I gave a talk a few weeks ago to our young adult community – wanted to share some of our main takeaways.

Defined by King David’s mishaps:
“Lust is a distortion of ownership and an abuse of power.”
2 Samuel 11-12

• Lust is a generational bleeder.

• Lust is straight-up selfish.  (2 Timothy 3:2)

• Lust is a thirsty sand drinker.

“Lust is not the result of an overactive sex drive; it is not a biological phenomenon or the by-product of our glands. If it were, then it could be satisfied with a sexual experience, like a glass of water quenches thirst or a good meal satisfies appetite. But the more we attempt to appease our lust, the more demanding it becomes. There is simply not enough erotica in the world to satisfy lust’s insatiable appetite. When we deny our lustful obsessions, we are not repressing a legitimate drive. We are putting to death an aberration. Lust is to the gift of sex what cancer is to a normal cell. Therefore, we deny it, not in order to become sexless saints, but in order to be fully alive to God, which includes the full and uninhibited expression of our sexual being within the God-given context of marriage.  ~

Richard Exley, “Homemade”

• Lust is a mind melter.  (Philippians 4:8, John 8:44)

• Lust is an acute attacker.

• Lust is a clumbsy pyromaniac. (Prov. 6:25-29, 25)

• Lust has a weak spot and a kill shot. (1 Cor. 10:13,  Eph. 6:10-18)

So, how do you fight in a lust-filled world?
Put on your armor.
Use your weapons.
Stay close to fellow soldiers.

“The God of light insists on traveling into dark places; the God of peace continuously involves Himself in the wars of men; the God who is good engages the depth of human evil. To follow Jesus is to enter the unknown, to relinquish security, and to exchange certainty for a confidence in Him.” ~Erwin McManus

Just a provoking thought I’ve heard argued… Could it be possible that Adam cultivated the ground (maybe unknowingly) for sin to take place?  That perhaps (with good intentions) he really put Eve in a position where she could be at more risk?  Withholding the exact truth from her that placed her in jeopardy?  I’ve heard it argued that in the storyline God had instructed Adam alone to make sure not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17)  But in Genesis 3:3, we find something added to the instruction in how Eve responds to the serpent.  One could speculate that Adam gave her this “bonus” instruction, telling her that even “touching it” would kill her (p.s. not what God had said).  Adam may have thought this was an act of protection, keeping her far away from the tree, but it still wasn’t the truth that God spoke to Adam (if she heard this from Adam).  One could guess that maybe she had touched the tree and did not die, allowing her moreso to believe that eating the fruit would be harmless while gaining what the serpent described.  If Adam told her a “white” lie, wouldn’t that be considered the original sin?  If so, how come Adam didn’t instantly feel the shame? Perhaps once he had the knowledge of good and evil (after eating the fruit) he knew what he did was wrong.  Plus we find in verse 6, that Adam was with Eve while all this was going on, and he didn’t tell the devil to shutup.  You could say that Eve was tempted in her obedience while Adam was tested in his character.  So, was Adam a pawn in the whole scheme?  Thoughts?

Just painting the other side of the fence, I think it’s interesting that in this case even in the Fall the interpretation of the initiating guilty party could be seen as one or the other, unless someone can resolve it here for me – I’d love to hear it.

Question:  Have your best intentions seeded more hurt than help?

After researching the spiritual life of teens over a 5 yr. span, Christian Smith concluded the faith of the majority of those who attend churches is MTD: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

By “moralistic” I mean good and nice…By “therapeutic” I mean being primarily concerned with one’s own happiness in contrast to focusing on glorifying God, learning obedience, or serving others. Finally, by “deism” I mean a view of God as normally distant and not involved with one’s life, except if one has a problem one needs God to solve. In other words, God functions as a combination divine butler and cosmic therapist.

