"They say we reach the church and they reach the streets
But can’t find an in or out of season to preach
And there’s only two, but you kept the charge the same
The harvest is ready, but the workers lame
I say we reach the church and we reach the streets
And some don’t believe and I’ll catch the heat
But we’ll take the lash, word bond,
But they’d be surprised if they knew who was ringing the horn
But ain’t no beef, cause we all still fam
I’m gonna shut my teeth and not give the enemy a chance
But just know this, this is our only main stance
Trust the wisdom of God and not the stratz of man" -cm
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Catching Heat For Mission...Gladly
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Confessions Of A Missionary Part Two
People deep in africa-Lecrae
looking for an answer bra'.
In china man,
they're dieing man,
until they know who died for sins.
So look what grace did.
Not for us to stay here
inside our comfort zones
at home in mama's basement.
Get out on the grind y'all.
Ain't no better time doll.
I know y'all read the great commission.
Let me just remind y'all:
make disciples of the nations.
Teach'm to obey the lord.
Have to lead someone to christ before i face the lord.
Send me I'll go...
hey! After, 1,000 years in the west and the churches
get'n bigger daily without understand'n worship. (say what?)
Some regenerate but a lot ain't saved.
You walk outside and be surprised cuz the block ain't changed.
And the numbers they be get'n me.
Something just ain't hit'n them.
America ain't christian they practice'n the ritual.
That's why we should be mission though.
Hey, what you think i'm spit'n for?
The united states is die'n
and in the east is looking pitiful.
Some places if they catch you
they'll arrest you.
They'll serve you,
but they still need the word too.
The gospel should be heard too.
We claim we ain't ashamed,
but we ain't hit the block up.
Were in our christian bubble,
while our brotha's get'n locked up.
Lord i wanna stock up,
pack a bag and walk up
in a country where my faith may get me shot up
anywhere i go, whether my city or far abroad,
i just wanna show' christ the risen holy god.
Send me I'll go...
Confessions Of A Missionary
I don't know that I can fail as a missionary, but I can be a poor one. All of us excel in some ways and are poor in others when it comes to living as Jesus in this world.
And I wish I was better. I wish I was bolder. I wish I was purer. I wish I was more effective. I wish I lived far away from all I know in this life. And then I wish I could live where I live, all the days of my life. I wish I was more radical. I wish I was like the Apostle Paul. I wish this - Veni, Vidi, Vici - could be the song of my life. I wish I thought more thoughts of God. I wish there was more uniting among the people of God for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
I wish I did not have to confess my weakness as a missionary. For one who talks a big talk about culture, evangelism, mission, and missionary efforts, I sure do live little of it. I know the attacks will come from my accusers. The "aha's" will come. Let them. What more can I say? I hold my hand over my mouth.
I stand before God with my mouth shut. I have no words of defense. I can only mirror the words of King David, "But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD,and he answered me from his holy hill."
The Lord, my glory, the lifter of my head will answer and provide me with sustenance. He will help. He will empower my hands for this spiritual war. If he does not stand up and help, who do I have? I have no one besides him. The power that raised my Lord from the dead is at work in this weak body of mine. Come O Lord and save. Show more grace. I am your vessel. Carpe Diem.
And I wish I was better. I wish I was bolder. I wish I was purer. I wish I was more effective. I wish I lived far away from all I know in this life. And then I wish I could live where I live, all the days of my life. I wish I was more radical. I wish I was like the Apostle Paul. I wish this - Veni, Vidi, Vici - could be the song of my life. I wish I thought more thoughts of God. I wish there was more uniting among the people of God for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
I wish I did not have to confess my weakness as a missionary. For one who talks a big talk about culture, evangelism, mission, and missionary efforts, I sure do live little of it. I know the attacks will come from my accusers. The "aha's" will come. Let them. What more can I say? I hold my hand over my mouth.
I stand before God with my mouth shut. I have no words of defense. I can only mirror the words of King David, "But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD,and he answered me from his holy hill."
The Lord, my glory, the lifter of my head will answer and provide me with sustenance. He will help. He will empower my hands for this spiritual war. If he does not stand up and help, who do I have? I have no one besides him. The power that raised my Lord from the dead is at work in this weak body of mine. Come O Lord and save. Show more grace. I am your vessel. Carpe Diem.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Gospel Communion
I had a conversation with a handful of people a few nights ago about the Lord's Supper.
