The Church’s Response to Same-Sex Marriage

When we are talking about things that pertain to society and life in general, we cannot forget that God Himself is the author of law, indeed of all things moral and ethical. Where else would it come from? Our very laws that govern our nation are derived from God’s law, as much as many would love to deny that. And I’m not inferring that the US is in any way a “Christian” nation. But it is true, though, that morality and law in any society finds its ultimate beginning and end in God Himself. It’s just truth. Therefore, when we talk of things like homosexuality or gay marriage, we need to, indeed, we MUST look as such things in light of what God Himself has revealed to us about how He thinks about such things. And if we were to be honest before God and ourselves, we would see clearly that we are not dealing with a “civil rights” issue here, but one of a fundamental moral nature, one that happens to be a major fabric of one of the most basic and sacred institutions of all: marriage. Indeed, as Paul points out in Ephesians, marriage itself is far more than just a man and a woman being legally bound to each other. It is a picture of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-33).

Now that leads me to what our role as the church should be in all this. We (the church, the body of Christ), are commissioned, yes, commanded, to not only spread the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which, by the way, can set even homosexuals free from their bondage, as well as any other sinner from theirs), but we are called to defend the truth with our very lives, and in this way and others, we are salt in the earth and light in the world. This is our calling. And if no one else does it, our society, and especially those who don’t know Christ, will have no hope to be free from their sins and from God’s judgment. I say these things, not for political reasons, nor to be mean or bigotted. I say these things because we have good news to share with the world, and their eternal destinies are on the line. Therefore, if we know that a certain lifestyle is clearly a sin and we know that sin leads to death, how is it compassionate to support such a lifestyle by voting to allow the sin to continue? Do you not know that our laws uphold God’s order in society and are designed not only to keep order but to preserve society from corruption? Why do we support laws that make murder illegal? If we allowed murder in our society, society would be destroyed. Why do we support laws that make adultry illegal? Because if everyone was allowed to sleep with everyone else’s wife, society would be unbearable and the very nature of trust and fidelity would be nullified. So now we come back to the issue at hand. Why do we support laws that define marriage as being between a man and a woman? Because if we didn’t, people would live to the contrary in greater and greater numbers and not only would the sacredness of marriage be nullified, but in embracing such a stand as allowing same sex marriage, we are actually saying that it’s O.K., and it is normal, and then the sin of homosexuality would spread in society until it had corrupted the very soul of the people. No. I cannot, will not, and we MUST NOT support such a thing, even in our laws. This is the only compassionate and loving response we can have as the people of God.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

I spent the first 36 years of my life in a charismatic environment. When you’re in it for so long, and especially since childhood, it’s so easy just to accept everything you’re used to seeing every week as the way things are supposed to be.
In the last 15 or so years, however, I began to search the Scriptures and see how what I believed lined up with God’s Word. I no longer just accepted things just because “we’ve always done ‘em that way.” You can imagine, being in that environment for so long, I’ve seen the gamut of stuff that the Holy Spirit has been credited/blamed for. Everything from the Word of Faith teaching (the first thing to get thrown out of my theology) to the renewal movement with all its laughing, falling, barking, and other weird manifestations. It was a journey for me. I didn’t (indeed couldn’t) tackle everything at once to compare it to the Word of God, but as God brought it up, I would scrutinize it. Some stuff stayed in my theology, some stuff stayed but received a different focus, and some stuff went.
Concerning the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I want to say a few things:

1. First, from the standpoint of a charismatic believer earlier in my life, I always noticed how the evangelical nay-sayers would totally miss the point whenever they preached against the Baptism. They always said that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happens when you become a believer and that’s all the Holy Spirit you will get. They used Scripture to back it up, usually the in 1 Corinthians 12, but also the one in Ephesians where it says “one baptism…” My argument was, “They’re missing the whole point.” I never argued with the doctrine of being baptized into the Body of Christ. I understood that. And I never argued against being one Body. I knew that as well. To me, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a separate work…an anointing for service. It was to be seen as what it was…being immersed, not into the Body by the Holy Spirit, but into the very power of the Holy Spirit Himself. In other words, the use of the word “baptism” was being used in it’s general definition sense, not specific verbiage from Scripture. So in my mind, the arguments against the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” were all being argued from the wrong vantage point and in the wrong context. It was arguing about two completely different things altogether, and I felt like the “other side” never understood.

