What's Wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention?

This very long post is about the Southern Baptist Convention.  I'm just letting you know that it may be boring to you if that is not a topic you care about.  And it may offend you if it is a topic you care about.  Warning over.

The Southern Baptist Convention is holding its annual meeting in Orlando this week.  The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the country (over 16 million members and 42,000 churches), so their annual meeting is a pretty big deal.  It usually generates national news.  Unfortunately it is often because of some "controversial" resolution that is being passed (boycott of Disney, position on gender roles).  This year, though, there is also an internal exploration of what exactly is going wrong with the SBC.  There was a Task Force formed a while back to explore this very issue.  Why, for the first time in their 165 year history are they decreasing in membership?

To explain my interest in this issue, I will offer a brief personal history.  I was saved at age four.  My mom had come to Christ two years earlier.  However, my father did not become a Christian for another seventeen years.  Our house was filled with turmoil - especially over the issue of church.  We went through several stretches where my father did not allow us to go to church.  (Even though he sent us toa Christian school.)  So we didn't associate with a denomination, since we had to church hop for much of my younger years.  We called ourselves "Christians," not Baptist or Methodists or whatever.  We attended Palm Beach Bible Fellowship and Palm Bible Chapel and some church with Faith in the name.  We briefly went to First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, but didn't latch on there.

In fourth grade, we started attending Forest Hill Christian Missionary Alliance.  That was our first real affiliation with a denominational church.  We never joined, since my mom didn't like membership and my dad didn't want us to.  In seventh and eighth grade, we switched to FBC WPB again.  Jack Graham was pastor (future President of the SBC).  It was a much bigger church and offered more opportunities for us as kids - youth camp, VBS, youth choir.  But we went back to the CMA church until I was a junior in high school.  That is when we went back to FBC WPB.  Keith Thomas was pastor at that point (future big shot of the SBC).  It was at this point that I basically aligned with the SBC.  I felt that the denomination's doctrine was the closest to the Bible.  And I knew that, for the most part, attending a SBC church was going to be a safe choice.  After all, I was moving to Orlando after high school and would need to find a place.

This was also when I was fighting my call to the ministry.  It wasn't an open rebellion.  I just was pushing it down and pursuing teaching.  When I moved, I attending FBC Orlando (Jim Henry pastor - future President of the SBC).  It was just too big.  After attending there for three months, I was asked in Sunday School if it was my first time by one of the leaders I had talked to several times before.  In my mind I said, "No, but it is my last."  I tried some other places, but finally ended up at FBC Oviedo.  (Dwayne Mercer pastor - future President of the Florida Baptist Convention)  That was where I stayed, joined, and accepted my call into the ministry.  After graduation, I went to FBC Temple Terrace near Tampa.  (Rick Edmonds pastor)  It was my first church ministry job.  I also worked at the BCM on campus at USF (Eddie Gilley director).  That was my first experience with "The Convention" - since I had to report to the Florida Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board for my job reports.  I was licensed and ordained at FBC TT.

Since then, I have almost always attended SBC churches (except for a few months in 2006 and this year).  We went to FBC Orange Park while we lived in Jacksonville.  I worked on staff at FBC Oviedo for over four years.  Then I was on staff at Waypoint Church (an SBC church plant) for two years.  And we tried to find a SBC church in Tallahassee.  After about nine months of frustration, we finally started attending Grace Church of Tallahassee.  Technically it is non-denominational, but the ministers all went to Southern Baptist Seminary and the church is loosely connected to the Grace Church movement started by John MacArthur.  All of that is to say that I am not an SBC hater.  I am an SBC minister.  I have attended SBC churches for almost twenty years.  I have been under the leadership of some very high ranking SBC pastors.  I attended an SBC seminary (did not finish due to life's curveballs).  And I have worked with the SBC as a minister, support staff, convention employee, speaker at SBC events.  I love the SBC.  I want that understood so that no one for a moment believes that I am just taking aim at an easy target.

The SBC is indeed in trouble and there are many reasons.  Some will get worse as the world continues to move further away from God.  Some could be fixed by the SBC if they were willing to try.  And I do admire the convention for actually addressing this.  They could have just kept their head buried in the sand, ignoring the reality.  I don't necessarily feel like the way they have addressed it was the best way.  But it was an effort.  I hope that they can get some answers.  No matter what you personally think of the SBC, the world would be a worse place without it.  The ministries they perform - from Disaster Relief to foreign missions to curriculum production - have a massive impact on our world.  I am a very small fish in this ocean.  But I have had lots of opportunities to observe the SBC from many perspectives.  And, honestly, I have nothing to lose by writing this.  At this point, I'm a stay at home dad with a non-profit ministry.  What can the SBC do to me?  They can not hire me?  That's been the case for years.  Basically, I can write what many of my fellow ministers want to.  I hope that it can be helpful to someone.

1. THE SBC IS A RESPECTER OF PERSONS 
I put this issue first because I think it is the most glaring issue - which actually spills over into the other issues on this list.  I wrote about the problem with Christian celebrity in this posting.  It has become the way of life in modern American Christianity.  And the SBC is perhaps the most guilty of this habit.  There is a general mindset that pastors of large churches are worth more than the pastors of smaller churches.  If they are growing that much, they must be doing something right.  As a result, a minister of a large church become someone that the other churches try to emulate.  They get invited to speak at convention events.  They are the guest speaker at special church events.  They get the book deals from Lifeway (the SBC publishing arm).  They have their own disciples.  People who work for them get hired just because of their connection.  And, as they become bigger and bigger, they become more of a CEO and become more distant to their church.  At a typical mega-church in the SBC, the pastor's only interaction with his membership is from the pulpit - unless he decides to do a walkthrough at some event for the church.  Taking it one step further, the pastor may not even interact with his own STAFF - leaving that to an executive pastor.  Pastors who are not at this level yet set aim for this.  They want to work their way up the ladder.  So they hop to larger and larger churches.  They have their churches create television programs and books to highlight their sermon series - hoping to be noticed by the higher ups.  They dress like the big shots.  They quote the big shots.  They want to become a big shot.  It is a vicious cycle.

The people who are identified as the major power brokers have a massive amount of pull in the convention.  They can dictate the direction of things.  They can make a younger minister's career - or utterly destroy it.  And they become fiercely protective of their ground.  They never make a mistake.  Staff turnover is high, since the blame is always being placed on underlings.  Staff burnout is also through the roof, since the junior ministers are expected to work insane hours.  They have to be at every event, even if the senior pastor doesn't.  The same goes for musicians, music minister, even youth pastors.  There is a hierarchy.  Ministers with large attendance, big budgets, huge facilities are put on a pedestal.  That is why I even put the names of the pastors in my history.  Those names are recognized and looked up to.  People would kill to be able to put Graham, Thomas, Henry, Mercer on their resume. Those names open doors.

This is a huge problem.  And it isn't a new one.  We see this in the New Testament.  Paul had to fight this mindset when he encountered people who would say they were disciples of different teachers.  Paul said that we should be disciples of Christ.  Today, more weight is put on the pastor's name than on his life or teaching.  Reputation is more important than reality.  And Christ gets shuffled to the back of the deck.  The fact of the matter is that a huge percentage of these men that are being lifted up are not loving, not merciful, not caring, not kind.  They don't look out for others.  They don't exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.  They are impatient, selfish, egomaniacal, driven, arrogant, judgmental.  They preach good.  They have a good reputation.  But, they are human and this mindset actually makes their human flaws worse.  No person should have that much attention and importance.  People are not strong enough to handle it.  And a denomination that keeps looking to the celebrities to lead it is going to lose its way.

2. TOO MUCH ENERGY IS SPENT ON FIGHTING OVER SIDE ISSUES
I would rank this as the second biggest problem in the SBC.  So much energy is spent fighting over issues that, truthfully, do not make an eternal difference.  I remember the huge uproar over the Disney boycott back in the late 1990s.  It is a perfect example of this problem.  In the long run, the boycott did nothing.  The average member of an SBC church didn't follow it.  It didn't hurt Disney at all.  There was infighting over it (with Orlando and Florida SBC churches leading the charge against it).  And it just made the SBC look stupid to the world.

