Is the Church part of the American Dream?

The Church and Debt: Okay, so the poll is closed and the results are in: Only 25 people voted, but 77% thought churches should NOT go into debt, 9 % said yes, it was okay for the church to go into debt, and 13% were not sure. I know this is not a 'scientific' study, per se, but it affirms that this is something that churches in America need to be talking about and praying about and being open with their congregations about so they're not wooed by the enemy into becoming part of the American Dream. My favorite (biased) comment on the subject is here, in case you missed it.

I read a quote by Ed Stetzer yesterday that really spoke to my heart: "The American dream is one of the biggest distractions Satan uses us to distract us from God's global mission."

I've thought about this quote since I read it and throughout the night. I also finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan yesterday. Man, God is really messing with my brain and my heart. I know that He is calling me out, calling me to be different, and calling me to be "radical". I'm trying to seek God to find out what this will look like in my life. I've always been a little "radical" or "different" or "someone who marches to the beat of her own drum", but I know that God is asking me to "kick it up a notch".

I've lived the past thirty something years yearning for the American Dream: A nice big house (decorated like a Pottery Barn catalog), nice cars, healthy children, no wrinkles, a fashionable wardrobe, 401K, college funds, etc. You get the picture.

Now all of a sudden God has nailed home the reality that I am NOT promised tomorrow! What am I doing TODAY that will make a difference in light of eternity? James 4:13-14 says: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that just appears for a little while and vanishes away.

I'm writing all this because really I just need a good therapist but can't afford one...haha. Lucky for you all right? I'm struggling here with this and I hope some of you are too...... Why am I saving money to redo my bedroom with new duvet covers, paint, curtains, etc. when people are hungry and lonely and hurting? Yeah so my duvet cover is a little ripped and I don't like the paint color, but will I live without a new one? Of course. (But God... I REALLY want to paint my bedroom!! *stomping my foot*).

Surely we all know people who died suddenly or tragically.... they never saw it coming. If I died next week, would I want people to say "Kirsten has a really nicely decorated bedroom" or "Kirsten thought of the needs of others before her own"?

But this is HARD! My friend Anne Marie said this yesterday: HA! The American Dream - how long will we believe that lie. I still fall back into that lie so easily. As if we have been promised anything for this life except persecution and trouble because of our love for Christ. Salvation is all about when we are united with Him for eternity - not heaven, not what we think heaven has for us but HIM! Just Jesus! Oh if I could only remember this ever time I waver.

I feel the same way!! And this is the radical life that God wants us to live: to forsake the American Dream for Jesus... not conform to it!

Again, I don't know exactly what this looks like for me, but I'm excited, scared, anxious, etc. to find out!

My Disenchantment with the Contemporary Church, Part 1

Ahh, the proverbial elephant in the room, the one people tiptoe around. As they say here in the south…. It’s a big ‘un!

Let me add my disclaimer here: I am not directing this post at any one church or person or population segment. It is merely my opinion, which I am fully entitled to. I in know way expect everyone to agree with me. I don’t expect ANYONE to agree with me. This is just what God has laid on my heart through His word and the path my life has taken. If it steps on your toes, then maybe it’s time you take a good hard look at the direction of your church and the condition of it’s heart. And from some of you I can hear a resounding “AMEN” because your church is doing things right. Take it or leave it.

My Disenchantment With The Contemporary American Church, Part 1

It is no secret that I’ve become disenchanted with the contemporary Christian Church these days. It’s just that when you’ve looked into the faces of innocent children that go days and weeks eating only bugs and poop, it changes your perspective. Then, to see them raise their faces and hands to God and praising him for His provision and being part of a “church service” right there in the middle of nowhere with a dirt floor and a couple of drums, well it sends chills up your spine. I know without a doubt that I saw the face of Jesus in that place and amongst those people.

So I struggle. I walk into a typical contemporary church and am supposed to be wowed and transcended into this “worship experience” of sounds and lights and artificial fog. It seems that this is how we are wooing the “unchurched” into our church services, by creating this artificial “environment”. The Bible says in John 13:35 “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Do our churches attract people because we love, or do they attract people because we have the coolest music, a laser light show and superb programming?

