Rob Prince's Blog, page 57

Had Twitter Existed at Pentecost

My Twitter feed is a mixed bag.  I guess I have friends on both sides of the issues (no matter what the issue is).  Some folks look at a set of facts and smell a rose, others look at the same facts and smell a rat. It’s not a new phenomenon. It happened on Pentecost too. Acts 2:12-13 gives two differing viewpoints of the events taking place:   Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

So, with that in mind, here is what I imagine my Twitter feed might have looked like if Twitter had been around on the first Pentecost:

The Holy Spirit filled the people in the upper room? #YeahRight #ItsNeverBeenDoneThatWayBefore
Did anybody hear that loud sound? It wasn’t a tornado. God must be up to something #WhatDoesThisMean #CantWait
Rushing Wind? Tongues of Fire? #ProveIt #WhatsNextLittleGreenMenfromMars
Crowd is asking if these people are drunk. #NoAppearanceOfEvil #IfItQuacksLikeADuck
I’m from Mesopotamia and a Galilean is speaking my language! #NoTranslatorNeeded #NoJoke
Reports of people hearing the message of Jesus in their own languages spoken by Galileans. #MaybeTheListenersWereDrunkToo #TooMuchWine
Peter Preaching. Are you kidding me? #FailureDisqualifies #LiarLiarPantsOnFire
Peter is a fisherman. Not a preacher. #SermonFail #NoThreePoints #NoClosingTearJerkerStory #NoJustAsIAm #GoBackToFishing
The guy who a few weeks ago was cursing and saying he didn’t know Jesus to a servant girl is now boldly speaking before thousands saying, “Jesus is Risen from the grave.” #WhatHappenedToThisGuy #HeHasChanged
Church leaders say there were 3000 converts in one day. #WhenPigsFly #UshersCantCount #MoreLike300 #WontLast #NoAltarNoConverts #FactCheckTheNumbers
I believe!#Jesus #NewConvert #Baptized #2999JustLikeMe

Mixed viewpoints still exist.  The question becomes “to whom will you listen?”  Whose voice will win out in your life?  The voice of the hope or the voice of despair?  The American church’s pews too often are filled with people who are more defined by politics, materialism, and a feeble prayer life. Their authority is from a news channel instead of the Bible. Too many are filled with a spirit of fear and criticism rather than filled with the Holy Spirit.

What’s needed?

Another Pentecost.

And for another Pentecost, we will need:

Less social media and more prayer;

Less news channels and more prayer;

Less “us vs. them” and more prayer;

Less trivial pursuits and more prayer.

What voices are you listening to?  What or Who is shaping your story? Bottom line: We all need more of the Spirit of Jesus filling our lives.  #AnotherPentecost

Ten Ways a Mom can get her Adult Kids to Join her in Church on Mother’s Day

1. Bribe them with her world famous homemade fried chicken dinner after church

2.  Remind them that the preacher has a 25-minute sermon guarantee or it’s free (I have heard from a good source this is not entirely true).

3.  Offer to pay for travel expenses even from Australia (They’ll need to get busy. To almost quote Anthony Campolo: “It’s Thursday, but Sunday’s a comin’”).

4.  Tell them if they DON’T come to church with you, then you WILL go with them to their work family picnic telling stories from their childhood (see below).

5.  Promise that you will no longer remind him/her of the infamous alleged booger eating incident during the kindergarten Christmas program of 1989.

6.  No Churchy. No trust fundy.

7.  (If child is single) Assure her/him that you will not introduce your son/daughter to that nice young lady/fella with the wonderful personality but who also has some halitosis issues.

8.  Guarantee no twisty pinches if they misbehave like the old days in church.

9.  Three Words: PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEEEEEASE!!!

but the best way to get your adult kids to come to church with you on Mother’s Day is to simply…

10. Invite them*

*Most surveys indicate that people (even family) come to church if invited.

 

A Suggestion to Improve Nazarene District Assemblies

We are in the middle of the ever-exciting (cough cough) Nazarene District Assembly season in USA/Canada.  With the hand picking (as opposed to truly electing) of District Superintendents that has become more and more in vogue (I’m not expressing an opinion of this practice, simply recognizing its occurrence), even DS election years have lost their luster.  I have been to 30 consecutive District Assemblies and the closest that any of them have ever come to anything that could be described as “exciting” was when a church split boiled over onto the District Assembly floor.  Excuse me, holiness folks don’t have church splits (cough cough). That year, there was some fascinating discussion when a “church plant” had a disagreement over the property and money given or not given by the “mother church.”  With that lone exception, it’s been tough to keep the mostly whited headed delegates awake, much less engaged in anything remotely considered missional.

