Christian American or American Christian

If you watch television news, read a newspaper, a news magazine, or basically just do not have your head in the sand, you are aware of the financial crisis the USA now faces. You probably have heard also that many other nations are in crisis as well. In this country, as is usually the case, the politicians have come out pointing the blame at the "other" party. Everyone pontificates about how "their" party could solve all the issues if the "other" party would not be so stubborned and bull-headed.

These discussions usually turn to all the other problems facing our nation and how the right political party (read "their" party) could fix all these things if they had complete control in Washington. This rhetoric usually reaches a crescendo right around election time as you see each candidate trying to rally the base of their party and woo swing votes.

This is also usually the time when you start hearing about the Religious Right or Evangelical Voters. In addition, we hear why each candidate is the right candidate because of where they stand on the "hot-button" issues. You will hear rhetoric such as "A Christian can't vote Democrat!" in hopes to guilt people into voting for Republican candidates. You might also hear statements such as "separation of church and state" in an effort to keep religion out of politics.

This raises a question that I feel with which many people struggle. Am I to be a Christian American or an American Christian? Now you might ask what is the difference and is it not just a matter of semantics, and you could be correct. Personally, I believe that there is a difference, and it is a big one. Basically, I am asking which term defines me the most.

We live in a time in which Christianity in America has become a social religion (at least in the South, which is my context). To be a good American means I love God, country, and mama. It means I work hard, raise a family, pay my taxes, and am a well behaved citizen. Is this the way the Christian faith is described in Christian Scripture?

Do not misunderstand me; I thank God I was born in the United States and that I have the freedoms provided to me. But with this privilege comes a great responsibility. I should not use this privilege as a rite of passage that allows me to look down on others in pride. Nor should I wear it as a badge of honor that exempts me from helping those around me here at home and globally.

I believe the Christian Scriptures call us first to be citizens of God's kingdom and then citizens of a sovereign nation. So while we should be concerned about the status of our nation and about providing a future for our descendants barring Christ's return; we should be more concerned with fulfilling Christ's command to make disciples among all the nations. That should be our chief business; it should not be getting a politician we disagree with out of office.

Our political landscape is not a black and white issue; it is much messier than that. As a friend of mine said to me last week, why can't Christians be concerned with saving unborn babies AND taking care of abandoned or under-provided children? Why can't Christians be concerned with cutting unnecessary spending AND providing services for those Have-Nots in our country?

Christians are called to love mercy, act justly, and walking humbly before God. Christians are called to be salt and light to a dark world. Christians are called to be in this world, but not of this world. Last time I checked, this does not fit neatly into any political party within this great nation of ours. It is time to stop the bickering and fighting, it is time to stop pointing fingers, and it is time to start praying if you have not already.

It was Billy Graham I believe that was quoted one time in regards to being asked if he had ever considered running for President. His reply was no, why should he take a step down. His point was that he had a higher calling, which I believe extends to all Christians.

I am tired of all the fighting and name-calling, I am tired of being a political chip to be used in someone's campaign, and I am tired of Christians becoming distracted from our true calling. This world is NOT my home, I'm just passing through. And on my way through, I'm going to tell as many people as I can about my Jesus.

Radical Christianity

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it." (Mark 8:34-35, English Standard Version)

With these words, Jesus sets Himself against everything we as American Christians hold near and dear. In a time where bigger is better and numbers mean everything, Jesus is calling us to something radically different. A careful reading of the Christian Bible reveals that whenever the crowds grew too large around Jesus, He would make a radical statement that would cause people to leave. Whether it was the above quote, or Jesus speaking about His followers having to eat His flesh and drink His blood, Jesus always did the opposite of what church growth experts tell us is important to being successful in today's culture.

Might I suggest rather than listening to the so-called experts, that Christians actually listen to their Master. I am currently reading through David Platt's book Radical again in preparation for the week of church camp I co-direct. I have to say it is perhaps one of the most challenging books I have ever read. Not because of the academic level of writing (trust me, I've had to read many more difficult books for Master and Doctoral work), but because of the subject matter.

Platt argues that American Christians are not living up to the standards set forth by Jesus. He challenges his readers to consider how we have adjusted the gospel message to fit our preferences. He then shows what Jesus actually meant about being His disciple, and encourages you to believe and to obey.

Now this post is not so much a book review (I do encourage you to go and read the book), as it is a reflection on the impact it has had on me. As I stated, this book has been one of the most challenging books for me because of its subject matter. Pause for a moment and consider the opening quote. When was the last time we truly denied ourselves anything? As Americans, the majority of us have plenty of food, clothing, shelter, love, etc. As a nation, we are the richest of the world; most of the world's population lives on less than $2/day. We have tremendous freedoms not known by many; which we daily take for granted. I could continue, but I believe you understand my point. We are a blessed people and therefore are far removed from the words of Jesus.

