The Prince goes to church

A Machiavellian Primer on Church Growth

• The greatest moral good is the preservation of the church (denomination).
  
• Any actions to preserve the church (denomination), no matter how cruel, are always justified.
  
• The only real concern of the pastor (denominational leader) is the acquisition and maintenance of power.
  
• The pastor (denominational leader) must do whatever is necessary to keep his power.
  
• The pastor (denominational leader) should seek to be feared and loved, but it is more important to be feared than to be loved.
  
• During a siege a pastor (denominational leader) will "keep the morale of his subjects high while removing all dissenters."
  
• The authority of the organization must be supported by a show of power that makes obedience inevitable.
  
• While the pastor (denominational leader) comes to power by his own initiative, skill and talent, it is useful to convince others that he is under divine appointment.
  
• Most followers do not want freedom. They want security. The few who want freedom can be bought off with honors or eliminated.
  
• A pastor (denominational leader) must contrive to earn for himself the reputation of a great leader.
  

It may seem to some that these principles are extreme. But let me reassure you that they are practiced in many places within the western church. While they are never stated so explicitly, these principles are currently being taught in leadership books and seminars.

Just as sports fans are ultimately responsible for the absurdly high salaries of star athletes, consumer Christians are complicit in maintaining this situation. They flock to the church or denomination that has the most visible trappings of success. They ignore the machinations of the leaders because "they are doing so much good."

God have mercy on us.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

He Gets It, He Really Gets It

I hear people using the word "missional" as if it is a style of ministry or a new technique of church growth.

Very few have any idea what the concept is. But here's a guy who gets it. And he's not even a pastor.

It's real easy to love The People. It's much more difficult, much more challenging, much more exhausting, much more a test of the heart to love actual people: The people who work for you. The people in your home. The people who slip you a heart-rending note when you're getting ready to impress The People.

Ministry is loving people you didn't handpick.

So here's to those with pastoral hearts, who love each inconvenient human around them -- each person who offers nothing but a mess. Blessed are those pastors, for theirs is not an ego trip.

May his tribe increase!

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

A Taste of the Slow Life

Traffic in Italy may be hectic, but most other parts of Italian life are much more laid back. And one of the most relaxed aspects is eating.

Preparing and consuming food is an art.

It is no coincidence that Italy is the home of the Slow Food Movement.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods.
To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.
A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.
May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.
Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food.
Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food.
In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer.
That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it.

Slow food is a way of life in Italy.

Most people (in Termini Imerese at least) eat lunch at home. About 1:00 in the afternoon, shops close, schools let out and business executives head home.

The traditional meal begins with pasta. After that is finished and the plates are cleared, the meat course is served. This is often accompanied by a simple salad made with lettuce, oil, lemon and salt. The final course is fresh fruit.

On special occasions, the process is even more elaborate and deliberate.

I enjoyed such an experience one Sunday at a family celebration. The table was set up outside on a patio. Antipasti were set out about 12:30. We stood around chatting and snacking on olives, nuts and cheese.

About a half hour later we took our places around the table and were served bow-tie pasta with freshly-grated parmesan cheese.

The empty plates were taken away. And the table was loaded with various meat and vegetable dishes: roast beef, sausage, eggplant, spinach, baked pastry made with cheese and spinach, involtini, potatoes and carrots.

We leisurely sampled all the dishes until we were fully satisfied.

The tabled was deliberately cleared.

Then fresh strawberries were served.

We sat and talked for about half an hour.

Then at about 3:30, a couple of cassatas were brought out along with other dolce.

The conversation continued for quite a while longer.

Here's an example of the relaxed atmosphere: As we were talking, the wind blew a plastic cup onto the ground. No one moved. In fact, everyone continued on as if it hadn't happened. I had to resist the urge to reach down and pick up the cup. Finally, several minutes later, I picked it up and put it back on the table, without a pause in the conversation or even a glance from anyone.

Of course, this was a special occasion. Every meal is not this deliberate. But the regular pranzo (lunch) is usually followed by riposo (a nap).

May we all learn to slow down and enjoy all the blessings of God's creation.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Outta My Way!

Imagine a city of 30,000 people without a single traffic light.

Termini Imerese, Italy, is such a place. (I'm here teaching English as a second language.)

You might think that this is because everyone walks everywhere and uses public transportation. But this hilly Sicilian town has as many cars per capita as any American town. And when you add in all the scooters, there is just about one vehicle for every person over the age of 14.

So how do they manage with thousands of vehicles and no trafic lights?

Life on the streets of Termini is a constant game of "chicken."

They do have stop signs. And they look exactly like the ones in the USA. But I think "STOP" translates into Italian something like "Slow down slightly and just keep going."

Every intersection becomes a contest of wills.

The strategy seems to be to startle the driver of an approaching car so that he taps the brake which gives you just enough room to nose out into the street. And then you take your time crossing or turning into the oncoming traffic.

The goal does not seem to be to keep the vehicles flowing smoothly, nor does it seem to be to arrive at your destination as quickly as possible. The goal seems to be to impose your will on the others.

For example, say you want to make a left turn and two cars are coming toward you with a large gap behind the second car. Efficiency would dictate that you wait for the second car to pass and then turn. But the Italian driver invariably cuts off the second car and waits for it to come to a complete stop. Only then does the driver make a deliberate left turn.

Liberal use is made of the horn, but not in the way it is used in New York City.

Only occasionally is the horn used to say, "What were you thinking?" Usually it means, "Attenzione! I'm coming through."

This game is not only for cars. Scooters and pedestrians can play as well.

Scooters weave in and out of traffic and obey the rules of the road even less than cars. Pedestrians step out into traffic and leisurely stroll to the other side of the street.

The fun continues on the sidewalk. People walk straight at each other expecting the other person to give way. A favorite maneuver is "two against one." Two people walk side-by-side on the narrow walk, preferably arm-in-arm. The single person is then forced to step aside into the street.

