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.  

I watched a mass suicide in my kitchen yesterday

About a million lives were lost yesterday.  In my kitchen.

Fortunately, it wasn't people.  It was an ant colony.

We've had ant problems in our house all summer.  They haven't really gotten into anything, but they were constantly crawling across our counters, windowsills, etc.  I had to do something.

I got some Terro Ant Killer.  It is a sweet liquid that attracts ants like nothing else.  Literally a few drops and ants come out of the woodwork and surround it.

I placed several different drops of Terro on my kitchen windowsill, and within seconds, ants were crawling all over each other to have at it.  It was like crack cocaine to these ants.  They couldn't get enough of it.

They ran to the very thing that would kill them.  They failed to see the danger.  They weren't killed.  They were enticed, and they willingly committed mass suicide just to have the pleasure of good-tasting poison.  No one took their lives.  They willingly gave them away for a moment's pleasure.  Here is a video of the event:

We are like those ants.

We as human beings have the amazing capacity for self-destruction.  How many of us are dealing with problems that are completely of our own doing?  We did something stupid, simply for a moment's pleasure, that right now is killing us.  We bought something that promised far more than it delivered and now we are stuck behind huge payments that are killing us financially.  We dated someone who had no character and everyone warned us about, and now we are paying the price in the form of a broken heart, an STD, a pregnancy, or just plain old-fashioned hurt.  We indulged a drug, for a moment's pleasure, that now has us addicted and rebuilding a completely broken life.

Our society reminds me of those ants.  We sit down every night to a steady diet of trash, also known as television, where Jesus' name is used as a swear word, faith is ridiculed, casual sex is the norm, disrespect for parents is celebrated, and we wonder why we are dying as a society.  We belly up to the bar and drink in filthy song lyrics, and we wonder why we are pessimistic.  We dine every night at the table of perversion, calling good evil and evil good, and we wonder why we have school shootings, rampant debt, failing schools, broken marriages, complacent churches, wimpy pastors, ineffective laypeople, gangs, and rampant drug use.

Those ants swarmed over the poison, drinking it in with all their might. Yet are we any different?  Our country is committing mass suicide.  We have embraced and drank in filth, pornography, illicit sex, disrespect for elders, foul language, cynicism, and violence.  We have pulled up to the table of secularism and postmodernism and drank our fill.  We have chosen the poison, bypassing the real food and the real nourishment offered by faith, hope, love, joy, goodness, morality, self-denial, and sacrifice.

We are committing mass suicide on a daily basis, just like those ants on my windowsill.  No one is taking their lives- they are willingly giving them up.  I put down poison that was dressed up in an attractive way, and like unthinking morons, they went for what felt right.  They decided their course of action with what made them feel good.  They didn't stop to think of the consequences, nor did they learn when their friends started dying off.  Thinking with their stomachs and their passions, they dove into the poison, enjoying for a moment what would kill them forever.

I think that pretty much sums up American culture right now.  When will we, as people, sit up and realize the poison that not only has been set out for us, but that we are actually indulging in?  When we will realize the consequences to our souls, to our homes, to our families, to our communities, to our nation?

When will we, as people, stop committing mass suicide and instead turn to the things that give us life- God, faith, goodness, trust, sacrifice, delayed gratification, joy, friendship, honesty, self-control, and most importantly, love?

Richard Dawkins and the "Immorality" of letting a Down's Syndrome Child Live

Prominent atheist Richard Dawkins has shown us a great deal about the fruit of atheism this week.  Without a belief in a sovereign God (and consequently believing that life is a gift from Him and that all humans are made in His image and therefore worthy of dignity and respect) you are left with Dawkins' worldview- kill Down's Syndrome babies in utero.

As a matter of fact, it is immoral to let them live.  His words, not mine.

It is perfectly natural for someone with this worldview to arrive at this conclusion.  After all, life has no point.  We are simply a great cosmological accident- lightning struck a bunch of nonliving matter and life evolved from nothing. Human beings are simply some of the lucky ones to make it off the top of the pond, so to speak, and there is no difference between us and the slime mold that covers damp basement walls.

Why not kill a baby?  We kill flies and ants and cockroaches.  We have no more purpose than they do.  That is, if you subscribe to atheism and the atheistic worldview.

Are all atheists this way?  No.  Some have a higher view of human life than that, but it isn't because of atheism.  Atheism naturally leads to this conclusion, and Dawkins is simply stating what his beliefs have led him to- human beings are not inherently worthy of dignity and respect.  The only ones who should be allowed to be born are those with normal, healthy, fully-developed bodies.

The life of a person with Down's Syndrome isn't worth anything. They will simply suffer, cause caregivers to put their lives on hold, and be an inconvenience to everyone.  So, they should be aborted and save everyone the trouble.

Hence, the fruit of atheism.

Things are radically different when you hold a theistic worldview.  I know this for a fact.  My wife and I were faced with exactly what Richard Dawkins was talking about when we found out that our third child, Jacob Benjamin Kibler, had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning he was going to be born with a three-chamber heart.  It was a condition that was 100% fatal without surgery, and even after three rounds of surgery, his prognosis wouldn't be good.  He would be doing well to have an IQ of 100, wouldn't be able to play sports, probably would be slower than other children his age, etc.  Our OB/GYN told us that many parents upon receiving this news choose to abort.

