Hello again!
I have greatly appreciated everyone that has followed me on this blog and kept up with my posts. This blog has been meaningful over the years, and for that reason it remains published if for no other reason than as a record. I would like to invite all of you to my the Arkansas For Christ Resource Blog to follow more current and new content. Thank you for reading!
Friday, September 15, 2017
Monday, September 15, 2014
Expression v. Reverence at Church
Hello again!
I recently had a very good conversation with a friend about the role of expression and reverence at church. My friend, who shall be called Billy, shared that he had attended both charismatic and evangelical churches on a consistent basis over the years. He had found that he didn't much like the expressiveness of his charismatic church and favored the more traditional teaching-focused church that appeared more reverent. He didn't intend to generalize all charismatic churches into one category, but was simply sharing his experience.
Then during the service the pastor joked about how much more engaging and expressive the congregation is on Sunday mornings after the Razorbacks win a football game compared to when they lose.
After the service Billy said that the pastor's comments bothered him. He cited an example where another church has done an experiment. Billy described how the pastor in the experiment told the congregation he would show them two video clips and instructed them to respond naturally. The first video clip was of their favorite football team scoring an amazing touchdown. Naturally the crowd went wild! The second video was a baptism, and the crowd gave the classic 'golf clap.' Of course the point of the experiment is to expose our lack of excitement as demonstrated by our lack of expressiveness at church. Why would be cheer, jump and shout at the top of our lungs for football but not for God?
I found this a funny inconsistency with Billy's comments before the service, but perhaps I misjudged. It brings up a good discussion, however, about expression and reverence. For instance, some people wear what they call their "Sunday best" to church, usually formal attire like a suit. Others dress casual or even bring their dancing shoes (you know who you are). Is one more reverent? I don't have an answer because I don't think it's about our attire, ultimately. Maybe it's both! What about the difference between one who raises their hands during worship and one who sits?
Your answer may be determined by the way you were raised, but I am encouraged to look beyond the action and into a person's sincerity. Ah, no, sincerity is the wrong word... because you can be sincerely wrong (trust me I know). I mean how/if that person is genuinely relating to God. I think both can be great! Inexpression is not always the absence of passion, and expression is not always the absence of reverence. Perhaps what we all must learn is how to judge a little less.
I recently had a very good conversation with a friend about the role of expression and reverence at church. My friend, who shall be called Billy, shared that he had attended both charismatic and evangelical churches on a consistent basis over the years. He had found that he didn't much like the expressiveness of his charismatic church and favored the more traditional teaching-focused church that appeared more reverent. He didn't intend to generalize all charismatic churches into one category, but was simply sharing his experience.
Then during the service the pastor joked about how much more engaging and expressive the congregation is on Sunday mornings after the Razorbacks win a football game compared to when they lose.
After the service Billy said that the pastor's comments bothered him. He cited an example where another church has done an experiment. Billy described how the pastor in the experiment told the congregation he would show them two video clips and instructed them to respond naturally. The first video clip was of their favorite football team scoring an amazing touchdown. Naturally the crowd went wild! The second video was a baptism, and the crowd gave the classic 'golf clap.' Of course the point of the experiment is to expose our lack of excitement as demonstrated by our lack of expressiveness at church. Why would be cheer, jump and shout at the top of our lungs for football but not for God?
I found this a funny inconsistency with Billy's comments before the service, but perhaps I misjudged. It brings up a good discussion, however, about expression and reverence. For instance, some people wear what they call their "Sunday best" to church, usually formal attire like a suit. Others dress casual or even bring their dancing shoes (you know who you are). Is one more reverent? I don't have an answer because I don't think it's about our attire, ultimately. Maybe it's both! What about the difference between one who raises their hands during worship and one who sits?
Your answer may be determined by the way you were raised, but I am encouraged to look beyond the action and into a person's sincerity. Ah, no, sincerity is the wrong word... because you can be sincerely wrong (trust me I know). I mean how/if that person is genuinely relating to God. I think both can be great! Inexpression is not always the absence of passion, and expression is not always the absence of reverence. Perhaps what we all must learn is how to judge a little less.
Spontaneity v. Structure at Church
Hello again!
I have had a few very encouraging conversations recently. One of them was about the difference between spontaneous and structured church services and the benefits of each. I thought I would share my thoughts because I greatly benefited from the conversation.
Structured church services tend to have a clear set of goals with a detailed schedule and prepared elements to help accomplish those goals. I am naturally a fan of structure and this would describe the majority of church services in the west. The difficulty with structured services is that they easily become routine and entire congregations become accused of "going through the motions" week after week.
Spontaneous church serves may have a clear set of goals but have a very flexible schedule and few(er) prepared elements. The draw of spontaneous services is the breaking of routine that insights a heightened level of expectancy in the attendees. You can't "go through the motions" when there are no motions. Spontaneous services are often criticized for emotionalism and a lack of consistency.
The conflict arrises when spontaneous services among a typically structured church service. Something spontaneous happens (maybe the time of worship is extended or the preacher changes his topic) and result is increased engagement from a partially confused yet intrigued audience. If the spontaneous accident is a success then the debate raises about if all services should be more spontaneous. Suddenly everyone in the room was on the edge of their seat in expectancy for God to do something and this radical engagement is attributed to the spontaneous nature of the service. So the conversation becomes about rejecting structure and incorporating more spontaneous elements (thus the pendulum swings).
I would guess that many of these discussions are inconclusive because (I believe) they are founded on a misconception. Where does the Bible say that God cannot be active in structure? Honestly, I think the whole thing is in our heads and that God can encounter us equally in both formats. The spontaneous element merely triggers something that should always be present: expectancy. Why can't we go to church expectant to encounter God in every form of service? Why aren't we always engaged? Honestly, it's not about spontaneity or structure, but about the readiness of our hearts to receive.
It is true that structure creates a routine and that routine can become monotonous, but that is not an inherent fault of structure but of our hearts. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spontaneous stuff as much as the next guy, but I feel like sometimes we misunderstand structure and spontaneity. The congregation's engagement and expectancy are not the result of your church's latest promotional idea or service format. They are the result of leaders casting vision and setting the example of encountering the living God.
I have had a few very encouraging conversations recently. One of them was about the difference between spontaneous and structured church services and the benefits of each. I thought I would share my thoughts because I greatly benefited from the conversation.
Structured church services tend to have a clear set of goals with a detailed schedule and prepared elements to help accomplish those goals. I am naturally a fan of structure and this would describe the majority of church services in the west. The difficulty with structured services is that they easily become routine and entire congregations become accused of "going through the motions" week after week.
Spontaneous church serves may have a clear set of goals but have a very flexible schedule and few(er) prepared elements. The draw of spontaneous services is the breaking of routine that insights a heightened level of expectancy in the attendees. You can't "go through the motions" when there are no motions. Spontaneous services are often criticized for emotionalism and a lack of consistency.
The conflict arrises when spontaneous services among a typically structured church service. Something spontaneous happens (maybe the time of worship is extended or the preacher changes his topic) and result is increased engagement from a partially confused yet intrigued audience. If the spontaneous accident is a success then the debate raises about if all services should be more spontaneous. Suddenly everyone in the room was on the edge of their seat in expectancy for God to do something and this radical engagement is attributed to the spontaneous nature of the service. So the conversation becomes about rejecting structure and incorporating more spontaneous elements (thus the pendulum swings).
I would guess that many of these discussions are inconclusive because (I believe) they are founded on a misconception. Where does the Bible say that God cannot be active in structure? Honestly, I think the whole thing is in our heads and that God can encounter us equally in both formats. The spontaneous element merely triggers something that should always be present: expectancy. Why can't we go to church expectant to encounter God in every form of service? Why aren't we always engaged? Honestly, it's not about spontaneity or structure, but about the readiness of our hearts to receive.
