We’re going to be ourselves and let our love of Jesus speak for itself. Try your best to not let the cameras distract you or be a hindrance of any kind. Come ready to praise Jesus!

My Answer:

I think this is a great question.  My answer would be that if you are trying to teach them a lesson about cloths to wear you may not be the one to do that… as a visitor.  Also,  is it a fight that is really worth fighting?  I mean you wearing a dress or pants in my opinion is a small fight that is not worth wasting effort on.  So I would say you should do one of two things… (1) Not go and pray for them (2) Go and dress in the right cloths and pray for them.  

I just think cloths are a crazy thing to pick a fight over.  So you have to wear a dress for a sunday and if you do not agree, do not go.  Does that make sense?  

Now there are bigger issues that I would be more worried about then cloths but we will not get into that. Clothing is a small doctrinal issue steeped in deeper doctrines.  I understand you concern about their religious view but do you really think you are going to change them by wearing pants?    

I like a good debate as much as the next but I need to choose my battles and that does not seem like a worth while fight to me.

My Answer:

DC,

Thanks for reading my site and putting a question out. I am not sure of any good books for teens.  I could recommend the Bible but I do not really focus on books written in modern language. I can recommend one other book by Mark Driscoll called Vintage Jesus.  Check it out!  I will ask my readers but let me tell you that some of these readers may recommend whacky stuff.  So I can not stand behind all of it, but lets see if we can get any help.  Do you all know of any good books about Jesus for a 13 year old boy?  

If a person comes to your church and has been in a congregation before and has been discipled, does she need to be redisipled through your church? Once a disciple, always a disciple?

My Answer:

If a person comes to Life Connection from another congregation and they have been discipled sometimes they are the hardest ones to deal with because they have been used in another congregation they want to jump right into leadership.  All churches are different not only in doctrine but organizationally, relationally, practically, and stylistically.  So when they come they must plugin relationally because discipleship is mostly relationship that is something you could have had at another church but can not transfer.  You are going to have to build new relationships.  Then we also make them go through the classes so they know our style, organization, vision, ect.   So if someone comes from another local body they are going to have to come in humble and willing to learn and relearn.  We do weed out a bunch of transfer growth of people who have pride and think they should just be able to lead in a couple months.  So expect when you come to LCC that no matter what you have experienced before that you are going to go through the same process of building relationships and taking the necessary steps to be used in leadership.  Now if you just want to come and sit and watch then we welcome you but if you want to be discipling and be used then you got to go through the process.

My Answer:

Thanks for asking your question even though you do not expect much.  LOL. I am playing, I am sure God can answer these through other sources but make sure those other sources including myself do not contradict scripture to tell you what you want to hear.  

(1) You can pray for yourself but in your prayers for yourself always surrender to the will and word of God.  When Jesus prayed in the garden before his death in Mt 26:39 -  ”Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He prayed for it to be taken but He surrendered to the will of God.  So in your prayers for yourself be open and honest with God about your fears, worries, desires but ultimately if your will is opposite of His, surrender.

(2) Yes.  Jesus is the only way! So with love, conviction, and boldness share Jesus with them.  You can disagree and preach truth and not disrespect them.  This is one of my pet peeves, people starting to believe that it is wrong to preach Jesus or share truth because they do not want to offend someone or disrespect them.   Do it in love built on a foundation of relationship but preach Jesus. Ro 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

(3) I know this question is already being answered too late because you probably have already jumped the gun.  My guess is you have Justified having sex before marriage and are just trying to find a loop hole.  Marriage is, and always has been, a covenant between a man, a woman, and God.  I think you need to do some research on how covenants were made in scripture and throughout church history.  Being in the covenant of marriage is not just about having sex.  It is about being one Spiritually, physically, and legally.  Marriage was never just a man saying, “I love this girl so I want to have sex.” It is the 2 becoming 1 flesh.  The sexual part is not the first part of the covenant it was the last part after all else had been done.  If you really feel married then you need to get married Spiritually and legally THEN sex is blessed by God.  You need to be a man and take complete responsibility for the woman “you love” financially, emotionally,  spiritually, and legally.  Loving a woman is not just about having sex with her it is a covenant.  A covenant is increasing your responsibilities and laying down your rights.  I could preach on this forever but it comes down to this… be a man of Godly conviction and wait to have sex until you are married (spiritually, legally, and physically).

I have a lot of good questions to answer.  This week I should kick back in gear.  Thanks for the grace as I have been focusing on my family and new baby.  I will be back on target so check back every couple days and I should have some new posts up.  Bless you all!!