2. But later in life, I had an increased discomfort with the whole premise of the argument. I began to question what our version of the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” was for. I never saw anybody actually do anything with it except “give” it to others who wanted it and seek to have entertainment in a Sunday service. I started to notice that my fellow charismatic friends and churches were focusing too much on the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit and less on Jesus Christ and the true mission of the church. For so long I thought the mission of the church was to move past the “elementary” fundamentals of salvation and get on with meatier stuff like being filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesying, seeing miracles and healing the sick, etc. To me, the definition of a good Sunday service was when the preacher never got to his message because the Holy Spirit broke out all over and people were falling down. But God began to deal with my heart in many different ways. This process was not the result of being swayed by someone else’s teaching. It was God dealing with my heart personally over a long period of time.

3. Today, I still believe in being continually filled with the Holy Spirit as it says in Ephesians. I still believe in healing and miracles. I still believe in speaking in tongues, although not in the same manner as what you might see in a typical charismatic church. But to me, those things are a byproduct of the ministry of the Holy Spirit given whenever He wills, and not something we can conjure up. I personally believe most of the true bona fide miracles and healings you would probably see today happen on the mission field in unreached countries. They are used to validate the message of the gospel, as they always were in the New Testament, and not for a Sunday morning circus.

But above all, I think the verbiage is the true demon here. I think if we get all hung up on the name “Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” we’re only reinforcing division in the Body of Christ, which is completely contrary to the whole point of the Scriptures that talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the first place such as 1 Corinthians 12. I find it rather sad that charismatic churches throw 1 Corinthians 12 in people’s faces in order to prove their side about spiritual gifts when in fact the context was actually written to correct people just like them who were all out of balance and causing divisions in the church. Frankly, I think it’s important to distinguish the difference in verbiage according to Scripture, while still acknowledging that there are true subsequent encounters with the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. But they shouldn’t be named “the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
In conclusion, I think we are safer using Scriptural verbiage for unity’s sake and being careful to love one another in the process. Why else would God put 1 Corinthians 13 right in the middle between the two chapters that talk about spiritual gifts? Furthermore, I truly believe our focus should be on Jesus, for that’s Who the Bible says the Holy Spirit speaks of and glorifies. And if we truly do have the mind of Christ, our hearts would be broken for the lost, the widows and orphans, the poor, and making sure that the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit throughout the world. That’s why He came. That’s why He died. And that’s why he has given us the Holy Spirit in the first place.

CNN article on Newt Gingrich

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/27/opinion/zelizer-gingrich-gop-ideas/index.html#

Worship Ministry Resources – Worship Planning

Having been in the worship ministry for almost 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of changes in the number and quality of resources that are being offered that help make our jobs easier. These range from worship planning to projection software, and everything in between. So I wanted to take a few moments to document the resources that I have found to be most helpful with a brief explanation of each.

Worship Planning

If you are anything like me, I hate admin work. I’m just not naturally good at it. Oh, I’m a lot better NOW after all these years, but most of the REASON I’m better at it now is because of WorshipTeam.com. It has simply made me a better worship leader. Period.

I’ve been a customer of WorshipTeam.com since their early days in 2007. Back then they had a long way to go, but hey…they were pioneers. Today, they offer a full service worship planning web site, and the ONLY one that has all the songs and chord charts already legally uploaded to their site for use. That’s right, unlike the other planning web sites, you don’t have to purchase the song separately and upload it yourself, NOR do you have to upload any chord charts. It’s all right there for you and your team. Of course if you have a particular arrangement of a song,  you do have the OPTION of uploading your own music and chord chart also.

The biggest thing about WorshipTeam.com that I love is the accessibility and easy of use. I tried a 30-day trial of one of their competitors once and never could navigate my way around successfully to do what I needed. Plus, the lack of already uploaded music was frustrating to me. I thought, “You mean I have to pay MORE money to buy my own music?” Not at WorshipTeam.com. I have found their service to be accessible, user-friendly, and intuitive.

