Why do we want to be liked?

I guess it's a natural thing for us to want to be liked by others. I don't want anyone to hate me. I don't want to do something to make people hate me.

But, there are way too many thin-skinned Christians out there whining and moaning about the lack of a "Merry Christmas" greeting. Are we so insecure in our relationship with God that we feel the need to have our faith validated by Wal-Mart or Target or Joe's Shoe Shop?

Jesus told his apostles, the night before he was crucified, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:18-19, NIV).

Look, my fellow Christ-followers, the world doesn't like us. It never has and never will. That doesn't mean we should be self-loathing or anything, but we must realize that the world hates us because it first hated our Master, Jesus Christ.

Why are we so worked about whether this store or that store employee tells us "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Should we not be in the business of telling them about Jesus? Jesus ("the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace") is why we celebrate this season. We should be more concerned that others hear that message than that we get our ears tickled by "Merry Christmas."

By the way, "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Season's Greeting" to you.

Keep the Money Happy, or Cha-Ching in the Pew

My main beef with the institutional church (i.e. the modern church, or church as usual) is over the issue of money. Not that I want more, but that money is what makes the whole thing hum.

Here is an example: At a church where we pastored, we had few visitors. One Sunday we actually had two families visit. One was a "respectable" late middle-aged couple. She wore a dress, and he wore a suit and tie. The other family was a mom with two teen-aged children. They wore blue jeans and t-shirts and had multiple piercings. One man in the congregation did his imitation of an Olympic hurdler gliding through the small sanctuary to drool all over the "respectable" couple. He barely acknowledged the existence of the other family. Sad.

Churches are encouraged by denominational officials to watch the bottom line. Raise more money. Keep the existing money happy. When I was pastoring, I was handcuffed by the big shots in order to keep "anonymous" donors happy.

What are we trying to do? Keep money happy, or do the work God wants us to do? This is a sad state of affairs. Serve God. Do as he wants us to do, regardless of what the money wants.

Egads! Part Two

Michael Richards' (aka Kramer) episode last weekend really illustrates our need to tame our tongue. Who of us has not spouted something that we later wished could be erased from the memory of those that heard it? If I had a nickel for every stupid thing I said ...

The Apostle James reminds us, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19).

Slow to speak means that we must be careful of the words we choose. This is true no matter what the conversation may be about. I remember some advice I received as a child: count to 10 when you are angry before you say something. That would be good advice for any of us. Don't get caught up in the heat of the moment. Slow down. Think about what you are going to say and how it will impact those that hear it.

Egads!

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19.

Just in case you missed it, here is a link to the story.

Don't Rock the Boat, Don't Rock the Boat

Someone recently quoted me a stat that made my head spin. Dr. Jerry D. Porter, General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene stated that over one-half of pastors quit within the first five years of pastoring.

I am close to that category. I pastored for 3 1/2 years. I have not decided to give up permanently, but I have seriously considered it.

This trend disturbs me greatly. It seems (from personal experience, not scientific study) that most pastors who remain in the position for years and years are ones who do not rock the boat. They play maintenance man (or woman). They keep the flock happy, content to report growth that comes mainly from other churches. When times get a little rocky, they pack up and go somewhere else.

The pastors who desire to make changes are badgered until they submit to the tyranny of tradition or are run out of town.

In my experience, we were threatened with pay cuts to toe the line. We held firm, and everyone just bailed out.

The problem is both from the congregation and the denominational leadership. The tyranny of tradition is killing the church. We must do things the way we have always done them. If it doesn't work, just try harder. Don't dare think of doing something new or different.

My advice: if you want to stay in the pastoral "biz" for a long time, don't rock the boat. If you truly want to purse ministry, perhaps non-traditional ministries are the place for you.

What do you have to say?

What are the most memorable speeches in history? Short ones. Think of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. It was a mere 267 words (if I counted correctly). Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech in Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) contains only 270 words. Does anyone remember any President's State of the Union address? Hardly. They are long and boring.

When it comes to preaching, the same thing goes. Why do preachers feel it necessary to gas on for 45 minutes? Fifteen to twenty minutes is usually enough time to finish saying what you have to say. There is not need for redundancy. No one needs to say the same thing over and over. Repetitiveness adds nothing.

