You Might be a Radical if…

Are you a radical? We’ve all laughed at some of the “You might be a redneck if… books and Jeff Foxworthy’s TV shows. Well today let’s try a variation of the theme. Let’s think in terms of a radical Christian. You know, someone who is really over the top about their faith. Way out there. You might be a radical if… You give the first 10th or more of you gross income away for Christ’s Kingdom You have a daily “quiet time or have read the Bible every day for 5 years or more. You have ever shared your faith with a stranger. Even more with a friend. You have not done something that you really wanted to do simply because Jesus said “Don’t do it.” You believe that the gifts of God’s Spirit still work. You believe in...

Heaven? – A Reality Check

Some Jesus lovers are said to be “so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” That’s usually said about someone who loves Jesus a bit more than we do. The truth is however, that in contemporary Christian church culture the opposite is true. Most are so earthly minded they are no heavenly good! Chew on that a bit. The reality of heaven and hell have been diminished in our culture to the point of irrelevance. This is tragic because; “We are not physical beings who have occasional  spiritual experiences, we are spirit beings who are having a TEMPORARY physical experience.” T. DeChardin. The evil one has implanted such distortion in our perception of reality! We need to step back and refocus, rethink, and in many of our lives redirect our energy. One...

Encouragement?

In my quiet time this morning it occurred to me that a word of realistic encouragement might be helpful to some or all of you. As I thought about it two scenarios came to mind… First the macro. These are indeed difficult times and many of us are yearning for the return of the good times of the recent past. In this we are like the children of Israel who longed to return to Egypt. Egypt in the Bible represents the world and its strength and prosperity. Our ancestors had a very consistent record of turning to idolatry after a season of the Lord’s blessing and also first looking to Egypt for help when He brought chastisement on them for their sin. They cycled through this process multiple times. Again, in the macro view I believe that this is a picture of our national...

What’s Wrong With This picture?

Just a short note today, something that I hope you would think about. Really just a couple of simple questions. First, the style of music that is dominant in the “seeker” or “emergent” churches; was it developed in the church and taken into the world, or was it developed in the world and brought into the church? You know what I mean; the driving drum beat, amplified guitars, strutting “praise leaders”, music so loud that you can’t hear the person next to you singing repeated over and over and over and louder each time? Where did all that come from? Second, the dress that we see most common in the churches today, you know, pastors in jeans with jelled hair, and their shirts unbuttoned, women and teeny-boppers with all they have out for all to see...