Who Would Have Thought Poking Fun at Baptists Would Make Me So Popular?

I recently had the perfect storm of busyness come my way: Seminary, the new school year, preparing for my series on the Gospel of John, Sunday School, and preaching opportunities all happened at once. As a result, my blog has suffered. I know the 10 people who read it on a consistent basis are probably saddened by this fact. I will attempt to keep the updates coming, but we'll see what happens. Systematic Theology is a killer.

That being said, here is a recap of all my posts that were poking fun at the people I have gone to church with. I do it all in love because, regardless of how unpopular it may be, I love being a fundamental Baptist.

The Top Five Reasons for Questioning Someone's Salvation

Things You May Hear Yelled During a Sermon

The Five Kids You Find in Every Youth Group

The Five People Every Church Has

Ten Ways to Know You Are a Baptist

Enjoy the recap!

Just For Fun - The Top Five Reasons for Questioning Someone's Salvation

As you probably know, Christians are an extremely judgmental group. We question the salvation of everyone. Seriously, there are just some behaviors that a true Christian would not engage in.

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• You see a Prius with a Jesus Fish on the back. There is no way this person can be a Christian. I'm pretty sure that the only people who drive a Prius are those who eat granola, attempt to wear frayed pants to Campus Church, and voted for Al Gore in the last 4 elections.
  
• You see a person bringing a vegetable tray to the youth group game night. It is my understanding that if you go back to the original Greek, there is a prohibition on vegetable trays found in the Book of Acts. Of course, this has been left out of the Authorized Translation because the English can be used to correct the Greek.
  
• You realize that the person in front of you took the last piece of fried chicken at the church anniversary dinner. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.
  
• You see someone coming out of the movie theater as you are going in. You know that the movies is a den of iniquity and you are only there to find out just how bad things have gotten.
  
• The person next to you in church wakes you up with his snoring. Everyone knows that the church pew is extremely comfortable. If he was really considerate, he would snore at home so you can get some rest. Good grief, is that too much to ask?
  

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I'm pretty sure you are questioning my salvation for writing this list, just as I am questioning yours for reading it. Aren't you glad we have a God who saves regardless of what we do (Ephesians 2:8-9)?

Cardboard Testimonies

In one of my seminary classes (Personal Evangelism), we were shown this incredibly powerful video. Without saying too much about the video, it is an incredible testimony to the mighty and glorious Savior that we serve. He has the ability to do amazing things and it only requires that we surrender to Him. It's hard work, but as you will see in the video, it is infinitely worth it.



Now, after you have dried your eyes, take a moment and think about what your cardboard testimony would say.

My Favorite New Site - Pastoralized by Eric McKiddie

I wanted to take a moment and jock my new favorite website, Pastoralized by Eric McKiddie. This site has some incredible articles on preaching, as well as tips and ideas for making the work that goes into being a pastor a little easier (if that's possible). Most recently, I read an article on his site about organizational tools. I have already started to implement some of them and will be working to add the rest in the coming days and weeks.

Please, if you get a chance to get over there, definitely check him out. He's been a good friend to my ministry (even though we've never met personally).

Treat Mosques the Way You Want Your Church Treated

Recently, a Facebook friend posted a response to a list of things Christians shouldn't be scared of. One of the items that was on the list was "Mosques". Here is what my Facebook friend had to say:

Oh, right. Because the religion associated with mosques is all peaceful, rainbows, and butterflies. Hello? I’m scared out of my mind of mosques, what they stand for, and the little middle-eastern people who see no problem with being used as human bombs.

I have to disagree with my friend and here is why: the way we treat a mosque today is the way that our churches will be treated tomorrow.

We live in a country that prides itself on religious freedom. We have the right to worship in any manner that we desire, within the confines of the law. That means I can be a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Buddhist, a Sikh, or even a Muslim. I can worship in a church, a temple, or a mosque. Yes, there is an ugly element to the Muslim religion, but there is also an ugly element to Christianity. Westboro Baptist Church, anyone? There is ugliness to be found in all religions.

By the way, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Ed Stetzer feels the same way.

I'm sure that some of you will disagree with me and that's totally cool.

Rediscovering Jesus

One of the saddest realities of being involved in ministry and going to seminary is that Jesus often becomes something to learn about or something to teach about and not something to be overwhelmed by. Sometimes Jesus becomes an academic pursuit and not the wonderful Savior who died for me and took my sins upon Himself. I am constantly having to readjust my focus to make sure that I stay in love with Him and am not simply trying to acquire knowledge about Him.

I hope the two songs below will help you to refocus your attention on Jesus. See him as the amazing Lord and not an answer on the test.




I'd like to thank Dr. Ray Ortlund for introducing me to the song by Downhere.

Shotgun Wedding to Jesus

Right now, I am taking a class from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary called Personal Evangelism. For one of the assignments, we are required to read Share Jesus Without Fear. It's not a bad book and the information that I've read so far is quite interesting. That being said, the author, William Fay, shared this story and it struck me the wrong way.

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Fay said that he was driving home on night when he saw a horrible car accident. He pulled over and ran to the young man who was about to be loaded onto a helicopter and taken to the hospital. Here is the conversation he had with the driver:

I knelt by his head and whispered, "Are you a sinner?"

"Uhhhh."

"Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and rose again?"

"Uhhhh."

"Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ?"

"Uhhhh."

"Are you ready to invite Jesus Christ into your life and into your heart?"

"Uhhhh."

Fay goes on to say that he shared this story at one of his seminars a few months later and the grandmother of the young man (who died the next day) came up and thanked him because she believed that he was in Heaven.

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Now, I'm not one to blow someone up for sharing their faith because I do not do it nearly enough. I just don't think what happened here was appropriate. I give credit to Fay for getting out and sharing the Gospel, but the groanings of a dying young man hardly equate understanding and accepting the gift of salvation. I also think that he may have been giving the grandmother false hope that she will see her grandson in Heaven. Of course, only God knows the heart (good Christian cliche).

I entitled this post "Shotgun Wedding to Jesus" because I think too often we try to cram Jesus down the throat of individuals and don't give them the opportunity to make the decision of their own desire (or the nudging of the Holy Spirit). The person prays the Sinner's Prayer just so you will shut up and leave him alone. I think we are at our best when we ask the Lord to give us opportunities to share and understand that salvation is dependent upon Him, not anything that we do.

What are your thoughts?