we stand between two interesting bookends of history. 

on one end we have Jesus claiming that the reason he came was to preach the good news of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43), and on the other end Jesus tells his disciples that the end of the age will come after the good news of the Kingdom is preached to all nations (Matthew 24: 14). somewhere in the middle of these two events, we find the church with very little understanding of this Kingdom that Jesus came to announce. 

last weekend we invited close to 100 university students to columbus to help with flood-relief work. on sunday morning they joined us during our worship service. after reading the two verses above…i asked the students to raise their hands if they had grown up in a church that preached the Kingdom of God. not one person raised his or her hand. 

i wasn’t surprised because I have been asking church-goers this same question for the last two years. All I get are blank stares. 

most church-goers are even more amazed when I tell them that Jesus mentions the Kingdom of God around 117 times, while only mentioning the church twice. our ignorance of the central reason that Jesus came to this earth, to announce the Kingdom of God, is curious. 

after Christ fasted for 40 days, satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus never disputed that satan has control of the kingdoms of the world. and it is not lost on us in the 21st century as we continue to see the injustices of our world. 

there are systems that crush and oppress people. there are addictions that consume us and shackle us. there are global economies that help the rich get richer and the poor get even poorer. we have an endless quest for peace, yet we continue to war generation after generation.  deep inside, everyone knows that the world could be a better place, but we do not have the capacity to make it a reality. The kingdoms of the world have demonic forces at work to destroy God’s good creation. That is why humanity’s hope in ANY kingdom of the world, whether it is kingdoms, governments, political parties, or politicians, should always be approached with caution. 

God’s rescue and restoration plan came through Jesus Christ, breaking into the kingdoms of this world, destroying the works of satan and establishing the Kingdom of God. Jesus broke into our time-space reality and awakened people to the good news that there is new Kingdom in town, and it looks and acts like him. this kingdom cannot be seen or destroyed because it is within his followers. through Jesus, God is in the process creating a Kingdom of people who have died to the old ways of sin and destruction and are made into a new creation. 

this Kingdom life, which always looks and acts like Jesus, loves people self-sacrificially, not just friends but also enemies. this Kingdom turns the other cheek and chooses to not respond with violence. this Kingdom chooses to walk the extra mile. this kingdom does not just give the coat off our backs to someone, but also our shirts. this Kingdom chooses to repay evil with good. this Kingdom never stops forgiving people even when they continue to betray us. this Kingdom is full of the meek, the humble, the selfless and the poor in spirit. this Kingdom does not depend on political, governmental, or economic systems. this Kingdom unites and does not divide based upon religious systems, rules, regulations, traditions or dogmas. this Kingdom has one Lord and King whose followers look and act like in him in everything they do. 

we, in the church, have been looking and searching for so long trying to discover what exactly it is that the world is looking for and have come up empty-handed too many times.  we have put our faith…hope…and trust in our systems, plans, and styles…rather than living Kingdom oriented lives that look different than what the kingdoms of this world already offer. what the world is looking for is an alternative to the hollow, self-seeking, oppressive kingdoms of the world, and it is found in the beautiful Kingdom of God.

brandon

So how does a $2 cup of coffee look like sacrifice? I truly love my friends. They don’t let me get away with anything. That question was the first thing I heard a couple of Thursdays ago at 6:30 in the morning from my good friend who I have been meeting with every week for the last eight years.

For some context and perspective, his question followed an article I had written in the August 2nd edition of The Republic newspaper in Columbus, Indiana entitled, “Recognizing Sacrifice Beginning to Spiritual Growth.” My contention was that there is profound wisdom in pursuing a life in which one sacrifices everything. Only there will one end up with nothing and everything…and find life. I went on to say that people have not been told that becoming a disciple of Jesus involves sacrifice. Rather, people join our churches and have the disjointed idea that when they accept Jesus, they are entitled members who receive their personal Jesus only to be left longing for more. Without sacrifice we only continue to run in circles on the periphery of life, never to find anything deeper or more spiritual.

I didn’t anticipate the confusion around the word sacrifice. It wasn’t just one friend with one question about sacrifice and coffee. It was person after person asking what sacrifice looks like and how it begins in the life of a Christian. The reality is that what was once a foundational characteristic in the lives of Christians now has to be rediscovered and relearned by a new generation, and this will likely have to be done without the help of the church.

