Intentional Faith

“We need to engage believers in worthwhile disciplines rather than just intellectual downloads.”

It has already been more than 10 years since we were preparing for the Y2K bug, using the new tool known as “IM,” and talking about the postmodern movement. Today, they are barely applicable to anything that we do or discuss. It simply shows that the church must be vigilant to see what is next and ready to address new issues. Let me discuss a few of the issues that are on the horizon.

Churches must find ways to navigate a post-seeker context. When I use this term, I do not mean that “seekers” no longer exist. The Spirit is still at work to enliven the hearts of people and draw them to their need for Christ. Rather, churches that once targeted seekers are finding that portions of subsequent generations do not have any religious memory at all—and it is harder to appeal to their seeking. They are the “Nones”—those who, when asked about religious affiliation, check “None.” In a post-seeker context, churches will have to create new models to help their people engage their neighbors who might not find an invitation to church appealing.

Churches in the next decade need to regain a confidence in the Gospel. The apostle Paul wrote that the message of the cross is God’s power “to us who are being saved” (1 Cor. 1:18, HCSB). Lots of people are talking about what the Gospel is, why it matters and how we are to understand it. I think that is because some are unsure of its merit—if it produced these consumer Christians, maybe we have misunderstood it. Perhaps they are right. I am convinced that churches must think through what the Gospel is and, as we seek to understand all of its implications, how we live it out. Too many have assumed that people in our culture understand the Gospel. Sadly, I fear also that too many have been inoculated with a weakened presentation of it. In the future, we need to make the Gospel more explicit.

Churches must (and I believe will) rethink discipleship. LifeWay Research is currently building off of the research released in The Shape of Faith to Come and Transformational Church to better understand personal discipleship. We are studying it in three languages and with the help of church leaders in multiple countries. Discipleship is not something that must be reinvented, but refined. In the Great Commission from Matthew 28:20, Christ assigned part of the church’s work to be: “teaching them [disciples] to observe everything I have commanded you.” Once we have a person who has crossed the threshold of faith, our work is not done. We need to engage believers in worthwhile disciplines rather than just intellectual downloads. The work of making disciples must involve a robust approach to the Gospel’s implications to the whole of life.

Churches will need to engage in new innovations—thinking through them, considering their implications, and implementing them when appropriate. These can include trends like multisite, ministry-based evangelism, and globally and locally serving those in need. OK, so some of these are not new, but they are finding new life for new generations of believers.

Perhaps 10 years from now, the issues with which we are dealing will make these issues that I mentioned a long-gone memory, like Y2K. Hopefully, however, many of the churches will have addressed these areas so that it’s the issues that are long forgotten, not those churches.

Source: http://www.outreachmagazine.com/features/4713-church-change-meeting-the-horizon.html

With Barack Obama’s recent decision to be the first American president to publicly support gay marriage, the lines in the sand are being drawn for the contest between the incumbent and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A national survey conducted by the Barna Group indicates that despite all the media coverage the president’s new stand on gay marriage received, that issue is not likely to have a major effect on the outcome of the election among most voters.

Out of a dozen high profile issues assessed, gay marriage placed tenth in importance and only 31% of voters said this issue would affect their voting “a lot.” In terms of faith segments, while evangelical voters are more concerned about the issue than are most other voters, it is not likely to turn many evangelicals against Mr. Obama since few of them (less than one out of every five) expected to vote for him anyway.

However, a national sample of likely voters interviewed by Barna indicated that of all the different factors they will consider when choosing our next president, each candidate’s positions on important issues will be the single most important component in their candidate choice. More than four out of five likely voters (83%) said that positions on the issues are the most important factor in their decision of which candidate to support on Election Day. The issues that are of greatest significance are health care and tax policy.

Charles Wheelan went back to his alma mater to deliver a few words at commencement. It’s a speech worth reading.

