The Onion

Is this really how people view Christians? I remember not wanting to be bothered by "radical" Christians at college but do people really hate being invited to church this much? Check out this fake news article from The Onion. If you like to read fake news or want to see how secular culture views Christianity, The Onion has some pretty ridiculous stuff concerning Christianity and is a sure read to make you aggrivated and want to change the way people misunderstand what being a Christ-follower is all about.

Foundation Kickoff Party

There is gonna be a huge cookout/ pool party this Saturday @ Aaron's house, to officially kickoff the Foundation Ministry and get the summer started in style. So if you want to come, please do and if you need directions call me or you can email me from a link on the side of the page. We are gonna have burgers and hotdogs with all the fixins, so bring your trunks, yourself, and somebody else and we'll see yall there on Saturday at 5:00.

We are still meeting on Thursdays at 7:30 each week for what we are calling HangOUT @ Steve's. We meet in an empty house across from DSBC and have a short Scripture Discussion led by J Webb and then we usually eat something and play some Cranium. So anyone and everyone is invited to that as well. Let me know if you have any questions.

Spoon

Job's Whine is Our Victory Cry

The book of Job is rich in theology, and it wrestles with difficult issues like the existence of evil and the question of “why do bad things happen to good people?” I have been reading in Job lately and have been amazed at what God has shown me personally, but I ran into some intriguing verses a few days ago that I feel I must write a blog about. Job, though a blameless man, is meet with undue hardships and evil happenings sent his way until he is absolutely crushed in spirit and wants answers of why God has let these things happen to him. In 9:32-35 Job is speaking about God and he says, “He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him but as it now stands with me, I cannot” (NIV). My immediate thought when I read the lines “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us” was one soothing word, “Jesus.” Though it is hard to estimate when the book of Job was written, one can easily and confidently see that it was penned before the time of Christ. Simply put, Christ is our answer to Job’s needy complaint. As Christians we do indeed have someone to arbitrate between us and God, Jesus, the God-Man. Jesus, being both fully God and fully Man fulfills our every need and is our link and bridge to a Holy,
Sovereign, and Almighty God. Job says he cannot speak up without fear, but Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:12, when speaking about Christ, “In him and through faith in we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Again, the author of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the best arbitrator or mediator we could ever ask for. For in him we can relate to God, and through him, God has once-and-for-all related to us, reaching down to us by his Son. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Jesus knows what life is all about. He knows when life really stinks and what we are feeling. Jesus knows what it means to be crushed and because of that we can know that God does not waste a hurt in our lives or leave it unnoticed. Yet, on the other hand, in the moments of extreme excitement and jubilee we can also place a conscious awareness on the fact that we are able to perpetually approach God with confidence because of the finished work of Christ.

Monday Munchies: Food for Thought...the Da Vinci Code

So it’s come to my attention that there is this new movie out called “the Da Vinci Code”. Now thanks to the history channel and discovery channel, I think I might be approaching the opinion that I’m an expert on the subject…a dangerous thought indeed. I thought I’d write on it because if anything is causing people to think about religion, this movie is.

While I was on vacation, I noticed that the Catholic Church had bought a page add in the sports section encouraging Christians not to see this movie. That seemed a little extreme to me. Let me break it down on the theology of this movie just in case there is anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about. The movie is actually about this dude who is solving this mystery that the church has tried to cover up and several people are trying to kill each other and no body knows who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy. The mystery however, is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and she bore his child, which was the real “Holy Grail”. Now some people have actually started saying that they believe this. I’ll go ahead and say it in writing. The book is fiction, the movie is fiction, and it is made up. Now that I’ve stated that, we’ll get to playing with the idea.

