Back to the B&D Studio

Season 4 of the B&D Supershow is starting on Sunday night. For those of you that do not know the history behind the show: it all started with two kids, a karaoke machine, and wild imaginations. Season one is still recorded on cassette tapes, we would release them to the public, but no one wants to hear a couple of hyenas cackle for hours at lame impressions.

Season 2 is a goldmine of random babbling it features B, D, the late grate Damian Biddle, Dave, and other special guests. This season was more about having fun with friends with very little structure.

There was a long hiatus between season 2 and season 3. D (and the studio) moved to South Georgia for a couple of years. Upon his return, we launched Season 3.0 with the title "2 hours worth of funny"

watch the promo video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI17x27xGE0

Season 3.0 was more structured with show topics each night and special guest a-plenty. Show topics included:

-Zombie Apocalypse
-Your Bucket List
-I You had a Million Dollars
-Ghost Stories

Season 4 is going to be "A Step Above Insanity." We promise to deliver.

Christian Politics (Part 1)

Are we "Too political?"
Part one of a series: Questions Christians should be asking.

Disclaimer: I am not a Republican, Democrat, or a socialist. This blog is not meant to push any agenda, rather to question the existence of agendas and what that means to the Christian.

It is a dangerous moment for the church and the gospel when a temporal power is confused for a higher power.

-Mark Rodgers
Former staff director, Senate Republican Conference president

The conservative religious movement - or at least parts of it - has sold its soul to partisan politics. Many young evangelicals see that this is just Republican politics masquerading as conservative religion. When they observe this, they don't like it. And they are concerned that it could happen to the left too - exactly what happened on the right: The politicizing and corrupting of religion for the sake of political power.

-Jim Wallis
Founder and executive director, Sojourners Call to Renewal.

Isn't it funny how the word "politics" is made up of the words "poli" meaning 'many' in Latin, and 'tics' as in 'bloodsucking creatures.'
-Unknown

I am a week behind the curve with this blog, but my views on politics have been seven years in the making. Ever since I hit the ripe old age of eighteen I have sought to make since out of all the right wing, left wing, moderate, socialism, capitalism ideas and ideals. Most importantly, it has been a quest to find out how to be a Christian and still be involved in the world of politics.

George W. Bush vs John Kerry was the first election that I could cast a vote for Jesus and prevent the moral disaster of the century from occurring, with the pro-choice Kerry feeling the sharp edge of my ballot, Bush is re-elected and all is well with the world.

As an 18-year-old I equated the Republican party with the will of God - I was programmed by pastors, teachers, biased news organizations and friends to believe that Republican equals Jesus or at the very least, who he would vote for. The Republicans, after all, were pro-life, pro sanctity of marriage, and they were the best option of dealing with terrorists, not that there is anything wrong with these ideals - I am for all of these things as well.

Flash forward to the next election, the nation was in shambles. The stock market crashed, the recession paralyzed the average American. Millions are out of jobs, and the middle class was quickly disappearing. The race of morality quickly vanished into a race of who could get us out of this mess. The promise of moving forward came into play, Obama is elected and the nation looked forward to better days. Things started moving forward, but it was attributed to a "socialist agenda" so now that midterm elections are over the Republicans have regained an overwhelming majority of the House promising to save the country from a socialist agenda, putting an end to Obamacare and "taking the country back."

Some things that I have learned from all of this ^

1. God is sovereign a government or a leader is not.

Whose to say that the person that God chooses to lead a country is always godly or a Christian. God chose the heathen king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and Darius the great of Persia to rule over the people of God circa 722 - 586 B.C.E. This was a confirmed act of God's will by the profits.

2. You cannot legislate morality.

If I say that I am going to put a ban on crime, it will still exist. If a person has the evil in his or her heart to rob a bank, kill someone, or to have an abortion they will find a way to do so without the governments help. It is unfortunate that we live in such a immoral society but banning things doesn't work, if it did, prohibition would have stuck.

3. Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you have to be a Republican (or any party).

As of now, I don't know what I am in the world of politics, but I know that I am not a republican. Shane Claiborne changed my thinking about the conservatives when he said: "I must say that I am still passionately pro-life, I just have a much more holistic sense of what it means to be for life, knowing that life does not just begin at conception and end at birth, and that if I am going to discourage abortion, I had better be ready to adopt some babies and care for some mothers."

