Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 

What a simple but powerful statement. "Be still, and know that I am God."  We need only to be still to know the glory of the Lord. But let's be honest... how often are we still? Life for most of us is like a whirlwind.  The world we live in has grown out of control and is now 24/7/365.  Gone is the slower paced life of the world in which I grew up in. Television never stops, stores never close, and there is always something else going on... and as a result, we can not sleep, let alone simply stand and be still for a single moment... for we fear it will pass us by. We are always afraid we will miss something.  But really, what does it matter if the world does pass us by for this moment?  We desperately need to learn to slow down and take a moment be still and listen... to touch the eternal God through prayer or meditation on His word. 

Life has been really crazy in my own little part of the world, and tonight I hear God speaking... crying out in a whisper to me; "Be still. Know I am God."
Time to find a quiet place to be with the Lord.

Where Is the Faith?

This is something that has bothered me for a long time, but it really came to a head this morning.  I was reading on a message board where people were criticizing miracles that have been reported. OK, let's be clear, there are charlatans out there... even in the church world. No one is doubting that. But in a discussion criticizing those who had claimed a miracle of God filling teeth, (again, yes, sometimes there are frauds) a man who is himself today a pastor shared how that many years ago, in his younger days, at a time when he was straying from God, his father (who was the pastor) had begged him to come to a revival service. In that service, he felt a burning in his jaw, and then the evangelist said that someone was experiencing a burning in their jaw, and that God was filling a tooth. This man testified on this board that God did in fact fill his tooth miraculously that night, and because of that miracle he had returned to serving God.  Now, I don't know this man, but I do know two of his brothers and have met his father. I do not doubt the story one bit.  But people on this board began to criticize and question, "why did God not just give him a new tooth instead of filling it?"  Others had other harsh words.  People I know basically said they do not believe God would do such a thing. Some of these people are pastors. I read and hear things like this and I begin to understand just why the church is so powerless and not making the impact on the world that it should. The church is faithless, full of skeptics and (I believe) is so self-righteous that we would dare tell God how to do things. 


Why did God choose to fill a tooth rather restore it? 
I have not got a clue.
But I also have no clue why Jesus chose to put a coin in the mouth of a fish. 
Not the way I would do it... but I'm not God.
Why did God part the waters rather than just pick them up and move them to the other side?
Why did God tell the prophet to tell a man to go dip 7 times in muddy water?
Why did God's prophet stretch himself over a dead boy to restore life into his body?
I could go on and on with examples and say of each, "that's not how I would do it>'
But you know what?
God did not ask for my opinion!
When the Holy Spirit first spoke to me at a time when my life was controlled by alcohol and drugs, and my mind was tormented with a spirit of suicide...  He spoke to me through a Beatles song.
I've had countless "know it all" preachers and church bosses tell me, "God would not use the words from a heathen rock group to do his work."
Look, I really don't give a flying flip what you believe... but I know that the Holy Spirit spoke to me through that song, and 3 days later I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I've been serving him ever since. 


Why would God choose to fill a tooth? I don't know. I just thank God He did it and this man came home to Jesus and is preaching the Gospel because of it.
Let me share a personal one. I have a messed up left knee that I injured in 1981. Since October of 1981 I have had no cartilage left in that knee since 1983. In 1987 a doctor showed me my xrays and the damage that was done from walking bone on bone and how the bone surface was eaten away and I had a spot the size of a nickel where I was into soft tissue. The doctor told me that I'd need a knee replacement by the time I reached my  mid to late thirties. We prayed for healing.  The strange thing is, I was never healed, but here I am at age 51 and the spot on my knee has never gotten any larger, no more damage at all.
I could question God as to why he did not heal me completely rather than stop the damage. Others have told me that they don't believe God would do that. 
Well... explain it any other way. Believe what you want. But I choose faith.


I'm praying for a renewal of faith to come upon the Body of Christ. 

Decisions Influence Destiny

The decisions you make today will affect your destiny tomorrow. 
Although decisions about what to wear to work each morning may not be important, many decisions can have a ripple effect in your life. For example, what you choose to eat for breakfast may seem unimportant, but the food you eat affects your body, your energy level, and your overall health. And some decisions are a matter of life and death.


But how do you know the right decision for every situation?
Good question! 
The secret to making the right decision every time is to have the wisdom of God. 
How do you obtain that? By asking for it.