The internal battles are sucking the energy out of the convention.  There is the worship style battle that seems to exist in a majority of churches.  There is a huge fight going on between what I like to call the five point Calvinists and the four and a half pointers.  The reformed Calvinist bloc (led by Southern Seminary) will fight with everyone that doesn't agree with them.  Many of them personally target people, like Ergun Caner of Liberty.  This particular issue has caused so many vicious fights in churches - splitting groups apart.  (I personally have had to deal with fights over this more times than I can remember.)  Then there is the Full Quiver movement (Voddie Bauchman is big in this) and the fight that brings.  This is the belief that we are called to have lots of kids.  People who buy into this fight for it against the people who think it is irresponsible to have so many kids.  There is the battle over biblical gender roles - brought to a head by the resolution a few years back that led to a bunch of Texas churches seceding.  There is the homeschooling vs Christian school vs public school battle.  There are people who believe all parachurch group (ministries that exist outside of a church itself) suck money and support away from the church.

So much energy is spent on these fights that it affects how the denomination functions.  Just think about how well you are able to worship if you get in a fight on the way to church.  Now imagine that fight happening IN the church.  Abraham Lincoln said that a house divided against itself can't stand.  Jesus said a man can't serve two masters.  Both of those play into this.  A church can't function right if it constantly besieged by fights within its members.  And a convention that has such loud fights will have a hard time being unified on anything.  It is like millions of people are dying of thirst because we are fighting over the method to give them water, or the color of the pitcher, or how many kids the person bringing the water should have.  It seems a bit foolish.

3. THE SBC IS A SUCKER FOR GIMMICKS
When you go back up to problem 1, one side issue from this is that people try to replicate the "success" of a famous pastor/church.  The easiest way to do that is if they have come up with some program to mimic.  SBC loves putting out programs.  Just plug it into your church and it will work.  It almost sounds like an infomercial.  "YOU TOO can have a huge church.  Just send six payments of $19.95..."  In evangelism, there was CWT, then E.E., then FAITH, then Evangecube.  You had Cross Seekers in college ministry.  True Love Waits is the official purity program.  Every year Lifeway puts out a VBS theme.  The SBC was one of the biggest groups to buy into Promise Keepers and a Purpose Driven Life.  John Maxwell's leadership programs are just about mandatory for ministers.

If you want to make a ton of money in the church world, pitch an easy to memorize gimmick to a big shot pastor.  Once they implement it, and his name gets attached to it, everyone will want it.  It needs a formula, a clever title, some kind of thing to memorize.  It happens pretty frequently.  Some minister will write a book that strikes a chord.  He hits the speaking circuit.  His sales goes through the roof.  Every church seems to be making their staff read it.  They run Bible studies based on it.  Everywhere you turn in that church for like a year, that book is mentioned and glorified.  Then, a couple years later, another book (or movie) takes it place.  There is no quick fix to our problems or to quick solution for life.  But it seems like we're willing to try all the time to find one.

The other big gimmick, which ties into problem 1 and contributes to other ones also is the love affair with conferences.  Conferences are big money.  Ministers want to go to at least one a year.  There are exhibit halls and breakout sessions and big name speakers.  And lots of money.  (Personally, I think the modern Church Conference is the closest things we'll see to the money changers at the Temple.)  At the high end conferences (Orange Conference, Catalyst), exhibitors are gouged for a MINIMUM of $1500 just for a table.  Sponsorships can hit $15,000 or $25,000.  Just putting some quick numbers together, a big national conference can generate over $300,000 just from exhibits and sponsors.  Then there is the registration fees - hundreds of dollars times 4000 attenders.  The big speakers get paid $10,000 for one or two days.  The musicians can get $30,000.  It is amazing.  But churches eat these up.  They "get new ideas" or "get refreshed" or "get challenged."  In reality, they spend a lot of tithe money for a mini-vacation with a religious theme.  (At one conference, a church member generated this classic line: "We just spent more on fudge than I tithed last month.")  Again, it is another quick fix attempt with high dollars attached.

4. THERE IS A LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE YOUNGER MINISTERS
A couple years back, the SBC came up with this plan to have a million baptisms in a year.  It was a noble goal, but it didn't happen.  It actually wasn't even close.  But, instead of rejoicing over the ones that happened, there was a big row over the failure of it.  In a memorable moment, SBC President Bobby Welch took aim at the younger ministers and wailed that if they had taken less time blogging and spent more time trying to lead people to Christ, then they might have hit their goal.  I remember talking to several younger ministers after that happened.  They said that it was indicative of the way younger ministers were treated within the SBC.

When the younger ones would ask questions - like "Why do we do it this way?" - they got smacked back down.  "Where were you when we were ridding the seminaries of the liberals?  Where were you when we got this thing going?  Sit down and hush up."  One younger minister in particular said, "We stayed.  We followed the rules.  We went to their seminary.  We worked our way up through the hiring ladders.  We used their materials.  But we aren't allowed to even ask for an explanation."  True, the younger people were not there waging those wars years ago.  But they are the ones in touch with the younger generations now.  And they have valid thoughts.  But, for now, they are still relegated to the sidelines.  The SBC and its state offices still are electing the old guard to leadership positions - or their 1st generation disciples.  The younger guys (and by younger, that can go up to 40 years old) have to wait their turn.  Only, like Prince Charles, it feels like their turn is never going to come.

It isn't even just about leadership.  If something appears to question an established way of doing things, that is seen as an affront.  It is rebellion.  I have even heard one of the old guard say that criticizing the Church is the same as criticizing Christ, since that is His Bride.  Huh?  I remember the vehement and vicious reaction by the older ministers to Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz.  That book resonated with a lot of younger ministers because it reflected a world and a Church that was wrestling and disillusioned by the modern approach of religion.  Instead of seeing the validity of the emotions, the book and author were blasted from the pulpit by the old guard - while being embraced and promoted by the younger side.  How long did it take before churches and older ministers allowed websites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts?  If the idea doesn't come from the top, it takes forever to catch on.

5. THERE IS A LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE OLDER GENERATION
But there is two sides to this coin.  The younger ministers and members have a huge problem with respecting the older ministers.  We are instructed in the Bible to respect our elders and to listen to them.  That doesn't mean they are always right.  But they have navigated things that we have not experienced yet.  Some of them have forgotten more than the younger guys ever knew.  As Christians, we should recognize the importance of the older generation.  Instead, many times it seems like the younger group wants to ship them off to the Church equivalent of a retirement home.

This does not just apply to the older ministers.  It also manifests itself in how the senior adults are treated at our churches.  I served as the senior adult minister at a church (part of my many duties).  It was a wonderful experience.  I loved those people.  In fact, I can honestly say, my interactions with the senior adults in the churches I have served at have been some of the best things I got to experience.  Those people have long successful marriages, careers, walks with Christ.  They should be a huge resource.  They can teach so much.  But they are usually pushed to some side building, given their own service, and resented for exerting so much influence.  They give more money than most ages groups, so they have to be listened to.  But the average pastor resents that.  Even more disturbing is that most church plants and start ups have virtually no senior adults in them.  They are all young families.  Is it any coincidence that so many of these churches struggle with finances, leadership issues, commitment, directions, and longevity?

6. THE COUNTRY CLUB MINDSET DOMINATES CHURCHES
Think about a country club.  It is a beautiful place with gorgeous facilities.  It benefits its members.  There are dues, membership handbooks, introductory classes, events for its members.  And outsiders have to earn their way in through becoming like the members and going through the entrance rules.  Sounds like a church - especially an SBC church.  There is a way of dressing, talking, acting.  There is membership.  There are dues (tithes).  There is a membership handbook (Class 101, photo directory).  There are lots of events for their members.  They have ornate and wonderful facilities.  And for you to crack into the church, you have to run into a member, get invited, get accepted, become like them.

