The Glocal Church

As we get closer and closer to Super Bowl Sunday, my heart begins to beat at a more rapid pace….The butterflies are flying in my stomach, and I hang on bated breath with every report and news conference. I attended 2 Super Bowls as a boy, as my Dad took me to see the Cowboys beat the Broncos in Super Bowl 12 and I also saw Ron “Jaws” Jawaorski and the Eagles get beat by the Raiders and Jim Plunket in Super Bowl 15.

However, as exiting and memorable those experiences were, they cannot come close to this Sunday’s Super Bowl, as my life-long beloved New Orleans Saints will play against, in my opinion, the 2^nd greatest quarter back to ever play the game, Peyton Manning. Peyton coming in second only behind his dad Archie, “at least in my little world!”

This is a dream come true for me! I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in the shadow of the Superdome. Plus, my family had season tickets when the 2009 NFC Champs were better known as the Aints…Even still I cherished every minute of it!

So as I have soaked up as much of this experience and “Media Week” as possible, I was really taken aback when I heard a comment by Reggie Wayne this morning as he described how the Colts hope to be successful on the big day.

He said the following: “We can’t try to do too much on our own….we need to rely on our brothers.”

Wow!!! This was a profound statement to me….Not for the Colts, but that it paralleled how the New Testament Church functioned in Acts 2:42-47.

Wayne’s statement should be a defining statement for the Church today….Simple yet profound….Don’t take on too much alone, and rely on and trust our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Oh Yeah, I cannot forget…. “GEAUX SAINTS!!!”

I have always been one who has identified with music…Since I can remember, I’ve enjoyed all kinds of music…I remember as a young teenager listening to both Billy Idol and Wayne Watson (not at the same time of course). I also believe that most people probably feel the same way or can identify with my appreciation of music.

For me…Music provides an outlet in which I can vicariously express my feelings and emotions, whether they are exuberant or melancholily. Having said that, I have recently found a Christian singer/songwriter whose lyrics, often verbatim, express what I have recently experienced, or which I currently experience. His name is Brandon Heath.

The first time I heard his song “Give Me Your Eyes,” it resonated with a chord, deep within my spirit. I quickly downloaded the song to my i-Pod. I have taken the lyrics, and often expressed them as a prayer. 

I recently took an honest inventory of my daily walk with Christ, and the reality of my spiritual journey aligned with the lyrics to this song…. By taking an honest inventory of my spiritual life, I sadly realized that I often fail to see people through Jesus’ eyes. I fail to treat them with compassion (See Matthew 9:36).

This song, coupled with Scripture, has helped me seek to live a more obedient life for Christ and to see all people as Christ does.

The lyrics to: “Give Me Your Eyes” are below:

Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight

Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath

There’s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He’s out of work, He’s buying time         

All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared

I’ve been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you’ve seen the people all along

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

I encourage you to be a blessing to someone today…For we are blessed to be a blessing!

Click on the last link under my blog roll titled “The Revelation Song” by “GateWay Worship” and then read Revelation Chapters 4 and 5.  Allow God to bless you as you stand in amazement of Him and worship Him and His Son, the Lamb that was slain so that you and I could have an intimate relationship with the Living God!

Among all of the goings-on in all of our lives this past week, I think we all, at least for a moment, sat quietly and remembered where we were that mid morning, Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that bright Tuesday morning, the landscape of our world changed forever…and those events brought America to its knees. However, if you are a Christ follower, although your temporary and worldly landscape had changed, your eternal landscape is stronger than ever.

Below are the lyrics to a song by “Day of Fire” called “Cornerstone.” Read the lyrics as well as the biblical texts from Isaiah, Psalms, and Matthew below, and if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior…Give Him praise for sustaining and strengthening you, in all of life’s chaos and unrest!

All of the ground is sinking sand
A doubting maze of desert land
Where darkness rules the heart of man
Til’ the sun shines light on him

Lord of all,
Show you’re strong
All my needs they fall

Be a cornerstone
Be a cornerstone
Be a rock, higher than I
Be my fortress wall
Be a foundation for all,
My cornerstone

The building’s swaying in the wind
The towers crumble down again
This certainly will be the end
Of them not built on him

Lord of all
Show your strong
All my needs they fall

You
You are the builder of my heart
You
Held me together from the start

 Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, the “Chief Cornerstone.” He recorded the following in Isaiah 28:16: “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem. It is firm, a tested and precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never run away again.’”

Also the Psalm writer wrote the following in Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  This is also recorded in Matthew’s Gospel in Matthew 21:42.

So, I leave you with one question to ponder….”What provides the foundation of your life, and on what or whom do you continually use  to build  your life ?”

“But now righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe….for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice… (to) those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

Paul makes a big shift in verse 21…He shifts from the revelation of God’s wrath, which he identified in chapter one, to here in chapter three, where he focuses on God’s righteousness…and the righteousness which He provides us…. Our righteousness, as we know, is as filthy rags….So God does not transform us into a Righteous people but He declares us righteous through faith in Jesus.

There are two key actions outlined in this text that provide clarity to the righteousness bestowed to us by God. Building on verses 21-25, Paul provides further clarity in verse 26 on God the Father’s justice, through Christ’s sacrificial atonement. He does so in two specific ways.

First, He gave His Son– God takes sin so seriously, that since we are incapable of freeing ourselves, He sent His Son who knew no sin, to become sin. Then through Christ’s resurrection, God the Father Exonerated His Son and defeated death itself.

Second, through Christ’s act of freeing us from the bondage of sin, He has given us a brand new outlook on life….A new landscape, if you will…In which all things have been made new by Christ’s atonement, which provided the means to free us from sin’s indictment, and for God to declare us Just.

