Why America's greatness will come to a sudden stop, and soon.

America, the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, a nation that is the envy of other nations around us, the most dominant force our planet has ever known, has a major problem.

Our current way of life is built on a house of cards: Our powerful society is only made possible by our ability to borrow money.

Here is the irony:  the most powerful nation in the world needs outside sources to fund it.  We cannot fund our greatness with our own resources.  If we could, we wouldn't be $16 trillion in debt.  So, that leads us to the question- are we truly that powerful?  Or is our power and influence based on a shaky lifeline that could be cut off in an instant?

I wonder if anyone in Washington is preparing for what would happen if all of a sudden we were no longer able to borrow money.  We currently borrow 42% of what we spend.  Forty-two cents of every dollar spent by our government is borrowed.  Is there a contingency plan for what we will do when, not if, that borrowing is cut off?

Will we truly be a superpower if we can no longer borrow money?

Take this analogy:  a prosperous city grows and grows.  It becomes an economic power in the land.  It has a strong military.  Its education system is the best in the business.  Its population grows as more people flood into it, making it the most powerful city in the entire kingdom.

Everything is going right for that city except one thing.  It has a population of 500,000, but its water supply can only support 300,000.  The city leaders make a deal with a neighboring city to buy enough water to supply the additional 200,000.

Things are going great.  The city thrives, times are good, all is well.

Then something terrible happens.  The neighboring city experiences a water shortage.  It cuts off the water supply to the prosperous city to keep the water for its own citizens.

The prosperous city has no contingency plan.  It has no water reserves, no plan for what might happen if the 40% of its water supply is disrupted.  Prices for water skyrocket as shortages loom.  There are riots in the streets, businesses close, people die.  Soon half the city's population is either dead or have left in search of other water sources.  The prosperous city becomes a third-world city- a shadow of its former self.

The city's prosperity was built on the assumption that an outside source could supply its needs.  It was based on the fact that they could always get water from an outside source.  Its greatness was dependent on someone else supplying its vital needs.  Once that was gone, the city was gone.

The same is true of the United States.  Our greatness is built on the assumption that we will always be able to borrow money from outside sources.  From a national security standpoint, and from a simple common sense standpoint, this is a disastrous foundation for a society.  What happens when we can no longer borrow money?  What happens to our government, to our military, to our people, to our disabled, to the people on Social Security, to the people on welfare?  What will we do?

Is anyone in leadership asking these questions?  We borrow $1.2 trillion dollars every year.  What happens when we can no longer do that?  Is the United States truly on a strong foundation?  Or are we on a shaky foundation that could collapse at any moment?

If our leaders had any sanity whatsoever, they would realize the precarious position that we are in right now.  Sure, while we can borrow money, things appear great.  Wise leaders, however, are farsighted enough to see the consequences of their actions.  The consequences of basing an entire country on the ability to borrow money are terrible.  This is true for a nation, a business, a family, or a person.  I am very concerned, because no one is able to borrow anything indefinitely.  No nation can survive spending more than it brings in.  No person can thrive while piling up debt.  No family experiences peace while beholden to debtors.  No nation has an unlimited credit card.  Sooner or later, money runs out.  Then where will we as a nation be?

The Disappearance of Hell is bad for American Christianity

The big mega-preachers never talk about it.

People who talk about it are caricatured and mocked.

Christians tell other Christians not to talk about for fear of turning people off.

Yet, Jesus spoke about it all the time.  Is something that Jesus spoke about so frequently all of a sudden off-limits in American churches?  

Hell is disappearing from American Christianity.  I don't preach on it often.  Most pastors I know don't even talk about it much.  Heck, Rob Bell came out with a book a few years ago that says hell isn't even permanent.  We've been told that speaking about hell turns off visitors from our churches.  You don't want to be labelled a "fire-and-brimstone" Christian (by the way, what is a brimstone?) and so we rarely mention hell.

In the meantime, we read all kinds of studies that show that Christianity is on the decline in America.  Is there a correlation between the disappearance of hell and the decline of Christianity?  You bet.

We are told that Jesus is our Savior.  A Savior  . . . . from what? 

