How to Grow Your Church

If you enjoy outdoor recreational activities, Bend, Oregon is a dream come true.  In the summer there is hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing and over 30 gorgeous golf courses. In the winter there is snow skiing, sledding, hunting and some even brave the weather to get back on one of those beautiful golf courses.

If you are a pastor or a church planter, Bend, Oregon can be a nightmare as the competition for people’s free time is strong. Central Oregon is very different from the Bible Belt (where this writer is from) in regards to church attendance. In the South, attending church can be less about a relationship with Christ and more about tradition or family obligations. In the Pacific Northwest, however, those traditions are not as prevalent. Most that attend church do so because they want to. 

The struggle lies in how to get those who have no background of church interested in giving up their regular weekend activities in order to be a part of a church congregation. Here are some tips for pastors on increasing their Sunday attendance:

1.      Focus on quality, not quantity

It shouldn’t be about numbers. It should be about relationships with Christ. Pastors should be more concerned about whether the members are becoming stronger Christians than how many people packed a pew each week. When the church body is growing spiritually, numerical growth is sure to follow.

2.      Stop trying to look like the world

The things of God are never going to be attractive to lost people. Churches should not be trying so hard to make the church attractive to the world by making it just as appealing as other forms of entertainment. My previous article dealt with this subject in more detail, but the main idea is that the church should strive to look more like Jesus and less like a concert or coffee shop.

3.      Be genuine

This is piggybacking the previous point in that pastors (and the church as a whole) should stop changing their image to seem more appealing. If you’re 45 years old and you used to wear a suit and tie when you preached, don’t suddenly switch to t-shirts and tattered jeans and a faux hawk to seem more “relatable.” People can sense when you’re not being real with them.

4.      Preach the Word

It’s disheartening to watch preachers on TV, or in person, get up and try to convince their audience of some truth, yet fail to ever open their Bible. Some don’t even reference the Bible. Paul made it clear to Timothy what his main responsibility as a pastor should be when he said, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

5.  Care about people

This is not a plea for a social gospel (stay tuned for an article regarding that subject as well). This is a plea for pastors and churches to genuinely care about the people around them. If you want people to want to come to your church, let them know you care about them. When they visit your church, let them know you appreciate their attendance. Be involved in people’s lives. Get to know what they do for a living. Attend ball games. Visit hospitals when people are sick. 

These are not meant to be taken as “sure-fire” ways to grow your church. They are, however, ways that have been proven effective for many churches. This is also not an exhaustive list. There are many pastors that have found a variety of methods to grow their church. The litmus test for those methods should be: Is it biblical and Does it glorify God. After all, God is the only one who can truly grow a church.

SDG

5 Things Every Son Should Learn From His Father

I am not a parent…yet. I hope to be one someday and I hope that I can be the godly influence on my child’s life that my father had on mine. Usually you would expect an article like this to be written directly to the parent, but, like I said, I am not a parent. So I am writing to the children, sons in particular. My hope is that the sons who read this would either already see these attributes in their fathers, or desire to show them to their father so that they could learn these from him.

Let me first begin by stating that I know not every son has the benefit of a godly father. Some may not have a father in their life at all. If this is the case, I want to offer some words of advice:  1) Pray for your dad – whether he is in the picture or not, pray that he would come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Pray that he would accept his responsibility to be a godly father. 2) Seek out godly counsel – for those that do not have a dad in their life, for whatever reason, I would encourage you to seek out someone who can provide counsel in your life. It could be a mentor, a pastor/youth pastor, an older friend, etc. Find someone who can help nurture your walk with Christ and can teach you to be a godly man.

I am not writing this because my dad is perfect. I know my dad has flaws. I know this because he is human. I am writing this because, without my dad, I wouldn’t be the man I am today (and I mean that in a good way). The lessons I learned from him are priceless and I hope to pass them on to my own children some day.

Also, this list is not exhaustive. These are not the only things I learned from my dad. I simply chose the ones I felt the most important to share. Just because I learned the art of grilling and how to make the perfect plate of nachos from my dad, I didn’t feel those needed to be included. I believe that these 5 things are important for any son to learn from his dad.

1.      How to pray

My dad didn’t teach me the perfect words to say every time I bowed my head. It wasn’t about saying the right words. It was about the importance of communicating with God. I learned at a young age that prayer was a vital part of the Christian life. We prayed before every meal, whether it was at home or in public. My dad taught me not to be ashamed about prayer. I watched my dad pray in church but I also watched him pray at home. He would pray during our family devotions and come to my room and pray with me. While I didn’t always see it, he prayed alone and with my mom. I know that if I want to be a godly man I must live a life of prayer.