Let us start by understanding that the beginning point of sacrifice is not a cup of coffee. The beginning point is your heart and then maybe the cup of coffee. Sacrifice that begins on the outside rarely, if ever, brings inner transformation, freedom, or life change. Sacrifice that begins on the inside can change the man and the world.

This inward sacrifice begins with confession.  That was where a few of us started last week. Not just confession to God, but to each other. Not just confessing the light stuff, but the absolutely shameful stuff. We took the words from James 5, about confessing our sins to our brothers, and stood together under the cross as naked sinners. There was no more judgment left to be levied against each other; the cross of Christ made sure of that. There was just grace, forgiveness, bread, and wine. This was our first step in the death of our old selves and in the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.

Confession can only begin with the repentant individual, but can only be practiced in a community of sinners. Maybe this is why the sacrificial expression of confession has been lost on the church for so long. Could it be that we appear so good and perfect in our churches that there is no place for the sinner, much less a confession to another brother or sister? Do we worry what others might think or how they will respond if they find out what sinners we are? Could it be that I am the only sinner in my fellowship and have been left in isolation and utterly alone with my sin? One might wonder if we have moved from our once lowly position together beneath the cross to a higher position in which we are now the ones hammering the nails. 

Sacrificing a cup of coffee is too easy and a cheap badge we can waive around to other Christians signifying that we have given something up in the name of sacrifice. But becoming a church community where the sinner is welcome, because we all are sinners, and then choosing as individuals to become confessional as we stand under the cross together is where life truly begins. That is where the self is truly defeated and the power of God can finally begin to work. 

there is a danger in operating by labels…or letting labels define us.  just because one calls him or herself a Christian does not necessarily mean that he or she is a Christian.  i suppose the label “Christian” ought to imply that one has decided to give up his or her own individual way and instead decided to follow the way of Jesus.  consequently…as one decides to take on the teachings and life of Jesus through the guidance of the Holy Spirit…there is sacrifice involved.  there is a sacrifice of the old life.  there is a sacrifice of the old ways.  there is a sacrifice of the old self.  maybe this concept would better be understood through the words of Jesus, “those who want to find life, will lose their lives.”  if one wants to find true life…it must involve sacrifice. 

when one runs around in endless circles on the periphery of life chasing those things defined by our culture as “life-giving” or “meaningful,” there are only so many circles that can be run until exhaustion sets in and the questions of life begin.  what is life all about?  isn’t there anymore to this life?  is there any point in living?  one is no closer to finding life at the beginning of running in circles as one is at the end.  the lie we grow up believing in our culture is that to be fulfilled…or to find life…we must get, accumulate, or receive things.  it isn’t true…not even if one can afford it.  there is profound wisdom in pursuing a life in which one sacrifices everything.  only there will one end up with nothing and everything.  that is where life is found.

one problem is that we have not been told that becoming a disciple of Jesus involves sacrifice.  people join our churches and have the disjointed idea that when they accept Jesus…they are now entitled members who receive their own personal Jesus.  it is a personal Jesus that we can carry around with us and pull out at our convenience to prove we are Christians.  we like to beat up others with our personal Jesus at times, but we keep it a safe distance from our own personal lives.  we want a personal Jesus because another kind of Jesus might ask us to begin denying ourselves.  we like a personal Jesus that doesn’t push us or challenge us or make us sacrifice anything.  Deitrich Bonhoeffer calls this “cheap grace” rather than “costly grace.”  is it any wonder why there are so many people in the church who are disgruntled with the church?  when we look to the church to provide life…and when we believe that finding life involves entitlement and getting things…we will always be disappointed with the church that can’t meet our needs.  maybe that is why so many people walk around in our churches who say they are not “growing spiritually” or are not “being fed.” 

what if the beginning point of growing in our spiritual lives is realizing that it isn’t what the church can give us, as much as it is our recognizing that we need to begin sacrificing?  what would it look like to be confessional with other brothers and sisters about our sinfulness?  what would happen if we were committed to a disciplined prayer life that cries out to God in brokenness and steadfastness?  what if we actually began to deny our bodies of their wants, needs, and desires by fasting and living lives that are simpler?  what if we were hungry and desperate for God in each and every aspect of our lives each and every moment?