It is true that structure creates a routine and that routine can become monotonous, but that is not an inherent fault of structure but of our hearts. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spontaneous stuff as much as the next guy, but I feel like sometimes we misunderstand structure and spontaneity. The congregation's engagement and expectancy are not the result of your church's latest promotional idea or service format. They are the result of leaders casting vision and setting the example of encountering the living God.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Awkward Moments in Support Raising
Hello again!
I have had my fair share of awkward conversations surrounding the topic of support raising as a missionary. I'm talking about the idea of inviting others to pay part of your salary because they believe in you/your work. "How can you raise a family on that kind of pay?" "There's not financial security in that." "That isn't a real job." But perhaps the most awkward and discouraging conversations go unsaid: "Are you trying to monetize our relationship?" "You want me to put a dollar amount on our friendship?" I understand these reactions as support raising too often misused by many. This grieves me because the rampant misuse of support raising hurts people. It damages relationships and can even destroys entire ministries. After enough bad experiences many people simply disengage from that kind of giving.
Here is my perspective, whether someone is inviting me to support them or I am doing the inviting. Support raising is part of our God designed the modern missions movement to run ("goers" and "senders"). The partnership between the missionaries and the funders creates a shared experience of the missions movement. Support raising is not a popularity contest because the missions movement is not a popularity contest. Rather, the partnership of the goers and senders is about fostering one thing: OBEDIENCE. The missionary has to be obedient to be willing to do the work that God has called him/her to do, and the senders have to be obedient to give their finances where God leads them to give. Therefore, the invitation to support a missionary is not an attempt to monetize your relationship or take advantage of your income, but it should be an invitation to seek the Lord and find out how/if He would lead you to give. If we understood that, so many awkward conversations and relationships would be saved! My best friend could ask me to support him but if God told me to give somewhere else, I would be obedient because obedience is the goal! "Yes" or "No" doesn't matter! Obedience matters.
That may or may not make sense, but I'll leave you with one other thought. I hear a lot of advertisements about getting a "guaranteed income for life" and "complete financial security." Americans are obsessed with that stuff, but the truth is there is only ONE PLACE where you can expect to have a guaranteed income or total financial security: radical obedience to Jesus. I don't care how rich or poor your are, all of that can change in the blink of His eye. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
Practical Tip: In the event that someone does ask you to support them but you do not feel led to do so, please don't ignore them. It isn't personal, it's obedience. Just tell them "no" and they will thank you for it!
I have had my fair share of awkward conversations surrounding the topic of support raising as a missionary. I'm talking about the idea of inviting others to pay part of your salary because they believe in you/your work. "How can you raise a family on that kind of pay?" "There's not financial security in that." "That isn't a real job." But perhaps the most awkward and discouraging conversations go unsaid: "Are you trying to monetize our relationship?" "You want me to put a dollar amount on our friendship?" I understand these reactions as support raising too often misused by many. This grieves me because the rampant misuse of support raising hurts people. It damages relationships and can even destroys entire ministries. After enough bad experiences many people simply disengage from that kind of giving.
Here is my perspective, whether someone is inviting me to support them or I am doing the inviting. Support raising is part of our God designed the modern missions movement to run ("goers" and "senders"). The partnership between the missionaries and the funders creates a shared experience of the missions movement. Support raising is not a popularity contest because the missions movement is not a popularity contest. Rather, the partnership of the goers and senders is about fostering one thing: OBEDIENCE. The missionary has to be obedient to be willing to do the work that God has called him/her to do, and the senders have to be obedient to give their finances where God leads them to give. Therefore, the invitation to support a missionary is not an attempt to monetize your relationship or take advantage of your income, but it should be an invitation to seek the Lord and find out how/if He would lead you to give. If we understood that, so many awkward conversations and relationships would be saved! My best friend could ask me to support him but if God told me to give somewhere else, I would be obedient because obedience is the goal! "Yes" or "No" doesn't matter! Obedience matters.
That may or may not make sense, but I'll leave you with one other thought. I hear a lot of advertisements about getting a "guaranteed income for life" and "complete financial security." Americans are obsessed with that stuff, but the truth is there is only ONE PLACE where you can expect to have a guaranteed income or total financial security: radical obedience to Jesus. I don't care how rich or poor your are, all of that can change in the blink of His eye. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
Practical Tip: In the event that someone does ask you to support them but you do not feel led to do so, please don't ignore them. It isn't personal, it's obedience. Just tell them "no" and they will thank you for it!
Friday, August 22, 2014
The Most Disturbing Trend Among Youth
Hello again, everyone!
Every once and a while I am struck by fact that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Our youth in America are experiencing a unique era of technology and population growth but honestly I think the core principles of the issues we are facing today are nothing new to humanity. Many people like to think that this generation faces challenges that no other generation has, maybe even greater challenges that any generation in history. I think the issue of technology may be a valid point but honestly I don't think you could read history and tell me that this generation faces greater struggle than any other, especially when our greatest struggle may be self-imposed.
I think that we are in the midst of a unique generation in light of the acceleration of the missions movement. Never before has it been possible for every people group to be reached, or for the Bible to be translated into every language. This is the first generation in history that is projected to see the completion of those tasks. That raises several questions and intriguing implication, but let's leave that alone for now.
What really disturbs me about most Christian youth in America is their growing dependance on sentiment. Like I said, this is not something that is unique to this generation. There are many periods of history where generations have traded truth for sentiment and we can see clearly the consequences of their decisions. Honestly I have not heard of any society that traded truth for sentiment and survived long.
The danger of becoming dependent on sentiment is how easily we can slip into it without even realizing it. I don't think most people make a conscious decision to set aside the rule of objective truth for subjective sentiment, but it appeals to our iniquity by validating our insecurity. I don't know if that makes sense...
Let me lay it out like this: the general assumption that humanity possesses an inherent good, even suppressed, is a very appealing sentiment. That idea bears no weight of truth, but it sounds good and the fact that it sounds good seems to be to make it acceptable among the youth. Most of the youth in the church have, in all honesty, left their Bible on the shelf in favor of whatever tickles their fancy regardless of if it stands the test of truth. I find myself looking to the great teachers of our fathers and recognizing that they let the Bible rule over their opinions and make their sentiment subject to the existence of truth. Not so with the youth. Rather the greatest offense has become the idea of imposing one person's truth upon another, effectively subjecting truth to sentiment and becoming vulnerable to delusion.
Let me be clear, this young generation in America is ripe for delusion because they literally have no heading to their moral compass, no foundation of truth to direct their opinion, thus becoming ruled by their emotions and sentiment. In fact, this is the culture described in Scripture as the one that would most readily receive the Antichrist. If you really want to break down the implications of the acceleration in the missions movement, current events in Israel and the general pulse of our western culture, we are quickly becoming the ideal recipients of one such leader.
The most effective element that could turn the tide of this sentiment-driven culture is a resurgence of Spirit-filled, prayerful, Bible-believing grade-schoolers and teenagers. Nowadays their friends would call them extremists, fundamentalists and intolerant, but we need nothing less than young people filled with glory and truth of God. Six years of ministry to high school campuses made this very clear to me.
By now I have probably confused several readers and possibly offended a few others. That's okay. I like you. Bear with me... I am not the best at this whole blog thing but I promise I'm getting better :)
My Struggle With Blogs
Hello again, World!
It has been a long time since I have written any significant content on my blog. That isn't necessarily to say that I haven't had anything to say, but I have had an internal struggle with the purpose/validity of my blog. You see, lately I haven't cared to share my thoughts just for the sake of sharing them. I find that there is far too much of that going on around the internet. I have shared many a 'hasty' blog in the past; ones where I write like a blunt-force hammer with no real consideration for my readers, especially in my teen/college years. I could even look back on some of my currently published blog posts with a certain level of appreciation for the growth I have experienced since then coupled with a sour feeling of regret in my stomach...