4. Jesus seems to be a socialist.

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (redistribution of wealth).

So what am I getting at? I guess the simplest answer is that, for Christians, our hope should not be in a flawed human system. The kingdom of God is not democratic at all, it is a kingdom under a King, which is Christ. Jesus told Pilate when asked if he was a king, "“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” -John 18:36

It is not a bad thing to be involved with politics, after-all, we all have opinions and voices when it comes to who will run the country. But no political party or governmental system will equal the power of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. In that kingdom there is, joy, wealth, healing, peace, deliverance...perfection. Christians should realize this whether they are Republican, Democrat, Independent etc.

Are Christians too political? If we are talking more about how President Obama is a socialist rather than praying for God to open his ears and heart to hear what is best for the country, then yes.

Are Christians too political? If we have more faith in people, parties and a failing system more than God, then yes.

Are Christians too political? If we spend our time attacking and judging "the left" instead of praying for, loving, and learning from them (there are valid points on both sides), then yes.

What are your thoughts? Join the conversation below if you agree or disagree.

Well Said

This entry is a book review for booksneeze.com. You sign up and they send you free books if you promise to review them on your blog. The book I chose was "Where is God" by Dr. John Townsend.

This book helped me through a difficult time. I wondered "Where is God" when my best friend passed away two years ago. He passed suddenly at only 30 years of age. This book helped me to realize that God is still in control and that he still has the best plans for his people.

This book helped me to uncover a truth I should have seen without so many weeks of questioning:

God is no stranger to suffering.

He felt the sting of betrayal when his creation disobeyed and went after pleasure rather than a relationship of trust. He felt the pain, when mankind began worshiping the creation instead of the creator. He wept at the graveside of his friend Lazarus - he felt the sting of the whips the sharp-edge of the spear and the penetration of the nails. God knows suffering as much as he knows grace, love, and peace.

In our suffering we have a God who identifies with us, this brings me comfort and a deeper understanding of the nature of God.

Growth

I am a Sunday School teacher at the church that I attend...Yes good old fashion 10:30am B.Y.O.B. (Bring your own Bible) Sunday School. On a good Sunday I will have three people (not including my wife in attendance. The age group that I teach are in their 20's an anomaly, nay a disturbance in the force in this generation that two twenty (something) year olds are attending Sunday School. Frankly, I thank God for those two men.

I have thought over the last couple of years of ministry their about growing the class - growing the church. But how do I market a Sunday School class that would seem out-dated and dull to most of my peers? Forgive my futility, but I do not think it will happen. There is too much competition. The average church now has all the bells and whistles, power-points, sermon openers and a rocking praise team; why would someone want to get up an hour early to come hear sound Biblical teaching? That is ridiculous.

Now that I am off of my soapbox: The Bible teaches that (spiritual) growth is a process that begins with death. Take the seed for example, it is a seed at first, it goes in the ground and then it dies to become something else. A plant. The plant then has to push through all kinds of dirt to get to the sunlight in order for it to mature. This process can take days or even weeks.

Christian leaders need to understand that we should never gauge growth by numbers. Numbers feed our ego and make us feel like we are doing a good job and when they are down, so are we. Jesus changed the world and started a movement with 11 committed people (plus the 70 but he didn't hang out with them much). The kingdom of God is like a seed that grows, do not have disdain for small beginnings because a Redwood tree starts from a tiny seed.

Growth should never be gauged numerically - but intrinsically. Jesus had twelve disciples, but one did not grow - I wonder if it was because he skipped Sunday School?

Can you get satisfaction?

Jesus said, "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by all her children."

Leaders, have you ever felt as though everything you did to please people ending up failing? You try to encourage people and they still end up speaking negatively toward you. You preach love and they return with hate. You preach hate and they hate that as well. You serve, you give, you minister, you pour your life out and get no response.

This generation is like this: You play a song for them and they do not passionately worship. You sing a sad song and no one sheds a tear, nothing you do can truly please this generation because they will always find something to complain about. It is a cynical generation...