The point of all this seems to be to establish who is more important.

In America we play this game in less obvious ways.

Pastor Rod

Breasts Are Growing

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Americans spent $12.4 billion on plastic surgery in 2007, up 9% from 2006.

The number of procedures increased as well. Nearly 12 million were performed in 2007. That's up 7% from 2006 and up 59% from 2000.

The most popular surgical procedure was breast augmentation with 348,000 performed in 2007, up 6% from 2006. This is a 97% increase from 2000.

"The report tells me Americans are devoted to looking and feeling their best," said Richard A. D'Amico, MD, ASPS president.

It tells me something considerably different.

And the popularity of breast implants is growing among teens. According to ABoardCertifiedPlasticSurgeonResource.com:

The number of women under the age of 18 who underwent teen breast implants surgery more than tripled between 1992 and 2002. In 2002 alone 3,095 girls underwent a teen breast implants procedure, compared to 3,841 girls in 2003 who received teen breast implants. This is 24 percent increase in the number of girls who seek teen breast implants.

There are several perspectives from which to respond to this trend. One of them is cultural.

We live in a society that is obsessed with sex and with appearance.

But this is not unique to North America.

According to a report by Reuters, girls in Venezuela are receiving breast implants for their 15th birthdays.

In Europe, ABC News reports that girls can now play an online game where they try to turn their avatar into "the most famous, beautiful, sought-after bimbo across the globe." They send their "bimbo" to tanning salons and give them "boob jobs." The UK version has more than 200,000 players after only two months. The French version, started last year, already has 1.2 million users.

Evans said that before now, he'd never considered the possible negative impact that game could have on young teens, and told ABCNews.com that he and his business partner are "looking into" the critics' claims.

Players use "Bimbo Money" to buy diet pills, a gym membership or an apartment. They can acquire the currency by playing games such as Sudoku or by sending a $3 text message.

And this pressure is not only experienced by women. Men are bombarded with spam telling them that their worth is determined by the size of their genitals.

But the real issue here is spiritual.

We are desperately searching for meaning and significance.

We tell ourselves that we would be happy if only…

• We earned more money
  
• We looked better
  
• We had the latest fashions
  
• We could "hook up" with some hot person
  
• We lived in a bigger house
  
• We were more popular
  
• We reduced our golf handicap
  
• We could improve our Technorati ranking
  
• We could win the lottery
  
• We could look younger
  
• We could lose weight
  

But, of course, none of these can supply what's lacking.

This is not a new thing. The prophet Isaiah addressed this a few thousand years ago:

Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live (Is 55:1-3).

Most Christians read passages like this and think it is talking about getting signed up for heaven.

The sad truth is that most of us Christians do not experience significantly more joy, peace or contentment in our lives than those who do not claim to trust in God. This is because we are chasing after the same things as everyone else.

We really don't believe that God can be trusted to provide for our happiness.

We know that we have to depend upon God's grace. And we know that we have to trust him for the big stuff. But we aren't "foolish" enough to eliminate our other options.

Of course, we would never deny God or turn our backs on him. He's an "ever present help in time of trouble." He makes an excellent safety net.

But we still spend our "money on what is not bread." And we invest our "labor on what does not satisfy." We just try not to let it get out of control.

All things in moderation—and that includes our trust in God.

We've dismissed Jesus' words as impractical:

Do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Mt 6:31-33).

We live by the principle that God helps those who help themselves—and toss him a prayer every once in a while.

• What would happen if we took Jesus seriously?
  
• What would happen if we really trusted God and not just talked about it and sang about it?
  
• What would happen if we ever finally understood what grace is?
  

Let's set our sights a little higher. What if we started operating our churches as if we could really trust God?

Nah. That'll never work.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

14 Ways to Increase Your Empathy

Empathy may be the most important skill we possess as humans. Much depends on our ability to connect with others, to identify what they are thinking and feeling.

Some people are better than others at this. Women tend to outshine men in this area.

But whatever your current expertise, here are 14 things you can do to improve your empathy.

1. Listen more, talk less. The most reliable way to know what other people are thinking and feeling is to listen to them when they are talking. When you are talking, they are not. Just by talking less, you can dramatically improve your empathy.
   
2. Stop interrupting. When people are comfortable with each other, they feel safe in interrupting during conversation. However, cutting off the other person gets in the way of empathy. People feel more understood when they are allowed ample space to state their opinion. Conversation is not always about efficiency.
   
3. Don't finish sentences. When you think you know what other people are going to say, you are tempted to finish their statements. This is partially prompted by a desire for efficiency and partially by a wish to demonstrate an understanding of the other's thoughts. But this practice actually gets in the way of empathy. It is better for people to tell you what they feel than for you to tell them what they feel. Besides we rarely understand others as well as we think we do.
   
4. Don't give advice. Resist the temptation to fix the problems people tell you about. When you give them advice, it has the result of minimizing their feelings. Sometimes, almost all the time, all people want is for someone to listen to their concerns. If they really want advice, there will be plenty of time to unload your great wisdom after they have had ample time to express their emotions.
   
5. Ask good questions. Ask short, open-ended questions. Don't interrogate them. Most of your questions will be answered if you will just wait.
   
6. Give focused attention. When others are talking, give your full attention. Notice their body language. Make eye contact. Indicate interest with your own body language.
   
7. Slow down. Don't be in a hurry. If you really must end the conversation at a specific time, let the other person know in advance. But then give yourself fully to the conversation. Most of the other things you "really need to do" you don't really need to do. Many time pressures are self-imposed.
   
8. Acknowledge your own feelings. The better you understand your own feelings, the better you will be able to understand the feelings of others.
   
9. Genuinely care about others. If you really care about people, it will show. You cannot fake empathy. If you try to fake it, you will be exposed.
   
