The UMC in trying to fill the pews. And there solution is this: design your church as you would a shopping mall. Fill it with variety, and hopefully each person will find at least something they will like. And you know what, that is not a bad strategy for filling pews. It just might work. Numbers may increase and budgets (the other main concern) may grow.

Just recently, I sad something that left the people I said it to stunned. I said, “I don’t care how many people are in church.” I actually said it in the midst of words fired much more by passion than careful thought. The people I was with responded as if I had just dropped the N-Word at a NAACP convention and so I paused to consider what I had just said. I realized that it was at face value a quite odd for a pastor to say. After all, filled pews provide the food on my table. And especially in the setting I am called to serve in where empty pews are not perceived just as problematic but seen as terminal, it was a startling thing to say.

So what did I mean by what I said? Did I really mean that I never even check the attendance figures? Did I mean that I was completely neutral to the question of whether the church I serve continues to exist? Well, what I meant was that my main concern was not filling pews. I am much more concerned with trying to be faithful to God. And yes, that might mean losing a few people out of the pews. But it also will draw those who are convicted by the law of God of their need of a Savior. Faithfulness both drives unrepentant people away and is at the same time the heart of a church where the kingdom is being enlarged.

I have met men that seemed to be tickled by the way they emptied the pews by their supposed faithfulness. That is not me. My goal is not to whittle my church down to the pure remnant I desire. My goal is the preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, seek the lost, and let God determine who ends up in the pews. Quite frankly, I would love filled pews. But I will not turn the church into a shopping mall in order to get there.

clipped from news.yahoo.com

Methodist survey aims to stop membership decline

“Worship is like going to a mall,” Millard said. “There are all kinds of stores. Some people like specialty shops. Some like department stores. When you have variety, people can go where they like.”

On April 6, I wrote,

There is no doubt that for Beck, Country is God.  Well perhaps that is too simple.  He believes that God’s primary manifestation of his activity and grace in the world is the creation and existence of the United States.  And you should understand that this flows out of his Mormon faith (although this view is all too common among many Christians in our country).  You see, Mormons believe that Jesus ministered among the American Indians, and while that initial ministry was not well received, eventually through Joseph Smith Mormonism was wrought here in America.  And so America and the Mormons are linked quite tightly…When one believes as Beck does, the stories of America and its founders become as much scripture as the old stories of Israel and its founders.

On this last Saturday, I was taken aback to hear  Beck say it is so blatantly:

I went into the Lincoln memorial and I stood there and I read the Gettysburg address on one wall and the Second Inaugural address on the other. I went up and touched the word and lifted my children up so that they could touch the words as well. The words are alive.  Our documents, our most famous speeches, are American scriptures and they are alive today just as any other scripture is.  It speaks to us from the past.

I guess when you have added one additional testimony of Jesus Christ to the scriptures (Book of Mormon), you might as well add some more.  His religion is clearly the fusion of American civil religion and Mormonism.

When was the last time you had anyone other than family over for dinner?   Oh, I have no doubt that some of you have.  But  no doubt the practice is much more scarce  than it was just a couple generations ago.  Hospitality was something that was part of our culture not all that long ago, but we seem to have stopped inviting people into our lives and our homes.  It is not good for us and not good for those outside.

Although practice is helpful, Christian hospitality is not something that takes years to learn.  It does likely take drastic rethinking in how we live our lives but the concept is very simple.  Welcome people into our midst.  Make them feel at home.  Make strangers feel like they are old friends.

In one sense Christian hospitality is not all that distinct from any other form of hospitality.  It is not that by virtue of our faith or baptism we brew better tea, make better mashed potatoes, or have more comfortable tables at our home.  But what is different is that we as Christians practice hospitality as a way of manifesting the love of Christ that we have received.  We do it as those who have been shown hospitality by God himself.

We too were once strangers to God by virtue of our sin.  We believe that we are all born sinful and are under the power of the devil.  And that makes us completely foreign to God and his holy ways.  And yet, God welcomes us into his midst.  He calls us through his word and makes us to be at home with him through Holy Baptism.  And his hospitality towards us never ends.  Each time we make ourselves strangers to him through our sins, we welcomes us back into his home through absolution and through offering us a place at his altar.