All that to say I'd like to try and 'reboot' my blog and actually post meaningful things, but I struggle with defining what would really be meaningful for me to say in such a public and yet impersonal format. I am a written processor, so writing my thoughts can have a sort of therapeutic purpose for me, but not all of that really belongs on the internet. I don't find that my personality transfers very well through writing since I tend to be overly-objective (which you are probably experiencing right now).
In all honesty I am amazed at how highly I used to value my own opinion. In fact I think recent years have shown me how much less my opinion matters than I think it does. This has driven me to pursue God's opinion and the truth of scripture. I can't be comfortable with any conclusion over an issue without the truth of Scripture. I find Scripture continually challenging me to measure my words and spend them less.
My previous goal for my blog was to comment on current events and share topics of biblical study with some assumed authority on the subject matter. I think for now I'd rather just be a little more transparent and maybe share a few stories now and again and try to practice allowing my personality to express itself in writing. I may share my opinion here or there, but over all I want my posts to be encouraging and uplifting and more personal than they have been. If you want to hear more of the biblical study side of me, I have found a proper outlet for that in a video series included in my monthly ministry newsletter found at www.loganbloom.com/newsletter.
Feel free to let me know what you think and what you would like to see happen here!
It has been a long time since I have written any significant content on my blog. That isn't necessarily to say that I haven't had anything to say, but I have had an internal struggle with the purpose/validity of my blog. You see, lately I haven't cared to share my thoughts just for the sake of sharing them. I find that there is far too much of that going on around the internet. I have shared many a 'hasty' blog in the past; ones where I write like a blunt-force hammer with no real consideration for my readers, especially in my teen/college years. I could even look back on some of my currently published blog posts with a certain level of appreciation for the growth I have experienced since then coupled with a sour feeling of regret in my stomach...
All that to say I'd like to try and 'reboot' my blog and actually post meaningful things, but I struggle with defining what would really be meaningful for me to say in such a public and yet impersonal format. I am a written processor, so writing my thoughts can have a sort of therapeutic purpose for me, but not all of that really belongs on the internet. I don't find that my personality transfers very well through writing since I tend to be overly-objective (which you are probably experiencing right now).
In all honesty I am amazed at how highly I used to value my own opinion. In fact I think recent years have shown me how much less my opinion matters than I think it does. This has driven me to pursue God's opinion and the truth of scripture. I can't be comfortable with any conclusion over an issue without the truth of Scripture. I find Scripture continually challenging me to measure my words and spend them less.
My previous goal for my blog was to comment on current events and share topics of biblical study with some assumed authority on the subject matter. I think for now I'd rather just be a little more transparent and maybe share a few stories now and again and try to practice allowing my personality to express itself in writing. I may share my opinion here or there, but over all I want my posts to be encouraging and uplifting and more personal than they have been. If you want to hear more of the biblical study side of me, I have found a proper outlet for that in a video series included in my monthly ministry newsletter found at www.loganbloom.com/newsletter.
Feel free to let me know what you think and what you would like to see happen here!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Cardinal Burke On Obama's "Freedom of Worship"
I have not posted a blog unrelated to our newsletter in quite a while, but a U.S. Catholic Cardinal who oversees the courts at the Vatican has made some profound observations of Obama's "freedom of worship" terminology. Recently Obama has avoided using the term "freedom of religion" in his speeches and has mysteriously gravitated towards the term "freedom of worship." Cardinal Burke has noticed this change and compared with Obama's policies has 'put two and two together' for us.
The following excerpt is a direct quote from an interview originally published by www.lifesitenews.com:
The following excerpt is a direct quote from an interview originally published by www.lifesitenews.com:
[Question (Izabella Parowicz)] - The policy of the President of the US towards the Christian civilisation becomes more and more aggressive. Does Your Eminence notice any symptoms of Catholic reactions against this policy? If yes, what are they, if not why?
[Answer (Cardinal Burke)] - It is true that the policies of the President of the United States of America have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilization. He appears to be a totally secularized man who aggressively promotes anti-life and anti-family policies. Now he wants to restrict the exercise of the freedom of religion to freedom of worship, that is, he holds that one is free to act according to his conscience within the confines of his place of worship but that, once the person leaves the place of worship, the government can constrain him to act against his rightly-formed conscience, even in the most serious of moral questions. Such policies would have been unimaginable in the United States even 40 years ago. It is true that many faithful Catholics, with strong and clear leadership from their Bishops and priests, are reacting against the ever-growing religious persecution in the U.S. Sadly, one has the impression that a large part of the population is not fully aware of what is taking place. In a democracy, such a lack of awareness is deadly. It leads to the loss of the freedom which a democratic government exists to protect. It is my hope that more and more of my fellow citizens, as they realize what is happening, will insist on electing leaders who respect the truth of the moral law as it is respected in the founding principles of our nation.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Christmas: The Wonder of the Incarnation
Christmas is filled with messages, yet far too many manage to keep the focus on humanity rather than focusing on Jesus. We hear lists of what Christmas means to us, the values we think it represents, ways we can better ourselves because of it, but how often do we hear about the implications of the incarnation? If for a moment we think Christmas is an opportunity for personal gain or improvement, it is as if we have never heard the real story. The attitude towards Christmas as a message of faith in humanity, generosity and goodwill reflects the disconnect towards what really happened at Jesus' birth.
The real Christmas story, what the incarnation really represents, starts in Philippians 2:5,
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The incarnation is the most baffling and unreasonable event of history, a keystone of our faith. What kind of God is this that would give up his thrown to take on a form that he created, subjecting himself to our rules, our hatred, our sin, and suffering our consequences? What was it like in the moments before Jesus took on flesh? Imagine Jesus, uncreated God in all of his glory with all of his power, giving up his uncreated form to become human forever. I tell you this is the greatest injustice of history, that the uncreated, perfect God would take on our imperfection and overcome it to redeem the undeserving (you and me). Such a sacrifice can only be motivated by one thing: pure, selfless love.
Yet humanity's response to this impossibly unjust sacrifice is commercialized, diluted into self-help messages and symbolism. If we ponder the depth of the sacrifice that was the incarnation and the fact that even now Jesus stands before God in a human body for our sake, the only proper response we can form is completely reckless love, in kind. What other response can there be? The God who had everything left it all because everything wasn't enough without you and me! And He did this knowing that it was our sin that brought this upon him, but also knowing that only He could make a way for us to be together. God calls this the greatest example of the love of a bridegroom for his bride, a love we could never experience apart from Him.
So what is the message of Christmas? Christmas is not a message of faith in humanity, but rather of our state of iniquity. Christmas is not a message of generosity, but of our emptiness. Christmas is not a message of goodwill, but of injustice. Christmas is not a message of self-help, but of selflessness. Christmas is perfect love on display, the love of God for us.
His sacrifice provokes the deepest level of love in us, setting the example for our response. The only proper response we can have to the story of Christmas is wholehearted, selfless love for Jesus, our best attempt to love him as he loved us. His sacrifice motivates sacrificial love in us, and suddenly our lives come into perspective and our purpose is revealed: to love God and to be loved by God. Everything else in life flows from that place.
So this year, when you read Luke 2 or whatever version of the Christmas story is your tradition, think on these things. Let your heart feel what Jesus felt in the moments before he became flesh, the love that would bring him to the ultimate sacrifice, which he made for you and me. Then respond with all of your heart. Such is the message of Christmas.
Paul shares his response in Philippians 3:7-8:
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Obama's Compelling Pro-Life Speech (if only)
Here are just a few excerpts from a speech that President Obama gave on January 16th, 2013, a month after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.. Of course, gun control was the subject of this speech, but I couldn't help relating everything the President said to our nation's abortion conflict. Take a look for yourself, you can read the full transcript here.
"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged."
"...if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try."