There seems to be a lot of evidence that points to a cover up involving Mary Magdalene possibly bearing the child of Christ. This all occurs in the Catholic Church of course so I think the mystery should begin to be solved there. The Catholic Church is part of the body of Christ, the do more for their communities than most protestant churches ever even think of. That said Catholics and Protestants like myself disagree on a few issues of theology. (All statements are generalizations) One of these differences is how they elevate Mary, Jesus’ mother. Most Catholics believe that she was born without sin and that she never had sex (which leaves a lot of questions about James). They did this because the male driven society had an almost impossible time dealing with Jesus, the Son of God being born by a woman. So they made the Virgin Mary better than other women. Now, “what does this have to do with Mary Magdalene?” you ask. Mary Magdalene was also…get this…a woman! She was a disciple of Jesus (the bible says that she sat at his feet which is how a Rabi (what is the plural form of Rabi…Rabites?) teaches) and she was the first one to see Jesus after he is risen which also makes her the first one to ever proclaim the gospel that Jesus is risen! Now would a society that has a problem with a woman giving birth be ok with a woman being the first to know and therefore believe in Christ as the Risen Lord? I think not.

This is what I believed happened. A few people thought, Mary Magdalene must have been better than other women too. We’ll say that she married Jesus and because we live in France, we’ll say that she came to France and had her baby here. We’ll say that this is where our royalty come from. Now, even in this society, the Catholic Church knows that it is super problematic for Jesus to have a child. So they told these few people to shut up. Hence looking like a cover up. The people who made it up and the royalty obviously didn’t want to let this idea die. That is why there are so many clues. So there, I solved it.

About the movie, I think it is probably a good thing as a whole, some people will actually believe this as truth, but really, more people will really think about this stuff. So I’ll end with a few questions. Let me remind everyone that Jesus did not have a child. But what if He did? Would it really matter? Would some one walk up to you and be like, “God’s my great great great great great great granddad”? All you’d have to say is “Oh yeah, well, God is my Father!” Aren’t all believers God’s children? Something to think about. And as always, everything here is my opinion and not gospel. also, I’ve heard mixed things about the movie some like it and some hate it, so this isn’t exactly a recommendation just a reflection.

Questions for God

So I was thinking on what to blog on today and I came across the idea of questions for God. If you could ask God any 5 questions that you wanted and He would answer, what would they be? Tough one huh. Well I've thought about it briefly and here are my five questions. I hope you will comment and leave some of your questions that you would ask God if you could. In the future maybe I'll blog on what I think a answer to these questions would be. So here it goes:

1. Who do I know personally that I am close to who is going to hell and doesn't know it?

2. What is the one thing I can do in this life that will bring the most people to know Jesus?

3. What will heaven be like?

4. When is Jesus coming back?

5. What is the secret to knowing the full character of God, His will for my life, and experiencing His presence constantly?



Well I know the last question is a 3 parter but on a serious note I think it is important to think about questions. I think we should dig deep in our faith, search out the secret corners and try to find answers. And who knows, if you ask God questions, He might just give you an answer!