Aaron

My Answer:

LOL!!!! Lauren, my stomach is hurting; I was laughing so hard when I read this.  You need a man, girl!! A real man!! I love this question so much, I could preach on this thing forever.  There are so many reasons that 80% of the church is woman and the other 20% are feminine men.  I am going to narrow it down to a few major reasons that I see…

(1) Lack of fathering in our nation and in the church.  Men need fathers (spirtual and physical). 1Co 4:15 -”For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  We have a lot of boy teachers, as some translations say, but not many fathers.

 (2) Too many churches have given leadership and headship in the church to the women; we talk about wanting men but then when they come in we call them sexist pigs if they desire headship.  God created men for headship in the family and in the church.  We have to refuse to call every man a sexist if they preach headship in the home and in the house of God.  

(3) We have to get a clearer revelation of Jesus.  He was not a hippie who just preached love, peace, and encouragement.  He was a man… a carpenter, a leader, he got angry, he loved his bride the church so much that He would die for them.  He discipled men! He is a man’s man. 

(4) We have to stop calling things that men love to do sin if it is not sin. If it is sin call it sin, if it is not sin then just say you do not understand how a man could love a good debate, competition, war, and the list could go on…

 Ok that is enough for me anyone else?

do you believe in the rapture? what denomination is your church?

My Answer:

I have to say that when it comes to eschatology or end time events… I am a wimp!  I think it is okay to talk about it and debate it but not a real issue to preach as doctrine. The study and the fascination with the end times I think can be a diversion from living for Jesus now.  

Matthew 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake ”for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning” 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. 

Here is my approach to end times; Stay awake!  Jesus has given all of his servants a work and a position and He has called us not to sit around a figure out when He will come or how (I know He will return) but that we need to not fall asleep and get lazy.  I think people who spend all there time trying to figure out end time events can easily get lazy in the work Jesus has left for them and the position he has called them to.  

Here is some great thoughts from Mark Driscoll:

The rapture, like the age of the earth, is an issue that Christians should discuss and debate, but not divide over.  Curiously, the rapture is a doctrine that has existed for less than two hundred years in the church’s history. The word itself started at a peculiar and possibly cultic charismatic prayer meeting where a women prophesied that the church would be raptured. From that simple beginning, the doctrine has now become the leading eschatological position in American evangelicalism. For more on this issue, the book The Incredible Cover Up: Exploring the Origins of Rapture Theories by Dave MacPherson is a fascinating historical read. Since the doctrine was not even heard of by men such as Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, and Wesley, we should not make this doctrine the litmus test of biblical faithfulness, otherwise we are saying there was no faithful eschatology for the first 1,800 years of the church.

This is a quote from His book, vintage Jesus:

One of the most astonishing things about Jesus is that as God He actually chose to come into our fallen, sick, twisted, unjust, evil, cruel, painful world and be with us to suffer like us and for us. Meanwhile, we spend most of our time trying to figure out how to avoid the pain and evil of this world while reading dumb books about the rapture just hoping to get out. 

what denomination is your church?

We are not affiliated with a denomination

Some of your great comments got deleted on accident.  SORRY!!  Make them again… LOL.  I am so sorry!  Hey I have some other questions I am working on so stay tuned.  I am having a baby this weekend and I will post some pics when she comes.  Bless you all!!

Comments deleted form following posts;

Why accountability partners?

Death by Love

Is it ok to smoke marijuana in moderation?

If you have the time please put your thoughts again. 

Aaron

My Answer:

I love your question!!  Ok, let me take a crack at answering.  Why accountability partners or whatever anyone calls them.  I think the one thing that I would say is that relationships are valuable in the Kingdom and government of God.  He puts so much value on Godly relationship in the Word of God I could give you verse after verse.  The biggest problem I see with people is based out of Pr 18:19 - “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.”  When you, like you said, have been offended by other “church people” you begin to build up walls and swear that you will never be hurt like that again.  The problem is you think you are protecting yourself but you are actually putting prison bars around yourself.  You never should put your trust in man because they will always hurt you.  Trust and relationship is something you give to people and something that is very difficult and hard to work through but can never get around how scripture tells us to have them.  I would say first off that when you are accountable to someone this is not just friend relationship this is a leadership relationship and someone you respect and someone who you will listen to.  