During the next month, meditate on the following scriptures about wisdom.
Read them over and over. 
Pray them out loud over yourself. 
Memorize them. 
Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual understanding regarding each verse. 
Then, as individual situations arise in which you must make a decision, rely on these verses and on the wisdom of God in order to choose wisely.
Psalm 16:7 Psalm 32:8 Psalm 51:6
Proverbs 2:5–7 Ephesians 1:17–23 James 1:5
1 John 2:20,27 1 John 5:20


The devil has destined us for pain and sorrow . . . .
But we can change our destiny through faith in God.

How Big Is Our National Debt?

I heard these numbers while ago and thought them to be flawed so I checked them out for myself, and assuming that I am doing my math correctly, then these numbers are in fact accurate. 


It was said that if you opened a business the year that Jesus Christ was born and that business was still in operation today, and that business made one million dollars every single day from that day through today, you still would not have made one Trillion dollars. 
Let's round off numbers for simplicity sake and make it an even 2000 years.
At 365 days per year, that is $365,000,000 each year.
Multiply that times 2000 years and you would have made $730,000,000,000 during that time.
If you are like me and slightly math challenged, that is $730 Billion dollars.
Let that sink in.
A million dollars per day for 2000 years to make $730 Billion.
That's still $270 BILLION dollar shy of one Trillion.


And our national debt is now more than $13 TRILLION.

God help us! Come Lord Jesus!

More on the God Shaped Hole

Last night, literally just a few moment after I posted my last blog about the God Shaped Hole, I heard the terrible and tragic news of the suicidal death of Kenny McKinley.   I know that many of you have never heard of Kenny McKinley. He was a 23 year old wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. He was just beginning his career, in his second year of his promising career. This young man's career was just beginning, but was on hold due to two separate knee injuries.  None of us know what was going on in his mind, but I have to question how much inner pain and emptiness there was in his life that would lead him to take his own life. He had money, having signed a contract as a rookie worth almost two million dollars. He was a flamboyant persona and seemingly everyone liked him and they say he had an electric smile. Friends were around him... money was his.... yet life was so empty, that he took a gun and ended his life. How tragic.


When I read of his death and what team mates and former team mates and couches were saying about his life, I found myself asking, "what was missing?"  Now understand, I never knew this man, and in no way am I presuming to judge that he never knew God. I simply have no knowledge of whether he did or not.  Remember, I had just written the blog on the God shaped hole... and I got to wondering... had this man tried to fill this hole with other things? Perhaps he thought money would fill that hole, but now that he had money, the void was still there? Perhaps he was trying to use football to fill it, and for a season had been successful, having had a brilliant high school and college career, but now that he was in the NFL he was having a struggle with injuries and the void may have felt bigger than ever. (I don't know... I'm just thinking out loud.) I wonder... did anyone ever tell Kenny about Jesus Christ? 

The God Shaped Hole

There's a song I like that says:


There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And it's a void only he can fill


It amazes me how many people simple refuse to recognize that the peice that is missing from their life is God. I read today in our newspaper where a man wrote, "Perhaps in this 21st century we will all realize that there is no invisible man up in the sky that's going to help you, and we can all just meet at the bar and fill our emptiness with a beer."
Absolutely amazing.
He admits freely that there is something missing, that there is an empty spot in all man-kind, yet (according to his own writing) he is "too educated" to believe in any God and feels sorry for those who do. Seems like I read somewhere "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."


This man does have it partially right. There is an emptiness, or something missing in all of mankind. Throughout history, in every tribe, nation, remote island... anywhere and everywhere man has been found; in every culture, they were seeking God. Within man, there is an awareness that "something" is missing. That something is there because we were created to have fellowship with God. That is our purpose and our calling... so man has sought for God, because, there is a "God shaped hole" in us.
That "hole" can only be filled by God. 


The “God-shaped hole” is the innate longing of the human heart for something outside itself, something transcendent, something “other.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to God's placing of "eternity in man’s heart." God made humanity for His eternal purpose, and only God can fulfill our desire for eternity. It is a simple fact, all religion is based on the innate desire to “connect” with God. This desire can only be fulfilled by God, and therefore can be likened to a “God-shaped hole.” 