Take politics for example (I am not endorsing any party or person here): When Bush was in office everyone hated what he was doing, by the end of his presidency his approval rating was like -50. Along comes Obama, and most people loved him and hurried to get behind his vision for change in America. Fast forward to now, his approval rating is almost as bad as Bush's was.

My point: You can't please anyone. It is always the leader's fault when something goes wrong and no matter what is done the response is always the opposite.

John the Baptist and Jesus had this problem. John was the prime example of holiness. He set him self apart from the world in the wilderness, and the religious people (Pharisee and Teachers of the Law who prided themselves on being set apart) said he had a demon. Jesus hung out with people who the religious people wouldn't and he was shunned as a drunk.

-In ministry you are not going to be able to reach the lost and maintain good standing with the ones who consider themselves "too good" for those people.

-In ministry you are not going to be able to maintain a good relationship with the lost people and try to fit into the squeaky clean perfect church mold.

Maybe there is a balance??

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones sang it this way: "I can't get no satisfaction." This seems to be the theme song of this generation. I wonder if people danced to this song?

Working Man's Blues

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26)

These two verses have caused a lot of debate throughout the centuries. They seem to be in logical tension with one another.

A person is saved by the grace of God (God's preformative initiative in ones life, or simply, his presence leading one to know him) through faith (being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see).

NOT OF YOURSELVES, NOT BY WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST

If a man can keep all of the commandments, and be a good person then he has a right to ride into heaven with a golden horse while all of the saint lift up his name. He should even get his name on heaven's marquee with flashing lights and a neon color than no one has ever seen before.

The above exaggeration is absolutely false: No one can ever be good enough, can never do enough to earn God's favor. What does earn God's favor is FAITH in Christ because Jesus is the only person who was ever able to please him..."You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Grace initiates, Faith strengthens, works demonstrate faith, works do not earn good standing with God.

The person who is caught up in a "works based" mindset has the blues. Why? They can never do enough to earn the acceptance of God, and it leaves them feeling defeated because they are relying on their good deeds to try to get heaven to do standing ovation in their honor. Some people who are caught up in this mindset are not trying to please God, but they are trying to please people. They love to hear their shouts and admiration, they receive their reward in full.

True relationship with Jesus is honored, not how much you have done for him.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23).

The above passage shows us two things:

1. It is the will of God that we know Jesus
2. It is not the will of God that we exclusively do things "In Jesus name"

The working man's blues will be sung by a lot of people who thought they could work their way into heaven, and not enter into the door of heaven (Jesus) by simply knowing and obeying him.

For all of you works lovers out there, remember that God wants relationship with Jesus to be primary in your life. You cannot be saved through your own effort, you must accept that Jesus has already "paid it all."

Is this saying that Christians should sit back and do nothing? No! It does say that salvation is a gift from God through relationship with Christ. Salvation can not be earned by doing things for God.

Works bring faith to life. It shows everyone else your gift of salvation and hopefully makes them want to receive it themselves. Works demonstrate to God that you are serious about following his lead, and surrendering to his plan for your life.

Ministers are not Therapists

For the past couple of weeks I have come into contact with everyone from family members to loose acquaintances who want to unload all of their problems onto me. They go into graphic details about their struggles financially, relationally, emotionally, spiritually. As a minister, I feel like out of that list I am only qualified to counsel on one of those topics (I will let you guess which one). I know a good bit about the other topics, but they are not my areas of expertise.

People think that because I am a minister that I am a priest at a confessional booth wanting to hear about all their problems and to tell them to say some hail marys and our Fathers so that there sins will be forgiven.

Okay, so I understand that in order to be a minister that I am going to have to sympathize/empathize with people in their struggles in life. That I am supposed to pray for the ones that are having a hard time, and trust me, I do. My cry, however, is not for everyone to stop unloading their problems on me, in a way I consider that an honor. My cry is that people would not just see me as a free therapist for them. That I would not be labeled and stereotyped into someone that I am not. There are many people with many problems in the world, and I have my own as well.

If you are having problems I beg you, go see someone who is trained to help you. Don't bother your pastor because mostly all he can give you is spiritual advise. There comes a time when a minister can only do so much to help. Go to a professional, and confess your sins to God (1 John 1:8-9).

