Shutting Down

One of the hardest things for me to do personally is to shut down from the daily grind of work and to try to relax and enjoy time for my family, others, and myself.  There's just too much to get done and so little time to get it done.  I feel a strong sense of commitment towards others at the expense of taking care of my family and myself.  Taking personal time to refresh can create a sense of  guilt.  How well do you do this?  I understand that we can boast about our hard work ethic but I'm not so sure God intended for us not to rest since He created the Sabbath. 

The Sabbath was created for physical rest and for God's people to worship and focus on Him.  Some people feel compelled to work seven days a week believing it is necessary to make ends meet.  Some never take personal time or vacation time even when an employer provides it.   Most jobs will take all the time that you give them and the work never goes away.  It becomes necessary to learn to say no towards things we really don't have any more time for.  Shutting down is necessary for personal renewal.  Time alone to reflect, to pray, to read God's Word, and just to listen to what God wants us to hear is needed. The psalmist said it well, "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

This past vacation I was blessed to read three books--and I didn't finish any of them (I plan to finish them) but they refreshed my soul.  They were the Bible, Understanding Biblical Theology, and a book called Deep Preaching.  I allowed God's Spirit to breath life into me and to refresh me through His Word and the writings of others.  My wife truly enjoyed being the focus of my time as well.  Over the past four years I've truly enjoyed riding my motorcycle with my wife and even alone as a way to enjoy what God has created around me and to hear from Him.  It gives me time to ponder and consider what God is teaching me in life.  It also gives me time to reprioritize what the most important things are in this short life for God's glory.

When was the last time that you decided to shut down for a day or for a week?

Retaining the Guests that Visit Your Church

I truly don't know of a church that doesn't believe that they are not the friendliest church around.  I recall the first time that I heard someone say that they did not think Maywood was a friendly place at first but then they decided to give the church another chance and they eventually got connected.  I have several feelings when I hear this comment and unfortunately I have heard it more than once.  First, I think that perhaps their expectations were perhaps too high--after all, we are not a small church that can identify every one when they visit.  Second, if they would have only told me that they were a guests then I would have made sure to have rolled out the red carpet.  Third, more than anything else I am angered that we as a church missed an opportunity to reach out to a guest who stepped forward with boldness to visit a foreign place to them.  Guests are a privilege to have each week at our church and many churches would love to have guests.  We will never get a second chance to make a first impression again or to reach out and welcome them like we truly desired.  Visiting a church is a big task and families lay it all out there when they come to your church--hoping to be welcomed and cared for.  I know that I could be a better host and that I must be the best host in order to have guests want to return.

Here are some good ideas that I have rewritten in my own words (I heard them shared before from Tom Rainer).  I believe that it would radically change the way that our guests return to our church.

1. We need to get Uncomfortable.  Most of us have our routines, our friends, and even our seats picked out each week.  Please think about reaching out to faces you don't know for the sake of  God's greater work.  Most guests will not reach out to us and will leave quickly after the service.
2. Choose to Sit by Guests.  As much as we like to gravitate towards those we know and the comfortable--think about our guests who boldly came to our church this morning.  They are alone and will remain alone unless someone chooses to sit by them.  Lets be intentional.
3. Reach Out to them While There.  In other words, as a host take the next step and invite them to a Life Group following the service or invite them to the cafe and purchase them a drink and get to know them.  This is truly taking the next step and it speaks volumes.  You may not get a second chance.
4. Invite them to the Welcome Center.  As a church, we truly have valuable information for them about the ministries and a very nice gift that says we value your presence.  This allows them to meet a pastor and other members of the church.  This is significant.
5. The Kid's experience means Everything.  It is a bold move to take your family to a new church.  It has been studied and proven true that when the kids love their time at church that it radically increases the chance that families return and become involved.  We have much to celebrate about our kid's ministries (Safe area, Bible based curriculum, Exciting learning).  One bad visit for a child or student and the likelihood of their return is slim to none.
6. Standing and Greeting.  As much as the church family enjoys one another, this is the most awkward 60 seconds in a guest's visit.  To guests, this is very mechanical and artificial--especially if nobody has reached out to them before the service.  Our guests need to be reached out to naturally each week without prompting the congregation to be friendly. 
7. Incredible Greeting Ministry.  I cannot stress enough the powerful impact that a great greeting ministry can make.  Layers of greeting upon a guests is powerful.  It is more than saying hello but asking how we can help them or direct them when they arrive.  This shouts, "we want you here" to our guests.  

