Do you pass the test?

is your faith more than words?

can your commitment to christ stand the credibility test?

does your devotion to god ooze consistency?

do people…all people within your sphere of interaction…know that you love them?

how do they know it?

if i  speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  if i  have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if i have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, i am nothing.  if i give all i possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, i gain nothing.  1 corinthians 13:1-3

show me your faith without deeds, and i will show you my faith by what i do.   james 2:18

“There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.” – Mother Theresa

An easter thought…

here’s a question that has been nagging at me since easter:

“why do people who don’t see church as family… still come to church services on easter, christmas, and an occasional mother’s day?”

why?

do you think they are seeking?

do you think they are hoping god (if there really is a god) is going to somehow be impressed?

do you think there is a personal sacredness to the day?

do you think it is simply a cultural phenomena?

do you think it is just family pressure?

just wondering what you think…

Do you Favre?

just got the news this morning that the great brett favre is making it official…he’s coming back for another year in the nfl with the minnesota vikings.  at least it appears that way.

the dude will be 40 years old this fall, as he enters his 16 season as a pro quarterback.  the average career for an nfl player is three and a half years.  unbelievable.

now, i’m not the president of the favre fan club or anything, but the longer this drama of his return goes on, the more i’ve been forced to think about some things.

when did your dream die?  or did you ever have one at all?

i’m inspired when i listen to favre talk about the game…the passion he has for playing…the calling he has as a leader of men and the drive he has to take a team to the ultimate goal.  i get fired up when i see a 40 year old guy commit himself to the discipline of excellence in his own body and mind to perform at the highest level in his field.

what about you?  are you pushing for the very best?  are you more fired up about the goals in your life now than you were 10 years ago?

i started over in youth ministry in texas when i turned 40 back in 1995.  it was the beginning of some of the most amazing experiences of my life…the best stretch of youth ministry in my years.  i was more excited, more focused and more committed than i had ever been.  (granted, it wasn’t nearly as physically demanding as playing quarterback in the nfl!!)

i turn 55 next week.  i’m more excited about what god is doing at north point than ever before.  can’t wait to see how the next decade turns out!

do you have any “god-sized” dreams that you need to start chasing?  or are you just existing from day to day?

maybe it’s time for you to get out of early retirement, get back on the playing field, and let god put some passion back into your game…

A conference culture

this past week, i received information on attending the following church ministry conferences:

• Teen Apologetics Conference

• Focus on Parenting Simulcast Conference

• Focus on Marriage Simulcast Conference

• Time to Honor: Promise Keepers Conference

• Killing Cockroaches Tour

• Catalyst OneDay Conference – Dallas

• Servolution Conference

• Dynamic Church Conference

• Missionary Church Pastor’s Conference

• Worship Facilities Expo Live from Long Beach

• Sticky Church Conference

• San Diego A29 Bootcamp

• Everything Must Change Tour

• LifeServe Conference 09

• The “One” Conference

• MinistryTech Conference

• Shift Conference

• ReFocus Conference

• WordCamp (a blogging conference)

• Catalyst West Coast

• National Youth Worker’s Convention

• Exponential 09

• Community

• Simply Strategic Volunteers Workshop

just this week!  this week!  and here’s the deal…these conferences cost tons of money (between $1500 – $2000 to experience one of them) and the speakers are basically all from large, successful mega-churches and mega-ministries.  now i’ve got two observations.

the first is that i don’t get it.  it seems like we have become a culture of conferences.  we are mesmerized by success and those who can tell us about it.  we are captured by the stage.  it’s like we have taken our love affair with sports and entertainment (the spectator mentality) and just transferred it over to the church. and it even happens with our leaders.

on second thought, i do get it.  but i don’t like it.

my second observation came tonight as i was reading another blog.  seattle pastor, eugene cho had these profound insights:

Megachurches only comprise 1% of the churches in North America. But then why do the majority of the conferences revolve around the mega-churches and their pastors?

I think mega-churches and their leaders are doing phenomenal ministry.  I really do.  But we’ve elevated this 1% as the epitome and face of a successful ministry and created a machine of conferences, publishers, books, and networks based on this very limited expression.

the author of the blog then made an amazing illustration by rewriting 1 corinthians 12 and substituting the concept of the church whenever the parts of the body are mentioned.  we all (ministers and churches) have a god-given calling, but there is an incredible temptation to want to live out the calling of ministers and churches that are in the spotlight.  here’s the rewrite:

The Church has many different parts, not just one part. If the house church says, “I am not a part of the Church because I am not a megachurch,” that does not make it any less a part of the Church. And if the rural church says, “I am not part of the Church because I am not a gigachurch,” would that make it any less a part of the Church? If the whole Church were a gigachurch, how would you reach rural areas? Or if the whole Church were a rural church, how would you reach urban areas?

