Idols

Idols are one of those topics that conjure up images of statues, altars and people performing wild and crazy dances. Idols are those things in our historical past but do not exist in our progressive culture. Think about the temples we sacrifice ourselves to. Think about how we give our bodies, our minds, our passions (do you need a list . . .malls, sporting arena's, homes . . .you fill in the blank) to our idols. Everyone has them. No one is excluded. Idols can be personal (money) religious (morality) and cultural (science). The challenge anymore it to see them, identify them for what they are and destroy their influence in our lives. Of course the answer is why . . .why do we have to take them out. Idols for the most part are destructive. They steal life from our souls. They leave us hungry for more. This week when you take the time to read Acts 17-18, observe how Paul challenged the idols he encountered.

Ministry is Messy

We have this idea that inside an organization like the Church, things ought to be nice, neat and orderly. Everyone should get along and agree, and there should be this wonderful - we just love everyone - mentality. What planet did we ever contrive this idea from? Life is messy. We are familiar with family messes, friend messes, people we work with messes and just messes in general life. If life is messy and people are messy, why do we think that when we walk through the doors of a particular building we call Church, that everyone will be transformed into something other than we experience everyday? The early Church ran into attitudes and tribal mentalities that they had to work through everyday. They engaged in dialogue and sometimes disagreed to the point they went their separate ways. But they never stopped with the mission. The Church grew, God's Word was spread and the Church was strengthened.

Image

Today we are obsessed with our "image." From our country (being concerned about our global image) to our communities, everyone wants a "good" image." The Church is suffering from a complex that seems to desire people to see and think of Christians" in a positive light. While this is normal and generally a good thing, it has caused this self deprecation of everything we did in our historical past along with the excesses of a few in the present. May I suggest that this focus on "image" leads us down a path we do not want to go. Take the early Church, it had not history and yet it was given the name "Christians" first at Antioch. This was a negative derisive name (which means they had a very negative image, so negative that they were imprisoned and killed because of the identification). Why did their culture view them as negative? What did they do that was so horrible and evil that they deserved this kind of bashing? The answer is of course they aligned themselves with Christ who threatened the power and control freaks of his day. He wanted nothing more than to bring grace and love and proved that by his lifestyle. So my question is - where those first "Christians" concerned about what people thought, or were they defined by who they were and how they lived. What is needed more today, Christians who everyone applauds as having a good image or people who are so focused on Christ, they die to self and live?