so what IS the church? (a refresher)

the word is ecclesia. Literally translated, it means 'the called out'.

any reference to the word or to the idea or concept of 'church' in Holy Writ depicts a people.... a group... a movement.... a body.

It NEVER refers to a building. EVER!

'Bible' buildings - locations - have names like synagogues or temples or tabernacles. but never - not even one time - is ecclesia (church) used to describe a place or location or a building.

We say we 'get it', but our very language betrays us.

We have forever emphasized the importance of "bringing 'em to church" or "gettin 'em to come back to church" or a hundred other phrases which misuse the word...

worse yet, our language betrays our ignorance of what we are called to do. We are not called to produce attenders, we are called to make disciples!

We are tasked NOT with filling up our buildings 2 hours a week, but with drawing people into relationship with Jesus Christ!

When I sometimes make a big point of this, people often scoff as if to say "yeah, we get it, but it's no big deal"

I disagree. It is THE BIG deal. The very central key to most every 'church problem' in history is tied to the misuse and resultant misunderstanding of exactly what 'church' is.

I have watched for decades as we vilify each other over stupid, meaningless, inane arguments. And EVERY ONE OF THOSE ARGUMENTS deals with how we 'do church'.... or some other 'locationcentric' issue.

just another indictment of our misunderstanding of what we are and what we are to be about. It makes me sick at my stomach. and Satan is winning.

So forgive me if I am militant about using words properly. Words mean things.

And if we continue to perpetuate ignorance (willingly or not) through our language and our actions, how can we be surprised when our kids and their kids finally look up and wake up and wonder... "Is this IT? ...there's gotta be something more."

God help us! My ardent prayer is that the Spirit will guide those honest seekers (our children and grandchildren) to relationship with their Savior. My fear is that we will have so thoroughly missed it - then passed along our 'missing it' to our offspring - that our kiddos will be disenchanted with Religion to the point that they run from it and miss the true and living God of creation.

Is the church important? VITALLY! But I believe we have confused the local church (and it's buildings and other accoutrements) with the 'ecclesia' to the point that we fail to understand the distinction.

It seems clear that there are bunches of 'church-attenders' all over the world which are a part of His Body, right?... doesn't it also make sense that there are tons of church-attenders who have no relationship with Him? Can they be considered a part of His Body if they have not first developed relationship with God through His Son?

But we have gotten the cart so far ahead of it's conveyance, we can't even see its tail!

When we misuse the language, we pervert Acts 2:47...

note: Jesus added the saved to His church. Jesus did not add church-attenders to the saved.

We must divorce ourselves from the notion of 'inviting people to church' and instead invite people to relationship with Jesus.... when we think of our mission through that lens, it takes on a much more vibrant, exciting and real meaning!

oh, and by the way, when we help lead people to the Risen Lord, I am convinced the 'church attendance' will be exactly what God wants it to be... but be warned: it - 'church attendance' - will likely NOT look and smell like anything to which we've become accustomed...

It's not that our local church buildings are bad places. It's just that we have apparently vastly overestimated our church building's saving power. .... and it has none.

May God Bless us as we lead others to Him through His Son.

what are we chasing?

I remember hearing my uncles making fun of adolescent boys 'chasing girls'... saying things like "they wouldn't know what to do with one if they caught her!"

Probably a lot of truth to that... but, well, us boys grew up and most of us - thankfully - figured out "what to do with 'em".... (I mean that in a good wholesome way, as in 'marry them and start a family, etc)

but how sad it would be if the older men would have been right about boys and chasing and ignorance and futility...

which begs the question, right?

What if you truly didn't know what to do once you 'caught up' to whatever it is that you are chasing?

whether it be a vice or a career or mate or a job or a car or.... whatever... will you know 'what to do with it' when you 'catch it'?

I heard someone a lot smarter than me (a large group of people, you know) say that we'd "better make sure what we are leaning our ladder up against before we start climbing"... (or something like that)

anyhow, just a thought...

let's take care that what we chase is worth chasing... and worth catching...

blessings

Exploitation at its worst in the 21st century

I had decided not to comment in this space about the whole Michael Jackson death furor.

But I changed my mind... and it sorta ties into another recent phenomenon about which I have a thought or two.

My family is eaten up with a couple reality TV shows. We are addicted to American Idol (Go Kris!), and a couple other shows are also DVR'd at our house... We like Ty's show, "Extreme Home Makeover", and the females in my house are riveted by the Jon and Kate deal... and have been enamored of their story long before the whole he-said-she-said divorce thing.

