A Tip for Determining God’s Will

Posted on April 12, 2019 by russellmckinney

Like everybody else I make about a zillion decisions each day. Some are as simple as, “Should I have a ham sandwich or a tuna fish sandwich for lunch?” Others are as complex as, “Should we list our house with a real-estate agent and try to sell it?” Some have to be made on the spur of the moment: “Can I beat that yellow light?” Others only get made at the end of a long, drawn-out process of investigation: “Which college should my kid attend?”

It’s the “big” decisions, of course, that stress us out, keep us up at night, and drive us to prayer. These are the ones that have the potential to radically change the status quo and usher in major changes. While it’s true that sometimes our “little” decisions are actually “big” ones in disguise — as the old saying goes, “Big doors swing on little hinges” — some decisions seem “big” right out of the gate and stay that way right down the line because, let’s face it, they are.

Regarding these decisions I hope you won’t mind if I share with you a tip that I’ve found very helpful over the years. Actually, this tip can be used to help you determine God’s will regarding any decision (“big” or “little”), but I myself usually just use it for “big” ones. The tip goes like this:

When you are faced with a decision, go to God in prayer and say this: “Lord, if You called me up to heaven right now and asked me, ‘What do you think My will is regarding this decision?’ here is what I would answer: ……”    

Now that I’ve given the tip let me add in two important details about it. Detail #1 identifies the basic assumption that serves as the foundation for the tip. That assumption is: Not only does God want you to know His will regarding your decision, He has already been working on you to let you know what His will is.

Admittedly, God’s work in you must not be complete yet if you are still in decision-making mode. Nevertheless, the fact that you have already formed at least a working answer that you can give in reply to His question shows that He has been on the case a while. Again, the work isn’t finished and you aren’t ready to commit to any course of action, but God already has the bread in the oven.

Detail #2 plays right off the first one and has to do with the nature of how the tip works. What you need to know is that the tip is only helpful for the specific moment in time in which you employ it. What I mean is, just because you answer God’s question in a certain way on Monday, that doesn’t mean you’ll answer it the same way on Tuesday. Sometimes just a little more information or a new set of facts can tweak your whole mindset and completely change the answer you give to God.

Because of this the tip is not intended to be an end-game type of deal. Instead, you should think of it as being simply a mile marker on the journey that ends with you finalizing your decision. It’s just you saying to God, “Okay Lord, if I had to make my decision this second, here’s what I think is Your will.” Needless to say, if the answer you give isn’t truly God’s will, He knows that He has to do that which is necessary to bring your thinking into line with His. And He will always be faithful to do that.

Posted in Change, Choices, Decisions, Discernment, God's Guidance, God's Will, Personal, Prayer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thy Rod & Thy Staff They Comfort Me

Posted on April 10, 2019 by russellmckinney

The 23rd Psalm is all about how the Lord leads His people. One of my favorite parts of the Psalm is verse 2:

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (K.J.V.)

Green pastures and still waters, you have to love those.

Verse 4, however, describes the sheep being led to a much different place:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (K.J.V.)

Finding comfort in the serene tranquility of green pastures and still waters? Sure, put me down for that. But finding comfort in the Lord’s rod and staff while He’s leading me through the valley of the shadow of death? Sorry, I think I’ll pass.

First of all, the place itself isn’t exactly inviting. I mean, it’s not called the valley of the shadow of life, is it? Second, when I hear the word “rod” or the word “staff” my mind doesn’t automatically associate either with comfort. However, having studied this issue, I have to admit that I’ve learned that my mental association is incorrect.

I’ll start with the rod. A shepherd’s rod is more or less a club he uses to either defend his sheep against predators or to keep a wayward sheep from going far astray. The rod’s purpose is not to cruelly beat a sheep into submission or to whale away in discipline on the sheep for having wandered from the flock. There’s certainly no comfort in either of those propositions. No, the rod is an instrument whereby the shepherd protects the sheep not only from the sheep’s enemies but also from the sheep itself.

Author Phillip Keller grew up in the African country of Kenya as the son of missionary parents. By far, his most famous book is A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. In that book, he writes the following about how he watched the shepherd boys of Kenya make their rods from young saplings and through much practice learn to wield them effectively. He says:

The sapling itself is shaped to exactly fit the owner’s hand. After he completes it, the shepherd boy spends hours practicing with this club, learning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy. It becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep. I used to watch the native lads having competitions to see who could throw his rod with the greatest accuracy across the greatest distance…The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger.

With Keller’s description in mind, we can understand how a shepherd’s rod can bring comfort to a sheep. Let’s say that a poisonous snake is lying in the path of the sheep. The rod comes flying and WHACK; the snake is either dead or fled. Or let’s say that a lion is stalking the flock and getting within striking distance of a lamb. The rod comes flying and WHACK; the lamb doesn’t look so appealing anymore. Christian, don’t you love the idea of Jesus, your Shepherd (John 10:11-30), throwing His rod and keeping your enemies at bay in your life? Now we’re talking comfort!