10. Read good fiction. Well-written stories will help you to identify with people who are different than you are. This will develop you empathy "muscle."
    
11. Visit other cultures. We tend to be blind to our home cultures. When we visit other cultures, it helps us to see our own in a different light.
    
12. Ask people about their feelings. Sometimes the best approach is the direct one. Ask people what they think and what they feel. You may think you know, but assumptions can be dangerous. Besides, people sometimes figure out what they are feeling when they talk about their emotions.
    
13. Care for pets and babies. Very young children and dogs can only communicate with nonverbal signals. To understand what they want, you will need to interpret these signals.
    
14. Participate in theater. Drama requires you to imagine that you are someone else. It is excellent practice for empathy.
    

The bottom line is that if you care about people you will find a way to demonstrate it.

Tell me what you think. What have you found to be effective in developing empathy?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

e-Greed

I have been frustrated for some time by the short-sighted mindset of book publishers.

This mindset seems to be a combination of "this-is-how-we've-always-done-it" thinking and greed. Of course, this phenomenon is not limited to Christian publishers. But it does seem to be especially egregious when done "in the name of Christ."

I do not object to individuals or companies making a profit. I believe that it is an honorable thing to provide something of value to the world and to be financially rewarded for those efforts. But I do have a problem with exploitation and "price gouging."

What makes the current situation in e-publishing particularly frustrating is that the publishers are working against their own long-term interests.

We've seen Hollywood's resistance to new technology create confusion and stagnation in the entertainment industry. The music industry has also contributed to the chaos of digital rights management.

I also believe that our current copyright laws need to be redone to reflect the present state of technology.

But even without any change to the copyright statute, book publishers are missing out on an amazing opportunity to take advantage of today's digital "revolution."

With the invention of the printing press, books quickly went from a luxury item affordable only to a few wealthy individuals or institutions to an inexpensive medium for the transmission of and "democratization" of vast new fields of knowledge.

The Reformation could never have happened without the new world of publishing made possible by the printing press. It is hard to imagine the Industrial Revolution ever gathering any "steam" as long as books needed to be copied by hand. The Scientific Revolution was an effect of the print technology "cause."

"In just three years, between 1517 and 1520, Martin Luther's 30 publications probably sold more than 300,000 copies."

Before the printing press, a handwritten Bible might take a single monk 20 years to transcribe. In 1424, Cambridge University library owned only 122 books, and each of them cost the equivalent of a small farm. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, by 1500 there were more than 9 million books in Europe.

Imagine what would have happened if William Caxton had marketed his edition of The Canterbury Tales with this approach:

You can purchase your own copy of the ribald tales in Chaucer's masterpiece. The hand-copied edition would set you back a lifetime of earnings. But now you can buy this work produced by the new printing press at a substantial discount. For a mere five-years' salary you can order your personal edition. Once enough individuals sign up for this pre-publication offer, we will begin setting the type.

That's enough historical reflection. Now for my rant.

Disclaimer: What follows in my experience and my opinion. I do not claim that this company is alone guilty of the practices and attitudes I mention. Nor do I claim that it is the worst offender.

Some time ago, I purchased the Scholar's Library: Gold from Logos Bible Software. Its current price is $1379.95.

As I recall, that's the same price that I paid. It was a lot of money. But I thought it was a good investment.

The concept is appealing.

1. Electronic books require no shelf space (something that I have less and less of).
   
2. I can search all my books by topic or Bible reference.
   
3. I can do research much more efficiently than with printed books.
   

Since my initial purchase, I have bought one additional book: The Hermeneutical Spiral by Grant Osborne. I had thought about buying the print edition, and the electronic edition was slightly cheaper. But I've gotten little use out of the book in the six month's I've owned it.

Well, I don't really own the book. I have a copy of it on my hard drive, but I can only access it from the Logos software and only on this one computer.

In December, I received an e-mail of an offer that was "too good to be true." For a mere $395.95 I could "own" $6,000 worth of books (300 individual titles). Of course, the value is calculated by what I would have to pay to get print editions of these works. Also, as an owner of the Scholar's Library Gold package, I already have several of them (about one-third). Oh, and I have to buy before December 31, 2007. Any CDs not sold by then will be destroyed and never offered again. And in case I have a slight shortage of cash, I can go on the installment plan starting at $55 dollars a month.

They include a little disclaimer that sounds like it was written by the Payday Advance Loan people:

The payment plan is a budgeting tool which can be used wisely or irresponsibly—"choose wisely". Don't use a payment plan or buy products you can not afford. While we would love everyone to buy all our books, we do not want people to go into debt because of us or abuse a payment plan.

Did I mention that several of the books most people would never buy unless they were included in a "package deal"? And a few of them appeared to be the public domain.

I don't have to buy it. By not buying it I am not harmed in any way. The value of my previous purchase does not diminish if I pass on this "upgrade."

So what's my problem with this offer?

For starters, it sounds like I'm being sold a used car.

Things like "offer good only" until December 31, leftover product will be destroyed, never be offered again, installment plan.

Second, the price of the print editions is irrelevant.

Only a fraction of the retail price of a printed work goes to the author. The remainder goes for production and distribution costs. Eventually, the production and distribution costs of an electronic product are zero. Yes, the books have to be created in the electronic format, but this only has to be done once. Even new editions can be produced with virtually no work. And customers can download electronic books at an insignificant cost to the publisher.

Third, these "special offer" prices should be the regular prices.

If they can afford to sell these books at the "one time offer" price, they could sell them forever at the same price. Every additional copy is pure profit, once the royalties are paid.

This whole electronic publishing thing could be revolutionary.

What if I could convert my own documents into the same format and add them to my purchased collection?

Surprise, I can do just that with the Personal Book Builder.