If there is no hell, what do I need to be saved from?  If there is no hell, why did Jesus come to earth?  It wasn't to help us live our "best life now."  It wasn't to move us in a positive direction.  It was to save us from an eternity in hell- a place described in the Bible as the eternal presence of suffering- a place where the "fire is never quenched and the worm does not die." It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth; a place where all parts of God have disappeared and Satan has free reign.  It is a place where there is no hope, no laughter, no pleasure, no friendship, no gratitude, no peace, no love- the total absence of everything good.

However, churches aren't preaching that, and Christians aren't thinking that.  Therefore, our American society hasn't so much "hated" Christianity as much as it has simply decided there is no need for it.  Why would I need a Savior if there is nothing for me to be saved from?  Good question.

We've left people wondering why the Christian faith is important.  

Without a true, sober understanding of hell, we will never truly understand Jesus.  When you understand what Jesus was doing, why He was doing what He was doing, and what He was saving us from, all of a sudden Christianity takes on an entirely new meaning.  It's more than just a way of maximizing your potential and alleviating guilt.  It is the momentous decision where the Son of God entered the world in order to save us from hell- to save us from eternal separation from the God who loves us dearly but whose justice had to be satisfied.  Christianity only makes sense when you realize the reality of hell.

Think about that the next time you grow critical of a pastor who speaks about hell.  Think about the fact that the disappearance of hell from American Christianity has minimized the sacrifice that Jesus made so many years ago on the cross and is causing the culture to simply not care.

The disappearance of hell has been bad for American Christianity.

Deciding to Need God

It is extremely difficult to be a Christian in America.

You say, "Why?"  Christians in other countries are persecuted- we have religious freedom.  We aren't arrested, tortured, denied jobs, doubly taxed, ostracized, or anything else for being believers in Christ.  So why would I make such an erroneous statement?

Answer: Because American Christians have to actively seek out ways to depend on God.

First-century Christians devoted themselves to prayer, because the mission they had been given was far too big for them to handle.  They were a ragtag bunch of misfits, whose leader had just been killed, and were given the task of converting the entire world.  They HAD to pray.  They had no other option.  They had to depend on God- it was right in front of their faces.

Christians in Nigeria, where churches have been bombed and numbers of Christians killed, don't make Sunday afternoon plans.  They don't know if they are coming home from church- so they pray for God's protection.  Unless God protects them, they die.  They have to depend on God- it is right in front of their faces.

I have never had to depend on God for my safety on a Sunday morning.  On one level I am thankful, but on another level I see how that moves me further away from a living breathing relationship with Him.  I can go to church with or without God's help or protection.  Therefore, I don't depend on Him.

I have never had to depend on God to "give me this day my daily bread."  I have more food in my refrigerator and pantry than 90% of the world's population sees in a week.  Therefore, I don't depend on Him.

Because American Christians don't HAVE to depend on God for things, the conscious need for God diminishes more and more.  We have all of our needs supplied by the supermarket, the power plant, and the paycheck.  The average American doesn't need God for anything pressing.  Before you disagree, how many of you lead lives that if God doesn't provide food for you today, you starve?  How many of you lead lives that if God doesn't provide shelter, you sleep on the street?  This is the story of believers all over the world and all throughout history, but it is not the story of the American Christian.

Therefore, the American Christian is in a unique place.  I believe we are the first people to have to make a conscious decision to NEED God.  We have to seek out areas where we will be lost without Him.  Instead of finding ourselves in circumstances where we have no other option other than to depend on God, we have to actively seek out ways to trust Him and depend on Him because it is possible, in America, to go through life with all our needs taken care of, never needing a supernatural provision by God.

The consequences of NOT seeking out ways to trust God and to need God are being seen in our churches.  Church attendance is declining in every state.  Why?  The answer is clear- why do we need God?  We have food, shelter, cars, internet, phones- everything.  We have all we need, and we also have most of what we want.  So church attendance, and the entire Christian faith, becomes something that is an option as opposed to a necessity.

Christians need to stop structuring their lives in such a manner that faith is not necessary.  Most of us could get rid of all faith that we have and life wouldn't be all that different except for being able to sleep in on Sunday mornings.  We wouldn't be missing any major blessings from God, because we haven't been depending on His blessings anyway.  We wouldn't be missing any major supernatural provisions, we probably wouldn't be going hungry, we probably wouldn't be out on the street . . .  because we haven't needed God to provide those things.

