Is Your Child Spiritually Prepared?

It’s the first day of school.  Facebook timelines were filled with snapshots of kids posed with backpacks, uniforms, and lunchboxes standing in their front yard smiling for the camera. Hold the camera phone for a second!  I’m not talking about a kid’s first day of school EVER.  I’m saying there were several people who had pics of their kid’s first day of school…as a Sophomore!

It makes me laugh how the web has made posting pictures socially acceptable and fun.

Can you imagine if you went over to your friend’s house, they pulled the shades, and showed you slides of their kid’s first day of 4^th grade?  I doubt any of us would “like” it.  We’d be thinking, “What’s next, your kids first trip to Skyline Chili?” *see Will Howlett’s facebook page circa 2010

I can’t blame parents for taking pics of their kids on their first day of school.  They’ve put a lot of time, money, and energy into preparing them.

The right clothes,

The right shoes,

The right classes,

The right transportation route,

The right supplies,

The right amount of sleep,

The right paperwork....all with the goal of their children finishing the year successfully.

I recently attended a workshop on how to prepare students for the transition from middle school to high school.  The JCPS counselor leading the session shared that 9^th grade has the highest attrition rate because students aren’t prepared. 

My daughter doesn’t even start school til next year and we’ve been talking about preparing her for over a year!

Now let’s change gears.

If you are a parent, what are you doing to prepare your child spiritually?

Do you put in the same amount of time, money, and energy in making sure your child isn’t a victim of the attrition rate?  Researchers found that almost three out of five young Christians (59 percent) leave church life either permanently or for an extended period of time after age 15.

What things can we do to prepare our kids spiritually so they are prepared  not only for this life, but more importantly the next life?

Nomenclature

Well, the blog's been operating for just over a year now.  As I said on the first post, the name does not mean I'm looking for job applicants.  There is a slightly more well known Manpower already in existance (little p though).  Since I just came up with the name on the spur of the moment as I stumbled into creating a blog, and since I've decided this shouldn't be relegated to only men, I'm thinking about changing the name.  What do you suggest?  I think it should complement the tag line underneath it.  Whoever comes up with the best name gets a free lunch or dinner at the (cheap) restaurant of their choice!

Chick-fil-heyyyyy!

Who would have thought that the battle for the morals of America would come down to a chicken sandwich?-Greg Steir

I promised i would write this blog post as soon as I got my sandwich-man that line was looooonng!

Line outside Hurstbourne Lane Chick-Fil-A at lunch time. 

I've been trying to formulate an opinion on all the craziness surrounding the recent comments of Chick-Fil-A President, Dan Cathy.

I was one of the masses that took my family to Chick-Fil-A on August 1st for Support Chick-Fil-A Day to support the right the company has to free speech. It upset me that elected officials in other parts of our country were attempting to block the company from expanding in their markets because of the owners comments.

As my family and some friends stood in the crowd at Chick-fil-a, a man shouted "GOD BLESS CHICK-FIL-A!" his hand raised, clutching a bag of waffle fries.  The crowd erupted in shouts and applause.  I started to laugh as I thought, I wonder if that guy ever shouted "GOD BLESS BURGER CHEF!!" or “GOD BLESS EAR-X-TACY!!!" before leaving those places of business.  If he had, I may be writing this blog while eating a burger and listening to a rare KISS import CD.

It’s easy to stand in line for a sandwich and shout amongst like-minded people.  It’s more difficult to pray daily for your friends, family and country, or do the work of getting your hands dirty.  

This isn’t to say that guy who shouted isn't doing those things.  He may very well be.  

And maybe he does shout “GOD BLESS RAVE CINEMAS!” every time he sees a movie...i dunno.  I  just want to encourage everyone to use this event to “spur one another on to love and good deeds”.

Or as my friend, Keith, wrote in a recent email:

“May I suggest that going to a local Chick-Fil-A once in awhile does not constitute a spiritual revival.”

That comment made me laugh as well as my spirit jump!  Somebody actually “gets it”!  A spiritual revival can only happen through prayer, followed by action.

