You may be thinking, Darin God has a plan for my life. Yes he does and he asks you to walk by faith believing that is true. That is very different than the belief that I have a dream and God is all about making sure it comes true. Why do I know that? Because it puts the focus of everything squarely on me.

I mean can you imagine Paul talking the way we do?

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-10

What saddens me the most is when this rubbish infiltrates Churches of Christ. I mean we were supposed to be the people of the Book. People who called Bible things by Bible names. People who knew and understood scripture. Did Churches of Christ abuse this idea? Sure but I don’t think that is a good reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Where did we get it? Not from scripture. We got it from psychology. The church took it and slapped some verses around it and called it biblical. The problem? Other than it is extremely destructive and doesn’t work? That is isn’t actually biblical? That it is built on a foundation not that man is fallen but that we would all be great and perfect if someone or something in our past didn’t harm us and so all we need to do is fix that whatever that bad was whether it be our parents or school or something else?

It takes away the need for Jesus in our lives. I’m talking about the crucified Jesus not the one lerking around trying to help us make our dreams come true. It also takes the focus away from the love of neighbor to the love of seeing my dreams come true. I don’t know how anyone goes into scripture and comes out with anything other than love God and love your neighbor. How did this become love God and love yourself and your dream?

Shouldn’t the church wake up? Have the numbers told us nothing? The more the church focuses on self-identity the more problems we have. The more divorce and broken homes. The more addictions. The more sin.

Don’t take my word for it though. Read the research into the self-help and self-esteem movement. This isn’t even Christian research. Find out what they are finding. Read books like the Narcissism Epidemic and return to the biblical idea of self-sacrifice and love for others as what the Christian faith is about. This isn’t just another option of how you do your Christian faith, it is destructive and false and not what a lost world needs.

“Nearly Half of Churchgoing Americans Say Church Doesn’t Have an Effect on Their Lives”

Years ago Huey Lewis, I know I’m dating myself, did a song titled “I Want a New Drug.” It was all about what he needed to feel better. He had a pretty long list of what he needed from this new drug. I read this article about recent research that says nearly half of all people get nothing out of church. I couldn’t help but think of the song.

It made me think about the book of Revelation. That may seem like a leap but I assure you it isn’t. No it took me to my Bible and the first few chapters. It made me want to look at the churches listed there. I couldn’t help but wonder what those seven churches would have said if they were polled. It reminded me of just how backwards we have become in the church today.

The comments after the article were just as telling. How many said that the reason these people feel this way is because they go to churches that don’t have it. Many responders weren’t surprise and seemed certain that if the show was better these numbers wouldn’t be this way.

Then I thought about the churches in Revelation. Take some time and read them for yourself and try to put this study and the article in the same context as the words written to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Tell me if the solutions we think and offer sound anything like the solutions offered to those churches.

It just shows you how backwards we are. How much we don’t understand who the church is and what the church is for. Some of those who responded to the article understand this. How backwards we are.

Does the American church have a lampstand? An angel? What would the letter read if written to us?

And to the angel of the church in the United States write: “I have seen your attitude and your works and……….

You see I don’t think the problem is legalism at all. The selling of indulgences in the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages probably had more to do with this idea of legalism far more than any first century Pharisee.

Most people in Churches of Christ who might be labeled as legalists take this as a badge of honor. They see that as a statement of dedication and commitment. Truthfully, who doesn’t want to be known as someone who wants to be obedient? Sure I can’t be obedient enough to save myself, I am only saved by faith in what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross. That fact doesn’t change my desire to be obedient. In fact it is supposed to motivate us to even greater obedience because we have the Holy Spirit living inside to aid us.

If that is what the issue is, legalism, shouldn’t everyone desire to be obedient as long as we don’t think this obedience saves us?

legalism isn’t the problem. I think a better understanding comes from Jesus and his teaching as recorded in Mark 7:1-23.

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

It wasn’t that they were legalistic. Far from it. The problem was they had added to what God had said and began to bind those additions as if God had commanded them. It was far from legalism or hyper obedience and in fact was the binding of man-made traditions as coming from God.

Did they take these from scripture? Yes. But they couldn’t recognize the fact that they were judging by their interpretation of God’s words.

This is the problem with some in Churches of Christ. They bind their interpretation of scripture. In essence they add to scripture. You see when they believe it is legalism they wear it like a badge of honor. We are more obedient than you. Until they recognize that they are binding where God has not bound and adding to scripture I don’t see much hope in helping them.

In the end Jesus explains to his followers that nothing that comes from outside can defile him and it is what comes out of our heart that matters. If only that was what they believed. Notice how many of their interpretative additions have nothing to do with the heart. Frequency of the Lord’s Supper? Worship styles? All can be done without any love for God and others.

