why i don’t live for jesus anymore

I recently spoke to my church family about why I don’t live for Jesus anymore. Don’t worry – I’m still a Christian and head over heels with Jesus! However, I have a real problem with the phrase “living for Jesus.” I’ve heard it everywhere in Christendom – songs, sermons, testimonies. I’ve been in services where the altar call was asking people to come down front and declare that they will do a better job of living for Jesus. It bothers me to the point that as worship leader at our church, I’ve changed the lyrics to songs to take that phrase out.  For the record, I understand the idea of living for Jesus as a means of expressing that he’s the reason you live – he’s the purpose and motivation behind your life. But most of the time I hear this phrase, its not in that context. Take for example these two song lyrics:  “Lord give us strength to live for you” and “I will follow you, live my life for you.” Those sentences make it sound like our job as Christians are to live for Jesus. While it may seem very admirable and even a desirable goal as a Christian to live for Him, I believe its the exact opposite of what Christians are called to do.

So whats the problem with living for Jesus?

1) Its unbiblical. I have searched the phrases “live for Jesus,” ” live for Him,” and “live for God” in multiple translations of the Bible and I can’t seem find it consistently anywhere. There are a few instances but usually its just one translation. For instance, in Galatians 2:19 the NIV and NLT versions says “live for God” but the same verse is translated “live to God” in almost every other translation. “Live to God” seems to denote living our lives with God as our purpose – and makes much more sense than “live for God,” especially when the context of the verse is talking about being out from under the Old Testament law. There are a few other examples like this but basically the idea of living for Jesus is not found in the bible.

2) Its impersonal. Think about it – when you do something for someone, they aren’t there, right? If your spouse asks you to run an errand for them, it because they aren’t there and can’t do it.  So if we’re living for God, where is He? If God wanted us to live for Him, He would’ve kept the OT law in place and never sent Jesus. But John 3:16 says that God so loved us that sent Jesus. Why? So we could have the restored relationship that Adam enjoyed with God. Check out this funny but accurate video showing the shallow relationship of a Christian who is living for God:

3) Its impossible. Galatians 2:21 says that righteousness cannot come through the law. You, by yourself can’t do anything to put yourself in right-standing with God. No matter how hard you try to live for Him, you’ll fail. You can’t “do” Christianity without Christ!

So if we don’t live for Jesus, how do we live?

1)   Live in Jesus – 2 Cor 5:17 says we become new creatures if we are  IN Christ – not living for him. If you look up with word “in” in greek, it means “hidden in, tucked away, in the interior,” and the AMP version says “ingrafted.” Its the same word used of Jesus being “in” his mother Mary before he was born.  Doesn’t that sound good – to be completely hidden in, provided for, protected and shielded by Jesus? In addition, living in Him is even the way you deal with sin -  Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” There is no sin in Jesus. So as we hide ourselves in Him and learn to walk in the spirit, sin becomes a non-issue.

2)   Live through Jesus – Philippians 4:13. – “I can do all things THROUGH Christ.”  1 John 4:9 – “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live THROUGH Him.” When you do something through something else, you’re using its power and ability, not your own.  What great news! See, we don’t have to live for Jesus, we live through Him and use His strength and wisdom.  We are acceptable to God when we live through him – 1 Peter 2:5. Whats more, you don’t work for Him, He works though you as you submit to Him – Hebrews 13:20,21

3)   Live with Jesus – Colossians 2:13 says that we are alive WITH Him – the word “with” being “a preposition denoting union” (Strongs). Union – isn’t that why God sent Jesus -  to restore our union with Him? Again, when you do something for someone, they aren’t there. However, when you live WITH Jesus, He is everywhere you go. You take Him to work with you, He eats with you and watches TV with you. 2 Cor 13:4 explains that if you want to have the power of God active in your life, its not earned – it comes by Him being WITH you.