I became sick of commencement speeches at about your age. My first job out of college was writing speeches for the governor of Maine. Every spring, I would offer extraordinary tidbits of wisdom to 22-year-olds—which was quite a feat given that I was 23 at the time. In the decades since, I’ve spent most of my career teaching economics and public policy. In particular, I’ve studied happiness and well-being, about which we now know a great deal. And I’ve found that the saccharine and over-optimistic words of the typical commencement address hold few of the lessons young people really need to hear about what lies ahead. Here, then, is what I wish someone had told the Class of 1988:

1. Your time in fraternity basements was well spent. The same goes for the time you spent playing intramural sports, working on the school newspaper or just hanging with friends. Research tells us that one of the most important causal factors associated with happiness and well-being is your meaningful connections with other human beings. Look around today. Certainly one benchmark of your postgraduation success should be how many of these people are still your close friends in 10 or 20 years.

2. Some of your worst days lie ahead. Graduation is a happy day. But my job is to tell you that if you are going to do anything worthwhile, you will face periods of grinding self-doubt and failure. Be prepared to work through them. I’ll spare you my personal details, other than to say that one year after college graduation I had no job, less than $500 in assets, and I was living with an elderly retired couple. The only difference between when I graduated and today is that now no one can afford to retire.

3. Don’t make the world worse. I know that I’m supposed to tell you to aspire to great things. But I’m going to lower the bar here: Just don’t use your prodigious talents to mess things up. Too many smart people are doing that already. And if you really want to cause social mayhem, it helps to have an Ivy League degree. You are smart and motivated and creative. Everyone will tell you that you can change the world. They are right, but remember that "changing the world" also can include things like skirting financial regulations and selling unhealthy foods to increasingly obese children. I am not asking you to cure cancer. I am just asking you not to spread it.

4. Marry someone smarter than you are. When I was getting a Ph.D., my wife Leah had a steady income. When she wanted to start a software company, I had a job with health benefits. (To clarify, having a "spouse with benefits" is different from having a "friend with benefits.") You will do better in life if you have a second economic oar in the water. I also want to alert you to the fact that commencement is like shooting smart fish in a barrel. The Phi Beta Kappa members will have pink-and-blue ribbons on their gowns. The summa cum laude graduates have their names printed in the program. Seize the opportunity!

5. Help stop the Little League arms race. Kids’ sports are becoming ridiculously structured and competitive. What happened to playing baseball because it’s fun? We are systematically creating races out of things that ought to be a journey. We know that success isn’t about simply running faster than everyone else in some predetermined direction. Yet the message we are sending from birth is that if you don’t make the traveling soccer team or get into the "right" school, then you will somehow finish life with fewer points than everyone else. That’s not right. You’ll never read the following obituary: "Bob Smith died yesterday at the age of 74. He finished life in 186th place."

6. Read obituaries. They are just like biographies, only shorter. They remind us that interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives.

7. Your parents don’t want what is best for you. They want what is good for you, which isn’t always the same thing. There is a natural instinct to protect our children from risk and discomfort, and therefore to urge safe choices. Theodore Roosevelt—soldier, explorer, president—once remarked, "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." Great quote, but I am willing to bet that Teddy’s mother wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer.

8. Don’t model your life after a circus animal. Performing animals do tricks because their trainers throw them peanuts or small fish for doing so. You should aspire to do better. You will be a friend, a parent, a coach, an employee—and so on. But only in your job will you be explicitly evaluated and rewarded for your performance. Don’t let your life decisions be distorted by the fact that your boss is the only one tossing you peanuts. If you leave a work task undone in order to meet a friend for dinner, then you are "shirking" your work. But it’s also true that if you cancel dinner to finish your work, then you are shirking your friendship. That’s just not how we usually think of it.

9. It’s all borrowed time. You shouldn’t take anything for granted, not even tomorrow. I offer you the "hit by a bus" rule. Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don’t get hit by a bus.

10. Don’t try to be great. Being great involves luck and other circumstances beyond your control. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.

Michael Hogg, Ed.S.

Pastor Brownstown Christian Church

"Transforming lives through Christ, one life at a time"

Tabitha Studer is a battle proven mom. Her advice is classic and needed. Please moms, take a look.

1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He’ll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.

2. Be a cheerleader for his life
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to “stop, mom” when you sing along to his garage band’s lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you’ve been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he’s embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.

