Matt Chandler is one of the best communicators of the Gospel and if I could ever sit down with someone and talk preaching, he would be at the top of my list.
Theology and Doxology are deeply intertwined. Theology isn't exclusive to the business of pastors and doxology isn't exclusive to the musicians and rock stars.
"Fear. It was fear that killed my parents. On the far side of the world, I tasted fear in it’s purest form and thought I’d conquered it. But, fear followed me home...” - Batman
I have to make a confession; I am afraid of most animals. I think they are all cute and stuff, but at the end of the day I want to keep myself at a distance and be ready in case they attack. Perhaps my fear of animals is silly and I just need to get over my dog destroying my G.I. Joes when I was a little boy, but don’t we all have fears?
What do you fear?
Fear will always cause a person to react. If you are afraid of getting pulled over by a cop, you will drive slower. If you are afraid of getting caught cheating, you will either avoid cheating or be more secretive about it. Fear might cause you to run away or it might cause you get ready to fight. Depending on how you view God, you might look at him with fear. If the thought of God causes you to be afraid, it will cause you to react. You might react by rebelling against him, you might react by ignoring him, or you might even react by doing what he says with hopes that you might appease him.
If you are afraid of God, what do when something bad happens? Certainly fear would lead you to think, “Perhaps God is punishing me.” In 1 Kings 18, there are a group of prophets worshipping their god in hopes that they will get him to pay attention. They shout, they dance, the cut themselves. But nothing. In their view of god, what do they do? Was their god too tired? Was he busy dealing with somebody more important? Did they screw something up and he didn’t care anymore?
“In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” - 1 John 4:17-19
We don’t need to be afraid of God. We can approach him confidently because of what we know about him. While we are certainly sinners, because of the fact that Jesus suffered and died to pay the price for our sins, we can approach God confidently knowing that our relationships have been made right with him. Because of Jesus, we don't need to be afraid. The sacrifice of Jesus drives out this feeling of being afraid that might creep into our relationship with Him.
At the same time, Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” This is another kind of fear. This is the fear that looks at God in awe and reverence. This is the fear that doesn’t cause us to react in a way that’s afraid of God but in a way that trusts God. The devil seeks to drive us to being afraid. He seeks to make us afraid, which might lead us to react in anger or rebellion. But God seeks to drive out that kind of fear and instead drive us to a fear that trusts because “He first loved us.”
My wife is a stay-at-home mom; I have no doubt that this is one of the most significant callings in the world. What if women who stayed at home with their kids understood the significance of the calling that God has given them as a mother?
We live in a world that is all about having more stuff. We want more apps, more music, a new phone, a new video game, more friends, and so on
[tentblogger-vimeo 24715531]
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not." - Ira Glass
HT: Echo Hub
God. Religion. Consumerism. Confession. Sin. Truth. Marriage. Money. If these were the words of a preacher, it would be no surprise. Ben Haggerty, commonly known as Macklemore, has made fame rapping, or should I say preaching, about topics which often are undiscussed in the genre of hip-hop. He writes words like, "The greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was convincing women that they looked better in makeup" and, "When I was at church they taught me something else, if you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed."
Macklemore is a preacher. He may not have the same agenda, the same source of truth, or even the same beliefs. But he is a preacher. He has set out to proclaim a message; he has set out to inspire people and start a movement. He wants to change culture. And I think preachers could learn a few things from the way he approaches his art.
1. People want to talk about spiritual things.
For Macklemore, spiritual topics are not off limits. He has no problem getting into spiritual discussions in interviews or in the lyrics of his songs; whether to proclaim what's wrong with religion or to point out what's wrong with society, spirituality is a frequent component of his music. People want to talk about the things that matter. Macklemore's album calls out the problems with commercialism and the dangers of money, he preaches about his beliefs about gay marriage, and he talks about his confession habits as he goes to the bar. These are all topics that preachers talk about…and people want to talk about it.
2. Put yourself in the seat of the listener.
"I put myself in the place of the listener when editing my writing. The last thing that I want to do is be preached at and told who to be or what to think when listening to an artist. However, I do want to be inspired. There's a fine line." - Macklemore from Interview Magazine
When Paul preaches the Gospel he understands the people that he is preaching to. The content of the message doesn't change, but the context of the message does. When he preaches to the Jews, he preaches in a way that resonates with a Jew. When he is preaching to a group of spiritual people who aren't familiar with the Hebrew scriptures, he quotes pagan prophets and poets to share the Gospel. In order to preach the scriptures faithfully, we must be committed to both the content of the Word and the context of the people.