Remember, though, that a shepherd also uses his rod to keep a wayward sheep from harming itself by going astray. On this subject, Keller writes of his upbringing in Kenya:

I could never get over how often, and with what accuracy, the African herders would hurl their knob-kerries at some recalcitrant beast that misbehaved. If the shepherd saw a sheep wandering away on its own, or approaching poisonous weeds, or getting too close to danger of one sort of another, the club would go whistling through the air to send the wayward animal scurrying back to the bunch.

Here again we see how a certain comfort can be associated with a shepherd’s rod. Whereas a shepherd will throw his rod with ill intent toward a predator, his intent will be totally different when his aim is toward one of his sheep. The goal in that situation is loving protection or loving persuasion rather than adversarial harm. It’s a case of the shepherd inflicting a bit of hurt upon the sheep in order to keep the sheep from carelessly or foolishly getting into more serious hurt. Does any one of us want to dispute the fact that the Lord, like a loving father who sets boundaries of safety for his child, has on occasion either rebuked us through His word or whipped us through circumstances to keep us away from truly serious harm?

So, all this covers the idea of the Lord’s rod providing us with comfort as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. But what about His staff doing the same? For that matter, what is a shepherd’s staff anyway? And how can it be used to provide comfort? I’m glad you asked.

A shepherd’s staff is a long, slender, straight stick with a u-shaped crook at the top of it. Such an instrument, in the hands of a skilled shepherd, has a wide variety of uses. Keller, in his book, describes several of them. Here’s a compiled list:

  • A shepherd uses his staff as an instrument to gently lift a newborn lamb and lay it alongside its mother.
  • A shepherd uses his staff to reach out and draw individual sheep to himself for closer inspection.
  • A shepherd uses his staff to draw individual sheep that are shy or standoffish into the unity of the flock.
  • A shepherd uses his staff to guide individual sheep into the proper path.

In regards to the 23rd Psalm’s picture of the shepherd’s staff providing the sheep with comfort as the sheep traverses the valley of the shadow of death, it’s that last usage that best defines the staff’s role. Obviously, the valley of the shadow of death is no place for a sheep to be exploring new paths or wandering around aimlessly. To the contrary, it’s a place where a loving shepherd will keep extra close guard on a sheep to ensure that the sheep doesn’t drift off course. Since death’s shadow is all around, it is imperative that the shepherd keep the sheep in line.

And just exactly what is “the shadow of death” in our lives? While it’s true that these words have been effectively used as the text for countless funerals, the word “shadow” actually implies that the valley isn’t necessarily a valley of literal death. Certainly it’s a valley of potential death, but it’s not a valley of certain death. And the difference might very well lie in how closely the sheep obeys the shepherd’s guidance and walks in the safe path while in the valley.

Understanding the valley this way, the valley of the shadow of death in our lives represents any difficult experience through which we must walk. Times of suffering? They qualify. Times of temptation? They qualify. Times of persecution? They qualify. Times of injustice? They qualify. Times of loss? They qualify. Times of disappointment? They qualify. Times of spiritual warfare? They qualify. Times of fear? They qualify. Times of stress? They qualify. Times of confusion? They qualify. Times of perplexity? They qualify. Times of anxiety? They qualify. Times of depression? They qualify.

These are all “valley of the shadow of death” experiences, and in each of them we would be well advised to find our comfort in the Lord’s guiding staff of wisdom and direction. You see, He knows the safe way through the valley. Not only does He know how to lead us into the valley, He knows how to lead us through it and out the other side. That’s why your best move, little sheep, whenever you find yourself in the valley of the shadow of death, is to feel for the great Shepherd’s crook around your neck and go with that flow rather than against it.

Now let me close out this post with one final word about the shepherd’s staff. Since I’ve already quoted so extensively from Phillip Keller’s wonderful book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, it seems only appropriate that I do so again. As you read Keller’s words, apply them to your own life and your own walk with the Lord. By doing this I think you’ll find great comfort in them. Keller writes:

Sometimes I have been fascinated to see how a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favorite, simply so that they “are in touch.” They will walk along this way almost as though it were “hand-in-hand.” The sheep obviously enjoys this special attention from the shepherd and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them. To be treated in this special way by the shepherd is to know comfort in a deep dimension. It is a delightful and moving picture.

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Comfort, Depression, Disappointment, Discipleship, Discipline, Disobedience, Encouragement, Fear, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Omnipresence, God's Guidance, God's Omniscience, God's Provision, Obedience, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Rebellion, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Submission, Suffering, Temptation, The Devil, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Word About Greatness

Posted on April 8, 2019 by russellmckinney

“…whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45, N.K.J.V.)

