People Don't Trust the Church Anymore

Organized religion's trust levels are only a few percentage points higher than that of our politicians—and that is a grave problem for the church. The majority of Americans, over three quarters of them, view organized religion with the same suspicion they do politicians, who are often associated with incredible self-interest and pettiness.

People View the Church as a Dead Organization

This low view of organized religion has not led to an outbreak of atheism. Spiritual things are still a hot topic in many people's lives and still have incredible influence over how people live their lives. Many people will say things like, "I'm spiritual, but not religious," or, "I can have a relationship with God, but I don't need to belong to a church." These statements are indicative of the wider attitude towards church: the church as an organism and organization is no longer seen as a credible source to know God or find life. Instead, the church looks like a horse and carriage in a world of automobiles—tolerated, but not the best way to get around.

How to Build Trust: Humility and Sacrifice

That is why establishing trust is so important. Trust is the bedrock of all quality relationships, so if the church needs a restoration of its relationships, it will need to renew trust with others. At the core of all churches is relationship—relationship to one another, relationship to the leadership, and relationship to the organization. When trust within the church is broken, just as in all relationships, the whole edifice crashes. The church has a moral imperative, then, to not just retreat into an enclave and perpetuate a community where trust is already established, but to do the hard work of restoring trust with individuals and communities.

But sadly this is often not the case. To the outside world the church seems to be full of hypocrites, money-hungry leaders, and hateful people. This is also the experience of many Christians who now walk with a spiritual or emotional limp because the church broke their trust. Many Christians have experienced the fallout of leaders who covered their sin because their church or vision was more important than their individual righteousness or morality.

Some churches have been captured by false teaching that leave people wounded and starving for the one true God. Many have seen church people preach one thing and then turn around and do another, leaving them wondering, "Can the church really be a place where we can practice what we preach?" and "Can this really be a place that has treasure for the outside world?"

The Blueprint for Trust: Stop Pretending

The blueprint for building trust is simple. It does not involve any new thinking or teaching, but actually rediscovering something very old: the gospel.

The gospel message has two embedded characteristics that are vital for trust: humility and sacrifice. Trust is never built on perfection, but on the ability to own up to our mistakes and flaws. We also see this with church membership: the church is one of the only organizations in the world where the absolute requirement for membership is failure. You have to own up to your bankruptcy before God.

We must stop pretending that we have performed for God—that is the only way to build trust.

Scandalous

In Scandalous, world-renowned theologian D.A. Carson unpacks the meaning of the most scandalous event in history: the death and resurrection of Jesus. Get the book.

The Theology of the Body: Click | View Series

Your Gender Matters

As embodied creatures, human beings are either male or female (Gen. 1:26-27); indeed, gender is a fundamental reality of human existence. God does not create a generic human being and then add on gender; rather, he creates a human being either as a male person or as a female person. Human genderedness means that a man is conscious of and knows himself as a man, he relates to other human beings as a man, and as a man he relates to God.

Similarly, it means that a woman is conscious of and knows herself as a woman, she relates to other human beings as a woman, and as a woman she relates to God. Try as I might, even urged on by my wife, I cannot see life from her—a woman’s—perspective! Human beings are perspectivally gendered—as designed by God.

Accordingly, men and women should be thankful for the gender with which God created them, and any sense of superiority or inferiority because they are male or female is wrong and dangerous. Gender differences should be celebrated, and men and women should learn to enjoy personal, pure relationships with the other gender (1 Tim. 5:1-2).

Sexuality and Marriage

An important aspect of gender, and hence of human embodiment, is sexuality. Indeed, God created human beings as both male and female so that they could fulfill the mandate to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). This universal command means that the majority of people will be married, and the biblical portrait is that marriage is between a man and a woman who commit themselves to living in a monogamous relationship. Sexual intercourse is to be enjoyed within the bounds of this covenantal framework and is designed for several purposes, including pleasure, procreation, a guard against immorality, and unity.

Tragically, the fall into sin wreaks havoc with human sexuality, and Scripture presents instructions intended to help people overcome temptation and failure in this area. For example, Paul denounces sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:12-12), urging Christians to flee from it. Elsewhere (1 Thess. 4:3-8) he commands married people to engage in sexual activity in a God-honoring and spouse-respecting manner while avoiding immorality. The close relationships that Christians enjoy with one another should never be allowed to cross the lines of proper morality so that members defraud one another by taking that which does not belong to them.

