Persecution

Matthew 10:16-23 (ESV)
Persecution Will Come


“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."


A brief survey of Facebook will quickly lead you down a depressing road of the reality of our world, our country, our state in terms of the "unjust persecution of Christians." Be it the attacks of ISIS overseas targeting Christians and slaughtering hundreds of them beyond the reporting capability of our news agencies; or the al-shabab targeting and killing Christians at Garissa University in Kenya; or the upcoming ruling of the Supreme Court on the decision of what the definition of marriage will be in our country. Will a bakery bake a gay cake? Will a different bakery bake a cake with a bible verse pertaining to homosexuality on it? Will our public schools teach evolution? Will our Christian schools teach evolution? Will our public schools allow prayer or the ten-commandments or students to wear christianize "blood donation saved my life" t-shirts?
Whatever the reality may be, the intensity is greater with some, and less with others on the severity of our situation as Christians in this modern world. I have a few thoughts and then some deductions right from the passage above.


Thoughts:


1.) God is not caught off guard; we shouldn't be either.
-It's not like God is up there thinking "oh crap! Jesus, Holy Spirit get over here! we got to figure this thing out, it just got real down there!" God is not swayed like a wave is swayed by the wind. God is not surprised ever! Try to throw God a surprise party sometime, it's impossible, he'll be like, "that was cute, but I know all things." God is not worried, he's not shaking in his boots, he's not wondering about tomorrow. Read Job 38 sometime and question if God is in control. He is not partially in control, or mostly in control, or even 90% in control, he's in FULL control. He's got this, and is not caught off guard. Another reason why he's not caught off guard is because he predicted this and ordains this in this passage: "Behold I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves..." If God is not caught off guard, and is not swayed by what's happening, we don't have to be either! Trust and faith are all the more important during times like these for that point alone: God's got this, so I got this.


2.) Our nation is not a Christian nation anymore; have the funeral.
-I remember when my grandparents died. It was hard, it was excruciating, but it has passed. Eventually I had to move on, not forgetting them, but move on with my life using their example as I continue on. This isn't a defeatist mentality by the way. Many would argue that we need to stand and fight to get our country back! "Our country was founded on Christian principles and we need to hold our government to that!" I agree. And at this point, we still have the freedom and power to vote for the right people to hopefully do the job. But history is showing that we are losing that battle. And arguably, what our country was perhaps founded on, is no longer relevant. If there is going to be a revival in our people in this modern world it will be through persecution. Look at the most heavily persecuted countries in our world toward Jesus-followers: China, the church is growing! India and Nepal, the church is growing! America? A new era is upon us, and because life as a Christian may be getting harder in the future, the reward is greater and the message of the gospel will be more potent. God is in the business of taking what the enemy meant for harm, and using it for his glory and our good. Maybe the fact that our country is moving away from the "christian foundations" could be a good thing? Will it challenge believers? Absolutely, but it will only strengthen our message when we are put through fire still holding tight to our Savior. Remember the killing of Stephen in Acts 7 sparked a growth in the church, when the intention was to stop it.


3.) Know the truth before you say you're persecuted.
-I think a believer in Nepal would look at our "persecution" of the Dewey Hill Cross being taken down in Grand Haven, and laugh wondering, "who had stones thrown at them because of this?" "Who got evicted from their homes because they wanted that cross?" "Who got beat publicly for wanting that cross up on that hill?" I don't want to minimize what happens in the things we face in America, but you have to know that we are not being persecuted like our brothers and sisters are overseas. We aren't being slaughtered because we won't deny the name of Jesus. We aren't being burnt alive in our homes because we believe in Jesus. We aren't being beheaded because we won't deny that Jesus is our Lord. Visit the "Voice of the Martyrs" website: www.persecution.com and educate yourself in how to pray for the real persecution going on in our world. It begs the question. Would you be willing to die for what you believe about Jesus? That he is God? That he is Lord? That he died for our sin? That he rose again defeating death and sin and reigns eternally?


TAKE AWAYS: (Matthew 10:16-23)


1.) Persecution is inevitable.
"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves"
Jesus doesn't only say that persecution will be on it's way, but that he's sending us into the danger! Wait... Why would a Loving God send us into harm's way like a sheep in the midst of wolves? Because the mission is greater than the messenger. Jesus knows this well that his own mission, to die for our sins, had precedence to his comfort. We need to know that his sending us into the world that is dangerous and probable for persecution is strategic. "The healthy are in no need of a doctor, but the sick." Matt 9:12(paraphrase) The Word must go forth into the darkness. Notice however that this passage is not calling you to seek out persecution, but simply that you will be in the arena of danger from it.


2.) Train yourself.
"so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles."
No one would up and try to run a marathon without training first. If they do, they end up really hurting themselves. No one would go into a national championship game of any sport without first spending themselves in training to make sure they are at the peak of their game to win. No one would play for the London philharmonic without first memorizing the part they were featured on. Why would we then go into life thinking we can play it "on the fly" and be ok? Jesus calls us to "be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." What is so wise about a serpent? In Genesis 3:1 it mentions that the serpent was the most crafty of any other beast of the field. Craftiness is good for diversion and hiding yourself but also being a "step ahead" of the enemy. Know how to live in a hostile society so that you aren't necessarily stirring the pot, but you are still a force sharing the good news of the gospel. That means you will need buy-in to the game. You will need to be among the people, yet firm in what you believe and how you handle yourself. Always be aware though. But if you train yourself in the Word of God and are prepared, you will be a witness even if you are brought before "kings" for Jesus' sake.


3.) Do not worry.
"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
Say you are training yourself, you're trying the best you can to be prepared for persecution but you're caught off guard and you find yourself in questioning about what you believe and if you are a Jesus follower. God's grace is such in this situation to not just help you but speak for you. I'm so grateful for a God who is our greatest Lawyer in the times we will need him most. He will SPEAK FOR US!? That's awesome. This verse is one of my favorites in all of scripture because God has our backs. Do not worry, he's got it covered.


4.) You can't be liked by everyone.
"Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. "
If you are truly living and sold out for the gospel of Jesus, you will not be able to be liked by everyone. In fact, on top of being not liked by some, you will actually be hated by people because of the fact that you bear the name of Jesus on your life. There will be a time where even family members could be that role. Some people I know can attest to this already, that ever since they became a believer, their brother or their dad or parents will not talk to them and consider them dead. If you're hated because of Jesus, count it a privilege. Jesus said, "know this that if the world hates you, they hated me first." (John 15:18)


5.) Don't give up.
"But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
You don't have to fight to the death on everything. Endurance is often times avoidance and "retreat." Many times in scripture when Jesus is talking about the end times and persecution he urges you not to stand your ground and fight to the death, but to run to the hills, and flee. This isn't cowardice, it's smart. If you are wanting to use the extent of your life to make sure you reach as many people as you can with the Gospel, what good is that mission if you are put out of the game at the first "fight." Don't give up though. If you are made a fool in front of people because of what you believe about Jesus, you don't have to have your 17point proof ready to prove them wrong; the truth is the truth and the Lord will affirm that in you. Something is not true based on what the majority believes, but rather on what the Lord said. God's Word is absolute truth and Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Don't give up if/when you are persecuted in any form but brush it off, and move on. I'm reminded of the story in Acts 14 when Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city thinking that he was dead. Nope, he got up, brushed himself off, and moved on. He didn't give up, he endured. He didn't rally the troops to petition against the Lystrian government and their stoning practices. He moved on. Jesus also gives us an ending point to when it all comes to a close. When the Son of Man comes, we will never have to worry about this again. And he promises his return to be soon. So hold fast, don't give up, press on.


