I believe in testifying about what God has done. We have an obligation to make His mighty works known, but as strange as it might seem, I believe we must be careful about it. Among the many things I cannot explain there is this–I’ve noticed, after many years of observation, that often times when we start talking about what God is doing He stops. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but after it happened over and over again I started believing there is something more to it.

Over the last couple years God has been blessing our church in unusual ways. I am so excited that I want to talk about it, but I’m fearful of doing so. All I will say is that God is amazing! I’ve always understood that God blesses us inspite of us, not because of us–none of us are earning our way with God, but now this is more real to me than ever. We don’t deserve anything, yet God continues to shower His blessings upon us. I don’t know why it’s happening, I just don’t want to get in the way and hinder His working. I don’t want to “limit the Holy One of Israel”. He is causing dreams to come true before my very eyes and I can’t wait to see what He might do next.

It seems to me that there are some things that are better left unsaid. When seasons of great blessings come, be thankful and rejoice, but always beware that you never leave the impression that you deserve them or some how made them happen. The only explanation I can give is that our blessings come by His grace and for His glory. Beyond that I cannot explain them.

There is no end to the foolishness of man. That’s what I thought when I read an article yesterday about a “church” in Vasteras, Sweden. Forty volunteers spent about eighteen months building a 6-foot-tall statute of “Jesus”, made out of 30,000 Lego blocks. The statyte now stands behind the altar and people from across Sweden are fascinated by it. And you thought politicians were the dumbest people on earth!

This is about as dumb as it gets. Why in the world would anyone waste their time and money making a “Lego Jesus”? In the first place, nobody knows what Jesus looks like. Any statute of “Jesus” would be worthless, even if constructed out of gold. Second, would it not be better to use that time and energy preaching the gospel or feeding the poor? The folly of religious people never ceases to amaze me.

Instead of trying to capture the likeness of Jesus in a statute we should be seeking to emulate His example. It’s better that people see something of Jesus in you than wasting your time trying to picture Him with Lego blocks. While some applaud their efforts, in my opinion it is sheer nonsense!

Note: Although I would not agree with the author of this book on several doctrinal issues, I’m glad that he addresses a subject that for far too long has been neglected. It’s about time someone stood up against the critics and pointed out the error of their ways. I just wish a Baptist had been concerned enough to do it!

Church-Loving Christians Make Case for Organized Religion

We’ve all heard the countless reasons Americans don’t like the church. Bookstores are full of writings that critique the church and talk about why people have left the pews.

Mon, Jul. 20, 2009 Posted: 12:38 PM EDT

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We’ve all heard the countless reasons Americans don’t like the church. Bookstores are full of writings that critique the church and talk about why people have left the pews.

Basically the church has been taking a beating, as one Christian author says.

“There’s really nothing out there that we could see that really affirmed the local church,” Ted Kluck, a lay member of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Mich., told The Christian Post.

His pastor, Kevin DeYoung, has read the books and seen the reports and laments the growing movement of having God without the church.

“I see the church derided with mockery and scorn. I see critics exaggerating her weaknesses and incapable of affirming any of her strengths,” DeYoung says. “I see many leaving the church instead of loving her for better or for worse. I see lots of my peers who have 20/20 vision for the church’s failings, but are nearsighted to their own pride, self-importance, and mutual self-congratulation.”

In a rare move, Kluck and DeYoung have put out a book that offers reasons why they love the church – church not as plural for Christian, as most people seem to define it, but as the institution.

As DeYoung writes in Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion, “Increasingly, we hear glowing talk of a churchless Christianity. …These days, spirituality is hot; religion is not. Community is hip, but the church is lame.”

But while non-Christians are liking Jesus and not the church and Christians are being told they can do fine with God apart from the church, the authors are urging them to give church another chance.

“We don’t want Christians to give up on the church,” DeYoung says.

Considering most are familiar with why so many people are disillusioned with the church (i.e. they’re tired of the church’s failings; it’s filled with hypocritical and judgmental people), we’ll go straight into why the church is worth it and why it’s even essential in a believer’s life.

Firstly, Christ loves the church, DeYoung says in the beginning of the book. The church is the bride and also the body of Christ, as the Bible describes it.

“The church we love is as flawed and messed up as we are, but she’s Christ’s bride nonetheless,” the Reformed pastor writes. “And I might as well have a basement without a house or a head without a body as despise the wife my Savior loves.”

Another thing Christians must remember is that there will always be aspects of the church that are unpopular, including an objective moral order and a Gospel that is not only about love and grace but also judgment and repentance.

And too many times, churches have been too eager to be liked, DeYoung notes, whether it’s lusting after academic recognition or cultural validation.

