“I Ain’t No Damned Demon!”

Last week a couple co-laborers and I took a trip to hear one of our favorite preachers at a fairly charismatic church [Read Here: Holiness/Pentecostal]. While we’re walking toward the church building, we encounter a homeless gentleman who was clearly having some mental and psychological battles within himself. [Sidebar: In order to be card-carrying Church Folk, you must have mastered the art of ignoring such people]. As we are walking toward him, he must have smelled the “church folk” on us (I could have sworn I had washed good before I left the house) because he stopped gyrating and muttering gibberish to himself and shouted at us, “I ain’t no damned demon!!!”

Of course we couldn’t help but stop and talk to him after that, but he didn’t have to tell us what had happened. We already knew that dozens of church folk had passed him that day audibly calling him a demon (or saying that he had one). After a few seconds of talking to him, he calmly told us that he’s not a demon, but he’s calling on God to help him. Here’s what made me mad while I was in church thereafter (and I’ll hopefully make you mad too)… There were hundreds of people in the church uncontrollably gyrating and muttering gibberish in the name of God, while he was outside uncontrollably gyrating and muttering gibberish…

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE!?!

Is it because we are in church and a preacher is whooping that makes us “angelic” and him a “demon?” How is diagnosing him as a lunatic and ignoring him as we pass a reflection of Biblical Christianity? Where does the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit will cause us to lose our faculties as we worship God? Talk to me people. I think we might have this thing backwards.

I Love Christians; I Hate Church Folk [The Conclusion]

I know, hate is such a loaded word… but here’s the kicker. The tension that I’ve been wrestling with between Christians and Church Folk is a tension within myself. Thomas à Kempis wrote: “Do not be angry that you can’t make others as you wish them to be, for you can’t make yourself as you wish to be.” I have significant “Church Folk” tendencies that the “Christian” in me hates. I bet many of you Christians might find some of the same tendencies upon honest self-examination. I am on staff as a “minister” at my church. I have a parking space with my name on it… I have a certain church comfort level that I fight every Sunday… I have a BLOG!!! The truth is, I have to fight daily not to be the “church folk” that I hate.

Here’s the reason for the strong language. It’s partly because of “Church Folk” that the world doesn’t know what a Christian looks like. The world doesn’t have the discernment to dissect the two. I would venture to say that much of the church doesn’t have the discernment to dissect the two. Therefore, many non-Christians feel that all Christians are judgmental, self-centered, spooky, holier-than-thou Bible thumpers because that’s their experience with church folk. Is my prayer to be a “likable” Christian to the world? That’s a difficult conversation… but sinners liked Jesus! And church folk hated Him! My prayer is to show the same love that Jesus showed. To be a servant as Jesus was. [Sidebar: That word “servant” that Jesus used is the Greek word “diakon” from which we get our English word “deacon.” Just some food for thought for Deacon Williams.] To dump my own system and agenda for His. To be the light of the world and salt of the earth, as He proclaimed us to be. To look like Him. In order to do that, I have to hate the “church folk” in me.

I Love Christians; I Hate Church Folk [Part 3]

Here’s part 3 of a continuing thought that I’ve been wrestling with recently.

1.    Church folk are more concerned with church than Christ.

2.    Church folk are more concerned with status than servant-hood.

3.    Church folk are more concerned with systems than saints and souls.
Oh gosh! This is a source of incredible frustration for me. One thing you never have to guess with Church Folk is what they DON’T like! They don’t like that big church, that small church, that seeker-sensitive church, that traditional church, those contemporary Christian songs, those hymns, that Hammond organ, those drums, that multi-site church, that small-group based church, that house-church, that ______________ (you fill it in). They have a problem with every system except their own… every way to do things except their own… every thought process except their own. They are convinced that their way is the way it was done in the Bible and any other way is wrong. They’ll never admit that they are more concerned with systems, because they have no idea… they think their system is the only Biblical system and, therefore, not a system. On top of that, everyone else’s system is the wrong system because it’s not theirs (Read here: Biblical). Never mind that the other people have astute Biblical doctrine (they’ll overlook that). Never mind that the other people are impacting lives for the kingdom (they’ll claim that they can’t be with that flawed system). Never mind that the other people are accomplishing the great commission and the great commandment. It just ain’t right! You’ll usually hear them complaining in church or (if they’re technologically savvy) blogging about how those people are doing it wrong. They’ll assume to know the heart and intentions of the leaders of the other system, that they are impure and flesh-driven. They’ll make unfair generalities and misrepresentations to get their point across.

