The Coming Evangelical Collapse

Came across this article recently and found it pretty interesting.

The Coming Evangelical Collapse

The article has some interesting points.  Of note to me as a student ministry pastor is reason #2.

2. We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we’ve spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.

I hate to say it, but I agree to a point.  In our entertainment-driven, me first culture, we have, in many case, created ministries that encourage self rather than dying to self.  There are exceptions to that rule, but the damage that has been done is difficult to reverse.

Ministries everywhere have built there “success” on a very man-centered philosophy rather than a God-Centered theology.   We lower the standard and call it grace, but what we have offered is not grace at all, becasue true grace is what “teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires.” (2 Timothy 2:12).  We have focused our energies on being relevant and funny at the expense of sound and serious speech (Titus 2:7).

We teach students that God’s glory is penultimate rather than the ultimate goal of life.  Churches everywhere are teaching teens that their concerns, security and prosperity are God’s utmost concern.  We peddle a false gospel of health and wealth rather than teaching students to cherish Christ which may cost them their lives.

Please know that the things I am writing are not accusatory in nature.  I have also at times chosen a quick fix and a canned answer rather than doing the hard work of teaching and training disciples of Christ.

I want the students I teach to cherish their Savior, to seek him and to die to themselves.  I want them to be able to give an answer for the hope they have and to stand firm in the midst of hardship and to be joyful when they face various trials.

I want that for me as well because I can’t teach a pursuit of something I am unwilling to pursue myself.

Who Are You?

Most men like to think of themselves as handymen. We don’t like to call a plumber, electrician or carpenter because that would mean we don’t know what we’re doing and there aren’t too many of us who will admit that. When we moved into our house, one of the first things we did was remodel a bathroom. I knew exactly what I was doing. I had it all well in hand – that is until I removed the sink and felt warm rushing water on my feet. There wasn’t any time to figure out exactly what went wrong. I was too busy running through the house trying to locate a valve to shut off the steady stream of water flowing all over our bathroom floor and pouring into our basement. Thankfully my wife wasn’t home at the time so I could collect myself without too much public embarrassment and then plan my next move. That move was to call my grandfather in Pittsburgh.

Pap was a plumber. He had soldered pipes and snaked drains most of his life. Surely he could help me out of this mess, I thought. So, I described the problem and waited for his instruction. “Call a plumber”, he said. I didn’t listen and after eight hours and several more phone calls, I finally fixed one simple, broken pipe.

Why was this so difficult? I had everything I needed. Pipe wrench? Check. Solder? Check. Flux? Check. Soldering torch? Check. There was one problem though– I’m not a plumber. I had all the tools, just not the knowledge.

Tragically, this is exactly how many Christians live their lives. We have all the tools, but lack the knowledge to put those tools to use. We have heard that all of God’s promises are “yes” in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). We have been told that we have ten thousand guardians in Christ (1 Cor, 4:15). We have been taught that we have power, love and a sound mind in Christ (2 Timothy 1:7). We have learned how God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). In short, we know we have all the tools. We have all the resources available to us. But, just like having a pipe wrench doesn’t make me a plumber, having all the spiritual tools necessary doesn’t make us victorious Christians. We need something more.

Many people define themselves by what they do. As someone who they are and they might say, I’m a father, or I’m an engineer. Some may define themselves by where they live. I’m an American, they may say. While those may be accurate identifiers, they do not make up one’s identity. As believers in Christ our identity is rooted in something much deeper – something much more holy.

Colossians 3:12 says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Notice how God describes us. First, we are chosen people. Literally, that word means we have been selected. I realize some don’t like this idea, but the reality is God chose us before we ever chose Him. Before we get a big head though, we must understand that this choice was not made based on anything but His mercy. There was nothing special about us. There was nothing that set us apart from the rest of humanity. In fact, we were just like the rest of humanity – sinful, repulsive beings who deserved nothing but wrath. But, for some reason God saw fit to purchase us with the blood of His Son. We belong to Him now. He is our father and we are His children.

