About that name of yours...

Have you ever read Psalm 9:10? I was reading the other day about the fact that the way you address God or how you refer to him reveals your intimacy with him (or lack of it).

What I am called reveals how well someone knows me. My last name is "Demastus". Do you have any idea how butchered my name gets by telemarketers? But that's okay. Because when I pick up the phone and the person says, "May I speak to Mister Demarksicus?" That alerts me that this individual does not know me.

Maybe I might take my family to a restaurant and have to wait for a table. After a few minutes, the hostess calls out, "Dee-Mast-Us, party of four!" The hostess may know my name and how to pronounce it. But we don't really know each other.

Sometimes I am called, "Pastor Mike." Then that probably means you know a little about me. You know what I do and have probably heard me speak. But even your use of a title for me doesn't necessarily mean you know me personally.

Sometimes I am called, "Mike." That means we are probably close. We're friends if you just call me, Mike.

But there are a couple of people on this planet who have reserved the right to call me by a very special name. These couple individuals are very dear to me. They call me "Daddy." They know me so much better than even those who call me, Mike. The name reveals intimacy.

What do you call God? Is He "The Big Guy Up In The Sky" to you? Is He "The Man Upstairs" to you? If that is the case, then you don't know him. Those may be funny, clever titles, but they aren't intimate.

If you know God you are going to be far more specific with him. Maybe you realize how big of a deal it is that God has forgiven you of your sins so you constantly refer to him as your "Savior."

Maybe you realize that everytime you have been in need, God has always come through for you, so you refer to him as "Provider."

Maybe, if you're a woman, you had a man in your life abandon you, so you might call him "Husband."

Maybe when you feel totally alone, you call him, "Friend."

What do you call God? Your answer may be a clue to how well you know him. Or don't.

Discouraging and Encouraging Thoughts...

I have had some things that have been discouraging me lately...

I've been discouraged by some folks in our church who are more committed to getting their kids to dance or to music lessons than they are to getting them to church.

I've been discouraged by some folks in our church who can't seem to talk with someone they are upset with but spend all kinds of time talking about them with other people.

I've been discouraged by folks who are more faithful with their gym membership than meeting Jesus around the communion table.

I've been discouraged by folks who just don't care about their other brothers and sisters in Christ...but are so overly self-absorbed that they probably don't even know other people exist on this planet.

I've been discouraged by folks who care about music more than worshiping in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:24)

But...

I've been encouraged by some of the youth in our church who chose modest dress at their prom even when most probably wouldn't have done something like that! (Way to go Hoodjer girls!)

I've been encouraged by my small group who has been a real source of encouragement to me.

I've been encouraged by my elders who keep encouraging me to keep preaching...even when it is hard for me to!

I've been encouraged by my wife...a godly lady who has so much class. I still have so much to learn from her.

I've been encouraged that even though I've been discouraged I know that my battle is not with "flesh and blood." Satan is the real foe in all of this. When he is leaving me completely alone...then I really need to worry!

I am encouraged because my six-week sabbatical is exactly 30 Days away!

"Gay" Christian?

I was so saddened to read the article in Christianity Today about Christian music artist, Jennifer Knapp, admit that she's a lesbian. You can read the article HERE. One of the assertions made in the article, by Knapp herself, is that she is a Christian who just happens to be gay.

By the way, she isn't the first person in the Christian music industry to do this either. Ray Boltz admitted he was gay in September 2008. Of course, this came out only after a horrible divorce from his wife and deep hurt to his grown children. (But that's not as sweet a story, so we'll just skip over that detail.)

After cleaning up my playlist on my iPod and trashing my Kansas CD (Knapp's best album, in my opinion), I thought about the idea...can I be "gay" (stolen word) AND a Christian? Can I practice deviant sexual behavior and still rest assured in my salvation?

Well, let me start off by saying that I am not a very PC guy. I don't try (or care) to not offend someone's sensibilities. If something is true, it is true. Why sugar-coat it?

Jesus didn't (i.e. - Matthew 7:23)So why should I? By the way, the verse I referenced there, was in the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is addressing those people who claim they know Him...but don't really know Him. He is addressing people who say (or sing maybe) that they love Him, but don't. It is a pretty hard passage.

