Theological Assertion

I am a big believer that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Theological Assertion - The modern Christian quest to discover, quantify, and actualize one's live purpose is a kind of crypto-holiness movement that (1) promises the unattainable (in this life at least), (2) gives Christians a distorted view of vocation, (3) obscures the Christian doctrines of repentance, hope, and suffering, and (4) presents a shallow do-it-yourself message of life change to unbelievers that is not evangelism in any true sense.

I welcome discussion on all points.

First, there can be no doubt that the therapeutic desire to realize the Christian life as defined by purpose is really a modern slant on good ole methodism. I recently heard something brilliant and entertaining from the brilliant and entertaining Rev Jonathan Fisk (who unanimously would win the Lutheran Blogosphere "New Internet Theologian of the Year Award" if such a thing ever existed... seriously, go watch his videos.) He correctly identified that the American church is overwhelmingly Baptist in its theology, Methodist in its practice, and Charismatic in its worship (thank you John Wesley and Charles Finney).

This holiness movement influence in terms of practice has given rise to all sorts of purpose-oriented books, bible studies, and even churches over the last several decades. Rather than see this as an improvement in the life of the church, discerning Christians should watch these aberrant developments with alarm once they realize the unintended consequences of such teachings.

1. Purpose promises the unattainable (in this life at least)...

Simul justus et peccator. We are simultaneously justified by the imputed grace of God on account of Christ. While we are a new creation in Christ Jesus [2 Corinthians 5:17], the old sinful nature still clings to our mortal flesh [Romans 7] in this life so that the life of the Christian is one of internal and external spiritual warfare [Ephesians 6; 2 Corinthians 10] that is only ended when the perishable passes away and we rise again in new life with imperishable and perfected bodies [1 Corinthians 15; Philippians 3].

Perhaps due to an improper appreciation for our fallen condition, obsessively chasing after purpose in this life gives the false impression to hearers that this perfected, fundamentally God-pleasing nature as a human being is attainable in the life of the Christian through discipline rather than through the death and resurrection of Christ. Sloppy preaching and teaching in this area strays dangerously into the theology of "infused grace" which is unbiblical and a Roman Catholic error that many synergistic Protestants seem to be out doing the papacy on in their zeal to realize the Baptist formal principle of "The Changed Life" and this Charismatic drive to perform mystical worship practices.

In this way, many protestant (and incorrectly named "non-denominational" churches) put the Bible and the Reformation aside and follow Rome down it's path of "Jesus saved you so that you can work harder to please God and either earn (in the hard form) or reimburse God (in the soft form) for your eternal salvation." The Bible does not speak this way. Instead, the good works for which Christians have been set aside to perform are actually the works of God through the Christian by faith [Philippians 2] for service to our neighbors. This principle of being "God's workmanship" stands directly opposed to the purpose-seeking idea that, while we are God's creation, we are fundamentally our own workmanship and we have just been not doing a very good job.

This distorted view of sanctification takes away with one hand what is only occasionally given with the other as legalism snatches away the sweetness and freedom of the gospel in favor of a new enslavement. To paraphrase Rev. Fisk: it falsely teaches that we have been set free so that we can be enslaved. This in itself is gross false doctrine that is dangerous to faith and injurious to eternal salvation because it places the trust of the believer back in his own works rather than pointing him to the cross and the hope that comes in our eventual perfection on the last day.

2. Purpose gives Christians a distorted view of vocation...

The doctrine of vocation is probably one of the most under-taught and misunderstood doctrine in all of Christendom. I submit that the void left by a true Christian understanding of what the Christian is to do and how he is to see his good works after conversion is what allows wrong-headed opinions like methodism and purpose to swoop in and take root. Christians have a legitimate need for training in a proper understanding in righteousness and good works. The faith within them cries out for this holy and practical teaching. When it is not given, well-meaning Christians seek anything that looks like it can fill that hole.

...but purpose is not the proper fit. Where a right view of vocation teaches the Christian to understand his place in the world wherever he may find himself at any given moment, "purpose" teaches him that his place in the world is some hidden mystery of God that must be sought out and discovered through all manner of mystical and rationalistic approaches. Purpose, calling upon mankind's natural desire to answer the question "what am I going to do with my life?", wrongly teaches you to look past the objective reality of where you may find yourself and who your neighbor is so that you can sink deep down within yourself to hear what God really wants you to do.

The reality is that God has already told you very clearly what he wants you to do: it's called "The Ten Commandments". They're written down in the book of Exodus so that you can look them up and apply them to every aspect of your life. Unfortunately, purpose distracts you from such pious self-examination and improvement in piety because, while the world moves on around you with ample opportunities to do God-pleasing works by faith, you sit and stew in your own egotistical juices as you try to discern what grand design awaits you in the kingdom of God.

The mother will ignore the rearing of her children as she sits in her bedroom praying for insight. The student will disregard his teacher's instructions as he wracks his brain over where God wants him to be. The worker will ignore the poor and needy all around him as he wonders what in the world he has been put on this earth to do. The pastor will skip proper sermon study and preparation in favor of spending hours contemplating whether God wants him to open an new ministry across town. Most tragically, churches will shelve the proclamation of the only Gospel which saves sinners from hell in order to help the above people find answers to their navel-gazing questions. It's all a horrible mistake. The military calls this "paralysis by analysis": you think so much about your actions that you fail to act and it is as if you never even engaged the problem at all.

3. Purpose obscures the Christian doctrines of repentance, hope, and suffering...

All one has to do is read the first few chapters of Ecclesiastes in order to learn that, yes, this life is full of meaningless vapor and pointless striving after ephemeral nonsense. It's a real problem that is a natural consequence of man's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. This world is a pretty horrible and futile place and all of creation groans in anticipation of being destroyed and made anew. Because the law is written on man's hearts, everyone (Christian and pagan alike) is consciously aware of this threat of pointlessness. The entire field of philosophy is consumed with man's attempt to answer these fundamental questions: "Why are we here? What are we doing? How do I achieve meaning?"

Christ came to earth and preached the answer to these questions: "Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!" (The kingdom of course being Christ himself.) Later, his own apostles preached the same answer: "Repent and be baptised everyone of you for the forgiveness of your sins" and "Repent and believe the Gospel." The holy spirit revealed this same answer to Martin Luther when he wrote: "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite ("do penance" or "repent"), willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance."

Here we see the true "purpose" of fallen man in this world in view of the Theology of the Cross. Do you not know what you should be doing? Look to Christ hanging on the cross. Repent and believe the Gospel. The devil encourages us to obsess over the question rather than looking to the answer and the quest for purpose that is being carried out by the church is a tool whereby many well-meaning believers are directed away from the cross so that they can curve in on themselves. This is where the rubber meets the road in the ages-old battle between the Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory. Is this all about the redemption won for you and all mankind on the cross by Christ? ...or is this about you and what you need to be doing with the 80 or so years you may (or may not) have on this earth.

We live in a fallen world. Corrupted and fallen from the original goodness that it once possessed at its divine creation, the child of God will always feel out of place here. He will always feel as though he (along with the rest of the world) is falling short of expectations. This place will always feel futile, sinful, and devoid of eternal meaning. You will always feel imperfect, partially blind, and wayward as you journey through a world that is not your true home. The Christian church tells people truthfully that these feelings of ache and homesickness are valid and good.

Do you feel like you are not living up to God's will? Of course! It's because you aren't! Do you feel like you do not pray as you ought? Of course! It's because you aren't! Do you feel rejected? Of course! As a Christian you will face rejection! These identifications and feelings of heartache are the law of God working in your own heart as it faces the assaults of your sinful flesh, this sinful world, and that liar: the devil. The living faith within you that clings to the perfect will of God and at least partially recognizes how the world should be but isn't can clearly see that these things are not taking place around and within you. It's easy to see how the world is failing.

But "purpose" does not say these things because legalism tells only a half truth. Instead of telling you the truth about your situation and pointing you to Jesus, purpose makes the sufferings and crosses that Christ Himself said that we will bear into a flaw in your faith and an oversight in your practice. Purpose peddlers do not speak as Paul does who tells his sheep things like:

"Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself with the mind serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

and

"Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account."

