A Blog for the Church

And to conclude (for now) our House Church 101 series, I want to cover some of the best benefits of participating in a house church that you’re not likely to find in a normal church.  It’s not that these things cannot exist in a normal church structure, it’s just that the format of normal churches work against these things making them very difficult to cultivate well.

Keep in mind that the four things I’m about to go over (discipleship, accountability, giving, and evangelism) look differently in house churches than in normal churches.  It may very well be that some of us have experienced these things in ways different from what I will outline here.  That’s okay.

Discipleship

In most churches, discipleship consists of some sort of class complete with reading materials, Scripture memorization, spiritual disciplines, and church involvement.  Not that any of those things are bad, but for most churches, these are individualized activities.  The class is merely your place to learn about them, but the actual doing of them takes place on one’s own time, apart from the community.

In a house church, we have a unique opportunity to raise the bar on discipleship and we do that in two ways.

First, the house church setting is the perfect setting to ask questions.  Unlike a class or normal church structure, house churches cultivate environments where individuals are not only able, but encouraged to ask questions and wrestle with issues as we bring them to the table.  This, of course, is not only beneficial for the person asking the question, but others as well. This is because we are likely to, at some point in our lives, ask these same types of questions.  Further, when this is done in a community setting, it makes discipleship a community activity, too.

Second, the discipleship process takes on a new level as house church members engage in ministry.  By that, I don’t mean put together a program or join up with a non-profit in town (though both may be called for at times), I mean folks who sense what God is doing in someone’s life on an organic level and joining him in that work and pulling others in when necessary.  We call these opportunities “Thumbprint Projects” because each one will be unique and require a unique set of gifts which we believe God has given to individuals in our group for this specific reason.

Participate: What does your discipleship process currently look like?  What’s the next step for taking it to the next level?

Engage: Do you do discipleship alone or with others?  Write down three ways to make it a more communal process and identify how you can implement those changes.

Own: When is the last time you heard about a need apart from a formal structure like a non-profit?  Somewhere, there is a Thumbprint Project waiting for you.  Be on the look out.

Accountability

Have you ever been sitting in church and heard the speaker say something that was either off-base Biblically or that wasn’t entirely true?  Or, have you ever been in a small group setting where you said something that you later realized was off-base and nobody said anything?

For the most part, normal church restricts accountability to private affairs.  But this was not the way things were meant to be.

In a house church, the environment is set for corporate accountability.  It is expected that as we engage with one another and the Word of God, that we challenge one another to grow towards Christ.  Sometimes this will mean clarifying doctrine and sometimes it will mean allowing ourselves to get into other people’s business (and allowing them to get into ours).

For us, church isn’t a place where we can come, sing songs, hear the Word, and otherwise keep our business to ourselves.  At a house church, there is no such thing as “none of your business.”  We are the Body of Christ and a family – your business is my business.  We don’t let each other off the hook, we ask tough questions, and we also love tenaciously.  Of course, we do this remembering that we are not perfect and are all in need of grace.  Humility, gentleness, and discernment are key.

And, while this often creates for some discomfort, we know that it is never comfortable when God is pruning us and turning us into the people he wants us to be.

Participate: Are you someone who prefers to keep your business to yourself?  Identify one way you can begin to let others in your business.

Engage: At your next small group meeting or house church, say something off-base and see if anybody reacts.  If not, ask the group about it at your next meeting and explore how you can be more accountable to one another.

Own: Do you have a brother or sister in Christ who has trusted you to hold them accountable and you have shied away from the responsibility?  What tough questions can you ask them? (Remember humility, gentleness and discernment!)

Giving

Ah, yes, the age-old giving question.  You might think that as a house-church our overhead costs are minimal (which they are) and that, as a result, giving is not as important as it might be in a normal church setting.

You might think that…many do.  But they are wrong.

The assumption that Christians give because the church needs it is faulty.  I know many churches communicate it that way, but they are wrong, too.  The truth is that Christians are called to give as part of their discipleship.  It is for the individual’s (or family’s) benefit that they should give, not the church’s.  The church is supposed to be the place where the Body of Christ is challenged to be and live more like Jesus Christ. If the church is either encouraging members to give for the church’s benefit, or not asking members to give at all, the church is not doing its job.

Of course, in a house church (and any good church, for that matter), giving is much more holistic.  It is not just money we are after, but time, possessions, and spiritual gifts.  In other words, unless we are giving of our whole selves, we are not giving the way God wants us to.

At our house churches this means meeting needs as we learn about them.  Sometimes the need is money, but sometimes it isn’t.  Sometimes it is embracing the inconvenience of watching someone else’s kids, sharing possessions, or exploring other creative ways to help.  The fact is that when we pray for God to help us give Biblically, He shows up in ways we never imagined.

