All posts in category Church

Exodus International (My Continuing Thoughts, Continued)

Homosexuality seems to be one of the main issues dominating the church and culture today. I have written before about some of my continuing thoughts regarding homosexuality, yet the culture seems to continue to shift, so taking a stance is easy for a day, but then there’s another facet that needs to be dealt with. So many times it feels like we’re shooting at a moving target. In this same moving target, Exodus International, an organization aimed at fixing people with same sex attraction by converting them to straight attractions, has just announced that they will be shutting down their organization. Alan Chambers, the founder of Exodus, just published a blog titled ‘I Am Sorry.‘ Through what I’ve read about the “redemptive therapy” the results were slightly less than what people I think had hoped. I don’t necessarily think it is the best way to deal with same sex attraction.

Shortly after Alan announced that Exodus would be closing their doors, he did an interview that appeared in The Atlantic. In this interview he said a few things that were troubling to me.

Have you changed your theological position on homosexuality?

My belief about sexual expression remains the same. But that really matters little to anyone except for me. It only serves to govern my own life. This isn’t something I’m going to make an issue or a barrier of in my relationship with anyone else.

The bold was the question asked, the regular font was Alan’s response. I’m glad to see that his beliefs about sexual expression remain the same, but it isn’t enough to say that is only governs his own life. The church has a responsibility to protect and preserve what God has commanded in regard to sexuality. And far too many people forget what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:12 in talking about sexual immorality, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?”

Tied in to this is Alan’s response to the question, “Are you in favor of gay marriage?”

I don’t really know what to think, honestly, when it comes to gay marriage. But I also don’t think anybody needs me to have a position. People have a right to live their lives as they see fit. If a friend or family member who is gay or lesbian invites me to be a part of their special day, I’m going to go and be a part of that because I love them. It doesn’t matter if I endorse or condone something–that’s not my right. I have plenty of friends who are gay and lesbian, loved ones in my family who are gay and lesbian. Their family will be my family, their friends will be my friends, and that’s all that matters.

Again, tied in to my above hesitation with this-if someone is a true believer, I don’t think that this is an appropriate response. If someone is in Christ, yet experiences same sex attraction, it does not make them worse than me as the sinner I am, but that does not mean they are then able to act on their desires. Just as me, as a single heterosexual male cannot act on the desires I have in the lust I have in my heart toward women I see. And this gets harder as it gets warmer out! I so long for the day that I will no longer have any lust in my heart, but until that day I will fight hard against my fleshly impulses.

So many people in this discussion point to Christ and his lack of mention about anything in regard to homosexuality. While Jesus may not have mentioned anything about this, he did talk about sexuality in general. In Matthew 19, Jesus is questioned about divorce.

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They (the Pharisees) said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Jesus whole idea of sexuality is rooted in the creation order. Looking back at Genesis, the way God created the world was with a male and a female, who together were the pinnacle of his creation. Yes, because of sin there were and are perversions of sexuality throughout the Bible and today. Many of the patriarchs had multiple wives, and we can read through the Bible to see the problems that occurred because of those multiple wives! God’s intent for mankind has always been for a man and women to become one flesh. Tied in to this, simply because Jesus didn’t address this issue head on, doesn’t mean it’s not an important issue. Far too many people neglect that Jesus was a real person who lived in first century Israel and was raised in a conservative Jewish home. There were many issues that Jesus didn’t address that were assumed. Homosexuality was considered to be a sin in conservative Jewish homes, and as seen above, Jesus had a very high view of sexuality that is rooted in the creation order. Does this mean that Christians need to be hate mongers who continually bash those with same sex attraction? Not at all! We should come alongside our brothers and sisters who do experience these attractions and love them as they live in the same fallen world we do, struggling with their sin and issues, just as we do. Let’s not encourage the pursuit of sin, but the pursuit of holiness in all areas of life-including sexuality.

