Have you caught the "Insanity" yet?

Last weekend my family and I made the short drive over to Concord to celebrate my daughter's birthday at The Great Wolf Lodge.  If you are not familiar with The Great Wolf Lodge it is a hotel with a pretty big indoor water park, and to use the water park you have to stay at the hotel.  Now aside from the water park the hotel is your typical hotel and when I am cramped up in a small space with three, bouncing-off-the-walls children, the TV becomes a source of refuge.  While flipping through the channels I came across an extended infomercial for the home-workout DVD called "Insanity."  Now remember, I don't have cable so I don't see these things too often (while I am sure those with cable have seen it countless times) and as I watched this extended infomercial I found myself getting sucked in.  The leader of this cult-like experience, Shaun T (who coincidentally will be in Charlotte this weekend), is hard to ignore.  Even though it is just a TV program he is more than in your face.  The participants who are featured in the show are over the top with their praise for the program and it is hard to ignore, what appears to be, the evident change in their physique.  But what is the most captivating is the excitement that exudes from everyone who is a part of this "Insanity."  You would have thought each person just received a new car from Oprah or won the lottery.  Their excitement and energy pulled me in with a Star Trek-like-tractor-beam force that kept me from changing the channel.  And as I sat there and tried to figure out why I was so "zombied" to this show it hit me: I was caught up in this insanity because what I was witnessing was exactly what we see in churches across the country every week.  People who are so excited to go to church that they cancel their tee times to be there.  People who are so thankful for everything they have that you have to beg them to not give away everything they have.  People who are begging to teach Sunday school, even and especially the classes that their kids aren't in!

Now, no I have not been drinking, and yes I am being sarcastic.  But this did make me wonder what would it be like if everyone had that same excitement for their faith that these folks had for Insanity?  What if they realized that, just as Insanity changes their body, faith changes their entire being.  What if church people had that type of excitement, an excitement that others couldn't ignore and caused them to want to be a part of it too.  An excitement so powerful that it pulled them in with a Star Trek-like-tractor-beam force.  What if?

Instead church people typically are not described as excited but instead we look more like a dysfunctional family and who wants to join up with a dysfunctional family?  Instead of being excited about our faith, like these folks were for Insanity; excited because of what it did for them and how much they wanted others to experience it; we forget what our faith has done for us and our excitement seems less genuine.  Instead of excitement we are more concerned about determining who is right and who is wrong.  Who is in and who is out and that typically does not lead to excitement.

I can only imagine what church would look like if we had Insanity type excitement.  And not the excitement that comes from a heavily caffeinated cup of coffee but the type of excitement that brought about real change, like the change that Insanity promises.  That change is there in our faith I just wonder if we have forgotten about it.

 I wonder what an Insanity church would look like?  What if we had that type of excitement for a faith that promises and delivers real change?  I wonder what that would look like?  What if...?

What's Missing?

One of the things that I fear we lack most in the Christian Church is a sense of the need to be humble.  Last week I attended a preaching conference with the Episcopalian Church up at their retreat center (Kanuga) in Hendersonville, NC.  One of the presenters at this conference was Shane Hipps.  Now you may not know Shane by name, but indirectly you may.  For the past could of years Shane has been a pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI.  The same church that was founded by Rob Bell, who wrote the recent book Love Wins.  There were only about 55 attendees at the conference so we were actually able to talk to the speakers instead of just watch their presentation.  During one of the conversations Shane shared an interesting insight, he said, "The church is the sail, it is not the wind. It cannot control the wind but it needs the wind."  Now Shane's church is big.  They have thousands of people attend their services every week, they come from all over the world and their podcasts are heard by millions across the globe.  Even with all of this success and clout Shane understands the need to be humble.  He understands that his church is just a sail and it desperately needs the wind.  I wonder if the rest of the church understands this need to be humble?

I worry that we think we have it all figured out, that we have the market cornered and we have nothing left to learn.  Can we really put God, Jesus or Christianity into a box?

One of the themes that came out of the 16th century reformation was the need to be always reforming.  Not change just for the sake of changing but reforming so that the church can continually get closer to God.  Are we still reforming today?  What I think Shane was getting at with this wind and sail idea is that once in a while the church needs to get out of the way.  We need to remind ourselves that as important as we are and for all of the incredible things that we can do, we are not the wind but we vitally need the wind.  There is something freeing about that statement but it can also be very challenging.  When we remind ourselves that we are just the sail and Jesus is the wind we are admitting that we don't have control of the wind, we don't have the market cornered on this one and the wind will blow where it wants.  It will blow in directions that challenge us, it will blow in places where we don't want it to go but when this happens our faith grows and it grows because of our sense of humility.

Once in a while we need to humble ourselves so that God can continue to be God.  We need to remind ourselves that salvation does not come from the church but from Jesus and when we figure that out and we allow that wind to fill our sails we are able to do incredible things for the kingdom.

See you in church,

Chris

The same tired old story?

