A Bigger Boat or a Bigger Net?

In the classic movie Jaws we are formally introduced to the monster fish when he raises his mammoth head out of the water as Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is throwing fish food off the back of their rickety boat. Thus proceeds the sober quote by the traumatized chief, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Now allow me to jump ship here to another fishing boat, the church. Bigger churches are not bad, but bigger churches don’t necessarily catch bigger fish or more fish for that matter. The secret to a good fishing boat is not only what is seen above the water but the vast nets that are towed beneath the waves.

It is also important where we cast our nets so we don’t end up getting our lines tangled with other fishing boats. Basically, churches should not cast their nets into other churches.

Just last summer I was staying with friends right on the beach in North Carolina. I awoke one morning before the swimmers went out because I heard the gentle humming of the fishing trawlers over the breaking of the waves.

My first impression was one of solitude, but as I looked closely I could see that the small boat – nearly identical to the boat in Jaws – was dragging nets that were hundreds of meters long. And while the fish and the vast nets were unseen by the inattentive sunbathers strolling to the beach the fisherman’s gaze was fixed on them via some sonar-driven fish-finder.

This is a great picture of what the church should be, and if we see a big church then we would assume that the nets are vaster even reaching to other nations. A fleet of such church/fishing boats with disproportionally large nets would change the world, but unfortunately some large church-boats have become cruise ships with little or no nets at all. Some behemoths run into icebergs due to the captain’s pride and vanish beneath the waves with many lives wrecked or lost.

Nonetheless, let’s have bigger churches, fleets of churches, because the potential catch is disproportionally larger than the number of solitary fishermen trawling among the nations. And let us assure that the nets that we cast are even bigger.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4

Christianity: What Not To Wear

Nose rings, cup holders in our lips, tattoos, ties or a tattoo of a tie? Not long ago I had a conversation with a friend about Christians who have piercings and tattoos, and it seems that for some this theological question is the biggest thing on the heart and mind of God. Of course we were talking about young people and not our grandparents. What should church policy be on these issues?

Believe it or not I had faced the same theological dilemma over 30 years ago at my first baptism. (I have been baptized 3 times, but that is a hitherto unpublished post) My pastor at that time was a very godly preacher, but his short sleeved shirt on baptism day revealed a tattoo of a woman in a bathing suit dated to the 1940’s. He got it I think in the Navy during WW2. As a newborn 10 year old theologian I was shocked but have gotten over it. He went to be with the Lord last year, and he had a great influence on my life. It turned out that he was able to be a pastor and a Christian with that tattoo after all.

As a somewhat progressive church planter I am willing to try almost anything to reach the lost. I dislike ties except on formal occasions, and I have no desire or need to get a tattoo unless it is my phone number which I can never remember. I reach gothic kids now and try to dress a little cooler, but there is no need to dye my hair black unless it starts to turn gray. I considered wearing a spiked collar to fit in with the Goths, but at my age it might be misconstrued for the aberration of a more dominant lifestyle. I try to be myself, but I know others who for the right reasons are a little more progressive than I am. I lose no sleep over this.

From a cultural perspective the question of what to wear and what not to wear can be complex, but from a biblical context it is simple. All women in the US have seen the show What Not to Wear, and if you are a married man you have also been forced to watch it. Some poor soul is submitted to this show by his or her friends and family who think that they could use a change. Their unique daily dress & grooming styles or lack thereof are secretly filmed for a few days, and they are then presented with the evidence and an opportunity to change. BUT, they must get rid of the old, and some people religiously hold on to 20 year old styles, mullets and the like. It sounds like a few archaic church styles that I know of.

The concept of this show is not new. The spiritual version can be found in God’s Word:

What to take off: Eph 4:25-29

• Take off worldliness
• Take off selfishness
• Take off bitterness, unforgiveness, etc. 2 Tim 3:1-4
• Take off a religious spirit. 2 Tim 3:5

What to put on: Rom 13:12

• Put on the new self. Of course this means to take off the old self. Col 3:1-7
• The armor of God. This is a big one, but I would like to emphasize the footwear here. Eph 6:10-20
• Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This means to look like Jesus and not like us. Rom 13:10-14
• Put on love. Of course, a lot has to be removed to put this on.