if we are to call ourselves Christians, it is more than just a neat little label or title.  taking on the way of Jesus is a continual sacrifice of our lives in order to find true and meaningful life.

pursuing and sacrificing together…

brandon

it has been about three months since easter…so it may now be an appropriate time to talk about resurrection.  being one that has been a part of the church my entire life…i have found it increasingly interesting over the years how we isolate and discuss the resurrection one time a year and then hide it away to be yet discovered again the following year.  this is haunting.  the resurrection of jesus christ is the most pivotal moment in history and evidence that death does not have the final say.  conventional wisdom, and common sense, says that when people die they are dead.  that is a fact.  so the very notion and belief of one having power over death and resurrecting to life after three days dead in a tomb ought to…not only cause every single person on the planet to deal with and consider its’ implications…but ought to completely and radically transform those who believe it.

a 2007 study by the barna group indicates that in most ways…christians are no different than non-christians in lifestyle behaviors.  the study compared those who identify themselves as born-again christians to those who do not identify themselves as christians.  the results were sobering and revealed that there was not a statistical difference between the two groups when looking at behaviors such as gambling, recycling, looking at pornography, stealing, getting drunk, fighting and retaliating against others, and getting divorced.

skeptics are quick to point out the contradiction and hypocrisy of christians, citing the irony as evidence that God does not exist.  other cynics…like myself…who believe in God and the centrality, historicity, and life-changing nature of the resurrection through the work of the holy spirit…see the contradiction and hypocrisy as evidence that many christians view jesus as only good for “personal salvation” but not life transformation.  in essence… Jesus is good for me to get “saved” while I watch the world go to hell in a hand-basket…so it goes.  in contradiction to this sentiment…jesus did not come to create a special group of “saved” people…rather a kingdom of priests that offer themselves as living sacrifices used by God to restore a broken and fractured world.

the dilemma for the 21st century church in the united states is how to help people broaden their limited view of jesus christ…as merely the means for salvation…but also as the one who announced and embodied the kingdom of God and who invites his followers to be a part of this kingdom that operates and orients itself around the life-changing reality of the resurrection.   This kingdom movement is not contained or constrained by bureaucratic institutional thinking within organized religion or the walls in which organized religion is housed.  it is a new way of living that breaks forth with so much force and so wildly that the masses are drawn to it.  it is a kingdom that manifests in self-sacrificial love, not resisting evil, going the extra mile, giving the shirt off your back, forgiving and reconciling, and embodying wholeness in all relationships.  it is a kingdom that does not give up on people, get frustrated or angry with people, judge people, or tear people apart with actions and words.   it is a kingdom of patience, kindness, joy, and love.  in this kingdom defined by the resurrection, we proclaim to follow jesus with our words and then actually take steps together to make the Word flesh in our everyday lives becoming the body of christ in our world.

it is simply not enough to say the right words, have the right beliefs, participate in bible studies, wear a cross on your neck, put a fish on the back of your car, go to church service on sundays, or depend on the political process to change the world.  Word becoming flesh actually…literally…means becoming a new creation that manifests heaven on earth each and every moment of the day.  it means dying to the old self and experiencing the resurrection full on everyday with every breath you take.  we become individually transformed by the resurrection and together become a community defined by the resurrection.

brandon

my second-grader blew my mind the other day.  at an age when parents assume the natural inclination of a young child is to be quite selfish…our daughter came home and told us what she had purchased with her hard earned points in her classroom auction.  as she stood in front of me with her backpack…she reached inside and pulled out a flimsy gardening hat and said, “dad, i used all of my points to buy a hat for grandma since she lost all of her hair through cancer treatment.”  as a father, I am not sure I have ever been more proud of my child and her selflessness.

