There is no substitute

Right now I have 3 books that I'm reading for class:  Lifestyle Evangelism, The 7 Principles of an Evangelistic Life, He That is Spiritual, and a leisure read, Halftime.  I can't say that I'm surprised by the amount of reading in seminary.  I knew there would be a lot.  Interestingly, one of my profs says the key is learning to read faster.  In fact, he says we actually retain more when we read faster.

While these books have been enlightening, reading about God and spiritual matters from someone else's perspective is no substitute for having an actual experience and encounter with Him through the living Word... the Bible.  It is so easy to fool myself that I have spent time with God during the day when I am doing an assigned reading in one of my books.  In actuality, these are someone else's words that I'm reading.  It is second-hand information.  Second-hand sources like books, commentaries, and sermons are great, but they should not substitute the one and only first-hand source - the Bible.  This is where God speaks to us one-0n-one.  It is a treasure chest waiting to be unlocked.  There is no substitute for spending some time in it.

Jesus Booth

Last night I met up with a few guys down in Bricktown (nightlife of OKC) and set up the Jesus Booth.  It is such a cool concept that my friend, Nathan came up with while he lived in Santa Monica.  It's basically a little booth someone stands in and answers questions as people come up and talk to us.  It's non-invasive and gives people the opportunity to think of something and come up when they are comfortable.  Nathan has taken this all over the country and even to Africa, where it was directly responsible for over 100 Muslims converting to Christianity.  You can read more about it at www.jesusbooth.com.

When we set the booth up I'm always amazed at the divine appointments God sets up.  Some people are so hungry and really searching for answers.  Some people mock us and make jokes as they pass by.  Those times I actually feel blessed as I remember Jesus saying "blessed are those who are persecuted" in Matthew 5:10.

Many times when talking to people I get the impression that they want to hold off on trusting Christ until they clean up their act.  The truth is that when we trust Jesus He helps us clean up our act.  He loves and accepts us right where we are.

Here are a few Jesus Booth pics from last year in New York  at NYU.

Global Perspective

This blog entry from Compassion Int'l really puts things in perspective.

Here’s a healthy dose of perspective courtesy of Jim Tressel, author of The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life..
If we could shrink the earth’s population to village of precisely one hundred people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, the village would include . . .
60 Asians,
12 Europeans
15 from the Western Hemisphere (9 Latin Americans, 5 North Americans, and 1 Oceanian), and 13 Africans.

Of those one hundred people . . .
50 would be female,
50 would be male,
80 would be nonwhite,
20 would be white,
67 would be non-Christian,
33 would be Christian
20 would earn 89 percent of the wealth,
25 would live in substandard housing,
17 would be unable to read,
13 would suffer from malnutrition,
1 would die within the year,
2 would give birth within the year,
2 would have a college education, and
4 would own a computer.

Big Words

There are a lot of new, big words to sort through in seminary.  -Justification, sanctification, propitiation, atonement, iniquity, salvation to name a few ... not to mention all the Greek words to come!  I'm learning to embrace this new vocabulary and I'm not as intimidated as I was in the beginning.  In addition, I've been exposed to many of these terms in church already.

Unfortunately, I believe many churches are not discussing many of these foundational terms in Christianity.  If you are attending a Christian church and you haven't heard your pastor use words like sanctification, atonement, or justification my advice would be to find another church! These are some critical terms in understanding what it means to be a Christian.  Don't misunderstand me.  In order to become a Christian all we need to do is to place our faith in Jesus Christ.  We don't have to know anything other than the fact that Christ died for our sins and rose again.  My point is that we are not going to grow into the fullness of the Christian life without a little bit of study.

I believe some church leaders are selling their congregation short by ignoring some vital concepts and terminology.  I'm afraid many pastors are opting for the "feel good" dumbed-down message rather than the necessary building blocks for a spiritually mature life in Christ.  I can't imagine more of an insult than if my pastor said, "Grant, I want to explain this amazing concept of sanctification and how it will transform you into the likeness of Christ, but I've decided to skip it because I don't think you'll understand it."  I know what you're thinking!  Are you kidding me??  Give it to me!  

Yes, some of the concepts and terms in Christianity can be a little confusing.  But, the important thing to remember is we build upon what we know.  Building blocks....one at a time.   The rewards are so rich!  God wants us to go deeper with Him.  Plus, He desires nothing more than for us to be honest and say, "God, I'm having a tough time understanding ________.  Can you help explain that to me?"  Imagine praying and meditating on these ideas as God fills our mind with His wisdom and understanding.  James 1:5 says if we lack wisdom to ask God who gives generously. 

My prayer is that you won't settle.  Let's dig deeper!

Military Chaplains

Lately I have been thinking about the spiritual needs of our men and women in the armed forces. While I haven't personally served, I have some friends who have served or are currently serving. Several times I have talked with them about the various stress factors and spiritual needs these men and women face. Can you imagine being in a hostile environment, away from family and not having a spiritual leader through it all?  Apparently that's what's happening.  The military is in need of chaplains like never before.  This need, along with the fact that my grandfather was an Air Force Chaplain, has increased my awareness and appreciation of the military chaplain.  Will you join me in praying for the spiritual challenges facing our military chaplains as well as the individual needs of the men and women defending our freedom?

Below is a nice story ABC News did on the need for more Chaplains in the military.