Upon His Holy Mountain

America is full of ghost churches. How often do we see or hear of churches that start off strong and fast, only to vanish within few decades? One has but to visit many congregations in the South particularly to find churches where the youth is missing and the inevitable fate of "ghost church" awaits them. How does this happen? That's a rather complex question and I'm only dealing with one aspect. Basically it comes down to this: What is church's goals and how do they plan to accomplish said goals? Secondly, I want to talk about "being outdated". Okay, so what should the goal of church be (and this should be determined at the outset). Now, I'm tempted to repeat a lot of what I said in  a previous post , but I'll try not to. The Church, as the body of Christ and the people of God, exist to proclaim His Majesty and provide light to the world around us. Our job is to spread that light (with God's help) until it engulfs the entire globe. T...

"Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship." If you really want to get me going, just say this phrase because this statement reduces the Christian Faith to a self help program with Jesus as your best friend or what have you. The Christian Faith is not a mere relationship. But what is it then? First off (and let's get this clear) Christianity is simply the body of thought about the Christian Faith. Christianity is an idea, in other words. Much like Theology is the study or thoughts about God, but Theology is not God. It is God whom we worship- not Theology. Instead of "Christianity", we should say "Christendom". Now, Christendom gives rise to many different connotations. Many Christians today would say "What? I have no clue what that means!". The more historically minded folks, such as myself, will think of Medieval Europe. Christendom simply means "the realm of the Christians" or Christ depending on the cont...

"The Bible is our Creed" This is the answer many Christians (e.g. Mennonites, Church of Christ, Baptist, Charismatic etc.) will give when asked about creeds. But is the Bible a creed? First off, what is as creed, exactly? Well, the word creed comes from the Latin word "Credo" meaning 'I Believe". So, could that work in the phrase, "The Bible is my creed"? Of course, I do indeed believe the Bible. It is the infallible, inerrant, inspired word of God, the book by which lives and nations should be governed. Without it, we would be lost. But the Bible is not a creed. A creed, basically is statement of faith. It's what you would say if I asked, "So, what do you believe?" Are you going to quote the entirety of the Bible to me? No, you'll concise it and explain in your own words what you believe based on the Scripture (I hope). The Bible is not, really, a creed. It is the substance on which creeds should be founded. Some sa...

I hope the title of this post hasn't frightened you but I do indeed ask that you avoid at all cost The Microwave. It is subtle and dangerous. Now I do not mean that apparatus whereby people in the modern culture obtain warm food at alarming and mind boggling speeds. I am referring to much more serious threat- The Biblical Microwave. A brief glance at most "through the Bible in a year" plans reveals something about the average American Christian- they think of the OT and NT as parallel books. You read X amount of the OT and Y amount of NT each day. And thus we run into the Microwave   (Begins the scary music and other equally disturbing sound effects.)  The Bible is a story. It a true story. It is story of the world, from the dawn of creation in Eden to the consummation of  all things with a new and restored Eden. It is amazing how much the beginning of the Bible is echoed in the final chapters. It also amazing how many Christians don't see it.  They compart...

The Clothing Civil War of the Church: The matter of dressing on Sunday is a hot topic in today's Christian world. For some, it's all about coming as you are and not trying to look self-righteous. Just throw on your jeans and T-shirt and you're good to go.  On the other hand, you have the conservative lynch mobs trying to tie nooses, er, ties around our necks. You're going to see the King of all Creation, the Savior, so you want to look your best. If I might be so bold, I would like to suggest that both sides are absolutely right, and absolutely missing the point. Here are a few things to consider, and that play a part in the rationale behind my personal Lord's Day attire. I want to hit on these very briefly. What is Worship? Worship is when God's people come into his presence to praise him, to hear his word, to pray and to feast at his table. Worship is not a casual event, but neither is formal.. It is a celebration. Should We Dress Up Then? This depe...

TV Lawyer Perry Mason For the past hundred years or so, most American Protestant pastors have dressed more less like this guy when they stand in the pulpit every Sunday morning and when they minister during the week . A starched, iron shirt, a suit, a nice tie (nothing wacky). This is is the Evangelical Clerical Garb- unfortunately. The problem with this Pastoral uniform is its lack of anything Pastoral. It is the uniform of lawyers, real estate agents, salesmen and CEOs and other business related positions. If you did not know the man in the picture is TV lawyer Perry Mason (actually it's Raymond Burr, but anyway...), and I put a picture of similarly clad pastor beside him and said  "One of these is a pastor", you would be unable to guess accurately. On the other hand, what if I placed Mr. Mason beside this picture? Bing Crosby as "Father O'Malley"  "Okay," I say. "One of these two guys is a lawyer and one is a Clergyman. Can yo...