TILL HE COMES Blog

Here is some random wrap-up stuff which I thought fit this “Is Your Church Worse than Porn” series.

First, a movie.

Second a comic strip from  The ongoing Adventures of the ASBO Jesus. (Subscribe to this comic blog if you don’t already.)

Finally, a quote from Vince Antonucci’s new book I Became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt (p. 81). Go buy his book if you haven’t already! Prior to this quote, Vince writes about how Moses glowed after he met with God, and how we can “glow” too if we meet with God.

But many of us, most of the time, are not glowing. And when we aren’t glowing, like Moses, we cover our disappointment with a veil. We don’t put on a literal veil; we use a veil of smiles and denials. Christians are famous (or infamous) for this. We wear fake, plastered smiles as a twisted badge of honor, pretending that everything’s great all the time. We say things like, “It’s another great day to praise the Lord!” “This is the day the Lord has made!” What? No, nothing’s wrong! God’s blessings just keep getting better every day!” “God is good all the time!” We hide our true disappointment.

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In the past, I have preached, written, and taught that the Parable of the Talents was about using what God has given us so that we can multiply it for Him and therefore, get eternal reward from Him in heaven. I taught that we all need to be like the first servant, or at the bare minimum, like the second, but we should avoid at all costs being like the lazy, unprofitable third servant.

I now believe that this interpretation is completely opposite of what Jesus meant by that Parable. Though I imagine some will call me a heretic (again), let me explain…

As I have researched, studied, and written my thesis, I have come to see that the cultural lens through which we read Scripture is completely foreign to the cultural lens in which it was written or originally read. If we really want to understand the meaning and significance of what was written, we need to understand the cultural background of the people who wrote and originally read it.

We live in a materialistically-driven culture, governed by greed and the accumulation of stuff. The Bible was written in an honor culture, where stuff and money didn’t matter. People wanted honor. Someone could be insanely rich, but if they had no honor, they had nothing. Wealth and possessions were thought to be of limited supply, and so the only way someone could accumulate more wealth is if they took it from someone else. The rich get richer at the expense of the poor, which was a very shameful way to live.

Now, take this lens, and re-read the Parable of the Talents in passages like Matt 25:14-30 or Luke 19:11-27. In our economic-driven culture, the heroes are the servants who accumulate more stuff. But in an honor-based culture, they are actually the villains, because the only way they were able to get more stuff was by taking it from someone else. The hero of the story if the third servant, who did not become richer, but instead was content with what he was given, and didn’t even put his one talent in the bank to collect “interest” (read “usury”). The master gets mad at this third servant and tries to shame him by taking away (read “stealing”) his possessions and giving it to the one who is already rich.

In this reading, the master does not represent God, or Jesus, but instead the morally reprehensible behavior of certain people of the world who steal from the poor. Jesus is teaching that this is the kind of behavior Christians can expect from the world when we try to live according to His new code of honor ethics.

One of the many books which has helped me in this area is the Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels by Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003). If you want to understand the gospels, go buy this commentary. The “reading scenarios” at the end of the book are more than worth the price of the book. The commentary has rocked my world and allowed me to see and read the entire Bible in a whole new light. If we want to understand the Bible, we need to read it as it was written, not as we want it to be read.

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Yesterday, I introduced the idea that in some ways, church can be worse than porn. The reason is that while porn causes people to feel inadequate with their sex life, many churches cause people to feel inadequate about their spiritual life. Both are presenting a fantasy that does not match reality. Today, (with a head nod to Jeff Foxworthy) I want to present some signs that you might be in a fantasy church.

You may be in a fantasy church…

If everybody in your church seems happy, fulfilled, and satisfied…all the time.

If during the greeting time, someone asks you how you are doing, and when you answer “Terrible” they smile, nod their head, and say, “That’s nice.” (This actually happened to my wife!)

If you are in a church where everybody seems to have devotions every day, their prayers answered in miraculous ways, and seem to be always talking about God.

If you are in a church where people never seem to sin, have fights with their spouse, get speeding tickets, have trouble with lust or alcohol, or have questions and doubts about what the pastor preaches.

(If you can think of others, please post them in the comments below!)

If you find yourself in a fantasy church, beware!

Trying to be real and authentic in such a place will only get you hurt more deeply. The best thing a person can do who finds themselves in a fantasy church is to leave quietly and find a group of people with whom they can be authentic, open, and honest (even if they are not all Christians!).

My favorite Christian music group, Casting Crowns, has experienced this also, and sings about it in their song “Stained Glass Masquerade”:

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I watched a debate last week between porn king Ron Jeremy, and porn pastor Craig Gross. Apparently, the two are traveling around to college campuses and debating the pros and cons of porn. I love what Craig is doing at XXX Church, and his book The Gutter is one of the best books I have ever read. So I really hate to say that in my opinion, Craig lost the debate. There are multiple reasons why, which I won’t go into here. (This is NOT to say I am in favor of porn!)

But something was said during the debate which really got me thinking. One of Craig’s arguments was that porn is fantasy, and people who watch porn are bound to be disappointed by sex, since reality never matches fantasy. This is certainly true, and even Ron Jeremy didn’t deny that porn presents a fantasy.

