Category: Digging in Deeper

People of various ages and backgrounds sharing a meal at long tables in a church community dining room

Unpacking a Growing Church

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“For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body – so also is Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12 CSB – Read the chapter)

Across the country right now the average church is not growing. It is plateaued at best. Many are stagnant as a prelude to dying. I have a member who travels regularly for work all across the state, but never more than day trips. He has returned several times with stories of seeing more and more churches with for sale signs in their front yards. Over the last 10-15 years, one of the fastest growing interest movements within the church is the church revitalization movement. A big part of the reason for this is that a whole bunch of church leaders have realized all at about the same time that the church isn’t in great shape. There are some significant signs of life in recent days, but many churches are still limping along at best. It seems worth noting, then, when a church is experiencing the opposite of all of this. Well, my church is experiencing the opposite of all of this right now. I thought we might spend at least this Friday exploring some of why I think this may be.

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Man running on rural road wearing blue tank top and orange running shoes

When Straight Paths Turn Hard

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“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:9-12 CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the uniquely American contributions to religion around the world is the Prosperity Gospel. This is an insidious, heretical movement that masquerades as a kind of Christianity. The truth, though, is that it has little to do with the Gospel, but instead uses Gospel concepts to inflame greed and envy. Mammon is the real god it worships. It is one of the more cunning deceits the devil ever created to keep people out of God’s kingdom. The challenge is that verses like these exist which seem to give credence to its central claims that God wants us to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Let’s talk about what we should do with sayings like this in the Bible, and why taking things fully in context matters so much.

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A diverse group of people singing and reading from books outdoors near a church building

A Community Supporting Itself

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“But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching. Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered. In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:1-8 CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the church this week. I mean, more than normal. Being a pastor, I’m thinking about the church all the time, but this week has been a bit different. I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head this morning, and I’m going to take just a minute to start to flesh some of them out here. I had thought about writing about the new Punisher special from Marvel on Disney+, but there just wasn’t much to say there. This idea, though, has been nagging at me for a couple of days now. It will probably be explored even further as my sermon for next Sunday, but this will just give you a bit of a preview of coming attractions. I’m thinking today about what makes a church strong and impactful over time. The answer is Jesus, of course, but it’s also more than that. Let me explain what I mean.

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Woman talking to child at trail fork with 'Temptation' and 'Reward' signs

A Choice Between two Paths

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“For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.” (Proverbs 1:32-33 CSB – Read the chapter)

As a parent, it’s sometimes hard to know how to punish bad behavior in your kids. You have to figure out a consequence that is measured to the situation, but also one that will be meaningful to them. If you offer up a punishment that doesn’t register high enough on their inconvenience meter, the odds are unfortunately high that they will do it again because their desire for whatever it is you don’t want them to do is high enough they are willing to endure that particular level of inconvenience in order to do it again. This becomes all the more difficult the older they get. Sometimes, though, you don’t have to do very much because the natural consequences of their choices will be punishment enough. Rejecting wisdom is one of those things whose natural consequences can be their own punishment. Let’s talk about it.

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Mural showing a contrast between justice with a masked figure and scales, and forgiveness with two hands clasped

The Hard Way of the Gospel

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“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,’ says the Lord. But ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.'” (Romans 12:19-20 CSB – Read the chapter)

Everybody loves the idea of love. We love the good feelings we associate with it. We love the idea of doing good things for someone we really care about. We love having someone support us and express their concern for us. And that’s a good thing because those are good things. But real love, the love of Christ, is bigger than that. It is harder than that. Being committed to someone else’s good sometimes means doing the hard thing to help them get back on the track of that good even when they have drifted from that path. Sometimes it even means actively taking steps to stop them from doing evil. This requires commitment on the part of the one who is doing the loving; commitment to the point of sacrifice. After all, to express the ultimate love for us, Jesus sacrificed His own life on the cross so that we might live. Marvel’s most recent small screen offering, the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, puts all of this on display in a really powerful way. Let’s talk about it.

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