Second, we are holy. Did you catch that? We are not waiting to be holy. We are holy. We have been set apart. We are different. It is a present-tense reality. God has already set us apart for His special purpose. Like grandma’s fine china, we have a special place in the Father’s cabinet.

Finally, we are dearly loved. We are not just loved, we are dearly loved. The Greek word used here is the same word that is used in Matthew 17:5 when the Father says, this is my Son, whom I love. The Father loves us like He loves His own Son. Why is that? Because we are His children as well. The love between the members of the Trinity is the same love between the Trinity and us.

So, what does this all mean? It means we are defined by something much greater than a job or where we live in this world. Our identity is defined by God. He has called us. He has chosen us. He has made us holy. He dearly loves us. Not only did He give us tools, He certified us to use them.

This is perhaps the greatest truth in the entire Bible yet it is one that is often overlooked or brushed aside. Knowing who we are is vital to knowing what we can do. We will never know what we have or what we are capable of until we grasp the wondrous truth that our identity is rooted in how God sees us, not in how we see ourselves which is often determined by how others see and describe us. God’s reality is what matters.

Holiness

A number of years ago I was sitting in a classroom in Bible College. We were in the middle of a debate about God’s holiness and our professor had asked the question; “what is God’s primary attribute?” The discussion went on for quite a while and I did more listening than talking (those who know me may find that hard to believe, but it is true!). I had only been a believer for about three years and hadn’t really thought that deeply about God. Up until that point I had assumed that God is just God and couldn’t be broken down into categories let alone divided into primary and secondary attributes.

So, the debate went on. To tell you the truth, it was more of an argument, but good Christians don’t argue, we debate and discuss. Some read 1 John 4:8 and tried to convince us that God’s primary attribute is love. That sounded good to me. After all, I had only recently been captivated by the love of God and drawn to believe in Him and His Son by the thought of His deep and abiding affection for me. God’s love was still very fresh in my mind – like the smell of fresh air after spending a week in a cabin with 20 Junior High boys! His love was still very vivid and clear. It had yet to be clouded by years of heartache, church conflict and judgmental Christians not to mention the doubt that comes with my own personal failures.

Those on the other side of the discussion were the “holy crowd”. Holiness was God’s primary attribute, they said. They argued from Isaiah and 1 Peter and claimed that everything God did, He did out of holiness. He loved a holy love. He judged a holy judgment. Holiness was the overriding attribute and every other attribute flowed from that, they said. I kind of agreed with that side as well, but I had several problems.

The debate didn’t seem right to me. For some reason, even as a young believer, I felt that we were comparing apples to oranges. The thought of holiness as an attribute of God didn’t sit right with me. I could understand love. I could see how that was one of God’s attributes, but holiness? I couldn’t quite place my finger on why I was feeling this conflict. A feeling of uneasiness crept in and I began what would be a long journey of discovery – 15 years and counting.

I believe I figured out what the conflict was. I think I have found the source of my uneasiness and that brings me to the second problem I was having. What did holiness mean? Spend four years in a Bible College and you will hear the word holy used over and over again. Live holy lives. Be holy. Engage in holy relationships. Practice holiness. Pursue holiness. God is holy. Jesus is holy. Holy Bible. Holy ground. Holy, holy, holy. But, no one ever DEFINED holiness. It seemed as if the word holy was simply being used to make a statement or elicit a reaction – to make everyone jump up and say AMEN! But, it was used in so many different ways and always in a different context.

In the subsequent years, I have found that no one really seems to agree on exactly what holiness means. Maybe I am imagining this, but I sense some tension when holiness is discussed and I think it comes from the confusion. No one defines holiness the same. Some say it means pure. Others say it means perfect. There are those who say it means sinless. Still others suggest that holiness can’t be tied down to one definition. It is too big to define, they say – like holiness is some ethereal, other-worldly concept that we can’t quite grasp or comprehend.

