Lots of links today, and some moving video from Haiti, not to mention one really funny video about what happens when you dare call something “unbreakable!”

News You Might Have Missed

China’s Underground Church’s Bishop Dies

James Dobson’s Family Squabble

Global Restrictions on Religion

Top 55 Pastor Bloggers – Whaddya Mean I’m Not On the List!?!?!

Website Of Interest!

Understanding War

Blog Posts of Interest

Renewing A Lie, Pt. 2

A Healthy Church Disciples

Did Goebbels Really Say That?

My Thoughts On Gary Lamb – This is painful reading, but soooo needed in the American church today. I pray everyone pays attention to this one, especially our brother Gary.

When Is Unbreakable NOT Unbreakable?

Haiti Links & Video

Haiti Quake Survivor’s Story

32 Hours – the Church in Haiti

We are just about a month in, and I’m happy to report that I’m still enjoying our Read Though The Bible In 9 Months Plan. Happy and a bit surprised!  Let’s face it, there are large parts of the Old Testament which are hard to read and even more difficult to relate too and apply to our lives.

Ah, but there are some real gems in there too.  In my recent reading I came across something I had forgotten about, and that really spoke to me!  Anyone else remember this?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted…Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.” Exodus 30:11-16 (NIV)

One of things that Law of Moses does at times is to present us with beautiful pictures of profound truths.  That’s just what we see here.  God, uses the census to teach some deep and profound spiritual truths!

I love it!  It’s a simple and profound act that clearly communicated to the Israelites who they belonged too, who they owed their very lives too, and who is really in charge. What a great visual!  But it’s more than that, it’s also an act, and not just any act, but an act of worship!

Isn’t that exactly what worship is supposed to do for us?  To remind us that we belong to God, that all we have or ever will have comes from God, and that in the end, it all returns to God?

That my friend is worship! Powerful, meaningful, life changing worship!

Today I hope all of us will stop and remember who we belong too, and then to act like it!

Monday afternoon I watched Mark Driscoll’s report to his church (Mars Hill) on his quick trip to Haiti.  It was full of very moving pictures and video that were at once sober and amazing.  But the most striking thing to me was Mark’s demeanor throughout his hour plus presentation.

He was clearly saddened, stunned and still trying to get his bearings back.  Both his voice and his face were full of sadness as well as resolve. I have never seen him look like that before, and I’ve never heard him sound that way either.  All the same it was all very familiar to me.

Watching him reminded me of myself in the latter part of 2002.  I had made my first trip to Myanmar in February/March of that year, and returned home feeling as if someone had poleaxed me.  It took me months to get over the stunned, sad, disassociated feelings that I had.  That had been the first time I’d gone overseas, and my resulting culture shock was far stronger and lasted far longer than I had ever dreamed it would.

I had spent just two weeks in the largest city of one of the poorest countries in the world.  I saw, heard, felt and smelled things I had never experienced before. That trip changed my life.  I have never been the same since that day, and don’t even want to go back either!

But everything I saw paled in comparison to what’s happening to Haiti.  I’m sure there will be lasting changes in brother Driscoll’s life because of this as well.

Right now we are in the very early stages of working with some organizations to send a team to Haiti sometime this summer.  I can’t wait to go, even though I know what we’ll be stepping into will be both horrible and amazing.  The entire country is devastated, and God is at work through it all.

Serious Christians will respond to this in many ways, but being saddened to the depths of the soul will surely be a universal experience for all who go to work there.

And that’s okay!  In fact, I’d say it’s necessary!

We American Christians just to have to get past this silly belief that we ought to always be happy.  This is nonsense!  The Bible says to rejoice with those who rejoice, grieve with those who grieve.  You can’t grieve with a phony baloney, plastic smile on your face either!

There’s a lot of sadness in my heart right now.  For the people of Haiti, for my friends who are struggling in Myanmar, for myself and my sisters and my Mom as we try and care for her in her dying days and weeks.

And guess what?  It’s okay to be sad, as long as that sorrow is mixed with faith and joy! When my Mom finally does die I’ll be sad for me and my sisters, and very joyful and happy for Mom!