Joe and Ted went hiking, and somewhere deep in the woods they ran across a grizzly bear. Both men froze as they waited to see whether or not the bear would charge. As the bear became more agitated and began giving indications that it would charge, Joe bent down and started untying his hiking boots.

Ted, continuing to stand completely still, watched Joe take off the boots, pull a pair of sneakers from his backpack, and put on the sneakers. Finally, Ted said to him, “No matter what kind of shoes we are wearing, neither one of us is going to be able to outrun that bear through this rough terrain.” Joe, after tying his last shoe, stood up, looked Ted squarely in the eyes, and said, “I don’t have to outrun that bear. I just have to outrun you.”

This story provides an uncomfortably accurate picture of how this world works. Far too many people are only concerned about themselves. In their way of thinking everything is fine as long as they come out on top. Getting eaten by a bear is for losers.

How shocking it was then when God Himself in human flesh showed up in the person of Jesus Christ and sung the praises of serving others. Even Christ’s chosen twelve apostles struggled mightily to grasp this concept. “How can there be greatness in serving others?” they wondered. “How can a slave be first?”

As proof of their struggle our text passage is found within the context of a story that takes place very late in Christ’s ministry, actually just a few days before His crucifixion. James and John, two of Jesus’ inner circle of apostles, ask Him to grant them the honor of sitting at His right hand and His left hand during His kingdom reign (Mark 10:35-37). You talk about being spiritually tone deaf! Jesus is about to be crucified in a matter of days, and these men are worried about acquiring places of prominence in His kingdom. Matthew’s version of the story (Matthew 20:20-28) says it was their mother who literally voiced the request to Jesus on behalf of her sons. How typical it is for a parent to want his or her child to be considered great.

Truth be told most of us have some James, some John, or some of their mother in us. We either want greatness for ourselves or for our family members. Facebook exists for the purpose of us reporting any family news that makes us come off looking great. But how popular do you think Facebook would be if it only allowed the reporting of news wherein you or some member of your family humbly became a slave and served others? I’d hate to own Facebook stock if that ever became the requirement for posting.

Right now, wherever you are in life, it would be worth your while to take a minute and ask yourself, “Is my life marked more by achieving or by serving?” Phrasing the question another way, ask yourself, “If greatness is measured by humbling serving others, how great am I?” And if you don’t like your answer then do something about it. Find some individual who is in genuine need and do what it takes to serve them well. Then find someone else. Then find someone else. Then find someone else.

If you will keep doing that over and over again serving others will eventually become a way of life to you rather than just an occasional event. And as you perform every act of service always keep in mind that Jesus has provided you with the ultimate example of such self-sacrificing servitude by dying on the cross for the sins of the world. That means that He’s not asking you to do anything that He Himself hasn’t already ideally done.

Posted in Discipleship, Doing Good, Dying To Self, God's Work, Humility, Influence, Leadership, Ministry, Missions, Service | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Difference Between Pit Stops & Racing

Posted on April 5, 2019 by russellmckinney

It’s been said that Christians need to be the church rather than just go to church. Truer words were never spoken. When church is a once-a-week-event rather than a seven-day-a-week lifestyle, it runs the risk of becoming little more than a couple of hours of religious piety each week.

Have you ever watched the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500 on television? The race cars zoom around the track mile after mile, each driver pouring himself into doing his job to the best of his ability. At certain intervals, however, the drivers have to drive their cars into the pit area for pit stops. Nobody can race 500 miles without a few pit stops.

Once a pit stop officially begins, a whirlwind of activity takes place. Pit crew members come flying over the retaining walls onto the track. Each pit crew attacks its driver’s car like a swarm of bees. Does the car need gas? One crew member does that job. Does the car need fresh tires? A team of crew members do that job. Does the windshield need cleaning? A crew member does that job.

And what does the driver do while all this activity is going on? He sits in the car, maybe grabs a quick drink of something, and gets a round of encouragement or instruction from his crew chief. The entire event takes less than twenty seconds and then the driver roars the car back onto the track and resumes the race. You see, it’s the race that is the big deal, not the pit stop. The pit stop is just something that helps the driver do better in the race.

Perhaps you’ve figured out by now where I’m going with this. The race in which Christians are running is life — the real world — and the regularly scheduled pit stops are church services. As for the pit crews, they are the pastors, ministers of music, Sunday School teachers, youth ministers, etc. These people do the work in the “pit” area as they provide the Christian (the driver) with encouragement, instruction, and assistance each church service.

Unfortunately, the problem that Christianity has had for a long time now is that Christians think of the scheduled pit stops as being the main thing. To them the race (life) is just what you have to endure to get back to the safety of the pit area once a week. They don’t understand that God gifts each Christian with not only natural talents but also spiritual gifts, all of which are supposed to be used in service to Him not only in church services but out there in the real world. Talents are abilities the Christian receives at his or her physical birth. Spiritual gifts are abilities the indwelling Holy Spirit brings to the Christian at the moment of his or her spiritual birth (the born-again experience).