The Pharisees challenged Jesus on systems almost daily. They complained about what He did on the Sabbath, how He and his disciples baptized (or didn’t), how they picked grain, how He hung out with sinners, how He HEALED SICK PEOPLE!!! They claimed that He received his power from Satan and that He could not possibly be from God. Why? Because He didn’t fit nicely inside their system. Because they identified their system as God’s system. They completely overlooked how the gospel of the Kingdom was being accomplished. They missed the clues that were in the very Scriptures that they copied and memorized. They didn’t care that people were being healed and sins were being forgiven. Actually they hated it because it didn’t happen in a way that their system permitted. What did Jesus have to say about their systems? Well, he pronounced woe on them because they “shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.”  A former blind man in the Bible told the church folk, “I don’t know if this Man is a sinner… all I know is that I once was blind, but now I see.” As Christians, let’s care more about the billions of blind people that need to see!

I Love Christians; I Hate Church Folk [Part 2]

Here’s part 2 of a continuing thought that I’ve been wrestling with recently.

1.    Church folk are more concerned with church than Christ.

2.    Church folk are more concerned with status than servant-hood.
Church folk love hierarchy, especially if they have a title in the church. His name is Jim at his house, his job, his neighborhood, at Wal-Mart, and at the KFC. But at church, if you don’t call him Deacon Williams, he will correct you quickly. They love their title and the “church perks” that come with it. Oh yes, they love their reserved parking space, and if you park there your car will likely be towed before the benediction. They love their VIP seating in the church and will politely escort you to the “regular” people section if you happen to get confused about your place on the food chain. They love their 5 minutes of attention when they give the announcements or lead the responsive reading. You get the point.

This is funny to Christians because every time the Disciples start talking to Jesus about hierarchy, He either (1) ignores them, (2) or tells them a story, or (3) displays to them that the greatest of all must be servant of all.  I wish I could say it as well as He did, but since I can’t:

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called ‘Rabbi. Don’t ever let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Master,’ for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant.” ~Matthew 23:5-11 (NLT)

I pray I can display it as well as He did… He did it at the cross.

I Love Christians; I Hate Church Folk [Part 1]

Man, I’ve been living in this tension for much my life. As a follower of Christ, I love to be around other people who also follow Christ. Nothing energizes me more than being around people who really understand the love of God that is displayed in Christ and given to us by grace. These people have cashed in their own agenda for His. They look alot like Jesus. However there is another group of people. These people claim to be Christians, and I bet they are… but they just don’t look like Jesus in many ways. I know you’ve seen them around. They’re probably a major reason you or people you know don’t go to church. Just so you can be on the lookout, here are some characteristics of church folk.

1.    Church folk are more concerned with church than Christ.
The thing about church folk is that they love church! Now, just so you know, Christians love church too… but for different reasons. Church folk love church because it’s a comfortable opportunity for them to have their Christian ear tickled, and for them to have control over a status quo. Church folk love church, but don’t like it when people mess with their church comfort level. This means so many different things for church folk. Church folk don’t like it when people who don’t look like them come to their church. They feel like their space has been invaded when someone isn’t dressed right, or doesn’t know the proper church etiquette, or has a visible life issue (drug or alcohol addiction, homeless, homosexual, etc).  Church folk won’t talk to these people and share the love of Christ with them… OR if they do, they will do so in a judgmental way as if they weren’t one grace experience away from being on the other end of the conversation.  Because really, how dare this SINNER come into our church and wreck the flow!?!

Jesus told a self-righteous lawyer a story about a guy who got beat down in an alley, and while the church folk in the story passed by on the other side, somebody who wasn’t even welcome in their church stopped and helped the person. In that story, Jesus praised the outcast who showed love over the church folk who didn’t. In fact, much of Jesus’ ministry was devoted to debunking the hollow ritual of church folk, challenging them to exchange their ritual for a truly surrendered heart to God.

Stay tuned for Part 2…

Do Stuff You Can’t Do!

