We are living 24/7 and most of that life, it seems, is lived on the surface. I found an interesting statistic the other day: “Overall, US Internet users spend an average of 13 hours online each week, browsing 99 domaines and 3,123 web pages. The time spent on an individual website, however, is just fifty-six seconds.” In short, the river of information we see is a mile wide and a quarter of an inch deep. We live life in the fast lane but see little depth as we speed through the day, the week, the month, and then wonder where the time went. Our internet use is simply an indication of how we are living life in general.

But, we were created in God’s image and God rested on the seventh day. Something very important about the character and nature of God is revealed on the seventh day of creation: God stops. Stopping is a problem for humans. We get a comfortable house, and then we want to fix things up so the house is better, bigger, more comfortable. We get enough to eat, and then we want more. The end result of never being satisfied is that we end up on the move 24/7 and live a very shallow, often unexamined life.

Think about it, God did not need to rest after creating the universe because He was tired. He rests because He is holy. And everything that God does is holy. God rests. God is holy. Therefore, rest is holy. It’s simple math. Rest shows us who God is. He has restraint. Restraint is refraining from doing everything that one has the power to do. We must never mistake God’s restraint for weakness. The opposite is true. God shows restraint; therefore, restraint is holy.

After its introduction at the start of Genesis (the creation account), Sabbath (the rest) doesn’t show up in the Bible again until Exodus 16. Not one word about it through all the generations of begetting that started with Eve. No mention of it when the Flood comes, when God scatters the people of Babel, or when Abraham and Isaac make the most awkward ride home in history. Not so much as a ‘Sabbath shalom’ when Joseph goes from riches to rags to riches. Four hundred years pass between the close of Genesis and the start of Exodus with nary a peep about anything – including the Sabbath rest.

When Exodus comes, four centuries have gone without a sign from God. The Hebrew people have gone from honoured visitors in Egypt to slaves building warehouses for Pharaoh. When they complain, their work gets harder. The meaning of their lives is bricks, bricks, bricks – ten days a week. You see, the ancient Egyptian year was divided into three seasons with a three-week month and a ten-day week. Then a hero comes on the scene: Moses.

God hears the cries of His people, and the battle for the Hebrews is on. Guess who wins? This is one of the pivotal moments in all of history, when God brings His people out of Egypt.

God had much to teach His people. So, He wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with them. Thus the wilderness wandering. It’s an eight hour drive from Cairo to Jerusalem. It takes a week by donkey, and you can walk it in less than a month. But on the occasion of emancipating His people, God made a slight detour. He took them for a 14,600-day ride in the country. I mean, what better time to educate the human race about rest than after twenty generations of slavery? What better way to teach dependance than to go to a place with no food or water? What better time to learn monotheism after living in a culture where you can have as many gods as you want – just cast them in a kiln? What better way to demonstrate the illusion of Pharaoh’s immortality than to make his body disappear in the sea?

For forty years, God feeds the people every meal, shades them during the day, and guides them like a GPS. A few months into the trip, the tribes of Israel pull up to the base of Mount Sinai, and Moses climbs up to have a few words with the Maker of the universe. During this epic journey, God gives the Hebrews a total of 613 laws. But here at Mount Sinai, God personally pens the Top Ten.

If the Ten Commandments are written on apple pie and you get to choose which slice to have based upon size, choose the fourth. You will get more than a third of the pie put on your plate. Here is the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day (God knew that we would forget – this is the only command that starts with ‘remember’) to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Because we ignore the need for this rest and thus live contrary to the way we were created to live (and in disobedience to our Creator God) we live a life that is a mile wide and an eighth of an inch deep – lacking meaning and purpose. We are simply part of the rat race. It may be time to rethink the way we are living and make some needed course adjustments admitting that God knew what He was doing when He created us; admitting that we honestly do need a day of rest (a Sabbath) and then figuring out how to obtain that goal.

More tomorrow…

Leadership in the Christian Church is difficult. Often more difficult than leadership in the business or political world because you are dealing with people who attend because they want to and volunteer to work with you because they choose to – not because they are being paid to do so. As well, leaders in the Church are tugged at from all sides by people who want their perspective affirmed, or their agenda adopted or their beliefs validated. Leaders at all levels are temped to please people rather than cast vision, tempted to become a yes-person rather than making the hard call. Most of all, we are tempted to settle, time and again, for smaller visions rather than the big, transforming vision of God’s Kingdom invading our lives.

