I read a new study released by The Barna Group on Six Reasons Young Christians Leave The Church. Again, it’s another statistic that saddens me. I am beyond being classified as young right now, but I totally relate to what this study found:

1. Churches seem overprotective.
2. Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
3. Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
4. Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
5. They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
   
6. The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.

I can already hear a lot of so called “mature Christians” looking at the study and condemning younger Christians as being shallow. Heck, it even states that in reason #2! However, it’s not just young Christians that feel this way. How many times have we spoken to someone about attending a church service only to hear the response, “Church just isn’t relevant to me. I have a personal relationship with God and I don’t need to go to a place where all they want to do is take my money and ask me for my time.” I hear stories like this about the church far too often. It’s particularly saddening to me though when it applies to the younger generation. Mainly because the younger generation may find the church irrelevant because they aren’t hearing answers to their questions as shown in Scripture or they just find it boring. I think the two go hand-in-hand.

The contemporary church moves towards seeking to connect with people through modern, guitar-driven music and dynamic preaching. In the end, I feel it’s better-suited to drawing in Boomers rather than Millenials. If the church fails to connect with the younger generation, how does that play out for our future?

The reason this is on my mind and weighing heavy in my heart is that I have been sensing a call to action lately. A lot of passions lie outside of what typically is viewed as taking place within the church and after being engaged in so many conversations about how many people feel they are close to God, yet distance themselves completely from the church makes me wonder if doing good outside the church may be my future.

As I look at my life, I had an experience with God that had nothing to with sitting in a church service and feeling convicted or being at a low point in my life where I was seeking strength and hope. However, I truly believe that God still wants to move through his people and is using the local church to affect transformation in our cities. It’s time that the church woke up to the change in the next generations and take what is good and shed what is not so good. Catering to the whims of Gen Y Christians isn’t the answer though. If you look deeply at what the Barna study states and what I hear from people on the street every day is that they would find church relevant if they truly experienced an encounter with God as they gather together. If they could serve in ways that made a difference, without judgement and chose to answer questions rather than force what is deemed as truth on a disconnected audience, the local church could experience revival. The awesome thing about this would be that it isn’t just going to be relevant to young people. It could be a multi-generational movement of amazing proportions with God in the midst and evidenced through the church’s story.

Obviously, there is a place for ministries of all shapes and sizes and there is definitely a need for people/orgs that will focus on specific areas of need to do good. In the end, the most glaring question to me is this: If the church really did what it seems like it was called to do, would the need for so many organizations exist? If we weren’t bombarded with so many calls for compassion on tv/radio/print media/social media to commit our time and resources to a cause every few seconds each and every day, would we respond differently? Would the world be a different place? Could it be a better place?

My call to action is not a calling or a vision that mandates me to something… yet. I am feeling something is about to change, and this time I don’t think I’ll have the energy to fight against it. This time, I don’t think I’ll feel like I’m in it alone.

I watched an episode of Frontline last night titled The Suicide Tourist. It’s the story of Craig Ewert, a husband and father who at the age of 59 decided to fly to Switzerland so that he could be permitted to take his own life via a prescription of sleeping medication.

Craig was struck with ALS and lost his motor skills rather quickly. However, he seemed to be completely aware of his environment, condition, prognosis and had full mental capacity. His decision to end his life prematurely was one he was clearly making with no deterioration in his reasoning skills.

As I watched this program I felt an immense sadness for Craig and his family. Frontline documented how fully functional his mind was and how he seemed to enjoy his time with his wife. It even shared snippets of Craig expressing how he was afraid of the decision he was facing and how he may change his mind at the last minute. The biggest thing that hit me like a punch in the gut was when Mr. Ewert expressed how he believed there was no eternity for anyone and that he was just going to expire. Rather than let his condition worsen, he was going to make the decision to end his life before becoming a burden to his family and suffering more than he had already.

However, the more I watched I noticed my sadness slowly turning into anger. I continually asked myself why would a guy with so much love and support around him want to end his life prematurely? I sensed it was an issue of control, in that he didn’t want to face what he felt was going to be inevitable regarding his physical condition, so he masked his decision with words about wanting to die with dignity.

This episode gave me reason to pause and consider my thoughts and emotions. Assisted suicide is one of those things I have wrestled with a lot since making the transition of waking up one day as a believer in God after spending 37 years not believing in him. As an atheist, I completely relate to Craig’s belief that we live and die with nothing else beyond our existence in our human form. I also understand that if someone has a prognosis of dying a painful death or having no good quality of life that they should be allowed to die prior to that, should they choose to do so. As a believer in God and Christ, I find this a difficult position to go along with. Not because of heaven or hell or whether or not suicide is in essence the same as murder, but because of the lack of one thought: hope.

