No Complaining

This last week I read the motivational book "The No Complaining Rule" by Jon Gordon. It's an easy and quick read but Jon has some good observations and ideas. At this time when the attitude is so negative Gordon's ideas are worth sharing.

There are three key tools for combating a negative attitude toward life.

1. When you realize you are complaining, add the word "but" and then add a positive thought or positive action. (e.g. It is snowing again BUT I am glad I have a warm home to live in)
2. Focus on what you "get to do" instead of what you "have to do". The key is to focus on being blessed rather than on being stressed.
3. Turn complaints into solutions. Resolve you will not complain about something unless you can also present a couple of positive solutions. At the same time decide to dismiss the complaining of others unless there are suggested solutions.

As we listen to reports on the economy, government corruption or the slide to paganism, our challenge is to keep focusing on the positive.

This should be much easier for the believer because we know who holds the future. We know God is good. We know He has promised to take care of His children. If we focus on these truths we will be among those who restore those around us rather than dragging them down further.

I'm going to work on this. I hope you will too.

Essential Truth

I am troubled by a trend in the church. We tend to measure churches by the "style" of worship rather than the content of worship. People talk about the great music or the cool events. The focus seems to be on what you can do that will surprise people.

I am not against creativity. I think we should present the gospel in creative ways. I'm not against music . . . I love music. I think music touches the soul in a special way. However, music and creativity does not equal worship. These are not the main things!

Essential truth is the core teaching of the Gospel: the character of God, the nature of sin, the person of Christ, the place of the cross, the reality of the resurrection, and the nature of faith and discipleship. On these we must focus and on these we must agree.

Frankly, I don't get very concerned about how we worship. I don't worry about the amount of water someone uses in baptism, the frequency with which they take communion, the style of music they sing, the way they dress for worship, the form of government by which they function. In my mind theses are all "little things".

On the other hands beliefs that diminish the character and nature of God; truths that diminish the work or nature of Christ, or beliefs that undermine the authority of God's Word . . . these are significant. These things are eternal in their significance.

Unfortunately,we have turned these things around. We have emphasized the minor truths and glossed over the major truths. This is why, for the most part, churches are full but they are having little impact on our society. People are talking about how cool their church is instead of pointing to how wonderful Jesus is. [B]

BOOK REVIEW: Culture Shift

Book Review: CULTURE SHIFT by R. Albert Mohler Jr. (Multnomah 2008)

Albert Mohler has a radio program that says it is the place for "intelligent Christian Conversation". Mohler points out that all three words are important. This book carries on an intelligent Christian conversation about the culture in which we live. This is a great introduction for how to dialogue with the culture in which we are now living.

Mohler looks at topics such as: Secular arguments, secular myths, "the culture of offendedness", chapters on terror, torture, public education, abortion, science, honesty and tragedy (the Tsunami, New Orleans flooding and Hiroshima). The book is fast paced, readable yet intelligent, and is sure to make you think about issues of the day.

I sometimes find myself putting my head in the sand regarding current events. This is a mistake. Mohler's daily program is excellent and his books appear to be the same. Hopefully I'll review a second of his books on my shelf later this year.

Blago, Daschle and Haggerty

The news has been filled with stories about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich regarding his impeachment and criminal charges; the tax problem of Tom Daschle which has led to the withdrawl of his name as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and the recent HBO documentary about former Evangelical leader and Pastor Ted Haggerd, who was dismissed from his church after alegations of immoral conduct and drug problems.

What is a Christian response to such issues? There are some who argue: "Everyone makes mistakes" and "No one is perfect". That is most assuredly true. We do need to remind ourselves that God forgives sinners. He will forgive any sinner who truly repents. We do need to allow for people to disappoint us and to fail. Even the best of men are only men at best.

Does this mean these men are getting a raw deal? I don't think so. The Bible is clear that those in leadership position are held to a higher standard than others. Leaders require the public trust. In selecting elders we are told they are to be "above reproach". An elder is to have "a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap." Deacons are to be men worthy of respect." (1 Timothy 3) Leadership calls for consistent integrity and character.

This is not the same as expecting perfection. However, what happened with each of the men listed above is that their actions resulted in the loss of public trust. The removal of all three of these people from these positions is right. Leaders need to call people higher.

We must however be careful! Removing these people from positions of leadership and treating them as those cast away by God are not the same thing. We should pray for all of these men. We must pray that God opens their eyes to help them take responsibility for their actions. We should pray for their families. The spotlight, disgrace, and meanness of public scrutiny is horrible. We should pray that these men work hard to once again demonstrate integrity and trustworthiness. They should nto be tossed aside as people even though they should be removed from leadership.