Filed under: Christian, Christianity, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life, Revolutionary
I cannot help but feel very passionately about being relevant to culture. We have taken a lot of heat for the way we think…but mainly because those that are attacking don’t seem to understand exacly what we are talking about.
Life changes…culture changes…what we did that worked 5, 10 or 20 years ago…doesn’t always work today.
Todays generation is different than any other generation before it, and will be different from the generations to come.
Take a look at this group called Ephesus, watch their video, then come back and let us know what you think.
This is the kind of group that is taking notice and making a difference in their community.
If you are or know of a similar group, send us a link and we would love to check it out.
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
“Please, dear God, don’t let me screw up.”
This is the prayer that Astronaut Alan B. Shepard is famous for praying On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, shortly before launch.
Sometimes I can relate.
Sometimes as a minister, that is the only prayer that seems to sum up what I’m feeling.
When you are dealing with people, their heart, emotions, egos, or eternal destinations…the only prayer that seems appropriate is “Oh God, please don’t let me screw up”.
I try to remind myself everytime before I step out on stage to do my thing, “this is a matter of life and death for these people”. What I do may directly impact their eternal destination. Oh God, please don’t let me screw up!
When dealing with my staff or ministry volunteers, my actions, inactions, or reactions, may have an eternal affect on their lives and/or ministries. Oh God, please don’t let me screw up!
When I am dealing with an un-believer in any facet, what I do or say can affect their outlook on Christianity, or more importantly, on Christ Himself. Oh God, please don’t let me screw up!
It’s not so much fear or doubt, but a deep sense that what I do as a minister, in any aspect of my life, can affect the eternal destination of those around me. If my actions or words cause someone to believe wrongly, reject the gospel, or loose faith in God, I have directly affected their eternal destination. When people look at me, I want them to see Jesus, and Him glorfied.
What we do as Pastors, Church Planters, Christians…is a matter of life…and death!
Oh God, Please don’t let me screw up!
Filed under: Uncategorized
We recently got one of those 4D utltra sounds from our daughter who is expecting. Its pretty cool – you can see what the baby looks like in sort of a 3D image (I dont know why they call them 4D). Anyway when you are planting a church you need to understand the 4D people you will attract because it will determie what your church looks like in the future
Disgruntled, Dysfunctional, Disenchanted, and Disenfranchised Church People
How you deal with these people could make or break your church.
Disgruntled people: These people were mad at their old church. Someone pissed them off, didn’t meet their needs, didn’t come to the hospital, didn’t send a birthday card, spent money they didn’t approve of. Something like that. They got mad and left. Be VERY careful and wary of these people because guess what? They will leave you the exact same way. And it will not be pretty. It doesn’t matter that your church is cool and they seem to fit in and they are on fire for your mission. They have left every church they were part of angry – and you are next in line. Do NOT give into the temptation to plug them in to ministry where they have influence. Let them sit, let them soak – see if they sour. Perhaps your church can help them heal – but they also have to learn that part of the problem (maybe all of the problem) is them.
Dysfunctional People: This is a broad category and the truth is we are all somewhat dysfunctional. But a new church plant is a target for people with problems and baggage and in a small group they find more attention and in a new group they find more people to dump their baggage on. When they gain influence in the church the dysfunction spreads and the church suffers.
Disenchanted people: These people gave up for some reason. What they were doing lost its luster. They may come to your church hoping to rekindle the file and enchantment they once had. Its like burning wet wood and you have to get to the root of the problem. What caused them to lose the fire? If it was the church – they might also be disgruntled. If it was people – they might be dysfunctional. If it was sin – and they are repentant they could be the best workers you ever had. Just remember past behavior is the best indicator of future performance. Like disgruntled people – if they are easily disenchanted whatever attracted them to your church probably wont be what keeps them serving and on mission.
Disenfranchised people: These people felt disconnected and powerless in their previous church. This could happen for a lot of reasons but you need to understand why. Did they need power? Is influence what they want? In a small church plant they can get that much easier than in a large church. It could be that no one ever took the time to really help them explore their gifts and discharge them into ministry in a meaningful way.
