I just finished watching the film "luther" the biographical story of Martin Luther who began his ecumenical life as a Roman monk and ended it as the catalyst used by God to break apart the tyranny of organized religion in the 15th century and to open the door of the gospel to every man, woman and child, first in Germany and then throughout the world.
What I couldn't get out of my mind is how similar the church today seemed to the Roman church in Luther's day. In the 15th century, Pope Leo and the Roman church sold indulgences - the offering of salvation for one's relatives suffering in purgatory; all for the price of a few pennies. For a bit more, one could save several family members or even one's long dead evil friend. Pope Leo took this a step further when he offered salvation for monies given to build St. Peter's Basilica.
Today in any major city are gigantic buildings dedicated to the memory of men, built upon the few pennies of the faithful, with the promise of rewards for those who give freely. These buildings are mistakenly called churches. Not that in some of them, perhaps even many, people are worshipping the One, true, God, it's just that the word we translate church never once applies to a building in sacred scripture.
For hundreds of years in America and certainly with much aplomb and grandeur in the 20th century, Americans have built great buildings to God, each one bigger and brighter than the next. Pass by the former Compaq center in Houston and one now sees "Lakewood Church" in all it's newly remodeled glory, with its benefactor in clear, orange letters "Joel Osteen - Pastor" emblazoned for everyone to see. It isn't hard to find one of these monuments to man, they are in nearly every city, whether one is in Houston, or Atlanta, California or Arkansas - these temples of man are increasing in number and grandeur.
Now wait a minute, some are now saying, "You've gone too far; My church is built out of the desires of the people to honor God and after all shouldn't He have a grand house to live in? "
Did you undergo a "building campaign" to build this magnificent house for God? What were you promised if you freely gave? Or perhaps you were told that "The Lord loves a cheerful giver" while you were made to feel guilty for not supporting the campaign, while the rest of the church kicked in.
What might God say about this? In Isaiah 66:1-3 states, "This is what the Lord says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? My hands have made both heaven and earth and they are mine. I, the Lord have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. Their offerings will not be accepted, when such people sacrifice an ox, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice."
Am I saying it is wrong to build a church? No. But we need to stop kidding ourselves, that the temples we are building for the glory of men are built to serve God. How does burdening people to give money to build something that will burn up one day, honor God? And if you think I have just had too much coffee today, consider this: People who come to the church for help, frequently bring up the fact that "I tithe to the church", as if this entitles them to some special consideration. They are convinced they have stored up for themselves treasures - an indeed they have. Where do they get this idea? From the church! They aren't getting the idea from cereal boxes.
Drive by a Mega church this week. Whose name is on the outside? Is Jesus mentioned anywhere? The very odd thing is - if you drive by a Mormon temple, His name will be prominently displayed.
What do we do? I propose we stop pretending we are glorifying God by building structures for the glory of man. People can worship God under a tent, in a warehouse and in the mall. There are more than enough empty buildings for you to put your church and you'd be doing both the landlord and the local business community a favor. Some might say, "Isn't that what Lakewood did, by renting and remodeling the Compaq center?" Well, did the 90+ million they spent to remodel it and the millions in lease payments they will spend, have any eternal significance? Will anyone get into heaven because of the shiny, new building? Whose name is on the building?
I would very seriously like for you to consider the following question - don't play games with your own mind; consider it truthfully. Picture the follwing person coming to your church - dark skin, thick, black hair, long nose, a fairly well trimmed beard and worn hands. Being poor, and not having bathed in many days, he would stink. His clothes have holes from wear, his shoes also would be worn or perhaps broken. What would happen? At my church, a "campus alert" would be issued in case he were a robber. He would be encouraged to visit our benevolence center - several miles away from our church, at a safe distance. If he asked for water, he might get it, but he would certainly recieve some strange looks and wouldn't be encouraged to sit on our very plush furniture.
The person described above would not be very welcomed at our church - and I suspect at many buildings in our country which are incorrectly named after a group of believers who are to gether to worship Christ, fellowship together and bear one another's burdens. Sadly, the description above is probably a fairly accurate description of a first-century Galileen, who is named Jesus. Jesus said "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country." The people of Jesus own hometown rejected Him. Would the "church" do the same today?
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Monday, August 08, 2005
The truth about Pakistan
"U.S. drafts war plans in case of terror attack". Reads one headline of a major U.S. Newspaper today. And in every city in the western world, similar headlines attempt to stir people into buying whichever magazine or paper posts such articles. If one should pick up and actually read one of these articles, one would discover that terrorists are lurking at every streetcorner, governments are powerless against them and that Pakistan is a major source of terrorist funding and training. The problem is that all of these ideas are patently untrue.
Having just returned from Pakistan, and having visited the church there, I can tell you that Pakistan is no friend of terrorism. General Musharraf is no friend of radical islamists - in fact, they tried to assasinate him in 2003. Nearly every day while I was in Pakistan, I read local reports of the arrest and conviction of radical clerics calling for Jihadi nonsense. And in the two weeks I spent there, I did not meet a single person who was "anti-U.S." as CNN, the BBC and every other media outlet portrays Pakistan and the Pakistani people. No, I didn't stay in my hotel room, in fact the team I traveled with were invited to speak to more than 1,000 students at a large cultural center and I traveled about the city of Karachi freely. Security was excellent and all those I met wanted to be a friend of the U.S. and couldn't understand why our media were determined to paint their country as anti-american and pro-terrorism.