Instead, purpose looks at your suffering and tells you that you are just not being Christian enough. Purpose does not point you to the only true hope which rests beyond the grave in a glorious resurrection. Instead, purpose mangles law and gospel by telling you to get to work because Christians shouldn't feel this way after all that Jesus has done for them. If you feel out of place and inadequate, the real problem is not your fallen condition: the real problem, in the sophists' estimation, is that you are living outside of God's true plan for your life. Once you discover and live your purpose, these feelings will subside.

I'm here to tell you that they will never go away this side of glory. Purpose is selling you a bill of goods. Your hope is not in yourself and what you could be doing. Your hope is in Christ and what He has done, what He continues to do, and what He will do on the Last Day. You feel this way because you are a fallen creature who is sinning and living in a fallen world filled with sinners. Your answer is not "try harder and conform better to God's unknowable will".

Your answer is "Repent and believe the Gospel."

4. Purpose presents a shallow do-it-yourself message of life change to unbelievers that is not evangelism in any true sense.

Since the completely erroneous teachings about repentance, hope, and suffering are believed by many American Christians, this is the "evangel" that they take to the lost. They preach the "changed life through better living that makes you feel better" because that is the message which has been given to them. The seed they cast falls on hard ground and in the weeds because it appeals to man's sinful need for autonomy and earning salvation rather than delivering the Holy Spirit through the clearly preached Word of God. It is not "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" but is a pseudogospel of Oprah do-goodism and sentimentality. It is a message that does not save. It makes people feel good... but the feeling does not last because the human invention of purpose, like all things under the sun, is vanity and a meaningless chasing after the wind.

Debunking Heretical Church Business Models with Crass Corperate-Speak

Let's translate our call to repentence in crass terms that you "church as a business" and "pastor as CEO" guys understand:

Proclaiming repentance, eternal life, and the forgiveness of sins is a "niche market". No one outside of Christianity can truly offer this "service". This is the "bread and butter" of the church and is the one place where there is no "competition". In fact, the church holds a "monopoly" in this area that no other entity on earth can penetrate. There is a limitless supply of work to be done in this area so we need to devote "all of our assets and resources" to this monumental task. We can't get distracted by other concerns and go "chasing rabbits in the weeds".

When the church leaves our 2,000 year old "business model" and adopts something else, the church steps out of "a sure thing" and wanders off into areas that are "outside of its depth". Worst of all, other entities have more worldly "capital" than the church and so they will always "price the church out of the market". If the church is exactly like a Christian-ish version of a Las Vegas show, Oprah, a rock concert, a community center, a political party, or a ethics think tank, then there is no reason for people to stay with the church since those organizations "offer their products" at a much higher "quality level" than the church can provide without completely "selling out" to those industries.

Now I hear alot of things around the "water cooler". Alot of people are claiming that the "boss" is looking to unveil something new and different. Well, I don't see Him inviting any of these people into any "special meetings" and he certainly hasn't "put out anything concrete" on these kinds of things. Most of that stuff is just "hearsay" and people "stealing authority" that isn't theirs.

Moreover, our "owner", Jesus Christ, has put forth "strict directives" in His "policy memorandum" titled: The Bible. We cannot go against these founding principles. It's not "who we are". Worse yet, He has already threatened repeatedly that he will remove people who don't do the job and replace them with people who will do it. He has made it clear that He's not really interested in creativity. He wants consistency, commitment, and steadfast dedication to HIS "business model". Questioning the model that has already been established is "above our pay grade". We weren't hired on to rethink, repackage, or reimagine the divine "paradigm". That "ship has sailed". We weren't "delegated" that kind of authority by the "home office". With that in mind, we need to stop throwing "good money after bad" on our own "pet projects" that do not create any "lasting dividends". Most of that stuff has just "artificially inflated our books". Most of those gains "won't be able to produce in the final analysis".

Stop all instances of "mission creep". Let's just "stay on task" and do what we were told by the guy who "built this thing from the ground up". After all, He is the one who "signing all our checks" and "paying all the bills".

There..... now I feel icky and sick to my stomach.

God's Prosperity for You is Found in Holy Absolution

You hear alot these days about the two "P"s in church: "Prosperity" and "Purpose". There are books, churches, and movements founded on unlocking some kind of divine formula for prosperity. The entire purpose of the church these days is to show you how to purposefully search for your purpose so that you will prosper.

You have to wonder though, when we get past all these mortal speakers, hucksters, and mystics for a second... what does God's Word actually say about true prosperity? What does divine prosperity actually look like? Where does one find God's prosperity?

God's prosperity for you is found at the center of holy absolution. The forgiveness of your sin which is apprehended by faith in Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price. Cast aside everything to lay hold of this unique treasure. What other thing could be found that is of equal value? There is nothing else but this promise: Come and hear Christ's word of forgiveness spoken specifically to you.

"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." -Proverbs 28:13 [ESV]

Ridley Scott and a Common Assumption of Marketing

Ridley Scott is a renowned director who is known for deep, thought-provoking film. He made an interesting quote about having to deal with the marketing side of film. Here Mr. Scott hits the nail on the head: when you over-market an idea, you essentially kill everything that is smart, true, and beautiful about it in order to make it universally appealing.

Why does this quote apply to the church? Because we live in an age where many people are so blinded and foolish that secular business comments like this can actually be used to critique the temple money-changers who are trying to incorporate the mystical Body of Christ so that it can be reinvented, reimagined, and presented like a mundane product.

Ridley Scott on Marketing's thought process:

"If you got it don't be afraid of being intelligent, right? You can't allow for the lowest common denominator. If they don't get it, too bad. Because sometimes the danger is that Marketing generally does believe that, if you come across as too intelligent, people won't go."

-Ridley Scott, The Director's Commentary for The Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut.

Another deMotivational Poster

hehe... oh man! These things never get old!

Heads up all you snake-oil salesmen who call yourselves church planters:

Appearantly this guy is one of those "self feeders" that the hawaiian shirt sect always talks about. His fork is clearly purpose-driven.

HT: The Sacred Sandwich

It's Called the Gospel, People! Look it up!

My dear Roman Catholic and Protestant brothers and sisters... I'll say this one more time:

Christ does not enter your life and make you holy so that you can work to become pious in order to find favor with God and earn heaven. Christ alone is holy. Christ alone is pious. Christ alone has found favor with God. It is Christ who has given you salvation and heaven as a free gift.

You didn't deserve it back then, you don't deserve it now, and--no matter how hard you may try--you won't deserve it in the future. Just get over yourself!

Those works that you are doing now are not for God (because He doesn't need your help) and they are not for you (because your redemption by Christ is already complete). These good works that you are doing are done out of love of God to help and serve your neighbor. They stay here on earth where such imperfect, temporary things belong.

My Prayer

I beseech You, Merciful God, to come quickly and defend Your church. We have become like Israel of old as we dance around idols of our own making.

Though they lack tangible form, our new gods are nevertheless the work of human hands. We call them beautiful and ascribe power to them that does not exist. We rob You of Your due honor and grant great deeds to our idols that they have not achieved. We bow and celebrate beneath them every day. We love and serve them more than we love and serve You. We look to them for comfort. We hope in them for the promise of a bright future rather than looking to Our Lord Jesus Christ alone. In our extreme foolishness, we have abandoned Your law and are no longer frightened by it.

Reprove us in our wicked iniquity, O Lord, and send us men who are enlightened by your Holy Spirit. Stamp out this virulent evil that infects us. Call forth men and place Your Word in their hands so that they may come down from the holy mountain and declare Your righteous judgments to a rebellious people. Grant them the authority to utterly demolish our false worship. Lift them up and instruct them to melt down our idols and so that we may eat the ashes of our sinful handiwork. Without Your loving hand, we will continue to flounder in error and futility. Without the declaration of Your Word among us, we will continue to commit adultery against You as we search for other gods and other christs to please our selfish lusts. We cannot save ourselves from this situation. We need your grace.

How long must the modern church be caged in this prison of false doctrine that we have made for ourselves? How long will we be allowed to look on the true doctrine that was given to us by Your chosen apostles with irreverence and contempt? How long will You, in Your perfect and providential will, permit us to wallow in our idolatry? Almighty and Everlasting God, do not hand us over to the darkness of our own desires as You did during the darkest days of the middle ages. Bring us to repentance so that we may avoid being handed over to captivity and desolation. Replace our growing Scriptural ignorance with a love for nothing short of pure knowledge and perfect truth.

