todd

Conference update; and not giving a Beard update, it's depressing

Spent the last 5 days in Sacramento, eating myself from one end of that city to the other, and I was also at the National Youth Workers Conference. But wait Todd, you work with Young Adults...why did you go to a Youth Conference...and the Beard Challenge?

Simply...those youth are going to be young adults before I know it and I better know it... and the NYWC is the best at gauging the youth culture and where it is headed. And no Beard Challenge update...I'm also not speaking with the scale and consequently ignoring it.

I don't want this to be too long (though it might) so here are a few odd quick tidbits; let's call it the  Top 5 that first come to mind.

#1 Shane Claiborne spent the good part of an hour and a half trying to convince me the death penalty was wrong...and the Iraq war was wrong...cool...I love seminars that focus on politics...I mean nothing unifies us Christians more than a good talk on politics...really, what  unites us Americans better than politics? The thought occurred to me during his talk, "if a Iraq veteran would have been in here (that seminar), Shane would no longer be with us."

He didn't offend me...I have heard him speak before...I knew what I was getting into with him...he does does noteworthy works of compassion around the world...I went to the seminar to learn more about his perspective and his Social Justice work. When it comes to a young person being passionate about Social Justice...Shane is second to none.

#2 Tony Campolo gave me everything I expect and more. My favorite quote from him was, "I don't know how you can be a Christian and drive a BMW." What do you do with that? So, if I follow Tony's logic, this Sunday, anyone with a Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, Audi, or any other luxury car should be asked that question before exiting their vehicle. We now have a easy standard to test maturity in Christ. Tony was a wonderful communicator, thought provoking, interesting and fun...but the BMW comment was too much. By the way, I drive a 1995 Honda Civic, 41 mpg on the freeway...but I will trade you for your 2009 Beamer if you want.

Really, Tony could have said anything, "I don't know how you can be a Christian, and ..." Own a 200,000 dollar house? Buy a $100 pair of jeans? Buy a $1000 computer? An Ipod? An Iphone?

His point was that Christians waste money on status symbols...which is true, for sure...but he left out that God is the one who judges the heart. We can have a wealthy Christian who is righteous in owning a BMW, and another Christian who is unrighteous in owning a BMW. God sees the heart...BMW or no BMW, God knows the sinful motivation of our hearts. Let's leave the judging of people's hearts to God.

 

#3 Mike Pilavchi was the best. He always is. He is super funny, humble, and a great communicator of God's Word.

#4 Phyllis Tickle was the surprise of the conference. She is an elderly woman who had all 2500 of us glued to her every word. My favorite quote from her, "I love a good murder every now and then." Referring to her High Church hierarchy, and her hope for some of the power players to die off.

#5 Worthy of the top 5 tidbits, but not apart of the conference per say. Nonetheless, Top 5 conference moment was Kelley and Holly doing the Youth Workers speed dating...I don't know if they landed a mate, but ask them about it.

The deep stuff of the conference will take some time to let out...we all were overwhelmed by the constant information...we spent 8 to 10 hours each day engaged in sessions, seminars, conversations, and more conversations; all of our experiences there will take a while to unpack. Starting in 10 hours at our Department Staff meeting.

On my mind...

"If we really believed we were eternal beings, would we fear death as much as we do?" Dan Morrow, who is one of our elders at Neighborhood Church,  asked me that question over lunch recently, and since then, eternity itself, has been on my mind daily. Dan is going to preach at The Well coming up October 12th on this subject and is going to challenge us to consider taking an eternal perspective as we Pursue Christ-likeness. Like the Johnny Cash video below communicates, we are here one minute, and gone the next. As followers of Christ, we must wrestle with the reality of eternity, both for ourselves and for our neighbors.

My empire of Dirt...

There may not be an American musician who has transcended generations over the years like Johnny Cash. Though a strong Christian, he never denied that he was a strong sinner, living out his up and down walk of faith very publicly. One moment serving with Billy Graham at crusades, and the next he was back to a life of addiction. I love this video, done at the end of his life. He takes a Nine Inch Nails song and turns it on it's head. We love Johnny Cash for his music, but more so for his honesty. Like the Apostle Paul, Cash felt comfortable being called the chief of all sinners, and yet he knew, as he sang about often at his concerts, he could cling to "The Old Rugged Cross"

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

Check out his Hurt video below:

Vince Carter and Pursuing Christ-likeness

If I asked you to be just like Vince Carter, that you would jump just like him, fly like him, and of course dunk exactly like him...could you? First check out his Top Ten Dunks video, then continue reading.

