There’s been a lot of debate recently over the building of an Islamic Mosque and community center just two blocks away from ground Zero in New York. The issue took on more steam this past weekend as President Obama endorsed the group’s constitutional right to construct the building. But then on Saturday, the President was reported as saying that while he upholds that “Muslims have that right, that doesn’t mean he believes it is the right thing for them to do.” There sure are a number of ways to look at this. I understand and have felt the same knee jerk reaction of many who have pointed out that the men who flew those planes into the Twin Towers in New York were led by a strict inner interpretation of the Qur’an (Koran). So the initial thought of a group of Muslims meeting yards away from where such a tragic event happened can cause one to wince. But when the dust clears and the heart beat slows down, I believe the group in question ought to be allowed to carry on with their plans. But my main reason for such a position may not be easy to see at first. Here’s what I’m thinking. Read the rest of this entry »
Kingdom Living
Support for “The Book”
Jul 28
Recently I watched ‘The Book of Eli’ with my brother and I give it two thumbs up. I probably liked it partially just because I’m a guy with a healthy hunger for adventure and sci-fi flicks, especially when there’s at least a little bit of a story to it. I thought the cinematography and visuals in the movie were wonderful. But the big draw to this story was the focus on the Bible. I’m always intrigued when Hollywood tries to honestly step into the spiritual and with Denzel Washington leading this project I knew there just might be something of substance in it. One review of the movie suggested that it was something of a “Sunday sermon wrapped in a Mad Max adventure” and that’s about right.
But it does raise questions among some Christ followers. Is it good to see and pay money for shows like this? I mean there were scenes with graphic violence, some really hard language, and at the end the Bible is meticulously placed between the Torah and the Quran. How do you even interpret that last one? Were the writers showing that the Bible was superior to the other two or more than likely just implying there was no difference between them? Yes, there were some real issues in the movie and if they are a conviction on your conscience, then you need to pass it by. But on the other hand no one should judge someone else who did watch it. For while I would not want little kids to see this show, I believe that Christ followers ought to give this sort of thing another look. Here are some reasons why. Read the rest of this entry »
Advancing to Retreat.
Jun 27
I’m getting ready for my yearly prayer and study break which I usually take during the summer. While doing the church plant in CA I had the privilege to spend that time each year on Lake Tahoe which is one of my favorite places in the world. That was a HUGE blessing thanks to the ministry of the Barnabas Factor which offsets the cost for full-time ministers. I love the mountains. This year I will be headed to the Rockies around Denver and I’m looking forward to checking out and spending some serious solo time with God, His Word, and whatever else He has in mind. In preparation for this I got an email last week from a great guy who directs church planting in the Northern Plains of America named Mike Sojka. The link for his site is at: NPEA. Attached to his note he included a doc entitled “Reasons for Unanswered Prayers” which I’ve included below. I thought that was a great resource to help people get focused for such ventures. From my observation, we all need to take a moment from time to time to weigh our motives and this tool seemed like a good start. What would you add as a discipline or exercise in preparation for a spiritual retreat? Read the rest of this entry »
Kid’s Kamp and Saint Morris.
Jun 19
Well we finished up Kid’s Kamp last night at The Crossings and it was GREAT. The Kamp was an excellent opportunity to plant the loving seeds of Christ in the hearts of our young people in our community. Jesus loved and loves Children and in fact taught that unless we change and become like these little children we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Wow, what’s that all about? While there are many reasons, it seems like the biggest one is just the fact that these children don’t front any arguments and simply accept Christ through faith. They hear and believe. I think that is one of the reasons why every church that is truly fruitful in Kingdom advancement has a powerful children’s ministry. So I’m thankful for our efforts at Cypress Crossing to reach and minister to the kidos.
But I’m also thankful for a guy most of you won’t know named Morris. I met Morris for the first time on a college inner city trip in Atlanta back in the spring of 89. Then I ended up going to school with him when I transferred to Ozark Christian College that fall. But Morris went home to be with Christ this past month after faithfully serving Christ for a number of years in Honduras. Read the rest of this entry »
Ok Bonnie,
There’s a lot you have to say and I like your honesty and being upfront. No need to play games here. So with everything you wrote, (and didn’t write) we’ll just tackle one point at a time.