The problem is that man tries to ignore this hole, but actually attempts to fill it with things other than God. This is exactly what the man I quoted said when he wrote; "we can all just meet at the bar and fill our emptiness with a beer." He believes his education excludes him from the possibility or the need to believe in God. He is self deluded. Jeremiah 17:9 describes this condition that is found in the heart of men this way: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Solomon reiterates the same concept: “The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live…” (Ecclesiastes 9:3). 
Paul wrote about this as well in Romans 8:7 when he said: “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so”  Further, Paul described man as ignoring what can be known about God, and instead worshipping anything and everything other than God. (Romans 1:18-22) Sounds like the times we live in; doesn't it?




Sadly, too many spend their lives looking for something other than God to fill their longing for meaning. For some, they try to fill that hole with their business, family, sports, drugs, alcohol, you name it. But in pursuing these things that are not eternal, they remain unfulfilled and wonder why their lives never seem fullfilled. They find fleeting moments or periods of happiness, but they simply cannot find satisfaction and inner peace. There is no doubt that many people pursuing things other than God do at times achieve a measure of “happiness” for a time. But when we consider Solomon, who had all the riches, success, esteem, and all the power in the world... in short, all that men seek after in this life,... we see that none of it fulfilled the longing for eternity. He declared it all “vanity,” meaning that he sought after these things in vain because they did not satisfy his longing. 
In the end he said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).


Just as a square peg cannot fill a round hole, neither can the “God-shaped hole” inside each of us be filled by anyone or anything other than God. Even "religion" will not suffice.
Only in establishing and building a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ can the “God-shaped hole” be filled and the inate desire for eternity fulfilled.

The joy of getting old

I'm sitting in McDonald's having a late lunch, and I had to blog about some of the events of this day. Well... the past 2 weeks have to be included. It all started 2 weeks ago yesterday, when I was taking clothes out of the washing machine and tossing them into the dryer. I turned a little too hastily and my trick knee gave out on me. In trying to catch myself, I tweaked my back a little. Three days later I woke up with a back that was out so bad that I could hardly walk and straightening up was just murder. I've struggled with that back injury for the past 2 weeks, eating pain pills like candy just to get through each day.  Today, I woke up relatively pain free, and looking out at the grass that was about 9 inches high, I figured I'd better jump on it before the rains came. 
Big mistake.


After cutting the grass, I knew I'd made a mistake. My back was tightening up again and I was having spasms up the right side. But after 2 weeks of this, I decided to push through and get a few things done. I took some Aleve and pushed on. A little while later, my son came into my office and told me that the dogs had run off. He was babysitting for a woman in our church and could not chase after them. I went out to look for the dogs, and one of them came running right back. The other, Rowdy, decided to make the most of his escape. My back hurting, I decided that I'd jump in the van and drive to search for him. Some 20 minutes later, he turned up, in someone's dog pen, cornered by six very large dogs. After a rather "exciting" encounter with the woman who had put Rowdy in the pen with her dogs, I bent over to get him... and it happened. Something "popped" in my back, and it was all I could do to carry him back to the van... hobbling and in pain. 


A little bit later, I gathered my computer, and a package I had to mail. When I got to the post office, I heard a woman say to her young son, "can you hold the door for that elderly man?"  The hair stood up on the back of my neck! Elderly man! How dare you? Meanwhile... I'm hobbling, more or less shuffling, as it hurt to lift my right leg. All the while, still insulted that this woman dared call me an elderly man.  
So, I mailed my package, made my way back out to the van, and decided to run into McDonald's and grab a bite and work on some pictures I had taken this weekend. When I got to the counter, a young man I know was working and he said, "Hey, how ya doing Poppa D?" I said I was doing fine, but the young man said, "you're kind of struggling, aren't you? Getting old... better slow down."  Again, the hair on my neck stood up! Then he offered to bring my food to me when it came out. I accepted, and went to find myself a table. A couple of minutes later, another young man brought my food out and said, "we gave you a pie; senior citizen discount."  I laughed, but inside I was thinking, "what is this, crack on Pastor D day?" 

And then it hit me...
The young mother at the post office was probably no older than 25. The young man behind the counter, 22 and the one who brought out my food was probably 18 at best.  I am surely older than any of their parents... possibly by 10-15 years. My hair is now salt and pepper, my joints a popping and cracking and I am kind of bent over and walking slow today.
I am getting old!
The problem is, inside, I'm still in my twenties. But the shell betrays what is on the inside.
I guess I have slowed down... but not much.
I guess the best way for me to view it is to be happy that I am still alive and kicking. 30 years ago, I'd have bet everything  on the fact that I would have been dead long before now. But thankfully, I found Jesus, and the old me died... giving me hope and a new shot at life. I'm thankful today that I GET to be old!

