Billy Graham and Steven Furtick (What a flattering comparison!)

What is the difference in Billy Graham's Crusades of the past, and Elevation Church's McDonald's Drive Thru approach to baptism of the present. Not a whole lot really. That is why John MacArthur stirred up a whole hornet's nest of debate about thirty years ago of whether repentance and change is directly linked with salvation in his book The Gospel According to Jesus. In it, he makes an argument for something coined a Lordship Salvation. The general idea is that you have to do more than believe, you have to also turn from sin. I don't believe that personally, I believe that you have to believe and a product of that belief will be repentance and right living through a process of growing in your knowledge of the truth, but I can honestly say I believe that because I am an American Southern Boy! Its like a semantic argument because you are really saying that if you follow Jesus you will do what he says, but if you don't know what He said yet because you haven't been taught, then does that mean you aren't a Christian...that argument could go on forever!

My point in bringing this up is because I love the approach that we take in Starting Point Groups at Browns Bridge. If they were to load people into Baptism pools like cattle being sprayed off before slaughter, I would never return. Instead, they allow for people to explore what they think in a small 10 week discussion group (something like Sunday School) where people get their questions answered and wrestle with the ideas. Some have said a prayer, others have yet to take that step. Some have been in church forever. And it isn't a requirement to do this group before you get baptized, but it is what is encouraged.

Both Billy Graham and Steven have done the same thing that is admirable: they have encouraged people to go out and find a local body of believers that can help them out in having their own Starting Points so to speak. So what is the next step for people getting saved or baptized in mass...probably counseling, but I digress. More than likely, getting into a small group or house church if they dare that will help them process what it means to walk by faith.

Follow from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

I watched a very interesting movie the other day that was a documentary about an art dealer in Los Angelos. This guy followed street artists around the world filming them as they painted pictures that were commentary on the culture or just interesting art. He made hours and hours of film, but in the end, he never made a movie. Instead, when this art scene became lucrative, he took on the persona of a street artist and became Mr. Brainwash. Mr. Brainwash started making mass duplications of street art, and the people of LA bought it in made organized group thinking mobs.

It reminded me of something else. Bill Hybels created an effective model of seeker friendly church and Rick Warren used the same research to copy him. Then Andy Stanley copied these guys. They built substantially business like organizations that had church as one component of what they do, then came their Mr. Brainwashes. People like Steven Furtick above.

But they have gone to far. They aren't selling art. They are selling religious experiences, like relics and indulgences that were sold to build Vatican City (lovely place, but not very theologically sound). In the sermon preceding Steven's baptism of over 1500 people in mass, people crowd around the stage with signs that say, "I Was Baptized At Elevation Church."

Oh dear. If you have to say, "This isn't emotional manipulation," well, it most probably is.

The way the mega church with multiple satellites is working is a mega personality is surrounded by multiple satellites and then this guy teaches or preaches. Its good in that you can get some really good teaching (like Andy Stanley), but its bad when you start seeing folks doing mass things like this.

I was reminded of this by my friend from Russia when we visited a Mega Church in Seattle Washington. His words still ring as a forewarning, "Doesn't this seem sort of like the idea of what the prophet would be like with the anti-Christ?" Yes, all it would take would be replacing that teacher up there with another person saying something different. And its only a matter of time when that will happen. Creating Mega means creating momentum and all of this is psychological and sociological. It doesn't really matter if what the Mega Teacher is saying is theologically true, wise, or good, apparently.

It just matters that the mega man is relevant, hip, fashionable, enigmatic, and can create systematic hype. It just so happens that the original "artists" are still out there and you can find some original stations of creativity, but as the Mr. Brainwashes keep popping up, the true art is quickly being diluted.

Be the People: A Review

I really enjoyed Dr. Carol Swain's book, Be the People. Dr. Swain has written a thoughtful manifesto of conservatism that is fair to all people groups in America and is also a Biblical assessment of the situation. I often support Barack Obama's decisions, and I also believe that he is representing the American People to the best of his abilities. I believe that he is the elected President, and I personally think that he is one of the most intelligent and enigmatic presidents we have seen in a long time. However, Carol Swain outlines why Obama is not for what my own personal views are. You see, although I support Obama and hope for his reelection, I don't agree with probably 45-60% of his policies.

Swain outlines some of these beliefs in a powerful way: 1. I believe in the sanctity of life. 2. I believe that marraige should be a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. 3. I believe that people have taken a dive off the deep end and lost much of the ability to have nonobjective moral reasoning based on eternal principals and truth. 4. I believe that people clamor way to much for personal rights, when they have done things to others that are lazy or reprehensible.

Swain seems to be advocating that the religious right could do something about any of the above, where Obama is just adding fuel to the fire. I seem to think that if the religious right couldn't do much during George W.s terms, then there must be a substantial part of the U.S. population that have generally turned against conservative values and as such need to be heard and advocated for in a democratic society. I am essentially saying that while I think Christians should behave one way, I don't think Christians can force the rest of the world to act that same way too through government means.