Jesus always told His Disciples to GO.  It implied action.  Get off your duff.  Go where they are.  Meet them on their turf.  Meet their needs.  Rescue them.  The modern church makes it clear their primary message is COME.  Come and see, come receive, come and be assimilated.  We open our doors and tell them to come.  We send out postcards, put up billboards, offer draws, present the sales pitch.  Get them in the door.  It is no longer a rescue mission; it is a sales job.  It is like we are selling memberships at a time share or country club.  "Look at our amazing facilities.  Listen to the entertainment options.  Try our Wednesday night dinner.  See all the things your kids can do.  All you have to do is join, not rock the boat, and pay 10% of your income."  Think about what church members are told - invite your friends to church.  Bring them to this event.  The entire message of the Gospel has been subverted by the promotion of the country club.

The country club is also obsessed with money and numbers.  How much do you make?  How much is this worth?  How many people come?  What ranking are we?  You want a prestigious country club.  That is determined by how wealthy it is, how fancy its buildings are, how many people it has, who those people are, how well known it is.  That is the modern SBC church.  When you go to a conference, the first questions about your church are 1) how big is it, 2) what's your budget, and 3) what kind of facilities are there?  The fourth question is how many salvations you had last year.  It's all about numbers.

7. EVANGELISM HAS BEEN COMPARTMENTALIZED
Evangelism still exists, but it has been banished to Tuesday nights.  We just saw that our members no longer are told to GO.  They are told to bring people.  Then, our crack expert trained evangelism team will "follow up."  With the emergence of FAITH evangelism training, the average SBC church removed the responsibility for evangelism from the membership and placed it on the FAITH teams.  The SBC touted FAITH as a way to grow your church.  They held up FBC Daytona - the creator of FAITH - and their huge number of decisions.  There were FAITH training conferences for pastors.  Churches had to set up FAITH exactly the way that it was prescribed.  Plug it into your church and, viola, instant growth.  This program capitalized on problems 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and caused 8.

The problem was that most churches had some form of churchwide visitation.  Yes, there was evangelism training.  But visitation was the job of everyone.  Big groups would show up on Tuesday night or Sunday afternoon or Tuesday morning to visit guests, shut ins, prayer needs.  Once FAITH got implemented, most churches saw their visitation numbers plummet.  It was the FAITH team's problem now.  And, following the FAITH manual, unless you were FAITH trained you couldn't participate.  You had to follow the outline implicitly.  Even though the presentation was not very effective with college students or young adults, you had to follow it.  "Decisions" in most churches actually went down.  So did baptisms.  But the most damaging result is that the average church member stopped sharing their own personal experiences with God.  They would just invite people to church and hope someone else could "clinch the deal."

8. DISCIPLESHIP LOST OUT TO EVANGELISM
This led to a showdown between discipleship and evangelism.  I say it was a showdown, but it was hardly a fair fight.  Evangelism had a gatling gun and discipleship had to borrow a pea shooter.  Evangelism had all the money and support from higher ups.  In most state conventions, there was a huge evangelism department and two guys in the basement for the discipleship department.  Evangelism is quantifiable.  There are numbers to show.  You can hold up the number of people in your FAITH training, the number of salvations, the number of memberships, the number of baptisms.  Numbers look good.  They make you happy.  They get you noticed at the Convention.  Discipleship is slow and time consuming and has no numbers.

FAITH was an all-encompassing program.  Its tendrils wormed into every aspect of the church.  As a result, the goal was to get people in the doors, get them visited, get them saved, teach them to get more people in the door.  But they never were discipled in this program.  Their evangelism training was the only teaching they got.  Many new Christians never grew.  They never learned how to study the Bible or pray.  They got frustrated.  In addition, they never got rid of the sinful elements of their life.  They learned how to dress like a Christian, talk like one, act like one.  But the never learned how to live like Christ.  Divorces in Christian homes are just as common as in non-Christian homes.  Porn usage, premarital sex, unethical behavior, affairs, abuse.  All those things are rampant in Christian homes.  And elite FAITH team would lead the person to Christ.  They would assign him to a Sunday School class.  No one knew this person or had invested in his life.  So no one walked with him.

There is no easy gimmick for discipleship.  There isn't a how-to guide.  It is an investment of your life in the life of another.  It is walking with them and sharing and answering questions.  It is teaching how to study and how to pray.  It is sharpening that person.  But that is not easily taught or modeled.  The Senior Pastor is not going to do it - he is busy studying for his sermon or writing a book or being important.  Staff members are too busy to do it, what with all their responsibilities.  Church members never learn how to do and are never asked to do it.  So it doesn't happen.

9. MISSIONS HAS BEEN SENT OVERSEAS
SBC has always been known for its missions efforts.  There are thousands of SBC missionaries all over the world.  The International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board run short term mission trips, long term assignments, two year stints.  There are Bible translation efforts and reaching unreached people groups.  There is the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering that helps support missionaries.  Most SBC churches have a mission emphasis week.  They sent teams out a few times a year to help build churches or teach English or lead sports camps.  These are wonderful things with amazing results.  The SBC has always gotten this right.

Recently, though, it has become very apparent that the emphasis on foreign missions actually causes some problems.  It kind of assuages the guilt of GO and DO.  We can't go, so we send others.  We support them.  We pray for them.  Once a year we praise them.  We don't have to do that now.  Or, we'll go for a short time to help them and feel better.  But, like the argument about foreign adoption, it generates the question: Isn't there anyone here in the US that needs help?  Why do we always have to scamper off to Haiti or Nicaragua to do missions?  What about the homeless shelter down the street?  What about the pregnancy center or the drug rehab facility or the battered woman home?  Wouldn't they benefit from some of that money and effort?

It is always strange how a church can have a dozen people sign up to pay $2,000 to go work in Brazil for a week.  But if a church does a Saturday trip to mow a shut-ins lawn, they have the same three people show up.  It seems that when it comes to Acts 1:8, most churches do great with the "Ends of the Earth."  But they ignore the "Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria" parts.  We are supposed to start at home.  We should be ministering to those people in our community first.  That is part of the GO that we are missing.  It is feast or famine with most SBC places.  They either won't GO at all, or they will GO far away.  But they won't go down the street.  I have heard a big shot SBC pastor actually say that the reason that his church doesn't help with homeless ministry is that there are no homeless people in his city.  (Uh...)  The benevolence fund - something most SBC churches have to help local people with food and such - is woefully low on money.  The very same church that will drop $100,000 on a huge missions conference will only contribute $25,000 to the benevolence fund each year.  How are we supposed to show the people in our community that our church cares if we never are out there doing anything - or we're all occupied far away.  Many churches saw their members pull deep out of their wallets to help the tsunami victims or Haiti earthquake victims.  But they did nothing for the Nashville flooding victims or the local family on the street because dad got laid off from his job.

10. THE BIBLE HAS BEEN MARGINALIZED
This problem is a result of all of the others, and a cause of all the others.  It is actually the biggest problem, but it also is accelerated by the other problems.  The Bible just is not the cornerstone of the modern SBC church.  The senior pastor is the foundation.  Or all the programs and events is the base.  But the Bible is not.  I have been in church services where the name of Jesus is never mentioned.  I have been in numerous staff meetings where God is not brought up.  Entire sermon series or Sunday school series have been constructed without the Bible.

Pastors love to talk about success and service and family.  But they don't want to preach on holiness or being like Christ.  They love to have sermon series on "hot button topics" or "controversial issues" or "relevant themes."  The Bible becomes a supporting player.  I am NOT saying that the only way to preach is verse by verse through the Bible.  But the Bible needed to be liberally woven through whatever you preach.  There needs to be verses as supporting evidence.  Stories and videos and dramas are great.  Jokes can help people get drawn in.  Lord knows I use all of those things.  But the Bible is the only thing that is promised to last forever.  It is bringing the presence of God into the sermon.  The Bible tells us the Word of God won't return void.  That's a heck of a promise.  You want to see your sermons have power?  You want to see your youth group on fire for God?  You want to see people get saved and regenerated?  Use the Bible frequently and thoroughly.  Not just the fun stories, either.  And not just the deep theological battles.  It is a complete work.  Use all of it.

