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June, 2008

  1. Shorts and flip flops at church. . .

    June 28, 2008 by Nate

    I had a bit of a “revelation” recently. I started thinking about Christ’s enemies, the Pharisees. In Matthew 23.27-28, Christ proclaims judgment on the Pharisees for their hypocritical behavior. In the previous verses, he condemns them for cleaning the outside of the cup, but leaving the inside filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence.

    Conversely, Jesus proclaims blessing on the tax collectors (who, in that day, were known for being cheats, swindlers, and thieves, in addition to being traitors to Jewish tradition by allowing the Roman government to sign their paychecks) in Luke 18.9-14. Christ commends this man for his honesty. For his willingness to come face to face with his brokenness and ask God to forgive him. The man went to God in the middle of his sin; he didn’t cover it up or hide it behind nice clean robes. He put his rags out there for all to see.

    I’m not saying that throwing on a pair of jeans to go to church is equivalent to putting our sinfulness on display. But I’m gonna let you in on a little secret about myself. . .

    Growing up, getting dressed up for church was the thing to do. Everyone at church was in a jacket and tie or a nice dress. As I grew up, I began using the suit as a way to keep people out. As I tied my Windsor knot (or Four-in-Hand, as the occasion or shirt collar called for it), I would look in the mirror and notice that I looked well put-together. To the casual observer, I had everything in order.

    But to the keen eye (namely, God’s), my life was a mess. Underneath the necktie, the European-vent suit coat, and the crisply pressed shirt was a man whose brokenness was suppressed. I lied to myself every Sunday.

    I lied to God every Sunday.

    I’m not an advocate of being casual at church. I’m an advocate of being honest. I’m an advocate of letting God see inside you. For me, that meant tearing down the barrier of the suit. I know where my mind used to go whenever I put on the jacket. Somewhere in the back of my thought closet a voice would say, “Put on the jacket. God can’t see through that.”

    But how can God fix us if we’re not willing to reveal the fact that we’re broken?

    Category Christianity, Church, Personal, Spirituality | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 20 Comments

  2. The 40 Day Fast. . .

    June 24, 2008 by Nate

    Fellow blogger Todd Ruth indirectly led me to Inspired to Action, a blog that exists “to equip and inspire people to take action on behalf of those in need.” Inspired to Action is hosting an event called The 40 Day Fast in which 40 bloggers fast for one day each and blog about an organization that is striving to meet a need somewhere.

    This is Day 2 of the 40 Day Fast, and the blogger Amy is telling of her organization: ProLiteracy Worldwide.

    While I’m not one of the registered bloggers for this event, I do want to share my own burden.

    During the final sermon of the “Reasons to Believe” series at Liquid Church, Pastor Tim told the story of a night he was watching TV and stumbled on a documentary about children in the Far East being sold into slavery and exploited for sex. How tourists and pedophiles would pay $10 an hour to do whatever they want with these little girls. When I heard that story, I felt all kinds of emotions burning inside me.

    So I started looking into this whole thing. And I discovered this organization: Love146.

    Love146 exists to help abolish child sex trafficking. The organization has set up multiple safehomes to help children who have suffered due to sex trafficking.

    Take a look at these statistics:

    United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) now believes that the number of children trafficked annually is around 1.2 million. (2006)

    It is estimated that two children per minute are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

    Annually, according to U.S. Government-sponsored research completed in 2006, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders, which does not include millions trafficked within their own countries. Approximately 80 percent of transnational victims are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The majority of transnational victims are females trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. (2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. State Department)

    It is estimated that at least 27 million people are currently enslaved around the world, many who have been enslaved through being trafficked. This is more than double the number of Africans enslaved during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

    The U.N. and other experts estimate the total market value of illicit human trafficking at $32 billion – about $10 billion is derived from the initial “sale” of individuals, with the remainder representing the estimated profits from the activities or goods produced by the victims of this barbaric crime. (UNODC)

    These numbers make trafficking in persons the second most lucrative crime in the world. The first is drug trafficking. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2006).

    About $28 billion of this is generated from commercial sexual exploitation. (International Labor Organization)

    The organization to End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes believe that 45,000-50,000 persons are trafficked into the U.S. each year, 15,000 of them are children. (ECPAT-USA)

    Pray with me that God would use Love146 and other similar organizations to help bring about the abolition of this kind of evil.

    Category Social Justice | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Reflections of the Healer. . .

    June 22, 2008 by Nate

    I really don’t feel like writing tonight. Maybe that’s why I need to. This past week has been such a trial. A friend’s death. A friend in a physically abusive relationship. A friend’s reputation tarnished by a lying ex-boyfriend. My own failure to resist Satan’s whispers in my life. A friend going through such heartache she couldn’t put any words to her pain.

    I was dried up this week. Emotionally parched. I started looking for something to quench that thirst. Oddly enough, I looked no further than the word liquid. It was on an old chocolate bar wrapper. I ate the bar over a year ago, but the wrapper, which was nothing more than a souvenir at the time, now serves as a tangible reminder of the day my journey in faith took a turn toward something new. On the back of the wrapper is a Scripture reference: John 7.38. Great reminder, I thought. But I certainly don’t feel like anything is flowing out of me. I feel more like living water is being drained from me.

    In his blog Great Leaders Serve, Mike Leahy, Executive Director at Liquid Church, shared a note he received from someone at church. . .