There have been plenty of honest attempts to juice up our yearly gatherings: special speakers, workshops, and mission projects.  For the most part, it hasn’t worked. So here’s my suggestion (Truth Alert: it’s not a new idea and it’s not even my idea. In fact, it’s ancient).  How about if we followed the Acts 2:42 model for our District Assemblies?  Luke wrote that the early church gathered and:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 

Could we do that in our District Assemblies?

We already have good apostolic teaching (usually).  I generally like the General Superintendent’s sermons and the DS’s report (when they stick to vision, mission and Jesus and not making excuses for the district’s and/or denomination’s decline). I love the ordination service.  But what if like in Acts 2:42 we fellowshipped more?  What if instead of scattering to the closest Golden Coral for lunch we all ate our meals together and we talked about the good things that were happening in our churches. No negativity and gossip allowed (if that is possible).  What if we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together (do you ever remember celebrating the Lord’s Supper at a District Assembly?  Me neither). What if (now I’m just getting crazy) we made baptisms a part of District Assembly? Baptisms at District Assembly? Why not?  And what if we concluded with a great and boisterous prayer meeting where we confessed our faults and failures, thanked the Lord for his provisions and cried out to God for a Pentecost like renewal in all of our churches.

Could such a District Assembly change our churches, pastors and laypeople?  If the manual changed and allowed me to make a wager, I’d bet such a District Assembly would do more good than the snoozefests that too often our District Assemblies have become.

 

Sins of the Keyboard

Did I miss a heavenly memo that stated all Bible verses concerning gossiping, grumbling, and spreading rumors are null and void? Was there a new proclamation from on high giving the green light to murmuring and slanderous talk? Isn’t such blabbering still considered unChrist-like?  From my casual perusal of social media, to a few conversations and even some flat out lies spoken by followers of Jesus (or maybe better stated, people who claimed to be following Jesus), the growing frequency of “sins of the tongue” (or “sins of the keyboard”) seem to indicate that such behaviors are no longer all that sinful.  (Sarcasm alert:) Who knew?

For example, when news of a renowned pastor’s allegations of misconduct hit the news, it seemed that Christians could not stop reading and regurgitating the reports and blogs of those for and against. It was the talk of the town. Christianity Today’s Twitter feed seemed to tweet about the scandal every other day. This month it’s a renowned pastor’s reputation to devour. Next month it will be someone else. In the old days, under the guise of spirituality we couched our gossip as sharing a “prayer request,” now our gossip is posted on social media with no phony “prayer request” agenda given. It’s simply juicy morsels of murmurs to be shared, as if the biblical warnings about unwholesome talk and slander no longer apply.

Should we rightly condemn bad behavior. Yes. Should we be careful about jumping onto the latest pile of rumors and innuendoes? Double yes. Should we decide to take the plank out of our eye instead of worrying about the speck of sawdust in the someone else’s eye? I’m pretty sure Jesus would say, “Triple yes.” Maybe if we were to receive a memo from on high, it would require us to memorize Ephesians 4:29:  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.If Paul were writing today, he might have penned, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths or posted on your Facebook or Twitter feed.” If that is too difficult, how about if all who claim to be followers of Jesus humbly relearn the truth in the pre-school Sunday school song:

O be careful little tongue what you say,

O be careful little tongue what you say,

For the Father up above is looking down below,

So be careful little tongue what you say

Reversing the downward trajectory in the Church of the Nazarene

It’s no secret that attendance in the Church of the Nazarene in the USA is in decline.  There is also no shortage of explanations of why this might be the case: It’s tougher these days; people aren’t interested; culture has changed; every denomination is losing members, blah, blah, blah.

I understand the challenges of leading a church are far different today than when I started pastoring 30 years ago.   Having written that, I hope that my solution is not simply a reminiscing of the “good old days.” I don’t want to be the old guy saying, “Hey you kids, get off my lawn! I remember when…” Still with that disclaimer, here it goes:

We need make evangelism a priority again.  Not church growth (although as evangelism happens churches grow). Not planting churches (although evangelism happens when churches are planted).  My observation has been that most church growth and church planting growth comes from disgruntled church attenders finding the hip new church to attend. It’s mostly fat and sassy sheep changing pastures, not lost and hungry sheep being found.

What we need is pure and basic evangelism.

On a personal level, it’s always remembering that we believe that this world determines one’s eternal accommodations and acting accordingly.  We have friends and loved ones that are on their way to hell if something doesn’t change. Let’s quit saying society has changed and admit that we have changed.  We aren’t as bold as past generations.  We aren’t as committed.  We don’t sacrifice like our grandparents did. We have other interests (distractions) and other priorities.  We need to confess that we have failed at living into the Great Commission and determine to become friends with sinners (it seemed that Jesus was accused of keeping such company) so that we might have the opportunity to share the love of Christ.