I hope that Alan Chambers does not throw out Scripture in his attempt to reach those with same sex attraction, but continues to hold to it as he seeks God’s will for his life now as he works to help reconcile the relationships between those who experience same sex attraction and those in the church who are opposed to it. May the church be a place of grace and the Spirit convicting those of the sin in their lives as we continue to conform more into the image of Jesus Christ.

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by mikethestrand on June 20, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Relationships, Theology
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 20, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/06/20/exodus-international-my-continuing-thoughts-continued/

Drinking Beer to the Glory of God

Can beer be reconciled to the Bible? And can beer be consumed to the glory of God? I would argue that it can and should be enjoyed by those who are able to be responsibly with alcohol, as would David Valentine, who wrote a piece titled ‘Beer & the Pulpit‘ for Relevant magazine. In it, David argues against two extremes when it comes to alcohol: first, we should not over consume to the point of being drunk. Scripture clearly says that’s a sin (Ephesians 5:18). And the second extreme is to simply ignore it. I agree with David that the church should be a place where we can talk about something like alcohol, but how should we do that?

I know some people who abstain from drinking because it causes them to take it too far. If you are one of those people, do so to the glory of God, but don’t hold the same expectations for everyone around you. If you are one who can drink, do so to the glory of God, but do so in a way that doesn’t harm your witness to the world or become a stumbling block to those around you. I try to be very careful about who I will consume alcohol around, not because I’m worried about what people will think, but because I don’t want to harm my witness to others.

I’m grateful for a group of guys right out of college who taught me to appreciate a good drink. We would find different local beers we could try and pair it with a great meal. I’ve gone a much different direction than my parents with it as well, as neither one of them drink. They don’t think it’s a sin, but have chosen to abstain because they have both seen how it affects people.

What does your church say, if anything, about alcohol? How have you been raised in your treatment of alcohol, and has it changed as you’ve gotten older?

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by mikethestrand on June 19, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 19, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/06/19/drinking-beer-to-the-glory-of-god/

Do I Offend You?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve discovered in being a pastor is how easily I can offend people. Often this is over things that I am trying very hard to not offend people in, yet no matter what, I can’t seem to get it just right. I either pick a song they don’t like, they find out I have my ears pierced, or that I have tattoos, or that I often make jokes at my own expense, or that I play guitar. It seems there is no limit to the things people will find to get offended at. Despite what may seem like an attempt to offend people, I really try hard to not offend them except in one case-when they are offended because I am presenting the Gospel.

I read a very interesting blog today on Spurgeon versus the “Pretty-Boy Preachers” of today. So many pastors are too scared to offend anyone so they work hard to appear like everyone’s best friend. Spurgeon, however, was not worried about being anyone’s friend.

Spurgeon feared no man. Constrained only by the bounds of God’s Word, Spurgeon said what he liked,when he liked, how he liked. The problem with Spurgeon was not that men misunderstood his meaning. The problem was that men understood him completely. Spurgeon’s style was plain, direct, outspoken and urgent. Spurgeon wasn’t trying to be popular. He was trying to bring the ​truth​ to your soul.

Does your pastor do a better job of bringing the truth to your soul, or of being a nice guy? I pray that I never become a “pretty boy preacher” but continue to rely on Christ as my strength and witness. If you are offended, I hope it’s for the sake of the Gospel permeating deeper into your life.

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by mikethestrand on June 14, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 14, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/06/14/do-i-offend-you/

Once And For All

Passion is a wonderful conference that has exploded in recent years. Fueled by speakers like Louie Giglio and John Piper and music by Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, people flock to this conference by the tens of thousands. I have a few friends that have gone to this conference in the past, and every year I buy the CD to hear some of the new songs that will be big in churches the following year. This year was no different-a wonderful conference with great music. I bought the CD the day it came out, and have begun doing some of the songs at the church in which I help lead music. One of my favorite songs from the album was ‘Once and For All’ done by Chris Tomlin. This past week, I was sent an e-mail with a discussion about some of the wording in the song, and led to this blog on the song. The lyrics in question are the first ones in the chorus “We believe our God is Jesus.” One of the most difficult concepts within Christianity is the idea that God is three persons yet one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If this line is true, then Jesus is the only person of the Godhead who is God. Wording in the songs we sing matters!

