The darker side of First Amendment violations in Houston

I am completely and totally outraged at the actions of the Houston mayor, who is openly gay.  For those of you who do not know, she has actually subpoenaed sermons from pastors (no joke) to check them for references to homosexuality, gender rights, and herself. She has threatened the pastors with contempt of court if they do not comply.

First of all, I believe she has forgotten the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech and freedom of religion. This is an unconstitutional action.

However, looking beyond this, there is a darker side to her actions.  I believe she knows it is unconstitutional. I believe she knows there is no way this will stand up in court.  So why do it?

I'm sure she realizes that sermons are not secret.  They are public.  They are spoken publicly to anyone who will listen- there is no "members only" policy at churches, there is no admission fee, there is no restriction to who can hear sermons. They are public domain.  Besides that, most churches, mine included, podcast their sermons.  Sermons can be listened to by anyone and everyone who cares to listen.  The mayor and her cronies could simply subscribe to the podcasts and listen to them on their own time without the pastors even knowing it.

So why subpoena?

There can only be one reason for this action- to send a message to churches.  Specifically pastors.

That message is- you'd better toe the line. We can and we will shut you up.  That is the ONLY reason for this action.  The mayor is not concerned with what was said. She's not looking with an objective eye seeing if churches are in compliance with the Johnson amendment which was intended to shut churches up by instituting 501(c)3 status. No, she is sending a message to churches- "We don't like you and we will shut you up."

This is what happens when agenda-driven people gain control of government- they begin using the full power of the state to go after their opponents. This is Chicago politics at its worst. I see Chairman Mao and Comrade Stalin nodding their approval here. It is no secret that the homosexual movement and Christianity are at odds.  That's no front page news. So, when an openly gay mayor gains power, she goes after Christians. She goes after the heartbeat of Christianity- the sermon. She knows that her actions will not stand in court, but she doesn't care.

It's a shot across the bow to her opponents.  She also knows that if it goes to court, she has more resources than churches do to fight this thing.  She has an unlimited credit card, courtesy of the taxpayers, and she can hire as many lawyers as she wants, drag this out as long as she wants, and go as long as she wants.  Even if she loses, she will have bankrupted the churches who do not have the nice benefit of a taxpayer-funded credit card. Attorney's fees and legal costs will bury the churches even if they win in court. So, even if she can't shut churches up, she can put a hurt on them financially making them unwilling to continue in their actions.

Like I said, this is Chicago politics at its finest. She could have found out what the pastors were preaching by simply showing up on a Sunday morning or listening to the podcasts. There was no need for a subpoena if all she wanted to know was what was being preached.  No, the subpoena was an intimidation tactic, used by big government liberals, to send a clear message to pastors that Big Brother was watching.

Well, mayor of Houston, I have a message for YOU.  There are a lot more of us than you, and we're tired of your sort. You can't shut the church up. Learn the lessons from history- mayors come and go, politicians come and go, governments come and go, but the Church always endures. Where are your heroes- Chairman Mao, Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin? Dead. Where is the Church? Still thriving.

Ms Mayor, Christianity was founded on persecution. Christianity's biggest heroes were people like Paul, Peter, and John who received much more persecution than you will ever give. They didn't care what the authorities said- they continued to practice their faith against extreme opposition and persecution. The governments that went after them are gone- their faith is still here. Ms Mayor, I've read the Bible.  We win. So, we aren't afraid of you. Bring it on. Bring the full power of the state against us pastors. We will never give in or shut up. The more you persecute, the more we thrive.  Learn that lesson from history as well.

The biggest victory, however, will be the fact that no matter what you do, we will never stop loving you. Just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ asked God to forgive those who were killing Him, loving them to the very end, we will do the same. We do not hate you- no action you can take will make us do that. That is the supreme victory of the Church over you and your agenda-driven cronies: no matter what you do, you cannot make us stop loving you.  You cannot make us stop praying for you. You cannot keep us from practicing the command of Jesus: "Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you."

The more you persecute, the greater our reward in heaven. Jesus told us, "Blessed are you when men revile you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12).

This is our message to you. We are not afraid and we are not laying down, and we will protest your actions because you are in violation of the Constitution of this country. We will seek your removal from office because you are a tyrant, not a mayor, who does not understand the fundamental rights God has given to each one of us. However, we will also pray for you- the Apostle Paul was once a persecutor of Christians.  You could have the same story if God gets ahold of your heart too.  Just know, Ms Mayor, that while we deplore your actions, we love you and pray for you.