But the Church has many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange the Church would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one Church. The gigachurch can never say to the megachurch, “I don’t need you.” The Internet church can’t say to the church plant, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the Church that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

i love calling north point my family.  how about you?

Role playing

i’m sitting here watching lebron try to keep his cavaliers in the game tonight against orlando.  there is no question in my mind that he is the best basketball player in the world.  honestly, i don’t think anybody even comes close.  sorry kobe.

as a matter of fact, in the history of basketball, there have only been a few who have ascended to the heights of greatness that lebron has climbed.  only a handful are so special, so gifted, so uniquely talented that all they need are some role players to complement them as they hoist the team on their massive shoulders and achieve dreams of unprecedented magnitude.

i think this is true in all areas of life.  there are uniquely gifted coaches and corporate executives and military leaders and financial entrepreneurs…even mega-pastors.  men and women who are so far superior to the rest of us in what they do, they can command pretty much anything they want.

all of them are usually quick to give credit to their role players, but we all know their giftedness and superior talents and abilities will ensure success wherever they go.

in spite of the presence of prominence and excellence, the nuts and bolts of life depend on us role players…whether it is a basketball team, a business, a squadron or a church family.

i’m comfortable and confident in my kingdom role.

how about you?  do you know your role?  are you playing it well?  the team needs you.

I’m troubled

here’s a thought i’m having this morning…

we are witnessing the proliferation of “event” christianity…the incessant need to be part of the event crowd, watching the show…led by the gifted, the talented, the anointed, the charismatic, the experts.  there seems to be an almost uncontrolled investment in this kind of spirituality.

there is no doubt that we live in an “even” culture.  football games, rock concerts, movie openings…you name it.  but why does it have to spill over to god’s family?

we pay large sums of money…spend large amounts of time…invest large amounts of energy…building, creating, refining, watching, participating in, promoting, marketing, running, these events.  the faithful seem to define their spirituality by being at these events.  i’m troubled.

There’s an urgency

“My heart is with 20-somethings…..I preach the gospel and I see between 10 and 20 kids (college-age) become Christians and give their life to Christ every year…. I preach the gospel and I preach orthodoxy and I believe it is important to defend orthodoxy….I believe that we have to speak the gospel to 20-somethings with an urgency today that we have never seen in American history.”

this is a quote by scot mcnight, a college prof, writer, pastor, blogger, and incredibly influential brother.  i like how he says this.  i wish i would have written it.  it’s exactly what i feel.

this past weekend, i got to speak to a group of volunteer youth leaders at another church.  they didn’t know me.  i didn’t know them.  i got to tell them that they are doing the single most important task of the church today…leading young people to surrender to the lordship of christ.

the coolest part about youth ministry is also the most humbling.  life experience has proved that the overwhelming majority of people who make decisions for christ, do it before they reach their twenties.  through the years i’ve got to be part of that process.  amazing.

but i’m at a spot in my life right now where i just can’t get away from the fact that there are so many more…the “real” overwhelming majority of kids slip through their teenage years without making a commitment to christ that lasts.  and that leaves us with the crazy difficult task of communicating the grace of god to a generation that wants no part of the church.

yeah, there’s an urgency.

Surprise!

i was answering an email this morning from a guy who found north point online.  he had a question regarding our position on baptism.  definitely a fair and important question…especially in the bible belt, where there’s a church on just about every corner…and each with their own particular slant on baptism.

as i was writing back to him, i had a thought and want to see if you agree or disagree:

“nobody will be surprised that they make it to heaven when they die.  i’m afraid there will be plenty of people surprised they don’t, though…”

what do you think?

Axioms…from my perspective

i’ve decided to dedicate thursdays to giving some of my personal life axioms…truth that, from my perspective, is self-evident.  sometimes practical.  sometimes philosophical.  sometimes whimsical.  but truth, no less.

“don’t let the sun go down on your anger…don’t go to bed angry.  nothing good can happen from that.”

i’m not really sure where this lesson truly sunk in.  this is one of those commands of god that is easily dismissed as a little proverbial saying that was never meant to be taken literally.  here’s what it says in the bible:

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.  Ephesians 4:25-27

to me, this is one of those commands of god that is so clear, so unmistakable, that to ignore it is gross disobedience!  the problem is that most people who claim to be followers of jesus live as if god doesn’t always really mean what he says.

the command not to let the sun go down on our anger recognizes that we are human and that will react emotionally to people and life events that are difficult or unfair, but that what have about 24 hours to deal with it.  after that, it needs to be history…for their good, and ours.

it’s not easy. it goes against our nature. it’s certainly not the way we have grown accustomed to doing things in our culture. but where are you going to get your truth?