Sloppy Church by Faith Christiansen Smeets

I was asked to write something “comical,” but I am inspired to say something quick and dirty about what I like to call “sloppy church” instead. Because it is oh-so-sloppy. And not because the Biblical Church or the Holy Catholic or Apostolic Church is sloppy, but because the “contemporary congregation” is lazy.

We can’t show up dressed, we can’t be bothered to commit or even show up on time, and we can’t seem to create anything of our own. It’s disheartening and it’s gross. We even copy mainstream music and call it “contemporary Christian” music—and most of it is terrible. A litany of disclaimers could accompany this little rant, but my hope is that someone will be inspired to really show up next Sunday and maybe other days during the week (since God created each day, and not just one, after all).

Here is a non-comprehensive short list of sloppiness—in no particular order and not because I am lazy, but because most people are and will not read anything more comprehensive than this:

1. Habitually showing up late. The ultimate sign of disrespect to all those who make worship happen on Sunday is to be consistently late on Sunday (or late to other church-related activities). In addition, it cuts into your own worship. It’s one day a week, and our particular service starts at a leisurely hour.
2. Prioritizing coffee. If you are addicted to caffeine and cannot function without it, that is something to be addressed at another time and place. But if your addiction keeps you from being timely and participating in worship, that is impossible to rationally excuse. Wake up earlier to deal with your addiction at home. It’s nice that our congregation sets out coffee for the addicted, but it should not be relied upon. Don’t be sloppy about it, slurping it, letting it spill, preventing you from shaking someone’s hand, or saying hello to someone. Don’t let it inhibit your ability to participate on Sunday mornings for less than two hours.
3. Too lazy to put on real clothes. This might involve trying to wear sweatpants/athletic shorts, beach attire, revealing a little too much skin, etc., because you cannot be bothered to show up for Christ. No one is better than anyone else for deciding to comb his or her hair, but what it shows is consideration and respect for the act of worship. It’s preparation. We should not dress up for others in the body. We dress appropriately for Christ, for the Institution, and out of self-respect. Don’t be sloppy because it’s Phoenix and we are “casual.” Taking advantage of that fact is also lazy. Wear your non-real pants or revealing top after church in the comfort of your own home.
4. Cannot be bothered to serve. We are desperate for nursery workers, greeters, cleaner-uppers, and the list goes on. Let’s prevent church burn-out by lending a helping hand. We are all benefitting from the hours dedicated by members; the freeloading on the backs of the church servants is also sloppy behavior.  
5. Sloppy with our suggestions. Nothing is perfect. We can complain or point to many obvious improvements that need to be made or to make sure this or that is executed in the best way. It’s whispered throughout the halls and sanctuary on Sunday. Why not come up with a solution or ask if you can be part of the solution? Complaining is lazy and ugly. Solutions are not.

The disclaimers that can be applied above and true exceptions are fairly obvious, but poor excuses are not exceptions. Take into consideration your dedication to church and Christ’s body. Take into consideration your role in the body. All parts need to be functioning and being lazy and sloppy is detrimental to not just you—but the body. But first take into consideration if you are being sloppy and lazy about Jesus.

Three Gospel Roots by John Talley III

I was privileged to be under the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. Scott Maxwell for a couple of years. He has a high view of the Scriptures and is an incredible Bible expositor. I learned a lot from him. One thing that will always stick out to me is what he called the “Three Gospel Roots.” I’ve used this to rehearse the reality of the Gospel to myself, to my wife, and to others. So what are the three Gospel roots?

First, Christ suffering.  Isaiah 53 shows us Jesus as the suffering servant. Verse 5 details this suffering. It says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Suffering and death were in the divine plan for the Son of God to bring sinful creatures to Himself. When proclaiming the Gospel, we have to get to the bloodshed and crucifixion of Jesus. If not, we do a disservice to our audience.

Second, the Resurrection. This is a reality that is foreign to our culture. The notion of a person rising from the grave is simply foolish to the natural man (1 Cor. 1:18). But this is an essential doctrine to the Christians faith. Denying this biblical truth is denying salvation and the inerrancy of Scripture. Throughout the New Testament, there are passages testifying to His resurrection. Consider the following Scriptures: Mark 8:31, Acts 3:15, and 1 Corinthians 15: 3-8. These present the resurrection in a unique way, and affirm that Christ indeed rose from the grave.

Third, Repentance. When preaching the Gospel, we have to get to repentance—which is defined by a radical change in the way a person thinks and lives. Peter called men to repent from their sin (Acts 3:19), John the Baptist also called men to repent (Matthew 3:2), and the promised Messiah called men to turn from their sin (Luke 5:32). There must be a proclamation of turning from sin and turning to God. Repentance is critical and brings together the three Gospel roots.

