Monday, October 22, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Authentic Evangelism
Authentic Evangelism
I just got back from a Kairos weekend. Kairos is a prison ministry that is often able to reach hardened inmates. One of the men that I spent the weekend with was a self confessed “gang banger”. (Let’s call him Bill) The term “bang” comes from being willing to shoot it out with rival gangs. As we spent the weekend, Bill had several questions about Christianity. From his questions you could tell he had spent some time considering what Christianity is about. His deepest questions dealt with his own experience of being confronted by changed lives. What Bill was speaking about was not “a jail-house Christianity”—to which he never considered being a part of—but authentic Christianity evidenced by transformed lives. Bill spoke of seeing hardened gang members attend a Kairos weekend and then walk away from the gang to never return—and never to return to jail. It confounded his mind.
As we spoke about this, I could tell that Bill could not comprehend how a person could in one weekend accomplish such a transition. He also spoke of several members of the church inside the unit who had been attempting to reach him for years. One man in particular provided a steady witness. Bill had been watching the Christians for some time by now, and he observed one man who lived a Christian witness. Day in and day out he walked the walk. I later asked that man how he was able to reach men inside the unit. He said “I live the Christian walk.”
During the weekend, one of Bill’s friends walked by and said something in Spanish, about me. I asked, “What did he say?” Bill responded, “He is watching you.” We both laughed, but then Bill said, “He wants to know if you are the square deal.” I asked, “What does that mean?” Bill explained that ‘a square deal’ means to be on the level, not kidding. He then used it in context. He said if I want everyone to know I am serious I say, “This is the square deal”. In effect, I am not kidding. In a deep way we all want to know the person we are talking to is not kidding, either us or themselves.
During the weekend we asked the inmates to define the characteristics of a Christian. They struggled with the question, until I asked them to remember a Christian they admired. That is, a Christian who “walks the walk”. We then discussed that such people are a witness. The attributes of a mature Christian are found in Galatians 5:22. They are listed as fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A person with such attributes is an authentic evangelist. Their life is a witness that is attractive. The transformation of their life speaks effectively. As Bill said “they are the square deal”. For us living out side of the walls of the prison, we must remember we are being watched as well. As we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ we must remember—our transformation is a witness of our risen Lord.
Rev. Patrick Evans
I just got back from a Kairos weekend. Kairos is a prison ministry that is often able to reach hardened inmates. One of the men that I spent the weekend with was a self confessed “gang banger”. (Let’s call him Bill) The term “bang” comes from being willing to shoot it out with rival gangs. As we spent the weekend, Bill had several questions about Christianity. From his questions you could tell he had spent some time considering what Christianity is about. His deepest questions dealt with his own experience of being confronted by changed lives. What Bill was speaking about was not “a jail-house Christianity”—to which he never considered being a part of—but authentic Christianity evidenced by transformed lives. Bill spoke of seeing hardened gang members attend a Kairos weekend and then walk away from the gang to never return—and never to return to jail. It confounded his mind.
As we spoke about this, I could tell that Bill could not comprehend how a person could in one weekend accomplish such a transition. He also spoke of several members of the church inside the unit who had been attempting to reach him for years. One man in particular provided a steady witness. Bill had been watching the Christians for some time by now, and he observed one man who lived a Christian witness. Day in and day out he walked the walk. I later asked that man how he was able to reach men inside the unit. He said “I live the Christian walk.”
During the weekend, one of Bill’s friends walked by and said something in Spanish, about me. I asked, “What did he say?” Bill responded, “He is watching you.” We both laughed, but then Bill said, “He wants to know if you are the square deal.” I asked, “What does that mean?” Bill explained that ‘a square deal’ means to be on the level, not kidding. He then used it in context. He said if I want everyone to know I am serious I say, “This is the square deal”. In effect, I am not kidding. In a deep way we all want to know the person we are talking to is not kidding, either us or themselves.
During the weekend we asked the inmates to define the characteristics of a Christian. They struggled with the question, until I asked them to remember a Christian they admired. That is, a Christian who “walks the walk”. We then discussed that such people are a witness. The attributes of a mature Christian are found in Galatians 5:22. They are listed as fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A person with such attributes is an authentic evangelist. Their life is a witness that is attractive. The transformation of their life speaks effectively. As Bill said “they are the square deal”. For us living out side of the walls of the prison, we must remember we are being watched as well. As we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ we must remember—our transformation is a witness of our risen Lord.