You can not have these kinds of relationships and not be protected from being hurt.  You will be hurt, you will be failed. (But you will also do those things to them).  Only those who rely on the love of Christ and are empowered by His spirit can build biblical relationships because you have to be walking in humility, forgiveness, and repentance.  I know that you just started in the church, I get that you have been hurt in the past, and I know that you are just wanting to feel things out.  Take time and feel things out but at Life Connection we try and focus on relationship and being the church as defined in scripture.  So you will be challenged and have people try to get to know you and be open with.  So I pray that your heart is to build relationship and that it is not as rare as you think if it is done in the spirit level and not at a flesh level.  This may not answer your question because I do not have a 12 step to build relationship but I do know that God values relationship.  

This will also help those who do not understand why we focus on what we call discipleship.  It is purely relationship!!! Our whole goal is people not going to church but being the church in loving Christ centered community.

Thanks for the question!!

Why is it ok to drink, and not ok to smoke marijuana. Lets hypothetically say its legal, would it be ok to smoke marijuana in moderation?

My answer:

I hate answering these kinds of questions because I can already tell it is going to cause a posting frenzy.

To begin with, Christians are under a biblical mandate to respect and obey the laws of the land (Deuteronomy 17:2; Ecclesiastes 8:2-5; Matthew 22:21; 23:2-3; Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17; 2 Peter 2:9-11).  Contrary to popular belief, simply disagreeing with a law does not constitute a license for breaking that law.  I know you said “hypothetically it was legal” so I will try and approach it from another angle, but in our country this is a good enough reason.  

Scripture does not mention marijuana or any illicit drug, so to say “thou shall not” will not work unless you are looking at the spirit of scripture.  Illicit drug use is an extremely effective way to destroy your health, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  There is nothing in alcohol that has health risk on your body if done in moderation.  With any drug or even smoking there are health risks.  Most doctors or experts  would say that smoking any sort of drug or cigarette is a health risk for your body or your mind.  So I would think you would be violating scripture if no matter how much you smoke you are effecting your mind and your body. 

Here is my problem with putting illicit drugs on the same level as alcohol.  I have never met anyone who does not use marijuana as an escape… I do not know someone who smokes marijuana or any illicit drug and does not get high and their mind is not altered.  So in your attempt to justify something just make sure that you understand the level of addiction both mentally and physically.  I do understand that alcohol and food can be an addiction for people and they can be unhealthy if not consumed in moderation but what is moderation for marijuana?  I would say there is no moderation because even the slightest amount effects your health and sobriety.

You can all have  fun with this!  The battle for balance is a constant war, make sure you stay focused on the cross.

Hey Pastor! I was wondering in group prayers why is it better to stand? im not really well versed on this subject…

My Answer:

It is not better to stand.  I stand personally most of the time because I focus better.  If I am sitting and relaxing my mind begins to get lazy and my body gets sleepy.  So for me, personally, I stand most of the time I pray.  But when I am in my prayer closet I write or speak my prayers, most of the time, so that I can keep my mind focused. Good question, but I mostly try and stay obedient and just posture myself the way He says, through the Spirit.  Sometime He tells me chill out and kneel. So in your prayer life do not just speak, listen.  In corporate prayer, I believe in unity and agreement.  I believe that people who stand together, kneel together, sing together, or whatever are practicing unity and order.  So this is the best I can do for this answer.  It is not better it is personal for me.  I hope that corporate prayer is not our only prayer life but corporate prayer is important.

My Answer:

Thank you for checking every day… I am so glad you are!  I wanted to answer this just so everyone would know the routine.  I have a lot of questions, way more then I expected.  I am glad you all are sending such great questions, I have a folder full.  I have already had to sift through and pick ones that I think people will enjoy or ones that are personal to that person.  I do not want to make anyone think that I can fix their problems by a blog post.  I also take quite some time to write these and try to think through my responses.  I wish I could do them faster but I also have a family, church, ministry, and life.  So please keep on checking but extend a little grace if I do not get them answered fast enough or do not get to your question.  I am trying to put out 3 or 4 a week.  So keep sending them and keep checking everyday.  This is fun!!! Thanks guys.

This is a question sent in by anonymous on the “Ask Aaron Anything” link:

My Answer:

Sexual immorality is defined clearly in scripture if you look to the greek word porneia and not the english dictionary.  The term was used frequently in Judeo-Christian literature to refer to premarital or extramarital intercourse.  Sexual immorality (poneia) is defined as any extra marital sexual arousal.  It seems to me you are wanting God to bless your sex as long as you think it is a meaningful relationship.  God defines a meaningful relationship and that is the covenant relationship of marriage.  You do not get the leisure in your lust to define whether or not sex is immoral or meaningful, you will always say it is meaningful because you want to have sex.