Every church activity doesn't have to be a Bible study.  I know there is a real benefit to just getting together and having fun.  But sermons, Bible studies, camps, rallies.  These things need to be full of biblical principles.  If you find it necessary on one Sunday to real drill into something relevant that turns into moral training, and you feel God led you there, then do what you're told.  But not week after week.  And don't just base the sermon series on someone else's book, using it as the main source.  That is like a baker going to Entemann's and buying a bunch of donuts to sell as his own.  Use that book and do a thorough study of the topic for yourself.  If you are the pastor, it is your job to feed your sheep and shepherd them.  That means to give them food - the Word of God.  There is no substitute.

Sure, there are other issues that the SBC is battling.  I think that there is a lack of respect for women, a reliance on entertainment and showmanship, a lack of pastors who see themselves as shepherds.  And, like I tried to preface things with, I think there is lots to love about the Southern Baptist Convention.  It is also easy to see this list and question, "Wouldn't this apply to every denomination?"  The answer would probably be yes, although I am not qualified to say that.  I think every Christian could make this list for themselves.  I know that in ministry and in my personal life I have been guilty of all of these things as well.  It is easy to attack the writer and get defensive.  I would pray instead that you look to see if this is true in your life and your church.  If so, how do you fix it?  The SBC has problems.  And, just like the problems didn't come overnight, the solutions won't implement overnight either.  I hope that it is willing to actually try.

But What If He Doesn't?

There is a common teaching we see on television and in the movies.  The good guys win.  The bad guys lose.  Even when things appear hopeless, the good guys always get a last minute reprieve.  There is a fortuitous truck to hit the bad guy.  A mystery check arrives just in time.  The villains make a fatal miscalculation due to arrogance.  Some past good deed causes someone to act valiantly in thanks.  Good things happen to good people.  Bad things happen to bad people.  Dragons are vanquished and the hero rides off into the sunset with the beautiful woman and all is right in the world.

There is also a line of teaching that goes on in most churches.  We are taught that we want to be in the center of God's will.  We want to be doing exactly what He wants us to do - rejecting our own selfish and petty desires to pursue what He has planned for us.  This is the safest place to be.  When you wander from God's will and path, then He has to discipline you.  After all, he disciplines those he loves.  So the church sets up this very clear delineation.  If you do what is right - if you tithe and serve and pray for the missionaries and stand up for God at work, you get rewarded.  You are safe and provided for.  If you do what is wrong - if you are stingy with God and don't pray or read your Bible and pick jobs just because of the money, then you get smacked around.

I think that it comes from trying to encourage the membership to allow God to lead them.  Many Christians make their life choices without any thought as to what God feels - or what He may desire for them and their lives.  So, the church tries to defeat that mindset by teaching how we should follow God and obey Him.  It may be scary.  It may be costly.  But God will always provide and reward us for our faithfulness.

This teaching crops up all over the place.  A church may tells its members that they need to tithe their 10% to the church.  That may hurt them financially, but God will reward them for their giving.  And, if they are struggling financially, it probably is because they are withholding money from God.  Another way we see this is when a church teaching stories like Gideon and Job - emphasizing how God delivers and restores when the people are faithful.  (Extreme versions of this are called Prosperity Doctrine or Name It and Claim It.)  It can be a very encouraging thought.  If we do what we should do, then God will reward us.  This could come through financial stability or promotions or good health or getting a spouse.  Faithfulness equals reward.  That's what is taught.  It may be at the last minute - like the orphans waiting for food when the delivery man comes to the door.  But it will happen.  We just need to close our eyes and jump, and God will be there with a safety net.  There is even the song "Saved the Day," where God is portrayed as a rescuing hero - swooping in at the last minute to rescue everyone.

But, what if He doesn't?

This is one of the toughest questions I have had to face in my Christian walk.  What about if God does NOT come and save the day?  What if He doesn't ride over the ridge to help fight off the army of orcs?  What if He doesn't come swooping in on some screeching creature of vengeance to destroy the evil conspirators?  What if we go broke, lose our job, get sick?  Does that mean He is any less God?  Does that automatically mean that we were doing something wrong?

That is one of the dangers of the lines of teaching mentioned earlier.  We begin to believe that if we are doing the right thing we should be insulated from problems.  And if there are problems, we must be doing something wrong.  And, worse still, we apply that guide when looking at other people.  If they are suffering they must be out of God's will.  This is where you get to the point that you can actually blame the people of New Orleans for the flooding of Katrina by saying, "They are a sinful city so God punished them."  [I hate to break it to you, we ALL live in sinful cities.  If that theory is right, we're all screwed.]

This teaching is NOT Biblical.  Look at the people God help up as examples in the Bible.  They were taken out behind the toolshed and beaten MMA style.  Are you going to tell me that the Apostles were in the wrong?  Their murders were the result of their sin?  Didn't we see this was disproved in the story of Job that this mindset was wrong?  Job's friends accused him of everything and he hadn't done anything.  Even Jesus argued with this belief when his Disciples asked who had sinned - the crippled man or his parents.  Jesus responded that neither had.

The fact of the matter is that God does NOT always come to the rescue and fix everything.  There are times when He wants His people to go through a situation that is less than pleasant.  It may be to grow them or teach them.  It may be to teach other people.  It may be that if they got what they wanted they would turn from God.  Whatever the reason, God chooses many times to not answer "Yes" to a plea for help.  And following God does NOT mean you are wearing an invisible shield.  In fact, following God may put you into more danger than not following Him.  My good friend, David Tarkington, preached a sermon last Sunday called "In the Center of God's Will Is the Safest Place to Be?"  He got into the fact that it isn't safe.  This is something I have always said too - it can be the most dangerous place in the world.

Look at the missionaries who have been killed over the years.  Look at the Christians in other countries who are mistreated for their faith.  What have they done wrong?  What about the people here in America who have been ridiculed and passed over for jobs and fired and worse?  Please tell me what they did wrong.  That is the inherent problem with the aforementioned lessons.  You cannot have it both ways.  If it is true that God is always going to reward for obedience, then a lack of reward implies disobedience.

There are tons of dangers to this teaching.  It is running rampant in some of the more destitute areas of the world.  Missionaries are going into poor regions teaching that following God brings reward.  The people there are so desperate for some relief from their struggles that they jump at this.  What happens when they don't see the promised benefits?  Another problem is that we then begin to view people with much as better than those with little.  Churches love it when a wealthy person begins attending their church.  They usually quickly scale into leadership positions (deacons, trustees, committee chairs).  This is done without as much regard to their spiritual state - or it their portfolio is enough proof.  Pastors of large churches are seen as more worthy than pastors of small churches.  They always get elected to national offices.  They get asked to preach at events.  And the pastor of the smaller church is seen as needing to move up - or as trapped there.  (This is despite the fact that many ministers at large churches are actually pretty horrible people to be around.)

New Christians are often sold a bill of goods when they are led to Christ, or brought into a church.  They hear that all their problems are over.  God is going to heal every wound, end every addiction, pay every bill, rescue every person.  However, that is not always true.  And when they realize that, they are disillusioned.  Or they feel they were lied to.  Sometimes they feel they must be doing something wrong. As a result, their walk with God begins with a handicap.  It is a dangerous and false teaching.  And it gives people an incorrect view of God.  They misunderstand His motives and His plan.

Yes, God can come through with a miraculous rescue.  He can provide.  He can bring money and jobs and healing.  He can remove enemies and open doors.  He can do truly amazing things.  But, just because He CAN, does not mean He HAS TO, and it does not mean He WILL.  And that doesn't mean that God is bad or we are doing anything wrong.  In fact, it may mean that we are precisely where we are supposed to be.  Which can be a pretty tough message to swallow.