In my personal opinion, I think all of those definitions are wrong. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I believe we have misused holiness in our theology and in our teaching. For the most part, I think this misuse has been unintentional. I am sure there are some who use God’s holiness and His desire for us to be so as a means to control others and beat them over the head, but I think those cases are the minority. I do think the consequences of misusing holiness, whether intentionally or not are far-reaching and damaging.

What I am going to suggest may seem strange to some. It may even seem heretical to others. So, get your stones ready, but please do me one favor – listen before you throw. I want to suggest that holiness isn’t an attribute of God at all. I don’t believe it belongs in the same category as God’s love or eternality or omnipotence. With apologies to one of my favorite writers whose Systematic Theology book I cherish second only to the Bible, I don’t think holiness belongs in a list of God’s communicable attributes. I also don’t think holiness should be defined as perfect or sinless or pure. Why? Well, because that is not what the word means! Okay, so Webster’s Dictionary defines it as such, but Webster wasn’t Hebrew and didn’t write the Bible. So, what does it really mean?

The word holy is used roughly 600 times in the Old and New Testament. It stands to reason that the word has some significance. But, what significance does it hold? Thanks to my Bible professors, I can never study God’s Word without hearing a very loud and somewhat annoying voice yell CONTEXT in the recesses of my brain. To study every verse that uses the word holy would take up more space than I wish to use, but I want to look at a few ways in which it is used.

There are many ways holy is used in Scripture. They are used to describe holy people, a holy place, a holy city, holy ground, a holy God and a holy kiss just to name a few. If you ask most Christians what the word holy means, they will undoubtedly say it means perfect or sinless almost as if they were synonyms, but they aren’t. While a perfect people, a perfect place, a perfect God, a perfect city and a perfect kiss all sound okay they do not convey the same meaning as the former. Going a bit farther, sinless does not fit the bill either. A sinless city? A sinless kiss? Jerusalem certainly was the city of God, but sinless? And I suppose you can have a sinless kiss, but only if you are married, but sinless ground?

So, how do we define holiness? What exactly does it mean? Let me suggest to you that it is actually very simple. A straightforward definition of holy is sacred or consecrated. In the NIV there are a number of instances where the translators used holy to describe the process of sanctification – whereby God sets His children apart and consecrates them. That is exactly what holy means – sacred…set apart…consecrated. That is also exactly what the Bible is saying when we are admonished to BE holy. Be set apart. Be sanctified. Be consecrated. Be different.

Let me repeat something I said earlier. I do not believe holiness is an attribute of God. What I do believe though, is that holiness is the sum total of all God’s attributes. He is holy because He is perfect. He is holy because He is sinless. He is holy because He is pure, righteous, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. In a nutshell, God is holy because He is completely set apart from anything in all creation. There is nothing like Him.

In a similar way, God commands His people to be holy…to be different. In one sense, we are already holy. God has set us apart. He has sanctified us and purified us by the blood of Jesus Christ. He has called us and adopted us into His family. Jesus said as much in John 17:9; I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. Jesus made a very clear distinction between His people and the world. He had set them apart from the rest of creation and made them holy.

In another sense, God wants His children to live holy lives, to live sanctified lives, to live lives that are set apart from the rest of the world. This does not presuppose that God expects perfect, sinless children. He knows better. In fact, He knows you and I will sin and fail more than we expect ourselves to sin and fail. What it does mean is that God wants us to be different. He wants us to be set apart. He wants us to continually become consecrated. Holiness is a process. It is step-by-step, second-by-second, moment by moment. As such, when we act in any way like God, we are being holy. When we choose to love instead of hate, we are holy. When we choose to tell the truth, we are holy. When we choose to be faithful to our spouse, we are holy. Our lives may be completely messed up in every other area, but when we choose to obey in one, we are holy. We are not completely holy in every aspect of our lives, but we are holy in that one given area where we choose obedience to God over obedience to our flesh.

So, what are the implications for ministry? How does this affect our churches – our youth programs – our families? First, a proper definition of holiness allows us to encourage the people God has entrusted in our care to live holy lives without setting an unattainable standard before them. If we define holiness as perfect and then admonish our less-than-perfect people to be holy, we strike fear – an unhealthy fear – into their hearts. This is unhealthy because perfect love casts out all fear. If God’s people are motivated by fear then they are no longer compelled by the one thing that will bring true results – the love of Christ.

