All Good Things...

2008 began as a year of "new beginnings" and it has certainly lived up to that prediction for me. We started this radio ministry on the first Saturday of this year and have had a wonderful time exploring the elephants in the auditorium with you. As the sun sets on 2008 and we begin a new year I am again looking at new beginnings starting with my position as pastor. After seven glorious years at my post in Pearland and over 20 years serving as a pastor in the Body of Christ a new season has dawned for me.

I am stepping down as pastor at the beginning of 2009. With this change in vocation comes the end of this radio program. Simply put the expense of airtime is greater than my personal means therefore it is with sadness that I announce the end of Churchquake in its current incarnation. Don't worry. If I know God, this won't be the last you hear from me. This website will be kept up and I'll still be blogging as long as the Lord allows me to. I'm also working on a couple of books and am seeking other avenues to serve God in.

I have had a wonderful time serving God in this radio ministry and I am more than thankful for every single person who has helped to keep this program on the air this year. A huge "thank you" goes to my "Pastor Posse"; Jim Surber, Sylvia Surber and Terrance James. Their contributions and expertise have been invaluable to me. Of course I want to thank all of you who have faithfully listened to the show and participated in the conversations whether you agreed with me or not. God bless every single one of you.

We'll finish off the month of December on KKHT with our final program airing on December 27th. It is a bittersweet time for me and my family as we end one season and begin a new one. I thank God for this awesome opportunity to share my passion for His church on the airwaves. It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to host this program. God only knows what is on the horizon for me but I don't doubt for one second that He is not finished with me. So stay tuned true believers. As with all things related to Christ and His church, the best is yet to come...

Bitter Pills - Part Deux

"A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." - Proverbs 17:22

So, is it a sin for a born-again Christian to take anti-depressants like Prozac or Lexapro? When Christians discuss issues like depression (as we did on last week's show) this question inevitably comes up. Some believe it is not an act of faithlessness to take medication for illness. Others insist taking anti-depressants is the pinnacle of distrust in the Great Physician's ability to heal. Of course many do not see depression as an illness but a weakness in character therefore taking medicine for this specific problem is viewed in the same light.

I believe there is much ignorance in the body of Christ about the cause and effects of depression. Of course ignorance has never been a deterrent for people to voice their opinions. Sadly, I've seen and heard plenty of people accuse their brethren of a lack of faith for taking mood enhancing medication.

But, what if these folks are right? IS it a sign of faithlessness to trust in a pharmaceutical company's products instead of Jesus Christ? One could easily argue "no" for more obvious cases of disease such as cancer or diabetes. But what about diseases of the mind and soul?

Many believe emotional/mental conditions such as depression are exclusively the result of the enemy's spiritual attacks on God's people and therefore must be dealt with spiritually. Counseling and intense discipleship/mentoring from a mature believer is often viewed as a more favorable route to healing the inner-man than pills. The truth is, in some cases, this is true.

However, depression is not a condition that can be simply counseled or mentored out. In many cases, the cause of depression is a physiological rather than an emotional one. One of the leading physical causes of depression is a deficiency or imbalance of vital hormones or chemicals produced by various glands and organs of the body. In these cases the only hope for help is medication.

Having said that, are there born-again Christians who are depending on more mundane or carnal means for coping with life instead of cultivating a stronger and healthier relationship with God? Sure. There are many people faithfully attending church services all across the land who are building a dependency on medicines they truly do not need. It happens all the time. After all, building a healthy relationship with God is much more challenging than taking a pill a day; especially in our microwave/remote control/broadband/gotta-have-it-now society.

Basically the argument for or against medically treating a disease of the soul like depression comes down to the individual. It is not possible to throw a blanket on the discussion and install a one-size-fits-all dogma around it. Each individual who suffers with this bone drying condition is each responsible to themselves and God as to their method of dealing with and treating depression. It is the responsibility of the body of Christ to unconditionally love, encourage, exhort, instruct and even rebuke (when necessary) with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2). It is not our job to judge one another especially if we are ignorant of the condition and circumstances surrounding a brother's actions.

The fact is many people take anti-depressants because they physically need to and some people take them because they want to. It comes down to motive for the individual but in both cases you are dealing with a soul in pain. The church-at-large needs to be careful how we judge our brethren on issues like this one. In my opinion, love and encouragement should be the first response to a hurting soul rather than rebuke and exhortation on how to "just trust God". Christiany cliches can't begin to do for a hurting soul what a simple hug can do. I believe there would be much more medicinal merry hearts in the Body of Christ if God's people could learn this simple truth instead of our church buildings being filled with dried bones.

Stay tuned true believers...

A Bitter Pill

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled" - Hebrews 12:15

The holiday season is upon us once again (can you believe it) and for millions of people it is not a time of rejoicing but of misery and pain. Loss tends to be magnified during this season. Many people live in a perpetual state of bitterness which is manifested in many different ways from depression to alcohol/drug abuse and everything in between.

The trap of depression is a difficult one to escape and it is one I know full well. I've battled depression my entire adult life. I make no bones about this, it is a constant fight and my people are well aware of my struggles. While I don't read my laundry list to them I do let people know that in spite of my position as pastor, I am also a human being and as such have the same weaknesses and flaws as everyone else. I write this so you will know where I am coming from with these comments; I know whereof I speak from personal experience.

The root of addictions and depression stems from bitterness. Life has thrown things at us that we are often unprepared for and unequipped to properly deal with. Bitterness isn't just a man or woman who lives in a state of uncontrolled rage. It takes on many forms but all of them are just as deadly. God knows full well the power of human emotions, in fact, Jesus Himself had to deal with them during his time here (Matthew 26:37-38). Left unchecked, our damaged emotions can bring us to a place of destruction that no man can escape from.

Sadly, the church is not normally a place where one can find comfort in the midst of this storm. In fact, there's not a lot of ministers who know how to help people caught in this maelstrom of emotion. I know I've been buried under a pile of empty Christian cliches like "just trust God" or "Give your burdens to Jesus" when what I needed was someone who could help me cope with my bitterness.

God calls bitterness a root in Hebrews. That isn't a mistake. Roots run deep and over time can be impossible to remove without some pretty heavy equipment. Prayer is a powerful weapon but sometimes we need to use some of the other weapons of our warfare in order to pull down these decades old strongholds in our lives. Again, far too many of our churches are ill-equipped to help people.

Of course, God is more than able to uproot the bitterness in our lives. But, that requires a level of yielding and sacrifice that many are unable or unwilling to submit to. All we know is we are hurting and we need relief NOW! I've buried a lot of born-again Christians who've taken their own lives (including pastors) because they couldn't bear another day in misery.

Ahithophel is one such individual. I'm sure that name is unfamiliar to you unless you've memorized every name in the Bible. We first meet Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 15:12 and his occupation, according to the scriptures, was King David's counselor. Understand that "counselor" in the O.T. isn't the same thing as a counselor today; David didn't need a shrink he needed a military adviser. That was Ahithophel.

If you keep reading in 2 Samuel 15 you'll find Ahithophel changed teams during Absolom's insurrection against his father, David. If you don't know the story, David's son attempted to steal the kingdom of Israel from his father as was predicted by Nathan after David's actions with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). Many of David's closest friends and advisers betrayed their king in favor of Absolom's coup attempt and Ahithophel was one of them.

But, Ahithophel's story doesn't end with his betrayal. If you read 2 Samuel 17 you'll find a man who's got a blood-vendetta against his former king. Ahithophel doesn't want to just betray David, he wants to kill him himself (2 Samuel 17:2). Absolom denied Ahithophel his request to kill David and Ahithophel responded by going home, getting his affairs in order and hanging himself.

This is not the activity of a stable human being. You can see the bitterness leap off the page as you read Ahithophel's story. The question remains, why was Ahithophel so angry with his former king? What had David done that deemed him worthy of death in Ahithophel's eyes? More information is required; fortunately, the Bible gives it to us.

If you read 2 Samuel 23:34 you'll learn about Ahithophel's family line. According to that verse Ahithophel had a son named Eliam. Again, that name probably won't mean much to you so a little further digging is required. Check out 2 Samuel 11:3. Apparently Eliam had a daughter whose name you'll undoubtedly recognize...Bathsheba. If you know the story of David and Bathsheba (and if you don't I recommend you read 2 Samuel 11 and 12) the pieces of this tale begin to fall into place.

