New year, Old story....

If you’re a blog reader I would begin to wonder why in the world you are reading this one. It does not get updated that often and when it does you may not see words but pictures or even videos. Sometimes it makes me laugh about how much we write in blogs while wondering if anyone ever truly reads them. At any rate, it’s a new year, and with a new year we expect new things. However, we cannot forget that what we live for, or rather whom we live for is nothing new, but it’s a lifestyle that is based on a true story not more than 2000 years ago. But are we bothered by something that is that old.
If you notice Christian culture in our country you will notice certain dissatisfaction with something as old as the gospel. More than a few years ago there were many folks that decided that we need to be like Paul, all things to all people. Our churches need to be relevant and opened to non-Christians. People should wake up on Sunday morning and having the option of going to church or going to the beach, they should pick going to church everyday and twice on Sunday. Besides, if our Jesus is irresistible why should church be any different? I totally embrace this idea, and for one reason alone, - these folks still held on tightly to the foundation of Christ and solid doctrine. They did not abandon old and trustworthy truths. Now we see something different in our world today. We see a group called the emergent church, a group that wishes to not only change the way church is done but change the way we read scripture, change our convictions, and make our theology more flexible like a trampoline (and example used by a guy named Rob Bell).
The Gospel does not need to be changed, we need to be changed. When we notice our lives becoming stagnant and dull, we need to realize we are stagnant and dull not the gospel. It’s a time where we embrace the same story as the early apostles did and grow in our process of learning what Christ wants to do on this earth and in our lives. I will never forget the story of my friend and mentor, Jay Ridenour. In his senior year of college, Jay went on a mission trip to Bolivia. The team traveled around village to village for a few weeks showing, “the Jesus film” to people who had never heard the gospel. The film was a simple brush of the life, death, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After going from village to village carrying all kinds of audio/video equipment they came to the last village of their trip. As the movie began to play Jay was approached by a woman who had asked him to hold her baby so she could watch the film. As the film came to the part of the crucifixion she began to weep out loud, so loud that it was almost a disturbance to everyone who was trying to watch the movie. While the lady was disruptive as she began to cry more and more, the team of students became excited as the thought that she would be the first person to want to know more about this Jesus. When the end of the movie came the team rushed to the translator to ask if the woman had any questions about this story of Jesus. The team was quickly informed that this woman who had become too emotional from seeing the brutal execution of Jesus on the cross had a unique story about herself. The truth was that this woman had heard of the gospel before, in fact she had heard it many times. The fact of the matter was that this woman had been a Christian for nearly 40 years, and heard the gospel when she was a little girl. In her eyes, the gospel was as new to her as it ever has been.
In light of a new year I hope your prayer is that we embrace the old but glorious story told to us in the trustworthy pages of the Holy Scriptures. We do not have to do many great things this year; we just have to be mastered by one thing that is very great. May the gospel of Christ Jesus continue to amaze you this year and overflow in your daily life for the glory of the kingdom of God.

For His Namesake,
JP

State of the Pulpit - Joel Osteen

Church Needs Dudes

John Hodges Drake 6th

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints, O LORD I am your servant."
-Psalm 116:15,16

There are some things that preachers cannot preach. Some things that sermons cannot speak, and even music that can hardly communicate. When speaking about the glory of the Son of God, Jesus, the only thing that comes close is a complete life of a saint. In my eyes my grandfather was like an early church father full of wisdom, history, and the Holy Spirit. He was a soldier, a husband, father of 5, a grandfather, and an amazing singer who spent part of his life traveling around the globe singing gospel music with his wife who played the piano. More importantly he was a lover of God who influenced and led an entire family to the throne of the living God. A few weeks ago I was in Cincinnati to say goodbye but was amazed to see how many people this simple man had influence over. In 1972 after serving with P&G for over 20 years he decided to step in as administrator of a nursing home with my grandmother. From 1972 to 1997 they both found their purpose in ministry as directors of a nursing home, ministering to people who were in their last chapters of life before stepping into eternity. One of my last conversations with my grandfather consisted of him updating me on his ministry. They had both grown older and was ironically residence of a nursing home as they could not live on their own due to poor health. In the midst of aging bodies my grandfather told me that they had begun a Sunday service at the nursing home with a local pastor preaching and my grandfather singing and my grandmother of coarse playing the piano. He continued to tell me that the service was so well attended that he decided to start a Thursday night Bible study in the nursing home which many more attended. The amazing part of his last days was that he could hardly walk 2 feet without his wheelchair and helping my grandmother who is now unable to see clearly enough to play piano but continues to do so by memory. But they still both ministered to those around them up to his last days on earth, glorifying God with all they had even when their very own bodies would not permit it.
I am not sure if you have ever read the book, "Don't waste your life", by John Piper but it's about living for the glory of Jesus Christ all the days that He allows you to be on earth. I have read it and love it, it's very biblical! However, I have now seen it in the life of my grandfather and rejoice that there is such an example in these days for me to follow. I will miss him dearly.