Participate: Give something away.  Something you don’t want to.  Now.

Engage: Do you become upset when your church talks about giving?  Identify the reasons why and see whether it is something within you causing it.  How is God trying to grow you?

Own: There’s a need around you.  You can help, even if you don’t have money to give.  Find out what it is and begin helping.

Evangelism

As a house church, there is no one person who is considered the professional, the guy or gal always up front doing the talking and responsible for growing the church.  Instead, we are all responsible to build God’s Kingdom.  We are always spreading a message, remember?  The question is, “Which message are we are spreading?”  Is it Jesus’ or someone else’s?

Whereas a normal church relegates evangelism to programmed events (like a block party), at a house church, we rely on organic opportunities to communicate the Gospel – like inviting someone to our house for dinner.  And you know what we’ve found?  It is much more difficult to invite someone for dinner…but also much more transformative.  Programs compromise transformative power for ease.

Even though everything we do communicates a message and is thus evangelism, we still encourage members to look for ways to be deliberate.  It is one thing to go about our lives with integrity and love and another to go out of our way and take on inconvenient tasks and people for the sake of sharing about the Gospel.

Participate: Examine your day yesterday.  Did you communicate the gospel at all times, in your doing and your speaking?  What needs to change?

Engage: Identify three ways to be more deliberate in your evangelism.  Even if you don’t want to.

Own: This week, do one willfully inconvenient thing to help someone, then share the gospel with them.

In the previous two posts, I talked about how house churches are different from small groups.  My basic premise was that small groups act as supplements to normal church (where individuality and shallowness reign), but ultimately fail to accomplish their intended goal because the overall message sent by the small group conflicts with normal church…a house divided if you will.  I then explored some of the strengths of house churches where small groups tend to be weak.

Today, I want to delve into additional characteristics of a house church and what is, perhaps, one of its strongest “selling points.”

Community.

I’ll be honest, I sometimes cringe when I read that word.  Community is so hot right now.  And while I’m grateful that we’re talking about it, I fear that it is just another fad that will pass just as quickly as it came.  If you don’t think so, consider the discovery I made in this press release where I found that of the top 50 Christian Best-Selling books a total of zero were primarily focused on community.  It seems that we like the idea of it, but have absolutely no clue what it is or how to create it.

So what is community?  What does it look like?  How do I know I’ve found it?  And how does a house church do it?

Community is Costly

That’s right, it costs us.  Unlike small groups where we can participate for our own benefit and get some supplemental feeding, community costs.  The reason is simple: in the Kingdom of God, the community of believers is your family.  You can no more write them off than you could your own mother.  When someone is in need, whether physical, spiritual or emotional, you must help.

Even more, you must make yourself vulnerable to others.  Without doing so, intimacy is impossible.  For many of us, this is our greatest fear.  And that is even truer in the house church, where so many have been burned by traditional church models and, as a result, seek something less traditional.  House churches can be breeding grounds for bitter Christians.  So, we often hide.  We guard our hearts making sure to only give them away when we are 100% sure that the other person can be trusted.

And when we do that, we destroy community.

Like many things in the Kingdom, however, things are upside down.  In order to receive love, we must give it away – the more the better.  In order to receive life, we must lose it.  And in order to create a trusting community, we must trust even when it is dangerous to do so.

Community is Tedious

Along with the buzz about community there comes an unhealthy, unrealistic portrayal of how great it is.  And it is great, don’t get me wrong.  But with community comes high highs and low lows.  Even worse (or better, perhaps), you can only get the highs of community when you spend significant amounts of time in the lows.

The truth is that community is often very boring and uneventful – and when you’re part of a house church, you know that well.  If you’re not a part of one, well now you know what you’re in for in case you ever decide to join one.

This isn’t a bad thing, though.  Walking with others through the humdrum of everyday life is one of the most fulfilling things you could ever do.   In our culture we’re addicted to the exciting momentary thrills and we carry that into our Christian relationships and churches as well.  But life lived with others in the midst of crying babies, groceries, school, mowing lawns, and the 9-5 routine is a rare and precious gift.

Community Will Change Your Life

Even though it may be costly and tedious, entering into a community with other believers will change your life like few things can.  The change is mostly subtle and hard to explain.  It comes slowly and mostly unnoticed until you’ve been at it for a few years.  Then, one day, you look back on who you used to be, and who others used to be, and you realize just how much your lives have changed.

Community will make you a more secure person…but only after letting others in on your insecurities.

Community will make you a more loving person…but only after you learn to be loved in the midst of everything about you that is unlovable.