A new level of excitement has entered into our home.  My oldest daughter is beginning to like the movies I like.  This is great for a number of reasons.  First, I don't have to watch movies about talking dogs as often as I used to.  These movies are like fingernails on the chalkboard for me.  It also gives me the chance to share with her some of my favorite movies from when I was her age.  We have been able to watch Goonies, Ghostbusters and even Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.  Her latest favorite is Spider-Man and she can't wait to watch Spider-Man 2.  As soon as she said this I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me.  As good as the first Spider-Man was the next one wasn't and the third one was completely horrible.  What a letdown.  I fear I still may have not forgiven Hollywood for releasing such a horrible film, especially when the first one had such promise.  Instead of sticking to the same, no-fail model they went way overboard and the movie flopped.

Why is it when we have heard a story over and over again or tell a story over and over again we have to embellish it?  The original fish weighed about 30 pounds but some how over the years it became a 100 pound whopper.  The home run didn't just travel 300 feet but over the years it got a strong gust of wind and went about 550.  How about with the Easter story.  Is it the same old story or has it grown tired?  Is it powerful enough or do we feel the need to enhance it just a bit?

There are some stories that are timeless.  Stories that don't need any extra Hollywood flair but continue to amaze us year after year.  I hope this is how the Easter story works for you.  Whether you are drawn to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John I hope this story continues to knock you off your feet.  The story of the ultimate underdog facing the greatest foe.  An ultimate victory but a victory that doesn't lead to arrogance or praise but a victory that is shared with everyone.  A story filled with characters that we can relate to.  Characters filled with fear, sadness, doubt and grief but ultimately characters who live in an unexplainable joy.

I invite you to be a part of this story.  I want to share it with you and I want you to share it with others.  We celebrate it on Sunday but we also live it everyday.  A story so powerful it has no parallel.  A story of incredible love from an incredible creator.  It's God's story but it is also your story.  It is your story because it was done for you.  Now go and live that story every day.  We live in the resurrection.

See you in church,

Chris

Lessons for the modern church: How to put the church down the street out of business.

There was a line in last week's Charlotte Observer that hit a nerve for me. It was an article about the new pastor at Hickory Grove Baptist Church.  You can read that article here.  The line that got me was this:

In the competitive playing field of Charlotte megachurches, such a traditional approach, he believes, sets Hickory Grove apart.


Now let me clarify, I don't have any issues with Hickory Grove Baptist Church or any of its pastors.  What I do have a major problem with is the idea that there is a competitive playing field among the larger churches in Charlotte.  


The question I am asking is, aren't we all working for the same boss with the same goal?  Shouldn't churches be working together for a common mission instead of figuring ways to attract more members than another church or members away from other churches?  When did we lose our direction on this one?


Now it is important not to deceive ourselves, there have been divisions from the beginning, but are we as churches, leaders and members working against this trend or promoting it?  There are times when I think that church leaders almost function as car salesman, asking the prospective member "what will it take to get you into a church today?"  The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we promoting our agenda or God's?  I believe churches today need to humble themselves and be less concerned with how many members they have and more concerned with establishing God's Kingdom here, in this place and at this time.  We may disagree on a variety of issues but when all is said and done aren't we all hoping to reveal God to as many people as possible?  Aren't we all trying to share the gift of God's love and grace revealed through Jesus to as many people as possible?  I hope that is the case but when churches are competing with other churches I fear we are not revealing Christ to them but turning them away, because all they see is a dysfunctional family that can't get along and honestly who wants to be a part of a dysfunction family anyway?  


We may chose to break bread differently on Sunday but when the day is done I hope we realize we are on the same team.  We aren't competitors but allies, united through our faith in Jesus Christ.  And if we are able to put aside our egos and our agendas and adopt the humility and mission of Christ I can only image how much good we can do for the sake of the Gospel. 


Proud to call you brothers and sisters in Christ,


Chris  

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/22/3118758/new-charlotte-preacher-embodies.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Jesus and Shock Value

We go to great lengths to attract attention. Whether we own a business and we stand outside of it with a funny costume to gain customers or when I tell my kids the bus is leaving without them to get them out of bed quicker. And with millions of things fighting for our attention sometimes we push the envelop to make sure our message is heard. Do you think Jesus did the same thing?

I have had some questions following my sermon on Sunday that I will try to answer here. Nearly all of these questions are in response to the verse we talked about on Sunday where Jesus says unless one hates their family they cannot be one of his disciples. I had hoped that once I explained the next statement that Jesus said about picking up ones cross and following him we would be blown away by that challenge and forget about hating family. Apparently that was not the case and I guess I can't question that. Hate is a strong word and it seems to go against the 4th commandment, honor your father and your mother. So why did Jesus say it?