What if instead of going to Chick-Fil-A, everyone took their money and donated it to a crisis pregnancy center, or homeless shelter?  What if all the food that was bought was donated?  What if people took their lunch break and prayed?  What if we used the opportunity to start conversations with people?

I’m not saying going to Chick-Fil-A was a bad thing. I went...and will again. However, there is a perception, real or imagined, that Christians:

A) hate gay people 

B) are too political 

C) talk a lot but don’t do anything 

D) are only interested in converting you,  

Sadly, while I was pleased with the turnout, i’m afraid that this is just another event that perpetuated our image problem.

Most of us will get fired up and wait in line for an hour for a sandwich, but complain when the church service goes too long.  We will take a “stand” for Biblical marriage, when we never even open the Bible with our spouse.  We oppose gay marriage, but don’t have any relationships with gay people.

I posted the above picture on Facebook on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.  Among the “Amen” and “Halleluiah” comments posted by others, Chris, a gay kid I’ve connected with at Campus Life, an after school ministry at a local high school, commented, “makes me feel loved...oh wait...the exact opposite”.  

Again, we have a perception problem.  To some, the Chick Fil A Day was a rallying point for lovers of free speech, for others it was saying “Christians hate me because I’m gay,”

If we really want to see the needle move, eating a sandwich isn’t going to do it. 

Jesus said the greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor.  

It's time to move from a defense to a discussion.

If we focus on God and people, and not just “causes” God will honor that and hopefully we will see revival.  

Are You Afraid of God?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...”  Psalm 111:10.  There’s a similar verse found in Proverbs (1:7)  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...”.  Job 28:28 says “The fear of the LORD is true wisdom...”.  

What does the 'fear of God' mean?  

Most people describe the word 'fear' as meaning 'reverence' in the bible.  Plainly, however, the word 'reverence' was not used.  The word 'fear' was.  I'm not saying that reverence isn't part of 'fear', but it seems that the 'reverence' camp would have me believe that being afraid has nothing to do with 'fear'.  
To quote Mr. Spock:  This seems most illogical.

The NLT translates the word 'beginning' in the above passages as 'foundation'.  I've read other teaching on this concept that promoted the idea that fearing God is the 'start' of wisdom.  But then, as you progress in spiritual maturity, you grow out of that fearful state.  There seems to be a correlation between this idea and the way we raise our kids.  When they're very young, they are required to mind us, regardless of whether or not they understand, and sometimes the lesson is applied with a small dose of pain.  I think there is a 'fear' of disobeying mom and dad in that situation.  However, as they grow older, there is less corporal punishment (hopefully) and more discussion about the whys of instruction.  Maturity.

1 John 4:18 says: Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. NLT  

So does that mean as justified Christians, we should have NO fear of God?

I'm just asking questions.  Tell me what you think.

Will:  This took about 20 minutes.  Now get going.

When Should You Leave Your Church?

We've been looking at trends within our church lately.  One of them seems to be this 'revolving door' phenomenon where we maintain, or slightly lose, overall membership, but regularly have high turnover.  We're also being told that we're about to enter into a time where there will be major changes to the way we do things.  Though that hopefully means the 'revolving door' will be shut, it may also mean a more rapid exodus of those who don't appreciate major changes to the way things are done.

Change can be good.  It's an opportunity.  

It can also be difficult and uncomfortable.  

How will the church view and respond to it?

So, the question of this post is it's title 'When should you leave your church?'.

Some would say that short of direct heresy being preached from the pulpit, you should never leave your church.  You're part of a body.  Don't amputate yourself.  In fact, quit being a useless limb and get to work on any of the problems that you perceive.  Others may think leaving or changing churches is no different than deciding Kroger has better prices than Walmart on groceries.  There may be many views in between.  Preaching styles, children's programs, youth programs, music programs, a sense of connectedness, etc. may all factor in to what's considered a legitimate reason for finding a new church.  

But should they?

What would you consider a legitimate reason for leaving?

What do you think God's view is on church membership?

Were you predestined to read this?

