Jay Bakker and the Soulforce Connection

Jay Bakker who is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and the pastor of Revolution Church in New York, has aligned himself with an organization known as Soulforce. Soulforce is a national civil rights organization whose main push is for “freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.”

“Jay doesn’t believe in an exclusive God, only one that embraces us all for who we are, including same-gender-loving individuals.” (source)

According to an article today in the Houston Chronicle, and Soulforce website, Soulforce and Jay Bakker have extended invitations to six mega-churches to be a part of a “nationwide fellowship effort called The American Family Outing. The project, which aims to create dialogue between LGBT families and families at six American mega-churches”, including Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston, texas.

So far, Osteen has not agreed to or responded to the invitation. However, several other mega-churches, including The Potter’s House in Dallas(T.D. Jakes), Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois (Bill Hybells), and Hope Christian Church in Maryland (Henry R. Jackson jr., have agreed to meet lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families through The American Family Outing.

I have no problem with the idea that we are supposed to love all people…even those who choose to be gay or lesbian…but where I start to have issue with the whole Soulforce connection is that it appears to be advocating their chosen lifestyle.

Contrary to Jay Bakker’s particular belief that Christianity is non-exclusionary, according to scripture there are those that will not be saved. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their acceptance of the ‘alternative lifestyle’.

I don’t want to come off like some of our friendly ODM sites around the blogoshpere, but this is a very dangerous thing for Jakes and Hybells to ‘link’ themselves and their congregations to.

The Story of Life!

The story of life already has a star, and the star is not you or me….it is The Christ!

If He is not the star of your life story, then the story lacks worthiness of the telling.

Just a thought!

Nothing Without God!

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25&26

It is so easy for us to get so caught up in material things, cares and concerns, that we truly forget we have nothing of value without God in our lives. Without Him…all is a waste. Nothing is of value.

I am reminded of this every morning when I wake to see my beautiful wife’s face. She is a true gift from God and a constant reminder of His love, grace and mercy in my life.

Each day we wake is a gift from God. One to be cherished, nurtured, and not taken for granted.

There are reminders of God’s goodness to us everywhere, if we will but look.

He is our peace when we are in turmoil.

He is our comfort when we are hurting.

He is our rest when we are weary.

He is our strength when we are faint.

In Him, I lack nothing.

(originally posted at JimmyEldridge.net)

Going to the next level

Hi, I’m Heather from A Deconstructed Christian.  Jimmy invited me to post this here.

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I’ve decided. I’m going to the next level in God. I’m going to be empowered by an incredible, enthusiastic, visionary leader and take this city for Christ. I’m going to be a vibrant, passionate, charismatic believer who takes excellence seriously. I’m joining a vibrant, contemporary, growing church with a powerful message that impacts the world and has a vision statement that involves loving life, loving people and loving God. I’m getting connected to a small group that will move me into that next level and take me into the unknown, teaching me to drink that living water and walk by faith. I have a vision for this nation, I’m going to see revival sweep across this land.

Apologies to those who just choked on their coffee, but does any of that sound familiar?

These are words that echo in my mind. I used to love them, these broad sweeping christianese terms. They made me feel powerful and excited. They swept me up in emotion. They were often accompanied by music from the keyboard and shouts from the pulpit. They called me to action. Well, for a moment anyway. Then I had coffee.

Unfortunately, after all those years of proclamations, nothing changed. I didn’t change. I got whipped up into a frenzy, but I certainly didn’t impact anybody around me. I most definitely didn’t get to any “next level”. I really wonder what the “next level” is anyway. Is it like a coloured karate belt? A school diploma?

I also wonder what would actually have happened if I did instead of proclaimed. If I visited instead of excelled and gave that cup of water instead of drinking it myself.

I’m sure the lack of action can come down to my own decisions. After all, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. It just would have been nice to have an actual water trough in sight, though.

The Hard Road

I ran across this post today at Christianity X, which happens to be one of my favorite blogs, and thought it very appropriate to share with you here.

“Christian’s fail. Christian’s stumble. Christian’s sin. Those are facts so paramount to our lives that they are often overlooked in the beginning. Some wear the “sin” badge as a way to paint themselves like everyone else, like the world - but few truly accept it as a fact in their lives. It doesn’t matter who you are, humans aren’t perfect and - dare I say - we don’t even possess the potential for perfection. So why try? We don’t. Christians don’t (or shouldn’t) ever try to be ‘perfect’, such an undertaking would drive a person insane. Instead, we do the best with what God gave us with the lack of perfection as a guiding rod which points to the need for salvation. Those who don’t believe have an easy life, no conviction and nothing to hold them accountable.” (read entire post here)

What are your thoughts?

My Teenagers Have Sucked My Brain Dry!

Wow….what a learning experience this past month has been. My teenagers have completely sucked my brain dry!

All common sense has vanished. There is no reason to be found anywhere. What once was a vibrant, open mind, is now a shriveled up barren wasteland.

