Church – Page 5 – PaulThompsonBlog

Living in a Biblically Illiterate American Church

Posted on January 21, 2016Leave a comment

“This really is our problem, and it is up to this generation of Christians to reverse course. Recovery starts at home. Parents are to be the first and most important educators of their own children, diligently teaching them the Word of God. [See Deuteronomy 6:4-9.] Parents cannot franchise their responsibility to the congregation, no matter how faithful and biblical it may be. God assigned parents this non-negotiable responsibility, and children must see their Christian parents as teachers and fellow students of God’s Word.” Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Full article HERE

Marketing the Church

Posted on January 20, 20162 Comments

A few minutes with me after the mail comes to my office will convince you of what I think of the majority of direct marketing directed at the church.

Before throwing most of it in the trash I read some of the one-liner zingers attempting to convince the church pastor or administrator to consider their product. After throwing (I do mean throwing) most of it in the trash I make way to my mini-fridge in my office for a bottled water, cold, refreshing, soothing.

Dear church marketing agents, publishing houses, mission agencies… etc,
Please stop treating this church the same way the pizza house treats me. I don’t mind it when the pizza house attracts me with high gloss photos of pizza. I get it, you are in a highly competitive arena with churches on limited budgets, but we are the bride of Christ, the church.

Today I just thought I would open up the discussion pipeline and hear what others think about what feels like a direct way to snag the attention of every distracted, discouraged pastor walking back to his office from the mail box desperate to be a pastor of a leading church.

(The pastor’s duty is not to be a ‘leading’ pastor of a ‘leading’ church, his duty is to obey the Lord.)

Here are a few that came out of the mail box this week. Some from unknown sources, some from familiar sources, all equally directed at the church (primarily the pastor) that their offer will solve all of his desires to be a ‘leading’ pastor of a ‘leading’ church. I’ll start with a positive one that I pulled back out of the trash can.

ANY TWO LARGE PIZZAS $20 (I think this one can be useful.)

“A church cannot develop an excellent evangelism strategy without planning far in advance.”

“WHAT ARE THE TOP EVANGELISTIC CHURCHES DOING THAT MINE IS NOT?

Specific things pastors do to lead on mission:

They have a Vibrant Vision – Evangelistic pastors have an exciting vision they continually keep in front of the congregation. You’ll find it printed in all their documents, plastered on the walls, set in stone and talked about from the pulpit. It’s not something written in an obscure document no one sees.
They have a Simple Strategy – You won’t find complexity in an evangelistic church but you will find strategy. They know how they are moving people from point A to point B. They know what they are doing to reach people for Christ and move them into a discipling relationship. And again … it is simple.
They create a Contagious Culture – Honestly, in most of these churches, you can feel it when you walk through the door. There’s something different. They aren’t striving to “create a culture,” rather, they are striving to “be the culture”

BUILD STUDIES. MAKE DISCIPLES.

(publication website) is a library of discussion-driven studies that you can customize to equip small groups of any shape and size to be environments of discipleship.

Find the Bible Study you need, enhanced by video from teachers you trust.

I don’t fault anyone for having a product, idea, experience, or desire to share what has been helpful in their circumstance. I get how effective direct marketing campaigns can be. There is a reason companies mail post cards, mailers, emails, with high gloss, flashy product. People are buying what they are offering. I really do get why it’s done in the consumer world. I’m just get a bit irritated when it comes to treating the church the same way.

Disclaimer: I don’t think the hard working employee doing the job they were hired to do is at fault in these organizations who market the church. I look primarily to the executive driven pastor, publishing house executives and research departments.

Oh, don’t get me wrong; I’ve been part of the problem in my early days of ministry under a spell as though I have to offer a ‘product’ that is an alternative to the world.

Pastor, minister, if I can encourage you at all in this matter I would like to. You and I have an important duty, we have been charged with the responsibility to put Christ, and Him crucified in front of all people and trust that God will draw all men to Himself. When we quit putting our trust in men and obey our charge and protect this trust we have been given from being littered with consumerism we can be content to press in, regardless.

Press in to Jesus, my dear friend, press in.

