I had two conversations take place yesterday...
Both loosely related things made me ask this question:
"Are we as followers of Christ living out what Jesus had in mind when He commissioned His followers to spread His teaching to every nation?"
Ok. So my first conversation took place after attending a worship experience at a "mega-church" here in San Diego. Following the service, after approximately 100 people responded to the invitation to receive Christ, a friend of mine mentioned how disgusted he was in the presentation of the Gospel...or lack there of.
He went on to say that everything from the lights, fog machines, cameras, and production...to the "diet-caffeine-free" version of the gospel made him sick. "There's just so much more to it than this!" he kept saying. (I gave him some of my Easter candy and calmed him down.)
The second conversation happened shortly after that. A friend of a friend of a friend said that she walked out of a service after hearing that the limo parked in the front of the church belonged to a pastor who was guest speaking that night. "It doesn't matter who you are...you DON'T come to church in a limo...especially if you're a pastor!" (There was no more candy to give away at this point.)
The truth is, there are people everywhere who are doing things differently. We may not agree with "how" they preach or what "strategies" they use to spread the Gospel. I know I could talk with you for a long time all about how I think churches should do things. (Yes, I can be a little opinionated.)
But instead of launching a full investigation into why and how a pastor decided to show up to church in a limo...and instead of questioning the use of fog machines during a worship set, I've been encouraged by someone special in my life to do what Paul did...try to think like he thought. Check this out:
18-21So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
Philippians 1:18 (The Message)
Also see what the NIV says.
It was just what I needed to hear. In these matters we run the risk of confusing principals with preferences. I know I have a difficult time sifting through the two.
And...I'm not saying it's a good idea to stick our heads in the sand when it comes to peoples doctrine. Don't do that.(Sand gets in your ears and is messy.)
Do this: Rejoice that Christ is being preached which equals...the Great Commission!
3.24.2008
3.03.2008
Sex Ed!!!
Well, week 1 of SexEd finally began yesterday. Yes...finally. I say that because I've been looking forward to this series for awhile now. Is that strange? I know that's probably a weird thing to hear. I mean, who looks forward to talking about sex in front of a big group of high school students?
Well, I do.
And, I'll tell you why. First off, when you feel passionately about something and you feel burdened with a message...you simply look forward to sharing it.
And what I've realized is that we are losing today's generation because we are not speaking boldly to the truth of sex.
The truth? God invented it. Culture has corrupted it.
Our society wants us to think that they own sex...or that Hollywood somehow owns the copyright. And what I feel has happened is that we as the church have begun to swallow that lie. And so, talking about it in church has become taboo and "ungodly". Well that makes me sick.
We're here as God's people to reclaim what belongs to God and to educate today's generation about His original design for sex! We can't and won't sit by and watch Hollywood and pop culture lull our young people to sleep and get them to stray from God's amazing intentions for their lives!
That's a message worth sharing!!!
2.21.2008
I Got Learned A Lesson At Camp
This is an article I wrote for the Seacoast newsletter. It's lengthy...so pop a few Ritalin and give it a read!
Well another winter is here and another Winter Camp has come and gone. Nothing truly rivals the experience of camp. There’s really nothing like having 14 roommates for a weekend, sharing one bathroom, laying in “submarine style” bunks and trying to catch a wink of sleep. Sound fun? It’s actually pretty awesome!
But I came back from our winter camp this year with a little more than a bag of dirty laundry and sleep deprivation. Let me share with you an important truth I learned this past weekend.
Camp is one of those staple ingredients of the Youth Ministry here at Seacoast. Grandma’s Snickerdoodles have ground cinnamon, the youth ministry has Camp. There’s just something about getting away from the distractions of our daily life and disappearing into the mountains for a few days that bring us closer to God. It’s usually at camp where students except Christ for the first time or recommit their lives to Him, which is awesome!
While that sounds great, it also presents a problem. What I’ve noticed in ministry is there’s a real temptation to live from “event to event”…from “camp to camp”. What this mentality creates in me is a dependence on that ONE trip or event to be the shot of adrenaline in the arm of our ministry and the catalyst that will stimulate the spiritual climate in the lives of the students.
I have to confess. I have high expectations when it comes to our Summer and Winter camps. The places we attend usually offer top notch programs, which include amazingly dynamic speakers and passionate worship experiences. It’s become quite an expectation and sadly, I feel it creating in me this consumer mentality that says, “This camp better provide our students with the greatest, most relevant and creative experience!”
But what happens when we show up to camp and the speaker just really isn’t connecting with the students as much as I would’ve hoped?
