Individualism and Seclusion

We are in a culture that now more than ever seems to emphasize individualism above all things. A look back at our history reveals how much we have changed and this has crept into the church.

Flipping on Leave it to Beaver or even It’s a Wonderful Life, it is very visible the differences between then and now. In past generations, Americans were proud to be a part of America. There were no individual interest groups or emphasis on differences (minus racial issues). If we were at war, people rallied to help the country win the war through sacrifice. Families were a part of neighborhoods and most everyone on the block knew each other and would socialize together. They were a community. Church came in a “one size fits all” model instead of the customized models today. People genuinely cared about their neighbor and would go out to the movies together and do things as a community. Andy Griffith is a great example of the level of small town USA dynamics that once were just a part of being American.

Today is a different story. Americans aren’t Americans. They are African-Americans, Irish-Americans or Native-Americans. You aren’t a sexual being. You are heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. You are conservative Republican, moderate Republican, moderate Democrat, progressive Democrat, Socialist or Libertarian. Our habits are no longer about community. Instead of going to the movies, we have to have a home theater. We don’t have to shop at the store because we can log onto Ebay or Amazon and have it delivered. We don’t even have to go to college anymore because we can do it online! The Ipod and Itunes are based on the idea of individuality. One can now select their own personal mix or music without having to listen to pop stations or buy entire albums. We’re defined by where we shop, the teams we align with and the religion we follow. Everything is centering on personal convenience and individuality.

The church has taken on this role some. The church has emphasized the customized service. There are contemporary services, traditional services, Gen-X services, youth services, recovery ministry services, seeker-services, etc. A believer doesn’t have to set foot in a church anymore because we have online video streaming of services. We encourage family unity while we split them up for services. In the more liberal denominations, an individual can customize their beliefs in God to fit their preference. They can borrow from all different faiths even if they don’t line up and make sense.

Now this isn’t a critique of what the church is doing wrong. This is simply a view of what is happening and a commentary that if we are going to encourage family unity and community outreach, we need to make sure we our allowing opportunities to do so. If we are centralized on the individual experience of the believer, we can easily forget about the corporate and community of believers. Though there is a level of individuality that isn’t bad, we cannot throw out the baby with the bath water. Our culture is starved for companionship as we see with the boom of Facebook. Twitter shows our genuine care that people know what is going on in our every day life. The church must learn how to balance individuality and fellowship.

Best Bonhoeffer Chapter Yet! Quote-mania!

Below is a repost from earlier this year. The more the past year has passed, the more this burns in my soul to wake up the church, especially in light of the Innovate Church conference that is going on at TRBC. When was the gospel ever easy? Wake up America. We are in a post-Christian society.

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WOW I read the chapter Discipleship and the Cross. BAM! Great stuff. Below are some of the best quotes from this chapter. The modern church needs to heed to the words this man as they are speaking to us from his grave. Powerful thoughts here:

"Jesus must therefore make it clear beyond all doubt that the must of suffering applies to his disciples no less than to himself...discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and therefore submission to the law of Christ which is the law of the Cross."

"To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us."

"If in the end we know only him, if we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only to him."

"If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life. We have then forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering."

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die."

"The call of Christ, his baptism, sets the Christian in the middle of the daily arena against sin and the devil. Every day he encounters new temptations, and every day he must suffer anew for Jesus Christ's sake."

"Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship."

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

VIDEO

I LOVE THIS GUY! The interview is average. I don't think it completely covers who he is and what he believes. Again they treat it as if the only thing he talks about is sex. He did one 8 week series on Song of Solomon last year and that's the one they don't seem to be able to let go of. He is currently exegeting 1 and 2 Peter and has dealt with predestination, doctrine (a TERRIFIC 10 week series last year) and many more issues.

Mark is just a dude. He's just like myself in that he's just a human answering the call of God. I have a high amount of admiration for him even if I don't see eye to eye on all issues (Calvinism). He isn't afraid to deal with doctrinal issues with his congregation and I very much appreciate that. I'm sick of surface self-help church that is plaguing our nation. It ain't about us!

Essay for Church Planting Class

This is my initial essay on my reading. The author has hitting some key factors that I think aren't being taken seriously in the modern church:

In his book Planting Churches Cross Culturally: North America and Beyond, David Hesselgrave presents what he calls the Pauline Cycle of church planting. This cycle is as follows: Missionaries Commissioned, Audience Contacted, Gospel Communicated, Hearers Converted, Believers Congregated, Faith Confirmed, Leadership Consecrated, Believers Commended, Relationships Continued, and Sending Churches Convened. According to the author, this cycle is repeated numerous times in the book of Acts when Paul would go to a town and establish a church. His purpose in writing the book is not only to present these steps, but also to develop them in our modern context and build on them. It presents a method to church planting and growth.