This Kind of Day Calls for Faithful Preachers

Posted on December 2, 2015Leave a comment

A.W. Tozer called for a rejuvenation of the church by calling for faithful preachers.

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.

Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.

(A.W. Tozer, The Size of the Soul, pp. 128-129)

Helpful Islamic Terms (tBC016)

Posted on December 1, 2015Leave a comment

In today’s BridgeCast I give some helpful terms in regard to Islam and the cultural storm of money following the Thanksgiving observation.

In this day it may be helpful to have an increased knowledge of Islamic terms. When you read or listen to a ‘news’ report and a term is used that you’re not familiar with, find a good dictionary or reliable source to help give you a working definition of how that term is defined and used.

Allah: This is the only Arabic word for god. This makes translation of the bible into Arabic problematic. Not because there is not a word in Arabic for god. An Arabic speaking person reading the bible in his/her language would use the word allah when they read your English word ‘god’.

In an English speaking context, we have a general word ‘god’ and a specific word for Yahweh [‘God’]. Translators generally note this with a lower case ‘g’ and an upper case ‘G’.

The necessary duty for a believer is to have a working knowledge of the definition according to the doctrine (teaching) of the different faiths.

One of note here is that the god (Allah) of Islam and the god (Yahweh) of the bible are not the same gods. Yahweh reveals Himself as triune, Allah is similar (in definition) but in no way a triune being. This is important in knowing why a Muslim is confused when you refer to Jesus as Deity (God). To a Muslim, you believe in multiple gods.

There is more, but this is a start.

Jihad*: This is a struggle or effort in god’s cause. The great jihad is the inward struggle against the passions. The lesser jihad is a defensive or legal war, to protect the interest of Islam. It is mistakenly called holy war. Jihad is the Muslim obligation to strive to teach, explain, spread, and protect the message of Islam.

Caliphate** is a form of Islamic government led by a caliph (a ruler considered a politico-religious leader of the Islamic community of believers, and rules in accordance with Islamic law.)

A caliphate is political state without separation of religion and government ruled by a religious leader called a caliph. This politico/religious ‘state’ may or may not be recognized by the community at large as legitimate. In Islam, it doesn’t need to be recognized by others, they just are and do.

*4truth.net
**Wikipedia

My opinion is better than your stupid opinion

Posted on November 17, 20152 Comments

Let’s agree: This is a matter of serious importance and it is a global debate that is in full swing. And it appears most of us don’t know how to fairly debate anything. It works like this…

“My opinion is better than your stupid opinion.” or “Let’s just agree to disagree.” I don’t like saying or hearing this kind of jargon in matters of serious discourse. True; there are sometimes stupid opinions and there are times when we agree to disagree. But neither of those conclusions work in this one.

There’s a popular argument I want to address in a future post on this matter that I’m hearing. “Jesus was a refugee”! I’ll hold my opinion close at hand right now on the right and wrong of that statement. (I fear it will get me off track of the starting place I have here.)

There are only a few places in written/spoken media that is not committed with both feet in one camp or another on the refugee issue.

We (Christians) are so quickly and easily divided at times.

There is no doubt the global scene is tragic at many levels and in all places around the world.

This kind of situation calls for us to be careful in what we do and how we say what we say.

And it shows me how little I understand some things at times. Here’s something that is causing me to process and meditate on.

JURISDICTION: This seems to be more a question of jurisdiction than compassion. The church should know her jurisdiction and give attention to all within her duty (even to the ends of the earth).

The church is not granted jurisdiction of public safety, it’s not the churches job or duty, that is given to the state (secular government) by God, who has the jurisdiction to give it to the state (secular government). The jurisdiction of the church is preaching the gospel, prayer and to give aid to widow/orphan/poor, those in great need. If the state brings them – the church cares for them.

Personally, I don’t want a state to bring non-vetted or under-vetted residents; but if the state were to be so foolish to do so then this church stands ready to help all residents the state recognizes.

This kind of day reminds me of how important it is that I understand God’s order and jurisdiction he gives for our benefit and we are in a better place to advance His gospel when we submit to His order.

To be clear, I do think that there are stupid opinions at times. And I agree that you are free to disagree with mine.