Did you watch the video? So I want you to be just like him. Not kind of like him. Just like him. Good luck. I can't wait to see the one handed-reverse-360 dunk you will pull off, in an NBA game, on TV, in front of thousands of viewers.

The only way you could be like Vince is if his athletic genius and gift was supernaturally infused into you.

Now, forget telling you to be like Vince Carter, consider God's agenda that we be like Jesus Christ. It seems an absurd request from our Creator. It would be unfathomably easier for us to dunk like Vince Carter, than be exactly like Christ. Don't you think?

Consider this closer, consider Christ, He is the God of the Universe in the person of Jesus, lived a perfect life, with perfect love, always doing His Father's will, and never, ever, not even once, did he sin, not even in his mind or heart. No sin, even when being crucified on a cross for our sin. (All I need is to go to Walmart and the temptation to sin is easy pickings.). I digress. It is that perfect life of Christ that God desires us to be like in thought, word, and deed. Now let's be reasonably, even on our best moral day, it ain't going to happen.

The only way you or I can truly be like Christ is if Christ's Spirit was supernaturally placed inside of us, giving us the power to be truly like Him. Brilliantly, not to mention sacrificially, this is what God has done for us. If anyone has put their trust in the atoning work Jesus Christ did on the cross, they, as Galatians 2:20 states, can say:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Voltaire Quote

"God made us in his image, and then we returned the favor."

So help me...

At times I feel as though stupidity has become the norm of society. So help me, if I hear this phrase anymore I am going to go crazy.

"Everyone is entitled to share their opinion."
   
No. No. No. Not if your opinion is moronic, perhaps evil, and stupid. Sorry. At some point, one must realize their opinion doesn't have to be shared and may not matter. Don't get me wrong. You as a person matter more than words can say. But you as a person needing to be validated by expressing your thoughts on ever matter; acting as though your opinion carries the weight of an expert, is getting old and tiring.

But our culture isn't backing me up on this. Shoot. Our culture teaches us that everyone's opinion matters. Everyone's opinion is right. We must make room for everyone's ideas. And so these ideas creep into the church. And people's "stupid" opinions about God are listened to, people nod their heads, and the church is "stupider" for it.

The latest thing that is killing me is people's opinion on this 3 topics: salvation, heaven and hell. Anyone with a computer and a blog can anoint themselves to be the foremost experts at revealing the church's misunderstanding that Jesus isn't the only way, heaven is for everyone (not just Christians), and hell isn't real. Never mind 2000 years of Christianity believing the opposite, well articulated church doctrine, countless Bible scholars, theologians, martyrs, church councils, a reformation, and THE BIBLE  itself which contradict all 3 of those lame opinions.

Our culture teaches us we all need to be sensitive to your opinion, because "Your opinion is valid. I won't tell you that you are wrong, that would be wrong." And everyone is nodding their heads, saying, that makes sense.

Sorry, only one person's opinion truly matters and that is God's opinion.

Didn't Job want to give his opinion to God? What did God say? "Well Job, before we talk, could you remind me about how the foundations of the earth were formed. Remind me. What were the math equations I used" (Job 38 paraphrased). God wanted to know Job's qualifications for having a conversation that would put Job's opinion on the same playing field with God's.

God wanted Job to think about his moronic opinion in light of God's amazing opinion. Job got it, and by Job 40:4, after two chapters of God flattening Job with His flawless wisdom, Job humbly replies, "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth."

Some friendly advice for the day, and your life for that matter. Find a Godly mentor, who knows God, has worn out the pages of their Bible, and walks in the Spirit (showing the fruit of the spirit). Once you find that person put your hand over your mouth and listen to what their opinion is about God, church, and life is all about.

Tozer's Rules for Self Discovery

Centering our lives on Christ is crucial to experiencing the abundant life Jesus promises. Unfortunately, if unchecked our perspective on life begins to decentralize Christ, and instead puts self or something else in the center.  AW Tozer gave a list of seven questions we should ask ourselves to help determine what or who is most central in our lives. These questions are meant to be mediated on, and answered with deep honest contemplation.