When I first started planting all I cared about was did they come and would they do something. Now I ask why they come and should they do something.
According to an article by Cathy Lynn Grossman at USA Today, most people who change churches move to larger churches.
But according to Scott Thumma of Hartford Theological Seminary, author of an upcoming book, Beyond Megachurch Myths,
“The 1,200 or so megachurches (defined as churches where 2,000 or more people attend weekend worship) are only one-half of 1% of all U.S. churches and account for only 5% of all weekend worship attenders,” Thumma says.
“And my sense, after years of examining megachurches, is that 80% of the people who join, including those who go through new member classes, are gone within the first two years.”
What was really interesting to me was the large percentage of people who say they left their old church because it “failed to engage their faith, or put their talents to work, or it seemed hypocritical or judgmental”.
So…take courage Church Planters…keep engaging your congregation and remain authentic.
As our friend Dave Anderson said, “You are the mega-church“!
We are coming up on the summer blockbusters in just a few weeks. I can’t wait for the trinity of three-peats. Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End. I think we have films like this today largely because of guys like George Lucas who broke the mold with Star Wars 30 years ago this May. I’ll never forget standing in wrap around the theater lines for hours just to get ticket.
This article on CNN today about George Lucas and Star Wars is interesting. Lucas funded a lot of the pre-production work himself. He tried things that didn’t work. He didn’t have the budget he needed. He didn’t have any all stars in the cast. He had trouble convincing studio to do the film and even when it launched he wasn’t really sure had a hit. But he was resourceful, innovative, and found people who could think outside the box, adapt, cast vision, roll with the punches and do incredible things with a camera and invent new technology to do what they envisioned. Star Wars probably did more to change the movie industry and impact culture than any film in the last 30 years.
So what is your church doing to change the world and impact culture? You may not think you have the right people, your budget probably isn’t big enough, you don’t have the right equipment, and maybe the things you are trying aren’t’ working. But are you adapting? Are you innovating? Are you championing the vision? Are you challenging people to find new ways to do ministry? Are you at least smart enough to look at what others are doing and say “we could do that!”
Could you do more with video? How about music? Lucas’ score for Star Wars is unforgettable. Is your outreach working? Could you change it if its not? Are there some lesser known people sitting in the seats that you use in staring roles? Do you need to step up financially and fund more of your own vision?
The difference between the Church and Lucas is we have a guaranteed blockbuster hit on our hands. We have the greatest story every told. Are we changing to change the world? We have a timeless message but the methods for delivery need to change all the time.
Filed under: Christian, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
The church, and Christians alike, do not like to talk about the problem of porn. Why? Probably because it is already uncomfortable enough to talk about sex, let alone the tough issue of pornography.
That’s not true here at Relevant Christian however, we will talk about anything relevant to being an informed Christian in today’s ever changing culture.
It is sad to say but pornography is a HUGE problem today, and NOT just in the secular realm, but in the Christian ranks as well.
I recently read an article about Contemporary Christian Music Artist Shaun Groves, who admitted to having had a problem in the past with Pornography. It is a very bold move on his part considering that Christians are known for eating their wounded.
This post has been a while in the making because I wanted to make sure that I accumulated as much information as possible. The statistics were shocking to me. Not just the “secular” stats, but the stats for Christians shocked me even more.
Let’s face it folks…this is a very real problem. One that the church does not want to face.
Thank God there are a few brave people out there who are now speaking out on the subject of porn like XXXChurch.com, and Shelly Lubben, and Teens Against Porn, just to name a few.
Here are just a few of the statistics on the “Trouble With Porn”.
38 percent of adults believe it is ‘morally acceptable’ to look at pictures of nudity or explicit sexual behavior
59 percent of adults believe it is ‘morally acceptable’ to have sexual thoughts or fantasies
38 percent of adults believe there is nothing wrong with pornography use
42 percent of surveyed adults indicated that their partner’s use of pornography made them feel insecure.
41 percent of surveyed adults admitted they felt less attractive due to their partner’s pornography use.
