Elevation Evaluation

My wife and I attended Elevation Church again this past Sunday morning. We had attended one service previously and I had listened to a sermon on-line but that was the extent of our exposure.  Based on what was presented last Sunday, this weekend was the start of a new series program called “Kingdom Come.”  Unfortunately it seemed to be an introduction to a building campaign more than a study series. Of course, those attended might differ wildly with that appraisal.

What I came away with was rather simple – Elevation, for all it’s exterior posturing as being different from main stream churches is simply put,  the same circus – bigger tent. Now that’s not intended to be disparaging as much as a rather basic critic.  It’s true they have grown from just a couple of hundred people five years ago to over 5,000 today – but does bigger mean better?  It may in the sense that a church can do more with 5,000 than it can with 500, presumably, but not always.  Having given over a million dollars to assist community needs is laudable, however balanced out over five years and a growing group of 5,000 people, it may not be that “significant” in the scheme of things. Good but perhaps not great. Influential, but perhaps not community changing.

If I could there was one more observation that may seem supercilious.  A good portion of what the pastor talked about that Sunday was a thinly disguised version of a “name-it-and-claim-it” theology. That may not be bad, but it certainly seemed rather in-congruent with their attempt at being different.

After all is said and done – Elevation Church is what it is and certainly is making an impact in our metropolitan community. There is no doubt about that.  Are they more effective than what they describe as the average ninety member congregation – perhaps, at least if you go by the numbers. But then, numbers do not always tell the story. The governments attempt to claim “jobs created or saved” through the stimulus program should convince anyone of that. Neither did Jesus seem to be concerned about numbers.  As I used to say when I was pastoring, I would rather baptize 50 and know exactly where those 50 were in their walk with Christ at the end of a year, than baptize 500 and wonder were the hell most of them went.

Now, we’ve determined Elevation Church is not a good fit for us. Not merely because of this experience, but rather because it’s not our style of worship. There is something creepy about applauding when the pastor walks out on stage that makes me a little nervous.  

Purification

Following up on the discourse with Nicodemus, John takes us to a scene where Jesus and John the Baptist are baptizing (John 3:22-36).  During this period “a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew.” From what follows it appears that the discussion is about a lot of  things, but purification or ablution does not seem to be one of them – at least on the surface.

John talks about receiving things from God, his role being not that of the Messiah, brides and bridegrooms. All of it ending in one of John’s oft quoted phrases, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  Not a real thorough discussion of purification by any account unless you focus primarily on the wedding concept and the purification rites associated with that.

John goes on to talk about earthly things and heavenly things. He focuses on Christ as being the spokesman for God in that he “speaks the words of God….” and the Father has placed all things in Christ’s hands. Therefore………..

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.” In other words, the one who believes through obedience is purified through that obedience. The one who disobeys stands outside the presence of God and must endure his wrath.

It is through believing faith we obey and are purified in Christ. It is because of disobedience that we reject faith and are left impure with its attending consequences.  Faith produces purification because we are obedient to God. It is not through the washing of hands or the cleansing of utensils that results in purification, it is through an obedient heart. A life committed, by faith, to be obedient to God’s word and his incarnate Word.

In our Western culture obedience is not necessarily fashionable. We want to be our own person, march to the beat of our own drum and express ourselves freely and openly without constraints of cultural conditioning.  In the faith- culture, obedience means purification and to a large degree conforming to certain standards. Our belief system is not a bill of rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” but rather a right to build upon our faith in Christ through a life that conforms to scripture and leads to abiding and obedient faith. Quite frankly I struggle with that.  I struggle with that a lot.

All to often I want faith to conform to my expectations rather than my expectations conforming to faith.  I want to have obedience based on my standards, not God’s . I want to push the envelope of all things are lawful knowing full well that all things are not helpful.

I’m not certain what the Jew was questioning John’s disciples about regarding purification. Perhaps it centered on mundane matters such as the washing of  hands before a meal or keeping other purification rites. If he were listening to John’s response to his followers, he would have learned that purification is a matter of faith not function. It was a matter of heart obedience not ritual conformity. The formula was simple; belief + obedience = purification. Simple on paper, but not so simple in practice.

Sticking Up for Nic

There are not many passages in scripture that get the play John 3 does. With the interest of Nicodemus and the “born from above” concept, there is seldom much tread left on the tire when it comes to discussing this passage. Nevertheless, there are a few things that came to my mind as I was reading this passage again the other day.