Yes we were once strangers.  God has shown us his gracious hospitality, welcomed us, and made us to be at home with him. And now we have been set free to do the same to those around us.   “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)  “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”  (Luke 14:13-14 )

Adaptation from sermon preached today

This is but one example of how the African continent is serving as the prophetic voice of rebuke to the straying Western church. It has happened in the Anglican church. It has happens in the ELCA. It has happened in the LCMS (anyone else remember Archbishop Obare from Kenya at 2004 LCMS Convention?). How Good are the works of the Lord.

clipped from news.yahoo.com

Homosexuality against word of God: African bishops

ENTEBBE, Uganda (AFP) – African Anglican bishops voiced their strong disapproval of homosexuality at a meeting Tuesday attended by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as the issue continues to divide Anglicans.

“Homosexuality is incompatible with the word of God,” said conference host and Ugandan Archbishop Uganda Henry Luke Orombi.

“Today, the West is lacking obedience to the word of God,” Reverend Ian Ernest of Mauritius told journalists on the sidelines of the conference.

“It is for us (Africans) to redress the situation,” he said, adding that he has severed all ties to the Episcopalian churches in Canada and the United States that have allowed gays to enter the clergy.

Some of you have no clue who Jim Wallis is. Others of you will know the name quite well (either from Sojourners or Glenn Beck). Some of you, I know, love him. Others hate him with a passion. I have read some of his stuff. And it is worthy of a read. I by no means come to the same conclusions that he does. But his voice is important as a counterweight to those who have tied Christianity and the Republican party together so tightly that seeking the intersection point between the two has become near impossible.

But yesterday I hear him speak about the Ground Zero Mosque (or the Area 51 Muslim Community Center if you wish).  He said that we should let them build it because Jesus calls us to love our neighbors.  I care not to weigh in on the question of whether a Mosque/Center should be built in that place in this post.  But I do wish to say that when Wallis equates love of neighbor with tacit acceptance of whatever our neighbors wish to do, he is dead wrong.  Show me one place where love of neighbor in the bible means supporting the building of an altar to a false God.  Show me where loving neighbor means supporting their sin of idolatry.  Never.

Since America is not a theocracy and we do have freedom of religion, we can argue whether the mosque should be built in this place of so much torment.  But as Christians, we cannot argue that is it central to our faith’s tenet of love of neighbor that we place bricks with our hands in the midst of an idolatrous altar.  To love neighbor is to rescue them from such sin.  This work we must do with boldness, sincerity, and gentleness.

It is not just Wallis.  The modern Christian church loves to take a biblical phrase like “love your neighbor” and fill it up with all the false notions of love that our culture has created.  To love neighbor is to care for all of their true needs and not to pat their backs each time they do evil.  To love neighbor is to tell them of Jesus.

“Faith Creator”

An Original Hymn Text by Pastor Philip Hoppe.  I would suggest the tune Orientis partibus.  However, any 7.7.7.7 meter tune will work.  Feel free to use it for any non-commercial purpose.  If you use it, I would love to hear about it at pastor@ihoppe.com.

He says yes. He converted through the ministry of Jeremiah Wright. “But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works.”

The White House says yes. He is devout. He receives a daily devotion and has a time of prayer each day. He has a circle of pastors he meets with for counsel.

The emails arriving daily in the inboxes of like-minded individuals say no. They say he is a secret Muslim slowly seeking to bring Islam to prominence in this country. They have the quotes, the audio, and the video to support their claim.  Just click here.

Various proponents of traditionally held Christian beliefs say no. Pro-choice. Pro-Gay Rights. Anti-Christ they say.

America says, “Not Sure.” Some are certain it is so. Others think for sure not. Most are not sure ultimately. And why? Oh the theories abound. And no doubt all theories contain some part of the answer. Some think it was because Obama was born to Muslim parents. Other says it is because he rarely if ever invokes the name of Jesus publicly. Still others say it is his welcoming political stance towards Muslim nations.

But may I suggest that their is truly another reason for the confusion. And what is that reason?

Well, exactly who is a Christian? How do we determine if anyone is a Christian? Some say that a person is a Christian if they say they are. While this seems most consistent with the fact that we can not ultimately judge the heart,  does it yield anything helpful? If this is how we judge, then David Koresh was a Christian. Lady GaGa too. Hitler perhaps. Others says that we can judge someone a Christian as long as they have some association with Jesus in their history or present. But to that concept, Jesus words speak loudly, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I would suggest that traditionally the Church, following the scriptures, has used three means to make such a determination:

• First, their attention towards the means of grace, to the word and sacraments.  I do not mean the kind of determination which can be made by entering attendance records into an excel document and comparing an individuals statistics to the mean.  I mean the general question of if one shows in their actions and words that their life in sustained by these things. (Philippians 2:14-16)
• Second, their holding to the teachings of historic Christianity.  For a long time, this was quickly judged by subscription to the ecumenical creeds.  Anyone holding to a heretical teaching was assured that they stood outside the faith. (Titus 1:9)
• Third, the fruit in their life.  Now I know some  of my Lutheran friends who are reading this might be suspicious of this statement.  But a few scriptures wil suffice:
  • Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
  • John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
  • 1 John 2:4-5 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,  5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.