I encourage you to stop living for Jesus. Just quit – its not what you were made to do. Instead live in, live through and live with Him. You’ll find your relationship with Him will run much deeper than it ever has before. Once we stop trying to do Christianity in our power we can learn to simply be Christians in, through and with His power.

how do you know god exists? – part three

So we’ve covered how I know God exists and we’ve also covered why I believe those who believe in God have a reasonable faith.  Now I want to cover a few common objections people sometimes bring up when it comes to belief in God. These are questions that I’ve heard frequently cited when someone is having trouble believing in the Christian God that is presented to them. I’m not arrogant enough to believe that I have all the answers here. However, I believe I may be able to provide at least glimpse into the what the bible says about about these commonly misunderstood subjects.

“Why would a loving God send people to hell?” The idea of someone going to hell is not a happy thought. In Matthew 25:41 the bible clearly states that hell was created for the devil and his angels. See, God never intended to and doesn’t want to send anyone there (2 Peter 3:9). However if you haven’t accepted the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus, there is no other alternative.  Technically, God does not send anyone to hell. People end up there essentially sending themselves when they choose to live in the death of their sin nature and don’t take advantage of the way of escape God provided through Jesus. Some think this isn’t fair and I get that. But imagine someone ignoring the continued warnings that their apartment building will eventually be demolished. They’ve been told they need to find a new place to live. Do they have the right to get mad when the building is demolished while they’re still inside even though it was they that didn’t heed the warning? Yeah, its an imperfect analogy but God is warning us that the world is passing away (1 John 2:17). The demolition has already been scheduled. Don’t blame God for hell - He is the good guy trying to save us from it! He provided a way of escape. The world is passing away – please don’t pass away with it.

“How can a loving God allow evil?” First of all, its important to know that 1 John 5:19 clearly states that evil is the result of the devil’s influence and sway over this world. Since Adam and Eve gave control over the devil and claimed mankind’s independence from God, it’s logical that we see stealing, killing and destroying everywhere . That’s what he does (John 10:10) and its also its the fruit of our fallen independent nature (Galatians 5:19-21). Because of these things, there will always be evil on this earth. Its also important to realize that just because God allows something to exist (like evil caused by Satan’s influence), that doesn’t mean it’s His will. 2 Peter 3:9 is a great scriptural example of this point because here it states that God wants everyone to be saved yet clearly, that’s not the case. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that God has given mankind free will. We have the right to choose how we respond to Him (Joshua 24:15).

Imagine my wife and I are visiting New York City and my she says she wants to go window shopping in Manhattan at 1 am. As a loving and thoughtful husband, I tell her she shouldn’t do that because there is a good chance she’ll get mugged. However, she asserts her independence and I say “fine, go ahead – you’re a big girl and you can make your own decisions.” Then she comes back two hours later with clothes ripped, a bloody lip and no purse. Upon her arrival, she yells at me and says “Why did you mug me?!” Huh? Did I mug her? No, I warned her but allowed her to make her own decision which resulted in her mugging. It doesn’t seem fair for me that I’d be blamed for the evil that happened. Yet we do this with God when we blame him when bad things happen to us.  There is a big difference between allowing evil (which God does) and causing evil (which He doesn’t do).

“If God created everything, who created God?” No one. In order for something to be created, there has to be a point in time when that creation began. However, God is the Uncreated One that stands outside of time. Furthermore, He Himself created time as a structure within which to place His creation. The Creator is not bound by His creation -  in this case, time. God wasn’t created. He is.

“Can God create a rock so big that He cannot lift it?” I actually heard this one back in college and to be honest, it threw me for a loop at the time. Here’s how it works: and atheist asks an unsuspecting believer if they believe God is all-powerful. The believer obviously says yes.  Then the atheist asks can God create a rock so big that He can’t lift it? The Christian has no other answer but no. The atheist says then your God is not all-powerful. Fun huh? Here’s the deal: that’s an illogical, unanswerable question designed to trick believers. It can’t be answered logically because the sentence doesn’t ask a real question. Its like asking “Can God create a square that’s round?” “Can God eat a banana that’s a steak?” Stupid question. Don’t fall for it.