All this to say, persecution is a real and dangerous threat that is a growing possibility for us even in America. Let's be encouraged by what our Lord says and strengthen ourselves and prepare for the time to come. Let us also pray that the Lord doesn't tarry and that he will come soon and put an end to this suffering of believers around the world. He is faithful and will accomplish his purpose the Glory of His name. Let us do our part by faith to fulfill the great commission, spreading the gospel, knowing that he will be with us always, even to the end of the age.

An addiction like no other, only broken in Jesus.

This is a sermon by Mark Driscoll, one of my heroes of the pulpit. He speaks on the dangers of porn and the reality of what it is in our culture and day and age. I spoke this last weekend on the issue of porn as an addiction and a form of bondage that can only be broken in Christ knowing that we were bought with a price, we are not our own, so we must glorify God with our bodies. Enjoy.

Harvest Bible Chapel Spring Lake: Ants, Cement, and the Glory of God displayed

Harvest Bible Chapel Spring Lake: Ants, Cement, and the Glory of God displayed: If you know me, you know that I'm a huge fan of anything that shows the complexity and design of creation by our awesome, and all powerful G...

Why I Support the KONY 2012 Movement

If you haven't seen the Kony 2012 movie yet, please watch it and then you'll see why I'm in support of making a world criminal famous. Here is the movie made by Invisible Children INC.    
One of the things that hurts my heart ever since the day I first landed in Africa in 2005 was the amount of orphaned children running around.  They ran around with pot-bellies from the lack of protein in their diet. They ran around barefoot in the dusty and broken glass filled streets. They would literally pick mud balls off of the termite mounds and eat them because of the nourishment that the termites left in creating their mounds. The conditions that these kids lived in were horrendous. Many, if not all of them were orphans and the women of the villages would just care for whoever was in their home. The children were everywhere! And they would beg and plead for you to take them with you back to America. It was HEART-BREAKING. In 2007, I had the opportunity to do a similar trip back to Africa, this time centralized in Uganda. I had a camera, and I would take pictures of the faces of these beautiful children. Below are a couple examples of these pictures.  I never wanted to forget the faces of these children because they were a constant reminder to me of the pain in the world as a result of sin.
Were these children suffering because of their sin? Probably not. But they were suffering because sin entered this world and had ravaging effects throughout the generations. In Uganda, we saw many children whose parents were killed as a result of Joseph Kony and his child army. We didn't know it at the time, but the war that was happening in that land, even while we were there, was because of this man Joseph Kony and his abducting children to be sex slaves and warriors for his own gain and power.

My reason for joining in this movement is not because it's a Christian movement. Invisible Children INC. does not claim to be a Christian organization, nor do I believe it would have the same effect in our world if it were to claim to be Christian. The truth of this movement is that it hits on a nerve in every HUMAN that says murder, slavery, sexual exploitation, and abduction of innocent children is wrong. What this movement is doing is proving that there is an inherent morality in all humans that says that Joseph Kony is vile and doing evil things. This inherent morality in humans was given to us by God. In fact, it is a proof of the existence of God that atheists cannot account for. It's called the Moral Argument, and if you are struggling with doubt about if God is out there, google this argument and compare it with the 10 commandments that God has given us in his TRUE and perfect Word.

My reason for joining this movement is because I have a holy anger against anyone who would abuse a child.  I have a holy anger against anyone who would abduct a child and put them into sex slavery. I have a holy anger against anyone who would abduct a child, brainwash them into a killer, and force them to kill their parents and family.  I have a holy anger against anyone who sticks their middle finger up to a Holy and Righteous God in their pursuit of personal power and glory at others expense.

I also have a faith in a righteous, sovereign, and just God who will have his way with Joseph Kony ultimately, that is, unless he repents and gives his life to Christ.
WHAT!?!?!?!? CHRIS!? YOU'D WANT THIS GUY TO BE SAVED AFTER ALL HE'S DONE?!

yes...    This is not my flesh speaking, mind you.  My flesh want's this guy to burn.  But my transformed heart of flesh that God gave me from a heart of stone longs for this guy to see Jesus.  I may not have killed people.  I may not have abducted children.  I may not have sold young girls into sex slavery.  But I do know that my sin merits the exact same punishment that Joseph Kony deserves. But what I also know is that I serve a God of GRACE who in spite of my wickedness and sin sent his Son Jesus to die and take on my sin on the cross.  Jesus suffered the wrath that Kony deserves, the wrath that I deserved IN MY PLACE.  That's the gospel folks.

I believe that my God's grace can even extend to Joseph Kony and I would love to see that be the end of this horrible story.  Keep in mind that Paul was like Joseph Kony before Jesus stopped him in his tracks on the road to Damascus and said, "Saul, why do you persecute me?"  We all are like Joseph Kony APART from a relationship and trust in Jesus Christ taking our sin away with his perfect sacrifice.

So why do I support the Kony 2012 movement? Because I want this guy to be stopped, and I want the rest of the people on the International Criminal list stopped. But I want people through this movement to question where their hope can ultimately be held.  In a fallen world hope can be put in the hands of a government that tries to stop people like Joseph Kony, but you will ultimately be disappointed sometime along the way.  In a fallen world hope can only be held securely in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins by the shedding of his blood for us.  It is my hope that through this movement people find their hope in Jesus, and that pastors and Christians alike will use the vileness of Joseph Kony as an example of a sinner that STILL has a chance for forgiveness.

We need to step out of our flesh and into the sovereignty of God and pray that this man is stopped, but also that he might see the error of his way and repent.  There will still be the earthly consequence of his sin, but even Kony can find forgiveness in Jesus Christ. If we struggle with this thought, we need to give our lives a reality check about our sin, and realize that ALL SIN grieves the heart of God, and small or big, our sin separates us from God apart from Christ.  This is a sobering thing that forces us to rely on a gracious God, and not our own strength and understanding. That is my prayer for this movement.

Professional Grade Church Livestreaming on a Budget

The only addition to this photo that wasn't mentioned in
this blog is the audio/midi interface underneath the
Ultramatch Pro which is used for video/audio editing
and is not needed for video broadcasting.

