Noah Filipiak's Blog, page 17
April 10, 2019
Ep. 5 (or 67) The Lord’s Prayer, books, and being on hold
Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google PlayEpisode 5 (or 67) takes a look at The Lord’s Prayer, what each line really means, and how to really use the prayer in an impactful, experiential way to hear from God.
The mailbag segment hears from listeners on what books have helped grow them and books they disagreed with, and Noah chimes in with his.
New mailbag question for listeners: What parts of the Bible are the most confusing or unsettling for you? Email your answers to podcast@beyondthebattle.net
Noah’s rant goes off on when you’re waiting on hold and the automated recording tricks you into thinking someone is about to take your call.
You can support the podcast at www.patreon.com/noahfilipiak or www.noahfilipiak.com/give – when we hit 10 supporters, Noah won’t shave for a month. 20 supporters = handlebar ‘stache for a week.
Struggling with online porn? Use promo code BEYOND for a free 60 days of Covenant Eyes.
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April 1, 2019
Why There is No Sex in Heaven
Here are two contrasting cultural beliefs for you to consider:
Sex is the best thing on the planet
Heaven is full of the best things we can imagine
So if both of these things are true, why does the Bible tell us there won’t be any sex in heaven?
Read Noah’s full article on Covenant Eyes’ blog.
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March 27, 2019
Ep. 4, Shame: What Does God Think of Me?
Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play
The Flip Side Episode 4 / 66 addresses the topic of shame as it relates to the question of, “What does God think of me when He looks at me?”
Noah’s rant goes off on why Superman is the lamest superhero ever.
Noah asks you what (non-Bible) book has helped you grow the most? What book have you most disagreed with? Answer at podcast@beyondthebattle.net
You can support the podcast at www.patreon.com/noahfilipiak or www.noahfilipiak.com/give – when we hit 10 supporters, Noah won’t shave for a month. 20 supporters = handlebar ‘stache for a week.
Email your feedback, questions, topic ideas, and snarky remarks to podcast@beyondthebattle.net
Struggling with online porn? Use promo code BEYOND for a free 60 days of Covenant Eyes.
Join Noah for an online small group through Beyond the Battle at www.beyondthebattle.net
Show notes:
Shame vs. the Gospel – Is God pleased with you?
The post Ep. 4, Shame: What Does God Think of Me? appeared first on by Noah Filipiak.
March 15, 2019
#3 (or 65) The Enneagram, Attraction vs. Lust, & Your map app talking to you in a public restroom
Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play
Episode 3 / 65 covers a question from the mailbag about lust vs. attraction. Noah talks about the Enneagram and a new book released this week by his friends Clare and Scott Loughrige, along with Adele and Doug Calhoun, Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram: A Handbook for Harmony and Transformation. Noah’s rant covers all the ways the map app will drive you bonkers, including talking to you while using a public restroom.
You can support the podcast at www.patreon.com/noahfilipiak or www.noahfilipiak.com/give – when we hit 10 supporters, there will be a new episode on a bi-weekly basis! 20 supporters = weekly episodes!
Email your feedback, questions, topic ideas, and snarky remarks to podcast@beyondthebattle.net
Struggling with online porn? Use promo code BEYOND for a free 60 days of Covenant Eyes.
Join Noah for an online small group through Beyond the Battle at www.beyondthebattle.net
Show notes:
Relevant Magazine’s articles on the Enneagram
The Rise of the Enneagram
https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/the-rise-of-the-enneagram
Looks at some of the confusion surrounding different perspectives of the Enneagram as well as a basic explanation of the Enneagram. Also gives explanation of the modern rise of the Enneagram and how it focuses on what you can become (not just who you are), and in a spiritual realm, is a tool that can help with transformation. Looks at different uses of it; cautions against using free/basic tests.
How the Enneagram Can Point You to God
https://relevantmagazine.com/god/enneagram-makes-sanctification-specific
Explains and gives a relational/gospel/Biblical foundation for the Enneagram, using it as a tool in our relationship with God and each other. It also addresses some Christians’ issues with the personality tool. Basically explains the Enneagram could be used as a potential roadmap to God’s healing.
