Way Outside The Box

I'm wrestling again. I can't resolve why the body of Christ is struggling so much to make any kind of significant impact in our culture. I've heard church leaders talk about how church is suppose to be done, and the world will simply have to adjust to our traditions. If they want to hear about Jesus then they will simply have to adjust to us. I have also listened to new church leaders talk about connecting to culture. I'm afraid we have blended to the point of ,"what's the difference?!?" Every generation points to the another generation with great blame. Every kind of church points to churches of different methodology with great blame.
I guess I'm needing to ask, when did winning the church wars become more important than seeing the gospel proclaimed to a hurting and disconnected world?!? I know church leaders talk about wanting to change their church's culture, but many feel blocked by the people in the pews. SO, here's my idea, what if we didn't start with changes in worship? What if we, as church leaders, instilled a passion for the world, a larger world view of the gospel in our people? What if we changed the culture of church by getting them beyond the walls of the church? What if we taught our people how to stop going to church and start being the church? We could stop worrying about what we sing and start worrying about how we serve! I don't know, just a thought!

The Mask of Perfect People

I've often wondered why Christ-followers feel the need to put on the mask of perfection. Why we feel the need to hide our issues, struggle with the reality of our own sin, and deny the truths of our problems?!? I wonder if its embarrassment for the sins in our lives, or our inability to solve certain relational life issues. In the end, I think we all feel the need to cover for God! Somewhere along the way we thought, "Well, I gave my life to Jesus but I'm still struggling with whatever, so HE must not be able to solve this, therefore, I"ll hide it for Him."
I wonder what would happen in the church, if we stop trying to cover for God and simply admitted that, "I've fallen short of God's glory and I need help getting to where God wants me!?!" What if we admitted that ALL marriages go through tough times? What would happen if we ALL admitted that we are still sinners and in constant need of accountability? Or dealt with sins in the church with the same passion as we deal with sins of our culture? What do you think the church would look like? I wonder if we would enjoy it more and dread it less? I wonder if the world would finally feel welcomed to explore the claims of Christ from inside the church?
In other words, I wonder why we don't do it? I guess we're all scared to go first!

Man I'm OLD

Well, it's May 13 and I'm another year older. If the truth be known I'm kinda nostalgic and do a lot of reflecting back on opportunities missed and blessing experienced. Being nostalgic is bad because I cry sometimes when I'm alone (yes, I know that's weird) but it also good because it makes me reflect on what's really important! Years ago, I decided to be at peace with God no matter where He took me. I wanted His name and His renown to be known and not mine.
OK, I'm willing to admit it, I am 39 years old and body is gong faster than I wanted but I hope God can use me in a greater way this next. I want the best year of my spiritual journey to be next year not last year. My prayer is to not be dealing with the sames sins next year that I struggled with this year. Yes, I'm old but still hungry to see God do great things through my obedience to His will!

Thankfulness

Sunday, May 10th was a great day of celebration at NRC. Mother's day is one of those significant dates on the calendar. Lately, I have tried to stop and watch all that Lori does for our children and I am floored by her ability to juggle her life and and the lives of our children. I am so thankful for the spiritual legacy being modeled by Lori and all the moms at NRC. Now I'm finding myself wanting to advocate more Sundays at year to celebrate our mothers. "Y'all let me know what you think about a quarterly mother's day!?!" Ladies-Thank you!
We also recognized our Seniors on Sunday. NRC has been blessed by 10 extraordinary student leaders and I pray we have grounded them to enjoy their faith! In the months ahead each and every one of them will face the decision to make their faith their own. Please prayer for another class of Christian Seniors who all over the nation will face the decision to make their faith their own. Statistics tell us 14% of Christian seniors will activity practice their faith in college. Please pray for our seniors and seniors all over the country! I can't speak for them all but I love our seniors and I want them equipped to do great things for the Kingdom of God!

IS IT A GREAT NEED OR AN OVERWHELMING NEED?

I have been wrestling with the size of problems in our culture and even more specifically in our city. When we look around and we see the amount of poverty in our city, and need for the church to rise up and make a difference in the lives of other people, I get overwhelmed. Recently, I realized that the world doesn't believe the church is full of hypocrites because a Christ-follower slips a curse word in anger, or is seen having a drink. I believe the world sees the church as a building full of hypocrites because we limit when and how we serve the poor in our community. I know I have sent mixed messages to the city when I've turned a deaf ear to community needs. I fell into the trap of "homelessness isn't cool for church growth, meals aren't cool for leadership development," but I think Jesus is longing for His church to make a difference in the lives of hurting people. If I am HIS then I must serve those whom He loves! ...and honestly I'm wrestling with the size of that challenge?!?