Category: Uncategorized

I have several reasons to be proud of my children, but a new one for my son Noah.

Not only is he working hard to prepare for a mission trip to Haiti, and not only is he doing that with his father, but he made a rare appearance in front of the camera.

While this is nothing new for me, it’s definitely not a place he’s most comfortable. We were making this video to help raise funds for our trip, and I thought he did great!

I just want to share with you, so proud of him:

To help support Team Addi, click here!

I believe in seniors.

Maybe it’s because I’m closer to them than ever before. Maybe it’s because I firmly believe in intergenerational ministry which by definition must be built upon their backs. Maybe it’s because in 22 years of working for the church I have seen their incredible value as individuals and as a community.

For whatever reason, I believe in seniors.

I know that there are some stereotypes concerning seniors, especially in the church. You can almost hear them talking in the church foyer:

• “That music is too loud”
• “Take that hat off in this building”
• “We’ve never done it that way before”

It’s true, I have heard each of these things (numerous times) before, but that’s not because they are seniors… it’s because they are people.

Get a room full of 20 somethings together at a coffee shop and you’ll hear some similar chatter:

• “We need to be more missional”
• “This church just isn’t relevant”
• “We need to do something we’ve never done before”

It’s because I have stared over a coffee cup countless times in the last two decades listening to these and similar, er, ‘evaluations,’ I can say quite confidently:

Difficult people will be difficult no matter their mileage and Godly people will be Godly despite their odometer.

Our church, CrossPoint, is no exception. Over the past 11 years we have changed as we moved from a neighborhood church with 120 some attendees to a multisite church with 10 locations in 9 communities and 2,500ish each weekend.

There were some who struggled and just could not make the transitions from small to big, traditional to modern, from denominational to Biblical (By the way… some of you just puffed up because of one or more words in the previous sentence, and age had nothing to do with it).

In the metamorphosis of our church, there have been many who felt ‘lead’ to other places, and in the same breath, these changes have drawn in others.

That’s okay.

God uses all kinds of people, in all kinds of churches, to do all kinds of work. But, I just wanted to take a moment and celebrate the seniors who have stuck it out!

Last week I had the opportunity to address a Senior Adult Luncheon we call VIP.

As I spoke, I reminded them of a list I read to them more than a decade before. When they were deciding whether or not I should be their pastor, I gave them the Top 10 Reasons to Vote No:

1. If you won’t tithe 10% of your income… vote no.
2. If you won’t share your faith on a regular basis… vote no.
3. If you’re happy the way things are and don’t want to grow… vote no.
4. If you don’t want to change programs, worship, budget, focus… vote no.
5. If getting out at noon is important to you… vote no.
6. If you didn’t like my preaching today… vote no.
7. If being Baptist is more important than being Biblical… vote no.
8. If you think the right pastor will do the trick… vote no.
9. If your favorite after church meal is roast pastor/staff member… vote no.
10. If you want a pastor you’ve had before… vote no.

Believe or not, they hired me, even after I read this list. I love our seniors.

At this same meeting, I not only thanked them for their faithfulness and trust. I not only agreed with them that our transformation was difficult and the exiting of some of their friends was painful.

I also reminded them how much I, and our church, needed them. They were encouraged then to spread their wisdom throughout the church by infiltrating our small groups. They were asked the to teach our children and students. They were asked to volunteer in the office and rub shoulders with staffers that need them. They were asked to volunteer in the greeter and parking lot ministry, so everyone coming to services knows who and what we value.

And, because of all this asking, we took an opportunity to deputize them (here comes the whole reason I wrote this article). We gave them a badge, asked them to join our posse and read a charge over them.

I share that charge with you, because no matter your age, you need to know the value of seniors.

And, you need to believe in them, trust them and allow them to fulfill the calling to which God has equipped them.

The Deputization of CrossPoint Seniors into RED

(Retired Extremely Dangerous)

As a follower of Christ I understand that serving Jesus is a lifetime decision.