    “I know I have shared with you briefly that I have been struggling for a while. And one of the most painful things that I struggle with is loneliness and Sundays are especially hard. To be greeted with a welcoming smile and warm hearted hello is temporary comfort to my aching heart. Something as simple as saying hello can make a huge difference.”

    I think one of the ways we are made in God’s image is our ability to heal. Small things that we do reflect the glory of Christ’s power. Christ touched the leper and he was cured of his leprosy. In much the same way, we as Christ followers have the same kind of power. We can provide healing to someone whose heart is broken. A smile, a hug, even a high five. . . these actions we perform day in and day out provide so much comfort and can actually temporarily heal the wounds that someone has suffered.

    I gain a lot at church. I am moved emotionally through music. I am moved rationally through the classes and sermons. But something stood out vividly to me today. I can be healed at church. I can find temporary cures for the pain I’m suffering through seemingly unlikely means.

    Chatting about a Cuban cigar with Jeff. Sharing an awkwardly goofy handshake with Tom. Blowing a high five and having a good long laugh about it with Beth. Sharing a few burdens with Laura. Smiles and updates from Lauren. Pats on the back from Dave B. Hand shakes and shoulder bumps from Bobby. Smiles and a CD from Suzy (I had totally forgotten I’d asked for that, by the way. If you’re reading this, Suzy, thanks! You’ve got quite the memory!).

    I almost cry when I think about the kind of power each of those people have. Christ died to save us from sin. But the power of His love doesn’t stop flowing there. It keeps pouring out every time one of His followers shares a word of encouragement, puts an arm around someone who’s hurting, or listens as a broken heart exposes its painful contents.

    And every time we do that, we mirror the healing power of the Great Physician.

    Category Christianity, Church, Friends, Spirituality | Tags: | No Comments

  4. My journey. . .

    June 15, 2008 by Nate

    Well, I’m back from vacation. . . I’ll start posting again soon. In the meantime, I want to tell you my story.

    After attending Liquid Church for a year (furtively and intermittently from June ’07 until November ’07), I finally became a member on May 30. It’s funny how God does things. If you’d have asked me a year ago when I first started attending Liquid if I saw myself becoming a member, I probably would have laughed at you. Liquid Church was my secret church. I would attend my former church in the morning, swing by Liquid in the afternoon, and be back at my other church in the evening.

    But God seemed to have other plans. And I learned something along the way. Church doesn’t exist for me. It’s not about what I want in a church or what makes me feel happy or comfortable. We, as Christ’s followers, are the Church. We exist for Him. So, while I felt comfortable at other churches along my journey during the time period between November and May, I knew I wasn’t fulfilling God’s will for me within the Body of His Bride.

    At one church in particular, I’d begun to use my musical gifts to serve. I sang in the choir, the praise team, and the rock band. But I could sense my selfishness coming through. Music was something I’d learned as a little child. I worked at it through high school and college, and somehow I felt that was what I was supposed to do in church. But it seems God had other plans for me.

    So here I am, sporting a blue t-shirt that says, “Living water for a thirsty world,” and I find myself wondering how I got to this place in my life. I didn’t go to school for any sort of leadership position, and yet there I was, leading a Life Group. I didn’t study people skills, and yet I find myself engaging in conversation after conversation with total strangers, completely at ease with the exchange.

    I’m not saying all of this to brag, because I have nothing to brag about. God gave me these unique gifts; He knew exactly where I would be in June ’08. He pulled me away from Parsippany Baptist Church—where I’d been comfortable for 17 years, through Hawthorne Gospel Church—where I thought I’d found a new home, and finally to Liquid Church—where I’m stripped of any ability to boast in my achievements and talents. Where I’m able to touch people’s lives with the Gospel. Where I’m learning to live out the “new commandment” that Christ gave to His followers (John 13.34).

    Church isn’t about me. It’s about God. We are the Body of Christ. We are the ones called to heal the broken, feed the hungry, quench the dryness of the thirsty. How can we do that if, as we search for a church to call home, we look for the best preacher or the best band or the best choir?

    Here’s what I want you to think about: is your church fulfilling the mission for which the Church was called? If not, can you do something about it? If so, are you actively being a part of that mission? Are you using whatever means at God’s disposal to help your church fulfill that mission?

    If you’re seeking a church, what are you looking for in it? Are you trying to find a church with a good music program? An engaging preacher? Or are you looking for a church that longs to reach out to the lost and wants you to be a part of that mission?

    Craig Groeschel, lead pastor of LifeChurch.tv in Edmond, Oklahoma, went around New York City asking people on the street what they thought about Christianity. One answer stuck out to me. The interviewee said, “Christianity, I think, is a dying faith. It’s been dying for the past decade, and it’s only getting worse.”

    Perhaps. But behind all of the bickering, all of the infighting, all of the debating among denominations, revival is coming. . .

    “I see a generation
    Rising up to take their place
    With selfless faith, with selfless faith
    I see a near revival
    Stirring as we pray and seek
    We’re on our knees, we’re on our knees

    Heal my heart and make it clean
    Open up my eyes to the things unseen
    Show me how to love like you have loved me
    Break my heart for what breaks yours
    Everything I am for your kingdom’s cause
    As I walk from earth into eternity”

    So, after all of that, my one prayer is this: “Father, make us yours.”

    Category Church, Spirituality | Tags: | No Comments

  5. charity: water

    June 1, 2008 by Nate

    A preview of Liquid Church’s summer mission.

    Category Social Justice | Tags: | No Comments