Too often, as a leader, I have made the mistake of thinking that my own success was predicated on meeting people’s needs. I have written teachings based on what I thought people would like. I’ve made decisions to appease. I’ve caved in to criticism. But too often, while attracting the numbers, a crowd, I have created chaos. This changed a number of years ago when I realized that these people will never be satisfied with what Jesus wants and will leave as soon as you ask for a serious commitment that will be personally costly to those who allow the Kingdom to truly invade life and grasp the personal involvement and sacrifice needed to see the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) fulfilled. As soon as it is no longer about them – you will see them leave and go find a church that will cater to them – their whims and their needs.

I have recently noted, even deeply discovered, that the “crowd” in the Gospels, was a negative thing, not a positive thing. The crowd was generally whiny and disruptive to Jesus. They were seeking to have their needs met, their agenda adopted, their thoughts and lifestyle affirmed. All the while Jesus was working to introduce the Kingdom and, what today we would call a Christian worldview – a prophetic Kingdom perspective.

We have created a pastoral model of the church. This is not the Church that Jesus is building. The original plan for God’s people was that they would all be priests and prophets. We are to be part of the “priesthood of all believers” reaching the lost and prophetic (as indicated by Peter’s reference to Joel’s prophetic word… and the addition to that quote from Joel of an extra reference to the prophetic (see Acts 2 and compare it to Joel 2). So, the “pastors” who lead the church today are seldom allowed to be the leaders God called them to be. Seldom are they “prophetic” – casting the vision of the real Church that Jesus is building. So, we gather a crowd or have a circus (a continuing rotation of guest speakers and specials) but we are not building the Church.

To help with building the Church that Jesus is building we need to speak out with vision and with courage and boldness. We need to call God’s people to truly live as “new creatures in Christ.” We need to challenge those who say they are disciples of Jesus to do as He commanded: “Take up your cross daily and follow Me.” We need to no longer pamper those who say they believe but live like they don’t. It is time to cast the vision of the Kingdom which is bigger than the local church. It is time to focus on the Kingdom (which means focusing on the lost) and be a part of seeing it constantly expand and absorb more and more territory today and every day. Jesus told us to do this when He said, “Occupy till I come.” The word ‘occupy’ meant to ‘take more market share’ as it was a business term very familiar in the market place of His day.

This means letting go of those who think the Church is all about them – having their needs met, their agenda accepted, their understanding received. This means being willing to make the tough calls – and preaching about a biblical lifestyle that no longer accepts what we are coming to see a “regular life with a Christian veneer.” Don’t want to build relationships and see the lost come to know Jesus – maybe it is time to declare yourself for what you are – non-Christians. Don’t want to tithe – maybe it is time for you to realize that your god is really Mammon and that you can’t worship Mammon and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is time to stop deceiving yourself and move on with the Kingdom or move out of the way so that the Church can move forward and fulfill the call on it’s life – which is not to make you feel comfortable, safe, secure … or accepted, needed, wanted, and loved.

It is decision time – and it is no longer good enough to decorate the outside so we look like we are a successful church because we have attracted a crowd. Time to stop decorating the outside without reordering the inside. Otherwise we are simply another group, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who are ‘hypocrites’ and ‘white-washed tombs,’ polished on the outside but seriously rotting on the inside.” (Matthew 23:27).

Let’s take seriously every word that Jesus spoke (and speaks today) and stop deceiving ourselves that everything is fine when it is not. It is an amazing challenge to be on a journey with Jesus. Let’s rise to the real challenge of the day and be the Church that Jesus is building. Let’s “seek first the Kingdom….” Let’s continue to pray “Thy Kingdom come.” It is time for self-examination and to “test ourselves,” as Paul states in 2 Corinthians, to see if we are still in the faith or ever were. It is time to confront those who are saying they are believers but live a life that seriously (and publicly) denies their claim.

Those are words that those in the space industry do not want to hear. But, in the Church world they are words that I believe we need to hear. We have a problem or two. Here is an obvious one – and one which Jesus warned us about. We need new wineskins to contain what God is doing today to reach our culture and the fast changing society in which we live. Jesus said that new wine needs new wineskins. However, he also said that no one who has tasted the old wants the new. This is the problem.

