Author: EggMonkey

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Bridging the Gap Between Christ and Culture

Even though I don ?t feel it, I am coming to grips with the reality that I ?m getting older. I ?m not ready to say that I ?m old, but now that the ?oldies ? radio stations are playing Billy Joel and Elton John, I can see that the culture may be passing me by. And that ?s OK.

The fact of the matter is that culture is always changing. Nobody recognizes that more than the church ?sometimes it seems like our right or duty as Christians to point that out every chance we can. Unfortunately, nobody fights it as much as the church. Despite our awareness of how quickly culture changes all around us, we are more likely to complain about it or insulate ourselves from it than to adapt to it.

Now before anyone worries about ?watering down ? the Gospel message or any of God ?s Truth found in his Word, consider the words of Jesus in John 16:33: ?In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. ? Jesus warned his disciples that they would face trouble; times were changing for them. But he wanted them to be encouraged by the fact that his victory was over culture as well.

Here ?s where it gets tough. God is who he is; that won ?t change. The Bible is what it is; that won ?t change. Our mission ?to love God and others and to make disciples ?will never change. Culture, however, will always change, and we can ?t do much about that. What we can do is adapt our methods to bridge the gap between Christ and culture. We need to rely on the strong foundations of our faith and the Bible and do whatever needs to be done to connect the lost people living in this changing culture to the One who never changes. While the seven last words of the church may be ?We never did it that way before, ? the scariest words may be ?I ?ve got an idea! ? Let us take Jesus at his word and not be afraid of the changes but trust him as we bridge the gap between Christ and culture.

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Bridging the Gap Between Christ and Culture

Even though I don ?t feel it, I am coming to grips with the reality that I ?m getting older. I ?m not ready to say that I ?m old, but now that the “oldies” radio stations are playing Billy Joel and Elton John, I can see that the culture may be passing me by. And that ?s OK.

The fact of the matter is that culture is always changing. Nobody recognizes that more than the church ?sometimes it seems like our right or duty as Christians to point that out every chance we can. Unfortunately, nobody fights it as much as the church. Despite our awareness of how quickly culture changes all around us, we are more likely to complain about it or insulate ourselves from it than to adapt to it.

Now before anyone worries about “watering down” the Gospel message or any of God ?s Truth found in his Word, consider the words of Jesus in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus warned his disciples that they would face trouble; times were changing for them. But he wanted them to be encouraged by the fact that his victory was over culture as well.

Here ?s where it gets tough. God is who he is; that won ?t change. The Bible is what it is; that won ?t change. Our mission ?to love God and others and to make disciples ?will never change. Culture, however, will always change, and we can ?t do much about that. What we can do is adapt our methods to bridge the gap between Christ and culture. We need to rely on the strong foundations of our faith and the Bible and do whatever needs to be done to connect the lost people living in this changing culture to the One who never changes. While the seven last words of the church may be “We never did it that way before,” the scariest words may be “I ?ve got an idea!” Let us take Jesus at his word and not be afraid of the changes but trust him as we bridge the gap between Christ and culture.

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We Have to Talk

The Problem

Imagine getting into a taxi and just sitting there in silence. Do you think you will get to where you’re hoping to go? Not likely. Imagine walking into an office building or a factory and just sitting at a desk or standing next to the time clock in silence. Do you think you’ll get the job done? Not likely.

And yet we sit in silence in the same small group, the same worship gathering, or the same Bible class with another Christian against whom we are nursing a grudge, an issue, a complaint. We don’t say anything, but we’re expecting resolution, expecting change, expecting an apology ?and it never happens. And we’re surprised. Then we get mad because the church should be different.

The Solution

Agreed. Church should be different. A healthy church is built upon healthy relationships, and healthy relationships are built upon communication. The only way the church is going to be different is if the body is healthy. But if the different parts of the body aren’t connecting, then the body cannot be healthy.

If you want the church to be different, we have to communicate with each other. The church in Thessalonica was a body of new believers who were experiencing persecution and who needed encouragement to stick together. Paul wrote this note to them in 1 Thessalonians 5:13-18: “Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

We can’t expect a difference in the church if we aren’t going to do anything different within the church. The world is full of deception and self-centeredness. The world is also willing to give up on other people if they have even the slightest negative experience. That shouldn’t be the life of the church. That isn’t the body that Jesus died to save.

