I’ve been using a term recently—Christian consumerism. I’m not using it to describe what Christians buy; rather, it describes the attitude of many of today’s believers in what they want both from Jesus and His church. To be sure, well-meaning church leaders have contributed to this mindset by championing the cause of a seeker-driven philosophy; say what you need to say, do what you need to do, offer what you need to offer to reach seekers. Along the way, followers of Christ have taken note and decided “I want to get in on that.” One of the things this has resulted in is what I refer to as “church shopping.” Instead of seeking a church on the basis of "Where does God want me to be?" it has become “What can this church do for me?”

Larger churches are more capable of dealing with this mindset because of a greater treasure of resources. Smaller churches are often left feeling insignificant and even guilty because often they hear guests (and church members) say, “My kids need more or deserve more than what you can give, we’ve got to go to a bigger church.” Have you heard that? I assure you that we have at Gatetree.

What’s more, it doesn’t stop with shopping for a church; the mindset is even applied to God. Jesus said in Matthew 22 that we are to “Love the Lord with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Every preacher proclaims, “We are to love God!” However, it’s what follows that violates the implied meaning of the Scripture. When a so-called preacher says, “We are to love God AND God wants you to be healthy, God wants you to be wealthy, God wants you to be happy, God’s want you to be successful,” and listeners buy in to this message, the result is someone who does not truly love God—they lust God. When you love God, He is the object of your affection. When you lust God, you are the object of your affection.

When you love God, it doesn’t make any different whether you’re happy, healthy, wealthy, successful, or your kids have playmates at church—you get the point? All that matters is knowing God’s will for you life and doing it every day. Remember, it’s all about God and not about you and me.

I suspect I’m going to preach on this…a lot. I know it’s countercultural and not at all popular. But I’m right and you know it.

I like the word interdependent. It means to be mutually dependent. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35 NLT) I believe He was describing interdependence.

God designed us to need each other. Even though God shaped each of us uniquely for ministry, He never meant for us to go it alone. We will only succeed by remaining dependent on God and by becoming interdependent upon each other.

Our purpose in life is interdependent with the purpose of other believers. God created us to fulfill a mission only we can complete, but you must depend upon each other in order to accomplish the God-sized task set before you.

So how does this apply to Gatetree?

Confess your need – God designed us to need each other, yet one of the most difficult things to do is ask for support or help. It’s even more difficult if it involves a matter of faith or help overcoming an embarrassing sin. By confessing we need help, we’re agreeing with God that He did, in fact, create us to live in loving, supportive community with each other.

Provoke faith – The Bible says we should provoke each other into a deeper love and a stronger faith. One way to do this is to agree, with a group of other believers, to trust God on specific steps of faith and then to encourage each other as we watch God respond to our faith.

Interdependent purpose – Fulfilling your purpose depends on other believers helping you, and fulfilling their purposes depends on you helping them. What big thing is keeping you from being interdependent with other believers? God does not come in condemnation, but in love to support you as he removes this “big thing,” whatever it is. Ask him to help – “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.”

As a general rule, I detest church business meetings. But last night was entirely different. It wasn’t a large group, but it was the most productive gathering for charting the future ministry of Gatetree that I have ever experienced. There was passion. There was clear thinking. There was one and only one agenda. There was great faith.

The meeting can be summarized like this—we are confident of our mission, we just aren’t sure how to accomplish it. Finally, one of our men, Mike, reminded us of a timeless biblical principle expressed by author/theologian Henry Blackaby, “God is at work in the world, and He wants you to join Him.”

Recently, I read about Bono, lead singer for the rock group U2 and an outspoken and somewhat controversial Christian philanthropist. He recently went on a tour of evangelical institutions to enlist Christian support for the AIDS crisis in Africa. Along the way, he said something to the effect that our mission in the world is not to do our own thing and ask God to bless it, but to find out what God is already doing in the world and get where He is. Same thing.

So what is God up to? I don’t know all the ways God is at work, but I do see four things He is doing in American culture;

First, God is creating in people a hunger for spiritual answers to life’s more difficult questions. That’s why you see the spiritual and the mystical as dominating themes in film and television.