Community will make you a spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthier person…but only after you witness and work through the sickness in yourself and others.

Community will make you more patient…but only after you are forced to wait when you’d rather not.

Community will make you more humble…but only after you see how deep pride runs in your own heart.

Community will make you more thankful…but only after you learn to say “thank you” for everything in your life that you didn’t ask for.

Community will change your life completely…but only after you submit to its humdrum, long-term, costly demands.

What are other characteristics of community?

Participate: When you think about community, what comes to mind?

Engage: Resist the temptation to just talk about community: check out the list of community-focused books on our Resources Page and resolve to read one off the list.

Own: Take some time to evaluate how your participation in a community has changed your life.  How are you different today than  1, 5 or 10 years ago?  How do you hope you are different in 1, 5, or 10 years from now?  What will you do to make it happen?

Yesterday we began looking at how house churches are different from small groups.  Today’s post will be building on some concepts and content introduced in that post, so if you haven’t already read, please click here to check it out.

For the most part, yesterday was set-up for today’s post.  In order to demonstrate how house churches are different than small groups, we first have to know why small groups exist and the shortcomings they bring with them.  So let’s take some of the points made about small groups and see how house churches deal with those.

Unlike Small Groups, House Churches Eliminate the Need for a Supplement

Whereas a small group acts as the communal/deep supplement to the otherwise individual/shallow church structure, the house church structure has, at its core, community and depth in mind.

It is somewhat humorous that churches can acknowledge their own inability to offer what they know their members really need, but are completely unwilling to do anything about changing their primary structure, which reinforces the problem.  Instead they add on an additional program…which reinforces the problem.  It’s a vicious cycle.

House churches communicate depth and community as core values, and the structure itself reinforces that message.  Even better, the structure of a house church excels where both normal church and small groups fall short.  They find their identity in each other – without small groups, normal church has no plan of attack to address the depth/communal needs of the members.  And without normal church, small groups lack both direction and a pool from which to draw participants.

House churches take the best of both worlds and merge them into a singular, united, better whole.

Unlike Small Groups, A House Church Community Creates the Product and Is the Product

As we pointed out yesterday, small groups function with the community serving as the means to the end of consuming a pre-defined product.  In a house church, however, it is the community that creates the product – out of their shared experience, insight, and mutual submission to one another – and it is the community that is the product.

This is not just a matter of semantics.  It is a matter of a structure defined by priorities.

Studies should be developed and birthed out of the community itself given their shared experience.  This should be common practice, but it is not.  Instead, we rely on someone else’s ability (usually, some professional somewhere) to develop something we can interact with.  But since it was not birthed out of our own experience, any such interaction can only happen on a surface level.

House churches are uniquely suited to do this better than both small groups and normal churches precisely because of the fact that those who lead any studies that happen have their own lives intertwined with the others in the church.  As a result, every study is relevant to the lives of those participating.  More importantly, it makes every study relevant to every person.  Unlike small groups that draw participants from a certain niche, house churches must define how each study will apply to the lives of every member; regardless of their interests or hobbies.

In that way, the study remains dependant on the community at all times.

And, most importantly, the community is the study, the community is the end goal.  It is not as if we gather around (like in a normal church or small group) to hear a sermon preached or go through a lesson.  We gather because the point is to actually be the Body of Christ.  That simply cannot happen from the distance of a sermon or boxed-up study kit.  That’s why we have to leave that building/structure.

Unlike Small Groups, House Churches Include Gifts

And because there is no need for a supplement and because the community both creates and is the product, gifts can flourish.  When a member becomes an integral part of what is happening at a gathering, their gifts emerge.

But the right structure has to be there.  It is not enough for us to remain in our current structures that value individuality, produce shallowness, and elevate some gifts over others and say that we want other things to happen.  The structure itself, not just our desires, has to change.  As long as our church structure is able to function with the majority of members being passive and the gifts of a few carrying the service, there is no need for the other members of the Body to use or even identify their gifts.

That is what makes house churches so unique: they are not like typical churches and not like typical small groups.  They are wholly different and, yet, not altogether unfamiliar.  And the whole Body participates because the whole Body is needed.  Gifts are recognized and developed only when the need for them is present.

Participate: If you were starting a church today and wanted community/depth to be core values, how would you design the structure?

Engage: Do you know someone who would disagree with what has been written or do you disagree with what has been written?  Join the discussion using the comment function on this article and pull your friends/church leaders in.

Own: Do you know what your gifts are and, if so, are you using them?  If not, schedule an appointment with your pastor and explore with him/her how that can change.

What might be another strength that house churches have that a normal church/small group may not?