“Being disliked by teenagers and twentysomethings is not our biggest problem,” he points out.

Kluck, who offers a lay person’s perspective in the book, also notes that rejection is going to be a part of the lives of believers.

“Not everybody is going to like us, or our message,” he says.

Still, Kluck wants people to go and experience church despite its unpalatable and sometimes imperfect packaging.

“There are some core things about churches that on the surface may not seem terribly entertaining, it may not have amazing coffee, the praise team might not be drop dead gorgeous and talented but as long as the preacher’s preaching passionate expositional sermons from the text, as long as the praise and worship is God-centered and authentic and real, as long as your church body is praying together, meeting one another’s needs, reaching out to the community, as long as those things are in place, those are signs of a great church,” he commented to The Christian Post.

DeYoung describes the church as both organism and organization. It’s a growing and living thing and at the same time, it is comprised of a certain order, with institutional norms, doctrinal standards and defined rituals. And Sunday morning worship, he notes, isn’t about coming together for a few songs and an oration. It’s an “exercise in covenant renewal, a weekly celebration of the resurrection, and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come.”

Stating it bluntly, DeYoung stresses, “Christianity is not whatever we want it to be. It is, whether we like it or not, organized religion. And the church is what gives it its organization shape and definition.”

And that’s the main reason why many people don’t like it.

“People don’t like the church … because the church has walls. It defines truth, shows us the way to live, and tells us the news we must believe if we are to be saved,” the East Lansing pastor writes.

But it’s those walls that Kluck seems to love and finds beauty in. Offering some practical reasons why he loves his church, Kluck lists: propositions (what his church believes and affirms), sincerity, small group, Regner (a filmmaker buddy), mentoring, structure, elders and deacons, lack of happy endings (believers don’t always have the nice, utopian story where God makes everything better), community, and preaching.

“There are many people leaving the church, and supposedly finding God,” Kluck writes. “But I found Him here, and by His grace, I’ll keep finding Him here. I love my church.”

Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter

I just read about an Israeli woman who threw out a mattress with 1 million stuffed inside! That set off a frantic search through tons of garbage at three dump sites. As of yet it has not been found.

The woman said she bought her elderly mother a new mattress as a surprise and threw out the old one. She later discovered that her mother had hidden her life savings inside the mattress. So now, somewhere in a dump there is a lumpy old mattress stuffed with cash. I’m sure the daughter meant well, thinking mom would be more comfortable on a new mattress, but I gotta tell ya—sleeping on a lumpy old mattress stuffed with a million bucks sounds pretty comfortable to me!

I suppose you could make a lot of applications with this story, but this is what comes to my mind–Sometimes the younger generation discounts and discards things of great value from the older generation simply because something new seems more desireable. In some cases this is no big deal. However, in other instances it is a very costly mistake.

It seems now days just about everyone wants everything new. Personally, I get sick and tired of hearing things like,”This ain’t your grandma’s church”,etc. Newer isn’t better just because it’s newer. In most cases today it is worse. The craze for something new, something different, change for the sake of change has a way of getting us into trouble.

I’m not interested in newer unless it’s better. Call me old-fashion if you want, but until someone comes up with something better than “Amazing Grace”, ” Rock of Ages”, etc. I’l keep singing the old hymns. If you dislike songs like that it’s an indictment against you, not the hymns.My list of things could go on and on–I simply want to warn you of the danger involved in exchanging the new for the old. You better figure out what is of the greatest value before you toss it aside. Think about it!

As far back as I can remember I’ve loved the outdoors. In my childhood days boys explored every inch of woods, meadows, swamps, and caves within walking distance of their house and I was no exception. We didn’t need to be entertained–every day was a new adventure! I grew up hunting and fishing, nearly every week of the year. My first career choice was to be a conservation agent—they didn’t have professional bass fishing back then. My idea of a perfect place to live was an old log cabin way out in the woods, near a river, with a pack of hounds laying on the front porch. Although puberty changed my views about living alone, I never lost my love for the outdoors. After I got married I still spent as much time as possible chasing the dream. But all that changed the second I surrendered to preach. Now I had a new focus. As I busied myself in the Lord’s work I seldom had time to hunt and fish, but I never lost my love for it. Today I spend more time watching birds and squirrels than I do on outdoor sports, but I still thrill at the thought of simply walking through the woods.

I’ve said all this (it’s hard to stop writing about childhood experiences) to introduce you to a great article I just read. It was written August 25, 2005, but was just reposted on Dr. Albert Mohler’s blog. This would be a great article for every parent to read. I hope you’ll take the time to check it out. Even if you aren’t a parent it will be worth your time. Who knows, it just might bring back a lot of pleasant memories. Here’s the link———http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php