Matthew 7:7

7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

The Calling of Four Fishermen

In Matthew 4:18-22 we are told that Jesus’ first disciples were Peter, Andrew, James, and John, two sets of brothers who were also fisherman. As I read this passage today, I wondered if these four guys had any idea what they were getting themselves into went they stepped out of their boats and began to follow Jesus around everywhere. I wonder if sometimes we over dramatize things in our modern telling of Jesus calling the disciples. I can just imagine some sweaty, fiery preacher with a serious urgency in his zealous voice wearing high-water pants, white socks, and a short sleeve t-shirt supporting a clip-on tie frequently gasping and using the grunt “ha” saying, “And Peter knew right then ha, that he had a choice to make ha, a choice of life and death, because to choose death ha, would mean rejecting our Savior’s call to follow him ha.”
But what was it really like? In chapter 4 of Matthew at the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, we find that after Jesus was baptized by John and experienced temptation in the desert, he moved from his hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee and began preaching. During this time, and also in the area of Capernaum, he called these four fishermen to be his disciples. Capernaum however, is only about 20 miles away from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. One could walk from one to the other in a day. In reality, the area in which the majority of Jesus’ ministry took place is very small, not much bigger than any county in North Carolina. Perhaps Peter, Andrew, James, and John already knew Jesus fairly well when he called them. Maybe they would have said, “Jesus – oh yes, he’s that rabbi carpenter who built a fishing boat for me three years ago.”
It occurred to me today that if someone told me to follow them from North Carolina to Montana, I would have some reservation about it. However, if someone told me to follow them from Lattimore to Polkville (two small towns near my home) I would probably go along easily, especially if I were a first-century Jew and the invitation came from a respectable and friendly rabbi. When these four guys started following Jesus, I bet they had no concern for where they would stay or what they would eat. They were just following Jesus. And after all, they were just going down the road a little ways. Along the way however, they developed a friendship with the Son of God and probably learned more about the Lord than they could have dreamed. They saw miracles. They listened to Jesus’ sermons. It is amazing to think that 12 guys followed one man around an area the size of a county for only 3 years in one of the most insignificant corners of the Roman Empire and the whole world was changed because of it. Only the Son of God could have that kind of impact.
So what is the lesson for us? Maybe these four guys did not know what they were getting into, but they followed Christ right where they were and found God’s plan for their lives. Maybe we should have the mindset and attitude that says “I will follow Christ today, even if I just go down the road a little ways, and maybe I will end up finding God’s plan for my life in the same ridiculously awesome ways the disciples experienced.”

Theological Tuesdays: Virgin-Birth

Haven't you always wondered how Jesus could really have been born from a virgin? And is that really what happened or did it come from some mythological influence? We're gonna tackle these questions and more and see where we can get.

So why is this question important? Well if Jesus really was born of a virgin then this establishes beyond question the life of Jesus as a supernatural intervention of God. Now why should we believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary? Because if we believe in a God in heaven who created the universe and hung the stars in the sky, then we have to believe that miracles are possible. The virgin birth is nothing more than a miracle of God. So if you don't believe in miracles then it will be hard for this argument to convince you.

But there is some evidence in the Bible besides the gospel accounts to support the virgin birth. The first hint can be found in what I think is the earliest Messianic Prophecy (prophecy of a coming Messiah), which is in Genesis 3:15. In this verse God is speaking to the Serpent:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

This idea that the coming Redeemer will be the offspring or seed of a woman is very important. Why? Because in the patriarchal culture of the day, descendants were always traced through their father. Even in Matthew, when Jesus' geneaology is mentioned it is traced through his legal father Joseph. So this unique phrase, seed of the woman implies that the Messiah will come by a woman but not a natural father.

And finally to keep this thing from getting too long, lets look at the famous text in Isaiah 7:14.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. [Immanuel meaning: God with us]

This pretty much seals the deal in my book. Here we have a text written some 700 odd years before the birth of Jesus which predicts the virgin birth of a son who will be called God with us and some 2700 years later we still sing songs about Jesus calling him Immanuel. So there is no reason for us to not believe the literal biological virgin birth of Jesus if we claim to know the Living God. The prophecies were there in the Old Testament, the disciples wrote about it in the New Testament and we sing praise to the same God today, so I think we should be able to trust in Him by now and believe in the virgin birth. Besides it would be hard to claim you were Son of God if your father wasn't God! And that's exactly what Jesus did.

Monday Munchies...Food for Thought: Creationism V Evolutionism

So today as I was walking around the somewhat new Disney park called “Animal Kingdom”, which is Disney’s version of a zoo (Expedition Everest and the Safari rocked my face off), my thoughts were unavoidably drawn towards creation. This always leads to an interesting debate in my head about creationism v evolution.

Creationism (I’m not 100% I’m using the right term, but it will work for our conversation) is the belief that everything involving creation happened exactly as the bible said, which includes the belief that the earth is only about 10,000 years old. This obviously leaves some very interesting questions about dinosaurs and fossils that are millions of years old according to our carbon dating techniques. There are some interesting attempts at answers including the possibility that dinosaurs may still exist in some areas of the world such as the Congo and (my favorite) the idea that maybe God just pretended like there were dinosaurs and stuck a bunch of bones in the ground to give us something to do and wonder about.