For a mere $89.95 I can buy software to convert my own documents. But wait, the license is good only for one year. And no one else can use the documents I create. I can't even use them unless I access them on the very same computer on which they were created.

Of course there is the Personal Book Builder—Standard Edition. It will set me back $249.95. And it's also only good for one year. What's more, I cannot "sell" my documents to anyone else. I can only distribute them for free. If I want to sell them, I must buy a different (more expensive) license and pay additional processing fees.

Even with this software, converting my own documents is a complex process involving several steps.

And then, only Logos customers who own one of the "seven boxed products" will be able to read my work.

Have these guys heard of Adobe Acrobat?

Their business model seems to be based on protecting their ability to charge premium prices for their software and electronic "books." The irony is that they would be able to make significantly more money if they weren't so greedy. Of course, they are not the only ones who are greedy here. The print publishers are trying to hang on to their stranglehold of the market. They find themselves the owners of electronic rights that they

• Claimed for books they had published before there was such a thing.
  
• Tricked unsuspecting authors into giving away.
  

And they are selling these works at a price point that is designed to protect the printed product, a price point that gives them (but not the author) an obscene percentage of profit.

The truth is that traditional publishers are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Instead of positioning themselves to add real value in a new world, they are trying to slow down technological progress.

Someday, someone will provide a low-cost, high-value channel for publishing and purchasing electronic works. Whoever does will become ridiculously wealthy. And I'll be able to say, "I told you so."

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Put the Credit Card Away

I've noticed with some concern how parents feel enormous pressure to spend money they don't have on their children at Christmas.

Brant Hansen provides a gentle word of advice for those parents.

It's time that the Church made a stand against this materialistic, consumeristic tradition. Let's quit spending so much money on our children (and ourselves.) Let's quit buying expensive toys for the kids in our Adopt a Family programs. Let's refuse to buy anyone a gift card.

I'm not against gifts.

Gifts are great. But the boxes we wrap at Christmas aren't real gifts.

Among other things,

• Real gifts are especially suited for the recipient.
  
• Real gifts are not made in expectation of a return gift.
  
• Real gifts are unexpected, surprising in some way.
  

Give your family, your friends and yourself permission to get off the Christmas gift escalator.

Good grief, how did we get to the place where a Lexus is a reasonable Christmas gift?

Whether you are "that guy" or not, you don't need to buy your wife a diamond.

American retailers are not going to come by your house in February and help you make your credit card payment.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Pastor, It’s Not About You

Sometimes as pastors we get the idea that everything depends upon us.

William Martin has written an excellent book, The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections, to disabuse us of this notion.

If you are a pastor, or know one, you need to read this little paperback. It only has 81 pages. And some of those have considerable white space. But this book is crammed full of wisdom.

Here are a few quotations:

A wise pastor does not inspire the people with grand visions for the visions will become idols. A prudent minister will not call attention to achievement for that will separate the people into "achievers" and "non-achievers."

You are not a pastor so that you can give birth to your own dreams.

Live modestly. Keep your thinking serene and simple. Bestow grace upon yourself and others. Never try to control your congregation. In your vocation, do that which you most enjoy.

Take a long, prayerful, meditative look at your calendar. Who are you trying to impress? God? Give me a break. The congregation? Possibly. Yourself? Bingo!

When your congregation despises you, it is a great sorrow. When your congregation holds you in awe, it seems somewhat better. When your congregation praises you far and wide, it seems even better still. But when your congregation hardly notices that you exist, you have become a pastor.

If you want to bring health to your people, show that you are wounded. If you want them to do what is right, show that you have done wrong. If you want them to be filled with God, show that you are empty. If you want them to have life abundant, show them how to die.

How blessed are the countless thousands of little congregations who quietly go about the business of giving their modest gift to the world. For the souls of those pastors whose congregations are large and powerful, we pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy.

There are powerful illusions that hinder the working of the Word through a pastor:
The illusion that there is something to achieve.
The Illusion that there is something to lose.
The illusion that there is something to do.

How would you pastor if you could not speak? How would you love the parish if you were immobilized in bed? If you can answer these questions, you know the truth of your calling.

For all your belief in the grace of God, you seldom apply it to yourself.

Perhaps the greatest spiritual temptation facing a pastor is the pressure to provide "leadership."

You are not a professional religious person. You are a soul, naked before God like all other souls. Let go.

A congregation does not exist to fulfill the needs of its pastor. You are not the dreamer of your people's dreams, nor are they the characters in your life's play.

Do yourself a favor and click the link to Amazon. Buy a copy of this book and study it.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Addicted to “Success”

Western culture is obsessed with its image of success. Professional sports teams fire their coaches because they don't win championships. Businesses "need to show earnings growth to satisfy both equity analysts and investors." Even scientists succumb to the pressure to succeed and fudge the results of their research.

One doesn't need to engage in extensive investigation to discover that the same disease has infected the Church.

We must break with the big is better mentality of the Western world and learn the foolishness of the cross of Jesus, which says, "Small is beautiful." We must courageously open ourselves to the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit in order to increase the gifts of God in our life. If we are not willing to get radical for Christ, he will never be a radical force in our lives, and we will remain in our darkness and pain.

How to Build Spiritual Muscles, John Michael Talbot

The danger is not only spectacular failure when high-profile leaders crash and burn. But this addiction to "success" also prevents us from experiencing the true power of God which can only be known in weakness.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional Freedom

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. He has forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free.

Anonymous

I've been thinking over a few ministry encounters that took place over the past week and how I responded to them differently than I would have before I started cultivating a missional mindset.

Freedom from the pressure to put on a good show: Few people understand the pressure a pastor feels to make sure that the Sunday service is worthwhile for those who attend. While it has been quite some time since I feel the need to be entertaining on Sundays, I only recently realized that the "quality" of the sermon was not the primary factor in the "success" of the Sunday service. I no longer believe that I am responsible for the effectiveness of the Sunday service. I leave that in God's hands.