I’ll feel both sorry and joy, and that’s just the way God wants it to be!

[I first posted this on Feb. 21st, 2006, and thought it deserved another look, so enjoy! - Louie]

You’ve probably all heard about this story. Read how Yahoo News reported it, and then I want to comment on it and take a totally different slant on things (nothing too unusual there eh?).

British historian David Irving was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after admitting to an Austrian court that he denied the Holocaust — a crime in the country where Hitler was born.

Irving, who pleaded guilty and then insisted during his one-day trial that he now acknowledged the Nazis’ World War II slaughter of 6 million Jews, had faced up to 10 years behind bars. Before the verdict, Irving conceded he had erred in contending there were no gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

“I made a mistake when I said there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz,” Irving testified, at one point expressing sorrow “for all the innocent people who died during the Second World War.”

Irving, stressing he only relied on primary sources, said he came across new information in the early 1990′s from top Nazi officials — including personal documents belonging to Adolf Eichmann — that led him to rethink certain previous assertions.

But despite his apparent epiphany, Irving, 67, maintained he had never questioned the Holocaust.

“I’ve never been a Holocaust denier and I get very angry when I’m called a Holocaust denier,” he said.

In point of fact, Irving has been a Holocaust denier, but a very clever one. I have read several of his eariler books, before he went off on this tangent of first trying to prove that Hitler didn’t have any to do with the Holocaust, and then trying to say it didn’t happen at all.

It’s incredible to me that anyone could even think about denying the Holocaust! We have film of the camps being liberated and their condition at that time. We have reams of testimony from both guards and inmates of what happened there. On top of that there are still thousands of living eye witnesses to this horrible crime.

Yet there is a growing movement seeking to deny it ever happened. Populated by an odd mixture of skin heads, closet Nazi’s and Islamofacists, they continue to lie and deny!

To find out a little truth I recommend the United States Holoucaust Museum.

But none of that is my point.

My point is simply this – what an incredible example of the power of denial in the human psyche.

We human beings have the absolutely amazing ability to look right at something, or a whole mountain of somethings – like the evidence of the Holocaust – and simply deny that any of it is there at all!

Psychologists and counselors can tell you all about this – or you can simply open your Bible. The Bible had this trait of our fallen human nature nailed thousands of years before anyone else did.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)

The same twisted ability can be seen every day in our lives, from denying drug or alcohol abuse problems etc. We “just say no” to reality and somehow think that’ll make it go away.

Of course it doesn’t.

Just visit the remains of Auschwitz if you don’t believe me. Or better yet, take a long look in the mirror and ask, “What truth about myself or someone I love am I denying today?”

You might even want to make that a prayer, “Lord, help me to see what ugly truth about myself or others I’m denying today; and then Lord, help me to accept it and act on it!”

That kind of prayer would be a good thing, for only God can help us to see ourselves as we really are. Not as we think we are, or want to be, or what other people tell us we are, but quite simply as we truely are!

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV)

Shall we pray – and then obey?

Currently I’m preaching through 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, and yesterday I spoke on 1 Thess. 4:1-12.  That means of course that I talked a lot about God’s view of sexuality, the boundaries He’s placed there, the unselfishness it calls for, etc.

I mentioned something in passing that I’d like to expand on a bit here.  Yes, God is concerned with your sex life! There are faiths that present their god as not being that concerned with anything so personal.  The way our culture presents it’s view of religion is something that talks about being nice, being PC, etc.  But never, ever would a culturally approved god butt into your sex life! (Unless it’s to say homosexual marriage is fine of course!).

But the God of the Bible isn’t like that.  From the very beginning He’s shown that He is vitally concerned with every area of our lives.  The Bible presents God as a personal being, thus all the talk in Christian circles of having a “personal relationship with God.”  Christians believe it’s possible to know God in a personal way, because He’s a personal being, as opposed to being a vague “force” floating around somewhere, or part of creation, etc.

Knowing that God is a Person, our Father in Heaven, is a great comfort to millions of people all around the world.  But there is another side to God being a Personal Being, and it’s this:  because God is a Personal Being, He’s interested in every aspect of our personal lives!

