Pastor’s Blog

Today, the American church has completely emasculated the American man. He is asked to check his manhood at the door of most churches. He is required to worship in a church building that looks like it was decorated by Home Interior. He walks down turquoise aisles to sit on mauve padded pews. He’s forced to look up to a stage covered with nice pinks, yellows and greens and flowers all around. He’s supposed to dress like those “Queer Eye” guys got ahold of him, and has to listen to a message that absolutely forbids him to be the wild and courageous WARRIOR that God created him to be. As a result, men are outnumbered by women in most churches by a margin of 2 to 1.

This Father’s Day we begin a series at Daystar designed to restore masculinity back to the Church that was founded by the most wildly masculine WARRIOR ever…Jesus Christ!

What is the most compelling reason to be baptized? To follow the example of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 3:13 – 17
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

My friend, Tom Sterbens of New Hope Church wrote and recorded this song of his friend (and mine) John Nichols. The entire project can be seen here.

There is great discussion going on in the church today about adjusting older styles of communicating the gospel and finding newer ways to reach people. Some have, sadly, put their method in the place of the message. They seem willing to die for the method they are comfortable with. We are called to DIE for the message, if need be. However, the method must change with every culture and every generation, while keeping the message unchanged.

Tim Stevens is the Senior pastor of Granger Community Church. In his book, Pop Goes the Church, speaks to this issue:

If you don’t offer something people need, they won’t come. If the people don’t come, you can’t teach them the truth. So an effective church is busy identifying people’s needs and letting the community know you have some help they should consider. If you speak their language, there is a better chance they will come to a service. If they do that, the odds increase significantly that they will hear how much they matter to God, and they just might respond.

If the church of Jesus Christ can offer the world help in dealing with these real needs, we can see the world change! If we can scratch them where they itch, then after they accept Christ and begin to grow in their faith, we can teach principles they don’t even know they need yet, such as memorizing scripture, becoming systematic in their giving, and learning how to pray.

What do you think?

Sunday I opened up another controversial sermon series concerning sexuality in America and the church. Pornography is growing at an alarming rate in the world. Many people would prefer to keep this dirty little secret in the dark. But the Bible says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverb 28:13). Here are some of the facts:

o Porn revenue is larger than all the revenues for ABC, NBC, and CBS combined.

o 90% of 8 – 16 year olds have viewed porn online.

o 33% of visitors to porn web sites are women.

o Adult bookstores outnumber McDonald’s restaurants in the US by at least 3 to 1.

There are so many people who are struggling with pornography addictions and other sexual sins. They want to be free, but cannot seem to shake the habit. They have prayed and prayed to God. They have confessed their sins more times than they care to remember. And confession is the key, but it has to be the right kind of confession. You see, 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is great. It’s one of the bible’s most beautiful promises.

Confession to God = Forgiveness and Purity

But there is more that we need to be actually healed of our sexual addiction. There is another confession that is needed. James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” Notice what this confession brings.

Confession to one another = Healing

Here we see that God’s word promotes a built-in accountability system through confession to one another. While it is great (and necessary) to confess our sins to God for forgiveness, it is also required that we confess to one another for healing. When we confess to one another, we make ourselves accountable to a living, breathing person with a face. This accountability will bring the healing we need to be truly changed.

What do you think about this topic in church?