Palm Monday….

The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.

He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.

But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.

“Throw your garments down,” he said crossly. “Don’t you know who I am?” They just looked at him in amazement.

Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move. “Miserable heathens!” he muttered to himself. “I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me.”

But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the marketplace.

“The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!” he shouted. “Yesterday, you threw palm branches!”

Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.

“Foolish child,” she said gently. “Don’t you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?”

— Author Unknown

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This is a copy of his blog posting:

The AP news just published the results of a new poll (pdf) conducted by the PCUSA saying  that one in three members of the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination believe that Jesus Christ is not the only way to get into heaven. (AP)

To learn where this belief comes from, you need only look at their pastors. Their numbers are even lower. Only 35 percent of surveyed pastors agreed with the statement that “only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.” So, almost two-thirds of the pastors in the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States seem to believe that there are ways to heaven apart from  Jesus Christ.

These numbers have been the same in PCUSA internal polling since 1996, so they have reflected the Presbyterian (USA) experience for awhile. On July 29, 2000, the Rev. Dirk Ficca, keynote speaker at a Presbyterian Church (USA) peacemaking conference, declared that much of the discord that fractures humanity is fomented by groups that hold exclusive religious convictions. His solution was to declare an equivalency among many faiths.

“If God is at work in our lives, whether we’re Christian or not, what’s the big deal about Jesus?” Rev. Dirk Ficca

The Presbyterian Layman reported that, after a lengthy debate, the best the 2001 General Assembly, the denomination’s highest governing body, could say about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ was that He was “unique.”

Other recent PCUSA internal polling data has shown that, among members, only 43 percent disagree or strongly disagree that “all the world’s religions are equally good ways of helping a person find ultimate truth.” The majority of members (60 percent), elders (68 percent), and pastors (66 percent) at least agree that “the only absolute truth for humankind is in Jesus Christ.”

Forty-six percent of members and 61 percent of pastors say the Bible is the word of God, to be interpreted in the light of its historical and cultural context. Around one in three lay people and pastors say the Bible is the word of God, to be interpreted in the light of its historical context and Church teachings.

At this point it would be really easy to jump all over the Presbyterians, but the truth is that these beliefs are common in many Christian denominations. In fact, a different survey taken last year by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 57 percent of evangelical Christians in the U.S. believe that “many religions can lead to eternal life.”

How far have we gotten from the basics of the Christian faith? In John 14:6, Jesus told us the following….

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

There is no other way to salvation. Just think about it for a minute. If there was any other way for our sins to be forgiven, then why did Jesus need to die on the cross? Jesus could have simply come down to earth, pointed out a bunch of other ways to get to heaven, and then could have gone back up to heaven without ever having to deal with the cross.

The truth is that there was no other way for our sins to be paid for…(Solus Christus) Jesus Christ is our only Savior, who mediates the rupture our rebellion (sin) has placed within us, between us, and which has separated us from God. Through his life, death, and resurrection, God reveals divine love to us and upholds divine justice for us, removing our guilt, and saving us from spiritual death. Christ’s mediation frees us to be reconciled to God, to each other, and within ourselves.  All other religions reject this, and most of them involve jumping through “hoops” and doing good works of some kind or another in order to try to obtain the favor of a deity. But, the reality is this, without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ there is no way into heaven. Without Jesus to pay for our sins we are all still guilty. The truth is that the church in America is struggling.

2 Timothy 4:3 tells us this…..for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine, instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Thankfully, traditional Christian beliefs are still around.

The answer to these important and relevant questions must be vetted by the Word of God.

Note the following characteristics of God’s Preacher…

• The faithful preacher is identified as being with Christ: Mark 3:14
• The faithful preacher battles against the need for self-preservation: Philippians 1:21
• The faithful preacher is yielded to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit:  Ephesians 5:18
• The faithful preacher is not a secondary emphasis follower: Galatians 2:20
• The faithful preacher performs all things decently and orderly:  1 Cor.14:40
• The faithful preacher disdains confidence in the Flesh: Philippians 3:3
• The faithful preacher is pre-occupied with a biblical  vision:     1 Corinithans 2:2
• The faithful preacher is mission minded: 2 Cor. 10:16
• The faithful preacher communicates the truth in love:     Ephesians 4:15
• The faithful preacher is able to teach others to teach others:     2 Timothy 2:2
• The faithful preacher is a perpetual student of God’s Word:      2 Timothy 2:15
• The faithful preacher loves God with all their heart.

God’s Preachers are NOT a dime a dozen. They are motivated and moved by a threefold cord:
1. The Greatness Of God (Isaiah 6:1)
2. The Grace Of God (Isaiah 6:7)
3. The Groaning Of God (Isaiah 6:8)

God’s preachers are possessed with a personal disdain for self-preservation (Gal. 6:7,8). God’s preacher knows that to live is Christ, and to die is gain. God’s preacher wants every sinner saved and every saint sanctified. They are heavenly minded… holy in manner, honest before men. They are swayed by the pressing work of the indwelling Holy Spirit for exclusive allegiance unto Christ.

Does this describe your pastor?

As I am helping build a new church here in Ohio – I want to hear what are the reasons you have left the church – been sick tired of the same old same old – what is it that took you away from the church…

the church is far to often fine taking care of its own…  but this human effort – the planning, the singing, the… movement…  far to often we are a movement of our own – and NOT a movement of the Holy Spirit…

It is time for the church to return to… the Manual.

What if – you tried – just for one week to say something affirming to every person you came into contact with…

What if the Church did the same thing?  Imagine the impact we could have on our community – and the Kingdom?

