Dads: Be there.

20 Jun , 2007 No Comments

During the summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain in 1992, one of track and field’s most memorable events took place.  Derek Redmond, from Great Britain, was running the race of a lifetime in the 400 meters.  He was coming around the last turn when he felt (and heard) his hamstring pop.  He fell face down on the track in excruciating pain.  He immediately tried to get up- what he called later, “animal instinct”- and, in a crazed attempt to finish the race he hobbled on one leg toward the finish line.  The crowd rose to its feet.  Out of the crowd came a large man in a T-shirt, pushing security guards aside.  It was Jim Redmond, Derek’s father.  He ran out on the track and held his son in his arms and said, “Derek, you don’t have to do this.”  Derek said, “Yes I do.”  “Then we’re going to finish together”, his father said.  Jim held his son, with his head in his chest most of the way, as both of them wept together toward the finish line.  As they crossed the finish line, the crowd roared… then wept as well.  Derek left Barcelona, not with the gold medal he had dreamed of, but with the memory of father who came out of the stands to help his son finish the race.  What a powerful picture of fatherhood.  In fact, it sounds a lot like what God has done for us in Christ. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  Jesus came out of the stands of heaven to help us finish the race.Dads, are you “in the stands” watching your child from afar as they hobble toward the finish line?  Or are you in the race with them, comforting them, holding them when necessary, as you guide them to the end.  Many dads start out well with their kids.  Few dads truly help their kids finish strong.  What will be your legacy?  Dad, get in the game.

Did he say, “Get naked!?”

24 Apr , 2007 No Comments

Yes, I really did.  I may be the first pastor to tell his listeners to “get naked”.  We were in the midst of a series of messages on “Pure Sex”.  I was describing much of what I try to do is to keep single adults and our youth out of bed together and our married adults in the bed together.  That’s when I admonished all of the married couples to “get naked”.  I got a few “amens” from some eager to obey the Lord’s command to be fruitful and multiply.  I’m sure some were thinking, “Here am Lord, send me.”  Professor Howard Hendricks (at DTS) recently said, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”  I would suggest we are stuttering at best.  Mostly we’re silent, and I can promise that Satan is not.  John 8:44 says he is the “father of lies” and he’s been lying for generations and we are reaping the tragic results of a satanic attack upon our families and our culture.  In contrast, in John 8:33, Jesus says, “the truth will set you free.”  The truth about sex must be shared.  “Everyone else is talking about sex.  If we remain silent about sex with our children and teens (and adults) then we’re the only ones.”    Here’s what we’ve been learning: The very first temptation had to do with our sexuality.  In Genesis 2 and 3 we see the story of the fall and how Adam and Eve, prior to the fall were “both naked and unashamed”.  After they sinned against God they felt a need to cover themselves.  Why? Because our sexuality is Satan’s easiest door to shame.  Shame is a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.  If blame says, “I did something wrong.”  Shame says, “I am wrong.”  Many have lived with shame for years and it has impacted your life more than you can realize.  We’ve noted that some things grow in the dark (fungus, mushrooms) and shame.  It must be brought into the light or it will not stop growing.  That’s why we need to speak about sexual shame.  We all have it; we just need to talk about it. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 teaches us a few things about “pure sex”. 1. Godly sex begins with Godly thinking.  2. Your “bod” belongs to God.  3. Sex is like glue.  4. Sexual sin runs deep.   Let me ask you the two shameful questions that we’re trying to be courageous enough to address: What seed of sexual shame has Satan planted in your life?  What dangerous and painful covering are you hiding behind?  As you think about sexual shame and start what may be a new path toward purity always remember that Our God is a God of grace.   I love what He tells us in Job: “Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.” Job 11:13-16 (N.I.V.)  

What’s Up with Heaven?

23 Mar , 2007 No Comments

There’s a buzz in McKinney these days about Heaven.  Thousands are talking about it and with so many varied opinions about Heaven, it’s worth thinking about, especially during this Easter season.  I’m convinced that most of us don’t think much about Heaven because we don’t know what to think. Regardless of your religious beliefs, you can’t deny that some day you’ll leave this planet.  Isn’t it amazing that, weeks after her death, Anna Nicole Smith continues to dominate American news reports? (Are we tired of this?)  Her tragic story should remind us all that whether we’re rich or poor, famous or not, the death rate is still 100%.  Worldwide 3 people die every second, 180 every minute, about 11,000 will die this hour, and more than 250 thousand people go to either to Heaven or Hell today. 

Years ago, R.C. Sproul said, “Modern man is betting his life that there is no judgment and there is no eternity.”  Vance Havner once said, “Some people are so heavenly minded they’re of no earthly good.”  I understand what he’s saying, but I don’t think that’s our problem.  It’s seems that we don’t think about heaven enough.  C.S. Lewis was right when he wrote, “The people who have made the most difference in this world are the ones who thought most about the next.”  When you don’t live with God’s ultimate plan in sight, you live only for the here and now- and that gets hard and hopeless real fast.