"We have to examine ourselves in our hearts, and ask yourselves what is important? This will not happen, unless the American people demand it. If parents and teachers, police officers, and pastors, if hunters and sportsman, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough. We’ve suffered too much pain, and care too much about our children to allow this to continue, then change will -- change will come."
"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged."
"...if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try."
"We have to examine ourselves in our hearts, and ask yourselves what is important? This will not happen, unless the American people demand it. If parents and teachers, police officers, and pastors, if hunters and sportsman, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough. We’ve suffered too much pain, and care too much about our children to allow this to continue, then change will -- change will come."
"This is the land of the free, and it always will be. As Americans we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us. But we’ve also long recognized, as our founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities. Along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to do the same."
"That most fundamental set of rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech and high school students at Columbine and elementary school students in Newtown; and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent basis to tolerate [not to mention million's of unborn babies]; and all the families who never imagined they’d lose a loved one to a bullet, those rights are at stake. We’re responsible."
Amazingly, the altar of abortion seems to be crumbling in the wake of America's alleged "civil right's movement," gun control debates and the Kermit Gosnell case. While the ACLU rages, states are passing unprecedented pro-life legislation. Oh that America would wake from her delusions and stand for LIFE!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Our Only Hope For Real Freedom
As you no-doubt have heard, the United States Supreme Court is hearing cases related to California's voter-established ban on same-sex marriage as well as other cases related to the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. While it seems like everyone is focusing on either side's agenda, I think we sometimes get so caught up in the issue at hand that we miss the bigger picture.
No one on earth is without sin. Whether it be covetousness, the spirit of murder, adultery, or any other manifestation of our pride, everyone suffers from the effects of the fall of humanity in Genesis 3. Jesus came to earth to mend our broken relationship with God, yet without Jesus, our relationship with God remains unrestored. The real problem is not how marriage is being defined by our government, but an issue of bondage to sin and brokenness at a much deeper level in America. How can we stand for marriage while pornography ravages our own pulpits? We have a greater need.
We hear about how America is going to be judged for her sins of immorality and abortion, but I tell you the judgement is upon us and it is the removal of truth from our land. Throughout history God often judges nations not only through military conflict or natural disaster, but by removing their ability to discern right and wrong. You can read in Isaiah 59 about how truth was "slain in the streets," or in Malachi 3 where God removed the people's ability to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. We live in a such an hour of American history.
Yet I am stirred by Peter's writings:
"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. . . The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may PRAY. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." - 1 Peter 4:3-5,7-8
It is true that real justice, and the definition of marriage, comes only from the Lord. While we stand for truth, we must remember who we are standing against (Ephesians 6:12). Our stand for truth is a cry for mercy and an invitation into real freedom that can only be found in Jesus.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Pray for the Point Of Life Outreaches
Hosting an outreach in a school rather than a church changes everything about how the outreach is done and adds dozens of potential disasters if things do not go according to plan in each school. We cannot deny that the devil will surely throw curve balls into our plans, so we desperately need a constant prayer covering. The sound system could break down (happened before), the sound technician provided by the school could have a complication, students or teachers may protest the outreaches, members of our team may become sick, and of course we need prayer for everyone who might attend and hear the Gospel.
We are only one week away from our first outreach, so I am asking you to mark your calendar and commit to pray, wherever you are, for each outreach. Few things we do have this much potential to change so many lives in a single night, or paint so large a target on our backs for the enemy. Please labor with us in prayer for the transformation of this city through these outreaches.
Here is a list of things to prayer for:
- A hedge of protection around our leadership team (Psalm 91)
- Worship Team
- Drama Team
- Promotional Team
- Administrative Team
- Speakers
- Blessing/protection for the school administrators who are allowing these events
- For the Lord to prepare the hearts of those who will be attending and hearing the Gospel (Matt 13:1-8)
- Literally pray for the sound system to work...
- Blessing/protection for the sound/light techs that the school provides
- For students to open up during the small group time at the end of each outreach
- Against persecution or protesters
- Blessing/protection for youth pastors who are promoting and/or serving at the outreach
"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified" - 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Moving to Little Rock, Arkansas
Molly and I are so excited to announce a new season in our ministry journey! You have likely already heard that we are planning on transitioning into a leadership role at a new house of prayer called PrayNow in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a big change for us so I thought I'd share the backstory for whoever is interested!
Molly and I first heard about PrayNow in 2011 from Molly's family friends in Little Rock. Back then it was a group of people meeting at houses to pray and hopefully plant a house of prayer. Over time we were able to meet with some of the leaders and hear their vision. We loved everything we heard, but we never considered moving down as a real possibility, especially with the momentum of my high school missions ministry in Kansas City. A year past and PrayNow continued to gain momentum in Little Rock. It became clear that the Lord was building this house of prayer as they were given a free building, renovation material and financial support for their first full-time staff members. Molly and I celebrated all of this news in our hearts, but still didn't consider moving anytime soon.
In December 2012, as I was planning diligently for the 2013-2014 high school missions calendar, Molly and I took a last minute trip to Arkansas to celebrate her brother's engagement. On this last minute trip, we had last minute meetings with the leadership of PrayNow. They continued to share great news about their house of prayer and more of their heart for Jesus, and although Molly and I had a great time and loved them dearly, we still left thinking we were staying in Kansas City. It wasn't until we were driving home that we began to wonder "what if we moved down?"
I am always very slow to accept change, in particular, so I knew if I was going to consider moving, the Lord would have to make it very clear. Before we finished the drive home to Kansas City, Molly found out that if we did decide to move down we were offered the perfect house to live in for little-to-no-rent for the next 2 years while we make the transition. It hadn't even been an hour since we started considering moving, and already the largest logistical obstacle was behind us. That was big news! But we still wanted to be sure it was the Lord.
We prayed over this opportunity and sought the counsel of all of our mentors over the next several weeks. The more we looked into it, the more people blessed it and the doors kept opening. Molly became especially excited at the idea of building a small house of prayer together, and it was clear to me and our mentors that something new was coming alive inside of her. A few weeks later, I was listening to sermon given by Dwayne Roberts, who is moving to Brazil to build houses of prayer, and at the end of his message he prayed for those who were considering starting a house of prayer. The Lord spoke to me very clearly during his prayer that it is in fact His will and His timing that we move down to serve PrayNow this summer. The only other time the Lord was that clear with me was when I first felt called to start the High School Missions ministry I am doing now!
After that, we met again with the leaders of PrayNow, told them our story, and of course they had all kinds of excitement and confirmation from the Lord that this is His direction! So now it's official! I will finish out this school year strong with High School Missions at IHOPKC while training my replacement, and starting this summer we will become full-time staff with PrayNow in Little Rock, AR! I am so excited to see what the Lord will do through this amazing house of prayer! You can learn more about PrayNow at their new website: www.praynowlr.org! Check it out and partner with them to see Jesus glorified in central Arkansas!
Partners: We will still be raising financial support while we serve at PrayNow in the same way we have been. Logan will remain on full-time staff at IHOPKC until May, so nothing will change until then.
Molly and I first heard about PrayNow in 2011 from Molly's family friends in Little Rock. Back then it was a group of people meeting at houses to pray and hopefully plant a house of prayer. Over time we were able to meet with some of the leaders and hear their vision. We loved everything we heard, but we never considered moving down as a real possibility, especially with the momentum of my high school missions ministry in Kansas City. A year past and PrayNow continued to gain momentum in Little Rock. It became clear that the Lord was building this house of prayer as they were given a free building, renovation material and financial support for their first full-time staff members. Molly and I celebrated all of this news in our hearts, but still didn't consider moving anytime soon.
In December 2012, as I was planning diligently for the 2013-2014 high school missions calendar, Molly and I took a last minute trip to Arkansas to celebrate her brother's engagement. On this last minute trip, we had last minute meetings with the leadership of PrayNow. They continued to share great news about their house of prayer and more of their heart for Jesus, and although Molly and I had a great time and loved them dearly, we still left thinking we were staying in Kansas City. It wasn't until we were driving home that we began to wonder "what if we moved down?"