So, by stretching our analogy a bit further, we see that the Christians “car” is his or her body. That body has been well equipped by God with talents and spiritual gifts to run the race well. But what happens if the Christian doesn’t use those talents and spiritual gifts? The answer is, each day that Christian falls further behind in the race. And no driver ever won a trophy for being the first to make a pit stop or for making the most pit stops.

Christian, I hope this simple post will help you get church attendance into proper perspective in your life. Are those pit stops important to the driver? Absolutely. There’s no doubt they help the driver do a better job of racing. But what you must always keep front and center in your mind is that the race is the thing. You see, God is trying to use Christians to minister to the whole world, and He knows full well that the whole world doesn’t attend church each Sunday. That’s why He needs you to be the church every day, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, rather than just go to church.

Posted in Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Doing Good, Faithfulness, God's Work, Ministry, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Sports, Talents, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Does “Rest For Your Soul” Really Mean?

Posted on April 3, 2019 by russellmckinney

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, N.K.J.V.)

To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. (1 Corinthians 4:11-13, N.K.J.V.)

These two passages seem to be contradictory, don’t they? Jesus is promising rest, but Paul is living hunger, thirst, and poor clothing. Jesus is promising an easy yoke, but Paul is living revilement, persecution, and defamation. Jesus is promising a light burden, but Paul is living the burden of being the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things. What gives?

The key to understanding Christ’s promise is to realize that it deals with a specific kind of rest. It’s not rest for the body; it’s rest for the soul. The point is that no matter what the body is experiencing, the Christian can have a deep-settled inner rest in his or her soul. The body may be ravaged by sickness or disease, but the rest for the soul is present. The body may be treated roughly by enemies, but the rest for the soul is present. The body may be tired, run down, and worn out, but the rest for the soul is present.

Paul himself explains this is another passage, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, where he writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. (N.K.J.V.)

A similar passage is 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, where he says:

We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… (N.K.J.V.)

Make no mistake, Paul did not live an easy life. Troubles hounded him. Read the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V.) and pay close attention to what they are saying. I assure you that this stuff doesn’t get preached much:

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persecuted the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. (Acts 14:19)

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia; that we were burdened beyond measure above strength, so that we despaired even of life. (2 Corinthians 1:8)

For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. (2 Corinthians 7:5)

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness… (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. (2 Corinthians 12:7)

Therefore we wanted to come to you — even I, Paul, time and time again — but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)

Reading about all of Paul’s troubles reminds us again of what Christ’s promise about rest is not. It is not a guarantee of a life of ease. It is not a “get out of jail free” card regarding persecution. It is not a force field that prevents Satan and his army of fallen angels from coming after you. It is not a shelter to keep you from the storm. Instead, it is a promise that you can experience the peace of Christ even in the midst of the storm.

It is good for us to read about Paul’s description of his own life, if for no other reason than it helps us keep our own problems in proper perspective. When you read about Paul being stoned, you not getting a big enough tax refund this year kind of losses its awfulness. When you read about him receiving 39 lashes on five separate occasions, you having to deal with a difficult boss at work doesn’t seem like the end of the world. When you read about him being hungry, thirsty, cold, and naked, your kid not getting enough playing time or having a bad game pales by comparison.

Today, right now, Jesus offers to you His light burden and His rest for your soul. To accept the offer, you must simply accept Him as your personal Savior, because to accept Him is to automatically accept His offer. But don’t try to define the offer through your own lens. That will really mess you up when the hard times come. You’ll start questioning Christ. You’ll start thinking that He has shafted you. You’ll start accusing Him of promising you one thing but delivering another. Disappointment will be followed by disillusionment, and a disillusioned Christian is a sad person indeed.

How much better it is to understand Christ’s promise correctly and then put it into practice like Paul did. No matter what problems come your way, find your inner rest — a rest for your soul — in Jesus. Don’t let what’s going on with you on the outside adversely affect what’s going on with you on the inside. If you truly are a born-again Christian, you have Jesus living inside you by way of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That means that He is deep inside your body, way down there where your soul resides. That’s why He can always provide you with rest for your soul no matter what the world and the devil throw at you. This is what Biblical Christianity looks like, and it will still work today for anyone who will try it. I encourage you to do so.

Posted in Adversity, Comfort, Complaining, Death, Depression, Disappointment, Encouragement, Human Life, Inner Peace, Loneliness, Peace, Persecution, Problems, Salvation, Satan, Sickness, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, The Devil, The Holy Spirit, Trials | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Lot of Moving Parts But Not Much Production

Posted on April 1, 2019 by russellmckinney

There was once an inventor who built an amazing machine. It was six feet high and five feet long and had a total of 5,626 parts (wheels, gears, shafts, chains, belts, etc.), to say nothing of all the nuts, bolts, and screws that held the parts in place. When the inventor plugged in the machine and started it up, it ran perfectly and onlookers could see many of the parts spinning and whirling. It was quite a sight.