The Challenge

While you might be “content” to keep quiet about the situation, you can’t be a healthy part of the body, and you run the risk of making the rest of the body unhealthy. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23, 24: “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” You can’t come to church with a grudge against your brother or sister in Christ and expect to be right with God.

Break the cycle. Bridge the gap. Talk it out.

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Sharpening Our Teaching Skills

Despite our best efforts, we simply cannot control everything in our teaching efforts. Classroom settings, student backgrounds, student interest, student experience, technology for the classroom, research in the topic, whatever the variable, it will likely change from one teaching experience to the next. Even from one week to another your life, your students ? lives, and the world can change drastically. For these reasons, we must always be sharpening our teaching skills.

Fortunately, the one thing that doesn ?t change is God. As Bible teachers, whether for children, teens, or adults, whether in a formal classroom, in a small group setting, or in a one-time event, regardless of who the students are and in what setting they are learning, we can be certain that God ?s Word never changes. Unfortunately, because of sin and the consequences of sin, the understanding of God ?s Word and the application of it seem to change from individual to individual.

No longer can we count on everyone in a given classroom having even a basic understanding of God, Jesus, the Bible, or the church. No longer can we count on the ?tried and true ? methods of teaching to reach every student in the same way for the same results.

The best way to keep a tool sharp is to use it correctly. So, we must continue to use correctly the tools that we have. Occasionally, we will find that even with consistent, correct usage, our tools become dull and need to be sharpened. Occasionally, we will find ourselves in situations where the tools we have are not the tools needed for the job at hand; then we have to improvise and maybe use the tools we possess in ways that they were not intended to be used. Sometimes that works; other times it does not. Either way, we tuck that information away for future use. We can look for new tools to do that job better, or we can be prepared to use what we have when we need it.

Posted on

Sharpening Our Teaching Skills

Despite our best efforts, we simply cannot control everything in our teaching efforts. Classroom settings, student backgrounds, student interest, student experience, technology for the classroom, research in the topic, whatever the variable, it will likely change from one teaching experience to the next. Even from one week to another your life, your students ? lives, and the world can change drastically. For these reasons, we must always be sharpening our teaching skills.

Fortunately, the one thing that doesn ?t change is God. As Bible teachers, whether for children, teens, or adults, whether in a formal classroom, in a small group setting, or in a one-time event, regardless of who the students are and in what setting they are learning, we can be certain that God ?s Word never changes. Unfortunately, because of sin and the consequences of sin, the understanding of God ?s Word and the application of it seem to change from individual to individual.

No longer can we count on everyone in a given classroom having even a basic understanding of God, Jesus, the Bible, or the church. No longer can we count on the ?tried and true ? methods of teaching to reach every student in the same way for the same results.

The best way to keep a tool sharp is to use it correctly. So, we must continue to use correctly the tools that we have. Occasionally, we will find that even with consistent, correct usage, our tools become dull and need to be sharpened. Occasionally, we will find ourselves in situations where the tools we have are not the tools needed for the job at hand; then we have to improvise and maybe use the tools we possess in ways that they were not intended to be used. Sometimes that works; other times it does not. Either way, we tuck that information away for future use. We can look for new tools to do that job better, or we can be prepared to use what we have when we need it.

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10 Reasons I Like to Preach from a Manuscript

Here are the top reasons why I like to preach from a manuscript:

  1. Words are fun to play with, but you should do it before you start speaking.
  2. It’s easier (and more likely) to get to where you are going if you map it out beforehand.
  3. It’s nice to have an anchor point to come back to when you feel led in a new direction as you speak.
  4. When written well, the spoken word has a meter, a rhythm, a cadence, a beat that piques interest and holds the listeners’ attention.
  5. Without it, I tend to ramble….
  6. A well-planned manuscript fits better in a well-planned worship service.
  7. A thoughtfully constructed manuscript ensures that the “main thing” remains the “main thing.”
  8. It’s impossible to edit your words after you say them.
  9. Just like in publishing, it’s easier to cut than to pad.
  10. It guarantees having distinct beginning and ending points in preparation and presentation.
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Bridging the Gap Between the Church and Community

The local church doesn ?t seem to have the same valued position in communities that it used to have. Because of scandals, the church isn ?t always viewed in a positive light. Because of changes in our culture ?acceptance of homosexuality, abortion, divorce, etc. ?the church is marginalized because of what we believe. And that has harmed the church ?s influence in our community.

Even when it comes to “simple” things like adding parking spaces or holding events outdoors on our property, it ?s more common for our neighbors to be irritated with us. When we try to bridge the gap between the church and the community, distributing invitations to Easter services or light bulbs or food, people look at us with wary eyes.