A little more than a year ago I was one of 3 pastors planting a church in Spring Lake, MI.  We started with a core team of about 50-70 people. A year and a half later we are now bursting at 300-350 on an average weekend.  God is good! With that came the fluke scenario of my sister, being the wife of one of the other pastors, being put on bed-rest because of her pregnancy. She came to me and said, "Chris, I don't want to miss church! Is there possibly a way that I could watch the service live?" I knew there were websites like livestream.com or ustream.com that accomplish this very thing, but how to do it for our church was a different story.  That next week, I simply turned my macbook backward toward the stage of our church and logged into ustream.com and posted the link on our facebook page so my sister could watch the service.  The quality was horrendous and the sound was not good, but she was able to be part of the service, in the comfort of her bed-rest situation.  Fast forward a couple weeks, a couple starts coming to our church and decides it to be their church home.  We asked, "how did you hear about us?"and they said, "we moved into the area recently and looked online for some nearby churches and found the link to your live feed on a sunday morning and decided from watching the service online that we wanted to be part of this church..."  I then had a conversation with my pastor about the possibility of putting some money into it because it could potentially be a big ministry arm of our church.  He agreed and we bought a better camera and a computer designated to this specifically.  Well, as the next year went by, we were broadcasting our services and then a women's bible study on tuesdays that then would be available throughout the rest of the week for ladies to review the material with. We went from a backward macbook to now a team of 5 using 2 cameras and a professional video switching controller.
I know what you're thinking, "well you must have an awesome budget."  Well, I don't really have a set budget right now because of our growth determining the rate and quality of things spent.  So we have put more money into this, seeing it as an important part of our ministry, however that didn't mean I wanted to go crazy and spend 10-20k on a system.  This blog is for you to benefit from as either a big or small church looking to dive into the realm of livestreaming and video recording your services. What used to cost into the 10's of thousands of dollars now can be accomplished with professional quality for under 3 thousand. Not to mention the following system that I've designed for our church is extremely user friendly and easy to learn and train people on, even though it is a multi camera setup. I hope this is helpful for anyone in a church production team looking to expand without breaking the bank.

Here is the price list of a system that when connected together correctly will achieve a live broadcast for your church of professional quality:

• 1 ATEM Television Studio (Information) (Amazon) $945
• 1 Computer with a good deal of processing and memory power (pricing varies)
•     note: the computer i use for livestreaming at our church is doubled as the video production studio computer and has an 8core processor and 12GB ram.  That much power is NOT needed for this system to work, though is helpful.  If you get a computer that ranges with 4GB ram and a faster processor, quadcore etc. will be fine. 
• 4 HDMI powered inline amplifiers. (the ATEM is finicky over long distance HDMI cables and requires a very good signal, so to have 2 amplifiers connected to each run over 15 ft will help the ATEM get signal up to 100 ft.) (Radioshack)  $80
• 2 Canon VIXIA HF R20 HD camcorders (Amazon) $600
• 1 two channel analog to digital audio converter. Behringer ULTRAMATCH PRO SRC2496
• This is needed incase your soundboard doesn't have an AES output.  Most don't, so this is a $163 solution to this problem which will allow you to connect a R L stereo output direct from your soundboard directly into the ATEM through this converter.  You could also use two separate room mics connected to this if you don't want to go direct from the board. This converts analog audio to digital AES/EBU with an XLR connection output which you will need to convert to a BNC connection with a XLR to BNC transformer $17 (Markertek)
• (B&HPhotovideo) $163
• 1 1080p tv 24" (Amazon) does not need to be fancy, just needs to have an HDMI input. $180

• this is to connect to the ATEM in the multiview hdmi port to see the multi-camera and preview and program screens. 
• 6+ HDMI cables of various lengths.  Amazon sells these cheap. I ordered a 100' HDMI cable which works only with 2 of the above inline amplifiers hooked in. The ATEM is finicky with the HDMI inputs, so the shorter the cable the better, and the longer the run, you will need to amplify it on both ends. $50-100
• 1 BNC cable to connect digital audio signal from Behringer ultramatch to ATEM $5 (Amazon) 
• 1 Professional Surge Protection rack mountable power supply (Amazon) $55

I think that about handles everything.  With the exception of maybe a few misc cables you might need like a USB cable from the ATEM to the computer, this setup has a grand total (minus computer) of $2095. If you have a budget of 3 grand you could get a fantastic computer for around the 800-900 mark. 

Connecting this all together is fairly intuitive.  Run power for everything. Connect the ATEM via USB to the computer.  Connect ATEM via ethernet to the internet (it is controlled via IP address through the computer connected to the same internet source, the software provided helps you set this up). Connect the 22"tv to the multiview HDMI output on the ATEM. Connect the cameras via HDMI cables to the HDMI inputs on the ATEM, and they will appear on the TV screens under cameras 1 and 2.  Connect the Behringer Ultramatch pro via BNC cable to the ATEM AES/EBU input.  Connect via XLR cables the Audio L R from your church soundboard into the Analog inputs on the Behringer. 

Then you can use a free service like www.Livestream.com with their program called "procaster" and it will recognize the ATEM as a certified camera and using the ATEM controller software you can freely and easily mix a professional quality video of your service and stream it live to the world. 


Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or suggestions!  I hope this helps you to be able to expand your ministry, thus expanding the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is what all of this technological mumbojumbo is meant to do. I hope that the name of Jesus is exalted as a result of our church broadcasts. 

Kirk Franklin, Blood, and Jehovah's Witnesses (a Rant)