Over the next four days, we’ll be blogging about what house churches are (and are not), why they are important, how they are different from normal church models, and the unique opportunities afforded to those participating in a healthy house-church.

Today and tomorrow, we’ll be dispelling a popular myth about house churches: House churches are really just glorified home bible studies or small groups.

While I understand how many could come to this conclusion, there are some fundamental differences between a small group and a house church.  Today we’ll outline some of the basic problems inherent to small groups and tomorrow we’ll examine how the house church addresses those same problems.

Small Groups Function as a Supplement to Normal Church

There are two types of cancer running rampant in traditional churches today: individualism and shallowness.  In an attempt to curb these sicknesses, churches launched something called small groups/home bible studies/life groups.  In these groups, participants meet at someone’s home (or maybe even at the church) and typically go through some sort of pre-defined study.  Sometimes, the entire group is based around a particular interest (cars, parenting, a book, etc.).  Not only does the small group facilitate more one-on-one interaction and thus create intimacy, it helps people to explore topics at a deeper level.

As such, these small group interactions operate as a supplement to something that normal church services are not able to address.

The problem with this model is that it creates a step-forward-step-back paradigm.  That is, if individualism and shallow faith are problems, normal church is catering to and reinforcing them as valid while simultaneously condemning them.  I confess that this approach fits with an analogy I’ve used elsewhere: small groups are a band-aid for a gunshot wound.

Small Groups Treat Community As the Means to an End

Isn’t it obvious?  Think back to the small groups you have been a part of.  How many times were they focused around a pre-defined study, book, or common interest?  If you’re like me, the answer is, “Pretty often.”

This creates an environment where community is not actually the point, even though we talk and act like it is.  Rather, the community meets for the purpose of interacting with a product produced for them by someone they likely do not know.  The result is church as normal.  Instead of communities meeting together for the purpose of mutual encouragement, edification, and a place for them to use and cultivate their own gifts for the benefit of the Kingdom, they come together to hear what the product has to say to them.

As you may have guessed, this is the classic “get fed” mentality.

It is not that getting fed is necessarily bad – people need to eat, right?  Rather, the problem is that we misunderstand the how and why of getting fed.  Somewhat paradoxically, one doesn’t get fed (either spiritually or relationally) by consuming products intended to feed them.  Rather, one gets fed not by receiving alone, but by giving as well.  If you want to receive patience, give it to others.  If you want to receive love, give it to others.  If you want to receive grace, give it to others.  This is the way the kingdom works.

But receiving is still not the end goal.  Giving still is.  It is not as if we can give until we’ve received what we want and can then stop.  “Getting fed” is perpetually dependant on “feeding others” and neither exists without the other.

Small Groups Exclude Gifts

Well, what should we expect?  Small groups are seen as a place for shallow individuals to get depth and community.  Naturally, the more up-front, leadership-type gifts are going to become most prominent because they (we think) serve that purpose best.  What we fail to realize is that the Body is best equipped when all the gifts are operating in it and everyone is equally encouraged to share their gifts with the collective whole.

Participate: After reading this post, do you agree or disagree with what’s been written?  Would you feel different if you were/weren’t in a small group or were in a church that didn’t offer them?
Engage: Next time you’re at church/small group, listen carefully to see if they create these types of problems and, if so, write down the words/phrases that stick out to you.
Own: What would happen if you were part of a church that did things differently – if you didn’t need a supplement?  Write down five things that would change for you, whether good or bad, and begin praying about whether you should pursue a church like that.

Have you identified other shortcomings of small groups?

P.S. Tune in tomorrow for information on how a house church avoids the problems presented by a normal church while side-stepping the problems that come with a small group.

Before you Read: There is a song from Casting Crowns’ Christmas album that speaks of God being with us, for us, and in us – it is called “God Is With Us.”  Click here to listen to it once for free and then come back and keep reading.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of one specific boy.  To many, his birth was nothing special.  In fact, it was the opposite of special – he came into this world under ordinary circumstances.  Rejected from an inn, his parents were forced to deliver him amidst farm animals before laying him in a cow trough to sleep.  And, yet, his was the most special birth that has ever taken place.

God With Us

That’s what Immanuel means, God with us.  And he was with us…in ways that we never anticipated.  It would have sufficed for us had God come down and rescued us from our human condition without entering our state himself.  He could have chosen to be with us just by standing by our side.  But he didn’t.  He did far more than we ever expected: he became one of us – in every possible way.   He hungered.  He cried.  He skinned his knee.  He got tired.  He felt fear.  He sweated.  He bathed.  He got sick.

He died.

But he has not left us.  He is still with us…here, now.  I know we may not feel like it.  But it’s true.  He is here with us.  He experiences our pain, our fear.  He knows what frustrates us as well as what encourages us.  Despite whatever else is happening and whoever else has left us, he has not.  He will not.

