Virginia Tech is having freshman orientation this week and I have a friend’s son headed off to Tech this fall. It got me thinking about my own college days and the things that became important. While social networking is much different today, students will still seek out various organizations like fraternities or clubs on campus.

As a Christian student I became involved in Baptist Student Union, an organization that meets many needs of students away at college (fellowship, belonging, spiritual growth, community service, missionary efforts). A lot of students chose to make the BSU their church, choosing instead to sleep in on Sundays, but they missed out on many of the blessings they could have received by participating in a local church.

Besides the church being the only institution on earth that Jesus promised to build and to bless, here are a few great benefits of students getting out of the college bubble and participating in a local church:

• Steady spiritual growth
• Hear messages from God’s Word
• Exposure to older, wiser believers
• Exposure to career role models
• Exposure to marriage role models
• Exposure to parenting role models
• Opportunities for service using your spiritual gifts
• A chance to impact younger kids
• Participation in church ordinances
• Intergenerational worship and fellowship
• Doctrinal and moral accountability
• A safety net when times get tough
• A home/family away from your home/family
• Possible free meals from people who recognize you as a member of the body!

The age-old question about joining a local church always comes up, “Why join the church if I know I’ll be gone during the summer and graduating in four years?” Membership has its privileges! When you are a part of the body of believers, it shows your commitment to the local church, and it allows the local church to be committed to you. If not membership, consider what is called “Watch Care.” It usually has all the benefits of membership without being allowed to vote in meetings! It still says that you are committing yourself, your gifts and your abilities into this particular congregation. 

“The church is not a department store where you come and get the spiritual commodity you want, then go your way. To speak of loving Christ, while neglecting his body, the church, is hypocritical” – Donald Whitney

Remember that in your new freedom from your parents’ control, do the right thing and CHOOSE CHURCH!

I recently discovered a way to tell the difference between a teacher and a shepherd in Sunday School: ask the question, “What are you teaching right now in your church?”

The one who says they are teaching a five-week class on First John is the teacher; the one who says they are teaching middle school boys is the shepherd! I got this question from David Francis’ work on spiritual gifts. I found this to be a very provocative observation.

So often we believe that we are teaching lessons from the Bible when in reality we are teaching people the Bible! Here are other observations regarding shepherding: 

• Shepherds know their sheep – The best teachers are those who take into account those whom they are teaching, we must know about life stages, gender differences, how to communicate, how this group learns, etc.
• Shepherds know their flock – They keep up with details about individuals in the class, maybe using a notebook to keep up with birthdays, anniversaries, hobbies, etc.
• Shepherds don’t wait for Sunday – Plenty of ministry opportunities await the shepherd when they are involved in their lives of their sheep during the week.
• Shepherds use a staff – They organize the class into smaller groups to help distribute the task of keeping up with the flock. 

The key for me is that we teach people and not lessons!

I recently read about George Gallup, who years ago delivered a speech at Princeton Theological Seminary where he shared six basic spiritual needs of all people. This is from the famous survey and research guy…

1. The need to believe that life is meaningful and has purpose – The success of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Life may be evidence that people really are searching for meaning and purpose in life.
2. The need for a sense of a deeper community and deeper relationship – The church is not a building but a community of like-minded people, uniting in the common bond in Christ. Look at the development of sports clubs and civic leagues that often will compete with the church for members’ time and loyalties.
3. The need to be appreciated and respected – Jesus broke the mold with His stance on women and the outcasts of society. God is no respecter of persons and each person is created in the image of God and deserving of dignity and respect. There is no joy in life if we do not feel appreciated at home, work, school or in the church.
4. The need to be listened to and heard – In this communication age where blogging is so prevalent, this may be more true than ever. “Can you hear me now?” No one wants to be voiceless!
5. The need to feel that one is growing in faith – All living things grow. The lack of growth means the living thing is either not a living thing or it has died! If we are alive in Christ, made into a new creation, how can we not continue to grow in our faith? I’m not saying it’s easy, but the Christian life takes effort to develop our relationship with God. How many so-called Christians have settled for the status quo of a mediocre life?
6. The need for practical help in developing a mature faith – That is why the community of faith is so important in the Christian life. Without community, we are left to die cold and alone! It’s like a bonfire where a log has rolled away from the flames. The only way for that smoldering log to be re-ignited is to throw it back on the pile. The body of believers (called the church) is this fire of community that offers practical help from the Bible for developing one’s faith.