On the other hand Evolutionist believe that the earth has been around for billons of years and that all life evolved, effectively eliminating the need for a creator and therefore is a view very popular with atheists. This view has lots of week points including the probability of evolving like we did being about the same as a tornado going through a junkyard and assembling a Bowing 747 jet. (we’ll just call it impossible for our conversation) Another problem is Human nature, our appreciation of aesthetic pleasures such as the beauty of a flower, or appreciation of a song. That has no use to insure the survival of humans and shouldn’t have ever been evolved into.

Now I don’t agree with any of these points. I believe the earth is older than 10000 years old, and I don’t think the entire bible should be understood literally. (there are arguments about what should and what shouldn’t be taken literally, but we’ll save that for later) I don’t believe in evolution either, there is no way any one can convince me I evolved from a fish. I do believe that God created the earth with all its mysteries and wonders for us to discover. I also believe that He gave it to us and is our responsibility to take care of it. I personally don’t think we’re doing a good job of being good stewards of our resources and gifts He has given us in this regard.
Anyway, I hope this left yall with some questions. I purposely left some things unanswered, but read your bible, pray and trust the Holy Spirit and google this stuff to know what you believe, just remember the prayer and the Holy Spirit part and you’ll have nothing to worry about.

P.S. The Holy Spirit doesn’t quite get His dues most the time lots of talk about the Father and the Son, not much on the Holy Spirit, maybe that’ll be a good one for later.

Misconceptions of Jesus: Jesus Sells Insurance

I was browsing around today and found this video. Check it out and see what ya think. Here is a link to a site that didn't like it.

What If?

I was checkin out Perry's blog today and man he hit a homerun on this one, so I thought I'd share it with ya'll. He' calling us out to think about how we limit God and to answer the question what if:

"Maybe it's just me--but I don't really think that Jesus died on a cross so that a group of people could get together and swap casserole recipes! I think there was more of an intentional purpose--Jesus died, rose again, and then commissioned us to go and tell as many people as possible--NOT to sit in a room and have a business meeting to discuss whether or not it is God's will to paint the restrooms a different color!

What if we dreamed big?

What if we all believed that God is as big as the Bible says He is and is capable of doing more than we could have ever asked for or imagined?

What if we wanted our churches to be a place where people came in and the only thing that offended them was the cross and not the people wearing one?

What if we believed that people were one breath away from eternity and that motivated us to get as many people in the doors as possible to hear about Jesus?

What if we actually worshipped God with our money instead of worshipping ourselves?

What if we were never satisfied--don't get me wrong--there is a difference between thankful and satisfied...but what if we continually thanked God--but continually asked Him to do more?

What if we were a church who was more concerned with who we were reaching than who we are keeping?

What if we were willing to pray bold prayers and take HUGE risks?

Let's dream big--let's ask God for huge things--let's believe He is able and capable of reaching those far from Christ...and let's take the necessary risks in order to impact this community in an incredible way! "




I can't imagine what our churches would look like if we did this. I'd say Perry has been thinking about these questions. Maybe thats why the church he pastors has grown to 7,000 people in just a matter of a few years and he's in South Carolina of all places.