When You consider the disposition of Your church, do not look upon the hated false teachers with Your justifiable wrath, but look upon the weak and poor victims of these heresies through Your boundless mercy. Do not allow us to be crushed under the weight of our sin, but bring us out from under these lies on account of Your abundant grace. Give our mouths voice so that we might cry out to You for deliverance. Return us to Your word and holy sacraments.

Use the balancing of worldly financial matters to create in us a true poverty of spirit. Teach us to look to You alone for deliverance and every blessing. Cause us to see the futility of this dying world and give us the ability to forsake its seduction. Make this upcoming season of lent a true call to repentance and faith for all Christians. So often we must suffer and be brought low so that we can see our place as Your redeemed and reconciled enemy. Bring us back under Your just and perfect rule as Your servile creation. Overturn the tables and cast our money-changers out Your temple. Beat back the influence peddlers, vanquish the legalists, chastise the empowerment seekers, and cause the false prophets to be mute in Your temple.

Look upon us with favor, O God, and spare us from this wicked generation. Pour out your Spirit and stop this tide of maddening self-love. Bless all of Your undeserving servants with wisdom, humility, and discernment so that we may have the strength and knowledge to do Your will. Grant Your servants ears to hear Your Word so that it might vivify and renew us now and forever.

Above all, O Lord, hear the groaning of Your militant church. Come quickly and complete our deliverance through Your Son’s long-awaited second coming.

I humbly ask for all these things on behalf of my brothers and sisters in the true faith through the name of My Savior and Lord Jesus Christ who with You and the Holy Spirit shall reign forever and ever. Amen.

Prupose Driven People Hate the Church

"I said, 'I'm starting a church for people who hate church.'"
-Pastor Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Guru

You heard it straight from the horse's mouth. If you are an enemy of Christ's church, adopt his purpose driven methods. If you hate the assembly of Christians (you hate church) and what they do, then his teachings are for you!

hehe... I couldn't resist!

God Bless a Man in Black!

My new laptop has video software. Enjoy!

Plants that Decide to Grow

I was speaking to an Anabaptist chaplain about our role in the process of man's justification. The temptation to believe that we in some way cooperate with God is a truly prevalent error. Man cannot just die and let go. He has to help God. He has to get himself out of the mess... or at least help. It is ironic that the modern Christians who accuse Lutherans of restricting God and putting "Him in a box" with our "rigid" liturgical worship seem convinced through their novel doctrines that the Holy Spirit is limited in how much work He can do in our hearts. Some how God's Holy Word is not enough. We have to get involved. Ultimately we have to cross the chasm on our own. I used to believe this. It filled me with arrogance and the chains of burdensome worry.

The discussion eventually moved over to the Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4. I observed to my friend that it was interesting that the seed did not decide to germinate once it was sown. It did not decide to turn itself into a plant or determine that it needed to produce leaves. It just grew on its own. The parable makes no mention of any decisions or acceptance.

The Anabaptist answered: "Well, every metaphor breaks down at some point."

Not true! The metaphor of our souls being like plants and our faith being like trees that produce fruit is the entire point. It is not beyond the limit of the metaphor. It is the metaphor! It is a description that is so clear that smart people miss the point.

Did the metaphor break down with my argument about plants and growth? Let's check what Paul says: "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." [1 Cor 3:5-7]

It is not about you. You do not make yourself a Christian and you do not create good works by your own power and add them to your faith. This is why the blessed father of American Lutheranism spoke this way about living faith:

"The inefficiency of faith that fails to work by love is not due to a lack of love, but to the fact that it is no real, honest faith. Love must not be added to faith but grow out of it. A fruitful tree does not produce fruit by somebody's order, but because, while there is vitality in it and it is not dried up, it must produce fruit spontaneously. Faith is such a tree; it proves its vitality by bearing fruit. It is withered when it fails to bring forth fruit. The sun, likewise need not be told to shine, it will continue shining till Judgment Day without any one's issuing orders to it. Faith is such a sun."

-C.F.W. Walther, 1885

...And Yet Hope Remains

I was present for military honors at a funeral. It was hot. Our part of the ceremony at the grave site had concluded and it was the time for the minister to speak. I must admit that my expectations were not very high. I knew pretty much what to expect.

I had driven by his church before. They meet in a giant General Steel building. A sterile, metal gymnasium with a sign out front that carries the word "fellowship" in its name where one would think "church" should be. I know that they have a dance ministry and their worship falls deep within the pentecostal realm.

He wore no vestments. He held no rubric in his hand. He stood before us all in a dress shirt and slacks with a well-worn Holy Bible has he sorted through all the scraps of paper and pieces of bulletin that were wedged in the pages. He began with his opening statements. He thanked the congregation for being with the family in the past few weeks and he encouraged them to continue with their care for one another. I braced myself for the inevitable unremarkable comments of the modern minister to the modern church.

And then it happened.

"This is no false hope," He said. "This is no pipe dream. As surely as Christ was raised from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, so we shall also be raised up to be with Him at the end."

He continued, "This earth will be made new. You and I and [the deceased] will all stand before Jesus in the flesh again. Together. Alive. We will all be reunited by faith and see God. Because of Jesus, there is hope here."

Sometimes I lose sight of just how powerful the good news about Jesus is. As a lover of the Gospel, I sometimes forget that this thing that I cling to is not my creation, but a revelation by the Spirit. I become so concerned about its fragility that I lose sight of its scope and resilience. I spend a great deal of time defending the Truth... sometimes to the point that I forget just how powerful, pervasive, and penetrating it is.

As we worry, and fret, and bemoan the sorry state of the church, the Holy Spirit continues to move in spite of our 'best' efforts. We look around us with human eyes and see a dead world that is paved over with temporal concern and a church that is fashioning itself to emulate it. In so many places, the beauty of the Gospel has been torn down, tread under, and cast aside in favor of the urban sprawl of enthusiastic error, pleasure seeking, and feel-goodism.

We look around and see lifeless stone everywhere we look and we buy into despair and hopelessness. But there are cracks in the pavement of the Modern Church and, even in those tiniest of spaces, the glorious flower of the Gospel continues to take root and bloom. As dead and hardened as so many are, the Word is still preached and heard.

In spite of what people will tell you, hope still remains. Christ is still the King of His Church. The gates of hell do not prevail against her. Christ continues to care for His sheep and He continues to go out and rescue people. The Holy Spirit still grows us all in the truth and knowledge of God. The Truth is still out there for those with an ear to hear.

There is alot of work to do. There is alot of 'work' that needs to be undone. So many places and souls have become ravaged and bare. But do not lose sight of the flowers in the sidewalk. Do not forget to see every blossom of the Gospel and rejoice. Do not allow yourself to pass by the Gospel without notice and without action.

Spring is upon us. Even as the world dies around us (taking far too many Christians with it), there are still flowers blooming. We should be watering and planting instead of weeping over all the bare rock that we see.

There is hope for all who are in bondage to sin, error, and the false teachers. I am living proof: a flower formerly wedged in the pavement.

Priorities

I must need some help with time management. I honestly have no idea how you guys do it.

So I am asking the legions of Small Group members out there: How do you find the time to meet once a week? I mean, how do you squeeze in these trips to your friend's house to study God's Word and fellowship and still manage to come back to properly catechize your children during your daily family devotions?

How do you manage to schedule and execute all of these amazing festivals, dinners, coffee houses, and fellowship times and still manage to visit the ill, home-bound, and backslidden on a regular basis?

How do you manage to put in all this neat worship stuff into your services and all of this practical teaching in one hour and still have room for preaching Christ and Him crucified?

How do you manage to spend all of this time working and reading on finding your purpose, living up your full potential, and feeling fulfilled and still manage to help the poor and the widows in your church family?


.............................................oh.

Call a Spade a Spade

Have you noticed that the first thing that a controversial movement does is redefine terms?

"Pro-Abortion" people are not "Pro-Abortion". They are "Pro-Choice".
"Socialists" are not "Socialists". They are "Progressives".
"Partisans" are not "Partisans". They are "Statesmen".
"Pro-War" people are not "Pro-War". They are "Pro-Defense".
"Anti-War" people are not "Anti-War". They are "Peace Activists".

