Navigating Pathways of the Heart: Shame

This past Sunday, in our second installment of the "Four Dark Riders of the Heart" series, we looked at how the Gospel of God's Grace deals with our shame.  Like the previous week, I referred to material from The Gospel App by Bill Senyard that I am happy to pass along as a resource.   Click Here for a link to the book.

What Is Shame?

Shame is a powerful negative self-assessment that something is innately wrong with you.  You are broken, a loser, a failure, dirty, unloveable, a joke and intrinsically not-right.  The core fear of a shamed Christian is that no matter what you do, you will never ever be worthy of God’s love and favor again.
The Gospel App – p. 39

Because you feel “wrong” you may .  .  .  .

Navigating Pathways of the Heart: Guilt

In response to the requests after Sunday’s sermon on The Gospel Deals With Guilt, I am happy to post a section that I referenced from Bill Senyard’s workbook The Gospel App.  Click Here for an Amazon link to that book.

Guilt is what you normally feel when you do something wrong.  You did not do right and so feel guilt.  Guilt is a power that ignites largely unconscious reactions to fix it.

To feel right again you might .  .  .  .

Marching Orders From Jesus For The War With Islamic Terrorism

There are a number of things to like about Liberty University (Go to the end of this post for specifics.) but I HAVE BEEN MORTIFIED to follow the statements and follow up by their President Jerry Falwell, Jr recently:  “If more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in.”

I’m glad that he has clarified that by “those Muslims” he was referring to the two killers in the San Bernardino tragedy.  Sort of.

But he went on to say: “I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit.  We offer a free course.  Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”

Encouragement and a free course to fill a dormitory of 19 year old males with concealed weapons?   I can’t picture the Marine Corps doing that, even with all their weapons training!  But I digress.

War Room: A Movie Worth Seeing

Full Disclosure: I am generally not favorably inclined to “Christian” movies like War Room for a number of reasons.  (Scroll down to the end of this blog if you want to know why.)  That said, I came away from this movie encouraged and impressed by three specific things:

Marriage: A Contract To Aid In One Another’s Sanctification

This past Sunday I quoted Dr Richard Lovelace regarding the idea that for Christ-followers, marriage served as an important "school for sanctification."  Here is the longer quotation from his book, Renewal as a Way of Life

Growth in sanctification should be a lifelong series of alterations in our lives through such crises of conviction.  One of the functions of God’s law (biblical moral principles which declare God’s will for our behavior) is to measure our lives and locate places where they need changing.  “The Law” come to us again and again, not only in the pages of Scripture, but also in the warnings or protests of people close to us who can see our failing, however much they may be in the dark about their own.  Parents, teachers, the police and other authorities are all personalized forms of the law.

A husband or wife also functions in this same way, serving God as an agent of our sanctification.  He or she can see the patterns of sin which are hidden from our own vision by spiritual darkness, and from the world because it sees only the surface of our lives.  Most divorces among Christians probably occur because the parties have not realized that marriage is a contract to aid in one another’s sanctification.  Without this realization, we become experts at what is wrong with one another, without recognizing that the information our spouse is giving us about ourselves is an essential aid to our spiritual growth.

Sorting Through the Duggar Rubble

The sexual abuse of children is a topic that most would prefer to not talk about, but one that we must be prepared to face.  There are victims among us, and we want to care for them in appropriate and helpful ways.  Avoidance cripples our ability to do that.

The recent revelation of the sexual abuse perpetrated years ago by Josh Duggar – part of the reality TV family at the center of “19 Kids and Counting – puts the issue in our faces, so let me suggest  some things to consider, as well as references that I found helpful for digging deeper.

Pray Each Day With Scotty Smith Using Your Smart Phone

I’ve made it no secret that my own prayer life has been enriched by including the daily prayers of Scotty Smith.  First in his book Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith and now with his daily “prayer blog” Heavenward on TheGospelCoalition.org blog list, I join him in prayer daily.

Things have gotten better – or at least easier – to do that.

