"Religious" People

This morning my pastor spent some time going through a portion of Scripture from Matthew chapter 23. Basically, the chapter is a discourse Jesus has with the "religious" people of his day. If you don't know, Jesus and religious people didn't get along very well. Actually, they murdered him. Shortly after Jesus rebukes the religious people in chapter 23, they begin to organize their plot to have Jesus arrested and put to death. Here is a summary my pastor gave called "6 Timeless Characteristics of Religion." And just so you know, "religious" people are found in every religion, and they are characterized as follows.

1. Religious people are obsessed with recognition.

Religious people want to be praised by others, seen by others, and recognized by others. Their religious action is propelled by motives of self-glory.

2. Religious people substitute religious ritual for knowing God.

Rather than seeking a personal relationship with God, religious people are more concerned with their rituals. They mistakenly think the ritual is they're relationship with God.

3. Religious people elevate secondary traditions above love for God.

They become extremely unbalanced on what is important. They make minor issues central and neglect the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. They care more about the outward appearance than the inward reality. They focus on buildings, clothes, music styles and order of services instead of life change.

4. Religious people elevate religious ritual over a love for others.

Unfortunately, in North Carolina, there are more churches than homeless people. I realize not all homeless people desire another lifestyle, but is Southern Christianity focused on the right things? I'm afraid not. It's unfortunate...and I am to blame.

5. Religious people are more aware of the sins of others than they are of their own sins.

6. Religious people think we're talking about someone else.

You probably have been thinking of all the religious people you would like to receive stoning, but before we throw the first stone, we're probably more religious than we think. It's true. I'm more religious than I think. You are more religious than you think. I thank God He allows me to see my religiosity, and doesn't let me walk blindly.

Twitter

After I reasoned to never be a part of something called, "twitter," I must admit, I'm totally hooked to this new social networking phenomenon. Although it started in 2006, I just found out about this new networking tool. At first I was skeptical and considered it to be immensely egocentric (in which it can be), but I decided to use it rather to find links, books, blogs, and to stay connected with my community of peeps. Today, I'm actually sick at home, and my two small group leaders have used Twitter to encourage and pray for me. That's awesome!

Basically, Twitter is similar to Facebook status updates, telling people what your doing, think, reading, etc. You can only write up to 140 character per "tweet" to inform people, so that makes it concise and short. You choose who you would like to follow, and others choose whether or not they would like to follow you. It's a brilliant concept already used by our church, small group, staff, and other ministry networks. On the left side of my page, you can read my latest "tweets."

If you aren't on Twitter, jump on board. I'm sure you'll love it!

Advance 09

I'm proud to tell you about an incredible conference coming to Durham, North Carolina, June 4-6, 2009. Advance 09 is designed to spark a resurgence of the local church, especially here in the South. It's all about God's gift to his people - the Church. Among the incredible line up of speakers includes my pastor, J.D. Greear, from the Summit Church. Then others include John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Daniel Akin (my seminary president), Eric Mason, Brian Chapel and Tyler Jones. You definitely need to check out this short trailer and register at Advance 09. You can also follow Advance 09 on Twitter.

TOMS Shoes on AT&T

Blake Mycoskie, Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes, was featured in an AT&T commercial as part of AT&T’s latest ad campaign. Blake, a Christian, developed TOMS Shoes to be a shoe company that exists to provide shoes for children across the globe who don't have shoes. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give one pair to a child in need, literally One for One. I personally own a pair myself (and have an iPhone through At&T!!). They also have a cool look to them. I didn't know AT&T was going to be featuring TOMS until I saw the first commercial whiling viewing the Masters Golf Tournament this past weekend. I was blown away.

Filming for the commercial began in early February 2009. Using a variety of locations, shooting stretched over several weeks and two continents. The result is a commercial that captures the essence of TOMS.

Since its beginning in 2006, TOMS Shoes has given 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina, Ethiopia, and South Africa. TOMS plans to give 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need in 2009.

First aired during the Masters golf tournament, and slated to run over 12 weeks, the AT&T ad with Blake will allow TOMS Shoes to reach hundreds of millions of people. TOMS’ simple One for One movement should inspire viewers, which will allow TOMS to give even more shoes to children in need around the world.

Make your next shoe purchase be TOMS!

Lunch with a successful church planter

On Tuesday I met with David Cox, someone I would consider to be a successful church planter. After several years of ministry, David planted a church here in Raleigh at the age of 34. He remained at this church for 7 years and watched the church grow to 700 people. The church is still thriving and keeps a regular attendance upwards of 1,400 people 12 years later. While numbers aren't the main criteria for a healthy church, I do believe a healthy church should grow.