Are there terrorists in Pakistan? Absolutely. But there are also terrorists in the United States. And in Britain and in every other country in the world. Let us not forget that the second most violent act of terrorism we have ever experienced in the U.S. came about not because of radical muslims, but because of a deranged former U.S. soldier named Tim McVeigh.
What is most encouraging to me about Pakistan is not their pro-American stance or even their willingness to erase terrorism, but the power of the Christian church. While Pakistan is certainly overwhelmingly Islamic, the evangelical, Jesus-following church there is growing and the believers I met there were bold, joyous and filled with a deep longing to know Jesus and serve Him. As human beings, they aren't perfect, but they taught me many things which I hope will serve me as I walk through this life in the service of Jesus Christ. What were some of the things I learned from the Christians in Pakistan?
1. Jesus doesn't give a whit about denominations. Catholics, methodists and perhaps even some Baptists will be in heaven and probably some persons from each and every denomination will be in hell. I already knew that God "is no respecter of persons" but the Christians in Pakistan helped me to remember this important fact.
2. Materialism has blinded the American church. I already knew this also, but I saw first-hand how Jesus wants us to serve Him no matter what our material standing and without regard to buildings, or programs or any other manmade idea. I was reminded of Jesus' admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, that they had left their first love. They didn't repent and Jesus removed their lampstand from its place as He said He would. Today, the church at Ephesus is a swamp filled with the ruins of a pagan temple.
3. The church is not a business. Corporateness has no place in the church. Yet, in America the church has become one of our nations biggest businesses. Pastors earn high salaries while families in their own congregations struggle to provide housing and food for their children. Many large churches spend more on audio/video production than third-world churches will ever take in during the lifetime of their pastor. Yet, churches in the developing world are baptisting hundreds and even thousands of believers a month. Christians in the muslim world are gathering to pray all night simply because they felt called by the Holy Spirit to do so - without a pre-arranged conference or vote. You might want to read John Piper's excellent book "Brothers we are not professionals".
4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). I have prayed for healing for men and women and then sent them to the doctor. Why? Because I didn't really believe that God would heal them. Why? Because I had little faith. In Pakistan, where becoming a Christian can mean very serious persecution (loss of family, job, home, etc.) I saw incredible faith and consternation at my lack thereof. When someone prayed for healing, it was a surprise that the prayee wasn't healed immediately. Kinda like in that strange book the Bible! I had forgotten that Jesus said "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "beginning") and the Omega (Last letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "ending") the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) Jesus doesn't change - people do. And just like those Israelites of old, many of us have either lost our faith or never really had it in the first place.
One study of over 1,000 churches around the world, demonstrated that advanced theological training actually corresponded directly to negative church growth. I wondered about this until I visited Pakistan. When you think you know everything, you don't need God and you can start to rationalize away His sovereignty. "God works in dispensations" we say in theological circles - which really means that God changes His mind and is different today than He was in the past. The problem is that the Bible doesn't say this anywhere. James 1:17-18 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." God doesn't change. I would encourage you to read the account of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu, who died in a car accident and was certifiably (by several major hospitals) dead for nearly 4 days. God raised people from the dead for His purposes in the past, why can He not do so now?
5. It's all about God and nothing about us. I have written before on the subject of money and so won't belabour the point here. But are you sure your giant new house is a gift from God? Does the Bible say that you should store up treasures here on earth and claim them as God's blessings? Read Luke 12:22, Luke 14:25, Luke 16:19 among many other passages and ask yourself "how many glasses of water or how much food or clothing can I not give the poor because of my earthly treasure?" The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 are what they did and did not do. This does NOT mean we can work our way into heaven. It does mean that when Jesus comes back He will not be here to make everyone feel good about how we wasted His resources.
So, the truth about Pakistan is that it is a pro-American nation, struggling to wrest itself from millenia of violence and decades of Islamic oppression. We should pray for the church in Pakistan - believing that God will open the doors of this struggling nation and reveal Himself fully to them, and that they will choose Jesus over anything else. Pakistan is not a breeding ground for terror any more than Los Angeles or Detroit. We can also learn some things from Pakistan - despite the fact that almost all of their marriages are arranged - they have almost no divorce. We claim to be a Christian nation and yet we have almost no lifelong marriage. Today, lift up the people of Pakistan and also ask God to work in your life to bear fruit wherever you are. A Christian life without fruit is like a pizza without cheese - it just doesn't make sense.
Find some people from Pakistan in your area and let them know you are praying for them. You just might see God do something for His glory and your benefit.