Finally, one onlooker asked, “What does the machine do?” The inventor smiled mischievously and proudly answered, “NOTHING. It’s just a bunch of parts I put together in my spare time for my own amusement. It doesn’t actually produce anything.”

Like that machine, our lives can hum, whiz, and whirl day after day without producing much for the cause of Christ. Oh, sure, we hold down our jobs. We pay the bills. We eat three meals a day. We sleep. We meet our family obligations. We read Facebook. We watch television. We play with our cell phones. But how much do our lives really produce for the cause of Christ?

The same question can be asked of our Christian realm. Sunday morning worship services? We got ’em. Sunday School classes? We got ’em. Prayer meetings? We got ’em. Bible studies? We got ’em. Committee meetings? We got ’em. Special singings? We got ’em. Vacation Bible Schools? We got ’em. Youth trips? We got ’em. Senior citizen trips? We got ’em. Women’s groups? We got ’em. Men’s groups? We got ’em. Youth groups? We got ’em. Christian books? We got ’em. Christian cruises? We got ’em. Christian internet sites? We got ’em. Christian blogs? We got ’em. And yet our world is still going to hell in a handbasket. How is that possible? It’s as if our Christian machinery produces next to nothing.

Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8, N.K.J.V.). Notice that Jesus isn’t just looking for Christians to bear some fruit. He is looking for us to bear MUCH fruit. The challenge, then, to each individual Christian is clear cut. We must strive to reach a state where we aren’t satisfied with simply watching all the wheels turn but instead seek to produce much fruit for Christ.

Will reaching this state require us to do some pruning? Yes. Will it require us to do away with the useless machinery and unproductive clutter that we call “activity”? Yes. Will it require us to show discernment concerning what to keep and what to eliminate? Yes. But will it all be worth it when we reach that place where we actually do more by doing less? Yes.

Even if we never get our churches streamlined for more effective service, and even if the majority of Christians never get streamlined, that doesn’t mean that you, Christian, can’t do it. That’s why I call upon you right now to take a long, hard look at your life and be honest about what you actually get done in terms of Christian fruit bearing. What you might find is that you have taken your eye off the ball. The main thing (fruit-bearing discipleship) is no longer your main thing. Life has subtly gotten you so busy that all Jesus is getting are your leftovers. If this is the case you should pull out the pruning shears and start cutting off those branches that are keeping you from being all that you can be for Jesus. In doing this you’ll be building yourself a new machine, and it will be one that produces much fruit for the cause of Christ.

Posted in Change, Church, Discernment, Discipleship, Doing Good, God's Work, Ministry, Priorities, Service | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Something To Believe In

Posted on March 29, 2019 by russellmckinney

A pastor’s family got home from church following a Sunday morning service and started preparing for lunch. After everyone had changed out of their Sunday best clothes the mother began heating up some leftovers from the previous night. When the food was ready, she told her young son to go wash his hands before eating.

The boy objected, “Ah, mom, my hands aren’t dirty.” But the mother was hearing none of it. She said, “Dirty or not, you shook hands with a lot of people at church this morning and who knows what germs you picked up from that. I don’t want you to get sick. Go wash.”

The boy looked to his father for a reprieve, but all he got in response was, “You heard your mother.” At that point the little fellow started angrily making his way to the bathroom to wash his hands. As he stomped along, he said under his breath, “Jesus and germs. Jesus and germs. That’s all I hear about. And I never see either one of them.”

I was born in 1966, which means that what I call my “growing up” range runs from the late ’60s to the early ’90s. I was 24 years old in 1990 and just starting to figure out life when a power ballad by the rock band Poison hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The song was entitled “Something To Believe In.” Poison’s lead singer, Bret Michaels, wrote it in memory of James Kimo Maano, his best friend and bodyguard who had been found dead the previous Christmas Eve.

The song is decidedly not what you would expect from a long-haired, hard-partying, “glam metal” rock band. Its subject matter was unlike anything Poison had tackled before or has tackled since. Clocking in at well over five minutes in length, the song’s simple message is that if God is so great, why is life so hard for so many people?

What differentiates the song from others that ask a similar question is the fact that it doesn’t berate or blaspheme God. It doesn’t praise Satan or promote the hedonistic lifestyle that was at the core of the “hair metal” genre. It simply points out obvious facts in a tone that is remarkably somber, even downright mournful. It’s as if Michaels honestly, genuinely, sincerely wants to believe that there is a loving, all-powerful God up there somewhere, but all the earthly evidence he sees points to the contrary.

