Measuring the Heart

At Bellwood, we are just now starting to review the results of the spiritual life survey our congregation took a few months ago. There is alot of data to wade through. The survey is intended to show us (Bellwood), where we are on the spiritual life continuum. (click image)

The theory is that every believer is somewhere on this continuum and desires to progress toward the far right (being Christ-centered) - at least that is what Church leadership hopes.

So, what is the basis for this snapshot? The research used Jesus' Great Commandment as the foundational gauge: "Love God with all of your heart...and love your neighbor as yourself". This lead to asking the question, "Where are you?" - in terms of a relationship with Christ. Is it possible to measure how much someone loves God and loves others? Oftentimes, we mistakenly look at the numbers (attendance, giving, participation, etc) and think people must be growing in their relationship...not necessarily.

I think alot of us are trapped in the mentality that we have to "earn" or work for our salvation. We feel like we must "do something" before God will love us. In his book, Waking the Dead, author John Eldredge writes, "The heart is the connecting point, the meeting place between any two persons. The kind of deep soul intimacy we crave with God and with others can be experienced only from the heart". But then Eldredge goes on to say that "by worshiping efficiency, the human race has achieved the highest level of efficiency in history, but how much have we grown in love? Christians have spent their whole lives mastering all sorts of principles, done their duty, carried out programs of their church...and never known God intimately, heart to heart".

Keeping the 10 Commandments doesn't require your heart, but keeping the Great Commandment does. This is the point Jesus was making in Matthew 19 when he was approached by the rich, young ruler. This young man "did church" all his life, but his heart was never in it. Don't get me wrong: It's important to give of your time, talents and money to God, but what He really wants is your heart. Have you given that to Him?

Read Romans 10:9-10 and Ephesians 2:8-9

I'm Embarrassed

This blog may generate a few comments and may get the emotions going, but regardless of your political views, I need to say something. First, here is my disclaimer: I consider myself neither Republican nor Democrat (nor am I part of the Tea Party). In fact I don't like titles, labels or affiliating myself with any particular group except to say that I try to be a faithful follower of Jesus. Period.

Now having said that, no doubt a few people will label me as self-righteous, naive, uninformed - but anyway, here's the deal: I received an email this morning from a dear brother in Christ that included this picture:There were other pictures included in my friend's email, but I'll only include this one. It was one of these emails that has made the rounds. You may have already received it. You may have already forwarded it to everyone in your contact list. (Lord, I hope not)

The thing that bothered me the most about this email was the fact that it has been sent and circulated by Christians - Mennonite Christians - who, I thought, "prided" themselves on living out Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which includes the directive to "love your enemies" and "pray for those who persecute you". I am not saying that President Obama is "the enemy", (nor am I saying that he is the savior of the world) but certainly this email I received implies that some people really do not care for him - AT ALL. That's OK. We are free to express those feelings in this country, by my goodness - I would have hoped that my Christian (Mennonite) friends would have been able to rise above this "childish-name-calling, President-bashing, send an email to get everyone else on board" game.

I understand that there are many people (myself included) who do not like or agree with certain political agendas and policies being implemented, but good grief, aren't we supposed to have a different response as Jesus followers? How about:

1 Timothy 2:1-4 - "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I know some of this administration's policies will most likely affect our standard of living, but Christians are called to live simple, quiet, holy lives being content knowing that God will ALWAYS provide.

Article 23 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective says, "As Christians we are to respect those in authority and to pray for all people, including those in government...We witness to the nations by being that "city on a hill" which demonstrates the way of Christ".

What saddens me is that it is much easier to make fun of and bash those in authority than it is to pray for them. It saddens me that our "witness" appears to be no different than the rest of the world. Hear me loud and clear: I am not pointing fingers at anyone except at myself and for this, I am embarrassed.

A "Normal" Part of Life?

When it comes to someone dying, people often say that death is a normal part of life. I would like to challenge that thought for a moment. I recognize that all of us will die someday and since death comes to everyone, we say it is "normal". But I don't think in God's big scheme of things that He ever meant death to be "normal" in the life of humans. In fact, one of His first directives to Adam & Eve was to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said if they did, they would die. Instead, God tried to "persuade" them to eat from the tree of "life" but you know the rest of the story.

So because of one bad decision (influenced by Satan), we say that death is a normal part of life. But that is not how God intended life to be. The Bible says in John 10:10 that the thief (Satan) came to steal, kill, and destroy (not God). God's plan (through Jesus) is that people would be able to live and have an abundant life. The Bible also says that anyone who believes in Jesus would live forever!

The apostle Paul wrote that "not everyone would die, but would be changed". The dead in Christ would be resurrected to eternal life. He then asks the question, "Death o death, where is now your victory? Where is your sting?" When the Resurrection takes place, Paul says that "death will be swallowed up in victory". (see 1 Corinthians 15)

Then John writes in Revelation 20 that after the thousand years of Satan being bound, "Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire". No more death. It doesn't exist. Not even in our vocabulary. That is what is "normal" - that people would live (forever) and not die.

Thank God for eternal life made available through Jesus Christ and thank you God for the Resurrection and return of Your Son.

Achieving the Mission

These are my notes from last Sunday's sermon on "Achieving the (Great Co-) Mission".

To be headed in the right direction in life serves people well. Without a destination, people will meander and drift. We seem to have this inborn desire to want to know that we are headed somewhere – that our lives have purpose and meaning, not just are successful but significant. This, oftentimes is done through formulating a mission statement because people like to know where they are going - or in an organization, where they are being lead.

Matthew 28:16-20 records the mission statement Jesus gave to His remaining 11 disciples. It was a compass, a map to guide them and give direction. "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Jesus said these words to help give the disciples' lives meaning, purpose, and significance in fulfilling what He started. Living with a clear sense of mission is what the church is all about. Those that don’t, limp along with something called Mission Drift. It's what happens when people come together to support an objective but forget what the objective is. People lose their reason for being and get sidetracked even though they go through the motions.

A clear sense of mission is the reason a church exists. Being missional is not an adjective to describe a church; it is the very DNA of the church. So how are we doing at achieving the mission? Too often we look at the numbers to gauge how we're doing: "How many are attending worship services? How many are involved teaching Sunday school? How many baptisms have we had? How many tithe?" This is the wrong question to ask. Instead we must ask, "Where are you?"

In your walk with the Lord, where are you? Are you drawing closer to Him? The health of our church is not just about numbers. It’s about the movement of people toward Christ, toward deep love for God and genuine love for others. Once we answer this question, we can fulfill and achieve the mission.

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