Someone asked why we never took communion...or something along those lines. I responded by letting her know that I believe we do almost every week if not several times a week. When we sit down to eat a meal, many times I will talk about communion, the Lord's Supper, Jesus' body broken and blood shed, etc. Then I will usually thank God for the meal [even if it is not bread and red wine] and in prayer bless God for giving himself for us through the shedding of his blood for our sins. In this way, we "remember" the Lord's death until he comes. Now, this is merely one way of "doing" communion. She agreed and was just curious as to what I thought. Most of you are probably familiar with either weekly or monthly celebrations of the Lord's Supper with a tiny glass of grape juice and a tiny morsel of bread. Surely there is nothing wrong with this mode either, it's merely another way of "doing" it.
Then I asked another person whether he thought we partook of communion as a church or not [he had not heard the conversation we had with the sister in the Lord]. He more-or-less said he thought we did or at least most of us did. For this I am thankful because I want all of us to truly honor God as we come together to eat and celebrate and bless God for his sacrifice on our behalf.
Having said all that, I want to make sure that we do not get hung up on the "form" when it is really the "function" that is at the heart of the issue. What do I mean by form and function? Crossing denominational lines you come across dozens of "forms" or in other words, ways to remember the Lord's death until he returns. Those really are minor issues. Who serves it, when it is taken, what is eaten, who takes it, how often, and more all are of little importance, despite what those who love to sow discord in the Body might say. Paul and Jesus both speak so little to answering those above questions that all who seek to be divisively dogmatic really ought to search the Scriptures to see that these things really are so.
The crux of the issue is the "function". The function is the communion itself. The function is that communion is taken. The function is that Jesus is remembered and praised. The function is that we love one another while we come together to praise Jesus for his death. The function is that we have pure hearts as we come forward to bless God for his death and resurrection for us.
We partake of communion much more informally because most of us come from backgrounds that are very solemn, emotion-less, and heart-less. This, once again, is not to say that the "forms" were bad or sinful because they were not. It is to say that in a changing culture we sought to change to a form that would help us more resemble the proper function is partaking of communion in a way that honors God. Since we all eat meals everyday and most of the time it does not involve bread and red wine, we sought this avenue as a frequent reminder; which is what Jesus told us to do...remember.
So at the end of the day, if you want to pass a cup and some bread in more of a traditional method [or form] with morsel of bread and sip of grape juice, then we can. If you want to praise God for his death right before each meal, then let's do so. But regardless of the form we choose, let us come with pure hearts, thankful hearts, and reverent hearts.
Someone asked why we never took communion...or something along those lines. I responded by letting her know that I believe we do almost every week if not several times a week. When we sit down to eat a meal, many times I will talk about communion, the Lord's Supper, Jesus' body broken and blood shed, etc. Then I will usually thank God for the meal [even if it is not bread and red wine] and in prayer bless God for giving himself for us through the shedding of his blood for our sins. In this way, we "remember" the Lord's death until he comes. Now, this is merely one way of "doing" communion. She agreed and was just curious as to what I thought. Most of you are probably familiar with either weekly or monthly celebrations of the Lord's Supper with a tiny glass of grape juice and a tiny morsel of bread. Surely there is nothing wrong with this mode either, it's merely another way of "doing" it.
Then I asked another person whether he thought we partook of communion as a church or not [he had not heard the conversation we had with the sister in the Lord]. He more-or-less said he thought we did or at least most of us did. For this I am thankful because I want all of us to truly honor God as we come together to eat and celebrate and bless God for his sacrifice on our behalf.
Having said all that, I want to make sure that we do not get hung up on the "form" when it is really the "function" that is at the heart of the issue. What do I mean by form and function? Crossing denominational lines you come across dozens of "forms" or in other words, ways to remember the Lord's death until he returns. Those really are minor issues. Who serves it, when it is taken, what is eaten, who takes it, how often, and more all are of little importance, despite what those who love to sow discord in the Body might say. Paul and Jesus both speak so little to answering those above questions that all who seek to be divisively dogmatic really ought to search the Scriptures to see that these things really are so.
The crux of the issue is the "function". The function is the communion itself. The function is that communion is taken. The function is that Jesus is remembered and praised. The function is that we love one another while we come together to praise Jesus for his death. The function is that we have pure hearts as we come forward to bless God for his death and resurrection for us.
We partake of communion much more informally because most of us come from backgrounds that are very solemn, emotion-less, and heart-less. This, once again, is not to say that the "forms" were bad or sinful because they were not. It is to say that in a changing culture we sought to change to a form that would help us more resemble the proper function is partaking of communion in a way that honors God. Since we all eat meals everyday and most of the time it does not involve bread and red wine, we sought this avenue as a frequent reminder; which is what Jesus told us to do...remember.