David's actions with his granddaughter and grandson-in-law brought Ahithophel to a place of murderous/suicidal bitterness. From a human perspective we can understand why Ahithophel felt the way he did. Not only did David bring ruin to his family's life he also, apparently, got away with it. God didn't smite David for his sin so Ahithophel took it upon himself to get the justice that God had denied him.

God allows a lot of things to happen that do not make sense to us. From national tragedies like 9/11 to personal ones, if you've lived on this earth for any length of time every single one of us have gone to God with the eternal question, "why?". For many, the answers they get are unsatisfactory. We are taught that God is a God of love and compassion and that he is sovereign. To our thinking that means that God, who is in charge of everything and is motivated by love, must be able to and should be willing to prevent tragedy from occuring. At the very least if He can't or won't prevent tragedy, he should bring swift justice upon those who caused the tragedy in the first place.

When neither of those expectations are met, many people have a crisis of faith brought on by bitterness over the situation. You may be surprised how many faithful church attendees believe in their deepest heart-of-hearts that God failed them and is no longer trustworthy. I know I've met plenty of people who have left the church for this very reason. For a time, I was one of those people.

Hebrews 12:15 begins with a very bold statement: "Lest anyone should fail of the grace of God..." How does one "fail the grace of God"? Easy, just get mad at God and walk away from Him. It happens all the time. I know the more pious among us would ask "How could anyone get mad at God in light of the gospel?" I say again, it happens all the time. People have expectations from a sovereign and loving God and when those expectations aren't met in the face of tragedy they have only one of two responses: draw closer to Him or run away.

To those who draw closer to Him the Bible teaches He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). But, to those who leave Him, they enter into a place of bitterness and sorrow that becomes more difficult to escape from with each passing day. Again, I know whereof I speak.

As the holidays approach, I wish to use our airtime to speak to this problem of bitterness. What is the solution, you may ask? Well, it is much easier to say than it is to do and we'll be getting into more detailed discussion of it this Saturday at 5:30 pm...

But, for those who are trapped in the pit of despair, they need to understand why they are there and how to get out. The escape starts, as always, with true, unconditional forgiveness...which is the most difficult thing for a soul wracked with bitterness to do...

Stay tuned, true believers.

Band of Brothers

"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." - Matthew 9:36

This week's elephant in the auditorium is the lack of Christ-like compassion in modern evangelical denominational Christianity. Yes, this is a general statement and there are, as always, exceptional people serving Christ with genuine love for God and their fellow man. Unfortunately, those exceptional people seem to be just that, the exception.

Case in point, just this past Sunday one of elders of the church I pastor approached me after the service; she was nearly in tears. This kingdom-minded lady does not have a judgmental nor vindictive bone in her body. She serves with love and devotion to God as well as the people He puts in her path. The reason for her tears was due to one of the church members blindsiding her with condemning comments about her choice of clothing before the morning service.

In the span of about 5 seconds the condemning words from a member of God's family brought this lady from a place of joy to a place of sorrow simply because she did not meet the dress requirements of one of her fellow brethren.(The offending article of clothing was a pair of blue jeans). What most troubles me about this exchange is the absolute lack of compassion shown by the saint who felt compelled to bring their opinion to this woman's attention. Apparently the sin of wearing denim to church was a far greater crime against God and His word than the sin of judging and condemning a fellow believer in Christ (Matthew 7:1; Romans 8:1; Romans 14).

Another example of this void of compassion in Christianity revolves around my second pastorate in Galena Park. Believe me I've got a guano mine of examples of compassionless Christians from that second pastorate but the one glaring example stems from my attempt to start a Spanish-speaking mission from our church.

Anyone who knows anything about the Galena Park, TX area knows it is predominantly Hispanic. My desire was to minister to those in our community. We had the minister, the support of other churches and the facilities to make it happen. We even had some Hispanic saints attending our church...at least until the vote to begin the mission came.

I'll never forget the shock I felt when I opened the floor for discussion before bringing the mission effort to a vote. One by one my oldest and (supposedly) most experienced and wise saints stood to voice their opposition to this effort. The excuses they gave were some of the most blatantly racist and ignorant statements I've ever heard in a public forum. The statements ranged from asking why 'these people' just don't go to one of their own churches to (and I'm not making this up) voicing concerns over 'these Mexicans using our toilets'. The vote was taken and the effort was voted down. Ironically, this church had taken the effort to permanently paint the church's foundational mission statement on its exterior sign for all the world to see: "Independent, Fundamental, Missionary".

Compassion means "to have mercy on; to help one afflicted or seeking aid; to help the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched." The words "pity" and "empathy" are synonymous with the word "compassion". Christ's motivation for everything he did on earth was compassion (Matt.14:14; Matt. 15:32; Matt.20:34). Since the word "Christian" literally means to "be like Christ" I assume Christians are to be motivated by the same stimulus as their leader. For far too many, this fundamental fact has been tossed aside in favor of defending denominational/doctrinal distinctives and man-made rules and regulations.

There are many Christians who believe Christianity is the most perfect expression of love and compassion known to man. In fact, I've heard preachers assert that only Christians have the capacity to show true love and compassion. This is false. If you doubt me just read Exodus 2:6 (which happens to be the first time the word "compassion" is used in the KJV of the Bible) and see who the bible describes as showing compassion for another human being.

The title of this blog is taken from the book and HBO mini-series about the lives and experiences of the men of Easy Company during World War II. What you'll find is that human beings have an amazing capacity for compassion for their fellow man. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the story of men and women who form unbreakable bonds during wartime. I believe it is a telling point to observe men and women who have no spiritual affiliation whatsoever showing more love, compassion and loyalty to one another than an entire nation full of Christian churches.

We should be the example that others follow. Christians should have the reputation of a company of brothers who would die for one another instead of kill one another over dress code violations and bathroom habits. The sad truth is the enemy succeeded in dividing and conquering us a long time ago by convincing men and women that it is the pinnacle of godliness to major on the minors and ignore the majors of the scriptures. I still hear pastors screaming on the radio about the sin of compromising the word of God by allowing women to wear pants in church or by using the wrong version of the bible or one of 1,000 other minor topics that have no bearing on eternity one way or the other.

Ungodly judgment is founded in selfishness and bitterness and these things are the exact opposite of pity, empathy and compassion. Would to God that His people would stop trying to find reasons to divide and start doing what the bible says (1 Peter 3:8) for a change.

I find it amazing that God was able to do more ministry with one physical human body and 12 helpers in 3 1/2 years than he's been able to accomplish with a global Body of Christ and millions of servants. I believe we wouldn't need homeless shelters and other para-church organizations like Promise Keepers if the church would stop eating their own and simply start letting love and compassion be their motivation for their actions (James 1:26-27).

No Call For Alchohol?

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" - Proverbs 23:29-35 (NIV)

"Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses." - 1 Timothy 5:23 (NIV)

I received an e-mail from a listener last week wherein he/she felt compelled to inform me of his/her decision to stop listening to the radio program due to my comments on drinking during the show last week. They felt I was guilty of being a stumbling block to anyone listening when I mentioned it was not scripturally forbidden to have an alcoholic beverage in moderation as long as do so doesn't cause a "weaker" brother to stumble.

I've shared my thoughts and feelings on this subject many times over the years and every single time I've approached the subject of the permissibility of drinking under the "Statute of Liberty" clause in scripture I am always challenged, criticized and in some cases accused of many heinous things that I won't get into here.

It goes without saying that in Fundamental, Evangelical, American Christianity drinking is considered one of the seven deadly sins. Make no mistake, alcoholism is a very real problem that adversely affects literally billions of people both here and across the world. Having said that, I have discovered a very simple truth over the years. Namely, people who have either been a victim of or participated in alcoholism are (generally speaking) vehemently against anyone teaching that it is OK with God if you have a "little wine". In other words, scriptures are translated more by our intellect and experience rather than the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus didn't tell us to lean on our own understanding of things and let our experiences guide us into all truth. He said the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth.

My purpose in bringing this controversial subject up is neither to cause people to stumble nor to "stir things up" as the listener opined in his/her e-mail. My purpose is to get God's people to think about some of our taboos and sacred cows. As we have discussed in previous programs, legalism and liberalism are two extremes that are tearing the body of Christ into pieces. People get very emotional about their opinions and beliefs, particularly when it deals with a subject like this one. When emotion gets involved, rationale and common sense go right out the window...every single time.