I am always very slow to accept change, in particular, so I knew if I was going to consider moving, the Lord would have to make it very clear. Before we finished the drive home to Kansas City, Molly found out that if we did decide to move down we were offered the perfect house to live in for little-to-no-rent for the next 2 years while we make the transition. It hadn't even been an hour since we started considering moving, and already the largest logistical obstacle was behind us. That was big news! But we still wanted to be sure it was the Lord.
We prayed over this opportunity and sought the counsel of all of our mentors over the next several weeks. The more we looked into it, the more people blessed it and the doors kept opening. Molly became especially excited at the idea of building a small house of prayer together, and it was clear to me and our mentors that something new was coming alive inside of her. A few weeks later, I was listening to sermon given by Dwayne Roberts, who is moving to Brazil to build houses of prayer, and at the end of his message he prayed for those who were considering starting a house of prayer. The Lord spoke to me very clearly during his prayer that it is in fact His will and His timing that we move down to serve PrayNow this summer. The only other time the Lord was that clear with me was when I first felt called to start the High School Missions ministry I am doing now!
After that, we met again with the leaders of PrayNow, told them our story, and of course they had all kinds of excitement and confirmation from the Lord that this is His direction! So now it's official! I will finish out this school year strong with High School Missions at IHOPKC while training my replacement, and starting this summer we will become full-time staff with PrayNow in Little Rock, AR! I am so excited to see what the Lord will do through this amazing house of prayer! You can learn more about PrayNow at their new website: www.praynowlr.org! Check it out and partner with them to see Jesus glorified in central Arkansas!
Partners: We will still be raising financial support while we serve at PrayNow in the same way we have been. Logan will remain on full-time staff at IHOPKC until May, so nothing will change until then.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Happy New Year From The Blooms!
This month's headlines: 25,000 attended the Onething 2012 conference and over 50,000 watched online! We're continuing to prepare for the Point of Life Outreaches coming up in February and training next years student leaders in the spring semester. Molly also shares her reflections from 2012!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Why We Will Always Have The Poor
We have all heard the story of when Mary of Bethany poured costly perfume on Jesus' feet the week before passover. Then those in the room mocked and scorned Mary because the perfume she poured out was worth a year's wages and that money could have been given to the poor. Jesus' response in Mary's defense has always stuck out to me:
"But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." - John 12:7-8, Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7
What did Jesus mean by "For the poor you have with you always"?
Right now we live in a time of more charities, initiatives and ideologies towards solving social injustices and serving the poor than any other time in history. Never before in history have we been subject to so much marketing from nonprofit groups serving the poor around the world. Everywhere I go I hear of new initiatives for solving world hunger or this or that, or about injustices against the poor, and various ways I can donate with just the touch of a button. It is almost as if these nonprofits have become a type of fad, yet they are evidence of a growing justice movement across the earth that, as you'll read, will not succeed alone.
There is only one way to solve world hunger and bring justice to the poor, and it doesn't happen by clicking 'like' on facebook or a donation at the checkout of your corner store. In fact I don't think it is possible to solve world hunger or eliminate poverty apart from one solution, the return of Jesus. As Christians, we know that the only true freedom is found in relationship with Jesus, and no other solution can really produce true freedom or justice.
It helps to look at how Jesus defines the poor, and where the root of poverty lies. Why will there always be poor people until the return of Jesus? The root of poverty is not just a social justice issue, but a sin issue. Poverty exists as a result of sin, the fallenness of man, and it will always exist apart form the leadership of Jesus. In fact Jesus uses poverty as a tool; 1 Samuel 2:7 says the Lord makes people rich and poor, allowing poverty to exist for a reason.
The book of Proverbs is full of verses about the immorality at the root of poverty, and what makes a man poor. In some cases it is the pride and actions of a man that make him poor. In other cases poverty is forced upon people by corrupt rulers. Whatever the case, the root of the issue cannot be made right apart from Jesus. Sure, we can bandaid the issue, but it cannot be solved apart addressing sin.
The book of Proverbs is full of verses about the immorality at the root of poverty, and what makes a man poor. In some cases it is the pride and actions of a man that make him poor. In other cases poverty is forced upon people by corrupt rulers. Whatever the case, the root of the issue cannot be made right apart from Jesus. Sure, we can bandaid the issue, but it cannot be solved apart addressing sin.
Jesus cares deeply about the poor! This is not to say "don't help the poor," because Yahweh is the God of justice for the poor! There is no other god who has given so many promises to the poor of the earth! There are dozens of Bible passages about the Lord's kindness towards the poor. BUT, every one of those passages also deals with redemption from sin. There cannot be any justice for the poor without Jesus.
I am a big advocate of helping the poor. Giving to the poor of the earth not only helps them, it makes us more like Christ. I would find it very hard to be a Christian and not care about the poor, but I would find it even harder to be a Christian and care for the poor while excluding Jesus from the solution.
Jesus defines "poor" very differently than we often do. There are many verses about helping those who are financial poor and oppressed, but there are also many verses giving us insight into what Jesus calls "poor." Many rich men are poor in the eyes of Jesus, and to Him many poor people are rich. To Jesus, the definition of rich or poor is directly connected to the condition of our hearts. That is why Jesus said the 2 copper coins of the poor widow were a greater offering than the large sums of the rich (Mark 12:41-43). Jesus cares about the physical needs of the poor as well as the condition of their hearts.
In the years ahead, there will be two great justice movements on the earth. One will seek to serve the poor without Jesus and will actually serve to enslave humanity in greater sin, while the other will declare the message of the cross and will serve the poor in the name of Jesus. Watch where your money goes and which justice movement you serve. Sow your money into organizations that meet both the physical need and the heart need.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
My Post Election Thoughts
There is a lot to be said about tonight's election results. Paying attention to Bible verses like Proverbs 21:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Daniel 2:21 and Hosea 8:4 are very telling verses, but I am again drawn to one particular passage that I feel says it best:
"If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you. . . But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king." - 1 Samuel 12:14-15,25
This was the prophet Samuel's address to the people of Israel as he appointed their very first king, Saul. This marked a pivotal political shift for Israel, which had to that point in history been a strict theocracy. Samuel gave the people of Israel the responsibility of honoring the commands of the Lord and reflecting those beliefs in their leadership. His charge was clear. Do not rebel against the commands of the Lord, lest the Lord turn against you and sweep you away - a terrifying standard.
To my eye, change has come to America, and it is not a change that honors the Lord's commands. Statistics have said for many years that the younger generations are greatly departing for traditional moral values, and as those generations become of voting age, this change has become clear among young voters.
I have great hope for President Obama. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and Proverbs 21:1 give me great hope for his salvation. Whether he will be an instrument of judgement or of redemption, only God knows (the same could have been said about Romney). My urgency turns more toward the worldview of the youth of America. The Barna Research Group released a study in 2009 that showed that less than one half of one percent of those born after 1984 agree with a traditionally Biblical worldview, compared to 9% of adults. America's abortion policies are not the issue but rather the symptom of America's moral decay. America needs to return to the Lord regardless of who was elected.
My hope for America was never in one candidate. Our great hope is always in the mercy of God and the leadership of Jesus. As believers, we belong to higher government, and while we vote to participate in democracy, we pray to participate in God's government. According to Samuel, we desperately need a culture shift in America, but that change can't come from the white house. That change only comes from the Lord through his church. The responsibility falls to us to pray, to do justly and walk humbly before the Lord.
Be encouraged to pray by Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1-4:
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly anddignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desiresall people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
God bless President Obama, and God bless America.
UPDATE: I've added this video on November 14th from Daniel Lim, the CEO of the International House of Prayer. His video communicates my conclusion very well.
