Continued…

February 7, 2011 • 8:00 am 7

Intentional Church…

I sat across from one of the ministers from my church,   Here are two quotes from the conversation.

Him: “I don’t want another system.” ME:  “I don’t either.”   We were discussing discipleship in relation to small groups, and how do we become more organic in our Church, and intentional in Discipleship.

I sat in church the other a couple months ago and listened to the preacher talk about making the choice for ministry, specifically to the ministry of preaching the Gospel. As I have processed through the sermon, I realized God does not want just another preacher.

I don’t want to be just another preacher.  I want to be more intentional in my use of God’s word to affect Discipleship.

This all starts with the intent of my heart…

Well over 20 years ago I walked away from the institutional church because I was fed up with not finding the answers I was seeking about my faith and was frustrated with the lack of focus on the teachings of Christ. The church was more focused on it’s systems of belief and theology, they were forgetting how to live as the Church and how to live as the Church through Christ.

I started back at an institutional Church about 9 years ago. I could copy and paste my frustrations from the above paragraph.

I need to state here, that church in whatever form it takes is not the issue.  The issue is the intent of the people involved in the church. The worldly view of church says  a church is successful if…If what?  The more people in the seats, the more people are tithing, the more people are in bible studies,the  more people dress a certain way, the more people avoid “evil” things, the more people ignore…..the more the more…the more we ignore the One who instituted the Church.

What did Jesus say to the Pharisees when he confronted them about their man made traditions of doing church?  From Mark 7

Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” 6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,`These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me. 7 Their worship is a farce,  for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ 8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” 9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: `Honor your father and mother,’ and `Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, `Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

And what was the law of God?  From Mathew 22:

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus in both instances is teaching about the intent of the heart.  Interesting that Jesus said both of these in view Pharisees and Sadducees, the leaders of the institutional church at the time. Jesus was more concerned with the intent and focus of the heart toward His church, and was intentionally putting their man made traditions on the alter.  They are to be discarded. Romans 12:1-2

When focused on “the more” success that is defined by the world and set up by a man made system to gain “the more”, we discard the ways of Christ for our own.  Christ is intent on changing the focus of our heart to be His heart.  The intent of Christ’s heart is going to be carried out in-spite of us and our want for more.  We are to be focused on more of Christ, and the change only he can make to the intention of the heart of His Church.

I  have recognized that it is not the institution of church that drives the intent of my heart…It is the power of the Holy Spirit driving me to love Christ more and more everyday.    Today I am blessed to be part of a church that is being intentional about making Disciples,  It starts with being intentional about prayer, and connecting the dots of Christ’s church in the community.   The  body of Christ working together to affect hearts with the Gospel.  Christ the Church, being intentional…

Filed under: Discipleship, God's View, , , , ,

February 3, 2011 • 8:13 am 1

Incomplete thoughts…

What you are about to read is a series of half written posts that have been in draft status for awhile.  It is time for me to clean house with them and get them out of the way.  So enjoy my incomplete thoughts….

————–

(From Jan 10th 2011)

92000 miles…  Around 950 miles a month since the summer of 2003.  If I have the math correct my car will turn or be close to 100,000 miles on my 40th birthday.   Of the 92000 miles I have been in the drivers seat for 95% or more of them.   There is a well worn spot on the steering wheel, a warn spot on the door window sill trim, and the shifter is worn smooth on top.   I know how the car will react in almost every situation, how fast it will accelerate, handle certain turns and curves, and how quick it will stop.   After almost 8 years I hardly notice the hail damage that the car has, and had when I bought it.   What else do I remember..

____________

(From Dec 11th, 2010)

OK with my imperfection…  (Yeah the title is as far as I got with that one)

____________

(From Aug 17th 2010.  This is the one that will be completed sooner than later)

I sat across from one of the ministers from my church. Here are two quotes from the conversation.

“I don’t want another system.” “I don’t either.”

I sat in church the other day and listened to a preacher talk about making the choice for ministry, specifically to the ministry of preaching the Gospel. As I have processed through the sermon, I realized God does not want just another preacher.

I don’t want to be just another preacher.

Well over 20 years ago I walked away from the institutional church because I was fed up with not finding the answers I was seeking about my faith and was frustrated with the lack of focus on the teachings of Christ. The church was more focused on it’s systems of belief and theology, they were forgetting how to live as the Church and how to live the Church through Christ.