Remembering 911

I was reading on a messaging board where people were reflecting on that day, 9 years ago today, and I was reminded of this post from 4 years ago. I watched a woman who had lost her husband on 911 today who said that we should never make this day a National holiday, because it is not a day to celebrate, and that this day should be a somber reminder always. I could not agree more.

11 September, 2006

We Cannot Afford To Forget 9-11

This morning I have purposely not turned the television on because as we mark the 5th anniversary of the attack on America I wanted some time to just reflect and remember without the news telling me how to remember. I actually hate using the term anniversary for a day like today, because that word usually means joy and celebration, and this day is a day that revives much heartbreak and pain. In many ways it is hard to believe 5 years have passed since that fatefull morning. I remember that day so vividly it is as if a video tape is running through my mind. I remember seeing the news just after the first plane hit. I was just getting ready to take my kids to school. I didn't say anything to them about it, as I did not want to upset them. I drove a little faster to the school that day, as I wanted to get back to see the news. As I pulled up in front of my son's school, he asked me, "Dad, what's wrong? You are upset." I just hugged him extra tight and as I told him "It will be alright" and I kissed him goodbye. I rushed back home and just shortly after walking in the door, I saw the plane crash into second tower. I remember standing there for several minutes, then I finally called my brother in-law, who raised me from the time I was 11 and I asked him if he had his TV on. He was still in bed and when he heard me crying he asked what was wrong. I told him that America was under attack and that life was about to change. Like many Americans, I could hardly pull myself from the television that day. I fielded a few phone calls, went to a community prayer meeting in the square in the town were we lived but pretty much stayed home other than that.

When I picked up the kids from school, Daniel, who was 11 at the time had heard that something had happened, and he wanted to know about it. I sat him down and tried to explain what had happened, but he was not grasping it. I finally made the decision to let him see what was happening on television. This moment is what stands out in my mind from that day more than any other. Daniel was sitting in the floor watching the tapes of the plane hitting the tower and then the collapse of the towers, when he stood up and began to just shake and sob. I grabbed him and hugged him and he more or less collapsed into my arms and he said these words; "Dad, I never knew that anyone could be so mean or full of hate." I just sat and held him as he cried for the next half hour or so. I realized in those moments that this was not just something happening to those in New York or DC, this was happening to all of us. My son's world of innocence was lost that day, stolen from him by terrorists. We all lost something that day, and we cannot afford to forget it.

Why the Offense?

Have you read your Bible in public lately? I have, and I've noticed something. You get some pretty strange looks, and if you listen, comments. In fact, I have had people come up and ask me why I felt it was necessary to read "that book" in a public place, as if my reading it in some way infringed upon their rights.  Honestly, I don't often carry my Bible with me, as I have it on my computer and it is just much easier to use the computer with my studies. But from time to time, I take along one of my study Bibles, or sometimes if I just want to read I carry my Bible. And lately, since the woman was so offended that I dared to read my Bible in a public place, I've been carrying it a bit more, and trying to observe people's reactions. In fairness, there was on elderly couple that came over to where I was sitting and commented to me about how "refreshing" it was to see someone taking time to read the Bible. And by no means am I trying to say that everyone, not even most, were annoyed if they saw me reading. But certainly there were a good number of folks that it bothered.


I actually decided to experiment a bit, and purposely went out to read my Bible in several locations and watch for how people reacted. I noticed a funny thing. I could go to places where I have normally gone, and if my Bible was laying open on the table, not really readying, but just open, people were much less likely to speak to me. They would sure look though, and one time I heard people a couple tables away make comments about how the hated it when people tried to force their religion on others.  How, pray tell, is my quietly reading my Bible in a public place, forcing my religion on anyone?  In that same shop there were several other people reading, but it sure did not seem to bother anyone. The world says we Christians are intolerant and pushy, but it would sure seem to me that it is the other way around when the simple act of sitting quietly at a table and reading the Bible is causing offense.

Hello? Anybody Listening?