The author describes the broader debate on Pauline church planting being between the view that Paul had no plan and relied entirely on the Lord doing the work wherever he went, and the position that Paul had a method and strategy with his church planting. The reality is that as you view Scripture, it appears Paul kept these in balance. Paul did have a set plan whenever he would go to a new town. Repeatedly you see him go through most or all of the steps previously mentioned. However, this was all under the understanding that God was the one who makes the seed grow (1 Corinthians 3:7). We all would be foolish to aim at nothing. At the same time, many modern churches (business model churches) have made the method just as important as the Spirit. As Hesselgrave states, they have “organized Christ out of the picture.” As with everything, there must be a balance.

This tendency to simplify everything to a method or science is something Hesselgrave focuses on a good bit in the section of reading. He says, “If our dependence is on the overall strategy and method of its implementation rather than on the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot claim to be true to the New Testament church.” There are many who have simplified church to a plan that has become more holy than the Word of God itself. A plan is important, but if we hold more tightly to that method and leave no room for adjustment, it has become more important than the Spirit’s working in our church. Some plans, such as the Purpose Driven Model, were developed to give a Biblically based structure to doing church. Unfortunately, some can take this model and turn it into an “evangelical production line (that) will inevitably produce results.”

Other important observations by Hesselgrave were pointed out later in the chapter. One key thought is that the Pauline method should be done both synchronically and diachronically. In other words, while the cycle is in the process of the latter steps (Believers commended and sending churches convened), it should at the same time be introducing the first steps of audience contact and missionary commissioning. The cycle must not stop because the cycle never truly ends. The beginning is more visible through mission work and church plants, yet once that cycle begins, there is never a time when in our era when we can stop reaching out (until the Lord comes that is!). In a sense, the book promises a level of sustaining a healthy, vibrant and contagious church body if we abide and adjust to the Pauline cycle.

Reformation Day 2008

The more studying I'm doing in church history, the more and more appreciation I have for the history of the church. The church fathers were only men, like me, who did amazing things for their God, my God. The strength of the church, the boldness of the men and the clarity of their view of theology and doctrine are filling a hole in my life right now. Today is another evidence.

Growing up, I knew very little of Martin Luther. Going to a Christian school, I might have been taught something about him, but it wasn't a big deal and wasn't treated as a big deal. He was just a dude.

I get into Christian college and some of his history came up. More of this was taught to me at Lancaster Bible College (probably due to the number of reformed prof's I had). I began to hear of this radical who stood up to the church and it's corruption. I did some reading and caught the old movie (from the 50's) on Luther. Then the new version came out...wow. The more I understood what he was saying and the more I understood the danger of the thing he was doing, the more I liked him. The more I see his attitude and the almost holy arrogance that he showed became an inspiration to me.

Today, we aren't dealing with the church selling indulgences to build a great cathedral. Today, the church is faced with a comfortable gospel, a lack of church discipline, a fear of losing numbers due to teaching doctrine, a broadening of the narrow way, a product driven church, pastors who are more interested in reading business books than their Bibles, and churches full of spiritual infants.
This reformation day, I find myself looking more and more for the next Martin Luther who will come in and shake up the American church. I am really scared with the climate in our country and our day and age as to where our church is going. If the church were reduced to small home churches, I think a lot of Christians would fall away because they probably weren't Christians. I think we have turned sermons into self-help and therapy sessions, Jesus is a loving caring nice dad who isn't judgmental, and the Bible is a reference tool to back up what we're teaching rather than the Bible being central. Martin Luther would have a hay-day in our modern church.

Wake us up Lord. The 95 Theses of Martin Luther

Quote of the Day

"I went to church and a business broke out."

Another interesting quote to think about the church becoming a business in it's mentality.