Now, if we held Dawkin's worldview, we would have said, "Well, here is a defective child. It will be immoral to bring him into the world.  Let's just kill him now." Makes perfect sense, huh?

No, it doesn't.  This isn't some blob of cells or nameless parasite growing inside my wife's womb.  This is my son.  He has a name.  He has a family.  He has a father who is proud of him.  He has sisters who care about him.  He has a mother who cries tears over him.  This is a human being made in God's image whom God has fashioned together and whom God loves more than anything in the world.

That's who it is.  Now, it would be immoral NOT to bring him into the world.

Mr Dawkins, I understand where you are coming from.  I don't want to see people suffer, and to a healthy, normal human being, it would seem like people with special needs are suffering. However, have you ever spent time among people with special needs?

Have you ever known the love of someone who has Down's Syndrome? They are some of the sweetest, kindest, most humble people I've ever met.  Do you know the love their families have for them?  Do you know the bright ray of sunshine they bring to the lives of people?

Sometimes I wonder if special needs kids aren't the ones that are okay, and it is WE who have the problem.  After all, I've never seen a Down's Syndrome kid call for the death of healthy people.  I've never seen a Down's Syndrome kid commit mass murder- that is reserved for us "normal, healthy" people.  I've never seen the mass numbers of Down's Syndrome rapists, or thieves, perjurers, or anything else.  No, Mr Dawkins, that is the sole domain of people with "normal" sets of chromosomes.  And we have the gall to say that THEY don't deserve to live?

Could it be that there is a purpose for special needs kids that you, in your limited human ability, can't see?  Some eternal purpose that we could only see when we reach eternity?

But of course, you can't see that with your atheistic worldview.  Therefore, you just want them dead.  Even worse, you seem to think it GOOD to kill these babies before they are born. It is the moral thing to do, right?

My son only lived ten days. This year will be the tenth anniversary of his short life (9/5/04- 9/15/04). His short life was spent in a hospital, stuck with wires and tubes and test after test. He never saw the sky, trees, grass, or anything else.  However, he was loved.  He was held.  He was prayed for.  He knew the closeness of family, the love of his mother and father, and he brought a perspective on life to our family that we never would have had otherwise.  He impacted more people in his ten days than most people do in their entire lifespan.

I believe Down's Syndrome children do the same thing, and therefore Mr Dawkins, you are wrong.  Dead wrong. It is NOT immoral to bring a Down's Syndrome child, or any other child with special needs, into this world. I pray that one day you will be loved by a special needs child and you will see how truly wonderful they are.

Five Constitutional Words that too many Christians have forgotten

Most of us remember times in our lives when we thought we were completely right when we were wrong.  We were on our way somewhere, thinking we were following the directions, thinking we knew where we were going, and wound up someplace completely wrong.

I believe America is in one of those phases right now in regards to religious liberty.

We all know the rhetoric surrounding the "establishment clause" where public officials, schools, and government organizations are not allowed to pray, read the Bible, or otherwise encourage religious activity (which only boils down to CHRISTIAN religious activity, mind you) because of a constitutional separation of church and state, right?

Wrong.

Atheists and militant secularists will always cite the First Amendment, using it to justify shutting down school prayers, prayers before football games, filling shoe boxes for underprivileged kids, etc. However, the First Amendment says this:  "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Who?  Congress.  Congress can't pass a law.  I guess that means that state legislatures can, school boards can, local councils can, depending on the will of the local people.  However, that's small potatoes compared to the second part of the First Amendment:

"Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."

What?

I'll say it again:  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."

There you have it.  Government cannot stop someone from exercising freely the actions and commands of faith.  In other words, government cannot stop someone from praying before a football game, no matter who it is.  ""Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  Government cannot stop a school from packing shoe boxes for underprivileged kids for Samaritan's Purse.  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  Government cannot stop teachers from praying in schools-  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  

Why have we forgotten the second half?  

Because we are ignorant.

How many of us truly know our rights?  How many of us truly know the law?  How many of us have simply allowed the atheists and secular forces, determined to remove God at all costs from every aspect of public life, to tell us what to do?

"Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."

I would like for Christians to get ahold of what the Constitution really says.  There are no limits, no governmental limits, on what can be religiously be practiced.  We've been traveling down the wrong road, thinking we were right all these years.  Court cases have interpreted the amendment, liberal courts, mind you, to say that all religious expression should be banned from schools, public areas, public extracurricular activities, and just about anything else. And we've taken it.

I say that Christians take back the Constitution and begin challenging the secularists by saying these five words:  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  Make these five words your mantra as you move the free exercise of religion into the public sphere.  If anyone says anything to you, just calmly say those five words and point them to the First Amendment.  

"Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."

For too long, people have looked at the First Amendment through the lens of not establishing a state religion.  I don't want that.  I don't want to look like Europe with it's church-state marriage.  That would be terrible.  However, allowing prayer in schools, prayer before football games, Bible reading in classes, and other expressions of faith is not establishing a state religion.  It is "not prohibiting the free practice thereof."

I realize this is radical.  It goes against what we've been ramrodded for the last sixty years of American history.  But stop to think of it.  A public high school teacher who is a Christian, by Constitutional Right, can pray in his or her classroom.  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  A Christian football coach can pray with his players.  "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."  Government has no right and no constitutional grounds to deny them that right.  They cannot, by the Constitution, pass any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, and that includes public teachers, public officials, coaches, etc.

Take back your constitutional rights and remember those five words- "Nor prohibiting free exercise thereof."