Light Flows In

I learned something in Greek class yesterday that has been on my mind somewhat heavily and I wanted to share it because, for the first time ever, a couple verses of scripture make sense to me. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is one of the most amazing passages of scripture. Jesus has so much to say! The model prayer of 6:9-13 is the climax of the entire sermon. Stylistically, the prayer also has expansion elements with Jesus giving his own commentary on what each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer means. Hang with me, I’m getting to my point.
One phrase of the Lord’s prayer says “your kingdom come.” The parallel to this phrase is found later in 6:22-23 which says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then, the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” I have always heard these verses explained by saying that we should be careful of what we look at. I am not saying this is not important but to simply stop with that may mean missing something far greater that Jesus may have had in mind.
Since the phrase of the prayer is “your kingdom come” think about God’s kingdom, with him as ruler, full of glory. One of the ways glory is pictured in scripture is with the imagery of light. If something is brilliant and streaming with light we may say that it is glorious. How does light enter the body? It enters through the eye. On an individual level, praying this prayer is like asking for God’s kingdom to be inside you, in your heart. It is asking for his glory to enter you and change you, and subsequently it is also a submission to God’s rule in our lives. However, spiritually speaking, if we pray this part of the prayer with closed eyes not really wanting God’s rule and kingdom in us, we end up with no light but darkness within us. At worst, we may have a false sense of righteousness sense we went through the motions of praying the prayer and end up with “light that is darkness,” which is what the Pharisees had.
But on a positive note, how awesome it is that we have a Christ who explains, “nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) We have a God who is so loving and caring he wants to live intrinsically connected with each of us in our individual lives.

Wolves come in Sheep's Clothing

I found this pic today surfing the blogosphere as usual and thought it was worth sharing with you. If this picture doesn't trigger something in the Bible memory part of your brain heres a refresher:

Matthew 7:15- Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.


I'm not going to name any person or organization as a false prophet but this picture definitely makes what Jesus said come to life. If I was a sheep and saw this guy coming, I wouldn't realize he was a wolf until it was too late and then I would merely be lamb chops! This picture also reminds me of the Devil. I think this verse just as easily could have been describing the Devil and his tactics. I have found that often times temptation and sin come cloaked in a pretty package and its not until you open it up, do you find out what's inside. The Devil is shrewd and tricky and he'll do anything to win, even if it means dressing up as a sheep! So be on watch and stay alert because the enemy is always near. However, always remember that we have the Great Shepherd watching our backs.

Whether Living in Plenty or in Want

One of the times in my life when I felt the most peace happened at a worship service at BigStuf camp two summers ago. I was immersed in God’s presence as I remembered that peace was one of the fruits of the Spirit according to Galatians 5. For me, this was a reminder that God’s Spirit was really there and I was able to truly celebrate Him while being glad and resting secure under His protective watch. It was like being in paradise, if only for an hour.

However, recently I have had some anxiety about my college graduation since I am currently unemployed. Furthermore, I have had some difficulty finding a job. Because of this it has been hard to experience the same type of peace I felt two summers ago at BigStuf. However, lately I remembered that patience is also one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. In addition to this, God has caused Philippians 4:12 to come to mind often: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (NIV).
I believe patience can be closely tied into the contentment of which Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:12. Paul writes the letter to the Philippians from prison, (I think he was imprisoned in Caesarea while writing) where he patiently waited either his release or his execution.

Imprisonment was nothing new to Paul. Neither were beatings and other hardships as he affirms himself in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. It is amazing to think that Paul could be patient and content in these circumstances. On the other hand though, Paul also says in 4:12 that he knows what it is like to have plenty. Indeed, as a Pharisee from Tarsus (3rd largest city in the Roman Empire) he may have been well-to-do before becoming a Christian. His co-worker Barnabas may have also been wealthy, so they may have had plenty of dough on their first missionary journey (Acts 13-14).

Sometimes we cannot be content in good circumstances or ill ones. Paul implies that he had learned from God how to do both. So we also must take the command of our Savior genuinely not put worry into tomorrow but take each day for what it is worth. In taking life a stride at a time with patience and contentment in the Lord, we can find the momentary peace time and time again that flows from God as he continues to teach us. So enjoy the sunshine, breathe some fresh air, or just run around. Find a way to celebrate God somehow irrespective of what else is going on.

Monday Munchies...What does it mean to be perfect?

Sorry I skipped a week; school is getting hectic and all that crap. (I have two exams tomorrow, so y’all pray for me if you think about it). Anyway, to make up for it, I have a pretty good one, or at least I think. I’ve been thinking about this one a lot. I feel like its something God has laid on me to talk about, and ask questions about. Hopefully this might clear up so confusion around here. In any case, J-Webb needs to keep me honest here because I might be talking about things over my head.

