Night of Praise at Hyde Park Baptist Church....December 14 at 6:00p.m.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

$10,000 Hot Shot Competition

This is from a 3 on 3 Basketball tournament at 2nd Baptist Houston, TX....connect3on3.com

LeadNOW 2008 Conference and "Relevance"

I am taking off tonight to spend the rest of the week/end in Dallas at the LeadNOW 2008 Conference. As I become increasingly more and more disgusted with the word, "relevant" since everybody seems to be saying it and apparently so few people are "being it," I hope that they will go beyond talking about "being relevant" and actually "be relevant" and enforce the truths of scripture and the reality of God's eternal kingdom where Christ reigns!

As a friend and I rode to Jack Brown drycleaners (I found a 15% off coupon I could use there) yesterday to pick up some clothes, we began to discuss the complete lack of "relevancy" of many churches and ministries today, and their complete failure at leading the lost to genuine faith in Christ. We discussed the fact that 21st century American culture unashamedly rejects the message of Jesus moreso than perhaps any other generation since the founding of this nation, presenting some serious challenges to the church.

Throughout our discussion a recurring theme kept coming up again and again, "How do churches grow and remain "relevant" in a society that sees the church as irrelevant?" With so many different worldviews constantly colliding, it is almost seems as if the church is "lost in translation."

This issue of "relevance" in the church however does not seem to be a new concept. Should the church be doing everything it can to strip down any barriers that might hinder one from coming to know Christ? Absolutely. Should the church use every faculty of media and technology to convey the age-old message of a saving faith in Christ? Absolutely. Should the church address every form of idolatry and self worship in order to present the true God that is worthy of worship? Absolutely. Should the church become so consumed with its own customs and programs that we fail to change and adapt with time in order to not become "your grandma's church" where someone who had never been in a church would have to take a semester long crash course on "church language and tradition" in order to have a clue what was going on? Absolutely not.

We can take our best pictures of relevancy and the church today by looking at Jesus' teachings and Paul's continual use of culture and pagan worship to turn people to the truth of Christ and the necessity for the church. The 3 ideas I continue to come back to as I consider how to live a relevant life as Christian (and as a minister) and how to lead others to so as well include:

1) A Christian must first know the truth of Scripture. They must also have a clue about how people think who have no idea who Lottie Moon or Annie Armstrong is. A Christian must know truth in such a way that it pierces through differing worldviews and cuts to the heart of every issue......truth! Jesus says that the we shall know the truth and that the truth shall set us free. (John 8)

At the same time we must be careful that all truth points to Jesus, the one through whom we find salvation. He spoke specifically to the Pharisees who sought to find salvation through an intellectual exercise. Jesus says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." (John 5)

2) A Christian must be available to be used by God. Does this mean that God will not and cannot use someone who is either not a Christian or who is living a life of sin and rebellion against God to further the purposes of His eternal kingdom? Absolutely not. In fact we know from scripture that God raised up pagan armies to serve His purposes because He is Lord over all things. However, it is clear througout scripture that the Lord's eyes move to and fro throughtout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. (II Chronicles 16)

3) A Christian must ask God to move in their life and ministry. Unless God is "moving" and "involved" in the ministry it will never be anything more than programs, services, events, etc., and will ALWAYS cease to be kingdom work. More on this idea later....I've gotta go pack and get ready to LeadNOW!

Unbelievable Ignorance

As much as I despise everything that Howard Stern stands for, this political interview in Harlam by Sal is hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCcHzUmVP5c