_______________

(From Feb 25th, 2010.  The task of this book still lingers in God’s timing)

The first part of this book will focus on worship.

So I want to know a couple things if you are willing.

What is your worship style?

How do you get focused on worship?

Do you or can you worship with out Music?

—————–

It is interesting  looking back at those disconnect thoughts.  I can’t tell you the number of times I think of something to write about, an experience with my faith or a clarification  God has given me from scripture, that remain unwritten.   Or how many times I have sat down to write a post and gotten 3/4 of the way through and hit the delete key.   God reminds me often that I am tasked to do things that are within His will, and that not everything he teaches me  is meant to be blogged to the world.  Maybe it is because what God is teaching me is not what the reader needs, maybe what God is teaching me needs to remain between me and Him. My prayers, writing and thoughts may be incomplete, but no teaching with God is incomplete or without purpose.

Being complete in His purpose means to completely seek him…

Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Filed under: Christ, Discipleship, , , ,

January 21, 2011 • 4:11 pm 1

Is there a pure guy left…

This is an in the Moment post…   Something just needs to be said.

Over the past few weeks, I have had 3 things come into my purview:

About 2 weeks ago my almost 11 year old daughter brought home a book that a friend gave her.   She was excited to start reading it.  It is by P.C Cast and titled “Marked”  Just let me say that in the first 30 pages the language used was not appropriate, and in the first 50 pages I found a reference to oral sex.  My immediate reaction was to tell my daughter she could not read the book.   Then she questioned why?   I calmly explained the language issue and tap danced a bit around the other adult content aspect.  I made sure she understood why I would not allow her to read the book. I then promised to replace the books with something more appropriate for her age.  What gets me is Marked  is a book being targeted to young teen readers, and runs in the same genera as the Twilight series.  Why the need to include this kinda of language and adult content (Content I wouldn’t even read)  ?

Then there was a small snippet I read about a new show on MTV called Skins.  The name of the show may tell you all you need to know, but here is the Episode Summery from the Premier last night:

Tony’s a smart kid. So smart he believes that he can get his best friend Stanley laid, and make a profit in the bargain — with a drug deal. Inevitably that deal goes wrong. Stanley doesn’t lose his virginity…again. And a stolen car, carrying the unpaid drugs, goes into the lake. Now the kids are really in trouble…

Did I mention that the age of the kids depicted in the show are 14-16? Really? Really?  Does anyone else see a problem?

Has anyone thought that there may be a problem with the over sexualization of kids  today?  Of course people have, but,  sure doesn’t seem like much is being done.  Fact, the media is bombarding our kids with images and messages that sex in almost any form is OK.   I will not bore you with the physical and emotional issues that sex brings into a person’s life, but most kids in there teens think they can handle them.

Lord knows I have stood on the streets and watched the affect of this attitude….My heart is crushed, as I think what could be avoided…

And then there is this:

This morning brought some clarity.  As I drove into work the morning show I listen to, Mornings with Brant on WAY-FM,  had a discussion based on an e-mail that was sent to the show by a Dad in relation to his 18 year old girl.  READ the e-mail and Brant’s response.  The basic question.  When it comes to purity are there any decent guys left?  This girl, based on the example of purity by her Dad, seems to think there isn’t.

First I love that the daughter sees purity in her Dad.  Dad’s take note of that.  You hold the key to what your daughter will look for in a husband.  Your example and how you love her, treat her, and the proper affection you show, gives her a model to go by.  So Dad’s ask yourself this question… If you were an 18 year old girl, would you date you?  Is your purity such that you hold the opposite sex up in purity also? How is your marriage?  How are you in affection and purity towards your wife?  Not looking on them as sexual objects, but a person who deserves love, respect, and proper affection.  See Ephesians 5  (SIDE Note: Men do not think for a moment that your son’s do not notice these things and learn from you also.  How you treat and respect the opposite sex transfers to your son.)  Your children will learn from you or the world… Which will you chose?

To the 18 year old girl… I am sorry.  I am sorry.  I am sorry that men, can not think beyond their one track mind, and can not release themselves from the images and pictures of what society deems as almost normal now.  There  is a chance for these men, But they can not do it alone.