Now, Christians, what are we going to do?  First of all- pray.  Pray for strength for the Houston-area pastors. Pray for strength for them to defy the subpoena, defy fines, and make the city put them in jail. That's what I would do in their situation. Second, be ready to go to Houston for rallies and protests- peaceful, that is. We are not thugs and we are not rabble-rousers. Third, encourage your pastor to preach in defiance of this new bullying fascism. This has gone far enough, and it has to stop NOW.

Christians make up the majority of this nation. It's time to make our voices heard.

Coming Face-to-Face with the "American Parent, version 2014"

I am a high school soccer referee.  I am also a kids' soccer coach.  Both put in close proximity with American kids on a regular basis.

95% of the kids I see are fine. They play by the rules, they are respectful, and they don't cause any problems.  However, I've run across two problem kids in the last two weeks.

Well, I shouldn't actually say problem kids. It's really not their fault. The problems lie with the parents.

Example one- I was refereeing a high school match that was rather boring. One team was beating the other team rather handily, and the winning team was quite mouthy. Every time a blade of grass landed on one of them too heavily they complained about a foul. "Ref, didn't you see that?" "Ref, aren't you going to call that?" Well, obviously, my reffing wasn't affecting them THAT much, seeing as how the other team rarely got the ball past the half line and they maintained possession of the ball 90% of the time. They just needed something to cry about, I guess.

Well, I won't go into details, but let's just say that one of the players, after scoring goal #4, looked at me and mouthed off something that was quite disrespectful. I gave him a yellow card, which was just a warning. I figured that would be enough- I mean, for crying out loud, they were up 4-0 with six minutes left in the game. What do you need to be mouthy about?

When I showed him the card, he looked at me in a condescending manner and said, "I guess you're really proud of that one, aren't you ref?" and as he ran by me, patted me on my shoulder. Rule one, sonny- don't touch me. That's an automatic ejection from ANY sport. Don't touch the ref. If that wasn't enough, your mouth just earned you an ejection and a one-game suspension. Out came the red card. He was gone.

After the match, the coach came over and tried to blame me for his player's actions. He explained to me that I couldn't expect a 17-year-old to maintain his composure in a hotly contested district match, and that my attitude was responsible for his ejection.  Now, I'm trying to think of what would had happened if I, as a 17-year-old, would have said what that player said to any adult, let alone a ref. My dad would have run down on the field, dragged me off the field by my ear, made me apologize, and grounded me for a week. My coach would have made me apologize and probably made me do pushups and run laps, and probably would have suspended me for another game.

I told the coach that the ejection stood and he needed to teach his players to shut up, especially when given a yellow card. I told him to quit rationalizing his player's behavior or he would never learn his lesson.  The next day, I get a call from our referee assigner, saying that the player's little mommy had called him, demanding to know my name, phone number, and why I was allowed to ref.  Apparently the player had gone home and told his mommy that big bad mean ref was cussing out the players, and all he did was stick up for himself.  Of course, mommy believed her perfect little boy and caused a huge stink.  When I explained to him what had actually happened, he muttered in disgust and said not to worry about anything else.

Example two- without divulging too much information, one of the players I coach exhibited terrible sportsmanship a little while ago after a win. During the handshake, instead of saying, "Good game" like he was supposed to, he said, "Thanks for losing, thanks for losing" to all the players, rubbing salt into their wounds. When I confronted him on it, he promised me he hadn't said it, even going to far as to say "I swear to  . . . " that he didn't do it. When an adult on the other team pointed him out, I confronted him again, and at that point, he confessed to saying it.

Okay, so bad sportsmanship AND lying to my face.  Not a good combo.  I told him, "Come on, let's go apologize to the other team." So he followed me over and apologized. Good boy. I was just about to ask him if he had anything to say to me for lying to me, when his mom got in my face and told me in no uncertain terms that I was never to "single her boy" out like that again.  I was quite taken aback. Single him out? He had not only insulted the entire other team, exhibiting poor sportsmanship and, quite frankly, being a jerk, but also lied baldfaced to me!

I asked her, "So what I did was wrong.  Making a kid apologize to people he's offended is the wrong thing?" She muttered in disgust, turned around, and walked away.