Rev. Patrick Evans
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
It's only Money
It’s only Money
I watched a show the other evening. It was this guy who was helping people out with their finances. Most of the people on the show consistently spent more money then they made in income. It seemed like a straight forward problem. Stop spending so much money! But many of the people did not realize how much they were spending. They did not have the discipline to work out a budget. So anyway, I watched a couple of episodes of his show and there was a formula. First he shows each of the people the excess they had in their lives. He showed them excess of clothes, jewelry, cars, and other stuff. He then estimates a cost for all that stuff. He shows how their daily decisions affected their financial position. He then goes through some other steps. He puts the people on a budget, and they sign a contract. Yet I think one of the most important issues he often deals with is matters of the heart. Why are they spending so much money on stuff? What void are they trying to fill?
Did you know the Bible has over 3,000 references to money? (There are several excellent Christian money management courses. If you have never taken one I can highly advise taking one.) You see the Bible insists that there is some connection between this world and the spiritual world. While many religions are world-denying; the goal is to escape from this world desires. Christianity insists on a connection between the physical and the spiritual. Many of the verses in the Bible about money expose the spiritual nature our relationship to money. The Bible has books of Wisdom which have down-to-earth practical material concerning money, work and other day to day living. As such, practical matters reflect on spiritual matters.
Much of today’s living is about material wealth. The philosophy of the modern world is that wealth equals happiness. Watch any advertisement, read any magazine and the message is; obtain these things and you will be happy. The truth is that sort of happiness is fleeting. Real lasting joy, peace, or happiness is not obtained in such a way. Ecclesiastes was written by a man who had everything that his heart could desire. He denied himself nothing, and he could afford it, yet he found no meaning in it.
If we try to fill our lives with things we will never be filled. If we try to find meaning in ourselves alone, we find the world a shallow place. Pascal, said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” I would like to add, once God fills that vacuum, He creates in us a real love for other people. Once we reach that place we realize that “its only money.”
Rev. Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
I watched a show the other evening. It was this guy who was helping people out with their finances. Most of the people on the show consistently spent more money then they made in income. It seemed like a straight forward problem. Stop spending so much money! But many of the people did not realize how much they were spending. They did not have the discipline to work out a budget. So anyway, I watched a couple of episodes of his show and there was a formula. First he shows each of the people the excess they had in their lives. He showed them excess of clothes, jewelry, cars, and other stuff. He then estimates a cost for all that stuff. He shows how their daily decisions affected their financial position. He then goes through some other steps. He puts the people on a budget, and they sign a contract. Yet I think one of the most important issues he often deals with is matters of the heart. Why are they spending so much money on stuff? What void are they trying to fill?
Did you know the Bible has over 3,000 references to money? (There are several excellent Christian money management courses. If you have never taken one I can highly advise taking one.) You see the Bible insists that there is some connection between this world and the spiritual world. While many religions are world-denying; the goal is to escape from this world desires. Christianity insists on a connection between the physical and the spiritual. Many of the verses in the Bible about money expose the spiritual nature our relationship to money. The Bible has books of Wisdom which have down-to-earth practical material concerning money, work and other day to day living. As such, practical matters reflect on spiritual matters.
Much of today’s living is about material wealth. The philosophy of the modern world is that wealth equals happiness. Watch any advertisement, read any magazine and the message is; obtain these things and you will be happy. The truth is that sort of happiness is fleeting. Real lasting joy, peace, or happiness is not obtained in such a way. Ecclesiastes was written by a man who had everything that his heart could desire. He denied himself nothing, and he could afford it, yet he found no meaning in it.
If we try to fill our lives with things we will never be filled. If we try to find meaning in ourselves alone, we find the world a shallow place. Pascal, said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” I would like to add, once God fills that vacuum, He creates in us a real love for other people. Once we reach that place we realize that “its only money.”