I believe He has gifted me, trained me and prepared me for works of service as a part of the calling He has placed on my life

I am not saved unto myself, I am saved to the Lord Jesus Christ. And my service is to fulfill the Great Commission.

Seasons of life change and theaters of ministry transform, but one thing is sure as long as I draw breath… I am a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have the calling of God, the endorsement of my church and the admiration of my pastor.

I am a Joshua Elder and a Caleb Warrior. I will not rest for there is still land to take! And, I will not fear for I have been made fight giants.

I am a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ…until I go to Him or He comes to me my task is not complete.

I was trying to think of an even more offensive title, but this is the best I could conjure. My apologies to all the pagans, just trying to rattle the cages of the Christians a little.

Why the cage rattling? Sometimes, we ‘Believers’ get so good at the rules we actually break them because we hold them too tightly.

Here’s an example…

One of the best things that has happened in the professional life of our church started a little more than a year ago. After a particularly stressful period of ministry I wrote a letter to our Personnel Team and got honest.

In a nut shell I shared that I did not need a raise, a plaque, a gift, or even a secretary (although, I will put those in order of importance for anyone handing them out). What I needed was some time off.

• The trouble was not exhaustion, but it was a part.
• The problem was not a nervous breakdown, but it was in sight.
• The difficulty was not a diminishing passion, but the fire had dwindled to some embers.
• The problem was deeper than that.

I had been preaching at CrossPoint for nearly 10 years. In that time, we had grown from a small neighborhood church to a thriving multi-site congregation with 10 campuses in nine communities.

During those years there a few years I had preached 50 out of 52 weeks in a year, and never less than 48. Add to that multiple services each weekend, mid week services and special events and I would preach in 40 days what the average pastor preaches in one year.

No whining here… I volunteered. I’m just outlining how exhaustion, apathy and stress were creeping onto my turf.

So, back to the letter to our Personnel Team. They responded with great compassion and action (whew!), and told me to take two weeks off immediately and plan for another six the following summer.

It was exciting, refreshing and beautiful even thinking about the break in the routine. I gladly accepted, but shared with them that I was looking for even more.

While a Sabbatical break was amazing, the thought of a break every 10 years was actually a little depressing (and that was assuming I would get another one in the next decade).

I was looking for hope on a regular basis, and I proposed that there were planned, excused and expected breaks throughout the year, every year for myself and all church staff.

When your workdays are Saturday and Sunday, there is no holiday weekend, no three day break, nothing. There are 52 Sundays a year even if the banks are closed, the schools are out, or it’s Christmas.

What we needed was a chance to be a normal family every now and then, to hit the road, go visit extended family, or do something amazing… like doing nothing. Not a full week off, that’s a vacation. Just the weekend, a day or two.

What I was asking for was a Sabbath. A day of rest, just like God instructed. You know, the day Christians set aside to mow the lawn, pay the bills, do home maintainance, and maybe cram in a church service… if there is time.

The Sabbath was intended to be a pause, a rest, a rejuvenation and rebuilding and God was so serious about it He modeled it and commanded it:

Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Exodus 20

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Obviously, God was serious about a Sabbath rest… even for those who ‘go to church’ to honor it and those who preach to others about it. We’re the one’s who don’t take it that seriously.

So, as a church we built in Sabbath weekends for our staff… beautiful.

As I write this, I am experiencing the Monday morning Sabbath Weekend afterglow.

We went camping as a family. Kathy and I ran in the Warrior Dash with the rest of our small group. We ate smores and hung out with some of our favorite people at a late night campfire. We played cards with the boys. We slept in on a Sunday. We went to the late service at a church where no one had even heard of CrossPoint. One more time… beautiful.

As a man who is usually on the job on Sunday mornings, driving around during those hours is very revealing.

I saw people taking walks. There were bike riders everywhere. The parks were active. But, more than anything else, I saw many people sitting on lawn chairs in the shade, on the porch, and in the driveway.