What happens when the highly anticipated worship through music is led by a singer whose voice is painful to my ears or the songs they play aren’t the ones I like? What happens now? Does this hamstring our ministry or limit what God can possibly do, even in the midst of a so-so program?
Not at all! God is going to accomplish His will regardless! This is what was so important for me to learn and be reminded of.
Our weekend was amazing, but not because it was a “product” we paid for, but because it was the “process” we were a part of. God doesn’t need the right song to be played in order for Him to move. My ministry to these students can’t depend upon a perfect camp with a perfect program. It has to depend solely on the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of His people. And truthfully, the most profound speaker coupled with the greatest worship band, without the Spirit moving and touching hearts will yield no eternal results.
So, how about you? How about us as a church? Do our expectations of what a church should provide reek of consumerism? Are we depending on a program to provide what only God can impart? Do you find yourself needing great worship leaders to experience true worship? Do you find yourself needing to be entertained by the preaching? Have you noticed the tendency not to live from camp to camp, but Sunday to Sunday?
If we’re spending time with God and worshipping Him all week long, by the time Sunday comes, we won’t need the best program. We won’t need our favorite song. We’ll just need the Holy Spirit himself, moving and touching the hearts of us, His people!
May we be constantly looking to God to touch and change lives and not allow the consumer mentality to limit what we can learn…even at camp!
Well another winter is here and another Winter Camp has come and gone. Nothing truly rivals the experience of camp. There’s really nothing like having 14 roommates for a weekend, sharing one bathroom, laying in “submarine style” bunks and trying to catch a wink of sleep. Sound fun? It’s actually pretty awesome!
But I came back from our winter camp this year with a little more than a bag of dirty laundry and sleep deprivation. Let me share with you an important truth I learned this past weekend.
Camp is one of those staple ingredients of the Youth Ministry here at Seacoast. Grandma’s Snickerdoodles have ground cinnamon, the youth ministry has Camp. There’s just something about getting away from the distractions of our daily life and disappearing into the mountains for a few days that bring us closer to God. It’s usually at camp where students except Christ for the first time or recommit their lives to Him, which is awesome!
While that sounds great, it also presents a problem. What I’ve noticed in ministry is there’s a real temptation to live from “event to event”…from “camp to camp”. What this mentality creates in me is a dependence on that ONE trip or event to be the shot of adrenaline in the arm of our ministry and the catalyst that will stimulate the spiritual climate in the lives of the students.
I have to confess. I have high expectations when it comes to our Summer and Winter camps. The places we attend usually offer top notch programs, which include amazingly dynamic speakers and passionate worship experiences. It’s become quite an expectation and sadly, I feel it creating in me this consumer mentality that says, “This camp better provide our students with the greatest, most relevant and creative experience!”
But what happens when we show up to camp and the speaker just really isn’t connecting with the students as much as I would’ve hoped?
What happens when the highly anticipated worship through music is led by a singer whose voice is painful to my ears or the songs they play aren’t the ones I like? What happens now? Does this hamstring our ministry or limit what God can possibly do, even in the midst of a so-so program?
Not at all! God is going to accomplish His will regardless! This is what was so important for me to learn and be reminded of.
Our weekend was amazing, but not because it was a “product” we paid for, but because it was the “process” we were a part of. God doesn’t need the right song to be played in order for Him to move. My ministry to these students can’t depend upon a perfect camp with a perfect program. It has to depend solely on the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of His people. And truthfully, the most profound speaker coupled with the greatest worship band, without the Spirit moving and touching hearts will yield no eternal results.
So, how about you? How about us as a church? Do our expectations of what a church should provide reek of consumerism? Are we depending on a program to provide what only God can impart? Do you find yourself needing great worship leaders to experience true worship? Do you find yourself needing to be entertained by the preaching? Have you noticed the tendency not to live from camp to camp, but Sunday to Sunday?
If we’re spending time with God and worshipping Him all week long, by the time Sunday comes, we won’t need the best program. We won’t need our favorite song. We’ll just need the Holy Spirit himself, moving and touching the hearts of us, His people!
May we be constantly looking to God to touch and change lives and not allow the consumer mentality to limit what we can learn…even at camp!
2.08.2008
The Devils Music
Have you ever heard any one call a certain style of music "Devils Music"? I definitely have. It's usually used to describe music that has heavy and screeching guitar riffs, relentless double-bass drums, and overly feminine men screaming about who knows what...you know, the stuff Seiji listens to. (Love you Bro!)
"That sounds like the devils music!"...is a line I heard a lot growing up. And that was usually followed by me taking my tapes...yes TAPES (I'm old-school)out back and destroying them with my dads hammer! My parents would stand behind me and chant, "Take THAT Satan!!!" ...Ok, maybe they didn't do that.