I love Brant’s take:

This said, as she looks over the field of boys, she’s not looking at finished products.  And if she finds “the guy” when she’s say, 23, and walks down an aisle, she still hasn’t found a finished product.  That boy, or man, will still be confronted with that question:  ”Embrace manhood and grow, or cling to my foolishness?”

And there in lies the Grace of God… That in the depravity of over sexed media images, there is  Grace.  Each man has a choice to step up and accept that Grace from a Savior who can wash away that depravity.  Don’t believe me ask me what Christ has done for my depravity.   Ask me about the journey I have had on the road to trying to achieve purity…

I more and more understand Paul in his letters, when he talks about marriage and the need to control our sexual tendencies.  That our lives must be filtered through the Grace of God.   And we must measure our thinking:  Phil 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Dad’s it starts with us, for the sake of every 18 year old girl.  Be a model of purity.   If you have a Son, be a model of purity.

Filed under: Discipleship, Men, , , , ,

August 2, 2010 • 6:14 am 5

This is not our Church…

If you read Philter48.com you would have seen this post already.  After my last post on the word Christian, I felt that perspective was needed on who the Church belongs too, and why we as the Body the Bride need to focus solely on Him…

——————————————————————

From Cathedrels to Third World missions.. Love will fall to the earth like a  crashing crashing wave…

PEOPLE THE CHURCH DOES NOT BELONG TO US!!!!!!

The church belongs to Christ!!!

This week I was having a conversation with some brothers in Christ about having a Christ Centered world view. It was centered around politics. We concluded some things are just not worth debating or arguing about, if they break down the bonds of Christ’s Church.

My comment was. We can’t even agree to Love each other as Christ commanded, how are we Going to Love God the way Christ commanded.  Christ is the unity we should maintain.

In Eph 4: 11-16 Paul writes for the Church of Emphasis what unity in the Church looks like.

Paul in chapter 4 is driving home a huge point. The Church is not for us.  We are to be part of the Church, but in no way does it belong to us.  For the Church to work as it should we must be united under Christ.

We all have a part to play as individuals.

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

But it is the people together that will perform great works.  It is the whole sum of the Churches parts working together that will bring about unity in the body. The whole body together completes Christ’s Church.

12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

This true unity, found in each of us working for Christ’s Church, builds us together in unbreakable bonds.  We experience life in this crazy world together, and have brothers and sisters to rely on. When trials and temptation come, the Church is there to stand with us, we no longer stand alone in this world.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

His truth, His word is our offense. The Church loving on each other, under the leadership of the one who Loves us deep and wide.   His love is what binds us together.

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Christ is the foundation, the glue, the magnet that holds the Church together.

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Filed under: Christ, Discipleship, video, , ,

July 31, 2010 • 10:03 am 12

Division the “Christian” thing…

What is it going to take to put a stop to the seemingly endless division of Christ’s church?

A few weeks ago I posted on the division, that the definition of the word Politics has created in the Church.  Well it seems that another word may be more divisive to the Body of Christ:  Christian.

The word Christian was first used to describe followers of Christ when the people of Antioc saw the actions of the disciples.  Namely  Paul (Saul at the time) , Barnabas and Stephen.  Christian is only used 2 or 3 times in the whole new testament, and only once by a disciple, when Peter writes in his first letter:  “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”  Suffers, an action not an identity. Christian today has become and adjective or an identifying description of something being Christian.

Yesterday this blog post on author Ann Rice was brought to my attention.  Here is the main quote from Rice:

“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me,” Rice wrote. “But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

I could not agree with Ann Rice more.

Anne also says:

It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group

The real problem is not the word Christian, it is the fight over who is the best Christian, or which church/denomination has the correct practices or tradition to be Christian.  The other problem is man’s distortion of the word.  Man has distorted the word Christian into a “brand name” of sorts.  We are so busy trying to do the “Christian” life, listening to Christian Music, reading Christian Books, Christian this or that… Instead of it being a description of actions, instead of our actions as followers of Christ describing who we are.   Even the disciples in their letters didn’t use the word, often using “Follower of Christ”,  “The Way” to describe being Christ’s Disciple.