As an atheist, I had a lot of hope. However, it was always rooted in my own personal existence. My biggest existential hope was that the world would be a better place after I expired due to my having lived in it. My days were numbered and beyond my life, there was nothing. Death was final. Now as one that believes we continue on eternally, my perspective is different. I have the hope that our time here in the flesh doesn’t mean the end of my time with my family and others. I have hope that with all of the pain and suffering and difficult decision people like Craig Ewert have to make every day, that there is a better place we may go to.

My mom passed away unexpectedly a few years ago and it felt like my world had come to an end. I went into a depression and was emotionally crippled for months. My brother and I made the decision that rather than let my mom die in pain, we gave permission to the doctors to take her off of life support, administer a bunch of morphine, and drift off peacefully to her death. I was there holding her hand and talking to her as she gasped her last breath. As a Christian at that time, I couldn’t celebrate what us other Christians have certainty in knowing. My mother--while she was able to witness my transformation and was supportive of my involvement in ministry--never spoke of her faith in Christ. There was no joy in knowing that we would be together again in the future. However, I still hold onto hope. The hope that I will see her again and that we can know joy and peace eternally as mother and son. It is that hope that finally pulled me out of my depressed state and allowed me to move forward.

Whether or not we continue on eternally… Whether or not there is a heaven or hell, we all are faced with decision we make every day. Some of them are immensely difficult and some of them seem impossible or hopeless. In the end, Mr. Craig Ewert, your story has impacted my life and forced me to think about my life and the decisions I face. For that, I thank you very much. May you and your family be reunited one day and know the influence you have had in the lives of many that witnessed your story through an episode of Frontline.

There are two things I admit being very difficult for me in my journey of faith in Christ. One is being patient, which I have blogged about a lot in the past, and the other is grace. I haven’t blogged much about grace because it’s a difficult thing for me to discuss as it has so many aspects. Today I’ll just focus on grace--or the lack thereof--in general terms.

I feel I’m pretty good at offering grace to others. Whatever they have done or whomever they may be, I do not pass judgement of them. I believe in second chances (or third or fourth or…) and am open to people and situations from a position of grace. I have been extended grace in many things in which I did not deserve it, so who am I to not extend it to others. In Christ there has been ultimate and eternal grace upon my life and soul and I must share this or it os meaningless.

However, there are two areas where I definitely battle with grace. One is internally in matters of self and the other is in my marriage. I’m pretty tough on myself and hate making excuses for things. I don’t take failure lightly and I’m competitve by nature. I’m always pushing myself harder to be better and error free. I’ve been criticized by friends because I use a lot of self-derprecating humor, but it’s because in many ways I see myself as less-than-perfect and it makes me feel inferior and incapable. I care more about how I perceive myself than what others think about me--I am my harshest critic. Secondly, when it comes to matters with my wife I find I do not extend the same grace I extend to others. So many things have repeated themselves over-and-over, year-after-year. However, here I make an excuse. Here I say it’s because of the repetitiveness of certain things that my level of frustration is so high that it justifies my lack of patience and grace. Today though, I have realized that there is no excuse. I need to address my lack of grace and find a way to deal with it--in a healthy manner which helps move us forward and into a state of grace.

There must be grace…

No matter what we do, the reality is that it’s never enough. We will always come up short somewhere. Things can always take an unexpected turn for the worst. As a former atheist, I bore the burden of everything on my own. The goal was always to be the best. There was no one who remembered those that came in second or finished last. I lived in that world for almost 38 years. I was always trying to outdo even my own self.

When I first came to comprehend the reality and awe of the voice of God, I was not at some low point. I had accomplished much and had the respect of many. Money talked and I was able to speak pretty loudly for many years with my dollars. When God spoke to me, I didn’t need a savior to rescue me. For me, it was coming to know a sense of purpose and finding a place of rest. When it suddenly became about God’s will and not about my work there was such a sense of relief. No matter how high I climbed, there would always be another rung to reach up for, but in God I knew I no longer needed to keep reaching. Through Christ I realized that it was okay to be where I was at--no climbing up or need to step down. Finally, I could find comfort in who I was and where I was. It wasn’t about me or how others thought about me. Instead, my life became an empty canvas that was being transformed into something of beauty through the effortless God that I came to know and trust with my life.