How did it come to this? How did such sweet playful little tikes, clinging to every word daddy said, turn into the mind sucking hellions that now reside in their bodies?

As I was thinking back on the events of the past month with my 18 year old…a thought struck me like a ton of bricks…”Oh my God….now I see what my Heavenly Father feels like when I do stupid stuff and make bad decisions”. It reminds me of the line from comedian Bill Cosby, “I brought you into this world, and I can sure take you out”.

I often wonder why God hasn’t wiped me off the face of the earth, dusted his hands, and said ‘forget it…this one is a lost cause’. The answer…He loves me. Plain and simple.

He loves me no matter how stupid I have been. He loves me no matter how many really stupid decisions I have made.

He knew me from before I was in my mothers womb. He knew what my tendancies would be. He knew how hard headed and stubborn I could be, and yet CHOSE to love me anyway.

As I told me son just last week as we were having a heated discussion about some behavioral issues, “I love you son, always have, and always will, no matter what you do…but please don’t ever do it again”!

How many times has our Heavenly Father said that to us?

I like to think about the story in the old testament when David, confronted by the prophet about his sin, is genuinely broken hearted and repents and the prophet responds, ‘He forgave you before you even asked’.

That’s mercy. That’s grace. That’s love. That’s our God!

Read more of my thoughts on my personal blog.

How a sex doll will teach you about love

Looking for a movie to rent this weekend, consider renting the DVD - Lars and the Real Girl.

Lars Lindstrom is a 27 year old, shy loner who avoids contact with people as much as possible. His issues seem to stem from the fact that his mother died while giving birth to him and he was raised by his depressed father. Lars now lives in the garage apartment behind his childhood home which is occupied by his older brother, Gus (Paul Schneider), and his pregnant wife, Karin (Emily Mortimer). The only social activity that Lars engages in is regularly attending the town’s Lutheran church.

One day at the small office where he works a co-worker shows him an Internet ad for a life-size girl “sex doll” that is “anatomically correct”. Lars purchases one and introduces her to his brother and sister-in-law as Bianca, a half-Danish, half Brazilian missionary who is “on sabbatical to experience the world.” She must be pushed around in a wheelchair and Lars claims to have met Bianca, his new girlfriend, on the Internet.

In fact sex is not what Lars has in mind, but rather deep, meaningful relationships with others. Lars and the Real Girl is a charming look at a young man who is learning how to join life.  It is a movie about communicating and connecting, with the doll merely serving as the necessary conduit.  Actually Christianity Today rated it as one of their most redeeming films of 2007

Most of the movie deals with Lars’ family, his church and the community learning how to respond and accept him and Bianca. Obviously, at first, Gus and Karin are very concerned about Lars’ behavior. Karin suggests that they seek counsel from Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), a family doctor. Soon, Lars is taking Bianca to the doctor once a week, which gives Dr. Dagmar a chance to talk to him and also to work on his fear of being touched and connecting with others. She tells Gus and Karin that Lars has a delusion and the best thing for them to do is to simply go along with it.

Not only do Gus and Karin go along with Lars’ delusion but so do other’s in their small town.  The church council and the pastor meet to decide what to do if Lars brings Bianca to a Sunday service. Mrs. Gruner (Nancy Beatty) convinces them that everyone has problems and that they should offer moral support to Lars in the name of love. The pastor concludes the meeting by saying that the only question they need to consider is “What would Jesus do?” Consequently, when Lars brings Bianca to church, the congregation accommodates her and even welcomes her with a gift of flowers.

This tolerance of Bianca starts with the Christians at Lars’ church but rapidly spreads throughout the whole community. Bianca gets her hair styled at the local beauty shop.  Bianca is asked to volunteer at the hospital, and is even elected to the local school board. And through this journey with Bianca, Lars begin to see for the first time in his life, that he could have a normal life like other people - REAL people. Toward the end of the movie he begins to respond to all the special attention he has been receiving from Margo (Kelli Garner), a co-worker who has taken quite a liking to him.

I think that Lars and the Real Girl is a powerful look at the body of Christ in action.  It is a movie about the power of love and support from a community, particularly a church community, around a person who is broken and in need of healing.  His fellow churchgoers choose to love him unconditionally by playing along and embracing him in spite of his unusual behavior and soon after the whole town follows their lead.

Lars is certainly different.  He is a man with a lot of pain. He has big needs.  Too often the church doesn’t have the patience, desire or is ill-equipped to do what it takes to help those who are very needy or are considered “high maintenance”.  Unlike many movies that portray the church as judgmental, what is so cool is that this movie portrays the church as a matrix of love, hospitality and care.

Lars and the Real Girl presents this small church in a small Northern town as the catalyst for an amazing outpouring of love and care by its entire community for a hurting and troubled person who needs their help.

Would and could the REAL body of Christ be able to show such a similar outpouring of love to a person like Lars? In REAL life could the church actually patiently deal with and accept someone like Lars?  The cynic in me says, not likely - but it SHOULD!  Who else but the church should accept and reach out to the least and the last.  Where else should the broken and wounded go for healing?  Christ’s church of course!

