Pastor Rick Warren has often said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and an ounce of pretense is worth a pound of manure.” Fake faith is a pet peeve of mine, and it is certainly an issue God addresses rather directly in Scripture. I believe God is serious about it because ultimately, Christianity with pretense hurts the reputation of the gospel. So, it’s a huge relief when someone comes clean and speaks with brutal honesty about the Christian life.

Brutal honesty, plus hilarious anecdotes and some inspiring stories of redemption at work changing lives is what I encountered when I read Ir-rev-rend: Christianity Without the Pretense. Faith Without the Facade. by Greg Surratt.

As a church planter who is trying to figure things out on a week-by-week basis, I loved Greg’s opening chapters in which he relayed plenty of advice about how NOT to plant a church, all learned in the laboratory of his own experiences planting Seacoast Church in the Carolinas. Greg would almost have us believe that the church came into being in spite of his ministry there. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, but Greg is that brutally honest about how he learned things the hard way.

Ir-rev-rend is not just a book for ministry leaders, though. It’s the kind of book you’ll want to put into the hands of people who have a problem with the faith. We live in a skeptical culture and we’re handing people plenty of ammunition against the authenticity of our faith. Greg doesn’t dodge any questions. He tackles perceptions about our legalistic tendencies, our hypocrisy, and our sometimes meaningless traditions. On numerous fronts, Greg re-directs us back to a simple, understandable, and very biblical faith.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to you.
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You may be very surprised to know that I, for once, agree with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg regarding his decision to bar "clergy" from participating in the tenth anniversary memorial of the September 11th attacks. In the past, I have found myself in total disagreement with the mayor on many issues; chief among them is his support of the building of the Cordoba Mosque at Ground Zero.

But when it comes to not having any "clergy" at the tenth commemoration of that day of infamy, I believe Mayor Bloomberg did the right thing even though I am sure he did it for all the wrong reasons.

However, the way I and many other faithful Christians see it is as an act of mercy – sparing us the spectacle of bundling all religions together as if they are worshipping one god or as if all these gods are equal. I can still remember Mayor Rudy Giuliani's "Prayer for America" memorial service, held 12 days after the 9/11 attacks, and how extremely painful it was for Christians who watched. It gave the impression that all gods are equal to the one true God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Every conceivable group, from Hindus, Buddhists and other non-monotheistic groups (unknown to most Americans) to different Muslim sects, Sikhs, Jewish groups, and Christian denominations of all stripes, was given an opportunity to "pray." Tragically, every representative of a Christian denomination, but one, judiciously avoided mentioning the unmentionable – Jesus Christ – out of political correctness. There was only one elderly Armenian Orthodox bishop who dared to utter the name of our Savior, the Son of the living God.

From the very beginning in Sinai, our heavenly Father warned Moses before entering the Promised Land that His people must not fall into syncretism by bundling and muddling their worship with the Canaanites, who worshiped all sorts of gods that were not gods at all. Yet God's people just couldn't help themselves and kept on mixing Yahweh with all of the "non-God" gods. Year after year, the prophets continuously warned them against that travesty, until finally, when they did not heed the warning, judgment came in the form of the Babylonian exile.

Sadly, America is committing the same abomination of syncretism – mixing the God of the Founding Fathers with all those other "non–God"-gods. Could judgment be around the corner? Perhaps.

But for now, special thanks to Mayor Bloomberg for sparing the faithful Christians from seeing and watching a syncretistic fest on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.

I was recently asked to explain the doctrine of election. And once again, at the conclusion of my explanation, people looked at me as if I were speaking Swahili. That’s the way it always is when I am asked to explain the infinite mind of God. So then I was asked, “Why didn’t God choose everyone to be saved?” And once again I reached into my deep reservoir of wisdom and replied, “I don’t know. But I do know this— He got more glory for His own name by doing it the way He did it.”

I went on to say, “Let me ask you something—does God ever make a mistake? Is God ever wrong? Of course, not. So, whatever He does fits into his character. And if it’s hard for us to understand, that’s our problem, not God's!”

You may be wondering why God did it the way He did. I wish I could explain it once and for all so that all of us could get the picture. All I know is that all humanity born in Adam are born with the sin nature and doomed to an eternity in hell. This is where the grace of God intercedes and some are saved and some are not.

Herein lies the rub—salvation is by the elect, predestined, purpose of God. Damnation is by the unbelief of men. Now you may ask, “Holland, how do you resolve that?” and my answer is, “I don’t resolve that! I can’t resolve that. But, I know God is perfect and He resolves it perfectly and that’s the best we can do with it.”

I recently heard a person say, "The church is not relevant to today." Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but I am an expert on the subject of "church." And I'm here to tell you that the church has never been MORE relevant than it is today.

I love the church. I love to be with the church. I love to talk about the church. I love to study the history of the church. Get it? I love the church!

Unfortunately, a high proportion of people who "go to church" have forgotten what it is all for. Week by week they attend services in a special building and go through their particular, time-honored routines, but give little thought to the purpose of what they are doing. The Bible calls the church "the bride of Christ" but the many congregations today seem more like a ragged Cinderella. There needs to be a reaffirmation to the nonnegotiable, essential elements for which God designed the church.

It thrills me beyond measure to think that I get to serve God through pastoring His church. Although I am also involved in some other ministry activities, I wouldn't trade my ministry in the church for all of them combined. The church takes first place in my ministry priorities, and everything else grows out of my commitment to the church.

For that reason, when God told me to plant a new church in the Robson resort community of Pebble Creek (west Phoenix, Arizona valley) I responded immediately. Within the gated-walls of Pebble Creek, more than 13,000 people reside—and there are no churches available to them. We want to change that.

Almost 200 people pray for us every day. Could I count on you to pray for us as well?

I would propose that the church has something to learn from Dunkin’ Donuts.

The reason we have something to learn is that we have tried to be Starbucks. We’ve tried to be slick, trendy, and hip. We’ve tried to be a place that is non-threatening and easy to come to. And when you walk in, you see beautiful people in holey jeans and black glasses, all looking very intellectual and hair-frosty.

Additionally, we have tried to make church a low-demand environment, much in the same way Starbucks is. It’s low demand in that even though the basic premise of the store is selling coffee, some people don’t even go there for coffee at all. And nobody’s going to pressure them about the coffee. That sounds familiar, too.

But guess what?

People like Dunkin’ Donuts. They like that it’s not trendy. They like that it’s not hip. They like that it’s not cool. You know why they like it?

Because it’s simple: It’s good coffee at a reasonable price.

I'm Back

I didn’t think my break from writing would be this long—but I’m back. Much has happened since I last blogged, so I’ll do my best to summarize. After 13 ½ years as pastor of Gatetree Church in Danville, CA, I resigned August 7th to become a North American Mission Board church planter. When most men my age are thinking about gearing down, God told me to “keep it in gear” and plant GracePointe Church, a 55+ adult church in the Robson Resort community of Pebble Creek in Goodyear, AZ. (a suburb of Phoenix.) I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about any ministry assignment as I am with this one.

Paul said, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

God is not obligated to validate when He calls—but when He does, it’s wonderful beyond words. Again and again, He has supplied for our needs in ways that are so obviously “God” that even I can recognize it! The result is a deep sense of awe, humility, and an overwhelming feeling of unworthiness.

I don’t know how often I’ll write. Some guys do it every day—that amazes me. It’s not often that I have profound thoughts, but when I do, I’ll write them down for you.

Blessings.