First – the actual concept of being “born from above.”  I get it as do most people. However, the magnitude of that concept can often be overlooked and understated.  After all, there is something VERY unique and spiritually exclusive in that concept. To my knowledge no other religion embraces that notion. Perhaps reincarnation is a parallel thought, but it fails to compare with what Jesus describes to Nicodemus.

Most evangelicals are so familiar with the passage and the “born again” terminology they let it roll off their tongue as though it were elementary. The fact is, it is perhaps the single most important concept in the NT outside the concept of grace. For a person to be born again/from above, carries with it the full weight of what it means to enter into a relationship with God. The parallel concept of physical birth with spiritual birth is evidence that God is intimately involved with his creation – at all levels. To be born from above is to be captured and compelled by the Holy Spirit to be other than we were. We become that new creation Paul talks about only in the sense that we are born anew. It is not a rehash of the old man, but a rebirth into the family of God specifically by God and for God.

The second issue that I believe is often overlooked is Jesus’ comment to Nicodemus as he struggled to get his mind around the concept of being born from above. In verse ten of John chapter 3 Jesus says this…”Are you a/the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”

If we translate the article “a” than Jesus brings an indictment against Nicodemus’ general lack of understanding. If we translate the article “the” then Jesus brings a specific indictment against Nicodemus as the specific teacher of the people of Israel and castigate his inability to understand the spiritual concept Jesus is referring to.  Either way, and I believe it to be the latter, how could Nicodemus get his mind around the “born from above” concept when it would be so radically new and different from anything he may have read in the Torah?  The concept is not something that is replete in the OT. In fact, it is difficult to find anything in the OT that might be in corollary with what Jesus has just described.  It could be akin to the “new heart” described by the prophet Ezekiel. But that is a far cry from the idea of being “born from above.”

I don’t blame Nicodemus for asking Jesus, “How can these things be?” Indeed, how can they be?  Sure, we talk about the born again concept like it was yesterday’s news. We even call people “born again” as though it is something readily apparent to the naked eye. But it is not.

Being born requires that their be growth. Just as an infant must grow, so must the believer who is born from above. Born again requires both a period of dependency and independence through maturation. This does not mean our spiritual life is lived independent of God. It means that as we mature our ability to walk the walk becomes, to some degree, natural and automatic.  Just as we move from the milk of the word to the meat of the word, so we pass through different stages of maturity from that initial point of being born from above. It is no small matter. It takes work, diligence, discernment and dedication. Oh yes, and perseverance. We must not forget perseverance.

I’m sticking with Nic on this one. Perhaps he should have known what Jesus was referring to with the “born from above” analogy. Perhaps he should have understood the spiritual side of what Jesus was saying. But he didn’t – at least not then. Heck, I’m not sure I really understand the concept and I have the advantage of centuries filled with commentators who are more than willing to lay out the import of the passage. Yet, I’m not certain any one fully comprehends the concept of new birth.

The Near-Death of America

I’ll freely admit from the beginning I am not a historical scholar. Nor could I be remotely considered a huge fan of history. However, there are a few things I know. Our country was founded on certain principles by men of principle. They were not perfect, but they were well aware of what the thumb of British tyranny had given them and they knew they did not want that for this brave new world called America.

When Washington and his men captured the town of Trenton the day after Christmas, 1776, he gave strict orders that the prisoners were to be treated fairly. No one was to be harmed or mistreated. He did not want his men to stoop to the level that they had experienced by the British and Hussein forces. Those soldiers slaughtered their captors – without mercy. Washington would have none of that. He would show them the character of this new America and the people who fought to free her.

It was that kind of character and honor that enveloped the framers of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It was that kind of character that was reflected in our most sacred documents. It was that kind of character that the founding fathers hoped to instill in the people of America knowing all along how fragile that character was. They knew that it would only take one man, one ideology, one misrepresentation of the truth to undermine the entire system of the Republic.

Well, it may not have been one man, or one period in time, or a single ideology, but what our founding father’s feared may now be upon us. We are experiencing the slow death of America. The land that was once the home of the brave is now becoming the home of an ideology that will bring us almost full circle. A nation of “rebels” who once fought for freedom under unimaginable circumstances is now finding itself being swept swiftly by the current of socialism into an unrecognizable condition.