Each Enneagram Type’s Biggest Fear & What to do About It
https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/each-enneagram-types-biggest-fear-and-what-to-do-about-it
Focuses on the fear associated with each Enneagram number and how to deal with it.
The Best Books for Your Spiritual Growth Based on Your Enneagram Type
A type-by-type book recommendation based on the Enneagram.
3 Ways of Finding Your Enneagram Type That are Better Than Taking Some Online Quiz
Includes a recommendation for a $10 test online, as well as an emphasis on learning in community.
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March 12, 2019
Marriage is Not the Answer to Your Desire for Sex
It’s a line often heard in well-intentioned lessons on sexual purity:
God created sex. It’s His. Pornography and premarital sex are just distortions of what God made that is good: sex within marriage. Those sexual desires you feel are good, you just need to channel them into marriage. (Or as often said, “toward your wife.”)
All of the above is true and I have taught most of it myself in bits and pieces. But there are some major shortfalls to this type of teaching and mindset. (Click here to read the rest of this article on the Covenant Eyes blog)
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March 5, 2019
Lenting for the Most Vulnerable: Will You Join Me?
For Lent this year, my wife and I are giving an equal amount of money to World Relief any time we spend money on a non-essential item for ourselves or our kids. Will you join us?
I noticed when Christmas rolled around that we have no problem spending money very easily on things we didn’t need. Toys and trinkets for our kids when they already have so many toys and trinkets that they don’t appreciate. Picking up another shirt. Going out to eat. Ordering a $5 beer.
I’m not saying any of these things are bad or are wrong or need to be stopped. It just surprised me how easily it was to spend money (consistently) on ourselves on things we didn’t need, without even thinking about it. Compared to when the opportunity arose to give money to somewhere like say, World Relief, or any number of other opportunities, the answer was usually something like, “Well…um…well it’s not in the budget…er…um…” Now, I am all for budgets and you can’t give to everything, but why didn’t I care about the “budget” when it was time to drop $30 on dinner out or $15 on a book, or $5 for that beer, or $30 on golf, or $10 on a toy for my kid. That money goes away like exhaling oxygen.
The reason?
Culture.
We spend money the way our culture tells us. And that’s where Lent comes in.
Lent is a beautiful interruption. It’s an invitation to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we don’t conform to the pattern of this world.
From March 6th – April 21st, when I buy something non-essential for me or my family, I’m going to donate an equal amount of money to World Relief. (https://worldrelief.org/give)
World Relief helps the most vulnerable, in the US and around the world, with a strategy of working through the local church to impact the poor and oppressed with the gospel and indigenous, sustained development. World Relief touches all the bases.
My non-essential items include things like Doritos, movie tickets, restaurants, beer, toys for my kids, most clothing purchases, and a whole bunch of stuff I’m not even thinking of. If I spend $3 on Doritos, $3 goes to World Relief. If I spent $100 on a half marathon, $100 goes to World Relief. You get the idea.
My hope in this journey is to look at money and people differently. To be more aware. To be more content and live more simply. And to help transform the lives of the most vulnerable.
If you would like to go on this Lent adventure with me, please leave a comment below of “I’m in.” (Comment anonymously is an option.)
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#2 (or #64) Lent, Masturbation, and Folgers
Episode 2 / 64 covers why Lent is awesome, using Lent to help the most vulnerable this year (and if you’d like to get involved). The mailbag brings a question about masturbation, and Noah’s Rant targets the Folgers Cafe at the local Marathon gas station.
You can support the podcast at www.patreon.com/noahfilipiak or www.noahfilipiak.com/give – when we hit 10 supporters, there will be a new episode on a bi-weekly basis! 20 supporters = weekly episodes!
Email your feedback, questions, topic ideas, and snarky remarks to podcast@beyondthebattle.net
Struggling with online porn? Use promo code BEYOND for a free 60 days of Covenant Eyes.
Join Noah for an online small group through Beyond the Battle at www.beyondthebattle.net
Show notes: (scroll to bottom of article for section on masturbation)
Lenting for the Most Vulnerable: Will You Join Me?
Parenting Advice: How to Raise Boys in this Oversexualized World
Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play
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February 27, 2019
Ellen Page vs. Chris Pratt/Hillsong on LGBT stance raises question, “Can you love someone you disagree with?”
