Church Impossible

If your church was failing, struggling or dead would you reach out for help?

Maybe your church is exploding with growth. Maybe your church is successful in winning souls to Christ, discipling them, raising them up and sending them out to plant new churches in unreached areas. Maybe the power and presence of God is charging the atmosphere of your meetings to the extent that revival is about to break out into the streets. Maybe you’re all good….

For the rest, 80% of American churches are either struggling or dying according to Ed Stezer, professor of research and missional ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Check out this little chart I put together to give us a visual of the reality of church growth in America:

My wife and I watch a tv show on the Food Network called Restaurant Impossible. Top notch chef, Robert Irvine, takes on the almost impossible challenge of turning a failing restaurant into a fresh start, revitalized operation within 2 days and with a budget of only 10,000 dollars. These restaurants are in deep trouble. Usually upon arrival he uncovers problem after problem ranging from poor service, dirty, dingy appearances to horrible food and poor management skills. The thing that amazes me the most is what he is able to accomplish with a Restaurant owner who is humble enough to recognize his dream is failing and desperately needs help otherwise he or she will be shutting its doors and putting a “closed” sign up for good.

With the staggering statistics of churches we have been exposed to over the past decade, it is no secret that many churches in America are simply either stagnant, in decline or failing. The parallels to Restaurant Impossible and churches is brilliant. Often times pastors and church leaders are blinded to see the reality of a failing church right before there eyes until it is too late. This is a result of either stubbornness, overly optimistic attitude or a sense of hopelessness or prevailing discouragement. Some churches point blank refuse to adopt change.

Sometimes it is helpful to have an outside ministry bring a perspective to help struggling churches. A prophetic voice or apostolic team can be a saving grace to inject life, help with planning and administer constructive energy to help build and strengthen the local church’s mission. Its good to have access to a person like Robert Irvine, who can see potential issues that could be blocking the life flow of a church or plainly speaking, causing its demise. Robert doesn’t accomplish this alone. He usually brings in his design team to help transform the restaurant into a whole new, fresh looking, and productive operation.

If you’re a pastor reading this, my question to you is if your church was struggling, would you reach out for help? Could you take the time to begin to build the necessary relationships with the Robert Irvines and ministries that would be a refreshment to you and your congregation?

Our hearts desire is to see struggling churches come alive with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Many churches do not tap into the insight and anointing that comes along with the grace and gift of the prophetic ministry. I’m not talking about weird prophecies or emotional hype. I’m referring to true insight and foresight that can literally transform a failing church by the grace of God for those who are open to it. Consider contacting us if you are in need of encouragement, prayer or simply would like to pour out your concerns to an outside ear that can offer a word of encouragement to you or your congregation. One word from God can change your life forever. It has with me, it can happen for you.

Bishop Eddie Long, Ralph Messer Another “What D. Heck” Moment…

I’ll admin, the Holy Spirit has asked me to do some seemingly weird things before. I have no doubt in my mind that God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So, one should expect that at some point, God will ask you to do things that go beyond logic or that might even go beyond our natural reason. After all we serve a supernatural God, so the supernatural should be an everyday experience in the life of a Christian. However, what happened at New Birth Church in Atlanta this past week was neither supernatural nor logical.

For the 16 people in the world that have not seen the video you can view it here. In it, you will see a Denver minister (I hesitate to even call him that, much less a “rabbi”. According to several news stories I’ve read he has admitted to not being a formally ordained rabbi.) named Ralph Messer walking through a supposed Hebrew king coronation ceremony in which he demonstrates the “crowning of the king” using Eddie Long, pastor of New Birth. The video gets most ridiculous when they proceed to lift up Eddie Long (accused sex offender, embezzlement of church money and who’s wife has threatened him with divorce because of his shenanigans) on a chair and parade him around the stage announcing him as king. Don’t take my word, look at the video for yourself.

Now, I have heard sermons being taken out of context before. Preachers have been accused of heresy in the past because of one line or two taken out of a sermon they preached. Good intentions or not, this so called demonstration was at best bad judgement, at worst a mockery to the Jewish people and Christians alike. There is enough footage in the video to see for ourselves that this ceremony was not taken out of context, but an actual acting out of what Eddie Long and some other pastors believe about themselves all along. Eddie Long just had the audacity and boldness to say and do it.