Sometimes the church deserves those wary looks. It reminds me of the position of Israel in 1 Samuel 17 as they were heckled into inactivity by Goliath. While the story of David ?s defeat of Goliath is the exciting part, the key for the church today is in verse 46 where he states that the victory over Goliath was meant so “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” It seems that Israel believed they were God ?s chosen people because there was something special about them. The church seems to have adopted that same view, and now that the world sees that we are people just like them, they dismiss us. David ?s statement shows that Israel ?and, by extension, the church ?is made “special” because of God ?s presence.

Regardless of what people think of the church, we cannot let it stop our ministry of bridging the gap in the community. While we need to stand firm in our beliefs, we need to make sure that we do so in a way that shows that God is among us. As we increase our outreach, benevolence, and evangelistic efforts, we must lift the name of Jesus, not our own, so that he will be praised in our community.

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Are You Amazed?

From our Good Friday Service

We call today Good Friday, and for many people that doesn ?t make a whole lot of sense. We ?ve been asking the question, ?Were you there And we honestly have to answer, no. But we have the testimony of the Scriptures, and so we gather to remember, perhaps even to mourn, the suffering and death of Jesus. And yet we call it ?Good. ?

Today, Christians have the luxury of knowing that Sunday ?s coming. But this gathering, this memorial service, it still confuses us, just as the crucifixion and burial of Jesus confused his followers who really were there.

From the first moments when Jesus called his disciples, they were amazed by him. Peter was amazed by a miraculous catch of fish. Nathanael was amazed that Jesus knew him before he had met him. Jesus told Nathanael, ?You think that ?s amazing? You haven ?t seen anything yet. ?

And he was right. They were amazed at his teachings. They were amazed by his miracles. They were amazed by his authority. And they were amazed by the potential of what they thought would happen next. They were amazed by the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, by the arrival of the King, the Messiah, the one who would deliver God ?s people.

And then they were amazed that he was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed. They were amazed to think they had it all wrong.

There ?s no doubt in my mind that as they hid themselves, they went over every word that Jesus had spoken, every lesson, every sermon, every parable, every word of healing, wondering ?Where did I go wrong? How did I miss it

All Peter had to do was to go back to those amazing fish. Luke 5 tells us that before he chose to follow Jesus, Peter had been fishing all night and he hadn ?t caught any fish. He told Jesus that when Jesus told him to go back out. And when he and his buddies caught enough fish to sink their boats, Peter fell at Jesus ? feet and said, ?Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man. ? At that moment, Peter was amazed, not simply by the fish but by the presence of the one who had no sin.

Peter followed Jesus in amazement, not because of fish but because of who Jesus was. But somehow he got sidetracked. He started to think about an earthly kingdom with an earthly king, a Messiah who was a general. Perhaps Peter thought that Jesus could raise an army the way he caught fish. Regardless of what he thought, he focused on his plan and not God ?s plan.

And that ?s where we are tonight. We ?re at the crossroads of discipleship. Even though we were not there at the cross, our sins were. We can sit here mourning the death of the one who didn ?t deserve it. Or we can sit here amazed again by God ?s plan, by God ?s love for people who don ?t deserve it.

Tonight I want to encourage you to focus on God ?s amazing plan. Again, it ?s easy for us today because we know the joy of the resurrection; at least it ?s easy for us to say that we understand why this is Good Friday. But sometimes it ?s still tough for us to focus on God ?s plan. We get distracted by the everyday things of our life. Some of those things are important; some aren ?t. But either way, it ?s easy to be distracted and forget about God ?s amazing love and his amazing plan.

If you have been reading through the devotional guide we provided for you this week, you will see tomorrow that we are encouraging everyone to fast. When I say that, I mean we ?re encouraging everyone to put aside the things that we want or even the things that we need so that we can focus intently on God ?s amazing love and his amazing plan.

Obviously, that could be a matter of giving up a meal or a few meals, deciding not to eat, giving up even the barest necessities of life to focus on God ?s plan of eternal life. It could also be a matter of giving up other things, especially the things that distract us: television, movies, music, computers, video games; working around the house; going shopping and spending money; maybe even the comfort of simply kicking back and relaxing over the weekend. Whatever it is that you find that distracts you, consider giving it up tomorrow for the sake of focusing on God ?s love and God ?s plan.