But Ron’s rebuttal is what really made me think. Ron argued that we all live in a fantasy world. Everything we see on television (not just porn) is fantasy and does not match up with reality. Most of what we see and read in books and magazines is hyped-up, glossed-over, air-brushed fiction. If porn is wrong because porn is fantasy, then almost everything we read and watch and get involved in is wrong as well, becuase most of it is fantasy. Even the way most of us live our lives is fiction. We rarely let people see the inner hurt, pain, depression, frustration, fear, loneliness, and anger.

As my wife and I were talking about this, she made the observation that this fantasy-life fiction is magnified in most churches. We seem to think that since the Bible talks about peace that passes understanding, joy in the midst of trials, contentment in times of need, faith in the face of fear, and happy lives full of holy ambition, that if we don’t have these things, something is wrong with us. And when we look around at others on Sunday morning, and sing the happy songs, and listen to the motivating sermon, we are tempted to think, “Everybody else seems to have what we are so loudly proclaiming. I better act like I do too, or they will think something is wrong with me.”

I think a pretty good case could be made that this sort of church fantasy is more damaging than porn fantasy. The reason is that most people in most churches don’t know that everyone else is in just as much pain as they are. The smiles are painted on. The suits and skirts hide scars. And the pastor isn’t really that excited about God; he’s just high on caffeine (I’m speaking to myself there!). We’re afraid to be real and authentic because then people will think we’re unspiritual.

Many churches are bigger fantasy playgrounds than the porn industry. So the question is this: Which is worse? Thinking that your spouse will never be satisfied with you in bed, OR thinking that God will never be satisfied with you in this life? The first is a result of looking at porn, the second is a result of attending some churches.

We’ll look tomorrow at some possible indications that you are attending a fantasy church, and what you can do about it.

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I’m attending a church planting conference on April 24-27 called Exposed, and I’m looking forward to it more than any other church planting conference I’ve been to. Here’s why:

First, they are limiting attendance to only 20-30. I’ve been to many church planting and church growth conferences over the years, and though it is exciting to be part of conferences with 100’s (or 1000’s) of people in attendance, I always feel a bit…lost. In big conferences, to those who are teaching, I’m just another face in a huge crowd. To those who are attending, I’m just some other guy who they will never meet again. But at Exposed, I imagine I will get to know the speakers and the others in attendance in a way not possible at other conferences. Who knows? Maybe I will even develop some friendships with other church planters, and we can partner with each other in the future.

Second, the conference is being hosted by Square 1 Church Planting, which was founded by two guys (Joe Centrino and Stephen Hammond) who have actually planted churches and are still pastoring churches. Not only that, they haven’t written books (yet), or been invited to the White House, or raised $4 million in four weeks, or seen their church go from 50 to 5000 in 5 years. While some of this may happen to them in the future (it could!) right now, it’s just two guys in the midst of church planting who want to help others plant too. Sometimes, I think the “big name” church planting gurus have forgotten (or never experienced in the first place) some of the sweat and blood struggles of planting a church. But Joe and Stephen have been through it all.

Third, Square 1 is about planting Missional Churches. Missional churches want to do more than just have big buildings and Bible studies, but instead want to embrace culture so it can be redeemed and transformed by the love of Jesus. Missional churches are churches that are on a mission to see the Gospel actually change lives. If all we do is talk, read, learn, and write about the Gospel, I don’t think we really understand it. Missional churches are trying to live the Gospel.

Finally, rather than just sit around and listen to speakers speak, we are actually going to go out and have some fun together! On Friday, our wives get to go shopping together, while we guys enjoy some male bonding. That night, all of us are going to attend a Texas Ranger Baseball game. Try doing that at Exponential!

Space is really limited for this conference, so if you want to go, contact me for a brochure, or contact Joe and Stephen at Square 1.

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I finished reading Pagan Christianity today and I mourn for what this book could have been.

The basic argument of the book is that most of what the church does today was borrowed from paganism. Things like buildings, the order of worship, the sermon, the pastor, tithing and clergy salaries, baptism and the Lord’s Supper all have their roots in pagan religious practices. Therefore, the authors strongly suggest that such things should be done away with, and we should all become house churches.

Though they don’t say it, I imagine the authors are against Christmas and Easter as well, since both of these holidays are steeped in pagan cultic worship practices.

What people who argue this way don’t seem to understand is that everything about Christianity is rooted somewhere/somehow in paganism. For example, did you know that the Genesis creation account is nearly identical in form and language to Egyptian creation myths which predate Moses? Moses almost plagiarized Egyptian creation myths, and changed the names from Egyptians gods to the Israelite God. So if Viola and Barna have their way, we better toss out Genesis. Oh, and Deuteronomy as well, since it is based on a the pagan Suzerain-Vassal treaty system of that day.

Furthermore, most of the Psalms are similar in style and language to pagan songs sung to pagan deities. Solomon “borrowed” many of his proverbs from other pagan kings. So rip Psalms and Proverbs out of your Bible too.