So, what do you think about Heaven?  Maybe your opinion is like so many, but you’re afraid to say it:  “Heaven is going to be boring.”  John Eldridge, in his great book, “The Journey of Desire” writes, “Nearly every Christian I have spoken with has some idea that eternity is an unending church service.  We have settled on the image of the never-ending sing-a-long in the sky, one great hymn after another, forever and ever amen.  And our heart sinks.  Forever and ever?  That’s it?  That’s the Good News?  And then we sigh and we feel guilty that we are not more spiritual.  We lose heart and we turn once more to the present to find all the light we can find.”  The problem is that many of us have reduced worship to sitting in pews and singing songs.  Singing is one of about a billion ways to worship God.  Worship is not an event; worship is life.  Randy Alcorn, in his definitive book on Heaven, writes, “Our belief that Heaven will be boring betrays a heresy that God is boring.  There is no greater nonsense.  Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy come directly from God’s hands.  He made our taste buds, He put the adrenaline in our system, He gave us our sex desires and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains.  Likewise our imaginations and our capacity for joy and exhilaration were made by the very God we accuse of being boring.”  The real question is this:  How could God not be bored with us?

Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven.  There’s something missing and we know it.  We can try to deny it or medicate it but in the end, we long for something that this world cannot satisfy.  When I feel fully alive, in the most glorious moments of life and beauty and purpose and joy, I’m experiencing what is to come.  At times, this life really is “a foretaste of glory divine” (in the words of the great hymn writer, Fanny Crosby).  I want to embrace all that life has for me.  I want to be fully alert and alive to all that God is up to in my world.  I want to love the things He loves and join Him in what He’s doing.  In the words of Paul Marshall, “What we need is not to be rescued from the world, not to cease being human, not to stop caring for the world, not to stop shaping human culture.  What we need is the power to do these things according to the will of God.  We, as well as the rest of creation, need to be redeemed.”  And that’s what God is up to.  God’s big plan is a resurrected people, on a resurrected Earth, worshipping a resurrected Savior throughout eternity.  This is where all of history is heading.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “In the truest sense, Christian pilgrims have the best of both worlds.  We have joy whenever this world reminds us of the next, and we take solace whenever it does not.”  I hope you’ll find yourself in a great church this Easter season.  Check out whatsupwithheaven.com and join the conversation. 

You can hear more about Heaven as we preach through a series of messages on Heaven leading up to Easter.  We’re also anwsering your questions about Heaven on Wednesday nights!  Also check out our podcasts, or to watch live- go to www.fbcmckinney.com.    

Missional Musings

22 Mar , 2007 No Comments

More Missional Musings…  A conversation about what God is up to in the world.