So with that in mind, my answer is: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?! Have we become so open-minded that our brains have fallen out?

Of course you cannot continue to sin sexually (or any other manner) in a habitual way and expect God to be okay with it. He's not. His holiness demands reflective holiness from us (1 Peter 1:16).

I would tell a married man who was cheating on his wife that he better not expect to think he's on the highway to heaven continuing to lead that kind of lifestyle...nor would I tell a woman who thinks she can be in a lesbian relationship and still maintain solid faith in Christ. You can't.

Darkness doesn't coexist with light. What is so horrible about calling homosexuality sin? Why has that become taboo?

The Word of God has not changed. Our culture hasn't attained some new enlightened level of sexual awareness. We have simply devolved into the same old sins of our forefathers. We are becoming more and more like the days of Noah when every man did what was right in his own eye (or every "Christian" artist did what was right in their eye).

By the way, if you read the article, Jennifer Knapp admits she doesn't go to church. Although, it probably wouldn't be hard for her to find one that would wholeheartedly approve of her lifestyle choice (oh, pardon me, if our culture is correct then she never had a choice in the matter...she was DNA-destined to be a lesbian).

Here's the cold, hard truth. Sin separates us from God. The more of sin we adopt, the farther from Him we find ourselves. You cannot call good what God has called sin. Homosexuality isn't any worse than any other sexual sin. It all leads us away from God and Christ, and if we are never brought off that road...we are just another statistic on a very wide road (Matthew 7:13).

It's been a while, old friend...

I have been away from my blog for a long time now. So many things have happened in my life since my last post back in November that it would be very futile to try to write it all here. So I'll just jump back in and start with today.

I met with another minister today over lunch. He is a Lutheran minister. He preaches at Zion Lutheran Church in Des Moines. We met and talked about One Prayer 2010.

I realized as we chatted and ate (a great meal, by the way, at Pho All Seasons) that it is critical for those of us in ministry to have friends in ministry.

Nobody knows a preacher like another preacher! (That's what another preacher-friend of mine used to say.) It is so important to be able to share openly and honestly with someone that truly understands.

The Bible says in Proverbs, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Preachers need preacher friends. Plain and simple. I'm happy I made a new preacher friend today who inspired me to get back on my blog. Here's his blog, by the way: http://pastorjohnsthoughts.blogspot.com

To Save a Life Movie and the next Sherwood movie project

Last Thursday I was able to see a prescreening of an upcoming movie called To Save A Life. Here is my honest critique of the film...

I believe the movie has a fantastic message for a limited audience. The movie gives a very honest, abrasive and brutal look at the realities of teen suicide, teen drug use, teen alcohol use, teen "cutting" and teen sexuality. While spending time in all of these teen problems there are three cuss words thrown in for good measure (the "A" word once and the "H" word twice).

The following text is from the movie's website:

Jake Taylor has it all: friends, fame, a basketball scholarship and the hottest girl in school. What could be better?

Enter Roger Dawson. Roger has nothing. No friends. No hope. Nothing but putdowns and getting pushed aside. Things couldn't get worse...could they?

Jake and Roger were best friends when they were kids. But the politics of high school quickly pulled them apart. Now Roger doesn't fit in Jake's—or anyone's circle—and he's had enough. He walks onto campus with a gun in his pocket and pain in his heart and makes a tragic move.

Jake's last-ditch effort can't stop Roger, and the sudden tragedy rocks Jake's world. Something breaks loose inside and sends him questioning everything. Most of all, he can't shake the question Could I have saved Roger? In a quest for answers, Jake finds himself looking for the next Roger and reaching out to the outcasts and lonely. But he quickly finds that crossing class castes threatens all his world is built on. And it could cost him his own friends, his girl, his dreams and even his reputation. Is it worth the price to find the answer to his ultimate question: What do I want my life to be about?


The movie falls short I believe at doing what it wants to do. It does have a great message. We see the main character become a Christ follower and when he does his world gets worse, not better. Which I believe is very true-to-life. Just because you follow Christ it doesn't mean you won't ever experience hardship again.