Change is never easy. And, it is not something we look forward to. However, in the Church it is inevitable. Followers of Jesus can be assured of one thing – change is a constant when you are a disciple of the Lord. Because it is we need to learn to welcome and embrace change.

Here are some changes I believe we need to embrace:

1> We need to embrace new methods and new ministries to reach new generations.

2> We need to stop trying to be relevant and start becoming more meaningful – living and presenting a Jesus that transcends our culture with a message of hope for the new world order we are facing.

3> We need to do away with the North American prosperity and success gospel that is not a gospel.

4> We need to understand that a lot of what North American Christianity embraces as normal and a sign of success is simply an anomoly and will not work in most other cultures and nations – thus is not a biblical measure of anything important and should not be used to measure success.

5> We need to become more transparent offering hope, love and grace. This will mean engaging the unchurched beyond a weekend service. God’s people need to be missionaries of grace. This means we must recognize that our cool, slick, overly programmed worship services are only attracting other Christians, not the unchurched. We need to learn how to have a service that allows people to “see Jesus” and his unreachable riches.

6> We need to shift from a performance style of worship, whether traditional or contemporary, to a hospitality model. Churches need to be offering a face-to-face fellowship of a meal combined with elements of worship. This would be a return to the pattern of church found in Acts 2:42.

7> We need to do away with the model (wineskin) that was created to entertain, retain, and maintain the church (the truly saved and the unsaved who come to our churches believing they are saved). This model means we spend a great deal of time and effort tweaking elements of the worship service hoping to find just the perfect combination so that “the door will spring open, there will be lots of dancing, singing rainbows and unicorns.”

8> We need to build churches that are practical, Bible-based, and truth-focused. We do need to be loving, we do need to meet needs and we do need to do our best not to be boring, but most importantly we need to have a hunger within the Church concerning the importance of Scripture, the truth of His Word, and an unwavering tenacity at applying its principles. That’s what speaks to the needs of the people, both churches and unchurched.

9> We need to end the “sense of privilege” most believers have. This attitude of privilege prevents them from owning the mission of the Church. It allows them to sit and expect to be served and ministered to instead of realizing that each and every believer is a minister and must be up and out of the pew touching lives for Jesus. It is not about the privileged few but about the lost whom Jesus died to save.

10> We need to stop repackaging what doesn’t work, giving it a new name hoping that it will work. Said another way: we are manufacturing old wineskins with new names, and passing them off as new wineskins. God is not fooled and neither are the unchurched and unsaved.

I could go on but the point is – “Houston, We have a problem.” Sand, until we recognize the problem we will simply continue to do what we have always done and thus get what we have always gotten. Poor English, but true nonetheless.

Ever been criticized? Well of course you have. Anyone who has ever attempted to do something for Jesus has been criticized. Usually the criticism comes from those who are doing little to nothing for Jesus. Occasionally it actually comes from others who are walking closely with the Lord and are actively involved in seeing people come to a saving knowledge of the Lord and become born again. The latter you should listen to – the former have not earned the right to be critical.

Recently a Facebook page posted a fairly scathing criticism of a ministry I use to be involved in. The leadership shut down the ministry after realizing that it would be impossible to bring it back to any semblance of health. In fact, it was “dead” and simply needed to be buried. However, some of those involved – both leaders and followers – are still, a year later, being critical of what happened. Of course, they have their own point-of-view and we need to accept that. Of course, they are accusing me of unilaterally shutting the ministry down – which is not true. Reading through the posting and some of the comments posted by others, anyone who had any knowledge of what happened would know that the comments made are not based in truth. But, this is usually what happens – people justify their position and actions regardless of the facts and the reality of the situation.

So, some of the others who were involved and have read the posting have come and asked what they should do. They realize that the situation has been badly misrepresented and that what was posted was not what happened. Here is my advice… not just in this situation, but in any situation where others, even believers acting in a non-biblical way, are speaking critically about you or a situation you were involved in.

First, remember that criticism is inevitable for those who are attempting to following the biblical commandments out of love for the Lord. Throughout biblical history and beyond, prophets, priests, pastors and God’s people have dealt with criticism, adverse circumstances, and even persecution. The question is not whether tough times and criticism will come; they will. The question is how will you respond in those tough times. Here are seven suggestions:

1> Don’t take most of the criticism personally. Most of them are really not about you, your character, or the real situation. They are about a different opinion, a different perspective, or someone attempting to justify their non-biblical behaviour and attitude. And some of the criticism may have no logical basis whatsoever. They can come from a person who is hurting deeply. They arise out of the need to justify and explain their actions – not yours.