We can best demonstrate our gratitude to God for the righteousness which He so wonderfully bestowed upon us, through Jesus’ sacrifice, by modeling Paul’s exhortation in Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus….The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

I was recently reading one of John Piper’s books in which he conveyed the biblical truth that God does not transform people into a “Just” people, but rather, through Christ’s atonement for our sins, He “declared” Christ followers as “Just.” Much like a judge, through Christ’s substitutionary death for our sins on the cross, God declared us “just,” as we accept Christ as Lord, through faith.

The Apostle Paul clarified this powerful biblical axiom in Romans. He wrote the following: “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe….for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24

There are 2 key words in this text in which Paul used to provide clarity.

1st) The Greek word “justified” in verse 24 actually translates as “a decision rendered by a court.” Paul painted a picture of humanity on trial, with God as Judge, and Christ as our defender. Through Christ’s defense or sacrificial atonement, we are “Declared Just.” One must also consider the fact that…God does not transform our depraved and sin-soaked hearts into hearts that are justified. If he did, then sin would have never entered the world, and we would not know sin. However, Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin, so that we could be “Declared Just” by God.

2) The original Greek word translated as “redemption” in verse 24, actually portrays the action of someone buying the freedom of a slave, or more specifically, all humanity, held bondage to sin.

Justification comes “through” Faith, and ”by” a Declaration of Justification for sinners. We are saved through faith in Christ, and by the grace of a loving God who declares us just.

I know for some of you this post may seem way over the top or self-serving at best. However, as my blog deals with matters concerning the institution of the church….I am reminded that the family was the first institution created by God…Even though that might provide some of you with only a sandy foundation for my efforts, I would be remiss as a Daddy if I didn’t ask you to vote for my precious little Allie.

So please click on the link at the bottom of my blogroll titled “Vote for my daughter Allie” …It’s not just shameless promotion, but selfless love!

Thanks and many blessings! 

As a Gen. X’er, quickly approaching 40, and having served the local church, with passion, for 16 years, I found Dr. Ed Stetzer’s research for LifeWay, in regards to the hemorrhaging of young adults leaving the church disturbing at best. I call it hemorrhaging, because many or most of the young adults leaving the church have stated explicitly, that the church has proved as a wedge driven between them and God. Also, many see no value in the local church for their walk with Christ. Many appear incredulous believing the church is more centered on growing programs and not growing people. I for one, can understand that sentiment.

After reading Stetzer’s research, there is enough blame on all sides that could easily and legitimately be distributed. As a Minister of Education, serving on the front lines and in the trenches with other believers in the local church, I want to highlight my own perspective.

Stetzer stated that inflated Student Ministries have provided nothing more than a holding tank with pizza. This statement resonated with me as a former Student Minister, as I have been that culprit more times than I’d like to admit. I also experienced some of that when I attended church while I was in High School. However, I was fortunate enough to have a strong and persistent Student Minister, who refused to give up on me. Through that relationship, and my growing relationship with Christ, God called me into full-time vocational ministry. However, God’s plan didn’t fit my plan, and after four long years of running, I finally surrendered to God’s call in my life. Through that process, and growing into young adulthood, I experienced the lowest of lows and the highest of highs in my walk with Christ and my involvement in His church.

Sadly, those holding tanks with pizza still dot the landscape of many ministries within the church today (they only look different from the outside). Much like my mistakes as a Student Minister, and even today, as a Minister of Education,  Student Ministries, Adult Ministries, Children’s Ministries and other church-based ministries use the attendance report as the barometer in measuring their ministry’s maturity, or lack thereof. So to keep the numbers high, church staff members often create a buzz circulating around their respective ministries. By utilizing this practice, many church staff ministers have crossed the perimeter of light, and instead of providing a conduit for the Holy Spirit to grow children, students, and adults, they often keep those involved in their ministries on a consistent diet of milk, and many never move to the meat.

In the book of Jude, Jude wrote in an implicit manner, about how God spreads His Kingdom through the church. He also warned the early believers of the false teachers that had infiltrated the church. He clearly expressed that the church must contend for the believers, led astray by false teachers, and it must also contend to maintain the integrity and truth of the Gospel.

However, Jude also exhorted the early believers with the mission of the church. In verses 20-23 He wrote: “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them” (NIV)

We have an overwhelming call, but an overcoming God, who empowers His Body, in order to spread the Gospel of Christ.

1 Kings Chapter 12 describes the details within the fray that existed between Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and God’s chosen leader over Judah, and Jeroboam, the leader whom God chose to rule over the 10 tribes of Israel. The author of 1 Kings provides the following account: Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.  When Jeroboam heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from  Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ”Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you”…..Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime.

They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people….they will always be your servants”…..But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders. He told the Israelites: “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”  The Israelites rebelled against Rehoboam and killed the man in charge of forced laobr, and Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem.

Rehoboam  then mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men—to make war against Jeroboam (who had returned from exile in Egypt) and the house of Israel to regain the kingdom.

Then the Lord said to Rehoboam….”Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing”…. So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

You may ask yourself  “what point am I trying to make?” I’m glad you asked.

General Norman Schwarzkopf said: “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”

The same goes for us….We always know the right decision, or at least we have a good understanding of the right decision to make. So I will close with these few questions: “Has there ever been a time in your life, through anger or pain, that you almost made a horrible decision?” “Did you make it?” “If so, what were the consequences?” “Or did the Holy Spirit intervene, and you listened to Him carefully, with an obedient heart, and cooled down, then did what God said?”

In Rehoboam’s case…. he just went home.