With the power of the gospel, we should be able to help heal and restore people from lives of brokenness and pain.  Thankfully this is a movie that portrays the church able to step up and love a broken person.

Now we should have every expectation of real “life” being able to imitate “art”.

Bill Reichart is a pastor at Big Creek Church in Forsyth County, GA. He blogs at his personal blog, Provocative Church and his ministry blog, Ministry Best Practices.

Assumptions: Making Something Out of You and Me

My wife and I were talking about assumptions. We both know a guy who a lot of people assumed was less than smart in college. He did nothing to change this assumption and in fact he encouraged it. I knew a girl who was a virgin but people assumed she was a little loose with her morals. She never did anything to persuade them differently. Both of these people felt that most people had their own assumptions and agenda’s and attempting to change someone else’s mind was and is a waste of time. The guy that Erica and I knew believed that if people took the time to get to know him they would realize he wasn’t dumb and the people that didn’t take the time to get to know could think whatever the heck they wanted to think.

On the flip side, we also know people who try to cultivate an image that they are smart–by this I mean in the upper echelon of brain function–when in reality they are average or below average. They work very foster people’s assumptions about their intellect.

All of this caused me to stop and think about who’s responsible in these situations. Are all three people guilty of deception? Are all three “guilty” of nothing? Are the assumers the guilty one’s? My friend had an interesting post about assumptions today which in some way ties into this, I’m sure (warning there is profanity at his site).

The thing about assumptions is they are necessary. I get that. But they have to be held as assumptions and not fact. Until we can test them and prod them we have to remember they are nothing more than an assumption. They may be accurate, but they may not be. They may be completely wrong.

One of the things that always cracks me up is the assumptions I hear about Mars (the community that I chose to live covenentally with here in Grand Rapids). “Our congregation is young, we only play CCM as worship music” (this one cracks me up the most as we often play only hymns). One guy actually says we’re offering children to Molech but I think he might have a brain disorder. There are so many assumptions and so many of them are wrong. When I point this out to people they act as though they have to be right even though I am the one living here.

It kind of makes me wonder, how many of my assumptions are way off base. Don’t get too comfortable because the next obvious question is about your assumptions.

“My Addiction is Killing Me!”

That is what a friend told me several years ago concerning his crippling addiction to Heroin.

I saw my friend literally fighting for his life trying to kick his addiction. I watched helplessly from the sidelines as he went from one ‘new’ rehab program to another always ending up at the same conclusion.

He wasn’t a bad kid. He grew up with great parents and a strong Christian family, but still as it can happen, he got mixed in with the wrong crowd at school and it grew from there. A story that has been told too many times before.

I watched my dad, who my friend and I both worked for at the time, take him under his wing and try to minister to him, counsel him, and pray for him.

As I thought about my friend this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder, how many people out there today are dealing with absolute crippling addictions? How many feel there is no hope of ever overcoming that addiction? How many have given up and given in to their particular addiction? Hopeless. Helpless. Alone.

I wish I could tell you that the story of my friend has a happy ending. I wish I could tell you that he kicked his addiction and is living a happy and fulfilled life. Unfortunately, the latest and greatest treatment was just as bad as the heroin.

One thing rings clear in the story of my friend…he continually put his trust in the wrong thing! His trust in all the rehab centers, or the latest treatments, eventually cost him his life.

Everyday there are millions of people putting their hope and trust in the wrong thing. What are we doing to reach them with the ‘life saving gospel’ of Jesus?

If you are reading this and are struggling with an addiction that you can’t seem to overcome…remember this;

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11(emphasis mine)

Relevant Christian Stud!

Ok, you can call me a Tim Keller groupie. I have been listening to Tim Keller for years. I can say that I listened to Tim Keller before Tim Keller was even “cool”.

There are many reasons why I appreciate this man and his ministry.  One of the reasons that I like Tim Keller is, because his winsome presentation and intellectual prowess, he has been able to go where many Christians aren’t being invited.

Keller has just written a book, The Reason for God. (to read a good outline of the book, go here for an excellent synopsis.) This book has been opening up tremendous opportunities for Keller to take God and the gospel into the offices of Google and into the halls of Berkley.

Too often we (and the world) see Christians acting like a bunch of ignorant and naive buffoons. That is why we should be very encouraged when a person of faith is engaging and creating conversation with our culture. Tim Keller is a great example of what it looks like for a person of faith to be relevant within the culture. If you are unfamiliar with Keller, I invite you to take a look at the resources below.

Here is Tim Keller at Google:

Here are sermons that dovetail with his book The Reason for God.

Here are more Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God” tour video. You can tune into these videos of Keller speaking at Berkley, Sanford, MIT, and NorthWestern.

And in order to totally satisfy your Tim Keller fix, make sure to stop by Steve McCoy’s Tim Keller Resource page.

Bill Reichart is a pastor at Big Creek Church in Forsyth County, GA. He blogs at his personal blog, Provocative Church and his ministry blog, Ministry Best Practices.