Preachers, We Must Strive for Balance

Since the beginning of Christianity, there have been entire denominations and belief systems that have been built upon one verse of Scripture, or a small, select group of Scriptures.  Churches known for handling snakes have drawn this practice from Mark 16:17-18.  Another example would be churches that hold strict adherence to the Sabbath Day, usually on Saturdays.  They will focus much on the Old Testament teachings of the Sabbath without taking into full consideration the New Testaments teaching on the ceremonial law being abolished.  From an Apostolic perspective, we too must be very careful not to build our entire doctrinal structure on anything than the totality of the Scriptures.  Solomon said that wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding.

As a movement, we have put great emphasis upon Acts 2:38.  Do I believe it?  Absolutely.  It is my unwavering belief, drawn from Scripture, that a person cannot be saved and part of the body of Christ without Jesus name baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.  However, Acts 2:38 is not the only verse in the Bible that deals with salvation.  I personally believe we do a great injustice to the Scriptures when we convey to people through preaching and teaching a repeated sermonizing of Acts 2:38 without dealing with the multitudes of Scripture that also deal with our sanctification.  We do our saints injustice when we do not thoroughly work through the Bible with Expository Preaching, exposing the rich intent and meaning of the Scriptures.   Just as the human body can only find health through a balanced diet, so must the church be fed a rich, balanced diet of the Word of God.  If we are spending a disproportionate amount of time on a handful of verses, we will end up with a church full of people who may be saved, but are not discipled.  It is an absolute truth that “you get what you preach”.   We want more than for people just to be saved, we want them to be Christ like in their daily lives.  We want more than deliverance, we want discipleship.  The question that every minister must ask himself if he is guilty of this is why?  One of the most obvious answers is that single- subject- preaching is much easier than covering all the bases.  As ministers we get into the rut of reading the same passages in our devotion.  We read the same types of books from the same authors.  We listen to the same preachers from the same conferences every year.  Because what we preach and teach is a product of what we feed on, we end up being one-dimensional in our pulpit ministry.  Preachers, stretch yourself.  Delve into subjects of ministry that you are unfamiliar with.  No one wants to be known as a “jack of all trades and master of none preacher”, but this is no excuse not to further develop ourselves in areas where we lack.  We will all have our areas where we naturally shine and excel, but be balanced enough to feed the saints a healthy mix of what they need to sustain them in their walk with God.

I have found that much of what I ingest through my study naturally comes out in my sermons, planned or not.  It works its way into our notes and into our words when we preach.  Therefore, I as a minister must feed on only the highest quality material available.  I am currently using Professor Grant Horners Bible Reading Plan for my personal devotion.  It forces me to read from all areas of the Bible on a systematic basis.  When it comes to books, I am consistently searching for books that will stretch me in my faith and in my thinking.  I ask other preachers in conversation who they are reading and what books they recommend.  I have also tried not to fall into the trap of listening to the same 4 or 5 preachers whose CD’s always are on the best sellers list.  I have found through searching online that there are men whose names may not be easily recognized but whose sermons have had a deep impact.  I highly recommend Faithbuilder.us and Apostoliclive.com as resources for preaching.

I have a preacher friend of mine who told me he eats a different colored vegetable every day, because the color indicates what kind of nutrition is inside to help fight off disease.  He is very intentional in making sure he has a balanced diet.  What’s interesting is that I have noticed in his preaching he applies the same principles.  He is one of the most balanced preachers I know when it comes to delivering the Word of God.  He understands an overarching principle of life:  Health comes from Balance.

 

Preachers, we must strive for balance.  The people who look towards Ministry for leadership do so because they understand that it is the plan of God.  Let’s not let them down.  Let’s invest in ourselves through prayer and study so that when we step into the pulpit, the anointing of God can multiply what we have internalized, and people’s lives can be enriched through the balanced, preached Word of God.