"If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you. . . But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king." - 1 Samuel 12:14-15,25
This was the prophet Samuel's address to the people of Israel as he appointed their very first king, Saul. This marked a pivotal political shift for Israel, which had to that point in history been a strict theocracy. Samuel gave the people of Israel the responsibility of honoring the commands of the Lord and reflecting those beliefs in their leadership. His charge was clear. Do not rebel against the commands of the Lord, lest the Lord turn against you and sweep you away - a terrifying standard.
To my eye, change has come to America, and it is not a change that honors the Lord's commands. Statistics have said for many years that the younger generations are greatly departing for traditional moral values, and as those generations become of voting age, this change has become clear among young voters.
I have great hope for President Obama. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and Proverbs 21:1 give me great hope for his salvation. Whether he will be an instrument of judgement or of redemption, only God knows (the same could have been said about Romney). My urgency turns more toward the worldview of the youth of America. The Barna Research Group released a study in 2009 that showed that less than one half of one percent of those born after 1984 agree with a traditionally Biblical worldview, compared to 9% of adults. America's abortion policies are not the issue but rather the symptom of America's moral decay. America needs to return to the Lord regardless of who was elected.
My hope for America was never in one candidate. Our great hope is always in the mercy of God and the leadership of Jesus. As believers, we belong to higher government, and while we vote to participate in democracy, we pray to participate in God's government. According to Samuel, we desperately need a culture shift in America, but that change can't come from the white house. That change only comes from the Lord through his church. The responsibility falls to us to pray, to do justly and walk humbly before the Lord.
Be encouraged to pray by Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1-4:
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly anddignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desiresall people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
God bless President Obama, and God bless America.
UPDATE: I've added this video on November 14th from Daniel Lim, the CEO of the International House of Prayer. His video communicates my conclusion very well.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Mercy of God's Judgement
I would have titled this article "When Revival Becomes Judgement," but as you'll read, that would have been very misleading. Recently I have spent a lot of time studying the effects of revival versus judgement on the human heart, and I wanted to share some of my conclusions with you. These conclusions break many false ideas we have about revival and God's judgement in the nations as we explore some plain Biblical texts.
Recently I was at a Christian youth retreat, and as usual there was a great ministry time on the final night of the retreat. The Lord was revealing his love to many teenagers in a fresh way and breaking off the lies that the devil had spoken over their identity. Truly, it was an amazing evening that brought everyone in the room to tears. Of course, there I was, in tears, and about 15 minutes into the ministry time I felt the strangest emotion come over me. The tears went away and all of the sudden I was burdened to pray that the students who were being touched would respond by living holy from that day forward. Suddenly I was praying for modern day Nazirites to come out of this meeting! I became obsessed with how the students would choose to live from that day forward. It was clear this was a pivotal experience for many lives, but all I could think about was, "How will this effect the way they live? Will it change them or will they fall back to the same old things once they get home?" It felt so random and out of touch with what was clearly happening in the room that I pondered this strange emotion for days on end.
It became clear to me that the only way to sustain breakthrough in our hearts is to live holy. None of us deserved what the Lord did that night. In fact most of the people that were touched that night were not living 'holy' before the Lord, but seemed pretty dull spiritually. Yet, we serve the God who calls for the things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17), and He visited everyone in that room as an act of mercy, breaking through the dullness of our hearts. The fatal mistake comes when Christians live from breakthrough to breakthrough, relying on these rare occasions as the basis of their faith but never actually letting them effect how they live. Like I said, the only way to sustain the breakthrough, to actually live in it continually like we all imagine, is to let it effect the way we live. When God visited us in his mercy, he set a decision before us: how then will we live? I realized that for those who would relish in this rare event but not change the way they lived would actually have their hearts hardened. Thus the decision isn't just about how we will live but rather will we respond with a tender heart or will our heart grow harder as we deny the call to holiness.
You see, each time we experience breakthrough is different, and each time we can respond in a way that tenderizes our heart towards the Lord (by letting it effect how we live) or we can actually harden our heart by choosing sin again despite the encounter. Each time we respond with apathy, it becomes more and more difficult to respond with tenderness the next time. At the same time I reached this conclusion, I stumbled upon this verse...
"And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life." - 2 Peter 2:20-21 (NLT)
I see this played out frequently in the prayer room at IHOPKC. For some people, the prayer room may be the very worst place they could be. It starts small, just a few times each week one might show up and work from the prayer room, disengaging their heart in the midst of worship. Every time we disengage our spirit in the midst of God's presence, it gets easier and easier. Pretty soon, that person has forgotten how to engage in the prayer room, and suddenly the prayer room becomes trivial. I know people like this, to whom the requirement of the prayer room is their least favorite thing about IHOPKC. Well I have news for you, you're at a place where 24/7 prayer and worship is the center of what we do! Yet sometimes we become so overfamiliar with God's presence, fail to engage our hearts for so long, that it becomes a burden and we don't even realize it. Nothing could be more dangerous to the human heart. Of course then you see the visitors rush into the prayer room, having traveled thousands of miles just to sit in the very same presence we take for granted... I tell you Jesus has strong emotions about that level of arrogance and apathy.
The same thing happens with revival! God could send an outstanding revival and outpouring of his Spirit, and yet believers still respond in apathy and, as Peter says, are worse off because of the new level of dullness in their heart. I think God withholds revival in his mercy because he sees the depths of our hearts, and knows about our hidden levels of apathy. God purposefully withholds revival until the church is ready, because he knows because of the reality of 2 Peter 2:20-21 that revival could actually send more to hell than to heaven. It all comes down to how we are willing to respond.
I think we have romanticized revival to an extent in our minds. We imagine that if God would just send revival, everything would click, society would change, there'd be a culture shift, and everyone would get saved, but when the revival leaves our apathy could leave us even worse than before! The dullness of the church is the very reason God withholds revival, giving us a window of mercy to get our act together. What makes us think we would respond rightly to revival when we routinely respond with apathy to His daily whispers?
So then what? What wakes up the rebellious nation with an apathetic church? You guessed it, judgement. Judgement can accomplish the objective of revival when revival is not the answer. We often immediately associate judgement with a negative emotion, but even judgement can be God's mercy, giving us another chance to respond. Scripture says God chastens us in love (Pro 3:12, Heb 12:6), desiring that we would respond with what? Repentance. Tenderness. Holiness - the same objective of revival. Holiness makes us compatible with the Holy. The blood of Jesus saves us, but holiness makes us participants in the divine nature. But if we're so dull that revival won't wake us, so asleep spiritually that we don't even realize our apathy towards the Lord, a great shaking is our best hope to lead us back into partnership with God. At that moment, God's merciful judgement becomes our best friend.
Why else do you think Isaiah wrote "In the path of your judgements, oh Lord, we wait for you. . . for when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitance of the world learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:8-9). The time comes when the church needs a shaking to wake it up! If we really want to live in partnership with the Lord, we ought to welcome the little shakings in our lives that show us our hidden pride. We can avoid those shakings by regularly dialoging with the Lord about how we live. Go ahead and just give God his desired response! Talk to him! Wage war against the dullness of the human heart and get a spirit that is alive! Listen for the whispers and start responding in tenderness towards the Lord's presence and leadership now! If the church would do that, God would have sent revival years ago! Instead we've responded with apathy for so long that we aren't even compatible with the revival he wants to pour out!
But in all honesty, given what we've just learned about the mercy of God's judgement, I feel better about the Bible verses that talk about the judgements of God being released on the earth at the sound of the church's prayers. America needs to turn, and revival could produce that result, but God knows our hearts better than we do and judgement may actually produce the better result. It's a hard thing to determine, but we can make sure we are responding to the Lord in tenderness at every opportunity. That produces the heart that is alive.