The Plague of the Christian Celebrity Culture

Posted on May 27, 2015Leave a comment

There may be a plague in the land. Consider this…

If I were to secure a popular Christian musician to be present at a Wednesday night at Eastside Baptist Church (the going price to do so is a minimum of $10,000.00) I suspect we would have to rent a facility to house the number of people who would come.
If I were to secure a popular Christian athlete to be present at a Wednesday night prayer meeting at Eastside Baptist Church, I suspect we would have to turn people away.
If I were to secure a popular Christian actor to be present at a Wednesday night gathering, I suspect we would gather more than just Christians.
If I were to secure a popular preacher we could fill the Lord’s house and would talk about that gathering for months to come.

thus showing us at least two problems…

The current atmosphere among the “Christian” community is plagued with an attraction for the popular, the rich, the talented, the attractive, the comfortable and is completely naive of the opportunity that is before them to be in the manifest presence of Holy God.
What pastor’s (myself included) are calling “worship services”, “prayer meetings”, “bible study” etc, may not be genuinely Christian in nature and more a product of his imagination.

It is my observation that both may be part of the problem. Christian, you have before you an opportunity to gather with the Lord’s people for perhaps the most uniquely compelling reason you could imagine. Can you imagine a worship service where the presence of the Lord God Almighty is so obviously present? Can you imagine a prayer meeting where those present experienced a pouring out of the Holy Spirit that all present were radically changed?

Put that moment up against the last episode of American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
Put that gathering up against the opening night of the long anticipated movie blockbuster.
Put that time of prayer up against a date night with your spouse.

Our casual approach to worship, prayer, bible study exposes a serious issue. And pastor (I’m preaching to me again) your casual approach to preparing shows you have little knowledge as to who you are representing.

There is no celebrity guest appearance showing up at 204 Eastland Drive North in Twin Falls, Idaho, tonight. There is no celebrity interesting enough to take the stage as the opener. We will humbly ask for the Lord’s manifest presence to be present. May He visit us tonight.

Imitating Marriage

Posted on April 28, 2015Leave a comment

As the hearing began today at the highest court level I see again that people want to claim what is not theirs by force and by imitating the original. Only what is real and has value is ever imitated. Cheap knock offs are never imitated.

Marriage between one man and one woman is ordained by God and given value by His blessing it and warning no man to ever attempt to destroy or tear it apart.

There are many people expressing their opinions about this significant hearing. The result of this hearing will effect our nation, regardless of the outcome.

As for me, I’m pleased to express and plead to God for the preservation of marriage as defined by Him in the Bible. Even if the law of the land changes the meaning of the word marriage I must speak of it and defend that which God ordained and blessed with great value. This idea of marriage should not be worshiped, but surely defended as its meaning and value are being stripped, changed, weakened and devalued.

How do I show this to my church and community?

give intentional attention to my marriage.
speak in favor of the historic definition of marriage.
press my local legislators to give the church freedom to conduct marriages without the mandate of a state issued marriage license.
speak with clarity to the young in our church of what is God ordained and pleasing biblical marriage.
remind all biblically married people that their marriage is not stripped of value if the law of the land cheapens marriage by redefining it.
pray to God for my marriage.
pray to God for the integrity of marriage in the land.
ask God to restore marriages that are broken or on the verge of disaster.

the Claptrap

Posted on April 20, 20152 Comments

My Twitter account had some activity this past week from a church consulting group. (In most of the Twitter world activity is no big deal, but for a guy like me this was huge.) After having a sermon ‘favorited’ by someone/group that I don’t know anything about I decided to investigate why they would even ‘favorite’ a sermon of mine.

The investigation was both humorous and disheartening.

I appreciate that there are people interested in helping the Lord’s church but I fear it appears more like they are preying on the Lord’s desperate people. There is a lot of clatter about ‘growing’ churches; how they are growing and how your church can grow too…

I’ve known of church consulting groups for a long time. LifeWay Christian Resources even has their own church consulting groups from within the publishing house arena and independent groups.

What must Christ think of our business like approach? Are we really this lost? Has God left without knowledge and understanding on how to be the church?