2.      The importance of family

The past several years my dad has made it a priority to take our family on vacation. With all four kids now married and having families of our own, it makes it difficult for every person to participate every time but we always try. This was something my dad learned from his dad. I can remember our family and my dad’s two sisters and their families all going on vacation together. It was important to spend that time together. We still do our best to get together for major holidays. I call my parents at least once a week to talk about what’s going on in their lives and what’s going on in mine. I regularly check up on my sisters to see how their families are doing. I don’t do this out of obligation. I do this because I love them. They are important to me. Now that I am married I have a new family and they are just as important to me. I saw my dad care for his family. He loved his wife and kids and would do anything for them. He sacrificed to make sure we were provided for. He loves his parents, even taking them into his home when they needed it. I am so grateful for my family, their love and concern for me and I hope that I can continue to pass this on.

3.      How to fix a car

This lesson seems to be out of place with the others as there is nothing very spiritual about fixing a car. And I know that not every guy knows how to work on cars. I am not an expert mechanic and neither is my dad. My dad did teach me some things about auto maintenance. I know how to change a tire and jump off a dead battery. I’ve even replaced water pumps and alternators. This particular lesson is more about learning basic skills from my dad. It’s about being teachable. I believe that too many young people think that they cannot learn anything from their parents. They either think their parents have nothing to teach them or that they should be learning from someone else. I will admit that there were times when I thought I knew more about certain things that my dad did. I think every teenager believes this at some point. As an adult, I am so grateful for the things my dad taught me. He taught me how to fly fish and how to skin a deer (the first one took, the second, not so much). He taught me how to use a hammer and a drill. He taught me how to care for my lawn and, as I mentioned before, how to use a charcoal grill. The important thing was not in the lessons themselves, but that I was learning from him. In fact, sometimes, it wasn’t so much about what I was learning as it was about us spending time together. 

4.      How to be a husband

This is one lesson that I am still learning how to put into practice as I have only been married for 8 months (the best 8 months of my life, though!). It is one of the most important lessons I have learned from my dad. There are hundreds of different ways men can learn how to be husbands. We can learn it from books and magazines, from TV and movies, from co-workers and friends. Some of these are reputable, if you’re reading the right books and have the right friends. The place where most men are going to learn what a husband is supposed to be like is in their own home, watching how their dad treats their mom. I am extremely blessed to come from a home where I witnessed what a godly husband is supposed to look like. My dad loves my mom unconditionally. He loves her like Christ loves the church. He provides for her and prays for her and with her. He laughs with her and he cries with her. He is affectionate with her (I am grateful for that, regardless of how gross it may be to me). He compromises with her when he would rather see her happy than have his own way. He is the spiritual leader of their relationship. When I think of my own relationship with my wife, I can only hope that I can be the kind of husband that my dad has been.

5.      How to love God

Of all the things I’ve learned from my dad, this is the most important. It is the most important because all the other things I’ve learned stem from this one attribute. How my dad has related to me and my sisters, to my mom and to others has been because of his relationship with God. I was able to witness first-hand what it means to have a relationship with God. My dad is a pastor, so of course I saw it in the pulpit on Sundays. More importantly, however, I saw it in our home. I learned the importance of reading my Bible. I learned the importance of loving others as Christ did. I learned the importance of sharing the gospel with the lost. My relationship with Christ is the most important thing in my life and that is something I learned from my dad.

I am extremely blessed to have such a godly father. I thank God for him and I pray for him regularly. I challenge all sons to want to learn these things from their fathers as well. It will be well worth it.

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction…indeed they are a graceful wreath to your head.” Proverbs 1:8-9

SDG

The church will never be attractive to lost people

You stroll into church at 9:45, leaving yourself just enough time to stop by the coffee bar located just inside the front doors.

You grab a white chocolate mocha and a bagel and make your way to your seat. It's not a pew (those things are way too uncomfortable) but an individual seat because, after all, you are an individual.

You make small talk with your friends in the dimly lit auditorium. Too much lighting detracts from the mood.

A group of young people walk onto the stage dressed in tattered jeans, t-shirts and stocking caps (doesn't matter if it's 95 degrees outside). They pick up their instruments and invite everyone to join them in worship, which begins with a 2 minute guitar solo. The rest of the music service is reminiscent of a U2 concert, complete with smoke, lights and a plea to help starving children in Africa.