Who among us can be perfect? Who among us can rise to the level of God’s perfection here in this life? When we teach this way, we do exactly the opposite of what we want – we discourage God’s people. When we set a goal that is impossible to achieve, we either get quitters or obsessive compulsive Christians. The quitters will walk away in disgust. The others will do everything they can to reach a goal that is unreachable and end up beating themselves up over their failures. If I take the best basketball player in my youth ministry and tell them to make 20 free throws in a row, they will probably accomplish that goal. If I raise the standard to 40, they still may get it done. But, if I tell them to make 10,000 shots without ever missing one, they will do one of three things. They will refuse to try, they will try, fail and then quit or they will spend every waking moment trying to reach the goal, becoming obsessed with something that is beyond their ability to accomplish and feeling like a complete failure every time they didn’t reach that goal.

Second, when we correctly define and apply holiness in our teaching, we give God’s people measurable, attainable goals to reach. Think about debt for a second (most of us don’t have to think too hard!). How do we get out of debt? What do the credit counselors and money people tell us? Do they suggest we pay the minimum payment on every credit card? Why not? Because we wouldn’t make any progress. What they tell us is to pay off one at a time. We don’t ignore the other bills because then we would be in trouble, but we focus the majority of our energy on one credit cart and pay it off. Then we move to another and then another. Pretty soon, we are almost out of debt and we start to realize the freedom that comes from being in that position and we will want that freedom in every area of our finances.

The same can be said about holiness. When we teach God’s people that holiness is perfection or sinlessness and then admonish them to be holy it’s like weighing them down with a load of credit card debt and telling them to pay it all off NOW! But, when we set measurable, reasonable goals before them and encourage them to meet those goals one at a time, they will soon begin to see that living holy lives is not an impossible task. When they begin to experience the freedom that comes from experiencing what it is like to be holy in a given aspect of their life, they will want more. When they get a taste of the freedom that comes from obeying God – even in its smallest degree – they will hunger for more.

I realize there are those who are reading this who have 1 Peter 1:16 loaded in their theological arsenal. It is true that God commands His people to be holy as He is holy. Nothing I have written thus far contradicts that statement for one simple reason. God is much more forgiving, gracious, realistic and reasonable with us than we with each other.

Jesus had some very harsh words for the religious leaders of His day. He condemned them for their hypocrisy, their greed and their hardened hearts. He also condemned them for the way in which they tied “up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders” (Matthew 23:4). I fear we do something similar though with less malicious intent, when we wrongly define holiness. We indeed load heavy loads on the backs of God’s people when we proclaim the need for holiness and allow those people to believe holiness equals perfection. We place shackles on their hands and feet instead of helping them realize and live the incredible freedom that comes from knowing and cherishing Christ.

I don’t want to be a pastor who places heavy loads on the backs of God’s people. I want to help free God’s people from the tyranny that comes through unjust regulations and rules. I want the students I teach to realize the amazing joy that comes from winning a single battle and then teach them to move onto the next one. I don’t want them to worry about the entire war. That has already been won and our General is much better at that than we are anyway.

The Eternality of Motherhood

I confess I never gave much thought to being a mom. You see, I’m a guy and guys don’t typically spend a whole lot of time contemplating motherhood. That has changed somewhat over the last six years as I have watched my wife love our children. She has sacrificed more than I know. While I have been free to pursue the calling on my life as a pastor, my wife has sacrificed her career and much of her free time to pursue an altogether different calling.

Every husband knows the look. We come home from a long day at work. We walk through the door and the children rush to greet us, smiling and celebrating at our triumphant return. But, while we have been out on our own our wives have been cooped up with the kids the entire day. The rain outside has kept her and the children inside all day. An endless cycle of sippy cups, diaper changes, potty time, fights, arguments and whining have consumed every ounce of energy she has. The smile with which she saw her husband off in the morning has changed into something altogether different. Every husband and father knows this look. Selfishly, we want the smile to be there when we return, but this desire is unrealistic and shows that we don’t have a clue.