It truly is everyone's responsibility to reach out to our guests each week.  We may think we are friendly and welcoming but we usually have to go over the top in order for our welcoming spirit to really be noticed.  PLEASE, let's make God's church at Maywood the most welcoming church in the community!

10 Reasons Why I'm Not Giving Up on the Local Church

Many have their reasons for not going to church: “Local churches are dying!” “Churches are no longer relevant.” “The church is full of hypocrites.” “I don’t need the institutional church.”  Thom Rainer posted some good reasons a while back on why not to give up on the church that Christ calls his bride.

1. The local church has been God’s chosen instrument since the ascension of Christ. Christ left us with the church to carry out His plan. He even refers to churches as “the body of Christ.” Local churches have been messy since the onset.  He will not give up on the 21st century churches.
2. Believers can do more together than individually. We are called “church members” because we are members of the body of Christ. One member is not nearly as effective by himself or herself. We were not designed for Lone Ranger Christianity.
3. The local church is where the Word is proclaimed and taught every week. Indeed, that is one of the key reasons for churches to exist.
4. The local church is the place to gather to worship. Sure, we are to worship God individually. But we are also told to come together to worship with fellow believers.
5. The local church fosters accountability. The very essence of gathered believers is natural accountability. We are to submit to one another in willing and cheerful accountability.
6. We experience grace in the local church. I agree. The church is full of hypocrites and I am chief among them. The gathered church reminds us that we are a bunch of sinners who have been forgiven. As we continue to experience the grace of God through Christ, we should naturally desire to show that same grace to one another.
7. The gathered church can have a great impact on its community. Most of us have seen the incredible difference a church can make on its community when that becomes its focus.
8. The local church can provide an incredible organized ministry of small groups. Once believers get in small groups, they are apt to do more ministry, to read the Bible more frequently, and to give more abundantly.
9. Believers can practice biblical stewardship best in local churches. As you read the New Testament pattern of stewardship, you see that most of the abundant giving came through local churches. Such is and should be the pattern today.
10. The local church is the home base for evangelism. We gather for corporate worship and Bible study. But the best local churches then intentionally scatter to share the gospel with others.

I believe in the local church. I am not giving up on the local church. Too much is at stake. And God is not done with us.

Is Worship About a Personal Experience?

Many times we confuse worship with our personal experience that takes place during a church service.  Is worship a subjective experience and is all worship acceptable to God?  I've heard some suggest that as long as you are expressing love to God then everything is good.  All of our subjective experiences, even when it comes to worship, must be measured by the objective truth of God's Word.  Even though worship services may look different at times, they must all align themselves with the Truth from God's Word.  When this is done, Christ calls it acceptable worship (John 4:23-24).  God does allow us to experience a relationship with Him.  My concern is that God is sometimes not included in worship services that take place and yet Christians can still leave church feeling that they had a great morning of worship.

Worship is certainly and expression of love and adoration for who God is.  In fact, worship is a response from our own personal redemption through Jesus Christ.  True worshipers are those who have been redeemed (purchased) by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  We truly have much to sing about and proclaim!  Christ teaches us in John 4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

I would suggest that the foundation of worship is not primarily love as love is a byproduct of walking in step with the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 13).  I believe that the foundation of worship is actually redemption.  Everything flows out of a transformed life which gives us the ability to love God properly (and others).  God the Father is seeking those who will worship Him for eternity.  The response of our redemption is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength-this is what Christ taught (Mark 12:20; Deut. 6:4-6).  Worship is truly a response to God for all that He has done in our redemption.  It is revealed in our love, praise, and adoration to Him each and every day of our lives.  Worship is truly Whole Life Worship (Rom. 12:1-2).

Cluttered Worship

If we were to try to define worship many Christians would come up with various definitions.  The tragedy is that the church stands guilty of offering God worship that is not always acceptable worship to Him.  It is often what is convenient, what we are used to doing, and what we have time to offer Him.  We have been guilty many times of creating worship services that meet our own tastes and our own desires.  The reality is that Christian worship services can look different all across the globe but is it all acceptable worship?  I often feel that the way "I" do it is the proper way because it most satisfies "me".