“So much evil has been done in the name of God and religion.” Jesus addresses this in Matthew 13:24-30;36-43. Essentially, God knows about the tares/weeds among his true believers (wheat) and He doesn’t like it either. They are imposters planted by the enemy. However, He isn’t going to uproot the weeds yet because it would cause irreparable damage to the wheat that’s still growing. Know this, the time is coming when all who have commited actrocities in the name of God will get their just reward. Hypocrites, charlatans, the Spanish Inquisitition, the Crusades – those who do wrong in the name of God do not get a free pass! The existence of fake Christians never justifies anyone choosing to deny a relationship with Jesus. Don’t ever let someone’s sin be an excuse for your own!

So this was really long and I only took a passing stab at these issues. I encourage you to search deeper and don’t let these questions keep you from pursuing a relationship with God. He loves you unbearably and wants desperately for you to be closer to Him. Feel free to post comments, corrections and questions.

how do you know god exists? – part two

In my previous post, I said the proof that I have for believing in God is a personal and experiential proof. Hebrews 11:6 says “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (NLT) Believers live by faith, bottom line. God wants it that way. So there is no absolute quantifiable proof that He exists – you can’t prove God in a lab. If there were absolute proof we wouldn’t need faith, which He obviously wants us to have.

However, even though the existence of God is based on faith, there are many things that point to the fact that believing in the God of the Bible is very logical and not just a position held by ignorant fanatics. In his book Skeptics Answered, D. James Kennedy makes the point that while still faith, our belief in God is a reasonable faith. I’ll leave the debates and scientific discussions to the apologists who feel called to that. Here, I’m simply going to attempt to bring up a few big-picture points that – for me personally – lead me to believe that my belief in God, while based on faith, is very reasonable.

1) The existence of time and matter. The fact that time and matter exist begs the question “where did they come from?” Even big bang theorists have to start with a) a point in time, b) the pre-existence of matter and c) energy that eventually caused the matter to explode. But where did the point in time, the matter that exploded and the energy that powered the explosion come from? Something can’t come from nothing in the natural realm. Of course, my belief in the supernatural God of the Bible easily answers those questions. The fact that there is a here and a now demands the existence of a creator.

2) The existence of the earth and life. If someone told you that two lovers’ names carved into a tree, a sand castle on the beach or even Mt. Rushmore happened by chance and without premeditated design, you’d think they were crazy. Yet that’s what evolutionists do everyday using the magical ingredient of time. These examples are extremely simplistic creations by man but imagine the detail of the human body! You wouldn’t think a computer evolved from a calculator over millions of years would you? Yet the human body (or any life form for that matter) is way more intricate than a computer. And again, there has to be some sort of energy or catalyst for the change. Darwinian evolutionists say that mutations, natural selection, and a lot of time is that catalyst. The fact that there has not been a single beneficial mutation observed in nature kinda turns me off to that. Think of it – DNA is a three-billion-lettered program telling each and every cell to act in a certain way. It also requires RNA to get the message to cells.  Which came first – the information in the DNA or the RNA needed to carry the message? You can’t have one without the other. Am I supposed to believe they magically evolved at the same time and in perfect harmony? There is a much easier solution: God exists and He is a creator, and a good one at that!

3) Ordered Laws. There are many laws that serve as as constants in our universe that create order and unity. The mere existence of these laws point to a Creator who purposely designed them. For instance the laws of logic are universal, gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will always get cold, the earth rotates each 24 hours, etc. How can an accidental, chaotic creation produce law and order? I’m sure there are many long-winded answers that can attempt to explain it. However, there is a one-word answer that makes it all perfectly clear: God.

Again, the things I’ve written here are not proof for the existence of God but observations made to reinforce that if you do believe in God, its a very reasonable belief. You shouldn’t be made to feel stupid, uneducated or inferior because you believe in the supernatural. On the contrary, with the sheer volume of unanswered questions that Darwinists have been unable to answer in over 100 of years of theory, it might be safe to assume that the most intelligent people are the ones who believe the simplest solution.