If you love God and want to obey all His commands then you will not try and define sex or relationships outside of the protective, loving, boundaries of scripture.  I would suggest that you listen to my series, “Summer Sex Talk.” I pray that you are not looking to the world or your lust to define sex and relationship.  The only one that has the right to define sex and relationship is the one that created it, GOD!

Can people be born homosexual? Meaning they are born with a predisposition towards it because of a family curse or stronghold?

My Answer:

In order to answer this question we need to forget the Idea of being born homosexual.  Homosexuallity is sin.  If we establish that Scripture says that homosexuality is sin, then we can establish that we are born sinners.  I know that there is doctrine that teaches people are born good and that we become sinners at the first act of rebellion.  I am boldly reformed in my doctrine, and I believe that Scripture teaches that through Adam, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12–”Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”)  R.C. Sproul very clearly explains one of the very important truths that original sin teaches us: “We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.”  People do not come into this world good and then get a sinful nature upon their first willful sin that they commit. Rather, we come into the world with a sin nature, and all of our sins are a result of having that sin nature. We act according to our natures. So because of our sin nature, we do sinful actions. A cow does not become a cow by mooing, but moos because he is a cow. Likewise we do not become sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. 

Because of that core belief, I believe that in a sense, it could be considered that people are born homosexual.  But not only that–they are born sinners. Ephesians 2:3 says that we are “by nature children of wrath.”  Homosexuality is not the only sin people are born with, but yeah, they are born homosexual because they are born sinners.  The good news is that as through one man sin entered the world, the same is true on the positive side!  The man Jesus Christ died, and through one man grace and salvation entered the world and righteousness is imputed upon those who are “born again.”  The issue is not “Are we born homosexual?”   It is “Are you born again?”  If we are born again, we are not going to live according to what our flesh was born to do.  We are going to return to what we were created to do.  We were not created homosexual, just as we were not created sinners.  Homosexuality is not something people were created for in God’s original plan. 

A lot of time when people are saying,  ”I was born this way,” they are speaking truth, but they are meaning that they were ‘created’ this way, which is a lie.  Just because you were born a homosexual does not mean that God created you that way origanally.  Now through Christ, He is returning us to not our born state, but our created state.

Have fun commenting and try and be nice to each other.

Is it bad to ask a lot from God? EX: God I need you to show up in my life…I need you to show me my next step

My Answer:

I believe that we need to rely on God for everything.  Throughout all your asking, be sure to spend time listening, and when He shows you an answer make sure to respond to his word (through the power of his spirit).  We tend to ask God to do everything for us and we walk away from our prayer time thinking, “if God wants this done then He will do it himself”.  This is important to know;  those who do things without asking God and listening to Him are religious and those who listen yet do not do what he says are rebellious.  When we hear his word we need to rely on his spirit to accomplish His work in EVERY area of our lives.  

You are not burdening God by asking much of him.  He tells us to pray without ceasing and to acknowledge him in all of your ways.  Keep in mind that prayer is not a monolog, but that it is a dialog in which God loves providing you with answers to your questions.  Make sure that every time you ask you also take the time to listen.  

Matthew 7 talks about how much the Father loves it when you ask because He loves to give.  I believe that God loves to be your source for everything.  As a father I consider it a joy when my kids ask me for help and wisdom. How much more does your heavenly father love it when we ask of him for anything? Thanks for the question.

Anyone else want to take a crack at giving some thoughts please do.

I have recently been inspired to interview other church planters and leaders about what they have shared with me about what they are doing and what they see in the American church. The inspiration of these interviews is based on the conversations that I get to have with many leaders through their process of growth behind closed doors. I want to invite you to be a fly on this virtual wall while I talk to them, behind those closed doors, about what is happening in their life and mind.

Matthew Hansen is a friend that I met in bible school some 10 years ago. We never where extremely close in school, but socialized a little (the truth is, he was apart of the sexy crowd). In recent times we have connected because of a commonality, or more of a like spirit, which is church planting and discipleship. He is extremely intelligent, balanced, and very in love with Jesus and His mission (I am not trying to hit on him!! I am in love with my wife). When you are reading the answers to these questions some of you may be thinking I answered them but I promise it was him. I pray that you will be blessed, as I was, and that it will encourage you to be focused and fervent in your relationship with Jesus. Take a minute after you read through His interview and check out his church web page and blog spot. I would also encourage you to pray about giving some financial support to this very important mission field, for all the information you need on how to get involved check out this link. Enjoy the interview!