This is similar to a song I used to love in middle school by John Reuben titled ‘God Is Love.’ The chorus says, “Love is God and God is love.” Yes, God is love (1 John 4:8), but love is NOT God. Describing God as only love puts limits on many of his other characteristics.

So what do we do with a song like ‘Once and For All’ when the rest of the lyrics are theologically sound and speak to the truth of what Jesus has done on our behalf? The writer of the blog I pointed you to earlier suggested changing the words to “We believe our King is Jesus,” which I agree would be a big improvement on the song, and would keep the song theologically true. I continue to be grateful for the gift of Chris Tomlin and hope to sing this song soon at church, with the edited words.

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by mikethestrand on May 28, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Music, Theology
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 28, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/28/once-and-for-all/

Doxology & Theology Review

I just finished reading a new book edited by Matt Boswell titled Doxology & Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader. Throughout my life I’ve read a number of books on how to be a biblical worship leader, and have regularly felt like I have a good grasp on what the Bible says about leading worship, but this book stretched me in some very good ways and in some ways that were very uncomfortable for me.

This book was written by a number of different worship leaders from many different churches across the country (interestingly, they all seem to be from larger churches). In the first couple chapters I thought it was going to be just like a number of other books I’ve read on worship, but then I got to the third chapter, “The Worship Leader and Scripture” and realized this book was much more personal than the ones I’ve read before. In the introduction to this chapter, Michael Bleeker writes, “Our churches are filled with uninformed worshippers.” From here on out in the book I was forced to deal with many of my faults in my leading the worship through music at my local church. As soon as I got to the third chapter I thought, “well this will be the highlight of the book for me,” but then I would read the next chapter and think the same thing!

The most difficult chapter for me to read was ‘The Worship Leader and Justice,’ by Aaron Ivey. Social justice has become something of a hot topic in America and is something I personally have struggled doing. How do I pursue social justice when I live in a primarily white smaller city in Wyoming? I know the command in Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” How can I become involved in this justice that God requires of me? I’m going to be working through the implications of this chapter for a while.

For anyone that is involved in the leading of worship through music at a church, this book is a very helpful resource for personal growth and reflection. I would add it to your library and read through it with your senior pastor to help you become a stronger Christian and better equipped worship leader.

“Love Jesus. And don’t be afraid to show people that you love Him. It will help them love Him more.”

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by mikethestrand on May 24, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Music, Theology
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 24, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/24/doxology-theology-review/

A Gracious Theologian?

One thing I’ve discovered about myself in recent years is that as I learn new things, I’m convinced I’m an expert on them before I truly understand everything I’ve learned. I read a really good article today titled ‘Fourteen Characteristics of Theological Legalism.‘ Michael Patton, a professor at Dallas Seminary wrote:

Theological legalism is nothing new (and such is certainly not limited to the world of theology). Think of the Pharisees who, according to Christ, strained out gnats and swallowed camels (Matt. 23:24). To the theological legalist, there is no such thing as gnats. Christ spoke of the weightier things of the Law (Matt. 23:23). To the doctrinal legalist, all issues are of equal weight. Paul spoke of things of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3); to those who are theological Pharisees, everything comes in first place, there is rarely, if ever, a second.

He then goes on to list 14 ways that show someone who is a theological legalist, and finally, says,

If you love theology, please be the first to put on the attitude of humility. When someone speaks about you in this regard, don’t have your goal to for others to think you are smart or right, but humble and meek. When others talk about your personality with regard to theological discourse, would they say you are arrogant and legalistic, or gracious and meek? This does not mean we sacrifice our passions or beliefs, it just means we temper ourselves for the sake of the Gospel. The truth is too important for us to lose our witness due to theological legalism.

