest of us just because they have pursued higher education? Should all pastors be required to get Ph.Ds, Th.D. or some combination of alphabet soup after their names in order to school the church at large in the finer points of our faith? Do we need to throw out the Reformation doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer? Do we need to recreate some higher class of spiritually elite (not priests, but professors; not shepherds, but scholars) to inform us about our God and his plan for our lives?
No. The answer to all of these is, “No.”
Through my time being taught by many amazingly gifted and godly members of academia, I think I have answered my own questions. It is because of their instruction I was able to settle on several ways the regular everyday Christians can experience amazingly profound insights about their faith:
1. Read the Bible -- We can't expect to know someone we never spend any time with, so why do we think we will know the Bible when we don’t spend time reading it?
2. Read more books of the Bible, than books about the Bible -- All too often we rely on other people to do the hard work of wrestling with the Bible because we don’t want to or don’t think we can. Like baby birds we expect others to chew our food for us. The majority of our seeking after God should be through his word, not through someone else’s understanding of his word. This is the difference between seeing the Grand Canyon or a priceless Rembrandt for yourself and having someone else describe it to you.
3. Read the whole Bible -- We simply cannot read portions of the Bible and expect to understand its entirety. We must read those hard to understand parts, those boring parts and those uncomfortable parts. If we would simply read the Bible, the whole Bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22 we will begin to see Scripture unfold and reveal its worth as never before.
4. Read the Bible as story -- The Bible is a not textbook for a science or history class, even though it contains both elements. It is not a book of rules or a legal brief. The Bible is a story and it should be read as one. When we read the Bible, the whole Bible, we see character development, plot movement and the point-of-view of its ultimate Author, not to mention its climax and resolution.
5. Read the Bible expecting change not mastery -- Understanding Scripture is more than shoving bits and pieces of information into our already cluttered minds. Simply knowing facts and figures are not enough to constitute spiritual growth. The purpose of knowing the biblical story and appreciating its deep truth is to experience an inner transformation beyond what mere ink and paper or words in order can provide. The value in knowing Scripture is its ability to reveal the work of God through Jesus on our behalf. Embracing it as such will irrevocably change our lives.
If we faithfully implement the above suggestions will we be magically transformed into Professors of Biblical Studies? No. Will colleges and universities grant us honorary doctoral degrees? No. Will we fully comprehend all of God in all his wonder and mystery? No. But we will have a greater awareness of what God is trying to say to us through Scripture. We will be able to better see how our lives fit into God's plan and where he is moving all of history. Likewise we will be better equipped to teach others what we have learned.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Current Series at The Next Level Church
June 9th through July 28th, 2009The Bible tells the stories of many broken, damaged and dented people. Some were murders, thieves and liars, while others were prostitutes, cowards and hypocrites. The Bible recounts the stories of people whom, despite their failures and faults, God still loved and used in order to tell his story of grace, mercy and forgiveness. This summer we are going to retell these stories and seeking to understand how God can bring redemption, hope, and healing into our own lives.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