Second, there appears to be a new interest in Jesus. Once again, the popularity of books and media show that to be so. People who may have been closed to Christians or Christianity may now be rethinking their beliefs.

Third, fear. People are afraid. Since 9/11, no one feels safe anymore. And when people are afraid, they are much more open to God than when they are complacent and comfortable.

And finally, people are looking for meaning and purpose in life. How else can you explain the phenomenal success of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life that took everyone by surprise?

I mention these things because it’s important to remember that, (whatever projects or actions we take to accomplish our mission) when we go out in the world that the conversation that ends with the Gospel has already begun. God is already at work in the world. It is time to go where He is and join the conversation.

We’ve all heard the story before, or perhaps it even happened to you.
You receive a visit from a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. You are overjoyed at the reunion and honored that your friend would see the relationship worth cultivating and would actually seek you out. Or it might be a person you are just starting to get to know, and there are encouraging signs of a potential friendship.

In the course of a pleasant conversation, with the talk shifting randomly from one subject to another, you suddenly find you are discussing the virtues of various vacuum cleaners. You friend brightens at the topic because he’s recently had some great results with an amazing new machine that he extols with great pleasure. You are so taken by his excitement that you find yourself wanting to know where you might find one of these amazing vacuum cleaners since your old model has paled in comparison to his vivid description, and you’ve been thinking about looking into a new one anyway. It’s then that your new friend offers to solve all your problems by selling you one on the spot at a “one-time only, low, low price of $69.95.”

Suddenly, you feel an awful knot in the pit of your stomach. It’s not unlike the feeling you had when you came home one day to find your house had been burglarized. You feel violated, used. And you feel stupid for trusting this person and making yourself vulnerable to his schemes. He’s not after a friendship; he’s after a sale.

A believer’s mission to share Christ with people is one of the five great purposes for which we exist. But without the other four to balance it, we can end up peddling Christ with similar results. Even laying hold of a conversation with the intent of steering it in a particular direction can feel manipulative to a person.

If I listen to the other purposes in this light, I remember that God is in control of everyone’s own road to discovery. I don’t make anyone see the truth, I am only witness to what I have seen and heard. My relationship with people is an end in itself, regardless of whether or not they are Christian or Muslim or Jewish or atheist. My purpose is to serve people, not sell them something. And maturity tells me that the Holy Spirit is my guide as to what to say and when, so as to not even worry about this or be overly conscious of my role in someone’s life as providing anything other than love and support.

“We don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.” (2 Corinthians 2:17 MSG)

The Holland family went to the movies last weekend. I took my son and son-in-law to see a “man’s movie” (Transformers), Mary Ann and the girls (my daughter and daughter-in-law) went to see some animated movie about rats. Go figure.

Our movie was exciting and lived up to all of the hype. While there was little redeeming value to the movie, it did start me to thinking about being a transformer.

Not the mechanical kind, but the spiritual kind.

God calls each and every one of us to be transformers.

Think about Paul’s instruction—Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

See what I mean? We’re not talking Autobots and Decepticons here, rather Paul is encouraging us to “shape shift” from the inside out. He challenges us to let God transform the way we think from the world’s way to His way.

When you think about it, we need transforming, because from birth on we are sinful people with a sin nature in a world that knows no other direction but sin. We have an “inner-decepticon” that needs the spark thrashed out of it.

Why? Read it again—Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Paul is saying that unless we’re transformed, we’ll never really know what God’s will is for our lives. We’ll just continue to go through life stuck in auto-destruct mode wondering why we feel like we’re missing something huge.

Before you were even born, God laid out a good and pleasing and perfect plan that is better than anything we could put together, but the problem is that our sinful ways have blinded us from finding and following that plan. We think the key to happiness is getting everything we want, and that value and worth is found in the way we look, the achievements we earn, or the car we drive. The truth is that these things are just that … things. When God changes the way we think, the plan He has for us shows up on the screen of our lives like a 100 foot robot ready to take on evil and save the planet!