We may agree that building relationships is essential to the mission of Christ and the evangelization of the world, but what are the barriers to our building relationships? Jay Dennis suggests these six “enemies” and I challenge authentic followers of Christ to find ways to overcome them: 

1. Past hurts – Everyone has been hurt in a relationship before. How will we overcome that hurt and risk getting involved with others in a meaningful way?
2. Pride – How often do you tell yourself that you will not make the first move in relationship toward someone?
3. Prejudice – There is a hidden enemy that creeps in to all of us that says, “I’m not going to build a relationship with that person” for whatever reason.
4. Guilt – Perhaps you have said something or done something wrong against a person and that holds you back.
5. Busyness – We all have 24 hours in a day and need just a little bit more time to build relationships. We make time for what is important to us.
6. Selfishness – If I am going to take the time to build relationships, I’ll have to give up something else. Choices can be tough. We must decide what is important and what is urgent.

So, which enemy is holding you back?

If Christianity is nothing else, it is about relationships; with God and with others. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s pretty direct yet ambiguous as to how to do it, but a great foundation.

Jay Dennis gives some good insight in his book, The Jesus Habits: Exercising the Spiritual Disciplines of Jesus:

• Jesus took the initiative to build relationships – the woman at the well (in John 4) is a great example of taking the initiative.
• Jesus didn’t allow prejudice to affect his building a relationship, (her being a lower-class Samaritan). This tells me that He was cross-cultural in His mission.
• Jesus demonstrated that sharing a meal is one of the best relationship builders – like the invitation of Zaccheus  (in Luke 19). Hospitality is such a great way to serve others in the name of Christ.
• Jesus didn’t give up on building a relationship with someone – like the woman caught in adultery (in John 8). It’s as if He’s telling her that He will not give up on her.
• Jesus confirmed that relationships are more important than structures and organizations – like when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath Day and took grief for it (in John 5).
• Jesus even built relationships in the last moments before His death – like the thief on the cross next to Him (in Luke 23).

If authentic Christianity is going to spread throughout our city and the rest of the world, it will be done through relationships. I’m not against religious broadcasting, but adding people to the kingdom will not reach the world in time – multiplication is needed. We need to teach people how to become disciples of Jesus, yes, but it is more important to develop people into disciple-makers.

Disciple-makers are able to take the good news they received and invest it into the lives of others, who in turn will invest their lives into others. Paul set the example in his letter to his younger disciple, Timothy. Let’s start small by finding a few people who have potential to become disciple-makers, and then invest time and effort into them!

How? I like this quote from Dale Carnegie, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” People are not notches on your belt! Your interest must be genuine.

Gary Chapman of the Southwest Virginia Christian Leadership Network reminded me of the recent movement termed “missional.” To me, this makes sense:

You’ve likely heard the term, “the missional church”, in conferences and conversation.  Simply put, it is a call to churches to be biblically faithful to be Christ’s presence in their local community.  In Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman, the authors make the following statement:

It may sound uncharitable, but we don’t mean it to be so. But . . . many will say that these shifts, and a book like this, do not matter.  They are convinced if you just “preach the gospel” and perhaps “love people” that your church will reach people. They are wrong, and their ideas hurt the mission of the church. Communities across North America are filled with churches led by loving gospel preachers—most of whom, if statistics are true, are not reaching people.

You cannot grow a biblically faithful church without loving people and preaching the gospel. But loving people means understanding and communicating with them. Preaching the gospel means to proclaim a gospel about the Word becoming flesh—and proclaiming that the body of Christ needs to become incarnate in every cultural expression.

So, practically speaking, what would it mean for the church to become “missional?”  This list is from Dan Kimball’s book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church and explains what Stetzer and Putman are suggesting:

• Being missional means that the church sees itself as being missionaries, rather than having a missions department, and that we see ourselves as missionaries right where we live.
• Being missional means that we see ourselves as representatives of Jesus “sent” into our communities, and that the church aligns everything it does with the mission dei (mission of God).
• Being missional means we see the church not as a place we go only on Sunday, but as something we are throughout the week.
• Being missional means we understand we don’t “bring Jesus” to people but that we realize Jesus is active in our culture and we join him in what he is doing.
• Being missional means we are very much in the world and engaged in culture but are not conforming to the world.
• Being missional means we serve our communities, and that we build relationships with the people in them, rather than seeing them as evangelistic targets.
• Being missional means being all the more dependent on Jesus and the Spirit through prayer, the Scriptures, and each other in community. 