Not only do we not deny ourselves of our wants, but we do not understand what Jesus means when He tells us to take up our cross. Understand this...it DOES NOT mean to bear a particular burden! Remember what the cross was in Jesus' day; a form of public execution. To put it into our context, it would be like Jesus telling us to take up our electrocution chair, our gas chamber, our lethal injection, our noose. We have made the cross pretty; we have formed it out of brass and put it on the Lord's Table, we have put it atop steeples, we make beautiful jewelry and wear the cross around our neck. We have removed the blood, the splinters, the roughness, the shame and we have loss the shock of Jesus' words.

Read the gospel accounts closely and you will see that Jesus was actually the most radical person that humanity has known. He removed social barriers, He disrupted the standing religious establishment, He confounded the political structure. American Christians have removed all of this and made Him the image of meekness and peace found in our flannel graphs. Please do not misunderstand me, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He does not break a bruised reed (to paraphrase the Old Testament). But what we must remember is that Jesus comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.

I have to agree with Platt that American Christians have taken the rough edges off of Jesus and have made Him into our liking. A word of warning though, to make Jesus anything other than who He truly is, is to make an idol in our own image; and that will bring grave consequences. Jesus calls us to radical abandonment of ourselves and this world. He bids us to come and die to self, to this world, to the desires of this world. The question we have to answer is this, "Is Jesus Worth it?".

I would love to say that I have left everything for Jesus, that I have denied myself and have taken up my cross, and have not looked back. I would love to say that, but to say it now would be a lie. There still is a struggle, in fact a daily struggle to live as Jesus would have me to live. I can say this with all sincerity...JESUS IS WORTH IT! The American dream offers safety, security, and success; all of which can be taken away, all of which will fade away. Jesus offers us something much better, for it will not fade, it cannot be taken away. He offers His safety, security, and satisfaction through His sovereignty, love, and presence.

Is Jesus worth giving up the American dream? Is He worth denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following? Only you can answer that for yourself. I have had enough of nominal Christianity, I am ready to see a multitude of radical Christians go all out for Jesus. I am ready to see the American Church be more than a social club that meets weekly because it is expected to. I am ready to see this world turned upside down again because Christians actually believe and obey what Jesus said for us to do. Because in reality, radical Christianity is really just biblical Christianity.

A response to the death of Bin Laden

I went to bed Sunday night not aware of the news of Usama Bin Laden's death. It wasn't until Monday morning with the kids off to school that I finally turned the T.V. on to watch the morning news programs. It was then that I learned what the whole world seemed to be discussing. I watched in amazement and I was utterly speechless. I listened for details...the who, what, when, where, and the how. I watched as the programs cut from location to location showing the celebrations taking place across our country. And then I went to work.

I tried to listen to talk radio to get more details, picking up bits and pieces, but by mid-morning I was too busy to listen anymore. Late afternoon found me checking facebook and twitter just to see what people were saying. I found social media divided by response just as I found the traditional media divided. I have to admit, it has taken this long for my thoughts to come together, to be able to process all of the information. But what I keep returning to is this question: "How should a Christian respond to the news?"

Speaking personally, I am glad as an American that justice has been served, but as a Christian I am saddened by the fact that most likely Bin Laden left this world a unrepentant sinner. As I thought about my feelings, I thought back to that Sunday following 9.11.01. I stood in the pulpit facing my congregation; many who had raised a flag earlier that week in support of our nation. I stated to the congregation that as an American I was furious that this could happen. (Later on Toby Keith's song "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" came out, summing up many Americans thoughts.) But, I told the congregation, as Christians we need to pray that Bin Laden (and other Muslims) have the opportunity to respond positively to the gospel message.

I have to admit that I probably didn't get a lot of "AMENS" from that response, but it was what I felt was the biblical response to the situation. All these years later, my thoughts remain the same. Without citing particular Scripture for my "proof-texting", let me say clearly that I believe the Bible teaches that God has ordained governments to carry out the punishment of criminals. If a law is broken, then justice is to be served. Clearly, Bin Laden was a mass-murderer who needed to be stopped. I am thankful that our military had the opportunity and that we had leaders who were willing to make the difficult decision to carry out the operation.