The music stops and you see another guy walk onto the stage. He has a headset mic on and he's carrying a Bible. He's quite a bit older than the people who were leading the music but he dresses the same way. He spends the next half hour talking about love and acceptance. He makes references to verses found in his Bible but he never opens it. His message makes you feel a little guilty for not being more accepting of people who live differently or have different beliefs than you do.

The speaker finishes his message, the band comes out for a couple of more songs, one slow and emotional and the final one extremely uptempo.

The service concludes with a video talking about the different "ministries" or "opportunities" the church offers. It's full of attractive people spoofing popular television commercials reminding you that church is all about you. You find it humorous and you laugh about it with your friends as you leave the building.

*********

For many people, this describes the church service they attended last Sunday. This is their idea of worship. This is their belief that this is what a post-modern view of a New Testament church should look like. After all, in order to be relevant in today's world, we have to "speak the language" of the world. Lost people aren't going to want go sit in some stuffy church service, singing old hymns and listening to some guy in a suit talk about how if they don't accept Christ they might go to hell, and isn't the overall purpose of the church to reach the lost?

I'll get to that point later, but first I want to clarify my intentions about this article. I am not saying that the aspects of the aforementioned church service are inherently bad. This is not a slam against churches that are geared to a younger generation or that are more technologically advanced than others.

I enjoy having a cup of coffee while I talk with people as they come into the church building. I like contemporary worship and enjoy hearing musicians use their talents to glorify God. I also enjoy hymns. I probably prefer a "blended" style of worship but that's just my cup of tea (or coffee). I'm not one to say that pastor's should have to wear a suit and tie every Sunday, but I do view the role of pastor as a privilege and honor given by Almighty God and it should be treated with respect and reverence. I love using technology to communicate the gospel. I use PowerPoint and video illustrations when appropriate.

That being said, I hope people can see that I'm not totally against new methodology when it comes to how we do church. My issue is when we try to make church more attractive to lost people. We want our churches to be just as inviting as the alternative choices that people have. We want lost people to feel comfortable and at home when they walk in our doors.

There are two problems I see with this kind of thinking. Again I will break these down into points:

1. The church's main focus should be on the body of believers, not the lost.

I realize that many people might be taken aback by that statement. Not that people would disagree that the church should minister to its members, but that the lost are not the primary focus of the church. "Isn't one of the church's main responsibilities to evangelize? Isn't that the final instructions Jesus left His disciples? Isn't that what the Great Commission is all about?"

Yes, the church is supposed to take the gospel to the lost. Yes, that is what Jesus instructed the first disciples (and us) to do. Yes, the church should be fulfilling the Great Commission.

So why would it seem that I am downplaying the importance of evangelism in the church?  I would respond that I am not downplaying its importance, but I am placing the responsibility of evangelism where it belongs: on the individual members of the church.

This does not mean that I think there is no place for evangelism in the church as a whole. I believe that evangelism programs help the members of a church be better equipped for witnessing opportunities. One of the ministries of the church should be to train and equip believers to share the gospel. If the church is doing that, then the body of that church should be putting it into practice and taking on the responsibility of evangelism.

Jesus' command to the disciples was simply, "Go." That is the command for all believers. It is our responsibility to take the gospel to the lost. This is how evangelism is put into practice by the church; it's members are doing it.

So what should the main focus of the church be? I believe the answer is discipleship. The church's main business should be about the spiritual growth of its members. Pastors, teachers, elders and other leaders in the church should be teaching the word of God to the body of believers so that they might grow in their personal relationships with Jesus Christ.

If the members of the church are being properly disicipled, then evangelism is going to naturally occur as believers learn that is their responsibility to share the gospel.

There will still be some, however, who will want to say, "What's wrong with making our church more inviting? Even if our members are sharing the gospel, why shouldn't we try to make our church more appealing to lost people?" That leads to what I see as the second problem with these types of churches:

2. The things of God are not attractive lost people

When Jesus commissioned His disciples He didn't say, "You guys are going to go into the world and teach others about me, but in order for them to listen, you need to be more appealing. You need to look like them so they will feel more comfortable. You want them to want to come to you first. Make them feel accepted and then maybe they will change."

In fact, what Jesus had been preparing them for was the exact opposite. Jesus had been preparing the disciples for rejection, for hatred. Before His death and resurrection Jesus told the disciples, "because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" John 15:19.

