by Caleb Moore | Jul 30, 2019
A few days ago a popular Christian writer and pastor left
the Christian faith. This happened just days after he announced his divorce.
Speculation of course has begun to run rampant. Christians are quick to create
theories as to why he left while atheist bloggers claim victory.
Joshua Harris had written several books on dating and
courtship the Christian way. Despite what seemed like a healthy level of
knowledge on relationships and how to make them work, his stopped working. His
relationship with his wife and with his God no longer worked the way in which he
wanted them, so he ended both relationships.
Let me be clear, I do not know him at all. I have never met
the man, and I’ve never even read one of his books. I was never a fan of the
idea that dating was some kind of moral wrong, and years after writing his book,
he changed his mind on that as well.
I’ve never listened to one of his sermons either. So, in all
regards, I’m a stranger to who he is and the journey he has been on. I say this
because I don’t want to speculate as to why he left the faith. However, I do
want to point out two things that might be helpful in thinking through these
types of events.
First, making a
celebrity out of any Christian is dangerous business. There is only one
star in this show, and that’s God. The Christian culture often lifts certain
people up and puts them on display to be a model for us all. We do this outside
of the context of community where none of us actually know who the person is.
We may know the person they present themselves to be, but
not who they truly are. This is like
betting on a popular horse in a race unaware they injured their leg weeks ago.
When someone leaves their faith tradition, this does not
invalidate the truth claims of their particular faith. When popular atheist
Anthony Flew stopped being an atheist, his community claimed that he was old
and crazy while theists pointed to his conversion as a sign of their intellectual
victory.
Truth does not ride some pop culture wave nor is it decided
by the popularity of one person. People are complicated and inconsistent, and
until their life is over, we only get a glimpse of who they are at that
particular moment. The strength of a Christian is not found in who he is now
but who he is over the span of his life. Unless they run the whole race well we
should wait before we run victory laps with them.
Second, truth is what
decides what is true. It doesn’t matter who leaves or joins the faith; what
matters is deciding if the core claims of Jesus and Scripture are true or not.
Did Jesus come back from the dead? To me this is THE
question. We could speculate about God all day, but if Jesus did come back from
the dead, then it validates His claims and His teachings.
Truth is not just some vague idea floating around, unable to
be grasped by anyone. Though we live in a postmodern world full of hyper skeptics,
the evidence points to Jesus.
I am not a Christian because someone else who talks well and
looks cool is a believer; I’m a Christian because Jesus came back from the dead
like He said He would.
by Ryan Smith | Jul 24, 2019
I don’t like 3D
movies. I appreciate the effort and sometimes enjoy the experience, but as for
me and my house, just give us the regular movie as God intended it.
First of all, I
don’t like having to pay for glasses I don’t get to keep. Second, the glasses
never fit my head correctly. I’m continually having to adjust them. Really, the
only satisfying part of going to a 3D movie is after the Nissan commercials and
movie previews when that empowering line appears: Please Put On Your 3D Glasses Now.
At that point, I’ll
admit, the immersion into the third dimension is exciting. However, I’ve
noticed an interesting phenomenon. Once everyone has finally donned their 3D
headwear and collectively been transported to a new visual realm, something
fascinating takes place. Within the first two minutes of the movie, what does
every person in the theater do? Every person lifts their glasses to see what
the 3D movie looks like on the screen without them.
In a way, this
experience of screen and lenses is a microcosm of what each of us experiences
in life. A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about
God is the most important thing about us.” Why is it important? Because our
view of God affects how we live. If we believe God is good but not all-knowing,
we may not take sin or holiness seriously. We may think of God as a kindly
grandpa in the sky who needs our help and doesn’t notice our occasional
dalliances with sin.
On the other
hand, if we think God is all-knowing but not good, we will take every step in
fear. Each time we sin or make a decision, we will fear the all-seeing eye of
God that we believe sits ready to smite us with a lightning bolt at every misstep.
Our view of God matters.
C.S. Lewis, in
response to this idea, countered that “How we think of (God) is of no
importance except in so far as it is related to how He thinks of us.” Lewis
observes that it makes no difference what we think of God because, regardless
of what we think of Him, we don’t change a single attribute of His. We may
believe God is a purple flying spaghetti monster, but in no way does that make
God purple or a flying spaghetti monster. God is who He is despite our view of
Him.