The funny thing is, I always got caught. Every tape I had was discovered. I started wondering if my parents were recieving morse code from God telling them where my secret musical stash was! And then I would hear it. "Matt, we don't want that devil music in our house!" It's hammer time! No pun intended.
Let me get to my point.
First, a disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to go behind your parents backs in any way. Whatever the rules of the house are...are the rules.
What I do want to ask is this...
If there really was a genre that we could call "Devils music", what would it be? What would it sound like?
I believe there is a lot of destructive messages in so much music today. But as I really think about it...as I read more about how Satan works, a different idea surfaces of what "Devil music" really is.
Satan will do whatever he can to kill, steal, and destroy what God creates and what ultimately glorifies our Lord.
I start to think that the Devils music isn't so much the music with the shredding solo that was written while the band was high on drugs... but more like worship music.
Not just worship music, but APATHETIC worship.
When we fail to give God the totality of who we are.
When instead of focusing on who He is and responding to what He's done...we remain unengaged and apathetic.
Satan knows if he can infiltrate our heart, mind, and souls, we will never be able to worship our God in spirit and in truth.
Worship through music...that to me is an important and often overlooked battleground.
And when our worship through music becomes apathetic, that's when it becomes "Devils Music".
"That sounds like the devils music!"...is a line I heard a lot growing up. And that was usually followed by me taking my tapes...yes TAPES (I'm old-school)out back and destroying them with my dads hammer! My parents would stand behind me and chant, "Take THAT Satan!!!" ...Ok, maybe they didn't do that.
The funny thing is, I always got caught. Every tape I had was discovered. I started wondering if my parents were recieving morse code from God telling them where my secret musical stash was! And then I would hear it. "Matt, we don't want that devil music in our house!" It's hammer time! No pun intended.
Let me get to my point.
First, a disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to go behind your parents backs in any way. Whatever the rules of the house are...are the rules.
What I do want to ask is this...
If there really was a genre that we could call "Devils music", what would it be? What would it sound like?
I believe there is a lot of destructive messages in so much music today. But as I really think about it...as I read more about how Satan works, a different idea surfaces of what "Devil music" really is.
Satan will do whatever he can to kill, steal, and destroy what God creates and what ultimately glorifies our Lord.
I start to think that the Devils music isn't so much the music with the shredding solo that was written while the band was high on drugs... but more like worship music.
Not just worship music, but APATHETIC worship.
When we fail to give God the totality of who we are.
When instead of focusing on who He is and responding to what He's done...we remain unengaged and apathetic.
Satan knows if he can infiltrate our heart, mind, and souls, we will never be able to worship our God in spirit and in truth.
Worship through music...that to me is an important and often overlooked battleground.
And when our worship through music becomes apathetic, that's when it becomes "Devils Music".
2.05.2008
"Urban Legends"
Hello my lil Bloggers! (You deserve a better name than that...any ideas?)Just thought I would use this post to update slash rehash slash inform slash inquire into your minds...
Our current series is "Urban Legends" and it's been a doozie! (Can I use that word?)
We've been talking about some important "misconceptions" and "lies" that seem to purvade our culture and for the most part, go unchallenged:
Week 1 "There are many ways to God"
Week 2 "If I make right choices I will grow spiritually"
We still have another week left in this series so.....be there Sunday @ 10:30!!!
I want to hear back from YOU. What have you learned in this series? What have been your thoughts? Are you finding opportunities to apply what we go through into your daily life? Take a moment and share with the whole class:)
I LOVE hearing from you! Seriously. And it's important for EVERYONE to hear from you.
So, click on the "add comment" and post a thought or two. Whatever you post must be reviewed before it's published so don't freak out and send it 200 times. It'll get there.
Our current series is "Urban Legends" and it's been a doozie! (Can I use that word?)
We've been talking about some important "misconceptions" and "lies" that seem to purvade our culture and for the most part, go unchallenged:
Week 1 "There are many ways to God"
Week 2 "If I make right choices I will grow spiritually"
We still have another week left in this series so.....be there Sunday @ 10:30!!!
I want to hear back from YOU. What have you learned in this series? What have been your thoughts? Are you finding opportunities to apply what we go through into your daily life? Take a moment and share with the whole class:)
I LOVE hearing from you! Seriously. And it's important for EVERYONE to hear from you.
So, click on the "add comment" and post a thought or two. Whatever you post must be reviewed before it's published so don't freak out and send it 200 times. It'll get there.
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