Because man is born into this world with a sinful heart (Romans 5:12), he is not inclined to God. He doesn't want God, he doesn't need God. He is in darkness (Ephesians 2:1-3). Only by the grace of Jesus can he be pulled out of the darkness and into the light (John 6:44). He has to see his wickedness in the light of Christ's righteousness and repent. Only then will his heart be inclined to the things of God.

Let's look at it another way. The cross is the central message of the Bible. Everything we read in scripture is meant to point us to the cross, it's message and purpose. Therefore, if we are correctly teaching God's word from our pulpits (or music stands or from our headset mics) then our preaching is going to be cross-centered. If our preaching is cross-centered then our church is going to be cross-centered and Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that "the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing."

Following that line of logic, lost people find church foolish.

Of course that doesn't mean that lost people never want to go to church. A lost person may go to church because their friends go there or because they were invited by family or they heard there was going to be a potluck dinner afterward. Through that course of action, he/she may hear the gospel and the Lord convicts them and draws them to salvation.

What it does mean is that, by and large, lost people find the idea of church foolish and want nothing to do with it.

This is where proponents of the "cool church" concept will say, "That is why we incorporate these other aspects. To make the idea of church more appealing."

The problem with this is that you are not attracting lost people to the church. You are attracting them to the aspects of the church, the "cool" aspects. They come for the coffee bar, the cool music, the laid-back atmosphere, the funny commercials, or the sermons that never point out the sin in their lives.

This methodology has turned the church into another form of entertainment. As long as the entertainment continues, people will come. When it stops, or they find something else is more entertaining, the people will leave. What draws people to church is what is going to keep them coming to church. For me, I would prefer that it be Jesus and the teaching of the word of God that draws people to church.

The question this often leads to is, "Where do we draw the line?" I don't believe there is a specific "line" that one has to watch out for. I think what churches need to do is analyze their priorities. Is correct teaching of the word of God the highest priority? Is too much emphasis placed on how many people are attending? Does the church minister to the needs of its members or is it more focused on what the world thinks about it?

If the church is discipling its members, growth will occur, both spiritually and numerically. We should strive to make church a place where people encounter the One True and Living God, not a place to get a latte and pick-me-up sermon. We should expect to be hated by the world and stop seeking acceptance from it.

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute yo, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

SDG

Glory Wins: A Biblical View of Heaven and Hell

I am fearful for what is happening to teachings of the church in these times. I am fearful for the young and impressionable who are searching for the truth about God and the Bible and are being met by men and women who offer "new" insights into Scripture and what it means to be a Christian. These men and women tell us it's "cool" to question truth and you're old-fashioned if you hold to any absolutes about God or what the Bible says. I could spend hours talking about the perils of the emergent church movement but I really just want to focus on one particular teaching that is becoming more and more prevalent: Does a loving God really send people to hell?

The title of this blog is, of course, a jab at Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, but my intent with this article/blog/rambling is to refute this major teaching of the emergent church. I will preface this by saying I have not read this lasted book by Bell, but I am quite familiar with his teachings. He, like so many other leaders in the emergent church, doesn't believe in propositional truths in Scripture and that we can truly know anything about God. Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck do a wonderful job of refuting this (along with many others) teaching in their book, Why We're Not Emergent. Bell teaches in one of his previous books, Velvet Elvis, that the Bible is "open-ended" (p. 46) which would mean that there is no absolute way to interpret Scripture. This lends itself to moral relativism and whatever is true for you may not be true for me. I believe Bell is applying this same method to his teaching about hell.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about Bell's new book (you can get a full review of it here) but would rather spend my time stating what I believe to be truth I have found in scripture. Let me just give a quick overview of the teachings I have found in the snippets I have read of Love Wins. Bell appears to claim that there is no physical place called hell, there is no eternal life of torment in separation from God after this life on earth. His take on hell is that it is temporal, taking place in this life, focusing more on what happens to us here than anything that happens in eternity. This kind of teaching is very attractive because it removes any eternal consequences for the way we live our lives. The world would much rather hear about a God who loves, rather than a God of wrath.

The truth is, He is both.

We can't pick out the parts of the Bible that we find attractive and only cling to those truths. This is where many of the teachings of the emergent church lose their credibility as their beliefs don't match up to what they say (they say there are no propositions in scripture and we can't know anything about God, yet they say that we can know that God is love).