Freedom from the desperate need to "sell" the church: Another burden pastors commonly feel is the pressure to sell the services of the church to prospective "customers." When someone would call asking questions about our congregation, I would try to sell them. When people would visit on Sundays, I would try to convince them to come back the next Sunday. Now I no longer apologize for our deficiencies. I simply invite people to join us in the journey without putting pressure on them or on me.

Freedom from the fear of wasting my time: Because I am not pouring all my time and energy into the Sunday service, I now am free to "waste" my time when ministry opportunities come up. Being with people trumps just about everything else. I no longer do a cost analysis on my time. I can afford just to hang out with people without constantly telling myself that I have to get back to the office and "get some work done."

Freedom from the fear of wasting my charity: I also have found that I am now able to give to others without calculating whether my gift is a good investment. I can take the chance that my contribution will not produce the results I intended for them to produce. This is not to say that I am frivolous with financial contributions. But I can give away money in situations where there is still a chance that the person is taking advantage of me.

Freedom from the tyranny of busyness: I no longer feel the need to prove my value by staying busy. I have learned how to relax and enjoy life. I don't have to be always hurrying to a meeting or rushing to an appointment.

Freedom from the compulsion to produce results: I no longer believe that it is my job to produce results. My job is to be faithful to my calling and to be open to the ministry opportunities that God puts in my way. The results are his responsibility.

Freedom from the need to change people: Because I believe that the results are God's responsibility, I no longer feel the need to change people. Only God's grace can chance people anyway. I am willing to be a channel of his grace, but I leave the results up to him.

Freedom from the fear of inadequacy: Because the results are God's problem, I no longer feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the needs I encounter. Of course, I am inadequate to meet those needs. But that is not my responsibility. My responsibility is to "be there" for others, to point them to the One who can meet there needs.

So what is your experience? Have you experienced a similar freedom in your ministry (whether you are a pastor or not)? Have you found other aspects of this freedom that I have overlooked?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

That’s My Story

I want to build on a post by Jason Clark: The Stories We Live By.

We instinctively live by stories. There are dominant narratives in our lives, in our imagination, beliefs, values, inner voices and dialogues, childhood experiences, that are the reality we live by.

He then lists three stories that he frequently hears (in the UK).

Here's my list of stories that I hear in our American culture:

1. I'm busy. (Related stories: I'm tired, I'm in a hurry, I don't have enough time.) In our culture, busyness is an indicator of significance. Anyone who is not busy must not be very important. The important people are always on call. They are constantly working extra hours because everything depends on them. Even our kids are busy.

Who has enough time to waste it on something as unimportant as sleep? So we are busy and tired. And we're always in a hurry. It's such a habit that we are in a hurry even when we are not in a hurry. And we complain that there are just not enough hours in the day. (Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein discovered some secret way to squeeze 30 hours out of every rotation of the earth.)

Busyness is an enemy of the kingdom. Can you picture Jesus in a hurry? "Let's go. We have to be in Nazareth by sunset or our whole itinerary will be off. Let's stay focused on our mission, guys."

2. I shouldn't have to put up with this. A slow line at the grocery store. Traffic backups for "no reason." Telemarketers calling during mealtime. These are just a few of the things that annoy us because they are "unnecessary." I find that most of the time that I get angry it is because I am telling myself this story. If anyone ever had a reason to say "I shouldn't have to put up with this," it was Jesus. Thank God, he never did.

3. I'm entitled to . . . This story adjusts to our stage in life. When we are young we tell ourselves, "I'm entitled to have a good time." When we get older and more responsible, we say, "I'm entitled to enjoy myself on the weekends." Then when we have kids in addition to our other responsibilities, we say, "I'm entitled to a little 'me' time." Or another variation is, "I'm entitled to at least one vice." Thankfully, Jesus never told himself these stories.

4. Someday things will settle down. This story has many variations:

Right now things are pretty rough, but in a few days life will get back to normal.

If I make a few sacrifices today, someday I'll be able to enjoy life.

When things get back to normal, I'll attend to all those things that are important.

I'll cut a few corners now, and then, when I get over the hump, I'll do what is right.

I really don't want to follow God's rules, but if do what he says now I'll get to go to heaven when I die.

Many Christians have confused Christianity with stoicism. But Jesus was no stoic, biting his lip and enduring whatever life happened to toss his way. Yet we have trouble seeing him as a man who enjoyed life. This is one reason that the miracle of turning the water into wine seems so out of place. Jesus had a very clear mission. But he knew how to live each day. I suspect that hanging out with Jesus was not all that different than hanging out with Robin Hood and his merry men (except the part about robbing the rich).

Life is what happens while we are waiting for things to get back to normal. Today is "the day God has made." The kingdom of God is not something that we join after we die. Eternal life is not something that is tacked on to our earthly life.

5. Everything would be fine if I could just . . .

be accepted to the right college.

get a good job.

get a better job.

find a good wife/husband.

buy my own house.

go on a nice vacation.

lose a little weight.

make more money.

buy a better house.

But, of course, these things don't fill up what's missing in our lives. Our lives need more than just a few tweaks here and there.

The only story that truly satisfies our souls is the story of the Gospel: The story God is telling. The story featuring Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah. The story staring Jesus the Messiah. And God invites us to participate in his story.

The story of the kingdom should be the substance of our self-talk.

We should be living that story. We should be aware of it developing all around us. We should make it the dominant narrative of our lives.

So what do you think? Are there any stories you are hearing that deny the reality of the kingdom?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

This Blog is Rated R

Check this out. I saw a link to mingle² over at BHT. So I ran this site through the blog rater.

This was the result:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• death (9x)
  
• dead (5x)
  
• kill (2x)
  
• torture (1x)

OK, then.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

7 Steps to Church Growth

I just found this tongue-in-cheek strategy for church growth (HT: AKMA) by Josh "The Fearsome Pirate." (I've reworded some of his suggestions and dropped one.)