The World As We Know It

There is a country song by Mark Wills entitled “19-something”, in which he talks about growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s and all of the nostalgia that defined that era.  I was born in the mid 70’s, so I can’t really identify with a lot of what he’s saying as much as the “40 something” crowd would.  But when he gets to the verse about the 80’s, something in me clicks.  Memories flood through my mind.  He mentions that “a space shuttle fell out of the sky and the whole world cried”, referencing the Space Shuttle Challenger.  This week marked the 25^th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy, and just last night I was telling my son about where I was when it happened, ( this very thing reminding me of times my grandpa would tell me where he was when he heard about Pearl Harbor, Kennedy, etc…).  I had stayed home sick from school that day, and my grandma’s black and white TV was interrupted by breaking news about the shuttle disaster.  These sorts of things mark a young man, not as a detriment, or a building block, but simply marked… a point of reference that I will forever point to.  Mark Wills references Pac-Man, Star Wars, Elvis, baseball cards, bell bottoms, 8 track tapes, skating rinks, black Trans Ams, big hair and parachute pants, to name a few.  All of these things stir memories for anyone who can remember back that far.  Pastor Paul Mooney made a statement once that “the music that you will consider the greatest music is that which was popular when you were about 15 years old.”  I thought about this and was astonished to find how true I find this to be. They say smell triggers memory more than any other sense.  I would argue that music is a close second.  My extent of secular music listening extends only to smooth jazz and Bossa Nova, but I will hear songs occasionally from my teen years and think “they don’t make music like that anymore.”  I really feel this way, but I have to acknowledge that much of it is misplaced nostalgia.  I wouldn’t want to go back, but those years were an incredible time in my life.  It’s easy for me to say the world was a better place then because I had little responsibility or forethought of life, you spend those years living in the moment.  I often wonder if this is the reason why those who are seasoned in years look back fondly at the 40’s and 50’s with yearning to go back.  The golden era, they say looking back at an Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver generation. I wonder if they yearn for those days not because Andy Griffeth was sheriff, but because it reminds them of a life much simpler as a kid, as a teenager, as a young adult.  A time of their first car, their first kiss, their first fill in the blank.   I will be the first to admit that there is certainly an enormous appeal to that era.  I myself am almost infatuated with the history of the post war generation.  1945-1965 had to have been a great time to live in.  Or was it?  It certainly was if you were white.  I seriously doubt very many blacks or other minorities look back to the 50’s and think “I wish I could have lived back then.”  The 1940’s were one of the darkest decades in the world’s history.  Yes, I am drawn to the Kennedy era cool, the fashion, the style, the naïve optimism. But I also know that the chaos of the late 60’s, the rebellion, the rape of traditional values, did not occur overnight.  While Ozzie and Harriet were living happily ever after, the seeds of our destruction were being sown.  They came to fruition in the late 60’s, the growth fueled by an unpopular and very political war.  Fortunately for America, the nonsense of this movement was paralyzed by the fact that a lack of drive was the nature of the beast for the average hippie.  Within a few short years the thrust of the movement had died.  It was a failed social experiment, one that future generations should study with trepidation.

 

The fact is that the world as we knew it is much, much different.  I’m not saying it’s all negative.  From a glass half full perspective, I see good in the world that did not exist as a whole a few short years ago.  We live in one of the few nations on this planet that gives absolute opportunity for anyone to be anything they desire to be, provided they are willing to pay the price.  I firmly believe that ANYONE with a desire to be a millionaire could do so.  There are much loftier goals in life to aspire than to make money however, and all of those goals are possible, if you are willing to pay the price.  We are a free people… free to worship as we choose, free to express ourselves, free to live anyway we choose.  With this freedom comes a great deal of inefficiency and laziness, but out of it also arises greatness.

 

Technology has dramatically changed the world as we know it.  We by default think of computers and the internet, but other things have greatly improved because of technology.  The average Ford or Chevy has more luxury that a Lincoln or BMW had just a few years ago.  Technology has shrunk the world, it has leveled the playing field, the earth truly is flat.  Yes, you too can have Grey Poupon.  Mom & Pop retailers can compete head to head with a big box store, and the lone dissenting voice can have the same platform as the masses.  The internet has become the great equalizer.  I highly recommend the Jeff Jarvis book “What Would Google Do.”  It will open your eyes as it has mine to the revolution that is the internet.  In many, many ways this connectivity has created choices, options, and variety.  We have only begun to scratch the surface on what this connected lifestyle will do to and for society.  For the first time in modern history, such economic principles as ‘supply and demand’ are being called into question by a whole new set of marketing rules that for the first time are being made possible because of this linked up world.  Of course these principles will always have their place, but companies are making fortunes not only ignoring them but hedging their bets against these concepts.  It’s a mad mad world, and only those who are on the leading edge of the curve are qualified to profit in it.