Driving to my office this morning was met with a little praise party in my car.  I was listening to some of the best music, in my opinion, out there: Kirk Franklin, particularly his "Hello Fear" Album. (subscribe to my "Gospel" playlist on www.Spotify.com to listen to it!) As with all things, you must discern the overall message of the song.  Sometimes my boy Kirk get's some flack for SOME of his music being shallow with more emotion than content.  I can agree with that statement with some of his songs, but one thing I'm learning a lot recently is that you can't accurately judge a person by their shadow. I certainly wouldn't want people to say I AM what I was in the past.  All that said, I had the opportunity to meet Kirk and find out that he's the real deal.  And if you know his music as deeply and intimately as I do, you'd notice a refreshing refining of theology in his music throughout his years as an artist.  His latest album, "Hello Fear" is STEEPED in the blood of Christ and the GOSPEL of Jesus as the substitutionary atonement. There is a song (titled: "But the blood")  that has these lyrics, "by the blood, falling on us, but the blood, gives me purpose, but the blood, You are for us, but the blood, Who can be against us?..."  The music, mind you, is getting more and more different from traditional black gospel music, but the message is floating in the blood of Christ.  Which brings up my topic for today.  What's with the Christian's fascination with blood?
I'm not sure if this has ever creeped you out at all about Christianity, and the more I think of it in the literal sense, it is kinda gross but in the spiritual sense it is glorious: without the blood of Christ, we'd be toast!
I'm attempting to read through the bible in 90 days, and so far I'm on track, but getting through Leviticus and Numbers was hard!  One thing I've been reminded of this time around is that the blood of the animal being sacrificed was sacred. God had very specific rules and regulations surrounding the blood of the animals. And when God gives his law, he also mentions that no man should eat the blood of any animal because the "life" is in the blood, "for it is the blood that makes atonement by the LIFE." (Lev 17:11).  And the writer of Hebrews uses this same passage in mind in 9:22 "...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."
I like the fact that God uses this imagery of "life" in the blood.  Because that is exactly what we are given through Christ's blood. Jesus is the perfect, spotless, lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn1:29) and His sacrifice on our account is our salvation. The only reason why this can be is because JESUS IS GOD.  GOD HIMSELF sacrificed HIMSELF for us and our atonement from the wrath of HIMSELF because of OUR sin!
When the priests in the Old Testament would take the blood of the atonement and "throw" it on the people, the same thing happens with us with Christ's blood. Christ's blood, like the song said above, "fallen on us" is our atonement!
But here's the clincher, the blood hasn't fallen on you if you don't believe you need forgiveness. The blood means nothing to you if you don't think you are a sinner. The blood means nothing to you even if you "believe in Jesus and that he died on a cross somewhere" but don't believe that He's GOD himself.
One last story.
This last week, I had two Jehovah's Witnesses knock on the door.  My wife went down and then came back up and said, "you're going to have to take this one." So I talked with them at the door.  "You're a bible reader?"  Me: "yes, I'm a pastor I love to read the bible." Then they said something about Abraham, and I returned with something about how they are Mormon (though I knew they weren't) and they were like, "Oh we're not Mormon! We're Jehovah's Witness... You're Christian right?"  Me: "yes, I am"  Them: "Oh! We are too! We believe in Jesus!"  Me: "But do you believe he is God?"  Them: "Uh.. no He's not God,  He's the son of God.." Me: "No, He IS God... and because you just said that, I'm not interested in hearing any more from you.." And with relief in their voices they said, "Ok well you have a good day!"
I want to say this as delicate as I can, many people in this world can say and in truth that they believe in Jesus and even that he historically died on a cross somewhere in the middle east.  BUT the way of truth is narrow and it is in the fact that Jesus IS God that will trip people up, and that God himself had to die BECAUSE of them!  And it was the blood of God himself that had HIS LIFE in it that falls on the true believer.  That is the only way of salvation. By the blood of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, God Himself.
Please don't gloss over the gloriousness of Christ's blood today shed for you! And maybe if you're reading this today and never really thought about the importance of Jesus as God himself and his blood was shed for you, I urge you to believe that with all of your heart and rejoice today in your salvation! If that's you, please find a bible believing church to get connected and pursue your new relationship with Christ and fellowship in the body of Christ!
Have a great day!

"Tebowing" doen't make Tebow a Christian

I was in my bowling league last night (please take this moment to laugh and then read on), and the guys on my team know that I'm a pastor and often times they'll do things that they think will "please" me because I'm a "man of the cloth," as they say. I like bowling, but the reason why I joined this league was not to boost my average, but to live on mission and join a random group and show them the love of Jesus. I've had some great conversations around the table between frames with these guys. I'm not trying to force feed the bible down their throats, but more so hoping that they see that a true Christian can actually be a fun and cool guy.
In our culture, the "bible bubble," or "bible belt" as West Michigan has been called, has really perfected the art of polarization of so-called "believers" with the so-called "pagans."  Kids often grow up with the false notion that it is sinful to be in the presence of non-christians.  So we put our kids through Christian schools, we put them in Christian daycares, we have them make a list of their "approved" Christian friends that they are allowed to hang out with, and in all good intentions think we are growing our kids to be "good" Christians. The truth is, all of those things, though very good, don't make anyone or any kid a "Christian" any more than the act of "Tebowing" makes Tebow a Christian.
My teammate last night decided that after he got a strike that he would "Tebow."  And he did, and everyone looked at him, and he looked at me with the face of, "yea! you like that right?! right?! that's cool for you right? You want me to do this cause your a pastor right!?"  He genuinely wasn't trying to make fun of me, but in sincerity was trying to "please" me with his "christianeze" gesture.  When actually, he was just making a fool out of himself.
Let me pause and say this, I am a big Tebow fan. I have nothing wrong with the guy, and I very much appreciate that he "Tebows" still to this day and probably for his career. Why? Because he IS a Christian. I know that not because he "Tebows" but because his testimony is lifting high the name of Jesus and when given platform at press conferences, he uses that opportunity to glorify God and thank Jesus for taking his place on the cross.  Tebow is a Christian because he believes the Gospel, and as an outpouring of his heart and love of Jesus, he "Tebows."
The bible talks about "white washed tombs" (Matt 23:27) as those Pharisaical people who have made everything on the outward of their lives look perfect and "christian" yet are just fresh paint on a dead body. You aren't Christian because you are a good person or do "Christian" things, you are a Christian if you believe that Jesus died in your place because of your sin!
So in my bowling league, I'm hoping to show these guys that I'm not a whitewashed tomb, but rather that I'm a new creation because of what Jesus has done in his sacrifice for my sin. That I'm a broken man in the process of eternal healing through Christ's sanctification. That I'm NOT perfect, but forgiven.  I'm growing some good relationships with these guys and what used to be entire nights without one mention of God's word has now turned into at least one maybe two different conversations about what the one guy's female pastor talked about and where she found that in the bible (as an example) or the other guy, last night, who was talking about how he really liked Revelation, and actually KNEW that it correlated with the book of Daniel! Who knew!? The guys I bowl with have the appearance of religion but I pray that the gospel would impact their hearts in a powerful way, it if hasn't already.

A Letter to a Porn Addict

Disclaimer: The subject manner of this blog is spoken of very directly. It is also a very long blog; you may want to find a time suitable to read in one sitting. Thanks!

Friends, if you were to tell me that going into ministry would mean countless situations where I would have to counsel, sometimes emergency counseling at an ungodly time of night, people who are stricken with guilt, fear, and addiction to sex, I wouldn't have believed you.  Well, I would be lying if I said that that statement weren't true.  Just like Joseph at the end of Genesis (50:19-21) talking to his brothers saying, "you meant to harm me with this, but God meant it for good so that MANY people would be saved..." (paraphrase). I'm finding myself put in the same situation.  I have been counseling, as of late, MANY young men between the age of 14-19 on the issue of sexual purity.  These young men, by their own admission, cannot control themselves in looking at pornography, going too far with their girlfriends, or even the silent killer ("shhh don't talk about it!") masturbation.  To say that at their age, I didn't struggle in one form or another in the area of purity would be a big lie. And I had spent many days with a guilt that weighed so heavy on my heart and listening to the lies that Satan tells you about your worthlessness and weakness.  If you don't believe me, ask my dad, he was the best counselor that I had going through this season as a young man. (DAD'S DON'T MISS THAT SENTENCE).  I remember days where because of this hidden sin in my heart I honestly would believe the lie, from Satan, that God had given up saving me because of this sin.   

Why would I be transparent about this? Why would I step out on this limb as a pastor and say I went through this? Here's the reason. I think we have gone far enough in our "christian bubbles" emasculating our congregations by accepting this sin and not dealing with it, not speaking into it, and not educating and challenging our young people about it.  Is it happening in some situations? Certainly! And I thank God for those situations, but I have recently seen and have been able to prove that the area of sexual purity in our contemporary time is not "a" issue, but "the" issue for young men. 

