When I became elder chairman at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship I had to learn Roberts Rules of Order. Not exactly my fastball but having that protocol in place helped the meetings proceed in an orderly fashion. Recently I have been pondering publishing the “Grace Rules of Order”. Seems a little odd because grace doesn’t depend on legalistically following rules and law but please hear me out. I made a conscious decision a few years ago to focus on communicating the message of grace and identity in Christ. With that I decided to avoid the polarizing path of politics. Some have told me that is cowardly but I can honestly say there is no message more important to me than the liberating freedom of grace. I want to share the joy of living out of what Jesus has already accomplished and what God says is true about me. I feel called to be a messenger of hope and grace. Plus I feel
Continue reading...
Because of my career path in secular television I have a lot of people very dear to me who do not share my faith and hope in Jesus. Some are simply disinterested. Some think their good works will outweigh their bad deeds and they will be granted entry to Heaven. Some think that faith in God is a foolish pursuit that no intellectually honest person would consider. Some have witnessed horrible actions of people claiming to be Christians. Some have experienced harsh and legalistic religious types who make living a life of faith miserable and emotionally damaging. Some are pushed away by those who share sincere beliefs in a way that does not show the love of God. Any combination of these factors can cause people to step away or not pursue what it means to follow Jesus. I get it. I have struggled with many of those things over my long journey of faith. Brennan Manning wrote this very
Continue reading...
When I got serious about following Jesus there was a song we sang regularly at gatherings. We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the LordWe are one in the Spirit, we are one in the LordAnd we pray that our unity will one day be restoredAnd they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our loveYeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love What a difference the body of Christ would make in today’s contentious world if we believed and lived these very simple words. We are one in the spirit. There should be no separation by wealth, color, talent, or power. We are one in Jesus. We pray that our unity will one day be restored. We are still praying that today. It is not a difficult concept to understand how important unity is to achieve any goal. Can a team of self-centered football players win a championship? A team needs to have one
Continue reading...
Social media can be deeply distressing. So many posters are downright mean. If you disagree on an issue the broad brushing judges assign you to outcast status without any effort to understand your heart. May I share honestly what bothers me even more on social media? When those who claim to be followers of Jesus are divisive, judgemental, and graceless. How can we claim to have something of eternal value when we can’t focus on what unites us? A song from Mandisa and TobyMac came up on my playlist this week. The message is so important for all of us. Are you left?Are you right?Pointing fingers, taking sidesWhen are we gonna realize? We all bleed the sameWe’re more beautiful when we come togetherWe all bleed the sameSo tell me why, tell me whyWe’re divided. Why indeed? I am praying for leaders who will remind us that hateful rhetoric never, ever, ever changes a heart. Followers of Christ have a message of hope and light
Continue reading...
The title “Evangelical Christian” seems to have become a pejorative to many in the media and culture. I understand the frustration (I have written about it a lot) when very vocal or celebrity Christian leaders fail spectacularly. I share your anger when a religious person espouses hateful or judgmental comments. I grieve when an institution or leader fails to protect the innocent. Critics say that Christians have an agenda and dangerous desire to control other people’s lives. I confess that has been true for some religious types. But the followers of Jesus that I have gotten to know over many decades don’t resemble that stereotype at all. Perhaps that is why Jesus warned so plainly about the dangers of power. The selfless, giving, and caring believers get little notice in this world but I believe they are quietly and faithfully making a difference. Jesus upset the organizational chart by placing those who serve at the top. I thought about what
Continue reading...
One of the things that I struggle with the most in our current cultural climate is the broad-brushing by all sides. What do I mean by that? If you disagree with someone’s faith or political opinion you automatically assign to them the worst values from the most extreme people proclaiming that message. Without knowing a single thing about their story, their heart, or their background we tend to throw down the gauntlet of judgment. A lot of Christians have been unfairly targeted recently. Some deserve to be called to accountability. I have never had a problem with being honest about how I and many other followers of Jesus often fall short of representing the grace and love of Jesus. That is just a fact. That doesn’t change who Jesus is. But one heartbreaking result is that the entire Christian faith is being dismissed and denigrated by a lot of people with social media influence. With just a bit of internet
Continue reading...
I recently watched the movie Jesus Revolution. I was deeply moved by the main theme of the movie. It doesn’t matter how much a particular group offends your personal standards of behavior and upsets your judgemental apple cart. We, as followers of Jesus, have been commanded to love others and to share the hope we have in Him. “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:34, NLT) Not suggested. Commanded. I grew up in a church that was much like the lukewarm assembly that Pastor Chuck Smith shepherded in this story. The congregants were set in their ways and had no patience with these long-haired hippies committing heinous sins like drug use, unmarried sex, and angry protests against the government. It was true that those actions violated God’s standards for believers. Too many in the church held these young people to standards that
Continue reading...