Judgey judge judgerson

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. (1 Corinthians 5:11 ESV)

It is tempting to tolerate/endorse sin for the sake of acceptance and a false sense of peace.   We need to encourage each other to accept Jesus as Savior AND Lord.  Give everything to Him, even our self-justified sin. 

Paul's statement in this passage not only rings true with God's character but with the practical experience of life.   It is hateful to our brothers to watch them sin and give them to nod of acceptance rather than the sweet, loving & judging word of correction. 

This ONLY applies to those who call themselves your brother.  (Your church family).  Outside of that unity, there's no ground for judgement, because there is not a common agreement as to what the standard should be for basing a judgement.  For those outside the "family" we are to love them without judgement, just like the Christian wouldn't want a Pagan to use their standard of morality to judge him.  God judges, we love.

Stop Going To Church!

The wealthy church goer tends to sit, consume, critique and leave. It's the poor who engage, serve & grow.  It's NOT supposed the be that way! 

^{Matthew 19:16-26} 

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

That last verse is the hinge on which the eternal security of the wealthy swings.  It is God's will that ALL enter his Kingdom and we are all called to be "with God".  So it's not supposed to be this way for the rich person.  

Ephesians 4:12 - to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

If you're not using your gifts and talents to be on Mission with a church, all you're doing is consuming goods and services.  STOP GOING TO CHURCH, and start living and breathing the mission of your church in community with the others in your church.  There is no such thing as "better worship, or better preaching" in the Kingdom of God.  I promise you this; you will not stand before God at the end of your life and hear the question "Did you choose to go consume the best music and preaching in town on Sundays?".  You will be standing before God and He will be looking behind you to see all of the disciples of Jesus who are following you.

I am not a gifted performer.  I am called and equipped to equip you and to be your Pastor not your performer.  At night, I dream about shepherding you in to a dangerously close relationship with Jesus Christ where you can taste His love for you and it compels you to do something completely selfless with your life.  (Like sell everything you have and give to the poor.)

For some of you, this is a literal command.  Not because the poor have need.  But because you are finding comfort in your wealth, not your God and that is stopping you from experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven right now!  

So many christians read the latest "Extreme Christianity" book about living radical lives as a true Follower of Jesus and hide behind the self righteousness of criticizing the "Church" for being so benign.  If you claim Jesus you ARE the church.  So stop critiquing sermon quality and worship quality and engage with the mission of the church.

If you are going to church and are not on mission with that church, you are consuming a valuable parking space, seat, coffee and friendship that is intended for a potential co-missionary in that church.  You're actually hurting the church by claiming Jesus and not engaging in mission. STOP GOING TO CHURCH AND START BEING THE CHURCH!

It's not time for the Church to step up and be better Christians.  It's time for Christians to step up and be a better Church!

God believes in us that we can bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.  He believes in us that we can make disciples of ALL NATIONS!  He believes in us that we can bring peace in the brokenness.  He doesn't put His hope in YOU.  He puts His hope in US!  His Church!  WE can do this! He LOVES US!  But for some of us, we need to sell everything we have so we can put God in His place on the throne of our life!

Join the mission of your church!

Pastor Mike

(a thought... before you point a finger remember, if you are reading this, that means you have access to the internet, a computer or a smart phone.  That likely condemns you as in the top 2% in world wealth.)

Prayer and Fasting Jan 2014

We are in to day two of our week of prayer and fasting.  Although Fasting is never commanded in the Bible, it is continuously referenced as something that is good, beneficial and spiritually refreshing for us to do.  

From my experience, I also recommend that fasting be part of our regular routines.  For me, I'm fasting from food, eating only fruits and vegetables (Which, apparently, is a food group that I forgot existed)    

However, the spirit of fasting is to deny yourself something so you can listen to and hear God.    I like to think of it as reminding myself that my soul is what leads me, not my flesh.  You see, we eat to satisfy our bodily desire for food, so we choose the foods that satisfy our tastebuds and our immediate desire for sugar, salt or fat.   What if we ate to fuel our bodies so we could do the work God has set before us in the best way possible?  What if our motivation for life was listening to what our spirit was telling us to do, not just reacting to what our flesh is telling us it wants.    