“What good is our busy religion if we have lost majesty, reverence, worship – and awareness of the divine?” A.W. Tozer

“Entertainment, that ancient and time-honored counterfeit of worship, is neither God-centered nor a byproduct of being God-centered. It must not be employed as a tool for drawing people to worship the God of the Bible.” John Snyder

—
This is the kind of claptrap going on around Christendom: Innovative Church and Worship Consulting: Coaching pastors, worship leaders and praise teams to total church health, experience, knowledge, Jesus. This is how InnovativeCWC introduces themselves.

“Does your worship team need a worship consultant?”
1 Day on-site: $950.00
2 Day on site:$1,650.00

The best consultation a church can get is to open that Bible and see what God wants from her. Unless that church is more interested in what others are wanting from her. If that is the case then perhaps this offer from InnovativeCWC is worth doing.

Then again, if a church does not worship God, it’s really only become a social club – and a social club is powerless to help the lost.

I don’t want to appear arrogant or selfish in thinking that I or this church can’t benefit from others input. But this looks like an appeal to the innovative lie that has been hounding the Lord’s church from the beginning.

Are these offers for consultation like the advice from Job’s friends who he calls “worthless physicians”?

I would prefer to speak to the Almighty. (Job 13:3)

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Posted on February 18, 2015Leave a comment

Renee has one of these freakish cats that have no hair. It’s a long story of how I told her we would never have one of those cats because they cost money and how I told her many times, “I’m not paying money for a cat.” Short back story: She found a loop-hole in what I said. We did not pay for this poor, hairless cat. We did however have to drive over 600 miles and spend money on a motel room. All in all, I paid for a hairless cat.

But that’s not the point here. Hairless or full of hair, cats are known for their curiosity. It’s normal for a cat to explore and even question what something is.

That’s the long way around to this; The world around us becomes familiar and commonplace to us as we age and grow to love our “creature comforts”. But the world is nearly an exhaustless wonder to children whose minds are alert and curious. As a matter of fact, a child that asks no questions, is no normal child. Questions even seem to be signs of mental health and normal activity.

This curiosity is normal and even has a level of normal “innocence”. But don’t be fooled. This curiosity will quickly, if not already, begin to show itself in a small child as a craving to satisfy a sinful flesh.

A duty for a parent is to learn to encourage a curiosity of one kind and expose the curiosity of another kind for what it is.

The duty of a parent is to show a child that they have an inborn propensity for sin.

Encourage questions like;

Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
What am I in this world for?
How should I treat other people?
What is my relationship to God?
How will I overcome sin and temptation?
How can I become more Christlike?

These and thousands upon thousands of other questions are natural questions for a young person to begin asking as they grow into young adulthood. And, I argue, are questions that should be answered. But more than just being answered, they should be taught how to answer these questions truthfully and biblically. Bad advice and counsel has wrecked many.

Parenting is no easy task. I don’t know of a parent who wishes they had not done some things differently. By the shear grace of God, parents actually do a lot of things right. But, don’t grow arrogant in thinking that there are things you have done as a parent that have not been helpful or will not be helpful if you continue in your own stubborn ways.

As a child grows they need parents who understand that their authority never diminishes, but does transform.

An infant is dependent upon a parent for every decision. But when a math equation is being worked on at age 16, that same child needs more to be taught how to discover the solution than to be told the solution. The authority of a parent remains constant while the duty is to largely teach a child to ask good questions and how to find truthful answers.

Dad and mom, are you as diligently preparing your children to know God as you are in the important matters of reading, math, science, writing?

An important thing I want to remind you of and warn you about is; Don’t forget that your child’s curiosity is not so innocent as they begin to search answers about sexuality and relationships. Be alert. Be on guard.

Be sure you are teaching your sons and daughters where to find truthful answers to their blooming spiritual curiosity. Make sure they understand that their emotional heart can not be trusted.

The best homes on earth are schools of continuing education, with lessons only being partially learned at times. It is important that careful attention is given to all lessons now (both secular and spiritual) because the opportunity to learn them will soon be gone.