It’s just something to think about. I’m not saying that those things are inherently bad, but if they are our focus, then we’ve gotten off track. That is my opinion. More later.

Why Go?

Recently I was asked this question: Why would you spend a few thousand dollars on going on a mission trip when you could just send the money and have it go much further?

That was a pretty good question and I started thinking about it. I talked around it a little bit but this was something I really needed to pray about and be able to adequately communicate.

My first answer was easy. God had told me to GO. This wasn't an audible voice that I heard with my ears, but rather a verse that God gave to my heart.

"Go swift messengers to a people tall and smooth skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech whose land is divided by rivers" ~ Isaiah 18:2

God told me to GO. He didn't say write a check... He said GO.

I was reading in Luke and was captivated as the words jumped off the page at me: Jesus told his disciples to GO! He told them to NOT take any money. (Luke 10: 3-4)

Jesus told His disciples to GO.

Then, by no coincidence (God is sovereign), I listened to a podcast by David Platt, pastor of Brookhills Church in Burmingham, AL. It was called "One Life With A Global Gospel". David told this story:

He was getting ready to take a $3,000 trip to Sudan. He knew this was a lot of money. Someone in the church came to him and said "Why are you going to spend three thousand dollars on a trip when you could just send the $3,000 and it could go a lot farther than you going there?

(Sound familiar? emphasis mine)

David says he wrestled with that.... until he got to the Sudan and spent time encouraging his Christian brothers and sisters there, sharing in their persecutions and struggles. One brother looked back at David and said, "David, over the last twenty years of persecution many different organizations have sent resources to us and we are extremely thankful, But, " he said, "do you know how we can tell who a true brother is? A true brother comes to be with you in your deepest time of need." He thanked David for being a true brother and at that moment it hits him... this is the very essence of the Gospel.

When God chose to bring salvation to you and me, He did not send gold or silver or cash or a check. He sent Himself. So how will we ever show this Gospel to the world if all we ever send is our money?

If we only send or spend our money we will miss part of the point of global missions!

Thanks to David for that awesome reminder. If only the Church in America would embrace it!

Relationships

A big bullet point for me on my trip to Uganda was: relationships. It brought a renewed meaning to the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself”. That phrase has always begged the question amongst the most well versed of theologians “Who is my neighbor?” The Bible answers quite clearly that we are all each other’s neighbor (Luke 10:29-37), no matter what we look like or where we come from or what we’ve done, where we’re going or what our circumstances are. We are ALL each other’s neighbor.

The thing I love about relationships is that we all have a story. Every single one of us has a story that can be told of the things in our lives that have molded us and made us into who we are, what we are and where we are, for better or for worse. This is a common thread that binds us all no matter of our race, religion, or creed. When we take the time to sit down and hear someone’s story, we find out that we’re not so different after all. We are able to see value in people regardless of their social standing. Some of my best friends are people that might seem quite different from me, but because we know each other’s story, we have a tight bond that binds our hearts together, even though people would look as us and think that we were mis-matched.

One of the highlights of my trip to Uganda was forming relationships with the people that I came into contact with every day. Our host Patrick and his wife Sarah are wonderful people and I cherished the time we had together talking about our respective lives. Patrick and Sarah recently had a four-month-old daughter die. And whereas I have no personal experience with this, I do know about the trials of having sick children and how those experiences have helped to mold me and make me into the person that I am. I can truly say that I love Patrick and Sarah and add them to my list of dear ones. I miss them and can’t wait to see them again.

Also, I was privileged enough to get to know the staff at the guesthouse where we stayed. Florence is such a beautiful person inside and out and she worked so hard to make us feel at home, and we did! She has a passion for hospitality, just like me! That binds us as sisters. David and Eddie, our drivers, also hold dear spots in my heart as they shared some heart-wrenching stuff with our team. I don’t see these people as mere happen-stance in my life, but as Divine appointments whose stories continue to shape me and mold me into who God is making me to be. I am so thankful to have met these wonderful brothers and sisters in Uganda and my heart aches to see them again!

I think, and I will challenge you, to step out of your comfort-zone and ask someone their story, you will be delightfully surprised at the bonds that form in your heart. If you want somewhere to start, ask me my story. It would be my honor to share it with you.