Update 6.23.08

Been awhile since I updated.
-I LOVE Mark Driscoll. Been listening to his Doctrine series which is fantastic. I also listened to his sermons on Birth Control, Paying a Pastor and Does God Have A Sense Of Humor. His wit is hillarious, yet at the same time the dude is deep. He is the perfect balance. He gives me hope that the modern church does have some hope amidst the Seeker Sensitive delusion.
-I survived my second intensive in Cross-Cultural Evangelism and Church Planting. It was alright. I did really well in it. I am writing my final paper for it on "Are Short Term Missions Trips, Missions Trips?" My early thoughts...no. They're ministry trips. Some are more work trips. They pass them off as though building a house is evangelistic. Its helpful, but its NOT missions. Not only that, but even my teacher from Kenya said that the locals often lay back and let the short term people do the dirty work they don't want to do.
-My kids called me on their way to camp. It was very emotional. I miss those kids so much. The girls called on Sunday and the boys tonight. I love them more than my own life. I didn't get enough time with them. I am so pleased to see what God allowed me to start and what my amazing leadership team is continuing in my absence. Only Jesus could do that. I only saught to please him and him alone, not a boss or denomination or for a speaking opportunity at NYWC. It's ALWAYS been about loving the kids. I'd give them my life it God asked me.
-Phillies were hot, now they have cooled off. I'm still pretty pleased with them. Eagles camp starts in a few weeks.
-Vacation in less than 2 weeks and I'm PUMPED! OC NJ is the one and only beach in the world. I love it. Johnson's popcorn, Fudge Kitchen, Mack and Mancos, and...oh yeah...the beach. I love the boardwalk!

Innovate Needed?

Does the church need innovation? Innovation means "to introduce something new; make changes in anything established." Is the established practices of the church a bad thing? What is the church doing wrong? Is it doing anything wrong?

Really, to answer any of that, you have to start before it. To say it needs innovation is to say that something it is doing is broken, outdated or wrong. Some say the church has to become "relevant" to appeal to the lost community. Pastors have become professionals wearing hip glasses, Armani shirts, who throw out U2 lyrics or quotes from artsy movies, and give practical steps to make your life cool. It's painful to see seminary students and pastors falling for this need to wear the right clothes, watch the right movies, and put on the appearance that "Hey! I'm just like you." Some get so obsessed with this that its unnatural. You can tell they are trying to look relevant. How about just being yourself and stop trying to look like Ryan Seacrest or Rod Bell?

Are our services in need of innovation? I was sucked into the church growth/seeker sensitive movement for a decade. The emphasis was best described as "preach the gospel in any way...except preaching." Too much scripture was avoided. Proof-texting became an art form. Now, musical performance and drama became necessary to have any success preaching. Pastors spent more time on art preparation than sermon preparation. The congregation became an audience. This is seen as innovation. Question: Was our preaching not drawing enough people? Did we have to start entertaining because the Bible was too boring? Was our preaching and reliance on the Spirit to do the work ineffective? Can God reach people today WITHOUT the arts?

Innovate our image? It seems we have turned into the source of social causes. I'm all for reaching the homeless and poor. I highly encourage the church to be involved in reaching their communities. But what has become the priority in this? Is it meeting practical needs? Is it spiritual needs? We honestly celebrate when we paint a house for the elderly, yet walk away without sharing love and the gospel with them. We hand out blankets for a night, yet we don't make an extended relationship with them and share Christ. We're so obsessed with meeting the physical that we let the spiritual become secondary. Jesus is the cart, social needs are the horse.

Does the church need innovation, or new ways of doing things because the current ones aren't working? Let's start with the need. Do we need to be hip? Do we need to be sensitive? Do we need to be broad in our beliefs? No. No. No. Our churches have become bloated like a steroid injected athlete: tons of muscle, but unnatural and unhealthy. We have massive buildings and numbers and a massive amount of spiritual unhealth and illiteracy. 75% of our generation couldn't tell you if Obadiah is before or after Daniel. They don't know what atonement means. They don't know what a convenant is. All they know is that they "feel good" when they worship and have a self-help sermon. Our congregations can't defend their faith because most of them DON'T KNOW WHAT WE BELIEVE! Doctrine and theology isn't popular and doesn't fit in a three point sermon with movie clips.

The church doesn't need innovation. It needs instruction in the Word, infiltration into the world, intelligence from the pastor, intensity from the congregation and it needs integrity of its teaching. We need Jesus. We need the cross. These things will not draw crowds unless God wills it. But that's just it. When did Jesus ever promise crowds? The path is narrow. The price is steep. The suffering, intense. Stop the cheap gospel.

Willow Creek's "Big Shift"

Well, just as I am going through a nasty aftertaste with seeker sensitive services, along comes an article (and a book) that only confirms what has been going on inside of me. Willow Creek is dropping seeker sensitive for deeper theological teaching. WOW! There's a concept! Instead of getting as close to being lost as we can to be "relevant," we actually start acting like Christians and studying our faith. We actually may be stepping away from feeding our churches nothing but milk and actually may start feeding them some meat!

I think the seeker sensitive service was a great idea, but sooner or later it was bound to catch up with a church when those who are being converted aren't being challenged to grow. I am really excited about this. I hope the wave will continue to get stronger. Maybe church will be church again? I have hope. Discipleship is gasping to life again. Now the only concern I have is...what kind of theology will be taught? Will it be watered down to not offend?