March 20, 2007: At a men’s summit in Oregon before 2,000 men, Shelley Lubben of Shelley Lubben ministries challenged those who were struggling with porn addiction to stand. 30% rose to their feet. She immediately challenged them a second time, with the result that some 70% were standing.
March, 2007: At a small Christian conference in Austria, 75% of the 25 men in attendance admitted to being involved with porn; 50% within the past 6 months.
August 7,2006: 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography. 60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust; 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.
In December of 2000, the National Coalition to Protect Children and Families surveyed 5 Christian Campuses to see how the next generation of believers was doing with sexual purity:
48% of males admitted to current porn use
68% of males said they intentionally viewed a sexually explicit site at the school
Roger Charman of Focus on the Family’s Pastoral Ministries reports that approximately 20 percent of the calls received on their Pastoral Care Line are for help with issues such as pornography and compulsive sexual behavior.
A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.
In 2000 Christianity Today survey, 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit Web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week.
Out of 81 pastors surveyed (74 males 7 female), 98% had been exposed to porn; 43% intentionally accessed a sexually explicit website
In his book, “Men’s Secret Wars”, Patrick Means reveals a confidential survey of evangelical pastors and church lay leaders. Sixty-four percent of these Christian leaders confirm that they are struggling with sexual addiction or sexual compulsion including, but not limited to use of pornography, compulsive masturbation, or other secret sexual activity.
34 percent of female readers of Today’s Christian Woman’s online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll.
In March of 2002 Rick Warren’s (author of the Purpose Driven life) Pastors.com website conducted a survey on porn use of 1351 pastors: 54% of the pastors had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days.
47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home.
Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003.
In a survey of over 500 Christian men at a men’s retreat, over 90% admitted that they were feeling disconnected from God because lust, porn, or fantasy had gained a foothold in their lives.
70% of teens have viewed pornography.
According to comScore Media Metrix, 71.9 million people visited adult sites in August 2005, reaching 42.7 percent of the Internet audience. At $12 billion a year, the revenues of the porn industry in the U.S. are bigger than the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball combined. Worldwide porn sales are reported to be $57 billion.
Porn is everywhere you look. It affects everyone. No matter where you go, it’s in your path. It reaches through TV networks, pay-per-view movies on cable and satellite, Internet Web sites, in-room hotel movies, phone sex, peep shows, and magazines.
Pornography is a real problem. It’s time that we all knew the truth and acted on it.
If you or someone you know is struggling with this addiction and would like prayer, just click here. It is totally anonymous.
Sources
Morality Continues to Decay. Barna Research Group, 3 November, 2003.
Marriage Related Research, Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. Christian Counseling Today, 2004 Vol. 12 No. 1.
www.shelleylubben.com
www.xxxchurch.com
From the results of a ChristiaNet poll reported by Marketwire.com
Pastors.com
Focus on the Family
blazinggrace.org/pornstatistics.htm
National Coalition survey of pastors. Seattle. April 2000.
Filed under: Real Life
I remember the first time I ever heard of Duane Gish speak. I was a young, eager college student. I was excited to hear this man “prove” creation and disprove “evolution.” 
I even bought some of the most boring books I have ever read on the subject. I was so excited to share this “completely logical, has to be believed argument” to my pre-Christian friends. I was sure the superior arguments that Dr. Gish and his contemporaries provided me would sway my friends view of origins. But….then…..it ….didn’t. He just looked at me and said, “I’ve heard of Gish and his nutjob place. You believe that crap? No wonder you and I can’t talk.” Now, I know that this guy was way out of line in what he said. I also know that he showed he really didn’t want to talk about the issues. He simply felt he was right, and didn’t want to be bothered by the facts. I was still crushed. I discovered that cool arguments very rarely work, in fact I found that a lot of Christianity on its face seems to be illogical–I’ll be writing more about this over the next few days. Then a few years later I found this verse:
Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
Did you catch it? We believe God spoke everything into existence, by “FAITH.” Now, we can spend all of our time attempting to prove the Genesis account. In fact, I’m thankful for people who can intelligently debate the topic of origins. But, if someone believes in evolution, that is not the biggest issue in thier life. There comes a point where we simply have to point people back to Jesus. With dogged determination, force them to answer the question of what do they do with Jesus? We need to live out being Jesus to the people. It is so easy to get wrapped up in issues. Whatever the issue. People do not need us to convince them of the reality of creation. What they need is Jesus. My relationship with Him is the only thing that really changed my life. There was a time in my life where I lived purely for myself. There was two people, my wife (she was just an annoying girl then-not the hot momma she is now) and Ted Boykin who God used to make real lasting change in my life. They simply lived God to me. They never tried to prove to me the futility of my arguments, they simply loved me. They didn’t give me free passes but they let God’s love show through them. It was life changing. I believe in creation, I believe that God spoke everything into existence but, If I am honest, I have to admit the I believe in Creation because of faith. I think, I’m in good company, seeing the author of Hebrews agrees with me.