Face to face with American parenting, 2014. There is a very toxic strain of American parenting that says, "My kid would never do anything wrong, and if you have the gall to call it, YOU'RE the bad guy."  I have a new sympathy for teachers and educators who deal with this kind of lunacy everyday.

If this is you, as a parent, shame on you. You are crippling your children. You are raising them up to be sociopaths- people who have no conscience, who blame others for everything, who will always see themselves as the victims, who will never respect anyone or anything (including themselves) and who will have no character. You are raising your child up to think he can do no wrong.

What are you going to do, toxic parent, when your child gets fired from his first job? Call the CEO and complain? Sue the company? Swoop in and save your child from his own actions? Probably. You've been doing that all his life- why would you stop now?  How will your child ever succeed if he never learns the hard lessons in life?  Hard lessons such as- being disrespectful closes every door to opportunity your child might have; mouthing off to adults gets you labelled a "bad kid" and no one gives you the time of day; lying makes people dislike you and not trust you; being a bad sport makes you a very lonely person because no one wants to be around you; and those that can't control their mouths develop the reputation as being a jerk.

Like I said earlier, 95% of the kids I work with are fantastic. Honestly, these two kids would probably be good kids if they had better parents. However, their parents have set them up to fail, and fail hard. A 17-year-old who is old enough to drive, who will be voting next year for our nation's leaders, and who is about to go to college who thinks he can speak to adults in disrespectful tones is going to fail in life. He won't be able to hold a job if he talks to his boss that way. He won't be able to stay married if he talks to his spouse that way. He has learned, by his parents' actions, that speaking that way is okay. They've totally destroyed his future.

Likewise, a younger child who is capable of looking into a grown man's face without hesitation and lying, even invoking the name of God to cover his lie, isn't going to get very far in life. Not only have the parents not taught them the right way, they actively criticize and go after the one who called them on it!  Those kids learned two things- it wasn't their fault, and they were victims. Nothing they did was wrong- it was the big bad adult who was trying to "single them out" and make them feel bad.

I hope that these two incidents are isolated, but I'm afraid they aren't.  I'm hearing of this more and more- parents who go on the offensive against anyone who dares call our their kid on what everyone else agrees is inappropriate and/or wrong. Kids never develop character; society de-evolves as a larger number of kids become adults who were coddled, told they were perfect, never disciplined, and never corrected.

My condolences to all adults who work with kids- I'll bet you have stories similar to this where you have encountered the "American Parent, version 2014." My prayers are with educators, coaches, youth and children's ministers, and all others whose only reason for staying in the game is that their love for kids is greater than their disgust at APV 2014. If you are an APV 2014, change now. You are destroying your children as well as annoying all the rest of us.  Stop it now, and begin building character in your kids. Believe me, they will thank you later.

Waking up stubborn kids for school- a glimpse into America's situation before God?

I am a father of four children (three here on earth and one in heaven) and like all parents, it's my job to make sure kids get to school.  Now, this becomes a problem when tired kids don't want to get out of bed.

I'm an early riser.  Always have been, always will be.  I am both a night owl AND a morning person, and getting out of bed has never been an issue for me. Most of the time I don't even need an alarm- I tell myself when I go to bed what time I need to be awake, and most of the time, I wake up within a few minutes of that time. Yes, weird.

However, it would appear that none of my children received this "wake up on your own" gene from me, especially my teenagers.  Those of you with teenagers know the difficulty in getting non-morning people out of bed: it is a frustrating battle sometimes.

I've found that I typically go through five stages when trying to wake my kids up:

Stage 1- gentle words.  "Time to get up, sweetie. It's 7:00.  Time to get up," said in a very gentle, low tone.  Sometimes that is enough.  When it isn't, however, I go to stage two.

Stage 2- gentle touch. Continuing to use gentle words, I reach over to a shoulder and gently shake. Sometimes THAT is enough. When it isn't, however, I go to stage three.

Stage 3- stronger words.  "Okay, it's really time to get up. Let's go.  Out of bed," using a more military, commanding tone.  Sometimes THAT is enough. When it isn't, however, I go to stage four.

Stage 4- stronger touch. Continuing to use stronger words, I do something that resembles playing drums on their arms, shaking them a little more strongly.  Sometimes THAT is enough.  When it isn't, however, I go on to the fifth and final stage.

Stage 5- The Icewater Bucket.  No explanation necessary.