I’ve seen this in my own life, as well as the lives of many of my friends. In college, I discovered that I was reformed, and was convinced only those who were reformed were true believers. Then I discovered I was a Calvinist and was convinced anyone who didn’t hold to the “TULIP” was either uniformed, unintelligent or not a true believer. Yes, we should be a people who are studying the things of God (i.e. theology) but may that knowledge be used to build up others in the body. As I’ve come to know many people who are far smarter and learned than I am, I am continually amazed by their humility and graciousness. These men who are some of the experts in their field took time to stop and talk to me and ask about the ministries I’m involved in, yet I often have trouble “lowering” myself to talk to someone who is an Arminian. What is my problem? I hope and pray that as I continue to grow in my understanding of God, that I am a humble and gracious theologian, one who not only intellectually knows God, but who lives out the things I know so that I may grow to be more like Christ in my everyday life.

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by mikethestrand on May 23, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 23, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/23/a-gracious-theologian/

Why Do I Go to Church?

Everyone’s heard the statistics, a majority of the students in our churches will end up abandoning the church once they leave the home (18-20) and then somehow stumble back into the church in their 30s, seemingly without missing anything the church has done. I know many people who view church as not much more than a club for them to be members at, and it looks good to the people around you to go to church. Unfortunately, this is a profound misunderstanding of the church! So why do I, as a 24 year old single male go to church, besides the fact that it’s my job?

  • I really enjoy going to church. I don’t know of any other place where I can interact with people ranging in age from infants to late 80s. Most of these people aren’t those that I would generally choose to spend a great deal of time with, but because of Christ in both of our lives, we have Him in common! It’s a joy to get down on a knee and hear about a 2 year olds new bike helmet, and then turn the corner and get a hug from an 80 year old woman who told me she was praying for me this week.
  • We, as a congregation, reflect God’s purpose for his people. I’m reading ‘Doxology & Theology‘ which says, “Through the work of worship we “become something corporate.” We become the body of Christ, we become the bride of the King” (125). This flies in stark contrast to our individualistic American society where we are so focused on ourselves that we have trouble seeing anyone else around us.
  • I’m going to be spending eternity with Christ’s bride, the church. I need to learn how to love the people in my church who are different from me, because, as was just said, we together make up the body of Christ. I need to spend time with those I don’t always see eye to eye with in order to grow in my areas of weakness.
  • Last, but most certainly not least, is because the Bible commands me to go to church. Hebrews 10:25 says, “do not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some.” This verse could have been written to many people today! We are commanded to meet together because together we make of the body of Christ.

For me, going to church has never been an option, and I haven’t always gone joyfully, but through God’s grace, I’ve learned to enjoy the imperfect church we have on earth. Why do you go to church? What are some of the excuses you’ve heard for why people have given up on the church?

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by mikethestrand on May 20, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 20, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/20/why-do-i-go-to-church/

What One Thing Do You Have?

Kevin DeYoung wrote a blog today titled ‘If All You Have Is A Hammer.’ He finishes the thought by saying, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” So many times and of so many people in the church this is true of them. They insist that they are the hammer and they view everything through a specific lens. To whom is Kevin referring with this? He says,

What do I have in mind? No one in particular but lots of things in general. The Christian who blames everything on fundamentalism and relates every story to their upbringing where they had to wear long skirts and watch Lawrence Welk. The feminist who sees the oppression of woman in every tweet. The conservative who can only sound the alarm of cultural declension. The Presbyterian who relates everything to the regulative principle. The church critic who sees every weakness as an expression of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. The gospel-loving saint who smells legalism in every exhortation against vice and in every celebration of virtue. The philosopher who has concluded that every problem boils down to epistemology or the one and the many or whatever. The academic who thinks everything that ails the church finds its roots in whatever he wrote for his dissertation. The revisionist who is confident that the church is all out of sorts because of Greek thinking, Constantine, or Old Princeton. The wounded soul who can’t see past his own hurts or makes it her life mission to rage against the machine. The liberal who can’t stop talking about tolerance and dialogue. The Sunday school teacher who finds a reason in every class to beat on Charles Finney. The peacemaker who sees every conflict as a third way waiting to happen.