Let me be clear on what I am saying.   It is time for the body of Christ to stop this nonsense of bickering about the best way to believe, worship,  and pray to the God of this great universe.  Jesus has no concern for the best way, or the righteous way we want to worship. He is concerned with the intent of our heart towards our God and others.  In the complete sermon on the mount Jesus is addressing our attitude toward God and in Mathew 7 he says:

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The will of the Father in our lives will be unveiled as we learn the attitudes of our heart. For to long we have distorted the word of God to fit our lives and dreams and thus distorted the word Christian. Each person in the Body of Christ must engross themselves in the study of how God’s word affects their life, and allow the Word penetrate the heart and transform our attitudes as followers of Christ into a like minded belief that Jesus, and His Spirit through us, is “The Way”.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double‑edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Phil 2:1-4 f you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like‑minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Filed under: Christ, Discipleship

July 15, 2010 • 10:27 am 0

A tale of two pens…

They are not impressive pens, Mont Blanc or other wise.   My guess is they cost less than 25 cents to manufacture in bulk.  The chew marks on the tops are from the many mornings, studying God’s word.  Chewing not only on the pens, but on His word.  So why are they important?

4 years a go I set out on a journey of faith.  A Journey that would take me down a narrow road to an even narrower door.  A journey of faith that would test my will and test my resolve to finish and complete a dream. To finally realize I have accomplished something that I dreamed about for a long time.

At the time I wanted to be a minister of God’s word, to preach the good news to all the nations.   What I didn’t know is I had to be His Disciple, and in turn teach the good news and make disciples.  For the longest time I had it all wrong.

Part of the discipleship process is discipline.  Not a pleasant word in the context of the world.  Most of the time when it is used today it is in the context of us doing something wrong.  We therefore discipline to correct the wrong behavior.  And 4 years ago, I didn’t want any part of being told I was doing something wrong.   What I did not realize was the pure Joy I would have if I disciplined myself into loving Christ more and more every moment.  Discipline became apprenticeship, apprenticeship brought training,  and training brought me to Disciple.

So what in the world do these 2 pins have to do with all of that?

Shortly after I stared the Discipleship Curriculum at church, I made a conscious decision to use one pen for DC as long as the ink would last.  This was going to be a small act of discipline.  The first pen I used was the blue one.  For 2 years, every underline in my bible, every question answered in the DC workbook, and every note taken in class.  The blue pen. Ask my wife how many times I looked around frantically for the pen when it would go missing.  Not that I needed the pen to complete the work, but I had made a point to be disciplined in the use of something small.  Then shortly after graduating DC, the blue pen disappeared…

Fast forward a few months and it is time to start DC again, but this time I am on the other side.   Now I am leading men to be disciples.  Rummaging through the house for a pen, I found the purple pen.  So for two years again,  every underline in my bible, every question answered in the DC workbook, and every note taken in class.  The purple pen.

It was about 3/4 of the way through the second 2 years of DC, when I tipped my recliner over to recover a toy that had been pushed under by my son.   Out dropped the blue pen.   I admit I got a bit excited.  Why you ask?

When I  misplaced the blue pen, I thought I misplaced a part of the discipline that I committed to in the beginning.  Honestly I felt I had failed a small part of the discipline, I had done something wrong.   So, I tried to start to use the blue pen for DC again, but it was out of ink or dried up… So I continued on with the Purple pen, and carried over into the current study on Dallas Willard’s, Divine Conspiracy.   The purple pen ran out of ink the other night…

Still not understanding what 2 pens have to do with Discipleship to Christ?   Absolutely nothing.   What matters is for 4 years I committed to diving into Christ head first.  I committed to disciplining my thoughts and actions to be be as much like His as any imperfect person can get.  For 4 years the joy of discipline and doing what Christ commanded has brought me to a point where I have lived out a dream.  But I only lived it out because of Christ.  I am His disciple, I am his student.  He works through me, as his instrument, to do the will of His Father.  He invited me in to Him,  and Christ has disciplined me through His compassionate all encompassing  Love…

The journey is not over, and my completion as a disciple of Christ is not over.  There will be many many more pens along the journey,  but only one Christ.  So with Christ I will carry on… with Christ I continue….

Mathew 25: 22-23 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’  23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Filed under: Christ, Discipleship, , ,

View’s of God

1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

Job 38: 1-3

Prayer for Life News Signup

Prayer for Life News

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 189 other followers

Twitter Updates

The True Story

A Woman's Choice
Until She Comes Home

Continued Here