Ultimately, God is concerned with the style of the heart and not the style of the clothing, hair or what part of our face we hang our dad’s extra fishing tackle. It is the heart that ultimately shows our life’s purpose or who is at the center of our lives. A heart that is properly clothed and focused on the will of the right person, namely Jesus, is prepared to be what Paul stated:

…I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 1 Cor 9:22

What determines your personal style, Kingdom purpose or just personal expression? The two sometimes line up but sometimes don’t.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:27-28

Darwin, Evangelism & Community

Throughout history there have been many explanations for various things from science to spiritual matters. It was once thought that ocean waves caused the wind, and since one always came with the other that seemed plausible (wind causes waves). When I was young I thought that cold water passed through a glass, but I now know that it is just condensation. I was also puzzled and annoyed that the underside of my pillow was always cooler than the top side. What was the mysterious source of heat on the top side? It turned out to be my head.

There are as many opinions on evangelistic methods as there are abandoned exercise machines in basements and attics. Some methods work in one church only to fail in another as do exercise machines for those who place their hope in the machine. There is no mystery with the exercise machines because some people really think that if they buy one of those machines that they saw models using on TV then they will lose weight even if they continue a sedentary lifestyle in front of the TV while eating TV dinners and watching infomercials about exercise machines.

The same is often true of outreach ideas. Churches buy into something new without realizing what really caused it to work in another church in the first place. They thought it was the new form, but it is often a hidden principle behind the form. In deciphering why some things really work I would like to look at just one element. Community.

While I lived in Asia I saw tremendous growth in our churches, and my friends in the west attributed this to a new method for small groups. They copied these methods which simply did not work for them. In Asia there was this one thing that was so much in plain sight that it was actually overlooked. Community. Everyone knew everyone, and believers still had many friends who were unbelievers. It was natural to simply invite someone to a group.

In the west community has all but vanished in many areas. In my home state of North Carolina people are very friendly and polite, but they don’t really know their neighbors. When churches in these areas buy into a new outreach idea such as small groups they find that they are immediately intimidated by the fact that they don’t really know anyone well enough to invite them to a group. They try the new outreach machine for a season, but upon finding out that it requires work to reach people they soon send the new model to the basement.

Fortunately for missionaries like me – and unfortunately I might add – we can rely on little in Christendom to help us reach the lost in unchurched societies. Attractional methods don’t work well, and people are suspicious of us. We are left with little recourse but to actually start from scratch and build community.

I am not speaking of Christian community though. I am talking about spending an extended season getting to know unbelievers, doing things together; serving them until the point they “invite us in”. This is the tipping point where real ministry can begin, but it only happens in proportion to the net of community that we have built.

This is one of the missing links in outreach, and there are no shortcuts. It takes time. It takes patience, and the only thing that helps us stay patient is to have a goal of reaching people rather than a goal of filling a church building on Sunday mornings. God will add people to the church if we do our part.

A few more random truths: I still like cool pillows, Evolution is just a story with no scientific mechanism, glass does not sweat, fasting does not eliminate toxins (your liver and kidneys do that), running your car on a full tank does not give better gas mileage and those TV models did not get those fabulous abs on those exercise machines that were invented just last week.

However, people sweat when they exercise, and it would not hurt the church to start a few evangelistic exercises and fast from spiritual junk food and Christian infomercials that clog the airways.

Resolute Action

In the swarm of a million possible self-help New Year’s resolutions I have tried to boil things down to just one that will make a difference in this world. A 20 minute extended baptism – also known as drowning – would have sent me straight to heaven and solved many of life’s problems, but there must be a reason that God wanted me to hang around this earth a few more years. The reason to stay is not to eat less, lose weight, make more, acquire more stuff, run faster, live longer, etc.

The goal is to reach people. My last post was a link to a Youtube video about why we should witness, and it was presented by an atheist. Since then I have continued our outreach activities but with a renewed urgency because I cannot escape the seriousness of Jesus’ command to make disciples.

I am a very shy person when it comes to witnessing, and that is because I don’t really like confrontation. However, this year I am resolute about one thing. I will confront many with whom I have been building friendships. I will do this in love, and some if not all will initially be offended or think I am a nut. There is no way around this though. I will just have to do it. If I don’t do this certain people might never be saved, but if I do it some and maybe many will be saved.

In order to accomplish this one thing I will also have to eat less, lose weight, make more, give more, have more strength, pray more, study God’s word more, be a better husband and dad, etc. This is a life built around a purpose, and that purpose is the advancement of God’s kingdom.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.
Prov 11:30

A Rebuke from the Lost

I am rarely as moved as I was when I listened to the Youtube link on Ed Stetzer’s blog site. It is a video clip from Penn who is one half of the magic-comedy duo Penn & Teller.