His plan is amazing, but it ?s easy for us to miss the point. It ?s easy to be confused. It doesn ?t make sense that the one who had no sin would have to die to take care of the sins of people who don ?t deserve God ?s mercy and even for people who weren ?t even there. But that ?s what makes the plan so amazing. It ?s beyond comprehension; it ?s beyond what we can understand.

All we have to do is accept it. We have to accept that God ?s plan required the suffering and death of Jesus. We have to accept that the plan, while it might not be what we would do, is exactly what God had to do. Ultimately, we have to accept that the plan was for our sake and simply accept the forgiveness that has come through the plan and the love that is the foundation of the plan.

Tomorrow, as you fast, wondering how you will get through the day without eating, consider that God ?s plan is one of strength and power. The power that the disciples witnessed through Jesus ? teaching and miracles will strengthen us as we accept God ?s forgiveness and will keep us faithful as we focus on his amazing plan. It ?s the amazing power of God ?s love and forgiveness that makes this Good Friday and encourages us to be strong through Resurrection Sunday.

Let me close with the prayer that Paul prayed for the church in Ephesians 3: ?I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge ?that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

?Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ?

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Are You Amazed?

From our Good Friday Service

We call today Good Friday, and for many people that doesn ?t make a whole lot of sense. We ?ve been asking the question, “Were you there?” And we honestly have to answer, no. But we have the testimony of the Scriptures, and so we gather to remember, perhaps even to mourn, the suffering and death of Jesus. And yet we call it “Good.”

Today, Christians have the luxury of knowing that Sunday ?s coming. But this gathering, this memorial service, it still confuses us, just as the crucifixion and burial of Jesus confused his followers who really were there.

From the first moments when Jesus called his disciples, they were amazed by him. Peter was amazed by a miraculous catch of fish. Nathanael was amazed that Jesus knew him before he had met him. Jesus told Nathanael, “You think that ?s amazing? You haven ?t seen anything yet.”

And he was right. They were amazed at his teachings. They were amazed by his miracles. They were amazed by his authority. And they were amazed by the potential of what they thought would happen next. They were amazed by the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, by the arrival of the King, the Messiah, the one who would deliver God ?s people.

And then they were amazed that he was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed. They were amazed to think they had it all wrong.

There ?s no doubt in my mind that as they hid themselves, they went over every word that Jesus had spoken, every lesson, every sermon, every parable, every word of healing, wondering “Where did I go wrong? How did I miss it?”

All Peter had to do was to go back to those amazing fish. Luke 5 tells us that before he chose to follow Jesus, Peter had been fishing all night and he hadn ?t caught any fish. He told Jesus that when Jesus told him to go back out. And when he and his buddies caught enough fish to sink their boats, Peter fell at Jesus ? feet and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” At that moment, Peter was amazed, not simply by the fish but by the presence of the one who had no sin.

Peter followed Jesus in amazement, not because of fish but because of who Jesus was. But somehow he got sidetracked. He started to think about an earthly kingdom with an earthly king, a Messiah who was a general. Perhaps Peter thought that Jesus could raise an army the way he caught fish. Regardless of what he thought, he focused on his plan and not God ?s plan.

And that ?s where we are tonight. We ?re at the crossroads of discipleship. Even though we were not there at the cross, our sins were. We can sit here mourning the death of the one who didn ?t deserve it. Or we can sit here amazed again by God ?s plan, by God ?s love for people who don ?t deserve it.

Tonight I want to encourage you to focus on God ?s amazing plan. Again, it ?s easy for us today because we know the joy of the resurrection; at least it ?s easy for us to say that we understand why this is Good Friday. But sometimes it ?s still tough for us to focus on God ?s plan. We get distracted by the everyday things of our life. Some of those things are important; some aren ?t. But either way, it ?s easy to be distracted and forget about God ?s amazing love and his amazing plan.

If you have been reading through the devotional guide we provided for you this week, you will see tomorrow that we are encouraging everyone to fast. When I say that, I mean we ?re encouraging everyone to put aside the things that we want or even the things that we need so that we can focus intently on God ?s amazing love and his amazing plan.

Obviously, that could be a matter of giving up a meal or a few meals, deciding not to eat, giving up even the barest necessities of life to focus on God ?s plan of eternal life. It could also be a matter of giving up other things, especially the things that distract us: television, movies, music, computers, video games; working around the house; going shopping and spending money; maybe even the comfort of simply kicking back and relaxing over the weekend. Whatever it is that you find that distracts you, consider giving it up tomorrow for the sake of focusing on God ?s love and God ?s plan.