One way or another, the kids are going to get up.  It is not an option for me to stop at stage two, or three, and say, "Wow- I think I'll just let them sleep in today."  Not an option.  They WILL get out of bed.  The only question is, "How much pain are they going to experience BEFORE they wake up?

As a parent, I would rather my children wake up on the first call.  I would much rather just use gentle words and have them pop right out of bed.  I don't enjoy raising my voice and I especially don't want to douse them in ice water. I will if I have to, but that is not my intention.

However, the ball is in my children's court.  They decide when they wake up, they decide which stage is the one they respond to, and they decide how much pain they will endure before they wake up.

The same is true of God and our beloved America, particularly the church.

John Piper, writing about revival, says this,

“Revival is the sovereign work of God to awaken His people with fresh intensity to the truth and glory of God, the ugliness of sin, the horror of hell, the preciousness of Christ’s atoning work, the wonder of salvation by grace through faith, the urgency of holiness and mission, and the sweetness of worship with God’s people.”- John Piper, A Godward Life, p 111

The sovereign work of God to awaken His people.

Throughout history, God has awakened His people.  There have been many awakenings here in America.  When a country or nation drifts away from God, begins to spiral downward into sin, thumbs its nose at its Creator, and shouts like a defiant teenager in God's face, God moves to awaken them from their sin-induced slumber.

 God progresses through these stages like a parent trying to wake up his child.  First, He uses gentle words. No physical judgment or pain yet, just corrective words. If the nation responds and wakes up from its disobedience and repents, no further action is necessary.

However, if the nation doesn't respond, God allows a little physical discomfort. Maybe the economy dips slightly, maybe crime rises, maybe atheistic forces win a few court cases.  Still, nothing major- most people are not affected and continue on their daily lives, still asleep in their sin and apathy towards God.

Then, stage three hits and stronger words are used.  God's prophets used words comparing Israel to an adulteress, calling them to repentance and calling them to turn from their sins.  If the nation stubbornly refuses to change, God moves to stage four.

Now, real physical pain starts. Godless nations rise against the people (the Assyrians for Israel and the Babylonians for Judah). Secure foundations are shaken- military suffers a defeat or two, economy hits the skids, social problems arise such as escalating divorce rates, escalating abortion rates, corrupt leaders. God begins to move in a more direct disciplinary fashion, removing idols and allowing the house built on sand to begin imploding.  All of this is still His attempt to wake up a slumbering nation from its sin and rebellion.

When that is not enough, God moves into the final stage- judgment.  This is the ice bucket in the face of the sleeping teenager.  In Israel's time, the Assyrian army conquered the northern kingdom, killed the inhabitants, ripped open pregnant women, and carted the survivors off into captivity and slavery. God allows evil to have free reign for a limited time so that the people can see the true fruit of rejecting God. The same was true of Judah- the Babylonian army smashed the walls of Jerusalem and did the exact same thing. 

The question for the nation isn't whether or not we are going to wake up.  The question is only at which STAGE are we going to wake up. How much pain are we going to endure before we repent and turn back to God? Will it be at God's gentle words? Or will it take the stage five ice bucket in the face?  

Will America only repent and turn to God if ISIS infiltrates our nation and kills millions of people in nuclear terror attacks? Will America wait until an Ebola plague that kills millions to wake up and repent?  Will America only repent when our dollar overnight becomes worthless and our economy resembles the Weimar republic with millions thrown out of work, every day becoming a challenge just to get bread and water?

Like I said, God isn't going to just stop at gentle words. He's not going to stop at a gentle shaking.  I don't do that as a parent, and He doesn't do that as God. If He is calling a nation to repentance, it's going to repent.  The only question is how much pain that nation will experience before it repents.  

I say we learn the lessons of history. I say we as a nation, and especially as a church, repent for our sin-induced slumber. We must repent for our cowardice in proclaiming the gospel. We must repent for our desire for comfort at the expense of the hungry. We must repent at our lack of Biblical knowledge.  We must repent for our belittling the glory of God.  We must repent of our idolatry, allowing sports and money and cars and status and houses occupy our hearts and minds. We must repent of our dishonesty and lack of integrity.  We must repent of raising our children without character and without values, placing within them an entitlement mentality where they can do no wrong. 

We must, finally, repent of our neglect of the Great Commission and the ease with which we sleep at night knowing people are going to hell never having heard about Jesus.