Ellen Page was in the news recently criticizing Chris Pratt’s attendance at a Hillsong affiliated church. In response to an interview Pratt did with Stephen Colbert about his spirituality, the out lesbian Page tweeted,
“If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all”
NBCnews.com followed this up with an article that makes Christians, Pratt, and Hillsong sound like terrorists.
If Christians hate gay, lesbian, and trans people based on how Page is using the word, then “hate” now means “we love you deeply, but disagree.”
You don’t have to agree with someone’s theology to love them.
You don’t have to agree with someone’s politics to love them.
You don’t have to agree with someone’s sex life to love them.
If agreement was necessary for love, it would be nearly impossible to love anyone. And by Page and NBC’s definitions, you would actually hate the people you had these disagreements with…which would mean hating almost everyone.
If this definition were true, it would mean I would hate straight people who had sex before marriage. I would hate people who divorced (with a few provisions). I would hate people who looked at pornography. I think that list would include 98% of the people that I know. You can ask any of these 98%-ers if I hate them and they will tell you an adamant No. And I’d certainly have to hate myself then, for the pornography I have looked at in my past.
This is where Hillsong Church’s statement on sexuality isn’t helpful. Quoted in the NBCnews.com article and written by Hillsong Church founder and senior pastor Brian Houston:
“Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles. Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid.”
This statement could be worse and does not embody hate, but it could also be improved in numerous ways:
Why is the “gay lifestyle” called out as different or worse than a “straight lifestyle” that is living outside of the Bible’s parameters for biblical sexuality (sex within marriage between a man and a woman)? How many more Christians are living a sinful heterosexual lifestyle than a sinful homosexual lifestyle? A lot more! So why not call them out in this same statement? They shouldn’t be eligible for membership or leadership positions either. Houston’s statement communicates that one sin is worse or more taboo than another, which is not the case.
What is a “gay lifestyle”? If I am attracted to men, but am single, celibate, and identify as gay, am I living the gay lifestyle? Or is that only when I’m having sex? What does the “straight lifestyle” look like? Does “lifestyle” refer to who you are having sex with or a lifestyle? The car you drive, how much money you make, the music you like, the food you eat, the religion you ascribe to… is there a gay version of all of these? “Gay lifestyle” ignores the holistic human identity of a gay person and equates them solely based on who they are having sex with, something we never do with straight people.
I know what Houston is trying to say, but it could be said much better. His wording stigmatizes LGBT people unnecessarily. A more helpful statement for churches was created by Preston Sprinkle and The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender:
We believe in the historically Christian view of marriage and sexual expression; namely, that marriage is a one-flesh covenant union between two sexually different persons (male and female) from different families, and that all sexual relationships out of marriage are sin.
I don’t expect LGBT folks to cheer here. But the helpfulness of this statement is it defines the Bible’s design for sexual relationships, without stigmatizing or singling out LGBT people from straight people. I would add the following if I were using this for a Bible-believing church:
We also believe in loving all people, regardless of identity or lifestyle, and all people are welcome at our church and in our community. We believe that, whatever the topic, we can disagree and still love. We believe it is a cultural fallacy that you must agree with someone on 100% of topics in order to love them, and that it’s a fallacy that disagreement means hatred or rejection. Disagreement is a part of all of our friendships to one degree or another, and our church friendships are no different.
When people become members at (Church Name), they are agreeing to submit to our understanding of the standards of the Bible, as it is the decision-making guide for our church at a leadership and organization level. For those who disagree with parts of the Bible, or disagree with our understanding of it, we continue to invite to participate in our community. Whether members or not, all people are welcomed with love and warmth at (Church Name).
No, I don’t agree that a man should have sex with a man, even if his attraction and body tell him to. And no, I don’t agree that a woman should have sex with a woman, even if her attraction and body tell her to. And no, I don’t believe a man should have sex with a woman who is not his wife, even if his attraction and body is telling him to (or else I would have had sex with hundreds of women by now…) And no, I don’t believe a man and women who are dating should have sex. And no, I don’t believe people should get divorced or remarried (outside of a few provisions in the Bible). And no, I don’t believe someone should look at pornography. I disagree that we should do whatever our body is telling us to do. But that does not mean I hate any of these people.