Having several children under the age of six in the house can bring some amazing moments. Watching them learn how to walk and talk to celebrating dry sheets in the morning may seem mundane to some, but they bring real joy to the heart of a parent. There is one problem though. Those moments of joy are typically surrounded by hours of monotonous, seemingly trivial things as well as moments of heartache and frustration. Moms are usually at the center of that whirlwind and the dreary routine of dishes and diapers seems to go unnoticed by everyone.

Moms are told that what they do is the most important job on the planet. But, that statement can seem patronizing especially when followed with the inevitable “do you work?” question. I have discovered that this is one of the dumbest questions on the face of the planet and betrays a serious lack of understanding. Not only is it an ignorant question, but it can also be a very damaging one as well. I no longer ask that question because I already know the answer and the last thing I want to do is cause a mom to doubt the importance of her work.

The Bible has many references to mothers. They teach their children. They nurture their children. They protect their children. Jesus used the analogy of a mother hen to describe his compassion for the people of Israel. Paul spoke of his gentleness among the Thessalonians, “like a mother caring for her children.” Timothy was instructed by his mother and grandmother. The mother of Jesus was among the few who stayed by his side during the beatings and crucifixion. Moms played a significant role throughout the Bible.

But, there is one passage that, while not explicitly speaking of mothers, gives us insight into the fruits of their faithful love for their children. Psalm 112 speaks of the “righteous man”. While I do not want to inject my own words into the word of God, I think we can safely assume that the righteous man in that passage can also be a woman. While men have a significant role to play in the life of children, moms carry the majority of the responsibility of setting a daily example for them.

In that passage the Psalmist writes that the righteous man will be remembered forever and his righteousness will endure forever. I can think of no better description for that truth than how the children of the righteous woman will, according to Proverbs 31, “rise up and call her blessed.”

As a pastor, the things I do get noticed quite frequently. When a sermon goes well I get handshakes. When someone places their faith in Christ, I sadly get praised. When I visit someone in the hospital I get thanked. When a church event I helped organize goes off without a hitch, I get congratulations. A prayer said in a funeral service is sometimes met with gratitude and thanks. All of these things bring me recognition. Most of the time I do not seek that recognition (I’d be lying if I said all of the time), but I receive it nonetheless.

On the other hand, my wife does not get the same amount of recognition for her righteous acts. When I am away at a breakfast meeting, the righteous act of waking up and feeding our children alone goes unnoticed by almost all. While I am in a meeting or at a youth event, the righteous act of putting our children to bed alone receives little recognition. Kissing their boo boos receives no handshake. Changing their diapers earns no praise. There is no applause for cooking their meals. No one thanks her when she plays Chutes and Ladders. After bedtime devotions, no one greets her at the door and tells her how great the lesson was. The silent prayers said at our children’s bedside get heard by no one except God.

From God’s perspective, I believe all of these things are supreme acts of righteousness and they will not be forgotten. They will not be forgotten by him and they will last forever in our children, their children and their children’s children.

Our children may not remember who won the board game, but they will remember the mom who played it with them and when they have a choice between watching television or playing with their own children, they will probably choose the latter.

The Children’s Bible from which she reads at night will probably be forgotten, but the lesson of daily time with God will be remembered.

The boo boo will fade and heal, but the compassion and love will not disappear. The faithfulness and devotion of moms will last forever and their children will rise up and call them blessed.

The crazy thing is most of what I do which is recognized is only possible because of what she does which is not. But, God sees it and he never forgets. Our children see it and they will not forget either.

My son and daughter will hopefully be a godly man and woman one day, but that will only happen by the grace of God and through the example of their mom. As dad, I certainly carry the responsibility of leading my family and being a godly example, but God has called my wife to carry the majority of the day-to-day load.

It is a responsibility she does not and should not take lightly. It is a calling that is worthwhile and vital. What she does is righteous and it will last forever.