In his letter warning the church of false teachers Jude writes:

“These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” (Jude 1:16)

Now before you accuse me of being a faultfinder, let me clarify. I do not include pointing out false teaching and heresy in the same category as faultfinding. Scripture clearly commands us to point out false teachers, expose them and their teaching. (See my latest post on “Why doctrine matters“) We shouldn’t tolerate false teaching, ignore people like this nor sweep these issues under the rug. We have done this for far too long and its time we begin to defend the faith and put an end to this behavior that is harming the reputation of the church and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. As if we didn’t have enough obstacles to our preaching…

The truth is that silliness like this goes unchecked because of the forum its being brought in. As Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine wisely stated in his recent article on the subject, we must begin to guard our pulpits. Teaching in the church is a great responsibility, especially since it is being done in a public forum. Churches like Long’s have no apparent accountability to stop heresy from going forth from the pulpit. The large, mega church context makes it even more difficult for a member of the church to either ask questions about the teaching or put a stop to it all together should it become off based. Its even more of a sham when the churches own elders and leaders allow these people to have the floor.

So what are your thoughts on the matter? Do you feel that churches today care more about entertaining their audiences than instructing them in the truth? How do you feel we should respond to public mishaps like Eddie Long and others who receive such wide spread negative media? How can we help pastors and leaders to hold to sound teaching and not associate with false teachers that seem to be running rampant in American Christianity? Share your comments below in our comment section.

The Dangers of Preaching Cheap Grace

“Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. ‘All for sin could not atone.’ Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin….”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I just got back from a Christian concert on Thursday night. Needless to say there were many interesting aspects of the concert that I could blog about, but being the type of person who just can’t sit back and enjoy something without anyalizing the deeper meaning, I eventually found myself being stirred up by a particular band that had both great music and a great message. I don’t want to name the band to prevent us from getting off topic, but the lead singer spent quite a bit of time preaching a “come as you are” message to the thousand plus teenagers in attendance. Now mind you, he is not a theologian, nor did he use any text of Scripture to make his point. He simply labored the point…”the decisions you make do not amount to who you are”. I didn’t know whether to cheer or to speak up, to be happy that teenagers were being welcome to acceptance by God or to be angry that the message was left open ended. (“you’re decisions or how you live doesn’t matter to God, just stay screwed up like you are.”) I began to realize that this was an issue of defining what the grace of God is. In a culture which dares not put any obligation on followers of Jesus and talk of sin, discipleship and responsibility is considered “intolerant,” I think we need to be clear what true grace is and what true grace is not. Here are some thoughts on the subject:

1. True grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and lust.
Titus 2:11 was a bible verse I learned early on in my Christian walk and memorized. It explains that the grace of God has appeared to all men, teaching us to say no to ungodliness and worldly lust. God’s grace toward us should spur us on to live more righteous before him. I always compare it to being rescued from drowning. If I was brought back to life through CPR, I would be endebted to that person for bringing me back to life. So should we want to live for Christ, because he breathed the breath of life and restored to us our relationship with God.

2. True grace is not a license to live however way you want.

Rom. 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

The grace of God is not a license to sin. I know this is a no brainer for some, but it seems like when grace is preached we tend to only emphasize the free gift part of grace. We have to remember to teach people that living in the grace of God also includes reckoning ourselves dead to sin and turning away from those things that hinder our relationship with God. A dead person has no choice and a person that is dead to sin has no response to it either.

3. Cheap grace enables Christians to continue to live unchanged, unholy and ignorant to the reality of the lordship of Jesus Christ.
When we preach grace without any obligation toward repentance, conviction or holiness we don’t help those to whom we preach. Christ didn’t just die so that we would continue on in our sins and being slaves to sin. No, Christ and the power of the Resurrection has friend us from death and the power of sin over us. We must begin to preach the message of grace that tells us that since Christ has given us such a precious free gift, it will cost us nothing but our life. We should expect that professing Christians be different in lifestyle from those who are not. Not because of a “works” based system of religion, but because of a outward manifestation of what’s happened to a new heart.