Such is the case with the subject of drinking. I would ask the question to anyone who believes any form of drinking is a sin: where exactly is the passage of scripture that commands complete abstinence from any and all alcoholic beverages? I'm constantly amazed at how many of God's people believe the bible teaches complete abstinence from drinking. You can read the entire Bible from now till the rapture and you'll never find one single verse of scripture commanding that. You'll find a ton of scripture commanding us to "Be not drunk with wine..." (Ephesians 5:18) but you won't find any scriptures commanding abstinence.

I've quoted two different passages of scriptures above that seem to contradict one another. In Proverbs you have Solomon's warning against abusing alcohol. Again, Proverbs isn't commanding abstinence; it's warning against abusive use of alcohol. I know many will disagree with that statement so I'll ask you this, if God's will for us is to never touch any alcoholic beverage of any kind then why did the apostle Paul advise his son in the faith to take a little wine for medicinal purposes in 1 Timothy 5?

I've actually heard people try to explain Paul wasn't talking about literal wine but rather the "fruit of the vine" which meant grape juice. In fact, I know many brethren that teach that every time wine is mentioned in scripture it is actually talking about unfermented grape juice and not the alcoholic variety. This teaching is a prime example of letting opinion and bias dictate the interpretation of the scriptures. Just a quick lesson: people in the Middle East know the difference between wine and grape juice. When you see the word "wine" in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible it means an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes not Welch's.

But I digress. Consider, if Paul's single verse to Timothy were the only verse in the Bible that described a prominent New Testament Christian using wine one could easily argue that a watered down drop of wine for medicinal purposes is permissible but no more. But then there's Christ.

It's difficult to be accused of being a "wine bibber" if you're not imbibing in wine. Christ drank wine, served wine (yep, the Lord's Supper contained wine, not grape juice as some like to believe) and even made wine in a most miraculous fashion. If alcohol is verboten then why is the Son of God associated with this sinful liquid no less than 4 different times in scriptures?

The point to all of this is not to get God's people to run to the bars to get their drink on. I couldn't care less if any of God's people drank or not. That's not the issue. The issue is ignorance of the scriptures and the judgmental attitudes of some in the Body of Christ. I find it amazing that people have no problem engaging in activities that the scriptures emphatically forbids when they unjustly accuse, judge, condemn and emotionally/spiritually execute one another over issues the Bible does NOT forbid...like drinking a "little wine".

In case you need any further help with this, let me leave you with this sadly true story of a friend of mine. This brother went to France to serve as a missionary. After a year of service there the church-grapevine was ablaze with rumors and tales of his alcohol abuse. After months of scandalous rumors and a full investigation by his home church he returned to the states in disgrace wearing the scarlet letter "A" for "Alcoholic" and eventually dropped out of church service altogether.

The rumors of his alcoholism started when a "weaker" pastor visited him on the field and took offense at his use of wine during meals. Naturally, when this pastor returned to the states he fired off a letter to the missionary's home church informing them of this heinous activity and further informed them of his decision to withdraw supporting funds for the mission effort in France. After all, he reasoned, how can a Bible-believing church support a man who is living in direct contradiction to the clearly taught Word of God that we abstain from all appearance of evil?

The missionary's home church began a full investigation and learned that this servant of God had indeed been drinking wine while on the mission field. Pressure to return home to receive treatment for alcoholism was immediately issued and before you knew it, this faithful brother in Christ was demoted from missionary to pariah within the church community.

The truth of the matter is the brother was not an alcoholic. He was simply following the customs and culture of the people he was attempting to minister to; customs that were permissible by scripture, I might add. In talking with him many years after this event took place he explained to me how insulting it was to the French people he visited if he turned down their offers of wine. "After all," he explained to me, "those people drink wine like we drink iced tea." So, in an effort to win the lost at any cost he joined his French brethren in a "little wine" during meals. Unfortunately, because of the scriptural and cultural ignorance of God's people a soldier in the Lord's army was taken out by "friendly fire".

My purpose in this discussion is to do my part to educate and illuminate God's people with the glorious light of God's word. This kind of ignorant judgmentalism is what has earned us the reputation of intolerant, unforgiving, unmerciful basket-cases in the eyes of the world. It is a reputation that I hope to see changed as more people turn away from ignorant emotional interpretation of scriptures and grow in the grace and power of God.

So, to recap: it is forbidden by God to get drunk, because it is excessive abuse. It is not forbidden, however, to use alcohol in moderation as long as we are not using our liberties to cause a weaker brother to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:9). I'm not advocating abuse of any kind. Just understand that we can and do abuse every single thing that God has placed on this planet for our good and even our pleasure. We abuse food, sex, medicine, money, drink and even our liberties. None of those things are forbidden; we're just instructed not to abuse them.

Holy Spirit needs to guide us into all truth on issues like this one. We can't lean on our own understanding of these controversial gray areas of scripture. We can't let our past experiences negatively affect our attitudes and opinions of these matters. Let God show you the truth concerning his glorious liberty and I promise you, the truth will absolutely set you free...

...not to get blasted on the weekends but free to serve God with no man-made restraints, no man-made obstacles and no man-made rules and regulations that God never placed nor intended for His children. This is the point for raising this issue this weekend. I hope you'll tune in and participate in the discussion.

Stay tuned, true believers...

Statutes of Liberty

"...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

One of the more controversial elephants in the auditorium centers on the subject of Christian liberty. Obviously the bible speaks about this in many places in the New Testament. Just look up the word "liberty" or "freedom" and see what God says on the subject. Contrary to the opinion of many true believers, the Bible is not a book of divine rules and regulations designed to rob mankind of their "fun".

Yes, there are codes of conduct for the believer. God doesn't tell us to avoid sexual misconduct (for example) because he's a prude or a fuddy-duddy. He has reasons for his "rules". His reasons are simple; He wants to keep us from destroying ourselves emotionally, spiritually and physically. That said, the reaction many people have toward those who engage in activities that are in direct opposition to these codes of conduct is usually to condemn. I'll give you an example.

In my second pastorate we lived in the parsonage next door to the church. Late one evening a middle-aged fellow showed up at my door asking for the pastor. At the time I was quite young (28 years old or so) and he was shocked to see such a young man in the position. He proceeded to tell me about his past which included homosexuality. I could tell he was nervous confessing his past to me and by his own admission expected me to dismiss him as a "sinner". His point to sharing all of this was his desire to find a church home that would not judge him for his past sins and welcome him with open arms into the beloved fellowship of Jesus Christ.

He informed me of several pastors he had visited with prior to our meeting and the reception was less than warm once he got to the homosexuality part of his tale. So, he was surprised when I responded to his confession with a simple question. I asked him if he was still involved with that lifestyle to which he answered "no". With that I informed him that he was more than welcome in our church and as far as I was concerned his confessed sins were no worse than the sins of anyone else in the church, including my own.

He joined our church and became an important part of the family there. Of course, not everyone in the church was eager to welcome him once his past was made known (over time; I didn't just get up and read his mail to the congregation). Homosexuality carries a certain stigma that is difficult for many believers in Christ to get around. But, I believe that particular sin is no different than any other sin; sin is sin after all. More importantly, what is past is past and God is not in the business of punishing us for our past sins. He's in the business of forgiving, forgetting and granting us freedom from sin.

Unfortunately, many of God's people aren't tuned into this particular thought process. As we have already explored on the program and in this blog there is a great deal of unjust judgment attached to Christianity and the damage done by this attitude is literally incalculable.

I believe very strongly in the freedom afforded us by Jesus Christ. Let's be clear though. God doesn't give us liberty to sin (Romans 6:15). Just because we're saved and on our way to heaven doesn't give any of us a blank check to go into "the world" and go crazy. God's codes of conduct have multiple reasons not the least of which is to protect our representative testimony to the world. As a representative of the Kingdom of God it isn't good form to get wasted on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday. That's not liberty.

No, the liberty God offers has more to do with our relationship with Him. Far too many evangelical Christians have strict rules attached to their ministries that actually places followers of Christ into bondage. As Paul wrote to the Romans, the Galatians and practically anyone who would listen to him, we are no longer under law but are instead under grace. Dress codes, ministry methods, musical restrictions and many other man-made rules have no place in the church. Sadly, many of God's people cannot see the difference between God's code of conduct and man's attempt to regulate those codes. The legalism produced by this man-made regulation often surpasses that of the Pharisees and Saduccees of Jesus' day.

We're going to be tackling the issue of Christian liberty on this week's show (barring another Baylor football preemption). I hope you'll tune in and participate in the discussion.

Until then, stay tuned true believers...

HERE COMES THE JUDGE!