TRAVEL LOG - Day Two - Tennessee

Well, we made it to Tennessee.  First we went through Chattanooga (one of my favorite cities anywhere) and had lunch with our old friend Marty Thompson.  It was his fifth anniversary at his church.  Marty was the youth pastor at FBC Oviedo when I started there.  He also was our first big booking with Defender at Dallas Bay Baptist Church.  So it was great to catch up with him.  He has a book that he has written that he gave us each copies of - In Search of the Perfect Youth Ministry.  He even mentioned our ministry in one of the chapters.  Even though the time was short together, I was blessed by seeing him and how well he is doing.  He's a great guy and really deserves to have a great place to serve.

After that, we drove the boring trek to Nashville.  I love Tennessee.  I have never been a huge fan of moving anywhere else, just because I am pretty lazy.  But if we ended up in Tennessee, I would be okay with that.  I would prefer Chattanooga, but Nashville is nice.  The drive between the two?  Not so much.  But we got to our La Quinta (Spanish for Triple Points) room - an upgrade from our Atlanta room.  We always try to stay at La Quinta (Spanish for clean rooms) when we travel, because we have a rewards membership there.  In fact, our room in Nashville is free, thanks to points we accumulated.  Overall, their hotels are nice, and they always have internet.  Well - except for the one in South Nashville on Sidco Road.  I made the mistake of booking that one - not once, but twice.  Right next to a train depot.  

We set up our table, and I felt inferior to all the other bigger groups with fancy backdrops and signage.  But we just can't afford to buy all that yet.  Sure, at some point, we would love to upgrade it.  Now is not the time.  There is another group out of Arkansas that is "working the same side of the street" as us - dealing with very similar issues as us.  They have a big fancy setup, which got me in a funk right away.  I had to keep reminding myself that there is more than enough room for several ministries doing the same thing.  And I have no idea what they even do.  But it was enough to star the experience off on the wrong foot - it doesn't take much to get me down.  So I am going to fight that until we get back.

Tomorrow we get to start the actual exhibit process.  I look forward to meeting the youth pastors who are there.  And we are praying we get some good contacts - and that we can help provide some answers and solutions.  So be thinking of us.  

They Shall Know You Are Christians By Your...

The thing about Christians is that we are supposed to be very easy to identify. We are supposed to stand out and be different. But, according to John 13, 1 John 2, and 1 John 4, the most easily recognizable character trait is supposed to be our love for one another. "They will know you are my disciples by your love one for another." That is what Jesus told His followers in John 13. It must have made an impression on John, since the entire book of 1 John does just two things - fight gnosticism and talk about how we should love each other. That is a pretty powerful thought. When people are trying to figure out what you stand for, they should know your beliefs about God by how you love people.

Why would that be such a telling behavior? Think about it - all people should know how to love. They have parents and family and friends and kids. Love should be one of the most common traits in mankind in general. Yet, it is so absent that if we actually loved each other, it would be so startling that immediately people would know that we are Christians. The fact is that love has been counterfeited and damaged and poisoned from the very beginning. Satan attacked that right away, and it soon became selfish. This love that Jesus and John were referring to was not the love that we see on display around us. Those are actually lustful and manipulative and selfish loves. This love is the Agape love that Jesus displayed - unconditional love that would be willing to die for another. THAT is how much we as Christians should love.

Boy, did we blow that. How are Christians known now? How are they recognized? Let's take a look at the defining characteristics of Christians ACCORDING TO THE WORLD.

Judgmental: Christians judge everyone around them (Christian and not). If I realize you don't believe like me, then I judge you. You must not be open to God's leading, since you don't believe like I do. We then try to cram our beliefs down your throat. And this isn't just on big issues. It is on little stuff that the Bible doesn't even address. This leads into the next characteristic.

Hateful: Christians hate those people who do not believe like them. That may be the person who drinks (if you are Baptist), or who sleeps around, or the homosexual, or the liberal Democrat, or the environmentalist, or the abortionist. It isn't just left at judging those people, it becomes a genuine hatred for those people.

Stupid: Christians don't even try to learn about issues, they just spout the Bible out and expect that to suffice. This is seen in the stem cell argument, the evolution/Creation argument, politics and war in general, science across the board. Most Christians completely ignore 1 Peter 3:15 and can't justify their faith at all. When it gets questioned, they get angry and run.

No Fun: Christians can't do anything fun. They can't have sex or drink or do drugs or play cards or dance. They can't go to football games because church is on Sunday.

Hypocrites: They say one thing and do another. They spout verses out and go to church, but act exactly the same at home and at work. They are just as unethical, immoral, vulgar, and angry.

If you don't believe these are true, just watch television or get online. CNN is running a special this week on God's Warriors. It is about extremists in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. They have found these Christians who are militant about their beliefs. They are easy to find, because they are loud and confrontational. I heard one at the Exodus conference - talking about Revolution. Television shows that have run in the last year have had Christians reflecting each of these characteristics. The characters have ranted and railed. They have sold out their faith. They have betrayed each other. They have done everything except love.

And the world is dead on in their assessment. I know this because I spend my life around Christians. I am entering my tenth year working in ministry and church related jobs. In that time, I have seen Christians do some of the most despicable acts to each other. It has been ridiculous. I have seen ministers lie, cheat, and misallocate funds to advance their own agenda. I have seen pastors absolutely DESTROY staff people to keep them in line or punish them for even the smallest infractions. This included telling them that they were incompetent, uneducated, worthless, and unwanted. One minister was called a cancer and another a parasite. Another was told he was lucky to have his job, because he wouldn't be able to get anything else that paid decent. Several young people who were considering entering ministry were given lousy maintenance jobs and told that if they really wanted to serve God, they would do that with joy. Then they were constantly berated and mistreated.

Okay, those were hearsay, right? Well allow me to share MY experiences:
- My job was threatened at my first church job six different times. As in "If this happens again you are fired." My crimes? One time I misspelled a word in the bulletin. Another time I had the wrong paper for a newsletter due to a mistake by our vendor. Another time I was lied to by some other area ministers and got left holding the bag for an event. My worst crime was I confronted the pastor about some questionable spending.
- I was continually told that I could not put the Rev. in front of my name because I was "just a secretary."
- I was ripped a new one during a meeting in front of the rest of the staff because I dared to express the fact that I felt the staff was not a level playing field, and then apologizing for my bad attitude.
- I was mocked for seeing my group's numbers drop when I had just taken over the ministry and was re-organizing it.
- I had a pastor tell me that their church "deserved someone with a seminary degree" instead of me since I didn't have one -which has been echoed several times other places without the snotty attitude.
- By Christians in general, I have been chastised for being too secular for watching too much television, going to too many movies, listening to too much non-Christian music, reading non-Christian books, not homeschooling my kids, going to a public university, letting my wife consider go to medical school, having friends who drink, reading Donald Miller books, going to a big church, and making too many jokes.
- On the flip side, I have also been chastised for being too closed-minded for NOT watching certain TV shows, NOT going to movies with excessive violence or sex, for NOT listening to most music, for NOT reading Harry Potter, for sending my kids to a Christian school instead of a public one, for taking seminary classes at all, for working for a church, for NOT drinking, for NOT liking Rob Bell, for going to a small church now, and for being too negative.

Basically, Christians don't love each other. It is not modelled in church staffs. Pastors usually are using their jobs at larger churches to get more attention so they can have a tv show and book deal and get to speak at conferences. They use business principles for growing their church. They will run over anyone they need to in order to succeed. They teach sermon series on success and prosperity instead of teaching the Gospel. The membership turns on anyone who doesn't agree with them. When a staff person or lay leader leaves, they are shredded by everyone. "There must be something wrong with Person X if they dare to leave our church." If a person comes forward with a sin issue (porn, lust, drinking, anger, abuse) they are ostracized or booted out. They never are restored or lovingly ministered to. Churches consider too much recovery ministry a "bad thing" because it brings too many of the "wrong kind of people" to their church (actual position from a church conference).

