There’s really nothing like grace!

Grace explained the revival I was a part of, the Jesus Movement of the 60s and 70s.

It was the spiritual air we breathed.

Recently I spent a weekend in a church in Pennsylvania talking about grace in every forum they give me: book signing at the local book store, Campus Crusade for Christ “cru” meeting at the university, a group of young men from the church, a men’s retreat, and finally at the worship service of the church.

My message?

Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace.

Grace explained our revival. We were thirsty for it, and those who embraced us and discipled us gave it to us.

Grace explains Christianity. Paul told us not to be ashamed of it (Romans 1:6-7).

Grace saves us from ourselves. Under grace we’re not who we used to be, and we don’t have to live the way we used to live (Romans 6:14).

Grace is what the world needs.

Not our theories, our works, our hidden and driven little religious communities.

The world needs grace.

Let’s start giving it to them.

Grace is free to us because it cost God everything.

“If you indeed obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come to you in abundance if you obey the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

The second major unit within the seventeen Historical Books is called either the Conquest Period, Pre-Kingdom Period. Since there is no king in Israel during the events recorded they are also referred to as the theocratic books. These three books—Joshua, Judges, and Ruth—record the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, the division of Israel into the twelve tribes, the period of the judges, and the story of Ruth. After the death of Moses and then Joshua there were a series of minor leaders in Israel. In the next section, the Kingdom era we will meet the great King David. The events cover a time period of just over 350 years from the death of Moses (c. 1405 BC) to after the death of Samson (c. 1079 BC).

The narrative bridges the gap between Israel’s great lawgiver—Moses, and her first king—Saul. This is a period of great contrasts. Joshua is the most positive book of the Old Testament; Judges is the most negative. The history begins with great faith in Israel; it closes with almost no faith in Israel. But amazingly, there is faith in Moab!

Most of the events recorded in these books occurred in Israel and Moab.

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Flawed Systems Fail

When Christians get caught up in a system of works righteousness, failure is their only ultimate option. It all feels good and holy and even smug at the beginning.

“We’re the Christians who don’t do this, or this, or this, or this. We’re the ones with self-discipline. We’re the most committed, the least sinful, the truly spiritual.

If they were totally honest, they would admit that it begins to unravel the moment they begin trying to restrain their sin. Even as they are following all the formulas and attending all the meetings, they can’t hide their dirty little secrets from themselves:

• A mother convinced membership in her new church would control her runaway spending, turns into the mall “just to look.” She buys stuff she doesn’t even want and once again wonders how she’s going to hide this from her husband. As she drives out of the mall parking lot she tells God, “I’ll get even more involved at church next week.”
• The Bible School teacher has been practicing his spiritual disciplines with more dedication since his wife caught him looking at pornography online. He came home for lunch and was surprised that she wasn’t home. He was also surprised that he ate his sandwich at the computer cruising past the same vile sites he told her he would never look at again. He confesses his sin on the way back to work and promises God that he’s going to fast more.
• At a recent men’s retreat he had joined an accountability group and told the other guys about his anger. It felt good to finally get it off his chest. He knew that if he didn’t do something about his rage his wife would leave him. But this morning she wouldn’t quit asking him questions about their money problems and he lost it. He punched her in the usual places so nobody at church would notice. What would he say to the men tomorrow at breakfast? He decided not to tell them about this “little slip.” What would they think of him? They wouldn’t understand. And besides, with the new insights he had learned at the retreat, he probably wouldn’t do it again anyway.

These are the kinds of Christians who eventually find their way into my office, sit dejectedly across the table from me, and with eyes dead of hope tell me, “I’ve had it with Christianity, this just isn’t working.”

Christianity Works!

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There’s really nothing like grace!

Grace explained the revival I was a part of, the Jesus Movement of the 60s and 70s.

It was the spiritual air we breathed.

A few years ago I spent a week in Williamsport, PA with the lead pastor of Good News Bible Church, Dan Rockwell and talking about grace in every forum they give me: book signing at the local book store, Campus Crusade for Christ “cru” meeting at Penn College of Technology, a group of young men from the church, a men’s retreat, and finally at the worship service of Good News Bible Church on Sunday. They meet in the downtown theater. That’s cool.

My message?

Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace.

Grace explained our revival. We were thirsty for it, and those who embraced us and discipled us gave it to us.

Grace explains Christianity. Paul told us not to be ashamed of it (Romans 1:6-7).

Grace saves us from ourselves. Under grace we’re not who we used to be, and we don’t have to live the way we used to live (Romans 6:14).

Grace is what the world needs.

Not our theories, our works, our hidden and driven little religious communities.

The world needs grace.

Let’s start giving it to them.

Grace is free to us because it cost God everything.

Question: Does all this talk about grace frighten you or excite you?

The Cults Say: Get to Work!!

A few years ago I was sitting in the Phoenix Airport listening in to a conversation between two cultists. They were talking about their hope of heaven. As they talked I was thinking that what they were saying isn’t that much different from a lot of so-called evangelicals today. It’s all about working hard and measuring up.

What do you say?

Here’s my question for those who tell me that telling people that eternal life is a free gift given to all who trust in Jesus is “just too easy”: What sets your gospel apart from the works-based message of the cults?

“He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” –Jesus Christ, John 6:47

Radio Excoriator

As a SoCaler, I spend a lot of time on the freeways. Sometimes I listen to Christian radio. Sometimes it truly blesses me. Other times it just ticks me off.

