He Said, I Said

"Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one 

who has my word speak it faithfully.  For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD.  "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"  Jeremiah 23:28-29

The blinking cursor on the screen keeps time as I sit here thinking, "What do I have to say that will ultimately benefit anyone?"  Considering the millions and billions of words that have been spoken and written by others far wiser and far more gifted than I, what's the use in throwing out a few hundred more words into the ocean of ideas?  Of course, practically speaking, I'm expected to preach and teach - it's in my job description, so it makes good sense to do it.  Still, the question gnaws at the serious person who preaches and teaches: "What difference do all of these words make?"

No matter how many words are spoken, people (including the speakers themselves) still make foolish and harmful decisions, have unloving attitudes, and fall short of the beautiful picture the words paint.  If "a picture's worth a thousand words" and "actions speak louder than words", then why use words?  Even within our Christian circles we honor statements like, "Preach the gospel; use words when necessary" (often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi).  Apparently the world sees words as the least valuable currency in the marketplace of ideas.  Maybe we should abandon words and stick to pictures and actions instead?  You can imagine what a concern these kinds of thoughts might be to those who have devoted themselves to the power and influence of words.  I am one such person. 

Yet, when I read God's words, such as those quoted above from Jeremiah 23, I am convinced all over again that words are worth it.  Words are worth wrestling through and fighting for.  Not my words, mind you, or those of any mere mortal.  No, my words will always fall flat and be of limited value and durability unless they echo, repeat or restate the words of God Himself - especially those spoken through Jesus: 

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at

many times and in various ways, but in these last days

he has spoken to us by his Son..." (Hebrews 1:1-2)



We who lead the people of God must be extremely cautious and entirely careful that we do not fall into the same trap that the false prophets of Israel did (as described in Jeremiah 23)!  We cannot be lazy or sloppy with the words, realities, truths, and ideas of God.  One doesn't need to think long about that to know why not.  They are God's words, realities, truths and ideas!  What fools we would be to think that the people of God need our dreams, musings, theories or vain notions more than the life-giving words of their Shepherd, King and Father!

So then, let us keep simple things simple.  What God has declared, we will declare.  If God has remained silent about this or that, let us remain silent about this or that.  What He has emphasized and stressed, let us emphasize and stress.  His words matter.  His words heal, restore, revive and save.  I'll trust His words to be enough and more than enough for myself and those entrusted to my care.  Amen!

What Lurks Beneath

Healthy Church Consideration #3:

"Health and sickness aren't always discernible with the naked eye;

some diseases and ailments are only seen when we look deeper."

The discovery of germs forever changed how we humans view the world.  The realization that microscopic predators, invisible to the naked eye, could find their way into our bodies and wreak deadly havoc on them enabled us to begin the steady climb toward conquering all known diseases and ailments.  We have a long way to go, of course, but we're much closer to that goal than we were a few generations ago.

Is it any surprise to us that the spiritual reality is the same for us?  Subtle and underlying dangers are ever poised to weaken and/or defeat individual disciples of Jesus and His churches.  Like skilled doctors, we who lead this church of Jesus must be able and willing to probe passed the surface of things (e.g. Sunday morning attendance, offerings, mood, etc.) so that we can accurately diagnose the health and well-being of our church family.  To neglect this level of care and concern is to invite weakness and defeat!  Check-ups and examinations are needed in the pursuit of spiritual health just as they are in the pursuit of physical health.  We must be clear on what dangers threaten us and how to spot them.

So what are some of the hidden and subtle dangers that lurk under the surface of church life?  I invite you to share some examples that you can think of - especially those you see lurking under the surface here in our body of Christ.

Diet and Exercise

Healthy Church consideration #2:

"Optimum health is part (proper) consumption

and part (proper) exertion."

Ah, if only repetition was a guarantee of true learning! How many times have you and I been told that the key to being truly healthy is to have a good diet and to regularly exercise? We all know that that's true, don't we? It doesn't take a health expert to know that what we put into our bodies affects how our bodies operate and that what we do (or don't do) with our bodies affects them as well. It's a rather duh! kind of concept, right?