His plan is amazing, but it ?s easy for us to miss the point. It ?s easy to be confused. It doesn ?t make sense that the one who had no sin would have to die to take care of the sins of people who don ?t deserve God ?s mercy and even for people who weren ?t even there. But that ?s what makes the plan so amazing. It ?s beyond comprehension; it ?s beyond what we can understand.

All we have to do is accept it. We have to accept that God ?s plan required the suffering and death of Jesus. We have to accept that the plan, while it might not be what we would do, is exactly what God had to do. Ultimately, we have to accept that the plan was for our sake and simply accept the forgiveness that has come through the plan and the love that is the foundation of the plan.

Tomorrow, as you fast, wondering how you will get through the day without eating, consider that God ?s plan is one of strength and power. The power that the disciples witnessed through Jesus ? teaching and miracles will strengthen us as we accept God ?s forgiveness and will keep us faithful as we focus on his amazing plan. It ?s the amazing power of God ?s love and forgiveness that makes this Good Friday and encourages us to be strong through Resurrection Sunday.

Let me close with the prayer that Paul prayed for the church in Ephesians 3: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge ?that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

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Do My Lessons Stick?

Encouraging Spiritual Growth from a Teacher ?s Perspective

Spiritual growth is tough to measure. Parents worry whether the words they speak to their children are getting through, especially when bad behavior continues. Bible school teachers worry in the same way, but it may be tougher to deal with than from a parent ?s perspective.

Even though parents have the ultimate responsibility for training their children in righteousness, Bible teachers have the burden of higher accountability for their role, as James 3:1 shows: ?we who teach will be judged more strictly. ? While we cannot discount the fact that individuals are responsible for their own growth and for their own sin, teachers are certainly accountable for teaching the truth.

It ?s easy to determine whether a teacher is teaching the truth; we have the Bible as the ultimate resource. However, teaching is more than simply passing out information. If that ?s all we had to do, then we could be free and clear by simply distributing Bibles. Professional teachers and adequately trained volunteer teachers know that information isn ?t learned until it is internalized. That is, information must be added to an individual ?s repertoire of decision making skills and processes.

The Bible shows that using that information is an indication of internalization (Matthew 12:331; Colossians 1:4-62). However, as Bible teachers, we do not always have the ability to see that information being applied, since our interaction with our students is typically only an hour each week. We could base our assessment of how well the lesson has been applied by surveying parents of child students and spouses, friends, children, and/or coworkers of adult students, but that seems impractical.

So how can we know whether our lessons stick? In all honesty, unless we are resolved to develop fairly deep relationships with each of our students, we probably will not know for sure. However, we can increase the likelihood of making them stick by making our lessons ?sticky. ? Here are some suggestions to consider when writing and teaching your lessons.

  1. Link it. Consider the relationships between cognitive development, spiritual development, and teaching and learning styles. Use what you know about the infrastructure of learning and teaching and use it as effectively as you can. Turn the science of teaching into your art. Check out the chart I developed to line up various educational theories with spiritual development theories.
  2. Apply it. Application, application, application. Be as specific as possible when making application statements to your students. That means you need to know who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Don ?t accept the general applications found in published curriculum, use specific examples from your kids ? school experiences, from your small group ?s work experiences, from your support group ?s marriage, divorce, parenting, addiction ?whatever ?experiences.
  3. Explore it. Try to consider different perspectives. Identify your own experiences and learning/teaching styles and try to develop activities, points of application, discussion questions, etc., from a different perspective. Approaching a topic from the varied perspectives of the multiple intelligences theory is another way to explore a topic more fully. (Do a search for it and Howard Gardner if you ?re not familiar with this theory.)
  4. Beat it. The old preaching outline ?tell them what you ?re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them ? isn ?t necessarily a bad concept. Sometimes we try to cover too much information quickly rather than spending more in-depth time on fewer concepts.
  5. Share it. Get together with other teachers who are in your team or who may have taught the same concept. Even if you aren ?t teaching the same topics, getting together with a group of teachers to talk about all of your topics may be helpful. It is amazing what happens when we realize that ?all of us are smarter than any one of us. ?
  1. ?A tree is recognized by its fruit ? (Matthew 12:33, NIV). [ ?]
  2. ?We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints ? the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God ?s grace in all its truth ? (Colossians 1:4-6, NIV). [ ?]