The song’s opening verse begins with a word about a money-loving televangelist who got brought down by a sex scandal. Then the verse takes a hard right into a few lines about a suicidal Vietnam veteran who returned home from the war to find that his life might as well have ended in that foreign country. It’s then that Michaels first segues into his simple chorus:

And give me something to believe in

If there’s a Lord above

And give me something to believe in

Oh, Lord arise

Verse 2 is Michael’s testimony about how he got the call that his friend had been found dead. He says, “I tried all night not to break down and cry as the tears rolled down my face. I felt so cold and empty like a lost soul out of place.” Trust me, such words were shocking to hear coming from a band that was previously known for hits such as “Talk Dirty To Me,” “Nothing But A Good Time,” and “Fallen Angel.”

Following another round of the chorus and a quick bridge, the song moves into its third and final verse. Here Michaels pulls no punches about the evidence that can be used to doubt God’s existence. He says, “I drive by the homeless sleeping on a cold, dark street like bodies in an open grave, underneath the broken old neon sign that used to read ‘Jesus Saves.'”

Then comes the song’s contrast between the haves and the have nots: “A mile away live the rich folks, and I see how they’re living it up. While the poor they eat from hand to mouth, the rich are drinking from a golden cup. And it just makes me wonder why so many lose and so few win.” This is followed by an expanded version of the chorus: “And give me something to believe in….”

Now, I’m not saying that we should be singing “Something To Believe In” as part of our Sunday morning worship services. Far from it. I’m also not blind to the fact that Michaels himself was “drinking from a golden cup” as a rock star in those days or that the “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” lifestyle that he and his friends were living at the time wasn’t exactly the best way to avoid dying young.

What I’m saying is that most of us — including most of us Christians — have at times faded into the same mental territory that Michaels expresses in that song. We’ve wondered why God does some things but doesn’t do other things. We’ve wondered why He allows one thing but doesn’t allow something else. We’ve seen the injustices that pervade life. We’ve felt like that little boy in my opening illustration, wondering, “If Jesus is so awesome, why do we never see Him visibly? And even if we can’t see Him visibly, why can’t we see more evidence of His work in the world?”

Perhaps right now you are feeling this way in spades. Something bad has happened, and you are thinking that God has let you down. So, you are wondering if there is actually anyone up there. You need some tangible evidence of His existence. You need your prayer request answered, “Yes.” You need to see it with your own eyes and experience it firsthand.

Well, I hope you get it. I really do. I have to say, though, that my personal history indicates that God doesn’t jump whenever we snap our fingers. He doesn’t spring into action just because we raise our voices to Him. He doesn’t bend to your will or my will. Instead, He commands us to bend to His.

In case you can’t tell by the tone of this post, I have walked down the street of doubt a few times myself. I guess that’s why that old Poison song has always resonated with me. And since I’ve spent some time on that street, I hope you’ll listen as I offer you the best word of advice I can to help you find something to believe in when it comes to God. Are you listening? Here it comes: Rather than fixating on all the negative things about life, things that can cause you to doubt God’s existence, choose to focus instead upon all the positive things, things that can help you affirm His existence. They really are there if you will look for them.

Yes, God does exist, and, yes, Jesus does still save anyone and everyone who places saving belief in Him. But what we must understand is that our salvation won’t be fully realized until the afterlife. Until then we still live in this sin-marred world that is filled with problems and tragedies. As the noted commentator Warren Wiersbe has said, “Jesus isn’t saving this world; He is saving people out of this world.”

That’s an important distinction to remember whenever you start getting down in the mouth about life and how bad things are. Life on earth was once God’s finest work on full display, but those days are long gone, having ended with Genesis chapter 3. So, now we deal with the fallout. And it’s this fallout that Bret Michaels is singing about in his song. The mistake he makes is his flirtation with the idea that the fallout is God’s last word on the situation. It’s not.

You see, we aren’t at the end of the movie, yet. The final credits haven’t rolled. The lights haven’t come up and the theater hasn’t emptied. We’re still in the middle of the film. Dare I say that we are smack dab in the middle of the trying part of it, the part where all the bad stuff is happening. But we mustn’t stop watching. We must stick with the plot until the big change finally comes.

For the Christian that change goes by the name “heaven.” It’s there that we will at last visibly see Jesus face to face. Only then will we be shed of all our doubts and at last be at rest. Only then will we once and for all, finally and completely, experience the fullness of the One who is our something to believe in. Until then we must walk by faith and not by sight, keep looking to the future in confident expectancy, and try to focus on all the positives rather than the negatives. Is this an easy assignment? Certainly not. But it’s one that is well worth pursuing as we live in this world that is so ripe for songs of doubt.

Posted in Adversity, Atheism, Attitude, Belief, Complaining, Disappointment, Doubt, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Heaven, Human Life, Problems, Salvation, Suffering, Suicide, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

A Snapshot of Our Churches in 2019

Posted on March 27, 2019 by russellmckinney

LifeWay is the publishing department of the Southern Baptist Convention. Last month they released the findings of a study that was conducted between the dates of January 14 and January 30 of 2019. 1,000 pastors of Protestant churches were called and asked a list of questions about their churches. The call list was compiled by way of a random sampling that took into account churches of all sizes, and the responses were weighted by region to better reflect the country’s overall population.