I know many people who have their one issue that they view the world through instead of through the whole of Scripture. From the people who think we can only sing one genre in church, to the people who still think dancing is a sin, to the people who view everything as an end times prophecy. This is one of the many reasons we need to read through the whole of the Bible regularly. We don’t get to pick and choose the things we make important, God does. Now this doesn’t mean that the things Kevin listed aren’t important, they are! BUT if that’s the only thing you have to talk about and you refuse to look at the other things God is doing through other people you are living life incorrectly. I’ve been reflecting on Philippians the past couple weeks, and think we all could take an example from Christ

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Philippians 2:4-7

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by mikethestrand on May 16, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 16, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/16/what-one-thing-do-you-have/

Practicing for Heaven

Do you ever practice for anything? I have at least one practice every week for music on Sundays, and usually I have two practices. When I was growing up I practiced basketball for hours on end and my parents forced me to practice piano. These days my practice generally falls into two categories: reading and music. I read so I can grow in my knowledge of God and I practice music because I love it and because it’s part of my job.

Have you ever thought about anything on earth that we are practicing for heaven? My dad wrote a couple pieces recently on music (The Church’s Corporate Singing: Reflecting the Now and the Not-Yet-Ness of the Kingdom, and The Singing Church: Praise, Prayer and Proclamation). I also just recently finished reading ‘Rhythms of Grace‘ by Mike Cosper, a fantastic book I strongly recommend if you think through anything related to worship. Through my dialogue with my dad and reading that book I was reminded that singing songs together today is practicing for what we will one day do in heaven. 1 Corinthians 13, the famous love chapter says, “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” So many things people on earth put so much stock in today will eventually pass away, and what will remain? God’s love.

Revelation also paints a picture of us singing praises to our God, starting in Revelation 4 with the four creatures and twenty-four elders, continuing in Revelation 15 singing the song of Moses, and finally the great multitude in heaven praising God in Revelation 19. We are a people who sing praises to our God, and we are a people who will be singing praises to God for all eternity. Preaching will someday be done, because we will be in the very presence of God! Teaching will someday cease because God will reveal himself to us! But singing is something we will get to do for all eternity. So do you regularly sing praises to God, or are you too worried about what those around you will think? Do you view singing as a way to practice for heaven?

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by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/08/practicing-for-heaven/

How To Preach A Confusing Text

The Gospel Coalition has a great blog today on ‘How To Preach A Text When You Don’t Know What It Means.’ In it, Michael Patton (great first name!) shows the difference between preaching and teaching and lists the following examples:

  • Preaching is exhortation; teaching is education.
  • Preaching is the discharge of the gospel of hope; teaching is discipleship of the gospel of hope.
  • Preaching puts wind in the sails; teaching put an anchor in the ground.
  • Preaching raises our eyes to the things we know with great conviction; teaching helps us to understand what things we can have legitimate conviction about.
  • Preaching tells you which option is correct; teaching gives you all the options.

To me, it gets down to the basic question of why do we preach? We should preach to proclaim the Good News of what Christ has done in our lives, how Christ continues to work in our lives and what Christ will eventually do when he returns. He ends the article saying,

Sometimes we need to settle for good sermons with wrong texts. Sometimes we are going to be unsure of the exact interpretation of a passage of Scripture, but we don’t have to sacrifice giving our congregations something to believe due to the obscurity of our text. We can still preach the Word with full integrity by focusing on the principles that are universally true even if we end up being wrong about our interpretation. It is important that you let people know there is some legitimate debate and what you are about to preach could be wrong. But assure them that the principles that you preach are not wrong as they are found in other places in Scripture. That is how you preach a sermon when you are not sure what the passage means.

Give them something to believe.

Do you have something to believe? Do you have the conviction it takes to preach a sermon on a confusing text or do you simply give up?

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by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/07/how-to-preach-a-confusing-text/

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