In conclusion, the three Gospel roots must be proclaimed in our neighborhoods, cities, schools, vocations, and to ourselves. The Gospel is the good news of Christ. The truth is that we are sinners in need of God’s grace. There is major separation between God and mankind because of sin. This encompasses the truth that Christ had to suffer as the perfect substitute, rise on the third day to prove death could not hold Him, and do what He said He would do. In addition, we need to see that the Father accepted His sacrifice, and that people must repent and trust in Christ alone.

Pastor V’s Shout-Outs by Vermon Pierre

1. Ross Douthat and his post on the history behind the pursuit of same-sex marriage. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: history matters! Take a current hot topic: race, Mideast conflict, same-sex marriage. Most of the current dialogue on topics like these show little to no sense of the history behind the topic—and thus end up giving, in my opinion, shallow or just plain wrong-headed analysis.

So, in this case, I appreciated Douthat’s historically-based argument that the pursuit of same- sex marriage is ironically also a pursuit of freedom from the mores of marriage in general.

·      FYI – I think Douthat is one of the more thoughtful and balanced conservative writers out there. It’s always worth paying attention (Correction: MORE attention) to what he writes.

2. Christianity Today and their review of the documentary “Hot Girls Wanted.” 

The documentary follows four young women “as they seek fame and fortune as porn models, showing their rapid progression from posing for photos in lingerie to participating in hard-core humiliation and bondage videos.”

Reading this review made me angry, sad, unsettled. If you want yet another reason to despise pornography and its horrific effects on our culture, read this review and share it with others (especially men). 

INSIDE OUT, A Short Review by Jennifer Bell

Okay, listen, the writer in me was only moderately impressed by Inside Out. For some reason, I still feel a weird, probably unfounded, loyalty towards Shrek—which my kids don’t get at all. Artistically, I loved Tangled. Brave was awesome, and I was thrilled to take my picture with Merida at Disneyland. Frozen was actually sophisticated, when you think about it.  For the most part, going to the movies with the kids has been a good time, except for that one—what was it?—Freebirds. Not so hot.

But before you think I’m about to dis Inside Out, let me tell you the truth: I think it was awesome. There was more to love about this film than to not love.

I’m only going to tackle a few things, really. How do Christians make sense of emotions? How important are they? What do we do with the secular mantras to “trust your feelings” or “follow your heart”? When should we go with our feelings? When should we suppress them?

Yeah, I’m going to tackle all of that, like, right now.

Oh, wait. I can’t do that. I’ll just tell you that this film is a good one, and it’s a vehicle for discussing our emotional lives with our children. Here are some important take-aways from this film:

·      Emotions are validated. You know, this is pretty radical! I’m not sure what your background is—and I don’t want to get all nuts on you or sound bitter—but some of you conservative Christian types might’ve grown up in chilly, dare-I-say cryptically hostile towards deep feeling homes. Emotions were unpredictable, volatile, like rabid dogs let loose in one’s one mind, or like crazy aunts who came to visit with their whacky chaos. In short, emotions were bad news. As Christians, we have to recognize that people are emotional beings—and this is a great and wondrous things. We get to really experience joy and love and, yes, sorrow—among other feelings. This film carefully carved out legitimate places for real feelings. This film rendered our emotional lives legitimate!

·      Emotions were morally neutral here. Sadness was not evil, you noticed. In fact, sadness was necessary for joy. This might’ve been my favorite part of the film, the harmonizing of feelings. How we handle our anger or our joy may be questionable. It is okay to have an emotional response. Wow! Really! Have you ever felt guilty for a feeling? How did you process your guilt? How did you deal with it as you grew up?

·      As characters matured, their emotional spectrum also increased. We are not only emotional beings, but we are also complex beings. We are capable of mixed emotions.

·      Emotional lives are instrumental in how we hold onto and preserve and process our memories. I really did like this as a writer, the significance of memory. We build stories from emotions, from memories. We carry emotional weight. We are colored by the stories we hold onto and tell. We shouldn’t be too eager to rid ourselves of these burdens.

So, now what? As a kid, I think I was told over and over again how feelings are secondary to thought, how my thought life determined my feelings, how going with my feelings often meant slipping into dangerous territory. I’m not going to renounce this. I’m not. I’m not going to come out and sing the praises of feeling. But I am going to assert the importance of emotions, and the beauty of an emotional life. We are to love the Lord. We should love our neighbors. This love is not a cold, hard love. To be fully human—to love fully—we should fully feel emotion. If we’re not capable of validating emotional experience, we’re missing out on what it means to be made in the image of God.