Purpose-Driven, Community Churches are not different. They create all kinds of jargon, buzz-words, and double-speak to minimize controversy. It is all linguistic damage control. When you read what someone writes, read what words they choose because words carry power.

"Worldly" churches are not "Worldly". They are "Relevant".
"Novel" churches are not "Novel". They are "Contemporary".
"Legalistic" churches are not "Legalistic". They are "Purpose-Driven".
"Unionistic" churches are not "Unionistic". They are "Inclusive" or "Non-denominational".
"Shallow" churches are not "Shallow". They are "Accessible".
"Tepid" churches are not "Tepid". They are "Missional".
"Antinomianist" churches are not "Antinomainist". They are "Loving", "Free", and "Grace-filled".

Listen carefully. Pay attention. Watch with discernment. Call a spade a spade.

My Suffering as an Enthusiast Ended Through the Sign of the Prophet Jonah

I did all of that seeker stuff. I grew up in the Rick Warren movement. I was a Charismatic. I was a Southern Baptist. I spent years being mentored by former Pentecostals and seeking the ever elusive Holy Spirit Baptism. My father was a Promise Keeper. I’ve read the Purpose Driven Life. I was a praise and worship musician for the better part of a decade starting at the age of thirteen. We played 2-4 services a week and we went on tour to perform at other churches. As a young boy, I helped the liberal elements revamp our congregation with modern worship forms and enthusiast theology. When we joined the church, it had an organ and a few score in membership. When I left, we sat 300+ every Sunday, had a drum kit on the stage, and we hosted Christian punk rock band tours whenever they came to town.

I was also a songwriter. I wrote and performed my compositions before my church whenever the format permitted. The music of the enthusiast is an important window into what makes them tick. It is important to look at what they are singing and connect with them on a deep level.

Why? Because most enthusiasts are secretly hurting inside. Their hope is in the Law and they battle discouragement and disappointment daily. Imagine a life where Christ is most present in the worship that you create and that your connection to God is primarily evidenced by your feelings. Imagine serving a God who comes abundantly in some cases and trickles down in others. Imagine a Holy Spirit who only moves when we do the right things to invoke Him. Imagine a life devoid of the solid foundation that ancient Christianity was built on. Try to live a Christian life that only pays lip service to faith while seeking ever more elaborate ways to reassure itself through signs and miracles.

I submit a song that I wrote as an enthusiast. I performed this song for my congregation. It made people raise their hands, pray, and worship God. After the debut of this song, people came up to me and praised me for my insight and honesty. They thought I really had figured stuff out and that I had written a song that really spoke to the truth of living the life of a Christian. I know people who still love this song. How? It is hopeless! Looking back, my heart grieves to know that this song speaks for many of my brothers and sisters.

Fire by Night
By Mike Baker (when he was living in error as an enthusiast)

How long must I live in this harshest desert?
How long must I thirst as I wander though the heat?
I had a better time as a slave in Egypt,
I don’t know if You’ll provide for me now today.

But You, O God, know my inner questions
The answers You leave are there for me to see
The signs that You’re givin’ me
Lead me through the desert
Through Fire by Night and Cloud by Day

How high must I climb to feel you in abundance?
How far can I fall and still feel your grace?
How long can I live without your gentle healing?
Must there be less of me so I can hear your voice?

‘Cause You, O God, don’t talk the way you used to
The answers You leave are ones I do not see
The signs You are giving me are not out in the open
Like Fire by Night and Cloud by Day.

Maybe just once if you wrote a message in the stars
If I listened for a change… I would know Your heart.

But You, O God, are talking in a whisper
The answers You give are there for those who see
The signs You are giving me are there if I would listen
To the still small voice inside of me

If I listen for a change… can I know Your heart?


I weep for people who feel as I did when I wrote this song. I am horrified that people believe as I once did: that “Jesus being in my heart” means that I should rely solely on some inner voice or subjective experience to lead me in the faith.

This song leads you to false hope. When I wrote it, I was blind. I was searching for God, but I was so spiritually and theologically starved that He seemed elusive, hidden, and distant. I couldn’t know God’s heart because I was listening to the wrong things. Consequently, I felt that God the Father had largely abandoned His people… especially me.

The Enthusiast always wonders why things changed between the Bible and now. Why did God make things so easy for His people in the Old Testament and so hard for us today. Why did God speak verbally to Elijah but not to the church today? Why did God guide His people through visible miracles in the past and not in the present? Why did God speak in a loud voice before and not now? Why did God sit and eat with Abraham then, but not with the church today? They do not understand this mystery and they envy that kind of intimate relationship with God. They search for this relationship in worship and controversial signs, but never find it. They become so desperate that they start to see miracles, angels, and demons everywhere. They will believe anything that looks like a miracle. They will doubt anything that does not feel right. The world becomes bewildering and chaotic.

They are looking in the wrong place. God is not subjective and internal. He is objective and external. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not treat you any differently than Israel. In fact, He treats you exactly the same because you are Israel. Paul tells us that Christians are children of Abraham by adoption. If you are looking for a personal relationship with God, look in the same places where the people of the Old Testament looked: In those places where God promises to be.

In the Old Testament, you see many signs and objects that contain the very presence of God. God cleansed the earth with a flood and delivered Noah in an ordinary boat. The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with Noah. Circumcision is a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. God speaks to Moses in a burning bush. God turns a staff into a snake. God saves the people from death through ordinary blood on an ordinary door. God resides on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. God feeds His people with mana. God saves His people from snakes through a snake on a pole. God wins a battle through the act of Moses outstretching his arms. God saved Rahab through a red chord in her window. God shows Gideon the way through a fleece. The secret of Samuel’s strength was his hair. Naaman’s leprosy was cleansed by bathing in the river Jordan. The list goes on and on and on.

Why do we not have these things today? Why doesn’t God come to the church and shout in a loud booming voice and end all of the debates and doubt? If we are wrong, why doesn't God prove His will through an unequivocal sign?

The Pharisees were enthusiasts, too. They wondered the same thing.

Matthew 12:38-41 [ESV]: Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.”

Here's your sign! The sign of the prophet Jonah is your miracle, brothers and sisters. The church is guided by this one miracle. Man wants many miracles and asks for a great deal to prove God’s existence, but the salvation of mankind is given to all by just one sign: the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Christ’s death and resurrection is your objective proof of your salvation. If you doubt that God loves you, look to Christ. If you fear what will happen in the future, look to your greatest of signs: Christ. If you do not know what you are supposed to be doing or where you are supposed to go, look to the visible sign as the Israelites in the desert looked to the Fire and Cloud. Look to Christ’s death and resurrection. Gather strength through faith in this awesome miracle; this perfect and complete work.

So perfect is Christ's death and resurrection that all other signs point to, prefigure, and emulate this one. God providing the lamb instead of Abraham's son points to Christ. God saving His people through blood to ward off death points to Christ. God preserving His people through the Passover meal points to Christ. God curing people with a snake lifted up on a pole points to Christ. God laying Jonah in the depths for three days and then raising Him out of the depths points to Christ.

It is all about Christ. There is your proof! That’s it. That’s all you need. There is no other sign because no further symbol of God’s providence or love could add anything to Christ’s saving work. To know Christ is to know the Father. You know that God is just because of Christ. You know that God is holy because of Christ. You know that God is merciful because of Christ. You know that God loves you because of Christ. You know that God will eternally save you because of Christ.

Christ said about himself, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

At that point, Philip had an enthusiast moment and said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." How many songs are written by Christians today that ask Philip's question over and over again? We cry out, "Show us the Father! Show us His glory!" We sing, "Rain down Your presence on us! Fill this place with Your glory!" We ask, "Show us Your face O God! Reveal Yourself to us in this place!"

How did Christ reply to Philip? He said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."

How can we ask for the Father as if we do not already see Him in the Son? There is not a mote of heavenly glory that was kept from Christ. The Father did not withhold an ounce of mercy, power, glory, might, honor, magesity, grace, wisdom, knowledge, omnicience, or love, but He gave it to His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. You want to see the Father? Don't look in your worship. Don't look in your heart. Don't seek after it as though it was some elusive treasure. Look to the free gift of Christ.

Christ did all the work and He is all of proof of God's love that you will ever need. Remember? “IT IS FINISHED!” The sign of the prophet Jonah.

