Chaille's Weblogs

Have you ever stopped to consider what life would be like if some major turning points in world history had ended differently. What if the Germans were the first to have the atomic bomb? What if the Russians had been the first to develop personal computers and software? What if Pompey had defeated Caesar? What if the Crusades ended with Muslims controlling most of Europe? What if Moses never received the Ten Commandments from God?

What if the South had won the Civil War? That last question was explored by a mockumentary produced by Spike Lee. Called The Confederate States of America, the movie looks at what could have been if the rebels had won. Here is the timeline for what might have been - http://www.csathemovie.com/timeline/index.html

Some aspects of the movie are great. And it certainly makes you think, and that is probably the producer's whole point. Other aspects I think are a bit exaggerated. The movie appeals to many stereotypes that I as a southerner find offensive. While condemning racism, the movie itself is racist. I have thick skin so this doesn't bother me much.

In some ways, I am not sure what to think of the film because it paints Christianity as pro slavery. Although it is true that people have used Scripture to support slavery through the years, I believe these people have missed the point.

God desires freedom for all people that is why Jesus came and died for the whole world. Of utmost importance is spiritual freedom from sin and death. I believe God intends both spiritual and physical freedom for all people. Comments made by the apostle Paul or stories about Israelites owning slaves must be interpreted in context.

Paul encouraged humanity among masters and slaves. The book of Philemon shows how Paul tried to temper the brutality of slavery without outright opposing it. Slavery was so common during those days that a pure abolitionist message would not have been received. And even though it was important, ending slavery in the physical world was of secondary importance compared to calling people from spiritual slavery to sin and death.

You must always remember that Paul's goal was first spiritual not physical. Throughout history God has not taken people from pagan practices and complete depravity to holy justice in one big leap. We as human beings can't deal with such dramatic change. No, God meets us where we are. Then he calls us to change one step at a time. In the Bible, we see a loving, patient God trying to get His children to the best life possible. Taking any one Scripture out of context can help you develop some pretty weird theology.

This Spike Lee joint certainly made me think. It also made me a little upset to see how our past sins keep giving Jesus a black eye.

Pastor Carter spoke on discontentment the other day. He hit on a key issue for many people who grew up in the land of plenty. I can relate. One reason that I stopped having cable TV was that I was tired of always being told what I needed. The latest kitchen gadget never brings eternal happiness like the guy in the infomercial said.

Affluence has made us a people known for our appetites. The problem is that desire can breed discontentment where nothing is every good enough. Left unchecked, this attitude can cause us to become nothing more than appetite. Satan loves to keep us chasing the next thing. All it leads to is ever increasing appetite and constantly decreasing satisfaction.

Dissatisfaction can be a good motivating force. The real question is, "What we are seeking, is it a God thing or a me thing?"

Pastor Carter said, "Your sin creates your theology." He gave the example of a disgruntle employee who steals two hours a day playing Solitare because he doesn't feel he is paid enough. This person is seeking to get justice as he defines it. The person is discontent he then seeks to make things right by taking a little extra time off during the work day. This is just one example where discontentment creates a situation where a person sins to counteract the perceived injustice.

How can we know if we are discontent? Pastor Carter challenged the fellowship to look at their words. Do you talk about something or someone as if you are never satisfied and things are always bad? Do you look around and always want what the other person has? You may have caught the discontentment bug. A jealous strain of affluenza tends to be the cause.

When we are discontent, we are in essence saying to God, "What you have given me is not enough. You aren't doing your job right." While we are free to be honest with God about our feelings, we must remember that murmuring is not the answer. As a Christian, we have to come to the point that we realize we have signed away our rights. We are bound to God's direction and will.

Christians should take a lesson from the Apostle Paul. He wrote, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Have you had enough?

New online communities give youth ministries incredible access to students. 24/7 you can log on and connect even with people who are half way around the world. This access has its benefits and some serious drawbacks. Students and youth workers are not the only one frequenting sites such as Myspace.com, Xanga.com or Facebook.com. Sexual predators and marketers of illicit material use these sites too.

If you want to reach the students, you have to go where they are. Many of the old ways of communicating just don't work. However, the new technologies and gateways are fraught with challenges. For example, Myspace.com markets many sexually explicit products and sites even to minors. These ads are not harmless.

I wonder how many middles schoolers have been educated to online porn due to these new "community" sites. By using these network sites, some critics say that youth ministers are legitimizing them. Implied endorsements may cause students to lower their guard. It may also make parents less aggressive about monitoring student activity.

Can you really be effective talking about spiritual issues next to ads for Victoria's Secret and porn sites? Some students will be willing to share things online that they would never say in person. While this can help unveil real problems, it may also create a situation where sensitive information gets in the hands of someone who makes problems worse or even exploits a hurting person.

Older youth can become friends with younger students and educate them on things they are not really ready to process. It's kind of like what you hear by sitting in the back of the school bus. While a parent cannot shield their child from every negative influence, adults should be aware of the dangers associated with these networking sites. Youth workers should develop strategies to limit any problems and encourage healthy online communication with and between students.

As already mentioned, these sites can lead to minors being taken advantage of or abused by adults. And a less obvious problem may be that too much online communication may not help students socialize and interact offline. Many people escape online without dealing with their real world problems.