Rev. Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Affluenza
I have a cold today and I do not feel good. So it has me reflecting on illness. Sickness is part of the fallen world. Yet the real disease I often see as a pastor and as a dad of a teenager is Affluenza. I check Wikipedia and here is how they define the word. Affluenza is a social condition arising from the desire to be more wealthy, successful or to "Keep up with the Joneses." Affluenza is symptomatic of a culture that prides financial success as one of the highest pursuits to be achieved. People who are said to be affected by Affluenza typically find that the very economic success they have been so vigorously chasing, ends up leaving them feeling unfulfilled, and wishing for yet more wealth – you might say they become addicted to their economic pursuits.
To tell the truth, I was afflicted with this disease. It bit me as a young man, and through out college and my younger working life I was consumed by it. It works much like a cold. It made me feel more and more absent. It left me with no feeling of belonging, and I was often miserable. I often associate such a disease with living in an upwardly mobile society. Both Kingwood and The Woodlands suffer from this disease. I have now lived in both communities and could lay the reason for the disease at our consumer minded society, yet I believe there is another cause.
The real reason for Affuenza is the “me syndrome”. We somehow buy into the idea that the world is all about me. I have come to find that the more I think the world is about me, the more miserable I become. The interesting thing about the word “sin” is that it contains only one vowel. That vowel is I. I…I...I…I…I. Sin!
Sin at first appears appealing, but then we come to find that it leads to isolation, pain, and hollowness. Jesus says something about this subject. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? ” (Luke 9:24-25). Since Jesus talked about this in Biblical days, I get the feeling that it is more than just a modern problem.
I could easily make this to be a modern problem only suffered by teenagers of wealthy parents, but that is not the truth. In Matthew 23:25 Jesus is ruthless to the religious leaders of his day. He tells them they are about looking good, while being “filled with greed and self-indulgence.” And there it is: self-indulgence, the belief that it is all about me. As a result they are all nice looking on the outside but dead on the inside. WOW.
What is the cure to Affluenza? It is accepting Jesus Christ’s forgiveness, and in doing that learn that we are valuable. We are valuable not because of what we do, or what we have, but because God loves us. The lesson that then follows is that God loves everyone. Everyone is valuable in God’s eyes, and as such we should be concerned about justice, mercy and faithfulness.
Affluenza affects our minds, just like my cold makes it hard for me to think, Affuenza make me overly concerned with me. Affluenza clouds our thinking. We somehow come to the conclusion that life is all about me. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Rev. Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
Here is a link to a video about Affluenza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZz6ICzpjI
To tell the truth, I was afflicted with this disease. It bit me as a young man, and through out college and my younger working life I was consumed by it. It works much like a cold. It made me feel more and more absent. It left me with no feeling of belonging, and I was often miserable. I often associate such a disease with living in an upwardly mobile society. Both Kingwood and The Woodlands suffer from this disease. I have now lived in both communities and could lay the reason for the disease at our consumer minded society, yet I believe there is another cause.
The real reason for Affuenza is the “me syndrome”. We somehow buy into the idea that the world is all about me. I have come to find that the more I think the world is about me, the more miserable I become. The interesting thing about the word “sin” is that it contains only one vowel. That vowel is I. I…I...I…I…I. Sin!
Sin at first appears appealing, but then we come to find that it leads to isolation, pain, and hollowness. Jesus says something about this subject. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? ” (Luke 9:24-25). Since Jesus talked about this in Biblical days, I get the feeling that it is more than just a modern problem.
I could easily make this to be a modern problem only suffered by teenagers of wealthy parents, but that is not the truth. In Matthew 23:25 Jesus is ruthless to the religious leaders of his day. He tells them they are about looking good, while being “filled with greed and self-indulgence.” And there it is: self-indulgence, the belief that it is all about me. As a result they are all nice looking on the outside but dead on the inside. WOW.
What is the cure to Affluenza? It is accepting Jesus Christ’s forgiveness, and in doing that learn that we are valuable. We are valuable not because of what we do, or what we have, but because God loves us. The lesson that then follows is that God loves everyone. Everyone is valuable in God’s eyes, and as such we should be concerned about justice, mercy and faithfulness.
Affluenza affects our minds, just like my cold makes it hard for me to think, Affuenza make me overly concerned with me. Affluenza clouds our thinking. We somehow come to the conclusion that life is all about me. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Rev. Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
Here is a link to a video about Affluenza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZz6ICzpjI
Monday, October 1, 2007
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