Penn is a rather strong atheist to say the least, but he has some rather surprising things to say about the heart of an evangelist. He actually appreciates it, and the words of an atheist in this case contain much valuable instruction.

In other news President-elect Obama has selected Rick Warren to lead the convocation at his inauguration. Liberals are shocked, and I think a few conservatives are as well. Why would Obama make such a move? Is it simply political? I think one reason is that honor begets honor. Rick held a very balanced civil forum between the two candidates at his church, so Obama might have just picked him for being a nice Christian.

See what Penn has to say about nice Christians in Ed’s Post: Prophetic Words from Penn

Doobie Brothers & Evangelism

One of the most puzzling questions in my mind has always been, “Where did the attractional model of evangelism come from?” It you are not familiar with this it basically means that a particular church has a particular worship or cultural expression that makes non Christians get up early Sunday morning, drop what they are doing and go to church.

As for me I have always wanted to put nails on the road in front of the church and then offer free tire repair as an attractional method. However, there may be a few ethical problems with this approach.

Of course I am all for churches trying to remove those things that make it unnecessarily unattractive such as archaic styles, but is it reasonable or even biblical to expect that the main method of evangelism is to get people to church?

When I was a new Christian there was a great expectation and hope that if we as a church were to return to our origins as found in the Book of Acts then the world would hear the commotion, come and check us out and then fall to their knees. Revival would then ensue. After all, isn’t that what happened in Acts 2 when the church was filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time? Many people came as a result of this, Peter preached his famous message and 3000 people were saved that day. Now that is something to write about!

Well, let’s do some math here. There were 120 Christians praying in the upper room of a house, and God showed up in great power. Then we read that this move of God attracted a lot of people, but it is unclear how many people or where they gathered. Next there is a debate among the nonbelievers as to what just happened – how did they get in the upper room? Then Peter makes his move with a powerful message.

I firmly believe that God used Noah to carry pairs and sevens of all animal life on the Ark, but I do not see how the first church fit over 3000 people in the upper room. I don’t even believe that Peter preached from the window. At some moment on this great day I believe that Peter took the discourse to the streets or to the community, and this is where the church often falls short in its understanding of evangelism.

We may indeed experience great moves of God within our insulated Christian communities, but does the result of these experiences ever make it to the streets? I fear that the answer is very seldom.

The real attractional model is to go to where the people are and shine: the streets, the community, the workplace, the university. Don’t let the church building become a basket.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matt 5:14-16

Lord of the Harvest

In a recent post “Here I Am, Send Me” I talked about the spiritual process necessary to inspire men and women to want to join God in His mission for this world. That mission is commonly called The Great Commission, and the word “commission” already gives us a hint as to how it all gets going. The Great Commissioner is the starting point, and He is Jesus, the Lord of the harvest.

However, I still find myself leaning on human understanding as to how I can motivate people to go – actually for me it is to “come” to Ukraine. I can use multimedia and tourism methods that show how beautiful Ukraine is, but the novelty will wear off once someone has ridden enough times with 50 people in a bus that was built for 25. Winter here will also send you packing unless something other than adventure is the motivation.

Ukraine is not unique in this aspect because all who seek to increase the number of missionaries on the field are in the same proverbial boat – seemingly without a net I might add. How can we better motivate people? To that question I have discovered a truth that is so simple it is often drowned out by the background noise of human missionary activity.

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:2

First and foremost the harvest is presided over by Jesus. He is not only Lord of our lives, but He is Lord over the harvest. This implies that this realm called the harvest is His work place, and He governs everything from the finances, sowers, reapers and fishermen to the wheat & fish (people) who are brought into His kingdom.

Second is that He is more aware of the need than we are. He loves the lost more than we do, and He does not rest in His labor while there are nations that are still outside the saving grace of His kingdom.

Third is that He asks us to ask Him to send more workers. This is very odd indeed from my point of view. It is one of the few times in scripture where God tells us in detail what is needed, and then tells us to ask Him for it. I believe that another reason He confines the sending of new leaders to the simple process of our asking Him is that He wants to keep missions as a work of grace that glorifies Him and not the talents and abilities of men. In this context anyone can be a missionary, not just talented people!

Finally, there is a peaceful rest in this one verse for all Christians who love God and the harvest. Our responsibility is before God and not before ever-demanding man who too often only wants results at any cost. We need to simply ask Him in faith for workers and go on our way faithfully preaching the gospel and equipping those who have heeded the call to serve. It is God’s responsibility to do the commissioning and sending. Ps 127:1,2

I preached a message based on my post “Here I Am, Send Me” last week at a conference in Novodnistrovsk, Ukraine. One young woman – the daughter of one of the pastors – came up to me afterwards and said she wanted to join our church planting team. She said that God warmed her heart as I was sharing. Another young youth leader also wants to join me in about a year. I did not know these people, but God did. He knows many more, so let’s join together and ask Him for the very thing that He wants us to ask Him. We can’t go wrong in this.

