Category: hmm… thoughts

I’ve had a few conversations this week revolving the "n" word. No.

It doesn’t matter if you are in full time ministry or not. When you start telling God what you are or are not going to do with your time, talent, energy, emotions, future, past, or whatever..

When you start limiting what you are willing to do for God, life will get pretty complicated to you.

But when you tell God… "take all of me. use me for Your glory. use my all of me. every last drop." When that’s your attitude to God, His Word, His people, His church, His _____. That’s where God will take that offering (ala Romans 12:1) and multiply you and your impact.

If you aren’t having the impact you want… check yourself first before blaming it on circumstances.

I’ve actually had a couple conversations with new believers and Christians alike about this question. Certainly, it’s a tough thing to think "Is God fair to punish people to hell who never heard about Jesus?"

So, here is a paper I wrote back in my undergrad days. I actually do think it’s good enough and complete enough to say… this is my position on the matter. Enjoy!

The Fairness of the Creator by Adam McLane

Romans 1: 18-20:

“The wrath of God is
being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of human
beings who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known
about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since
the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities- his eternal power and
divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that people are with excuse.”

Perhaps the hardest lesson to be learned in all of Calvinist theology is that a person whom never hears of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is still responsible to God for not responding to it. The long-stretching arms of Christ’s love for humanity seem nullified by the stern message of God’s wrath. The purpose of this dialogue revolves around answering the question, “Is it fair for God to condemn those people who have never heard or understood the gospel?” No question can be as relevant to our society, no question cuts more straight to the heart of Christianity. Is Christ the only way to salvation? Can man plead ignorance or indifference? Is there hope for those who have never heard?

(more…)

A member of my small group is a journalism major and asked Kristen and I the following question. (She doesn’t know that I am part of a site that publishes stuff)

Q: Why should people go into journalism, why is it a good major?
A: I think journalism needs more people with integrity. People who embrace the ideals of journalism and stand up for truth.

Q: If journalism were to go to the doctor, what would the doctor say is wrong with journalism?
A: Your writing for an audience and advertising dollars and not for the sake of journalism.

Of course, another thought is that the face of journalism itself is changing. Gone are the days when a tiny group of people (by percentage) dictated the news stories out there. With blogs, newsvine.com, digg.com, and the burgeoning power of social networking and other stuff labeled "Web 2.0" the face of journalism is much different than it was just a couple years ago. Check out wikipedia’s page on journalism and you will see that the definition of journalism itself is morphing. What a fascinating time we live in!

Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts. That phrase seems hopelessly dead.

If your life isn’t moving, maybe you’re not moving the right way. This is a clever little ad that’s been floating around the internet for quite a while… it is truly profound.

Yesterday in church, Bob talked about doing our small part of a big dream. Imagine being one of the twelve spies chosen to go spy out the Promised Land? You literally got a glimpse into the future!

But they also had a limited and specific goal. They weren’t told to go and make judgment of the land that God was giving them, here is all Moses told them to do:

"Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20
How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not?
Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." Numbers 13

That’s the thing about being a small part of something really big… you don’t know how God is going to use your small piece for His glory.

Imagine yourself as one of the twelve. For 40 years your family has wondered the desert waiting to have access to the Promised Land. For your whole life you’d heard, "The Promised Land is going to rock!" In days of manna and no television you can imagine that dreaming of the Promised Land had become quite a past time. And your job was to go into the Promised Land and tell the people what was there. Your job was actually pretty small. Compared to the job of starting towns and building farms… this was a cinch. But you also played a part in something much larger.


It doesn’t matter what you do in life. If you know Christ and are part of a church… whether or not you agree to it, you are playing a small role in something much larger as you represent Christ in every facet of your life.

So, where you live and in what you do… how are you doing? Are you doing your job or are you failing?

Did you know that how far you go, how high you climb into achievement, has a lot to do with the attitude you express?

Achievement is not based on education.
Not based on talent.
Not based on IQ.
Not even based purely on God "blessing" one person more than another.
Not based on luck or stars or fortune cookies.

My experience has taught me that the difference between achieving success and mediocrity is the attitude I choose.

Attitude is a choice
For several years I worked the worst hours. Sometimes I started work at 10:00 PM, then 12:00 AM, then 4:00 AM. But the majority of that time I had to wake up to go to work at about 3:30 AM. Each time my hours
changed my life as well.

And I wasn’t alone. The department I worked for had to flex our time like this. And some succeeded in this environment while others didn’t. Some would complain, "I’m not a morning person." A statement like that is merely one of personal choice. No one is a 3:30 AM person. But in that environment, those who wanted to achieve made themselves 3:30 AM people. It was a choice. I didn’t like it but I chose to make the best out of it.

It’s the same in all areas of my life. Life isn’t a television show and no one has the perfect family, house, job, friends, or anything else. We are all sinners…. we live in a fallen world. If we hold idealistic expectations about the world around us… we will always be disappointed. If we chose an attitude based on ideals… we will always be disappointed. Nothing will ever measure up to what we think we deserve. Think about the vacations you’ve taken in life. You build up expectations of all that you want to experience. Then you get to the resort or the location and it’s not what you expected. In that moment you have a choice to make… how will you respond. Will you choose an attitude that embraces the vacation or will you whine about _____?

Attitude effects altitude. I’ve already heard whining from students about their schedule,  their teachers, their clothes, their _____. The same reality effects students. You can chose a bad attitude about something that doesn’t live up to your expectations… or you can chose an attitude that gets you somewhere.

Attitude is everything… or so t he t-shirt says.

I’ve wondered if being a pastor was more or less of a prestigious career choice today versus 30 years ago. "Logic" would tell me that with all the odd things that have happened with church workers over the year that most people don’t look up to clergy anymore.

According to a Harris Poll released on August 1st, being a pastor is actually slightly more prestigious today than 30 years ago.

What are you doing with your "extra" prestige?

Yes, I think that describes our church.

To put it in football terms, since the football season is about to crank up:

Our team would be judged as average in practice and the first three quarters. (Not bad. Not superb. Average.) But when the game is on the line and we need a touchdown to win… or ever 17 points to win late in the game. We’ve have the kind of team that pulls off the victory. It always makes for an exciting finish.

Interestingly… we’re also trying to be a team that has a strong finish but also shows signs of brilliance in practice and the first quarter.

Why? Because a 4th quarter comeback, while dramatic and fun, isn’t always needed. Sometimes a solid first quarter puts you in the lead and makes victories easy. And easy isn’t always bad.

p.s. That said… for both the Peach Festival and the next MainStreet… it’s the start of the 4th quarter. And we’ve got some cool plays left to call.