These pagans really know how to party… er, ‘rest’ I mean. I know there was no Godly faithfulness in their activities. If there was any worship in their plans, it was a trip to services at St. Mattress to snore out a few choruses.

But, is it possible they are closer than we ‘Believers’ when it comes to obeying the Sabbath? They work all week and then they take a break. Perhaps there are some commands that we hold so tightly to we no longer honor them. Instead, we snap them in half with our exhausting, tiresome grip.

We could learn something from the pagans.

At CrossPoint we already have, and I am refreshed, more focused and so thankful for the expectation that church staff obey the scriptures… it’s called a Sabbath. It’s meant for everyone who calls themselves a follower of Christ.

Take a break.

Mark 2

27 And he (Jesus) said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Here is a list of recommended books. Use the “BROWSE BY CATEGORY” links on the right side to reveal more recommendations!

An open letter to my brothers, friends, comrades in arms known as CrossPoint Campus Pastors.

———————————————

Brothers,

As I have been studying the book of Joshua in my personal devotional time, I have been gleaning some lessons on leadership. I must admit, that the purpose of my study time is to hear from God and submit to Him. But, the side notepad of leadership ideas that stream from this book have caused me to think much about what I, you and we do here at CrossPoint.

I will hopefully put these thoughts all together some day and (even more hopefully) I pray they will be a blessing to us all, but something struck me today I need to share, immediately.

By the way, if you just said ‘hurry, hurry’… you may need to take a weekend off.

Chapter 12 of Joshua is one of those pass by chapters. It’s just a list of names of conquered kings and geographic designations you can’t even find on the maps in the back of the book.

I know there is a significance in each name and location, but let’s be honest; most of us just skip a chapter like this and leave it to the seminary profs.

However, I want you to see the placement.

Joshua is a 24 chapter book and this ‘pass by’ chapter of names and places divides the book in half. From a leadership perspective, the division is important.

The first half of the book is about conquest, war, taking the land, fulfilling the promise and achieving victory. It’s exciting, fast-paced and the stuff found in most pulpit pounding sermons.

The second half of the book is about maintenance, administration, putting out ‘fires’ and setting up the systems to inhabit this new promised land. While it has it’s highlights, the second half of Joshua just doesn’t seem to have the same power-punched excitement of the first half.

Despite the difference between the front and the back of this book… both are equally important aspects of leadership.

We all love the passion of the vision, the launching of the new, the exhilaration of pioneering. And, guiding a church through these waters is most definitely in your wheelhouse… it’s what you do, what you’ve been called to, it’s what you’re gifted in, it’s the requirement of being ‘the pastor.’

And, in the same breath, the distribution of resources, the placement of people, the mediation of grumbling, the discussions on direction and the day to day mechanics of sustainable ministry are also your direct responsibility… it’s what you do, what you’ve been called to, it’s what you’re gifted in, it’s the requirement of being ‘the pastor.’

I am thankful for your partnership in the Gospel. I am privileged to know and work with you. I am more confident in this day than I have ever been in my professional life that I am surrounded by the finest men I have ever called brothers and pastors.

I offer this letter to you, not as a rebuke… not at all. I send this to you as a reminder to us all.

Taking new ground, blazing a trail and pounding out Kingdom victories are what we do. But, JUST AS IMPORTANT are the day to day, grinding it out, working the process and using what you’ve got moments that God has given you the privilege of getting done.

Be the leader.

Be the pastor.

Much love to you all and blessing on your families.

Seeking more of Him and less of me,

Andy Addis
Lead Pastor, CrossPoint Church

Mark 5:1-2 “They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat…”

This is one of those days in ministry my seminary professors warned me about. I have spent the entire day knee deep in email, receipts, setting up chairs and tables for women’s Bible study, and in all kind of routine office details…

Not exactly charging hell with the water pistol on a day like today.It can be hard to remember that these days are often just as important as the days of monumental spiritual battles and great victories for the kingdom.

I am reminded of this every time I read the Gospels and see that Jesus and his disciples were either coming from some place or going into another.

