What we really believe

I love the Church (that's capital "C" as in the whole body of Christ). I love my church too. I'm very fortunate to shepherd one of the greatest groups of people I know. I've been around God's people from the day I was born. I say all that in order to say this: God's people can really aggravate the fire out of me sometimes. Let me assure you, I aggravate myself with some of what I am about to say.

We talk boldly about loving the world but we see God's call to go into the world and teach them about His love as an inconvenience. God said, "You can't say you love me if you don't love your brothers...all of them."

We are called to be more like Christ but we are usually more concerned about how much we can look like the world and "get away with it." Purity is not about how much junk we allow in and still pass the test; it's about how much we fully follow after the heart of God.

We spend a lifetime building a lifestyle that can be gone with the next recession and then fret when our church invites us to spend a weekend investing in some one's eternity. It is far better to fail at something that will ultimately be successful than to succeed at something that will ultimately fail.

We claim to be people of the Word but use the Bible as a good luck charm rather than a guide for our life. Understand this...the Bible is not important because we choose to own it or to read it; the Bible is important only when we choose to live it.

I praise God for believers who live as if their whole life depended on God (it does) and give as if the whole world depended on us (it does). I praise God for Christ followers who want to be so much like Christ that they will turn their back on everything else. I praise God for Christians who get "it"--who truly understand what God desires for us. They are the ones who will make a difference. They are the ones who will "inherit the earth...be blessed...be comforted." They are the ones who will hear God say..."well done." If you are one of the former, get it together. The Kingdom of God is worth it. (And before you get too defensive, remember, I include myself in this first group quite often). If you are one of the latter, stay the course. God delights in kids' like you.