4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, “Children become readers on the laps of their parents.” Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading…reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.

5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet – they have some form of the three. It doesn’t have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it’s perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything – remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering…you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.

9. Teach him to have manners
because its nice. and it will make the world a little better of a place.

10. Give him Someone to believe in
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won’t be able to be there. Give him someone to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never. Let him know that your constant friend can be his constant friend. Make sure he knows of Jesus.

11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle
like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people’s feelings.

12. Let him ruin his clothes
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You’ll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don’t waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.

13. Learn how to throw a football
or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

14. Go outside with him
turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It’s like magic.

15. Let him lose
Losing sucks. Everybody isn’t always a winner. Even if you want to say, “You’re a winner because you tried,” don’t. He doesn’t feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that’s a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again…..) Instead make sure he understands that – sometimes you win – sometimes you lose. But that doesn’t mean you ever give up.

16. Give him opportunities to help others
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.

17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn’t just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks – they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, “Why?”
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he’s too embarrassed to ask you – he’ll know where to go to find the right answers.

19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
Especially the wipes.

20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
…without interrupting about how to do it the ‘right way.’ If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

21. Give him something to release his energy
Drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with – or he will use your stuff, and then you’ll be sorry.

22. Build him forts
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he’ll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

23. Take him to new places
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.

24. Kiss him
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, ‘what happens in between that made you lose that?’ Let’s try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they’re loving and kissing them even more when they’re wild. Kissing them when they’re 2 months and kissing them when they’re 16 years old. You’re the mom – you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets – and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dads too).

25. Be home base
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you’re the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

Which political issues will have the greatest influence on voters’ decision of which presidential candidate to support? The answer to that question depends in part on the person’s spiritual leanings. A new nationwide survey by the Barna Group, conducted among people likely to vote in November’s election, indicates that the worldview of different religious segments of the population significantly impacts the issues they care about the most.

Among all likely voters, regardless of their faith inclinations, the most influential issues are health care (said to influence their candidate selection "a lot" by 74% of likely voters), tax policy (62%), employment policies and strategies (54%), and plans regarding the nation’s dependence upon foreign oil (52%).

An analysis of reactions to the dozen issues posed to survey respondents shows that the areas least likely to impact people’s choice of a president are candidate positions on gay marriage (31%), environmental policy (30%), and abortion (29%).

Evangelicals Differ from the Pack

Among the five belief-based faith segments analyzed in the study – evangelicals, non-evangelical born again adults, notional Christians, adults of other faiths, and religious skeptics (i.e., atheists and agnostics) – evangelicals were notably distinct from other groups in regard to what might be considered a pair of their "signature issues."

Among all likely voters, abortion ranked last on the list of influential issues. Among evangelicals, though, it ranked as the third most influential issue. Only taxes and health care were deemed more important in their candidate selection. Similarly, gay marriage was ranked tenth among likely voters, but was fifth on the list among evangelicals who are likely to cast a ballot in November.

Surprisingly, educational policies were deemed the sixth most significant issue to all likely voters but ranked just tenth among evangelicals. Past studies have indicated that evangelicals are generally much less supportive of government involvement in the schooling of their children.

Environmentalism has traditionally been of very limited interest to evangelicals. That continues to be the case in this election, as a candidate’s views on environmental matters placed last among the issues studied. Barely one out of five evangelicals (22%) said it was an issue of top concern to them, compared to 31% of all other likely voters surveyed.

Non-evangelical Born Again Distinctives

Most Americans who are born again Christians do not necessarily embrace all of the tenets of evangelicalism. According to Barna Group’s estimates, five out of every six born again Christians in the U.S. do not qualify as evangelicals (see details below). Among non-evangelical born again adults several unique perspectives on the campaign issues stood out.

First, candidate positions on taxation were much more important to the non-evangelical born again voters than to any other religious segment studied. Overall, 74% of them said taxes would be a defining issue, compared to just 57% among all other likely voters.