Here are some random insights I viciously scribbled in my journal from our time together. I hope you enjoy.

• “God is absolutely faithful and completely unpredictable”

• Say “no” to the sheep when you know what is best…they are sheep; don’t be a pushover

• The people who come to a church plant are often seeking control and power

• Wait at least 1 year before adding elders

• A church plant is less defined during the beginning, and as you define the church, you will loose people who don’t like where you are going

• Be balanced in all the purposes of the church and keep prayer as the vital foundation upon which all the purposes stand

• 1 pastor can only manage up to 100 people, so equip and empower others to do ministry; let go and let them run with it; meet with a gifted person 1 on 1, inspire them with a vision for a specific ministry, and let them go for it

• 3 vital roles of the pastor—Preach the Word, Pray, & Lead…only the pastor can do these things, and if he doesn’t, no one will

• Don’t target a particular demographic, but target the purposes of the church; if you are doing your purposes, they will attract all ages

• Don’t plant a church because you think it will be cool or interesting; only plant if you know God is leading you to do so

My Commitments in Marriage

I'm a list guy. I like to write things down, make notes and journal. So, I've made a list of my commitments in marriage to Ashley and to God. Here it is for what it's worth...I think it's pretty awesome. Let me know if you have ideas of things I should add.

1. Love Jesus

2. Have a job and keep it

3. Leave Mom & Dad—Genesis 2 & Ephesians 5

4. Become one with Ashley & never leave her—Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:6; 1 Corinthians 7:10

5. Ashley is God’s daughter, so treat her as you should

6. Ashley is Bill’s daughter, so take care of her

7. Be a one-woman man—1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Corinthians 7:2
--a. Keep my eyes off other girls & pornography
--b. Keep my mind devoted to Ashley

8. Love Ashley as Jesus has loved me and the church and gave himself up for it—Ephesians 5:25-; Colossians 3:19

9. Disciple Ashley—Ephesians 5:26-27

10. Honor Ashley—1 Peter 3:7
--a. Physically
--b. Emotionally
--c. Verbally
--d. Financially
--e. Practically
--f. Parentally
--g. Spiritually

11. Serve Ashley as if I were serving Jesus—Colossians 3:23-24
--a. Practically with tasks
--b. Sexually—1 Corinthians 7:3-5

12. Lead Ashley
--a. God holds me accountable for my family—Genesis 3; 1 Timothy 3:4-5
--b. I am the head of Ashley—Ephesians 5:23

13. Provide for Ashley-1 Timothy 5:8

14. Protect Ashley

15. Follow Jesus example, not Adam’s

16. Don’t be a coward or a chauvinist, be a godly man

Pitfalls in Church Planting

No, I'm not an expert on church planting, but I'm learning as much as I can so that I will be well prepared one day to be a church planter and hopefully spark a church planting movement. However, some say Ed Stetzer is an expert on church planting. Ed is a great friend to our pastor and our church, he is the president of Lifeway Research, he has been involved with church planting for years and years. At the Summit, we have a church planting training program called SendRDU. Our pastor, J.D., has a God-sized vision to plant 1,000 churches through the Summit before he retires (which he has already scheduled in 2038...or something like that). Stetzer spoke for SendRDU last Tuesday at our monthly Missional Church Forum about Pitfalls in Church Planting. Here are his main points and the take-aways.

1. Lack of Preparation
Guys who typically have the drive of a normal church planter aren't the most prepared. Preparation needs to happen most in the area of spiritual preparation. Church planting is not the greatest environment for the leader to be fed spiritually.

2. Stressful Family Relationships
Planting a church magnifies and creates family issues. You are not the only church planter. Because of the work, your family is also planting the church. Both spouses must be enthusiastic about the work. Disaster happens when one is enthusiastic and one is willing. Willing won't keep you in church planting.

3. Inadequate Training
Read at least 10 books on church planting before you start. Don't fall in love with a strategy or method. Fall in love with your city, and then develop the best strategy and method to reach that city.

4. Lack of Accountability
Planters normally have more skill than maturity. It is crucial to have several mature mentors to be your guides.

5. Unrealistic Expectations
The average North American successful church plant is averaging 100 people after 4 years. This is a realistic expectation. This doesn't mean you shouldn't dream big, but keep your dreams from turning into number goals. Sometime numbers goals may be helpful, but often they are detrimental.

6. Broken Partnerships
Unfortunately, "mother churches" pull back from the plant because of unmet expectations. Don't plant a church because you think there are no good churches. Plant through a healthy church who can partner with you. Don't do it alone.