We are reminded in Ephesians 2:3 that we were once "children of wrath" when we lived in the "lusts of our flesh." Because we are born into this world sinful, we enter this world under the wrath of God. Some people would want to question why would a God who is so full of love also be full of wrath toward his people the moment they are born into the world. This is the question I want to try to answer here and I will attempt to do that by looking at three points (I'm a preacher, I couldn't resist putting it in points):

1. God's purpose for creating humanity

If we look at the book of Genesis, we can see that God's purpose in creating was for His glory. Everything that has been created, was created for the purpose of giving glory back to God. In Genesis 1, after God has finished creating the heavens and the earth, He declares that "it was good. After creating life on the earth, He declares that "it was good." After creating man, God looks over all his creation and say "it was very good."

This declaration of "good" is not the use of the word that we find most common today. If we say something is good, it usually means we find it acceptable. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. I find it hard to believe that is the sentiment God was conveying here when He looked over what He had just created. I believe that God's declared creation being "good" was because it rightly reflected His glory as it is shown through His power and wisdom demonstrated in creation. Which means God's glory was shown in his creation of humanity. His purpose in creating Adam was so that Adam would, in turn, give glory back to God. God's glory was not only to be shown in the creation of Adam but also in the actions and conduct of the life Adam would live.

We all know what happened next, though. Sin came into the world, sin that would be imputed to all mankind. We are all born with a sin nature because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Sin, at its root, is anything that robs God of His glory. Adam and Eve were given expectations on how they were to conduct themselves. One of those expectations was to obey the commands of God. When they chose not to obey God, sin entered the world. Anytime we choose to behave in a way that is contradictory to what God would expect of us, we are robbing God of the glory He deserves and we sin. We have fallen short of what God's purpose for our creation and existence was. This leads us to our second point concerning God's love and wrath:

2. Jesus' purpose for coming to earth

With sin having entered the world, there was now the problem of man having fellowship with God. It is God's plan to have man spend eternity with God in heaven, giving glory to God for all eternity. The problem now lie in the fact that God cannot be in the presence of sin. Because God is holy, He has to punish sin. That punishment was death. Mankind would now experience a physical death. But the penalty was not limited to physical death. Man was created in the image of God and therefore had an eternal soul that would continue to live beyond this earth. With man's soul being sinful it could not be allowed in heaven with God. The punishment of death was extended to the death of the soul which would lead to eternal separation from God.

God is holy and therefore He is righteous and just in punishing sin. The good news is that He is also, as we have already mentioned, love. He desires that man worship Him and give Him glory so He wanted to give us the opportunity to join Him in eternity. So how does a holy God allow sinful man into heaven? Our penalty had to be paid by someone else, someone who was perfect and blameless. God sent his perfect Son to earth to be that punishment for us. This was Jesus' purpose for coming to earth: to bring reconciliation with God and humanity. That is the message of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

There are some, like Bell, who would like to believe that this means all the world will be saved, that's Christ's death covered the sins of the whole world. That is not what that verse means. While the death of Christ was sufficient enough to cover every sin of the entire world throughout all eternity, the condition stated in John 3:16 was that Christ's death is only effectual for those who believe in Him. Those who have repented of their sins and given their lives over in service to Christ will partake in the grace and mercy God offers through the cross.

Sadly, there are those who will not benefit from Christ's death. Those who do not believe in Christ, when death comes, will be judged and cast into hell. There are various scriptures that point to hell being a very real place.

• "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:30
• "'Then He will say to those on the left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Matthew 25:41
• "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:46

Jesus also refers to hell as the "unquenchable fire" in Mark 9:43 and we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 which indicates a horrible consciousness of punishment. It should be clear through these verses that hell is a very real place and it is a place of punishment for those who do not have a right relationship with God.

Jesus' purpose for coming to earth was to provide salvation for those who would believe in Him. His death on the cross gave glory to God as it was God's act of mercy on His children. Some might say that it doesn't seem very merciful and loving to allow anyone to go hell but we must remember that none of us deserve the love and mercy that God chooses to show. Because God is holy and just, it would have been perfectly fitting for God to cast all of humanity into hell as punishment for sin. It was a tremendous act of mercy that God choose to save even some.

Salvation and judgment are about giving God the glory He deserves. By the salvation of some, God receives glory because He is merciful and loving. By the condemnation of some, God receives glory because He is righteous and just. God would not be holy if He let sin go unpunished. He would also not be holy if He let every person into heaven, whether they had accepted Christ or not. This leads us to our third, and final point:

3. Man's purpose on earth and in eternity

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that "man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." As we saw through our first point, God created everything, including humanity, so that He would receive glory. In turn, it is man's purpose while on earth and after death to give glory to God. Our goal should be to live lives that are pleasing to God. That first involves repentance for the sin in our lives and a commitment to follow Christ. From that moment believers are to conduct themselves according to God's Word. In doing so, we continue to give glory to God.