Defining Ministry

So I am taking a pastoral leadership class this summer, the books that I am reading are painting a portrait of a certain kind of minister. It seems as if the book is saying that as a minister you should wear a three piece suit, kiss hands and shake babies (I think I got that one mixed up) and have a clear "pastor voice." The book even went as far as to say that you should seek to please everyone in your congregation.

So if I am to be a Pastor is this the mold I am to fit into? A superficial "yes man" who is nice to everyone and is as squeaky clean as the day my mother gave birth to me?

Don't get me wrong I don't mind wearing ties or being nice to people, but really? Jesus didn't wear a suit, and I am pretty sure they were not even invented then. He wasn't nice to everyone. He called a woman a dog, and the religious Pharisees snakes. He turned over tables and beat people with whips. He Shook babies(Just having fun with the last one)! Jesus did not fit any mold, but he did what he saw the Father doing, he did what God would have him do whether or not it fit a certain religious standard. In fact, the religious people saw him as rebellious and as a sinner because he failed to comply with their outer code.

I think the only mold that a spiritual leader needs to fit into is the one that has a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ, and the one that seeks to live a holy life of integrity and honesty. The outer will go to the grave, the inner lives forever.

Divine Healing

This Blog is a response to a question posted on a facebook status, the question is "If a church (or any ministry) has a "healing service" but can't really verify any of the "healings", what does that mean?

My response,

I do believe that God still is at work supernaturally healing people through people, but we have to remember the original purpose for healing(s) that were done by Jesus. They were to demonstrate his authority over the diseases and prove his divine union with the Father. Today there... See More are people who get fanatical and say that God will heal anytime anywhere (sometimes for a nominal fee) I don't believe this. Jesus did not heal everyone, and the ones that he did heal eventually faced physical death even though they were healed temporarily. Therefore, sometimes people are not going to get healed physically no matter how much faith they put in Christ. And the people that do will end up dying one day anyway. Divine healing is a temporary benefit of the one healed, and a eternal benefit for the one who witnesses said event and believes in Christ as his or her Savior/Forgiver/Leader.

As far as verification for healing, I have seen people get healed and get a clean bill of health from the doctor. My grandma with congestive heart failure for example. However, she died a few months later. So I guess what I am trying to say is the eternal benefit is better than the temporal. And that yes, people should not make a "show" out of this wonderful gift that God sometimes gives.

Personalities and Worship

Creative personalities want to worship God creatively. This involves dancing, singing, doing dramas, and skits. Playing in a heavy metal Christian band.

Critical personalities want to worship God in an organized, orthodox, liturgical way. They are mostly unemotional and sometimes overly critical of those who are.

Direct personalities want to worship God with intense passion, and zeal. They want to do whatever it takes to insure that "His kingdom comes." They are militaristic in their ministries.

Steady/stable personalities want to ensure that everyone is loved and accepted in the church. The way they see worship as praying one on one with as many people as possible and giving as many hugs as possible.

Influencers want all people to be included in the service, and they want them to have a positive experience. They are worried about being accepted by their congregation, and will conform to whatever the general atmosphere is in a particular church.

The problem is, each one of these personalities can see church worship through their own preferences. The solution is to keep in mind that we are not all the same, and we each find God in our own way.

Many churches I have been to are churches with a lot of the same personalities. "Birds of a feather flock together." Think about it, if a church has a rockin band, raise their hands, dance, and jump around they are labeled Pentecostal. If a church is slightly below that and has more of a passion to teach the correct doctrine they are labeled baptist.

The emotional are grouped with the emotional, the outcasts with the outcasts, the intellectual with the intellectual. It is like we are all organized. I think it is up to each believer to learn from all groups.

Worship is...

I am finishing up my internship this week. I have learned many valuable lessons during this time, and been encouraged more than I have been in my entire life. I come out of this semester hopeful about my future. As I look behind I have few regrets, as I look ahead I see endless possibilities. God is good. He is working behind the scenes in my life working together those things for the good (Rom 8:28), having thoughts higher than my thoughts and ways higher than my ways.