Recently I was at a Christian youth retreat, and as usual there was a great ministry time on the final night of the retreat. The Lord was revealing his love to many teenagers in a fresh way and breaking off the lies that the devil had spoken over their identity. Truly, it was an amazing evening that brought everyone in the room to tears. Of course, there I was, in tears, and about 15 minutes into the ministry time I felt the strangest emotion come over me. The tears went away and all of the sudden I was burdened to pray that the students who were being touched would respond by living holy from that day forward. Suddenly I was praying for modern day Nazirites to come out of this meeting! I became obsessed with how the students would choose to live from that day forward. It was clear this was a pivotal experience for many lives, but all I could think about was, "How will this effect the way they live? Will it change them or will they fall back to the same old things once they get home?" It felt so random and out of touch with what was clearly happening in the room that I pondered this strange emotion for days on end.
It became clear to me that the only way to sustain breakthrough in our hearts is to live holy. None of us deserved what the Lord did that night. In fact most of the people that were touched that night were not living 'holy' before the Lord, but seemed pretty dull spiritually. Yet, we serve the God who calls for the things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17), and He visited everyone in that room as an act of mercy, breaking through the dullness of our hearts. The fatal mistake comes when Christians live from breakthrough to breakthrough, relying on these rare occasions as the basis of their faith but never actually letting them effect how they live. Like I said, the only way to sustain the breakthrough, to actually live in it continually like we all imagine, is to let it effect the way we live. When God visited us in his mercy, he set a decision before us: how then will we live? I realized that for those who would relish in this rare event but not change the way they lived would actually have their hearts hardened. Thus the decision isn't just about how we will live but rather will we respond with a tender heart or will our heart grow harder as we deny the call to holiness.
You see, each time we experience breakthrough is different, and each time we can respond in a way that tenderizes our heart towards the Lord (by letting it effect how we live) or we can actually harden our heart by choosing sin again despite the encounter. Each time we respond with apathy, it becomes more and more difficult to respond with tenderness the next time. At the same time I reached this conclusion, I stumbled upon this verse...
"And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life." - 2 Peter 2:20-21 (NLT)
I see this played out frequently in the prayer room at IHOPKC. For some people, the prayer room may be the very worst place they could be. It starts small, just a few times each week one might show up and work from the prayer room, disengaging their heart in the midst of worship. Every time we disengage our spirit in the midst of God's presence, it gets easier and easier. Pretty soon, that person has forgotten how to engage in the prayer room, and suddenly the prayer room becomes trivial. I know people like this, to whom the requirement of the prayer room is their least favorite thing about IHOPKC. Well I have news for you, you're at a place where 24/7 prayer and worship is the center of what we do! Yet sometimes we become so overfamiliar with God's presence, fail to engage our hearts for so long, that it becomes a burden and we don't even realize it. Nothing could be more dangerous to the human heart. Of course then you see the visitors rush into the prayer room, having traveled thousands of miles just to sit in the very same presence we take for granted... I tell you Jesus has strong emotions about that level of arrogance and apathy.
The same thing happens with revival! God could send an outstanding revival and outpouring of his Spirit, and yet believers still respond in apathy and, as Peter says, are worse off because of the new level of dullness in their heart. I think God withholds revival in his mercy because he sees the depths of our hearts, and knows about our hidden levels of apathy. God purposefully withholds revival until the church is ready, because he knows because of the reality of 2 Peter 2:20-21 that revival could actually send more to hell than to heaven. It all comes down to how we are willing to respond.
I think we have romanticized revival to an extent in our minds. We imagine that if God would just send revival, everything would click, society would change, there'd be a culture shift, and everyone would get saved, but when the revival leaves our apathy could leave us even worse than before! The dullness of the church is the very reason God withholds revival, giving us a window of mercy to get our act together. What makes us think we would respond rightly to revival when we routinely respond with apathy to His daily whispers?
So then what? What wakes up the rebellious nation with an apathetic church? You guessed it, judgement. Judgement can accomplish the objective of revival when revival is not the answer. We often immediately associate judgement with a negative emotion, but even judgement can be God's mercy, giving us another chance to respond. Scripture says God chastens us in love (Pro 3:12, Heb 12:6), desiring that we would respond with what? Repentance. Tenderness. Holiness - the same objective of revival. Holiness makes us compatible with the Holy. The blood of Jesus saves us, but holiness makes us participants in the divine nature. But if we're so dull that revival won't wake us, so asleep spiritually that we don't even realize our apathy towards the Lord, a great shaking is our best hope to lead us back into partnership with God. At that moment, God's merciful judgement becomes our best friend.
Why else do you think Isaiah wrote "In the path of your judgements, oh Lord, we wait for you. . . for when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitance of the world learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:8-9). The time comes when the church needs a shaking to wake it up! If we really want to live in partnership with the Lord, we ought to welcome the little shakings in our lives that show us our hidden pride. We can avoid those shakings by regularly dialoging with the Lord about how we live. Go ahead and just give God his desired response! Talk to him! Wage war against the dullness of the human heart and get a spirit that is alive! Listen for the whispers and start responding in tenderness towards the Lord's presence and leadership now! If the church would do that, God would have sent revival years ago! Instead we've responded with apathy for so long that we aren't even compatible with the revival he wants to pour out!
But in all honesty, given what we've just learned about the mercy of God's judgement, I feel better about the Bible verses that talk about the judgements of God being released on the earth at the sound of the church's prayers. America needs to turn, and revival could produce that result, but God knows our hearts better than we do and judgement may actually produce the better result. It's a hard thing to determine, but we can make sure we are responding to the Lord in tenderness at every opportunity. That produces the heart that is alive.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
An Important Prayer Request
At this time Molly is in the middle of her first trimester and she is facing worse nausea and debilitating weakness than her first pregnancy. No form of anit-nausea medication has been able to help, and the issue is not only 24/7 nausea and frequent vomiting, but the danger of dehydration. There just seems to be no relief regardless of the time of day, and it has left her completely unable to care for Samuel on her own.
We've sought all kinds of counsel. Medication has had no effect, but where medication fails, God is still able. I am asking that you would consider adding Molly to your prayer list over the duration of her pregnancy. We desperately need relief in Molly's body or some divine wisdom to strike our doctors. The last pregnancy became a matter of life and death, and Molly's case is in a class of its own. Yet amazingly Samuel was always healthy and continues to be healthy!
Please pray for Molly during her pregnancy. Pray for strength in her body, protection over the baby, provision for the medical bills, and any form of relief and medical wisdom.
We've sought all kinds of counsel. Medication has had no effect, but where medication fails, God is still able. I am asking that you would consider adding Molly to your prayer list over the duration of her pregnancy. We desperately need relief in Molly's body or some divine wisdom to strike our doctors. The last pregnancy became a matter of life and death, and Molly's case is in a class of its own. Yet amazingly Samuel was always healthy and continues to be healthy!
Please pray for Molly during her pregnancy. Pray for strength in her body, protection over the baby, provision for the medical bills, and any form of relief and medical wisdom.
Your healing shall spring forth speedily - Isaiah 58:8
Thursday, September 27, 2012
After Five Years This One Thing Holds True
"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." - Psalm 127:1
Of all places this verse applies, none may be so clear as in the work of ministry. I have definitely seen this verse to be true in my own work in youth ministry. It's been 7 years that I have paid attention to this, 5 years since I started 456, and I have seen class after class of students come and go. I remember in my earlier days (although these days are still 'early days'), I was very eager to build my own vision. I had my own naive ideas that were founded on legitimate desires that the Lord had put in my heart. But who could blame me for trying in my youth?
That is one of the great perils of youth ministry, particularly when students are put in leadership. Many students often don't have the spiritual or emotional maturity to lead diligently before the Lord. But the Lord chooses the youth anyway! Really, youth pastors are stewarding the Lord's calling over the younger generation, teaching them to lead and live rightly according to the hour they live in. Sadly, many youth pastors do not empower their teens with this vision because the youth pastors themselves don't know the Lord's calling over their students. As youth leaders, we have to get with the program. The Lord is calling our youth, and are we contributing to that calling or distracting our youth away from their eternal destiny in the name of entertainment?