Need more proof that socialism does not work? Take a little time today to search the net and you might be able to find a story that is not being widely reported that should be headline news. Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who in 1959 lead the overthrow of the Cuban government and ushered in Communism, is now proclaiming that the system is not working and needs to be thrown out. 


Time out... does my memory fail me, or did we not hear President Obama and countless others touting the Cuban healthcare system as one to be modeled?  This is exactly what they are bringing to America under Obama-care.  Now Castro says of the communist sytem: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore."  Yet, we are expected to believe that this model will work for the United States? Really?


So, where's Danny Glover? Where is Sean Penn? Where are all these Hollywood "experts" who were glamoring for the spotlight to stand and proclaim the virtues and greatness of Cuba's government and healthcare? Strangely quiet, don't you think?


Fidel Castro, who stepped down from power 4 years ago do to health issues and his brother Raul who took over the government both are trumpeting the need to throw out socialist policies and start over. Meanwhile, here in America, people are following the Pied Piper down the same path that has destroyed the economy of Cuba.  Hope someone is listening... but probably not. Their too busy telling me why a preacher should not speak about such issues.  Go figure.

Who's To Blame?

I was chatting online with someone a few minutes ago and he was regurgitating the Democratic mantra that the current economic woes were the fault of the Republican party and George W. Bush. I asked him to give me some facts. He could not. I told him that Obama has run the nation's deficit up 4 times more than what it was under George Bush. He called me a liar and told me to prove it when I told him it was a fact. I told him to give me a few minutes and I would post the actual numbers on my blog. 
So, my friend, here is a graph, showing what the deficit was under Bush and where it is now under Obama. Further, you will note the projections for the next several years, and in these you will see that while Obama has made a promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term, that "half" will still be almost twice the deficit that he inherited from Bush. 


So you tell me... since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, what has happened to the deficit?
When will people stop drinking the Kool-Aid and look at the facts and learn to think things through for themselves? 
The numbers do not lie. 


How's that stimulus plan working out for ya?

Righteous Stand or Publicity Stunt?

Unless you've been in a cave somewhere, you've probably already heard about the Florida church that plans to burn thousands of copies of the Koran this Saturday, the anniversary of the 911 attack on the World Trade Center.  I watched a video with Pastor Terry Jones this morning, and I absolutely cringed. I'm sure he thinks he is doing a great thing, both as a U.S. patriot, and as a Christian. I, however, disagree with him on both counts. Let me make it clear, that as a citizen of the United States, he and his congregation do have the right to do this. Having "the right" does not make it right though. Consider that right now, there is a lot of people very angry that there is a plan to build a mosque within eye sight of ground zero in New York. The Islamic folk have the right to do it, and very few would argue otherwise. However, it is NOT the right thing to do.  I do not agree that the government should step in and force them to change the location of the mosque, and neither do I believe that they should stop Pastor Jones and his congregation from burning the Koran this Saturday. Ideally, in both of these cases, the parties involved would see the lack of wisdom and in following through with their plans.  That said, I doubt this pastor will come to that decision on his own.


In the interview which played on CNN this morning, he showed a total ignorance of what he was doing. He stated that he was not against the moderate Islamic people, only the radicals. He could not see that he was attacking all Islamic people with this boneheaded party they plan to throw this Saturday. It was pointed out several times by the reporter interviewing him, but he simply refused to see how he was attacking all Muslim people by burning their Sacred book.  Today I have heard countless Americans and Christians saying that it was time that we (Christians and Americans) gave the Islamic people a taste of their own medicine. I find that to be totally against the Bible. Did Jesus not teach that we should turn the other cheek? I personally believe that we ought to take the high road and not participate in such behavior. I doubt that Pastor Jones really cares what I think though.


It is a shame that this is going to take place. There will certainly be several things that come down the pike as a result of this, or possibly even ahead of it in order to prevent this event from taking place. In my opinion, Pastor Jones actions are simply inviting the government to strip Americans of more freedoms. I can see them preventing this from taking place... or, if it does happen, laws will be passed to prevent it from happening again.
Second, Pastor Jones is provoking the wrath of radical Islamic people, and possibly even more moderates as well. I would not be surprised to see a violent protest, OR an attempt on his life. Wouldn't surprise me a bit to see his church burned.
Third, this thing is casting yet more bad light on all Christian people, such as the Westboro Baptist Church. (The nuts who protest at the funerals of American soldiers.)
This is one Pastor and one church, but we will all be lumped in with this group by the non-Christians of the world. 