There’s a quote from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit that has been haunting me since I heard it a few days ago. Gary Haugen, the president and CEO of the International Justice Mission was challenging us not to be so safe with our goals in impacting the world for Christ. We need to seek to accomplish things for God that we can ONLY do by His power. After giving us a quote from Mother Theresa where she said she couldn’t possibly think of doing her job for 30 minutes without prayer, he asked:

“Are you doing something that you could possibly do without prayer?”

Dang! So often I trust my own gifts and skills to do what I do. Whether it’s speaking or leading or whatever. Too often I keep my activities within the scope of what I know I can do within my own ability. Then I end up sub-consiously giving myself the credit when it’s successful. I’m such a dope. My goal for the rest of this year is to start doing stuff for God that I KNOW I CAN’T DO! I bet God laughs at how small most of my plans are because I don’t have enough wreckless faith.

UPDATE: What NOT to say to a Pregnant Woman

Ok, many of you read my previous blog on this subject. If not, check it out. OK, so not even two days after I post that blog, I’m out of town at a preaching engagement when I receive a text from my wife. Here’s how the conversation goes:

LaVera: This is hilarious. This woman at Grandy’s church just told me I look miserable!

Bobby: You’re lying to me. I refuse to believe someone actually said that.

LaVera: I wish I were lying honey.

Yes, a lady came up to my wife and after asking when she was due, told her that she looked so miserable. My wife stopped smiling and succinctly told her that she wasn’t miserable, then concluded that she was just using that “I can say anything” card that most old people get with their AARP membership. Really, even if a pregnant lady looks miserable… WHY WOULD YOU TELL HER THAT SHE LOOKS MISERABLE. At what point did this become a compliment? Is she supposed to feel better because you feel sorry for her? I hope none of you have said anything like this. Just in case, I’ve been brushing up on my King James Version.

My Hard Drive Died!

This is tragic. Last Friday evening as I was starting to look over my notes for a sermon that evening, my laptop started responding slowly. [Sidebar: For you Mac users, the pinwheel wouldn't go away.] Not thinking much of the clicking sound that was coming from my laptop, I just did the default fix-all… turn it off and turn it back on!!! Well, when I turned it back on, I saw an icon that I had never seen before. After a call to Apple Support and a visit to Mac Medics, I learned that it was the icon of death!

All of my files, gone. All my pictures and documents for CrossRoads… gone. All of my work for a future church… gone. Sermons, illustrations, seminary notes… gone. Much of the older stuff I have on various thumb drives and my old desktop computer, but alot of recent stuff is gone. They told me it would probably cost about $2,000 to recover all my data. Tragic.

There must be an illustration of spiritual truth in all this right? Of course! There are many. This is my favorite. Since the crash, I bought a new hard drive (upgraded from 80gb to 160gb), upgraded to the newest Mac operating system (Leopard 10.5), upgraded Microsoft Office, and more. It really feels like I have a brand new computer. I had to do a full setup as if it were a new laptop, I have all new programs and a fresh hard drive. But I still have the outer casing of my old computer. All the scratches and chips and skin oil of a laptop that’s over a year old. Isn’t that what happens to us? When we are saved by grace through faith, God cleans us out and makes us brand new on the inside. New perspective, new focus, new abilities, new features, new operating system, new life! But we still have the old outer casing that is flawed and prone to sin… the flesh.

It’s not hard for me to get past the flawed outer shell of my MacBook because all the new features are so much greater! For those of you who walk with Christ, allow the newness of your new life in Christ overcome the sinful flaws of your flesh. If you don’t walk with Christ, know that He can come in and make you brand new… but your old hard drive must die first!

The Leadership Summit

Sorry for the long hitatus between blogs. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with the CrossRoads Cafe’ upgrade, my wife and I moved to a bigger apartment and we are preparing for the new addition to our family, and the untimely death of my laptop hard drive. I’ll blog more about those later!

Over the next couple of days I will be taking in the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. First Baptist is a sattelite site for the conference. It was GREAT last year and I’m looking forward to being challenged and encouraged by some of the best leaders in the Christian and business world. I’m also excited about spending most of the day with D.Plum. As a future church-planter, I love getting it in with church-planters, learning and building with them. D.Plum is one of those guys. He’s the Pastor of Mosaic Community Church in College Park, MD.

OK, the next session is starting. Will check back in later…