Does this mean I have an issue with their desire to be obedient to their understanding of scripture? Of course not. My concern is the belief that this makes them more obedient or what makes them a follower of Jesus Christ. I am also concerned because they judge other believers like the Pharisees in the passage simply becuase they won’t follow their traditions.

For many years the church has been hiring pastors. They might not have called them that but that is what their expectations showed. We want someone who is all about us. The idea was that the pastor would do such a good job of pastoring that the lost would want to be a part of a church that pastors so well.

That was the idea. I have no desire to discuss whether or not that was a good idea or not. I just don’t think it is a good idea anymore.

The fruit of this in my opinion is churches that lack evangelistic zeal. The answer for me is obvious, return to evangelists in the pulpit. Let your elders and shepherd your congregation and allow deacons to serve. Don’t have these distinctions in word only. Preachers are filling the roll of elder/pastor while the elders are acting like deacons and deacons, well they are probably the closest to their roll, yet they lack the authority to do what they need to do as servants of the church because elders are trying to do their job for them.

Our church is looking to develop elders, I pray we can make sure we are not simply placing glorified deacons in that position. Please pray that we will find true shepherds for our church.

Obviously it made me think about church. The problem with the church today is not customer service. The problem IS CUSTOMER SERVICE. The problem with the church is it took the idea of customer service and thought it had some bearing on the body of Christ.

The article talks about all of the mistakes that Best Buy has made and how these blunders have impacted their bottom line. Have you ever heard anyone complain about the customer service of the military? I try to imagine what World War II would have been like if the army, navy, air force and marines were constantly focused on customer service. Do you seriously think anyone agrees to be the first platoon off of the boat on D-Day? Iowa Jima?

Who do you think, if customer service was king, who do you think agrees to drive tanks? How about the airman in bombers? Life expectance was not good for either.

This brings us to the rub. Jesus didn’t come to establish a retail space. He called disciples not customers. He didn’t come looking for someone to buy a product. He came to establish a kingdom and the terminology often used has everything to do with being in a conflict and nothing to do with a good customer experience.

Unfortunately I don’t see this trend ending soon. Too many large church operations built on customer service writing and speaking so others will do the same. Here is the deal, just because it is a trend with many doesn’t mean it has to be a trend with you. Stop shopping and start defending. It doesn’t have to be this way with your church. When people start to list their customer complaints take some time to study the Bible with them. Take some time to show them what the church really is. Be willing to lose those who don’t like your customer service.

In the end be the body, be the kingdom, the world cannot afford for us to be focused on customer service any longer.

I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:2-4

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

Everyone was told to get their vehicle and come back to pick up the boxes of food sitting by the door. When she returned with her car someone had taken her boxes. How low can you get? Not only had someone taken her boxes but all of the food had been distributed at this point and so she was told there was nothing they could do.

This gave us the opportunity to step in. We took up a donation of food and purchased a gift card from Wal-Mart to make sure they had what they needed. We got the woman’s address from a member who had witnessed the sad event, and we dropped in with bags and bags of groceries.

The best part? Her elderly husband wanted to know where the food was coming from. What church was extending the assistance? He named several names of people and churches he suspected. It didn’t matter because they didn’t come from a church, not really. THE church sure, but in this situation there was no need to call attention to our fellowship. Jesus was the only one who needed any glory. The church was anonymous but our Lord wasn’t.

Who brought the groceries to this couple who didn’t know what they were going to eat for the month? I told him followers of Jesus. Some people trying to live out who Jesus called us to be.

I have been reading and researching and would love to hear others on the subject. Something I discovered in my Christian journey is that most people don’t care about the first century church. The idea of looking for inspiration or education from the early church is a none issue. I was told the idea was impractical. I was informed that seminaries are teaching the exact opposite. Cultural relevance is king. Find out what the culture wants and fold in Jesus.

The idea that the church is a body? Something that doesn’t work in our current culture. Discipleship? Not the focus, just get them in the door. In fact you can list me any of the distinctive attributes of the early church and the reply would be the same.

What I need is a way to summarize what made the restoration movement go to help explain to others. I would like to be able to jump back before all of the silliness invaded the movement. I would like to be able to jump back before the false teaching crept in because I believe that now more than ever there is a reason for the movement.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Convenient and practical, although possibly improper or immoral.

Pretty funny really. Maybe a better way to put it is interesting? Maybe the best way is to ignore the idea all together? I don’t think I want to do anything that is expedient. It has the sound of cutting corners. I don’t believe there are any such things in God’s kingdom. The idea gives the illusion that something is biblical when it is not.