I say we are somewhere between stage three and stage four right now as a nation, America. History has shown us what happens when we refuse to wake up, and I don't want to go there. There is still time. Call on the Lord, for He is merciful and loving, slow to anger and quick to forgive.  Let us turn from our sin, our lethargy, and our idolatry and allow Him to heal our land.  

Allow Him to heal the state of our marriages.  Allow Him to heal the home.  Allow Him to heal us of the drug epidemic and and STD epidemic. Allow Him to replace the hopelessness and cynicism and unbelief with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It's up to us, America.  God, like a parent, is trying to wake us up.  I say we take the hint.

Investing at the margins

I am now finishing up my fifteenth year of ministry, spent both as a youth minister and a senior minister.  I've messed up a lot, succeeded a lot, and learned a lot in those years.  Something, however, hit me about a month ago that may completely revamp the way I view ministry and specifically how I spend my time.

I've noticed that there are roughly three categories of people that I interact with.  On one end of the spectrum, there are the "hardcore lost." These are the guys I see in my prison class on Tuesday mornings- drug dealers, addicts, thieves, liars, etc.  This category of folks are far away from Christ.  They are the atheists, the criminals, the homeless, the addicted, the hopeless, etc.

On the other end of the spectrum are the "hardcore committed."  These are the people who are disciples of Jesus Christ.  They are committed to following Him- His word is sovereign, His will is their will, etc.  These are the folks that are the future leaders in the church.

Somewhere in the middle, however, is the largest segment of people.  They are neither hardcore lost nor hardcore committed.  They are what the Bible refers to as "lukewarm." The Bible doesn't have very kind words to say about them (Revelation 3:16) and pastor Francis Chan made a profile of the lukewarm found here (check it out- it's very good).

I've found that most of my time in ministry has been unintentionally spent in this middle category.  Basically what I have found is that most of my ministry has been trying to get lukewarm people not to be lukewarm. It's been spent trying to people who call themselves Christians to pick up their Bibles once in a while, get people who don't care to care a little bit, get people who go to church but don't really care what Jesus has to say to care about what Jesus has to say.  Unfortunately, this is an area of investment with not much return.  Lukewarm people are very difficult to disciple, and don't particularly even want to move. Most problems in churches come from this category- most of the complaining or factions or issues arise from lukewarm people acting like lukewarm people.

What I have realized is that Jesus specifically avoided this group.  He spent His time equally with the two extremes- the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed.  When He wasn't spending time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and thieves He was hanging around with His twelve disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom.

Jesus invested at the margins. Why? Because that's where the biggest returns were.

He spend a great deal of time discipling the committed men who followed Him. The result? 2000 years ago there were 12 Christians.  Now, one out of every three people on the planet, more than 2 billion, call themselves Christians. Jesus invested His time in people who were committed, who were teachable, who were serious about God's will and would follow God's commands to the death. The results speak for themselves.

However, He also was found at the other end of the spectrum.  His greatest miracles were among the outcasts. He was among the hardcore lost so much that He was accused of being a drunk and a glutton. He was loved by the extremes and hated by the middle.

If you are a minister (a lot of ministers read this blog), how much of your time is spent in the margins? Or, like me, have you inadvertently spent most of your time among people that Jesus specifically avoided? What would your schedule look like if you devoted the majority of your time to discipling the hardcore committed and reaching the hardcore lost?  Would it look significantly different?

If you are a layperson, challenge your minister to invest at the margins.  Then, you go invest at the margins as well.  What hardcore lost people are you ministering to?  What hardcore committed person are you discipling? Maybe you aren't doing either because you are smack dab in the middle category. If this is you, I challenge you to move to the hardcore committed category and begin investing where Jesus invested.

What would the church look like if we spent all of our time in those two categories? What if 50% of the time, the church was going after the hardcore lost- going into prisons, going on missions to persecuted countries, sharing faith with atheists, etc; and the other 50% discipling people who actually care, who actually will put into practice the Word of God, who are ready to become leaders and influencers in the Body of Christ?

Unfortunately, most of our time is spent in the middle category, trying to get lukewarm people to care, trying to get halfway committed people to commit a little more, trying to get monthly Sunday attenders to come twice a month, etc. Pathetic. Why invest in a black hole? Invest where the returns are, church.  The returns are in the margins.  They are in the hardcore lost and the hardcore committed.  Not much else is going to happen in the middle.