At the same time, my first allegiance is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who tells us to pray for our enemies, who tells us to take the gospel to all nations, and who tells us that He does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. No, God's desire is all of those who are created in His image (including terrorists) would respond in faith to His offer of salvation. Though, through human eyes, Bin Laden's sins might be more heinous than mine, I am just as much in need of a Savior as Bin Laden was.

That said, I don't believe Christians should be dancing in the streets over his death, nor should we be celebrating over his death. Let us as Christians find satisfaction that justice has been served, pray that his death opens the door for the gospel to be unhindered in being shared, and weep for those that leave this world apart from Christ.

A Biblical Christian Response to Culture

I have a confession to make...the topic of this post has been difficult to get from my brain onto my computer. You have no idea how many times I have started only to stop after a few sentences. It's not because I am afraid of what others might think, nor is it because I don't know what to say. The reason I have had difficultly in writing on the topic is that I have so MUCH to say. For some time now I have wanted to address the topic of a biblical Christian response to culture, mainly for the reason that there are so many diverse opinions floating around. What has finally driven me to put thoughts "on paper" is the recent news of the planned rally of a "Christian" organization to burn copies of the Q'ran.

To be honest, I have not read all the details of the planned rally, but quite simply the idea of burning books makes me shudder as I recall the days of Nazi Germany and its infamous book burning parties. First of all, while Americans have the freedom to do so, it is beyond imaginable that Americans would be willing to do such a thing as burn books. Second of all, CHRISTIANS should be the last ones to practice such horrible acts. If you are a Christian, how would you feel if a religious group chose to burn our sacred Scriptures? With that act perpetuated upon our Scriptures how many of us would in turn retaliate on that religious group with violence? While most Christians would not succumb to violence, I dare say that Christians living in a Muslim context will suffer for the actions of their American brothers and sisters.

So with these thoughts in mind, what is a biblical Christian response to culture? In the Christian Scriptures, the Bible, Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is to Love God with every fiber of our being. He continues by stating that the second commandment is like the first, to Love Your Neighbor as yourself. He concludes by stating that every other law in scripture, every other writing in scripture hangs upon these commandments. As Christians we are to be IN the world but not OF the world. How I have come to interpret these statements has impacted and shaped me greatly. As a Christ-follower, I am to love people like Jesus loves them while showing them who He is through the way I live my life.

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation; for salvation is a gift of God, it is not something I have earned. As a student of Scripture, I also know that the lost world around me does not have a chance outside of Christ and God has given me and all of my Christian brothers and sisters the task of taking the gospel to the nations. That means I have to love people like Jesus loves them and live in such a way that it reflects Christ's work in me. It means that while I behave differently from the world, I in no way withdraw from society and culture so that my light cannot shine in a dark world.

Christians, more than anyone else, are called upon to be different while explaining why there is a difference. That means speaking the Truth in love, that means returning kindness when faced with persecution, that means praying for and blessing our enemies. That means, even if the cost is our life, we show the love of Christ and talk about His grace to those whose religion calls for our deaths. The Sunday after 9/11/2001 as I stood in the pulpit to deliver my sermon, I asked the people to consider one thing. As Americans we all were angered by the previous Tuesday's tragedy, we all wanted Bin Laden's death. But I wanted the people to consider one thing, as Christians, God calls for us not to desire his death, but his salvation.

My point here is simple-Christians are called to live a life of love, impacting the world as salt and light. We cannot accomplish this by either promoting violence on other religions or by retreating from a culture that has become so diverse that Christians no longer have the loudest voice. Be reminded of the Apostle Paul, who when confronted with the Athens' culture did not scream and threaten, nor throw his hands up and retreat. What Paul did was politely acknowledge their culture and then proceeded to speak the Truth in love. My prayer is that Christians follow his example and do all we can to bring a lost world back into a right relationship with its Creator.

A Different Christianity

Perhaps you have seen on a church sign somewhere these words, “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.” St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) is credited for that quote which many have misunderstood. The quote tends to be interpreted that one’s witness is carried out in deed and if one must then use words to share the gospel. The understanding is that the gospel is best proclaimed through one’s actions therefore speaking about the cross is unnecessary. Let me assure you that concept is far from the intention of the original author. The intended meaning of “Preaching the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words” is that our actions AND words should always point to Christ. It is not an “either/or” approach to the gospel but a “both/and” approach that will reach the nations, starting right outside our doors. As the church we are to boldly proclaim the gospel by ministering to people’s physical and spiritual needs. When we are committed to that goal, then will we see people come to Christ.