Why look anywhere else for hope or guidance? Why turn to someone as unreliable as yourself for proof of God's favor when Christ is the end of all doubt and rejection? Why flock to places that promise nothing more than miracles, emotional experiences, and wonderous signs? Why settle for something so cheap and temporary?

Christ is the door through which you obtain the holy relationship that Adam lost in the garden. Christ’s blood washes you clean and establishes that intimate relationship with the Father. If you want an intimate relationship that never waivers, look to Christ. You want real hope and security? Place your faith in Christ.

Does that mean that God is done serving His people through means? Of course not. God is working today as He was working before: He hides in ordinary, tangible things. He adopts you into His eternal family through ordinary water by the power of Baptism. He strengthens you in the faith through ordinary wine and ordinary bread in Christ’s Most Holy Supper. He forgives you through words of absolution that are spoken by ordinary men. He guides you through an ordinary book: Holy Scripture. What gives these mundane things such power and significance? The same thing that gave power and significance to the burning bush and the Holy of Holies: the real presence of God.

These means of grace deliver what was promised by the sign of the prophet Jonah. John tells us in his gospel that the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Later in that same book Christ says, "For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." All of this is Christ presented before your eyes, spoken into your ears, and placed upon your lips.

Read what God has said. He does not lie and He does not construct elaborate tricks to confuse you or leave you in doubt.

Matthew 26:26-29 [ESV]: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom."

1 Corinthians 10:15-17 [ESV]: I [Paul] speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

1 Peter 3:18-22 [ESV]: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

John 20:21-23 [ESV]: Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

God uses tangible means to accomplish extraordinary miracles. Those means exist today and they are there for you to touch and hold. They are not there as some additional ceremonial rite or mnemonic device. God does not institute these things as observances that depend on you to reflect upon their symbolism and thus grow closer to Him by way of your mental capacity and personal wisdom. Why would God make coming to Him so difficult?

There is no abandonment. You ask for proof and God gives you Christ. Not only that, Christ is given to you in such a way that you can actually point to tangable objects and say, "Christ is right there. I don't know how it works, but I know that this miracle allows me to participate in Christ's death and resurrection. I don't need to doubt or fear because God keeps His promises regardless of what emotional state I am in."

These things exist to bless you and preserve you in the faith. Learn to embrace them as such. You already know that you cannot always count on that small voice inside of you. Sometimes it is wrong. Sometimes it leads you into sin. Sometimes it only tells you what you want to hear. You know that many times that voice is surely not coming from God. You know that sometimes you feel like your prayers don't go anywhere. You know that you need something solid to ease your doubts and comfort you.

Dead, old religion’s answer to this suffering is empty and false. Dead, old religion makes you do all the work and come up with the answers on your own. Dead, old religion tells you to pray, fast, and do this list of works until your heart tells you that you are going the right way. Dead, old religion tells you to suffer through the tough times alone. Dead, old religion makes you look to human teachers or within yourself for guidance. Dead, old religion hides behind alot of show, glitter, and flash. Dead, old religion distracts you and points your attention to itself instead of Jesus.

Living, real faith – that intimate relationship that you are seeking – is deeper and much more mystical than that. There is a real church that still has miracles and still follows God through the ways that He has established by Christ's specific, spoken promises. There is a real church that has no need for the petty miracles and signs that the Pharisees wanted. There is a real church that does not wickedly ask God to reveal His glory and power for the sake of a wondrous experience.

There is a real church that gathers together and does nothing but participate in the sign of the prophet Jonah: Christ’s death and resurrection. There is a real church who heeds God's Word and repents daily. There is a real church that is constantly transformed, refreshed, and vivified through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.

It’s not about you. It's not about what you tell yourself is true. The proof is not found in what you do or don't experience when you feel God’s presence or when you don’t feel the presence. Even Pagans and Atheists are confirmed in their false beliefs through that fickle method. You don’t think that practitioners of other religions feel their god’s presence? You don’t think that their worship confirms their beliefs? What makes you different from them? How can you be sure that you are thinking, feeling, and believing correctly? The cold truth is that you can't know God by your feelings any more than you can know a person through how you feel about them. It is time to stop guessing about God. Start knowing God.

It is all about Christ. That is the difference. It is not about what you do or why. It is about what has been done for you. The firm foundation of Christ is objective and incarnate. Christ's death and resurrection is an objective fact that you can cling to. You know God loves you because of Christ.

Steadfast Middle Earth Quote of the Day

"He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except insofar as they serve him for the moment."

-Treebeard

J.R.R. Tolkein's The Two Towers [Book III, Chapter IV]

Bread Crumbs?

Get out your tinfoil mind-defense hat and go to "A Little Leaven" and look at this article and the imbedded video:

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2007/11/ilife-is-that-w.html

Now go click on the "this church" link in the article and you will find the church that put on this sermon series. If the link doesn't work, here is their website:

http://www.crosspt.cc/

The iLife sermon series was put on in 2007 by "Crosspoint Community Church" in Decatur, AL. Here is a statement that I read earlier this year from their website (my emphasis added):

Crosspoint is an independent, bible-based inter-denominational Christian church. Were made up of people with various religious backgrounds at different stages of their spiritual Journey. Some people at Crosspoint have been Christians for many years, others are just beginning to find what it means to have a real realtionship with God. Others are seeking to find out who God really is. This means regardless of your background, you will feel welcome and have opportunity to get involved at Crosspoint.

Crosspoint is a member of the Willow Creek association of Churches. We associate with and recieve training and support from other churches around the country. These affiliations provide not only training and resources, but also accountability for the church and its leaders. This also gives us freedom to build a church for our generation that meets the spiritual needs we have, in a context that is both meaningful and biblical without the constraint of denominational politics.

[Remember their Willow Creek association and their distain for the "constraint of denominational politics". We'll come back to that.]

When I found this stuff, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (LCMS) had the following picture on their website (http://www.gdlc.org/):

The following text was included with the iLife image:

Upcoming Message Series

Many families are running on empty. They feel hurried, and scattered, and have little hope that life can be any different. How about your family? Would you like to bring your family back together and back to life?

It’s easier than you think…Jesus said, “The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you.” (Mark 4:11) It’s time to discover what we’ve already been given.How to Bring Your Family Back to Life

May 11 How to Bless a Mamma's Heart

May 18 How to Help a Child Grow Up with Jesus

May 25 Spiritual Warfare: 101

June 1 How to Bless a Teenager

June 8 From Generation to Generation: A Legacy of Life

June 15 Dad: Leader of Spiritual Adventures

June 22 How to Release Life into Your Family

*************************************************

Do you see the iLife logo from A Little Leaven that I got from an LCMS congregation's website that I visited while at a district church growth conference? Read the titles of the sermon series and tell me if you think this is similar to the "Crosspoint Community Church" series that was put on in Decatur last year.

"Crosspoint Community Church" sounded familiar. There is a "Crosspoint Community Church" in Katy, Texas. They are LCMS, too. Here is their website (Note: if you enter the address manually in the address bar, make sure to type in ".org" and not ".cc" or you might go back to the other Crosspoint Community website in Decatur):

http://www.crosspt.org/OOOO/

Both "Gloria Dei" and "Crosspoint Community Church" (the LCMS one) were at that Texas District M2C conference earlier this year which was nothing less than a big inter-denominational, Rick Warren love fest. The key presenter at that LCMS church plant meeting was Phil Stevenson who is the "General Director of Evangelism & Church Growth" of the Wesleyan Church.

I also remember seeing and talking to Mark Schaefer and Patrick Miller at the M2C conference in 2008. They are from Water's Edge. If memory serves, they helped out at the M2C conference. I only mention them because they are on the list for the youth gathering we have all been talking about.

While you are at the youth gathering site, you might see another familiar church from the M2C website you just looked at. According to M2C, one of the presenters at the 2007 conference was St Paul/The Summit, Ft Worth. I was not at that one, but I am pretty sure it was the same sort of stuff that I saw this year in Tapatio. If I remember correctly, The Summit was also at M2C in 2008. Not to be outdone by Water's Edge, the Summit sent a speaker to this youth gathering, too.

