Taking a STAND!

"I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen."
2 Timothy 2:10

Have you ever said something with such conviction that taking it back felt impossible? Have you ever committed to something based solely on your emotions and then had to reconsider once you really calmed down and thought it through? Have you made a decision and then stuck by it out of sheer stubbornness or an unwillingness to "give in?"

I have. Lots of times.

I've talked previously about the struggles that the worship team I'm on have had with the "interim" pastor at our church. He really is IMPOSSIBLE to work with. I say that and I'm not even on staff at the church. I'm just a volunteer. I can't imagine having to deal with the man on a day-to-day basis as a staff member. Three of my very good friends are in that situation. They are on staff and have to work with this pastor every day.

A couple of weeks ago, one of them asked for and was granted a leave of absence from her duties as the leader of our praise band, Exaltation. Dealing with the "interim" pastor had taken its toll on her and was affecting her family. It was the right decision for her.

But I was VERY ANGRY that she was forced to make that decision! I said "That's it! I'm done! As long as this pastor is here, I won't be!"

That next weekend, I went and worshipped at another church on Saturday night. It was a wonderful, contemporary service with a relevant message. Exactly the kind of service that we've been striving for at my church. "Maybe I've found a new home." I thought.

The next morning I went to service at my church...just to see. I went with hopes of seeing the "interim" pastor floundering around with no worship team to support him. I had visions of the regular worshippers getting angry about what was happening and letting the pastor have it with both barrels. But that didn't happen...

It was "Christ the King" Sunday and the service was fairly traditional. I sat in the back and watched. There were only about 40 or 50 people there. I saw some of them walk out when they saw that printed bulletins would be used and that there would be no visual media. Some folks asked me why I wasn't in my familiar position behind the media center and sound board. "We're done!" I said. "We're not going to fight this fight anymore."

One of my other friends on the worship team who sings in the band came up to me and asked me if I would be willing to continue to do media starting the next week...if there was going to be media. At first I said "No!" I needed to stand firm with my sister in Christ who was forced to give up something she loves very much. Then I said that I needed to think about it and pray about it.

And so I did.

I came to realize that my anger and my hopes of the "interim" pastor falling on his face was doing NOTHING to further the kingdom of God. I also realized that by letting the contemporary worship fail all that would happen is the people who worship there would leave to go and be fed somewhere else. The "interim" pastor is leaving at the end of the month and even if he were to go out with "egg" on his face, the hurt would be left at my church. I thought about my friend on leave and my hopes and prayers are that she will eventually come back. But what would she have to come back to if this service failed?

I decided to go back the next week and run the media. I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to continue working on this service. I can't tell you how many people came to me and said "Thank you for being here! It's so comforting to see you back there." That made me feel good, but that's NOT what this is about. It about spreading the Good News! It's about offering people a style of worship that they can relate to and feel comfortable in. It's about doing what I'm called to do and I really feel His calling.

But to some, it looks as if I wasn't willing to TAKE A STAND. Some may think that I went back on a commitment. And maybe I did. But I made a commitment to Jesus first and that commitment was to follow Him wherever He leads me and right now this is where He's leading. I'm convinced of that.

We met our potential new pastor this past Sunday. He seems to me like he'll be a really good fit at this church. He preached more to us about Jesus Christ, salvation, redemption and transformation in 10 minutes than I think we've heard at this church in 2 years!

I'm going to ride this out until this new pastor is in place. If it works out, then hopefully my friend will come back and we'll put our worship team back together and get on with the business of spreading the News! If not...I will follow Jesus...and I will do His will.

God is LEADING us...

ALL THE TIME!

My Glory...or His?

"Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

I've been thinking a lot lately about the way I pray. You know...how I talk to God. That's what praying is to me. Talking to God. I really just talk to Him the way I would talk to anyone. What I've been considering, though, is my motivation for the things I pray for.

I always pray for my family...my daughter, my wife. I pray that He keep them in His care and under his loving, watchful eye. I pray for my friends...for their health and happiness. I pray for my church...that it truly looks to seek His will and do His work.

And I pray for myself.

