"Go and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:18-20
One of my favorite Christian musicians was a guy named Keith Green. He had a line in one of his songs that said, "How can we not go. It should be the exception if we stay."
I think that is a little hyperbolic, but it makes a good point. We do not have an option of whether or not we are going to be obedient to the Great Commission. As followers of King Jesus, we must do what He says. This inlcudes missions.
I think every believer should go on an out of country mission trip at least once. Every mission trip that I have been on has had a huge impact in my own personal life and walk with God. It is good for us as Americans to see how good we've got it.
Mission trips are always challenging and difficult. You have to travel a lot, which can be taxing to say the least. You get exposed to different cultures and food that you are not accustomed to. For some that is very difficult. I actually enjoy sampling the different cuisines of other cultures. (I ate scorpion one time.) Accomodations are always different that what you are used to. And then there is the spiritual battles that go on when you are being used of God to spread the gospel.
But, those difficulties are also carry the potential for some of the greatest blessings in a persons life. And those blessings sometimes come from the smallest things. I remember teaching Ukrainian adolescents how to play American football. They had no idea what to do, and we threw around the football that I had brought and the kids had an absolute blast of a time. To see their faces when I left that football with them is something I will never forget. I also won't forget seeing God work in their lives and draw them to Himself.
This May, Lord willing, I will be going on a mission trip with a team of people to the country of Estonia. I will do a separate post about this country and the need for mission work their.
Please pray for me and the others that are planning on going on this trip. Thanks.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sex Challenge
Relevant Church in Florida is doing a sermon series called the Sex Challenge. They are challenging singles to abstain from sex for 30 days and they are challenging married couples to have sex everyday for 30 days.
Read the story from foxnews, here.
Are they serious? The answer is, yes they are.
First of all, I do not have a problem teaching or preaching on sex. The Bible has much to say about the subject and it has been so perverted by our society that more churches need to address the issue from a biblical perspective.
I think that is what this church is attempting to do. I think?
There are several problems with the approach:
My biggest objection is the salacious manner that this church is advertising their series on sex. If you go to the actual church website they have a picture on the homepage about this series on sex. It has clothed people, in provocative positions with members of the opposite sex. It is so salacious that it has gained national attention. If the church merely posted a notice that they were doing a biblical series on sex they would not have gotten this attention. So, their methodology is merely to gain attention. That is a problem. They are using sex to sell their church.
There is another problem. The pastor is going to tell single members of the church to abstain from sex. That is good and right. But, by promoting it this way he is thrusting images that are going to do nothing but tempt the very ones he is trying to help avoid these temptations.
What if I were to have an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting and while we are meeting there are beer ads, banners, and pictures of alcohol all over the room? That is just not wise or helpful.
Other issues.
Why is he challenging singles for only 30 days? I get his point, but let’s emphasize the clear biblical teaching to abstain until marriage.
He is also encouraging married couples to have sex everyday for 30 days. While every husband is saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you”, every wife is having different thoughts. Again, I don’t think the pastor’s intention is wrong, but his methodology is very poor.
Mandatory sex seems from the pastor seems to take this most intimate of times out of the privacy of the marriage. It is making it too public. It also just doesn’t work that way. If one spouse has the flu, or out of town for business, or something else --- it makes sex seem forced, contrived, and possibly devoid of the joy that is described in scripture.
It is fine and good to encourage couples to understand what scripture teaches about sex and to encourage sex in the marriage. The bible does that. But, you just can’t make it that mandatory.
Another issue. The name of this church is Relevant Church. I do not know this church or pastor personally, but based on what they have made public I want to address this issue of relevance.
The objective of a church is not relevance. A church should strive to be biblical. Many modern church growth proponents push the issue of relevance. They say, ‘we must be relevant in our culture.’ It is that drive that might inspire someone to actually name their church ‘Relevant Church’. Some of these proponents despise things like expository, biblical, text oriented preaching because that is not relevant. So, they do things like use sex to sell their church, or all kinds of carnival type programs to be relevant in their culture.
What the lost world thinks is relevant, and what the Bible says is relevant is two different things. Something is truly relevant if it is focused on our deepest needs, not our wants. What the lost world need is the biblical truth that they have sinned against a holy God. They need people who live and speak the Word of God into their lives that they might repent and trust in Jesus Christ. They don’t need Christians to coddle them in their proclivities, wants, desires, and sin. That might seem ‘relevant’ and might attract a large crowd, but it muddles the message with a faulty method.
Read the story from foxnews, here.
Are they serious? The answer is, yes they are.
First of all, I do not have a problem teaching or preaching on sex. The Bible has much to say about the subject and it has been so perverted by our society that more churches need to address the issue from a biblical perspective.
I think that is what this church is attempting to do. I think?
There are several problems with the approach:
My biggest objection is the salacious manner that this church is advertising their series on sex. If you go to the actual church website they have a picture on the homepage about this series on sex. It has clothed people, in provocative positions with members of the opposite sex. It is so salacious that it has gained national attention. If the church merely posted a notice that they were doing a biblical series on sex they would not have gotten this attention. So, their methodology is merely to gain attention. That is a problem. They are using sex to sell their church.
There is another problem. The pastor is going to tell single members of the church to abstain from sex. That is good and right. But, by promoting it this way he is thrusting images that are going to do nothing but tempt the very ones he is trying to help avoid these temptations.
What if I were to have an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting and while we are meeting there are beer ads, banners, and pictures of alcohol all over the room? That is just not wise or helpful.
Other issues.
Why is he challenging singles for only 30 days? I get his point, but let’s emphasize the clear biblical teaching to abstain until marriage.
He is also encouraging married couples to have sex everyday for 30 days. While every husband is saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you”, every wife is having different thoughts. Again, I don’t think the pastor’s intention is wrong, but his methodology is very poor.
Mandatory sex seems from the pastor seems to take this most intimate of times out of the privacy of the marriage. It is making it too public. It also just doesn’t work that way. If one spouse has the flu, or out of town for business, or something else --- it makes sex seem forced, contrived, and possibly devoid of the joy that is described in scripture.
It is fine and good to encourage couples to understand what scripture teaches about sex and to encourage sex in the marriage. The bible does that. But, you just can’t make it that mandatory.
Another issue. The name of this church is Relevant Church. I do not know this church or pastor personally, but based on what they have made public I want to address this issue of relevance.
The objective of a church is not relevance. A church should strive to be biblical. Many modern church growth proponents push the issue of relevance. They say, ‘we must be relevant in our culture.’ It is that drive that might inspire someone to actually name their church ‘Relevant Church’. Some of these proponents despise things like expository, biblical, text oriented preaching because that is not relevant. So, they do things like use sex to sell their church, or all kinds of carnival type programs to be relevant in their culture.
What the lost world thinks is relevant, and what the Bible says is relevant is two different things. Something is truly relevant if it is focused on our deepest needs, not our wants. What the lost world need is the biblical truth that they have sinned against a holy God. They need people who live and speak the Word of God into their lives that they might repent and trust in Jesus Christ. They don’t need Christians to coddle them in their proclivities, wants, desires, and sin. That might seem ‘relevant’ and might attract a large crowd, but it muddles the message with a faulty method.
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