That sounds good until you realize that means that yes, God does indeed have commands and boundaries dealing with everything – including our sexuality, what and how we act on our sexuality, etc.

Now might be a good time to paraphrase an old joke about preaching:  Now he’s stopped blogging and gone to meddling!

God is like that.  He’s very personal, and wants to be part of every aspect of your life!

Does that make you a little nervous?  Good, it should! Because letting God into all of my life is a huge challenge, one that I’ll be working out till the day I die!

That’s what the Christian journey of faith is all about!

[Here's another repost - from way back in April of 2007!  It's a busy week, but I think you'll find this profitable to read and ponder! - Louie]

Short Answer: Just do something.

Longer Answer Below:

I’m doing something I do fairly often with this blog, I’m writing without any real idea of what I’m doing until I do it. I resort to this when I’ve tried to think of something to write and either can’t find something or it’s not quite the right time for that particular topic.

So I start with nothing, and end up with something (not necessarily something good mind you!).

And it all comes from acting.

I think that life and ministry are a lot like that. In fact a lot of Pastors preach like that all the time. Why spend hours in preparation when you can just speak off the top of your head, and then try and make people like it by claiming you are “being led by the Spirit,” or are “under the anointing?”

That’s just one of the many downsides to this. If you are good at spontaneous speaking you can do this and get away with being sloppy and not challenging yourself through study, meditation and preparation.

But there are some upsides to this.

You learn how to respond when something happens you are totally unprepared for, and probably couldn’t be prepared for. You learn that God can be trusted in situations like this, and that it’s amazing how much of the junk you’ve got stored in your brain can be rearranged at a moments notice to create something that not only makes sense, but can actually be helpful too!

Anyone whose involved in any kind of serious ministry needs to know how to do both. We need to know how to prepare for what God has called us to do, and to spend much time in that preparation.

As a Pastor time spent reading, writing, thinking, etc. is all part of me being faithful to God’s call on my life. If I neglect these things simply because I don’t like them, then I ought to get out of the ministry!

Practice is a vital discipline no matter what ministry God has called you into.

But I also need to be “light on my feet” so to speak. I can’t plead that I’m not ready when something springs up. I’ve got to be able to trust that the Lord will see me through it, no matter what it is.

After a while I’ll learn to be confident, because with God’s help I’ve done it before, and can do it again.

Real ministry flows through both these streams, they do not contradict each other, but instead compliment each other and result in a well rounded servant of God.

So, if you are feeling stuck right now, just do something! And then what how God can take your feeble efforts and turn them into something beautiful!

I got a text from my Associate, Pastor Brian, about an online event tonight about how our youth are dropping out of church by Dr. Frank Turek. I don’t know if you can still see it, but the show was on here!

I didn’t get to see much of it, but at one point I heard Dr. Turek say something I thought was both catchy and very profound.  Here it is:

What you win them with you win them too.

He expanded on that by saying that if we win our kids with lots of fun and easy believe-ism then that’s what they’ll commit themselves too!  So they leave home, church isn’t fun anymore, and in fact being a Christian is down right unpopular and unfun, so they quietly leave it behind, like much of the other baggage of their youth.

I think that’s a very good point, as long as it’s properly understood!

By saying this I’m not suggesting that we need to go back to old fashioned, legalistic, irrelevant forms of the  Christian faith.  I believe in using modern methods to present the Gospel and to teach new disciples what their faith is all about and then to challenge them to obey it.

Our entertainment Gospel isn’t about the form it takes, but about it’s content!

Content is King!  We have to present the Gospel in ways people both young and old will respond too, but to make sure that within that form we have the unvarnished Gospel truth, and a clarion call to obey!

Jesus said it, the wineskins aren’t important, it’s the New Wine we need!  (Matt. 9:14-17)  That’s why the Great Commission is about teaching them to obey – not entertaining them to death! (Matt. 28:16-20)

That’s a huge challenge for all of us who name the Name of Christ today!  Let’s answer it with gusto and follow Jesus where ever He leads us!