I pray for things like...the strength to do my day job, the guidance to work with the high school youth at church, the wisdom to handle the situation with our interim pastor. I pray for Him to make me want to forgive people I can't seem to forgive, for Him to help me turn from my sins...to be a better person.

Wait a minute...did you catch that? To be a better person? What's that about?

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!! I've been praying for Him to help me to help me! It's all about my sin, my guilt, my discomfort, my darkness. I've been praying for strength and guidance and wisdom and FREEDOM because of what those things will do for ME.

I should be looking to Jesus and His glory, His purpose for my life and His grace. I should be striving for the strength and guidance and wisdom and freedom so that I may glorify Him in all that I am, all that I say and all that I do.

"Not to us, O LORD, but to you goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness."
Psalm 115:1

Even more than praying for Him to use me for His glory, I should really be focusing on others. My family, my friends, believers, non-believers...basically everyone other than me. I need to turn my focus from inward towards myself and direct it outward towards others.

"When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!"
Job 42:10

So, what are you praying for? Is your motivation to glorify yourself, so that you FEEL better about yourself. To boast in yourself and say "Look what I've done!" Or are you striving to be set FREE to honor Him and work for His glory.

Ask yourself when you pray: "My glory...or His?"

Peace

Saved by GRACE alone?

I continue to struggle with this concept.

In my last post, I told you that the theology presented at our alternative worship service has been called into question by the "interim" pastor of our church. Some of the church council members have asked us if we are preaching anything other than "saved by grace alone."

I can't find anywhere in the bible where it says that I am saved by grace alone...end of story, nothing further required.

Everything I read says that I'm saved, but I need to believe in Jesus. I've even been exploring the ELCA website and all of the verses that it quotes tell me that I must believe in Jesus.

From the ELCA:

How does righteousness fit into a theology of "grace alone"?
God, by this sacrifice and saving action, takes upon himself (sic) our own human death, thus upholding the promised covenant relationship which is our salvation. In fulfilling the covenant demand to uphold the relationship, God is proved righteous/faithful (Romans 3:26a).

What Must a Person Do to Become a Christian?
Jesus said, " Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25-26)

Who will be saved?
The Christian hope for salvation, whether for the believing few or the unbelieving many, is grounded in the person and meaning of Christ alone, not in the potential of the world’s religions to save, nor in the moral seriousness of humanists and people of good will, not even in the good works of pious Christians and church people. ... There is a universalist thrust in the New Testament, particularly in Paul’s theology. How else can we read passages such as 'for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ' (1 Cor 15:22)?" (See also Colossians 1:15-20, Ephesians 1:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:28.)

I encourage you to read the entire passages not just the quoted verses and you'll see what I mean.

And I offer this verse:

Romans 10:9-10
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

A couple of weeks ago, we sang a song call "Sing For Joy." The first verse says:

If we call to Him, He will answer us
If we run to Him, He will run to us
If we lift our hands, He will lift us up
Come now praise His name, All you saints of God.

The "interim" pastor asked, "Does God require of us something before God answers us or runs to us or lifts us up? Does the song encourage the understanding that we believe that God demands from us some form of work first? What happens if we call and it seems God does NOT answer?"

It doesn’t suggest to me that I have to do specific works to gain God’s grace, but rather that I must reach out to God in order to feel his presence in my earthly life. It’s like in Luke 15:11-32, the story of the prodigal son. I can live my life without a relationship with God, not calling to him or running to him or lifting my hands to him and God will let me go about my way. But, once I realize the need for God in my life and turn my life over to him (that's FAITH) and call to him and run to him and lift my hands to him, God will celebrate like the father in the story and welcome me with open arms.

To answer his last question, I'll quote Garth Brooks:

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

Peace

What do we need to DO to be SAVED?

This question has been weighing heavily on my mind for the last few weeks.

I am part of the worship team for an alternative worship service at Trinity Lutheran Church, an ELCA Lutheran church. This service is a mostly lay-led worship that includes contemporary praise songs, audio and video media and often times hands-on elements to give it an interactive feel.

The question was raised by our Associate In Ministry who is in charge of evangelism. He and our interim pastor have called into question our motives with our service and the "theology" which is presented. We've been told that our music and our message rings of "decision theology" and that we are "leaning towards evangelical or fundamentalist thinking."