When I read a passage like that, I’ll often turn to the maps in the back; just like we did when we were kids in Sunday school doing anything to stay awake.

If you look real close you might find the dot on the map where Jesus and His disciples started walking, and then where they stopped.

Honestly, sometimes I’m still flabbergasted that in one small verse Jesus may have traveled mile after mile. What I read in less than three seconds would’ve taken them a day or more to walk on foot.

Those are the ‘in betweens’… the transitions between amazing stories of Jesus healing someone and then moving to another place where He has a royal rumble with the local religious leadership.

Those stories are exciting, powerful and very important lessons, but between them is the drab, mundane, plodding along from point A to point B, otherwise known as the ‘in betweens’.

Those in between moments aren’t really worthy of publication, and they don’t get your attention, but in reality there would be no great story after story if you didn’t have the connections in between.

Most of our life isn’t spent on the mountaintops, or in the incredible climax of adventure. Life is mostly about the valleys in between, the day today duties and responsibilities that get us to the high points of life.

Peter was there when Jesus raised that little girl from the dead, but he was also there on the boat ride that took the entire night before. James saw Jesus throw down on the Pharisees and shame them for their religious pride, but he also spent the days before walking dusty roads, sleeping on the ground and just staying close to Jesus.

They aren’t fun, they aren’t glorious, but without a doubt they are necessary… the ‘in betweens’.

It’s on the ‘in between’ days that we develop our faithfulness, endurance, and steadfastness. It’s on those days we learn to listen to, follow after and be near Jesus, so that on those other more exciting days, following Him will only be natural.

Life is not about transporting yourself from mountaintop to mountaintop. It’s about reaching the peak by doing the hard work in the valley followed by the slow climb to the top, all the while letting Jesus lead the way.

Just as Jesus disciples followed him everywhere, walked with Him countless miles, and hit the road between those amazing stories, so we should also be faithful in the ‘in betweens’.

Don’t forget, if today you’re on the ‘in betweens’, it means you’re on the road to someplace great.

Be faithful. Follow Jesus. You’ll get there.

This is a reprint of a column I was asked to write for the Hutchinson News: March 4, 2013

_________________________________

As a pastor I’m privileged to walk through difficult moments with people. It’s an honor to hold hands with someone while tears flow.

I’ve learned that the hardest questions have even harder responses. We encourage, support and love others, but must avoid trite, cliche-ish answers.

Remember, God wants us to wrestle with Him. When Jacob wrestled with God all night long, God changed his name to Israel, which means “wrestles with God.”

God’s not afraid of our questions, and He doesn’t shy away from anger or hurt. So when the pain runs deep, wrestle with Him.

Scripture records that Jesus cried at least three times. In His tears we can see a few wrestling moves for some of life’s biggest hurts.

1. “Why would God allow this to happen?”

It’s that difficult moment when faith meets tragedy and you say, “This is not how it’s supposed to be.” A life is taken, a diagnosis is validated, or the nightmare becomes reality.

Jesus experienced this in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead:

John 11:35: “Jesus wept.”

Knowing He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus still broke down and wept. Why?

The only plausible explanation: Death was never intended to be a part of our reality. This is not how things are supposed to be.

The creation account shows humans living immortal in paradise; that was the plan.

Every hurt, pain and disease is the product of humanity’s fall and the broken universe that Paul describes as groaning in pain, waiting for restoration (Romans 8).

2. “If God is good, then why does this hurt so bad?”

Hebrews 5:7: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears.”

Jesus suffered on the cross and, even in the anticipation beforehand, He cried.

Suffering is the result of risk.

If you could give your children a pill that would make them completely obedient and love you (sorry, they haven’t made one yet), you might be willing to slip it into their dinner.

But shortly you would not be satisfied with their perfect obedience and devotion. You’d want to know they really love you, and that means they’d need the option not to love you. If you’re going to experience love, you must take a risk.

Nearly all of our deepest suffering comes from that risk – one that God knows, too.

3. “I don’t care about anything else; I just want this to be different.”