As I noted earlier, there exists a counterfeit church today which is quite foreign from the real deal. But there is always an element of the real CHURCH in the world no matter what kind of institution is being propagated. You can read more about the authentic church here in Kingdomology under the CHURCH page. But in short, the Church has nothing to do with buildings or institutions. The authentic Church is more about God’s people called to him. When it comes to people, yes, you are quite right, there are a lot of people who make great claims about being good “Christians” but don’t seem to be any different than the rest of the world other than just being a religious pain in the rear because of self-righteousness. I get that. But here are some other points to consider. Read the rest of this entry »
Like a number of Christian ministers I know, it seems like a part of my spiritual mentorship actually comes from dead guys from the past. Yes I know; that sounds exciting doesn’t it? But by that I mean being able to glean from the writings of Christ followers in times gone by who really walked with God. Some of the men that I still read from and about are Spurgeon, Moody, Finney, Taylor, Muller and Bonhoeffer. There are other guys who I don’t read as much from, but still have a profound influence on my kingdom thinking. One of those guys is Oswald Chambers of whom I read this morning before really hitting the day. In a devotional book I got from a friend back in CA he gives a commentary over 1 Peter 2:21 which really applies to people who are engaged in serious ministry projects. The gist of the text deals with the issue of suffering for Christ, which is a reality in authentic Kingdom living. I’ve pasted the text and commentary below. I hope it’s helpful and challenging. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ll I’m just about back into a consistent “blogging” saddle again as we’re finishing up our transition from the church plant back in CA to a work in the Houston area. We’ve landed with an exciting bunch of folks in Cypress, Texas where there are some real needs and huge opportunities for Kingdom advancement. This past Monday night we had a group of leaders over at our house to watch the movie Miracle on Ice. The flick was based on the true story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team defeating the Soviet Union and winning the gold medal. Personally it was fun to watch as I remember being glued to the tube when it happened in real life 30 years ago. But we didn’t watch it to reminisce, but to learn some church leadership lessons. We came up with at least these five principles. Enjoy and feel free to add anything. Read the rest of this entry »
Religious Talk in the EU!
Jan 12
I came across an interesting article today highlighting a decision of the European Union to open up a “transparent and regular dialogue with churches, religious associations and secular groups.” The reason this caught my eye is that Europe, and especially France, is one of the most secular regions of the world. I have a heart for world evangelism and England and Europe have always been a part of that. It’s sad to remember how many of those countries in the EU once led the world in sharing the love of Christ. People like Hus, Luther, and Wesley stood and proclaimed the grace of Jesus Christ and lives were changed. But over the years Europe, more so than England, has gone to the extreme of total government led secularism and has pushed Christianity and any form of religious thought into the deepest corners of the closet. If anything, religion was a personal matter not to be discussed in public. Yet according the article, the political experts of the EU are beginning to see how much faith really intersects in the lives of people around the globe and how that even has ramifications in their own back yards. Apparently, September 11, 2001 is a date that stands out for the EU proponents of this measure as it “shattered a widespread belief that faith was a private matter due to wither away in modern societies.” For them, they understand that the spiritual drive behind the attacks in New York also fueled such events as the bombings in Madrid and London. So I generally agree with the assessment of the EU. A strong faith does affect society either for good or evil and I’m glad to see these folks recognizing this reality. But I believe the ultimate key for Europe is not more politically driven dialogue, but individual Christ followers fully living out their faith in their daily walk. There is nothing more transforming than the love of Christ being displayed in one of his children. Well I don’t live in the EU, at least not now anyway. But here are some things that I can do. What would you add?
-Pray for a spiritual awakening in the EU and England.
-Pray for the true Christ followers in the EU and England.
-Pray for the missionaries who are there in the EU and England.
-Help support those missionaries through our resources.
-Begin to dialogue ourselves with other people who don’t know Christ.
-Live out a Christ centered life where we are today.
Oh for a Kingdom!
Dec 2
I recently watched the second half of Return of the King with my kids and enjoyed every minute of it. I love that movie and really anything from Tolkien and CS Lewis. I’ll be honest; I can even be somewhat of a cry baby at times when it comes to this kind of genre. Once I even held back the tears when I saw The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in the theater back in Nor. Cal. The whole imagery of Aslan representing Jesus and going to the Stone Table for Edmond just floored me because I knew the deeper meaning of what was going on. So it is with the rest of Lewis’ writing and that of the Lord of the Rings. Yes, it’s all fiction, but it conveys something deep, something that each of us secretly cries out for way down in the catacombs of our inmost being. Read the rest of this entry »
To start with I want to clarify that when we’re talking about “church” in this section of Kingdomology, we’re talking about the CHURCH universal. We’re talking about the connection that all Christ followers have across the world and for all time. We’re not talking about a local body of believers like First Christian Church in Liverpool, NY. In other words, these are the folks who live in different parts of the world and from different time frames that may or may not have slightly different scriptural interpretations than me, but are still in the same family of God by grace alone. We’re still Kingdom of Heaven Citizens. I do believe there is a place for local body church membership. But that’s another post. For now though, there is another point which the Bible includes as being part of the admission to God’s Church, and that point deals with ‘repentance.” Read the rest of this entry »