We have so-called representatives in government who do not listen to their constituents. Representatives that think, for whatever reason they know what’s best for the country – more than the people who make up the country.  They ignore polls, demonstrations and floods of email or faxes, only to write the criticism off as perpetrated by delusional tea baggers being swept along under false pretenses by people on the right who have only one thing on their mind, destroy the president’s agenda.

We have a government that has its focus on a political agenda not a passion for what’s best for the American people. The issue is not jobs or the economy that garner their attention, it is government-run healthcare, cap-and-trade and strengthening labor unions. Their agenda has nothing to do with the citizens of America, it has to do with their idea of what government should look like and act like. Something that is far afield of what our founding fathers had envisioned. Their role is not to uphold the Constitution of the United States, but to rewrite that Constitution. To footnote it through the judicial system in such a way that it looks like they want it to look and says what they want it to say.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out they do not want individual liberties or a bill of rights. They want government control of virtually every aspect of our lives so that we can be their pawns doing their bidding.  In the early years of our nation’s history that was called slavery!

I’ll miss the United States of America. I’ll miss the pride in our flag, the tear in my eye when singing the national anthem, the immense gratitude that has turned to regret for the men and women who fought under a pretense of preserving our country’s values only to find out that our President and his minions have no regard for our nation’s heritage and choose instead to bow before foreign leaders with hat in hand because they now “own” us!

I will always wonder if a politician was ever honest in their dealings. If they ever once meant the words of the oath of office where they swore to “UPHOLD” the Constitution of the United States or if they simply said what they needed to say in order to fulfill the exercise.

I’ll always wonder if “freedom of speech” is a gift only for those who think they are in the right and not for the average citizen without being mocked or ridiculed by those who sit in the shadow of our nation’s capitol.

I’ll always wonder what other business of the nation was conducted behind closed doors under a veil of secrecy and treachery.

I’ll always wonder what else I missed by not paying attention and if perhaps I wouldn’t be better off now not knowing what I know.

I’ll always have a tinge of guilt knowing that my grandchildren will experience the full force and fury of a national debt that will cripple them in such a way that they may never feel free.

I wonder what I will do when China or Saudi Arabia calls in our loan and we collapse and find ourselves living under a flag that we do not recognize.

I wonder what I’ll do when the government knocks on my door and says, “I’m here to help.”

What will I do if they decide to take my guns.

What will I do if they decide to take my money and give it to some one who hasn’t worked a day in their life – oh wait, they do that now! They just want to do it on a grander scale.

I wonder when God will say, “I’ve had enough. It is over!” Or does he have any vested interest in this country other than it probably has more churches per capita than any other country in the world. Do those buildings matter if many of the people in those buildings are just as lethargic spiritually as they are politically?

Is America near death or simply experiencing a near-death moment?

To Try Men’s Souls

I’ve never been a real fan of history. I can recall Mr. McMahon, my high school history teacher, making every attempt to bring history to life for his rather disinterested students – me among them.  He seemed to have a genuine passion for the subject, but was very poor at communicating it. As he strolled back and forth at the front of the room, chewing on his gum and mumbling out of the side of his mouth, he garnered little respect from his students.

Through the years, I’ve attempted to read bits of history and found my attention waning easily. I suspect for many of today’s students that scenario repeats itself. However, much of what kids are taught today is not history as such, rather politically correct accounts of things progressives prefer our students know, rather than what actually happened.

I’m just about to complete To Try Men’s Souls, a historical novel about George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware on Christmas day 1776 and the ensuing battle that took place at Trenton the following day. I didn’t know that Britain’s king had employed German soldiers to fight many of the land battles during that time.  I didn’t know that literally thousands of “rebels” fled the battle field, tired, hungry, near naked and frustrated from losing battle after battle to the British and German soldiers.  I didn’t know that had it not been for just a few miscues on the part of the British and the courage of Washington to persist in an attack under the heaviest of winter storms, our country would have remained under British rule.

One thing that did seem familiar was the feeble revolutionary government formed in the name of freedom that was willing to send men and young boys into a battle ill-equipped and ill supplied for the task while they stayed in the comfort of their homes or fled under the cover of darkness when the enemy drew near the infant Capitol.  Not much has changed in the past two hundred years. Seems rather ironic that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The book, written by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, seeks to give an accurate account of those couple of days form both the revolutionary’s and British perspective.  It focuses on George Washington’s resolve and the role Thomas Paine and Jefferson played. Not glamorous but certainly inspiring.  If one can wade through the ubiquitous descriptions of how cold and unrelenting the weather was, it’s a good read.