Most ministers are incredibly frustrated because all of their time is spent in the middle. About 1500 pastors leave the ministry every month because of the discouragement ministry brings. Maybe they like investors who continue to pour money into a stock that stubbornly refuses to budge, and they need to stop pouring time and effort into that one and find one with real returns. Ministers spend a great deal of time trying to calm church members who are upset over non-Kingdom issues.  They spend a great deal of time following up with lukewarm members who simply just don't care. They spend a great deal of time among the lukewarm who know better but have no intention of ever giving up their sin or changing. All of this amounts to a great deal of frustration.  I know this personally.

So, I've decided to stop.  I've decided to stop trying to get lukewarm people to not be lukewarm.  I'm going to love them, pray for them, etc, but I'm not going to spend a great deal of time and effort there.  It's just not worth it. I am devoting myself to the margins.  I am going to increase my time among the hardcore lost- more prison ministry, more street ministry, more missions,  more getting my hands dirty where angels fear to tread.  I am also going to increase my time among the hardcore committed- training them for ministry and moving them into leadership in the Body of Christ.  If you are in either of those two categories, I have time for you.

That's where Jesus spent His time. That's where I'm going to spend my time too.  I invite you to join me.

Much of life is just about simply outlasting your competition

My wife and I work out occasionally at home together.

I'm really into the Shaun T workouts- I've done "Insanity" and "Asylum" which are both extremely difficult workouts (especially for a forty year old has-been), and many times there is a strong temptation to just quit before finishing the workouts.

One of the nice things about those workouts is that there is a timer at the bottom of the screen telling you how much longer the workout will be.  You can see the seconds ticking away, getting closer and closer to the end of the workout.  Sometimes, during a particularly strenuous part of the workouts, ten seconds seems like ten years.

A few days ago, Rachel and I were working out, and she was looking pretty exhausted- that "I'm about to give up" look on the face.  I looked at the timer and said, "There's only fifteen minutes left.  We can do ANYTHING for fifteen minutes, right?"  I don't know exactly what the words that came out of her mouth meant, because they may have been spoken in some strange language, or it was something unrepeatable in a Christian blog, but she continued.

Finally the timer hit zero.  We were done.  We had OUTLASTED it.

One of the things that sports have taught me is that many times, you just have to outlast your opponent.  That's one of the big keys to winning.  You're up 1-0; can you outlast the attacks until the timer expires?  Can you make one more run down the field than your opponent can?  Can you jump one more time than your opponent can?  That's how games are won.  That's how workouts are done.  You OUTLAST them.

The same principle applies to every aspect of our lives.  I've realized that much of success in life is simply about outlasting whatever obstacle is in front of you, especially for the Christian wanting to live out the faith on a daily basis.  For example:

-Can you be patient longer than they can be annoying? Outlast them.
-Can you be loving longer than they can be hateful? Outlast them.
-Can you remain self-controlled longer than Satan can tempt you?  Outlast him.
-Can you forgive more times than they can hurt?  Outlast them.
-Can you stay silent longer than they can tempt you to outburst? Outlast them.
-Can you hold firm to your faith longer than they can complain? Outlast them.
-Can you keep going longer than your desire to quit?  Outlast it.
-Can you remain joyful one day longer than whatever it is that is bringing you down?  Outlast it.
-Can you be kind longer than they can be rude?  Outlast them.
-Can you remain faithful one day longer than the desire to cave in?  Outlast it.

Parents, can you outlast your children?  I was sitting at the dinner table with my little two-year old nephew who loves to say "no."  Doesn't matter what you tell him- he always responds with "no."  Well, when he said no, I immediately responded with YES.  He said "NO!"  I said "YES!" This went on back and forth for a minute or more.  Every time he said "no," he would look at me to see if I was still in the game.  I certainly was.  I'm a grown man.  He's a two-year old.  He didn't stand a chance.

Finally he quit. He realized that I wasn't going to.  I outlasted him.  He stopped saying "No," whenever he was around me.  Parents, can you outlast your kids' defiance, or do you give in?  Do you outlast them, or do they outlast you?  You're the adult.  They should never be able to outlast you.

One thing we have to realize is that nothing lasts forever.  The temptation to commit adultery or look at porn eventually subsides if you outlast it.  The hunger pangs telling you you HAVE to have the extra piece of chocolate cake subsides rather quickly if you don't indulge it.  The impulse to buy that brand new thing that you don't need and can't afford goes away rather quickly if you outlast it.  Nothing, no matter what it is, lasts forever.  Everything in life has a timer.  Sometimes, you just have to wait for that timer to hit zero and keep going one second longer than it does.