~Christian Smith, Sociologist of Religion, University of Notre Dame

I read this and was immediately challenged to look at the places where I put God into a self-serving role that omits or ignores the glory He deserves first and foremost. Am I too buddy buddy with God – not recognizing the magnitude and incalculable privilege it is just to utter a word to Him? It is only in those times of humility that I recognize and experience His power and presence up close and regain a perspective, accept His love, & recalibrate my view of God and His view of me. I am not God’s customer or client. I am his child – adopted through the powerful blood of Jesus Christ! I find a Father who is all loving and all powerful. One who wants to walk with me – everywhere! I learn to recognize His voice and heed His guidance. In those promptings and small acts of obedience He begins His best work: someone smiles, someone hopes, someone is cared for and loved, bitterness disappears, lies are unveiled and truth permeates, heaviness dissolves, anger subsides, peace surrounds, eternity is altered, strength is regained and beauty is restored. We pick up the towel and do His work, and He gives us (His children) a front row seat. And it’s in those steady worshipful moments we feel most alive.

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings.
1 Corinthians 7:23

I have been taking some courses at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the books our Spiritual Formation class is discussing together is “The Divine Commodity” by Skye Jethani.  I am hoping to post my reflections on this book each week as I become more transparent in my wrestling with the transformation of the church (more specifically the Western church) in today’s culture.  Honestly, I am not one who has jumped on the Emergent Church bandwagon.  There are ideas that do resonate with me, but there is also plenty I have not yet concluded so conclusively as have many of the Emergent experts.  So this is my journey to understanding.  My thoughts will be outloud so I may need some grace in some areas as you read.

I do believe the Church should carry a unique voice into culture, shaping it where needed as well as sharing values that resonate.  When approaching the subject of consumerism bleeding into the church, I believe we have to ask these questions:

• What culture are we serving?
• How do we speak the language?
• Is the excellent, shrink wrapped, glossy and pristine packaging with the latest movie title parody enhancing or diminishing the power of the Gospel?
• When are we overselling in order to appear more relevant?
• When are we trying to buy the same tshirt the “cool” kids are wearing to school? And when should we be giving the shirt off our own back?
• When are we sacrificing our own identity or imagination?
• Does your church offer too many feeding options and not enough doing options or better yet are we talking too much about the feeding options and not highlighting the fruits of God’s work in our church equally if not more?
• Does it show a lack of creativity on our part if we’re constantly mimicking culture to spread God’s truth?
• Is our use of cultural consumer connects producing active Christians or slothful feeders?
• What are other ways the church can connect culturally without feeding consumerism?
  (I have some ideas that will show in a later post, but would love your input)
• Are we attractive because of our relevance or because of our mission?  Can it be both? Should it be both?

These are questions I wrestle with and it’s usually on a continual and conditional basis.  The danger I see in blanketing a movement against the “perceived” use of consumeristic ideals towards cultural relevance (which shouldn’t be applied the same way to every church across America) is that it can breed both divisiveness and accusation within the Church.   I found myself agreeing with Jethani in that the church should not operate out of a fear of irrelevance. If we’re afraid of irrelevance then we have lost the Gospel all together.  If we’ve completely lost touch with the culture we live in then that’s a different story.  Then our fears are born out of our own disobedience to the Great Commission.

The Gospel in itself is timeless.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

I do believe anything in culture can ultimately point back to the Gospel.  Not that all roads lead to heaven, but if we pay attention to God’s direction they can lead us to the Gospel – and the Gospel road is the narrow one that gets us to our Creator.  The best thing for us to do as Christians is guide people to the Gospel without reinforcing the values of our culture that we desperately seek to change.  Jesus should be the centerpiece of  culture (our way of life), so we have to be careful not to treat him like just another product on the shelf. It’s my prayer that in a consumer-driven culture, we would seek to be consumed ourselves by the powerful love of God, and in that learn to give our lives away for the sake of another’s discovery of the same unending love God has for them. We need to be the product of God’s redeeming love and allow Him to use us as He would, not the other way around.

Below is a quote from the first chapter of “The Divine Commodity” that provoked something in me.  Would love to hear your thoughts.