According to Lifeway, the sampling equates to a 95% confidence level that the study’s margin of error doesn’t exceed plus or minus 3.2 percent. Putting that in layman’s terms, the results should be about as reasonably accurate as we can get with such studies. Unfortunately, the study’s findings were quite troubling. Consider the following items:

  • Over the past three years, 28% of churches declined in attendance by 6% or more, and another 33% remained plateaued within a 5% range. That means that 61% of our churches are either in decline or are plateaued in regards to attendance. Only 39% grew by 6% or more over the past three years.
  • Despite the megachurches we see on t.v., 57% of churches have fewer than 100 people in attendance each Sunday. 21% average less than 50. Only 11% average 250 or more people for Sunday morning worship service.
  • 54% of churches had fewer than 10 new commitments to Jesus last year. 8% of churches had none.
  • Even among churches that average 250 or more people in attendance, only 18% had 10 or more conversions per every 100 people in attendance last year. That indicates that for the most part larger churches don’t maintain or increase their size by way of evangelism and conversions to Christ. Instead, for the most part they maintain or increase their size by “doing church” better (offering better programs, better facilities, better staffing, etc.) and thus reaping the benefits of being on the plus side of membership swapping.
  • 55% of churches who have lead pastors who are 18 to 44 years old are growing. Only 33% of churches who have lead pastors who are 45 years or older are growing.

Since I am 52 years old, I find that last statistic particularly depressing. Why is it that the majority of churches with relatively young pastors are growing while the vast majority of churches with older pastors are not? I think it’s because the world is constantly changing and it’s the younger folks who are willing to adapt and keep pace. They aren’t so tied to the past. They aren’t so sentimental. They are more open to trying new approaches. They aren’t impressed by the line, “That’s the way we’ve always done it” because they haven’t been the ones always doing it that way.

Look, I’m not talking about watering down the gospel. I’m not talking about sacrificing doctrine on the altar of church growth. I’m not talking about a church becoming so worldly that it can’t do any good affecting its community for Christ. What I’m talking about is being willing to change the machinery of how we present the teachings of the Bible. Some elderly person might object by saying, “But what about the senior citizens? It’s our church, too. The young people shouldn’t always get their way.” Well, that’s true. However, the same can be said of the old guard. They shouldn’t always get their way, either.

The plain truth is that there comes a time when the average church should admit that what they are doing isn’t actually working all that well. A new approach is needed. Fresh thinking is required. It makes no sense to keep beating your head against the same spot on the same wall day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. All that gets you is an ugly spot on the wall and a sore head. As the old saying goes, “To keep doing the same thing and expect different results is a form of insanity.”

Of course I realize that most of you will forget all those statistics from that Lifeway study about ten seconds after reading this post. You might have even forgotten them already. So let me close this post by way of an illustration that I hope will stick in your mind long after you’ve forgotten the results of that study. Ready? Here goes.

One day a colony of ants were tucked away safely in their ant hill when suddenly the hill’s entrance became blocked by a large white object. Scout ants were dispatched to work their way out of the hill and inspect the situation. They reported back that a golf ball had rolled to a dead stop right on top of the ant hill. They had barely gotten that report given, however, when suddenly a violent blow from a golf club took out one whole side of the hill. It was the golfer swinging and missing the ball completely as he unsuccessfully attempted to play his lie. With ants scurrying around everywhere beneath him, now the golfer stood readying himself to take another swing. That’s when one ant looked at another ant and uttered a line that could very well be applied to our churches in 2019. He said, “If we’re going to survive, we’d better get on the ball!”

Posted in Aging, Change, Church, Church Attendance, Communication, Current Events, Discernment, Evangelism, God's Word, God's Work, Ministry, Pastors, Personal, Preaching, Scripture, Sunday School, The Bible, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Difference Between Doors & Discipleship

Posted on March 25, 2019 by russellmckinney

Minister and author John Seamands tells the story of a German soldier who was wounded in battle. The wound was minor and the soldier wasn’t particularly concerned about it, but he was nevertheless ordered to go to the military hospital for treatment. When he arrived at the large, imposing building, he saw two doors. The first one was labeled “For the slightly wounded.” The second one was labeled “For the seriously wounded.” Being only slightly wounded, the soldier entered through the first door.

Upon entering the building, he found himself staring down a long hall. At the end of the hall were two more doors. The first door was labeled “For officers.” The second door was labeled “For non-officers.” This time the soldier stepped through the second door, whereupon he was again confronted by a long hall with two more doors at the end of it. The first door was labeled “For party members.” The second one was labeled “For non-party members.” The soldier chose the second door, which he soon discovered led immediately out into the street.