honest conversations about Jesus’ perspective on wealth, greediness, and the rich are some of the most difficult to have in the church.  some may get upset and leave the church, or just quit giving their tithe if they are offended by how the preacher explains Jesus’ tough words on possessions.  there may be others who believe they are exempt from the difficult words of Jesus if they satisfy a “10% tithe.”  while these reactions are concerning for any professed follower of Jesus, maybe the most ignored reason why these conversations are so difficult…or why they fall on deaf ears…is that we believe Jesus is talking about rich people and we do not consider ourselves rich.

it is easy for us as Christians in the United States to dismiss the words of Jesus because we do not view ourselves as rich or as inherently greedy.  why would we think of ourselves that way?  we see movie stars, athletes, and other celebrities on television and convince ourselves that we are middle or lower class.  even closer to home we drive down our city streets and see people driving $35,000 cars and trucks and convince ourselves that we are not rich.  we make a meager wage.  we have a simple home compared to “the rich.”  we don’t drive the best or nicest cars comparatively.  we certainly do not view ourselves as rich by comparison in the United States.

if our means for comparison is limited by proximity (to those we live close to) it’s no wonder we do not view ourselves as “rich.”  our context shapes our thoughts and attitudes.  yesterday a lady on the radio said, “we don’t even view millionaires as rich anymore.”  wow…really?  we don’t view a millionaire as rich anymore?  how and when did a million dollars become so commonplace?  our lens for viewing wealth has made us quite myopic.  when we view ourselves as middle to lower class citizens…and when we are surrounded by others like us…we isolate ourselves from the broader reality of (and inequity of) wealth in the world.  if we don’t see the problem, then the problem does not exist.  it is easy to consume and hoard when our context is so limited and narrow.

to be amongst the top 10% of the richest people in the world you only have to have $60,000 in ASSETS…not money alone…ASSETS.  the top 10% controls 85% of the worlds total global assets.  all of this while 50% of the worlds’ adult population owns less than 1% of all global wealth.

we are the rich.  even those we consider poor in the United States are rich globally. 

can you imagine watching ten kids sitting at a table preparing to eat with each other.  in the middle of the table is a large supreme pizza cut into ten pieces.  one child takes nine of the pieces of pizza for himself…while the other nine children share one piece.  this sounds so exaggerated and ridiculous!  but it is a simple and accurate representation of the larger world that we live in.  what would you…as an adult…say to the one child that took NINE PIECES for himself?  SHARE!!!  QUIT BEING SO SELFISH!!!  you might even tell the child that he is out of his mind for thinking like that.  a scenario like this certainly makes one wonder how we operate by such a double standard.    

have you every heard a skeptic ask, “if God is so loving and compassionate then why does He allow people to die of hunger in Africa?”  maybe the problem isn’t God, but the people who ought to be continuing the blessing from God by sharing rather than hoarding and consuming more than we need.  in God’s economy, the rich do not get richer and the poor do not get poorer.  God blesses us so we can bless our brothers and sisters (see Deuteronomy 15).  although the previous scripture is direction from God to the Israelites as to how they are to take care of the poor in their land, i can’t imagine that God would not want us, as the Church, to care for the poor in the 21st century. 

there is nothing that would make a Father happier than to see His children giving everything they have so selflessly to anyone and everyone in need.

*the [living] room is a partner with New Song Mission in Brown County, Indiana.  New Song Mission will offer 3 to 9 foster homes and a school to abandoned children on 100 acres in beautiful Brown County and is currently in the process of beginning development.  through this caring community…children will experience the truth that nothing can ever separate them from the love and healing of Jesus.

over the next several months the [living] room would like to be a catalyst to help raise the necessary funds for the development of this God honoring mission.  without being too specific…New Song’s dollar target is in the millions.  would you please give a tax-deductible donation today.  send it to the address below and 100% of the funds will be given to New Song.  please email me at brandon@the-living-room.org if you have questions.

send a tax-deductible check made out to: 

The Living Room, P.O. Box 1358, Columbus, Indiana 47202

peace always…

brandon

there will be many within Christianity that will offer criticisms and attacks on the central notions and claims made by Eckhart Tolle in his New York Times best-seller and Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection A New Earth.  and while Tolle sometimes twists the words of Jesus, misunderstands what “a new heaven and a new earth” actually means, and reduces Jesus to a wise teacher, Christian leaders should pause before going on the attack.