Romans 1:19-22 - They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. (NLT)

how do you know god exists?

The question of God’s existence is fundamental to everything in life. How do you treat others? How do you treat yourself? What mores and paradigms do you adopt? This all hinges on what we believe about God’s existence. Not all people believe God exists and even for those who believe in a God, ideas about who He is and what He does are as varied as snowflakes. There is monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, etc. and variations within these types are great. Some see God as simply a higher power or a creator with no current interaction with mankind. Some see him as the nebulous manifestation of a larger consciousness. Some see Him as an unknowable puppet master while still others think a personal relationship with Him is available.

I’m often asked “how do you know God exists?” Well that depends. Are you asking can I prove Him via the scientific method in a classroom setting? If so, I couldn’t possibly know God exists because my knowing is constrained by man-made standards of proof. God can’t be proven or unproven scientifically. Actually, by sheer definition, God falls outside of the scientific method since His existence requires the supernatural and science deals only within the realm of the natural.

I do know God exists, though. However, my knowing is not based on tests and peer-reviewed papers. Its based on experiential relationship. That is my proof. This bothers some people because there is no universal standard to measure relationship by. There is no way to test the validity of an experience since it is defined only by the person who experienced it. Furthermore, its a type of proof that is frustrating to unbelievers because it can’t, by nature, be disproved. So while my experiential relationship with God is proof that He exists, it is really only personal proof and can’t be used for proof of His existence for anyone else.

In the 1997 movie Contact,  starring Jodie Foster, James Woods and Matthew McConaughey, this point is illustrated very well. Jodie Foster’s character is a scientist who states that she doesn’t believe in God. However at the end of the film, she has an experience that she can’t quantify or prove. Much like the faith of her friend (McConaughey) which she scoffed at before, she realizes the nature of faith and states that although she cannot prove her experience,  “everything that I am tells me that it was real.”

So that’s how I know God exists. I had a point-in-time experience where I met Him through His son, Jesus and I have since continued in a relationship with Him through the intimate friendship of His Holy Spirit. I wish I could measure, quantify and prove it through other means in such a way that my relationship with Him would be undeniable by third parties.  But the best that I have is the word of my testimony and the change that has taken place in my life over the years. Hopefully my lifestyle bears witness that I have come in contact with God and my relationship with Him is apparent to those who come in contact with me. Just like we don’t see the wind but see its effects upon the leaves in the trees, so do our lives provide a glimpse that the invisible God is, in fact, visible through His people and present among us.

I encourage you if you are currently an atheist, agnostic, you’re confused or just apathetic – seek a relationship with God. I mean, if He did create the world and He does want a relationship with us, its logical that we seek Him out, right? In the words of Yo Gabba Gabba, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

In encourage you if you are a believer that you not be angry with unbelievers. Remember, God loves people regardless of their incorrect beliefs. He is big enough to handle our questions. Don’t let atheists and agnostics offend you – they just haven’t met Him yet! Love them and pray for them and if they’re open, share what God has done in your life. Remember, we Christians overcome by 1) linking up with Jesus 2) sharing what He’s done in our lives and 3) not being in love with ourselves – even if it costs us everything. (Revelation 12:11)

In the next few posts I’ll talk about some of the things that make me feel that my belief in God, while still faith, is a very reasonable faith. I also want to talk about a few common objections to believing in God that I’ve heard over the years.

what does the obama win mean for christians?

The whole country watched last night as Obama handed John McCain his, umm…loss. All of the talk we’ve heard about this being a monumental, historic election is true. Democrats have control of congress and presidency for the first time in 15 years. Last time their control only lasted a few years and before then, it had been even longer since the dems were in power. Oh yeah and in the 200+ years of history of the US, the president isn’t white. That’s a big deal.

Today I’ve had several calls from youth and friends who have asked the simple question, “so what does the Obama win mean for Christians?”

The answer is “surprisingly little.”