"Can you hear me when I sing, you are the reason why the music is in me."

God Is Enough!

Halls and Inner Rooms, thoughts from C.S. Lewis Part #2

"When you get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of coarse, even in the hall, you must begin to try to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by it's paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service? but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me toward this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper." - Lewis

I suppose we could take this particular paragraph of Lewis and draw many conclusions, all the way from relationships with people to areas of ministry. However, I will try to draw some thoughts out of Lewis on the idea of our commitment to the church. It may not seem like that big of a deal to some of us but for others their view on eternity, mankind, God, and the church are thoughts that take time and special attention. Some people in this world would say that they will walk in the hallway but never enter a room simply because they do not want to. It is safe to say that we could refer to these people as those who do not know the Lord and who would never want to come into any kind of church. However, there are some in the hall that are still trying to figure out what they believe and why they believe it, this we will talk about later on in regard to how we treat those who dwell only in the hallway (one of the rules that is common to the whole house). As for those who will enter into a door but trying to decide which one may be looked at as one who is trying to find a place, congregation, or people of certain thought like their own. In light of this I think Lewis is suggesting that we look at these rooms with an open mind, asking the question, "is this the leading of biblical truth or my own mere feelings and emotions?" I have run into a lot of people that would suggest it is perfectly alright to treat the church like a Friday night hook up and spend all 4 years of college or after college to run around from church to church and not engaging in any real relationships with the body of Christ. In 1 Timothy 3:6 Paul urges Timothy that as an overseer that person must take care of the church just as that person takes care of a household. The point is, is that the church is to be respected and cared for, loved and cherished. It is alright for those to spend some time waiting on the Lord to see which door is the right one for them to open and which room or "body" is the right one for them, but as we discussed earlier the hall is not a place to live in even though it may be a place to wait in. So why discuss this topic? Why talk about hallways and doors and churches and people's thinking? The reason why it is important is because Christ set up the church to be His lighthouse to all the world, and we need to be shown as people who are committed to the rooms and the people inside of the rooms, not just the hallways.

~JP~

Halls and Inner Rooms, thoughts from C.S. Lewis...

"It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in". C.S. Lewis "Mere Christianity"

It is certainly worth the time to think about how we do church these days. I have had many days in Bible College where I was excited to poor over many different theological thoughts and views, trying to see why one certain group believed this and one group believed that. Although, I am still learning a whole lot about my own theology and other people's theology I have come to be much more interested into how our theology plays out in church, more importantly a "worship service". I find myself always wanting more and more of a certain mid-week service that will "recharge my batteries" and will hopefully last me till Sunday as if walking through the week hand in hand with the Lord was not enough. Obviously scripture brings out the point of the importance of the fellowship with the body (1 Corinth. 12:12). However, it seems that sometimes I find myself depending on a one-stop worship service to be my Church or body for that entire week, forsaking the service to a real Church and body where my service must be placed. It might be that Lewis is trying to show an example of what happens when we depend so much on a service alone, a song alone, or even a certain sermon alone to be our main "meal" of the week. Not that we do not grow from a service, podcast, or event, but it seems that just one time of worship during the week or weekend is not a main meal but rather a late afternoon snack. Lewis says, "we are not to live in the halls", meaning that our dinner table to where we feast with the living Christ is not just in a one time event with our favorite worship leader and entertaining speaker. Maybe the inner room that contains a fireplace, chairs, and a meal is found in the commitment to the local church where there is a body of believers and discipleship. I will always visit and sometimes sit, and even learn in the hallway, but it is the inner room where the main meal will always take place.

~JP~