Love doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything.
And by love, I mean real love. I mean treating sexually active LGBT people the same way you treat sexually active straight people who aren’t married. I mean having them over for dinner and hanging out with them and listening to them and being friends with them and doing nice things for them and well, loving them.
As this type of cultural tension increases, I can envision the Church responding to our LGBT friends with a tsunami of this type of love. We must. We’ve earned this bad reputation and we must earn a new one. We may never convince the media, but we can our individual LGBT friend.
How do you think Jesus attracted all of those prostitutes and tax collectors? He did so to the point that the religious leaders (the “they” below) discredited him altogether as a result:
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Matthew 11:19
Jesus is called a friend of people who he disagreed with. I’d like that to be said of the Church as well, and that starts with me and you.
Page is correct that many LGBT people have been hurt by the Church and not been loved well by the Church, or by society. The Church must repent for its incredible sin here. The paths of same sex attraction and gender dysphoria are lonely ones. Many LGBTQ+ individuals battle suicide on a daily basis. The Church should have no problem backing up this message from Page and others:
Listening and having compassion is just that…listening and having compassion. Did you know most LGBT people who left the Church would have stayed if they had been treated better? According to a survey by Andrew Marin, only 3% of LGBT individuals left the Church because of the Church’s stance on the historically Christian view of marriage and sexual expression. The other 97% would have stayed, despite disagreeing on the stance, if they had been loved better!
Love doesn’t mean we must agree.
The world’s answer is to do whatever your body tells you to do. The Bible’s answer to both straight and gay people is not to do whatever your body tells you to do, it is to find your wholeness in Christ’s unconditional love for you as his son or daughter. If a gay person chooses not to submit to Scripture here, I can understand. I’m not going to change my commitment to the gospel-giving Scriptures, but I will still love you and listen to you and be your friend.
But here’s the interesting thing, a growing number of Christians who identify as gay or lesbian are submitting to Scripture here. There’s a debate in the Church whether those labels should be used or not, but I hope we can avoid that here as it divides an already divided community and conversation further than necessary. The point is, there are gay and lesbian people in our church (some who prefer to use the label “same sex attracted”) who are fully eligible to be pastors, elders, and of course, members in churches which hold to a historically Christian biblical view of marriage. The accusation that we hate gay people because we won’t let them be pastors is just simply not true. Gay people can be pastors in our churches if they hold to a historically Christian view of marriage. But if one doesn’t hold to this historically biblical view, they would fall into the same camp as a Catholic trying to become a pastor at a Protestant church. We believe two different things about the Bible, so they can’t become a pastor in that church. But it doesn’t mean they are hated or not welcomed there. They would be loved and welcomed and befriended and brought into community, just any sexually active LGBTQ+ person should be.
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February 22, 2019
#1 (or #63) – The Flip Side Pilot – Health & Wealth Theology / Prosperity Gospel
The pilot episode of brand new The Flip Side podcast goes a little long, but well worth it! Make sure you listen to the end for “Noah’s Rant,” a staple to the end of every show. This episode’s rant is on megachurches that don’t provide snacks at expensive conferences.
The bulk of the show is spent on the topic of Health & Wealth Theology / The Prosperity Gospel.
You can support the podcast at www.patreon.com/noahfilipiak or www.noahfilipiak.com/give – when we hit 15 supporters, there will be a new episode on a bi-weekly basis! 25 supporters = weekly episodes!
Email your feedback, questions, topic ideas, and snarky remarks to podcast@beyondthebattle.net
Notes from the show:
A humble, biblical look at health & wealth theology (the prosperity gospel)
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Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play
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February 6, 2019
Episode 12: The Best Thing
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We crack open the mailbag in episode 12 to answer questions about fearing God and if God is always disappointed in us.
We spend time in Matthew 3:16-17 for guidance on how to spend daily rhythm time with Jesus.
And the topic of the episode centers around knowing what The Best Thing is.
Blog articles mentioned:
Shame vs. the Gospel – Is God Pleased with You?
House Money: Releasing God from “Your Best Life Now” and the Freedom this Brings
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