Hey Matthew, take a minute and Briefly sum up yourself:

I am your average person who happens to be ignited with a deep love for Jesus, a vision and passion for church planting through discipleship, and a broken heart for men. I am going on 9 years of marriage, and can I say, there isn’t anything that I love more after Christ. I met Sarah on a mission trip to Morocco. Sarah and I have 3 kids – Serena, Ashton, and Eden, and are hoping to have number 4 next year. As for my hobbies, I love physical-fitness, I practice Brazilian jiu jitsu, and love to clear my head with a good run. I’m a reading freak, I’ll read anywhere between 30-40 books in a year, but nothing beats time with Sarah and the kids.

In the UFC, who is your favorite fighter?

That is a tuff question, since the question has the UFC in it. Although as of right now my favorite organization in MMA is the UFC, my favorite fighters have left – Randy Couture, Andre Arlovski, and Tito. Your best fighters in the UFC are BJ Penn, GSP, and Anderson Silvia. I love to watch Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, but as for my favorite – either BJ Penn and George St. Pierre or John Fitch

Mac or PC? I have three Mac’s and no PC – end of story

How did the vision for church planting begin to burn in you?

It definitely was an evolution of the soul. From the planting of a seed, to the forming of a small group was a span of over ten years. Sitting in a café in Moscow at the age of seventeen, I recognized God’s call on my life in Proverbs 31:8-9: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Until that time, the Bible hadn’t really spoken to me, but this time it so captured my attention that I knew it was God speaking to me through his word.

My life would take some dramatic turns that found my family in Austin, Texas and then on to missions training at Christ for the Nations in Dallas. In 1995 I met my future wife, Sarah, on a mission trip in Morocco. We were married in November 1999. From the beginning of our relationship, Sarah and I both knew God’s desire for our lives was vocational ministry. But just one year in our marriage, we were expecting our first child and had no more a picture of what our ministry was to be than when we started. With those immediate circumstances, our choices were quickly narrowed and I took a secular position in finance for the next four years. God continued to challenge and grow us through those years, as the experiences gained in leadership and through relationships were some of the most invaluable experiences to date. God began to give us a new heart for the church, but our heart for missions remained.

After much prayer God began to show us that the church can serve as a missionary in any culture to those who don’t know Christ. The church can “speak up for those who could not speak for themselves” because spiritually, they are lost. The church can “speak out for the rights of all who are destitute” and “defend the rights of the poor and needy” just as Jesus did.

What is the culture of the city you are planting in?

Austin is extremely pluralistic and diverse, we are often compared with Seattle and Boston in that we have Northwestern/eastern liberalism, pluralism, and intellect, with southern hospitality. That being said, our city motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” which comes from encouraging people to be very expressive in their uniqueness. I mean what other city do you know of that a cross-dressing homeless man can run for mayor and not only make it on the ballot, but also give his opponent a run for his money. South Austin, more specifically, zip code 78748, is the fastest growing zip code in all of Austin and its surrounding areas and is also very morally, politically and socially liberal. However our most interesting find is that south Austin has been labeled ‘the church planters graveyard.’

Why Austin?

Jesus said he came for the sick, not the healthy. That he would leave the ninety-nine to save the one. Throughout the scriptures, you find Jesus going to the most unlikely of people to share the hope and truth of his gospel. We are being sent as missionaries to a community for whom Jesus died and a people that he is broken for.

What stage of church planting are you at in Emmaus?

To be black and white about this, we are in the fundraising stage. We are a ground-zero church, meaning since we live in an area in which the average person sees no reason for church or God at all, we can’t rely on them for money or resources. So in order for this to work, we are in the process of building a network of relationships with people who buy into the vision and see the need for what we are doing. When Sarah and I first got married, I always thought of being a missionary as packing your bags, heading to a country in which you can’t speak the language, and going from there. I never thought of being a missionary as walking out your front door, waving to the Hindu couple on one side, and the homosexual couple on the other, speaking English, and living in America. But this is the reality of Austin, so I like to look at this as a missionary endeavor that a church will evolve out of, rather than a church plant that does missions

Can you talk about what you biblically see discipleship to be and how are you practically living that out in Emmaus?