Second, the non-evangelical born again segment was much more focused on job creation and employment policies than any other religious segment. Altogether, 70% of the non-evangelical born again niche deemed this issue to be paramount in their candidate selection, compared to only 47% of the likely voters from all other religious groups.

Third, there was a huge divide between evangelicals and their non-evangelical born again brethren. Although both groups consist of born again individuals, there was a gap of 34 percentage points between them regarding the importance of abortion as a candidate selection issue, and a 29-point gap related to gay marriage.

However, both of those groups shared a common – and distinctive – concern about America’s reliance upon foreign oil. Nearly six out of ten likely voters from both segments rated this issue as critical, compared to less than half of the likely voters from each of the other three segments (i.e., notional Christians, people aligned with other faiths, and skeptics).

Catholics and Protestants Generally Similar
Beyond the results generated by belief, the findings were also analyzed by the Barna team in relation to denominational affiliation. (Note that a person’s denomination is not connected in the Barna definition with their status as born again or evangelical.)

In this analysis, the researchers discovered that the views of likely voters were generally similar whether they were Catholic or Protestant. Of the twelve issues tested, there were only four on which there were statistically significant differences.

Protestant likely voters were more likely than Catholic likely voters to view both immigration (44% versus 28%, respectively) and gay marriage (30% versus 22%) as important issues. However, neither of those issues was ranked in the top half of influential issues by either segment.

Catholic likely voters were more likely than Protestant likely voters to consider both health care (83% versus 72%, respectively) and education policies (54% versus 42%) as core issues. Despite the percentage gap related to health care, both segments deemed that issue to be the most influential of all on their candidate selection. The same unity was not evident regarding educational policies. While that was the fourth most important issue among Catholics, it was only ranked eighth among Protestants.

The Intra-Protestant Divide
Over the past two decades there has been a noticeable divide within the Protestant community between those who attend mainline churches and those who attend non-mainline Protestant congregations. That divide was present in five of the 12 issues explored.

In four of those five instances a higher proportion of likely voters from non-mainline churches identified the issue as greatly influential on their candidate selection. Those issues included a candidate’s positions on terrorism, wars and conflicts in the Middle East, abortion, and gay marriage.

The sole issue for which likely voters from mainline Protestant churches were more likely than those from non-mainline congregations to rate as highly influential was environmental policy.

The Relevance of Religious Engagement
Another angle on the political findings is to examine how religious engagement correlates with election priorities. Past research has shown that people who are most engaged in their faith are often more active in political and social matters as well. The current survey also points out that there are a few differences in issues of emphasis between those who are most actively involved in faith matters.

People who read the Bible, attended a church service, and prayed during the past week were substantially more likely than likely voters who are less active in pursuing their faith to rate candidate positions on abortion, gay marriage, and America’s dependence on foreign oil as significant in their candidate selection process. Likely voters who are less active spiritually were significantly more likely to list environmental policies as especially meaningful in their selection process.

The Place of "Conservative Social Issues"
Throughout the campaign season, much has been made of the significance of the candidates’ attention to and positions on abortion and gay marriage. The common thinking is that these are issues of primary concern to conservative Christians – especially evangelicals. While that appears to be a generally accurate assessment, it is important to note that among the 12 issues evaluated by respondents, evangelicals rated positions on abortion as third most influential in their candidate selection, and views on gay marriage to be fifth most important.

Interestingly, skeptics rated gay marriage as a relatively more influential issue in their selection process than did evangelicals. In fact, skeptics had a very different ranking of the issues from evangelicals, besides the expected difference related to abortion. Skeptics ranked education and environmental policies as their second and third most influential issues (trailing health care), while evangelicals ranked those two issues at the bottom of their list of priorities. Taxation policy was a mid-range issue for skeptics (ranked sixth) but was second in importance to evangelicals. Dependence on foreign oil ranked eighth among skeptics compared to fourth among evangelicals.

Independents Also Have Influence
The survey examined the views of all likely voters, regardless of their religious leanings. Among the other findings from the survey were the issue considerations of independent voters – that is, people who are not aligned with either the Democratic or Republican parties. Many political analysts believe that independent voters may represent a deciding vote in swing states.