Another reason why I am transparent about this is because this issue was something Satan meant to harm me, but God, in his grace, has turned around and because of my testimony and deliverance through Jesus' sacrifice and the power of the Holy Spirit in defeating temptation, He now uses for good so that many young men can be challenged and hopefully transformed by the Word of God in my testimony. 

So with that said, I've written many letters, like the one below, to many young men when I have been approached by them to help them with this major problem in their lives. Dads out there with young sons in this age range who don't even know where to begin, feel free to copy this letter and personalize it and give it to your boy(s). I cannot stress enough that DADS NEED to be more present in their sons lives about this sin problem. 

Dear _______________,

What you have told me took a lot of courage to do.  To come out and say #1 I'm struggling, and #2 I need help is a very good first step in defeating this sin.  I want to warn you though, from this point on, you've just waged war with the enemy because you want to put to death an idol in your heart that was successfully taking your worship away from Jesus.  Satan and his army are going to be firing their arrows at you pretty strong now and you need to realize that you are not without protection and an arsenal to defend and attack. The word of God is going to be your best weapon against the temptations of Satan to get you to fall back into this sin.  Psalm 119: 9 says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your (God's) word." I know that reading the bible regularly is probably a foreign concept to you, if you were to be honest, but you need to know that the bible is not just a book, it is the very word of God that Hebrews says is "sharper than a double edged sword piercing to the division of joint and marrow..." It acts as a mirror to your heart to reveal the sin and clutter that is preventing Christ from having full reign over your life.  Sin is revealed and then needs to be repented of. God's word is powerful to do that.  God's word is also (John 1) Christ himself. Jesus IS the word of God and the fact that Jesus is your savior from sin should spark in you the logical conclusion that you need God's word to help resist and defeat sin in your life.  When Christ died and rose from the dead taking away the wrath of God against the sin of those who believe in Jesus, we sometimes forget that he ROSE FROM THE DEAD! Death was defeated, the snare of sin is defeated! See, we do not have to be, as believers of Jesus, under the control of sin any longer! 1 Corinthians 15 says, 

• ""Death is swallowed up in victory," "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..."  (15:54b-57)

My first challenge to you in this sin problem of yours is to defeat the ultimate heart issue that you have in the fact that you have an idol that you are worshiping more than Jesus Christ. That should scare you because you are saying you are a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, yet this sin has control over you. 

To combat idolatry you turn to your savior Jesus.  I don't want you to just read the bible and think you are doing something magical that will help you in this.  I want you to "spend time" with your SAVIOR. Spend time with Jesus daily! When you spend time with a good friend, you don't hang out with just enough time to read them a paragraph of information and then leave thinking you are a great friend. SPEND TIME having a relationship with your savior Jesus Christ. Surround yourself with reminders of who He is and God's grace in your life and revel in the joy that is to be had in a relationship with him that is more than just reading your chapter a day.  

Ok, can I throw a flag of foul? I addressed the most significant problem that you have in this sin. The problem is, "idolatry" is ultimately the root of all sorts of different sins.  However, YOU are stuck in SEXUAL sin. And because you are stuck in sexual sin, you need a little more convincing and the fog cleared up to realize that this is indeed an idol in your life.  I can tell you that you have an idol, but you ultimately probably won't truly understand it until you recognize the consequence of this particular idol.  See, because idols have two forms of consequences, spiritual and worldly.  The spiritual consequence of this sexual idol that you have in your heart is happening already and you are just starting to realize it: your heart is turned from worship of Jesus to the worship of self gratification and entitlement which is numbing you to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.  You are quenching the spirit because you are consistently giving in to the temptation to look at porn, to masturbate, to go too far with your girlfriend, etc. Quenching the Spirit is deliberately going against the wisdom of your conscience saying, "don't do this!!! this isn't honoring the Lord!!! Stop!! don't go on!!"  The ultimate consequence of quenching the Spirits warning in your life is the possibility that you will be so scaring your ability to hear the Spirit's warning that the Lord, like he did in Romans 1 to those who were being sexually immoral, will "give you up to the desires of your flesh..." I don't think you want this to happen, but I also don't think you understand how serious that consequence to this sin is.  So let me run you through some consequences and implications of this sin that you may be convinced by. 

When you look at and access porn on the internet, you are supporting an industry in America that is responsible for putting young women and even children of both sexes against their will into a forced and filmed lifestyle of sex.  This is called sex slavery, and it happens in America every day. Every day thousands of young girls and boys are being forced into the porn industry because of the demand that is created and the money to be made by their pimps, EVEN by the free stuff. By watching porn on the internet, YOU now have the guilt on your hands of supporting this underground sex trade in America. You think this sin is harmless, that no one is being affected by it, that this is only YOUR business? Think again. You now have on your internal resume a line that says, "contributed to the sex trade in America."

How about this one, on the pornography subject still. You will probably go to college and spend thousands upon thousands of your parent's money to get a degree and go into a field of work that can make you money to live comfortably when you're older.  Now money isn't everything and it is an idol in and among itself often times, but almost every creditable organization or corporation that you are probably looking to work for and cash in your hard earned degree has a NO TOLERANCE policy to porn on the work computer.  Which means that if you have so much as a source of porn on your computer at work, you could be fired on the spot! And guess what, that shows up on your record and possibly, depending on the situation, put you on the regional sexual offenders list.  Worth it? 

Let's get real and talk about the more addicting of the problems that your facing right now.  Chances are, you could turn off the computer and go cold turkey on the porn thing, but your left with a physiological problem now of your body so used to what you were probably doing while looking at Porn. Masturbation is an action that spurs on a feeling and a mental scenario that is actually placing you, in your imagination, inside the scenario that you are watching. When you pull the plug on the computer and are left with only your imagination, you think you've forgotten those images and scenarios that you succumbed yourself to? No.  So in essence, masturbation, even without images, is a porn source for you. And it is often the harder of the two addictions to kick.  

When it comes to masturbating you need to realize two things.  One, in doing so, you are stealing from your future wife. What you are doing while masturbating is saying to God, "I know you have a time frame for this thing called sex, and I know ONLY your ways are perfect, but I want to be impatient and experience what you meant for me to experience and find more joy in with my future wife." The common misconception is that if, as a young man, you don't masturbate, you won't have an avenue for the "release of sexual tension."  What isn't told you by those advocators is that physiologically, the more your body is released of its sperm supply, the more your body is conditioned to produce it and at higher volumes.  So, in essence, by "releasing your sexual tension" you are actually creating a greater one! Ok, Chris, what the heck? How will this tension go away then? You think God doesn't have an answer to this? He does, and chances are, because of the severity of this issue, you may have never experienced one of these.  God's NATURAL and planned way to relieve a young man of his sexual tension is through nocturnal emission. When you wake up at night thinking you peed your bed, it's really God's way of being faithful to his sexual plan for you to WAIT until your married. Yes, this is awkward to talk about, but if you don't man up and get past the awkwardness, you're going to subject yourself to guilt that can be devastating. 