2> Pray for the critic. Your feelings towards the critic and the criticism will change when you do. Remember that God loves them and so must you because that is a biblical command. Even if there is no love expressed in the words of criticism you must return love – in your thoughts, attitude, and actions.

3> Develop a winsome spirit. Defensiveness and bitterness never help. Learn to laugh at yourself. Have a joyous spirit. Rejoice in the Lord always.

4> Be transparent. Criticism often goes to far greater depths and frequency when there is a sense that those involved (leaders and others) are not being totally upfront on an issue or perspective. The transparent disciple will be given the benefit of the doubt more times than not. Of course this will not eliminate criticism, but you will be able to go to bed at night with a clear conscience.

5> Pray for your own attitude. True Christians, disciples who are following Jesus and His Words, are not perfect. They can have bad attitudes. They can see critics as the enemy. They can have a spirit of defensiveness and even retribution. Disciples of Jesus must constantly be on guard with their own attitudes. If they do, they not only will deal with ministry in a more effective and godly way, but they also will develop thicker skins for dealing with criticism.

6> Focus on the majority. Almost all of the time, more people are with you than against you. The minority critics can seem so loud that we get the impression that everyone is against us.

7> Look in the mirror. We are all wrong sometimes. Some of the criticism is not without justification. The true disciple will gain more respect and credibility with a response that admits wrong when it is there and apologizes.

If you are doing anything for the Lord, criticism is inevitable. Examine your heart and conscience, deal with your feelings, do everything you can to bring peace into the situation, and then move on and continue your work for the Lord. Don’t defend your actions. Don’t get involved in a fresh discussion of the issues. Never let a criticism or a critic stop you from labouring in the harvest field and seeing others saved.

I have always thought and focused on establishing churches (church planting) that does outreach. However, recently I have begun to think about and act upon this new thought: Why not establish an outreach that becomes a faith community (a church, in time). Then the focus is outreach and seeing the lost saved – the focus is not establishing a church and all that this entails.

I know, not very interesting for a topic of a blog. But then, it’s my blog and I am interested in it. And, I believe that it is a God-thought and one worth thinking about. So, let me think out loud. In the United States there are now 71 distinct lifestyle segments and 66 in Canada. And these numbers are growing, multiplying annually. What fits for one group will not work with another. Each group has its own focus, interests, understanding of life, lifestyle, and needs.

So, planting a church and gearing it for “people” is simply not working. Even planting a church and gearing the services for a broad group such as “seekers” and “unsaved” is really not working. But, moving in to a neighbourhood and opening a home to a specific, targeted group of people (a distinct lifestyle segment) and allowing them to feel at home, comfortable, accepted, and safe does work. Here in this “outreach” you might have the seeds for and the start of a new church. Maybe! But, right from the start the focus is outreach and the lost – not the church and all its organizational needs and issues. It is just people hanging out together, drinking coffee and eating home-made brownies.

A few days ago I acted upon this thought. And, with the kind help of a couple of wonderful believers who opened their home, met with 8 people… the vast majority of whom do not attend church in any form. It was simply a night to ask any question you might have. After three hours we settled down to just relating and talking. But, before this gentle ending we had questions from young people who are in university, a university grad looking for a job, a young Christian from another church that does not believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, several young people who are struggling with life, and an atheist. It was an “outreach” to those who would not likely seek out and attend a local church. It was amazing. Powerful! Energizing! Repeatable….

The questions were amazing and wide-ranging; the young people were open and honest; the discussion was frank, in depth, and engaging. Some questions were easy to answer; others were not. But, it was open, honest, searching, and engaging. It was a discussion and not a lecture (sermon). it was interactive and not a teaching (sermon). It was geared to those in attendance and the questions were initiated by those attending. So, they were attentive and interested.

As we continue to meet weekly I am hoping we will see more emphasis on personal spirituality, experiencing God, and providing community. Moving forward from questions and issues – an outreach group – and building it into a (house) church that is strong and vibrant as well as reproducing … moving down the neighbourhood and opening up another lighthouse for the Gospel as they “go into all the world”.