We can talk about how challenging it was to be a disciple and back that up with verse after verse of Jesus clearly spelling out what discipleship looks like and how difficult it is. Jesus was never concerned about being popular and he rocked the boat with seismic magnitude on a regular basis and from time to time I think he used shock value to get his point across. Let me say clearly, and I hope a thunderstorm doesn't move in over my head, that I don't think Jesus was encouraging his followers to go home and give their parents the finger. I don't think he was saying that. I don't think he was telling them to tell their kids off and walk the other way. I don't think he was saying that either. I do think he was trying to get their attention and like we do today, I think he wanted to make sure his point was made and his call was heard.

If we look at the account of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple according to John's gospel it says that Jesus made a whip of cords and drove them out of the temple. John paints an almost violent picture here. Now certainly Jesus could have asked them politely to leave but I think he wanted to make his point. I think he is doing the same thing by telling his followers that they must hate their family if they want to be his disciples.

What does this mean for us? God is still fighting for our attention and there may be times when he has to shock us to get it. I am not suggesting he accomplishes this with natural disasters or diseases but he is trying to get our attention. When we are confronted with raw statistics about the number of children who die every day due to malnutrition this should shock us. When we hear about children being sold into prostitution this should shock us. It is too easy to live in a bubble and pretend that these things are not happening but once in a while we need to be shocked. We need to see a picture of a child who is dying of starvation or covered in flies because this should not happen,not on our watch. There is enough food in this world that no one should starve but instead we return to our bubbles. Once in a while we need to hear about genocide in Darfur. We need to hear about women and children being murdered because this should not happen and as disciples of Jesus we are called to expose evil and shine light into darkness. Every year we need to sit with a pit in our stomach from Friday night until Easter morning because through the cross God was trying to get our attention. We can't return to our bubbles, not on this one. Good Friday is bloody, it is painful but it gets our attention. It slows us down and reminds us what is important and how much God loves us.

There are millions of things fighting for your attention, who is winning?

Chris

"If you build it they will come..."

A while back I read an article about a pastor who served a different type of congregation. He didn't have a building and he didn't have a staff, he felt his calling was to minister to OTR drivers (individuals who drove cross country and were on the road more than they were at home). He went from truck stop to truck stop and gas station to gas station bringing church to them. Decades ago, maybe even centuries, we simply built a church building and the neighborhood flocked to it. This is seldom the case anymore and as I think about this I can't help but think about the truck-stop preacher and I can't help but ask the question, are we bringing church to those who need it or are we expecting them to come to us?

Now this is a tricky one because it has been done poorly so many times. I am not talking about standing on the street corner with a sign that says the end is near and screaming at folks to repent. I am not talking about going door to door handing out pamphlets that ask the question "if you die tonight, do you know where you will go?" I am simply wondering do we bring church, and hopefully just the good parts of church, to those who need it or are we sitting on our hands waiting for them to come to us?

What does it look like when this is done well? I think bringing the church to those who need the church looks like a group of individuals who get in a van and drive to a community that was ravaged by a tornado and helps total strangers put their lives back together. I think bringing the church to those who need the church looks like an individual who spends time with an elderly person who may sit by themselves all day long and reminds them that they aren't alone and there is a community out there that cares for them. I think bringing the church to those who need the church looks like an individual who takes the time to talk to the person who is checking their groceries and sincerely ask them how their day is going and then thanks them for the work they do.

Are we bring the church out in to the world or are we waiting for the world to come to us? There is a lot of hurt out there and I believe the church can bring the power of this community into their lives, where they are at right now, and in doing so reveals God's love to them.

Its time to step out of the church "building" and build the church where it is most needed.

See you in church,

Chris

Breaking News: God and Lady Gaga working together!

I am not sure what is more shocking, the title of this blog or using Lady Gaga and Harvard in the same sentence. Regardless, the latter was reported in the news today. Lady Gaga was on Harvard's campus to launch a foundation for youth that is intended to challenge meanness and cruelty.

Now to the title; can God and "The Lady" work together? Gaga is a far cry from a church spokesperson but is she some how doing God's work? Gaga says the goal of the foundation is to call an awareness to bullying and simply encourage people to be nice to each other. She didn't promise answers but encouraged others to do simple things, simple acts that make the world a better place. That sounds like God's work to me.

I believe that Lady Gaga is doing God's work even if she is not aware of it. I believe God can use her (or anyone for that matter) whether they are aware of it or not. I believe God can work in the lives of those who go to church and those who do not. I believe God is working all around us and it is our job to name it and claim it.

At some point someone had the idea of creating a Christian line; Christian music, Christian books, Christian movies, etc. and at some point I wonder if we somehow got the idea that God was here but he wasn't there? That unless it had the title "Christian" in front of it God wasn't a part of it? I know it sounds silly but I hope you get the point. Isn't God everywhere?

Instead of limiting where God is we need to confirm and reaffirm that God is everywhere and as believers it is our job to reveal that to people. God is in the sunrise, God is in the children playing on the playground, God is in your cubicle and God is in the hospital room when someone takes their last breath.

God is everywhere even if we don't see it. God is working in Lady Gaga even if she isn't aware of it and God is in you and God is in me. Name it, claim it and reveal it to others.

See you in church,

Chris