So don’t hide in plain sight. Let God transform your mind so you can go transform your world!

I’m developing a sermon series for the fall or early winter—it’s about heaven. I shared this idea with a fellow pastor who responded, “I’d like to do that but I don’t want my people to become so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good.” We laughed and I told him I understood what he was saying. Later, while reflecting on his comment, I began to wonder if it really is possible to become too heavenly-minded. My conclusion? It’s impossible to become too heavenly minded.

As Christians, we are a people who have been delivered from this present-evil age, this system of Satan, into the eternal kingdom. Our affections are heavenly. Our desire is for that which is eternal and not for the passing things of this world.

It may sound paradoxical to say this, but heaven should be at the center of our worldview. Though some would deride this as escapism, it is, after all, the very thing Scripture commands: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:2). The apostle Paul penned that command, and his approach to life was anything but escapist.

We don't seek to escape this life by dreaming of heaven. But we do find we can endure this life because of the certainty of heaven. Heaven is eternal. Earth is temporal. Those who fix all their affections on the fleeting things of this world are the real escapists, because they are vainly attempting to avoid facing eternity-by hiding in the fleeting shadows of things that are transient.

Yesterday I preached a message entitled, "When God Doesn't Intervene." It focused on why God chooses not to stop the tragedies in the affairs of mankind (i.e. the Virginia Tech massacre.) I offered 6 reasons and the sixth was "sometimes we won't know why God chooses not to intervene." The wonderful thing about yesterday was that God DID intervene in our midst.

My home is about 1 hour from the church. I had taken home the laptop that powers our powerpoint to enter the slides for my message, keeping it in my brief case. I am diligent (if not obsessive) in making certain that I have everything I need before I leave the house for church. Yesterday I wasn't so diligent.

When Mary Ann and I arrived on campus, I asked her where she put my briefcase, to which she answered, "What briefcase?" Worship was 20 minutes away and we had no laptop to power our music and message AND I didn't have my sermon nots as well.

For years I have always admired preachers who do not use notes. They amaze me. I have aspired to preach like that--but the times I've tried have been less than stellar. Now I was faced with another opportunity and I knew the folks were very interested to hear what I had to say.

We found another laptop; our worship leader scrambled to enter song lyrics; and the worship center was filling up. I prayed, "Lord, you filled my mind once this week with Your truth, I need you to do it again." Well by the end of the worship service, we had all witnessed the INTERVENTION of God. Not only did I recall what God wanted said, but people were also saved during the invitation. Now that's what I call "intervention."

I just finished watching tonight’s Dateline coverage of the senseless shooting in Aurora, Colorado. James Holmes will join an infamous list of murderers who have committed senseless and incomprehensible crimes against humanity. In the coming days we’re going to hear, “Is there something someone could have done to stop this?” Or perhaps gun enthusiasts will say “If concealed weapons were legal, then the shooter would have been stopped much sooner.” Or the other side will blame the atrocity on the freedom to own guns. Surely, someone will blame the theater or the local police, or…it can go on and on.

Grief, desperation and blame are going to be common emotions after such a tragedy as this. It is a common expression of sorrow to look for someone to blame. Unfortunately, some people will blame God. I have already read such words of anger on several websites. Today I was asked this question, "Why did God allow such a terrible thing to happen?" I’m not sure my answer satisfied his sorrow, but I do know my answer is correct.

Here is what I said. “Over three thousand years ago, there was a man named Job who struggled with the same question. He asked why. He was a good man, and yet disaster struck him suddenly. He lost seven sons and three daughters. He lost all his possessions. He lost his health. Even his friends turned against him. His wife suggested that he, ‘Curse God and die.’ In the midst of his suffering he asked God why he was ever born. I want to tell you that God understands those feelings.”

Further, I said, “I have to confess that I never fully understand, even for my own satisfaction. I have to accept by faith that God is a God of love and mercy even in suffering. Times like this will do one of two things: either make us hard and bitter and angry at God, or make us tender and open and help us to reach out in trust and faith.”

My prayer today is that you will not let bitterness and poison creep into your soul, but that you will turn in faith and trust to God even if we cannot understand. It is better to face something like this with God than without him.