Sexuality and Singleness

Paul also addresses the reality of singleness (1 Cor. 7:7-9). This state, like that of marriage, is a gift of God (v. 7). Paul’s preference is that people remain single (v. 8), for celibacy offers many advantages (1 Cor. 7:25-40), including avoidance of troubles and anxieties, and promotion of “undivided devotion to the Lord” (v. 35). The advantages of singleness are many, yet only those to whom this gift is given should remain single (v. 9). Those with the gift of celibacy are not asexual beings who lack sexual desire, but they are able to control those urges by channeling them in God-honoring ways. Lacking such self-control, people should pursue getting married so they are not overwhelmed by sexual desire and thus fall into immorality.

We are certainly aware of the many troubles Christians and the church encounter in this area: rampant sexual immorality, adultery, homosexuality, sexual abuse, pornography, prostitution, and other problems. Cognizant of these many challenges, we should never lose sight of the fact that human sexuality and sexual intercourse between married couples are wonderful gifts from God for his embodied creatures, gifts that should be celebrated and enjoyed.

To be continued.

2010 Seattle Bootcamp

The biggest church planting event we've ever done. September 29-30 in Seattle. Church Planter: A29 National Bootcamp.

Justification by X: Click | View Series

Church Math

As kids, I bet most of us reading this post probably hated math—all the subtracting, borrowing, and dividing. These are all words that make pastors nervous. No wonder teachers called them "problems."

But as we aged and began ministry, something miraculous happened and we suddenly fell in love with numbers. In fact, we learned the whole new subject called "church math," like baptisms, budgets, and Sunday service attendance. The number of things to count became almost endless and almost fun—that is, as long as the numbers were up. But if the numbers went down, especially the Sunday attendance number, our spirits would often go down with them. And that is a problem indeed.

Our Relationship With Attendance

I am not against counting things when it comes to church. The old adage which says, "We count people because people count" may be trite, but it is true. We should count the things that we keep track of. But all of us will readily admit that there is something suspicious going on with our relationship with the attendance figure. I believe it is because, at times, we look to it to justify ourselves and our ministries.

The equations on the chalkboard of our heart usually go something like this:

Lots of people = Visible success in ministry = I am happy

Fewer people = Failure in ministry = I am depressed

Anybody else think that math is a little fuzzy?

Here are a few tips to help us clear things up.

1. Define yourself by what Jesus did on the cross, not what you do on Sunday.

Though we all know this is true, we often struggle to believe it when it counts. To see change happen, we must do what it takes to write this gospel truth on our hearts, so that it is ready when we need it most. As we grow in our ability to use the gospel in daily life, we will be better equipped to fight the enemy's lies.

2. Be careful with counting.

As I said before, I'm not telling you not to keep track of things. I’m simply saying that we recognize attendance records can be like handguns—helpful in some situations and dangerous in others. Ask yourself questions like, “Why am I watching the attendance so closely? For Jesus or for me?” Remember, our worth as followers of Jesus and as pastors is not wrapped up in how many people attend our services, but in the gospel.

3. Be careful with how you define success.

Though our “bigger is better” mentality may tempt us to think otherwise, a big crowd doesn’t necessarily signify a faithful ministry. In fact, as we study the Scriptures we see a number of “successful” preachers who weren’t always surrounded by huge crowds—Isaiah, Jeremiah, and at times, even Jesus. While we can take heart in this fact, we must also guard ourselves from going too far in the other direction as well. Pastoring a small church doesn’t necessarily make us more faithful, just as pastoring a large church doesn’t make us unfaithful.

4. Be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Nearly every pastor I know struggles with this issue. Will you join me in serving your fellow strugglers and not let “So what are you guys running these days?” be the first question you ask your pastor friends the next time you talk to them? Ask about their soul, their family, or how they are engaging their community. As we do, I think we will do the kingdom a great service.

Our justification is in the gospel, not how many people attend our services. What are you looking to for your justification today?

Missional Ecclesiology

Re:Train professor Gregg Allison explains the missional church in his blog series on Missional Ecclesiology.

My boss helps plant churches across the world. If my job is to help him make the most of his time (Eph 5:16), every moment of time I can give back to him by being brief frees him to serve others more.

No conversation is benign—the mouth speaks out of the heart (Luke 6:45).

So what makes me ramble and waste people’s time?

1. Excuses

Excuses, regardless of veracity, are almost always a waste of time. They often reveal a lack of trust in God to reveal truth and an arrogance that I have a reputation to protect.

2. Need for Man’s Affirmation

Does that extra sentence make me look clever? Does my boss really need to know that I worked three hours on something? Why?

3. Laziness

It takes more time to carefully think through my words and edit them, while it’s easier to type and send them without a second glance. I can spare my boss ten wasted minutes by editing with five of mine.