i am not an eckhart tolle apologist, nor am i a fan of A New Earth (and yes…i have read the book and am participating in the webinar with Tolle and Oprah).  in fact, any book or movement that strips Jesus of being the fullness of God in flesh and one who defeated sin and death becoming the firstfruits of new creation through bodily resurrection, loses my respect.  but…this book is wildly popular and it’s message is resonating, not only with those who have been disengaged from the Church for awhile and those who have never been associated with the Church, but with many people in the Church.

so what is the message of this book and why are so many, including those in the Church, latching onto it?  Tolle explains that humanity is facing a crisis and we are at the next evolutionary step.  we must evolve or die.  this next evolutionary step is to a higher consciousness and away from the egoic self.  the egoic self is the voice inside…i want…i need…me…me…me…I…I…I.  in order to begin that movement from the ego to a higher consciousness one must be in this moment.  listen to your breath…be here now…be in the moment…there is power in now.  once we can identify and leave the ego, we can find stillness in life.  we won’t be consumed by feeding our ego and the collective consciousness of humanity will begin to evolve into a Christ-consciousness which will lead into a new earth.  Tolle explains that the great teachers understood this and many of them tried to explain this to their contemporaries but were misunderstood.  some were even killed.  others were made into gods.  Jesus, he explains, spoke of this through his parables and teachings but his disciples misunderstood his message and ultimately deified him (made him a god).

Tolle believes all the world religions, in essence, are speaking of the same experience but each explain it with different terminology.  for instance, the ego to a Christian would be sin, higher consciousness would be the Holy Spirit, etc.  he says that there is inherent danger of language because it limits and categorizes, and this ultimately results in religions saying that their way of explaining it is the only right way, or that their way is exclusively and exactly the right way.  Tolle would suggest that religion is archaic and limiting because of the language and symbolism and the egoic power it creates, and people need to be free to pursue their own spiritual awakening that will lead to a higher consciousness.

i am going to switch gears here for a second to make a point to Christians in the Church.

many times when we talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan we are very quick to dismiss it as just a story of helping someone who is in need.  this is right, so far as it goes.  but…if we were to dig into the cultural aspects of what is going on in this story we would learn a profound truth.  jews hated samaritans.  and contrary to what many believe, the samaritans did not receive their name based on their geography but rather by the phrase “observant ones,” or  Shamerim, and later Samaritan.  they believed that their observance of the Law was the true religion over Judaism.  Jesus used a Samaritan to teach the Jews, who had in many ways forsaken their responsibility as God’s chosen people, a lesson in who they ought to be as God’s image bearers, as a light to the world. 

the profound truth and application that we can learn from this simple historical lesson is that God can use those who believe something radically different than the way and truth of Jesus (New Agers) to teach and help Christians rediscover the beautiful elements of the faith that we lost a long time ago and that the world so desperately needs, like peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, wholeness, completeness, beauty and a detachment from materialism and consumption, while finding the awe and beauty of nature and relationships.  this is not a statement in support of Tolle’s mix of a little truth and ALOT of lies, but please don’t miss this point…followers of Jesus OUGHT TO BE the ones known for justice, peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, wholeness, etc.  we OUGHT TO BE the specialists in these matters…since we are to be like Jesus in all things.

as a follower of Jesus, i am deeply disturbed by every false claims and assertion Eckhart Tolle makes about Jesus.  but as an honest person, i can not blame anyone but the Church for missing out on the life that God has called us into and the new creation he has made us to be, and missing out on every opportunity to share that richness with the world.  and unfortunately it is taking someone who reduces Jesus to a good and wise teacher, and who is convincing millions of people to buy into his new age thinking, to teach us and call us, as the Church, to deeper lives and richer relationships that look more Jesus.

the reason that so many people in the Church, as well as others, are interested in pursuing what Tolle is talking about and leaving the Church is multi-faceted and we could spend an entire book breaking down the issues and the problems within the Church.  let’s suffice it to say for tonight that people are hungry for answers, meaning, life, wholeness, completeness, joy, love, etc.  all of which are from God and embodied in Jesus Christ, but the larger society has lost confidence that the place to find those things are in the Church.  you see…the moment that we stop being the body of Jesus in the world by offering hope and life to the fullest…and start becoming a boxy, rigid religious structure that is more interested in tradition, dogma, ultra-orthodoxy, and entertainment…is the moment that people start flocking to shallow, syrupy, and empty philosophies.  and it is officially happening…in a big way.