I'm afraid that when many of us wake up on Sunday mornings that we are hoping that the church service does something good for us or that we feel good when we leave.  However, I'm afraid we are using the wrong measuring stick.  Perhaps we should ask ourselves if God was delighted by what we brought to Him that morning?  This truly changes everything.  Worship is both serious and celebratory because it is recognizing God for who He is.  Christ says that true worshippers worship God in "spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24).  This means that we love God with our entirety in accordance to the truths of Scripture.  The objective truth of God's Word should measure all worship.

A dominant theme in Scripture is worship and it is what Christians are called to do today and for all eternity.  Even some biblical figures missed the boat when it came to worship.  Cain offered a sacrifice that was not acceptable to God.  Uzza took worship into his own hands and was killed by God when he touched the Ark.  Martha fell short by equating busyness with worship.  Worship is truly giving praise and adoration in response to God's splendor and majesty.  The more we understand who God is the more we can't help but worship him.  It is a natural response for those who know God!

We all stand guilty at times of making worship about things that it really is not about.  In fact, our lives are an act of worship in total devotion to God (Romans 12:1-2).  This Sunday, would you come to church with a spirit that God would be the focus of everything--not our desires or comfort?  When we sing to him, give to him, listen to His Words, and pray to him, let's stand in awe of who He is and what He does.  Christ repeated the essence of worship in His earthly ministry several times when he told even the religious people to "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" (Lk. 10:27).  He was repeating what was already recorded in God's Law to Israel (Deut. 6:4-7).

 This Sunday, let's come with prepared hearts to bring Him worship, praise, and adoration.

Redefining Life

This may not have been your best year spiritually and perhaps you started last year off with the best of intentions.  God's desire is that we worship Him through the knowledge of His Word.  It is through the Word of God that we learn the will of God.

Psalm 138:2 tells us that God exalts His name and  His Word above all things--hopefully we do that as well. We are told by the psalmist, "I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word."  God esteems His own name and Word above everything else!

We can attempt to define our lives by many different standards that really don't matter apart from God's standards.  At times we feel we are doing pretty well compared to many other people.  Doing life without a daily consumption of God's Word is to run spiritually hungry and spiritually parched.  The reality is that we can't display a relationship that does not exist in our lives; failing to spend time in God's Word is revealed in our personal walk.  Let's redefine our lives by getting back into the Word of God this year.  Allow God to quench our thirst and to fill us spiritually.  David cried out to God in Psalm 42:1, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God."  

As a church, we work better together and fight the enemy better when we are strong spiritually in the knowledge of God's Word!

Hope Revealed

Did the Old Testament saints and prophets fully know who Jesus Christ was or what He would fully accomplish?  Did they understand the way that this promised Messiah would be born or how he would deliver them?  Did they understand that He would bring spiritual deliverance and establish a future kingdom and not an immediate physical kingdom for them to enjoy and rule?  Why does it appear that the picture of Jesus Christ is so much clearer in the New Testament?

As early as Genesis 3:15, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, was foretold as the One who would come and crush the head of the serpent (Satan).  This was going to happen through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by Satan, along with his demonic host, being ultimately condemned to the lake of fire that was created for him. 

God was making preparations before the foundation of the world to redeem mankind through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 1:18-21 tells us, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." However, God progressively made the Hope of mankind (Jesus Christ the Messiah--the anointed One)  known throughout the course of history until the right time of His revelation.  The patriarchs,  kings, prophets, and God's people in the Old Testament were given various degrees of understanding over time that there was a Deliverer and Hope coming through God's provision.  Then, Christ arrived at the proper time as prophesied through the virgin Mary and was crucified under the authority of Pontius Pilate.

The prophet Isaiah on several occasions made references to Him in different ways and shared what this Messiah would accomplish.  We are told that it would be through a virgin that He would arrive and that He would be called Immanuel (meaning "God with us", Is. 7:14) This helps to understand that He would dwell and live with the people.  He also tells us in Isaiah 9:1-7 that He would give light to those who walked in darkness, He would release those who were in bondage, He would rule in peace, and that He would bring perfect justice.  Isaiah even calls Him the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Much about His character and His role was told some 700 years prior to the Messiah ever arriving. 

Even though much of the prophetic news about Christ has taken place, all of Christ's work is not yet complete.  Christ is still saving souls and He will return and rule in justice as the perfect Judge.  HOPE continues to be revealed.  For the Christian, we take comfort in God's divine plan and sovereignty.  Christ is our living hope and He remains the only true hope for the world.  Let's share this hope with those who are living and dying without Jesus Christ all around us!