Great Quote by Kenneth Ulmer

I forgot about this but was going through some old sermon notes today. Kenneth Ulmer gave this illustration at the Willow Creek Conference several years back. Fantastic!

You see a clump of marble in my hand is just a piece of glass, but marble in Michelangelo’s hand will get you a magnificent statue of David -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
A cello in my hand will get you some squeaky noise, but a violin in Yo Yo Ma will get you the music of the masters -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
A basketball in my hand is worth about $29.95, but in Shaquille O’Neal’s hand with hang time and a slam-dunk is worth about 30 million dollars -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
A tennis racket in my hand is a dangerous weapon, but a tennis racket in Venus Williams’s hand is a Wimbledon champion -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
A golf club in my hand means ‘look out!’ but a golf club in Tiger Woods’s hand is a golfing champion -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
You see if you look at a rod or stick, a rod in my hand will fight off the dogs, but a rod in Moses’ hand will part the Red Seas of your life -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
A slingshot in my hand is just a kid’s toy, but a slingshot in David’s hand will stop the Goliaths in your life -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
Spit and clay in my hand might get you some little mud cakes, but spit and clay in Jesus’ hand will open up the blinded eyes -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
Two fish and five loaves of bread is a couple of fish sandwiches in my hand, but two fish in Jesus’ hand will feed the multitudes -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
Nails in my hand might get you a birdhouse, but nails in Jesus’ hand hanging on a cross between thieves is salvation for the whole world -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.
This (life) of yours in your hand is a dismal failure, but when you put it in the hands of God you will glorify the kingdom, God’s name will be exalted, His kingdom will be edified, His people will be glorified and the devil will be horrified in the name of Jesus -
Because it all depends on whose hand it’s in.”

Megachurch Parody...LOL

Three Cultural Giants Facing Our Church

I’ve been thinking…not predicting about the current state of the church, the culture, the times and where and how this may impact the church. I’m speaking out loud and in no way am being a Nostradamus. A few of my thoughts:

-The Economy’s Impact on the church:
I think the biggest issue I’ve been wondering and watching is the how the depleting economy is going to impact the church. For the past 10 years, a lot of modern churches have been seeking a surge in growth and attendance. This led them to more cash in offerings. Many churches went on building campaigns and went into debt with these massive church structures that sucked the power down due to lighting systems, video conferencing, etc.
As we are seeing, people are beginning to watch their money carefully. Tithing has dropped in several churches in the area and I know that it is most likely a national issue. If churches have gone in debt based on substantial giving, and at the same time tithing is dropping, how will churches respond if they can’t pay the bills? The church will have a dilemma between paying staff, missionaries, ministries in their own church, and potentially those financially hurting in their congregation. Will churches have to let staff go to create income to pay bills? Will they have to go back to volunteers running ministries? Will they finally get a hold of the lavish spending on video venues, lighting systems, laptops, and other professional expenses? Will they have the boldness to keep staff on and let missionaries or ministries suffer? Will they have the nerve to save themselves and let the fatherless and the widow take a second seat in assistance because as pastoral staff, they see themselves as irreplaceable? If staff and entertainment in the church take a hit, will people begin to leave since they have been made consumers? The next few years are going to be revealing.