There will come a time, and I don't think anyone would disagree with me on this point, that life will come to end for every person. In that moment, no matter if we are a Christian or not, we will give God glory. Philippians 2:10-11 gives reference to the day of judgment when "every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

It makes people feel all warm and toasty inside to only think of God as a loving and merciful God, but to only think of Him that way is to falsely interpret scripture and and what God reveals to us about Himself. As believers it should be our goal to give God glory in every aspect of our life, especially in our teaching and preaching about Him. In order for the lost to start glorifying God, they must first be made aware of the impending judgment and wrath they currently face.

We must be diligent to warn others about the reality and the danger of hell because in the end, whether it comes from heaven, earth, or under the earth, glory wins!

SDG

Job Searching and the Sovereignty of God

I've been reminded several times in the past couple of weeks of a great truth: We must believe our own theology. In other words, we have to practice what we preach.

Usually that phrase, "practice what your preach," is meant in regards to some moral action that we have encouraged others to do or an immoral action we have encouraged others not to do. In this case, I am referring to acting out the beliefs that we call others to believe through the teaching of God's word. One of my favorite subjects to teach on is the sovereignty of God and lately my faith in that particular attribute of God has been tested.

I have been in job seeker mode ever since I moved to Bend. In addition to searching for ministry positions, I have also been looking for secular jobs so that I won't just be a bum of a husband expecting my wife to bring home all the bacon. I did manage to get a part time job shortly after moving out here, but that didn't last too long as the company was sold and I found myself going through the job application process all over again. Anybody who has ever searched for a job knows that rejection is part of the process. I have been told multiple times, "we decided to go in a different direction," "we'll keep your résumé on file," or "we just don't understand how martial arts skills are relevant."

The rejection didn't just stop at the secular jobs I've applied for but I've also had numerous churches who said they "felt the Lord leading us in different direction." After being told "no" several times it's hard to not wonder if there is something wrong with me. I replay interviews over in my head, wondering what answers I gave that caused a potential employer to shudder at the thought of hiring me. I peruse my résumé, trying to reword it to make it more appealing (being commissioner of a fantasy football league = "management experience").

After receiving my most recent "we really enjoyed meeting with you but...", I was reminded of one of the cornerstones of the theology I claim to believe: the sovereignty of God. Ultimately, God is in control of what job I get, or don't get. If I am rejected for one job, it means that God has something else in store for me. Please do not misunderstand me in thinking that I believe I have no responsibility in finding a job. I still search Internet job boards and make sure that I am well-prepared for any interview that I am fortunate enough to get. It also doesn't mean that I can't be disappointed when a particular job opportunity isn't offered to me.

What it does mean is that I can find joy and comfort in every rejection call or email that I receive. I can't always see the plan that God has for my life. What I do know is that God is in control of it. Along with my responsibilities in finding a job, is my responsibility to daily deny myself, pick up my cross and follow Christ. If I am doing that, I can trust that no matter what happens in my life, God is in control.

SDG

I'm a blogger!

Even though I used to have a Xanga page, I am going to consider this my first attempt at blogging. Hopefully I can maintain it on a regular basis and hopefully I will provide reading material that is interesting, challenging, thought-provoking and worth the time people will undoubtedly spend reading it.

To kick things off, I'd first like to explain the title of this blog, "3:18 Theology." One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Daniel. I love teaching on the sovereignty of God and this book is rich with that subject. I am currently in chapter 7 in my sermon series I have been preaching at our church here in Bend. Chapter three is probably very familiar with even the most casual of bible readers. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their refusal to bow down to the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar and their punishment being cast into a fiery furnace. They are brought before the king and given a second chance to bow down. Their response blows me away. They first acknowledge the power of God in verse 17, stating that their God is powerful enough to save them from this (and any, when you look at the original language) fiery furnace. Their faith in God does not stop there, however. In verse 18 we find some of the most powerful words in all of Scripture: "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." WOW! What a testimony of service to the one true and living God! These men did not know if God was going to save them or not but that didn't matter. All that mattered to them was that they be faithful to whatever end!

Daniel 3:18 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible so I chose to name my blog after it. I hope those who chose to follow this blog enjoy the topics I choose to discuss. I welcome all comments and I hope to be blessed as well as be a blessing.

SDG