God For Us

It seems unusual to some of us that God would be for us.  What is there to be for?  We are sinners, the lot of us, through and through.  We are exceedingly selfish and profoundly arrogant.  We are greedy beyond measure.  We lust after everything we do not have, both people and possessions, and take for granted all that has been given us.  And God is for us?

Why?

Because of his unending, no-holds-barred, indiscriminate love.  It is a paradoxical kind of love, really.  There is no reason he should love us.  He is not compelled by any outside forces or even overwhelming emotion.  He chooses to love us.  And so powerful is this choice that it caused Him to willingly send His son, the Word, God himself, to the womb of a lowly woman.   And so deep is this love that it deliberately died a horrific and torturous death.

For us.

God In Us

As a result of his paradoxical love-choice, we now have a unique opportunity.  It is an opportunity that is universal in its offer – anyone can take part and everyone is invited to do so.   It is the opportunity for God’s being with us and for us to now being in us.  This is the culmination of his birth, life, death and resurrection…that we should now invite him in and make him who he already is: Lord.

We invite Him?

It is unusual that the one who sustains us and gives us breath should leave it up to us to make the decision.  In itself, this is a profound act of love and none of us really understand it.  Yet, despite our lack of understanding the choice is still ours and he will not force us.

For those of us who invite him in, a transformation takes place.  We experience a change of natures.  We are no longer orphans, we become sons and daughters.  And though we may still act like orphans and do orphan-like things, that is not who we are.

Because God is in us.

So what?

Belief is a funny thing.  We often reduce it to intellectual assent or emotion.  But neither is true, at least, not completely.  The Biblical model for belief is action.  If we say we believe God is with us, for us, and in us, but live as if it is not true, we are liars.  In other words, intellectual assent and emotion merely make belief easier, but we actually can believe something without being convinced in our minds or hearts at all.

We do it all the time.  In health, marriage, work, friendships, parenting, etc.

So here is where the rubber meets the road.  Do you actually believe in Christmas – that God is with, for, and in you – or are you just convinced?

Participate: If a stranger were to observe your life for the next three days, what would they conclude about your beliefs?  Do those match up with what you say you believe?

Engage: Sit down this week and read the Gospel of Mark looking for times when Jesus encountered those who were convinced but did not believe.  How did the two look different?  Do you identify with any of the convinced but unbelieving people in the Bible?  How did Jesus respond to them/you?

Own: Take some time to write down what you are convinced of in regards to your faith, family, and friendships and then compare that to how you live – if you discover unbelief, identify what the next action step would be to change it into belief.

Oh, and don’t forget: God with us, for us, and in us means that there is grace and help.  If there are discrepancies between what you are convinced of and what you really believe, repeat the prayer of a father with a demon-possessed son (Mark 9:24b):

“…help me overcome my unbelief!”

This will be a short post.  On Christianity Today’s blog, OutofUr, Dan Kimball had written a blog wherein he said he was wrong about church buildings.  Previously, he used to say, “Who needs a building? The early church didn’t have buildings, and we don’t need them either!”

He now confesses that he was wrong.

I think he still is wrong.

So, I drafted a response and asked OutofUr if they were interested in using it and they were.  Here is an excerpt.

It is not that I hate buildings. Because we have identified our cause as “Leave the Building,” I often get mistaken for a building-hater, but that is not the case. “Leave the Building” is about removing the things that limit us in our service for God or somehow get in the way of what he is trying to accomplish through us. For me and my church, it was our building…

I am writing this because the subject of the necessity of buildings is a crucial topic to discuss all across the Church. You do indeed describe good uses for buildings…but what is good, may not be best – either for your church or for the Body of Christ worldwide. Allow me to explain…

Click here to read the rest and please interact (respectfully) with the others who have already commented.

Also, to read Dan’s original post, click here.

By the way, it was my friend @starlyth (Ian Kirk) on Twitter who first sent Dan’s post to me.  If you are on twitter, you should follow him!

A recent study conducted online by Lifeway Research provides some interesting insights into what Southern Baptist pastors believe about evangelism and how it plays out in their churches.  If you aren’t interested in visiting the article, allow me to summarize what I think are some of the main points:

• Most common evangelistic outreach methods: VBS, feeding ministries, visitor follow-up, and prayer for non-believers
• Almost all of the pastors (96%) strongly agree evangelism is the responsibility of every Christian
• Nearly half of the pastors (43%) strongly agree that evangelism gets overshadowed by other priorities
• Only a third say evangelism is an ongoing activity in their churches
• Only a quarter of the pastors say it is easy to share the Gospel one-on-one
• But almost all (96%) have shared the Gospel with someone in the last six months

While those results aren’t all bad, they do represent a misunderstanding of the nature of evangelism.  In fact, most Christians misunderstand it.  And that has caused all sorts of problems.  So I want to try to sort out what I believe to be one of the most common misconceptions about evangelism.