I am thankful for the blessings of living in America.  I truly am.  I love A/C in the summertime and heat in the winter.  I love being able to eat what I want when I want, I love the internet and I love electricity. I love knowing that if I get sick that I have health insurance to pay for a doctors' visit.  I truly love all those things.

But what has all that done to my faith in God?  Have those things moved me closer to God or drawn me away?  Is God essential to me?  Do I realize my human weakness and my absolute dependence on Him as my Lord, Savior, and Provider?  Or have I relegated Him to a sideshow on Sunday morning and the guy who can only handle the forgiveness of my sins?  Do I even have a concept of what the Bible says, that "the righteous will LIVE by faith?"

That is why I am calling all Christians to actively seek out ways to depend on God.  Try these on for size: Tithe 80% of your income, so that you can't pay your bills unless God provides.  Get rid of health insurance and trust in God's healing power.  Leave your job and go serve in a third-world country with nothing but faith in God to provide.

See what I mean?  Who in their right mind would do those kinds of things?  See, in America, those are choices.  We can CHOOSE to give 80% of our income and not pay bills unless God provides, whereas believers in other countries don't have that luxury.  God provides or they are out on the street.  We can CHOOSE to cancel health insurance and trust that God will heal.  Believers in other countries don't have that option- God heals them or they die.  Dependence on God is not an option for those believers, and therefore their relationship with God is so much stronger, so much more powerful, so much more . . . . . . REAL.

So, the inevitable question is- is having that kind of relationship with God worth getting rid of all the things that make my life comfortable?  What am I willing to sacrifice in order to live a life of faith and total dependence on God?

Is your church a country club or a team? Part 2

For the church to be an influence in the world, as well as to be faithful to Scripture, it has to function as a team.  It has to have the four characteristics of a team that we talked about yesterday in Part 1.

Now, a football team won't do any good if you show up wearing the uniform, committing to winning, etc.  You can't just send a team out on the field as if by showing up they will experience victory.  You have to show the team how to win.

In football, winning could be defined as "scoring more points than your opponent."  So, in order to win, we have to score points.

In the church, it is essential that the people that are part of the congregation know how to win.  I would imagine that most of the people that darken the doors of our churches Sunday mornings have no idea what it means for the church to win.  They don't know how the church wins, they don't know when the church wins . . .  heck, they probably don't even know that the church is SUPPOSED to win.  That's when leadership comes in and defines how to win for the church.

At Catalyst, the definition of our win is "Build the Body, Change the World."  That's how we win.  When the Body of Christ is built up, and the world is changed, we know we've scored more points than our opponent.  We've won.

Great.  However, the problem is that our football team knows it has to score points, but how?  Well, in football, you score one of five ways:

1) You run the ball into the end zone.
2) You throw the ball into the end zone to a receiver.
3) You kick an extra point or go for a two-point conversion.
4) You kick a field goal.
5) You tackle the opposing team in their own end zone for a safety.

Once the football team knows how to win, you have to tell them how to score points.  The same is true of the church- we know that in order to win, we have to Build the Body, Change the World.  How do we do THAT?

For the church, we have defined four ways to score:

1) Salvation- bringing non-Christian people to a saving relationship with Christ.
2) Community- doing life together in small groups that meet weekly.
3) Training- moving people towards spiritual maturity.
4) Ministry- setting people loose to make an eternal difference in the world.

Once the church knows how to win, and also knows how to score in order to win, it can truly function as a team.  No team wants to lose.  All teams want to win.  The church is no different.  The church should be racking up wins right and left, because not only do we have the truth of God but we also have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit behind us and in front of us. 

The problem is that the church may have the players on the field, but they don't know how to score and don't know how to win.  Because they don't realize they are part of a team, church members then fall back into country club mode where they totally forget about winning, forget about scoring, forget about the competition/war we are in with Satan, and just get their butts kicked every day.  We are in a war, and one side definitely knows it.  Does the other side, the church, know it?

I challenge the pastors who read this blog to begin transforming your church from a country club to a team, unless you are already functioning as a team.  I challenge the Christians who read this blog to stop thinking of their church as a country club and start thinking about being part of a team that is challenged to win.  How different would your Sunday morning experience be if you saw yourself gearing up for competition instead of attending a lecture or a show?

The body of Christ is a team.  Let's start winning.