God is showing me that it okay just to be who he created me to be. I don't have to impress him or anyone else. His love is not conditional, but sealed with nails.

With that said, my blog is obviously going in a different direction than before. I am no longer doing Oswald Chambers journaling, but am now back to sharing-life-with-the-masses. This blog is about sharing my observations and stories from my life, my opinions, and my thoughts about my journey.

With that said, the other night I attended a chapel service. I helped set up communion and served the elements to the receiving students. There was a part in the service where people were invited to, "Come up and give God the precious in there lives." As I looked objectively at this activity I noticed the diversity of people and how they responded to this "alter call." Some came very willingly and expressed gobs of emotion, people cried, lifted their hands, danced, and bowed.

Others stood with their hands in their pockets. They seemed like they were obligated to be there, but really did not want to be. Still others sat in their chairs showing no response at all. Such diversity in one room.

Of course worship is not entirely about raising hands, singing songs, or giving lip service to God. Worship is not entirely prayer, fasting, speaking in tongues or feeding the homeless. Worship is not entirely reading your Bible, encouraging your friends, or loving people. Worship is not entirely about responding to altar calls, doing what the pastor tells you to do, or not cursing. Worship is not entirely about abstaining from sex before marriage, masturbation, or overeating.

Worship is Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

This includes all of the above and then some. To be a living sacrifice you have to be willing to die. To die to your personal opinions and preferences. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be holy and pleasing to God. You don't have to do any of the above to make God love you any more than the next person, but if you REALLY want to KNOW GOD doing the above is not a bad idea.

What I am trying to say is, if you have never done something (such as raise your hands), why not try it? I am sure it is not going to hurt God's feelings if you do or don't, but you never know what kind of affect it my have on you. God does not have to respond to your gestures of "worship" but what if he does? It would change your mind about him forever.

God's presence is not invoked by some magical power, but doing some of the above exercises helps prepare the hearts and minds of the believer to receive from God by having open minds and open hearts.

Weakness

If you have whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a positive crime to be weak in God's strength.

As Christians it is our weaknesses that perfect the power of God, for even if God had a weakness it would be stronger than the strength of man (2 Corinthians 12:9;1 Corinthians 1:25).

As Christians we need to come to a point where we realize that we are nothing without the power of God working in our lives. This power is not through the wonderful accomplishments that we have done for God, rather the realization that we can do nothing without his help. This divine dependence is something that we as the church need to remember if we are to see the church awaken once again in this postmodern generation.

Eternal Life

Christians have hope that no other religion offers, the hope of eternal life in the presence of God himself. The hope of Christians is that we someday obtain this promise through Christ who was the first to be raised from the dead. We will share in this.

Resurrection is an interesting topic. Is is one that I don't hear preached a lot, but it was the goal of Paul to know the complete revelation of Jesus Christ and share in his resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11).

This should be a lesson to Christians, that one hope that we have for certain in Christ is that we are going to live forever. This excites me and give me hope beyond this life. It is true that the sweet by and by, should not distract us from the nasty here and now, but to remember the gift of eternal life is to remember the very core of our belief, that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son that whosoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.

The Cross

The center of salvation is the cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much.

-Oswald Chambers

Salvation is free to anyone and everyone if they put their trust in Jesus Christ as their replacement for the punishment of their sin. For us it is free, for God it cost him everything.

Jesus in Gethsemane had much anxiety about his encounter with death on the cross. The anxiety was not specifically because he feared death or the pain that he would experience, rather it was because of the fact that he knew for a moment he would be abandoned by his heavenly Father. Jesus cried, "My God My God, why have you forsaken me?" In this moment Jesus was stripped of his divinity and he that had no sin was made to be sin for you and me.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain he washed it white as snow.

Be a Product of Pressing

We can never fathom the agony of Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it.

-Oswald Chambers

The Hebrew word for Gethsemane literally means, oil press. The garden was an olive grove, people would use the olives to make oil for cooking and light. Another thing comes to mind when thinking of oil, anointing.

When David was chosen to be the king of Israel he was anointed with oil as an outward expression of his inward potential. However, it was not until after he killed Goliath, and avoided being killed and not killing Saul that he was made the king of Israel. David's anointing was released through obedience to God and his response to difficult situations.