Keep it short and simple. It will be memorable. It will impact. It's hard to have impact on someone when they are asleep or mentally checked out.

What's your motive?

In the move Apollo 13, the astronauts contemplate what it would be like to land on the moon as they struggle to make in back to earth. Tom Hanks (playing Jim Lovell) says, "Gentlemen, what's your motivation? I want to go home."

My fellow blogger blogged about "Superstar Pastors." In it he talks about how pastors become celebrities, and people go to a church based on the particular pastor's persona. Unfortunately, I agree with this blogger. Often pastors do become superstars, with followings like rock stars.

I want to take this a step further. Having been a pastor, I found myself dreaming of a large church. But, what was my motive? Was it to see lost souls find peace in Jesus? Or, was it so I could be come a superstar?

I have worked in the corporate world. I had to fill out a weekly productivity report. Essentially, I was justifying my position through numbers. I logged the number of reports created, searches done, and so on. I was eager to move up the corporate ladder. How many pastors are seeking to move up the corporate ladder? It seems that many are always on the look out for the next big church. A bigger church means a bigger salary, a bigger ego, and validation. Then there may be a job offer with a district office or the general church. A growing church isn't so much about growing God's kingdom as it is about validating a pastor's existence.

As our church was imploding, a parishioner essentially told me that I wasn't charismatic enough. It wasn't in so many words, but that was the gist.

Man, I sound cynical.

What is our motive?

Why the Interest in NASCAR?

What is the big attraction to car driving around in a huge circle? (Okay, I now it's not technically a circle. More of an oval, I guess.)

I don't understand why people would pay hundreds of dollars to sit in horrible traffic to get the the racetrack to watch cars turn left. They don't go anywhere, just around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around....

Here is an idea to make it more interesting: Make the track a figure eight. Now that would provide some interesting television.

People Are Going To Do It Anyway

I am always astounded by people who say that: "People are going to do it anyway."

It is usually used in conjunction with teenage sex, abortion or drug use. The logic runs this way: Teens are raging with hormones; they want to have sex; they are going to have sex; we have to make it "safe" for them. You could substitute abortion or drug use.

Let's carry this logic out. People want to drive drunk. People are going to drive drunk. Forget about stopping them. They are going to do it anyway. People are going to rob banks. Husbands are going to beat their wives. People are going to kill other people.

If we are going to use that logic, why can't I do whatever I want to whomever I want?

We live in a society of laws and morals (in theory anyway). We have standards. I don't accept the fact that my kids are going to "bed-hop" when they are teenagers. I pray they don't. Why do we have to accept certain behaviors just because?

Am I unique?

This is wild:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 76 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

The Church's Role in Society

One of the big problems that I have with most churches is that they have a "come-and-see" approach to touching the community. Come to "Friend Day." Come to the Christmas program. Come to the potluck. Come to the Halloween party (or alternative). Come to this function or that program. There is very little "go-and-tell." (Now when I refer to go-and-tell, I am not refering to the guy who stands on the corner shouting damnation into a megaphone.)

There is resistence to getting our hands dirty dealing with "those kinds of people." Jesus told us to "go into the world," not "wait for the world to stumble in your door."

We are so busy with all these programs at the church building that we don't have time to be the Church out in our communities. I have been saying for some time, in relation to church activities, "less is more."

(Just a brief rant while I'm bored, sitting a computer lab.)

The Role of the Bible in "Bible-Believing" Churches

I am curious about what role the Bible plays in the worship gathering of most so-called "Bible believing" evangelical churches.

Most churches that profess to believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God rarely read from the Bible during the usual worship gathering. The only portions of scripture are at the beginning of the sermon. A three minute trek through the "inerrant" Word of God is often followed by 45 minutes of lecture that has little to do with what was read. Where is the Bible?

In the "liberal churches" that I have attended read more scripture in one worship gathering than most evangelical churches read in a month. They read a passage from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament and the Gospels. How is that these churches that are often accused of not really believing the Bible read from it more than the so-called Bible believing churches?

If we really believe the Bible, why don't we read from it more?