Sometimes we don’t care about logic, spirituality or anything else. We just want things changed.

In Luke 19:41, Jesus drew near the city of Jerusalem and “He wept over it.” In this passage, we see that Jesus longed for the situation to be different; He desperately wanted the city’s inhabitants to turn to Him, but they wouldn’t, and it caused Him to weep.

We, too, find ourselves in positions of futility and loss, but as we wrestle with God we remember that any loss or hurt is temporary.

Not to demean anyone’s suffering, which is deep and painful, but we must remember that for believers everything in this life is temporary.

2 Corinthians 4:17: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

In this life we will have pain, and there are no easy answers. But we can always struggle, grow strong and endure.

It’s time to wrestle.

Our church (CrossPoint) participates in an annual event called a Rite of Passage. As an intergenerational church, or what I like to call a Titus 2 church, this event is an official entrance for the young men and women of God to take their place in His church.

Part of the process is a moment in which the young men and women of God stand up respectively and receive a charge concerning their quickly approaching adult life. It’s always an amazingly powerful moment, and after reading these words over 25 attendees at out Hays campus yesterday, I wanted to share it with those of you who have never experienced it.

By the way, huge thanks to my friend and mentor Chuck Stecker for training us in this process so many years ago, and letting me build on your framework.

Charge to the Woman of the Kingdom of God

• You must never forget you are royalty
• As daughters of the King you are a princess
• Conduct yourself in a manner worthy of nobility
• Think of yourself no less than a child of the Creator Himself
• In the way that you speak, act, walk, talk, and carry yourself… Remember that you are no less than an ambassador of heaven.
• You are the representative of Christ!
• You are to carry the spiritual DNA of the Savior into this world.
• You must protect yourself from the lies of the media
• Shelter yourself from the ungodly standards of the entertainment world
• And separate yourself from the patterns of behavior that are unbecoming a princess in the kingdom of God
• Your dress should protect the eyes of God’s men
• The words that come from your mouth should bear a testimony of your innocence, wisdom, and inner beauty
• Your behavior should point others to the same God that you honor
• You must determine in this moment and remember it in every moment that follows, that the lies of this world will tell you that you must look, act and behave in some other way. But, by God’s Holy Word you must stand on the fact that you are perfect in Jesus Christ, that your frame was not hidden from Him when you were knit together in the womb, that you are beautiful by the book.
• No man or woman has the right to tear you down, misguide you, lead you astray, or try to convince you you need to be something else.
• You are bought by the blood
• Sacrificed for by the Lamb of God himself
• You are the apple of His eye
• You are a promise waiting to happen

• You are the one whom God has said I have plans for you to prosper and not to harm  you, to give you a future and a hope,

• You are royalty in the kingdom of heaven.
• Live like the princess you are.

Charge to the Man of the Kingdom of God

• You are warriors on behalf of of the Lord Jesus Christ
• You must no longer act as children, but conduct your affairs with bravery, honesty, integrity and valor
• The expectation of a warrior is to rise above
• In this world the enemy will approach you from every direction
• You will be told that a man is to act in a way unbecoming of a leader in God’s army
• You’ll be ridiculed into standing with those who stand against God
• You will be given the image of a man that is actually not a man, but a boy in the form of an adult
• As a man and warrior in God’s kingdom, you are to deny the lies and hold firm to God’s word as the standard for what is the way to live
• You must be prepared to hold the front line on the issues of character, integrity, standing for God’s word, building up his church, and protecting others who you call “brother and sister”
• Into every battle that rages onto the perimeter of of your life, you must carry the banner of God’s Word in this confidence, “If God is for us, who can be against us!”
• When the women of the kingdom of God come into any room – whether young or old – and they look at you the warriors of God – whether young or old – they should find themselves at ease and at peace because they know their protection is secure, their purity is preserved, and they are under the very real protection of the God of this universe… because a man of God is in the room.
• Follow Christ
• Stand for His word
• and Be a Man
• Live like the warrior you are

I am aware that nothing in the preceding statements is politically correct, culturally sensitive or socially progressive. However, it is Biblical and unashamedly the hope and expectation for this new generation of Jesus followers.