But those whose imaginations were set free, those illuminated by the ray from on high, saw with new eyes.  They understood the radical vision of Jesus and went on to transform the world.  The book of Acts shows them overcoming kings and subverting empires, raising the dead and healing the blind, living in unity and loving the unlovable.  But they did not achieve these things through the wisdom or methods of this world, but through the foolishness of God.    And like Jesus, their ability to see the unseen and speak of a more real real made them incredibly dangerous people.  They were a threat to the fake reality…established by the powers and authorities of the world.

Gungor featuring Michael and Lisa Gungor perform an acoustic version of “Beautiful Things”.

Bring the whole family to this FREE and FUN community event. Wear a costume and try to win prizes in the costume contest, go trunk to trunk and collect candy, play on the bounce-houses, enjoy carnival snacks, and so much more! Click here to download and print your free door prize drawing ticket (prizes include Heat tickets, Nintendo Wii, iPod, giftcards, and more).

Whittling is the art of carving shapes out of raw wood with a knife.

Whittling is typically performed with a light, small-bladed knife, usually a pocket knife. Specialised whittling knives are available as well. They have thick handles which are easier to grip for long periods allowing precise control and pressure.

Leadership I’ve found is a lot like whittling – it’s definitely a discerned exercise of precise control & pressure towards a common creative goal.  Something Jesus I’m sure as a carpenter, a man, and as God in the flesh displayed so well.  So, I had a meeting with our talented communication staff yesterday trying to whittle down our purpose as a team –  revisiting the “what” and “why” we do what we do. I asked them to describe to me a work situation where they experienced the moment of  ”man, this is what I am passionate about!”- where they knew they were “in-the-zone” of what they are shaped to do. In all our sharing, each story was whittled down to seeing a God-need being met through our simple act of service, witnessing a person or group of people easily finding and learning to follow Christ.

So we bounced around the idea – to chisel down our purpose as a ministry…and we’ve arrived at:

“We do everything we can to help people find and follow Christ!”
(which just so happens to be in alignment to our church’s purpose!)

We update our website…so people can find and follow Christ.
We shoot and edit videos…so people can find and follow Christ.
We produce signage…so people can find and follow Christ.
We send press releases…so people can find and follow Christ.
We design logos..so people can find and follow Christ.
We pray together…so people can find and follow Christ.
We simplify..so people can find and follow Christ.
We upload podcasts…so people can find and follow Christ.
We fix typos…so people can find and follow Christ.
We share stories…so people can find and follow Christ.
We think of creative solutions…so people can find and follow Christ.
…and so on.

Questions:
Where/When do you find yourself the most fulfilled and invigorated – used by God?
What seems to be the common thread among those moments?
How can you simplify “that” into one easy memorable phrase?

Related reading:
Was just reading Kem Meyer’s post today – and thought it was relevant. Check it out!
5 ways to start dissolving silos… http://bit.ly/ap8u7n

Acts 2

42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

There is consistence.
Truth is spoken.
People have social gatherings.
People eat & pray together.
There’s awe felt worship & miraculous witness of God.
There’s commonality & sacrifice.
There’s no division within the body. (of one mind)
There’s mobility.
There’s serving with sincerity and gladness.
There’s praise given to God.
They have a great reputation.

And God added daily.

For more on who and what the church is – view UBC Miami’s “CHURCH” message series.

June 2010
The Church unites in action to reach our world.

One Prayer is a 4-week global event for churches around the world. We share resources by using video teaching messages and other free materials from participating churches. We team up with other churches in our community for outreach and service projects. We can give beyond our four walls by collecting an optional offering for an organization of our choice.

Gifted pastors and communicators will contribute message videos that explore the theme “Unstoppable.” Churches all over the world will have the opportunity to select the teaching available on this website that best prepares their community to live out what we’re learning together.

‘Wrapped up our shoot for our One Prayer message this past Thursday.  Our pastor, Bill White (@billwhiteubc) spoke on “Unstoppable Joy!”