4. True grace empowers the believer to live a new life in Christ.
Lastly, true grace is considered a gift of empowerment. Empowerment to a person who was once dead in their sins toward God, but now has been made alive through Christ Jesus. Grace enables us to get rid of the “checklist” of good works, trying to earn our favor with God. True grace empowers us with unmerited favor, favor we did not deserve or earn, but that has been bestowed upon us by a loving God. This gives us favor, access and privilege beyond what we comprehend.

When you think about the effects of grace it really is mind blowing. And it should be! God’s gift of righteousness now found in us through Christ Jesus is a profound life changer. Those that have truly encountered grace in your face, will look different, smell different and act different from those that haven’t. What are your thoughts? Comment below….

Why Doctrine Matters…

This post is a direct response to a quote that seems to be making its way around the internet by a famous charismatic pastor out of Redding, California named Bill Johnson. Bill Johnson is the lead pastor of Bethel Church and also involved in Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry along with many others within the conference scene around the globe. I have read two of Bill’s books, The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind and When Heaven Invades Earth and I have also have access to the Supernatural School of Ministry material by way of the DVD package they sell to churches that want to share their teachings. (Currently this manual is in my closet, collecting dust)
I have to say that I both honor and appreciate lots of what Bill Johnson is contending for when it comes to issues of revival, healing and the Kingdom of God. So please, if your reading this, don’t categorize me as someone who is bashing Bill Johnson. I have heard several people around the internet promote a quote that he made regarding the importance of relationships over doctrine and I would like to pose a few points as to why doctrine matters and why we should not sacrifice sound teaching for the sake of relationships. Here is his quote:

“For centuries the people of God have gathered together around specific truths. Denominations and organizations have been formed to unite these groups of believers….For the last several years people have started to gather around fathers instead of doctrine.” (These quotes are taken from his article on Apostolic Teams.)

First I’d like to point out the context of the article and the comments. Bill clearly points out some things that people miss when they hear this quote. Bill is not saying that sound doctrine is not important, nor is he saying that relationships should take precedence over sound doctrine. He also points out in his article that God never says anything “new” or outside of what is already revealed in Scripture. He also highlights the difference between essential doctrines and those that are peripheral. (speaking in tongues, healing, gifts of the Spirit). Many of those who are quoting this, need to realize that this is not a license to throw sound doctrine out the window for the sake of unity. In fact, most of those who are promoting this idea are in fact bringing division themselves by making mountains out of the non-essential matters of faith like gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and so on! So, why is doctrine important?

1. Scripture clearly warns the church to avoid and stay away from those who do not hold to sound doctrine. These are just some of what Scripture teaches us:

(1 Timothy 4:16)  “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

(2 Timothy 4:3) “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

(Titus 1:9) qualifications of a church leader…”He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

(Titus 2:1) “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.”

2. Unsound teaching leads to unsound lives. Ever hear the saying “garbage in, garbage out?” What you feed yourself with, will be what ends up manifesting in your life. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met, particularly in charismatic circles, who have unsound lives. This is evident by running from conference to conference looking for the next prophetic word, inability to hold a job, family issues, lack of love and compassion and financial problems. Yet, strangely these people can prophesy till the cows come home and speak in tongues like a parrot.

3. True apostolic churches pursue true apostolic doctrine. The definition of apostle does not mean that you can make up any teaching or doctrine that is given by an angel or otherwise. We do not have the liberty to teach anything outside of what the apostles taught, which directly came from the teachings of Jesus himself. If we think we know better than the Apostles of the Lamb, then I think we need a reality check.

4. The truth is in a lot of ways apostolic networks and gathering around “fathers” is not much different than a denomination. There are hierarchical structures within these networks, they are organized with headquarters, programs and are centered around non-essential truths that create walls toward people who might disagree with their emphasis just like denominations do. I know first hand of people who are labeled “religious” or even considered demonized who disagree with some of these non-essential matters. As Bill Johnson said in his article, these matters may be important to a certain faith community, but they do not classify as “sound doctrine” and should continue to be discussed and debated until we are able to find our convictions.

For the sake of length I’ll end here. I hope those reading this article will re-think the importance of sound teaching and pursue after what is both the Spirit of Christ and found in the Word of God. It’s not only important that we test all things and hold them to the light of Scripture, but it is our duty.