I’d like to say it’s been smooth sailing ever since I put my faith in Christ. It’s been quite the opposite actually. Life has been challenging to say the least, but I know it’s to fulfill my greater purpose. I still find myself working to overcome obstacles through what I know to do--those things that have helped me find success in the past. Many days I wake up thinking that if I can just make a few more dollars today, how much easier my life would be. If I could just strive a little harder to be a better person things would go my way. It’s never enough. It’s never ever enough.

I have to stop running on the wheel like a hamster and going no where. I must look at things differently. I should see things with the eyes that God gave me, rather than the eyes I used to see the world before I knew him. I have to get away from scratching my way to success and rest in the love and comfort of the One who called me his son and forever changed my life. Being human is hard, and thankfully it’s only temporary.

Not Like Me: A Field Guide for Influencing A Diverse World is a reprint of Eric Michael Bryant‘s previous book titled Peppermint-Filled Pinatas. I did not read the first release so I am not sure how it is different, but I do know that in the form of Not Like Me, this book is like gold! There is so much in here to take away and apply that it could easily take me a year (or probably more) to get through all of it. Apparently, I’m not alone as Eric has provided small groups resources and teaching materials from the book’s website: http://notlikeme.org/.

Pastor Bryant shares his own personal stories and incorporates a lot of humor in a way that helps break down defenses and makes us want to connect with this book in a more personal level. It’s exactly the type of thing Bryant advocates for us as Christians--and as the church--to do with those we encounter outside of Christian community. He calls us to help overcome the Christian stereotypes that unchurched people tend to have of churched people. In doing so, he wants us to understand that we must hold others in a new light--that which does not include judgement. As Eric writes, “We [Christians] have created an environment where we are seen as judgmental, irrelevant, mean, and hypocritical.” and “We should not be surprised when people who have not surrendered their lives to God live differently [than we Christians should].” In order to see this happen, Bryant’s answer is to practice “the art of woo.” It is through this “art of woo” that Pastor Eric unfolds a story of how we might learn to develop diverse communities, resolve conflict, overcome bitterness, create a better future, and even heal our fractured world. “Wouldn’t it be amazing,” Eric asks in the introduction, “if as followers of Christ we found ourselves as part of the solution in our divided world rather than as part of the problem? In the end, don’t people matter most?”

Sharing stories and ideas on realizing diversity within the church and reaching those that do not know Christ in a relevant way, Not Like Me is a training manual of sorts. It’s a book written by someone that has accomplished all that he offers to teach us. As a pastor and influencer of Mosaic--a diverse and amazing community that seeks to follow (and be more like) Christ with services that are in various locations such as a nightclub--Eric Bryant is someone who lives what he preaches. His heart for seeing diverse communities of Gospel love, compassion, and grace is big. Eric gets why it’s important to celebrate cultural diversity and why the church must be about loving others more so than becoming a shelter filled with Christians trying to escape from the world that doesn’t know Christ.

Thanks to Zondervan and Eric Bryant for allowing me the opportunity and privilege of being a part of the Not Like Me: A Field Guide for Influencing a Diverse World blog tour. It is with great passion and enthusiasm that I will continue to refer to the pages and apply the things that Eric graciously shares for communicating and building community with those around me, especially those not like me.

Having lived as an atheist during the first 37 years of my life, I have to admit that I had a burning desire to always be right. Even when I was wrong, I somehow had to find a way to prove myself correct in some aspect. I always had the last word. Almost 6 years into my life of faith in Christ, I take a different perspective. I don’t have to be right anymore. Specifically, I don’t care if others think I am wrong if I know I’m right. I can walk away and let them think I’m wrong. I don’t have to win the argument, nor prove that I’m smarter than someone else. However, this Scripture is something I struggle with:

You see, when I read certain passages in the Bible it seems to tell me that there are times when I should point out the wrongdoing of others. However, it’s hard to do so without coming across as more-righteous than another and that’s a place I really don’t want to go to anymore.

With that said, I must admit that there are times when people do something out of ignorance. It’s prejudicial, racist, condescending or even blasphemous and I want to reach out and tell them how wrong it is, but 99.9% of the time I just let it go. Unfortunately with me, what happens is that I tend to hold the words or actions of another against them. I won’t be fake and act like I’m okay, but I’ll just choose to avoid the situation and not make a big deal. When I find people say something, yet have their actions reveal something else it’s hurtful and difficult for me to accept in silence.