 it is time for the Church to wake up.

 brandon

response to a cnn.com article: Americans switching faiths/dropping out

 one of the things i have been thinking about lately is how we treat Church as the ends…rather than the means. when we let our faith, our relationship with God, and even our emotions rise and fall based on “the event” on sunday…we have already taught people that our basis for judging whether or not i should “go to church” or “go to a specific church” or “if i even want to be associated with a church” also rises and falls based on a sunday service. when our time, energy, and effort focuses on “the event”…church becomes the end….and not the means.

so what do i mean by the church being “the means?” the church, the body of Jesus Christ in the world today, should not be defined, evaluated, or judged by what we do or do not do on sunday…but by how well we, as the church, become Jesus to the world everyday through self-sacrificial love, service, justice, mercy, etc. if the church becomes understood by the masses as “the means” through which the Holy Spirit works to continue on the redemptive work of God in our world…and we begin to understand that we have a HUGE ROLE in what God is doing to further His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven….then we have something more rich, more vibrant, and more purposeful that people will want to be a part of. if “church” gets watered down to a show or performance on sunday…rather than understanding our role in God’s grand narrative of restoration…then people will turn from the church…and kids won’t stick around in a purposeless, empty, and inward focused environment.

the message that the article sends to me…as a parent…and as one leader of a church…is that the church, and we as Christ-followers, are an integral part in how God is working to restore and reconcile all things. i want my kids to bring justice and mercy in our community and world through their self-sacrificial love and service. i don’t want them to just “learn” about it by people telling them at a service on Sunday what it looks like…but to have them doing it with their hands and hearts, as well. i want to model the life of Jesus to my kids in how i visit with the prisoner, homeless, and orphan. i want my kids to know that God is a provider…but provides so that we can help our brother out rather than horde and consume for ourselves. i want them to have a chance to be hands on in their generosity and help a child in Africa. i want to model a rich and vibrant prayer life that is active, thankful, and expectant. i want my kids to know and understand that learning and memorizing verses is only half of the deal…that it must be made flesh in our lives. i want my kids to see the beauty of creation and that we are all stewards and caretakers of this beautiful world that God created. what would be the point of my kids going to “church” on sunday for a lesson without jenny and i realizing that the church is the means through which we and our kids can be used by God to change the world?

the Christian life is so rich and deep and beautiful…and it is about us recognizing it as such. it is so much more than rules, regulations, laws, and judgment…and more about living in the grace of the Creator and being a part of His amazing story of reclaiming, redeeming, and restoring through Jesus. when we capture the beauty of what God intends the church to be…then and only then…will people want to be a part of something that they would give their life up for…and more people will be drawn into that adventure. that is what i would give my life up for.

 brandon

we celebrate our options and choices…and we believe we deserve them.  we are Americans…and we deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  it is ingrained in us…it is in our collective DNA.  the market responds to our wants, needs, and desires.  it is like a vicious cycle.  we demand…the market provides.  we consume…they feed.  it is an insatiable appetite continually reinforced by the corporate angel choruses, “have it your way”, “your way…right away” and ”you deserve a break today”.  the competing songs ring louder and louder so as to never let us forgot that we deserve everything we want to have…our way…of course.  and we are not afraid to remind anyone of our wants, needs, and desires…whew…now take a breath.

this consumerist identity is not seperate from our everyday lives.  it is a deeply ingrained collective sense of entitlement that infiltrates every part of our lives.  for capitalists…this is a dream come true…a way to market to individual wants, needs, and desires…and make loads of money.  for faith communities…this is a nightmare.  the unfortunate consequence of the two…and what we are witnessing in the United States in the Christian church…is a tragic intersection between two distinct social entities: businesses that try to satisfy consumer wants, needs, and desires, and churches filled with consumers who are ready and waiting to consume.  the result is a vicious cycle in the north american church of satisfying the wants, needs, and desires of their consumers, which many times takes a church to places not originally intended.