So which is
right? The answer is both. What Tozer
and Lewis are describing are two sides of the same experiential coin. Tozer is
describing something called Worldview. Our
worldview is the lens through which we take in the world and encounter its experiences.
It is the filter through which we understand the world.
What Lewis is
describing is Reality. There is an objective
world, an objective God and objective people we encounter in life that exist
entirely outside of our experience or understanding of them. Reality is the way
things actually are.
When one’s
worldview and reality are in line, there is harmony. One can see and understand
the world in the way it is meant to be seen and understood. Round is round,
square is square, good is good, and bad is bad. Just as one views objective
images displayed on a screen in a theater (reality) that is made to be seen
through custom lenses (worldview) that complement and adjust for the objective
images, when one’s worldview and reality are in alignment, things work. Life makes
sense.
However, if one’s
worldview is different from what exists in reality, confusion sets in. Things
aren’t right. It is like trying to watch a 3D movie with 2D glasses.
The truth is,
every one of us has a worldview. We have developed our worldview mainly through
personal experience as well as what has been modeled, explained or recommended
to us by those we admire or those we do not admire. While our society clings to
its worldviews, the mantra of our postmodern age is that reality does not
exist. There are no meta-narratives or truths one must align one’s worldview
with. There is no movie on the wall. Only the lenses matter.
The Bible,
however, presents a very different picture. The Bible tells us there is a God
who is all-powerful and sovereign. This God is good and full of mercy but also
holy and wrathful in judgment toward sin. The Bible presents us with a God and
Gospel not of our own making, but as they both exist in reality.
We may not like
this God. We may disagree with what He has created, purposed, designed and
called good. Like the serpent in Genesis 3, we may ask, “Did God really say?” and be tempted to respond
by adjusting God’s reality to our worldview with the words, “Surely you won’t…” But it doesn’t change what
is true.
Our modern era is
a clash of worldviews. Social media has enabled each person with a voice to
proclaim their view of objective reality, and often it is done with the
forceful claim that our view is itself reality. But God has not given us the
capacity to define reality. He has, however, given us the tools with which to view
reality correctly. When we come under the Word and its authority, we understand
God for who He is and our sinful, broken world for what it is. God even gives
believers the Holy Spirit to correct, adjust and clean our lenses daily, so
they are more in alignment with reality.
When we come to God
and the Bible, we must come with an open-handed worldview. We must submit
ourselves, our opinions and our desires to what God says is right, true and
good. We have to wear God’s lenses to understand His story. Wherein those
things seem out of alignment, we must seek to change our worldview, not the
Scriptures. We must clean our lenses, not try to repaint the screen.
When we believe
the world doesn’t make sense, or become confused by the myriad of voices in the
air, let us remember that God has not left us alone in the dark. God gives us
the right worldview in the Scriptures through which to see reality.
When God defines
our view of His reality, we worship Him. Let us praise God for the illumination
of His Gospel lenses through the Scripture and commit ourselves to not seeking
to take peeks through our natural eyes or embrace distortions of the reality
before us. As the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians,
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his
glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of
his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his
strength” (Eph. 1:17-19).
by Emily Howsden | Jul 22, 2019
I’m not sure if you’ve experienced what I have lately, but after nearly a year of praying for one thing in particular, God answered my prayer.
While I am joyful and thankful, my prayer request, if answered, means a lot of life-changing things for me. Now that it’s been answered, I have admittedly wondered, “Uhh, God, can I actually do this?”
Over the past year, I have definitely wondered if God was just choosing to not answer me or if He had something so much bigger planned for me, and I just needed to be patient. Thankfully He was just asking me to be patient and trust in my period of waiting.
What I’m experiencing now, however, is that my patience and trust in Him aren’t things I need to cast to the side, now that He has answered my prayer.
In fact, I need more patience (with myself) and trust (in Him) that I will be able to do what He has called me to do to the best of my abilities.
This career change will not be one that I will be able to do in my own strength. For the first year especially I will need to rely heavily on Him as my source of strength and really, all of the above.
Yesterday at church, our guest preacher told us about an experienced evangelist and theologian who used to put “I can’t, God can” on banners all over his hotel rooms, wherever he traveled.
This was the reminder I needed as I have admittedly felt the stress of making a career change at a big time.