Should I say it again? There are no such things as expedients. I should be careful here. No such things as expedients as it has been used by some in Churches of Christ over the years. In my experience the idea of expedients was used to explain how one uses a church building or radio for evangelism or song books when no command exists for them.

Someone will say the command is to go into all of the world and the expedient allows for the use of cars or buses or radio or TV or, well I think you get the point. That is silly. The problem of course is that they have added their own layer to what God said. They have added their own idea to scripture. It is not expedient, it is just following the command. When God inspired the words I’m sure he recognized how they would be abused and probably shook his head.

When the early church received the command no one set around wondering if they could use ships or camels or thought that since the general command said go it didn’t matter what they used. They just went into the world to share the good news of Jesus. The same goes with worship. They worshiped God. Did they worship in synagogues? Of course. Did they continue to worship in the Temple? Yes. Did they continue in their Jewish practices? Obviously. Because they understood the command but no one sat around parsing out what was a command and what was supposedly expedient.

They recognized their freedom in Christ. They did what they did to bring people to Christ.

The idea of expedience is a man added idea to what scripture says and so it should be rejected. Why? At its base it is clear addition to scripture. At its worse it causes constant division in God’s church.

The classic verse used to justify such division is 1 Corinthians 6:12. The irony if course is the word translated in the King James Version as expedient is defined as “to bring together.” How Satan must laugh when a word used to unite the body is turned and used to bring division.

Then we tend to pull God into the mess and claim it isn’t our way we are defending but God’s way. That makes everything sound better for us but now we have dragged Jesus into it and we have started speaking for him and typically in places that he was silent.

I love the restoration plea. Get back to the Bible. Keep it simple. Break down division by depending on the Word. The idea of modeling ourselves as best we can after the first century church. All this is great as long as we don’t start using that plea to hide our selfish desires.

Years ago I was working with a church with a small building. We talked about replacing the pews with chairs to make better use of the space. One member was adamant that this was wrong. He fell back on 1 Corinthians 11:22 and said it wouldn’t be appropriate to use the auditorium for anything else. It wasn’t just that he didn’t want chairs it became about what God wanted.

Several years later after we had moved on the couple stopped for a visit. He let me know that he liked chairs in the sanctuary and wished we had done that. He informed me that they had gone to a church that had chairs and he was able to get himself up just fine. I discovered the real problem with chairs and it wasn’t eating in the church building. He thought chairs wouldn’t support his weight and he depended on them to get up after services.

He was not a bad man. He wasn’t being mean or nefarious, but unfortunatly when you fall into the place where you are defending God and not your own personal desires things can get rough very quickly.

I will probably never understand why humility seems to be in such short supply in the church. That we don’t recognize our condition, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that the original temptation from the Devil was don’t you want to be like God. Don’t you want to be the boss, don’t you want to be in control. Don’t you want to make the rules. Every time we start to get our self-rightousness on we should dwell on this fact. We should stop thinking more highly of ourselves and allow God to lift us up.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:1-4

This isn’t typically the passage we go to when we see division. No we tend to go to less straight forward ones and demand conformity. The reality is that division is often avoided not because we follow these wise words but because we give in to those claiming scriptural authority who lack humility. At times we should recognize that dividing from that isn’t bad at all and may be the healthiest decision of all. If only we spoke where the Bible spoke and kept silent when the Bible was silent.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

That is when it happened. She waved. I really didn’t know what to do. Well other than wave back. You see I didn’t recognize her and since I have met so many people since moving to Delta, Colorado I was concerned that it was someone I should remember.

So I commented on her pants. They were those purple camouflage types. I told her if we had a purple blizzard I wouldn’t have even seen her. Then I asked the question, or really mixed a question with a statement. “I’m sorry that I don’t remember you, where is it that we met?”

“We haven’t, I was just being friendly,” she responded.

That got the ball rolling. I certainly felt a lot better and now I had the opportunity to get to know her. She let me know she had moved from Utah and was staying with family. Then she told me she had been looking for work. I asked her how that was going and she shared some experiences. Then I did what I think the kingdom of God should always do. I thought about how I could help. I offered her the services of my wife who at one point worked for a job recruiter. She does a great job teaching people what they need to know about interviews, what to say and not say, on down the line.

Will she ever call? I don’t know but I do know she saw the kingdom of God in action. She may have her doubts but that doesn’t matter. A situation came and some help could be offered and so I did. I gave her my business card and let her know we would really like to help.

Do me a favor, keep my purple camouflaged wearing friend in your prayers, I know I am.