Like yesterday when this radio preacher was screaming and shaming his congregation and anyone tuning in about their lack of commitment in just about every area of the Christian life. What bothered me most as he bellowed his way from one shaming truth to the next, was that he acted like he didn’t struggle with this stuff. He, unlike the peons and maybe-not-authentic-believers he vilified and mortified, had his religious “stuff” together.

Right. Sure. Wanna-bet?

My first thought when I hear these performance-driven sermons is, “I wonder what this guy’s hiding?”

I’ve Got a Secret!

Because he is; count on it.

Most of the teaching in the church is framed around the notion that the button-down, loafered-up, “I-got-it-all-together-and-never-have-any-doubts” Christian actually exists somewhere.

Read your Bible. The only One who fits that description wore sandals, had long hair, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Paul was the “chief of sinners”; Peter denied Christ, and Mark ran from the garden naked like some frightened little puppy.

They all let the Lord down mightily; but the Lord used them mightily.

That’s called grace. I prefer grace to arrogance any day.

There’s a definition of faithfulness I absolutely reject:

It’s the idea that a faithful man or woman is that Christian who has sinned a little less, hasn’t embarrassed Jesus as much, and has generally measured up a little more to churchy standards of “faithfulness” than others by giving more money, coming to more meetings, and looking good on Sundays.

Two Problems with That:

I have two problems with that concept of faithfulness:

1) I suspect that the self-proclaimed faithful Christian has a secret life. Really, I don’t suspect it, I know it. There are no together people. And the least together people I’ve ever met are the ones churchianity assumes have it together the most.

2) The truly faithful Christians I have met in life are those who are acutely aware of their failures, their shortcoming, their sin, and their weakness and have learned to cling to Jesus.

One of my favorite writers, Brennan Manning, says this about faithfulness:

“Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives. [When we risk] everything on Jesus…the gospel says we can’t lose, because we have nothing to lose.”

I think that had a lot to do with the success of the Jesus Movement. We came from the streets, from the mess of our lives, we had nothing to lose…and Jesus had everything to give.

Question: Does that smug definition of faithfulness bother you as much as it does me?

Are you a victim of “Bargain Theology”?

Bargain theology is that heretical teaching that God is waiting to fix your life if you just get it right.

You know, serve a little in church, do your quiet time, memorize Scripture some, pray a little, or give some of your money to Christian work.

The problem with bargain theology is that God isn’t bargaining.

He doesn’t want to fix your life; He wants to give you a new life–eternal life.

He doesn’t want the stuff you do for Him; He wants you.

He wants to change you on the inside and launch you into a messed up and hurtful world.

It’s called grace, and it’s not a bargain.

It’s free.

But it’s not to make you a little better, a little happier, a little more Republican.

It’s to give you what you need to overcome the evil and broken places in your heart and to stand against the evil broken places in this world.

I can’t understand why more Christians in churches don’t get it.

I got it from the very beginning.

Oh yeah, maybe that’s because I didn’t meet Jesus in the stained glass confines of safe religious platitudes.

I met Jesus on the street during a revival.

We called it the Jesus Movement.

Do your remember when you first heard about grace?

Remembering The Jesus Movement

A few years ago I wrote a book, Reborn to Be Wild. It was all about the Jesus Movement revival of the 60s and 70s.

I’m a Jesus Movement convert, and in the middle six chapters of the book I answered the question,“Why did the Jesus Movement quit moving?” from my perspective.

A Lie We Believed

One of the lies we believed that domesticated us to the point of irrelevance was: Grace and freedom are dangerous.

Really? Then why did Paul write his most scathing letter to the Galatians? Read it for yourself. If you’re not already anesthetized by the institutional church, it will awaken your wild heart in Christ.

One of my favorite sentences from the book captures the truth of Galatians:

Grace isn’t optional; it’s necessary. Freedom isn’t dangerous; it’s glorious!

Question: Are you afraid of grace and freedom?

Why?

I promise you that if you risk trusting the truth of Galatians, it will unleash your Christian life.

Does God Have a Spreadsheet?

People who have a hard time with the concept of grace view God as a calculating God.

Rejecting the laminated promises of the Bible that eternal life is a gift given freely to all who believe, they insist that it can’t be that “easy.” In their thinking, there must be some “accounting” for sin that keeps certain types of “sinners” out of heaven.

I find it telling that when they calculate which sins God should tolerate because He is loving and which sins He should condemn because He’s just, the “tolerable sins” are the ones they commit. It’s those other sinners who are getting over on God.

These presentations of a calculating God always make me wonder what they’re doing with the realities of everyday life, the revealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the wonder of God’s mercy.

No!

My own experience has been that the longer I walk with God, the more I realize how messed up I was the day He redeemed me, and how much more I need His mercy.

I’ve come to the point that I’ve just stopped arguing with them. If they want to live under the tyranny and hypocrisy of their calculating God, that’s their business.

But, I warn them to stay out of my business. I choose to believe in the uncalculating God of the Bible who relates to me according to the radical “math” of grace. I choose to follow the Son of God pictured in the Gospels and exalted in the epistles. The God of mercy and love who seeks out sinners of all types and degrees and offers them new life in Him and friendship with Him. The God who, as unimaginable as it may seem–knowing what I know about me–delights in me.

Question: What “calculating God” lie from your church of origin causes you to mistrust grace?