I must give credit to Daniel Akin, PhD, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary for the following information that comes from sermon he delivered in chapel in December '09. Today there are at least 16,348 ethnic groups that comprise the 6.7 billion people on the planet (Joshua Project: 11-28-09). Today there are at least 6,647 ethnic groups who are unreached. Some missiologists would say there is, at present, 1.6 billion with no access to the gospel at all. That means there are 3.4 billion who have not heard the name of Jesus or have very limited access to the gospel. Add to that the reality that there are 255 million lost people in North America, 3 out of every 4 persons (On Mission, Special Issue, 2009, p.8). Did you know that more than one in four American Protestants give nothing to the work of the church and that the median annual giving for a Christian is 2.6% of their annual income? Did you know that only 27 percent of Christians give away 10% or more of their income? What could happen if committed Christians gave 10% of income to the work of the Lord?

Let me share with you what would happen: 150,000 new indigenous missionaries and pastors in nations most closed to foreign religious workers; triple the resources being spent by all Christians on Bible translating, printing, and distribution to provide Bibles in the native languages of 2,737 remaining people groups currently without Bible translations; eradicate polio worldwide; 1million new clear water, well-drilling projects per year in the poorest nations (25% of the world’s population drinks unsafe water); prevent and treat malaria worldwide; provide food, clothing, & shelter to all 6.5 million current refugees in all Africa, Asia, & Middle East; sponsor 20 million needy children worldwide, providing them food, education, and healthcare.

Oswald J. Smith said, “We talk of the Second Coming when half the world has never heard of the first.” It is time we commit ourselves to the task of bringing hope to a world that desperately needs some good news. It must start outside our doors and we must carry it to the nations. We must be concerned about their life here on this planet and in the afterlife. We must have the same compassion for the nations that our Savior displayed in the gospels. Only when we begin to weep for the nations will we really see a change take place.

Penn Jillette of the entertainment duo "Penn and Teller" can be found on 'Youtube' sharing about how someone gave him a Bible. He stated, “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward… how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you, and this is more important than that. And I’ve always thought that.”

When will Christians wake up and begin to look beyond the church doors? When will Christians decide to engage a post-Christian culture with the Truth of Christ? When will we begin to show a different Christianity that is concerned about the whole person? I pray that it is soon.

Nashville needs our help

By now, as long as you haven't been living under a rock, you have heard of the record flooding in Nashville, Tennessee. Perhaps you have dismissed it along with the rest of the "news" that doesn't directly effect you. Perhaps you have been moved by the stories coming out of the area. Either way I would suggest that as Christians we should give heed to the call for help. I have posted a link whereby you can read an interview with Nashville area pastors on how you can help. I pray that God would move among his people that His glory may shine!

The link to the interview:The Exchange with Ed Stetzer

Youth Ministry: Entertainment vs. Discipleship

As I write this I am sitting in the airport soon to board a plane for Chicago. I am on my way to take part in Simply Youth Ministry/Group's National Youth Leaders Conference. It will be a busy time of workshops and other sessions where we hope to be trained and receive information on how to ministry to this culture's youth. This is has caused me to consider the state of youth ministry as a whole and the group I lead specifically.
One question I keep coming back to is "What is the purpose of a church's youth ministry?". With my seminary training and my own experiences as a teenager guiding me, I have always felt that youth ministry's purpose is discipleship; and yet, it seems that the idea among many church members is a purpose of entertainment. Let's face it, most churches see youth ministry as a baby sitter who will keep the kids entertained while the adults do church stuff. The attitude is that we have to keep them happy and excited about being there or else the parents will have to fight with their kids to go to church.
May I suggest that we actually read the Bible to see what was important to Jesus? He said bring the little children to him, acknowledging that we need their kind of faith. We then see him teaching and preparing the disciples for ministry. I dare say Jesus was not concerned with how many were there and if they were having a good time or not. He had a kingdom focus and he was too busy instilling that vision in his disciples.
Perhaps our youth would be better served by instilling a kingdom focus in them and preparing them for ministry; perhaps then we would not lose them when they graduate? Perhaps the reason churches have a hard time keeping 2o-somethings is that we have taught them to be takers instead of givers, consumers instead of servers? The youth of our day are looking to make a difference, are our youth ministries preparing them to do so? I am afraid that the answer is no.
It is time for our churches to take youth ministry seriously, to make it a priority that we prepare them to be a part of God's kingdom plan. It is time for parents to demand more than just a baby sitting club at their church. It is time for church leadership to hold its youth ministry leaders accountable for the souls of youth. It is time for youth ministry leaders to be fully committed to the serious business of disciplining the youth of our churches. It is time to do something different.
There are choices to be made about the nature of youth ministry; I hope that others will come along side me on this. I hope for the sake of the gospel that things change, or else God will raise up someone else.