I ran across a quote today that reaffirmed for me something I’ve been thinking for a long time. I’m afraid that as a church we are sitting on one of two extremes. The one is obviously wrong, the other I am afraid has a false
pretension to holiness and it could not be further from the truth. The idea that all sex is OK, sleep with whomever and do whatever outside the context of marriage is obviously wrong. But there is another idea that is just as dangerous. The idea that sex itself is wrong. In fact I came across a quote today that said, “Let’s be clear on something! Only Carnal Godless men constantly think about Sex. Godly men do not constantly think about sex.” (Emphasis mine)
That statement sounds spiritual, but really it is as dangerous as the “do 
anything you want to do” statement. It is true that Carnal, Godless men think about sex but so do Godly, Spiritual men. For crying out loud, God invented sex. In fact, I think for the Christian we should be adamant about protecting our sex lives and enjoying them.
The sex in your married bedroom should be the best sex in town. Period! Why? Because God created it to be that way. Sex is not bad. Sex is good. God designed it. I don’t think God puts limits on what you can do with your spouse either—as long as no one else is involved.
Get crazy with it. Enjoy each other. God gave it to you. He created it to be a physical representation of His relationship with the church. I want to ask all of you fine people who think sex is bad a question, “Did God invent the orgasm? I’m serious here. Did God create the orgasm to feel the way it feels? I think any honest Christian would have to say, “Yes.” So here’s the follow up question, “Why?” Why would God—who knows all there is to know about us, create sex the way He did?
Maybe, it is because he wanted us to know what heaven will be like? Perhaps that feeling of satisfaction, of being satiated, is a small glimpse of the sensation that we will feel in Heaven. I realize I can’t back that up from Scripture so if you think I’m wrong I want to know what you think.
Here’s what I think. God created sex and it is an awesome thing. It should be talked about in church. We should model loving relationships where we teach our kids that married couples do have sex!
If you think I’m wrong I want you to show me one place where God calls sex bad. You can’t do it. Now, of course I think that sex should only be between one man and one woman and we as fallen human being mess that up.
However, we’ve gone too far. We’ve allowed the perverts to take what is ours, given to us by God. We stop talking about sex in good terms because there are perverts out there twisting it. Worse, we make stupid statements like the one above. I don’t understand.
What’s worse is there are terrible ramifications when statements like this one are made. What happens is people who are normal start to think there is something wrong with them. A man, who loves God but finds his wife sexy starts to think that maybe he’s “carnal.” A woman who feels moving in her loins when she sees her husband will try to repress that feeling afraid that she may be carnal, or not spiritual.
I say, one of the way that we show our spirituality by embracing the sexual beings that God created us to be.
Here’s some Scripture to back up what I’m saying.
Proverbs 5:
18. May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be captivated by her love.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
If I read those verses correctly we’re told that one way to keep from having an affair is to be sexual with our spouse. If I read it wrong, explain it to me.
Paul tells us in I Corinthians 7
3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
I am tired of Christians acting like sex is something that God didn’t invent. He did. He did it for a reason. God could have chosen for us to procreate in any number of ways. He chose this way.
Furthermore, God put the desire for sex into us. It’s a strong desire that can be misused and perverted. That doesn’t make it bad, just misused.
Lastly, if you think I’m wrong go read Song of Songs. There are some pretty strong sexual images in there.