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:1-2

I don't believe there is anything more damaging to the body of Christ than the social plague of ungodly judgmentalism masquerading as spiritual discernment and warfare for doctrinal purity. After a lifetime of church attendance and 20 years of full-time pastoral ministry I can tell you there is nothing more destructive than a judgmental Christian on the warpath. God help anyone who falls into the cross-hairs of one or (God forbid) a group of self-appointed judges.

I have witnessed the persecution and near-crucifixion of many true believers of Jesus Christ simply because their philosophy, doctrinal beliefs and/or methods of ministry did not line up with the orthodoxy of the mainstream Christian methodology. The primary reason for the denominational divide that exists within Christianity is due to the judgmental reactions of those who believe their interpretation of scriptures is flawless. Many believers listen to a sermon, not like a hungry sheep ready to feast on the mana from heaven, but like a movie critic waiting to see if there's anything said by the speaker that can and will be used against them in a court of public opinion.

Ungodly judgment is a difficult thing to self-diagnose because the root of this malady is pride. It's tough to identify pride in ourselves; so much easier to pinpoint that flaw in someone else. That's why Jesus' instruction on ungodly judgment in Matthew 7 concludes with the famous beam and mote analogy. Unfortunately, this teaching is generally ignored in favor of the more popular Jude 3 clause wherein we are commanded to "earnestly contend for the faith". It is so much more fulfilling to attack those whom we perceive to be in error than to do any self-introspection to see if there be any wicked way in me (Psalm 129:34).

There are legions of saints who profess their love of Christ yet have somehow missed the point of some of his most basic teachings. The core of Jesus' teachings is unconditional love for each other in spite of our class, color or creed. As believers in Jesus Christ we are all equal in God's sight (Galatians 3:28) yet to hear many believers of Christ tell it, we're only equal if we agree on every jot, dot and tittle of the Word of God as well as the methods and practices of our denomination of choice. This belief system is what divides us and it is absolute man-made garbage of the highest order.

I asked the question in my last blog and radio program concerning Joel Osteen. I started the radio show with the leading question "Is Joel Osteen a heretic?" We got more callers in that 90 minute program than any show we've done to date. I definitely opened a can of worms with that topic and I got a whole host of answers to that question.

The point of asking that question was not to crucify Bro. Joel nor to give people airtime to roast a popular televangelist. It was to shine the spotlight on this epidemic of judgmentalism. I'll tell you the truth, God is not a fan of opinionated people who base their judgments on emotion or intellect rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.

You see, there is a GODLY form of judgment that God's people are commanded to utilize. (1 Corinthians 6:1-5) This form of judgment is founded not on man's understanding of scriptures or uncontrolled emotions but on the wisdom of God. Peter did not judge Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 based on his own intellect or wisdom but on the leading of the Holy Spirit. I fear there are far too few truly Holy Spirit filled judges running the asylums and they are running people out of the church in droves.

God's people need to learn the difference between godly and ungodly judgment. We need to pay more attention to the instructions of Christ and his followers about unconditional love and unity of the brethren. We need to understand who our real enemy is and stop sniping at each other from our denominational towers. The real target for our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but spiritual and most of those weapons are designed for our personal battles with our true enemy, not to use on each other.

The final thought I want to leave you with is to simply say it is not your job to separate the goats and sheep. That's God's job. Learn your role in His kingdom and stop trying to do God's job for him. Jesus' disciples had to learn that one as well. (Luke 9:49-50). God is the only one with the authority to separate the tares from the wheat; not you or I. If we would focus more on keeping the beams and motes out of our own eyes I believe we'd have less division, less denominations and less people leaving the Body of Christ due to the thoughtlessness of others.

I can hear the arguments already. What about the TRUTH?!? There are false prophets who need to be identified and run out. I repeat, where are the scriptures instructing any of us to be the vehicles of a false prophet's departure? God told us to identify them and stay away from them, not to be the judge, jury and executioner of the Kingdom of God. God knows how to handle those who are intentionally and deliberately twisting his word for their own gain. He's a big God and can handle that problem without our help.

We are to speak the truth in love; not with the love of being right but the love of the saints. We are to love one another MORE than we love ourselves. We are to edify, strengthen and encourage one another as fellow believers in Jesus Christ, REGARDLESS of denominational affiliation or doctrinal belief system. That is the primary teaching of Jesus Christ and that is what I believe and teach.

We need less judges in our churches and more lovers. We see the product of judgmentalism in modern Christianity today. I wonder what the landscape would look like if we were to just love one another like Jesus does...

What Is A "Heretic"?

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


About a year ago I got into an interesting discussion with a brother over whether Joel Osteen was a heretic or not. This conversation came hot on the heels of his comments concerning Mormonism. He was being interviewed by Chris Wallace from Fox News when he was asked the question, "Is a Mormon a true Christian." Joel's response was, and I quote, "Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romeny has said that he believes in Christ as his savior and that's what I believe so I'm not the one to judge the little details of it so I believe they are."

The brother I was talking to was adamantly calling Joel Osteen a heretic of the highest order. I asked him what actions had Joel undertaken to earn this label of "heretic". He responded with shock and dismay that I would even ask such a question. Clearly Joel was a heretic because his comments on Mormonism contradicted those of the clearly taught Word of God.

I asked him to define the word "heretic" for me. His definition, I am sure, is the same definition that many people have for this word. To most Bible-believing, church attending, evangelical, fundamentalist Christians a heretic is anyone who wrongly divides the Word of God and preaches something in error. In other words, every time someone stands behind the pulpit of any church in the world, they'd better have their doctrine and theology right or else they'll be branded a heretic.

Now, I don't disagree with the need for preachers to know their stuff; obviously that is a vital component of Bible preaching. But, if someone preaches or says in an interview something that doesn't jive with our understanding of scriptures does that automatically make them a "heretic"? To many church going Christians, the answer to that question is an overwhelming "YES!"

This line of reasoning is one of the foundational reasons for the division in our churches. I can remember the series of sermons preached by my pastors lining out all of the doctrinal differences between all of the "Christian" denominations and why everyone else was wrong except our particular brand of Christianity. I'm sure those same sermons were preached in other denominational churches branding our group as heretics too.

To listen to most church attendees, there are a lot of heretics running around this globe spreading their lies and half-truths and bringing ruin to the Body of Christ. I submit to you that the real cause of the division isn't due to all of these so-called heretics, like Mr. Osteen, but rather, and many people won't like this statement, the chief cause of the division in the church is the ungodly attitudes and scriptural ignorance of most church attendees...including pastors.

Allow me to define the word "heretic" for you. The word appears one time in the KJV in Titus 3:10 and is spelled "heretick". It comes from the greek word hairetikos and it means: schismatic, factious, a follower of a false doctrine.

Now, there are two words in that definition that we don't use anymore; "schismatic" and "factious". Both of these words mean essentially the same thing; divisive. The understanding of this Greek word was that a heretic was someone who knowingly and intentionally manipulated people as well as the scriptures in order to bring division and chaos to a (supposedly) unified body of believers. This speaks not only of the actions of the individual in question but also his motives. That is why we are instructed to "try the spirits" of the speaker in question rather than try them intellectually or even doctrinally. After all, what if your understanding of doctrine isn't flawless?

We live in an age of literally tens of thousands of denominations all claiming to believe in the same God and all reading from the same book. We are divided on so many levels that it is impossible to list them all. I've been to churches where the congregation was divided up in social cliques and the warfare between these factions (someone who creates factions would be called "factious" by the way) was obvious. What I am saying is there is much more to being a heretic than what most people are aware of.

I do not believe Joel Osteen to be a heretic. I don't see him as a harbinger of deceit and division in the body of Christ. What I do see is a young minister who doesn't have all the answers who is caught up in the wind of his growing ministerial fame and who is adept at playing the political games that have infiltrated far too many of our churches. None of these flaws make him a "heretic"...they make him human. And as a human being Joel Osteen, like the rest of us, is subject to making mistakes.

His comments on Mormonism were wrong, plain and simple. Mormon doctrines are not the same as the doctrines of Jesus Christ. You don't have to be a theologian to see that; just read their book. Joel's comments displayed his ignorance of Mormonism's teachings but they don't make him a schismatic, factious follower of false doctrines. Now, if Joel got into his pulpit one Sunday and began teaching the doctrines of Joseph Smith then he would be guilty of heresy. Making mistaken or ignorant statements is regrettable and can cause some confusion and damage but how much more damage has been done by some of the brethren who rush to judgment based on little study, even less prayer and no godly wisdom. How much division has been caused by the ignorant and judgmental among us?