By Jeff Warren-2/2/-07 

There is much talk about being “missional” these days.  Some suggest that the buzz was created by Brian McClaren who used the word in his book, “Generous Orthodoxy” (subtitled, “Why I am a missional, evangelical, etc…).  Surely the word was around before 2004, but regardless of where it originated, it’s a worthy discussion.  What does it mean to be missional- as a church or as an individual?  Even Wikipedia has joined the mix.  It defines “missional” as “As commonly used today, the word describes the way in which Christians do all their activities, rather than identifying any one particular activity.  To be missional is to align one’s life with the redemptive mission of Jesus in the world.   The concept is rooted in the alignment of every believer and every church with Jesus’ mission in the world, just as Jesus knew His mission and aligned Himself with that mission.   A missional church aligns all of the program, function, and activities of the church around the redemptive mission of God in the world.” (Man, that’s pretty good stuff).Contrary to the opinion of many (most?) American church-goers, Jesus did not come to establish an institution, club, or political party.  He said He came (and I quote) “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Matthew 19:10) -really, no more, no less.  I was in a conversation today with a dear friend in ministry who’s in a very large and influential church in North Carolina.  He said his church recently announced (through the elders) that they were not seeking to be a church for post-moderns.  Isn’t that another way of saying we are not a church seeking to reach this culture?  Notice, I said, “this culture”, not “emerging culture”.  Post-modernity is hardly “emerging” as it’s been here for years.  In fact, signs of postmodern thought began to emerge in the 20s and clearly began to be defined following WWII.  Its impact and influence has already permeated my generation.  It seems that only “church people” seem to think that it is “emerging” or “on the way”, in the form of secularism.  Whatever is emerging is post-post-modern.  What many Christians don’t understand is that, first of all, post-modernity is not the enemy (anymore than modernity was to the former generation), it’s simply what it is- the culture we live in, the air we breathe; or at least, where most of us “live and move and have our being”.  Secondly, Jesus did not ask us to choose which generation we might want to reach.   So, what does it really mean to be missional?  Simply put, it’s living on mission with Jesus.  It’s joining Him in what He’s up to in the world.  Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost.  The person on mission with Jesus is up to the same thing Jesus is.  He or she sees God at work every day and joins Him in what He’s doing.  The missional person sees the world the way God does: primarily as the context within which we engage others in His redemptive plan.  Missional people see others the way God does: every human soul is valuable and every person desiring to live forgiven can actually find that life in Jesus.Of course, all of this starts when we fully embrace the grace of Christ.  Once I realize that He has not only forgiven me but has made me the “righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21), I can live forgiven.  Only then can I really lead others to live forgiven.  This is at the heart of missional living.  Most believers have not appropriated this most critical truth and, as a result, the church- the expression of God and His grace in the world- is not communicating the true Message of Jesus. Oh, we’re sending out a message alright, I’m just not sure it’s His.  This week I heard Rob Bell (via the Nooma film, “Bullhorn”), ask the question: “Why is it that so few have become the voice for so many?”  That question has haunted me since because I think it cuts to the heart of what’s wrong with the evangelization of the West (and the rest of the world for that matter).  The guy with the bullhorn is the only one heard.Unfortunately, as Erwin McManus has noted, “Jesus has been lost in a religion that bears His name”.  We’ve become too “civilized”, too sanitized.  We need to find our way out of civilization and back to the “barbarian way”.  Anyone who wants to live missional must become a barbarian.  This takes much courage among civilized believers because barbarians make civilized people nervous.  In fact, if the truth be known, civilized people don’t like them.  Their very lives challenge the civilized to, at least, get out of their comfort zone and, at most, abandon much of what they thought Christianity was in the first place. As we have become more civilized the church has become more institutionalized.  Joey White (our North Campus Pastor) and I were talking yesterday, and he noted that post moderns want to give their lives to a cause, not an institution.  He’s right, but is that really a “post-modern” thing?  Isn’t that a “missional” thing; a Jesus thing?  I think so.  It resonates with post moderns because it resonates with the human soul.  You and I want to be a part of something bigger in the world, something that matters.  And what Jesus is about in the world matters most.  Once understood, who wouldn’t be drawn to that? Together, we (at FBC McKinney and friends in the missional community) are learning what it means to be on mission with Christ.  One learning is that we need to shift our orientation.  The church does not simply have a “missions ministry” or a “missions pastor” or simply go on “mission trips” (though critical as we’ll discuss later); the church is missions.  The church is on mission.  We don’t just do missions, we are the mission.  The need for the church to recognize that the church is “mission” itself rather than “mission orientated” has been adequately discussed by Bishop Hwa Yung in his book, Mangoes or Bananas?, long before the word “missional” appeared.  His comments on theology and culture are worth reading.My long-time friend, Tim Conder, author and guest columnist for LeadershipJournal.net, asked in his article, “Missional Buzz”, whether there is such a thing as a “missional church”.  To answer his own question, Tim offers some characteristics of a “missional church”:
(1) Missional communities try to align themselves holistically with God’s theme of redemption.
(2) Programming and finances are directed outward.
(3) Missional communities are discontent with spiritual formation as primarily cognitive assent.
(4) Embracing the ethnic and social diversities of local communities is becoming a moral expectation.
(5) Missional communities are not only ardent listeners for the earmarks of God’s redemptive work in our world, these communities are passionate activists when they find the pathways and trajectories of God’s redemptive presence.If these five marks define a missional church, I’m in.  If our church would be defined as “missional” by possessing these characteristics, then let’s seek (‘til our last dying breath!) to be missional.  I think you would agree.  We have, for too long, thought that missions is something the church does as people grow in Christ and reach some kind of spiritually elite status.  It seems to me that challenging and engaging people in missions at the front end of the community is as much a form of evangelism as it is anything.  Think about it, are we seeking to win people to Jesus so they can accept a certain set of truths or join a particular institution?  Again, isn’t it more about joining the movement of Christ and what He’s up to in the world?  Didn’t Jesus say that following Him means that we join Him in His mission?  If a lost person first sees what God is up to in the world (through us) wouldn’t they want to join in?  They might respond, “I’m not sure I believe in God, but I can’t explain you.”  Or, “I don’t know about Jesus but I believe in what you’re doing to help others.”  Didn’t Jesus Himself say, in John 10:38, “If you don’t believe in me, you can at least believe in the things you see me doing?”  People might say, “If Jesus is somehow behind the motivation for people to give themselves away like this, I’m in”, or at least, “I’m now open to checking this out.”  Could it be that mission involvement can serve as the front door, not the side door or the back door (or perhaps a more apt analogy- the window most simply look through but never pass through)?That leads me to another thought: We now live in the most exciting time in church history for the missional believer, for one reason: the airplane.  I know it’s not the most spiritual answer but we can now join other believers around the world in what God is doing.  And we can really join them, not just send money to a few who might.  We realize that God’s work is global and what we’re doing locally (wherever that may be) is simply part of the Big Story of God’s redemptive work in the world.  Long-time pastor in London and emerging church leader, Bryan Dolye, calls involvement in partnership missions a “fast-track” toward spiritual formation and missional living.  It’s true.  How many people do you know who, though well-intentioned, went to Sunday School or some Bible study for years and then went on a ten-day mission trip and were never the same again.  The light finally came on.  What happened?  They were able to see the world as God does and join Him in His mission in it.  They began to see their every daily lives from His perspective.Join me in this “stream of consciousness” dialogue.  I’m just a catalyst in this experiment- a short blog.  I just wanted to start the conversation.  Big or small, join in.