Perpetual Disappointment

Is God perpetually disappointed in me?

What an odd question. Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever think that God is always disappointed in you?

I have and do sometimes. Maybe it's because there are times that I am acutely aware of how sinful I am. There are so many clear scriptures about the horror that is my sin and rebellion against the Lord. I begin to think to myself that my failures and shortcoming must disappoint and displease the Lord. My remedy for that is too try harder not to sin. Some days I do pretty good and think, "God must be pleased with me today." Other days, far too many, I fail to live up to my His expectations. Honestly, it feels like there are many more days like that, than the first example.

It can become a vicious cycle of deep introspection, discouragement and the thinking that God must always be disappointed in me.

And that is completely false.

In fact, the opposite is true. God is not disappointed in me. God is not displeased with me. God does not disapprove of me. Why? It is not on the basis of what I do, or what I don't do. It is on the basis of what Jesus has already done for me.

Hebrews 11:6 says that "without faith it is impossible to please God

. The converse of that is faith pleases God. God is pleased with me on the basis of faith. Faith in what? The gospel of Jesus Christ. That gospel is the lens through which God sees me. That gospel proclaims this: there is nothing good in me, and yet God still loved me enough to send Jesus who died for my sins, by faith in Jesus I am justified before God. My approval is based on the cross, not on my successes or failures.

Really, what I am doing when I feel like "God is perpetually disappointed in me" is taking my eyes off of the cross and becoming a bit narcissistic and self focused. That always leads to a negative view, and a wrong view.

I've heard this truth many times, "You can't do anything to make God love you more, or do anything to make Him love you less."

God is not perpetually disappointed in me, He loves me...the cross proves it.

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Mission Greece Reflection

It's been about a week since I got back from mission trip Greece and I wanted to write a post-trip recap and review.

First, I was a bit bummed that I didn't have the capability or time to do more blogging, photos, and videos while in Greece. It just was what it was.

This was truly an incredible trip! I think we saw God do some things that were huge and not always what we had planned on.

Main task: seed sowing and gospel distribution.
We weren't the first team to go to Greece. Other teams had gone in previous years and we were truly building upon the foundation and ground that they had plowed up in previous years. Our strategy was mass distribution of an evangelistic website via cards, fliers, and wrist bands. We had about 7000 total pieces to get out. Based on previous trips, that amount would take about 5 days to distribute because people are very reluctant to take anything.
This year was different. We distributed our supplies in about a day and half! God was really opening people up. The cards and bracelets had a message about "hope" and people were literally chasing us down to get a hold of these things. It was amazing! Now, not everyone took one, we got rejected plenty, but the fact that we saw the whole supply disappear so soon was truly remarkable.
The evangelistic website was tracked. After we returned we learned that there were 1050 unique households that visited the website. That is an amazing return! I pray that God will water that seed that was sown and that lives would be changed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Second task: sports ministry/clinics
The afternoons were planned to do a basketball clinic. Well, that didn't work out the way we planned, but God had another plan. We ended up getting to do some pic-up basketball games, teach american football, and play soccer with a bunch of people. We rotated between two main courts playing and sharing Christ until it was too dark to do it anymore.
This was another incredible thing God did. Team members got to meet and build relationships with many Greeks--younger and older. We got to share Christ with a bunch of people. I was trying to figure out how many, but we didn't keep tabs -- it was a bunch.
One of our team members got to share Christ with a guy after playing some hoops. The guy asked, "Why are yall here from America?" Nick says, "to tell you about hope." The guy says, "I don't have any hope, tell me more." After going through the gospel, Andrew respond by placing his faith in Christ. Incredible!

After we had passed out all of our supplies we were wondering what to do next. How can we maximize the impact of the seed sown. Well, God supplied an answer. It wasn't what we had expected or planned, but something happened in that community and the entire neighborhood was buzzing about us and the bracelets. It was truly God ordained.

That is just a snap shot of the week. I barely scratched the surface and didn't even go in detail about visiting ancient Thessalonika, the ruins of Philippi were Paul was beaten and imprisoned, and the actual site of the baptism of Lydia. (read Acts 16-17)

What an incredible week! I praise God that I was able to be a part of His mission to reach people with the love of Christ. I ask that you please pray for the people of Greece--they are in desperate need of the hope that only the true gospel of Jesus can bring.

Team Greece

It's been a great week! I haven't had the opportunity or capability to do more blogging or post videos-just the way it is.

We spent several days working long days. Some things we planned, some we did not- but everything was orchestrated by The Lord.

The mornings were spent canvassing the neighborhoods passing out fliers and bracelets that had a message of hope and a web address that people could go to. That website had the gospel of hope in Jesus.