I think it is interesting that the setting of Jesus' most intense questioning of God's will was in an oil press. In his intense obedience to the will of God even to death on the cross he truly showed the world that he was the Christ, the anointed one.

In our struggles in life and questioning of God's will, I would suggest to you that we are in an oil press. Our struggles "press" us, and this pressing allows a release of anointing. It is through our obedience to God's will and our response to difficulty that release the anointing in our lives.

April Fools!

One of the biggest issues in the church is the issue of hypocrisy. The Greek word for hypocrite is a theater term that means people pretending to be one thing when they are actually another (acting; wearing masks). In essence, for the church this would mean, people who are sinners who pretend that they have none. The ideal pursuit of the Christian life is to be completely free from sin and its affects, but the truth is that we will have sins (mistakes;impurities;bad attitudes;foul mouths) until we all reach perfection in the fulfillment of our lives on earth. No matter how hard we try, our flesh cannot be saved it is under a curse of death and will pass away until it is remade into a perfect one during the Resurrection.

The church is in desperate need of REAL PEOPLE. People who admit their struggles and do not act like they have it all together. The person with the microphone has just as many issues as the one on the back row, the only thing that separates the two is that one has been forgiven by accepting the sacrifice of Christ and one hasn't.

To make a difference as a Christian BE REAL, BE WHO YOU ARE, TAKE THE CHURCH MASK OFF.

I am a Friend of God

I was riding in the car the other day when the song, "I am a friend of God" by Israel Houghton came on the radio. I with critical attitude I thought to myself, "Wow, this song sure is repetitive." Now I would say in retrospect that-that is the whole point!

How many seconds out of the day do I forget that I am a friend of God?

Truth is learned primarily though hearing it over and over again in compact ways. This song is very simple, and yes, very repetitive, but it is a truth that Christians should never forget: That we are friends of God through Christ Jesus who shed his blood to redeem us back into that standing.

He Must Increase, But I Must Decrese

Jesus is everything, without him we are hopeless and in a prison of ourselves. Jesus is the most important person in ever. Mere human beings forget that they are just fragile clay pots that can break at any moment never to be put together again, soul escaping in the process. Our only hope is Jesus. Our next breath depends on his word.

With that said: John the Baptist was the first one to get this idea, that Jesus should be the one growing in popularity while he decreased. Ole Johnny boy would probably be considered a person with a growing "church" by today's standards. He would be the first minister that would admit that Jesus should get more glory than himself. John was not even offended at the fact that some of his very own disciples jumped the "baptist" ship to the Jesus ship (not a shot at Baptists, I love em). It is time to decrease our names as ministers, and increase the name of the one who has called us; JESUS the CHRIST.

Make a Habit of Having No Habits

Love means that there is no habit visible, you have come to the place where the habit is lost, and by practice you do the thing unconsciously.

-Oswald Chambers

This statement from Mr. Chambers is preceded by a statement saying that Christians can have "Christian Habits" that is we do things out of routine that we should be doing out of love. Bible study for example could become something that is done because we have to or we have always done it that way. Prayer is another example, do you check off a list as you pray(which is not bad sometimes)or do you really seek to spend time with God as with a friend? Just like in a relationship with a significant other, there should be spontaneity in your relationship with God. If you took your significant other to the same restaurant every week for dinner it would get old quick.

Bottom line: God wants us to seek him in different ways out of love, not obligation or habit.

Those that Walk Away

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
-John 6:66

I was recently in a church service, during the middle of the service a group of people stood up and walked out. I am not sure why, but I believe it was because they did not like the style of worship that was being offered. I then began to think about the above scripture. The people that turned away from Jesus was not because a dislike of a worship style, rather because Jesus said that they must "eat his flesh" and "drink his blood." This statement would be tougher to grasp than just listening to some worship and seeking God for an hour.

Christianity is not about "worship preference" it is about becoming uniquely connected to the risen Christ. Those that walk away miss out on the journey of a lifetime. Those that walk away miss the grace that has been given. Those that walk away from a worship service in any of there forms never walk toward worship on their own time. Those that walk away from the church, walk away from Christ. Those that walk away from Christ walk on a broad path which leads to destruction.