In the mean time, the world outside the church doors sees all of this and wonders why in tarnation they would EVER go inside. They are already reviled by the church, and it doesn't seem as if it is going to change if they join it. I am so tired of this. I have wanted to post something like this for a long time. But I have been afraid about if someone who is not churched reading my post and getting angry at God. Then I thought about it - they already know this. They already see it. They already have been judged and hated and insulted by Christians. They already feel unloved by the very people who should be known for their love. The Early Church was actually so loving that people around them accused them of being lewd - because no one could understand how perfect strangers could care so much about each other without sex playiing a part. Today, that is so far from true. Today, if Christians actually tried to market themselves as loving, the people around would think it was a joke. I know I would, and I work within the church world.

We aren't told to do service projects to prove how much we love the world - so we can trick them into coming and getting saved. We aren't told to call ourselves "The Loving Place" so we don't actually have to follow through. We are told that we should be known by how much we love EACH OTHER. If you are incapable of loving and caring for your own family, how can you possibly think you can love anyone else? I guess that some things that have happened in MY world lately have really made this a point to consider. I have witnessed some of the ugliest and hateful behavior committed by Christians in the past couple weeks that I have ever seen in my life. Supposedly Godly men have lied, backstabbed, and blackballed to protect themselves - from accusations that were 100% true. I also found out that one of the most hateful and vicious people I ever met in church work is actually 2nd in command at one of the largest Baptist churches in America now. I had heard he was run out of ministry for his viciousness. Turns out he was promoted. This has always been the biggest challenge for me being in the church world - you know too much. You see too much. And you get beat up, hated, and mistreated too much.

I don't want this post to be a rant or just blowing off steam. I hope that it convicts you. It convicted me. I get very angry and judgmental - especially when someone questions my writing or my work. Those things are very personal to me. I am pouring myself out and when you read my stuff or use my projects, you are kind of getting to know who I am. So, when I face criticism, I am overly sensitive. And that turns to anger. I guess I battle thinking that if people don't like what I wrote or generated, that it means there is no use in it. I question what gives me the right to put my opinions out there anyway. I'm just a 33 year old with no seminary degree and minimal "useful experience." So I want people to like my stuff. And if they don't I feel like it invalidates my writing it - and in some ways invalidates me. You can think that is stupid if you want. I don't care. That is how I feel - and it is stupid. I have as much right to say my thoughts as the other 55 million bloggers. And I need to get over it. I need to be more loving - to those who disagree with me, to those who hurt me, to those who hurt people I care about, to people different than me. I hope that maybe this will make you take stock too. If we are supposed to be recognized by our love, and we aren't loving, that what the heck are we even here for? How are we supposed to represent God and bring Him glory if we don't even look like Him. He IS love. Maybe we should think about that fact for a while and see if that changes anything. I hope it does.

Church Service

I try to write this blog in a way that anyone can read it without feeling unwelcome. I know for a fact that I have some "non-church" readers, and I never want them to quit being a part of this blog. That is why I do the wide variety of things I do - movie reviews, running show diaries, goofy stuff. And I try to keep the blatantly "Christian" posts to a minimum - I'm not ashamed of them.

With that being said, I think everyone who knows me knows what I believe. I have never hid that - all the way back to my days at Conniston Junior High and Forest Hill High School. My blog description mentions my profession. And today, I want to write a "churchy" post. This is to and about Christ-followers. If you aren't one of those, feel free to keep reading - but don't feel bad about skipping this one and picking up with the next one. [And if you want to know more about what that means, just let me know -- now I feel like a true Baptist minister.]

Yesterday we went to a new church. I hate trying to find a new church. It is one of the most uncomfortable things to do. A church is more than just some place to hang out on Sunday mornings. It becomes your family and friends. That is why it is so hard to find one - like finding a suit. Finding a suit is my nightmare clothes adventure. I have bizarre dimensions. I have this very large gut, which means that I have to get a larger chest size. That then causes the top of the suit to billow out in ridiculous manner. I also have a long torso (you can't tell so much due to the large gut). So I have to buy long suit coats. HOWEVER, compared to my height, I have short legs. I am around 6'3", but my inseam is only 31". So I have to find these pants with a huge waist and short legs -- which rarely are worn by people with a long jacket. Combine all of that with the fact that when I wear everything the same color (like a suit) it just makes my head seem very small and my body look ginormous.

Finding a church is like this. You try them out and see if they fit. This one may have great preaching and decent music, but no Bible study. Another one may have great music and Bible study, but have a pastor dancing near heresy every week. Or - even worse - finding a church that is great in every way except it holds onto a false teaching in a major area -- something you can't ignore. So you wander around like a nomad. I always want to decide on one fast so I can skip the whole shopping process.

Anyway, I went to this new one yesterday. I'm very familiar with the church - know a lot of people there. I admire what it does and stands for. I even have a history with it. At the end of the sermon, the Pastor started talking about how, as Christians, we are supposed to be servants. And he called the church to change how the community viewed it. He wanted them to serve the community - to help with groups like Coalition for the Homeless. He mentioned Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and said he wanted the church to do stuff like that for Orlando. Man, I can get behind a church like that. That's what I want to do - that's why I quit to work full-time for Defender Ministries. I wanted to serve the community and help them to escape the prison of lust and sex that they are captives in.

As the day wore on, I started to think about something. How did the church get to the point that the community does NOT think of them as servants? Wasn't that what defined the church for so many centuries? Think about the hospitals and children's homes and schools that were built by churches. The church fed the hungry, and gave shelter to the homeless. They took in orphans. I just finished reading the book Hood by Stephen Lawhead [awesome book, by the way]. It is painting the story of Robin Hood in a post-Norman conquest Britain. The churches there were welcoming to travelers and injured and poor. They were the CENTER of their community. How did that change?

It actually made me upset that a pastor had to work so hard and appeal so passionately to his people to convince them to act that way. I was thrilled he did - and I hope they follow through on that challenge. They have the resources to make a HUGE difference. But how in the world did it get to this point where that was considered a revolutionary vision? I have heard a lot of indictments of Christianity this year. I read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz and In Search of God Knows What. In those he skewers the church for failing to have concern for social needs. I watched as a major church leader was outed and destroyed on the front page of CNN.com. I watched as a major Christian actor got drunk and hurled racist insults - and as a result made anyone who liked his last film seem like a racist too. I listened as a major Senatorial candidate from my state repeatedly made comments about Christians and their "duty" to their country - which made us sound like a bunch of quacks. And I read Elton John's comments about how he admired Jesus Christ, but wished that religion would be banned due to its hatred.

But perhaps the greatest indictment of Christianity is that we went introspective and stopped giving a crap about the world around us. Instead of turning our 6 million dollar budgets lose in the community, we used it to build ourselves up. We built more buildings, paid higher salaries, created witty ad campaigns, and took "mission trips" to exotics locales. But we stopped trying to change the community we were a part of. We pulled our kids out of schools, pulled them out of sports, pulled them out of choirs and created our own versions of those things so that our kids would not be harmed by the world around them. We created our own television studios, radio stations, theme parks, movie production companies so that we could have things our own way - without having to interact or battle with others.

I can see the blood rising in some of your faces. I am not saying that all churches suck, and all homeschoolers are wrong, and that Upward sports is a mistake. There are perfectly acceptable reasons to do all of those things. But, the reality of the matter is, we have managed to create a world where we do not have to interact with anyone who does not believe in Christ except at the grocery store. Sure, they are more than welcome to COME TO US, and COME TO OUR STUFF. But we are NOT going to GO TO THEM and GO TO THEIR STUFF. That would be offensive to us and damaging to us -- we would be ruining our witness or putting ourselves in the path of temptation.

But the problem is, THAT is where Christ hung out -- with the sinners and tax collectors and prostitutes. And THAT is what He told us to do. Read Matthew 28:19-20 again. It starts off with "GO YE THEREFORE INTO ALL THE WORLD." The very first word is GO. It is not, SIT AND WAIT FOR THEM TO COME. It is not even DRAG THEM TO YOU. It is not INVITE THEM TO YOUR STUFF. It is GO. You should get up and GO to them. And while you are there with them, you talk to them, and you introduce them to Christ, and you teach them what it means to be a Christian. You are the active one. You are the one going and clothing and feeding and giving water to and helping. You are the one with all the active verbs.

