Month: May 2005

Strange Bedfellows

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One way the Church in America is going to hurt the cause of Christ in the long run is if we are indiscriminate with our hitching of Christianity to politics. I have a serious issue with this because I suspect that one day the wagon of politics is going to roll right over the top of us Christians.

Beyond that, syncretism has destroyed more than one pastor, teacher, author, church or ministry over the years. In fact, I tend to believe that in this day and age syncretism of any kind is philosophically Enemy #1. Paul wrote:

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
—1 Corinthians 5:6 ESV

Syncretism sneaks in like a microbe and the next thing you know, everything’s been rotted from the inside out.Bush Fish Sticker

This is why I couldn’t believe this Web site or the product it is selling: Bushfish.org.

I keep on telling myself it’s a joke, but if it is, it’s not a very funny one. If it’s not, well…I like President Bush and I think he has been a good president, but this is just wrong. In this same vein, I saw some T-shirts and ball caps that had the name of Jesus printed out in a font that consisted of the American flag and it took just about every ounce of my self-control to keep from screaming.

We’ve got to be very wise. I think that Evangelicals especially have tried to wrap themselves in the robes of Christ’s righteousness and an American flag cloak at the same time, but we simply can’t wear both. Christians belong to a different nation altogether. There is no equivalence between being a citizen of Heaven and a citizen of the United States. One of those must come second—a distant second.

I am totally for our country-there’s never been a country like this one—but we simply can’t syncretize America and Jesus. He’s Lord of all, not just Americans, and being an American is not the magic pass key through the gates of Heaven. Love America a little, but love the Lord a whole lot.

To quote a famous line from an old TV show: “People, let’s be careful out there.”

So Men Want a Challenge?

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Recently, I wrote about issues facing men in our churches (or not in them, as the statistics point out), so I thought I would go over to the Church for Men site to see what men are saying about why they aren’t in church or why they feel the Church is not providing what men need. I’ve popped in there from time to time, and while I’m trying to take part in the conversation, I leave scratching my head.

If one factor defines that conversation, it’s the endless chorus of male voices chanting: “Men want a challenge!” Now this confuses me to no end because the list of challenges facing the Church is exceedingly long and certainly daunting if taken at face value. But I want to be game about this need that men have for a challenge, so I’m offering a challenge to every man out there:

Pray more than an hour a day.

That’s it. Nothing fancy or earth-shattering. But also nothing more needed or more missing in the lives of churches and the men in (or not in) them.

Can’t find anything to pray about for an hour? Then start asking everyone you see on a regular basis what they would like prayer for. Don’t make distinctions between Christians and non-Christians; ask everyone. Ask what their greatest need is and start compiling a list that you pray over every day. Soldier prayingThere’s not a human being alive who doesn’t need prayer. What can be more challenging than meeting a need that goes largely unmet in the lives of every person on the face of the planet?

If you find that’s still not filling up more than sixty minutes of your day, then ask God to open your eyes to every issue confronting your own church. Statistics say that most Christian teens are sexually active. Are you praying for the purity of the teens in your church? Christians tend to divorce at a rate not much less than the general public. Are you praying for the marriages of every couple in your church? Satan would like nothing more than divide and sift everyone in your church. Are you praying against the dark forces that seek to destroy every spiritual leader, every family, and every individual within your church down to the tiniest child ?

Okay men, there’s the challenge. Get back with me in a month and tell me how it’s going.

Two for Tuesday

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In light of my post from yesterday (“Witch Hunt“), I want to start a new periodic feature here on Cerulean Sanctum, “Two for Tuesday.” My aim is to open up the blog to readers to suggest two ideas for ministry or for solving intractable problems that face the Church, particularly in North America.

So if you’ve encountered a ministry problem that you have some answers for, please post the problem and your ideas for solving it.

2 for TuesdayIn keeping with the “two” idea, you can:

  • List one problem with two possible solutions, or…
  • List two problems and a solution for each.

Or if you are totally stumped for practical solutions to a problem you are personally struggling with, post it here and let us take a crack at it. One of the best uses of the Internet is to get great minds together to solve tough issues.

To get the ball rolling, here’s a problem to start with and two things we can do to help resolve it:

    Problem: There are many elderly people who have senses that are betraying them in their old age, particularly their eyesight. This can make the Bible hard to read. For those in nursing homes especially, there may be few options for reading the word of God on a regular basis without assistance.

    Solution #1: Donate a copy of the Bible on CD (and a CD boom box to play it) to your local nursing home. This could be done for less than $100 and yet it would continually enrich many people’s lives.

    Solution #2: Go down to the nursing home yourself and read the Bible to anyone who wishes to hear it. The nurses there are helpful with pointing out folks who would love this. And the best part of going yourself is that you might be able to lead someone to Christ or be blessed by the wisdom of an elderly saint.

So, who’s next?