People aren’t always who they say they are and usually it isn’t revealed in what they say, but instead in what they do. I want to call them out on it. I feel like I have Biblical ammunition to support my case. In the end, I just offer grace and hope that they’ll learn that they are transparent and at some point their words will be revealed as meaningless. I guess I hope that this reaction will be the conviction they need to correct themselves. I just believe that God is there to take care of these things and rather than make a bad situation worse, I’ll let God deal with it in other ways.

My new position finds me feeling weak at times. I come home and kick myself for not standing up and saying something some times. Whether it’s right or wrong to take the high road, I do my best to keep the integrity of my faith and beliefs intact. Some days it’s hard though.

Funny story, but I ended up wearing a tie to go out on an interview yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve worn a tie in over 2 years. For fun, I posted a picture of me in the tie right before my interview and it’s gotten more responses from people than any nature or family picture I’ve ever posted before on twitter or facebook. Who knew my clothes would have made such an impact!

One of the things I noticed while I was preparing for my interview was how different I felt wearing dress clothes. I was confident and ready to impress. Not that I’m some kind of fashion model in my tie, but that I felt like I was ready to face any question or situation the interviewer would throw at me and knock it out of the park. I was ready. It was the clothes. Had I been dressed in casual attire, I feel as if I would have given casual answers. My mindset was being dictated by how I was dressed.

As I noticed all of the commentary going on about the photo of me in a tie, it got me to thinking about another set of clothes and how they made me feel. As a Christian, I have been taught that I have been clothed by God in righteousness and salvation. Lately, this suit hasn’t made me look good. It isn’t the clothes, but it’s the wearer of the clothes that needs to clean up. You see, I’ve gone through some experiences that have negatively impacted my spirit and outlook. It’s caused me to succumb to a lot of pessimism and negativity. Regardless of the clothes I am wearing, my attitude and language has been one of feeling defeated and without worth.

In Isaiah 61:10 we read about the clothes we’ve been freely given:

Do I realize that no matter what clothes I may physically put on to start my day, I always have on a suit of salvation and a robe of righteousness? The simple answer is, no I do not always realize this. I have accepted the beautiful wardrobe Christ has given me, but I wear it with a sour attitude and an unappreciative expression.

How about you? Do you always remember that you are as dapper as groom in his tuxedo or as stunning as a bride in her jeweled tiara? God wants us to remember this and to be forever thankful for his grace in our lives, as he shares his grace through us for others.

Saw a tweet from Exponential yesterday from my friend Jenni Clayville:

“LOVE is to risk. When we play it safe, we aren’t being like Jesus.” --Alan Hirsch

It caused me to reflect on how often we (his disciples) see Jesus in so many different ways. Some may say it’s a reflection of the various aspect of Jesus as he goes about meeting our needs or calling us closer to him, but I would disagree. I think regardless of how we feel Jesus is speaking to us, we always think of it from his perspective of loving kindness. However, in reality, Jesus was a risk taker and game changer! He challenged the authority and even the traditional rules of the holy sabbath day. Jesus was rarely in a place that would be considered safe. So, if we are truly following him, then if we find ourselves in safe and comfortable places, is Jesus really just one step ahead?

I’m reminded of the Nooma Video titled Dust. It’s titled Dust because back in Jesus’ day rabbis had followers that walked with them everywhere in the hopes that they would learn some great piece of wisdom. Rumor has it that they followed so closely that even while going to the bathroom a rabbi could expect a disciple to be at his side in fear of missing out on something if he weren’t there. They had a saying back then:

“May you be covered by the dust of your rabbi.”

Which in essence meant, may you so-closely follow in the footsteps of your rabbi that as he walks, the dust that gets kicked up from his sandals covers you. Pause for a moment and process that. Take any of the gospel accounts of Jesus that you can think of and imagine following him that closely. You’ll realize that Jesus was a very dangerous man in his day, and he has called us to follow him into those areas as he covers us in his holy, loving, empowering dust.

The first century Christian church was comprised of people gathering together in homes, learning from the teachings of apostles, sharing in a meal together, and selling what they had to give to others with need. As we learn from Acts 2, not only did they do this, but we know that they did this daily.

Can you imagine if I came to your Sunday worship service and told your church that they had to gather together corporately every single day? We have such a difficult time just getting people to commit to one day a week to gather together, that just asking them to help form community by meeting in a home during the week or serving those in need for a day seems ridiculous to many. In essence, we love Jesus, but we love him on our terms when it is convenient for us to do so.