So at the end of the day, if you want to pass a cup and some bread in more of a traditional method [or form] with morsel of bread and sip of grape juice, then we can. If you want to praise God for his death right before each meal, then let's do so. But regardless of the form we choose, let us come with pure hearts, thankful hearts, and reverent hearts.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Seeking Older Men Or Younger Men?
"Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us."
In this section of the Bible, Paul gives Titus some teaching on relationships between older women and younger women and between older men and younger men. It does not take one long to find out what type of lingo is used within the church today. You could in a very short time assess within a church that young men are encouraged to go out seeking an older man to mentor them. It's upon hearing this very often over the last few years that has led me to search out the Scriptures to see why much has been made in the way of this teaching.
I do not come today with an exhaustive list of Scriptures to state my case as I am not seeking to write a book on the subject, but one Scripture in particular [seen above] I believe deals fairly thoroughly with the matter.
So let's examine Paul's exhortation. He said older women are to so train the young women. He also said [the men should] urge the younger men to be self-controlled. And lastly, as for ourselves, Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
In other words, all older women are to be out living their lives seeking younger women to teach and train up. All older men are to be living their lives seeking the younger men to teach and train up and be self-controlled. And everyone, old and young, female and male, are to show their lives as good examples for all others to follow.
In our church, we have sought to apply the words of our Apostle Paul fervently. I ask the people of God, "Is there someone younger than you?" And then I say like Paul, "Train them up." In this way, all people are being looked after and discipled. This way, all people are mentoring others. Then the question arises, "What about the oldest people?" "Who mentors them?" It's funny because Paul never deals with that, does he? Paul never found the seventy year old and said, "Now make sure you go out and find someone who is older than you so they can mentor you."
Paul does the opposite. He says to the seventy year old, train up the younger and be an example to all. He says to the thirty year old, train up the younger and be an example to all. He says to the fifteen year old, train up the younger and be an example to all.
Can you imagine what would happen if much were made of Paul's teaching to Titus? Can you imagine if everyone started living these truths? Can you imagine if everyone found someone younger than them to teach and train? Can you imagine if everyone started being a good example to others?
I think all our bases would be covered. I think God would oversee everyone being discipled. I think that in everything we would adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
In this section of the Bible, Paul gives Titus some teaching on relationships between older women and younger women and between older men and younger men. It does not take one long to find out what type of lingo is used within the church today. You could in a very short time assess within a church that young men are encouraged to go out seeking an older man to mentor them. It's upon hearing this very often over the last few years that has led me to search out the Scriptures to see why much has been made in the way of this teaching.
I do not come today with an exhaustive list of Scriptures to state my case as I am not seeking to write a book on the subject, but one Scripture in particular [seen above] I believe deals fairly thoroughly with the matter.
So let's examine Paul's exhortation. He said older women are to so train the young women. He also said [the men should] urge the younger men to be self-controlled. And lastly, as for ourselves, Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
In other words, all older women are to be out living their lives seeking younger women to teach and train up. All older men are to be living their lives seeking the younger men to teach and train up and be self-controlled. And everyone, old and young, female and male, are to show their lives as good examples for all others to follow.
In our church, we have sought to apply the words of our Apostle Paul fervently. I ask the people of God, "Is there someone younger than you?" And then I say like Paul, "Train them up." In this way, all people are being looked after and discipled. This way, all people are mentoring others. Then the question arises, "What about the oldest people?" "Who mentors them?" It's funny because Paul never deals with that, does he? Paul never found the seventy year old and said, "Now make sure you go out and find someone who is older than you so they can mentor you."
Paul does the opposite. He says to the seventy year old, train up the younger and be an example to all. He says to the thirty year old, train up the younger and be an example to all. He says to the fifteen year old, train up the younger and be an example to all.
Can you imagine what would happen if much were made of Paul's teaching to Titus? Can you imagine if everyone started living these truths? Can you imagine if everyone found someone younger than them to teach and train? Can you imagine if everyone started being a good example to others?
I think all our bases would be covered. I think God would oversee everyone being discipled. I think that in everything we would adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Psychological Christians
"The most experienced psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus.
The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp this one thing: what sin is.
Worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the godlessness of man. And so it does not know that man is destroyed only by his sin and can be healed only by forgiveness. Only the Christian knows this.
In the presence of a psychiatrist I can only be a sick man; in the presence of a Christian brother I can dare to be a sinner.
The psychiatrist must first search my heart and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth. The Christian brother knows when I come to him: here is a sinner like myself, a godless man who wants to confess and yearns for God’s forgiveness.
The psychiatrist views me as if there were no God. The brother views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the Cross of Jesus Christ." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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