Local churches can never be satisfied with the status quo or decline, but having a healthy dose of shame when conversions and baptisms are in decline. Local churches need to be training people (and pastors?) in personal evangelism. We need to count what counts: contacts, conversions and baptisms. We need less emphasis on cool and more emphasis on warm. Less café’s and less wood pallet backdrops and more biblical preaching. Less politics and more holiness.  Less excuses and more Jesus.

On a denominational level, it’s returning the “M” events back into evangelism workshops and evangelism strategizing. Let’s create an Evangelism Department again (I think that office morphed into the USA/Canada office years ago). Let’s produce curriculum in the colleges and seminary that create a fire within the bones of our young people to do the work of an evangelist.  It’s becoming downright Bresee-like in going to those whom society has rejected.  Joining with the poor, the burdened, the disenfranchised and saying. “You are welcome here!” It’s confessing that our last 20 years have been mostly a disaster when it comes to evangelism and the way we have done it (or haven’t done it) has been wrong. Let’s get creative again!

While we are going back to the good ol days of evangelism emphasis, remember keep off my grass you young whippersnappers!

The Best Reasons To Return to Church on the Sunday AFTER Easter

1).  No Problem finding your car in the parking lot (It’s the lonely Chevy surrounded by empty spaces).

2). If you are allergic to Easter lilies, sneeze no more.  They were out of the sanctuary quicker than Michigan State was out in this year’s NCAA basketball tourney (Too soon, Sparty? Sorry!)

3). No pressure to wear the most fashionable Easter Bonnet. (The last Easter Bonnet was worn by Mrs. Bertha Davis at the First Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1998.)

4). Two Bulletins for the price of one. (Our worship folders are always free).

5). Plenty of seats in the front (and in the back and on the side and in the balcony and in the… well… you get the idea)

6).  If you have agoraphobia (fear of crowds), you have no worries. Of course, if you have monophobia(fear of being alone) you might want to consider bringing a friend.

7).  No Tithe Sunday! (That’s a lie).

8).You feel bad that no one will be there to laugh at the preacher’s corny jokes (Who’s kidding who? Even in a packed sanctuary no one laughs at the preacher’s jokes… not this preacher’s jokes anyway. Notice your lack of chuckles, giggles and merriment to #7 as proof).

9). The Choir will take requests from the “crowd.”(Umm… no they won’t).

And the VERY best reason to come back to church on the Sunday AFTER Easter…

10). You love Jesus and you want to praise Him on Easter and every other day too! Let’s not wait until heaven to join in the chorus singing, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)

 

Empty

If your stomach is empty, you’ll be hungry.

If your bank account is empty, you’re broke.

If your coffee cup is empty, that’s a bummer.

If the cookie jar is empty, that’s sad.

If the candy dish is empty, that’s worse.

If your gas tank is empty, I hope you are wearing good walking shoes.

If your trophy case is empty, you must be a Detroit Lions’ fan (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

If someone’s words are empty, they are meaningless.

If my church is empty on a Sunday morning, the church board will start shopping for a new pastor soon.

Empty is usually a bad thing. But not always.

On that first Easter morning, the ladies who were expecting to do the grim job of applying spices to the cold dead body of Jesus instead discovered that the tomb was empty.

Occasionally, empty is the best news of all!  The angel told them: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:7-8).  If Jerusalem had a tabloid newspaper, then the headline would have been a one word, large print, eye-catching caption above a picture of a giant rock on the side of an open tomb: EMPTY!

We are celebrating Easter on Sunday.

The tomb was empty. Death has been defeated. Jesus is alive.

Here’s more good news:

If you are feeling empty;

If your heart is empty;

If your life is empty;

The Resurrected Jesus will come and fill you with His love and presence. Jesus words on the Sermon on the Mount are still true: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

The tomb is empty, but you don’t have to be!

 

Palm Sunday Blues

Palm Sunday is this week.  We remember the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowds waved their palm branches and shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Usually, on this beginning day of Holy Week, our kids with great excitement march through the sanctuary swinging their palm branches and we joyfully sing “Hosanna, Hosanna!!” Well, not everybody.

One year a young unnamed pastor’s kid was not thrilled to participate in the parade of palm branches.  He reluctantly dragged his palm branch behind him through the crowd. He didn’t quite exude the excitement of the original day.  There was a look of bewilderment on his face as he followed the lineup of kids with a “why-are-the adults-making-me-carry-this-dopey-palm-branch-throughout-the-sanctuary” look on his face while his palm branch followed in tow. Maybe it was too early in the morning to march through anything (I’ve been there).  Maybe he didn’t want to be a follower but wanted to lead the parade (I’ve felt that way).  Maybe it was just one of those days (we’ve all had them).  To all the parents who noticed him shuffling by dragging his branch, it was considered kind of cute as we could all relate to our kids and a time when they had a less-than-thrilled attitude about some activity.