4. False Humility

A prideful preoccupation with appearing humble adds countless unhelpful phrases like, “This may sound totally stupid, and I’m just an idiot, but…”

If I’m so unsure of my message, I shouldn’t share it. If I am sure, then I should just say it.

5. Narcissism

Excellent assistants get over themselves. I’m on my boss’ mission, not vice-versa. If I foster a sense of self-importance in my work, I will waste everyone’s time with my opinions.

6. Loneliness

Loneliness outside the workplace breeds longer social interactions in the workplace, especially if you experience the most appreciation and success there. If I need my boss as a friend, I will expend more of his time than is necessary.

7. Brevity Caveat

The purpose behind brevity in communication is to serve the recipient with clarity, truthfulness, humility, and gentleness. Where brevity assaults these, it must defer to Christ-like verbosity.

I think you will find that, for the most part, our words could be used more sparingly, and it would honor Jesus and serve our brothers and sisters better.

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent (Proverbs 10:19).

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Total Church

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis present a vision for churches centered on gospel community. Find out more.

The Theology of the Body: Click | View Series

What Is Embodiment?

Let me begin with a definition of embodiment. The human body is an essential aspect of human beings during their earthly existence and, following Christ’s return and the resurrection of their body, in the age to come. Specifically, the body is the material component of human nature distinct from—but intimately linked with—the immaterial component, commonly called the soul (or spirit).

Only between physical death and the return of Christ will human existence be a disembodied one. The soul (or spirit) will survive death and continue to exist while the body is sloughed off, but this is an abnormal condition (2 Cor. 5:1-10). Embodiment, therefore, is the state of human existence between conception and death, and again after the resurrection of the body and for all eternity. The normal state of human existence is an embodied existence.

Your Body: God’s Design

Human beings are this way because God designed them to be embodied. This was true of the first man (Gen. 2:7) and the first woman (Gen. 2:22), and it continues to be true of each and every human being since the original creation, as God is intimately involved in fashioning human life from the moment of conception (Psa. 139:13-15). Moreover, human beings are created holistically, so that in this earthly existence, soul and body are an inseparable unity. Indeed, being made in the image of God entails the embodiment of the image bearers. Human embodiment, then, is according to divine design.

Your Body Is a Gift

Accordingly, people should embrace embodiment as a gift from God. C.S. Lewis presents a common viewpoint that people have of their bodies: “The fact that we have bodies is the oldest joke there is.” Such disdain for human embodiment is not in accord with Scripture. Frederica Mathewes-Green offers a corrective insight: “The initial impression that we stand critically apart from our bodies was our first mistake. We are not merely passengers riding around in skintight racecars . . . we are our bodies. They embody us.” Embodiment is God’s creative design for human beings, who should be grateful for their physical existence.

Implications of Divine Creation

Divine creation of the body has important implications in the ethical realm. Both abortion at the beginning of human existence, and euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide at the end, are ruled out; so are experimentation to develop human cloning, genetic engineering to produce perfect children, and transhumanist experimentation to develop superhuman beings or cyborgs (man-machine complexes).

Moreover, the church is called to minister to people as holistic human beings created in the image of God. This worldview entails treating all people—both Christians and non-Christians alike—with respect for their inherent dignity. Furthermore, the church should be engaged in helping the poor and marginalized through deeds of mercy, communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, and discipling Christians by addressing their many needs—intellectual, emotional, volitional, physical, educational, and socio-economic.

To be continued.

Recommended Books

Get the best books on various important topics. Check out our recommended reading section.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

How should Christian couples approach family planning? Part 5 of Pastor Mark's interview with Randy Alcorn. See all the parts of this interview posted so far.

For more on how Christians should think about birth control, check out chapter 1 of Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions.

Religion Saves

Pastor Mark answers the top nine most-asked questions in Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Find out more.

Mars Hill Pastor Samuel Choi has a good post on what to learn and what to avoid from the life of George Whitefield. He writes:

When I was a student in college, I read about George Whitefield. I was in awe of his passion and works. There was nothing in his biography that I would have said anything negative about. Now as I re-read a biography on Whitefield as a husband, father, and pastor, there are some things in his life I do not want to repeat as a husband, father, and pastor.

Check it out on the Mars Hill blog.

Pastor Dad

Every dad is a pastor who must learn to care for his flock well. Pastor Mark Driscoll's free e-book teaches spiritual insights on fatherhood. Get it here.

The Theology of the Body: Click | View Series

Where was the Staples “That Was Easy” button when I needed it? I was face to face with a man who was experiencing multiple physical problems, plagued by insomnia, digestive and excretory complications, blood in his urine, lethargy, and attention deficit. He wondered what spiritual causes could lie at the heart of these physical symptoms, and he wanted my advice about how to become well again.