If you have a smart phone search your app store – available free on both Apple and Android – for the PrayerMate app developed by Andy Geers.  Click Here to learn more about PrayerMate from Andy himself.

The Gospel, Identity and Questions of Sexuality

With regard to sexuality and marriage questions, the “message” for my LGBT friends and neighbors is identical to the “message” I have for everyone, including myself.  Whether straight or gay, married or single, old or young, the Gospel sets you free from seeking your core identity in your sexual preferences or performance.  That message impacts different people in different ways, but it means that Jesus offers all of us a new identity – the identity of “in Christ.” This identity then becomes the life-giving source to all other aspects of my life.  “I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Those opening words to the Heidelberg Catechism state it well.

Encouragement For Parents - And The Rest of Us As Well!

My wife and I began the parenting adventure in a different century.  That gives us some historical perspective on what parents face today.  

Now, as an overdue grandparent and pastor of young families, I find myself very, very aware of how dramatically the world that we parent in has changed.  Technology, entertainment and social pressures have altered the ocean of life that families will grow in.  No wise parent would face those waters alone.  Here are three GREAT resources for encouraging and equipping parents in this new setting.   

By the way, they are in alphabetical and not rank order.  You’ll want to read them all, even if you are raising only boys or only girls.  Odds are still good that your kids will eventually bring home your potential “child-in-law” and you’ll want to get started understanding that gender NOW!

Resources On MTD

This Sunday, I referred to "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism" and would like to make a number of resources easily available.  As I said at that time, I am increasingly convinced that MTD is the "Spirit of the Age."  I encourage people to prayerfully and thoughtfully cultivate the discernment to identify MTD's impact in their own life and in their circle of relationships.  No church adertises themselves as an "MTD Church," but all of us face it, many are unaware of its influence on them and some have - whether knowlingly or not - let MTD replace the Gospel of Grace in their ministry.

Meet Hank Spinner . . .

On January 11, I used a video recording of a drama sketch called “The Plate Spinner” written and performed by Willow Creek Church in Chicago.  You could tell it was from the ‘80’s, but it seems sooooo descriptive of the lives we all seem to lead today.   Teens are spinning plates of popularity, school, extra-curricular activities.  Single Moms are spinning a set of plates all their own.  Retirees have their own plates that make demands of them.  You get the picture.  It seems we are ALL busy and distracted with a the wobbling plates of our particular life.

I found a Youtube video of the same script by a different church, so wanted to make that available below.   

The Gospel Advances In A World Of Terrorism

I have a good friend who spends most of his time outside the United States working with missionaries, many of whom are working in "closed Muslim countries."  This past week, with the TV news filled with stories about ISIS threatening Japanese nationals, Islamist rebels advancing in Yemen and backlash against the French handling of the Charlie Hebdo affair I got a secure email from him.  I can't pass it along as it contained information that could compromise missionaries that he works with, but I will pass on - with names and locations deleted - this much:

The latest from FOX NEWS, CNN and the BBC is really: (you pick your phrase...) "making me nervous", "rising fear up inside of me", "really scary"!  Islamic terrorist cell groups being activated in Europe, the news channels are roaring with more news... all of it grabbing our hearts... YET!

Did you know: that more Muslims have become followers of Jesus Christ since 2001 than all the years before.. combined? XXXXXXX,  with whom I am staying in XXXXXXX, shared a few statistics that he has been tracking... and brothers and sisters... the news is really GOOD NEWS...

Jesus and the Two Mars Hills

 I was struck recently by sad news about the two Mars Hill churches, which reminded me once again of my own need for Jesus.

You know the two Mars Hill churches? 

The one in Seattle was founded by Mark Driscoll and experienced dramatic growth under his spiritually abusive leadership.  Pastor Driscoll resigned recently amidst the scandal of that abusiveness.

The other Mars Hill church is in Grand Rapids, MI.  It was founded and led by Rob Bell until he resigned to pursue his own take on a modern faith.  It was a take that left behind the historic foundations of Christian faith.  Rob and I are graduates of the same seminary.

What makes a Church “Safe”?