Is your church a country club or a team? Part 1

I've never been a member of a country club, but I DO think that Caddyshack is one of the funniest movies ever.  As I was watching it the other day (I really don't know why I was watching it- I've seen it so many times that I can quote it line for line all the way through) it just hit me that Bushwood is not just a snobby country club- it's like the church.

That got me thinking- what are the characteristics of a country club?  I came up with four:

1) You show up when it is convenient for you.
2) You join to be around other people that are just like you- same race, same socioeconomic status, same values, same lifestyle, etc.
3) You pay your dues and expect benefits.
4) When something goes wrong, you complain to management.

Unfortunately, far too many Christians look at church in this way.  They show up when it convenient (when it's not too dark, not too cold, not too nice outside, not when they've been up too late, not when they have homework or laundry or housework or a sports commitment, etc).  They want to be around people just like them, who already know Christ and know how to behave in church.  If they pay "dues," they see it as justification for getting what they want, and when things don't go like they want to, they complain and complain and complain.

Is this what the church was intended to be?  Unfortunately, that's what many of my pastor friends describe their church as being.  However, I think God intended for the church to be different than this.

I think God intended His church to be a team.

Now, I've been on many sports teams, and I've even coached sports teams.  Here are the characteristics of a team:

1)  You show up when the team is together.
2)  You join because you have a common purpose and goal.
3)  You want to win.
4)  When things go wrong, you practice.

What if Christians started viewing their church, not as a country club, but as a team?  What if Christians showed up when the team was together, not simply when it was convenient? (If I was the coach of a team and someone skipped a practice or a game because they were out too late, had homework, slept in, or because it was too cold, I'd kick them off the team faster than anything.) What if Christians joined the church because they agreed with the common purpose and strove to achieve it?  What if Christians joined a church because they had a burning desire to WIN?  What if Christians, instead of complaining when things go wrong, went home and practiced?

The church would look a lot different.  However, hundreds of years of church culture has created and instilled the country-club atmosphere, so that Christians literally think they are being Biblical when they do the four things describing the country club.  Many Christians can't even fathom the mind-set shift that would have to take place for them to start viewing their church as a team. 

However, for the church to truly be the Body of Christ, it has to start functioning like a team. 

Part 2 tomorrow will discuss the next step of becoming a team.

Take seriously the Black Friday/Thanksgiving Issue

I read an article entitled, "Is Black Friday Edging Out Thanksgiving?"  With stores moving to open their doors on Thanksgiving and offering fantastic deals early, there is expected to be a large retail day this Thanksgiving.

I believe that this is more than just good capitalism (btw, I believe in capitalism and believe in free market competition as the best economic system we have to offer).  I believe this is a spiritual battle.

Abraham Lincoln, when speaking of Thanksgiving, said this:

"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. . . .They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Thanksgiving is a day to remember, with humility and with joy, all of the things that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with- to realize the prosperity that we have compared with the rest of the world.  It is a time to be set aside to be grateful.  It is a day of worship and remembrance of Who provides all the things we enjoy.

What could possibly make Americans want to skip such a day?  What driving force could make America forget its blessings and forget to give thanks?

The answer is greed.  Greed and gratitude cannot coexist.  They are mutually exclusive.  Greed says, "I need more!"  Gratitude says, "I'm thankful for what I have."  It is no coincidence that the desire for more is the one thing that is edging out Thanksgiving in our national identity.  It is a spiritual battle, because Satan knows the power of the idol of materialism in America.  How can Satan get America to stop giving thanks to God?  Distract them with their greed.  Promise them more and more and more stuff (to the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, mind you) and . . . . . .  get them thinking about MORE on the day when they are supposed to be grateful for all they HAVE.

It is bad enough that the holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ is more known for angry crowds at malls than it is for the birth of the Prince of Peace.  Now Thanksgiving, which is one day set aside for gratitude, will see the angry crowds screaming for deals at malls too.  If I were Satan, I could not have come up with a better strategy for distracting the American people from the gratitude they should have towards God on this special holiday. 

Today, Christians, realize that much more is at stake than a deal or a bargain.  This is a spiritual battle- not fought over life or death or a terrorist attack, but fought over the thing that Jesus said would cause us to walk away from God more than any other thing. 

The question is whether or not people who have more stuff than any other people in the history of the world will stop the frenzied acquisition for one day to reflect, remember, and be grateful for all they have.  Or, will people, in order to save a few bucks on something that will be in a yard sale in a few years, forego the day devoted to remembering the faithfulness of God?