Happy birthday!

Well, at least happy George Washington’s birthday, if you believe in that kind of thing.

I guess that might sound a bit odd. I mean who doesn’t believe in birthdays? Even if you don’t celebrate them, you have to believe in them. Unless we all live in the matrix and just woke up this morning collectively when the system got rebooted.

But let’s not get that weird. Let’s at least take one step back.

What’s not to believe about George Washington’s birthday? The answer is actually kind of simple and can be displayed with yet another question: “Why in the world do you believe in George Washington at all?”

Seriously? He’s on the one dollar bill, chopped down a cherry tree but could not tell a lie, and founded this great nation of ours. While some may argue they don’t like him, you’d be a little on the crazy side to claim that he never existed.

True, there’s no one alive today that ever met him, hung out with him or even saw him give a speech, but the evidence is overwhelming for his existence.

From what I understand there are more than 60,000 historical documents ranging from his personal diaries to governmental transcripts to letters between friends as evidence. We know a lot about who he was, what he liked and what he was trying to accomplish through all the documents he left behind. We even have his signature on a little document called the Declaration of Independence. It’s a pretty good read. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence that he existed.

It’s also a pretty sure bet that old George was a real living Yankee doodle dandy just based on the archaeology. You can go to his house, sit in his chair and tour the grounds where he lived. Not to mention, there are countless artifacts and locations depicting his political and military background. You can’t do that for The Cat in the Hat since that lovable character was born in the mind of the great Dr. Seuss and lives only in the imaginations of children and adults today. But George… he actually walked and talked in the physical plane just like us. So, I can tell you where he lived, what he did and what he accomplished. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence that he existed.

Probably the most fascinating evidence to support ol’ George’s realness is found in the results that he got. The Washington Monument stands strong and true as a beacon to anyone who visits Washington DC (oh yeah, then there’s that, Washington DC). As already mentioned, his portrait gracing the one dollar bill gives him a bit of contemporary familiarity. But, more importantly are the countless lives dedicated to the American dream, the voluminous amount of books detailing his history and the fact that today is a national holiday remembering his birthday. I’m pretty sure you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in your neighborhood, whether they knew it or not, who was unaffected by George Washington. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence that he existed.

So, maybe this is all pointless for you. Maybe you never asked yourself the question, “I wonder if George Washington ever really lived?”

Maybe your conspiracy indicator never got tripped, so, you never questioned if this whole American experiment was actually built upon a throne of lies conjured up by political radicals of the past manufacturing some stalwart idolized leader, fictitious and mythical, needed to coagulate the masses into the foundation of a new political system.

Maybe you think, you have to be a real loon to even go down that road.

I would agree.

Yet, I am baffled by the amazing amount of people who never question the existence of George Washington, but adamantly deny there is no evidence for Jesus

The historical documents are amazing! There are more than 20,000 copies of the Greek New Testament in hand written notation, and yet scholars praise the manuscript authenticity of Homer’s Iliad because it has almost 1000 original copies. Extra biblical documents exist from political powers to non-Christian historians that talk of Jesus and His followers as statements of fact and eyewitnesses to the accounts we see in Scripture. Additionally, the miraculous nature of the existence of these documents is exacerbated by the fact that Washingtonian era documents are a couple hundred years old, while Jesus documents are a couple thousand years old. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence He existed.