One of the biggest issues Christians tend to care about is abortion. Yes, Obama will not do anything to curb abortion in this country. He will appoint liberal judges who will uphold Roe v. Wade unwaveringly. But remember, abortion is already legal. Its not like something is going to be lost here except the potential for a Roe v. Wade overturn. You can’t lose something that never existed to begin with. It didn’t happen under 8 years of Reagan, 4 years of Bush the elder or 8 years of GW and it probably woulnd’t have happened under McCain. I hate abortion, but I’m not holding my breath for a politcal solution to it. The way abortion will stop is if God changes the hearts of the women killing their unborn babies.

I’d say most Christians are fiscally conservative. In this repsect, there is not a whole lot to fear either. Make no mistake, Obama’s voting record is as liberal as they come. But because of the long-term financial issues our nation is facing, Barack simply doesn’t have the funds to carry out the socialistic programs (like nationalized healthcare) he wants to.  Obama owes his victory to the extreme left and it will be interesting to see if he can keep them happy without money to spend on their big government pet projects. Sure there will be some spending, especially if Obama ends the war in Iraq quickly. But don’t be surprised when you don’t see the landslide of government programs and socialist intervention that conservatives fear.

Perhaps the thing that has bothered me the most about this election is not the one who was elected. Its why he was elected. Some would suggest that the country is simply moving more leftist, liberal, progressive, etc. I don’t think so. The (arguably) most liberal state in the union, California, (as well as FL and AZ) voted to ban gay marriage. That’s not liberal at all.  This country is still amazingly conservative compared to our European industrialized counterparts.  I fear that the reason Obama was elected was not because our ideology is changing. Its because of our love of money. Exit polls showed the number one issue that drove voters’ decision this election was the economy. They may not have agreed with Obama’s stances on social issues and they may not have been sure about his political affiliations or his wartime credentials, but they were willing to sacrifice their beliefs and concerns on these issues if he can put money in their pockets. That’s not good. In this election I believe we have sacrificed our convictions on the altar of affluence; an act of worship to the god of prosperity.

Christian, that is something to be worried about.

the curse of the blue solo cup

Wanna have a laugh at my expense?

I told this story to our church congregation some time ago and I still get reminded of the “curse of the blue solo cup.” Whenever, you’re feeling down and feel like things can’t get any worse, just remember at least you didn’t drink your child’s pee.

First of all, you need to know something about me – I’ve got this thing about drinking after people. I don’t consider myself a very quirky person but this is a major idiosyncrasy for me. I don’t like drinking after anyone. Not even family. Yeah, I’ll drink after my wife but only if I have to. My youth group at church is always grossing me out with all their drink sharing. On a regular basis, they’ll act like they drank out of my cup just to mess with me. They know I’ll bust them in the head if they do. If they ask for something I’m drinking, I’ll usually just give the rest to them. Its that big a deal to me.

So one day I had a pretty bad headache. I went to the get the ibuprofen in the kitchen and couldn’t find the cup I had been drinking out of that day (I’ll sometimes keep a cup for a few days to cut down on washing dishes). I saw a plastic blue solo cup sitting next to the kitchen sink and knew it wasn’t mine – probably my wife’s or one of the kids. Still couldn’t find my cup. I stared at the blue solo cup. At this point I thought, Ok Jamie, it makes no sense to get a new cup when there is a perfectly good one next the to kitchen sink. Yes a family member probably drank out of it but come on, this is getting stupid. It won’t kill you to drink after a family member. So I put some water in it, took my ibuprofen and put it back. No big deal.

A few hours later Tiffany and I were in the kitchen and she said to me “Oh by the way don’t drink out of the blue cup next to the sink.” What? I looked at her with this deer-in-headlights look. “Why?” I asked. She knew what had happened by the look on my face and began to crack a smile. “Did you really drink out of it?” she said, although by the time the last part of the sentence had left her mouth she was in a full-fledged laugh. I didn’t have to say anything more. She knew I did. “So what was wrong with it?” I asked. No answer – she was still laughing. “Tiff, what was wrong with it?” I said I little bit more agitated. “Ok,” she said “don’t be mad but in the middle of the night last night Ethan evidently had to pee but instead of going to bathroom, he just used the cup next to his bed. I poured it out and put it next to the sink.”