1. Stop preaching lousy sermons. "If you're like most Christian pastors, your sermons are horrible." Fortunately, that means that it doesn't take much to distinguish yourself. "Unlike your typical sermon illustration book, pastor, or systematic theology textbook, the Bible is really cool and exciting. I suggest you preach it."
   
2. Get rid of your praise band. "It is a proven, scientific fact that only 2.3% of praise bands actually put on that slick-as-snot professional performance every Sunday morning. The problem is that to do that kind of music the way it's meant to be done, you need to have actual professionals and tons of practice." I have to say that I just witnessed this at a "meta-church" event.
   
3. Don't sing those bad hymns. Even the best hymnals have a fair amount of garbage. Many have inane, ridiculous or heretical lyrics. Others have unsingable tunes. At this event I mentioned above, the "worship music" was unfamiliar and too complex for congregational singing. But part of the meeting was governed by a traditional liturgy which called for a classic hymn, "And Can It Be." I was looking forward to a song I could actually sing, when I hear the keyboardist playing an unfamiliar tune. Even that hymn was ruined.
   
4. Stop trying to be cool. Sitting on a stool, sporting a goatee and wearing "emo" glasses cannot make preaching cool. "And please stop pandering and talking down to people. People are not as stupid as you think they are. It just makes you look like a fruit. Talk like a human being."
   
5. Kill the announcements. "They're supposed to be announcements, not Chinese Water Torture."
   
6. Teach stuff in your classes. "Maybe people would start coming if they were actually learning things instead of just hanging out, hearing some idiotic presentation, or listening to the teacher ride a hobby horse. Teaching the Bible should be a priority." Don't use the lame workbooks that insult the intelligence of the people. "Instead, spend time actually studying the Word yourself, and teach the stuff you find."
   
7. Get to know your people and care about them. If you do all the other stuff and don't do this, it won't mean a thing. Or if you do this, the other stuff will take care of itself. "People need pastors who care about them as human beings; you're not simply a sacrament-dispenser or a professional orator. Pastors that don't care are kind of unhuman, and in some way, they seem to really damage the church as a community."

So what do you think? Seems obvious doesn't it. Do you have some things to add to the list?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

What would Jesus say?

If Jesus hosted a conference for pastors, what would he say to them?

My guess is that it would go something like this:

Do not worry about your ministry: how many people you have in the seats or how big your budget is. Is not the Kingdom more important than statistics? Who of you by worrying can add a single name to the book of life? Why do you worry about buildings? Have you not seen the Grand Canyon which is more majestic than any cathedral? Why do you worry about budgets and offerings? The pagans run after these things. But your heavenly Father knows what you need. Instead, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Do not worry about results. The results will take care of themselves.

You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and success.

So what do you think?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Psychological Literacy

If scientific literacy calls into question the book of Genesis, then psychological literacy apparently rules out faith completely.

David Barash, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, makes the case against faith in "The DNA of Religious Faith" published in the April 20, 2007, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

He announces that "the era of deference to religious belief is ending."

Religious faith, which he defines as "belief without evidence," is dangerous to society. In fact, "the very teaching of religion to defenseless children is a form of child abuse."

Psychological literacy has excluded religious faith for quite some time. "Scholars have found it easy to explain religion: They've done it hundreds of times, in psychological, psychoanalytic, sociological, historical, anthropological, and economic terms."

The problem, as he sees it, is that evolutionary theory hasn't been able to explain the survival of religious commitments in evolutionary terms. "It often appears that religious practice is fitness-reducing rather than enhancing." He writes, "Think of the frequent advocacy of sexual restraint, of tithing, of self-abnegating moral duty and other seeming diminutions of personal fitness, along with the characteristic denial of the 'evidence of our senses' in favor of faith in things asserted but not clearly demonstrated."

But riding to the rescue are "the four horsemen of the current antireligious apocalypse," Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Carl Sagan, "all passionate advocates of reason, committed to the proposition that religion is essentially unreasonable."

"Part of the attention-grabbing novelty of the Four Horsemen has been their refusal to abide by" the idea that science and religion are two independent domains, "insisting that when religion makes egregiously false 'truth claims' against science, it must be confronted, and that, moreover, religion itself can and should be 'naturalized'— that is, subjected to the same scrutiny that science brings to other phenomena."

Barash celebrates the iconoclastic work of the "Horsemen" in destroying the historic arguments for the existence of God. He takes particular glee in the attack on the argument from design, which he puts in quotes (presumably because it is not a legitimate argument or because only the scientifically illiterate would see design in biologically complex organisms). In spite of the "absurdity" of the argument from design: "This chestnut has had numerous stakes driven through its heart, but like a cinematic version of the undead, it keeps resurrecting itself, staggering, zombielike and covered with flies, back into public view."

He also addresses the "fine-tuning" argument. "Both Dawkins and Sagan examine this argument, which Dawkins caricatures as 'god-as-dial-twiddler.' Such twiddler-twaddle is oddly tautological, in that if the universe were not as it is, we indeed would not be here to wonder about it." Then he shows his disdain for articles of faith, theories that are not falsifiable: "The anthropic principle can also be 'solved' by multiple universes, of which ours could simply be the one in which we exist. This might apply not only to horizontally existing multiverses, but also to the same one occurring differently in time, if there have been (and will be) unending expansions and contractions. Moreover, it isn't at all clear that the various physical dials are independent, or that the physical constants in the universe could be any different, given the nature of matter and energy."

We wouldn't want our children to commit intellectual suicide by putting faith in "the interventionist, miracle-wreaking, thought-reading, sin-punishing, prayer-answering God of the Bible." It is so much more intellectually rigorous to think that universes are multiplying at every quantum event happening all over the "current" universe, whatever that word means.