Today's topic is Calvinism.  It's a rather difficult and broad one.  But I think we can break down and discuss some of it's elements, and hopefully get a better grasp on the concept in the process.  

In order to have the most interesting and engaging conversation possible, I'm not going to google search anything about this topic for now.  In the follow-up responses by anybody, we can do some research.  But for now, I'm just writing from the heart.  

First, I'd like to break apart the idea of being predestined (or foreordained) for salvation from the idea of having all of our daily actions being predetermined.  I think this is one sticking point, or possible misunderstanding, about Calvinism.  We can discuss both of these things, but the most important (and interesting, in my opinion) is the salvation issue.

Not all Calvinists like this acrostic, but it's helpful - TULIP.

T - total depravity of man

U - unconditional election 

L - limited atonement

I - irresistable grace

P - perseverance of the saints

(OK, I googled that cause I usually get the U wrong)

Some christians say they're 3 or 4 point Calvinists.  Usually the L and I are the 2 debated points.  

Obviously, if antonement is limited (the L), Christ didn't die for all people.  But personally, I think Calvinism is proved, or disproved, by I.  Is God's call 'irresistible'?  Does man have the option to resist?  Calvinists would say that once God has regenerated a soul, that soul willingly accepts God's offer of salvation.  In other words, the question isn't CAN man resist, there simply is no desire TO resist.  Yet we often hear this idea that Christ is 'knocking'.  Won't you open the door?  Will you reject Him?  Or we may have heard people say, 'I felt God tugging at my heart, but I just didn't want to respond'.  That doesn't sound too irresistible.  Or was it merely human emotion at work?

Most baptists I know are reluctant to identify themselves with Calvinism (or sometimes the word Reformed is used).  However, we also can't ignore the many references in the bible to the elect, the chosen, the predestined, the foreordained, and so on.  

Calvinism is heavy on God's sovereignty in saving us, and I think that's a good thing.  Some complain that it would necessarily minimize evangelism due to the elect being secure - regardless of whether or not you and I witness to them.

These are just a few points to raise.  What are your thoughts?

It's obviously becoming a very big topic in the Baptist church today.

In fact, the Kentucky Baptist Convention is sponsoring an all-day conference August 4th at Crestwood Baptist Church entitled 'Calvinism:  Concerned, Confused or Curious.  Cost $45.

I'm signed up.

(It may not be visible, but if you hover your cursor under \/ here, the comment link will become visible)

The Power of Vulnerability

Time for you to stretch again.

I recently watched 2 short (20 minutes), yet what I consider to be, profound videos by Brene Brown given during a TED lecture.  TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.  It's an interesting non-profit organization that is devoted to spreading ideas.  I'll include the links below.  I highly recommend watching them but I'm going to summarize what I thought were the important points.

Vulnerability is not weakness.  That myth is profoundly dangerous.  It's our most accurate measurement of courage.  Vulnerability is the path to finding our way back to each other.  Connection is why we're here.  It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  

Shame is the fear of disconnection.  It's a fear that there's something about me, that if people knew, would make me unworthy of connection.  Nobody want's to talk about it, and the less you talk about it, the more you have it.  What underpins shame is vulnerability.  

In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be really seen.

The only difference between those who have a strong sense of love and belonging, and those who struggle for it is:  the former believe they are worthy of love and belonging.  The latter are kept out of connection.  They believe they're not worthy of it.  The former have the courage to be imperfect and authentic.  They embrace vulnerability.  They see it as necessary.  They are willing to do something where there were no guarantees.  

Vulnerability is the core of shame, fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it's also the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging and love.  We numb vulnerability - spend, eat, addictive behavior - but then we also numb joy and gratitude.  Then we don't have purpose and meaning, so again we numb.  It becomes a dangerous cycle.

Shame prevents us from being OK with failure.  Not being OK with failure prevents us from trying, daring, and succeeding.  The antidote to shame is empathy.  The 2 most powerful words when we're dealing with struggle are:  Me too.

Let yourself be seen.  Love with your whole heart.  Practice gratitude.

The Power of Vulnerability

Listening to Shame