Onething 2011

The 2011 onething conference is just around the corner! Last year we had well over 20,000 students and young adults attend in downtown KC for 4 days of amazing worship and teaching! This year's theme is transforming hearts and cities with God's justice through encountering Jesus, our magnificent obsession! Check it out online at www.ihop.org!

Watch the promo video!

Mark your calendars! This is going to be good! Join us in person or online at www.ihop.org for live streaming!

My Opinion on the "Gift of Singleness"

Lately I have heard several teachings on the spiritual "gift of singleness" from various places and I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts about the season of singleness that we all face at some time in our lives. To begin, there has been a growing cultural pressure to validate singleness. Many of our young churchgoers are finding it increasingly difficult to find a suitable spouse in a culture of such wickedness so they are finding themselves single for an extended period of time. Rather than praising their Biblical standards, we are over-glorifying their singleness and misrepresenting marriage entirely. 

My opinion is directed primarily towards men, since I am a male.

First of all, it is unbiblical to relate the season of singleness that we all face in our youth to celibacy. Celibacy is a serious, lifelong vow that very few are called to make before the Lord (fewer than you think). Let us not confuse this serious vow with the seasonal trial of a 20-something. Matthew 19:11-12

Secondly, it is okay to desire marriage. Where did we get the idea that marriage is some kind of burden (Hollywood)? It is not bad to be married. You are not less holy if you are married. It is less holy to be single when you are called to marriage, and I guarantee there are many more of those out there than those genuinely called to celibacy...

Thirdly, many of those who are single are so because they are filled with selfishness. Marriage is a tutor in humility, a tutor many are not willing to accept. Many men are unwilling to put the needs of another before themselves and therefore wait for someone who will put them first. They are so focused on their own lack that they don't yield to the needs of others and are therefore waiting for someone who fulfills all of their needs. Man's pride has bound them and they are unwilling to put on Christ, therefore God has spared the poor woman who would have been their wife and suffered their pride. Their glorified singleness is Their fault. Matthew 19:8.

Fourthly, many are waiting for a spouse that does not exist. This is not to say that our standards are bad, because our values are very real and necessary. I am talking about the fantasy woman many have thought up in their mind who is without fault. Many of us are waiting for a flawless woman who fulfills all of our desires and makes us the hero, but again, this desire is also rooted in pride. They again fail to put someone else's needs before themselves and embrace the faults of another, as Christ loved us in our sin. Many women have passed them over because of the same pride.

Fifthly, marriage predates sin. Married is not some fix to a sin issue (namely our physical passions). God established marriage in paradise. We were designed to marry, rather than to be single. Jesus designed marriage! He was at the first wedding! He loves it! Gen 2:18, Pro 18:22, 31:10, Luke 20:34, Eph 5:31.

Finally, we must not distort the scriptures. Singleness is not a gift, for the overwhelming majority it is a season. There are those that are called to celibacy, but again this is a very small percentage of people who are purposefully called by the Lord. Many are confused by various teachings on 1 Corinthians 7, but Paul says "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches (1 Cor 7:17)." For most, this call is to marriage. Therefore it is okay to desire marriage. God put that desire in you because you are called to marriage, and you will not fulfill all of your calling as you are single. That is just the truth. You need to get married to fulfill you calling as a husband and father, and I do not want to deny you the angst of this desire because it is God's desire for you.

Many teachers need to repent for allowing those who are called to marriage to stay single. We have lifted the God-given burden of our desire for marriage and called it holiness. Marriage is an awesome calling, and it is the holiest thing to pursue it as your calling. Being single does not make you more holy (especially if you are called to marriage). What makes you holy is to pursue God's will for your life, and in most cases, that is marriage. So please feel free to desire marriage! It is a most amazing calling!

The season of singleness does present great opportunities for ministry, but so does marriage. Paul does say in 1 Corinthians 7 that the married man's interested are divided between how to please his wife and how to please the Lord (v. 33-44), but isn't being a good husband pleasing to the Lord (especially if marriage and fatherhood are your calling)? I think we're reading a little to far outside of the context of Paul's instruction to the Corinthians, forgetting what the rest of the Bible says about marriage and concluding that marriage is a hinderance to ministry. If that were true, Paul would not encourage all church leaders to be married in 1 Timothy 3. I conclude that God intends marriage to make us more like Christ as a wonderful benefit to our ministry. I conclude that marriage is excellent for ministry, forcing me to face my pride, tutoring me in humility, fulfilling me in my relationship with my wife and calling as a father, and conforming me more to the image of Christ. Do not be deceived into thinking that singleness actually makes you a more effective minister when you have yet to realize your calling and face your pride. 

God bless those who are in search of a Godly spouse and those who are called purposefully to celibacy.

Here are a few other notes I have written concerning the value of marriage... I'm sure there are more to come:

The Value of Marriage

Marriage Counseling

Knowing Your Moment In History

A major part of understanding the call of the Lord for your life has to do with understanding the moment of history into which you were born. We have to recognize the days we live in, lest we live our life oblivious to the opportunity God has given us in our present day. When entering into any type of calling, in any sphere, the proper understanding of the history of that sphere is crucial. Understanding the history knit to your calling is crucial in gaining the right perspective. 

For teenagers seeking to minister on their school campuses, there are some very important dates you should know. One is the Supreme Court decision of Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), not only because this was the decision that removed prayer from school, but because it is a clear example of the effect that prayer (or lack-thereof) can have on our schools. It is extremely insightful to know that the removal of prayer effected the youth culture of the entire nation, from test scores to teen pregnancy - prayer made a difference.

Another reason that decision is insightful is because of all of the other court cases that immediately followed it. Why was prayer the primary battle? And why were so many other things outlawed after prayer was removed? What is it about prayer that the enemy sought to eliminate first? And if the removal of prayer sparked such a downfall, what could the return of student-led prayer spark?

Despite all of our most sincere efforts, no one has been able to "crack" the youth culture "code." We can spend so much time trying to be relevant and inclusive that we actually lose the proper perspective. While relevance and inclusiveness are important, history helps uncover what is actually relevant to our ministry. After 49 since the decision of Engel v. Vitale, youth ministry is worse than ever.

Maybe, just maybe, we need to return to the start and get some perspective on our moment in history. Maybe, we were born into this ministry for such a time as this to reverse the drought of prayer in our schools and raise up a student-led prayer movement across our nation. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers aren't praying...