Wow. And I was freaked out that I might come in contact with some saliva. Then the stupidity of this whole thing began to hit me. “Tiff,” I asked, “why in the world would you leave Ethan’s pee cup next to the kitchen sink instead of throwing it out? And why in the world would you not at least rinse it out?!”

She had no answer. Only tears of laughter.

So I learned a few things from this experience:

1. Trust your quirks. They are there for a reason.
2. Part of the beauty of parenthood is its ability to humble us.
3. Don’t drink out of unlabeled blue solo cups sitting next to your sink.

Want a bible verse to tie this all together? Try Job 3:25 – “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.” Ok, so it wasn’t on the same level as Job’s sufferings.

But you gotta admit, it was pretty gross.

our 10th anniversary

I just celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary this past weekend. To commemorate the event, my wife Tiffany and I got wedding ring tattoos. Yeah it hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable – just like marriage

Thank you, Lord for giving me such an incredible woman of God. Here’s to 50 more!

why do ministers fall – part three

Ok, so I think this will be my last post on this. I’ve enjoyed considering these things and its been interesting to look at my own life and see if I am a potential church headline. I hope you do the same.

The last thing I want mention here is the idea of “blind spots” found in A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God by Larry Osborne. And by the way, this is a great book for those who like to question the assumptions and status quo of Western church – especially concerning the individual growth progresssion of Christians. I loved it. Check out this passage:

“The Bible says of King Asa, “Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.” (I Kings 15:14) God had said to destroy the high places and Asa didn’t do it? How could he be fully committed? Yet God said he was.

In fact, we all have our “high places,” our blind spots, areas where we simply don’t get it. Martin Luther was anti-semitic. Many American Christians supported slavery and segregation. Yet God uses people who have blind spots.

In someone else, a blind spot looks like pure disobedience. A genuine blind spot is different from willful disobedience. It is something I honestly don’t see, a truth I’m unable to grasp or an issue I’ve not yet come to grips with. The idea that God makes allowances for some sins is hard to swallow, especially when it’s not one of our sins.

Knowing this helps me to see others differently, to be less quick to assail those who hold viewpoints and positions that strike me as out of line with Scripture. What may look like a hard heart or deliberate disobedience might be a “blind spot,” like King Asa’s. It also helps me to remember that the speck I hardly notice in my eye may really be a log.”

What great insight! These “blind spots” as Osborne calls them may also contribute to the falling of many ministers. Maybe some of these issues that led to the downfall of certain ministers were blind spots in their lives – not willful disobedience. But instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to work with them and change them, we remove them from ministry because they no longer meet our ministry standards of perfection (see part one of this discussion). I’m reminded of the whole Darrell Evans/gambling thing a few years back.

Of course, this can’t be a cop-out – purposeful and willful sin is not the same as a blindspot. But maybe we need to give each other a break, including ministers. Its a tough job!

I welcome any comments – let me know why you think so many ministers fall seem to fall.

why do ministers fall – part two

So I am in the middle of considering why ministers seem to fall so often. As one commenter pointed out, we only hear of a few of these things per year and in the grand scheme of things, its not like this stuff happens everyday. That sounds very fair to me. However, I can’t help but wonder how many public embarrassing failures would be too many. Is 5 per year OK? Can we settle for that? What about 10? In part one, I stated that I thought the system the church has adpoted for full-time ministers is broken and holds the minister to a standard they cannot live up to.

This time, I want to look at it from a different angle. One commenter said they thought a lot of it had to do with the pride of the ministers. I agree with this. But I think its overly simplistic to just say well, they’re full of themselves. Again, this post is about asking why. So I ask – why do ministers get prideful?

I don’t know all ministers (big surprise!). There are thousands of full time teachers, preachers, administrators, musicians, evangelists etc. working in the body of Christ in America today. Since I don’t know them, I can’t speak to their intents. However I do know myself (yea I took Socrates’ advice) and as someone who has dealt with pride in ministry, I think I might have a few things to add.