Not only is there a universe where I never made this post, but there would have to be an infinite number of universes where I made an infinite number of different posts. There would even be a universe where Richard Dawkins is a TV evangelist. But we can't have people believing in things that can't be proven. That is why Sam Harris feels a "need to take the United States in particular by the scruff of its neck and rub its nose in the dangers and absurdities of religious belief."

But the last stronghold of religion to be destroyed is the idea of transcendent moral law. Barash asserts that "God is no longer needed to explain 'Moral Law.'" Biologists have shown that "kin selection, reciprocal altruism, group selection, third-party effects, and courtship possibilities, as well as simple susceptibility to social and cultural indoctrination" taken together or in various combinations provide sufficient foundation for a transcendent morality.

Professor Barash is well within his rights to refuse to believe in Christianity or any other traditional faith, but he doesn't seem to realize that his own plausibility structure is loaded with unprovable assumptions. If he chooses to place his faith in multiverses rather than a personal God, that is understandable since his assumptions exclude the existence of such a being. But surely he could spare us the patronizing lecture.

While I would agree with his view that scientific truth and religious truth are not two completely separate realms, I am not prepared to adopt materialism as my "scientifically-proven" religion whose "articles of faith" are not open to scrutiny. I prefer my religion to be transparent and honest about what it wants me to believe.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Slow Down!

Watch this video of a recent TED presentation by Carl Honore, author of In Praise of Slowness.

He says that it is time for us to get in touch with our "inner tortoise." We need to rebel against the "roadrunner culture." And he is not alone. There is an International Slow Movement which started in Italy. Its two main branches are Slow Food and Slow Cities. There is also an emphasis on slow sex.

Adults are not the only ones suffering from this frenetic pace. Our children are also overwhelmed with organized activities and homework.

And so this movement is trying to bring some peace and sanity to modern life.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "There is more to life than increasing its speed."

Steven Wright joked, "I think God is going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding."

But for Christians, the pace of life is about more than productivity or even happiness. It is a spiritual issue. The slow movement was started several thousand years ago by God himself.

The purpose of the Sabbath was to allow, even to force, people to slow down.

God knew Parkinson's Law (Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.) long before people studied such things. That is one reason that he did not allow any work to be done on the Sabbath. (Not even servants or animals could work.) The Sabbath was also a constant reminder that the people depended upon God for their security and prosperity.

I am not an advocate of returning to Sabbatarianism. But I do think that we have a serious problem with stress and busyness.

One antidote to busyness is solitude:

Solitude well practiced will break the power of busyness, haste, isolation, and loneliness. You will see that the world is not on your shoulders after all. You will find yourself, and God will find you in new ways. Joy and peace will begin to bubble up within you and arrive from things and events around you.

Dallas Willard, The Great Omission, p. 36

We need to realize that a chaotic life is not only bad for our physical, emotional and spiritual health. But it is also an expression of distrust of God. This is part of what Jesus was talking about when he said to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).

So what do you think? How serious is this problem? What are some disciplines you use for slowing down?

Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be."

Fish out of Water

For fish, water seems a rather natural place to live. In fact, they are unaware of many of the qualities of their environment (if, that is, they are aware of anything at all). If you take a fish out of water, it becomes aware very quickly that it is in a new environment.

For humans, our culture is like water is to fish.

It seems normal, even essential to life. And we are often unaware of many of its qualities until we are placed in a different culture.

Dallas Willard describes culture as "what one thinks of as 'natural' and as requiring no explanation or even thought" (Renovation of the Heart, p. 97).

At the beginning of this year, I spent five weeks in Sicily teaching English. This was my second extended stay in our Sister City and my 11th visit to Italy. Altogether, I've lived in Italy almost six months (three months with the same family).

I've always been interested in cultural differences. That's one reason that I like to travel. And being in a different culture for an extended time, gives me a better understanding of the distinctives of my own culture.

During this last trip, I started to develop a deeper understanding of Sicilian culture and Italian culture. Some of the things I discovered may surprise you.

Italian culture is more materialistic than American culture. This is the land of the Renaissance, and the emphasis on beauty and appearance is deeply ingrained. Italians must have the latest designer fashions. They are always evaluating each other by their clothes. This translates into a preoccupation with "stuff."

Italian culture is more concerned with appearance than American culture is. Everything is about la bella figura. Women would never think about going out, even to the market, without full makeup and proper attire. Men never wear shorts, except at the beach, no matter how hot it gets. Drivers don't like to wear seatbelts because they ruin the laid-back impression they want to make.

Italian kids are more spoiled than American kids. There is a constant contest among Italian parents to see who can shower his child with more expensive toys and clothes. Mothers wait on their children like servants.

Italian culture is more celebrity driven than American culture. It's no accident that paparazzi is an Italian word.

Italians are more concerned with social status than Americans are. A college degree provides entrée into circles that others cannot enter no matter how successful they might become. There is a reason that the Italian language still has a formal "you." (The English version disappeared some time ago.)

Italians are more obsessed with sex than Americans. Many Americans think that Europeans are blasé about sex and nudity. They have topless beaches after all. Don't confuse more relaxed rules about nudity with a more relaxed attitude about sexuality. As hard as it may be to believe, advertisers use sex more blatantly in Italy than in America to sell all sorts of products. Paris Hilton has a seductive TV commercial for a mobile phone service. The satellite channel FX is racier than its American counterpart; at night it shows programs that are only available in American on adult pay-per-view. One of the popular Italian fashion brands uses a logo than depicts sexual intercourse. (And this logo is worn to school by young children.)

It might seem that the obvious conclusion is that American culture is not as bad as the doomsayers think.

But I have a little different reaction.

I found these extremes jarring. They made me even more aware of tendencies in American culture that trouble me.