The question I know you are thinking at this point is probably this, "Wait, is masturbating ok if I'm not going through a scenario that is pornographic in my head?" My answer to this is probably obvious. Is it possible to masturbate as a young man without those pictures and images in your head? The answer is probably 95% no.  For the other 5% you need to realize another facet of masturbation that has convinced me that it is indeed something that you shouldn't do and probably sinful in itself. When God talks about immorality in the Bible, like Romans 1 for example, he uses the term "unnatural" to describe the relations and actions that are being done. In God's created order, there are NATURAL processes, and if something is unnatural, it is often opposing to the Lord.  Look at the example in Romans 1 where God gave them up to the desires of their flesh because the men were relating with other men in an unnatural way: homosexuality. In law (Leviticus for example) homosexuality is said to be an "abomination" to the Lord and was worthy of death. Why? because it is, in the most direct way, in opposition to the NATURAL way of God's created order! Now, let me ask you this.  Is masturbation a heterosexual or homosexual action? 

OUCH!!  If you're thinking, "obviously it's heterosexual because in my head is a heterosexual scenario," my next question is this, "ok, well then, what parts are you actually playing with?" 

Masturbation, as an action of itself is a homosexual action. You are by definition having sex with yourself ("homo" = same).  

If you look at the influx of young people in current time who are coming "out of the closet" as homosexual, you look back,  and see a generation that was spoon fed "for the sake of "safe sex" you need to explore yourself sexually and thus prevent the possibility of having a baby that you weren't planning on..." Please note, this isn't a scientific fact, only a logical observation. Are there more people saying they are homosexual because they have been convinced over their pubescent years to be comfortable and actually prefer to have sex with themselves and their own sexual organs that they now want to cohabit and have sex with their own kind? 

What you need to understand is that because of sin, our hearts are filthy to the core. But Jesus came to save people like you and me who have made mistakes and are sinful. But to take hold of the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat this sexual sin in your life is not going to be easy, and will require sacrifice. You need to realize that you have this sin problem, and you need to realize the idol that is trying to kick Jesus off the throne.  God is not up there with a scowl on his face about ready to throw a lighting bolt and finish you off right now or every time you've failed!  Sure, sin grieves the heart of God but he is a God of grace who looks down on his most grand creation and says, "come back!! Let me pick you up! Let me dust off the dirt, let me put salve on your wound, let me HEAL YOU!!!" When God sent his son to die on the cross for you, he COMPLETED what he said he was going to do.  And you NEED to believe that Jesus took your place on the cross because of this and the rest of the sin in your life.  And when you understand and believe that Jesus is your Savior, the guilt is lifted away and the flood of forgiveness washes over you! What an amazing God we have who is willing to do this freely!

I do have to make this point however, because I know your head is going there.  "If he always forgives, then why can't I keep this sin that I cherish so much knowing that he is just going to keep forgiving and by doing so make his grace for me more famous!?" Romans 6 says, "Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound? By no means! who have we who have died to sin to still live in it?" Don't suck the blood out of the hand that feeds you! God is gracious yes, but are you proving that you believe that Christ really died for your sin if you are still actively pursuing your sin? I'll let you answer that one. 

I want to finish with the promise that God gives us in 1 Corinthians 10:13-15:

• No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
• Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
• (1 Corinthians 10:13-15 ESV)

Can you come to your senses today and see that the grace of God through Jesus Christ has the power to save you even from this awful sin? I'm spoken very direct to you today because I love you and don't want to see you hurt severely from this sin. I want you to see that you can have freedom in your relationship with Jesus and look at this sin as a thing of the past.  It's going to take some hard work and sacrifice, but I know you can do it, and I'm here to help you stay on track. I pray that you will hear my words sincerely and respond to the conviction of God through them. 

Sincerely,

Chris

Church Growth Strategy

Have you ever had a time with the Lord in His word where you're like, "I know I've read this book before, but THIS verse, I don't ever remember reading this! This is GOLD!" 

I had that very thing happen to me today while reading and underlining through the book of Acts. I got to Acts 9, which is the conversion of Saul and about 3/4 of the way through is verse 31:

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.  And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied." 

This is how I've learned the Lord works! He gives you nuggets of gold here and there, as if to specifically encourage or challenge you in response to your concern or prayers of late.  Lately, I've been troubling myself and worrying about how or what we can do as a church to grow and not get stale or stagnant.  I feel often like we have planted in a desert and soon our water is going to run dry.  How foolish was I to think that the end result of growth of our church was all of my or our leadership's doing? I knew that at a surface level, sure, but deep down, I've been convicted of trying to be in control of our growth, to "keep the momentum" going, to do everything I can to make sure people are walking through the doors.  

So I have my time with the Lord this morning and read Acts 9:31 and realize in the most loving way that the Lord is saying, "doofus, chill. Rest in me and grow your fear and find comfort in the Holy Spirit." Is there a role that I can play in the growth of our church? Yes, but it's in cultivating my fear of the Lord and comfort in the Holy Spirit and relying on the Lord to multiply; not fancy lighting, not catchy logos or series titles, and yes, not even billboards.  All of those things are ways we ultimately respond to our growing fear of the Lord and comfort in the Holy Spirit who challenges us in our MISSION. Those things in themselves, when not motivated by a fear of the Lord and the gospel mission, are just that: things.  

The early church was growing and "multiplying" greatly because of their walking in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:7  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..." 

Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!"

So, I have been challenged. I have been convicted. I have been empowered now to find my comfort in the Holy Spirit and see our church grow and seek to cultivate in our people to "walk in the fear of the Lord."

So... How's that going for you? I'm a work in progress. 

Psalms for the Simple (8 of 150): Praise

Hey all,
If there were a Psalm that I wish I could have branded on the frontside of my brain to be the first thing I think about when I wake up, I think it would be this one.  Psalm 8 is a GREAT way to wake up and commit your day to the Lord.  If you will, let me convince you of this.
Themes by verse:
Verse 1: The name of the Lord is majestic and greater than any other name in history, PERIOD. In Philippians 2:9-11 says "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus ever knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Interesting point: The name of the Lord brings God glory, "you have set your glory above the heavens." No thing, and no one can take God's glory from him, it is out of our reach, yet so overwhelming that it drops us to our knees when we think of how it was displayed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our place on account of OUR sin! God is glorified and his name is made great because of his grace.
Ok that was verse 1.  This post could get VERY long if I'm not careful.  I want to challenge you to read this Psalm and think through them in this way: theme it out verse or section by section.  Even write in your margin if you want to remember your time with the Lord and what he was teaching you.
Verse 2 is interesting. What do babies and infants have to do with strength against foes? According to my ESV study bible, this could be a reference to the people of Israel being compared to the majesty of the Lord and how it doesn't matter the size or strength of the actual person/people, but more so what they are praising.  I say praising here because it says that God has established strength out of the "mouths" of infants.  I looked into this a little more and saw that the Septuagint uses a greek word for "strength" that means "strength attributed to God in song."  In other words, the people of Israel are, out of their mouths, though small and infantile they are compared to God, proclaiming the strength of God. It's praise. And when your strength rests in the Lord, your enemies are nothing, and thus are "stilled."  Interesting eh?!
How are you proclaiming the Lord as your strength today, this week? Do you trust the Lord with your concerns? Do you recognize yourself as infantile and minuscule compared to our amazingly great God? And do you know that your size or inferiority doesn't prohibit you from a relationship with him? God opened that door to us through Jesus Christ who paid the price of our sin on the cross.  He is the reason we can, though inferior, proclaim HIS strength in our lives.  Do you know Jesus?! That's paramount to this whole discussion.
Verse 3-8 is a great description and declaration of the coming (now come) Messiah Jesus.  Read that and see how he is ruler over all things and the only one in scripture who is worthy of Glory and Honor. He is the only one who is given dominion over the works of God's hands. Jesus is ALL over this section.
The Psalm finishes just like it started, (we call this bookending, there's a bigger name for it, but I can't recall it off hand.) Verse 9: The name of the Lord is the greatest and most majestic name in all of history and even before time, period.