The Church and Christians should be all about serving. That is the example set by Christ. We should be out there really ministering to our community -- and not some lame-o, half baked thing once a year where we hand out water at a stop light. I mean consistently living in a manner where we are helping. I know that I am guilty of being too caught up in my own world to be able to help anyone around me. But we HAVE to stop being so selfish and focused on ourselves. We HAVE to reach out to the community. The more we remove ourselves, the less we have any right to expect them to listen to us or respect us. If we don't care about them, they won't care about us.

I truly hope that this church really does start to focus on the world around them. I hope it becomes a defining quality of that place. And I hope I can get involved -- and that I will do that in my own life. If we ever expect the Church to be anything more than just a "members only" group, we have to start looking outside of our doors. And we gotta GO.

Put Out the Fire

Couple of really quick housekeeping things first:

1. I realized I didn't put any kind of ranking on the tv shows on my last post like I do on my movie reviews page (link to right).
2. I realized no one cares anyway. So I didn't change it.
3. I have heard that a couple of these shows are in trouble in the ratings, which should clear up my schedule soon.
4. I didn't mention any of the Spring shows we watch -- 24, American Idol, Scrubs.
   

Now on to the post....

I was thinking recently about the jobs I have held. I am not counting teenage or pointless summer jobs (Ponderosa, AMC theatres, school board film library, Sea World). I am referring to real jobs. I have worked in four main industries: Government (UCF Student Government for 2 years), Education (2 UCF jobs, 2 teaching internships, substitute), Sales (Rhodes furniture), and Religion (church, BCM, Defender). As I thought about it, these four industries are pretty big deals in our country. And even though they may seem quite different, they are actually VERY similar. In fact, I can honestly say that I have either heard this following speech - or some variation of it - from people in each of these fields.

When you are faced with a situation with an unhappy or complaining person, it is important to think about this. You carry two buckets with you: one is filled with water, one is filled with gasoline. You have two choices. First, you can douse the fire this person is lighting with water, diffusing the situation and showing them there is nothing to worry about. Second, you can douse the fire with gasoline, causing it to flare up worse - and showing this person there is something to worry about. This shows them that there is disunity in the staff, that there are problems, and that they have an ally in their complaints on the inside. You should try to help put out the fires, not make them worse.

I have heard that exact speech several times. I have seen that attitude portrayed many times. It is a common practice in all four of those industries. How did it become so universal? Well, I know for one that John Maxwell uses it in AT LEAST one of his leadership books. Every leader loves that story, because it keeps the fire from reaching them, and it puts the responsibility for controlling fires on the lower staff members. However, after thinking about that mentality for a while this past weekend [don't ask how it started], I realized that I have a real problem with it. Actually, I have three problems with it, and they lead into each other.

FIRST - Fire is not always bad - Think about this. Fire is a good thing many times. No, when it is rampaging through the forests on I-95 and destroying homes, it does not seem so good. But, in addition to making such yummy steaks and burgers, fire has a lot of good uses. Here are a few.

• It purifies. Fire is what is used to purify metals, to sterilize tools. It burns off the impurities. Busting out the Bible, it is what God will use to purify - and what He uses all the time. Gold, silver, steel all must go through a fiery purification process.
• It cleanses. Nature uses these rampaging fires as a way to cleanse itself. Humans are not fond of fire burning their neighborhoods. But look at any nature show about Africa. The Serengeti goes through cycles of drought, fire, rebirth, growth all the time. The fire removes what the land cannot support. It is a useful thing for removing the excess. This is even used in a controlled manner by builders and developers as they clear land
• It warms. Try spending a night outside during the winter without a fire (at least in those places that have winter). Fire provides warmth for people, for food. We can even see this symbolized through the romantic candles, that give a couple the feeling of warmth, of intimacy.

All of that is to show that fire is not always bad or evil. To immediately demand that someone put out a fire is to cut short something that may be useful or necessary. You need to be able to identify the fire: its type, its purpose, its potential. This leads into the 2nd point.

SECOND - The wrong people are giving the orders - On the road I drive every day to and from the kids' school there is a testimony to days of yore. Right next to Snow Hill Road, there is a large forest fire watchtower. It used to be that the rangers would sit in that tower to look for and get information about fires. It is not used much now, since most of that land is now full of houses. But it still stands for now. That tower reminds me of how most of the people in authority operate. They live high above the day to day operations, and ocassionally look out over their locale. If they see a glimmer of flame, they quickly send off their firefighting underlings to put it out.

But from high in that tower, it is hard to tell if that fire is a campfire, a bonfire, a glowing grill, a candle, or a wildfire. The person on the ground is the one that can identify the fire. They are the ones who should be able to tell what is a danger and what is not. They are the ones who can see if there is a dangerous amount of underbrush springing up, that may need burned off so that the trees don't get choked out. The lower level staff are the ones who can tell if it is an electrical fire, that will cause more damage when water is dumped on it. There also is a chance that the person in leadership is the reason the fire got started -- their ineptitude or laziness or poor decisions or selfishness.

The people in the tower just look out and see the trees, the "big picture." They have been told that getting your hands dirty is something you do when you get started, and then eventually you get big enough to get out of that. They become more useful "casting the vision" and "providing leadership." And they are scared of fire - because they cannot control it. It is something primal and wild and random and unplanned. So, like Frankenstein's monster, they chant, "Fire Bad."

THIRD - The end result is half-baked - As these fires are being put out, we are unwittingly putting out much more than a flame. We are killing off good ideas, passion, innovations. Think about it.

• A church member is unhappy about the way the Church in general deals with special needs children. He comes to a staff member to voice that and is immediately doused. So he slinks off. Maybe, if that fire was tended better, he would have come up with an effective and helpful method of creating a Special Needs minstry. Instead, the problem (which was genuine) still exists, the member (who was sincere) is still frustrated, and the church missed the boat.
• A mother does not like the way that her daughter in high school has never been taught how to write a paper. She goes to the assistant principal to mention it, and is doused. The teachers never require the students to learn to write, and those students are uneffective in college.
• A young government page wonders why high ranking officials can take so many personal privileges with taxpayer money. He says something to his supervisor about it, and it doused. He's told that it is part of the process. That page grows up to be a Senator, and gets arrested after two terms for misappropriating funds - something he was taught early on was okay.
• A saleswoman comes to her supervisor and says that her customers are coming back to complain that their products are breaking after six months. He asks if they have a warranty. Since they don't, they are told the company won't do anything about it - that is why they were encouraged to buy the warranty. The company never has to raise its standards of construction.

Do you think those things don't happen? In today's world, we love mediocrity. We don't want anyone to be too lazy or uninvolved, but we don't want them to be too committed either. Think about each of those fields.

• In politics, we want our politicians to feel strongly about things that appeal to a lot of people - but not to offend anyone with anything they say. Why have they all moved to the middle?
  
• In business, we want our young workers to be ambitious - within the guidelines. If they get too creative with their ideas, or too "out of the box," they become a threat.
  
• In religious circles, we want our members to be there at events and services, to get involved in our established activities. But we don't want them to be too passionate about their faith or beliefs - or to voice displeasure or disagreement when they see things in the church don't match God's Word.
  
• In education, we want parents to join the PTA and to send in money for stuff and to help their kids with homework, but not to get toooooo invovled. Those parents are labelled stage parents, and are seen as problems because they want the rules bent for their kid -- even if they are just wanting their kid to get the best opportunity possible.

As a result, we are stuck living out these lives of mediocrity. We wonder why there aren't any truly amazing politcal leaders, or so few visionary business people, or many truly dedicated teachers, or insightful theologians. Most of them probably got put out just when they got fired up. We see this in sports - where teams continue to hire the same guys (Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells, Phil Jackson) hoping they can recapture their old glory. Most of the new guys coach to not lose - they aren't gutsy and inventive.