That brings us to Kari Jobe. She is from Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. Gateway is a non-denominational church that denies Real Presence, but Kari managed to get on the list of speakers at the LCMS youth gathering. You can find the head pastor of Gateway Church, Robert Morris, giving a glowing testimonial on this church growth website that cuts through all the buzz words and calls church growth what it is: "churchmarketing101". It isn't about spreading the Gospel. It is about marketing... and not even marketing Jesus. It is marketing YOUR church.

Kyrie Eleison! Jesus come quickly and overturn these tables in your temple!

While on "churchmarketing101", does another name on that tesimonial list jump out at you? It's none other than "Next Gen Pastor" Darren Whitehead of the mega-church Willow Creek. And we come full circle because Cross Point, Decatur (where I first saw the "iLife" logo) is a Willow Creek association member.

The book being marketed on churchmarketing101.com is used by Rick Warren to push his theology and is included in Relevant Magazine's "Relevant Leader's Pastor's Tool Kit". And if you look at where author Richard L. Reising is based... surprise: Dallas, Texas.

I feel like a kook just assembling these observations together in the same place. Why does all this fit together so cleanly? What am I supposed to think of this?

Someone please come on here and explain to me how I am totally misreading all of these coincidences. I really really really want to believe that I am way off base and my line of reasoning is faulty. I left the Purpose Driven movement for a good reason. It draws people into a building, burdens them with works righteousness, and then spiritually starves them to death.

Please tell me that this is not going on in my district. Please tell me how this is baseless and I am acting off of guilt by association.

Is this layman tilting at windmills?

“Terrible Customer Service”

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“Terrible Customer Service”
A Purpose Driven, Missional Play by Mike Baker

Narrator: “We come upon Stan, a middle-aged father of three, who is driving around in his pastel blue minivan in search of some place to eat. After driving around for quite some time, Stan settles on the Coral Ridge Restaurant. He decides not to hassle with the long line in the drive thru so he finds a decent spot in the massive parking lot and drags his family through the front door. There he is met by the smiling host, Chet, who is wearing a “Real Men come to Coral Ridge” T-shirt with tie-dye print.”

Chet: “Good morning, sir, isn’t it a great day to eat at Coral Ridge?”

Stan: “Yeah, sure. Can we get seats for four? I am starving.”

Chet: “We hear that a lot around here. You have come to the right place. This place is so popular that we had to expand our play area and put in a new parking lot.”

Stan: “….good for you. Are there seats available?”

Chet: “There is always seating available. Right this way, sir. So… is this your first time here at Coral Ridge?”

Stan: “Yes. I have heard a lot about it and wanted to see what the buzz was about.”

Chet: “Fantastic. We are really blessed and encouraged when we hear about the impact that we are having on the community. Did you get our promotional mailer?”

Stan: “Um… I think I saw something about it a few months back while I was looking for that water bill…”

Chet: “Fantastic. Here is your table, sir. Just so you know we are very family oriented here at Coral Ridge. There is a huge play area with sock puppets and clowns for your little kids. We also set up a child-friendly dining area so that the adults can enjoy their meal without being disturbed. The kids tend to have more fun that way, too.”

Stan: “Uh… thanks, but I want to eat with my kids. They can go play while I am waiting, but I am going to have them sit with me during the meal. We eat as a family.”

Chet: “Huh… interesting… I guess that would be okay. Go have fun kids!”

Stan: “Okay, let’s get down to business. I am starving.”

Chet: “Wow, it really sounds like it. I hate it when I am hungry. It really is a struggle sometimes. I guess that’s why we’re all here, right? Hehe. Say! Would you like some coffee to start out?”

Stan: “You know what, that sounds really good. I have been really run down lately. I could use a pick me up before I eat.”

Chet: “Exactly. Being a single dad must be tough. Divorce is never easy.”

Stan: “…actually, I am a widower.”

Chet: “I am sorry to hear that. It must be so hard for you to raise three girls on your own.” [Chet takes a moment to hug Stan in an uncomfortable embrace.] “You know, Coral Ridge can really help you out. We have day care every day so that you can take some time off and relax.”

Stan: “Really? I thought you guys were a restaurant. You run a day care?”

Chet: “Yes, sir! We got certified a month ago. We also have a home economics class, a swim team, a softball team, a yoga class, a quilting group, a fraternity, a youth group, a tween group, an interim tweeny youth group, S.T.A.R.S., H.E.A.R.T.S., M.O.O.N.S., F.O.U.R.L.E.A.F.C.L.O.V.E.R.S., an Alpha class, Beta class, Theta class, M class, semi-annual coffee drinking contests, three musical bands, and seven book clubs. Feel free to join the one that best suits your need. If you need a group that we haven’t thought of, please let us know and we’ll get it started right away. Coral Ridge is here to really serve the community.”

Stan: “I am really speechless. You guys go all out. When do you find time to cook?”

Chet: “Oh we knew it was going to be tough from the start, but we have an amazing staff and everyone works really hard in their particular area of interest. It really is a miracle that we are able to do all of this on such a tight budget. We have taken this humble little restaurant and made it into so much more than it used to be. It is effective, relevant, and really serves the people of this community. Here’s your coffee, sir.”

Stan: “Nice! This coffee cup is huge!”

Chet: “That’s what everybody says! We really pride ourselves on our coffee. No restaurant in town brews coffee like we do.”

Ted: [Walking up frustrated and confused] “Hey, Chet, I’ve been sitting here for a really long time and I haven’t seen my plate yet. I am on, like my eighth cup of coffee, but I really need something more substantial. Can you get someone over there to help me?”

Chet: “Sure! No problem. We are always here to help you guys. I’ll tell you what, enjoy the music from the live jazz band for a few more minutes and I will be with you personally right after I am done talking to Stan. I’ll tell you what. I think you are ready for the real stuff. It is obvious that you are ready for the house blend espresso roast. That stuff is really potent and will fix all your problems. Hey, Ted, have you met Stan?”

Ted: “No… my name is Ted. How are you doing?”

Stan: “Good. This is quite a place they’ve got going on here.”

Chet: “I’ll say, I come in here twice a week.”

Stan: “Really? You’d think they would treat a steady customer better than making you wait so much to get some chow.”

Ted: “It is no big deal. The purpose of a restaurant is to attract new customers. I understand that. A long time ago Chet’s family opened this restaurant to attract customers and feed them. I can’t blame Chet for putting so much effort into meeting the needs of people who may have never walked into Coral Ridge before. Coral Ridge is all about outreach. You can’t feed people if they don’t visit your restaurant.”

Stan: “I guess that makes sense. I’m no restaurant expert.”

Ted: “Plus, we have the best coffee in town and the live bands are amazing. I really feel at home here and the clowns in the kid area take good care of my kids. I don’t even have to look after them or teach them anymore. Coral Ridge does it all for me and they have certified people who are way more qualified than I could ever be. I am just a CPA. What do I know about all this stuff? It looks like my espresso is ready. I’ll see you guys later tonight for the Hearts Ablaze Smoothie Fellowship and Happy Hour.”

Chet: “Bye, Ted! It was really good talking to you.”

Stan: “Bye, Ted... I hope they let you eat soon. Hey, Chet, what is good here?”

Chet: “The coffee.”

Stan: “No seriously. Coral Ridge sounds like a seafood place. Do you guys have good seafood?”

Chet: “We tend to not really push the seafood. We have found that many of our new customers are turned off by the fish smell. We also have quite a few people who are from landlocked areas. They are not really into that whole fisherman thing. It is not what they know… you know? Plus, a lot of seafood restaurants have been in business for decades and they don’t understand how many people are allergic to shellfish! Isn’t that tragic? A restaurant that can’t feed everyone what they want is not doing what they should be doing.”

Stan: “Well then why the ocean-related name?”

Chet: “Oh… this area is a coastal community. After we conducted an extensive survey of the local neighborhoods, we found that Coral Ridge was the most marketable name for our restaurant. It really speaks to our intent to be a part of the community. We are all about serving the community.”

Stan: “Whatever… how about pasta. Do you have any good pasta?”

Chet: “Nope. Today’s people do not want to be weighed down by high carb foods. Pasta is not relevant to the modern customer. Nobody wants to be fat. It lowers their self worth.”

Stan: “Mexican Food?”

Chet: “…Too ethnically exclusive.”

Stan: “Wings and Pizza?”

