9 Things that Characterized the 1st Century Church

So if you didn't listen to this from Tim Keller you should. Just take 10 minutes. It will be worth your time. One of the things he talks about is how the 1st century church was characterized by a few very distinct views of culture. In that day, the church influenced culture. It was not influenced by it.

Here are 9 ways he says the church was radically different from the culture of its day.

-They empowered women in a patriarchal society
-They didn't attend gladiator fests. For this, they were considered anti-social
-Against abortion
-Against gay practices
-Against war. They did not fight for Caesar's army
-Against sex outside of marriage
-Racially diverse in a way that was shocking to culture
-Believed Jesus was the only way to salvation
-Advocated for the poor in a way no one else in society did.

Of course the church has been classified by the "against" items on this list but this is rapidly changing. One of the reasons I think this was the norm was that it was easy. It is easy to say what you believe. The others on the list require action (Save, Jesus is the only way to salvation. Although that requires action too). The church forgot about advocating for the poor, including all races, empowering women (still largely in a patriarchal dominated society), and supporting non-violence. Sometimes I think we still do. If you want to say, "We are trying to get back to the roots of the 1st century church", you should act like it.

The Tension is Good

It's been about a week since Catalyst and I think I am still processing some things that were said. With so much great content, it's extremely difficult to pick a favorite. Even the theme is provocative-The Tension is Good. When I heard the theme, the cynical side of me came out. "Have you experienced my tension? Exactly what kind of tension are talking about? Too much tension usually means things break-that's never fun." But as always, in perfect Catalyst fashion, they delivered. Generational tension, job and family tension, ministry tension, leadership tension, spiritual tension...you name it, they probably talked about it. I think the most valuable lesson I learned while there was this. Lean into the tension. Figure out why it's there (sometimes obvious, other times not), figure out what you can learn from it and know that tension always stretches you. Thanks Catalyst 2010. Through some difficult lessons, you made me a better Christian, leader, husband and person. Can't wait to drink from the fire hose again next year.

Comment

So, I realized something profound today (not really...just kinda fun to say). I love getting comments on my blog. I'm sure those of you who read mind and have a blog feel the same. There is something exciting about putting your thoughts out there and getting feedback (negative or positive). There are a few of you who comment pretty regularly, and it is much appreciated. Anyway, back to that profound thought. I realized that I don't comment on others blogs nearly enough. I know how much I enjoy it so I'm going to make it my goal to comment regularly on others blogs. So, if you read my blog, and have a blog as well (that I don't already read), let me know (i.e. leave a comment-ha!).

Life of the Mind

C.S. Lewis calls pride "The supreme vice". He goes on to explain that pride is there when we think we have whipped some other vice. And when we think we have "whipped" all of them, we begin to think better of ourselves which easily turns into pride. What's frustrating, is all of this takes place inside. Sure, some people are outwardly prideful (I know I am at times), but that just shows an insecurity which, ironically, says about them that they have the exact opposite view of themselves. Too often in the church do we neglect the life and sins of the mind. The reality is, if you have grown up in the church, or for that matter, live in the bible belt you probably don't struggle with the "major" sins. Which of course are drinking, watching "R" rated movies and sex outside of marriage (which I heard can lead to dancing). The point is, the majority of Christians struggle with pride, envy, jealousy, lust, anger, resentment, thinking we are better than others and so on. All of which can have no outward signs. Paul says, in Romans 12, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." Paul knew this was extremely vital to our lives as Christians. We must guard and renew our minds daily through the word, prayer, the spirit and each other, as to not let that "supreme vice" take hold.

Real men engage

This is a post i was priveleged to write a couple weeks back for the Finding Manhood blog.

The best advice I have received in while, “Be more interested and less interesting”.

What a novel concept! Quick to listen, slow to speak…seems like I’ve heard this somewhere before.