It is no small thing that a serious misfortune would come upon your household as the graduates leave without mastering the lessons of most significance. What if they’ve not been trained to know what is sinful? What if they don’t know of the authority of God? What if God and his revelation (the Bible) is treated with such smallness and of no significance to know who God is? Their curiosity to know God will create a god that seems palatable to their undisciplined likes and dislikes.

A great need is needed among our young today. Who is teaching them to be self-disciplined? self-governed? all while submitting to the authority of God? God has established institutions for this; it’s your home and it’s your church.

The Intoxicating Cup of Sinful Pleasure

Posted on January 28, 20152 Comments

It is not expected that a Christian who awakens an appetite for worldly pleasure is able to clearly see why God would forbid that which has inflamed their passions.

January 26, 2015 – Lincoln Auditorium, Boise, Idaho

The prophet Isaiah gives strong warning in regard to this. I’ve just spent three days listening to testimony of “conservative” Idaho where the majority of those testifying are making argument to include what God calls sin be declared as natural and immutable rights.

This is no small matter. This does not deserve to be ignored, pastor. What is happening before our very eyes should call every God fearing parent to action, should cause every pastor to prepare his next sermon in fear and trembling reverence to Holy God, and should strike every citizen with a renewed interest in who they vote for.

What we’ve known was happening has happened.

An agenda promoting the normality of sexually deviant behavior has become an accepted norm. Sinful pleasure is an intoxicating cup.

Listen, this is not a new message. This has been the appeal of sin from the introduction of sin into the world.

Here is the warning from Isaiah: “Woe to those who…” (Isaiah 5:11-14)

Rise early in the morning to pursue what is forbidden.
Stay up late into the evening to feed a spiritually depraved apatite that seems to never be satisfied.
Participate in this atmosphere with mirth, excitement, and pleasure.
Consider the deeds of the Lord as silly, boring and useless.

The actual path of these actions do not deliver on the promise of a complete life. Isaiah warns…

People end up slaves and lack knowledge
Honorable men are famished.
The thirst for more is never satisfied and really delivers a parched condition.

The final result…

Hell is enlarged
Those who crave such an intoxicating drink of fleshly desire, as jubilant as it seems, descend into a pit that never gives what it (falsely) claims.

What do we do? I offer three considerations…

Parents: Repent! You are the ones most responsible for what your children think of God. If God and his church is treated as lightly as many professing Christian parents do then there is little surprise that your children will embrace a similar opinion of God. You actually have tremendous influence upon your children. They indeed own their own opinion of God and responsible to respond to his holiness in light of their own depravity, but you have been purposely placed in the role of parent.
1. Consider forms of entertainment that contradicts God and his word as an enemy of God. This is serious.
2. You are training your children in the way they will go when you whet that appetite of sensual cravings.
3. Show your children your pleasure in God. Their sinful nature is a pursuer of pleasure.
Churches/Pastors: Repent! I’ve listened to men representing churches and God speak silly, foolish things in the past three days. Will anyone in our culture hear a public word from you? Or are you going to continue to remain behind your safe fortresses you’ve built? Speak today with as much compassion, joy and delight in God as you can. The promoters of godlessness are. Why shouldn’t you who have tasted the goodness of God speak with more?
1. Consider the forms of entertainment you are presenting. Then stop trying to entertain. Entertainment makes people numb. They think less and lack knowledge becoming slaves to the ones entertaining them.
2. Stop trying to offer forms of “Christian” alternatives. Is there really anything more attractive in all of the created universe as the un-created God of the Universe? We only open an appetite for the alternative rather than a craving for God.
3. Warn the nation of the wrath of God with an appeal to repentance and surrender to the lordship of Christ.
Local, state, and national government: Repent! You do not have sovereign authority to behave against God. You are in an amazing place wielding with the least reaching jurisdiction of all. Do not legislate immorality. Do not declare “holy” what God calls sinful. The only way a people can be a self-governing people is when there is a freedom from a far reaching government.

It is possible for the favor of God to return to the land. But do not expect it until we humble ourselves, becoming passionate pursuers of the Holiness of God.

Isaiah 5:11-14 (NASB)
¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! ¹²Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands. ¹³Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. ¹⁴Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

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