I guarantee you start your day off with this in mind, you will have a proper perspective to your day. If you're ambitious, commit this whole Psalm to memory and have it playing through your mind on repeat all day. You cannot be shaken when you are pursuing the Lord, and when you are "bumped" with the stress and trials of this life, you spill what you are full of.  Make your life full of praise to God for the sending of his Son Jesus who saves you.

Have a blessed day!

Working on a God @ Work video today

Our church has, by God's grace, been growing and flourishing beyond our expectations this year.  God has definitely been working and is at work in our church!  One of the greatest joys as a pastor here is to see and have a front row seat to not only God's work in our church body as a whole, but also in the individual level of those apart of it.
When people ask me the question, "hey, how's it going with the new church?" I love to turn them to our website that has our growing collection of God @ Work videos.  I recently wrote a post about the "God @ Work Initiative" (CLICK HERE)  This post describes the background thought, logic, and preparation to what we hold very dear at our church: Personal Testimony.  One of the best ways in God's grace in drawing people to himself is through those who have a story about how God drew them to himself! It's a simple logic: God is at work, and his work is contagious, so let's tell people how he is at work and see how he uses that for his ultimate glory in bringing people to himself through the work of Jesus Christ.
Today I get to work on one of those videos.  It is a long tedious process, but one that I will gladly take on because of the proclamation of the gospel, not from a preacher whom you'd expect it from, but from the person sitting next to you in the congregation.  It's one thing for a preacher to get up and share the gospel, which our pastoral staff does really well, but it's another, more rewarding thing, to see that Gospel through the Holy Spirit being proclaimed out of the mouths of those it's being preached to!
Our ultimate goal with these God @ Work videos is to glorify God by encouraging and challenging people to get out of their box and share the story of how God brought them to their knees and rescued them in His love through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, by faith.
Here are a few examples of the videos I'm talking about, and soon I will post the video of the one I'm working on.  Enjoy!

Psalms for the Simple (7 of 150): Refuge

Psalm 7 is one of the psalms that I think provides the most comfort for those who struggle with the fear of man.  I can relate well to the fear of man because that has been the thorn in my flesh for most of my life. When I hear of something that someone said about me that isn't true, like slander or mockery, it really tears to my heart. Why? I want to be liked! I want to be someone who EVERYONE likes and I have worked hard to try to make it that way. Unfortunately, that goal will absolutely NEVER happen.  Not everyone will like you, not everyone will be on your side.  Not everyone will support you or will be an asset for your mission.  And our challenge, as those who struggle with a fear of man is to GET OVER IT! Who cares what that person thinks of me!?
Easier said than done, I agree, however the bible says "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe." ~Ps 29:25
So what do we do when we face slander in our lives? What do we do when something is said of us and is spread of us that isn't true? What do we do when someone seems to be out to get you and you don't know why and they don't stop? Psalm 7 gives us a great insight into the heart of David who is struggling with that same problem and comes to his conclusion: find refuge in the Lord, NOT man!

Under the title of this psalm it tells us that this was a song of David in response to the words of Cush.  I briefly tried to research what happened, or what Cush said, but came up empty.  But based on the psalm, it would seem that this bully Cush decided to slander David in some way that really hurt David to the core.
So David responds in anger and as king lashes out with his army to kill Cush! Right? No.  David turns to the Lord as his refuge and brings his concern and problem to the feet of the Most High.
Vs 1-2: "O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver."
If you've ever been bullied in your life, and not just as a child in grade school, but even in adulthood, you know exactly why David described it like a lion who is tearing his soul apart.  Undeserved and unprovoked torment and slander is most painful! But we can learn from David's example here and approach the throne of God with our concern and have him search us and cry out for deliverance.
Notice in verse 3 that David, before moving on into praying for God's revenge, prays first for the Lord to reveal to him any fault of the matter. "Am I deserving of this? If I did, even unintentionally, let my enemy overtake me." David is quick to take blame and repent of something HE DIDN'T DO! He just wanted to make sure, before the Lord, that he was innocent of the slander against him. That's a man right there. Living up to something that maybe only the Lord knows you are at fault for and taking the punishment. However, the Lord determines that fault, not the other party.
David then opens up his mouth the praise of a God who stands up for the righteous, who protects the upright in heart, and lays waste the wicked man.
At the end of his reflection, David worships the Lord (vs 17).  How often do we bring our complaints to the Lord and expect him to fix our problems, but are so angry about the situation that we fail to worship the guy who we are appealing to to help us!? We ought to give thanks everyday for the grace and faithfulness of God for even waking us up in the morning! Let us also bring our concerns before the Lord, but remember him as our Savior and king, the ruler of all, the creator of all, the epitome of righteousness, the only name worthy of praise and glory.

If you are reading this and have experienced slander, or maybe are in a work situation with someone who just plain bullies you.  The LORD is your refuge, not the approval of that person. The LORD is your refuge, not the ceasing of that slander.  The LORD is your refuge and give thanks to him for the ultimate vengeance on your part by Him!

Conclusion: Jesus as our Worship Pastor

I want to close simply and quickly with a thought about our Savior.  Jesus is the worship pastor for worship pastors.  When in doubt turn to the author and perfecter of your faith. Wake up every morning calibrating your heart in the light of Jesus, then you cannot help but have a pure and biblical motivation. Preach the gospel to yourself. It will keep you humble knowing constantly that Jesus is still the hero, not you.  He is the mediator between God and man, and ultimately without him, our jobs are pointless: we can never lead someone into the presence of God as a sinner.  Jesus is our worship pastor who leads us as the ultimate prophet being the voice of God. He leads us as the ultimate king providing the greatest, yet surprisingly simple structure of honoring God found in his word, the bible. And he leads us as the ultimate high priest who can sympathize with our weakness yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:14-16). Always hold fast to your Savior knowing that all of the strategies, philosophies, and methods discussed in this study would be a fleeting futility apart from Jesus as its foundation. When he is your focus, you will be able to adequately cultivate a culture of worship in yourself and reflect that upon your congregation. I finish with the words of Psalm 113:1-3

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised! ^[1]

---

^[1] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 113:1–3.

Worship Pastor as King (cont.)