worship…for instance…has become synonymous with music and singing.  we have “worship” time during our church services…which means we sing together.  Christian record labels promote “worship” albums.  we cater stylistically to those of the traditional worship persuasion…or the contemporary worship persuasion…or the post-modern worship persuasion…heck…we might even have a “blended” worship service for those who can’t make up their mind.  we have churches that advertise through their church name what type of worship they have (there is a church that is called The Country Gospel Music church…i am not kidding!).  our understanding of worship has been completely limited to music…and since we are driven by our individual wants, needs, and desires…it ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT THE CHURCH SHOULD OFFER WORSHIP THAT PLEASES ME.

in the new testament…there is a greek word used for worship: proskuneo.  proskuneo means to lie prostrate before someone who is worthy.  did you get that?  it means to take your body and lie flat with your face pressed to the ground in submission to one who is worthy.  when i have that sort of understanding about worship…it sounds selfless.  it sounds sacrificial.  it sounds like i need to understand my position before this worthy one.  it sounds like i need to remember that i am dirt with Divine breath.  it sounds like it has nothing to do with my wants, needs, and desires…because i have set them aside for the one who is worthy.  and all of a sudden…worship doesn’t seem so much like an interchangeable word for music and singing as much as a position that gets ME out of the way and opens the door for God’s Glory and Divinity to finally be welcomed to work through my entire life….my hands…my feet…my voice… 

when Paul writes that our battle is not against flesh and bone…but against the powers and principalities of evil…how do you think that battle is fought?  it is through worship.  it is by our selfish, carnal selves getting out of the way and inviting the Spirit of God to work in us….through us…around us.  we are a living sacrifice…continually sacrificing our own wants, needs, and desires and becoming a walking, breathing conduit of God’s blessing, healing, love, and transformation in the world.  when you worship through serving…God is breaking down strongholds and invading enemy space by using your hands.  every praise you sing together is a spiritual battle for the person dealing with depression sitting next to you.  every mile you walk with your legs to visit the orphaned and widowed is your spiritual act of worship.  every worshipful prayer offered with the abused wife allows God another avenue to heal a wounded soul.  worship is the means by which God is manifest to a broken world in need of healing.

the position of worship is prostrate before a God who is worthy.  it is not about you…get it?  it is NOT ABOUT YOU!  it is not about your wants, needs, and desires being met within the context of a church service.  that cheapens worship…and it cheapens what you think a church is all about!  let us fall to the ground with our faces to the ground prostrate before God and say… 

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.

brandon

i talk to empty people. i talk to A LOT of empty people.

and i think i should let you know that this isn’t my assessment of people so much as their own introspective admission. at this point…if you think of yourself as a Christian…you may have already concluded that the empty people i am referring to are not of the Christian persuasion (because Christians can’t be empty…right? tongue in cheek). you would be wrong.

i have been saddened over the last couple of years hearing phrases like “i feel spiritually dead”, “there is nothing inside of me”, or “when i first gave my life to Christ i was alive…but now i am empty”. these admissions are usually followed by a deep sense of guilting, “i don’t read my Bible enough”, “i don’t pray enough”, “i don’t (fill in the blank) enough”. it seems we have it exactly backwards…as if we can really externally change what is internally wrong. it is not that prayer isn’t a great starting point…but the act of praying, in and of itself, is not the solution. rather…it is what you are praying for that matters. what are we praying for that will change us from the inside out? what will change us in such a way that we no longer guilt ourselves about not reading our Bible or not praying enough…but will actually result in a HUNGER to read our Bible or a HUNGER for communion with God through prayer?

if the most basic fundamental truth and foundation of our individual and collective Christian faith is that through confession, repentance, and baptism God pours out His Holy Spirit into us to put the old man to death and bring new life…then why are so many Christians not experiencing life to the fullest? even further…why is there not an obsessive pursuit in every church crying out to God for the outpouring, filling, and anointing of the Holy Spirit?

here are two poignant truths:

a Christian without the Holy Spirit is not a Christian. a church without the Holy Spirit is not a church. conversely…an individual filled with the Holy Spirit…in community with other Spirit-filled believers, together, are nothing less than the body of Jesus Christ in the world! insofar as we are not are not seeking to be filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit…we are just a group of people getting together in vain experiencing emptiness and a gnawing spiritual void.