If we truly believe we learn by example then we have to ask, “who was the best discipler in history?” The answer—Jesus!. Here’s what we know Jesus did, he lived life-on-life with people. He used real life situations to draw out his disciples inner issues, and then revealed his ideas, plan, or way through those real life situations (John 6:5-15 and Matthew 15:21-31). When you do life-on-life, it gets messy, you as the lead must be transparent and real, you have to walk the journey with people versus setting in the stands and cheering them on, and you have to be willing to get into people’s junk. Not only is this hard but it has been ingrained into Pastors that if we get the same results Jesus did (John 6:60-71) then we did something wrong! I’ll quit there, I could get angry. However to get a good picture of discipleship read chapter 4 and 8 of the Forgotten Ways, by Alan Hirsch.

How do we live this out in a practically in Emmaus? We have three focal points: Communion with God (1 John 1:3), and this is about taking personal responsibility for own personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, Bible study, meditation, and worship. Second is, community with each other (James 3:18), we believe community is actively building truly transparent and accountable relationships with other Christ followers in Emmaus as we join together on mission for one common-unity. Then finally, conversation with humanity (Colossians 4:6), which is intentionally engaging your lost friends in relationship so that you may have the opportunity to articulate and activate the gospel in their lives. We say, when you are living in all three, it is then that you are truly engaged in being a disciple and discipling. To get a perfect vision of Emmaus read The Tangible Kingdom – You’ll love it.

What’s been the most frustrating aspects of starting a church?

Hands down – support. You’d be amazed at how many pastors in Austin have patted me on the back and said, “WoW-South Austin, You’re brave!” Part of me wants to set them down, and say “if you understand that this place is so resistant to the gospel, and you really believe that Christ came to seek and save that which is lost, can we partner together, because you know it takes money.” Honestly for me that’s it, I love tension, I love suspense, and I love the journey.

What is the biggest problem you see in the American Church?

Jesus is seen as a whore! I know that isn’t very pc, and there isn’t a church that would say that, but if Jesus is the whore I sleep with to get my greatest desires fulfilled – prosperity, health, healing, the perfect mate, the American dream, etc – then pastors are no more than pimps selling Jesus to bring in the crowd so they can make more money…After all Jesus shouldn’t be that hard to sell, who doesn’t want the perfect one-night stand? On more mild terms, Jesus seems to be the road map to desire, rather than being the actual desire, the actual fullness of all truth and of everything good.

I was reading your blog and you wrote, “The church is a sending agent, not a shopping mall enticing the lost with its sales people to come buy the goods—period!” I love this, can you take a paragraph or two and elaborate?

I basically summed up the last half of this quote in the above question. But to define the church as a sending agent, I would have to say, I long to see an Ephesians 4 church, verses a church ran by CEO’s, managers, bosses, salesmen, and customers. The church, on an institutional level, is an equipping organization. We gather to be equipped and trained and edified and rebuked, and then are sent out to be ‘fishers-of-men.’ Even though I live in an urban area, and do not fish, nor do I know many fishermen, this analogy is still very, very plain – very little training on how to be a fisherman is done in a classroom. Often times a seasoned fisherman will verbally give you the basics, but to really train a person to be a fisherman, you have to send them out to the rivers, the lakes, the ponds, and the oceans, where the fish are living, there is no way around it. I don’t know when it became so sexy to see who can gather the most self-indulged Christians or the most Christians who are afraid of the world, and then compare who has the highest attendance, as if that is some sort of an achievement.

What would you speak to the elders and the community that would help us in the vision to multiply disciples?

First of all, congratulations, you have chosen the best yet hardest way to do church. I don’t know the elders, so I can’t pick on you all – HA – but here is what I would say, at some point you all, us, everyone who is focused on discipleship will be tempted to move over to being a salesman. Don’t do it! No matter the cost, don’t do it. I believe the only way to keep from this, is to make sure that your personal relationship with Christ is always top priority in your life – period – above your wife, your children, and the church. And secondly, keep yourselves surrounded by people who will keep you in check.

HOW DO YOU FORGIVE WHEN THE PERSON YOU LOVE THE MOST HAS CHEATED ON YOU? I KNOW THAT IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS THAT IF SOMEONE COMMITS ADULTRY THAT IS THE ONLY BIBLICAL REASON FOR DIVORCE. BUT I AM BEING TOLD TO STAND AND FIGHT FOR MY MARIAGE. I AM TRYING, BUT I STILL HAVE SO MUCH ANGER AND HATRED TOWARDS HIM. HOW DO I TRUELY FORGIVE? SO WE CAN GET PAST THIS. I’M SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW

My response:

Confused, although I do not know who you are, I care more about you then to think that me posting a blog about forgiveness, will cause you to be no longer confused.  I do believe in the power of forgiveness and the necessity for every believer to extend forgiveness to all who have sinned against them. There are to many variables to this story and I would really challenge you to connect with some Godly, loving, praying people who will stand with you, point you to the word, and cover you in prayer.  All that I can say is, I am praying for you (I also call all of the readers to pray) and I believe God is with you, although you feel alone.  If you go to lifeconnectionchurch.net, please let us know,  we will surround you and do all we can to sift through the mess that has been caused by sin.  May your heart be healed, your mind at peace, and God be glorified.