Having just returned from Pakistan, and having visited the church there, I can tell you that Pakistan is no friend of terrorism. General Musharraf is no friend of radical islamists - in fact, they tried to assasinate him in 2003. Nearly every day while I was in Pakistan, I read local reports of the arrest and conviction of radical clerics calling for Jihadi nonsense. And in the two weeks I spent there, I did not meet a single person who was "anti-U.S." as CNN, the BBC and every other media outlet portrays Pakistan and the Pakistani people. No, I didn't stay in my hotel room, in fact the team I traveled with were invited to speak to more than 1,000 students at a large cultural center and I traveled about the city of Karachi freely. Security was excellent and all those I met wanted to be a friend of the U.S. and couldn't understand why our media were determined to paint their country as anti-american and pro-terrorism.
Are there terrorists in Pakistan? Absolutely. But there are also terrorists in the United States. And in Britain and in every other country in the world. Let us not forget that the second most violent act of terrorism we have ever experienced in the U.S. came about not because of radical muslims, but because of a deranged former U.S. soldier named Tim McVeigh.
What is most encouraging to me about Pakistan is not their pro-American stance or even their willingness to erase terrorism, but the power of the Christian church. While Pakistan is certainly overwhelmingly Islamic, the evangelical, Jesus-following church there is growing and the believers I met there were bold, joyous and filled with a deep longing to know Jesus and serve Him. As human beings, they aren't perfect, but they taught me many things which I hope will serve me as I walk through this life in the service of Jesus Christ. What were some of the things I learned from the Christians in Pakistan?
1. Jesus doesn't give a whit about denominations. Catholics, methodists and perhaps even some Baptists will be in heaven and probably some persons from each and every denomination will be in hell. I already knew that God "is no respecter of persons" but the Christians in Pakistan helped me to remember this important fact.
2. Materialism has blinded the American church. I already knew this also, but I saw first-hand how Jesus wants us to serve Him no matter what our material standing and without regard to buildings, or programs or any other manmade idea. I was reminded of Jesus' admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, that they had left their first love. They didn't repent and Jesus removed their lampstand from its place as He said He would. Today, the church at Ephesus is a swamp filled with the ruins of a pagan temple.
3. The church is not a business. Corporateness has no place in the church. Yet, in America the church has become one of our nations biggest businesses. Pastors earn high salaries while families in their own congregations struggle to provide housing and food for their children. Many large churches spend more on audio/video production than third-world churches will ever take in during the lifetime of their pastor. Yet, churches in the developing world are baptisting hundreds and even thousands of believers a month. Christians in the muslim world are gathering to pray all night simply because they felt called by the Holy Spirit to do so - without a pre-arranged conference or vote. You might want to read John Piper's excellent book "Brothers we are not professionals".
4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). I have prayed for healing for men and women and then sent them to the doctor. Why? Because I didn't really believe that God would heal them. Why? Because I had little faith. In Pakistan, where becoming a Christian can mean very serious persecution (loss of family, job, home, etc.) I saw incredible faith and consternation at my lack thereof. When someone prayed for healing, it was a surprise that the prayee wasn't healed immediately. Kinda like in that strange book the Bible! I had forgotten that Jesus said "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "beginning") and the Omega (Last letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "ending") the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) Jesus doesn't change - people do. And just like those Israelites of old, many of us have either lost our faith or never really had it in the first place.
One study of over 1,000 churches around the world, demonstrated that advanced theological training actually corresponded directly to negative church growth. I wondered about this until I visited Pakistan. When you think you know everything, you don't need God and you can start to rationalize away His sovereignty. "God works in dispensations" we say in theological circles - which really means that God changes His mind and is different today than He was in the past. The problem is that the Bible doesn't say this anywhere. James 1:17-18 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." God doesn't change. I would encourage you to read the account of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu, who died in a car accident and was certifiably (by several major hospitals) dead for nearly 4 days. God raised people from the dead for His purposes in the past, why can He not do so now?
5. It's all about God and nothing about us. I have written before on the subject of money and so won't belabour the point here. But are you sure your giant new house is a gift from God? Does the Bible say that you should store up treasures here on earth and claim them as God's blessings? Read Luke 12:22, Luke 14:25, Luke 16:19 among many other passages and ask yourself "how many glasses of water or how much food or clothing can I not give the poor because of my earthly treasure?" The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 are what they did and did not do. This does NOT mean we can work our way into heaven. It does mean that when Jesus comes back He will not be here to make everyone feel good about how we wasted His resources.
So, the truth about Pakistan is that it is a pro-American nation, struggling to wrest itself from millenia of violence and decades of Islamic oppression. We should pray for the church in Pakistan - believing that God will open the doors of this struggling nation and reveal Himself fully to them, and that they will choose Jesus over anything else. Pakistan is not a breeding ground for terror any more than Los Angeles or Detroit. We can also learn some things from Pakistan - despite the fact that almost all of their marriages are arranged - they have almost no divorce. We claim to be a Christian nation and yet we have almost no lifelong marriage. Today, lift up the people of Pakistan and also ask God to work in your life to bear fruit wherever you are. A Christian life without fruit is like a pizza without cheese - it just doesn't make sense.
Find some people from Pakistan in your area and let them know you are praying for them. You just might see God do something for His glory and your benefit.
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