We had about 6 thousands pieces to get out. Past teams had not been able to get it all out. We were able to in record time. Why? Your prayers, Gods grace, previous work here, who knows? The bracelets became a huge hit. Everyone wanted one.

The afternoons we went to some courts and parks to play sports. We encountered lots of kids, teens, and adults. We taught them American football, played basketball and soccer, and shared with them. This took us all the way till dinner around 9 pm.

It's hard to describe the incredible things The Lord did. This will sound vague, but it was truly a work of God. Lives were changed, seed was sown, the gospel lived out and shared, the enemy reared up, God was victorious, and hope was delivered.

What a privilege to be called a child of God and see His kingdom advance.

Made It

I just arrived at my hotel in Athens. I am tired, but glad to be here. The hotel is walking distance from the ancient Athens acropolis-look it up. I also got to share the gospel with another cab driver.

Leaving For Greece: Take 2

My flight yesterday got cancelled due to some mechanical problem. That puts me a day behind, but no big problem. I did spend 5 hours at the DFW airport and went no where. I ended up taking a taxi home. On the ride I got to share the gospel with the Muslim cab driver. Pray for Ali.

I am now scheduled to fly out of dfw at 6pm, stop in London, and then to Athens. I'll get there, Lord willing, at 5:40 pm Athens time on Saturday.

Leaving For Greece-Kinda

Well, I'm pumped about heading to Greece to share Christ. I got to the airport to start the first leg of the journey. The flight was a bit delayed, then we boarded, pulled out from the gate and then pulled back in to the gate. They called the mechanics and now I'm just sitting here waiting. Oh we'll, you never know what these trips might bring. At least I get some good Bible reading time in.

Should Pastors Make Political Endorsements

This is an election year. This year, as every election year, will determine the President of the USA and the direction our country will be heading. Should a pastor, should I, be political? Should a pastor make a political endorsement of certain candidates?

This year on Oct. 7th several hundred pastors are going to make a political endorsement from the pulpit of their church in defiance of the IRS code that specifically forbids non-profit organizations from making a political endorsement(read here). The supposed penalty for making that political statement will be a loss of non-profit status. This means that contributions made will not be tax-deductible for those making the contribution.

I think this is wrong. Even if it is allowed and was legal, I don’t think a pastor should go so far as to endorse particular candidates.
I think this is an issue of wisdom and priorities. Let me break this down into a few different lines of thought: offense of the gospel, Biblical issues inform political ones, and shepherding people from all parties.

#1 The offense of the gospel.
A pastor and church should never shy away from the offense of the gospel. The gospel will offend. That is a non-negotiable. But, we must be careful not to offend with things that are optional. My making an endorsement of one political candidate or party, we run the risk of offending those people who are for the other guy or other party. A pastor needs to make sure that the gospel is the first priority, not an election. The good news of Jesus is the primary proclamation that should come from the pulpit of a pastor. Everything a pastor chooses to say is also excluding something else he could be saying. To be overly political runs the risk of lessening the gospel of Jesus Christ.

#2 Biblical issue inform political ones
Don’t get ahead of me yet. While I think it is unwise of a pastor to endorse a particular political party or candidate from the pulpit this does not mean that he should not address issues and values. A pastor absolutely has a responsibility to preach the whole counsel of the Word of God. The Bible gives believers many mandates that are relevant to modern social issues. A pastor should never shy away from faithful proclamation of the Biblical view of these social positions.
For example, it is critical necessary for a pastor to preach sound Biblical messages on the horror that is abortion. The Bible is unequivocal on this issue. We can’t let politics hijack our courage from preaching the Biblical truth that abortion is wrong. Obviously, that Biblical position should be used by the wise Christian to guide us in who to vote for.
I think the wise course of action would be for a pastor to defend the sanctity of life without saying, “Don’t vote for Obama, you must vote for Romney.” Preach the Biblical truth unashamedly, but don’t mandate a particular vote. This is true for other important issues of the day that are addressed by scripture: the sin of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, the sin of abortion, and many others.

#3 Shepherding All
The pastor must shepherd, minister, and teach all different types of sheep and church members. Some are more mature in their faith, some are not. Some are from one political party, some from another, some from no party affiliation at all. The church is not an arm of the Republican National Convention. It is the body of Christ. As a pastor I lessen my leadership ability by being overly political from the pulpit. Teach the Biblical issues and lead the people no matter what party that they might prefer. It is my opinion that this philosophy is the wisest course for a pastor.
I do not think that this means a pastor cannot have a personal opinion. He does, and he does have a vote. I will not endorse a candidate from the pulpit, but if it comes up on a personal level I have no problem voicing my political opinions.