1. What we want most.
2. What we think about most.
3. How we use our money.
4. What we do with our free time.
5. The company we enjoy.
6. Whom and what we admire.
7. What we laugh at.

Come on...really? Lame-o

In a word, "lame-o". The LA Times put out an article recently on the spirituality of Californians. Within the article, a staggering stat jumped out at me, "Seventy percent believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life"; 57% of Evangelicals feel that way, as do 79% of Catholics."

WHAT!!!

57% of Evangelicals believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life", you have to be kidding me. Come on...really?  If that is true, almost 6 out of 10 CHRISTIANS believe that faith in Jesus Christ is NOT the only way to eternal life.

The trouble I find in my heart and mind is that I believe that stat isn't far off.

Try and follow me here. We have a generation of young Christians raised in a culture that values extreme tolerance which produces the fruit of non-confrontation that in actuality make them feel devalued and exactly the same as everyone else. I think Dash had it best in the Incredible's cartoon movie when he said, "If everyone is special, then no one is." (It's as though our culture is pushing us Christians to say that Jesus isn't any more special than anyone else. But I digress)

I remember the first time I got a trophy for being on a sports team. The whole team got trophies, no one got a special trophy, we were all given the same ugly little trophy with a kid kicking a soccer ball and we were all told we were special. So I threw my trophy away, I wasn't an idiot. I knew what kids on the team were gifted in soccer and which kids were athletic nightmares. We weren't all the same, we were different and some stunk, and some were really good. Some kids deserved trophies and most didn't.

My parents told me that giving every kid a trophy was for their own self-esteem. If any kid didn't get a trophy they might feel bad about themselves. Great point, I mean what makes a kid feel great about themselves anymore than lying to them and telling them they are a great soccer player when they know, and we teammates have told them they stink.

I am not saying that telling my uncoordinated friends on my soccer team that they stink was good, it was hurtful, but giving them a trophy and telling them they were just as good as the kid who scored every goal for us that season (Hector) wasn't any better. Kids aren't that dumb, they knew that weren't as special as Hector at soccer. Hector deserved his own MVP trophy, but he got the same as everyone else.

So let's give every religion the same trophy, they are all the same. No one religion is more special than any other one.

Which is along the same line of thinking that states, "No one should decide for you what is right or wrong. You need to decide for yourself. Truth is what you say it is." I will blog about that statement at a later date. My initial response is again, "lame-o". Sorry I digressed again. That above quote is really saying that everyone is right, which people really don't believe, so since they don't really believe that everyone is right, they end up thinking, "If everyone is right, then no one is right."

And therein lies the rejection of faith in Jesus as the only way to attain eternal life.

Christian, don't be lame. You really don't believe that. Christianity and Jesus Christ are crystal clear that faith in Christ is the only way to heaven (John 14:6, John 3:16) and of course Acts 4:12 which I will post here for you, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."(NASB)

So why are so many evangelicals (that is Christians) taking the easy road and abandoning Jesus' own words and rock solid biblical doctrine of Salvation in Christ Alone. Simple, CONVENIENCE (a post-modern form of PRIDE.)

Convenience of making God look better in our culture than he appears in the Bible. Convenience of everyone liking how open minded you are. Convenience of living your life the way you want with the full approval of our lost friends.

Consider this, if Jesus really was the only way to heaven and if his commands were really the only thing we should be worried about obeying, then dang it; we would have to change and live holier lives and that just isn't convenient.

Perspective

Take this perspective today…

Whatever or whoever you encounter today, today’s events and people have passed before God’s eyes, and God allowed it for both obvious and mysterious reasons. Thankfully, either way, Christ within you is ready to pour out the fruit of the Spirit (read Galatians 5:22-23) in each event, and to each person; so that His presence might be evident.

So let Christ’s presence be evident to all, let people experience Christ's “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23) as it spills out of you today; choose by faith to let Christ within you come out, and not the other guy (you know, your inner mess guy, with all its issues and lameness that spews crap out on others).

For Christ spilling out of you is God’s supernatural plan for your life today. And when it happens, you can by faith say, NOT I BUT CHRIST.

 Be watchful today; I’m praying for our eyes to open to what God is doing in us and through us today…

 Here’s one for you, ask Christ to shine through you to the very next person you see…as soon as you get done reading this! See what the Holy Spirit within you spurs you to do or say.