Are there false prophets and heretics among us? Absolutely. How does one discern who is a heretic and who is simply mistaken? 1 John 4:1 gives us some instruction on this. We need wise men and women of God who understand the principles of "trying the spirits" instead of self-taught armchair theologians who have just enough Bible knowledge to be dangerous. Most of all, we must be careful who we play the heretic card on. I know I've made mistakes and preached things out of ignorance that I later found to be untrue. That is part of the process of growing up in Christ; we all make mistakes.

Making mistakes doesn't make any of us heretics; it just makes us wrong. People who are in error don't need snap judgments and ostracizing labels. They need loving correction. Joel Osteen, by his profession of faith, is a brother of mine. If I hear him say something in error my first response is to pray for him to receive some loving correction. That's what we all need and I am thankful that we have a God who is the master of lovingly correcting us...

...because we all make mistakes.

From Whence Cometh The Storm?

So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. - Psalm 83:15

There are a lot of people who are angry with God; some of them even admit it. As amazing as it may sound to some, there's a lot of blame for life's storms being laid at the foot of God's throne. I can remember the questions that came up after the Oklahoma City bombing and especially after 9/11. Many were wondering where God was and why God had allowed these national tragedies to happen.

Many preachers claim tragedies like these are God's judgment on a sinful earth. I heard a number of preachers claiming Hurricane Katrina was God's judgment on New Orleans for the decades of sin committed in that city. The late Jerry Falwell had no problem proclaiming 9/11 as divine judgment on a nation who had turned its back on God in the days following the terrorist attacks. Certainly the Bible is full of stories of divine judgment on sinful man and if you've ever read Revelation you know more is on the way.

But the question posed this weekend is a fairly simple one in concept yet complex in its depths. Does God use disasters, both natural and man-made, to bring his divine judgment on earth? Does suffering equal judgment in God's methodology? You may think this is a benign question but you'd be amazed at how many people believe this is the case. Many of those people are standing behind pulpits all across America and beyond.

As you can well imagine, I've got some thoughts on this subject. Before I put them in the blog, I'll be sharing them on the air this Saturday so I hope you'll tune in and not only listen but participate in the discussion.

Stay tuned true believers...

WE'RE ALIVE!!!

Ike threw everything but the kitchen sink at us (actually I think I saw a sink fly by come to think of it...) but we have survived. God is good. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who sustained damage and/or are still without power (including yours truly). We will be back on the air this Saturday night (9/20/08) at 5:30 pm and we hope to hear from as many of you as we can. Till then stay tuned, true believers...

Hope-Hype: Marketing the Message of Jesus Christ

"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’” - Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV)

One of the bigger issues facing modern Christianity is how our culture is affecting the body of Christ. You see this battle raging in everything from musical styles to youth oriented ministries that walk the tightrope of compromise in the name of attracting the unchurched. Undoubtedly one of the biggest cultural wars the Body of Christ is fighting today is the marketing and hyping of ministers and their ministries.

Culturally speaking we are an over-marketed, over-hyped society. If you doubt that just go to a movie theater thirty minutes before the movie starts. Back in the day if you got to the theater early you were treated to a few movie trailers before the feature presentation. Today we're treated to 15 minutes of a lovely slide show full of advertisements (with a sprinkling of movie trivia and quotes just to keep us interested) before the 5 or 6 car/coke/military/cell phone service commercials roll. We live in a society that is looking for more and more ways to intrude upon our daily lives with advertisements for the billions of products and services available to the American consumer.

This culture of selling and advertising has infiltrated and (in my opinion) contaminated the Body of Christ. This isn't a new problem, of course. The verse quoted above indicates that buying and selling in God's name has been around for a very long time; it also shows God's opinion about it. You don't have to be a degreed theologian to see that God isn't a fan of moneychangers in his house.

So, what exactly is a moneychanger? Is it wrong for a pastor/preacher/minister to make a living from the services he/she provides? Jesus' instructions to his disciples includes a statement concerning the "wages" they would be earning while in service to him: "Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. - Luke 10:7 (NIV). Apparently pastors and ministers have to eat too.

But, do they need million dollar mansions, private jets and the perks and benefits that comes from celebrity? Does God's desire to "bless" us equal the rock-star lifestyle that many of our more prominent celebripastors enjoy? The questions I'll be raising on the radio program this week (assuming we haven't been blown off the map by Hurricane Ike) are fairly simple:

Have we been guilty of elevating the messenger over their message in our modern church culture? How much is too much marketing? When you go to a Christian "book store" and find more trinkets and nick-knacks than you find books is that a sign that we've lost something? Have we tried too hard to model "the world" in our attempts to get the message out to everyone we can?

One could argue that Peter and Paul didn't use clever church slogans, vision statements or pandering gimmicks to get people to attend church. On the flip side one could argue that what we're seeing is a natural progression of the Church in modern times. After all, what worked for Paul in first century Asia minor wouldn't work in 21st century America.

This is a broad subject that covers a number of issues and I know we won't cover all of the facets of this issue in one 90 minute radio program. I also know, from what I've seen and experienced in the church over the last 20 years, generally speaking we've lost the culture changing power that was on display in the book of Acts. I'm not referencing tongues or healing, I'm talking about the power of the plain spoken word of God without compromise, without Burger King style spinning and without modern marketing tactics.

There are more churches and more professing Christians on the planet than Paul ever dreamed of. We have more technological advancements at our disposal than ever before. Most assuredly the church needs to make use of the tools and technologies available to us to get the word out. After all, you're reading this on a computer and listening to me on the radio; two things Paul couldn't have imagined of on his best day.

But, how much is too much? Where is the line that we need not cross in the name of getting the word out? Can we return to elevating the message instead of the messengers? This weekend (the Lord willing and the creek literally doesn't rise) we'll be discussing these issues on a special Hurricane Edition of CHURCHQUAKE!

Stay tuned true believers...

And now for something completely different...

...Just an FYI to all of our listeners; CHURCHQUAKE will not be airing this weekend due to KKHT's coverage of Baylor football. We should be back on our regularly scheduled airtime (5:30-7pm every Saturday night) next week (September 13). So kick back, take a break and enjoy a cool beverage of your choice and keep watching our website. We're working on some new content for the site coming soon to a PC near you.

*NEXT SHOW TOPIC*

Is Marketplace Hyping Helping or Hurting The Body of Christ?

Stay tuned true believers...

Church Wars: Legalism -vs- Liberalism: Part 2

"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." - Romans 6:15

On the other side of the narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:14) is the equally devastating malady of "Liberalism". Liberalism is defined as freedom from traditional values, biblical interpretations, rituals, viewpoints and activities in favor of a more individualized form of spirituality free of anything that may cause the adherent to experience any negative emotions (“I’m ok, you’re ok theology”). The liberal believer's favorite word is "Freedom" ("liberty" works too).

Now, to be clear, there IS freedom and liberty in Christ (Romans 8:21; 2 Cor.3:17; Gal.5:1). However, that liberty is not a free pass to live in habitual sin (Gal.5:13; 1 Peter 2:16). In fact, we are commanded to be careful how we exercise our freedom so as to keep the "weaker brethren" around us from falling into sin (1 Cor.8:9). I know I've made mistakes in my search for godly liberty and will undoubtedly make more before I leave this earth. It is a constant battle between our flesh and the Holy Spirit of God to "flesh out" (pardon the pun) our selfish desires from the desires God has for us.

God doesn't want us to live in bondage; he wants us to live in freedom and liberty. However, our definition of liberty and God's are not in the same ballpark; in fact they aren't in the same universe. When legalists are freed from their chains the natural tendency is to run across the road and jump into the ditch of liberalism (and visa versa). It is our natural inclination to move from one extreme to the other in our search for God. I am so thankful we have a loving and patient God who knows the difference between a rebellious saint and one who is seeking for God in all the wrong places. Let's face it, God is much smarter than we are.

Having said all of this, I need to describe the more predominant traits of Liberalism so you can see the dangers inherent in chasing after the wrong kind of liberty and freedom. Here are just a few:

IGNORANCE OF FUNDAMENTALS: Many liberally minded people have no foundational knowledge of scripture in spite of many years of church attendance. In liberal churches, Bible teaching is replaced with self-help seminars and motivational speakers. Paul's warnings to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 paint a perfect picture of this problem.

DEEPLY UNCOMMITTED: Lack of Biblical foundation produces wishy-washy, double-minded, children who are unable to maintain a doctrinal center and are usually easy prey for false teachers/prophets. Liberals are constantly "chasing the wind"; looking for that fresh touch from God and they'll go anywhere and believe anything in order to get their Jesus fix (Eph. 4:14).