Finally, WorshipTeam.com has everything all the other leading planning sites have. You can access it on your iPod, iPhone or iPad through uploading their app from the iTunes app store, or simply go to it using the web. It also has practice and performance modes that allow you to use the service like an electronic music stand while you perform so you don’t have to have a bunch of sheets of papers to keep up with.

WorshipTeam.com is a must for any worship leader. I highly recommend them when I am mentoring other worship leaders or whenever I am asked how I stay so organized. I’m also excited about the upcoming launch of WT 2.0 with the whole new upgraded format! Check it out!

My Thoughts on Harry Potter

I remember when the first Harry Potter movie came out. I was taken aback by the frenzy of the many people who were flocking to see it and read the books. I was taken aback then, and I am still taken aback now. Only now, I am even more perplexed, not so much at those who are not followers of Christ who get excited over the movie, but those who are in Christ.

The main problem isn’t that the movie has a witch in it. Such movies as “The Chronicles of Narnia” also have a witch in them. But there is a massive difference. Whereas the Chronicles of Narnia completely depict the witch as evil, allegorically making her synonymous with Satan, the movies and books of Harry Potter depict the witch as the protagonist, effectively endorsing the character and his actions by the unspoken, yet very real medium of the story line and the cinematography. Movie goers find themselves (as to be expected with any movie) “on the side of” the protagonist, identifying with him.

I am worried that the Evangelical church is blending more and more in with the world by not being discerning in the things we take part in. Evidence of this can be found in many different areas, but I want to focus on this particular area right now. The area of entertainment, and specifically Harry Potter.

God’s plan for His church is the same as it has been for His original human creation from the very beginning, and what was passed on to Israel. We are to bear the image of God in the world and reflect His glory wherever we go. We have received a promise from God, a promise that was passed down from Abraham on and culminating in Messiah Jesus. It’s a promise to bring God’s blessing to the whole world. And as God’s chosen people who carry His blessing, we are called, like Israel was, to live our lives in God’s ways, reflecting His character to that world. In so doing, we make Him known to those who are lost and without hope in the world.

I offer the following scriptures for consideration:

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 18:9-13

And, lest anyone complain that this is “Old Testament stuff,” Ephesians 5:6-11 says:

“Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light–for the fruit of the Light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth–discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

And again in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18:

“Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said, ‘I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.’”

These words are not my own. They are God’s. And I think at the very least, we need to ask ourselves one question: Would He approve or sit in the theater and watch the movie with me?

Will watching Harry Potter affect your salvation? Of course not. We are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. But what I just don’t understand is, why we as Christians would WANT to watch, take pleasure in, or support something that God clearly hates. What about God’s call for us to be His light in the world and the salt of the earth? (Matthew 5:13-16) If we argue that “it’s O.K. for me,” are we really thinking about the others in the world who live in darkness who need the light that we bring? Are we taking seriously enough the call to be a blessing to the whole world by bearing God’s image and glory?

I realize many of you will not agree with my assessment, and that’s fine. Personally, I am glad this whole Harry Potter series is finally coming to an end. Good riddance. But many of you who are Potter fans and Christians might have a differing view on this whole thing. I do hope this blog challenges you, but I’m not trying to be a bully on this subject, nor am I trying to be judgmental. I welcome your feedback, as long as it’s well thought out and biblically supported. But most of all, I believe we can still love one another in the process, no matter which side of the HP debate we are on.

Kenya Mission Trip 2011

Well, I have returned from our mission trip to Kenya. I planned on writing while I was there, but there was no internet access and no wi-fi available where we were. But I did keep somewhat of a journal of notes so I am going to catch you up now.

Kenya Trip

6/20
Arrived – after a LONG day (two days?) flying. We flew from Raleigh to Washington D.C., Dulles International, then from D.C. we flew Ethiopia Airlines all the way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Then from Addis, we flew to Nairobi, then one more quick flight to Eldoret which is about an hour drive to Choimim. Almost zero sleep. BUMPY roads to Choimim! Roads are very poor there. Dinner was delicious! Chipotis (a Kenyan tortilla) and chicken. Kenyans call chicken “cu-cu.” Slept well that night because I was exhausted!