Jim Manker, outreach pastor at Sun Grove Community Church in Sacramento, Calif., recently said in Youth Worker Journal, "The popularity of the sites reveals something fundamental that is missing in our interaction with one another. I think Myspace is particular is an illustration of how desperate we are for relationship and intimacy, and how terrible we are at authentic relationship. It's a substitute for doing the harder work of sitting across the table from one another."

Many students don't know how to have authentic, safe relationships because they have never seen such a thing at home. This leads to an even deeper challenge.

Can Myspace become Godspace? Well, that has to be decided by each ministry. I have decided not to participate at this time. Today, I mainly communicate with students through email, cell phones and my blog on my own personal Web site.

The New Testament contains many warnings about false teachers and deception sneaking into the Church. Many scholars and preachers have debated what this means and how the Gospel will be polluted. Every theological camp tries to paint others as wrong or possibly even a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The Apostle Paul warned of a great falling away. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament we see a pattern of people seeking religious voices and prophets that told them what they wanted to hear.

Some believe the apostasy has already begun. Bible thumpers like to point to the influence of cultural values into the Church where it can be hard to tell the difference between Christians and everybody else in the world. Others talk about people who spend all their time seeking the next spiritual high by going for supernatural wonders and signs. Some point to the megachurches and seeker services as attempts to please the congregation like a car company would consumers.

A popular whipping boy of late is the emerging church conversation. Fundamentalist tag these guys as liberal activists looking to re-write the Bible to placate today's cultural norms. Others believe the fundamentalist have become legalists and have made institutional Christianity into an idol.

You can find Protestants who have tagged Catholicism as the great Satan. I am sure you can find some Catholics who believe that Protestants misunderstand the beauty of orthodox disciplines, rituals and traditions. They may feel that they have the best path to the ancient faith.

Christians in poor areas could point to exploitation by the West and say that American believers are bound by consumerism. I could go on and on.

Hopefully, you get the point. We can easily see how other people miss the mark. But it can be difficult to see our own mistakes and sins.

Here are some ways that I believe apostasy is creeping into the Gospel. I know that I have dealt with these deceptions in my life.

• Focus inward not upward and outward: Many "Christians" live as is the most important thing is what they want. Living to honor God and serve others is the highest life. Many give lip service to this truth while failing to really believe it. They don't see the beauty in the Gospel as Jesus modeled it. Christ lived among the people as a man held captive to God's will. Where is this attitude in my life? Where is this reality in the modern Church? Good examples of this apostasy is the consumerism and selfish attitudes that

• Calling good evil and evil good: We don't like to talk about sin these days. Nobody wants to call sinners to repentance. That might offend somebody. I got news for you. The Gospel is offensive. Wherever the Apostle Paul preached, his message either caused revival or protests. Many times people wanted to kill him. A soft Gospel produces weak Christians.

• Overlooking the Spirit: Many Christians don't realize it is the Spirit that gives us the power to live as God intends and to know His will. People try to live in the soul with their mind, will and emotions calling the shots. This leads to powerless Christians and works that do not please God.  

• Localization & Division: God meant for the Gospel to impact how we look at the whole world. Many Christians do not stop to pray for needs in other parts of the world or encourage those outside of their immediate church fellowship. Churches throughout the world are not working together or attempting to find Oneness. Greater sense of love and unity among Christians would go a long way in helping the world see why they should become part of Christ's body.  

• Forgetting the Kingdom: Becoming a Christian is about a lot more than just getting a ticket to heaven. Many people stop there. Jesus preached a lot about the Kingdom of God. He called His disciples to become like Him in character and to help reclaim all creation for God's glory. Becoming a Christian is about living the best life possible here and now so that we overcome evil and have a lasting reward. A kingdom life will impact the world for positive change. This comes as we follow Jesus' example and live according to the Spirit.   

• Abandoning Grace: It can be easy to slowly focus on our works, our theological knowledge or our passion as what saves us. This impacts our worldview influencing where we spend our time and money. When we abandon grace, we tend to become judgmental and prideful. This can lead to the adoption of legalist attitudes. Or we become so aware of our sin that we become ineffective as God's ambassadors on earth.  

• Reshaping Truth: Today everyone wants to do what is right in his own eyes. This is hailed as progress, but it is nothing new. The "postmodern" viewpoint has been around for thousands of years. The fundamentalist viewpoint can be just as damaging as people interpret Scripture based on man-made traditions and not the Spirit. Scholars have attempted to strip Jesus of His deity. Many are questioning the accuracy of the Bible and foundational Christian principles. Many people increasingly are taking liberties with God's Word to serve their own ends. While the search for better historical understanding of Scripture is important, it can also be misused. Christians should want to understand Scripture in its cultural and historical context. The search for the historic Jesus is the quest to really understand what it means to be like Christ. Increasingly, people need to test all teachings. We should cling to what is true and disregard those things that are false.

• Idolatry: This last trap can take many different forms. Many idols are good things that get polluted because we make them more important than they really are. All idolatry is rooted in pride, selfishness and discontentment. Idolatry causes us to look to something or someone other than God as the key to life.  

Apostasy is something the Church is guilty of not non-Christians. Revival preacher, David Wilkerson, defined apostasy as "God's people abandoning the truth that saved them."

Have you strayed from God's truth in any of the above areas? The Good News is that it is never too late to repent. As long as you have breath in your body, you can say a prayer and refuse to fall away from the truth.