Here I Am, Send Me!

In June of 1993 I experienced a sound that to this day I have not forgotten. I did not simply hear it, but I actually experienced it. The sound was the whizzing of an electric motor followed by a kerplunk. It was the sound of the landing gear closing on the plane as we left Raleigh, NC on our way to start a church in Lviv, Ukraine. I had quit my job a few months earlier, and the sound of the landing gear closing was like a giant umbilical cord being severed. All that was safe and secure was cut off, and our future was literally in the air. We were being shot from a cannon, and since we were some of the original missionaries at that time the net on the receiving end was not yet in place. The method of sending in those days was “Ready, Shoot, Aim”, and I felt ill-prepared for the task ahead.

Every missionary has their own version of this story, and I was reminded of our story just recently after I returned from a missionary pastors’ retreat in Warsaw, Poland. One of the common themes discussed was the lack of people who were willing to go to the mission field. “How could we generate more interest?” was my constant thought. The harvest was fruitful in many places, so how could we promote the need? Is there a better way to do this? What can possibly motivate someone to rip themselves up from their roots and choose such a path? The answer was elusive until I recollected how I was originally motivated towards missions.

I honestly would not have picked myself for a mission team in those days, and I often felt like a football player whose position was third-string bench. When all the other players were injured the coach would probably look in the bleachers for replacements before sending me in the game.

Still, I was the one that went, and this is the case with most missionaries. The secret of what motivated us is not found in methods and slick presentations, but it is found in God. We are ordinary people with ordinary giftings who simply had an extraordinary encounter with God. Something had gripped us to such a degree we could not let it go.

Isaiah was a man of God and a prophet, and something quite profound happened to him that I consider to be the motivation and basis of all true mission endeavors. The first thing was that he saw God, and he saw Him in all His glory. Heaven opened and shook beneeth his feet as the praises of God and of His holiness proceeded forth from all the angels. This scene struck the prophet: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Is 6:5

Isaiah was acutely aware of his spiritual condition, and he was also aware that not only was he polluted by sin, but the whole nation did not stand a chance before the holiness of God. In much the same way all true missionaries are acutely aware that they live in a world that is under the judgment of God. The renowned missionary Hudson Taylor even published statistics of how many thousands of Chinese entered a godless eternity every day, and this motivated him and a whole generation to literally lay down their lives to reach these dear people. Radical compassion and identification with lost people were and are essential for a missionary.

Isaiah also let God remove his own sin and guilt. The circumstances of this are rather incredible because it shows just how serious the sin issue was as angels took a hot coal from the altar of God to bring to him and touch his lips. Imagine the terror of the moment. The angels could not touch the coal themselves, and Isaiah was already laid waste by the presence of God. However, even as God’s holiness and judgment touched him he was not injured. Instead, his sin was removed. His guilt was gone, and he could not only stand before God but he could answer a specific question that was forthcoming.

Now came the call, and the call was not from angels or from man. It was from God. “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Is 6:8 Even before God could tell Isaiah where he would be sent or what he would be doing Isaiah jumped in response, “Here am I. Send me!” Is 6:8 God then sent him to those same people of unclean lips, “Go and tell this people…” Is 6:9

There you have it, and to this day the preparation of any missionary is unaltered. They have a revelation of God, His holiness and their own inability to stand before him. They also understand His goodness, His greatness and power on behalf of those who believe. As for me I grew up knowing about the historical Jesus, but when He revealed to me that He was King of kings and Lord of lords I soon abandoned my kingdom and goals for His.

Those who heed the call understand that their sin and guilt have been graciously taken away by the work of Jesus on the cross. They cannot keep this secret like some absurd personal faith, but are compelled to make it known.

They hear the call like it is a personal call, but it is most interesting that God did not say, “Isaiah, will you go?” He asked, “Whom shall I send?” The call is open to all who have ears to hear and understand.

I for one am a strong advocate for understanding that we are all missionaries where we are, and after a bumpy beginning of “Ready, Shoot, Aim” I can attest that practical equipping is essential. However, the lack of interest that I see in foreign missions and the lack of a spark in the eyes of Christians when I talk about this need greatly trouble me.