When we have a reference such as Acts 2 that describes a lifestyle of worship and community, why do we then have to go and mess that up by making it about ourselves? What motivates us to believe that the church today needs to change in order to be relevant to modern society? In the first century church, do we really believe that people went around to various homes looking to see who offered the most uplifting music, the most innovative youth ministry, the most up-to-date furnishings, the best tasting food, or had the most engaging preacher? In a time when professing a faith in Christ could lead to someone’s death by crucifixion or being boiled alive in hot oil, it was just a blessing to be amongst other people of faith living out their lives together for the sake of sharing the gospel with others.

When did the gospel become about modern sanctuaries, how far we’re willing to walk in the rain to get from our car to our seat, how the worship music is performed, funny sermon illustrations, or the talent of the preacher to speak you off the edge of your seat? I seriously contend that we have individualized the gospel and therefore diffused its transformational power when we make it about us and our comforts and desires.

In the first century church it was evident that lives were radically transformed in the name of the gospel. The Apostle Paul is a perfect example. If Paul, who was probably the last person any of us would have chosen to be the minister to the Gentiles, can be used by God for the beauty of the gospel, what is our excuse? What are we waiting for? Do we honestly believe that if we keep trying, we will find that one perfect church where our description sounds less like a church and more like our living room? When we gather together in the name of Christ, that is the church. When we love God and love others as ourselves, that is the church. Just like a car does not need a garage in order to function, we as Christians don’t need a building in order to be a church. Funny how we can look back in history and see how we’ve gotten things all wrong.

We in ministry try to cater to our consumers to attract and retain them, yet in Acts 2:47 we learn that it is not our ideas that grow the church--If we gather together and study the Word, share in fellowship, live life together, and give sacrificially God tells us that he will honor that by adding to our numbers daily. When we make the gospel about us, it becomes less about God. Are we really smarter than God? Do we really believe in the transformative power of the gospel as described in Romans 1:16 or do we use it merely as a tool for our own works?

Well, as a follower of Christ on a journey to start a new church in my city, I get discouraged sometimes at hearing the negativity in the church about finances. Pastors telling other pastors that it’s a bad idea to start a new work in this down economy. Churches shutting their doors because they couldn’t support their ministry when the offerings were down. Programs and pastors being dropped because of lack of funds in the budget. Where does it end? If it truly is God’s church, then how can it be that doors are closing and pastors are being laid off?

However, as children of God won’t we be taken care of? Philippians 4:19 tells us: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Should we be at the mercy of man’s money or God’s provision? What about those that don’t have the knowledge that trust in God will prevail over all other things? You know, those people that are destined for an eternity away from God? Rather than focus on ourselves and what we are lacking--sometimes even pointing the finger at our fellow man and thinking they lack faith because they won’t give sacrificially in these difficult times--why don’t we rally together and find a way to get the message of the gospel out there at a time when people need hope and mercy more than ever?

If we love God above all other things and love our neighbors as ourselves, won’t God in all his glory see to it that his people are taken care of for the sake of others to know that he is God?

Is an out-of-work pastor out of a job? Yes. However, is an out-of-work pastor out of a calling? That answer should be no. We are called to be ministers of the gospel and to somehow dig down deep inside and find the strength to be Jesus for the sake of someone that may never otherwise have a chance to be redeemed. Most of us know by heart Philippians 4:13 in the NKJV that states: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. However, I ask that as you reflect on what you lack and look inwardly at your circumstances, peer into the city outside your doorway and see what Christ sees. See the hurting people that don’t Jesus and what they are going through. We have Christ, while others have nothing. As you consider this, may you meditate on Philippians 4:13, but use the Amplified Bible translation instead, which reads: I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
Now more than ever is the time to do all that we can so that hurting people that don’t know where to turn have an opportunity to find Christ and put their trust in him. Be faithful to the calling and God will be faithful in his provision. Now is the time for us to be bold in our faith and show the devil that we will stop at nothing to see others come to know the Lord, even if economic conditions seem to be getting the best of us!

Dear friends, I am praying for each of you by name and pray that those who are going through difficulties will know the blessings of God even if they don’t show up in monetary form. For those of you in your cities having to find the wisdom and strength to help those that are hurting and questioning, may God give you the insight and example of perseverance to cause others to look to the Lord rather than the dollar and put their trust in him.