Chet: “…Too masculine. Women 35-50 tend to shy away from that kind of food.”

Stan: “Fried Chicken?”

Chet: “...Too southern.”

Stan: "Sandwiches?"

Chet: "...Too traditional."

Stan: “Steak?”

Chet: [Gasps in shock] “What would the vegans say!?! Vegans are customers, too, Stan. Next you’ll be recommending that I make this place a steakhouse! Where are the vegans going to eat, Stan, huh? What about the poor vegans?”

Stan: “You know what? Just give me a menu.”

Chet: “Oh we don’t believe in menus. We find that menus are restrictive. Who wants a restaurant where they tell you the things that you have to order? Menus are so academic, inaccessible, and impersonal. People go into those places and order the same thing over and over again. It is almost like they don't even really pay attention to what they are ordering. They just read off the menu and eat what is given to them. We much prefer a personal relationship approach to the dining experience. Don’t you think that some menu restricts the broader vision of your food selection to have a menu in front of your face?

Stan: “No, the menu helps me know what you serve and what I should order… wait… you are slamming menus but your answers to my questions a few minutes ago just restricted by choices to saltine crackers and this wonderful coffee. What is the difference between a written menu and you just telling me what I should eat for dinner verbally? At least the menu forces you to be consistent.”

Chet: “Well… um… I’ll have to talk to the legal department about that one. Be right back.”

Stan: “No! If you go away, I may never see you again. Just bring me some food from the back… anything. And bring my kids something simple that I can convince them to eat. It doesn’t matter, just give me some food. I am starving at this point.”

Chet: “Well, you’ve been here for over fifteen minutes. You should be past that whole hunger thing by now. You admitted that you were hungry when you came in. You followed me to your seat. You drank the coffee. We really need you to become a self-feeder at this point. Here… put on this shirt and go wait some tables with me. The Coral Ridge family has to stick together and we’ve got some really needy customers tonight and I can’t help them without you. Besides, you are coming here pretty late in the evening. You’ve got some catching up to do if you are going to meet your service goal by closing time.”

Stan: “Listen to me, Chet, I am hungry. You are running a restaurant. Where’s the food? I have my own job down at the factory. I don’t have time to wait tables during the few minutes that I have to eat. My work is hard and I need food to keep me going. After you give me what I need, I still I have to help the kids with their homework, get them ready for bed, and crash so that I can get enough sleep to get up at 4am for the first shift.”

Chet: “We are all really busy, Ted. I understand your struggles. The thing is that each member of the family of Coral Ridge really should pull their own weight. Don’t you realize that there are people coming through that door all the time who were as needy as you were 15 minutes ago? It is not fair that 10% of the people sitting in this restaurant are doing 90% of the work. Here. Fill out this talent survey. It will help you determine if you should work as a barista or if you would be better suited for working over in the play area. You like kids after all. Maybe you are being called to be our next balloon clown. The last guy quit for some odd reason.”

Stan: “I’m not here for a job. I have a job.”

Chet: “…but working at Coral Ridge is so much more fulfilling than at that stinky factory. I understand that you have to make a living, but look at how happy everyone is here. Besides, these people need our help. There is nothing more important than running a quality restaurant. People need to be a part of a restaurant that loves them for who they are.”

Stan: “What they need is food… and I am still hungry.”

Chet: “If you are so hungry, you should have brought a boxed lunch or something. Oh! You should join one of our small home nutrition groups. They are run by customers just like you and you sit in a relaxed atmosphere and learn about food.”

Stan: "Me hungry... You restaurant... Stan need food from restaurant."

Chet: "Now you are just being confrontational."

Stan: "Finally... you are actually listening to me."

Chet: "What you need to understand, Stan, is that there is a difference between a healthy restaurant and a fit restaurant. Healthy restaurants are harmonious and are doing what they are supposed to, but it is possible to be healthy and not fit. Fit is something totally different. Fit is extending beyond healthy and having the ability to really change the restaurant business for the better."

Stan: "............what?!?"

Chet: "You seem confused. I get that."

Stan: “No you don't get me at all. I am hungry. You aren't feeding me. That's because this is not really a restaurant. All you guys serve is coffee and play music. You may call yourselves a restaurant, and you talk a lot about being a good restaurant, but real restaurants serve food to hungry people. Having good coffee and entertainment is okay I guess, but I could go to Starbucks if that is what I was looking for. I didn’t come here for all of this junk. I came here to eat. The coffee and entertainment is all well in good so long as there is still food being served. That is clearly not happening. I think you guys have gotten a little distracted by all of the entertainment and advertising. You have forgotten why your family opened this restaurant in the first place: to feed people. I bet some people come in and don't even realize that they are supposed to get some kind of food here. What good is attracting people if you have no food to serve? Since you seem determined to help me do everything but get what my stomach demands, I am going to take my family elsewhere. We need to eat. Kids! We’re leaving!”

Chet: “Don’t go! You just got here!”

Stan: “Good bye, Chet. Good luck with your ‘restaurant’ and thanks for the coffee.” [Stan walks out with his kids.]

Ted: “Did Stan just leave?”

Chet: “Yeah… he decided that he wanted to go somewhere else. It is sad. Thank God that he admitted that he was hungry when he came in. If he hadn't done that, he might have starved to death. At least he felt lead to come down and sit at a table... even if it was only for a few minutes. We'll call him in a couple weeks and invite him back.”

Ted: “Yeah… the whole Stan thing is pretty discouraging. You know, we have a lot of people who leave like that.”

Chet: “Don’t worry. The program consultant predicted that we were going to lose a statistical number of visitors in the first couple of months of this new business plan. Most people who come in are just not going to stick around and be regular customers. We should level off to a steady number of about 800 customers here in the next couple weeks. This is normal.”

Ted: “Stan seemed pretty passionate… we could have really used him here at Coral Ridge. He seemed to know a lot about nutrition. He would have been perfect as a nutrition leader.”

Chet: “Yeah, but he couldn’t get past the whole “food” thing. He just couldn’t realize that people have so many more needs than just sitting there stuffing their faces. People aren’t going to go elsewhere for coffee and entertainment. If we don’t do these things who will?”

Ted: "They could go to a coffee shop. I hear lots of restaurant customers visit coffee shops from time to time."

Chet: "Yeah, but coffee shops aren't restaurants, Ted. People need to come to restaurants."

Ted: "I... don't really see the difference anymore."

Chet: "Don't be so negative, Ted. Everyone gets discouraged at times. Running a restaurant is not easy."

Ted: “Stan has a point about the food. I’ve lost, like, 40 pounds since I got here and I get woozy when I stand up too quick.”

Chet: “I’ll pray for you Ted. I’ve been there before, too. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you go back inside and get yourself some more coffee. If you still feel bad, I may be able to go scrounge up a power bar or even one of those diet shakes.”

Ted: “Yeah. That always makes me feel better for a few minutes. Thanks, Chet.”

Chet: “Anytime, brother, anytime.”

******

Narrator: “Starving and more than a little angry, Stan drags his family into the little diner across the street. It is dirty, poorly lit and is filled with old people. On the surface, the diner is not as flashy as Coral Ridge, but that doesn’t matter. Stan can smell the food. He steps inside and is met by a grumpy-looking old man and his wife.

Olaf: “Howdy, folks. You hungry?”

Stan: “Starving.”

Olaf: “Hehe… ain’t we all? Hans, cook this boy up a special with extra gravy and I need three specials for his kids. Give them extra gravy, too. Oh, and lots of vegetables. Call me judgmental, but the oldest child is looking a little peekish.

Stan: “What’s the special?”

Olaf: “It’s what everyone is eating today. It is just what you need. You’ll love it. The special changes on a regular schedule, but it is still the same food week after week. None of that trans-fat, high fructose garbage that passes for food these days. Just food the way my grandpa taught me how to cook. Here is our menu. It’s all there in black and white. After we get this first course in your belly, you can pick what else you want to try. Most people skip the desert, but that is really the best part. Try it on my recommendation.”

Bill: “Hey Olaf, when are we going to expand this place and do more than just your grandpa’s cooking?”