Carol and I agree on one major point: The world is going to Hell in a hand basket. We disagree on what to do about it. I say, "Its a democracy; we must be creatively winsome and instructive to our families, while at the same time advocating for the rights of all mankind, whether Christian or non Christian." Carol says, "Yes and we must elect somebody other than Barack Obama to the presidency." O.k. Carol, well you run for president and then I may think about it.

Fasting

Mega Churches abound in my neck of the woods. I am a member of one actually! But one in our area really gets under my skin. Having a large gathering of people, they have a focus on Fasting at the beginning of the year, and attached to the fast is the idea of a very public unified prayer for a move from God, based on some slapped together scriptures that are taken out of context. Then, as if this weren't enough, the leader has declared himself to be America's expert on fasting and has a flock of books for his following.

Not so fast, I want to declare! Have you read the scriptures in a real way? Before I get to riled up, I have to say that a much smarter and more seasoned view of fasting is very much available. Scott McKnight's book on fasting is fantastic. It goes back to the roots of the ancient practice, in sound exegesis of the scripture. Fasting is quiet a profound and personally touching spiritual discipline that is more about a private relationship to God in scriptures, rather than a public announcement of faith or political statement. In Fasting, McKnight lays all of this out in a real way that is simply an explanation of the various ways that fasting can be personally powerful and even the very practical discussion of the physical repercussions of the fast.

In a world where fasting has become hyped up, McKnight offers a very thoughtful analysis of this ancient practice.

Andy Stanley's new book, The Grace of God, gives an outstanding summation of God's Grand Narrative. When we look at the Bible as one big story, we find a lot of themes, but one theme is definitive. That is grace, but grace is one of those things that people argue about and extremely conservative Christians emphasize that Grace should not be cheap while more progressive believers accentuate the freedom that is found in Christ. The beautiful thing about the narrative of the Bible is that it isn't conservative or liberal, but all about transfoming people's lives with the message that they are worth a lot and part of a bigger story that isn't all about them or even just one group of people.

Andy's emphasis on this narrative incredibly brings out the best of many of his sermons. In fact, it is a book with a ghost writer because he dictated some of his best expositions of scripture into a recording and then the writer wrote the book. As a member of one of churches that is in the North Point Ministries cluster, I have heard a lot of what Andy says in this book from Andy. But the thing about it is, it is really just the best of everything I studied in two phenomonal courses that I took at Columbia International University.

At Columbia, I took The Progress of Redemption, and Bible for Teachers. In both, the Biblical Narrative with the stories of the Bible standing on their own two feet was central. And grace poured from those stories. What Andy said, made complete sense, and it was enlightening as well as exciting to see that the story we read in the Bible has us as characters in it. We are recipients of God's grace, and we have the ability to be released by God to love and serve others in amazing ways.

Beyond Opinion Book Review

Ravi Zacharias and his band of apologists hit it out of the park with this one! It is a synopsis of the world views and individual analysis of many of the arguments raised by those who disagree with orthodox Christianity found in the Apostle’s Creed. It also gives an intellectual as well as diligent rhetorical analysis that can be used to refute scholars in debates as well as the common lay person.

Beyond giving argumentation for a Christian Worldview, it also gives support for the personhood of Christ and Divine Revelation over the importance of just arguing a point. This is very important in any apologetic because at the end of every argument is a decision to either follow a specific person or to follow specific ideas. It is in the following the person of Jesus Christ that then leads to a right perspective of apologetics. This of course seems like a circular logic, but in turn it is really the fundamental argument of trying to find what is and what isn’t reality. Choices have to be made and arguments have to be settled after a thorough analysis of facts.

Topics analyzed include: Evolution, Science, the different World Religions, and the trinity.

Facilities for Branches

Here are some artist renderings of the facility we want to build for Branches:

Architectural Renderings for Branches

Just kidding!

When I was little, I would sit on the playground and draw. One project was a church. The daycare workers asked, "What are you drawing?" I said, "I am drawing a church that I am going to build one day." They walked away amazed, but I was nine and terribly bored.

I've come a long ways since then :) :). Branches has a commitment that is uncommon in what I am used to in Church Planting world. It has a commitment to stay a non facility church. I have found that every classic church plant I have been involved in went way wrong when they tried to build a building. If they were huge like New Spring, well thats a different story. Or if they were gathering large momentum like Barefoot in Myrtle Beach, that too is a horse of a different color. I am talking about small church of less than 200 trying to build buildings.

I like rapidly multiplying house church, and the idea of these is no building! Rent out spaces, maybe even an amphitheater, community center, movie theater, or college, but don't jump into a building program until you break a thousand--I would like to split the gatherings way before then!

I do wish I had a cool tree house though!