-The Elephant in the Room: Gay Marriage
This has been building more and more in the past decade. The church will have to face this challenge soon due to the possible actions of states and the new president. The church has begun to divide on the issue. When the issue was slavery, the church failed to speak out loudly to condemn it as sinful treatment of other humans. This issue is also condemned clearly by Scripture, yet there are those in certain denominations who have rolled with it in the “spirit of love” and political correctness. Soon, all of the church is going to have to speak out in a loud voice and clearly state their position. Since some of our young people have been brought up in the sex-obsessed public school system, they are given a liberal interpretation of marriage.
The church needs to homosexuality for what it is- sin…not a person. It is CRUCIAL that we separate the person from the action. This is difficult due to how tightly the world encourages the gay community to cling to their identity of being gay. We must love the homosexual community and embrace the people of it, not the action. We must continue to firmly stand against the action as we would marital infidelity and premarital sex. This view must not taint our dealings with them nor should we treat them as second-class citizens (especially when we are so quick to forgive a man who cheats on his wife). This community receives hate. We must show them unprecedented love for the person!
As for the church, we must not compromise the sacred act of marriage. The church has allowed it to be hijacked by secular authority. Sacredness to the marital bond must be made more prevalent than the “business as usual” treatment it gets. If the church is told that it must accept gay marriage, I for one as an ordained pastor, will cease to do marriages. They can’t force me to do something against my beliefs. If they do, then throw the cuffs on me. Prison is luxury living these days.

-The Business Church and the Consumer
This ties in closely with the first point. Frankly, as I’ve been blogging on recently, the day of the seeker service and the song and dance service seem to be losing steam weekly. They turned “seekers” into consumers. Every Sunday they get a great show at church and a funny inspirational talk. Some even prayed a prayer to become Christian. Some knew what it meant, others acted on an emotional whim. They church has had to hire staffs the size of the Tonight Show to keep entertainment up and people attending/tithing. This is not church. This is entertainment.
In talks about this subject with many fellow Christians, I have heard a unified yearning for discipleship. Many of them are seeing the same things I’ve been seeing and are starting to speak out about it. If as many people acted as I’ve heard speaking about it, get ready for a modern reformation. There is a move coming. If it goes through, it will take us to smaller congregations, deeper teaching and a spirit of God, not Jay Leno. The buildings may not be as flashy, but believers will actually know where books of the Bible are, what views are on communion, and that Martin Luther wasn’t a civil rights leader. They may stop asking the pastor for verses and start finding them for themselves. We may actually start to love the Lord with our minds, not just our emotions.

The Days of Constantine and Modern Church

Reading in Church History has been one of the most beneficial things I have done in 33 years. It has got my wheels turning regarding even our modern church's state. One of the things I've been thinking about lately with the election going on is the ease of Christianity in America compared to the times of Constantine.

Prior to Constantine coming to power and declaring Christianity the national religion (loosely since he also permitted paganism), Christians were persecuted and killed at the hands of emperors. Christians knew that converting meant they would be in danger of loosing their lives for what they believed in. As a result, the church may have been decently small in number, but the passion and zeal of it was mighty. The martyrs were committed to Christ unto death.

Constantine took over the empire and brought an end to years of persecution. He declared Himself Christian and stopped the martyrdom of believers. As a result, throngs of people in the Roman empire "converted" to Christianity. It was the thing to do. It seems as those everyone was doing it. Christianity's cost was diminished due to ease in the Empire. This continued till persecution once again reared it's ugly head. As a result, many recanted their belief and again Christianity was costly. Under persecution, many of our great church fathers were born and led. Their impact goes on till today.

Fast forward to today. Honestly, converting to Christianity is as easy as saying you prayed a prayer and getting dunked in your local baptist church. Rarely are you examined to see if the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life. Rarely is their much cost to being a Christian in America other than some harassment. As a result, much of modern Christianity is a lifestyle, not a life endangerment. We've adapted Christianity to America, not vice versa. Modern American Christianity cost so little. Even our political candidates proudly assert their Christianity with little fear of backlash. Throngs fill our churches and go through the motions of the lifestyle of Christianity.

I wonder...how full would our churches be if persecution were to rear it's ugly head in America? I mean real persecution...life endangering stuff. Would Saddleback, Willow Creek, Lifechurch, and Thomas Road Baptist still be as full as they are today? Would we focus on seekers or survival and surrender? Would the "giants" of modern Christianity still be considered giants or be seen as feel-good motivational speakers? Are we today, calling people to a life of complete rejection, surrender and rejection? That is the Christianity I know.

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

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?