Authentic followers of Christ would seem to be missional in their mindset as described here. It’s more than being involved in missions activities; it’s a way of life!

On a wider level. people just might consider the claims of Christ or at least view Christianity with some mention of respect if they could just see more people actually living out what they profess to believe. A lot of people may be into spirituality but they are certainly not into the church. How can we grow into authentic followers of Christ? How can we embrace what it means to be missional?

“An authentic life is the most personal form of worship. Everyday life has become my prayer.” –Sarah Ban Breathnach

I just saw ABC World News and another installment of their weeklong feature on time management called The Lifetime Crunch. They report that some businesses are embracing a slow-down at the office in order to boost employee productivity.

Thinking they are getting more done, many people trying to multitask tend to take twice as long or make twice as many errors! Google actually allows their employees to do whatever they want for 20 percent of their day! One employee says that it is a chance for your brain to breathe.

At home is no different. Another employee who is connected through e-mail, cell phone and Blackberry has decided to turn everything off one night a week! She says it is sort of like a re-engagement with the world and it renews her sense of how time passes… “that life just works better when you have time to think.”

So why write about this report? Think about how God has created this world and why he instituted his fourth commandment…six days you shall labor and on the seventh you shall rest. Certainly not a new phenomenon but today I see how it is thoughtfully incorporated into the modern day workplace, with amazing results! God does have a plan that works pretty good, if only we will allow it and seek ways to put it into practice.

A lot of great movies come out but I don’t usually see them until they come out on DVD, and Netflix told me from the start that I had a very long wait! To my surprise, the film came this week and I loved it.

Being a follower of Christ, I found in the film some amazing parallels to the mission and work of Christ… not sure that was the intent of the writers and producers, but I see it. The main character, Robert Neville, finds himself all alone in the world, immune to a disease that, if it did not kill you right off, turned you into humanoid-type beasts. This is a type of Christ, one who is sinless in our sea of humanity.

The beasts feared the light, so nighttime was pretty scary; (the Bible mentions men love darkness more than the light – John 3:19), but Neville was working on a serum that could cure the disease, and transform the beasts back into regular people.

He later finds out that he is not alone; there are other people who are immune to this disease, which he finds it hard to believe. The woman tells him that she was sent by God because he is going to save the world. Imagine that, a savior of mankind. Even though he prays out loud early in the film, a time comes when he is very doubtful that there even is a God, exclaiming loudly, “There is NO God!” A heavy scene but it is understandable since Neville has seen a lot of suffering over the past three years, (earlier he reminds us that “God did not do this, we did” referring to the “cure” for cancer mentioned at the beginning of the film, which turned out to be the cause of the disease).

After much experimentation, he finally appears to be successful. His latest captured beast is becoming more human, so the serum works. But the beasts are attacking his lab and are breaking through into the strong room. He pleads with them that he has found the cure, he can save them, but they refuse to understand or listen. He takes a vial of blood and sends the woman away. Then Neville sacrifices himself so she can get away from the beasts.

The woman arrives at her destination, which could represent heaven in a way. There are huge gates that need to be opened. She brings the vial of blood so it can save the human species. As the gates open the first thing one sees is a church at the end of the little road.

At the end, the narrator mentions that Robert Neville will become a legend, the one who gave his life for the salvation of mankind. If that is not our story, what is?

How can we help people to know and understand that there is a Savior who came to cure them, to set them free from sin? But men love their darkness more than the light and refuse to acknowledge the Savior. They want to try self-medication to find their own cure. The road to destruction is broad but the way to life is a narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). Scripture promises that the seeker of truth will find God when they search for him with all of their heart (Jeremiah 29:13). As the old song goes, “there’s power in the blood.”

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Now for the parts where the parallel breaks down:

1.  Neville often looked at the beasts as less than human, (possibly, we too are less than human when we are enslaved to sin).