How do independents that are likely to vote differ from the electorate at large? Not much at all, as it turns out. They tend to reflect a middle ground between Republican and Democratic voters on most issues. The exceptions are job creation, which independents rate higher than do other voters, and abortion and gay marriage policies, which independents consider much less significant than do other voters.

Likely voters associated with the two major parties both rate job creation activities, tax policies, and health care as very significant issues. However, Republicans include immigration reform, defense against terrorism, and strategies for addressing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil among the most influential issues on their candidate choice whereas Democrats include education and environmental policies, and the handling of tensions in the Middle East as their critical issues.

Choices Have Implications
The ranking of these issues by likely voters raises some intriguing possibilities regarding the substance of forthcoming campaign emphases by Democratic nominee Barack Obama and presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

• The most important issue to likely voters – health care – is one which both candidates have been recognized as originating, but which neither candidate wants to take credit for. The high level of public interest in the issue mandates that significant attention be devoted to it, but both candidates will have to tread delicately on the issue.
• The incumbent president is not likely to invest many resources in touting his record on people’s second and third most important issues – taxes and jobs – while neither major-party candidate seems comfortable discussing the fourth critical issue (oil prices, foreign dependency, and drilling).
• The political pundits are claiming that to attract the Hispanic vote candidates will have to promote an attractive package of immigration reforms. Ironically, the research shows that immigration policy is a more significant issue among white voters than among Hispanic likely voters.
• The so-called "social issues" of greatest interest to Christian evangelicals – i.e., abortion, gay marriage – are likely to be substantially downplayed, if not altogether shelved, now that the party nomination has been secured by Mr. Romney. In his efforts to broaden his base, Republican strategists fear that paying continued attention to such issues will only narrow his appeal.
• Perhaps the biggest loser in the forthcoming contest will be environmental policies. While there is a passionate constituency related to those issues, it is a small segment of voters. A huge majority of the voting public is indifferent to such matters, essentially rendering speeches and promises related to environmentalism irrelevant to the goals of the campaigns: to solidify the support of existing supporters and to win over the hearts of the undecided electorate.

“Works of art can die as a result of being looked at by too many dull eyes, and even the radiance of holiness can, in a way, become blunted when it encounters nothing but hollow indifference.”

Jim Suttle is a vibrant pastor who is a bit unnerving. Take the time to read this twice if you dare. It will leave you thinking.

Pastors and churches spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year attending conferences, buying books, hiring consultants, advertisers and marketers, all to try and accomplish one thing: to increase attendance — to be a bigger church.

I’m absolutely convinced this is the wrong tack.

Success is a slippery subject when it comes to the Church. That our ultimate picture of success is a crucified Messiah means any conversation about success will be incompatible with a "bigger is better" mentality. Yet, bigger and better is exactly what most churches seem to be pursuing these days: a pursuit which typically comes in the form of sentimentality and pragmatism.

Sentimentality and pragmatism are the one-two punch which has the American Church on the ropes, while a generation of church leaders acquiesces to the demands of our consumer culture.

The demands are simple: tell me something that will make me feel better (sentimentality for the churchgoer), and tell me something that will work (pragmatism for the church leader). Yet it is not clear how either one of those are part of what it means to be the church.

Sentimentality is mother’s milk to the church which has ceased to believe our faith should really make a difference in the way we live our lives. Instead of proclaiming resurrection, the sentimental church will devote their entire Sunday worship service to Mother’s/Father’s Day — or worse yet, Valentine’s Day. Not that we don’t appreciate our parents and sweethearts, but the yielding of precious worship time to the celebration of greeting card companies signals a much deeper problem: we have lost track of the story of God.

Yet, for a church to grow bigger, losing track of the story is precisely what is required.

Instead of pursuing faithfulness the sentimental church must provide a place where people can come to hear a comforting message from an effusive pastor spouting fervent one-liners which are intended only to make us feel good about the decisions we’ve already made with our lives. If our beliefs aren’t actually, really true then at least we can have a Hallmark moment, right? Above all the sentimental church must never teach us that in the kingdom of God, up is down, in is out, and nothing short of dying to ourselves and each other can help us truly live.