LOVE OF THE (RHEMA) WORD: Liberally minded people are focused on the “fresh” words from God rather than on the written words of God. Words like “suffering”, “sacrifice” and “accountability” are omitted in favor of words like “prosperity”, “perpetual healing” and “liberty”. Liberals tend to demote God to a more human level and project their methods and thought processes onto God. ("God would never want me to suffer like this..."). That is why a lot of these "fresh words" from God are more appealing than the written Word. Hearing a "prophet" tell you of 1,000-fold blessings and expanding tent posts sounds a lot better than submitting and sacrificing in order to follow God's path for you.

FREEDOM AND LIBERTY COMPLEX: Almost across the board, liberals believe the liberty in Christ is a blank check from God giving them anything their heart desires and freeing them from anything that looks, tastes, sounds, smells or feels like legalism. (Church attendance, personal responsibility/accountability, biblical standards etc.)

NEED FOR FREEDOM: Liberals are all about freedom from anything that makes them feel bad; personal accountability, responsibility or walk with God is replaced by personal wants, desires, and ambitions. This is a natural digression by those who have "escaped" legalism; after being held down by "the man" for a lifetime they are eager to spread their wings and sow some wild oats...in the name of Jesus. Most liberals are inherently selfish in their service. Instead of focusing on the edification of their fellow saints, many liberally minded people are focused on what they can get out of their service (the "give to get" mentality).

CONFORMITY COWARDS: Liberals will run at the first sign of conformity or adherence to some Biblical standards. Church is eventually seen as an obstacle to their “liberty” rather than a place of corporate worship and fellowship. Accountability is a bad word and a danger to their freedom.

SELECTIVE INVOLVEMENT: For the liberal, the merit of Church membership/attendance is based solely on what the congregation can do for them. If the church isn’t the right size with the right programs designed to meet their needs, they’re gone like Donkey Kong…eventually out of church altogether.

Hopefully you can see the dangers inherent in this mindset as well. Like the legalists, this thinking is founded purely in the carnal mind but, again, self-deception plays a key role in keeping folks in this ditch. It is very easy to believe oneself "holy and blameless" during a supercharged church service where the Spirit appears to be falling on people and manifesting Himself in a variety of ways.

Because of the subtle nature of our enemy, God requires His people to move with wisdom that ONLY comes from God. God's discernment is mandatory when navigating the narrow road because there are so many things out there that have a form of godliness but are inherently powerless. We all make mistakes; we all fall for a slick snake-oil salesman with a polished pitch. No one is infallible. The trick is to not let ourselves become disillusioned and fatalistic whenever we do find ourselves in one of these ditches of extremism.

Because of my non-conformist roots, liberalism is much more attractive a trap for me than legalism. I've found myself in both ditches and bear many scars from the experiences I've had. But (and this is a huge "but"), I have learned and am still learning from my mistakes. The weapons of warfare that God has for us sounds fairly benign in the face of the weaponry at Satan's disposal but it is no less effective. Satan comes with subtle deceptions and lies; God combats those lies with faith in His truth.

That is why knowledge of the Word of God is paramount to finding true liberty in Christ. Fresh words from God and true manifestations of His Spirit are fine and have their place but they are not a replacement for the established Word of God. If you are more inclined to memorize and study your Prophecy Notebook than the Word of God , your priorities are messed up and you're setting yourself up to be lion food. (1 Peter 5:8)

Both of these ditches carry profound consequences that are ultimately terminal for the child of God. I personally know of many people who are out of church and have sworn never to attend again because of wounds received from representatives of both of these extremes. The chaos and confusion surrounding the Body of Christ because of ignorance, deception and carnality is vast and seemingly without end. It is very easy for people to become fatalistic towards God and His Word because of all the different denominations and biblical opinions floating around out here. I am asked all the time "which one of you (denominations) is right?".

The solution to all of this confusion is fairly simple. It is Hebrews 11:6. God doesn't want us chasing after a denomination, a religious code or creed or any other man-made philosophy or ritual. God wants us to seek after HIM. He tells us he is a "rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". The reward isn't money or fame or even elite bible scholar status. The reward is object of our search; it is Himself.

If you're following after men to find God, you're following the wrong thing. Men can be used to help you along the narrow road but God should be the one you are depending upon, not men. We have been guilty of elevating the messenger over the message for far too long and I believe God is moving to bring the mighty "celebripastor" movement to a close. It can't happen soon enough, in my opinion. The wheat is being separated from the chaff; the goats from the sheep. God is moving to bring restoration, TRUE healing and TRUE liberty to all who are seeking for HIM.

Church Wars: Legalism -vs- Liberalism: Part 1

"[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." - Romans 8:1

Jesus described the road that leads to life as a narrow one and "few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). The truth of that statement has never been more real to me than in the last decade of my personal journey with God. Not only is that road narrow but there are a lot of traps and pitfalls along the way designed to move us from the road of life into the ditches of bondage.

Since Jesus' desire is to break the chains of bondage and set the captives free (Luke 4:18) I believe it is past time to identify the extremist viewpoints in Christianity that are responsible for so much bondage and destruction. So, if you'll permit me, I'd like to spend a little time detailing the two largest ditches of extremism in the church and how to get out of them and back on the road. We'll call these ditches "legalism" and "liberalism".

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you'll know where I come out on the subject of legalism in the church. Before I get too far ahead of myself, allow me to define "legalism" for you. Legalism is the belief that God’s favor (grace), and consequently His salvation, is earned by our thoughts, intents and actions based upon an intellectual understanding of God’s Word; strict legalists attempt to force their beliefs upon others by various means of emotional manipulation (shame, guilt, judgment, etc).

Legalism is not a new problem. Jesus battled with the legalists of His day in the form of the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees. If you know your Bible, you know these folks were the only people that Jesus had any condemning words for (Matthew 12:34; Matthew 23:33). Unfortunately, mankind has not learned from Biblical history; legalism is alive and well in many forms and flavors within the Body of Christ.

Legalism is characterized by many traits. For example, legalists usually come from a very strong fundamentalist background. FUNDAMENTALISTS: believe every jot, dot and tittle of the Word of God is the unedited, perfect Word of God. This, by itself, is not a problem as most true believers in Christ believe this and rightfully so.

DEEPLY OPINIONATED: Generally speaking, legalists interpret the Word of God from a more intellectual foundation rather than a Spirit-filled one. Once an opinion is formed on a given subject, the legalist has no problem sharing their opinions (referred to as "convictions") with anyone who will listen to them. Those who disagree are judged and (usually) condemned as ignorant (at best) or hell-bound heretics (at worst).

LOVE OF THE (LOGOS) WORD: The legalist has an intense love of the Bible; they know their scriptures. Nothing inherently wrong with that except I've found the legalist usually does not have a very strong relationship with the author of that Word. Case in point, the legalists in Jesus' day knew their Old Testament backwards and forwards but were blinded to the truth of Jesus' identity. The author of their precious Law was standing 5 feet away from them and they were too blinded by their religion and legalism to see him. Loving the Word is good, but not at the expense of loving its author.

JEREMIAH COMPLEX: Most legalists see themselves as a modern day watchman/woman. They believe it is their God called duty to bring the truth of God's word to the sinful masses by any means necessary. This may sound spiritual and right but the reality is when you engage in correcting perceived error from an unspiritual (carnal) and intellectual place you tend to do more damage than intended. Romans 14 deals with this issue pretty well.

NEED TO BE APPROVED: legalists have an inherent need to be approved by their fellow believers and by God. This approval is completely dependent upon their belief system and their actions (works). In other words, legalists believe their worth or value to God depends on their actions. God won't bless you unless you're doing your faithful duty as a Christian. Of course, that means that other Christians need your approval too and that is only achieved by doing Christiany stuff. This gets into the motive of why we do what we do for God. God wants us to serve Him because we love Him, not because we want Him to love us (He already does).

CONFRONTATIONAL COWARDS: Generally speaking, most legalists do not like to directly confront people they disagree with. They would rather condemn and judge from the safety of a pulpit, picket lines, the internet, e-mail, the United States Postal Service, etc. Most people do not know they are in the cross-hairs of a legalist until they hear about their "error" from someone else.