[tentblogger-youtube gAg3uMlNyHA]
*note: this video may have some explicit lyrics
3. Inspire people to something better.
In the song Wing$, Mackelmore boldly calls people to leave their lives of consumerism:
"It started out with what I wear to school That first day, like these are what make you cool And this pair, this would be my parachute So much more than just a pair of shoes Nah, this is what I am What I wore, this is the source of my youth This dream that they sold to you For a hundred dollars and some change Consumption is in the veins And now I see it's just another pair of shoes"
Macklemore preaches by pointing us to the reality of what consumerism does and tries to inspire us to live differently. This is not all that different than what happens on a Sunday morning - just what we do on Sundays tends to not be nearly as artistic or memorable. Macklemore points people to the reality of consumerism or whatever other issue he is rapping about. Preaching points people to the reality of their sin and the consequences of it (which could even be the sin of consumerism). Macklemore tries to inspire people to live differently. Preaching proclaims the Gospel, which sets people free and in turn inspires people to live differently.
What lessons have you learned about preaching recently?
Who are you? My first instinct, if I’m trying to answer that question, is to start by describing myself. I might describe the roles that I have - a father, a husband, a youth minister.
[tentblogger-vimeo 59474340]
Riet Schumack, mixing her passions of gardening and children, has been living out her calling in the city of Detroit by making community gardens. Brightmoor moved to the city of Detroit in 2006 and this is how she has been serving her neighbors.
Church is weird. And don't worry, I'm not suggesting we change that. Acknowledging our weirdness can be helpful for those of us who have become accustomed to the way church is done.
In the Old Testament there was a group of people who wanted fame. They wanted nothing more than to make a name for themselves, and they decided the way to do this was to build a giant tower. In Genesis 11:4, they say “Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves...”
Isn’t this exactly what we so often do? We do whatever we can to make a name for ourselves. We try to get tons of friends on facebook, followers on twitter, or likes on instagram. But, why? Because we want people to be impressed with us. This is called “pride.” Pride the feelings you get when you do something good. So you feel prideful because you feel popular if people follow you or like your stuff. You might feel pride if you are the prettiest girl in the school. You might feel pride if you get paid more than your co-workers.
When I was growing up, I had dreams of being famous. My dreams meant I would be a famous basketball player. I dreamed of the day I would run out onto the court as the announcer called out my name. Maybe for you, you have similar dreams. Maybe you dream of being a famous actor, athlete, or writer. There’s nothing wrong with those dreams, but I want to challenge you to make it an even greater priority to pursue making Jesus famous. I’m not saying not to pursue your basketball career or writing, but in the midst of those make your goal to make Jesus famous, not yourself.
HE > ME
When Jesus first comes on the ministry scene, he’s not the big deal in town. In fact, there’s a guy by the name of John who is baptizing a bunch of people and has gotten quite the following. As Jesus‘ following grows, John is questioned about what he thinks about all this. In John 3:26, some of John’s disciples ask, “that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - the one you testified about - well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
John responds with an answer that I think should guide the way we live our lives. John says, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Nowhere in our world will somebody tell you that you should pursue becoming less of a big deal. But John is pursing this. He has no problem that he is becoming less of a big deal because in his case that means that Jesus is becoming more of a big deal. What would your life look like if you lived in a way that everything you did was so that Jesus might become a bigger deal?
“Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:3
In everything you do, you can glorify God. When you go to school, live in a way that makes a big deal of Jesus. Let your choices be guided by making Jesus a big deal. When you hang out with your friends, glorify God. When you are with your family, make Jesus a big deal. When you are playing video games, glorify God.
The internet has started a storm about this guy with the last name of "Gosnell." So what is it all about? What is Gosnell?
If we looked at everything we do as a calling from God, it might change everything. What if when we sweeped the floors, tucked our kids into bed, sent an e-mail, or walked through the neighborhood that we understood that God has called us to live out our faith in the places he has put us. What if we actually believed that God not only called some to be preachers and missionaries, but also to be stay-at-home moms, blue jean designers, and assembly-line workers?
Photo Credit: Corey Grunewald
Is it every pretty when we get angry? When I get angry, I make stupid decisions.