i used to think that “grieving the Holy Spirit” was an especially heinous and egregious act committed by only the most sinister of folk. however…the more and better understanding i have of grieving the Holy Spirit…coupled with the anecdotal evidence of people who were once “experiencing life” as they became a new followers of Jesus…leads me to believe that this grieving is extraordinarily more common than what we may expect. in the Greek language…the word used for grieve is lupeo…which means to make sad or sorrowful. every time we neglect the Spirit’s movement…every time we do not follow the Spirit’s urging…every time we do not allow the Spirit to work through us in power and we in turn follow our own convention…we sadden the Holy Spirit. our negligence and ignoral of the Holy Spirit pushes His mighty power further from us…and instead of experiencing the mighty water rushing down onto the cracked, dry ground of our souls and bringing forth abundant fruit…we feel quite empty and alone. it may even feel like the Holy Spirit has been quenched from our lives.

are you constantly in prayer asking God for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? are you on your knees asking for the anointing of the Holy Spirit in everything that you do? until you do…you will continue to feel empty and spiritually empty. all attempts at being transformed…of the old man dying…and the new man coming to life will be attempted out of your own power and in vain. the works of your hands will be nothing more than nice gestures of goodwill like any other person from any organization…and not life-transforming hands of the Holy Spirit. the words you speak will be empty words and not filled with the power to convict or to cut people to the heart like the Holy Spirit enables. your community may be incredibly moral and just…but will never be transformed in the likeness of Christ to live a life that dies self-sacrificially for your friends…not to mention your enemies…if the power of the Holy Spirit is not welcomed.

i pray for your soul to be mended back together by God’s rich outpouring of Spirit. for your life to be filled and overflowing with rich fruit of the Spirit. for you to be empowered and courageous through the Spirit’s power…even in trials and tribulations. for your thoughts, actions, movtives, and deeds to be fused with the Spirit of God in such a way…that we…together…may be united in Christ…in power…so that the blind may see, the lame may walk, the weak may become strong, and the works of Satan are destroyed as the Kingdom of God continues to march on through His powerful Holy Spirit.

Christmas blessings…

brandon

the purpose of this advent season at the [living] room is that of celebration and expectancy. it is the celebration of the coming Messiah, fulfilled prophetically in the past and anticipated in the consummation of all things. it is a desire to see in a season of blindness…to awaken during a time of slumber…and to break free before being held captive to busyness and consumerism. our advent purposes on the hope of coming rescue, the peace delivered through reconciliation, the love of the Kingdom of God, and the joy of embodying that Kingdom in our lives today as well as the expectation of final restoration.

one component of celebrating our season of advent at the [living] room involves giving a gift to some of the most victimized, marginalized, and oppressed peoples in the world. in a season when we buy and receive many things that we don’t need…only to cram them into our closets until the summer garage sale…or resurrect them for the fall donation to Goodwill…we have an opportunity to take those same resources and use them to give clean water to the thirsty, to provide medical treatment and education for the AIDS victim, to rescue those who have been abducted and sold into the sex slave market, and to provide opportunities and hope for the orphan.

the [living] room has committed through faith to give 100% of all tithes and offerings received in December, in addition to over $5000 we currently have on hand, as a gift to Blood : Water Mission, International Justice Mission, and New Song Mission. through this pledge alone…we anticipate a gift over $10,000.

but what if that gift was doubled or tripled….or even quadrupled? the impact that the body of Christ in the world would make in the name of Jesus during this season would be staggering! this is possible…and this is how it can become a realization:

1. we have included a link to the [living] room website describing our gift, who we are supporting, links to those organizations websites, and a donation link.

2. the donation link is a secure PayPal donation site for the [living] room where ANYONE can give a tax-deductible donation by using a credit or debit card. YOU DO NOT NEED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO GIVE A DONATION.

3. if anyone has trouble…you may click on the “need help” button for instructions on our site

we hope and pray that God will use this gift for the advancement of His Kingdom this season…and that YOU can be a part of that with us!!!