Well, knowledge is not the same as wisdom, I'm afraid. I still don't eat the number of fruits and vegetables that my body requires to be optimally healthy, nor do I exercise as much as I ought. I've got really good reasons why I don't, but the fact remains that I don't. So then, I am not optimally healthy. I am reasonably healthy and comparably healthy (you know, if you compare me to that less healthy guy over there), but I'm not optimally healthy. Who's got the time, money and will power for all of that healthy eating and consistent and disciplined exercise anyway?

Churches, bodies of Christ, become optimally healthy the same way that our physical bodies do. If we consume the best of God's Word truthfully and clearly communicated, and if we exercise our gifts in humble and loving service to one another and the world, then we'll be healthy. It's no magic formula, it's just how things work. Some members of the church are being fed really well, but aren't exercising, and so they cannot be healthy. Some members are exercising but not eating very well, and so they cannot be healthy. Some members are eating well and exercising and they are growing stronger and healthier every day!

You know what happens when you don't eat enough good stuff and you try to exercise intensely and frequently? You run out of energy! You can go for awhile, but your body can't maintain its drive and vitality. How true this is in our life with Christ. Some of us try to do, do, do and serve, serve, serve without being thoughtful and purposeful about our truth-intake, our personal worship, and our reliance on the Holy Spirit within us. Burnout and/or discouragement are bound to come this way. Without a constantly refreshed vision and joy, doing things for God or the church can be spiritually destructive and even deadly.

Of course, you also know what happens when we eat plenty and don't exercise, too. Taking in energy without expending it leads to weight gain and its related problems. We become weak and unable to perform even the most basic tasks of life without great strain and effort. Aren't there some Christians who walk through life with Jesus that way? The simplest things of discipleship can seem so hard and burdensome because they've ingested but haven't expended the life-giving energy of God's Word and Spirit.

As a church, we need to be committed to uncompromising and bold truth-telling as well as humble and sacrificial truth-doing. We remember that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26) and that we are not to "love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). Take in the true Word and then live out the true Word: this is the one reliable way to become optimally healthy as individual disciples and as a church family. Amen!

The Power Source

If we're going to become a truly healthy church by becoming Christlike and effectively making disciples, then we have to be entirely clear on the source of our ability and competence in doing so. In short, our source is in the crucified and resurrected King. Yet, there is much to His death and resurrection that we must firmly grasp if we are to live in their power and promise for us.

We must understand that the death of Christ means that we can be forgiven and cleansed from the guilt of our past sins, rebellion and disobedience. There's more, though. We must understand that the death of Christ, the sinless and righteous One, means we human beings no longer need to live under the tyrannical boot heal of sin. We are no longer compelled to do its bidding. We are free to become the kind of people who actually live in the normality of obedience and submission to God. We can become the kind of people who see righteous living as the rule and sinful behavior as the exception, rather than the other way around. Without this, we have no hope of becoming Christlike, and we are inclined to throw up our hands and declare surrender before we even get started. Because of the death of Christ and His eternally resurrected life, we can set our faces toward the goal of becoming Christlike with confidence and eager expectation of success.

When we joined ourselves to Christ, the sinful self died and lost its power over us while the Holy Spirit filled us and gave new life to our spirits (thus we are "born again"). This awakening of our true selves means that we can actually love and obey God from sincerely devoted hearts! Becoming like Christ is not only possible now - it's actually expected! This is very GOOD NEWS for we who have decided to pursue Christlikeness above all else - in ourselves and others. This is truly the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.

So then, no more pessimism or cynicism in the churches of Jesus Christ. No more "we're only human" non-sense. There's nothing "only" about being human. We are, after all, made in God's image and likeness and bought by the precious blood of His only Son. We are bearers of His holy name and His Holy Spirit. We are destined for endless life in His endless kingdom where we will rule and reign with Him. Where's the "only" in that? All of this humanness flows from the amazing and wondrous work that Jesus did on the cross and that God did in the tomb. May we never cease to be plugged in to this all-sufficient source of our power. Amen.