For some reason, that little phrase stuck with me, and I immediately took it to heart. I think most men pride themselves in being interesting. Whether it’s my job, my hobbies, what my family does on the weekends or my knowledge about a particular subject, I find myself wanting to be the one who people say, “that’s interesting” to.

When I catch myself being reminded of this it often reveals in me a deeper truth about who I am as a person. Although, I know the world doesn’t actually revolved around me, I find myself having conversation like it does. However, when I converse and live by this rule, conversation and friendship becomes so much more freeing.

This small act of selflessness requires me to not bring up that “little known fact” just because the conversation is in a lull. It requires me to think of questions that probe and challenge and motivate. It requires me to view people as actually made in the image of God. It’s as if we all have this little piece of God inside of us — Christians or not. It becomes a much more interesting conversation when you ask yourself, “Which piece of God do they have and how can I get them to tell me about it?”

Maybe you don’t have a problem listening. That’s kind of what we do as husbands/men — listen. Sure being more interested is about listening, but it’s just as much about engaging.

Listening is easy. Engaging…now that sounds interesting.

Men and the Church

Did you know that women make up 61% of church attenders and men only 38%? If you put it into raw numbers, 13 million more women attend church than men on the average Sunday. This begs a few questions. Why is the church not engaging men? Maybe a better question is, "Is it easier for the church to engage women than men?" Have we really made the church effeminate asking men to get in touch with their "sensitive" side? All of these questions bother me as a minister. I'm sure I may have a bit of tainted view as I deal with some of the greatest Christian guys on a regular basis. However, I wonder about the average american man. In his book, "Why Men Hate Going to Church", David Murrow says "Men follow men-not programs". I think this typifies the men of America. Who do we aspire to-The CEO's, the NFL, NBA, and MLB stars and actors that "save the day." Men follow and connect with other men. We don't follow and connect with a bunch of other men watching one man talk about the issues of the day (Oprah for the ladies). So, I guess to get more men in the church, we need more men worth following-simple to understand, difficult in practice. Either way, if I was a single guy...13 million is looking like pretty good odds to me.

Preaching for Repentance

Not to long ago Caleb and I were blessed with the opportunity to preach a 10-week series on Sunday nights at Mayfair. It was a great time of growth and discipline for both of us, as well as extremely humbling. I didn't do alot of blogging during that time because it was consumed preparing sermons and doing the rest of my job. I had plenty of great thoughts and ideas for blogs, but my writing had an outlet elsewhere. This blog is one of those thoughts.

I think we have a distorted view of what preaching should be. It's gone through phases. The "Hellfire and brimstone" stage, the "3 points and a practical application" stage, the "Grace is all you need" stage, the "prosperity gospel" stage, and the ever popular "Coolest TV show rip-off" (this being the one with no biblical content and just a "relevant" feel good message). I'm all for being serious, practical and full of grace in our preaching, but if you take any these methods to far in one direction, I'm afraid we are loosing a biblical perspective on preaching. The best preachers I know or listen to, adhere to none of these. These preachers have a God given gift to let the text stand on it's own. Yes these preachers are relevant, practical, graceful and even a bit hellfirey, but I think most of them would tell you that those are the benefits and results of preaching the suffering, grace, death, victory and resurrection of the cross. After listening, one walks away challenged, convicted and wanting to repent. I think repentance is key. I challenge you to find a sermon preached in the New Testament where repentance was not the goal, outcome, or forethought. I've written on this before, but repentance is not a one time thing. We don't repent once and then become a Christian, we continue to repent because we are a Christian. Consequently, I believe the biblical model for preaching is to preach for repentance. This is the essence of the Christians walk-sanctification. Yes, God is ultimately the one who does the sanctifying, but repentance, total reliance on his unwavering love and a longing to always be better are essential as well. So the next time you see an octagon cage on the stage, with a sermon series entitled, "Ultimate Faith Fighting", just make sure repentance is the goal-not the cool graphic.