With my own strength, knowledge and abilities, I would stumble and not meet the mark. However, with God on my side, I’m fully confident that I am a conqueror and co-heir in Christ.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom. 8:17).
I say all this to encourage you wherever you are, whether that is in a period of waiting, a period of prayers answered or even harder, a period of being told “not your will but My will be done.” Stay fervent in your prayers and have faith that God is working His Will according together for your good.
by Caleb Moore | Jul 18, 2019
I want to address one stereotype that has emerged amid our
culture wars, one group that rarely gets talked about. It’s a serious problem
that is crippling many young men in the church. We are unknowingly killing the ministry
of a certain group of men. Specifically I am thinking about ones who are
stereotyped as effeminate.
I don’t like the label “effeminate man” because it sounds
like certain characteristics are more masculine than others and leads to
confusion. I am concerned we have tended toward a worldly understanding of what
makes a man and not a biblical one.
A love of muscle cars and action movies doesn’t make someone
manlier than others. Likewise, a love of sewing and musicals doesn’t make a guy
less manly. Many stereotypes find their way into the church but some of the
Godliest men I know have effeminate tendencies. They may talk with a little bit
of a lisp, express emotions very freely and have mannerisms that differ from
the way typical guys acts.
All of this can be okay and has no negative impact on their
ability to be mighty men of God. After all, King David was tough, but he also
wrote poems and played the harp. Personally, I can’t think of a less masculine
instrument than a tiny little harp.
A common tendency when meeting a man who seems effeminate is
to wonder, “Maybe they are gay?” That’s a thought that pops into the head of
many people when they are at a store or church and meet a man who doesn’t seem
to fit the typical masculine expectations.
This is where we enter into dangerous ground. The world has
suggested that if you are effeminate then you are most likely a homosexual.
I’ve seen this happen with a teenager who is trying to find their identity,
notices that, according to worldly standards, the only place for effeminate men
is within the LGBTQ lifestyle.
The church should be a place that recognizes that God did
not create all men to fit into one personality mold. We need to let those who
feel like they don’t fit into the traditional categories know that they can
love God and be themselves without having to buy into a sinful worldview.
We benefit when we have the full spectrum of personalities
within our church. Most importantly, do not shame those who seem different,
because, in doing so, we push them away from the Church and into a world that
is ready to tell them who they are.
A central verse when it comes to understanding biblical
manhood is found in the sixth chapter of Micah. It reads, “He has told you,
O man, what is good; and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God.”
This incredible blueprint tells us so much. Some men are
warriors, ready to carry out justice; some men are sensitive and full of mercy.
Neither of these attributes makes a person more or less of a man. According to
Scripture, we must have a combination of both. But the most definitive
attribute of what makes someone a man is that he walks humbly with God.
God is a God of great compassion and sensitivity, but He is
also a God of justice and thunder. It’s no surprise then that we find highly
compassionate men and highly thunderous men in our world.
The godly man understands that he is not defined by either
of these traits but by the very Word of God. My hope is that we can stop seeing
sensitivity as a weakness and realize it takes a very strong guy to show
compassion and be sympathetic.
Perhaps we could stop thinking of them as feminine
altogether and bring the idea of manhood back under the authority of
Scripture.
by Emily Howsden | Jul 8, 2019
In the first year of a child’s life, if you are an otherwise healthy person, you will go to the doctor more times than you have gone to the doctor in YEARS.
“Well-child” checks are every month until the six month mark. Then they are every three months until the child is a year old, and then just once a year after their first birthday.
That doesn’t count, however, the “not-so-well-child” checks that come much more often, and these visits aren’t free. As the baby’s immune system strengthens and gets used to the world of germs, these visits come with mysterious rashes, crazy symptoms, and first-time parent worry.
My son was born in July 2018 and got his first sickness in October, and then again in November, in between the times that he would have visited the doctor for a well-child check-up of course. We also visited the ER one of those times, which was a whole other experience.
All of this time in waiting rooms and driving to and from the doctor gave me time to think (before I have to leave the office today for a doctor appointment for my son, go figure).
If we place such importance on visiting the doctor and immunizations and well-child check-ups in the first year of a child’s life, why don’t we emphasize the same importance when someone becomes a new believer?
Like a newborn baby, this person who has just made a profession of faith in Christ will need extra nurturing. Like a newborn baby, they are not born-again as a self-sufficient Christian who just knows what to do next.