The church should be a place where healthy sexual relationships are exemplified. We should be passionate about pursuing our spouse. We should be doing everything we can to kindle the romance of our marriages. One of the things that God finds most grievous is when two people claiming to be Christians live in a dead, cold relationship and somehow give Him credit for it.
Let’s be clear, sexual perversion is wrong. That is any sex outside of marriage is against how God created it to be. But sex is good. Sex is created by God and it can teach us something about Him. We should be doing everything we can to have a passionate sex life with our spouse. That brings honor to God.
Got your attention didn’t it? Wow…this was an actual search posted to Google just a few days ago. Now I don’t know this particular person but I think we all know someone just like him/her.
My first thoughts upon seeing this Google search were;
What was it that made them feel that everything they heard was crap?
What did they hear?
What did they see?
Where they not engaged?
Was it legalistic?
Was it weak, un-foundational?
The modern generation, for the most part, has a hard time with church. Why? Relevancy!
Now don’t start typing a scathing response about the “relevancy of the gospel”. THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! The gospel is, was, and always will be relevant.
That’s right, I’m coming back to presenting a very relevant gospel, in a relevant way, to a new generation of largely un-churched or de-churched people. These people are looking for answers to their spiritual questions, and a large portion are finding their “answers” in places other than church.*
I was told a story just yesterday, about a man who came to our church, fresh from a five year stint in prison. He said that about 7 or 8 years ago, he had pretty much lost it all. He was at rock bottom, looking for answers, and knew he needed to get right with God. He rode his bicycle 15 miles to go to church. Now…pay close attention…he couldn’t carry his bible with him because he had no place to carry it on his bike. Upon arriving to church, he sat in the back and listened intently to the music, and testimonies. Then, it was time for the preacher to do his thing. Preacher steps up and says, “For all of you REAL Christians who brought your bibles today, lean over and share your bibles with the OTHER people”. This infuriated the man. He thought, “How many of you REAL Christians rode your bicycles 15 miles to go to church today?”
That was the last time he stepped foot in a church until this past Sunday.
God had been dealing with this man for several months. He was looking for answers and went to the place where he thought he could get them. All it took was one sentence that took about 5 seconds to say to negate everything that God had been doing in this man for months. A short time later, the man is in prison and the rest is history.
Thankfully the man heard God calling him again. This time he found the answer he was looking for, and he gave his heart to Christ.
Now we don’t claim to have the best church around, although we like to think we do things pretty well. One thing that I can say about our church is, we don’t care what you look like, where you come from, or how much money you make. We are going to do our best to make you feel welcome here.
We have people from all walks of life here. From bikers to bankers, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and every where in between, all being connected into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
We always strive to be relevant in everything we do. From the music, to the videos, the announcements, to the sermon, everything is presented in a way that meets people right where they are.
We try to break down the barriers, misconceptions, and preconceived notions of what church is.
Our mission as a church: “Connecting People to Christ, Equipping Them for Growth and Ministry”.
The above story is a prime example of how presenting a relevant gospel, in a relevant way, and not sticking your foot in your mouth, can and does make a huge difference to someone who is looking for answers.
Peace!
Here is something to think about:
* Is the U.S. losing its Protestant majority?
From 1972 to 1993, the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center found that Protestants constituted about 63% of the population. This declined to 52% in 2002. Protestants are expected to slip to a minority position between 2004 and 2006.
(“Study finds number of Protestants is falling,” Houston Chronicle, 2004-JUL-21. Posted on the Free Republic bulletin board at: http://www.freerepublic.com/)
True or False?
Filed under: Christian
I ran across an interesting post here by my new acquaintance Mark who was converted to Atheism apparently by people claiming to be Christians. His blog is well written and engaging – and the post above is spot on. Is your church peddling the gospel? Or is it giving it away – in a manner that will get the attention and earn the respect of the unconvinced? At Crosspoint we have determined to give away our stuff – graphics, videos, sermons. People get our CD’s for free. I have been guilty of charging for T-shirts. That’s over now. Imagine if the best and most innovative churches followed the lead of guys like lifechurch.tv and gave it all away.