SELECTIVE INDIGNATION: This trait describes the hypocrisy inherent with legalism. Legalists tend to lighten or ignore their righteous rhetoric when the sin on the table of discussion is one they are guilty of but have no intention of repenting from. It is also not uncommon for "convictions" on the Word to change whenever habitual sins are formed. Like the preacher who preaches against divorced men holding the office of pastor until his wife leaves him or the preacher who rails against Harry Potter books and movies because of the witchcraft plot lines only to be first in line to see the new Lord of the Rings movies because he grew up reading Tolkien and loves these timeless classics. This is hypocrisy and it is one reason Christianity is a laughing stock in the world.

Obviously I could go on, but hopefully you can see the dangers inherent in these traits and attitudes. There are a large number of people who are ignorant of the spiritual application of the Word of God and the need for Holy Spirit to fill us in order for us to be able to accomplish the Word, Will and Ways of God in our daily lives. Legalism depends on the intellect and abilities of man, not Holy Spirit. The subtlety of this problem is founded in our proclivity to self-deception. It is easy to believe we're "walking in the Spirit" when we're actually "walking in the flesh". In spite of God telling us not to lean to our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) I find that the majority of us do just that. God's ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts. The desire of God is for us to be completely yielded to Him so we can operate with godly wisdom rather than carnal intelligence.

We are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Unfortunately, legalists have that reversed; that is one reason why Jesus constantly referred to the legalists of his day as "vipers". Much damage has been done in the name of Biblical purity and denominational distinctives. Churches have split, families ruined and many millions have vowed never to darken the door of a church again because of the judgmental condemnation from legalism. The enemy of our souls knows what he is doing and it is our responsibility to soberly investigate the motives and intents of our hearts to see if this evil root is present within us and to take the steps necessary to allow God to permanently remove it and set us all free.

What a glorious day when God's people can come together to worship and serve our King without fear of ungodly judgments and viperous condemnation. I thank God 1,000 times over for removing me from the snare of legalism and I constantly pray for the liberation of many of my fellow believers. This ditch is full of hurting and chained up people who haven't felt the presence or heard the voice of God in their lives in decades in spite of their faithful church attendance. I pray God will open the eyes of His people and set these captives free...

...but not so they can run to the other side of the road an fall into the ditch of liberalism...

(to be continued)

Back to Beth-el: Conclusion

This year marks the tenth anniversary of my descent into hell. I wrote a blog about the night my second pastorate crumbled into dust a few weeks ago so if you missed it and you want to know what all this rambling is about, I invite you to back up a few blog entries to catch up on the juicy gossip. Go ahead, I'll wait...

...ok, on with the show.

About a month ago, I found myself standing in the building where all of my ministerial drama took place; at the very same pulpit. Aside from some paint on the walls the room hadn't changed much since the last time I saw it. It even smelled the same. Now, this isn't the first time I've been back to that church building and in the times I've been in there before there was no revelatory scene like the one I'm going to describe for you now. The major difference between my other visits here and this one is this time I was all alone in the building.

I stood at that pulpit and looked over the empty pews for what seemed like hours. Memories, uncontrollable memories,flooded over me; I could not shut off my brain to stop the faces and scenes. It was as if someone had taken over my senses and was forcing me to relive some extremely painful and personal things that I had worked very, very hard to forget. The overriding emotion that I had when I finally left the building was anger.

In fact, since that visit back in early July, I've been battling intense depression. I won't bore you with all the details but for the last month I've been overwhelmed with a fatalistic attitude towards everything, especially church stuff. It was as if the hour I spent in that building was the catalyst for the concoction Satan had been preparing in me for years.

I've spent the last month battling, seeking and asking God the eternal question, "why". Not, "why did I go through all of that junk ten years ago"...I'm done asking that question. This time my question to God has been, "why am I feeling like this? I thought I was over all of that drama." When I say I was battling depression, I want to be clear. I was closer to quitting the ministry than I've been in the 7 years I've been pastoring in Pearland.

The reason I'm sharing all of this with you, my tens of readers, is because of what God has revealed to me in the last 2 weeks. God apparently orchestrated my return to my personal "Beth-el" to open my eyes to some deep seated issues that I needed to deal with if I am going to move any deeper with Him.

You see, because of my pain and heartbreak, I had developed a spiritual cancer that was slowly destroying me. I had allowed myself to grow hard-hearted toward God and His Word, His Will and His Ways. I had grown distrustful of God and His people...no scratch that, I had absolutely no trust for God and His people.

This may sound crazy to you, a pastor who doesn't trust God or Christian, but it is more prevalent than you may think. I know of many men of God who have grown hard toward their calling and resentful toward their people. Most of those men do not last long in ministry and I was definitely on my way out too.

But God...

God has used this visit to open my eyes and show me areas that I need to repent in. Yep, pastors have to repent too. I made a ton of vows during those first few years following my second pastorate and none of those vows were good ones. I've since recanted all of them...except for one. I swore to the heavens above that I would never trust another human being again as long as I lived. You don't have to be betrayed and back-stabbed too many times in life before you develop an intense dislike for that experience and a desire to never repeat it.

Please know, this hardness of heart was never a conscious thing. As with all of Satan's methods, this has been a subtle hijacking of my passion and heart's desire. The thing is, I've allowed this process to take place. Instead of "taking every thought captive" (2 Cor.10:5) and thinking on "these things" (Philippians 4:8) I chose to think on destructive things that were poisoning my soul. The result of my attitude and reaction to my past was, like Ephesus, I had left my first love (Revelation 2:4)

Like that ancient church, I'm faced with the same process of healing they were faced with. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent..." (Rev.2:5). I needed to be reminded of some things. God brought me back to the place where he began to really work on me to remind me of where I've been and where He is taking me in His kingdom. I needed my trip back to my personal Beth-el even though the trip has been painful and filled with pitfalls. God has brought me back to a place of repentance and I can tell you that my attitude and outlook on life has done a complete 180 degree turn.

That's the process God has all of us on. Most of us want God to heal us from our heartbreak as He said he would do (Luke 4:18) but we usually want Him to heal us OUR way; specifically, just pull the pain and junk out of our heads so we can live in peace. Newsflash: God doesn't operate that way; He never has. His Word, Will And Ways for us are for us to choose His way. That requires repentance. Salvation does not come apart from true repentance (Matthew 3:8). There's an awful lot of born again Christians who still need salvation...from themselves.

I've been one of them. Am I completely cured never to fall into a depressed state again. Nope, Satan's regrouping and getting ready for His next attack on me, of this I have no doubt. But God is equipping me with His weapons of warfare. Strongholds are being torn down in my inner-man (2 Corinthians 10:4) every time I stop kicking against the pricks and just trust and obey Him. To get this trust issue out in the open, God had to bring me to my Beth-el. To get the trust issue properly dealt with I had to get on my knees and remember, repent and refocus on Him and His word.

It's amazing how many of us struggle with mental health issues. I wonder, when is the last time you got your knees before your King? I guarantee, an humble spirit and a contrite heart will chase the blues away faster than a lifetime of Prozac...thank God.

Back to Beth-el: Intermission

I've had a difficult time writing this string of blog entries. There is a fine line that I walk whenever I talk about personal issues; particularly issues that I'm still battling with. Most people have a certain image of pastors that they want cultivated and kept in pristine condition. Pastors are supposed to have their stuff together. They aren't supposed to struggle with the issues that plague everybody else. After all, we pastors promote a lifestyle of spiritual and emotional maturity with every sermon we preach. It is disillusioning when we discover our heroes have chinks in their armor. So, to prevent disillusionment, we'll play these image games with one another.

I hate the mind-games that have infiltrated modern Western Christianity. God, in his divine wisdom, decided to include very human flaws and weaknesses in every single Biblical narrative of even the most faithful man or woman of God. Noah has his vineyard, David has his Bathsheba, Elijah his juniper tree and even Joseph has his breakfast table confessional that really puts the nail in the coffin between he and his brothers. It is only in modern Christianity that we play these image games with one another. You know the game where we pretend everything is peachy keen when we're in a corporate setting but privately we're anything but. This practice is also known as "lying".

Pastors are the worst about this. We're taught in our seminary training to manufacture and maintain an image of maturity whether we are really that mature in our thinking or not. Again, the people have come to expect this of their spiritual leaders and we pastors are more than happy to work on maintaining this facade rather than work on really becoming spiritually and emotionally mature.

I learned a long time ago that playing games like this will eventually kill you. I've seen many great men of God go down in flames simply because they were deluded into playing these mind-games rather than simply working on their personality and character issues. James taught us to "confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed" (James 5:16). Pastors are no different than anyone else in the congregation; we have hurts that need healing too. God's process of healing calls for brutal honesty, first with ourselves and eventually with others in the church.