How about the Gospels? Have you ever wondered why there are four? One reason is that in the First Century, “Gospel accounts” was a popular genre of religious literature designed to celebrate the birth of a new Roman emperor. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are borrowing a pagan practice of writing “gospels” about the emperor, and use it to write about Jesus. So, down with the Gospels!

While we’re at it, we might as well just chuck out the whole Bible. Writing, after all, is a pagan invention, and if you’ve ever opened a Bible, you may be shocked to find that it is filled with writing! Oh, the horror.

And someone better come knock me off too. After all, I was once a pagan, and in many ways (as you can tell from this post), I still live and operate like one.

The bottom line is that Viola and Barna, though their research is excellent, have come to the absolute wrong conclusions. Yes, it is true, most of what we call “Christianity” today has it’s roots in paganism. But that doesn’t mean we jettison it! Instead, we celebrate it. Why? Because that’s what Christianity is all about: Redemption.

Christianity is about taking what is in the world (the kingdom of darkness) and redeeming it through Jesus Christ, bringing it into the kingdom of light. I mean, look at most of the things Viola and Barna talk about in their book, and most of the things I mentioned above. Almost nobody knows or remembers that these things were originally pagan. Instead, almost everybody, even people who are not Christians, equate such things with Christianity. Why? Redemption!

The truth is that rather than looking at what “pagans” are doing around us and running the other direction screaming “Run for your lives!” we should be watching, learning, and asking ”How can Christ redeem that?” Personally, I believe that nothing and nobody is beyond redemption. We may need to get creative, and we will need to dump some of the sinful elements, but everything and everybody can be redeemed.

That’s what Pagan Christianity should have been about. They should have celebrated what changes have occurred over time; not criticized them. Sure, some (even most) of the things Viola and Barna criticize have become outdated, ineffective, wasteful, and maybe even sinful. But if so, then that is why we should stop using them, not because “they were once pagan.”

After reading this book, I have half a mind to go out and find the most pagan thing I can, just to see if I can redeem it and adopt it into my church. Any suggestions?

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When I pastored in Montana, a man who had attended our church for years stopped coming. He came by to let me know why (which I respected greatly, since most people just disappear and then get upset when the pastor doesn’t call them to find out why they haven’t been attending). He said that the reason he wasn’t going to attend our church was because we didn’t let God in the door. What he meant by this was that he thought we were quenching the Holy Spirit in our Sunday services.

In response, I wrote and distributed throughout our church a little pamphlet called “Attending the Church that God Does” explaining that if Jesus were walking planet earth today, ours was the kind of church He would attend. Yeah, I think I handled that guy’s departure pretty well.

The ironic thing is that I don’t agree with what I wrote in that pamphlet five years ago. These days, I am finding that to be true of almost everything I wrote five years ago. (So if you disagree with the content and tone of many of my sermons on this website,  you’re in good company — I disagree with them too.)

Anyway, I found the following ”comic” strip on a blog called Adventures of the ASBO Jesus. The following example is nothing more than a word balloon from God, but what do you think of what this writer has God saying? Do you think God is as bored and tired of our churches as we sometimes are?

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I read about this on Vince Antonucci’s site, which he gleaned from the MMI Weblog.

When young pastor Matt Brown announced he was supporting a ministry for women in the sex industry led by an x-stripper, he was expecting applause. Instead, he got cold stares and an e-mail inbox filled with angry letters. At issue was Heather Veitch, an x-stripper turned evangelist. She looked too much like a stripper and was leading Christian women into the dark world of strip clubs for so-called “outreach.” Capturing it all, was documentary filmmaker Bill Day for his new film “The Pussycat Preacher.”

“Most Christians know that Jesus spent time with prostitutes and tax collectors because that is where the word was needed. But believing the ideal is one thing and living the reality is another,” says Day.

“If we all took a vote on being Biblical versus being respectable , we would all vote for Biblical,” says theology expert Professor Sarah Sumner PhD from Azusa Pacific University in the film. “But the reality is many churches are more concerned with respectability.”

Pastor Greg Laurie from mega-church Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside was one of pastors who didn’t believe Heather’s method of winning souls was worth the risk. He warned Brown to stay away from Veitch.

“When a Pastor you look up to tells you something like that it’s scary,” Brown confesses. “I’m a pastor and I am supposed to love people. But I didn’t love strippers. What Heather did was she birthed that in me and my congregation.”

Instead of backing away from Heather, Pastor Brown put up $50,000 of church money to support the ministry. But in no time at all, a rumor got started that the $50,000 was being used by Brown to buy lap dances for himself. Brown suddenly found himself on the verge of losing his church facility housed on the campus of Southern California Baptist University.

For her part, Heather Veitch claims she is winning souls and that is what matters. For evidence, she has the documentary which shows a number of strippers making their first venture into church. “Now comes the hard part,” Heather smiles.

Day says the film is not rated but very ‘’PG’’ It has no nudity or offensive language. It will be available on DVD, pay to download , or ‘’watch free’’ with advertising at the film website http://www.pussycatpreacher.com/ starting Feb 15.

What do you think about this kind of ministry? What do you think about Greg Laurie’s response? Is this kind of ministry too risky?

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