Is there a cure? Who knows. I know that trying to get the people in power to change is not going to lead to a very satisfying outcome. I guess the lesson is that sometimes, instead of putting out a fire, we should try to let it burn and control it instead. See what it leads to, and if necessary put it out. But see what is up first. The other lesson is that if you get water dumped on your head, don't let it put you out. If you feel strongly about something -- something positive you have to share, or something wrong that needs to be fixed -- keep on trying, while being respectful of the leadership you are under. Don't give up - sometimes it takes a while for a fire to get going.

The Counterfeit

I want to talk about The Counterfeit - not counterfeiting in general - but the one being who is the great counterfeit. That being would be Satan. He is a liar, and he has made it his goal throughout history to create lies about God - and offer false imitations of God to mankind. Why? Think about it, if I were to go up to someone and flat out ask them, "Do you want to follow God or Satan?" - what would nearly everyone say? Most people aren't going to go and pick Satan - "Hmm, purity and goodness or evil, what to choose, what to choose." So Satan had to cheat - and lie - and come up with all kinds of lies about God.

It began in the Garden of Eden. He came up to Eve and questioned three things about God. He questioned His Message, His Meaning, and His Motives. First, he said, "Did God really say you couldn't eat of every tree?" He twisted God's words, and that led Eve to rethink what God actually said. Then he asked, "Did God really mean that you would die?" Now he was urging Eve to question whether or not she had understood God correctly. Finally, he flat out called God a liar and said that God only wanted to stop the fruit-eating because He didn't want humans to be wise like Him. And the whole process worked so well, he has been doing the same song and dance ever since.

I think I came up with an idea for an extremely interesting Bible study. Go through the Bible and take everything that God ever called Himself. (I supposed you could go through one of those Names of God type books and save a step.) After you have compiled the list, go back through and look at what lie Satan fabricated to counteract that characteristic. Let's just take four of the biggies -from the New Testament, no less. First, look at John 14:6. Jesus says, "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." Here we find three of the huge characteristics of God - ones that we all must accept.

THE WAY - Jesus was saying that He was the only road, only door to the Father. It is a straightforward statement, but one that has caused so much trouble. If there is one thing that people do not like, it is being told that there is only one way to do things. (That's why I hated Geometry - I wanted to do things my own way in proofs.) Look at the trouble Mel Gibson got into by leaving this verse in The Passion of the Christ. That was the line that everyone harped on during his interviews. So Satan has convinced us that there is more than one way to God. On State Road 50 in Orlando, on the way to downtown from UCF, there is a huge billboard claiming that Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism is all the same thing. "Many different paths, one God. Let's get together and talk about peace." In the world of Postmodernism, which drives most people, this is a cornerstone philosophy. Everyone who is passionate and good gets to Heaven. What an effective lie.

THE TRUTH - Numerous times, we are told that God is Truth. And we, as Christians are told to wield this weapon. The Word of God (The Truth) is as sharp as a two-edged sword, able to separate soul and spirit. In Isaiah 61:1, we are told that this Truth is what will free captives and heal the brokenhearted. But Satan has created the lie that there is no such thing as The Truth. Absolute truth does not exist. We have no right to tell anyone else that what they believe is wrong. If the last lie was one of the foundational points of Postmodernism, this one is the banner it flies. Everyone is okay; what everyone believes is right. (Ignoring the massive philosophical and logical problems that statement causes.) As a result, if we meet someone who is passionate and educated, they must be right. Why has The Da Vinci Code been such a resounding hit and such a troublesome thorn to the Church? It sounds true, it claims to be true, and Dan Brown did such a good job in writing it that most people are sure it is true. Again, quite an effective approach by Satan.

THE LIFE - Ah, life the most precious of commodities. Jesus' claim to be The Life resonated in verses like John 10:10, where He said He wanted to give us abundant life. Also, He is the resurrection and life, so even if we are dead we will live. Death and public speaking are the two greatest fears in America. Jesus' claim takes care of the first one. We don't need to fear death or life. How could Satan fight this? By teaching people that life is not important or to be valued. Instead of a sanctity of life, there is a focus on quality of life. If your life is not quality (Who judges that? Is there a scale?), then you don't need to live. With that lie, we see an explosion in the beliefs for abortion, and cloning, and euthanasia, and assisted suicide, and genocide, and ethnicide. Instead of merely offering a counterfeit of The Life (which he also did by pushing the epicurean lifestyle), Satan also tried to just remove the importance of all life.

The last biggie I want to look at is found in 1 John. It is here that God claims to be Love. What a powerful concept and image. Love - it is what every human wants and needs. As dcTalk once sang, "We all want to be loved." Love is what set God apart from all the gods of the world. They didn't love their people. The Ancient Greek and Roman gods saw people as playthings and creatures to be tormented and used. The gods of the ancient world were harsh - requiring sacrifice of children, cutting of flesh, homicide of virgins. The one true God offered love - not torment. And this love was free of anything we could do. How would Satan fight this most powerful and attractive of God's characteristics? Let's look at the three Greek words for love and how Satan attacked those.

EROS - Sensual love - It is weird to discuss this facet in light of God, but He is the one who created marriage and this aspect of love. And Satan has done a doozy on it. He has offered lust instead. Lust is not caring about the concerns and needs of the other person. It is selfish. It is about meeting YOUR needs and YOUR desires. It is seeing other people are tools to bring yourself satisfaction. That is lust. We see it in movies, magazines, websites. Little boys are trained to look lustfully at women by their fathers, big brothers, and neighbors. Girls are taught that to get a boy's attention they need to dress provocatively and flaunt their bodies. And the entire world becomes a sphere of shattered people - wounded by perhaps the fastest growing and most destructive lie of Satan.

PHILOS - Brotherly love - This is friendship love. It is what we see as Aaron holds Moses' arms up. It is described as iron sharpening iron. We find this as we study David and Jonathan - two men whose hearts were linked for life. How has this been poisoned? Satan offers us the love of contacts and networks instead of true friendship. It's not what you know, it's who you know - and who you can use to advance yourself. He also offers us homosexuality. It is funny, people do not talk about David and Jonathan very often in church any more because it has been so often pushed as biblical "proof" of gay relationships. How tragic. And how many men are standing alone in the world because they don't want to open up to another guy for fear of being labeled gay? The lion loves to find the isolated animal to pick off.

AGAPE - Unconditional love - This is the Love God portrays. What a wonderful and heartwarming thought. He loves us - period. The End. Thanks for coming, tip your waiters and waitresses. There is not something we need to do to get it, or anything we could do to lose it. So Satan gives us raging egomania - unconditional self-love. We love ourselves and everyone else becomes a way to get what we want. There is no service, no ministry. Even those people in charge of ministry use it as a way to get ahead and get a raise or promotion - a book or speaking gig. As a result, this love is such a foreign concept to us, we wouldn't recognize it if we saw it - and don't have any clue how to do it.

So, Satan has given us counterfeits. And we fell for them. I know I have - especially in the realm of love. I don't love people. I am very self-centered. And I have to break that - and so do you. How do you do it? We've all heard how the U.S Treasury Department learns how to spot a counterfeit - they know the genuine article so well that anything false jumps out. So we need to know God in an intimate way - and learn about Him - and grow so close to Him that any deviation from Him pops out at us. That's my challenge that I must now face. My journey of self-discovery has ended with me here. It is like I worked through a gigantic video game, beat the last level boss, and walked into a gigantic cipher. Instead of hearing some midi go "Bwoo, bwoo, bwoo" - a whole new challenge opened up. I just beat the console game only to enter a massive one without an ending. I now have to begin the long process of undoing 18 years of doing it wrong. I have to discipline my mind and bring every thought captive and learn to take my eyes off myself and put them on God. And instead of thinking everyone circles around me, I have to realize I'm here to touch their lives and show them Jesus. I guess I finally learned how to see. So instead of the journey ending, all I did was finish the prologue. The book just started.