The Jesus' Wife Fragment, or Watch Out For All The Manure

Watch Out For All The Manure
The Lost Art of Truth Detection
The Jesus' Wife Fragment



(The true scholars have weighed in. If you haven’t heard the headline, a Harvard professor has discovered and published a report on a papyri fragment that mentions Jesus had a wife.
If you want the scholarly rebuttal, read the always venerable Dr. Al Mohler.)

Here is my take:

Reason, rationale, logic, common sense…does anyone remember these things anymore? People have forgotten the importance of critical thinking skills. Even the back-wood-country-boys use logic and reason; they just call it something different… “good sense”. (among other more colorful descriptions).
Critical thinking is even more important in an information age. We are bombarded with information like never before. This makes it more necessary to employ critical thinking and reasoning than ever before. And yet, it seems, the opposite has occurred. While more and more information is spewed less and less reason is applied to evaluating that information.
Do you need some examples? How about POLITICS? I don’t care which side you are on, political information is in desperate need of a critical thinking filter.
Another example, the recent discovery of the “Jesus’ Wife Fragment”. Karen King, a liberal Harvard Divinity professor, supposedly found a fragment that mentions Jesus’ wife.
Since the news broke, serious scholars have weighed in to debunk this bit of fiction reported as fact. It seems Karen had an agenda, the fragment is from over 300 years after Christ, and it is the size of a worn out business card.
But it doesn’t take a scholar to recognize something as bogus. Let’s apply some simple country good sense to our information filters. If it smells like cow manure, looks like cow manure, it is probably cow manure. It doesn’t matter how it is packaged or described, it’s still cow manure.
We have a biblical mandate to employ the brain that our Creator has given us. There is another good biblical word for this: wisdom. We must use wisdom as a filter for the information that is ever flowing from all types of sources.

Fred Luter - First Black President of Southern Baptist Convention

I was in New Orleans for a historic moment. The Southern Baptist Convention elected the first African-American to serve as president of the convention. It was an incredible moment. I stood with the close to 8,000 other messengers in an ovation to the election of Dr. Fred Luter.

The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 as a reaction to the anti-slavery sentiments being expressed in relation to missionaries and churches. For decades the SBC was associated with slavery, and racism. Attitudes of racism would continue for a long time among many in SBC churches, especially in the south.(In some backwoods, rural churches it unforun

ately still exists).

In the 1990's the Convention took a long overdue step -- a public acknowledgement of sinfulness, and a profession of repentance to God.

Since that time, diversity among Southern Baptist Churches has grown in leaps and bounds. Repentance is something that must be lived out and demonstrated over time.

The election of Dr. Fred Luter was a historic moment. It serves to demonstrate the reality of repentance. It serves to demonstrate actual faithfulness to God's Word. It shows that the convention has prioritized scripture and our common focus on the gospel and missions.

By the way, in my opinion, this was not simply electing Dr. Luter because he was black. He is extremely qualified. He has faithfully pastored Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. He has been there through Katrina, suffered with his people, and continued to hold fast to God's word. He has seen the Lord rebuild his church - physically and spiritually. He is a faithful family man, husband, father, and servant of Christ.

I am thankful to God and proud of the president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

For more info read Denny Burke's blog

How To Treat Gay People

This one should be real easy. This isn't a difficult topic when it comes to scripture. The way a Christian should relate to and treat someone who is homosexual isn't that difficult to understand. Unfortunately, way too many "Christians" have acted in the exact opposite way the scriptures clearly mandate. Maybe they aren't real Christians? They clearly aren't following Christ's example.

Jesus never condoned sin. He pointed it out in people's lives and called them to turn away from their sin. He was also loving. And there it is. It's that simple to understand.

There is no biblical justification for a supposed Christian to hate or mistreat anyone, including someone who is homosexual. Calling a homosexual derogatory names, teasing them, or physically assaulting them is a sin. But, it goes beyond that. It is also a sin to ignore and avoid someone because you don't like their sin.

Some people make the claim that to even call homosexuality a sin is hateful. But, that does not have to be the case. Jesus never shied away from pointing out sin. As followers of what the Bible teaches, a Christ follower should not shy away from the scriptural truth that lying is a sin, that adultery is a sin, that pornography is a sin, that greed is a sin, that gluttony is a sin, and that homosexuality is a sin. But, our goal is not just to point out sin, it is to lead sinners to the grace of God. We are sinners too. I may not have the sin of homosexuality, but that doesn't mean I am free of sin. I am no better than anyone else. Just because I don't have your particular list of sins, doesn't meant that I don't have my own list of sins. Sinners need know two things: that they are sinners, and that their is a Savior.

People who struggle with homosexuality need Christ. If we have Christ we need to lovingly share the gospel with them. That is the teaching and model we have in scripture.