Broken Promises

            If there is one thing that truly makes me frustrated is when someone ‘promises’ to do something and breaks it. We hear telemarketers promise all of the time to remove our name from the call list. It never seems to happen. We hear customer service people promise all kinds of things but do it simply to pacify you and get you off of the phone.

            I remember one time my wife and I were having trouble with our long distance carrier, MCI. We could make local calls but not long distant calls. I was working with Bellsouth at the time and knew my way around the phone industry.

            I first contacted Bellsouth who referred me to my long distance carrier. When I called MCI around 6pm I was treated cordially and guaranteed that my problem would be fixed in two hours. Well, at 8pm, as you can imagine, I was not quite as polite as I could have been, after all, a guarantee is a guarantee. I was placed on hold on and off for about an hour and a half. They could simply not figure out what was wrong with my long distance. The customer service representative has becoming frustrated as well. She offered to refer me back to Bellsouth to which I refused, stating that I worked for the phone company and knew for a fact the problem was on her end.

            It was then the promises starting flying. She promised to have an MCI technician at my house no later than midnight. I kindly directed her attention to the fact that there was no such thing. Bellsouth was the only phone entity in the area that actually went to a person’s house. It was then that she swore up and down that someone would be at my house from MCI by midnight and there was nothing more she could do.

            Needless to say, no one came to my house, mainly because there was no such service from MCI. I called them back at 1215am. I asked to speak to her supervisor. After another 30 minute hold, I finally reached someone claiming to be as such. The person laughed when I told them about the representative promising me to send a warm body to my house. They verified that they have no such technicians. When all was said and done, my problem was in their software, and I received a $50 credit for long distance on my phone bill. After the $50 credit was used up, we switched long distance service and never returned to MCI.

            How many times as Christians do we break our promises? It seems to be an epidemic in our country that you simply cannot trust someone’s word. We as Christians must strive to honor our words. We must make every effort to follow through on the things we say we are going to do. There are times when we are the only witness for Christ that someone encounters. If we break our word to them, we may also lose our ability to witness to them as well. Let our yes be yes and no be no.

            This isn’t to say we should beat ourselves up but to say that we must be careful with what we say. I have let people down before and it pains me when it happens. But God can cash in on our busted promises. Take a look at Peter. He denied Christ during His darkest hour three times! God still used him to preach a sermon that resulted in 3,000 baptisms. He was an apostle that truly demonstrated a zeal and boldness for Christ even though he failed on many occasions. How can God redeem your broken promises? Start with one relationship. Pray over it. Ask God to help you fix it. Wrestle with how to mend it. Then start with one…

Traditional Versus Contemporary

            One of the big questions of our day is about worship. Should our worship services cater to the ones that prefer a traditional service or the ones who prefer a more contemporary service? It seems that many of the older crowd grew up with things such as hymnals, pews, a reverent style service, and even a certain style of preaching. There is certainly nothing wrong with this type of worship.

            It also appears that those of younger generations prefer a more upbeat, visual stimulating, technology-filled style of worship. They tend to like songs that you might hear on contemporary Christian radio with little to no silence during the service. They tend to like their song lyrics projected on big screens instead of having them in printed form. There is certainly nothing wrong with this type of worship either.

            Yet there seems to be a growing chasm between the two types of service. Unfortunately this same chasm can develop among the people as well. So what is to be done about the vast differences in worship preference? Are we to split our services, have different times for each? Will this not also split the smaller congregations, making two really small congregations out of one small one? If your church is over 1,000 members, you will most likely be running multiple services anyway, and this will not be as big of an issue as in a smaller one. If you are not ready to run multiple services due to sheer numbers, perhaps the following suggestions might provide some help in blending the two:

 

1. Open the lines of communication. It is important to keep your people informed and dialoging. Perhaps have several who prefer each style of worship form a committee and discuss this issue. What does worship look like for each style? What things are important for each group to instill a desire to participate fully in worship? In what ways can these two styles work together? Define the things that seem essential.

2. Cross pollination is a must. A healthy congregation needs members from all generations. There are things that each generation brings to the table that the other generations do not. The older generations have that invaluable wisdom and experience from which others may benefit greatly. The younger generation has the energy for service and has lots of creativity and the imagination to lead the church into the future. When these two generations work together and help each other the entire congregation benefits. It may be the older generation mentoring the younger generation on marriage, or it may be the younger generation helping the older one learn to use technology. This type of cooperation is a must for a strong faith to be passed down from generation to generation.