Misconception: Evangelism Only Happens When We Intentionally Speak About the Gospel

Truth: Evangelism Is Always Happening…For Better or Worse

In the past several years, it seems there has been a big redefining of what worship is.  Church leaders kept running into a problem: their congregation members only understood worship to be the time spent singing Chris Tomlin songs either directly before or after the sermon.  They weren’t to blame though, church leaders spoke of worship almost exclusively in those terms.

To change that, they began to think through what worship really is: life.  If worship is the act of ascribing worth to something or someone, it is always happening.  It is not a Christian or even a religious thing, it is a human thing because the way we live our lives indicates what we think is worthy: success, family, work, money, possessions, love, sex, whatever.  Worship is always happening.  What makes it Christian or not is not whether Christians are doing it (since we all are, all the time), it is whether we are ascribing worth to Jesus the Christ.

I want us to think of evangelism in the same way.  If we think of evangelism as only being the words that we speak, we will spend an inordinate amount of time only worrying about whether our words are right.  But this necessarily allows our actions to remain completely unChristian.  And, in case you haven’t noticed, this is exactly what has happened in the Church: we talk a good talk and walk a terrible walk.  The result is what we call hypocrisy and it results in the exact opposite of the goal of evangelism: it pushes people away from God.

But what if we began to understand evangelism not just as the words we say, but the life we live as well – like worship?  Isn’t it true that even when we don’t speak, we are sending a message?  Whether we are cleaning up after kids, shopping for groceries, standing in line at the DMV or participating in a book club, we are always sending a message.  Sometimes, that message will be Christian and sometimes it will not, it all just depends on whether we are living like Christ or not.

Now, I want to make sure I note something here.  You’ve heard the St. Francis of Assisi quote:

Preach the Gospel always and, when necessary, use words.

Unfortunately, many have used this as justification to never talk about Jesus at all, but that is not what I’m trying to say.  What I’m saying is that Christian evangelism is the process of an integrated walk and talk, both to the glory of God.  If we are living our lives to the glory of God, not only will our actions reflect that reality, but so will our speech.

If we get this, and endeavor to live it out, it will make evangelism simultaneously easier and more difficult.  Easier because we won’t have to go into awkward conversation modes and more difficult because we will have to let our whole lives, and not just our speech, reflect Christ to others.

Participate: Over the next week, resist the temptation to go into awkward conversation mode, but embrace the opportunity to talk and live for the glory of God at all times.

Engage: Do a Google search for “Evangelism”. Read articles and blogs that talk about it. Reflect on whether they treat evangelism as something that is always happening. Look for ways to incorporate what you learn into a true 24/7 lifestyle of evangelism.

Own: In your next small group or Sunday school meeting, bring this subject up and explore as a group the ways you can practice Christian Evangelism.

What do you think?  Are there other common misconceptions about evangelism?

To some, this may seem like a ridiculous question and to others this question is of the upmost importance.  It is one that has recently been asked by an increasing number of Christians with the help of folks like Liberty Counsel and Focus on the Family.  Liberty Counsel recently released their “Naughty and Nice” list indicating which retailers do not recognize Christmas (“naughty”) and which do (“nice”) as part of their Friend or Foe campaign while Focus on the Family launched a new website allowing consumers to rate how Christmas-friendly retailers are.  That way, when we go shopping, we know it is going to be with a retailer who doesn’t offend us by saying “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings.”

After all, if we’re going to indulge our consumerist greed on the occasion of the birth of our Savior, we need to make sure we’re doing it with those retailers who say words we like, right?

Well, now that I’ve said that, you probably guessed that my answer to the question is, “No, we shouldn’t care.”  But if you’re on the other side of the fence, allow me to explain why I feel this way:

Only Pharisees Clean the Outside of Cups While Leaving the Insides Filthy

As I’ve noted elsewhere, Jesus and Paul were both surprisingly silent on how secular culture conducted itself.  Paul even went so far as to say that the Christian has no business judging those outside of the Church (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).  This exposes our faulty thinking.  You see, the only reason why we care about whether secular businesses say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” is because for some reason we expect non-Christians to act like Christians.  Even worse, we actually want non-Christians to act like Christians and are willing to throw around our collective weight to ensure that it happens.