6/21
First full day. Breakfast was bread and peanutbutter. We all stayed around the compound that day. (The compound is made up of a main living building, a private school, a church, and three orphan houses. It was built by a man named Damon Davenport with his ministry “Build The Village.”) Visited the school – kids all said in unioson “welcome veeseetors”. They sang to us, too. Visited orphan house. Met Pastor Joe Mwangi who I grew to have a wonderful friendship with. We have a lot in common. Led songs for children, VBS style. Lunch was white rice, scumawiki (kale greens), something else. 1:30 Damon arrived with our luggage from Nairobi that went on another flight. Dinner was homemade mashed potatos, beef, scumawiki Delicious! Damon bought us Coke.

6/22
Had corn flakes and mandazi (a donut-like thing) for breakfast. Visited 4 public schools today to share the love of Jesus (yes, you can do that in Kenya!). I told the story of Abraham. BUSY, BIG day! Lunch: rice and beans and scumawiki. Pastor Joe taught me a song in Swahili that I heard yesterday from the children. Yesu Ni Wangu.

6/23
Had crepes, sausage and corn flakes for breakfast. Today we worked on cleaning and painting two of the pre-school rooms in the school here at the compound (Noel Academy). Had rice and mango for lunch. Put second coat on rooms after lunch. Really violent storm came through with torrential rains, hail, lightning, and hurricane force winds. I asked Pastor Joe if they had a name for storms like that. He said no. So I named it a “Liki-Liki.” Had spaghetti and fried potatos for dinner. Spaghetti had noodles like we have, but is topped with beef stew. Delicious! The ladies always make popcorn for us for “dessert” after every dinner.

6/24
Had sausage and bread w/ peanut butter for breakfast. Went to a school that had primary school and high school. Shared the gospel with both groups. I was touched greatly by one of the songs the primary school children sang dor us with the lyrics “We are very different people from very different places, but God brought us together to learn about His Word.” For the high school, we broke up into small groups and told them about Jesus and shared our testimony and answered questions about America. It’s amazing how many children at all these schools have never seen people with white skin ever before. Rice and beans and banana for lunch. After lunch we went to several of the remote residences around Choimim on foot to spread the word about the women’s conference the following day. Saw and spoke with many primitive tribal people who lived in the earthen mud huts with thatched roofs and primitive houses. They even spoke a different tribal language (that I later found out is Nandi) that was different from Swahili. Some of the youngest children cried and ran away for fear because they had never seen people with white skin. We entered a few homes and I prayed to bless the home.

6/25
Women’s conference this morning. I led worship, then prepared the scumawiki for our lunch. Women’s conference was very successful. Had about 91 women from the surrounding area in attendance. Went to Eldoret for the afternoon. Went to Nakumatt (like Walmart) to go shopping. I bought a shirt and hat that say Kenya, and an iron for the compound. We ate dinner at Mama Mia’s in Eldoret. I had chicken wings for appetizer and Mama Mia’s Special (pizza) for main course. We all had a very fun time laughing and fellowshipping. Eldoret is about an hour drive from Choimim and is the closest city of any size and modernity.

6/26
Church today was wonderful! Lily led a few songs in worship and then their choir sang a few songs for offering. It was wonderful! Then I led three songs – “Your Grace Is Enough,” “Step By Step,” and “Here I Am To Worship.” After church we had the rest of the day to rest and have fun and fellowship. I spent some alone time first and listened to music on my iPad. Then at 6:15 we all came together and had crackers and cheese appetizers and honored the kitchen staff ladies. Then we had an American dinner cooked by Kathy, Joan, and Leigh and Amy made cupcakes. We celebrated Alvin and Ashphod’s birthdays. Alvin and Ashphod are two Kenyan boys that Kathy adopted last year who live in the orphan house. She supports them financially. Played the cup flipping game with a bunch of others on our team. Fun!

6/27
We went to two more schools this morning. One primary school and the last one was a Girls’ Preperatory High School. After lunch we broke up and did various construction tasks. I painted with a team of people…my job was to cut the upper border by the ceiling. I was SORE! My neck hurt, my back hurt, my shoulders hurt, I just hurt! But it was a good sore. We finished three classrooms in like 4.5 hours. Dinner was my favorite! Chipotis with chicken! Mmmmm!