I hardly needed to probe much, but my questions caught him off guard because they focused on physical matters: What are you eating? (Junk food.) Are you scheduling rest periods? (Too busy for relaxation.) How are you exercising? (No need for that.)

A Physical Problem, Not a Spiritual One

Becoming irritated with my line of questioning, he offered the following: Because his body was going to be sloughed off at death anyway, he did not need to be concerned about eating well, resting well, and exercising well. I countered with an observation: His body was (literally) breaking down before his eyes, and he would soon be no good for himself, his family, and his church ministry. And, I added, I thought the problem was a physical one, not a spiritual one. But that was not the answer a “spiritually minded” evangelical like him was accustomed to hearing. Besides, he had come to me with an expectation that I would share something with him from the Word of God. But I was not prepared to do so.

A Theology of the Body

Over the course of a few blog posts, I want to sketch a theology of human embodiment, the fruit of years of study flowing from the encounter related above. It is my contention that evangelicals at best express an ambivalence toward the human body, and at worst manifest a disregard or contempt for it.

Many people, often due to tragic experiences with the body (like physical or sexual abuse), abhor their body. Many Christians, due to either poor or non-existent teaching on human embodiment, consider their body to be, at best, a hindrance to spiritual maturity and, at worst, inherently evil or the ultimate source of sin. At least in part, this view reflects the damaging influence of Platonic philosophy—the human spirit or soul is inherently good, while the human body is inherently evil.

By contrast, in my study of Scripture, I have discovered a remarkable perspective toward the body, one which impacts how we live out our existence as created beings, how we view and experience our salvation, and how we trust and obey God as maturing believers in Jesus Christ.

I hope that my reflections on human embodiment will pique your interest in thinking biblically, theologically, and practically about life in our bodies.

To be continued.

This series is adapted from an article first published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.

Leaders Who Last

Too many Christian leaders stumble, burn out, or veer off track. Learn how to endure from a seasoned pastor and leadership coach in Leaders Who Last.

We live in a world full of males who have prolonged their adolescence.

They are neither boys nor men. They live suspended between childhood and adulthood, between growing up and being a grown-up.

Let’s call this kind of male Ban, a hybrid of both man and boy. This kind of male is everywhere, including the church and even vocational ministry.

Neither Boys Nor Men

Ban is a frightening reality in the church, but he is the best thing that ever happened to the video game and porn industries.

• Half of American males between the ages of 18 to 34 play video games every day—for almost 3 hours.
• The average video game buyer is 35 years old.
• Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet users view pornography, and 372 Internet users type adult search terms into search engines.
• To no one’s surprise, men make up nearly 75% of Internet pornography traffic.

Our society is overrun with males who aren’t men. Assuming the responsibilities of husband and father makes a boy into a man, but Ban doesn’t like responsibility so he extends his adolescence and sets his focus squarely and supremely on himself.

Raising Up Real Men

These “man-wannabes” must learn how to progress toward manhood and become what David Gilmore calls “real men.” Real men “give more than they take... are generous, even to the point of sacrifice.” Being a man is about being tough and tender.

I have a son, Drew, and because of my keen awareness of and pastoral interaction with Bans, I know that my work is cut out for me when it comes to raising a godly man. I recently wrote a little prayer that reflects the kind of men we need. Drew and I pray this prayer together almost every night, for him and for me.

“God, make me a man with thick skin and a soft heart. Make me a man who is tough and tender. Make me tough so I can handle life. Make me tender so I can love people. God, make me a man.”

The Man, the Message, the Mission

The lack of godly men in our world is now a cultural crisis. We are not going to solve the problem by ignoring Ban and hoping that he eventually grows up. We are not going to solve the problem by encouraging women to take up the slack.

We might solve the problem by modeling biblical manhood and calling adult boys to forsake their youthful lusts and become the men that God is calling them to be.

We have Bans in our city, our neighborhoods, our churches, and our families. Ban needs godly men and women to show him that there is more to life than what he is currently experiencing. Ban needs to be more than just a male. He needs to be becoming God’s man who is being transformed by God’s gospel message and is wholeheartedly pursuing God’s mission.

2010 Seattle Bootcamp

The biggest church planting event we've ever done. September 29-30 in Seattle. Church Planter: A29 National Bootcamp.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

Is there a connection between birth control and abortion? Part 4 of Pastor Mark's interview with Randy Alcorn. See all the parts of this interview posted so far.

In this clip Alcorn refers to a couple of his books on the topic:

• Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments
• Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?

Missional Ecclesiology

Re:Train professor Gregg Allison explains the missional church in his blog series on Missional Ecclesiology.