What does it take to be perfect? Does perfection mean a life without sin? Does perfection mean never making mistakes? In Matt 5:48, Jesus tells us that we are to be perfect. It is important to note that this is a command. In taking a direct look at my own life and seen how “unperfect” I’ve been, I’m kinda leaning towards an idea that it’s impossible to be perfect as far as sinless-ness (aside from Jesus, who had to be sinless). The theological idea of original sin would back me up, because it says that people are born sinful…think about it, do you have to teach a 2 year old to lie? What’s more is that if we were capable of being sinless; wouldn’t that void the necessity of Jesus dying for our sins? If we could possibly go without sinning, wouldn’t that be our requirement for salvation, being good enough, like the Jews and the Muslims? This presents me with a very interesting logical conflict. Would Jesus give us a command we cannot follow? I don’t believe He would. This leaves two possible conclusions, either it is possible for us to be sinless (something I very much disagree with), or Jesus was speaking of some other form of perfection.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the book of Matthew are what is commonly known as “the sermon on the mound”. In order for us to understand what Jesus is saying, we have to know all of what He is saying. The commandment for us to be perfect comes at the end of a paragraph during this sermon where Jesus is telling us to love people. Specifically, Jesus is telling us to love our enemies. I don’t have the knowledge to get into this idea completely, but I will pause here to ask a brief question…if you love your enemies, are they still your enemies? Y’all think on that. Anyway, Jesus goes on to tell us that God loves everyone, including people who are His enemies, people who rebel against Him, by how He makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on everyone. Jesus showed us the fullness of this love when He died on the cross for us, because unless we are sinless, then we too were enemies of God. This is perfection. Love is once again the answer. We are to be perfect in our love. We are to love everyone, just as God loves everyone, even our enemies.

I feel that its nessacary to credit Dietrich Bonhoeffer with a good bit of these ideas, but as usual, my ideas are my own, and no one has to or even should accept them just because I have said them.

I’m calling attention to this to say, even though we should strive to not sin, that’s not the point or the thing that matters. What matters is that we strive to love. We as Christians shouldn’t focus so much on what not to do, but focus more on what to do. We should be perfect, just like God is perfect, in our love for others. Y’all think on that and get back to me.

Webb's Notes

Below are Webb's notes from the previous Foundation meeting at DSBC. I also want to remind everyone of the Graduation Service which we will be leading on May 21st and to be praying for that worship gathering. If you have any questions email me, the link is on the side.


Notes from Webb:

THE FOUNDATION 4-15-06

Things we should do:

- have a main purpose

- do everything intentionally

- foster meaningful relationships rather than just many

- emphasize growing in relationship with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders.

Target Group:

- Post high-school to 30 yrs.

- Un-churched

- Don’t steal from other churches

- “Apathetic” Christians

- Returners

1. What do we want People to become?

- Disciples

1. following Christ everyday
2. involved in the continual process of maturing

2. What do we want people to do?

- Be growing in

1. intimacy with God
2. community with Believers
3. influence with outsiders

3. Where do we want people to go?

- Small Groups

How Do We Accomplish This?

Casual Relationships->Open Group Event or Worship Service--->
Group Link---> Small Group

Here's the notes I typed up from the last meeting. I think one of the largest discoveries regarding our discussion was the general conclusion that there is a need for a intermediate stage between worship services and small groups, called a "Group Link," which would function somewhat like a wednesday night youth lesson (execept way cooler and more mature and named something really smooth of course). This will require not a small amount of work for the individual responsible for coordinating it. I think a good topic for the next core group meeting should be to ascertain some estimations on when we want particular elements to be in place. For example if we start with worship services, how many weeks will it be before we schedule the first Group Link, and if we will start small groups at the end of the summer after we play it by ear. I think it may be good to have a core group meeting before the graduation worship service that we are supposed to lead in May.