Better's Better than Bigger

"A healthy church will necessarily grow,

but a growing church will not necessarily be healthy."

As leaders of an organization, we have to be very much aware of the goals we have so that we can strive to reach them. I want our church leadership team to consider our goals very carefully together so that we can be very certain that our goals are Christ-pleasing and Kingdom-building. Each of us might have our own goals in mind for the church, but those goals cannot be helpful to the whole church body unless we can come together with agreement and channel our combined energies, passions, and resources to achieve common goals. I believe our overarching goals must be to 1) be a healthy church, and 2) be an effective disciple-making church. Truly, these goals are two sides of the same coin because they rely entirely on each other. How can we effectively disciple if we are not truly healthy? Likewise, how can we consider ourselves truly healthy if we are not effectively making disciples? (How to define these goals and how to pursue them will have to be dealt with more fully later.)

 Now, if you look around at the greater American church culture, you'll probably find, as I do, that there is a tremendous pressure on church leaders to grow their church organizations. Visible growth would seem to be the primary goal for some churches. "Seeker-sensitive" trends often flow from the drive toward and pursuit of getting more "buildings, bodies and bucks" (to use Bill Hull's language). That's one extreme of church goal-setting. I want to avoid this like the proverbial plague! As a counter-weight to that extreme mindset of focusing on the external (visitors) in order to build up the internal (the organization), there are other church leaders who think it noble and heroic to stay stagnant in growth because it's a sign that they are not compromising the truth or watering down the gospel - as if lack of growth was a sign of faithfulness! I don't know how you feel about that, but I say, "Nonsense!" This mindset is built on a faulty assumption that growth (especially rapid growth) must be the result of some leader selling out and scratching "itching ears" with empty preaching. Unless the apostle Peter was that kind of leader, the experience of the early church (as described in Acts 2) debunks this myth.

So what's the proper and sane middle view? I contend that good church growth is the inevitable result of good church health. A healthy body grows the cells it needs to thrive and carry on with energy and vitality. A dangerously unhealthy body can grow, too, though (think of tumors or obesity). Growth, then, can't be the primary goal. We must set our eyes on the primary goal of being healthy with the confidence that good growth will naturally come. I don't use the word "naturally" to imply that it comes passively, but that it does come as a part of a God-designed process (a passive church would never be healthy, anyway!). So, can we agree that our primary pursuit has to be good health rather than growth? Can we also agree that church growth is beautiful, Christ-honoring, and desirable for His sake when it's brought about His way? Now it's your turn to share... Comments away!

Healthy Church

As a church of Jesus Christ, we are committed to Him and His purposes above all else. We have come to understand that pursuing God means pursuing His Son Jesus, and that pursuing Jesus means hearing, believing and obeying His Word. Each member of the leadership team and of the church has his or her own preferences and desires when it comes to what we do and how we do it, but we must be committed to our Master's preferences and desires before anyone else's. His Word must be our sole source of understanding what His preferences and desires are. Agreeing on this, the leaders who gathered for our first monthly leadership meeting of 2011 discussed the concept of a healthy church. We agreed together that being a healthy church is a primary goal, and that being a growing church is a secondary goal. We didn't decide this because growth is unimportant or unnecessary, but because good health is the foundational source of good growth. Here are a few key considerations we dealt with together:

• "A healthy church will necessarily grow; a growing church will not necessarily be healthy."
• "Optimum health is part (proper) consumption and part (proper) exertion."
• "Health and sickness aren't always discernible with the naked eye; some diseases and ailments are only seen when we look deeper."

I plan to expand on these considerations in my next few blogs, but for now, let us agree all over again that we must purposefully, intentionally and with great determination pursue optimum health as a congregation. With a growing understanding of the vision Christ has for us, and a growing understanding of where we are right now as a church, we can work together to become as healthy as our Master intends for us to be! He will teach and lead as we learn and follow. Amen.