I don't get it!

Our service is designed to be an outreach to people who either are uncomfortable with traditional church worship or who have never been to church before and that might be intimidated by a traditional worship style.

The message we teach is simple...you and I are saved because "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16), that we "must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) and finally that we are to "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

That's it...it doesn't get much simpler than that. We are saved so, let's love God, love each other and tell EVERYONE about it!

Do you have to do these things to be saved? No, you've ALL already been saved, that's the GOOD NEWS! But in knowing that you are saved, my prayer is that you would "give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God." (Romans 6:13)

Peace

W.W.J.D.

I've been wearing a bracelet that says "W.W.J.D." for about 3 years now. I first started wearing it as a tribute to my favorite golfer, Payne Stewart. I love to play golf and pattern my game after Payne's. Aggressive, but within my limitations.

Payne Stewart wore his bracelet as a testimony to his faith in Christ. Payne's wife Tracey described him as "a 'Christian in process,' not someone who felt he had arrived spiritually. He
never pretended to have the answers and probably didn't know what some of the questions were. But his faith was genuine, and as he understood the Bible, the issue wasn't about how much faith he had but whether his faith in Christ was real. And everyone close to Payne knew that his faith was real."

That's pretty much how I see myself. I am fairly new in my commitment to my faith. I'm not a new Christian. I was raised in the Catholic church and went to Catholic school from the middle of 1st grade to when I graduated high school. I was a good Catholic boy...I went to church, I got A's in my religion classes, I served as an altar boy all through school, I sang in the choir. But I always had questions and never seemed to get the answers that satisfied me.

After I graduated high school, I stopped being the "good Catholic boy." I didn't go to church anymore and I never read the Bible. I rebelled in a way. I went to college at Cal State, Long Beach, moved into an apartment with a couple guys I worked with and partied my butt off. I was having a GREAT time! I didn't need Jesus.

To make a long story a little shorter (I'll probably go more into the road from then to now at a later date), I've realized over the last 5 years or so of my life that I DO NEED JESUS!

So, to get back to the bracelet (is there a point to this post?). As I said, I first started wearing it as a tribute to Payne. But now, I feel like it is truly a testimony to my faith in Christ. It serves to remind me everytime I look at it, to stop and think "What would Jesus do?"

I've added a couple other bracelets in the last year. I also wear a red plastic (like the Lance Armstrong "Live Strong" bracelets) one that says "Live For Him" (that's how I came up with my blogger name) and one that has 6 colored stripes to represent the gospel story (Black=Sin, Red=Jesus' blood, Blue=Baptism, White=Cleansing, Green=Growth with God, Yellow=Everlasting life). I wear a cross around my neck and I also have my left ear pierced twice and in one of the holes is a small stainless steel cross.

I think some Christians question my motives for wearing the things I do (or for having the Jesus fish on my bike or the sticker on my helmet that I described yesterday). They might think that I wear these things like some sort of badges of honor, to show that I'm better than others because I'm Christian and I am saved.

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!!!"

I wear these things for myself and only myself. To remind me of my commitment to Christ. I'm a very visual person and need to have images to keep my focus. Every time I look down at my hands and see my bracelets...I pray. Every time I reach down and hold my cross on my necklace...I pray. Every time I get vain and look in the mirror, I see that cross in my ear...and I pray.

Maybe people who see these things I wear do get the wrong impression. Maybe they do think that I think I'm better than them. Could that be the case?

What I want them to see is that I live my life with passion and that I am unapologetic about my faith and I want them to want that for themselves. I hope that by "advertising" being Christian that people might feel compelled to ask me about my faith. As I said earlier, I'm pretty new in my faith commitment and hope this might be a way to gain opportunities to witness to other people.

Just like Payne Stewart, I don't have all the answers and I probably don't even know most of the questions. I just know that I love Jesus and love what he does in my life so, I wear the "gear." Just like all these Cardinal fans in St. Louis who wear RED on game days, except I wear my "gear" everyday because everyday is game day with Jesus.

Peace