Like a newborn baby has a parent that dotes over them and cares for them with devotion, newborn Christians need active discipleship relationships to help them grow into the healthy, well-rounded believer that they have potential to become.
Too often, we as the Church see baptisms and conversions to faith
at camp, or family events at the church, and fail to follow up with the person
who just made an extremely important life decisions.
This person needs one person to come alongside them and help build their faith in God, answering questions for them along the way and, like a baby who is learning to walk, this person will be there to catch them with they fall, and support them as they get back on their feet in their efforts to pursue Christ.
Think back to someone who made a profession of faith in Christ you may have invited to church, or someone you went to camp with, or if you helped volunteer at a church event. Now, think about the level of involvement you’ve had in their life since they made that decision.
Have you been there for them as a friend, a disciple, someone they can look to for godly nourishment and growth? If you haven’t, there is still time. Reconnect with them and begin to build relationships that last and relationships in which you both benefit from your discipleship relationship.
Jesus didn’t just pick 12 disciples and say, “Okay now go tell others about me!” No, He spent time with them, He answered their questions, dealt with their unbelief and loved them and corrected them through their mistakes. Be that person for someone in your life.
by Karen Kinnaird | Jul 3, 2019
Many people might think they may never be able
to understand or empathize with a person struggling with sexual identity.
Thanks to Oklahoma’s own Laura Perry, that is not the case. In her brand new
book, Transgender to Transformed,former transgender Perry gives readers a unique inside view into her
life—her thoughts, emotions, physical and spiritual journey.
Published in 2019 by Genesis Publishing Group,
Ray Comfort sums up the book well with his endorsement on the cover, “This book
offers a living hope and healing for those struggling to find their true
identity, and encouragement for families who love them.” Everett Piper
describes the book in the forward as “a story about becoming a new
creation.”
Laura Perry’s struggles began early in childhood, and for nearly a decade she identified as transgender. The book chronicles her heart-wrenching journey of how she made the transition to being a man, and describes the inner turmoil she endured for nearly 20 years.
Describing her life as
“trapped in a prison cell” and a “walking contradiction,” she shares not only
her story but the insights, wisdom and lessons gleaned through the
journey. She writes about intense spiritual warfare and the demonic
influence she endured. Chronicling her ultimate deliverance and transformation,
she states, “Like a butterfly that has emerged from the darkness of its cocoon,
so too had I emerged from the darkness of a life engulfed in lies,
transformed.”
Perry offers hope, words of wisdom and practical advice to families with
loved ones struggling with sexual identity. She notes, “I do want to encourage
you not to give up on speaking the truth to your loved ones. All my anger
towards them (her parents) was because of conviction” and “despite the fact
that I had rejected God and all the truth I had heard growing up in a Christian
home and attending a Christian school, it was not in vain. Everything I had
learned had planted the seeds that were just waiting to burst forth to life.”
She notes, “Remember that you (as parents) are not their savior; you can only
point them to the Savior.”
Perry’s parents’ story is equally intriguing,
and Perry’s mother Francine speaks about their journey and the lessons learned.
They prayed fervently and never gave up. The words of gratitude Laura writes to
her parents in the Acknowledgments section of the book are very moving.
I believe that God has raised up a transformed
and courageous Laura Perry “for a time such as this” and that God will use her
as an ambassador to a community that desperately needs to hear the truth.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know her and her mother Francine. I write about my visit with them here.
Laura’s countenance is marked with a unique
peace and contentment. Her transformation is so radical that it can only be
explained by the intervention of a faithful, loving and powerful God. Her life
proves that there is hope.
She sums up her message, “While surgeons can
reshape appearances, they can never duplicate the intricate internal function
that God designed.”
Transgender to Transformed is well-written and easy to read. I felt like I was sitting
across the table from her, sharing a cup of coffee while listening to her tell
her story. Perry writes quite candidly, with vulnerability and raw
emotion. Her passion and love for those dealing with this issue and their
families is evident.
I recommend the book to anyone struggling with
gender dysphoria, those seeking help in dealing with loved ones who are
transitioning, and anyone desiring insight into the mind of a transgender in
order to better understand and love them.
Perry shares her story at churches and conferences, in articles and various programs. For more information about Perry and the book Transgender to Transformed, as well as Perry’s blogs, go to transgendertotransformed.com.