But MJ's death and the death of Jon & Kate's marriage give me pause...

so here are a couple thoughts...

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' sold more albums (cassettes, CDs, downloads, etc) than any other piece of recorded music in the history of recorded music: 50 million copies! But sadly, the last couple decades of watching the resultant neuroses of this human freak show have almost made us forget about what made him the concensus King of Pop.

what a shame... He sold more albums than anyone in history, and we are talking not about that unbelievable feat but about his botched surgeries to make himself look less black and his weirdness and apparent affinity for young boys. and, of course, his money problems... wow! The public microscope is intense and the international spotlight is hot... and we all have some weird fascination with the weird.

the whole Jon and Kate deal makes me sick to my stomach and, well, really mad. mad at the adults in charge... yeah, the ones who made a deal with the devil that is Reality TV; by making that deal, this couple was at least complicit in the plot which played into America's sick prurient infatuation with voyeurism. It is not entertainment. It is not cute. It should not be interesting or fascinating, yet we are absolutely sucked in. This part of Reality TV is a tool of Satan.

Plain and simple, Jon and Kate exploited their family. They placed their children at huge risk and we all helped insure this family's demise by watching this tripe by the millions...

Shame on them for exploiting their kids. Shame on A & E network for making them some irresistible offer, and shame on us all for watching.

Instead of tuning into the misery of others and taking some sick pleasure in it, we ought to pray for the families which are turned upside down by... well... us.

a Day for Dads

Mine was a childhood from a Norman Rockwell painting.

a great and loving mom and a wonderful smiling provider-dad and three siblings... I remember only good things, and they were plenty!

As an adult, I can look back and see things I didn't as a kid. I can see that mom and dad had the normal struggles all parents have... I can see that my mom struggled with depression... I can see that dad struggled to provide the way he wanted to for his 6 member family...

and I gain an even greater appreciation for my parents...

mostly because they kept all that adult stuff away from me and let me just be a kid.

And for that... probably above everything else, THAT... is why I love and appreciate my momma and daddy so much!

In these days of less-than-stellar economic times... in these days of such prevalent overt sinfulness.... in these days when dads are simply walking away from their families... and moms are too... it is vital that parents keep all that adult stuff away from their kids and allow them to just be kids...

thank you, daddy, for being such a good daddy. thank you for being such a good provider. thank you for showing me Christ. thank you for letting me be a kid.

Happy Fathers Day!

buddhism (cont)

so in his quest for... I dunno.... something....

my friend is studying Buddhism.

I applaud anyone for learning about other belief systems. It should serve as a confirmation of your own beliefs... it may serve to challenge us and stretch us...

I would hope, though, that it would not shake your spiritual foundations.

if it challenges and stretches you and makes you think, that's a good thing, right?

but what if it makes you seriously question the very existence of the God of the Bible?

then what? do you forbid those you love from exploring and learning?

I know.... deep... and I really do covet your input as I try to help my dear friend as he is questioning everything he used to believe.

he has a Doctorate in Bible, for crying out loud.

so... whaddya suggest?

my former youth minister is a Buddhist

Ok, so that was a purposefully eye-catching title, I admit.

My dear friend and former youth minister is a seeker. always has been...

What you love about him is the same thing that makes him 'dangerous' to follow.

I am asking for your help in assisting my dear friend and brother in finding his way through a time and place in his life which have left him searching... and I mean searching - not for the right way to worship God.... and NOT for the correct 'local church' to 'join'...

I mean my friend is searching to find out Who this higher power might me. and not altogether sure it is the God of the Bible...

wow...

I believe God will lead him back to Himself...

more about this as I learn about the situation...

pray.

Who are you? What are you doing?

There are too many one-liners to list on the subject of direction.

Most of them point up this fact of life: it is impossible to go somewhere if you don't first know where you are...

and, if you really wanna get specific, I would suggest that it is vital to know how you got where you are... right?

Lucado had a terrific thought in his daily devo today...

"When you do the most what you do the best,

you put a smile on God's face.

What could be better than that?"

I have 8 friends right now who are in a tiny, remote Panamanian village - using their God-made gifts to make a HUGE difference in the lives of about 1000 of His children. They are taking medications to people who have never seen a doctor... they are giving medicine to children who have never seen an Ibuprofen or had Neosporin to put on a cut.

and they are doing what God designed them to do...

I'll bet they are happy...

and God smiles.


Blessings!