Have you ever been accused of saying one thing, when in fact you said the opposite? Accused of believing one thing, when in fact you believe the opposite? Accused of doing one thing, when in fact you did the opposite?

I’ve got to admit I was pleased to read a news item this past week about a jury awarding Procter & Gamble $19.25 million for a false rumor that has circulated for decades, to the effect that the company's logo – a man-in-the-moon image facing 13 stars – concealed a satanic secret. A more recent version had the company’s CEO telling a TV audience that P&G gives money to the Church of Satan.

Rumors like that thrive on people who have a trusting nature, especially Christians who are rightly concerned about dangerous influences in society. Turns out the P&G rumor was helped along by some people who had a financial interest in another company that, like P&G, sells household cleaning products.

(There’s a bit of insight there about why some people would deliberately circulate falsehoods, if you care to dig it out.)

Recently, our church has been pursuing a dream to begin a weekday preschool to minister to the needs of families in our area. The first hurdle is to obtain a land-use permit from our town’s planning commission. This effort brought out neighbors who were not just against a preschool—they were very against a preschool. In fact, they were angry in their opposition. I told my wife, Mary Ann, “You’d think we were proposing to put up a strip mall.” In the course of voicing their opposition, there were accusations regarding our conduct, our character and our competency to operate a preschool (that almost sounds like a 3-point sermon outline.)

Unlike Procter & Gamble, we chose not to take them to court or even offer rebuttal to their accusations. We decided to remain quiet and allow our application to stand on its own merit. It did—we won the first round with an approval from the planning commission. However, it has been appealed and we will go before the city council for another ruling. I suspect the opposition will be back and louder than ever.

We already know how to respond.

People can talk all day about their love and devotion for God, but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. If a person is really a Christian, there will be evidence of the change.

So here are a few questions we should ask ourselves as believers:

Do I obey the Word of God? We can’t obey it if we don’t know what it says. So first, we need to read it. Are we keeping His commandments?

Do I reject this world system that is hostile to God? When a person becomes a Christian, he or she sees this world for what it is, because his or her priorities have changed.

Do I eagerly await Christ’s return? If we truly are followers of Christ, we will look forward to the day when He will come again.

Do I see a decreasing pattern of sin in my life? That is not to say true Christians will not sin, because they will. But there is a difference between continuing in sin and trying to sin less and less.

Do I love other Christians? Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). If we are children of God, then we will love His people, and we will love to be around them.

After reading these questions, you may be thinking “I don’t think I measure up.” But I don’t measure up in every way either. There is always room for improvement. That is why it’s good to periodically examine ourselves to see whether we are doing what we ought to do.

I’ve been listening to presidential hopefuls declare their intentions to run for President in 2008. I have a question—how will each candidate incorporate his personal beliefs into his decision-making? Inevitably, our worldviews will show and our deepest beliefs will become evident. Specifically, how will their personal religious convictions affect their leadership style?

As human beings, we cannot easily compartmentalize ourselves, placing our most fundamental beliefs about God, morality, and truth in one compartment and our political and public beliefs in another. We are not made that way.

The U.S. Constitution demands that there be no religious test for public office. That means that the government cannot prohibit anyone's candidacy on that basis.

It makes sense to me that candidates should be as forthright and direct about their personal religious views as about any other question. Those who make too much of their beliefs risk appearing as a candidate for national preacher. Those who make too little of their beliefs risk appearing insincere and evasive. Those who seek to exploit their beliefs will do themselves political harm.

Unfortunately, I think John F. Kennedy set an poor example when he told a group of Baptist preachers in Houston in 1960 that his Catholicism would have virtually nothing to do with his presidential decision-making. How could that be? I want to know how a political candidate makes decisions, weighs priorities, and gains strength in crisis.

We are not electing a national preacher, rabbi, imam, or priest, but we are electing a human being. As much as possible, I want to know what that human being believes at the deepest levels and how those beliefs form character, perspective, and political decisions.

Of course, for that to happen we would have to move beyond sound bites and flashy TV commercials.