Until we return to these ways, we have no way to speak of who is or is not a Christian.  Without such guides we are left to say, “Is Obama a Christian?  Am I?”  “Not sure.”

clipped from www.usatoday.com

Americans uncertain about Obama’s faith

WASHINGTON — Nearly one in five Americans incorrectly say President Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% last year, according to a Pew Research Center poll released today.

In the survey, about one-third of Americans correctly say Obama is a Christian, down from 48% who said so last year. In all, 43% say they do not know what religion Obama practices.

Adultery has always occurred. In some cultures in history, it has become so common that it is not even considered worthy of special consideration. However, in our country in recent history, two major events, neither intrinsically evil, have increased the temptation to adultery greatly.  And with increased temptation comes increased sin. And in this case, with increased sin comes increased divorce.  And divorce sucks.

The two events:

• The increase in the numbers of women in the workplace.
• The rise of social networking sites like Facebook

This post will reflect mostly on the latter since it was occasioned by the article “clipped” below.  I know there is a bit of irony in using Facebook to advertise a blog post which suggests that Facebook is the root of at least one kind of evil.  But as I mentioned, Facebook itself is not evil by its nature, but is has opened up all matter of temptation.  Much like the internet has made pornography as accesible as water from the faucet, Facebook has made  contacts with members of the opposite sex (some with whom intimate contact has been had in the past) as regular as going to the bathroom.  Curiosity has given up it deadly assault on cats in and has turned its attention on unassuming marriages.   How many people have “friended” someone out of innocent curiosity as to what an old friend or flame was up to only to find themselves later exchanging flirty and maybe later filthy messages when their spouses were not looking?  After all, how easy is to be attractive when your persona is crafted from snapshots and one liners?

This is not a call to boycott Facebook.  But it is call to all (and to myself)  to truly be careful with your interactions on social networking sites.  If you have any feelings left for someone, leave the friend request dormant.  Even if you do not, if you find yourself interacting virtually with someone more often that you interact in reality with your spouse, cease and desist.  Need I quote the Fife? ( Huh?)  Those interactions will never be worth what you might lose and the pain you will endure.

I know. I know.  You would never.

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

And if you have already fallen, return to the Lord and to your spouse.  For with Him, and with your Christian spouse, there is forgiveness to be had.

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk

Facebook fuelling divorce, research claims

The social networking site, which connects old friends and allows users to make new ones online, is being blamed for an increasing number of marital breakdowns.

Divorce lawyers claim the explosion in the popularity of websites such as Facebook and Bebo is tempting to people to cheat on their partners.

One law firm, which specialises in divorce, claimed almost one in five petitions they processed cited Facebook.

“The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to.”

Flirty emails and messages found on Facebook pages are increasingly being cited as evidence of unreasonable behaviour.

Millions.  No, I am sure it is billions.  Perhaps I still underestimate.  Mounds and mounds of dollars piling up in accounts of churches who confess these two truths with their lips:

• Jesus’ return is imminent, like today or tomorrow imminent.
• God will provide for our needs and that in a daily way.

Those billions belie these beliefs.

Yes, I am suggesting that churches saving for its own sake is poor stewardship.  Oh to save to accomplish a specific goal is laudable.  But no praise should be lifted for the act of simply storing up that which has been given.  How many billions will still be in the bank unspent when Jesus sounds the trumpet?  How many churches will never have the true sense of God’s provision for them due to the barns they have built at the local bank?

Matthew 25:25-26 “I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’  But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!

Oh I hear the responses now.  “We just honoring the wishes of those who gave.”  I suspect Jesus might say, “You leave the wishes of God and hold to the wishes of men.” (cf. Mark 7:8)

I am not suggesting half-hazard spending of what is received.  But I am suggesting spending of what is received.  Spend it to feed the found.  Spend it  to seek the lost.  This is the stewardship of spending.