So what’s the problem with that?  It is a self-defeating goal.  It is like tolerance…if it works, there is no reason to solve the real problem – in this case, their unbelief and/or their unwillingness to commit to Christ.  Jesus said that this was cleaning outside of the cup while leaving the inside (the part that matters) filthy.  He said that to the Pharisees (Matthew 23:25-26).  Do we really want to go down this road?

Boycotting Non-Christian Retailers Sends The Wrong Message

I’m surprised that neither Liberty Counsel or Focus on the Family ever stopped to ask this simple question, but that’s okay, I’ll ask it for them:

What message is being sent to those “naughty” retailers when Christians boycott their stores?

There are a few that come to mind: do what we want or else; if you don’t cater to us exclusively, we’ll take offense; we will love you if/we will hate you if; etc.  But guess which one isn’t being communicated?  That’s right, the Gospel message – you know, the one that says that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us?  The one that says that God loves us no matter what we do?  That the gift of salvation is readily available to anyone who will believe and repent, committing to follow Jesus and make him Lord?

You know, the one that we are to be preaching at all times, in all circumstances, to all people?

Turns out, when we’re busy boycotting people and throwing our weight around to ensure their demise, we cannot simultaneously communicate the love of God to them.  Now, I’m not saying that by giving them your money, you are communicating the Gospel to them.  I’m just saying that boycotting them doesn’t communicate it and it can’t.  At the very least, if you were to shop at one of these retailers, you could communicate the Gospel to the employees there and that could turn the business around.

Which brings another point to the forefront: just because a retailer doesn’t say “Merry Christmas” doesn’t mean there aren’t Christians employed there.  And if you’re boycotting the retailer, are you not also harming your brothers and sisters in Christ by ensuring the business, and by extension the employees, don’t make as much money?  We could be putting other Christians out of work for the sake of two words.

Is it worth it?

It Is A Distraction From Our Real Goal

Just after Jesus was resurrected he appeared to his disciples and gave them these instructions:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

I just cannot square this “Merry Christmas” uproar with the Great Commission.  I cannot see how boycotting retailers for not saying words we like is creating disciples.  Can you?  Can you tell me how this is advancing the Kingdom of God?  Can you tell me how God is pleased with us when we bully non-Christian retailers into “respecting” Christian beliefs to the exclusion of all others?  Can you tell me why Jesus would engage in this type of activity?

If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

What do you think?  Is the phrase “Merry Christmas” important enough for us to pick a fight about it?  Why or why not?

Today is World AIDS Day 2009.

The Church has, for the most part, done a terrible job of responding to the AIDS epidemic.  For a long time, we looked down our noses at the suffering and called it the justice of God come early.  More recently, we just became indifferent to the plight of the suffering.  Those with HIV/AIDS are in someone else’s backyard, like an invisible army that we can ignore until they finally go away.

That is…until we meet someone with AIDS.

Then we can’t ignore them.  We may not hate them, but we certainly find them to be somewhat curious.  How did she get it?  Sleeping around?  Was/is he homosexual?  Maybe she shared needles with someone.  Stupid. We cannot help but fill in the blanks.  And once we’ve done that, it’s a short step to judging them.  Sadly, judgment is our default.

And once again culture is one step ahead of us.  The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (the biggest AIDS/HIV medical provider in the nation) recently launched a billboard campaign in Los Angeles in an effort to get people to visit their website www.freeHIVtest.net where they can find a location to get a free HIV test and follow up with treatment, if needed.  Their marketing campaign is brilliant and their slogan is, “No Judgmental Bullsh*t.”  Obviously getting an HIV test often carries with it a significant amount of negative stigma and the AHF wants to reduce that factor as an obstacle to getting the test.

Their message is fantastic.  And I wish it were an advertisement for the Church.

It is not just AIDS, though.  As I noted in my last blog post, we Christians are notoriously judgmental, experts in pointing out the specks in others eyes while having logs in our own.  We are quick to point out how others are failing, but completely unable to see our own sin.

I get it, though.  I get why we often become judgmental.  We want to be sure that others know there are things out there that we disagree with.  The only problem is that we focus on those things almost exclusively.  We forget that being a Christian is not just characterized by the things we’re against, but also (and more importantly) by the things we are for.  Or at least it should be.