As many of you know I’ll be returning to Myanmar in March.  This trip will see me teaching at least two things.  I say at least, because in Myanmar you never know what might happen!  But, I’m scheduled to teach Nehemiah and also to teach on how to study the Bible, by taking my class through the Sermon on the Mount.

I choose the Sermon on the Mount because it’s about the right length, and because it’s content is exactly what believers everywhere need to take a long hard look at.  I’m just beginning to prepare for this, and look forward to learning more about it both in my preparation and my studying it with the class over there.

I also chose it because I plan on preaching through it this spring and summer here at KCC!  I want to do this because Jesus aimed the Sermon on the Mount straight at his disciples, and in it we find a radical approach to life that is supposed to characterize all who follow Jesus.

I said all, no matter what culture we find ourselves in.  This is because Jesus was setting up a way of life that runs counter to any culture that has or will exist on earth.  It is in essence, Christian Counter Culture.  If the term counter culture sounds familiar it ought too, as it’s been used a lot, especially when talking about the 1960′s.   What is it?

Counterculture (also written counter-culture) opposed to dominant culture. Sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day,^[1] the cultural equivalent of political opposition. It is a neologism attributed to Theodore Roszak   [Source]

All Christians everywhere are called to live in a way that will at some points be different from and subversive too the dominant culture in which they live.  Which is one reason why Christians are so often persecuted. (That and the fact that unlike other faiths, we actively seek to add to our numbers through evangelism.)  Christians make the best citizens, but are never-the-less an ever present threat to their culture, because their values and ultimate loyalty lie with God not the cultural or it’s cultural ideals and gods.

So remember that the next time you see Christians attacked in ways no other faith is.  Remember it, and consider that attack a compliment!  Or as Jesus said, “Blessed are the persecuted…”

[As we focus on the horror Haiti, I thought I'd re-post this essay from December 7th, 2006.  In the face of so many dead in Haiti, this is a look at the loss of just one life.  Yet it reminds us that all life is precious and everyone's important.  Hope you find this some good food for thought. - Louie]

If you’ve been following the news of the search for James Kim, then you know that yesterday afternoon they found his body. His wife and two children had been found before, and yesterday the long search for Mr. Kim ended tragically when they found his body lying face down in the Oregon wilderness area.

I did not know James Kim, but had seen him many times. First on TV and then on the CNET site, doing small video reviews of new electronic items. I watched him review several video cameras when I was looking for one to replace mine after it died in Malawi. And just a few months ago I watched him and other CNET personnel reviewing MP3 players as I researched a new one of those also.

He left behind a wife and two very young children, and he died a hero. He left his family behind in what turned out to be a vain search for rescue for them all. If only he had stayed with them and the car he’d be alive today.

But he chose to strike out on his own and risk his own life to save the one’s he loved.

We’ll never know why he left the road he was on and descended into the Big Windy Creek drainage, where he finally lost his life.

We’ll never know in this life what his thoughts and feelings were at the end. He died not knowing his loved ones were safe. Did he die in despair – or hope? Did he die regretting his decision to leave them, or happy that at least he had tried?

We’ll never know, at least not in this life.

This story is so sad, so tragic because it could have so easily gone the other way. If only he had done this, or hadn’t done that. If only the weather had been better. If only.

Our technologically advanced culture loves to pretend we have all the answers, fathom all the really important mysteries, and that faith if merely a crutch for the weak willed or the small minded. God is simply an ancient explanation for things we don’t understand, that’s all.

And so we comfort ourselves with such remarks.

Read more »

Today is a special edition of Short Rounds, which I guess I’ll title: Too Dumb To Believe, Unless You’re A Certain Kind of Christian!

Here’s the link to the Phoenix Preacher where I found the above video, with all the commentary you’re going to need on this one!

Here’s the other one from the same post, it’s just unbelievable, and proof positive that it’s well past time for Pat Robinson to retire!

In this critical hour this is just what the church doesn’t need and can’t afford – fools running their mouths, motivated at least in part by money!

Let’s pray for the poor people in Haiti and donate if you can to help them.  And forever forsake hustlers like these guys!