“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing,” I Thessalonians 5:11).

Paul wrote this – because he understood – The Creator created us with the need for Validation.   – Don’t do the Miss America Validations of course… make them sincere -    Imagine if the church took time to notice the good around us – and to affirm the good …

that is the church I dream about.

With the church loosing folks on a daily basis and many others closing their doors – is the church ready to rise to the challenge?   What is the church doing today to bring the Good News – the Gospel of Salvation through Grace to the world we are living in?

While Jesus Christ is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever – simply put the world and her people are not – and… if the church is going to reach these people … our approach cannot do the same old same old …

Dr. Bill Tenny-Brittian this past week, during a phone session with the leadership of the Web Empowered Church team, made mention that the average church in the United States is in the low 50′s for attendance.   In my travels and discussions I find it hard to believe that the church is missing the boat so poorly when it comes to reaching out to the folks in their communities – these people are spiritually open to finding the truth.

Today after church I spent time outside of a Bob Evans restaurant in Washington Court House Ohio asking a few simple questions of the people entering and leaving…

Which church would you turn to for answers to Spiritual Questions?

The answers – even in this small community I fear would be shocking to most church leaders:

isn’t that what the internet is for?

church – i have not been there for a long long time … why go – its all bullpucky anyhow

i wear jeans and they don’t like jeans there … so not for me

Clearly there is something about the church that the world simply just does not want or like …

Clearly there is something about the Gospel the church is “selling” that the world simply just does not buy…

Perhaps we the church should simply just embrace LOVE – and offer LOVE to those who are hurting… LOVE is a FREE Gift – not something bought or sold after all…

So the message does not change … but perhaps the way we deliver it should. . .

Suburbs Are a Changin… With roughly 1/2 of the United States population living in the suburbs – the suburbs are changing… Lines between communities are becoming less and less clear.   Most suburban communities have an aging population.   The need for amenities to service the “Boomer Generation” are going to become much more prevalent.    It is believed the Senior Citizen generation is going to increase 36% between 2000 and 2019.  The move for mixed-age neighborhoods is happening – and with the current economical state of the programs to assist the elderly is in question – The church needs to prepare not only to assist with this aging generation – but also the people who are taking care of the generation.  The senior population is expected to expand as much as 70% in some places like the South East as well as the Western Moutain region.   Boomers will not want the old style of ministry… is your church prepared?

Colors are a Blendin… I believe the 2010 census vs the 2020 census will show a dramatic shift in the U.S. population.   While today the diversity is not as culturally blended as many would lead you to believe by 2020 the pre-school and grade school population will see this crossover.   Churches need to prepare to have programs that speak to the needs of a culturally diverse community – including new and different types of ministry to children and their parents.  These younger generations – and their parents, like all cultures, want to share their lives (both spiritually and communally) with people of like interests, life stages, languages, etc…  Let’s face it folks – as homogeneity changes so will the needs of the community, as people are blended the needs to speak and be culturally relevant is going to become more difficult for the church – specifically in ethnic terms.   People will still gravitate towards those that are like them…  Is your church preparing to be a blended mix?   Red and Yellow Black and White – They are Precious in His site… Jesus loves the little children of the …community.

Numbers are a droppin… A great friend of mine holds the patent on a fantastic technology that allows you to control a computer from another location from your own… Sadly – this technology has not changed the fact that people still will travel for business.   Most churches watch attendance numbers and believe if more guests are attending – then attendance will likely go up.   (While this is true… so is the inverse)   If a church looses members than the number in attendance will remain the same… OR WILL IT?    As the business world changes, so do the attendance behaviors of the church goer.   This past year I traveled quite a bit – the membership in the local church did not change (well until recently due to a move…) but my attendance had.

There are a number of churches such as Granger Community and Church of the Resurrection that are boldly moving forward with development and build out of online communities.  The churches that embrace the ability to be in communion and fellowship online are perhaps the only ones that have an understanding of the attendance metric.   People are looking to remain active in the church however due to work and other issues – the ability to attend the church building is changing drastically.

Why does a church look at attendance as such an important number?   Because faithfulness to the local church is one of the key components one can use to measure Christian discipleship.  Is your church preparing to begin doing more than a pod-cast?   Is your church preparing an online community where interaction (a technical term for fellowship) can take place?

Gettin it Done or Strategically Doin IT…

Churches generally fall into three categories:  Churches that use technology to get things done & Churches with a Missional Technology Strategy and those that don’t use technology at all.   We will focus on the first two here however:

• Churches that use technology to get things done do not use the tools to actually disciple folks – but rather to assist them in that process.
• Churches that have a Technology strategy build teams that empower them to do ministry online.   They utilize the Internet and other technologies to help introduce others to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Does your church view Technology as a missional strategy?    Does it see technology as a way to empower people and the ministries in the church to reach others… and perhaps even build new ministries based on technology to perform this task? or   Does your church consider the IT Staff as pastors or just a necessary expense?  If your church does not move towards using technology to help introduce others to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ your doing more than just missing the boat…

If your stuck and wish to learn more – visit www.CITRT.org and ask the folks @ the Church IT Round Table …

Ademola Ishola, general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, calls soul winning a “spiritual responsibility” for every believer.   Is your church preparing people to become mini-evangelists?    According to Ishola, 20% of church members are active.   If that is true – then 80% of the manpower available in your church today is not being used.

Bill Tenny-Brittian in “Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy” states 3,000 people leave the Christian Faith daily in North America.  How is your church preparing the flock to go out and make disciples?

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