But the in-your-face approach to the issues teens face may be closer to glorifying it than warning against it. Just from a technical stand-point, the movie was slow in spots. I found myself looking at my watch more than once. Also, it was way too long.

All in all I believe this movie gets a "B-". It shouldn't be seen by anyone under the age of 15.

But there is ANOTHER movie that I am absolutely stoked about seeing...the announcement of this project just happened yesterday (November 15th). The creators of Fireproof the movie announced their next new film Courageous. This is going to be a film about fatherhood! I cannot wait! These guys know how to do movies! This is definitely a movie you are going to want to see.

UPDATE:

The Christian Post published an ARTICLE about the Courageous Movie. It says that filming is set to begin next year with a tentative release date for early 2011. Bummer we will have to wait that long!

Veteran's Day 2009

Every year I get the privilege of participating in the Memorial Day and Veteran's Day service held on the south side of the Iowa State Capital Grounds between the Korean and the Vietnam Monuments. It is a simple service that can draw a pretty sizable crowd (if the weather cooperates). I usually perform the invocation and the benediction.

Before I offered my closing prayer, I shared a few remarks with the crowd. Here is what I shared:

How do you honor someone who risks their life to defend your freedom?
How do you remember the thousand upon thousands who gave their lives fighting for our independence?
How do you remember those whose blood was spilled in foreign lands...kids who had their whole lives in front of them?
And how do we pay tribute to the soldiers who defend us today, right now?


Maybe we start by just saying, "Thanks." Today we celebrate and honor those brave men and women for their service to this great country that we call America.

THANK YOU! Thank you for my way of life. Thank you for my ability to raise my family in this land. Thank you for the privilege I have of worshiping my Savior each and every week without threat or fear.

Thank you for showing me what the greatest love looks like. Jesus said that there is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friend. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We will never forget your sacrifice!

Winning the debate on the "terms"

The debate for same-sex marriage is not going to go away anytime soon. In Iowa, if everything works according to plan, the issue won't be up for vote with the people before 2012. And once the people of Iowa get the opportunity to vote, same-sex marriage will be handily defeated in our state. Same-sex marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote.

Recently I attended an event sponsored by the Iowa Family Policy Center called, "Handling the second-hand effects of same-sex marriage." It was very informative. The keynote address was from Jan Mickelson, radio talk show host for WHO Radio. He spoke directly to a room filled with ministers and told them that we have to deal with this debate using the right terms.

He said, "The reason the abortion debate has been controlled by those in support of abortion is because they controlled the language of the debate." Don't use terms like "unborn baby." Instead use the term "fetus." Don't speak about life or death, speak about liberty and choice.

The moment a person in support of abortion has to get technical in describing what it is that they actually do, they lose the debate every single time. A prime example of this playing out in real life is the very recent story of Abby Johnson, a director at a local Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who quit after viewing an ultrasound of an abortion procedure. Here's the point...when those on the other side, have to face the ugly facts of the debate...they lose.

The debate for same-sex marriage is no different. If we truly press those who are homosexual to describe what it is that they do that makes them homosexual, they lose every time. The "Ick" factor is too high.

The realities are that if we "drink the kool-aid" and adopt the thinking of this age then we will assume all the lines we hear all too often. Lines such as this: It is very discriminatory to not allow two people in love to have the same benefits of marriage that you enjoy. When the fact is, it is very proper for society to discriminate against this for its very propogation. Civilization cannot be advanced by homosexual couples.

Another line is to compare very real civil rights struggles of blacks in American society with that of the same-sex marriage movement today. Here's the deal, I have met many people who used to be "gay" but I have never met anyone who used to be black (except possibly Michael Jackson). Those that faced having to stand at Colored Water Fountains are deeply offended by this notion that the push of the homosexual movement is the same as their own very real struggles with equality.

Having someone try to have their identity and class status be defined by what they do with certain body parts is absolutely laughable. And the only way we are going to make head-way in this debate is to not budge one inch on the terms of this debate. We must not let the homosexual movement set the terms.

We can win this battle, but it is a marathon, not a sprint. We must be diligent and unwavering in our beliefs. One day, the people of this state will be given the opportunity to vote on this issue, and once that happens, those who stand for marriage will see their 32nd victory in popular vote.