For many people, church has never been a “safe place.”  They have experienced or heard stories of emotional and spiritual manipulation and even abuse inside the church.  Whatever True Christianity might be, the reality of day-to-day, life-on-life living with real people in a church setting can be pretty brutal.  I know.  I’ve been a pastor for most of my adult life, and have the scars, bruises and limps to prove it.  And sad to say, I may have given as much or more than I have taken.

Over the course of these many years, I’ve observed three different strategies for making a church into a more safe place for real people.

Blessed To Be A Blessing

Ready, Waiting and Welcoming!

What a great time this past Monday, September 25.  Christ Covenant was able to provide a “Welcome Back Continental Breakfast” for the faculty and staff of both Salem Elementary School and Harrison Rd Elementary School on their first day back for the new school year.

We put on a spread for the 160 people in these two schools who work each day with the children near our church building.  I’m thankful to Principles Harold Morton and Deborah Frazier for the opportunity to serve those who serve the kids of our community.  

In particular, it was great to see the committment Mr. Morton and Mrs. Frazier have to their students and their families, to their staff and to our community.  We are blessed to have two leaders with such committment and faith in the positions that they are in.  I got to observe how they set the pace for an entire school.  You can believe I pray for them specifically as I pray for our community.

Christ Covenant has families who send their kids to public schools, private schools and who do home-schooling.  Mary Lynn and I used those three options as well as a charter school to get our three kids ready for college.  How you educate your children is a family decision based on the needs, resources and convictions of the family.

But praying and working for the wholeness of the community where God has placed us is an expression of our faith. 

Relief for ALL the People of Northern Iraq

Christ Covenant will be joining with the other congregations of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to provide relief for all the people affected by the atrocities of ISIS in Northern Iraq.  Click Here to learn more or become involved.

By “all,” I mean “all:” the Christians, the Yazidi, the Kurds and even the Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims who suffer when standing up to ISIS.  Let me explain why.

Give Them Grace: Gospel-Centered Parenting

In a recent blog post, Pastor Tullian Tchivdjian recounts a conversation with his son after a crushing basketball defeat.  It's a great example of what gospel-centered parenting could look like and what it means to "pursue the heart" with our children in the lives that they live.

“Dad, I played terrible.”

I said, “I know you don’t think you played well but why does not playing well make you so sad.”

Why Bother Being Good?

IRVINE, CA—Saying he doesn’t even feel like trying anymore, 8-year-old Max Bledsoe expressed his strong disappointment Monday after learning that his parents’ love is unconditional. “I always thought they loved me because I’d actually earned it .  .  .  ., 

Bible Reading Resources - Updated for 2014

As part of our Covenant Renewal focus for the first two weeks of January 2014, I'd like to post a variety of resources for people who are interested in developing the spiritual discipline of regular Bible reading.  I'll begin with a few overview comments and then move from beginning steps to more intense Bible reading programs.

Healthy Numbers For A Sunday of Ministry

When I go to the Doctor, they always take my pulse and blood pressure.  These are two quick measures that relate to my health.  So what are the measures of church health?  What are the “metrics of ministry?”

Most people look quickly to attendance and giving because they are pretty straightforward to measure and do say something about church health.  But everyone agrees that by themselves, “noses and nickels” are ineffective and incomplete measures of what real health is for the Body of Christ.

Southern Baptists were famous for counting Sunday School attendance rather than membership or worship attendance.  This gets closer to a measure of health, because Sunday School classes typically have a stronger relationship component than the worship service.

If I could get an accurate measure of two things, I would be most interested in each person’s depth of “Interactive Relationship with God” and “Living by Gospel Grace.”  I’m not sure I can aptly measure that in my own life – beware of self-deception – much less the life of anyone else, but you get my picture.  If those two roots are healthy, I’m thinking that a number of other “fruit” – prayer, Bible reading, giving, service, evangelism – would flow from them.

So, I’m not sure I’m closer to an adequate measure of church health for Christ Covenant, but I’ll tell you three numbers that I am celebrating from yesterday, August 18: 3, 29 and 115.