Later on, when the soldier returned home, his mother asked him, “How was your experience at the military hospital?” He replied, “Well, mother, to tell the truth, those people didn’t do anything for me. But you should have seen the tremendous organization they had!”

If we aren’t careful our churches can end up functioning about like that military hospital. The pressure — sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s not so subtle — to “grow” a church can cause us to look more like an assembly line than a group of real, live, walking, talking, human beings who genuinely care about others. The order for the assembly lines goes as follows:

  • Get newcomers in the door.
  • Get them assigned to a Sunday School class or a Life Group (whatever your church calls it).
  • If kids are involved, get them involved with all the activities for the youth.
  • If Senior Citizens are involved, get them involved with all the activities for the elderly.
  • After a while, get the newcomers to formally join the church. Do they need to get saved? Do they need to get baptized? Is it a simple matter of them transferring a church letter? Whatever is required, get it done.
  • Lastly, once they are officially on the books, move on to new prospects.

It should be noted that Christ’s Great Commission is actually a command to make disciples not just converts or church members. And what does the word “disciple” mean? It means “a learner, one who sits under teaching.” As for what teaching a church is supposed to give those it wins to Christ and baptizes, I’ll let Jesus Himself provide that answer. He says, “…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:20).

Those words “all things” cover a lot of territory because Jesus was certainly not a one-sermon preacher! Therefore, our churches have the responsibility of doing much more than just producing new Baptists, new Methodists, new Presbyterians, etc. We have the responsibility of producing disciples, learners whom we teach so they can reach the point where they themselves become the teachers. Anything less than that and we are merely herding people through a series of well organized doors that ultimately misses the goal completely.

Posted in Church, Church Attendance, Discipleship, Elderly, Evangelism, Faithfulness, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, Pastors, Sunday School, Teaching, Worship, Youth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Behind the Times

Posted on March 22, 2019 by russellmckinney

A devout old Christian was visited by his grandson who was on Spring Break from college. “How are you doing, Gramps?” asked the grandson. “Fine, just fine,” said the old man.

“How is school going?” the old man asked. Are you learning anything up there?” “You bet,” answered the grandson. “I’m learning all kinds of stuff.”

The grandson then began to enlighten his behind-the-times grandfather on 21st century intelligence. He said, “Grandpa, I don’t mean to hurt your feelings but your generation got a lot wrong.” “We did?” replied the grandpa with a tone of surprise in his voice. “What did we get wrong?”

“For starters,” said the grandson, “mankind isn’t made in the image of God. My biology teacher says that evolution is no longer just a theory. It’s proven science with all kinds of evidence to support it.” The grandfather countered by saying, “But the first two chapters of Genesis teach that God created Adam out of the dust of the earth, placed him in the Garden of Eden, and then made Eve from one of Adam’s ribs.”

The grandson shook his head and said, “See, that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. You guys interpret that whole story as literal history, but I’m taking a Religions of the World class and my teacher says the bible shouldn’t be understood like that. She says that every religion thinks their book is holy but none of them actually are. They were all just written by men.”

The grandfather said, “But 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God.” In response, the grandson reasoned, “”Oh, that’s just the bible bragging on itself.”

“Well,” said the old man, “I guess we can’t trust what the bible teaches about abortion being wrong, homosexuality being a sin, men and women playing different roles in the home and society, spanking a disobedient child, our political leaders allowing for the death penalty in certain cases, or anything else that is not politically correct.” “You got it,” said the grandson. “Our society has moved on from all that. None of the kids in my dorm believe any of it. They say it’s all just ancient thinking and that it’s up to our generation to make things better.”

“Okay,” said the grandfather, “let me ask you one last thing. What about our need for salvation and the fact that those who know Jesus Christ as Savior will go to heaven in the afterlife and those who don’t will go to hell?” The grandson laughed and said, “Now c’mon, Gramps. Even if there is a God up there somewhere, everybody knows that He’s a God of love, forgiveness, tolerance, and acceptance. He would never send anybody to some awful place like hell.”

“And who taught you that?” asked the old man. “The guy who leads the Christian youth service I attend,” answered the grandson. “He’s really cool. He’s got long hair. He wears faded blue jeans and an untucked shirt. He’s got Christian tattoos all over him, and he’s got this gold cross necklace that hangs around his neck. All the kids love him. He’s like a rock star.”

“I see,” said the grandfather. “Well, I have to admit this has all been very enlightening.” The grandson grinned and said, “That’s why I wanted to come visit you, Gramps.” “I love you and I wanted you to know how behind the times you’ve gotten. You really need to catch up.”

To that the old man replied, “No, I don’t think that will be happening. I couldn’t catch up even if I doubled my speed.” Puzzled, the grandson asked, “What do you mean, Gramps?” The old man answered, “Well, son, you’ll never catch up to something if you keep going in the opposite direction.”

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