Perhaps more than sentimentality, pragmatism is ravaging the church.

Pragmatism has led to a fairly new niche industry I call the Church Leadership Culture. Taking their cues from business, church leadership manuals are more than willing to instruct the interested pastor in how to gain market share. I once heard church consultant and leadership guru Don Cousins say that you can grow a church without God if you have good preaching, great music, killer children’s ministry, and an engaging youth minister. Cousins should know. He helped build Willow Creek Community Church and the church leadership culture. In the pragmatic church, there is only one question that matters, "What will work to grow my church?"

The fundamental problem with the one-two punch of sentimentality and pragmatism is, of course, the church’s job is not to affirm people’s lives, but to allow the gospel to continually call our lives into question.

The church’s job is not to grow — not even to survive. The church’s job is to die — continually — on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection.

God’s part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn’t hard … being faithful as the church, that’s a different story.

I’m the pastor of a church called Redemption Church in Olathe, KS. Our church was planted in 2003 and founded upon church leadership principles that worked like a charm.

We grew from 2 families to around 200 families in the first three years. We planted another church in a nearby town and continued to grow. But, when we decided to reject sentimentality and pragmatism and chase faithfulness instead we really began to grow … smaller that is.

I don’t know for sure because we no longer count, but my best guess is that we have decreased by more than half. If pressed about my church’s growth strategy, I usually say it is to get smaller and die; to continually decrease the amount of time, resources and energy we spend trying to have the ultimate church experience, and to spend more time actually being faithful. Nowadays, faithfulness — not success — is our only metric. Success is about "doing." Faithfulness is about "being," and it’s really hard to measure.

Convincing the church she does not exist for the benefit of her members, but for the life of the world is a bad church growth strategy. It’s also exactly what the church must do. It’s a tough sell because crucifixion seems like a losing strategy unless you believe in the resurrection. Faithfulness seems like a losing strategy unless you believe that the power of the gospel trumps our ability to come up with all the right answers to all the right questions.

So, God save us from the successful church.

Give us churches who shun sentimentality and pragmatism and aren’t afraid to face the inevitable shrinkage which comes as a result of following Jesus. God save us from church leadership strategies. After all, it takes zero faith to follow a strategy, but incredible faith to pursue the kingdom of God and leave the rest in God’s hands. If I’ve learned anything as a pastor, it is this: faithfulness flies in the face of sentimentality and pragmatism, and if you pursue it you have to expect small numbers.

Michael Hogg, Ed.S.

Pastor Brownstown Christian Church

"Transforming lives through Christ, one life at a time"

Adam Russell has it right!

Church culture is obsessed with leadership. Our bookshelves sag beneath the weight of the subject.

Oddly enough almost all that’s written is about being a better leader, while precious little is given to making leaders. The subject being bought and sold might not really be leadership at all but rather how to get a whole bunch of people to do what you want.

Donald Trump is famous for a reason. He is a caricature of our own heart, the fleshed out reality of our own secret hopes. Nothing else could explain how someone as obnoxious and pompous could have such a large audience for so many years. It is evidence that our thirst for power has few limits.

This is not to say that leadership is bad. If anything significant is to happen there will be a leader somewhere casting vision, assembling and organizing talent, and shaping the process along the way.

Shots have to be called, even if simply for the sake of efficiency. Leaders dream. Leaders gather. Leaders take risks. Leaders impart courage and boldness. Leaders provide a plan. Leaders make things happen, and that’s a good thing.

The main issue for those leading the church is simple: what is our supreme value? Simply leading? Or the God we are following?

It’s easy to get caught in the swirl of bigger is better and becoming a more influential leader. It looks good on the outside, but I wonder is some of this zeal isn’t just another thick coat of whitewash on the tomb of our flesh.

In a church world where pastors have more and more in common with Steve Jobs or Donald Trump than with Jesus the Good Shepherd certain passages pop off the page.

Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” Exodus 33:12-16

There’s no question that Moses was a leader – he had hundreds of thousands if not a few million people in tow, but the strength of his influence wasn’t found in his natural abilities – he stuttered – or the books that he had read – he was more of a writer, in stone to be exact, but in the company that he kept – namely the presence of God.

Moses was a leader, but I, for one am struck by Moses the follower! Cloud by day and fire by night with Moses right behind. His counsel came from his face to face encounters with God in the tent of meeting where ‘anyone could go’ (33:7) but apparently, only he and Joshua went – the mark of real leadership within the church is going where few dare to go, not necessarily deeper into books or across the country to another conference, but into the very presence of God!

Whatever you lead this year, let it be from a place of being led – from the place where ‘anyone can go’ – before God, face to face.

Michael Hogg, Ed.S.

Pastor Brownstown Christian Church

"Transforming lives through Christ, one life at a time"

Addie Zierman has a good take on Christian culture today.

From “It’s not religion, it’s a relationship” to “True Love Waits,” a breakdown of the curious dialogue of the Church.

The whole thing went viral in the early months of 2012, and for a couple of weeks, the internet was flooded with clichéd "$#!% [People] Say."

People were clicking the links, watching videos uploaded by fame-seeking hopefuls, listening to $#!% New Yorkers say and girls say and rich people say and hipsters say. We recognized ourselves and each other. We saw the absurdity of it, and it was really funny—until it wasn’t, and we’d all had enough of the whole thing.

There’s a ballpark 5,570,000 of these types of videos strewn across YouTube now, scattered debris from the whirlwind craze. What that says to me is this: everyone has verbal tics, tired metaphors, words that have grown worn and trivial from use. And, of course, Christians are no different. A Christian language parody video would (of course) feature Kirk Cameron in a cameo, and the script would read something like this:

"It’s not religion; it’s a relationship": A phrase commonly used when explaining the evangelical faith to outsiders. It’s meant to show how relevant it all is; how not lame Christians are; how the whole thing is really no different than just being in love.

"I have a heart for Kenya": A passion for some country or demographic that is given to one by God, and thus can be discussed with anyone, at any time, ad nauseum. Note: This does not have to be Kenya. Other popular choices include junior highers, the homeless, unborn babies and Darfur.

"I’m dating Jesus right now": To give up romantic relationships for a window of time in order to focus on your Relationship with Jesus. As a bonus, someone can add a slightly martyred tone and a nuanced “Sorry,” at the beginning of this phrase to diplomatically turn down unwanted dates.

"Lord, we just pray that you’d just fill this place, that you’d just send revival, God …" : The typical evangelical prayer—long and wordy, as if you get bonus blessings for every "just" you use, or a little extra helping of God’s riches for each time you say His name.

"I’m saving myself for marriage": The evangelical response to anything having to do with sex. You can join the movement (True Love Waits), wear the purity ring (available in all colors and designs), and sign a pledge card while sitting next to your (wildly uncomfortable) father at a formal banquet hosted by your church youth group.

The list could go on and on, because all over America, Christians are penning their testimonies, musing about their calling. There are "prayer warriors" seeking revival. Believers are "planting seeds", "having devos," telling each other the truth in love.

And it’s nothing new, nothing all that specific to us. Five million YouTube videos don’t lie: everyone has a certain amount of $#!% they say.

No, the problem with evangelical language is not so much that it’s cliché. It’s that it’s not the whole truth.

Christians say to each other, to those who are wondering, “It’s not religion, it’s a relationship!” And this is all well and good until the depression comes or loneliness breaks through and it doesn’t feel like relationship. It feels like emptiness. Like God is a million miles away.

Someone may “have a heart for Kenya,” and the language is passive, possessive, capable of creating distance, making the whole thing theoretical. They can love a demographic without ever having to learn the names of its individuals.

Someone asks a girl out, and she says, “Sorry, I’m dating Jesus right now,” in order to terminate the possibility of a relationship with all its messiness, its capacity for breaking her heart. Christian singles say “saving ourselves for marriage,” as if they could ever arrive at “I Do” without some amount of brokenness, some painful fractures on their own fragile soul.