Why remind you of that boy’s Palm Sunday Blues (by the way, the next year he was much more content to wave his palm branch and march through the sanctuary)?

I think a lot of us are kind of like that kid.  We shuffle through life with a bewildered stare. We don’t feel like singing or waving our branches.  We’d rather be left in a corner somewhere with a “Don’t Bother Me” sign around our neck.  Maybe we do what we are required to do but we have little joy and even less enthusiasm for the things of life.

Jesus has more for us than that. In fact, on the night that we call Maundy Thursday, Jesus told his followers gathered in the upper room: Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16:24 underlining mine).  Jesus is the Ultimate Restorer of joy. He calls for us to ask for it and He freely gives it.

If the stuff of life has been robbing you of joy lately, ask in Jesus’ name for his glory to return! In other words, in faith, remind yourself of the Good News that Jesus has come and he will come again! These tough days won’t last forever. So don’t drag your palm branches through life, but lift them high and expectantly and faithfully let your soul rejoice: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

March Madness and Amazing Grace

College Basketball’s March Madness begins today.  It seems that everyone in the country fills out a bracket and picks a team they believe will be the eventual winner.  Well, not everyone.  I was at a funeral this week for the parent of a parishioner and the pastor mentioned something about March Madness and filling out a bracket and the octogenarian lady in the pew in front of me, in a not-quite-a-whisper voice asked her husband, “What’s a bracket?”  I saw a non-sports loving person post the following on Facebook: “I don’t know anything about football, but I filled out my bracket.”

I saw that the odds of someone actually filling out a perfect bracket (picking every winner in all 63 basketball games during the three-week tournament) is 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to one.  To quote Lloyd Christmas (played by Jim Carey) in Dumb and Dumber, “So your telling me there’s a chance. Yeah!”

I filled out a bracket, but I have no hopes of winning.  One year, when Ben was about 4 years old, I had him pick the winners and losers in the tournament.  He picked teams based on bodily functions or body part sounding names.  His final four were:  Duke, Butler, Austin Peay and IUPUI (pronounce Ewey-Pooey). He did better than me.  Jimmy the Greek, I am not.  I have heard of people choosing teams based on the color of the uniforms (i.e. “I like blue better than green”) or team mascots (i.e. “Wolverines are cuter than Spartans, I’ll take them.”)  Generally, such methods are just as accurate as the picks from the so-called experts (underdogs frequently upset a higher seeded team, hence the reason for calling the tournament “March Madness.”). Picking winners is hard.

40 years of filling out a bracket has taught me this important lesson (not about basketball, I stink at that skill, but) about God: God does not pick us based on our ability to shoot a basketball, our name, background, clothing color or any other silly criteria. In fact, the Bible indicates that God has picked all of us to be winners.  Isaiah 43 has God’s words to Israel which we can claim as our own saying: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1).  Paul tells a group of Christians, “In him we were also chosen” (Ephesians 1:11) and Peter reminds us: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

God has chosen you and me not because we can shoot a basketball straight or not but simply because we are His children and he wants us to win in life (which is a tad more important than a basketball tournament). Peter put it this way:  God “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).

No matter who you pick to win the basketball games (I chose Michigan to win it all, shocking I know), make sure you choose God. He’s on your side and has already picked you as a winner—that’s not madness it’s called Amazing Grace!

Ten Ways to NOT invite a Friend to Church on Easter Sunday

When inviting a friend to church on Easter Sunday DO NOT say any of the following:

1) “Easter is on April Fool’s Day this year.  That’s kind of your daily double, isn’t it?”

2) “Your big ears look like the Easter Bunny’s ears, you’re as fruity as a jelly bean and your cologne smells like deviled eggs– you were made for Easter Sunday.”

3) “Don’t make me say: “Christ is Risen, but my friend is still in bed.”

4) “Easter Sunday is also known as “bring-a-peep-to-church-Sunday.”

5) “Easter just happens to fall is on a Sunday this year, could you join me?”

6) “On Easter, we are having a Barabbas look-alike contest, I think you will have an excellent chance of winning! The winner gets released from the service early.”

7) “Instead of an Easter Egg Hunt, this year our fourth graders are Hunting-for-Heretics, so unless you want 14 snotty nosed Sunday School kids showing up at your place at 9AM, you might want to join me at church.”

8) “At our church, visitors get an Easter Basket filled with year old Sunday school papers, last week’s church bulletins and Good Friday Potluck leftovers.”

9) “Before entering the ministry, our preacher was a pyrotechnics director in Hollywood. He promises that his Easter sermon will have REAL Fire and Brimstone.”

10) “Everyone goes to church on Easter except goobers.  Don’t be a goober.”

Please DO NOT use any of the above invitations to Easter Services, but DO INVITE someone to church on Easter!  Start praying about who could join you on Easter Sunday!