As I began leading worship and teaching youth several years ago, I noticed something really interesting. My personal life didn’t seem to effect my effectiveness in ministry. For example, if I spent most of the day listening to worship and praying in the spirit, I was pretty much expecting and would almost always see an incredible time of worship that night and powerful youth services. However, occasionally I’d have a bad day at work, snap at a coworker and cuss out a client under my breath after an irritating call. Maybe I’d “flesh out” and watch Family Guy and listen to Avenged Sevenfold. On these days, to my amazement, we would have an equally amazing time of worship – sometimes even more so. And when I laid my hands on the youth, they’d still get saved, healed and delivered.  What?!, I would think, How in the world did that happen? I fully expected to flop as a minister because of my personal failings. But what I’ve learned over the years is that ministry is a calling and really has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, because God’s desire to set people free is so strong, my personal inconsistencies don’t influence His desire to move among His people. He is willing to overlook my failings because He is so desperate to be with His children.

We see this over and over in the bible. People like Abraham (who knocks up his servant), Moses (who kills an Egyptian), David (who commits adultery and murders), and Sampson, etc. all have the call of God on their lives and God uses them through their imperfections to lead his people. He dealt with each minister’s sin privately and, contingent upon eventual repentance, he continued to use these men.

Wow! I don’t know about you but that brings so much hope to me. First of all it relieves me from the weight of that perfection goal I feel as a minister. Secondly, it demonstrates God’s amazing love for his people.

Unfortunately, it can also create a situation where a minister feels that they are “above the law” and since God continues to use them even though they are in sin, they don’t see the need to repent. I believe this is the root of pride that causes many ministers to fall. Because their ministries seem unaffacted by their sin, they don’t have any sense of urgency to repent. They misintepret God’s willingness to use their imperfection for the sake of his people as God’s indifference toward their sin. Eventually, sin catches up to the minister (as it always does) and once again, the church makes headlines.

why do ministers fall – part one

I’m currently mulling over the question why does it seem that so many ministers fall? This started with the whole Todd Bentley/Lakeland revival thing. It seems that at least once a year, Christians hear of preachers, teachers, musicians, etc. who stumble into sin or have some secret uncovered that disqualifies them from ministry. Why does it seem to happen so often? I have a few ideas and will be sharing them over the next several weeks.

The first point I want to make is that the positions we as Christians force on our leaders (head pastor, Christian music star, worldwide evangelist and general “man of God”) are designed to fail. These people have so much expectation and pressure to perform, there is hardly any man (or woman) that can withstand it. People put them on a pedestal, looking to these folks (instead of Jesus) as the example of how to live out our faith. Who can handle that kind of pressure? Although Paul regularly defended his right to speak correction to the churches he founded, he never did so based on his own merit or qualifications.

Christians have been lazy. Instead of doing the work of the ministry ourselves, we have raised up people for ourselves to do the ministry for us. We’ve said we’ll go on about our own lives and we’ll pay you to do what we should be doing. We have sub-contracted out the work of the ministry and laid it at the feet of men and women who can’t bear the burden we ask them to carry. It is the body of Christ who is supposed to do the work of the ministry. Ephesians 4:11,12. Pastors, teachers, preachers, etc. are there to build us up so we can do the job, not do the job for us. Oh, its a great deal for us though. We can keep our jobs, reputation, and paycheck unblemished. But while the ministers do what the church body should be doing, many end up alienating family members (been around a preacher’s kid lately?) struggling with secret sin, and barely staying married.  All we have to do is show up once a week and pay them, just like the yard man. And if he doesn’t do a good job, we’ll find another.

Who can stand under that pressure? We created a system that destines ministers to fail and punishes them when they do.  Under this construct, Christianity becomes a belief system devoid of action instead of a lifestyle . In trying to please the ones who pay for their food, house and hobbies, our leaders have become professionals trying to earn their keep.

Wow, that’s cynical. But something to consider.

More to come…