Back to the verse, in my earlier days, we envisioned great evangelistic outreaches in the auditoriums of high schools. We wanted to take a full worship team, get some skits and students to give their testimony and put it all in the high school auditorium and get all of our friends saved! We just never could seem to get it together years ago, but just last year Angela Tsang from Blue Valley Southwest showed up and put together The Point Of Life Outreach in the Blue Valley Northwest auditorium! Students were saved and now we're doing it again in February 2013!
Four years ago we put together a rally called the Heal Our Land Project to unite all of the school's campus ministries and spread the vision of revival in our schools. We held these rallies in almost every youth group in Olathe, but hardly anyone showed up for an entire year! Now all of the sudden a new group of student leaders approached me with the exact same idea and now we have the "Night To Unite" this Saturday where FCA groups and prayer groups from schools all over Kansas City will be uniting in an evening worship and prayer at a local church, again years later.
Four years ago we also launched theWall, which for a season was a 6-hour prayer meeting to unite students in prayer every other week (or sometimes monthly) for an entire year. We had full worship teams, traveled from church to church until we landed at a prime location on Metcalf Ave., yet hardly anyone showed up. Those who did show up were some of the most faithful and dedicated students I will ever know, yet I knew the Lord told me that we were in a season of preparation, learning how to worship and pray without numbers so that we wouldn't be distracted when the numbers came.
Those earlier days, even though I tried many things perhaps in my own strength, trying to build the ministry myself, served to prepare me for these days of out-of-control expansion. Now when a student shows up with an idea, chances are I've done it before and can help them make it much better than when I did it.
It is clear to me now that we are in the season of the Lord building the house. The landscape of the high schools in Kansas City just changed in one summer. The freshmen that are coming into our schools are serious leaders that are hungry for a move of God. I wouldn't say that my labors in the earlier days were "in vain," but they definitely did not have the momentum that the Lord has given us today.
I sometimes feel like Isaiah who said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God" (Isaiah 49:4). It is never in vain, but it sure is nice to have the Lord's help!
Of all places this verse applies, none may be so clear as in the work of ministry. I have definitely seen this verse to be true in my own work in youth ministry. It's been 7 years that I have paid attention to this, 5 years since I started 456, and I have seen class after class of students come and go. I remember in my earlier days (although these days are still 'early days'), I was very eager to build my own vision. I had my own naive ideas that were founded on legitimate desires that the Lord had put in my heart. But who could blame me for trying in my youth?
That is one of the great perils of youth ministry, particularly when students are put in leadership. Many students often don't have the spiritual or emotional maturity to lead diligently before the Lord. But the Lord chooses the youth anyway! Really, youth pastors are stewarding the Lord's calling over the younger generation, teaching them to lead and live rightly according to the hour they live in. Sadly, many youth pastors do not empower their teens with this vision because the youth pastors themselves don't know the Lord's calling over their students. As youth leaders, we have to get with the program. The Lord is calling our youth, and are we contributing to that calling or distracting our youth away from their eternal destiny in the name of entertainment?
Back to the verse, in my earlier days, we envisioned great evangelistic outreaches in the auditoriums of high schools. We wanted to take a full worship team, get some skits and students to give their testimony and put it all in the high school auditorium and get all of our friends saved! We just never could seem to get it together years ago, but just last year Angela Tsang from Blue Valley Southwest showed up and put together The Point Of Life Outreach in the Blue Valley Northwest auditorium! Students were saved and now we're doing it again in February 2013!
Four years ago we put together a rally called the Heal Our Land Project to unite all of the school's campus ministries and spread the vision of revival in our schools. We held these rallies in almost every youth group in Olathe, but hardly anyone showed up for an entire year! Now all of the sudden a new group of student leaders approached me with the exact same idea and now we have the "Night To Unite" this Saturday where FCA groups and prayer groups from schools all over Kansas City will be uniting in an evening worship and prayer at a local church, again years later.
Four years ago we also launched theWall, which for a season was a 6-hour prayer meeting to unite students in prayer every other week (or sometimes monthly) for an entire year. We had full worship teams, traveled from church to church until we landed at a prime location on Metcalf Ave., yet hardly anyone showed up. Those who did show up were some of the most faithful and dedicated students I will ever know, yet I knew the Lord told me that we were in a season of preparation, learning how to worship and pray without numbers so that we wouldn't be distracted when the numbers came.
Those earlier days, even though I tried many things perhaps in my own strength, trying to build the ministry myself, served to prepare me for these days of out-of-control expansion. Now when a student shows up with an idea, chances are I've done it before and can help them make it much better than when I did it.
It is clear to me now that we are in the season of the Lord building the house. The landscape of the high schools in Kansas City just changed in one summer. The freshmen that are coming into our schools are serious leaders that are hungry for a move of God. I wouldn't say that my labors in the earlier days were "in vain," but they definitely did not have the momentum that the Lord has given us today.
I sometimes feel like Isaiah who said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God" (Isaiah 49:4). It is never in vain, but it sure is nice to have the Lord's help!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
After See Your At The Pole Ends
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| SYATP 2012 at Olathe South High School |
See You At The Pole (SYATP), which birthed the Global Student Day Of Prayer, started in 1990 with a group of students in Texas who had the idea to meet at the flag pole for prayer before school. As the vision spread, and more schools caught the vision, they coordinated to meet on the same day, and quickly the idea gained national attention and became an annual occurrence that has spread to schools around the world!
SYATP was one of the first nationally successful attempts to rally students to pray at their school. After several Supreme Court cases continually removed God and prayer from school, this was the first real attempt to return prayer to America's schools that took root. Once a year, all of the Christians in school gather to unite in prayer before school, but the vision can't end there...
The devil's rage has all but totally removed God and prayer from our schools. With the growing sentiment towards tolerance and equality, student's religious rights are shrinking. Most schools would rather remove all religious student activities than have to navigate opposing religions. Back in January, 2012, I posted a blog where I outlined the reasons why religious equality really is impossible. It is a farce to think that all faiths can be treated equally, and it is foolish to assume that Christian students will continue to have the privileges they have now with the current course of our nation. Something has to change.
Scripture outlines a prophetic timeline that describes very well the hour we live in today. As we continue to approach the return of Jesus, both wickedness and righteousness will increase across the earth (Matthew 13:30). We can see this very clearly in the culture we live in today. On one hand, you have the 'religious tolerance' groups silencing the church, but on the other hand the Lord is raising up a movement of prayer for revival among students around the world! Satan is raging against this generation, I believe, because he sees the potential in this student movement to turn America back to God! Yet the wickedness increases.
It is clear that youth ministry as it is is not working. Statistically, we're losing an entire generation. We cannot assume that See You At The Pole will even be allowed next year and go on coasting through our teenage years. The Lord is calling students to wake up and pray not just one day a year, but to get lives of prayer like Daniel!
Allow me to make a prediction, according to my own observations. I think that very soon gatherings like See You At The Pole will face the threat of this antichrist religious tolerance deception and will actually no longer allowed at most schools. Did you know that already Christian groups on college campuses are being ordered to allow students from other religious to join their leadership team or be forced to shut down? Exclusivity is quickly becoming a reason to shut religious groups down on school campuses! BUT, I also predict that while See You At The Pole may be forced to end, daily prayer meetings for revival will spring up all across the nation! What is the loss of one day of prayer at the flag pole when students on that campus are praying daily for revival. It's already happening!
My prayer is that the church would wake up and answer 2 Chronicles 7:14, that students everywhere would mobilize into prayer groups and become missionaries in their schools that we would see America turn back to righteousness! I believe there is still great hope for America, if we pray, and if we act.
Is it so impossible to think that at age 15 your prayers are effecting what school will be like for your children? What will school be like 20 years from now? The answer to that question is in your prayers...
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