What Lady Gaga and Jesus Have In Common

Yes, Lady Gaga and Jesus in the same blog post. No, your computer screen is not playing tricks on you nor am I writing this article from a carnal perspective. I believe that in the midst of a culture that tries all I can to deviate away from God, He still, in his sovereign wisdom and grace, speaks into our culture and will use anyone and everyone He so desires to get a message out. Lady Gaga is one of them…here me out.

If you don’t know who Lady Gaga is by now, you might be too old to know. While I’m in the gym working out, I can hear her prominent song from 2008 “Poker Face”, blaring over the speakers. Along with many Christians, I’ve never paid much attention to Lady Gaga except at a distance. I’ve heard all the news, hype and anti-godly views she upholds both in her music and as a powerful influence on our culture. This moment, in the gym, I try hard to listen to the lyrics to see what all the hype is about. Unfortunately I can’t hear them clearly, so I file it in the back of my head to do a song study on Lady Gaga when I get home. I YouTube the video for “Poker Face” and Google the lyrics…(now mind you, a Lady Gaga video is probably PG-13 at the least, so parental guidance is suggested to watch these videos, they are not for the weak in heart). The general idea of the song is about a girl trying to seduce a man, however throughout the song the hook is “Can’t read my, can’t read my/no he can’t read my poker face” The reference is to the real feelings a woman goes through playing the “game” of lust and love. An interesting song, but the one that really got my attention recently was the 2011, international top charting single “Edge of Glory”. Here is the hook:

“I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment of truth
I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment with you…I’m on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge etc….”

So what does this have to do with God? I believe that these lyrics, in particularly, this song can be interpreted as a prophetic call to a generation that is running from God. No matter if you are in a nightclub, gay bar or watching the American Music Awards on television, God is speaking these words over the world through Lady Gaga. (Whether she likes it or not) Jesus said that if we do not Praise Him, the rocks would cry out. (Luke 19:39-40) God is so desperately in pursuit of people that he will use any means and go through drastic measure to get his heart and communicate his mind to the world. Do I condone Lady Gaga and her music? Absolutely not. I recommend that Christians turn her music and videos off, along with other ungodly music that contaminates the soul. But is it possible that God can take the chorus of this song and use it for his glory to plant a seed of salvation and love in someones heart that listens to it who is a non-believer in God? Absolutely yes. Lets pray that God uses even the rocks and foolish things in this world like Lady Gaga, to reach people where the church and other means aren’t going.

Lessons Learned From Church Planting (Part 2)

So I took a few weeks off from blogging, but I wanted to continue the second part of the previous post on lessons I learned from church planting. Missionary work, from my perspective, is probably the single most difficult job on the face of the earth, yet it’s the most rewarding for sure. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like seeing someone come alive after receiving Christ as their Lord and Savior or watching a marriage get restored or a single parent get on their feet financially. Yet in the midst of these scattered glimpses of fruit, there is hardship, lack of resources, consistent rejection and loneliness.  Of the apostle Paul’s ministry he said, “we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” (1 Cor. 4:13)

When I read these words I was stunned at the apparent perception of Paul’s apostolic ministry compared to the quasi-celebrity status many so called apostles seem to portray today. Is there something different about our world or has our message been twisted in some way to mean something different that has resulted in something more palatable or welcomed. My point is that ministry is hard work and just the pressure from ministry is enough to crush those of us who are not steadfast in God’s Word and in prayer and connected to the vine.

I am no professional or expert church planter, in fact, I am sharing these observations from being an associate leader who has come along side church planters and apostolic ministries to help them establish strong, effective communities. In addition to the few points I’ve already pointed out, here are some additional lessons I’ve learned over the course of the past few years:

1. You have need of endurance. (Heb. 10:36)
In the fire of persecution, trial and suffering we must continue in faith. I am a sprinter, my wife is a long distance runner. That’s why God has paired us together. When I am loosing my wind in the middle of the race, my wife is there to drop back and spur me on to finish. I have always told people, its not how you fly the plane, but how you land. Many of us just want to give up, leave the ministry and go back to our workplace and become an insurance salesman. You must have your eyes fixed on the eternal perspective, the end, finishing well.

