1. Simplified Christianity-An oxymoron?

Before reading this please read the intro post below this one. Sorry this part is so long. Just be glad I didn't write all my thoughts.

I have been increasingly frustrated by the clutter I see in the church. Not any particular church but if the shoe fits... We make everything so hard. We can't make decisions without having some committee or group of people present it, prolonging and complicating the process. Of course when multiple people come together to make a decision it always takes longer and often causes more problems than it is worth. Why? Well the short answer is we are sinful people. Continuing...

We have to have programs to get people to church. I'm not referring to non-believers, but the actual church members. How can we get them to participate more, we ask? How do we motivate them to "move"; to grow in their walk with Christ? How do we get them to stop nodding their head in agreement to the sermon and actually act on what they hear? Where is the desire to grow deeper? The problem is most of the time we create programs that have to be run by somebody and it usually is the same people doing the work and we see these people "burn out".

We also over-complicate the Gospel. God knows we are simple creatures. Therefore he made the way to heaven, the Gospel as we call it, simple. Jesus himself said it. " Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Do we forget the thief on the cross next to Jesus? According to most Christian "Salvation Plans", that thief would go to hell. We try to "get people saved" by getting them to say a prayer or send them through some five step program like they are in rehab. It's not like that. The thief next to Jesus didn't pray a sinners prayer! He said "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Done.

Why do we complicate things? We even make attending church complicated. Four services a week. Sunday school, Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. That's a lot. Where did that come from? (Read The Open Church) What makes those meetings Biblical? Some people view it as scriptural. Others say, "Well I just think that every time the doors are open we need to be there." Why? To please God? That doesn't impress Him. Maybe to get more teaching? Perhaps we would do better in our walks if we would meditate on the sermon on Sunday for the entire week. I believe it would sink in more and in the long run be more beneficial. Instead we cram so much teaching into four different times, most of which don't tie the subject being taught together. How are we supposed to retain all of that? I would like to say for the record that I am not implying that we drop all of the services, just that some evaluation of the "standard" needs to be done.

The church I use to attend has three identical services on Sunday. I even was a critic of that for some time but now I am rethinking the concept. My biggest criticism was that you got "lost" in the crowd. That no one knew if you were there or not. That actually happened to me. The problem was they provided a way to combat that. Small group interaction that they term Shepherding Groups. Oddly enough I stopped attending a small group. I was very involved in the ministry but I needed interaction on a personal level. It was provided, I just didn't utilize it. I was at the time, one of the type people who now frustrate me. The type that says "no one knows who I am or cares about me". You have to be available! We complain but we don't get involved. That's the fault of the complainer.

You see, if a church is healthy, it will grow. You have two choices as you grow. Spit, or facilitate. To split into another church only populates more churches in an already overpopulated church environment. We don't need more churches. We need healthier versions of what we already have. So facilitation is obviously the answer. People need to feel involved and desire interaction. That can't be provided in a large church only on Sunday mornings. Small groups provide that. I have seen it work! This model simplifies.

I have so many more thoughts but to sum this section up I have to make this statement. I will be re-evaluating "The Church" and my participation as well as where and how I spend my time in service. I want to be as effective as possible for the kingdom!

Flurry of Thoughts

As a result of events in my life over the past few weeks which include a memorable mission trip to India, loosing a friend to cancer, loosing another friend as a result of an accident, and several other changes in life I have a flurry of thoughts in my head.

Because my mind tends to wander I have to do everything I can to organize my thoughts in order not to ramble. So I have categorized many of my thoughts into headings/categories. Here are the categories:

• Simplified Christianity-An oxymoron?
• The Uncluttered Life-How important are things?
• The Selfless Life
• Pain is in our best interest
• Teflon Christianity: How to make it stick?

I will post each one individually over the next few days. Some are long some are short but all together they would be way to long. Stay tuned.

Our trust is in the Lord our God

So a Democrat was elected president this week. That doesn't concern me as much as two things. One, he is a socialist in democrat clothing. Two, the way people in this country and around the world have put so much trust in this man is frightening. It is the closest thing I have seen to a form of the anit-christ. How can people not see the facts on this man? Everything he stands for is socialistic.

Read this quote by Norman Thomas (1884-1968), six-time U.S. Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America

“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

I believe this is exactly what will happen. The Communist Party of America is in favor of BO. That says something.

I predict two things. In the first year he is in office 1. we will have another major terrorist attack and 2. there will be at least one assassination attempt on him.

There is a reason the rest of the world wants him to be president. He is non confrontational. This makes for an easy target. He is all about less military. In this world right now the last thing we need to do is downsize. It's like replacing your pit bull with a poodle to help guard your house. When the world is pointing nuclear warheads at us, and they are (China and Russia), our "Commander in Chief" says he will talk to them. What? Talk to them. I think the democratic word for that is diplomacy. Diplomacy is only effective until someone starts a fight. Then you stop talking and start swinging. Oh but wait, we can't fight. We tied our hands behind our back.

I have friends who voted for BO and I respect their opinion and it doesn't change my view of them one bit. They felt he was the right person for the job. No one can deny his ability to connect with people. He is very charismatic. I just don't think charisma and speaking ability can run a country.

BO ran his campaign on one main word. Change. I will be the first to agree we need change. Bush became the catalyst that made BO's election possible by running his term in office with reckless abandon. I was republican but now I don't know what I am. I'm unhappy with both political parties. Unlike some people I don't feel a viable candidate has to match my every criteria but I would like to see something close to what our forefathers founded this nation on. I know they did not found it on higher taxation, welfare, taking from the rich and giving to the poor, disarming the citizens, or killing innocent babies (abortion-that term we use so we don't have to say kill). All of which BO has openly said he is for.

I don't envy BO with the mess he is facing as president. I know this though, no ONE man can solve it. He will not follow through on most of his promises. No politician ever does. It doesn't have to do with democrat or republican. So will we be better off having him as leader? I doubt it. Would McCain have been better? I don't know that he would but he would have been better for protecting the sanctity of life, the second amendment and so much more that we have worked so hard for.

The bottom line is we don't put our trust in a man. We put our trust in the Living God. The same God who created BO. God sets up leaders and takes them down. Will we suffer in some way because BO is in office? Most definitely! God has a plan though. May we be ever in prayer for our country and our new president. Perhaps this IS the era of change. Change in the lives of Christians as we are forced to seek God's face in prayer in these difficult and unprecedented times.