Back in the 1940s and 50s, Billy Graham received tons of criticism and ridicule for his ministry.  He was mocked, marginalized, insulted, and just about everything else when he burst onto the scene with his crusades and preaching events.  How about now?  Is there any pastor in America who is as respected as Billy Graham?  He has been spiritual advisor to presidents, heads of state, has preached the gospel to more people than anyone in history, and has earned the title "America's pastor."  How?

He outlasted his critics.

What can people say about Billy Graham?  How can you criticize a guy who is so humble, so dedicated, and so faithful?  Answer?  You can't.  He outlasted his critics.  He stayed in the game one step longer than they did.  That's the call to the Christian in todays' world- stay in the game one day longer than our critics.  Stay faithful one day longer than the forces that oppose us.  Stay faithful one day longer than the doubts that eat at us.  Outlast it.

Many times, we quit just before there is a huge breakthrough in our faith, or in our family, or in our jobs.  Many times, had we resisted the temptation just one more minute or stayed faithful one more day or forgiven just one more time, we would have experienced victory.  Much of life is simply about outlasting the obstacles and temptations in front of us.  You can do it.

In 2004, my wife and I experienced the death of our third child.  To say that we were overcome with grief would be an understatement.  We experienced marital strife- somewhere around 80% of couples who lose children end up divorcing- as well as the grief.  We could have thrown in the towel.  Instead, we outlasted it.  Can you outlast the grief that is threatening to take you down?  Yes, you can. Nothing lasts forever.  That grief has a timer.  It won't always be there.  Stay faithful one second longer and outlast it.

Just like I told my wife, "We can do anything for fifteen minutes," tell yourself, "I can do anything for one more day.  I can do anything for one more week.  After all, I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."

Whatever it is in front of you, outlast it.  Outlast the doubt, outlast the critics, outlast the tantrum, outlast the negativity, outlast the temptation, outlast the hate.  That is the call of the Holy Spirit on His church in this day and age.  "To him who overcomes . . . . (Revelation 1-3)."  Outlast it.

What does love look like?

When I was in high school, my grandfather was in the final stage of life.  Parkinson's disease and Alzheimers had robbed this once powerful, self-sufficient man of his dignity and functions, reducing him to a wheelchair-bound existence.  Many times he did not know who people were, even his own family.

We went to Louisville, where he and my grandmother lived, to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Grandad was not having a good day, and he didn't recognize the family in front of him.  It was a sad day for us, especially for my dad whose own dad didn't recognize him at his own birthday.

It came time to open presents, and we all gave our gifts.  My grandmother and Grandad had gotten my dad a card.  I saw it- my grandmother had written a beautiful message to my dad, several paragraphs long.  Underneath it, in a barely recognizable scrawl, was the message from my Grandad. It simply said, "Love, Dad."

Some time later, I saw my grandmother and my dad over in the corner, talking.  My grandmother had a sheet of notebook paper that she was showing my dad, and both of them had tears in their eyes.  I went over to see what was going on.

On the piece of notebook paper, I saw written out about thirty or forty times, in barely recognizable handwriting, the words "Love, Dad."

I knew exactly what it was.  My grandmother said to my dad, "I found this on the bedside table under some books.  I don't think he wanted anyone to see it."  My grandfather's Parkinson's disease had made handwriting nearly impossible for him, and before he signed a birthday card to his son, he practiced.

He practiced those two words over and over again so that when he signed the card to his son, it would be his best.  He wasn't going to give anything other than his best to his son on his birthday.

That's what love looks like.  A man, robbed of his ability to even write, spent time practicing what he would offer to his son on his birthday. Love means that we give our best without hesitation, without cajoling, without pressure, without force.  We freely and joyfully give our best to the ones we love, just like my grandfather did to my dad on his birthday.

My Grandad died a few months later. I doubt that I remember any of the gifts that were given that birthday.  I don't know if my dad got shirts or clothes or money or anything else.  I do, however, remember my Grandad taking his time to practice his writing so that his son would get the best he had to offer on his birthday.

Love looks like giving your best.  Your love for family, your love for God, your love for your community- it means to give your best.  Today is Sunday morning.  I hope you, like me, are planning on giving your best to your heavenly Father this morning.  Not out of obligation, not out of fear, not out of guilt, but out of love.