3. Compromise is acceptable when it is a preference. When we are talking about Scriptural truths, compromise is never acceptable. When we are talking about which song to sing on a giving Sunday, a blend of contemporary and traditional songs and hymns will work well. There are also many apps for electronic devices that can be used to aid worship. A printed bulletin may be a must for some while an electronic “event” with additional content in the YouVersion app may be desirable for others. In the scheme of things, preferences should not be divisive things. A variation in the order of worship should not cause great distress. Clear communication beforehand works well to alleviate a lot of heartburn. Always sell the benefits of a change or variation before it happens.

4. How fast should we go? There are also small things that can be done to compromise. My daughter who is 12 had a nice insight. She said, “I don’t mind singing the old hymns but I don’t want to sing them like I am at a funeral. Please don’t sing Gloryland Way to the cadence of Just As I Am. I end up wanting to fall asleep and not participate.” Is it acceptable to pick up the pace a bit and still sing some of the great old hymns? Absolutely! You may find new life in your song service.

5. Unity building events can cement relationships. There are things that you can do that both generations enjoy. You can have board game nights, movie nights, football watching parties, shopping, book clubs, “Chick flicks”, jewelry or craft making circles, etc. These types of events and social gatherings help members from every generation bond as a community and build lasting friendships.

            Perhaps trying some of these things will help if your congregation is experiencing the separation in generations. Be flexible and remember the most important thing is an open an honest dialog about the issue.

Expectations

²⁰ 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. (Philippians 1:20)

            There are many times in our lives when we have expectations. These could be about meeting or interacting with certain people. The expectations could be about an upcoming event. During these times, we could be filled with excitement or dread.

            But what happens when things just do not meet those expectations? Currently, there are many, many college football teams that would love to be invited to the Bowl Game Alabama will be playing. It is an honor to be selected to go to one of the BCS games. But Alabama had different expectations for their season. They were focused on a National Championship Game. Though what they are experiencing would be considered outstanding by most, they are sorely disappointed.

            How do we handle these same disappointments? Our office Christmas party is a bomb…our family gathering is poorly attended…no one remembers our birthday that falls way too close to Christmas…our kids don’t make it home for the holidays this year…how do we handle those times?

            Often when we are disappointed, it becomes harder to honor Christ in thought and deed. Our focus strays from the main purpose of our lives which is to bring glory to God. We get “blue” and do not want to participate in the rest of the holiday cheer.

            Paul had many reasons to be “blue” or even down-right depressed. Over the course of his ministry, it may even seem more things went wrong than right. There were shipwrecks, beatings, snakebites, persecutions, imprisonments…the list goes on and on. I am not sure exactly what his expectations were for being an apostle and an ambassador for Christ, but I think they were all under-whelmed. It turned out like nothing he would have imagined; yet, he found joy in all of it. He found joy in spite of the disappointing expectations.

            As the year comes to a close and we look back on what might have been, I encourage you to look ahead and stay focused on what is truly important – Christ. He will never “under-whelm” or fail to meet our expectations. When we keep Him in our sight, the rest will pale in comparison…

Let Someone Else Do It

"So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him" (1 Chronicles 14:17).

            Our times are filled with those who promote themselves. Millions of dollars are spent on advertising campaigns in an attempt in influence the public into voting for one political candidate over another.

            Sports companies, agents, and marketing firms attempt to create fame and fortune for their clients and products. It was said at the height of his career that Michael Jordan earns several times the amount of his basketball salary in product endorsements. There were even tennis shoes named after him – “Air Jordans.”

            There is, however, a great danger in all of this self-promotion. Sometimes we may be attempting to place ourselves in a position far ahead of where God may want us. There is nothing wrong with becoming famous or popular as long as it is a blessing from God. But if we are trying to inflate ourselves for the sake of gain then we have crossed the line.

            David’s fame and acclaim came to him as a result of fulfilling God’s mission for his life. Yes, at times, David fell down, but we always see him owning his mistakes and repenting. We always see him walking humbly before the Lord. He never tried to exalt himself above what the Lord ordained. The Lord is the one who raised David up.

            We must always be careful whether we are marketing ourselves or watching ads on television. We must carefully discern whether it is designed to educate or promote and manipulate. Is the product or service being truly described or inflated in an attempt to manipulate our thinking?

            If we remember this one Proverb, it will help us stay focused on God’s method of promotion….

Proverbs 27:2: Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips. 

Barak Moments

8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” 9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. (Judges 4:8-9)

            How often do we know what God wants us to do but we simply do not do it? Or perhaps we want to add our own conditions to it? This is a great example of a lack of faith and trust in the Lord.