I am unequally yoked, now what?

My Answer:

Scripture tells us in 2 Cor. 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…”  There are two ways people view being unequally yoked,  because of your question I can not tell if that means you are already married, you are just dating, or you are engaged.  Let’s start with the more harsh answer of the two:

If you are dating or engaged to an unbeliever and you are not in a marriage covenant then you are in rebellion to the Word of God and you are worshipping man and not God.  You need to repent and return to obedience and stop walking in prideful rebellion to His word.  If you are pridefully refusing to obey the Word of God knowing it is sin maybe you are not unequally yoked.  This may sound harsh but I say it in love praying for your heart to be restored to right relationship with God.

Now, if you are already married then let me tell you what 1 Cor 7:12-24 says, “you must not divorce them.”  If they divorce you because of your faith you are not bound and you can feel released from that marriage.  If you are married to an unbelieving spouse then perhaps the most valuable word of hope and encouragement to you comes from 1 Peter 3:1-7.  I suggest you read it and let His Word edify and challenge you.  Your hope comes in continuing to love your spouse, to let your faith be seen in your acts of love as you stay in covenant. Your highest desire should be for this one whom you so love to come to know and follow Jesus Christ. As you live a life with your spouse, you can trust God to do his own work of grace in their life.  

I am so excited about preaching this Series Carnivorous (starting sunday july 20th).  My stomach is flipping because I am just being blown away with revelation from heaven.  I know that this series is going to revolutionize lifeconnectionchurch.net.  I have not been this excited about Jesus in along time!!! He is so amazing and I can not put into words how good his words are.  You better do all you can to get there this sunday morning at 10:15 am and come ready.

I just have to shout it from the blog posts.  I love Jesus, I can do nothing without Him, and He is my life!!!

Ive heard you say bad things about the so called magic jesus prayer. where Churches think once you say a little prayer everythings ok. but trully a majority of Christians came to Christ through these little “Magic Jesus Prayers”. We know that through belief in Christ we receive his spirit and if we have his spirit we will exibit the traits of the spirit. And then we are able to fulfill Gods will in our lives, and at our deaths enter the Kingdom of God. But the qualification of entrance into heaven is Faith alone, so a prayer of acceptance of Christ and faith may not be the end result, but i believe it should be the beginning point. And since we receive His spirit after our faith, then shouldent we disciple our people after they receive his spirit.  The only thing im comfused about, i dont see many oppurtunities to receive Christ in our daily church rotine. It seems like were saying, ok you should believe in Christ, lets go disciple that into you. When really it should be, ok if you want to accept Christ heres an oppurtunity, now lets get you plugged into discipleship so that God can use you better in your life.  My question is why dont we have times where people can except Christ as savior? either through prayers or praying with elders. We are not saved through disicpleship, that is the end result of our faith. But it seems like if someone comes to our church whos an unbeliever, they have to get plugged into a connection group and through discipleship he will come to salvation? So I just want to know what is the plan or whatever for people who come to our church to be saved, and why dont we have prayer times where that can happen?

My Response:

WOW!  I know you put a couple question marks but I get the feeling this is not a question. I will take a shot at explaining what I can over a blog all though if you really want to discuss ecclesiology, the doctrine of repentance and faith in Jesus, and some principles of discipleship, then we may need to sit down and look at some scripture and some study-helps.  

Ok let me tackle some of the points, questions, comments, or critisms that you have;

(1) What must we do to be saved?  I will just inform you on what I know scripture says and why I believe that people may not be saved just because they say a prayer.  First and foremost, Jesus is the one who paid the price for our sins and it is by grace that we are saved through faith not of ourselves;  it is a gift of God.  I do believe in the finished work of Jesus and that he is the only way to a restored relationship with our father. I believe that within the preaching of the Gospel the Holy Spirit does His work;  regenerating us and imparting new spiritual life within us.  Now with this knowledge, what does scripture say we need to do to receive this gift?  Not once does it say repeat this prayer after a leader and you are saved.  Basically the bible calls us to two things which are really the same;  Repentance and Faith.  Conversion means to turn.  This is why it is important to understand that when God calls us to faith in Christ he is calling us turn from our sin or to repent and put our faith in Jesus as our savior and Lord.  The problem with the doctrine of saying a prayer that automatically gets you into heaven is that most people believe when they say the prayer they are saved, but they never turn away from their sin or turn towards Jesus.  We give people a false sense of security when say, “hey if you want to receive Jesus you can quickly say this prayer and you are going to heaven.”