Olaf: “We aren’t, Bill, so quit asking. I am here to cook. That is what I am here for. I already let you come in and do karaoke on Tuesday nights for the people who are into that kinda thing, but that is not what we should be all about. If you want to go dancing or make balloon animals then go home and do that on your own time. Right now, you are working here to feed hungry people. You’ve had your lunch break so get back on the line and help Hans get those specials out. If you are tired of running the fryer, then put this sandwich board on and go stand outside. Tell the people on the street that there is food in here. If they are hungry, they'll come in and we'll feed them.”

Bill: “That may have worked before, but hungry people don't just walk into restaurants anymore. We need to do more. Look, I am just trying to get more people in the door. Most of your old customers have died off, started eating out Italian every night, or gone to that Greek restaurant down the street. What is a diner without new customers? Maybe we should invite those guys from Coral Ridge over here to teach us a thing or two about running a restaurant.”

Stan: “NO! I just came from there and they don’t feed people! That place is bogus! Take it from someone who has just come from that place. It isn't a really restaurant at all.”

Bill: “Really? I thought their coffee was fantastic. Why are you being so harsh?”

Hans: “And what’s wrong with our coffee, Bill? I work hard on our coffee.”

Bill: “Look, Hans, I’m not trying to criticize your coffee. I am just saying…”

Hans: “I miss the good ole days when Olaf’s father used to serve the meals with metal forks and metal knives. Back then we only served German dishes and it was fantastic. Ever since you started working here, we’ve been selling out. Kareoke, non-German food, plastic forks, it just makes me sick. It is almost like we aren’t a restaurant anymore.”

Olaf: [Lays down the specials for his new customers] “Quit your bickering, you two. I am so tired of this argument. This restaurant has been around for a long time and we’ve had tougher times than this before, remember? Bill, we are not going to stop serving food and we are going to stay away from anything that distracts us from our job as a restaurant. Get over it. Hans, don’t loose sight of the fact that serving food is the really important thing. We should not overcompensate and make it all about how food is served. If Bill wants plastic forks and it doesn’t really affect the taste then we can talk about what the best decision is. Remember that it is all about the food.”

Stan’s Little Girl: “Dad? When are we going back to Coral Ridge? That place is fun.”

Stan: “It is fun, but we didn’t go there to have a good time. We went there to eat. Did you see any food there?”

Stan’s Little Girl: “…no. They didn’t seem to care very much about food. It was all about all the other stuff. It was fun, though.”

Stan: “Hungry people need food. We have plenty of time and money to go have fun elsewhere, but we still need to eat. Chet has forgotten about that. You may not like this place as much right now, but at least you are getting what your body needs. Eating can be fun, but it is the eating that is really important. Fun without food is not eating. A restaurant without food is just a building full of hungry people. It is easy to get destracted when you are not starving, but your body can't go long without nourishment. If we stayed in Coral Ridge, we'd never get any food. Now, finish all those vegetables.”

Olaf: “I didn’t get your name, friend.”

Stan: “I am Stan. These are my kids. This place could use some work, but the food is still really good. It is food as it should be served. I am here for the food.”

Olaf: “Good to meet you, Stan. We are doing our best. There is always room for improvement, I guess.”

Stan: “Well, you are doing better than Chet across the street.”

Olaf: “Chet is my business partner. We are family. Our two diners used to look the same. A few years ago he listened to some slick businessman and revamped our second location. He took our family name off the sign and added a bunch of extra buildings. Most of my customers go over there now. They haven’t figured out that there is no food at “Coral Ridge”. I hear that Chet is thinking about expanding again to open a casino and his cooking show is supposed to start broadcasting next month.”

Stan: “But that isn’t really feeding people.”

Olaf: “I know. I keep trying to tell him that, but he won’t listen. He does not see the difference between just talking about food and actually feeding people.”

Hans: “Coral Ridge has ruined this place! I am so sick that we are even associated with them. We should just cut ties with Coral Ridge and let them go off and do their own thing.”

Olaf: “No. We are family. We have to keep reaching out to Chet. Maybe he’ll get a clue and go back to running a restaurant instead of just marketing his restaurant. It seems obvious that the business beauru is not going to help us out by making Chet change his business practices. It is up to us. If we don't teach Coral Ridge that a restaurant is all about food no one will.”

Hans: “Chet and his customers wouldn’t know food if it hit them in the face. Those guys are a lost cause.”

Olaf: [Pointing out the window] “Maybe not…”

Ted: [attempting to sneak into the diner]“Hey… are you guys still open? I gotta get something to eat or I’m going to pass out again.”

Olaf: “Come on in, Ted. It’s been a long time." [Olaf hands Ted a basket of dinner rolls which Ted quickly starts to eat.] "There's plenty more where that came from. ...How's Chet?”

Narrator: "The moral of the story is: If you truly love a starving man, you will put your own passions aside and feed him." [Or... never trust a skinny cook.]

Going Back to Egypt

And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel.

-Numbers 14:2-5

On Pentecost Sunday, I was reminded of just how far the Holy Spirit has dragged me from the deluded, Christian-ish religion of my own construction. For those of you who do not know my background, I came to Lutheranism only recently from a charismatic pentecostal church within the Southern Baptist Convention. For years, I helped to lead the praise music. I participated in the missions. I rejoiced over the church planting and the "creative evangelism". I studied at the feet of the "Promise Keepers" and the "Purpose Driven Church/Life".

...that is, until that humanly devised religion all came crashing down under the weight of the Law and the clear testimony of Holy Scripture.

All of that is still very fresh in my mind. I am a Lutheran that remembers the harsh labor that came with the slavery of Egypt. I remember toiling under the whip of the Law. I remember the heavy burden of humanly-constructed principles, duties, and methods. I wandered through a theological desert for much of my life as I thirsted for truth, but did not find it.

The LCMS, a jewel of American Christianity, has done its share of desert wandering as well. Since her creation, she has battled those who want to go back to Egypt. The supporters of Pietism, Revivalism, and Rationalism have all tried to turn this pilgrimage around and head back to the bondage of error. They do not enjoy the difficult road that Christ has called us to walk. They do not want to be lead by the cloud, the pillar of fire, and the snake on a pole. They want to do things their way by using the wisdom of the world. They want human task masters to tell them to engage in human works. Many times, the faith of the LCMS has faltered because of the advice of these people. Many times, God has permitted our Synod to wander in a desolate theological desert because of our unwillingness to embrace the promised land of the gospel.

Yet again, we are at the edge of the desert, but there are complaints. After all that we Lutherans have suffered as keepers of the apostolic faith, we have those who want to appoint new leaders and go back to Egypt.

Well I remember Egypt. I am worried that some of my Lutheran brothers are speaking Egyptian on their websites, at their conferences, in their churches, and through their missionnal programs. I vividly remember what it was like to work in Egypt. Now that I am free, I am alarmed at all the Egyptian being spoken by the people of Israel. I thought that I had left the ways of the SBC behind me. As I research many of the missional initiatives in the LCMS, I am amazed at how Baptist it all sounds. The problem is that members of the LCMS are borrowing methodologies from non-Lutheran church bodies.

What is the problem with that?

Any methodology is built upon a foundation of agreed upon truths and concepts. If the foundational concept is flawed, then the methodology will also be flawed. When you accept a methodology, you must accept the foundational principles on which that methodology is built. You may not agree with them (or even be aware of them), but the principles exist.

Keep that in mind as you think about the foundational principles of the churches that have spear-headed the modern missional movement. How did these churches, primarily those among the UMC and SBC, develop this missional methodology? Think of it as a theological pyramid that shows the progression of a group's theology. At the base are its core beliefs and understandings. Built on that is the group's practice. On the top of this structure is that belief's inevitable conclusion. In the case of modern generic protestantism, you find modern missional methodology. That methodology stands like a capstone on the foundation that elevates it. You cannot seperate the pyramid. You get everything or nothing.

I really want to reach lost people ...but I am asking for more than that. I want a higher standard. I want to create a church that is both "missional" in that it delivers the Gospel to the nations and "custodial" in that it cares for the faithful and preserves the one true faith. She cannot do both with the current missional pyramid because it was designed using a foreign dogma that neglects true doctrine and the spiritual health of the faithful.

I put three questions to my brothers and sisters in the LCMS:

1. If we adopt a foreign methodology, what foundational errors do we have to accept in order to support it?

2. What does the Lutheran theological pyramid look like?

3. How does that solid Lutheran foundation make our methodology different from everyone else?