There's a lot recently being said regarding Intelligent Design (ID) versus evolution. I read today that Great Britain is beginning to include the teaching of ID into their public school curriculum. Good for them!

We recently completed a study entitled, "Unlocking the Mystery of Life" by Illustrated Media (I recommend it.) It is a purely secular presentation FOR the case of ID. The strongest proponents for ID in the United States are found in the scientific community. The study provides more than enough scientific evidence to support the case for ID. Too long, Christians have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the pseudo-scientific community. It doesn't have to be that way--good science supports the case for ID.

I recently received a question (via our church webpage) that I think is appropriate for this post.

Riley of Baltimore, MD. writes, “In light of scientific discoveries in recent years, is it time for us as Christians to abandon the literal view of a six-day creation found in the book of Genesis?

Absolutely not. A biblical understanding of the creation and fall of humanity establishes the necessary foundation for the Christian world-view. Everything Scripture teaches about sin and redemption assumes the literal truth of the first three chapters of Genesis. After all, if God is not the Creator, then maybe He’s not the Redeemer either. If we cannot believe the opening chapters of Genesis, how can we be certain of anything the Bible says?

I am convinced the correct interpretation of Genesis 1-3 is the one that comes naturally from a straightforward reading of the text. It teaches us that the universe is relatively young, albeit with an appearance of age and maturity, and that all of creation was accomplished in the span of six literal days.
To those who will inevitably complain that such a view is unsophisticated and unscientific, my reply is that it is certainly superior to the irrational notion that an ordered and incomprehensibly complex universe sprung by accident from nothingness or by accident.

Scripture offers the only accurate explanations that can be found anywhere about how our race began, where our moral sense originated, why we cannot seem to do what our own consciences tell us is right, and how we can be redeemed from this hopeless situation.

Scripture is not merely the best of several possible explanations. It is the Word of God.

I am often amused when I read obituaries in the newspaper or hear what is said at the death of someone. Whoever the deceased was, he or she was the greatest person who ever lived. There was never a person more compassionate, more loving, or more caring. This is because when someone dies, we want to say the best about him or her.

But what if the truth were told? What if someone said, “Was this person not a jerk? He squandered his life. More than a few of us in this room were ripped off by him. He was selfish. He didn’t care about others. All he cared about was himself. And quite frankly, I am kind of glad he is gone, aren’t you?”

Of course we would never say that. Instead, we might even stretch the truth about how wonderful a person was.

If someone were to sum up your life, what would they say you lived for? What will they remember you best for? That will be your legacy. Wouldn’t you like it to be honestly said of you, “This person loved God. He cared about the things of God. He really cared about other people. This person really lived for the Lord”?

The ultimate waste is to throw your life away, to squander it. Yet so many people do. What will you be remembered for?

The Psalmist wrote, “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand.” (Psalm 31:14-15)

Live a life that matters. Live a life that makes a difference. Live a life for the Lord and you will never regret it.

Zechariah 4:10—For who has despised the day of small things?

I was reading in Zechariah this morning and came across this verse. I stopped and reflected on what the Spirit wanted to teach me. One quality we consistently find in the lives of the men and women that God uses is faithfulness. We read in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” And Jesus said, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

Right now, you may be in a place in life where nothing seems to be happening. You might be thinking, Lord, come on! Use me. Call on me. I will turn this world upside down for You. But the Lord may be saying, “You are not ready yet. I have to prepare you first.” Be faithful to do what He has set before you today to the best of your ability.

That is what Stephen did. Acts 6 tells us that his job was to serve tables. Notice the church leaders didn’t say, “Stephen, go out and do miracles and then go preach the gospel to the Sanhedrin. While you are preaching, a guy named Saul of Tarsus will hear you. He ultimately will be converted. He will be the greatest preacher in the history of the church.” Instead, Stephen waited on tables. And as the Lord found him faithful in the little things, He gave him more responsibility.

You can never be too small for God to use; only too big. We need to be faithful in what God has set before us. Because if we are not faithful in the little things, then we won’t be in the big things.