(2) Church or ecclesiology - Church is not just a service on sunday morning.  It is a group of redeemed people who are following Christ and living in community everyday.  So your idea that we do not give people an opportunity in our daily church routine to say a prayer for them to receive Christ is completely based upon your perception.  If by daily church routine you mean Sunday services then you are half way right because we do not make time on sunday mornings for a “magic Jesus prayer”, but we do invite people to talk to a leader or a elder just as I did on this previous sunday.  In this last week alone we had 3 people who heard the gospel inside of relationships with people in the church body and decided to turn in repentance and put there faith in Christ.  We also had another guy who heard the gospel and decided not to make the decision to follow Christ on the spot, but he heard it none the less.  I just got done reading 11 testimonies of people who have given their lives to christ over this last year, all of which who have had a radical life change and have the fruit of salvation evident in their lives.  I will let you know that watching someone being born again is amazing and is apart of LCC’s church culture. Unless you are involved in the house groups you probably are not in the birthing rooms so therefore you are missing the excitement.  We do not use the pulpit most of the time to have people corporately repeat a prayer for salvation, instead we direct those in need of salvation to meet with a leader or Elder who will share the gospel with them and give them a opportunity to repent and put their faith in Jesus (We do have them say a prayer at that point).  

(3) At one point you wrote, “we are not saved through discipleship it is the end result of our faith”.  I disagree with you on that statement. It is our calling to be disciples and to make disciples.  The end result of our Faith is not discipleship. Leaving the world behind in repentance and following Christ is the initial response of hearing the gospel. Turning from sin, putting our faith in Christ, and following Him is discipleship.  I think one of the best definitions of faith is to follow. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We hear God and act on what we hear and not by what we see, because faith without works is dead.  So we do what he tells us to do, testing times arise, and within the times of the testing of our faith He matures us. We will always see the fulfillment of what God spoke. So simply when we put our faith in Him we are following Him, which is exactly what it means to be a disciple.  The first call from Jesus to his disciples was “follow me”.  They dropped everything (repentance) and followed Him (faith in Christ).  The point that I am getting to is that discipleship is not the end result of faith, instead discipleship is the first response to our faith in Christ. I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer says it best, “Christianity without Discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”  Without Discipleship christianity does not exist.

How does God truly feel about interracial relationships? I have never gotten a straight answer, from what I understood he didnt see color, but yet he also says you shouldnt be unequally yoked is that strictly a non christian and a christian or in general? I lived in California almost my whole life, and didnt see a thing wrong with it, nor did i even notice a difference, but as i made my way further and further south, the racism was awful, and it was very frowned upon. Ive heard that if its not right it wont be accepted. And for most people it just isnt right. so whats the deal? is it ok by god or no? please help i have to know.

Answer:

It is Godly to have Jungle fever! It is Godly as long as once you go black you never go back (LOL). I am playing around so calm down if you are starting to turn red, shake, or come up with some crazy come back. However, I am serious because when you marry, no matter what race they are, do not go back; stay in covenant.  It is totally fine to have interracial marriages!  I think of Ruth the Moabitess and Boaz in the book of ruth; the thing that drew Boaz to Ruth was not her race but her virtue. I think of Moses who married a black woman. His sister Miriam said something negative and she was struck with leprosy. So Moses had Jungle fever and God protected Him from the naysayers and made Miriam’s skin a little whiter with leprosy since she loved white so much.  

Look, as far as I am concerned do not marry someone for the color of there skin look at their relationship with Jesus and their character.  God does tell his people in scripture to not marry an unbeliever.  2 Cor. 6:14 ”Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”  We are shown in the old testament that when people were told not to marry another race it was because they would begin to worship their gods. It had nothing to do with the color of their skin. 

So whatever race you are attracted to or eventually marry have fun and feel no condemnation. Be in covenant and be a great example of a Godly relationship.  I will tell you this; you may have issues merging lives and cultures together, and you may have some racist persecution but besides the hardships that may accompany a interracial marriage that should not stop you because marriage no matter what has hardships.

I think Paul and Stevie say it best in this inspiring song… Got to love the graphics on this… (LOL)