2.  Neville killed a lot of beasts throughout the movie, (whereas Jesus doing the same seems appalling).

3.  Neville seemed to seek a cure out of a sense of guilt, (more so than out of love).

4.  Neville took out several beasts when he sacrificed his life, (the very beasts he wanted to save).

5.  Neville is dead and became a legend, but he is not a resurrected Lord (unless they intend to make “I Am Legend 2″).

Today is Earth Day, a commemoration of our global home. Without getting political, there seems to be a disconnection between conservation activism and climate alarmism. I’ve read that many Christians don’t like Earth Day because people around this globe are worshipping “mother earth” or because going green is an Al Gore thing (thinking, I didn’t support him in the election so I’m sure not going to do it now. Lest I digress, I’ve noticed activists have softened the language from Global Warming to Global Climate Change, but the alarmism issue is still here. I like what ABC investigative reporter John Stossel had to say in his book, Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity, pp. 201-205).  

Oops, I’m back now… Years ago I was a Boy Scout and we participated in a conservation program called, SOAR (Save Our American Resources). It was a great awareness idea to get people thinking about how to reduce, reuse and recycle; something we all need to do. After all, the planet’s resources are not unlimited! That is what Christian stewardship is all about; a steward takes care of something while the real owner is away.

Christians need to get away from the idea that Earth Day is about worshipping the earth, and realize that we are all called to be good stewards of the planet that we share. Just because the Bible says that man has dominion over the earth, does not mean we get to waste it or abuse it! Celebrating the greatness of our unique home among the planets should prompt us to celebrate God and His creation! Contemplating the wonder of creation should remind us that we are merely “the people of His pasture” (Ps. 95:7), and we must worship “our Maker” (v.6). The creation was flung into space to point to God and His greatness, power, and majesty. He alone deserves our praise and worship (Ps. 148:5).

I like the FOX network’s emphasis for the week, “Green It, Mean It.” Let’s conserve our resources, but let’s not forget to celebrate our Creator.

This YouTube video (the Church of Oprah Exposed) is tremendously disturbing. Is this video representative of what happens when the group or community gets together and decides proper theology? Rex Miller indicates we should trust our people to be on a hero’s journey searching for truth and significance in life (my interpretation of what I heard at a recent conference), but what happens when influential people like Oprah with her “experts” and credibility redefines who Jesus is? Is there no standard anymore within the Christian community?

I see this like Dan Brown and his Da Vinci Code confirming in the minds of skeptics that Jesus really is the charlatan they always thought he was; because “now we have proof – Dan Brown’s research claims its truthfulness right on page one.” When is the print media of the Bible a true standard in this generation? Or is proper theology lost and we just have to keep diversifying the church (liberal vs. conservative, infant baptism vs. believers’ baptism, health and wealth gospel vs. theology of the cross, cheap grace vs. costly discipleship, gay bishops vs. homosexuality is a sin, etc.). While denominationalism divides the church (often times for good reason regarding non-essentials or preferences) we still can agree on who Jesus is in our foundational beliefs.

In Beauty and the Beast, the village is storming the castle in order to kill the beast. The cartoon musical has a great line, “a hundred Frenchmen can’t be wrong, so kill the beast!” Just because a larger group gets together and says Jesus is NOT only one way to get to God, doesn’t make it proper or acceptable Christian theology.

I read this article this morning in Our Daily Bread:

In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman warns us of the danger of a world of information overload. He reminds us of a chilling futuristic vision—Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, which describes a world thoroughly flooded with information. But that data is manipulated so that none of it has any significance.

A glance at the Internet or a magazine rack hints that we are living in just such a culture. We’re drowning in a sea of information often marketed by the unscrupulous. We need discernment to choose wisely whom we will listen to.

In John 6, Jesus delivered His “I am the bread of life” message (v.35). It was a sermon so controversial that, at its conclusion, many of His followers went away and stopped following Him (v.66). They chose to stop listening to the voice of Christ. When Jesus challenged His disciples as to whether they would also walk away, Peter wisely responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v.68).

In a world swamped with confusing and contradictory information, we can, like Peter, turn to Christ for wisdom. He cuts through the words of confusion with words of life.  — Bill Crowder

So, here we are in the information age, so much information we often find ourselves in information overload (24 hour news, thousands of magazine choices, more web pages than Google can count, non-stop commercials telling us what we need in order to live a satisfying life). I wonder if the church needs to be more in the business of helping people make sense of the world around them; we need interpretation more than additional information. Read what my friend Chuck Warnock has written on the topic.