2. Prayer is the foundation to your ministry.
If you have limited to no prayer life, you are operating out of the flesh. When you operate in the flesh, you will manifest the works of the flesh which are clear, anger, frustration, worry, anxiety, greed and selfishness. Prayer kills your flesh and nourishes your spirit man. Your connection with Jesus through prayer is vital to being able to have power and substance that the people you minister to will need. Many of us know we need to pray more, but just don’t do it. Trust me, if you do not SCHEDULE prayer, you will not have a quality prayer life.

3. Fail to plan, plan to fail.
You must plan. Some of us are so spiritual that we feel like any type of planning is not relying upon the Holy Spirit. I’ve had to learn this lesson myself being a prophet. Prophets enjoy being spontaneous, spirit led and spur of the moment in our ministry, which is needed. However, if you fail to plan anything you might just find yourself going around in circles. Plan your day, seize the opportunities in front of you. Work hard for the Gospel, it will pay off. Put your goals in writing and create objectives that will help you accomplish those goals with a time frame that is realistic. Not only will you see more results, but you will feel better about accomplishing something that can be measured and seen.

4. Guard your marriage and family.
Church begins at home. I’ve always been shocked to look underneath church leaders lives to see a lack of attention given to family life and their wives. Usually its the families that suffer most with ministries who are driven and passionate about the Lord. You do not want to look down the road 10 years from now and see your wife and children dying relationally, yet you have a successful, thriving church. You will be a miserable failure. You must learn to say no to appointments, keep your commitments to your children and continue to date your wife. Your wife and kids are your biggest supporters in ministry and you need to be able to look them in the eyes with full confidence while you’re preaching on Sunday morning.

If you’re reading this now and are a budding church planter that needs coaching, encouragement or would like to discuss some of these lessons by phone, Skype or in person, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself and my team. We are here to serve the Body of Christ both locally and at large. You can email me or connect with our Facebook page. We offer one on one leadership coaching and small group leadership training for those that would like to be stirred and challenged in your ministry.

Judson University Partners With Freemasons

Today was a “What Dee Heck” moment. I open up my Facebook for my daily dose of status updates, random scripture postings and funny photos and I notice a small little article on my Alma Mater’s (Judson University) page “Judson University Begins Endowed Scholarship Fund For Entrepreneurial Students”. This naturally gets my attention because one, I’m a Judson alumni and two, I’m an entrepreneur. To my shock and awe, I proceed to read about this “young internet marketing entrepreneur” who is making a $10,000 donation to Judson. No problem with that, until I read how this guy got connected with Judson in the first place…read an excerpt from the article:

Mr. Glazers became connected with Judson University in April 2011 when he attended the school’s inaugural World Leaders Forum. The event was established to help fund the new Entrepreneurship Program, and former U.S. President George W. Bush was the keynote speaker for the main event. While there, Mr. Glazers was introduced to Dr. Angelo Bravos, Judson’s Director of University Advancement. The two discovered that they both shared a passion for entrepreneurship, and they were both members of the Freemason fraternity, an organization for men joined together by philosophies of moral standards and community betterment.

http://triblocal.com/elgin/community/stories/2011/11/judson-university-begins-endowed-scholarship-fund-for-entrepreneurial-students/

I almost spit out my coffee! Am I the only one with some kind of spiritual discernment around here or is Judson just taking a “whatever works” approach to Christian education? Is there anything such as principle anymore? Freemasonry is far from a “fraternal organization for community betterment”. Anyone with even a small knowledge of the occult understands the superstition and suspicion shrouded in the Freemasons.

Before you dismiss this post as a rush to judgment, please hear me out. I love Judson, I attended from 1996-2000 and my life was changed by the commitment to Christ that most of the students and faculty displayed. I have seen Judson tip the scales of balance within the past few years with a weight that falls more on the secular institutional side. This is very unfortunate and all done under the mask of being “relevant” and some sort of “light to the world”. We know as Christians that there is a fine line between being a light to the world and being worldly. I’m reminded of this scripture in 2 Cor. 6:14-18:

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

The irony of it all is that I just sent a small check to donate to Judson this week in honor of a professor of great standing, Dr. Robert Erickson. Dr. Erickson has served Judson faithfully as a Bible professor since the founding of Judson. In the future I cannot say that I support Judson whole-heartedly until I can see some difference being made to fulfill the commission of Jesus to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth instead of a measly commission to fill the earth with a lukewarm, watered down message of compromise.

Wake up.