            God called Barak to lead the army to victory. Deborah the prophet was speaking for God when she said, “This is what the Lord commands you…” Barak did not want to go alone. His lack of faith in the Lord led him to ask that Deborah go with him.
            We too like to strike bargains with God. Our faith in His ability to get us through may be weak at times. God had guaranteed Barak the victory, but he still wavered. God had already determined the number of men needed and from which tribes these men would come – still Barak wavered. He never thought about the consequences of those actions – but they were there.
            Deborah could have been harsh with Barak. This, after all, was a direct command from the Lord, “Go…” But she obliged him and went along, allowing him to reap the consequences of his disobedience.
            God worked out His purposes even through Barak’s wavering faith. Too often we can look back at our lives and see God working out His will even through our disobedience and weaknesses.
            My own journey seemed to have many detours before I totally surrendered to what God wanted me to do. There were questions, and fleecing like Gideon, and many prayers questioning the path to which I felt drawn.
            The biggest comfort is knowing that grace covers all of those errors in judgment, all the weak times in our faith, and all of the wrong path we have taken. When we truly love Him, He will work things our in spite of all of our “Barak” moments.

On Mission or Going Through the Motions?

Matthew 16:18

18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
            This verse gets a lot of attention for the way in which Jesus connects to and plans to build upon Peter’s confession that He is the Christ. But that is not the thought on which I am going to build. My focus is on the word ekklesia.
            In 1526 William Tyndale had completed his translation of the Bible from Greek texts rather than Latin and began smuggling printed copies of this English Bible into his homeland. This caused a huge stir. It was about control. The Church officials had total control of the Scriptures. How dare he translate it so that the common man could read the Bible for himself? This made him an outlaw in his own country.
            Another problem was Tyndale’s translation of the term ekklesia. He did not superimpose the German word kirche (church). Instead he translated the term as congregation. This correctly reflected the Bible’s original emphasis on church as a movement rather than a location, on church being a people rather than a building, and especially on the message of the Gospel rather than traditions, preferences, and hierarchies.
            In the 21^st century, how often to we substitute kirche for the ekklesia of Jesus? Are we a part of a movement or are we simply meeting? Are we making a measurable, noticeable difference in the communities in which we live or are we simply conducting Sunday services? Do we have a solid, organized mission around which to rally or are we simply following an antiquated model inherited from previous generations? Are we using our resources, time, and talents to deliver of the message of hope that is Jesus Christ or are we spending our time greasing the squeaky wheels?
            Are we truly ekklesia or have we settled for kirche?

Just the Facts...

Did you know…

Did you know that there have been over 6 billion Bibles printed?

Did you know that the Bible has been translated into 451 languages?
Did you know the shortest and longest chapters in the Bible are both in the book of Psalms (117 and 119)?
Did you know the shortest verse in the Bible contains only two words?
Did you know the longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9?
Did you know the longest word in the Bible is found in Isaiah 8:3?
Did you know “God” appears 4379 times (KJV)?
Did you know “Lord” appears 7738 times (KJV)?
Did you know “fear” appears 397 times and “hell” 53 times?
Did you know there was a person with a 13 ½ foot long bed (Deut. 3:11)?
Did you know there was a man with 12 fingers and toes (2 Sam 21:20)?
Did you know there was a man who had 88 children (2 Chr 11:21)?
Did you know that Jesus was born of a virgin?
Did you know that Jesus feed 5000 people at once?
Did you know that Jesus put mud on a man’s eyes and he regained his sight?
Did you know that Jesus walked on water?
Did you know that Jesus healed lepers?
Did you know a woman was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment?
Did you know that Jesus turn water into wine at a wedding?
Did you know that Jesus raised a man from the dead?
Did you know that Jesus walked on water?
Did you know that Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70?
Did you know that Jesus’ ministry only last a little over 3 years?
Did you know that Jesus was brutally beaten and crucified and laid in another man’s tomb?
Did you know that Jesus was only borrowing the tomb because He walked out of it three days later?
Did you know that knowing a bunch of facts about the Bible does not make you a Christian?

Did you know that knowing a bunch of facts ABOUT Jesus does not mean that you KNOW Jesus?

Did you know that the way you act, the way you treat others, the way you tell people about Jesus, the way you pour your heart out in worship, the way you make disciples of others, and your priorities already tell the world whether you KNOW Jesus or you simply know ABOUT Jesus?

Do you KNOW Him?