Archaeological findings for Jesus and the teaching of the word are beyond speculation. Of the tens of thousands of archaeological digs pertaining to biblical era discoveries, there has never been a known contradiction of Scripture. In fact, there have been several cases in which scholars denied the historicity of Scripture only to make an archaeological discovery that undermined their beliefs and supported Scripture. And if you’re brave enough to make the trip, you can see many of the places and artifacts surrounding the Gospel stories and Acts with a trip to the Middle East from Jerusalem to modern Turkey to Rome. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence He existed.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most compelling evidence for the reality of Jesus is based on the results of His life. For 2000 years His church has endured persecution, emerged from its own corruption and touched every corner of the globe. Whether people misused His name, or sacrificed their own lives to the flame because of Him, there is no denying that Jesus Christ has been the most influential person to ever walk the face of the earth. From hospitals to universities, from extravagant cathedrals to neighborhood churches, and most importantly the billions (and that’s with a B) of lives changed testify to a real and living Savior they have encountered and experienced. It seems that of all the things which may be arguable there is one thing we know as a fact: Jesus’ life created results. On top of that, it’s pretty good evidence He existed

So, on the annual remembrance of the founder of our country I am thankful to live where I do and I am blessed by a country where I am free and safe. But, I am also reminded how confused the world is that would accept without pause the existence of a man they’ve never met and close the banks for a leader they’ve never even seen photographed, nor from which they’ve heard a sound bite.

Yet, denying those same evidences and procedure used for their faith in George Washington, they reject the Son of God; not because they have thought about it, but because they don’t want to believe in Him.

Still we must remember, this is exactly what the Word said would happened. Jesus would be rejected, He would be a stumbling block, and He would be considered foolishness. (Luke 9:22, 1 Corinthians 1:23)

From the very beginning, God warned us that His Son would not be accepted, and that should give us some peace. On top of that… it’s pretty good evidence He existed.

I remember listening to a preacher a few years ago and walking away with a single thought… hmmmm. No need to wait for some big reveal, that was the only thought I could come up with… hmmm.

I know that ‘hmmm’ is not much of a thought, but if I could be very honest, it wasn’t much of a sermon.

I know I sound rude, judgmental, close-minded, arrogant, yadda, yadda, yadda; but before you judge me take a look at a snapshot of the message I am talking about.

The preacher claimed to be able to tell us how tall God was….?

Here is how he came to this special revelation:

• Using the Hebrew measurement of a “span” as gauged from the Old Testament
• Comparing the measurement of how tall horses were by span measurement
• Combined with the evidence in Isaiah (chapter 40, verse 12 to be exact) that God measured off the heavens by the span of His hand
• Then extrapolating the anthropomorphic size of a humanoid body as derived from the known proportional relationship between handsize and stature…
• He shared with us that God was like 10 foot someting.

Okay, first of all… hmmm (now you understand, right?)

Second, a ten foot tall guy is an impressive dude, but a pretty puny God.

Third, even if he was right (but lets not get into that), who cares? What would this knowledge mean to me, or anyone else on this spinning blue ball.

Again I must say…hmmm…

Obviously, there is a problem. But, it’s not a problem with a single sermon, or a sermon giver. It’s much larger than that.

The problem is with the expectations of modern preaching. For example, ‘successful’ and acclaimed pastors are often complimented with phrases like “That was amazing, I’ve never heard anything like that before.” Or, “I have never thought about that passage like that!”

Almost never has a preacher been complimented in this way: “I have heard that same message a thousand times before from a hundred different pastors, thank you for being faithful.”

Believe me, as a preacher, that never happens.

People today like novelty, the new and the unique. The only problem with that is we have been writing about, praying about, teaching and preaching the Scriptures for thousands of years.

That being said, if you come up with something new, you’re probably wrong.

 1 Corinthians 1:22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

We need to celebrate truth, not the novel. We must value the real, not just the creative. We stand on the eternal Word of God, not the temporary fad of man.

If you’re a preacher… preach with power, passion, fire and creativity, but never feel compelled to be unique. That was Jesus’ job, not yours.

If your a sermon hearer… be hungry, be diligent and applaud the gifts God has given those in leadership, but don’t chase something new. The Gospel that was then is the Gospel that is now.

If your a seeker… be open, be keen and be real, but don’t judge the truth by the weirdos on the fringe (by the way, thats good advice for lots of arenas in life). There is truth and you can find it.

“Preach not because you have to say something but because you have something to say.”

—Archbishop Whatley