However, I find the culture-war mindset unhelpful. It does little to change basic assumptions. This approach only makes decadent values look more appealing.

Nor do I think that things are worse now than they've ever been. There have been many depraved cultures in the history of mankind. And there are places in the world today that are more rotten than American culture in just about any component one might choose.

However, Christianity is not just a private matter. It has much to say about social evil. The proclamation "Jesus is Lord" has implications for how life is lived in the public square. The question is not whether Christians should speak out against sin that has become institutionalized in culture. The question is how can we do this effectively. (Another issue is that we must make sure that we address all social evil, not just the ones that we don't participate in.)

Let's take the twisted view of sex as an example.

Much of what Christians say about sex makes it sound as if we think the whole things is a bad idea. When the church warns people about the dangers of promiscuous sex, it only makes it sound more attractive. The words decadent, sinful and tempting are used in advertisements to make products more appealing.

We need to hear more of the message that sex is good. The Christian message is that God made human beings as sexual creatures. He designed those parts to fit together. In fact, he intended for it to be enjoyable.

But the more powerful a tool is, the more care must be exercised in its use.

We also need more warnings like this. Gene McConnell lists nine lies of pornography.

• Women are less than human
  
• Women are a "sport"
  
• Women are property
  
• A woman's value depends on the attractiveness of her body
  
• Women like rape
  
• Women should be degraded
  
• Little kids should have sex
  
• Illegal sex is fun
  
• Prostitution is glamorous
  

The bottom line of pornography is that

Pornography makes a profit from the ruined lives of young women and entraps men who will spend lots of time AND money succumbing to their product.

The first part of that statement is rather widely accepted. But the second part is rarely acknowledged. Women are not the only ones being exploited by pornography and other sexually explicit material.

Sex is used to manipulate people.

And it works. This is the main reason that sex is used in advertising. Sex sells. But it never delivers what it promises. Wearing that aftershave will not cause women to tackle you in the supermarket.

Sex is used to hijack our attention.

A hint of nudity and the promise of more will keep most men's attention for several minutes. We're afraid to look away for fear that we'll miss something. But this is no more than a tease. Many print ads are designed to look like a shocking display of nudity. But on closer inspection it's a boy rather than a girl. Or the "cleavage" turns out to an elbow or some other innocuous body part.

Television shows flirt with showing more and more nudity. But they can't deliver, because broadcast TV can only show so much.

Cable ups the stakes. Nudity is allowed, but there are still some limits. The limits are pushed, but men are left wanting more.

And so there is pay-per-view. Men pay big bucks for the ultimate in sexual titillation. But it is still just a tease. Surgically and digitally altered women are presented as "the woman next door." They tap in to men's deep fantasies and desires. But the "high" lasts only a short time after the show ends, leaving the viewer more cutoff from the real world, more desperate for true intimacy and more in debt.

Men may not see the harm being done to women by the "sexualization" of our culture (or may not care). But they should take a look at the way that sex is used to manipulate them, to steal their time and money, and to decrease their chances of finding true intimacy.

Pastor Rod

"Helping you become the person God created you to be"

Oprah’s Secret

Oprah recently devoted a couple of shows to The Secret, a book and a DVD movie about “the law of attraction.”

From Oprah’s site:

The Secret is defined as the law of attraction, which states that like attracts like. The concept says that the energy you put into the world—both good and bad—is exactly what comes back to you. This means you create the circumstances of your life with the choices you make every day.

This is a combination of Buddhism and self-help psychology.

But a few viewers were uncomfortable with the religious implications of The Secret. They asked if it didn’t contradict the teachings of Christianity. The panelists all smiled as if a child has just asked where the sun goes at night:

Michael says The Secret isn’t about contradicting religion—it supports it. “It actually goes underneath the culture and explains to you the sacred laws that these wonderful teachers have brought to us,” he says. According to James, The Secret is about supporting the great spiritual traditions in a more modern form. “It really is just putting Christianity, Judaism, all the great teachings into a current vernacular,” he says.

Of course, this view is nothing new. There are many who say that all religions are the same. But this assertion is naïve and self-contradictory.

Yet in an attempt to ride the wave of The Da Vinci Code, the producers of The Secret have announced that a great conspiracy has prevented the widespread implementation of The Secret. They even say that it was discovered by “the church” in the 20th century and then banned.

They claim that The Secret is old but that it has been known by only a few fortunate individuals. They claim that it holds the key to having one’s desires fulfilled. They claim that the world will experience a dramatic change now that The Secret is being revealed.

If you would like a detailed response to these claims, you should read the article by John Stackhouse.

But here is my quick analysis:

Positive thinking works. Our thoughts tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies.

We are responsible for our choices. Many people live as if they are victims. They spend so much energy complaining about the choices they do not have that they fail to take advantage of the choices they do have.

Self-reliance and self-esteem are not the answer to humanity’s problems. We do not need to “believe in ourselves.” We need help from “outside.” Our only hope is for Someone to rescue us from the disaster we’ve created for ourselves.

The Secret is both good and bad. Many people could benefit from some of the techniques presented in The Secret. But the underlying philosophy is dangerous. The answer to “all our problems” is not getting what we want. It is rather submitting to the true King who seeks to fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). And this submission often feels like moving away from the very things we think we really want. Jesus called it denying ourselves and taking up our cross (Luke 9:23).

And without that “giving up,” you cannot be his disciple, because you will still think you are in charge and just in need of a little help from Jesus for your project of a successful life. But our idea of a “successful life” is precisely our problem.
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p. 243

The real secret is the “open secret” about Jesus Christ. All of human history was a preparation for the arrival of the Creator of the universe in a small Judean village 2000 years ago. The good news is that this King has defeated all the rival claimants to his throne and has freed his people from bondage to sin, Satan and death. And now we can live in the power of that victory as we are transformed from the inside to reflect the character of our Master.

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”