6/28
Work day all day today. Painted, painted, and painted some more. I was sore! And tired!

6/29
Went to two more schools today. They were very nice. Kathy was sick (she drank some tea made with well water last night) so I led the introductions as well as the story of Abraham. Both schools gave us sodas which was different.The kids at the last school were especially excited to see us. Also, going to that last school, the scenery was very beautiful. It was the most beautiful drive we have seen yet. Went to the bat cave and waterfall after lunch. We had to hike up the mountain to the waterfall and cave. This was by far the most beautiful place I have seen yet. Got many pictures because words can’t describe it. At 4:30 or so the church back at the compound had a thank you/farewell service for us. It was very touching. Then at night during our devotions (electricity was out) we had a wonderful time with the rest of the team and the kitchen staff and a Pastor James and Pastor Joe.

6/30
Got up this morning and loaded up three vans, luggage and all, and headed to the Lake Nakuru National Park for safari. It was a LONG, bumpy drive! Took about three hours to go 90 km. Got to the lodge and had lunch buffet. Pretty good food. Very nice lodge! Went on the first leg of our safari that evening. Wow! What an amazing experience! I will let the pictures do the talking (see my Facebook page at facebook.com/experiencinghislove) After safari we came back to the lodge and had an incredible dinner! Also had an incredible storm on the African plain with brilliant lightning, loud thunder, and torrential rain. Then we all met upstairs for our devotion and then went to bed. What a great day this was, and what an awesome trip!

7/1
Got up at 5:30 am at the lodge, ate breakfast, and then we went on a two hour safari. Wow! What a magnificent time! Saw lions close up. Then we got back to the lodge, showered, and set out toward Nairobi. Arrived at Nairobi and went to the mall and market. Got lunch at Java House in the mall, then walked across the street to the open air market. Got things for the kids and Jamie. Bartered pretty well. Talked them down immensely. Then we drove through the city to the airport. That was an INSANE experience! But our driver got us there safely and on time. Praise God!

7/2
After a total of like 16 hours on three different planes, we finally arrived back in Raleigh. Jamie and the kids were all waiting for me when I got off the plane. What a welcome sight they were! I missed them immensely, but I had an amazing time in Kenya and made some life-long friends as well.

Forged in the TSA Fire

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

Everybody has a button. You know, that pet peeve that, when pushed, can bring out the flesh in a hurry. Well for me, that button is rudeness. I can’t stand it when people are rude. It’s just unnecessary. I don’t care who you are or how stupid the other person seems to have been to you, there’s just no excuse for rudeness in my book.

Well, it should come as no surprise that God would place us in certain circumstances where our buttons stand a great chance of being pushed so that we can be tried in the fire. It’s fruit He desires, and nothing stands in the way of fruit being produced more than the flesh.

I went on this mission trip for a few reasons. One of the main reasons was to hopefully experience God in a greater way and to learn from this experience a little of what His heart is for the people of the world and hopefully come out looking a little more like Jesus. I can say with full assurance that God is already at work in me and He has used a rather likely source as His vessel of choice to bring forging through fire: TSA.

Yes, TSA. Your friend and mine. There are few examples I can think of that embody the spirit of rudeness more perfectly. I mean, it’s bad enough you have to not only take your shoes off, but now your belt, too. But how was I to know I couldn’t bring a half-consumed bottle of water through the check point? And in the spirit of being helpful, I agreed to carry another team member’s laptop through to the plane. I’ve never carried a laptop through security before so how was I supposed to know you had to take it out of the case before going through the X-ray machine? Sadly, Mr. Grump Bumpy TSA man obviously thought I ought to have known these bits of information because, in the rudest way possible, he proceeded to inform me of the errors of my ways. And complete with a full blown attitude to boot!

But alas, I am, after all, on a mission trip. And Lord knows this guy probably needed Jesus, too. Looking back, I am thankful I didn’t lose my cool. I sure felt like it. But the episode was the first of what I hope will be many opportunities for God to form the likeness of Jesus in me. For it’s when we get our buttons pushed that we need to allow His Spirit to take control the most.

Thanks TSA, for the predictable opportunity to allow God to forge me in the fire of His love. And thank you, God, for being patient with me and for not being finished with me yet.