Inside Out, decidedly secular, spoke a resonant truth. We best not bury it in chilly disregard.

I'D REALLY LIKE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS FILM. I'M SURE THERE'S MORE TO SAY, SO PLEASE ADD COMMENTS HERE OR ON FACEBOOK! 

Pastor Andrew's “Top Ten” Most Influential Books by Andrew Stravitz

The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky 

The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene

A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor

Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger

Deaths and Entrances, Dylan Thomas

To Change the World, James Davidson Hunter

The Humanity of God, Karl Barth

The Supper of the Lamb, Robert Farrar Capon

On Being a Theologian of the Cross, Gerhard Forde

The Mediation of Christ and Incarnation, Thomas Torrance

Pastor Vermon’s “Top Ten” Most Influential Books by Vermon Pierre

I love reading and have been blessed to have read a lot of great books over the years. It’s why I find it very hard make a “top 10” list of books that have been most influential on me. Maybe one day I’ll do that, but today won’t be that day. So, in defiance of my editor Jennifer Bell, I will just go ahead and list the books that come to mind, no matter how many there are, below (and, yes, I am even cheating in few cases by counting whole series). That’s just how gangsta I am.

Without further ado then, here is my list:

The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

Written in 1656 and still the most relevant book in my opinion on what pastoral ministry should be all about. Most people won’t get through the whole book because the writing can be dense. However, no other book has been more instructive to me on the importance of being a pastor who pays attention to his own spiritual health and is diligent to care for the spiritual health of his congregation.

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith

This will sound provocative, but I’m going to say it anyway. I have trouble taking seriously anyone who hasn’t really wrestled with the main ideas in this book, namely that black evangelicals and white evangelicals express their faith in some very different ways, which is why each group can radically differ from the other when it comes to how they view certain topics. The research the authors do in this book unveils some powerful, and at times unsettling, but very necessary truths that need to be heard if we really want to be a people of reconciliation and unity.

Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf

Best theological treatment I’ve read on reconciliation. His way of explaining how “in Christ” changes us so that we can now receive “the other” is one I constantly refer back to.

The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read this series. And I’m currently in the process of reading the books all over again. I’m still amazed by how fully realized the world he establishes in the books is. It’s a world very different from our world yet one in which we can see and understand themes from our world like never before.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Another series I’ve read countless times. I think the The Lord of the Rings is better written, but for pure fantasy enjoyment, The Chronicles of Narnia is the series I readily point to. And, of course, the ways different Christian truths are illustrated in this story are memorable and profound.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Sure, you might think I put this in here just to look smart and impress the English teachers in our congregation. And you’re probably partly right on that! I have no shame.

However, it’s also true that this is the one Shakespeare play I remember the most from my high school days because it’s the story I thought about long after I had finished reading it. And since high school I have often taken advantage of opportunities to see this play performed. After each viewing, I almost always think to myself, “Exactly when did it start going wrong for Macbeth?” It’s not entirely easy to answer that question; it’s more of a slow slide than a sudden deep fall. A good lesson to learn especially as we consider how sin will slowly lead us down a spiritual slide in our own lives if we are not wary.

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

It’s not enough to know about God. We must actually know God. The whole book was worth reading just for that one truth. Still impactful. Still something I need to daily remind myself of and pray into my being.

Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson and A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller

The two books that gave me the most help and had the most influence on my prayer life. I still need to pray better than I currently do. But I feel like I know better how to get there because of the practical help and inspiring motivation these two books gave me.

The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson

I’ve read a number of classic books from African American authors, but this is the one that has stayed with me long after I read it. It’s an examination of race relations in the early part of the 20^th century that is insightful and haunting. And still relevant today.

Black Power: The Politics of Liberation by Kwame Ture and Charles Hamilton

I (clearly!) have not ended up pursuing the same strategies these authors advocate n their book. However, I did find myself subtly attracted to how they addressed and initially framed their solutions to racial problems. This has helped me better appreciate why people are attracted to solutions that promote independence and self-empowerment (and hopefully know better how to reach them with particular Gospel truths).

Sticky Teams: Keeping Your Leadership Team and Your Staff on the Same Page by Larry Osborne

Pastoral ministry involves making a lot of very practical decisions. For a long time, I’ve stumbled along figuring things out as I went. Then this book came along and it brought a lot of things together in a way that was practical, made sense, and continues to pay dividends for me today.