So, what should Christians be for?  Here are a few ideas:

• Justice – There are unjust practices all over the world from human trafficking to child slavery to corrupt governments.  Christians should actively seek to promote the undoing of those practices.
• Sacrifice – Yes, even American Christians are called to make sacrifices for the sake of others.  And if, when you give it up, it doesn’t hurt very much, it is not much of a sacrifice.
• Compassion – Have compassion on everyone, regardless of what they look like, what sorts of activities they engage in, or what they believe.  We should be non-discriminatory on this.
• Giving – Of our time, money, and resources.  We do not serve the Kingdom when we keep everything to ourselves.  Give yourself away.
• Truth – But not to the exclusion of everything else.  We need to learn how to stand firm in our beliefs without letting truth trump the other things we should be for.
• Humility – Being bearers of the truth does not give us license to lord it over others.  Ever.
• Love – Because everything else is summed up in these two commandments: love God and love your neighbor.  If you’re wondering what love looks like, see the above bullet points.

And, of course, we can be against one thing: judgment.

What would you add to the list of things Christians should be for?

P.S. Check out our most recent press release!

Thanksgiving is one of those days that Christians love to celebrate with themed sermons, decorations in fall colors, and potlucks with more turkey than anyone could ever want (along with your occasional bucket of fried chicken from the family that is always on the run).  And there’s one event that seems to happen around every table on Thanksgiving – it is that moment when someone chimes in and says, “Let’s all go around and say one thing we’re thankful for.”  It is not unusual for this to happen just before or just after prayer making it that much more torturous with your plate of delicious-smelling food sitting right under your nose.  But it happens…every time.

So why not re-enact that here at our virtual WordPress table?  I’ll go first:

I’m Thankful for the Decline of American Christianity.

Now before you jump to the comment form and rebuke me for my sin, allow me to explain why I am thankful for the decline of American Christianity

American Christianity Points Out Specks in Others’ Eyes

Jesus once said this:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?…You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3,5)

American Christianity has, by and large, been content to ignore Jesus’ instruction here choosing instead to point out the specks in everyone else’s eyes: homosexuality, abortion, explicit content in movies/music, evolution, secular entertainment, extramarital sex, etc.  Actually, I could go on for quite a while because that’s how good American Christians are at noticing others’ specks.

My friend, John, brought up an interesting point in response to my blog about tolerance.  Quoting  1 Corinthians 5:12-13, he said:

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

According to Paul, the church has no business judging those outside the faith (i.e. non-Christians), instead we are to judge those inside the church (i.e. ourselves).  And when we do, we’ll find that our ability to see others’ specks is blocked by the logs in our own eyes: greed, hypocrisy, judgment, idolatry, a hunger for power – well, that list goes on for a while, too.

American Christianity Doesn’t Preach the Gospel

You may find this to be a ridiculous statement considering the fact that thousands of churches across the country have people preaching from a pulpit every week…and you would be right, they are preaching.  But more and more, whatever it is that they are preaching, it is not the Gospel:

• The Gospel says that Jesus came to die as the ransom for our sins and that only through him can we have life.  Many preachers today say that Jesus came to give us the 7 secrets to get our best life now.
• The Gospel says that in order to be one Jesus’ disciples, you need to take up your cross and follow him.  Many preachers today say that we just need to say a prayer and the deed is done.
• The Gospel says that it is the poor, sad, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure, and peacemakers who are blessed.  Many preachers today say that it is the rich, happy, type-A, well-fed, go-getters who stir the pot that are used most by God.
• The Gospel says that if we follow Jesus we will be persecuted.  Many preachers today say that if we follow Jesus, he’ll protect us from any and all harm.
• The Gospel says that if we love others, we’ll lay down our lives for them.  Many preachers today say that if we love others, we’ll tell them all the ways they are wrong.

Is it any wonder that American Christianity’s numbers are on the decline?  The so-called “good news” that many of today’s preachers are peddling is the same self-serving, works-based religion that’s been around forever – and that’s not very good news.

American Christianity Is More American Than Christian

Remember that Bible verse that says, “God helps those who helps themselves?”  Out of curiosity, where is that, exactly?  I’ll wait a few minutes while you look that up…

Didn’t find it?  That’s because it is not in there.  But how often is that our mindset, the result of American capitalism seeping into our Christian ideology? It doesn’t stop there, though:

• Churches structure their services with entertainment in mind, offering  products and services with clever marketing techniques.
• Christian culture is its own cash-cow, producing products that are often knock-offs from the secular world.
• Christians are perhaps more political than any other group, seeking to throw the weight of their cumulative vote around in an effort to coerce secular society into Christian morality.
• We even have patriotic Bibles that show how God formed the American nation– an idea that stands in direct contrast to the teachings of Jesus and the early church who say that God formed the Church and that we are his people (unlike, for example, the nation-state Israel).

If American Christianity as I’ve outlined here is what Jesus came to die to form, we’re in a sorry state.  That’s why I’m thankful for its decline.  Perhaps now we can get about the business of building true Christianity.

Your Turn: What are you thankful for?  What are you NOT thankful for?

See our latest Press Release here.