Spend this Thanksgiving gathered around a table with your family with heads down in prayer.  Thank God for all you have.  Thank Him for His provision and His goodness to you.  Don't run off to the mall and see what you can get, as if you really needed more.  Spend the day in rest and joyful praise of the God who has given you more than you could ever ask for. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Living Within Your Means Leads To Opportunities

Right now, everyone is concerned with debt.  National debt, personal debt- everyone knows who Dave Ramsey is and everyone is constantly hearing about the burden of student loan and credit card debt that is destroying, literally, and entire generation of young people.

The average college student graduates with more than $8000 of credit card debt alone, and depending on which state you live in, somewhere between $25k to $50k of student loan debt.  They will be well into their late 30s before they pay that off.

Many of us think that going into debt leads to opportunities.  When it comes to education, that may be so- you go into debt to get a degree that will pay off over time.  However, the old ancient way of life, called "living within your means," leads to far more opportunity than debt does.

When I felt moved by the Lord to do an intense 18-day mission trip to teach church planting and preach in countries not favorable to the gospel, a friend of mine discerned a clear call from the Holy Spirit to go with me. 

He took me out for coffee and we talked about it.  He was excited for me, and wanted to go with me.
But he couldn't.  He was $20k in credit card debt and couldn't afford it.

He said, "I know without a doubt that God wants me to take this trip with you.  You're going by yourself and that's not good.  But when I said, "God, I can't afford this trip," He said, "Why?"

My friend told me that it hit him in that moment that his debt was keeping him from following the Lord.

Now, to some Christians, that wouldn't matter.  They wouldn't really follow the Lord even if they weren't in debt.  Their love for the things that this world provides, as well as their affluent standard of living, is way more important that anything God would call them to do.  But, to other Christians that truly want to live their faith, this is a devastating realization.

If you live within your means, and therefore have no debt, you are able to move whenever the Holy Spirit calls you to move.  You are literally sitting on "go."  There is nothing holding you back.  The Holy Spirit wants you to start a business?  You can.  The Holy Spirit wants you to take a different job with less pay so you can spend more time with your kids?  You can.  The Holy Spirit wants you to go on a mission trip?  You can.

Living within your means leads to freedom.  You aren't a slave to a number- a dollar number that you have to earn each month that determines your work schedule, your family life, your giving, your generosity, and your flexibility.  I wonder how many Christians would truly love to do more to help the elderly, the orphans, the poor- but can't because they have spent themselves into such high levels of debt that all their resources go to pay it off?

I wonder how many Christians truly want to participate in the spreading of the gospel and the building up of the church, but can't because of massive debt.  I wonder how many Christians would love to change careers to a job where they can actually do something for the Lord, but can't, because they have to earn a certain amount of money to pay what they owe.  I wonder how many Christians' lives are totally determined by debt.

Living within your means is laughed at.  I know- I've been laughed at constantly.  I couldn't watch the UK game last night because my family and I don't have cable TV.  I couldn't watch it online because my family and I got rid of the internet at home.  All my broke friends laugh at me when I make those decisions.  

But last week when the pictures and stories of 11 orphans came across my desk, and the Holy Spirit challenged me and my family to sponsor three of them, we were able to.  The money that would have gone to internet ($40) and cable ($50) is now going to feed and care for orphans who can put all their worldly possessions in a shoe box.  By living within our means, we were ready to move when the Holy Spirit told us to.

We hear tons of criticism of the church- it's not doing enough, it doesn't care, etc.  I truly don't think Christians don't care.  I've been around Christians all my life, and believe me, they DO care.  They care more than any other group of people I know.  They aren't evil or neglectful of what their faith tells them to do.  They're just simply in debt and not able to do what God wants them to do.

This is why getting out of debt is so very important.  Christians who are in debt because of unwise financial choices, or a lifestyle they cannot afford, are going to hear some very bad news from God on the day of their judgment.  If you don't believe me, read Matthew 25:31-46.  I challenge Christians today to make getting out of debt their VERY FIRST PRIORITY and stop missing the opportunities that God wants you to take. 

Live within your means and experience the freedom and joy that comes as a result of it.  Yes, your broke friends will laugh at you.  Get over it.  Commit your finances to the Lord and do things His way, then watch the way that He uses you to accomplish His will in this world.