Going Deep!

Not long ago a lady, who had attended my home group for several weeks, asked me, "When are we going to go deep and really study the Bible and talk about the deep things of God?"

What does that mean?  How do you "go deep?"  What are the deep things of God?  

After doing this pastor thing for twenty-one years, here's what I think that really means:  "Give me something deep, preferably with some Hebrew or Greek language references.  Confuse me and speak of things that are extremely difficult to understand so that I can spend all week thinking, researching, contemplating, reading, studying, discussing, and meditating on what you just said.  And then I'd like to repeat that process again next week with an even deeper teaching.  Because I really don't want to do anything with or about this teaching I just want be deep.  If you teach me things that are simple, applicable, and practical then I might have to DO something with this faith of mine.  I don't want to DO something I want to BE deep."

Granted, this is my jaded opinion and granted, no one has ever said that to me out loud, but I don't pay attention to your words anyway - I'm watching the way you live.  Your actions reveal what you truly believe and you only believe that parts of the Bible that you obey.

So what does it mean to go deep?  I believe the deepest thing you can do is to act on what God has already said.  Deep is doing, acting, living your faith.  Simple acts of obedience often lead to the deepest impact.

I'm not saying you shouldn't study your Bible or do some research.  I'm not saying you shouldn't meditate and strive to understand the Scriptures.  I am saying your goal should be action not knowledge.  Too many of us strain to understand God's concealed will and ignore His revealed will.

Deep is being able to say to Jesus, "I don't understand it all completely, but I will do what you ask anyway."  That's following Jesus - that's submission - that's the essence of faith - that's going deep!

Paul told the Galatian church, "As we have opportunities, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers."  Which is deeper?  To understand all the Greek nuances behind "opportunities" and study the true meaning of "family of believers" or to go do something good for someone?  Yesterday my pastoral staff used their morning to chop down some bushes in the yard of an aging couple in our church who are trying to sell their home.  With their rakes, chainsaws, brooms, gloves, and sweat they went deep!

Jesus told us all to "Love your neighbor as yourself."  For two weeks, I have asked members of our church to be willing to give up their seats in our brand new, cushy, beautiful worship center this week and sit in our old, smelly, dirty auditorium so that our guests can have a seat for our Easter service.  No one formed a study group to learn the deep truths of that scripture - 120 people loved their neighbor and gave up their seat for someone they probably don't know.  That's going deep!

Deep is not complicated.  Practical is not simplistic.  Faith without works is dead.

Are you deep?

What's For Breakfast?

I decided to start this blog as a way to answer the questions that always go unanswered as a result of my preaching.  I've currently got an inbox full of questions about the Holy Ghost and His work in our lives.

With my first blog post I will completely ignore all those questions and share what God is currently teaching me.

I've been talking with a pastor friend/accountability brother recently about people who leave our churches.  (Yes, people leave other churches too, not just this one...)  He says, "I never chase Christians.  If people want to leave my church and attend a different church that's fine, God bless them."  Doesn't that sound uncaring, wrong, and maybe a little "unChristian?"  Isn't the church leader supposed to chase after those who leave and try to convince them to stay?

Last week I was listening to a different pastor teach me that it's not always a bad thing when people leave your church, on the contrary, it's often a very good thing.  This pastor encourages his people who aren't growing or serving to visit other churches in town - he even has brochures from other churches to guide them in their search.

I've always been taught that the goal of "church work" is to get as many people as you possibly could in your church and then do whatever you have to do to keep them there.  Is "church work" the work of the church?

Shift gears:  I'm asking God to give me a good, strong message for Easter - a message that will wow our guests and convince our "Creasters" to stick around.  (A Creaster is someone who attends church only on Christmas or Easter.)

Then it hits me - when Jesus had a large crowd he would usually preach a message that would cause most of them to leave - not stick around.

Have you ever read all of John 6?  Jesus is teaching a crowd of probably fifteen to twenty thousand people.  Jesus has never been more popular.  Word of his miracles and teachings was spreading fast and this crowd came to check him out and cheer him on.  He's never had more fans.  At the end of the day, the crowd is hungry and Jesus uses a little boy's generosity to ignite a miracle.  The Bible tells us Jesus feeds everyone till they are full and there were leftovers.

After dinner the crowd camps out for the night so they can be with Jesus the next day.  When morning comes, the crowd is hungry again but Jesus and his boys are gone.  Their meal ticket left them behind and sailed to the other side of the lake.  Eventually the crowd catches up with Jesus and wants to know what's on the menu for breakfast.  They weren't aware that Jesus had shut down the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Jesus offers himself to them but tells them they're not interested in following him but in having their bellies filled.  When Jesus is the only item on the menu the crowd has to decide if he is enough or if they are hungry for something else.  Verse 66 says, "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."  Jesus didn't chase them down, he didn't whip up a pancake breakfast, he didn't do whatever he could to make sure the crowd stuck around.

Jesus didn't care about the size of the crowd - he cared about their level of commitment.

What will Easter at West Main look like this year?  We're calling people to commitment and obedience.  That's it.

Are you a fan of Jesus or a follower of Jesus?