Believers pepper their communal prayers with that word, “just,” and maybe it’s a verbal tic, or maybe it betrays something deeper: a theology of not enough. As if God does not have enough for us or simply doesn’t want to give it. So we ask for this. Just this.

Someone is lonely; the Church says “get plugged in.” Someone is struggling and it is shrugged off. “You should really get into the Word."

These phrases are not the beginning of the discussion, they are the end of it. They are a reduction, a door closed, a bow tied neatly over the whole complicated thing.

But at the heart of the Christian faith is this: we were broken and we couldn’t figure it out and, instead of sending us some tired cliché, God sent Christ. The Word, John called Him. He had hands and feet, dust-covered from all that walking.

Here is what happens when the Word of God brushes against humanity: Stories. Discussion. Fresh metaphor, strung together like so many beads on a string. The Kingdom of God is like this … and like this … and like this other thing over here. It’s a seven-mile walk to a place called Emmaus without a Gospel tract in hand or the Roman’s Road paradigm to quote—just the messy truth of it all, hashed out among new friends.

This whole faith thing is big and mysterious. Just when Christians think they’ve got it pinned down with the right phrase or word or metaphor—"It’s not religion, OK? It’s relationship!"—the light changes and we can see it afresh. If we’re willing.

This is the work of it, the vulnerability of it. It’s easier to say “just get plugged in!” than to dive into someone else’s loneliness. It’s easier to say “Sorry, I’m dating Jesus” than to say “No” to the hopeful-looking boy.

But then, Jesus has never really been about what’s easy.

He’s walking that long, dirt road with those road-worn travelers. He’s saying it fresh, cutting through the cliché, making it all new.

He’s talking, listening, explaining, discussing.

He’s staying until the words add up. Until they see that it was Jesus’ Word all along.

Michael Hogg, Ed.S.

Pastor Brownstown Christian Church

"Transforming lives through Christ, one life at a time"

HAPPY is he to whom truth manifests itself, not in signs and words that fade, but as it actually is. Our opinions, our senses often deceive us and we discern very little. What good is much discussion of involved and obscure matters when our ignorance of them will not be held against us on Judgment Day?

Neglect of things which are profitable and necessary and undue concern with those which are irrelevant and harmful, are great folly. We have eyes and do not see. What have we to do with questions of philosophy? He to whom the Eternal Word speaks is free from theorizing. For from this Word are all things and of Him all things speak—the Beginning Who also speaks to us. Without this Word no man understands or judges aright. He to whom it becomes everything, who traces all things to it and who sees all things in it, may ease his heart and remain at peace with God.

O God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You alone speak to me. The more recollected a man is, and the more simple of heart he becomes, the easier he understands sublime things, for he receives the light of knowledge from above.

The pure, simple, and steadfast spirit is not distracted by many labors, for he does them all for the honor of God. And since he enjoys interior peace he seeks no selfish end in anything. What, indeed, gives more trouble and affliction than uncontrolled desires of the heart? A good and devout man arranges in his mind the things he has to do, not according to the whims of evil inclination but according to the dictates of right reason. Who is forced to struggle more than he who tries to master himself?

This ought to be our purpose, then: to conquer self, to become stronger each day, to advance in virtue. Every perfection in this life has some imperfection mixed with it and no learning of ours is without some darkness. Humble knowledge of self is a surer path to God than the ardent pursuit of learning. Not that learning is to be considered evil, or knowledge, which is good in itself and so ordained by God; but a clean conscience and virtuous life ought always to be preferred. Many often err and accomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than to live well. If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations.

On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived. Tell me, where now are all the masters and teachers whom you knew so well in life and who were famous for their learning? Others have already taken their places and I know not whether they ever think of their predecessors. During life they seemed to be something; now they are seldom remembered. How quickly the glory of the world passes away! If only their lives had kept pace with their learning, then their study and reading would have been worthwhile. How many there are who perish because of vain worldly knowledge and too little care for serving God. They became vain in their own conceits because they chose to be great rather than humble. He is truly great who has great charity. He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest honor. He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ. He who does God’s will and renounces his own is truly very learned.