The very nature of following Jesus is to deny yourself and pick up your cross.   (Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.)

This is the essence of what Jesus meant in Matthew 4:4  when he declared to His tempter. - "But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

We have a higher calling that just satisfying our flesh.  We have a calling to live Holy lives, completely submitted to God.  In that way we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.  As Paul says to the Romans in Chapter 12 verse 1:
I urge your Corvallis Church to come together tonight at 6pm at Crossroads Christian Fellowship on the corner of Highland and Walnut as we gather for a time of worship and guided prayer. 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.

I hope to see you then, until then, let us rejoice in our fast as every moment of the fast we are declaring that God is truly calling the shots in our life.  As we lay down our own desires and selfish pursuits, we are placing God in the right place, as Lord.  

See you tonight!

Pastor Mike

New Year, New Risks, New Rewards

As I reflect on 2013, it was a wonderfully fulfilling and sometimes painful year for me, my staff and my family. But one thing we know. We grew to be more like Jesus in 2013!

And, like any hard fought battle, 2013 has taken it's toll.  Lately, I've been struggling with the issue of transparency and vulnerability.  Those two things just seem to invite pain, don't they?  I think part of my issue comes down to confusing my calling with my identity. I am a Pastor by calling.  I am a Follower of Jesus, dependent upon God's grace, as my identity.   Those may not seem conflicting to some, but there is a constant tension inside of me to not make my calling, my identity.

Over the past few months, I have become a temporary introvert.  And not in a good way that says: "God wired me as an introvert, so I will embrace that as my gifting and seek to use that to advance God's kingdom".    More in a way that says:  "I'm so tired of being vulnerable that I'm not going to be transparent with anyone anymore!"

As a Pastor, I am asked to get involved in deep and difficult struggles.  The nature of this calling requires that I give a part of my heart.  I love honestly and my prayers are filled with compassion.  Which means I sacrifice in order to help, and I love enough to have difficult conversations.  And as you've probably experienced, many people don't respond to caring concern with humility and kindness.   I think anyone who has been in a close relationship with another human being for any period of time will testify:  we are not always trustworthy with each other's heart.  

What has resulted is that I've been holding back in my calling.  Out of self-protection and self-preservation I've been struggling with withholding my heart in the daily work of Pastoring.  To be fair, I have had beautiful moments of clarity and deep meaningful ministry opportunities and I don't think I've sinned and I don't think that it is bad to retreat for a time of healing. But, candidly, 2012-2013 kinda kicked my butt and I needed some space.  

I took a week away with family to reflect, dream and pray about 2014.  As I prayed, wept and rejoiced about 2013, God gave me a personal invitation as I was reading my bible.   

"Trust me with your heart!"

After revealing God's plan of salvation and encouraging the disciples that in their calling, their struggle would soon turn to joy, Jesus says in John 16:33:

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

I may have peace in God's calling.  I can continue to risk and invite close relationships!   I can put my heart out there in my preaching.  I can put myself out there and invest in people, and I can trust God, knowing full well that there will be tribulation.  There WILL be hurt and pain and disappointment. I will let people down, people will let me down.  In all of that, God is inviting me to peace.

So I'm forced to ask myself:  "Do I really trust God enough to keep putting myself out there?  Do I really believe Jesus' promise that "in Him I may have peace" because He has "overcome the world"?"

This first day of 2014 I can declare that I do believe!  I can keep investing personally in the lives of the people God brings in to my life.  I do believe that God wants me to let my heart break for people's hurts and let my soul be transformed by his presence in the midst of the struggles.   I do believe that as I trust God to tear down my walls of self preservation that I may have peace!  I do believe, God!!... (help my unbelief! Mark 9:24) 

So for 2014, for the sake of fulfilling my calling as Pastor the best I can, I choose to believe Jesus' words and I choose peace... and as I do this look what happens... 

Phil 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My heart is guarded!  I can trust Him with my heart!