I am asking believers to all pray that the Holy Spirit break through to this man and show him that this is not a good thing he is doing.  I fully support his right to speak against Islam. I fully support his right to speak out against the Koran. But this calls for wisdom, and I do not believe Pastor Jones is using any wisdom in this publicity stunt he is about to do.

The Gift

If you have been around me any time at all, or if I have ever counseled with you, you have undoubtedly heard these words from me: "Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself." These are not my own words or thoughts, rather, this is something that a very wise Catholic priest spoke into my life not too long after I gave my life to Jesus. Those words, and putting them into practice had a profound impact... a liberation, if you will, on my life. 


Recently I was talking with someone going through some issues with anger and bitterness toward someone who had hurt them in their past. I spoke about the need to forgive, to which they said that they did not know if they ever could forgive them. Of course, my statement came out... "forgiveness is a gift you give yourself."  The persons eyes sprang wide open and they said, "say that again." They sat there for several minutes and you could just see something melting off of them... something they had carried for years.  Since then, that person has spoken to me several times about this, about how it was helping them, and trying to work through it more. Then they called me and told me that they had heard me say those words numerous times since they had known me, but it had never "took hold" like it did that day when we were talking.  They said to me that I really needed to take it a step further and explain it to more people so that they could really grasp what I meant by that statement. Thus, this blog entry.


Forgiveness really is a powerful thing, and it is a gift that you give.... BOTH to the person needing forgiveness AND to yourself. That other person may not deserve forgiveness; thus, it is a gift. What I learned back in 1982 was that the greatest power you have over anyone who hurts you is the power of forgiveness. When you or I say, 'I forgive, and no longer hold it against you', there is a release that takes place where both sides are set free from the crippling, negative bond that exists between the two of you. But there is something else that takes place: when we forgive, we also free ourselves from the burden of being the offended one.  You see, as long as we don't forgive those who have wounded us we carry them with us where ever we go. It is like a bowling ball fastened around our neck by a chain.  The sad reality is that we often carry this with us so long that it defines us, and we cling to that anger and resentment because it is our sense of identity. Our identity is "the victim", one who has been wounded... and that identity becomes our security blanket, while at the same time, our ball and chain. We are defined by that pain and the person who has wounded us.  To separate ourselves is the only way to change that identity, but how do we do that? 


By giving them forgiveness!


You see, forgiveness not only liberates the other party, but it also liberates us! It is in this forgiveness that we find the way to true freedom. 
Now, forgiving does not always mean forgetting. 
I know, the old saying is, "forgive and forget."  That simply is not possible, nor is it practical.  Even though we forgive somebody, the memory of what they did might stay with us a long time. We can carry it in our emotions as a scar, or even in our bodies as a physical reality. But what happens is that forgiveness changes how we remember. 
It is forgiveness that turns the curse into a blessing. For example: when we forgive our parents for their divorce, or our children for their lack of love, or our friends for their turning their back on us in times of need, or our boss for treating us unfairly, the person who abused us, (insert your pain here) we no longer have to identify ourselves as the victims of events of our lives over which we have no control. 
Forgiveness allows us to take back our power and not let the events control, embitter, limit or destroy us.
Forgiveness truly is a gift you give yourself.

The Government Can

Your Thoughts, Please

I ran across this quote from Neil Cole's book "Church 3.0" today, and I honestly cannot make up my mind about how I feel about it. 


"We want to lower the bar of how we do church so everyone can do it, and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple so that everyone will do it."  


One part of me... the biggest part, says that Cole is absolutely right. I've often spoke about re-thinking and re-doing "how we do church" and believe that most of the world feels they cannot "do" the religion/church thing the way we do it. Still, in this statement is room for something that scares me, and that is what has been embraced by most of the seeker sensitive churches. Lowering the bar cannot ever mean watering down the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A real and personal encounter with Christ will always produce change in the person who encounters him. I don't know Neil Cole, and I have not read his book, so I am going to assume the best of what he meant in this statement.  To me, lowering the bar is doing away with the man made religion and tradition, such as dress codes, hair styles, make up, jewelry and so on.  I guess I'm going to need to order the book and check it out for myself.


I am interested in the thoughts of others. 
Just taking this quote at face value, what are your thoughts?