As leaders we must drive people to the presence of God, and once they have met Jesus and continue to walk with Him they will be able to hear the call. Then sending people will be more like pulling a plow behind 50 race horses and less like coaxing mules with carrots.

Listen, hear & volunteer!

No More Poop?

We have a new dog. For those of you who are parents with pets that first sentence should be enough to evoke sympathy. My family wanted a dog, and after having parakeets, fish, a real parrot and a large rodent (guinea pig) we have graduated to a real pet who can actually return affection. The parrot was actually a puppy in disguise, but have you ever tried petting a fish?

The dog’s unofficial name is poo-er which is a contraction meaning “one who poops”. Pastor Igor’s mother in law, Nadia, gave us the dog. Pooer’s mom, snoopy, belongs to Igor’s family, but it conveniently lives with Nadia. I asked Igor if he wanted the dog back, and he said that he would accept ownership as long as the dog continues to live in Kiev. Igor is infinitely wise.

After two months of cleaning up small reservoirs and landmines from our living room floor every morning today is the first morning that pooer neither pooped nor sprung a leak during the night. Hurrah!

However, the victory was short-lived; we now have kittens! Apparently they were living under the front porch, and they emerged for food when their mom did not show up to make dinner. Well, we will not have pet cats for several reasons. First of all, I don’t like them. Second, my family is allergic to cats. If you would like a cat then pay me a visit, stick around for coffee, tea or to help us plant this church.

This whole episode reminds me of discipleship, and if you get upset that I am going to compare Christians to pets then you will just have to get over it. God calls us sheep, and I for one could be compared to a dog chasing cars and turning over trashcans before I was saved – spiritually speaking of course.

Many of us have also pooped on the floor a few times – spiritually speaking again – as new believers. Our friends and leaders just put a clothes pin on their noses and patiently cleaned up after us hoping that we would eventually get a breakthrough. Once we think we have made progress with new believers along come kittens – more new people – to complicate things. More work!

However…Even though life can be messy where would life be without lives? My family loves these pets. We are having a lot of fun. Also, where would God’s kingdom be without new life, new people, messy people who need discipleship, lost people – stray souls – who need a home? The church would be a clean house, but it would also be an empty house.

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. Matt 18:12-14

Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. Pr 14:4

Great World Religions or How to Give Yourself CPR

Salvation by works has often been compared to saving yourself from drowning. Many religions essentially teach that they can give proper swimming techniques in the midst of a vast ocean of personal depravity. Of course, they move you closer to the shore and decrease the depth of the water. In other words, they teach that you are not really that lost, and if you are not that lost then you do not need a savior. You just need a guide or a teacher.

Those who call themselves Christians often fall into a similar trap in their understanding of keeping God’s laws. They imply that these laws are also instructions to at least “keep us saved”. However, swimming instructions written on stone tablets are not the best thing to throw someone who is still in deep water. The deep water I speak of is the propensity of the flesh to steer left like a grocery cart with a bent wheel. It does this when God’s law steers right. Rom 7:7-25 Denying this is like trying to hold a beach ball under water in a pool. It will come up somewhere.

The religions of man have it all wrong; we are not drowning at all! We are actually already dead, spiritually dead that is. Scripture teaches us that we are all dead in our sins and that none of us seeks after God. Eph 2:1-10; Rom 3:9-20 The absurdity of saving oneself in this predicament is the same as thinking a drowned man can administer CPR to himself. He is utterly helpless. Yes, we do have a responsibility to hear and repent, and “NO” this is not a Calvinist argument about total depravity. We are dead in our sins, but a totally depraved person grazes naked in the field with cows. Sorry for that tangent.

Jesus had an interesting way of bringing religious people to an understanding that they needed salvation. He did not bring in grace at first unless people were humble. He brought in the law. He reinforced the fact that the tablets of the law were weightier that the Pharisees thought. He pressed this until the hearer exclaimed, “Who then can be saved?” This is when He introduced grace and mercy because it was only then that it could be appreciated.

One of the evangelistic mistakes that we often make in communicating the gospel to people of other religions is trying to explain the person & ministry of Jesus before they see their need for salvation. Even though our postmodern world rejects moral absolutes many world religious still accept them. In these cases we can establish a degree of righteousness using their own standards that brings in self doubt. We can then bring in the gospel that brings a correct fear of God. The terror of an inescapable judgment is actually desirable. It is not popular, but facing the Dark Night of the Soul puts a person in the best position of understanding the hope of trusting in the finished work of Christ.

As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:14-17