As a pastor, I have no problem confessing my faults with people. I struggle with the same soul-sickness that you all struggle with. I battle with sexual lust, laziness, selfishness and pride issues just like everyone else. Lately, my biggest battle has been an emotional one; I battle with depression on a daily basis. The enemy of our souls knows my specific weaknesses and he's been hammering on my button like crazy lately.

Now, it has been my experience that many church attendees have problems with leaders who are so open with their battles. This is the line that I tightrope walk across on a regular basis. How much is too much confession? James didn't say "confess your faults to everybody in the church". Frankly, not everyone is spiritually and/or emotionally mature enough to follow a flawed leader.

If that describes you, then you probably need to quit reading the next blog entry. Don't worry, I'll be getting back onto some less uncomfortable elephants in our auditoriums in the near future so you don't have to delete this site from your bookmarks just yet (this site IS bookmarked, right?).

If you haven't discovered by now, I'm not your average pastor. I don't pretend. If I don't know the answer to a biblical question, I'll tell you "I don't know". If I have issues with you, I'll tell you what they are and work hard to find a way to repair the issue and restore fellowship with my brethren. If I'm struggling with things to the point that it is negatively affecting my walk, I'll share that too. Such is the case with this "Back To Beth-El" string of blogs. The next blog entry is going to be very, very personal.

So, here's your final warning; if you can't handle a pastor sharing personal struggles and character flaws, you don't want to read the next blog entry. But, if you want to see the inner workings of a Christian's mind as he battles with character issues and flaws, then feel free to join me in a couple of days. My desire in sharing this stuff isn't to gain pity or even a following. I just want to be used of God to bring healing to the broken hearted. God's got a process for doing that and I'm walking it right now. It is a very personal process filled with difficult choices. But God is able to set us all free of our personal prisons, if we'll let him. I hope he'll use my experience to set some of you free as well.

But to do that, a pastor has to shed the image and get "real" with the people.

You have been warned true believers...

Back to Beth-el: Part 2

The scene was familiar to the young pastor; he’d seen it several times as a lay member, but this time it wasn’t happening to his pastor…it was happening to him. The congregation was split and people were furiously calling for his head on a platter. You could cut the tension with a knife. The music director tried, vainly it turned out, to get the people to focus on worshiping God instead of their anger and desire for revenge. It was a valiant effort but ultimately fruitless. The young pastor knew he was in trouble because there were more people in attendance this Sunday night than had been in months; some in attendance weren’t even members of the church. The phone lines had been burning for weeks. The stage had been set. All of the players had gone “all in” and were ready to lay their cards on the table.

There were two clearly defined groups divided by the center aisle of the auditorium. One faction wanted the pastor to answer for his “crimes” before he was run out of town on a rail. The other faction was firmly on the pastor’s side; a few because they liked the pastor but most because they didn’t like the members of the opposing group. The worship service continued; every hymn brought the showdown closer. The young pastor could feel his pulse racing. He looked out onto the crowd of people and watched their faces. He found it amazing that they could sing these hymns that spoke of God’s grace and mercy all while plotting to remove him and his family. Their faces told the whole story. He closed his eyes and felt the last fragments of his battle scarred heart shatter into pieces.

The pastor was an emotional wreck. He’d been preaching to, praying over and fighting and feuding with this group of disgruntled members for over 3 years in a vain attempt to end the gossip and the judgmental backbiting. He learned too late that the root of bitterness runs deep and many of God’s children will fight to the death to keep that root healthy. What had started as very minor differences of opinion had now escalated into a full fledged turf war. All of his charm, his efforts, his sermons and his prayers had done nothing to prevent the inevitable public battle.

The song service ended and the worship minister turned the pulpit over to the embattled Pastor. He sat in his seat on the stage trying desperately to find a way to avoid what he knew was coming. He wondered why God was so silent. Was He really going to allow this travesty to continue? After several long minutes of silence the young man finally took his place behind the “sacred desk”. He half-heartedly ran through the announcements and prayer requests before leading them in a prayer. He had barely uttered the text for that night’s sermon when the deacon raised his hand and asked for permission to address the church. The old World War II veteran, survivor of Normandy and many subsequent military campaigns in Europe, slowly made his way to the stage to fire the first round of the night’s battle. The young pastor took his seat on the stage as the group of angry church members began the longest church service of his life.

The pain was indescribable. These were people he loved; widows whom he had visited, done yard work, electrical repair and other tasks for without a thought of recompense or reward. Now they were accusing him of verbal abuse, financial abuse and heretical teaching in their beloved church. One of these spiritual lynchers was a middle aged woman who had hosted the church’s weekly home bible studies over the last year. Now she was accusing the pastor of crimes of negligence and financial impropriety. The deacon standing at the pulpit was the spokesman for the group. He spoke with barely contained anger of the pastor’s mistreatment of the church widows and thinly veiled accusations of financial corruption. The agony of hearing these people angrily accuse him was more than the pastor could stand. He could feel his broken heart hardening with every word they spoke. The final bricks of a psychological wall of self-preservation were being laid with every tick of the clock.

The evening ended with high drama. A hastily called for vote of confidence (which the pastor won) was followed by an ugly mass exit of the group of bitter head hunters who wasted no time in calling the local police to come to the church and investigate charges of abuse of the elderly by this young upstart of a pastor and his followers. The police came and went without much incident due to a church full of witnesses who testified that the only ones guilty of abuse were the ones who had called them. When the police were gone, there was a celebration by those who were left as if a major victory had been won. The only one not celebrating was the pastor. Only he seemed to see what had just happened. No one had won anything and the church was now in shambles.

It wouldn’t take long for those who had supported the pastor that fateful night to see what he saw. Vows of allegiance and faithfulness were quickly and quietly forgotten as the ugly reality of rebuilding a shattered group of people with a damaged reputation in the community into a spiritual powerhouse for God’s kingdom set in. The young pastor was disillusioned, discouraged and frankly, bitterly angry at God and his people…ALL of them. It wasn’t just this heartbreak; it was all the years of watching God’s people in many different churches fight and split over curtain colors or music styles or some other mundane issue that did not matter in light of the eternal kingdom of God. It didn’t take long for the pity party to start in the young pastor’s heart. His dreams and goals of ministerial success had gone out the door with those angry, hard-hearted church members and he felt betrayed, abused and abandoned.

Where was God? Why had God allowed this horrible night to happen? Where was the fire from heaven or the splitting of the earth to swallow these stiff-necked rebels? Where were the legions of angels come to protect the embattled servant of God? Heck, he’d take a fat, lazy guardian angel at this point. God’s silence was deafening and the pastor concluded through his pain that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was either a sadistic liar or did not exist at all. He was stranded on an island of despair with a ragtag group of immature, carnal Christians who were as dependable as a broken clock in terms of rebuilding a church. His faith had been in vain and the God who swore to “never leave or forsake” him had done just that. He had called him to this church, placed him in this pulpit and then left him to be eaten alive by these sharks in sheep’s clothing. The horrifying truth was too much for him to bear and at age 29, after 8 years in full time pastoral ministry in two different churches, the pastor bitterly resigned and vowed he would never stand behind another pulpit in another church for the rest of his natural born life.

Thankfully the story did not end there. Although the young pastor had years of prodigal rebellion and suicidal depression to get through, God was not finished with him; not by a long shot. What this disillusioned young man did not realize was that he had just completed a course at Real Life University (R.L.U.). I wouldn’t say I passed the course with flying colors, but I did learn a few things; in fact, truth told, I’m still learning from that experience.

One of the things I learned is if you are not careful, you will become the very beast you are battling. I am still humbled at how quickly I transformed into a bitterly angry man and how close I came to throwing my life away and becoming exactly like those I was railing against. I will never stop flooding my Refuge and my Strength with praises and eternal gratitude for rescuing me from myself. But, that was not the most important thing I learned from that night.

I had a counselor tell me that there would come a day when I would be thankful for the events of that night. He told me that instead of anger and hate, I would feel pity and godly love for people who wouldn’t have lost an hour’s sleep if they had succeeded in throwing me and my family out on the street that very night. Of course, at the time, I thought he was insane and told him so in as ugly a way as I could think of. But I can confess to you now that the man knew what he was talking about. I am more thankful now than ever for those people and that fateful evening because a funny thing happened to me after the longest church service of my life…

…I met God.


to be concluded...