Auditions and Applications

To lead in a kingly fashion, begin to form processes and procedures for auditioning perspective volunteers. Construct and work closely with your senior pastor on all aspects of this job, but particularly on the fine print of these applications so as to be able to draw out the necessary information from an applicant on where they could best be used in your ministry or perhaps another ministry in your church. For auditions, be sure to have another ministry leader or staff apart of the audition. This will protect you from the possibility of accusations as a response to a declination to be on the team. Never audition alone and allow the other person to provide input so as not to give the impression that you and you only run the show in pride.

           

Planning Tools

You should have your services planned out with plenty of time for your team to be comfortable with the music.  This does not mean that you can’t make last minute changes or allow the Spirit to take you on a worship tangent. What it does mean is that you have a venue by which your team has access to recordings, charts, sheet music, etc so that they can be prepared and competent with the music. There are many different venues to choose from, but with modern technology and resources available on the Internet, I’d suggest ministries such as Planning Center Online,[1] to upload service plans and schedule volunteers in advance. As a general rule of thumb, I have found that it works best to have your volunteers planned out at least 1 month in advance and your services planned out at least 2 weeks in advance. I have used Planning Center Online for a few years with success.

           

            Rehearsals are opportunities

If you have a worship ministry with musicians whose caliber merits a necessity for a midweek rehearsal, then there is no question that you should have one. Striving for excellence is not an idol if you do it for the purpose of bringing the Lord the most pleasing offering of praise you possibly can.  Rehearsals are also perfect opportunities for you to cultivate and disciple your team! Spend the first 20 minutes of a rehearsal going through a book of the bible or the latest book on worship together.  Take time during the rehearsals to have pointed discussions regarding the reason why you are doing a particular song that weekend or perhaps enlighten a newer volunteer with the process of song selection and how you order your worship set and maybe even accept suggestions. Use rehearsals as a venue to grow your team’s unity, your church’s culture of worship, and discipleship focused on the personal ways in which your team functions as worshippers outside of Sunday morning. 

           

           

Train with the humble mindset of replacing yourself

Lastly involves delegation and leadership strategy.  My friend Andi Rozier once told me in his British way, “Mate, your purpose in ministry is to work yourself out of a job.” Hopefully what he meant by that was not a disrespectful statement of hoping I would leave, but rather a very biblically sound and wise statement of the minister’s purpose. This concept ultimately goes back to the discussion of discipleship but now in terms of structure and leadership in the specific ministry that you oversee.  Just as the goal in discipleship is to make disciples who will then ultimately make disciples, your job in ministry is to lead in a way that the people you are leading will inevitably be fully resourced and capable to lead.  To put it in a simple, yet drastic way, would the ministry that you oversee significantly be hurt and fail if you were die tonight? If you answered yes to that question, you should take this as a challenge to restructure your workload and delegate and provide more responsible opportunities for your volunteers so that you are in essence leading the future leaders of the body of Christ. This means that you are constantly looking for the opportunities to train people in the specifics of what you do and how you do them and give them the opportunity to practice!

Do you allow anyone else to be the worship leader on a Sunday morning? Or do you make sure that you are the front man every Sunday and when you’re gone they have a prayer service with no music? You should be seeking out people who have the skills and abilities necessary to lead worship and pour into those people! Train them in the philosophy of your worship ministry based on the study and research you’ve done on biblical forms and functions of worship! Include them in the process of planning.  Give them feedback and critique them so that they improve in this wonderful task we have as worship leaders!

Work, knowing that you could be gone tomorrow. Who knows, you might actually, in doing so, see the Lord leading you to take on a different role in the church and give you the opportunity to actually install someone you trained to take your current spot? That is a privilege! Don’t hold so tightly to your position that you fail to respond to the leading of the Lord. In all of that, make sure that you are prepared to exit that position and that your ducks are in a row so that the bride of Christ, the church, is not hurt in any way. That is called ministry leadership stewardship and it is also called effective shepherding.

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[1] www.planningcenteronline.com

Worship Pastor as King: Organized playlist eases stress of planning a worship set

Have a playlist of the current songs that you do and go through them quarterly and determine which songs should be retired and consider introducing new songs. A great way to involve your congregation in this is to make this list available online as a playlist through the iTunes music store, for example.  This allows you a resource to turn them to in order to get more familiar with the music that you are, and will be doing.

            If you are convinced of the philosophy of song selection and categorization that I presented earlier as a reflection of the biblical model of how the Lord set up his Temple, you might put together a list like this to help you in planning services:

Ones (Horizontal)	O Praise Him- Crowder Adoration- Baloche Happy Day- Fee Hosanna (Praise is Rising)-Brown Holy- Hughes Here For You- Tomlin
Twos	Salvation Is Here –Hillsong One Way- Hillsong I Believe- Moeller/McCoy Lift up the Name-Caterer Beautiful One-Hughes
Threes (Diagonal)	Here is Love- arr. Stanfill You Alone Can Rescue- Redman O The Love of my Redeemer – Caterer Hallelujah for the Cross- Rozier Lord, I need You –Tomlin You Never Let Go- Redman
Fours	Always- Stanfill The Stand- Hillsong Our God-Tomlin Stronger-Stanfill Arms Open Wide-Hillsong Mighty to Save-Hillsong
Fives (Vertical)	Revelation Song-Riddle All Glory-Rozier God, You Are My God- Ingram, Noland, Mabury Jesus, You Are Worthy- Brown Your Name- Baloche The First Place- Westerholm Lord of All- Stanfill
Communion Songs	Jesus Paid It All There Is A Fountain How Deep the Father’s Love- Townsend Nothing but the Blood Amazing Love Here is Love How Marvelous
Christmas Songs	Joy to the World (1) O Come all ye faithful (1) Etc. etc.
Traditional Hymns	Holy Holy Holy (5) All Hail the Power (1) Come Christians Join to Sing (1) Amazing Grace (3) Great is thy Faithfulness (3)

           

            Song frequency and introducing new songs

Regarding song selection and particularly song frequency of use, a general rule of thumb is, “when you (the leader) are sick of the song, the congregation is just getting used to it.”  It will be difficult to cultivate a culture of worship that is tracking along and engaging in the worship set if the songs and elements that you do are new every single week.  When introducing a new song to the mix, do it first as a special element, placed in the offertory section or pre-service, and then if it fits well, you can then “teach” that song as a response to the message.  Then do the song in its categorized spot in the service for two weeks in a row. It can then be considered in regular rotational status. This conditions the congregation to be familiar with the song or element. It is also has been my experience that, in today’s congregations, even some of the old hymns my have to be reintroduced or taught.

It has worked best in my situation and experience to have a rotation of regular songs at a frequency of around five weeks. The same songs are not being done over and over, and yet the familiarity of the music is still being cultivated. This does not mean that you have five different pre-planned, cookie-cutter, worship song sets that you rotate, it simply means that you try to space out your songs in a way that the frequency is comfortable to your congregation’s ability to learn and be familiar with the music without overuse. This is not only true of worship songs, but of worship elements as well. Start thinking of how you can change the frequency of elements and song usage to better and more efficiently cultivate that culture of worship in your church.