Love looks like giving your best.

Victoria Osteen became the poster child for what many, if not most, Christians believe

The media loves it when a Christian leader falls from grace.

Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, has been seen this week in a viral video saying basically that worship (and the Christian faith) isn't about God, it's about you.  That's a rough paraphrase, but that's basically it.

I'm trying to figure out what everyone is so upset about.

That seems to be what many American Christians believe- in practice, if not in words.

Before I begin, I want to say that many of the Christians I know are the most dedicated, humble, wonderful, loving people I've ever seen.  Their faith consistently amazes me, and their perseverance through difficulty and self-sacrifice is an example to me all the time. I have the privilege of pastoring a church with many people whose faith I admire and whose dedication to their faith is second to none.

That being said, one of the continual thorns in the flesh of American Christianity is the stubborn persistence of self-centeredness.  Every church is infected with it.  Every Sunday morning churches are filled with people who haven't the slightest desire to see God magnified and themselves diminished, as John the Baptist put it in John 3:30.  Every Sunday morning Christian people, who call Jesus Lord and Savior and would wholeheartedly state that their faith is of paramount importance to them, choose to sleep in, attend an unimportant sports match, go to an amusement park, watch TV, or travel- not because they are unbelievers or heathens, but simply because their faith is about them, and that morning they simply didn't feel like attending.

Every church in America is filled with people whose biggest concern in the world isn't accomplishing the Great Commission but whether or not to put a pool or a jacuzzi in the back yard.  Nothing wrong with a pool or a jacuzzi, but if Jesus had $50,000, would He spend it on a pool or would He use it to further the gospel?  Sadly, we don't have Christians thinking about life that way.  We have Christians that in practice embrace Victoria Osteen's theology while roundly criticizing her on Facebook.

Every church in America is filled with people who steal the Lord's resources (Malachi 3) and spend it on themselves.  Only about 6% of Christians tithe, let alone follow the New Testament teaching of Jesus where He says to give it all.  94% of Christians apply Victoria Osteen's theology to their practice of giving- Giving isn't about God, it's about you!

Every church in America is filled with people who chose that church not on its mission or commitment to the Word but because that church met their needs.  It had a cool children's area, cool lights, cool sound, cool fog machines, and a good-looking hip preacher who says all the right things in very non-offensive ways. Nothing wrong with any of those things if God's will is being done, but that's not always on the forefront of thought.  They are following Victoria Osteen's theology that church isn't about God- it's about you!

What Victoria Osteen has done is brought the ugly sin of self-centeredness to light.  She has shown how rampant self-centeredness is in the church. I think all that she did was say what everyone else has been denying all this time.  Now that it's out in the open, we see that churches and Christians have a severe self-centeredness problem and we need to repent.  We need to repent big time.

The Christian faith is not about me.  It's not about you.  The Christian faith is about the story of God. It is the story of God's creation, including humanity.  It is the story of how humanity screwed it up and sin entered the world.  It is the story of God pursuing His people who wanted nothing to do with Him.  It is the story of the Son of God coming down from heaven to live among us in a world that He created yet was hostile to Him.  It is the story of Him sacrificing Himself so that God's original creation could be restored.  It is about the Resurrection of Jesus, who set up the church and called it to be His hands and feet in the world.  It is the story of the Great Commission where we are commanded to take the faith all over the world.  It is the story of God who literally walks with us, talks with us, and calls us to lead lives of love and surrender.

The Christian faith is summed up in John 3:30- "He must become greater, I must become less."  That is the motto of the Christian.  Sadly, many Christians have no desire to see God greater or themselves becoming less.  Quite the opposite.  Prosperity gospel preachers draw these folks in droves, promising the opposite- that you will become greater and, as a result, God will become less.

It is time for the Christian to choose.  We have to choose sacrifice over comfort, selflessness over greed, faith over worry, simplicity over materialism, and love over neglect.  We must constantly battle selfishness, overcome it, and become selfless.  We must sacrifice our plans, goals, dreams, and desires for GOD'S plans, goals, dreams, and desires for us.  We must stop viewing worship as "for us" and start viewing worship as "for God."  We must let go of all things this world says are important and go after the eternal treasure God offers.

Until this happens, Victoria Osteen will simply be the first honest church person who says what everyone else believes; in practice if not in statement.