 

On the other hand, technology certainly has its limits.  I am a huge critic of Facebook and social networking.  Not so much that I have a problem with it as much as I don’t “get it” on the same scale that the rest of the world does.  I have a theory that Facebook thrives off of two base principles of humanity.  One, that people are narcissistic, that is they LOVE to talk about themselves. And two, that people that voyeurs, they love peeking inside the lives of other people.  It is this 2^nd concept that explains the addiction to it, people are nosey.  They are voyeurs, peering unnoticed into the lives of those closest to them.  I know this because like you I do it also.  I have no desire to have a page of my own, to post my latest farmers market find, but I do enjoy looking through the peephole to see a glimpse of those who I already connect with on a regular basis.  The thought however occurs to me that all I see through that peephole is what that person wants to show… nothing is truly discovered.  Facebook allows people to project an image of themselves that may or may not be true.  I am highly entertained by all of the people who are constantly spouting Scripture or some wise axiom or motivational quote when in reality I have never seen this person be so positive in person.  The social network isn’t evil, it isn’t wrong, it is simply one dimensional.  My greatest issue with all of this is that it is a substitute.  People are substituting screen and keyboard and widgets in place of viable, warm, human relationships.  I decided sometime ago that in the big picture of life I would pursue three things.  First, relationships.  A relationship with Christ first, then with family, then with a lost and dying world.  Second, I would pursue beauty.  Whether it be art or music or nature, I would look for beauty in this dark world.  And third, (the one that has never defined me), I would pursue adventure.  A spontaneous road trip, a road less traveled, a new experience, or a new way of doing things..  None of these things can be accomplished through technology.  Does it have it place? Absolutely. Can it solve our fundamental challenges in life?  Never. The World As We Knew It is dead.  Somewhere in our lifetime we crossed a threshold, a point of no return.  The knowledge of man has changed our society, our world, our lives.  There’s no going back, so embrace the positive, repel the negative, and through God’s grace live a fulfilling life through authentic relationships, beauty, and adventure.

(In a future post I will address technology and its role, potential, and limitations in the church today. )

Principles of Apostolic Revial: Introduction

Recently I preached on a Sunday Evening in my home church on the subject “Principles of Apostolic Revival Part 1.”  I will endeavor in the next few weeks to write some of what I have been preaching.  Let me make the disclaimer that I am in no wise the expert on the subject of revival.  I often say that when I began in the ministry I had all of the answers, and now 16 years later, I have all of the questions.  I am in the ditches and trenches week in and week out slugging my way through, trying to make a difference in a lost and dying world.  These articles are simply based on book of Acts methods, and also my observations over the years.  Hope you are blessed…

Principles of Apostolic Revival Part 1:

If the Apostolic church were asked to sum up our doctrinal beliefs in one statement, we most likely would point to Acts 2:38 as the summation of the new birth message of salvation.  Of course it is not the only verse in the Bible dealing with salvation, and we must be careful not to make the same mistake others have made by basing their entire salvation experience on one verse of Scripture.  It is vital that we declare the “whole counsel of God.” The mercy and grace of God and the majesty of Calvary, along with justification by faith all play roles in our redemption.  Many years ago someone wrote to Bro. J.T. Pugh a letter from the mission field.  In this letter they made this statement… “Upon a life I did not live, and upon a death that I did not die, I rest my whole eternity.”  This may very well be my favorite quotation of all time.  The fact that I am banking my eternal salvation upon the life that Jesus lived and the death that he died, and not my own righteousness, is a powerful revelation.

All of this being said, somewhere we must mature as Christians beyond the point of just being happy to have missed Hell.  We must have loftier goals in our walk with God than to just “make the rapture.” If we are going to be the church God intended us to be, there MUST be a drive inside of the core of the church, but especially the ministry, to have Biblical Apostolic revival.  Revival that is more than a set of church services, more than emotions produced by the right songs, but something that produces lasting change in the lives of men and women.  Revival that causes sinners to cry out for forgiveness also causes lukewarm saints to fan the dying embers in their soul.  I have zero interest in just “holding the fort” til Jesus comes.  There are two prophecies concerning the end time church.  One says that there will be a great falling away and typifies the last day church as Laodecia, the lukewarm, half-hearted, spiritually blind people of God.  But there is a second prophecy that says in the last day God will pour out His spirit upon all flesh.  While some are walking out the back door, God is sending hungry people our way.  We are  experiencing it in the greatest measure that I have witnessed in my lifetime in our local church.  God is going to have a CHURCH, with me or without me.  We get to choose, we get to decide… which group we will be a part of.  If I felt that I must simply “hold on” until the rapture, I would resign my ministry, sell my books, and ride a pew to Heaven.  Thank God that’s not the case… we can and will have Apostolic Revival from now until Jesus comes.  Yes there will be seasons of revival and seasons of drought, but overall we can have a climate of Holy Ghost Revival.  In the coming weeks I will be focusing on the Biblical Principles that will when practiced promote revival and help disciple saints into Christian maturity.